Don't you just love when fall arrives? You get those beautiful changing leaves, cool crisp air, scarves become the favorite accessory and my personal favorite, fall produce! I crave pumpkin pie all year round and when fall finally arrives, I try not to gorge myself haha. I wanna refresh or maybe teach those who don't know about fall produce. It's really simple and it will cost you a lot less to buy these produce items while they are in season. Let's get started.
Buying seasonally is not only helpful to your wallet, but great for your body. You are buying produce that thrives in that type of weather and receiving great nutrients in return! Seasonal produce is cheaper to purchase because there is an abundance of certain crops at that time of year. For example, we all associate fall with pumpkins, squashes and apples right? We don't exactly eat juicy peaches and citrus now do we? No.... lol. Just because our grocery stores carry citrus all year round, doesn't mean we should buy it.
Our society has become one of convenience and we are able to buy these produce out of season. What we would normally be growing ourselves last season, we are now importing from other countries and paying a great deal for them.Without a second thought, people will buy a bag of oranges and pay like 8 bucks for them. Get home, and realize that your oranges are full of pith and hardly any orange and have no flavor. I hear a lot of this too," My son's soccer team likes oranges before and after practice." I can't exactly argue that one, but what's wrong with giving them their own pint of berries or a juicy plum? We need to demand that our grocery stores stock up on seasonal produce! Grown either locally or in the United States! But that's another blog lol.
Back to what I was saying before. Not a lot of people know more than a few fall produce. Things to look out for are: Blackberries, figs, apples including the honey crisp apples (Sooo amazing, please go try some if you haven't already. Their very seasonal, like 2 months out of the year), pomegranates, pomelos, plums, pears, grapes, persimmons and a probably a lot more depending on where you live lol. That's just the fruit!!
Vegetables include potatoes, leeks, onions, carrots, cauliflower, squashes, sweet corn, peppers, parsnips, fennel, cucumbers, broccoli, eggplant, the list goes on and on. I work at a grocery store and it is no coincidence that people are buying these produce! They are buying them in large quantities too, especially the fruits. The fall produce are those that have a great robustness and hearty feel. They are our comfort foods against the cold weather. Even the small berries, they are big and bursting with flavor!
Soups are one of those simple and very versatile meals to make. Not only can you make up recipes for soup, but you can add what ever you want to them! They freeze great and can be enjoyed year round! Add any vegetables you wish, you really can't go wrong!
Go online and find more about seasonal produce that's available in the fall. Also, if your city or town have fresh markets, I greatly encourage you to go to one! Farmers are more than happy to share how they grow their crops and how to get the most nutrients out of their produce. Produce bought from a market are going to cost you much less than paying for it at a grocery store, I guarantee it! Even organic produce! Farmers take great pride in organic produce, as they should.
Did you know that: It takes a minimum of 7 years for a farmers land to even become ready to start growing organically! They have to get their soil approved by the government before they can grow any crops, and have to get it tested every few months or once a year? So if you ever wonder why organics are a little more expensive, there ya go!
Anyway, please take my advice and buy seasonal produce. I have listed a few of the available fruits and vegetables that are really thriving right now. If you are an avid grocery shopper like I am, you will notice a great difference in price for what's in, and what's out of season. Just see the prices for yourself! If you like enjoying produce out of it's season, by all means by frozen produce. They are much better than canned. If you really enjoy foods like that, try making your own preserves or canned foods. You will reap the benefits of buying seasonally again and then enjoying the literal fruits of your labor.
Have a wonderful fall season, stay warm!
Showing posts with label food blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food blog. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Mother Sauces: Espagnole (Brown Sauce)
This sauce is so wonderful! It has such a deep, rich flavor thanks to the variety of ingredients that go in it. This is the 3rd installment of the 5 Mother Sauces blog. This sauce compliments beef fantastically and freezes well to use later on.
This recipe yields 1 gallon.
You will need:
Ingredients
Mirepoix, med. dice** 2 lbs.
Clarified Butter 8 fl. oz.
Flour 8 oz.
Brown Stock** 5 qts. (20 cups.)
Tomato Puree 8 oz.
Sachet**
1 Bay Leaf
Dried Thyme 1/2 tsp.
Crushed Peppercorns 1/4 tsp.
Parsley Stems 8
Salt and Pepper TT
Directions
1.) In a large stock pot, heat the clarified butter over medium-high heat. Add in the mirepoix and caramelize on all sides.
2.) Add in the flour and make a brown roux.** Whisk often so flour will not burn.
3.) Once you've made a brown roux, pour in the brown stock and tomato puree. Whisk again to break up lumps. Bring to a boil uncovered and reduce to a simmer.
4.) Add in the sachet, and simmer for approx. 1&1/2 hours. This will allow the sauce to thicken. Skim the surface if any impurities form at the top.
5.) After the allotted time, strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth if you have it. Adjust the seasonings as you like it with salt and pepper and use immediately. Or cool and freeze for later use.
***Cook's Notes:
1.) Mirepoix: (Meer-uh-pwah) This is a mixture of 50 % onions, 25% carrots and 25% celery. This recipe called for 2 lbs of it so you would use 1 lb. onions, 1/2 lb. of carrots and 1/2 lb. of celery. This is used as the base to a lot of great soups, sauces including the wonderful bolognese. Typically they are discarded because all of their flavor will have been incorporated into what ever they are used in.
2.) Brown Stock: Brown stock is made from roasting beef bones, vegetables and tomato puree and then simmered for hours. Save yourself some time by buying low sodium beef broth or brown stock from a health food store.
3.) Sachet (Saa-shay) This little bundle of joy is what gives many stocks and sauces deep flavor. The spices are wrapped in cheese cloth (using 2 coffee filters works great too) and tied off with butchers twine. I almost always use 1 clove of smashed garlic because I LOVE garlic haha.
I really hope you enjoy this recipe. Please feel free to scale down this recipe to the size you want. I prefer to blog these recipes in large amounts because they freeze really well. Plus you can thaw it out at a moments notice and people will think you spent all day making it!
This recipe yields 1 gallon.
You will need:
Ingredients
Mirepoix, med. dice** 2 lbs.
Clarified Butter 8 fl. oz.
Flour 8 oz.
Brown Stock** 5 qts. (20 cups.)
Tomato Puree 8 oz.
Sachet**
1 Bay Leaf
Dried Thyme 1/2 tsp.
Crushed Peppercorns 1/4 tsp.
