Food and Drink Advice and Tips

June 30, 2009

Marbleized Tea Eggs

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I had many years of restaurant work experience by the time I go to college. As an older kid in the family, I waited on tables and served tea and coffee to customers. I noticed many customers don’t sample the food before adding salt and pepper. I wondered why customers add salt and pepper to their tea and drink it like soup. Now I know it’s a great idea to cook with tea.

Here is a very popular Chinese appetizer that is easy to make. It’s a good snack any time of the day. Put 6 eggs in water and bring it to boiled. After boiled, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. In a teapot or pan, prepare tea with 4 servings of black tea and 3 cups of hot water. Prepare your tea as usual and discard the tea leaves. Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce to the tea, even salt and pepper if you’d like. After the eggs are cooked and cool enough to handle, roll it on the counter to crack the egg shell. Do not peel the egg shells yet. Simmer the eggs for 10 minutes. Let it cool and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. The eggs can be serve now, hot or cold.

To spice up the egg yolks, use a Deviled Egg recipe or try this recipe below using crab meat.This is another way to add flavors to the egg yolks. Cut eggs in halves and separate the egg yolks. In an empty bowl, add the egg yolks, 6 ounces of crab meat and 6 tablespoons of mayonnaise. Add diced pickled ginger, half teaspoon of rice wine vinegar, salt and pepper to flavor it. Top each egg halves with a teaspoon of this crab meat mixer. Garnish with cilantro.

This might be a good addition to the coloring of eggs for Easter. As a matter of fact, my daughter decided to use the same technique to color Easter Eggs. By using food die, we made many marbleized eggs during Easter.

Darjeeling Black tea and Earl Grey de la Crème are now available from our website at www.morninggloryteahouse.com.

 

The Buzz on Low Fat Diets

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Low fat diets have been promoted by the government and marketers of “low-fat” food products for decades, but are they really healthy? The food pyramid, as promoted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows fats at the peak and notates “Fats, oils and sweets, USE SPARINGLY”.

Much confusion surrounds this issue. For one thing, there is no specific definition of a “low fat diet”. Plans with a dietary content lower than ten percent and up to 30 percent have been touted as low fat. This makes answering the “are they healthy” question impossible.

On a nutrient level, a gram of fat contains approximately twice as many calories as the same measure of carbohydrates or protein. Its calorie-dense nature is likely the cause of our attraction to fatty foods, existing as a holdout from our feast or famine days.

In our current society where “feast” is far more common that famine, those extra calories could prove to be detrimental; however, the important thing to remember is that fat is a vital nutrient and the body cannot function without it. It has also been found that the human body does not burn stored fat when no new fat is available.

Fat has been vilified as being a major cause for heart attacks, high cholesterol, and other less directly linked conditions, but medical studies have disproven each claim. There are a few medical conditions, such as pancreatitis that require a severe limitation of intake of dietary fats. For the most part, though, fat consumption should not be severely limited.

Many products marketed as being low fat are actually high in sugar, which has been proven to be the source of many negative effects, including weight gain. Eating good quality fats such as those found in olive oil, coconut oil, and fresh avocado is an essential part of a healthy diet.

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What are Raw Food Recipes?

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Raw food recipes produce foods that are completely uncooked or cooked at a very low temperature, always below 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The majority of raw foodists follow a vegan diet, one that includes no animal-derived products; however, there are raw foodists who include raw meat in their diets and of course all kinds of variations in between the two extremes.

The reason for the raw diet is that the heat involved in cooking destroys enzymes, amino acids, and some vitamins, in addition to other possible bad effects.

Staples of the raw food diet include fruits, vegetables, nuts and to a lesser degree, beans and grains. Grains and beans are not eaten as whole dried beans or grains, but as sprouted seeds. Nuts are soaked and fruits may be dried. Many fruits, which are consumed regularly in their fresh raw form, can also be dried and incorporated in to recipes to increase sweetness and provide concentrated flavor.

In order to prepare raw food recipes one of the primary tools you will need is a good juicer. The preferred juicers are expensive, but they are robust and efficient. Juicing with these machines provides a drinkable meal that keeps the entire food rather than filtering out all the fiber and some other nutrients that will be lost by the more inexpensive juicers available. A blender and maybe a food dehydrator will also prove to be useful kitchen appliances.

Almost any collection of raw recipes will contain salads and green smoothies, but they usually also contain desserts. The least expected and most intriguing of the sweet treats is the chocolate cake that keeps popping up. Often it has carob listed as an alternative, or chocolate may be an alternate in what is billed as a carob specialty.