Parsley Stems 8
Salt and Pepper TT
Directions
1.) In a large stock pot, heat the clarified butter over medium-high heat. Add in the mirepoix and caramelize on all sides.
2.) Add in the flour and make a brown roux.** Whisk often so flour will not burn.
3.) Once you've made a brown roux, pour in the brown stock and tomato puree. Whisk again to break up lumps. Bring to a boil uncovered and reduce to a simmer.
4.) Add in the sachet, and simmer for approx. 1&1/2 hours. This will allow the sauce to thicken. Skim the surface if any impurities form at the top.
5.) After the allotted time, strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth if you have it. Adjust the seasonings as you like it with salt and pepper and use immediately. Or cool and freeze for later use.
***Cook's Notes:
1.) Mirepoix: (Meer-uh-pwah) This is a mixture of 50 % onions, 25% carrots and 25% celery. This recipe called for 2 lbs of it so you would use 1 lb. onions, 1/2 lb. of carrots and 1/2 lb. of celery. This is used as the base to a lot of great soups, sauces including the wonderful bolognese. Typically they are discarded because all of their flavor will have been incorporated into what ever they are used in.
2.) Brown Stock: Brown stock is made from roasting beef bones, vegetables and tomato puree and then simmered for hours. Save yourself some time by buying low sodium beef broth or brown stock from a health food store.
3.) Sachet (Saa-shay) This little bundle of joy is what gives many stocks and sauces deep flavor. The spices are wrapped in cheese cloth (using 2 coffee filters works great too) and tied off with butchers twine. I almost always use 1 clove of smashed garlic because I LOVE garlic haha.
I really hope you enjoy this recipe. Please feel free to scale down this recipe to the size you want. I prefer to blog these recipes in large amounts because they freeze really well. Plus you can thaw it out at a moments notice and people will think you spent all day making it!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Mother Sauce: Bechamel
This blog is going to be about "Mother Sauces". Mother sauces bring that touch of elegance to a dish that makes us crave eating away from home. Not only are these sauces great at their most basic form, but they can be transformed into numerous others! They inspire us foodies to be creative with their uses, yet are there to keep the classic meals alive. I won't bore you with their origin or who created them, you can look that up on your own time lol. Although their origins are worth looking up because some recipes came about from a total accident. :D
This blog will come in 5 parts so I can cover every Mother Sauce. If you take the time to make these yourself at home, your dishes will come out fantastic! People will know that you took the time to make your meal from scratch and they will thank you for it. I feel like in today's society nobody takes time to do anything home made any more. I hope this blog inspires you to just..... slow down! Let's begin!
I am going to start with the Bechamel Sauce (Beh-shuh-mehl)
Ingredients
Whole Milk 16 oz.
Flour 2 TBSP
Clarified Butter 2 TBSP
Salt TT (to taste)
White Pepper TT
Nutmeg TT
1/2 small Onion Piquet **** (See cooks note at the bottom of the blog)
Directions:
1.) Pour the milk into a large heavy bottomed pot. Gently add in the onion piquet and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes.
2.) In another pot add in the clarified butter. Turn on the heat to medium-high and heat butter through. Once the butter is hot, whisk in the flour. Whisk constantly until this mixture becomes pasty in appearance and nutty smelling. Don't cook too long, you want it to stay pale. This mixture is called a "Blond Roux".
3.) After the milk and piquet have simmered for 10 minutes remove the piquet. Gradually add the hot milk to the roux while whisking constantly. Try to get rid of any lumps.
4.) Once you have incorporated all of the milk into the blond roux, simmer until thickened, whisk often.
5.) Add in the salt, white pepper and nutmeg to your taste. Nutmeg is very powerful and you just want a hint of it in there.
7.) Strain the sauce through a fine mesh seive or cheesecloth if you have it. Use immediately or cool in a large bowl over ice water. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
This sauce is fantastic as is. You can add it to the top of a lasagna to give it that silky touch, and is the most common base for mac and cheese sauce!
I found this image on google, but it comes from http://healthyrecipes.wikia.com/wiki/B%C3%A9chamel_sauce
****Cook's Note: An onion piquet/pique is a halved onion studded with cloves and a bay leaf.
I found this image on google but it comes from http://cornellgourmet.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/piquet/
Enjoy this sauce!
This blog will come in 5 parts so I can cover every Mother Sauce. If you take the time to make these yourself at home, your dishes will come out fantastic! People will know that you took the time to make your meal from scratch and they will thank you for it. I feel like in today's society nobody takes time to do anything home made any more. I hope this blog inspires you to just..... slow down! Let's begin!
I am going to start with the Bechamel Sauce (Beh-shuh-mehl)
Ingredients
Whole Milk 16 oz.
Flour 2 TBSP
Clarified Butter 2 TBSP
Salt TT (to taste)
White Pepper TT
Nutmeg TT
1/2 small Onion Piquet **** (See cooks note at the bottom of the blog)
Directions:
1.) Pour the milk into a large heavy bottomed pot. Gently add in the onion piquet and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes.
2.) In another pot add in the clarified butter. Turn on the heat to medium-high and heat butter through. Once the butter is hot, whisk in the flour. Whisk constantly until this mixture becomes pasty in appearance and nutty smelling. Don't cook too long, you want it to stay pale. This mixture is called a "Blond Roux".
3.) After the milk and piquet have simmered for 10 minutes remove the piquet. Gradually add the hot milk to the roux while whisking constantly. Try to get rid of any lumps.
4.) Once you have incorporated all of the milk into the blond roux, simmer until thickened, whisk often.
5.) Add in the salt, white pepper and nutmeg to your taste. Nutmeg is very powerful and you just want a hint of it in there.
7.) Strain the sauce through a fine mesh seive or cheesecloth if you have it. Use immediately or cool in a large bowl over ice water. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
This sauce is fantastic as is. You can add it to the top of a lasagna to give it that silky touch, and is the most common base for mac and cheese sauce!
I found this image on google, but it comes from http://healthyrecipes.wikia.com/wiki/B%C3%A9chamel_sauce
****Cook's Note: An onion piquet/pique is a halved onion studded with cloves and a bay leaf.
Enjoy this sauce!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Super Easy Pasta Recipe
I can't stress enough when I say that there is beauty in simplicity. This can be applied so well with food. My example for you is one of my favorite ways to eat pasta.
You will need:
-Angel Hair Pasta - Salt/Pepper
- Lemon Juice - Raw Garlic
- Butter
-When I cook pasta like this, I add hot water to a pot so it doesn't take as long to boil. (All of the ingredient amounts are subjective to your taste)
- Cook the pasta as instructed on the box, or until al dente.****
- Place some butter in a serving bowl, along with a spritz of lemon and garlic (freshly grated or jarred kind is up to you).
- Drain off the pasta and add as much as you like to the serving bowl. Toss in the butter, lemon juice and garlic.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Lemon juice is great in pasta because it gives the taste buds the illusion of salt, so watch how much salt you add!!)
-Optional, zest the lemon for extra added flavor.
There is no need to overwhelm your pasta in a heavy cream or tomato sauce.
***Cooks note: Al Dente is a point where pasta is cooked and still has a little bite to it. Most certainly not soggy!
Enjoy my recipe!!
You will need:
-Angel Hair Pasta - Salt/Pepper
- Lemon Juice - Raw Garlic
- Butter
-When I cook pasta like this, I add hot water to a pot so it doesn't take as long to boil. (All of the ingredient amounts are subjective to your taste)
- Cook the pasta as instructed on the box, or until al dente.****
- Place some butter in a serving bowl, along with a spritz of lemon and garlic (freshly grated or jarred kind is up to you).
- Drain off the pasta and add as much as you like to the serving bowl. Toss in the butter, lemon juice and garlic.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Lemon juice is great in pasta because it gives the taste buds the illusion of salt, so watch how much salt you add!!)
-Optional, zest the lemon for extra added flavor.
There is no need to overwhelm your pasta in a heavy cream or tomato sauce.
***Cooks note: Al Dente is a point where pasta is cooked and still has a little bite to it. Most certainly not soggy!
Enjoy my recipe!!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
What's The Rush??
All my life I have noticed that here in America, just about every meal is rushed. If you are meeting friends for dinner you can pretty much guess that dinner will only last about an hour or an hour and 15 minutes, even when it's busy. So you took time to get pretty to go out and then you only spend that little time sitting down and relaxing, so what else are you supposed to do with your evening? Here's another thought, if you are a student, breakfast may or may not fit into your morning routine. High school for me started at 7:15 am. and I barely made it on time to catch my bus let alone put a piece of toast in my mouth.
Our country has become one fast paced place to live. Restaurants are turning tables so quick that customers are left not remembering what they ate or how much they spent!! A server is given like 6 tables at a time and really wants those tips so they will rush you right out of your table with mediocre service. I think servers could still get a good amount in one night if they provided excellent service at a restaurant that allowed the guest to stay longer for dinner. Make the tip percentage a minimum of 18% and most people will tip 20% when they receive great service anyway, I know I do.
Our country is slow on a lot of things, but we certainly aren't slow when it comes to food. I think our country needs a serious renovation when it comes to taking time to eat. People at home aren't even connecting with their food. A lot of families are eating dinner in front of the television. Not only are you eating blindly, but you are distracted by the t.v. and not really enjoying your food. It's like taking time to eat is becoming an inconvenience to those families.
Try something for me, try to recall the meals you eat in a week. Don't cheat and write them down, think back and see how much of your meals you can actually remember even if it were fast food. I think you will be surprised at how little you remember. It's not your fault, it's our country's fault.
There are a few great restaurants that will actually encourage you to stay and relax at your table you just have to find them. There are a few where I live one of which I worked at. The restaurant is called Bistro Aix, it offers a private dining room, a regular dining room, and they also have a large room that can be split in half to make 2 private dining rooms. Often times they are used for business dinners but anyway, they would emphasize fresh local, organic ingredients, and a slower pace of eating. Also the servers are intensely trained on the menu, wine selections, desserts, and oh yeah, the menu changes weekly, sometimes daily.
If I could have it my way, our country should have a few hours in the day where places shut down for a few hours and we emphasize more on meal time. It is a totally normal thing in Europe to take around 3-4 hours to eat dinner. If you are at a table for long enough, it becomes your table for the evening. Also, restaurants stay open a little longer, like until 12pm or 1 am everyday, but it's those few hours that they close that give the workers a time to relax and prepare for the evening.
I want people to really savor what they are eating. Enjoy the freshness of a fish fillet or feel the crunch of your vegetables, really appreciate what you are eating. We are so quick to wolf down food and hardly chew anything, it's no wonder people get really gassy or have huge nasty bowel movements LOL.
Find a great restaurant where you live, spend a few hours with your lover or a small group of friends, and really savor what you all are eating. So do a little homework and find a great restaurant, ask around and see what people say is good and take a breather. You deserve it!!
Our country has become one fast paced place to live. Restaurants are turning tables so quick that customers are left not remembering what they ate or how much they spent!! A server is given like 6 tables at a time and really wants those tips so they will rush you right out of your table with mediocre service. I think servers could still get a good amount in one night if they provided excellent service at a restaurant that allowed the guest to stay longer for dinner. Make the tip percentage a minimum of 18% and most people will tip 20% when they receive great service anyway, I know I do.
Our country is slow on a lot of things, but we certainly aren't slow when it comes to food. I think our country needs a serious renovation when it comes to taking time to eat. People at home aren't even connecting with their food. A lot of families are eating dinner in front of the television. Not only are you eating blindly, but you are distracted by the t.v. and not really enjoying your food. It's like taking time to eat is becoming an inconvenience to those families.
Try something for me, try to recall the meals you eat in a week. Don't cheat and write them down, think back and see how much of your meals you can actually remember even if it were fast food. I think you will be surprised at how little you remember. It's not your fault, it's our country's fault.
There are a few great restaurants that will actually encourage you to stay and relax at your table you just have to find them. There are a few where I live one of which I worked at. The restaurant is called Bistro Aix, it offers a private dining room, a regular dining room, and they also have a large room that can be split in half to make 2 private dining rooms. Often times they are used for business dinners but anyway, they would emphasize fresh local, organic ingredients, and a slower pace of eating. Also the servers are intensely trained on the menu, wine selections, desserts, and oh yeah, the menu changes weekly, sometimes daily.
If I could have it my way, our country should have a few hours in the day where places shut down for a few hours and we emphasize more on meal time. It is a totally normal thing in Europe to take around 3-4 hours to eat dinner. If you are at a table for long enough, it becomes your table for the evening. Also, restaurants stay open a little longer, like until 12pm or 1 am everyday, but it's those few hours that they close that give the workers a time to relax and prepare for the evening.