In either case, the item in question is a sweet and rich indulgence. Despite being made of “health food” ingredients, raw cake is still cake and must be respected as such. Even when made from raw food recipes, very rich, sweet foods should be consumed in moderation.

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How Can I Recognize Healthy Diet Recipes?

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A healthy diet c

onsists of natural unprocessed foods with as few additives as possible. Healthy diet recipes will have ingredients that fall under the same category, and will contain (at most) moderate amounts of sodium, fat and sugar.

Keep portions in mind when evaluating recipes. As an example, while hummus has a high fat content, it is made with extra virgin olive oil which is a very beneficial fat, and when served with whole grain bread and lots of fresh veggies, it makes a healthy and satisfying meal that is not high in fat overall.

Another thing to consider is that you can make modifications to favorite recipes to make them healthier. Many sweets contain twice as much sugar and fat as necessary. Try cutting back and note the results on the recipe. Next time you make it you may be able to cut back even further and still have a delicious comfort food.

If you’ve paid attention to sodium in recipes, you’ve probably noticed that contemporary recipes have much less salt than their older counterparts. In fact, salt is often noted as optional.

If you are eating processed foods, there is a good chance you are getting too much sodium, so cutting it out of foods you prepare yourself is an easy way to cut back (and of course don’t keep the salt shaker on the table to avoid adding more later). Substituting fresh vegetables for canned in recipes is an excellent way to increase nutritional value while eliminating salt and other preservatives.

The main factors to consider in evaluating healthy diet recipes are the same as for selecting foods. Look for ingredients that are nutritious and keep in mind that you can replace undesirable ingredients with better ones, so that no favorites have to be completely eliminated from your long term diet.

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How to Convert Family Favorites into Healthy Food Recipes

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Favorite family recipes, particularly those that have been handed down the generations, tend to be high in fat, salt and/or sugar but can be modified to become much more like healthy food recipes.

The amount of sugar and salt in older recipes tends to be well in excess of the amount that is required to achieve a satisfactory taste. While it can be risky to mess with the family’s favorites, if the amount of either one is well above what similar current recipes call for, you can probably get away with cutting down the amount by about one fourth.

If all goes well, the next time you may be able to cut it further. Sugar serves as a tenderizing ingredient in cakes, so reduction is complicated, but for sauces, puddings, and even cookies, it is fairly simple.

Applesauce and pureed prunes can be used to replace all or part of the fat in baked goods such as cakes or sweet breads. Use a 1:1 replacement ratio. This substitution may not work for cookies because the fat is such a part of the texture.

The texture may change somewhat, in cakes so be sure to do a test run before doing any substitutions in wedding cakes, or other dishes where the results are critical, but for family meals at home, a less than perfect cake is still a cake and will be enjoyed even more by those who are calorie/fat conscious.

Removing skin from chicken and fatty portions from beef and pork is an easy way to cut the overall fat content from each serving. In many cases, a traditionally fried dish can be baked with the same seasonings, and will be very well received, again while greatly reducing the fat to make healthy food recipes.

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Why Culinary Arts Colleges?

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Do you want to learn how to skillfully prepare meals that are not only pleasing to the taste but have a pleasing presentation as well? Culinary Arts Colleges were created just for that purpose.  The word “culinary” has to do with cooking or kitchens.  A cook or chef is often referred to as a culinarian.  At a Culinary Art College you can become a “culinarian” and learn about the diverse types of cooking from all over the world.

There are a wide variety of opportunities available in the food and beverage profession.  Whether you have thought of becoming a restaurant owner or manager, a head chef or line cook, by joining a Culinary arts college and institution you can become a “culinarian” and learn about the diverse types of cooking from all over the world. This type of college will teach you the right skills needed to suceed in a culinary career.  Having these skills would provide you with the opportunity of working in the industry of restaurants, cruise ships, hospitality, recreation, fast food franchises, retirement or nursing home kitchens.

This could be the chance to become an executive chef, personal chef, sous chef, chef de partie and more. The cooking industry is so hot right now that some chefs have achieved fame and fortune at the same level as rock stars. You could become the next Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse or Rachael Ray.

At a Culinary Arts College you could earn a associate degree or bachelor degree in your area of expertise as a manager, restaurant owner or sous chef.  You will discover how to reason like an experienced and seasoned chef.  You will be trained in trendy, popular and classic cooking while working with and learning about the basic tools of the trade in a modern kitchen.