I want people to really savor what they are eating. Enjoy the freshness of a fish fillet or feel the crunch of your vegetables, really appreciate what you are eating. We are so quick to wolf down food and hardly chew anything, it's no wonder people get really gassy or have huge nasty bowel movements LOL.
Find a great restaurant where you live, spend a few hours with your lover or a small group of friends, and really savor what you all are eating. So do a little homework and find a great restaurant, ask around and see what people say is good and take a breather. You deserve it!!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
A Rainbow of Produce?!? Where??
HAHA I don't have a cool picture of a rainbow of produce, but you could make it happen in your kitchen. I am talking about variety here people!! It is so important that you add colorful foods into your diet and those colors speak to you in different ways. This blog will tell you what certain colored foods hold and what produce fall under certain colors. Also, I won't throw anything in there that you can't pronounce. :P
Okay our first color up is.... (drum roll please)...... RED!!
Fruits and vegetables that are red contain nutrients that help reduce the risk of prostate cancer, lower blood pressure, reduce tumor growth, lower LDL cholesterol (the bad kind, there is a good kind also lol), and support joint tissue in people who have arthritis. So some of the fruits and vegetables that qualify for the red category are: tomatoes, strawberries, beets, red bell peppers, grapefruit, red onions, red apples, raspberries, rhubarb, radishes and much more.
Next color up is..... YELLOW/ORANGE produce!! These produce share a few of the same benefits as red produce but they also promote collagen formation and healthy joints, fight harmful free radicals, they are full of vitamin C, and encourages alkaline balance (keeping our body at a happy pH). Some produce that falls into this category are: apricots, carrots, lemons, mangoes, oranges, yellow peppers, summer squash, pumpkin, peaches, pineapples, and sweet corn.
Third color up is......GREEN produce!! I think we can all think of a few different types of green produce, but what about their benefits. So, eating green produce can reduce cancer risks, normalize digestion time (salad before the entree of a dinner), support retinal health and vision and boost your immune system activity. Some of the produce in this category include: limes, honey dew melon, artichokes, spinach, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, celery, avocados, and green onions.
Fourth color up is....... BLUE/PURPLE produce!! Now there are fewer of these types of foods but hold some of the best benefits of all of the colors. Some of their many benefits are: they fight inflammation, improve calcium and other mineral absorption, act as anticarcinogens in your digestive tract, limit the activity of cancer cells and boost your immune system. Some of the produce in this category include blackberries, blueberries, grapes, plums, purple cabbage, eggplant, purple Belgian endive, purple potatoes and black currants.
Last but certainly not least is....WHITE produce!! lol there aren't very many of these produce either but they too have wonderful benefits. Some of which include: Reduce the risk of colon, breast and prostate cancer, balance hormonal levels, activate natural killer B and T cells (fight off infections and bad things in your body) and reduce the risk of hormone-related cancers. Some of these food include bananas, brown pears, potatoes, cauliflower, garlic, mushrooms, parsnips, onions, white peaches and white nectarines.
All of this produce talk is making me soo hungry LOL seeing as how peach season is almost here. They get as big as soft balls where I live! lol I thank my mother for introducing me to a lot of great foods. She taught me their benefits as I ate them and now I am a healthy young woman. A variety of foods are so important not only for children but for adults as well, it is never too late to start eating healthy. Learn when these fruits and vegetables are in season and you will save a ton. If you want to eat seasonal foods year round, you can always preserve them or freeze them. If you don't have any at all, frozen produce is a great way to go also. If you can, buy from local farmers and help support your community too. You can buy produce from local farmers stands or fresh markets for real cheap also. Make it a fun day for you and your kids, have them pick out what they want to eat!! Enjoy!
All of this info is from http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/fruits-vegetables.shtml
Okay our first color up is.... (drum roll please)...... RED!!
Fruits and vegetables that are red contain nutrients that help reduce the risk of prostate cancer, lower blood pressure, reduce tumor growth, lower LDL cholesterol (the bad kind, there is a good kind also lol), and support joint tissue in people who have arthritis. So some of the fruits and vegetables that qualify for the red category are: tomatoes, strawberries, beets, red bell peppers, grapefruit, red onions, red apples, raspberries, rhubarb, radishes and much more.
Next color up is..... YELLOW/ORANGE produce!! These produce share a few of the same benefits as red produce but they also promote collagen formation and healthy joints, fight harmful free radicals, they are full of vitamin C, and encourages alkaline balance (keeping our body at a happy pH). Some produce that falls into this category are: apricots, carrots, lemons, mangoes, oranges, yellow peppers, summer squash, pumpkin, peaches, pineapples, and sweet corn.
Third color up is......GREEN produce!! I think we can all think of a few different types of green produce, but what about their benefits. So, eating green produce can reduce cancer risks, normalize digestion time (salad before the entree of a dinner), support retinal health and vision and boost your immune system activity. Some of the produce in this category include: limes, honey dew melon, artichokes, spinach, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, celery, avocados, and green onions.
Fourth color up is....... BLUE/PURPLE produce!! Now there are fewer of these types of foods but hold some of the best benefits of all of the colors. Some of their many benefits are: they fight inflammation, improve calcium and other mineral absorption, act as anticarcinogens in your digestive tract, limit the activity of cancer cells and boost your immune system. Some of the produce in this category include blackberries, blueberries, grapes, plums, purple cabbage, eggplant, purple Belgian endive, purple potatoes and black currants.
Last but certainly not least is....WHITE produce!! lol there aren't very many of these produce either but they too have wonderful benefits. Some of which include: Reduce the risk of colon, breast and prostate cancer, balance hormonal levels, activate natural killer B and T cells (fight off infections and bad things in your body) and reduce the risk of hormone-related cancers. Some of these food include bananas, brown pears, potatoes, cauliflower, garlic, mushrooms, parsnips, onions, white peaches and white nectarines.
All of this produce talk is making me soo hungry LOL seeing as how peach season is almost here. They get as big as soft balls where I live! lol I thank my mother for introducing me to a lot of great foods. She taught me their benefits as I ate them and now I am a healthy young woman. A variety of foods are so important not only for children but for adults as well, it is never too late to start eating healthy. Learn when these fruits and vegetables are in season and you will save a ton. If you want to eat seasonal foods year round, you can always preserve them or freeze them. If you don't have any at all, frozen produce is a great way to go also. If you can, buy from local farmers and help support your community too. You can buy produce from local farmers stands or fresh markets for real cheap also. Make it a fun day for you and your kids, have them pick out what they want to eat!! Enjoy!
All of this info is from http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/fruits-vegetables.shtml
Monday, May 2, 2011
Why Must You Do That???
I have to get this off my chest. There are a handful of people who love to either drown their food with various sauces or add a load of salt before even trying their food. So I am going to share with you my experiences and how I think this can be solved.
I find that there are certain people who like to smother their food in sauce and it really disgusts me. For example, I used to work at McDonald's and there would be guys who would ask for 8 sweet and sour sauces for their chicken nuggets. This was for a 10 piece meal. LOL So you are telling me you need almost 1 packet of sauce per nugget? LOL Are you even wanting to taste the chicken nugget? It kinda makes me want to ask, you want some food with that sauce?? Or, why so many sauces? We had to charge them for so many sauces and they would put up a fight over it. lol we were only allowed to give 2 sauce packets for a 10 pc. which I think is plenty but after that, you are making our business lose money. Those sauces add up, trust me. Another example would be people who drown a perfectly grilled and seasoned steak in A1 sauce. A1 sauce is so concentrated in flavor as it is, why would you ruin a steak with a pool of sauce? The cook took their time to ensure that your steak was cooked to your liking and seasoned it perfectly, why would you butcher that steak with a lake of sauce? I guarantee you if that cook saw you using so much sauce they would slap you with a frying pan, it's insulting really. Or better yet, cook a few steaks yourself, and watch one of your friends eat their steak with a bowl full of sauce. See how that makes you feel. After you took your precious time to cook that steak to perfection then have it ruined in a bath of sauce.
Next, I really hate it when people put a ton of salt on their food before even eating it. You know, I worked at a restaurant that didn't place salt and pepper shakers on the table because the cooks made sure every food item was seasoned perfectly. If someone really wanted salt they could have it, but it was pretty rare that they asked. The lack of them not having the shakers on the tables, it really says a lot. Most people don't even notice they are missing but not having to reach for them sure is nice.(It gives you that much more room on the table too.) I admit I used to do the same thing, and my mom would yell at me for it but I dare not do it now. I am actually adapting a taste for less salt in my food and it is doing my body good. I am more sensitive to salt in my foods and I am very careful about foods with a lot of salt. I buy low sodium food items or fresh food items over canned if I can help it. Often times when I eat out now, I feel like the foods are over seasoned, but that's just my tongue trying to adapt.
So next time you cook a meal, see what happens if no salt, pepper or sauce are placed on the table. Will those who would butcher their food actually get up from the table to go get their seasoning? If it's not too much trouble, ask people to give an honest opinion about their meal and see what they say. Take into consideration that if you know their eating habits, don't take offense if they say something was bland. Everyone knows when something is seasoned just right or over seasoned. Well, smokers and old people might not. Their taste buds aren't as sharp as the rest of us.
I find that there are certain people who like to smother their food in sauce and it really disgusts me. For example, I used to work at McDonald's and there would be guys who would ask for 8 sweet and sour sauces for their chicken nuggets. This was for a 10 piece meal. LOL So you are telling me you need almost 1 packet of sauce per nugget? LOL Are you even wanting to taste the chicken nugget? It kinda makes me want to ask, you want some food with that sauce?? Or, why so many sauces? We had to charge them for so many sauces and they would put up a fight over it. lol we were only allowed to give 2 sauce packets for a 10 pc. which I think is plenty but after that, you are making our business lose money. Those sauces add up, trust me. Another example would be people who drown a perfectly grilled and seasoned steak in A1 sauce. A1 sauce is so concentrated in flavor as it is, why would you ruin a steak with a pool of sauce? The cook took their time to ensure that your steak was cooked to your liking and seasoned it perfectly, why would you butcher that steak with a lake of sauce? I guarantee you if that cook saw you using so much sauce they would slap you with a frying pan, it's insulting really. Or better yet, cook a few steaks yourself, and watch one of your friends eat their steak with a bowl full of sauce. See how that makes you feel. After you took your precious time to cook that steak to perfection then have it ruined in a bath of sauce.
Next, I really hate it when people put a ton of salt on their food before even eating it. You know, I worked at a restaurant that didn't place salt and pepper shakers on the table because the cooks made sure every food item was seasoned perfectly. If someone really wanted salt they could have it, but it was pretty rare that they asked. The lack of them not having the shakers on the tables, it really says a lot. Most people don't even notice they are missing but not having to reach for them sure is nice.(It gives you that much more room on the table too.) I admit I used to do the same thing, and my mom would yell at me for it but I dare not do it now. I am actually adapting a taste for less salt in my food and it is doing my body good. I am more sensitive to salt in my foods and I am very careful about foods with a lot of salt. I buy low sodium food items or fresh food items over canned if I can help it. Often times when I eat out now, I feel like the foods are over seasoned, but that's just my tongue trying to adapt.
So next time you cook a meal, see what happens if no salt, pepper or sauce are placed on the table. Will those who would butcher their food actually get up from the table to go get their seasoning? If it's not too much trouble, ask people to give an honest opinion about their meal and see what they say. Take into consideration that if you know their eating habits, don't take offense if they say something was bland. Everyone knows when something is seasoned just right or over seasoned. Well, smokers and old people might not. Their taste buds aren't as sharp as the rest of us.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Whipped Cream Recipe A.K.A Creme Chantilly
Welcome to my second recipe installment!! I feel that this recipe is so useful in any kitchen and is incredibly easy to make. This is a recipe for sweetened whipped cream also known as “Crème Chantilly”. It’s best to use this whipped cream as soon as possible and doesn’t really keep well in the fridge, but nevertheless, it is fantastic tasting! You will need:
This recipe yields 2-2 & ½ pints of whipped cream
-Standing mixer with whisk attachment/hand mixer & bowl/or whisk & bowl
- 1 pint of Heavy Whipping Cream
- 3 oz. Powdered Sugar (This recipe helps if you have a scale. I have a digital one I bought online for around $25.00 on Amazon.)
- 2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract ( Home made if you have it)
Directions:
· When making whipped cream all elements must be chilled. So chill the bowl, whisk attachment/ hand mixer attachments etc. in your fridge for 20 minutes.
· Be sure your heavy cream is also chilled.
· Measure out the powdered sugar and sift to remove any lumps.
· Put together your mixer elements and pour the chilled whipping cream into the chilled bowl. Whisk until slightly thickened.