With the increase in population and two income families more people are eating out.  Thousands of new restaurants, catering companies and hotels open every year.  These businesses have become one of the largest employers in the United States.  They have experienced continued growth for over twenty years.

You may not be interested in a getting a degree in the culinary arts.  You may just be a food lover that wants to gain more skills or knowledge in cooking great meals. Some culinary arts programs offer vacation cooking schools, cooking conferences or workshops and even cooking classes designed just for kids.

Whatever your reason, look online for a Culinary Arts College near you or even in a far away foreign country. Read the testimonials from former students.  You may also be able to get recommendations from a local popular chef that is well known for his culinary skills. Find out where he or she studied.

Bunn Coffee Makers – 7 Reasons to Get One

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Bunn continues to be a coffee brewing giant and leader. You can find Bunn makers in homes, restaurants, convenience stores, hotels, cruise ships and many other places. Bunn is a leading manufacturer of coffee brewers with customers in over ninety countries around the globe.

Bunn fills the needs of all users, including those for home, industry and commercial needs. Their exceptional quality and sturdy design makes them a favorite for both small and large businesses and makes them one of the best coffee makers for home.

Bunn first began in the 50’s with the Bunn-O-Matic Corporation. It was Bunn who is credited with developin paper coffee filters and designed the new automatic drip.

Fairly quickly, the old fashioned percolator coffee brewer made way for the new automatic drip coffee maker that’s still in wide use today. Bunn in known for their great coffee makers, and their reputation is well regarded throughout the globe for their premium brewing and beverage equipment and customer service.

These days, Bunn designers continue to churn out new coffee makers that can create not only great coffee but also espresso and juice beverages. A Bunn coffee maker maintains a water reservoir that keeps water at an optimum brewing temperature of around 200 degrees for industrial brewers, and the home version will only heat water until it reaches the coffee basket, since that is safer.

7 Benefits of Bunn Coffee Makers

1. The Bunn brews a perfect full pot in about three minutes, while others can takes twice as long.

2. And with most coffee makers, but not a Bunn, water drips through the coffee in the basket unevenly, while the Bunn’s spray head design allows for even grinds saturation and creates an even tasting brew.

Even if you don’t know anything about different coffee makers, a coffee drinker will be able to taste the difference between coffee brewed in a cheap coffee maker and a cup made with Bunn coffee makers.

3. The Bunn home version has a stylish design in black or white and holds about ten cups. With Bunn you can brew a full pot in about three minutes.

4. Bunn coffee is good for many reasons one of which is that the internal temperature of the water in ther reservoir is kept at ideal temps.

5. A convenient sensor switch will turn the heat off in the reservoir while a warming plate keeps coffee warm without scalding.

6. They come in a lots of models, including, industrial size, home, espresso and large cup brewers.

7. Bunn has a model and style for everyone and they are moderately priced.

Bunn continues to be a consumer favorite offering great brewers at great prices.

How to Find Cheap Menu Covers.

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When you need to have a cover for your menu designed, you don’t want to spend a fortune to accomplish this. That is why it is always a good idea to shop around and find cheap menu covers. Now, just because it is cheap, doesn’t mean that it won’t be professional. If you take your time, you can find a good price for a great design. This article is going to tell you how to find the best deal possible for your cover.

The internet is the best place to look for finding a good deal on a cover your menu that is cheap enough that you can afford, but not so cheap that it will look unprofessional. You want to start searching online with any major search engine. This will provide you with a lot of results that you can start searching through.

Now, don’t just choose the first one that you find. Instead, you want to compare all the different sites. Look for the price that they charge for designing covers for menus and look at their designs. If you don’t like the designs they do or their price, then you can move on to another site.

It is always a smart idea to not only research the different sites that you find who will design cheap menu covers for you, but you should also contact them with any questions you have. These are the most important things to know and keep in mind when you are searching for someone that can provide you with the best design for your cover of your menu at the best possible price.

Summary: When you are looking for a good deal on the design for the cover of your menu covers, there is a good way to find that good deal. You want to use the internet to help you find and compare the different designers to help you find cheap menu covers that still looks professional. Learn more about this now.

Using The Right Homebrew Ingredients Simplifies The Brewing Process

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homebrew ingredients

There are many rewards in making your own beer at home, both in terms of fun as well as finances. Brewing your own beer is cheaper then buying it and you could even sell your beer and earn some decent money, but first you can enjoy the learning process to make beers to perfection. And because there are many different types of beer with different homebrew ingredients you can do a lot of testing and tasting with your friends and family.