· Once the cream is slightly thickened, add in the sugar in small increments until it’s all incorporated.
· Continue to whip until cream looks fluffy and slightly glossy, but don’t over mix! You don’t want butter lol.
· Measure out your vanilla extract and add to the whipped cream. Be sure to add it when the mixer is off, you wouldn’t want to splash yourself HEHE! ****
· Do a taste test to see if the sweetness it to your liking.
· Use immediately! Great on top of cakes/pies, inside Charlottes, and simply splendid as a topper for hot chocolate.
· Powdered sugar is used here instead of granulated sugar because it’s not grainy. A bonus to using powdered sugar is that the cornstarch in powdered sugar helps stabilize the cream and keeps its volume longer.
****Cook’s note: It is best to measure out the vanilla extract at the last minute because vanilla extract is infamous for evaporating. (Refer to Vanilla Blog for more info) Home made extract has alcohol in it which will begin to evaporate at room temperature. Also, adding it in last minute won’t make it evaporate versus adding it in the beginning.
I hope you enjoy this simple and tasty recipe! Feel free to ask any questions! Rock on ya'll!
Cooking Methods
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people mixing up cooking terms. An example would be “This is a deep fried item” when it was really pan fried. So this blog will clear up any confusion so you the reader will know which terms to use at what time. Each cooking method is different and used for different foods and if used incorrectly, it can ruin a meal. So I will list a cooking method and explain it briefly:
- Broiling: This method uses a heat source that is above the food. In a restaurant you can find a piece of equipment called a “Salamander” that does just that. You can have a flame or an electric heating element and this is used to brown foods, great for melting cheese on soups.
- Grilling: This one is pretty obvious. A heat source is underneath the food and can be done by gas, charcoal, wood or briquettes (They are like charcoal but made from a special material, you can use these over and over again). The food that is cooked on a grill should have distinct cross hatch marks.
- Roasting/Baking: These two methods are the same! Baking is more often used when making sweets or sweet items and roasting is for more savory items. They are most often times interchangeable but I feel that baking is used for sweets and roasted for savory. Be careful when roasting because there is “Carry Over Cooking (see Chef’s note at the bottom)” that you need to account for in cooking time. Food can be cooked in an oven with heating elements or use hot air in a form of convection.
- Sauteing: This method is used for quick cooking items or slightly cooking an item, say to warm it through. A small amount of fat is used to protect the surface of the pan and then it is warmed to the desired temperature. The food is placed in the hot pan and cooked to desired doneness.
- Pan Frying: Very similar to sautéing but more fat is used and the cooking time is a bit longer. This technique is often used to brown items such as pork chops and latkes. Drain the excess fat from the food with a few paper towels.
- Deep Frying: This technique is done in a large amount of fat whether it’s peanut oil or lard (yummy) where a food is completely submerged in fat. This technique can be done in a standing deep fryer, built in deep fryer fry or as restaurants call them friolaters. Great for doing a turkey for thanksgiving!!
- Poaching: This can be a tricky cooking method because the cooking liquid is not boiling or simmering. It’s a very low bubble, the temperature is between 160-180 degrees F. This is can be done in a few different pans including a stock pot. A stock pot and is great for making poached chicken, fish and eggs. If you want a really luxurious meal, poach something in olive oil.
- Boiling: This cooking method involves submerging a food in a hot boiling liquid such as water or broth. I really hate boiling vegetables so I only blanch the veggies for a few minutes, shock them in ice cold water and then sauté them to retain their nutrients and color. This cooking method is essential for cooking pasta. If anyone says they can’t cook, just teach them how to boil water and you will see a little light bulb go off over their head lol.
- Steaming: This is a method where a boiling liquid is placed below some kind of perforated pan with a food inside. Great cooking method for vegetables, and who says the liquid had to be water? Stock is fantastic for steaming vegetables, gives them a deeper flavor.
- Simmering: Similar to boiling but at a slower rate. Bring the cooking liquid to a boil then reduce to a medium or medium high temperature to maintain it’s slower bubble. Great for less tender cuts of meat and this temperature is ideal for making soups.
- Braising: Braising is a cooking method that combines pan searing and cooking a food in a liquid. The food is cooked at a lower heat so the meat doesn’t become tough. The food item is covered with liquid 1/3 way up and often times the cooking liquid is served as a sauce.
- Stewing: This cooking method is used for tougher cuts of meat and also uses pan searing. After pan searing an item it is placed in a cooking liquid. The cooking liquid covers the food item completely and is cooked low and slow. Low temperature for a long time. This cooking method can done on the stove and then put in the oven or done just on the stove.
I hope this clears up any confusion people might have about different cooking methods. It would be very embarrassing for you to tell someone that a food was cooked one way when it was really done in another way. Feel free to ask me any questions!!
---Chef’s note: Carry over cooking occurs when a food item is pulled from the oven and it continues to cook from residual heat. This occurs most often in thick cuts of meat being roasted, so just when your roast reaches a certain minimal internal temperature, it might be too late for it. Pull the meat just before it reaches that core temperature and let it cook just a bit more on your counter, it will stay a lot juicier that way.
Monday, April 25, 2011
You Want Me To Eat WHAT??
Something that really ticks me off is when people say that they think something looks gross to eat, and they haven’t even tasted it!! That to me says that they are very ignorant and have no sense of adventure or willingness to try anything new. I just have to ask, well how is it that you came to like things you enjoy now? Oh yeah, you had to EAT THEM! I think the subject matter I would really like to present is, how Americans are afraid of their food when it comes to them in a more… whole state. That by which I mean, a fish with the head and tail still attached, or a whole roasted pig. All over the world, fresh seafood is coveted and the heads, tails, eyeballs are all attached. The cheek meat in fish is a delicacy and so are the eyes of the fish. Don’t diss something until you have tried it.
I noticed that here in America, is it very rare to find a restaurant that will serve a whole fish. People don’t want to know that a fish fillet came from an actual fish. They don’t want to look into the eyes of their dinner, which to me is just pathetic because wouldn’t you want to know that your fish wasn’t flash frozen, or precooked and reheated? It’s reality people, this shit is real. There are people out there who make a living butchering animals and they can tell you how they would prefer to eat their meats and fishes. Often times, when a restaurant receives a whole fish, or whole pig, the restaurant pays a lot less for those products because they aren’t cut or portioned out. The more broken down an animal is, the more is costs the restaurant to purchase, which in turn, makes the meal more expensive. If a restaurant butchers in house you will pay a little bit to cover the wages of the butcher, but you can rest assure, someone with great skill has cut your meat perfectly for you.