With the right homebrew ingredients the process is quite simple and because the complete methodology can be found, described step by step, at online websites and in offline books and manuals it has been made possible for everyone to start out with this great activity.

What Homebrew Ingredients Do You Need.

Before you start thinking about launching your own brewing business, you need to know and gather all homebrew ingredients needed. And you can do that in more then one way but lets first look at what you need.

Malt barley is one of the the main homebrew ingredients that goes into making beer, it is the same as the grapes you use when you make wine. You can’t make beer without it. 

Brewing sugar and Yeast are two other main homebrew ingredients that you can’t do without to have it ferment. The yeast uses the brewing sugar and converts it into two chemicals, carbon dioxide and of course alcohol. There are different types of brewing yeast and the one you should use depends on your recipe.

Hops are the homebrew ingredient that makes the taste of the beer a slightly bitter as beer should be and why we all love it so much. Hops are a specific vine’s flower and they are absolutely needed to brew a fine beer.

The last but certainly not least important item of the homebrew ingredients is water. Most people forget that water is in fact the main ingredient of beer and it has a great influence on the end result of the taste of your home brew. If you have bad tasting water it could completely destroy the taste of the batch.

There are two ways you can go with these main homebrew ingredients. You can buy them all separate from each other and find a recipe that you can use for the right amounts. Or you can buy a home beer kit or package. In these beer kits all of the above homebrew ingredients are included and you can buy them for different types of beer like for example lager, ale, stout or drought beer. For beginning brewers we would recommend that you buy beer kits, because they come with excellent manuals and you can be sure that your first batch will be a tasty one brewed with the least effort and cost.

The author of this article, Peter Waterman, writes on his website www.HomeBeerMakers.com about his greatest hobby, making his own beer. Read his articles about beer kits and home brewing tips.

Chicago Style Hot Dogs And Pizza

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Any attempt to really come to appreciate the amazing sightseeing that is possible in America would have to include stops in some of the country’s truly great cities.  For some reason when we think of outstanding cities of America, we tend to drift to the coasts.  And to be sure from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle to the west to New York, Boston and Washington to the east, there are some amazing American cities on those two coasts.

But to neglect the Midwest entirely and not include some of the great cities in the center of the country would leave out some of the most amazing experiences you might have on your sightseeing tour.  In fact, of all the Midwest cities,  The Windy City Chicago Illinois can give any city on the coasts a run for their money.

But Windy City is very much its own kind of place, unlike even the urban cities of the east coast.  Windy City has its own lore, perpetuated by movies and television just as much as LA or New York.  But the thing to remember about that kind of lore is that the movies didn’t invent that kind of excitement.  It was already very much a part of  the Windy City and film makers just like making that part of their movies.

When we think about The Windy City, it is easy to think of the great food there.  The famous “Chicago Style Hot Dog” or “Chicago Pizza” has become such a renowned taste treat that it is imitated often, but never repeated. That is because a big part of the great tastes of The Windy City comes from actually BEING in Chicago when you eat these delicious meals.  So if you include Chicago in your sightseeing plans, you may want to put the diet on hold for a few days so you don’t miss some tastes that can only be had there.

But there is so much more to see and enjoy in a big international city like Chicago.  Of course if you are a baseball fan, to catch a Cubs game in season is an experience of a lifetime.  In addition to that experience,the  Windy City has many world class things to see and do not the least of which is an art museum that can stand its own next to the great museums of New York or Washington.

The Brookfield Zoo is home to more than 2,000 animals,and Brookfield zoo admission prices are some of the lowest in the nation, from aardvarks to zebras and everything in between. Kids and their families can explore nature, interact with small animals-even dress up like them-in the Hamill Family Play Zoo, and then venture on to see giant creatures like giraffes, brown bears, elephants, and the majestic African lion.

But if you put in a full day of sightseeing all around the Windy City, you might need to rest up because the Chicago  night life is not to be missed.  The music of this great city is world renowned.  The famous movie “The Blues Brothers” is based on the wonderful diversity of Jazz music that grew up in the Windy City music scene.  In fact, in the world of Jazz aficionados, Chicago is put right up there with New Orleans as among the great spawning grounds of the uniquely American music of Jazz.

The Windy City is very much a melting pot of great American culture.  From the architecture to the food to the museums to the jazz and comedy, there are few cities in the country, even in the world that can give you as great a sightseeing experience as the great city of Chicago, Illinois.

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