In Hawaii they roast pigs whole on a spit, or underground and proudly display it for large groups of people to eat. Everyone from tiny kids to the elderly would be in attendance and marvel at the wonderful roast pig! The keep the head and feet on and you wouldn’t believe the flavor those animals take on when you leave them whole! It’s insane what a lot of people are missing out on. I feel like a lot of seafood places here in the U.S are really skimping on their customers because they don’t serve them whole. The little pieces of meat that just don’t make it to the plate are being wasted and could fill up the customer that much more! I dare anyone who is afraid of food like that, to travel to another country and see how fast it takes you to get your ass whooped. People take pride in preparing their food all over the world and take great offense if you refuse food just because it has a head on it. Hell that wonderful place that you call France, serves fish whole. In any fine dining restaurant to a mom and pop place, they serve fish a certain way and I feel that it’s the best way to serve it. You can get your fish cooked, broken down into fillets and served tableside if you want…and let me tell you that it is worth giving it a try. If none of this changes your mind, watch Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern and see if my blog isn’t a little less scary to handle.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Learn How to Brine
Looking to jazz up your next chicken, beef or turkey dinner? This blog will explain a great technique that will do so, and it’s called “Brining”. Brining penetrates the meat and provides a great depth of flavor that an ordinary marinade or plain salt and pepper can’t match! It is so simple but requires some time so plan ahead when making a meal with brined meat. Let’s begin with what goes into a brine.
Brine: A solution of salt, water and seasonings used for flavor and preserve foods.
When making a brine you can make as much or as little as you choose, depending on the meat you are preparing. You want to make enough so that the meat can be submerged in the brine to obtain maximum flavor. If you are a little pressed for time, you can inject the meat with the brine in the meat. I found a recipe but I thought that I would make it more customized so people can add what they wanted. Here is a list of ingredients which go well in a brine:
-Salt, sugar, brown sugar, honey, black peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, onions, juniper berries, sage, rosemary, citrus peel, thyme, pickling spice and of course water. Use warm water and taste the brine before adding the meat to make sure it is to your liking.
There are so many more ingredients that can go into a brine but those are just to list a few. You can add as much or as little of any ingredient to make the flavor profile of your choice. If there is one thing I can advise is that you be careful not to add too much salt!! Lol you want a happy medium of salt, sugar and spices so your meat can be happy too! :D Use warm water when making the brine so the sugar and salt will melt and not settle to the bottom. Cool the brine before placing the meat in.
Depending on how much time you have to brine the meat you can brine for a few hours or overnight. Before cooking the meat, rinse it lightly under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Any excess salt needs to be removed. Proceed with the cooking method of your choice and enjoy a great brined meat. I find that brined meat comes out a lot juicier and more tender than regularly cooked meat. Also, if you have the tools to do so, brine your next Thanksgiving turkey and you will have your guests begging for your recipe. Enjoy! Please feel free to ask me any questions. Rock on ya’ll!! \m/
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Recipe For Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
This is a recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins! I though since spring was here, this would be a great way to start it out. This is even great to enjoy in the summer. The lemon flavor in the muffins are profound and refreshing and the mixture of flours makes them filling. Also, the amount of ingredients might seem like a lot but the taste it worth it. Enjoy!
Yield: 24 muffins (This recipe originally calls for 48 but I cut it in half. This recipe also requires the use of a scale. I have a digital scale which I use at home, they are pretty cheap online. )
Pastry Flour 1 lb.
Bread Flour 4 oz.
Baking Soda ½ tsp.
Baking Powder 1 ½ tsp.
Poppy Seeds 1 ½ oz.
Unsalted Butter (room temp.) 8 oz.
White Granulated Sugar 12 oz.
Honey/Glucose 2 oz.
Olive Oil 2 fl. oz. **
Eggs 6
Salt 1 tsp.
Vanilla Extract 1 ½ fl. oz.
Lemon Zest, Grated 0.25 oz..
Sour Cream 8 oz.
Powdered Sugar As needed
Directions:
1.) Preheat your oven to 425° F.
2.) Sift together the baking powder and baking soda, bread flour and pastry flour. Stir in the poppy seeds and set aside.
3.) Using a mixer, cream together the butter until lump free and fluffy. Add the sugar, honey/glucose, and olive oil and cream until light.
4.) Gradually add the eggs one by one incorporating into batter, followed by the salt, vanilla, lemon zest and sour cream. Then with a spatula, fold in the flour mixture.
5.) Portion out the muffins into 5 oz. each with a scoop and drop into a large greased muffin tin. (You will need muffin tins that are a bit larger and deeper than regular muffin tins.)
6.) Bake for 15-18 minutes, just until the center of the muffins bounce back when lightly pressed.
kj Optional: Dust the muffins with powdered sugar after they have cooled.
kj Optional: Dust the muffins with powdered sugar after they have cooled.
**** Cooks note: When measuring small fluid ounce measurements, know that 2 Tablespoons equals 1 fluid ounce. So for this recipe measure out 4 Tablespoons of olive oil or ¼ cup olive oil.
For Those Who Can't Cook...
I’m sorry but I had to do this! I have to get it out. There’s not a whole lot in the world that I really dislike, but one of them would have to be when I hear that people say they don’t know how to cook. Oh my GOD! I can’t tell you how frustrated that makes me!! It makes me want to go up to those individuals and slap them across the face. If you know how to boil water or how to make ramen noodles in the microwave, you know how to cook! Although microwaves are not prevalent in many commercial kitchens, a lot of people have them in their homes. Believe it or not, microwaving IS considered a way of cooking.
I saw a woman on the cooking network who said she had been married for 27 years, and never cooked a single meal for the entire time she has been married. WHAT KIND OF WIFE IS THAT? That is so selfish and lazy of her to put all of the cooking on her husband. Like she didn’t even cut vegetables for a salad but she would go grocery shopping for the ingredients. If you were single and didn’t cook for yourself, what’s the point of having a kitchen? “OH but I need the sink to wash stuff.” Wash what? You don’t cook!! You won’t need a counter either because all you do it sit on it. GRRRR!!!
I think that that is a huge turn off if someone never cooks or doesn’t know how to cook. How do those people expect to make a living at home or support themselves if they are single? Take out food gets expensive and microwave dinners are infamous for having tremendous amounts of salt. I think I have a solution for these people. Step into your kitchen and really get to know your appliances. Seriously try this some time and see if you won’t thank me later. Really look at your stove top, does it have gas burners or electric burners? Do you have numbers to measure heat on your stove or do you have words like warm, low, medium or high? All of these details are things you need to pay attention to when you go to cook.
If you are watching food network and a chef is making pan seared fish, you are going to want to put your heat on medium-medium high, or if you have numbers put it between 6-7. If you want to cook vegetables, you can’t go wrong with a simple sauté. Warm some olive oil in a pan and add in the veggies. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. You don’t want to render out all of the nutrients so simplicity with vegetables is a must. If any of this is sounding like too much to handle, grow some balls and go and get cooking lessons. A lot of times you can get a great deal on a cooking class. Like $99 specials on a 2-3 day cooking class and you are getting the basic stuff. While you are there, they can teach you what utensils are the best to use for certain cooking processes, what are the best ways to cook certain foods and how to get the most flavor out of your ingredients. Everyone has potential in the kitchen, it’s those who don’t treat it like a chore that have fun with it. You don’t need someone to hold your hand to cook, you just need a little self confidence and some basic know how!
Friday, April 22, 2011
There's Nothing Vanilla About Vanilla
Sometimes I feel like vanilla is a very underappreciated ingredient so this blog I feel will help give vanilla a little moral boost! Next to saffron, vanilla is one of the most expensive flavoring that you can purchase. Why you may ask? Well, the bees that once pollinated the vanilla flowers are now extinct and people now pollinate them by hand. I will give a brief explanation as to how they are harvested just to give you an idea as to why they are so expensive.
When it comes time to harvest the bean pods, they are pretty difficult to prepare. First you have to kill off the tissue inside the bean pod, this can be done by letting the pods dry out in the sun, freezing them, blanching them in hot water, or scratching the pods. Next the pods must go through a sweating process where they are placed under blankets and placed in the sun in a high humidity environment. This sweating process helps the bean pods become flexible and helps turn their pods that familiar brown color. This process also allows the vanilla flavor in the pod really begin to develop and concentrate. Next the pods are dried because they have to be shipped all over the world so any excess moisture has to come out. Next the beans are conditioned by being placed in boxes for a few months and this is where the bulk of their flavor develops. From there they are sorted by grade, things like bean length, aroma and color determine their grade.
When it comes to using vanilla you really want to use the real thing. When you buy real vanilla extract you will find 2-3 main ingredients: Vanilla, some kind of alcohol and maybe a preservative. Real vanilla is made by soaking vanilla beans in alcohol like vodka or bourbon. This process is called steeping and home made vanilla extract is fantastic for gift giving. You can read online how to make it and how much of each ingredient you need. Making your own vanilla extract is not only cheaper but it gives you a better sense of what exactly is going into your food. If there is one thing that I can give anyone who wants to use vanilla it’s this!! Measure and use vanilla as close to the time you need it in the recipe because it will evaporate. You don’t want to pre-measure vanilla to far ahead of when you really need it because it will evaporate just sitting out and can ruin a recipe. Another tip I can give is, when you use vanilla in a recipe get the most out of that bean pod. Steep the pod in milk if milk is being used, scrape the vanilla bean seeds out for the best flavor and use home made vanilla extract.
I hope this blog helps out anyone who is a little unfamiliar with this ingredient. It is very expensive to harvest but it totally worth the price. A lot of times you can buy the bean in bulk for a great price and they will keep for a long long time in your kitchen. Oh, did I forget to mention that the people pollinate these pods by HAND? That’s insane right? I hear that the men who harvest them, sleep in the trees with guns to prevent anyone from steeling them because they are so precious. Kinda makes you reevaluate that shriveled brown pod huh?
Intro to My Blog
Wow where do you start when talking about food? Haha. My blogs will go into detail but not bore you about what I think people should know about food. If you are serious about learning how to cook and gain awesome knowledge about food then stick around. I love to blog about foods that people either underestimate or don't bother to try and give those foods a little redemption. As soon as I get another digital camera I can provide pictures in my blogs to better help those understand what I am trying to portray.
My ultimate goal is to reach out to at least 1 person and show them that they shouldn't be afraid in their kitchen. I want them to feel comfortable with what they can create in the kitchen and know their limits. I also want to inform people about the wondrous things foods have to offer. In a lot of ways, giving food as a gift is such a huge gesture. It shows that person that you took time out of your day to make them something beautiful and will fill their tummy!! LOL
I feel like the kitchen is one of the most under appreciated room in the household. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people put their nasty butts on a counter when there should be a bowl of beautiful seasonal fruits and a glass of flowers on display. Also, people take no time what so ever to clean off their stove or inside of their microwave, gross!! Your kitchen can reflect how a person feels about cooking in an instant. (Mine is a little messy right now but that's only because I hate doing dishes HAHA) Cooking should never feel like a chore but a culinary adventure. To know that you can prep, bake and eat a cupcake within 2 hours is so exciting! Sure you can go buy them at a grocery store, but how many ingredients can you actually identify on the label? Food is your friend and you should treat it as such. There should be a connection with food and you that is unique to that of anything else. Once you understand a few basic principles about food, you will be a great cook in no time! I encourage any and all questions and criticism. Thank you and have a wonderful day!
My ultimate goal is to reach out to at least 1 person and show them that they shouldn't be afraid in their kitchen. I want them to feel comfortable with what they can create in the kitchen and know their limits. I also want to inform people about the wondrous things foods have to offer. In a lot of ways, giving food as a gift is such a huge gesture. It shows that person that you took time out of your day to make them something beautiful and will fill their tummy!! LOL
I feel like the kitchen is one of the most under appreciated room in the household. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people put their nasty butts on a counter when there should be a bowl of beautiful seasonal fruits and a glass of flowers on display. Also, people take no time what so ever to clean off their stove or inside of their microwave, gross!! Your kitchen can reflect how a person feels about cooking in an instant. (Mine is a little messy right now but that's only because I hate doing dishes HAHA) Cooking should never feel like a chore but a culinary adventure. To know that you can prep, bake and eat a cupcake within 2 hours is so exciting! Sure you can go buy them at a grocery store, but how many ingredients can you actually identify on the label? Food is your friend and you should treat it as such. There should be a connection with food and you that is unique to that of anything else. Once you understand a few basic principles about food, you will be a great cook in no time! I encourage any and all questions and criticism. Thank you and have a wonderful day!
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