BBQ Tips Year Round

It used to be that barbecuing was a summer time picnic like summer time only event – meant for long weekend family or extended family with friends’ meal feast celebration events. It was wood charcoal briquettes or nothing. Now barbecues are a year round event – be it with propane, electric or even home permanently installed Jenn-air like interior home or restaurant built in barbecues. Barbecues have become year round and lots of fun.

What considerations are best when it comes to cooking on the barbecue? Overall it can be said that by far the most important thins is always remember as a solid rule that when it comes to barbecuing and barbecue practice is that heat is where its at – when it comes to cooking meat – not to “charcoal grill” with flame, flames and flaming.

As a standard rule consider that when coking over that heat must be “controlled’ so that the meal is evenly cooked, not charred on the outside and raw inside. Otherwise you might have a serving to your hungry group a rather disappointing “hibachi cookie “or “hibachi cookies”.

What are some other tips that professional chefs consider when it comes to tips for a most successful barbecue event as well as professional standard, rather than amateur barbecue results? First of all after a new barbecue appliance is purchased or a replacement oven installed and set up, take the time and effort as a pro would – of reading the manufacturers instructions with care, before using.

There may be certain tips which may be more than helpful – with your finished product and meals. Secondly many people line the “firebox” with doubled aluminum or “tin-foil”, which will reflect heat to the food and therefore in an overall sense simply reduces and quickens cooking time and times. In addition the tinfoil will also keep your new cooking equipment and utensil clean and easier to clean up after the barbecue is over.

Bon appetite.

mcdonalds Food – The Truth

What are the benefits of wet food for dogs and cats?

I have always fed my animals only dry cat / dog food in a regular basis. Occasionally, I give a gift of wet food or soft food. I just bought some hard and soft dog food mixed and my dog loves it. I guess I'm not sure why people feed her wet food-producing animals as well as hard, or just wet food. I heard that the food wet is bad for teeth. What is your thought?

OH NO! Just kidding, well a little, but still do not! I've been trying to get my two out of the food moist for several weeks. I have a pomerpoo who loves him, and he knows by name (only expecsive things too) and not at least touch dry you hand feed him. Yes, darlings, but it's mine. My other is a puppy, and almost got hooked on the humidity, but I think I must stop now. My vet said it was bad for the teeth, causes plaque build up and starts to decline more rapidly, so it makes sense to me since I work in dental surgery. So I've been taking only dry, and the addition of hot water (a little less water every day) to moisten and they have started to eat only that. Yet I have some backups wet for special occasions. They love the Beneful food in tub! It looks better than my stew! Sometimes we forget who is the master (I know, but mine are) and that is the mascot, and we just have to decide what is best for them. They are like small children or babies. They know noth ing best. Put your foot and say NO. They eat when hungry. I know it would hurt mine skip a meal or two, they both have enough to last a while outside. Another thing that wet food is to blame for the excess weight! My vet really gave me a lecture last visit. One thing I notice, as they have been in the dry gas, no. That in itself is reason enough to stop the wet! Good luck and I hope some help. PS. Please do not give your pets eat chicken bones or bones that splinter. The mine had to have extensive surgery to remove a blockage of your bowel which nearly killed him. Cause it was chicken bones. It could have been avoided.

Herbal Tea and Herbal Tea Recipes

There are many things you can do with herbal teas. And many ways to cook with herbal teas.

But today we will talk about the ways that you can make a good cup of tea. Their are a lot of herbs for tea. You have Green, Black, and so on. Now a grate way to enjoy tea made from herbs is to grow your own herbs in your herbal garden. Now before you start your garden, you will need to do a little research on the herbs that you will want to grow.

The good thing with growing your own herbs is there are many that will help with your health.

There are teas that will help with fever, stress, blood pressure and even diabetes.

Now you can enjoy the tea that you have grown in your garden. You can even enjoy your herbs in winter.

A good benefit with tea is, you can enjoy in your daily diet.

This will help with your energy, health benefits.

You do know there are many types of teas, Ginseng green, jasmines, Peppermint. My sister enjoys tea; she likes that with herbal tea. You do not have the caffeine, which is not good for you coffee drinkers!

I like cold tea; I take fresh herbs with a pitcher of water, and about two cups of fresh herbs. Then in about a day your fresh herbs that you have grown in your new garden. Have the time to soak in the water. Now just sit back in the shade and enjoy a cold brew of your fresh tea.

mcdonalds Food – The Truth

What should I do about the cat food that my cats eat like candy then get Pukey?

I know it is the best food for them, but they get so damn happy to have him. Just buy a bag once every six or so and the food they buy most often is a formula for indoor cats (both are). With regular food that occasionally have a hairball, but with their favorite food I think overeating. I do not know if I should stop buying food to treat or not. Do not throw up every day, maybe once every three days. It's not like I'm starving so do not panic. I do not know if is bad for them to snarf down a food aggressively.

The best food for them is the first one or two ingredients such as meat or poultry. I have 4 cats and all are in and the formula seems to have the interior flesh. Anyway, I would not mix their favorite with the other. My cats do the same and when mix they need to reduce speed to dig.

How To Create A Restaurant Atmosphere

The development of the productive design begins having a firm concept for the restaurant. You have to have an image before you can decide how to convey and promote that image. This applies whether you are opening a brand-new eatery or repositioning an existing idea to build business. Today’s dining designs focus on producing a space comfortable and inviting, having a consistent theme. Even one of the most upscale restaurant could be designed for comfort, to welcome rather than intimidate clients. Efficiency, value, and convenience are the hallmarks of modern restaurants, and all of these could be reflected in their style.

A lot more kitchen activity is “out front”-with display kitchens, wood-burning ovens, saut stations that showcase the chef and staff members for diners to watch. Restaurants with celebrity chefs have learned to show them off. Fresh ingredients are displayed, and sensory details aren’t overlooked. The message? “Our foods is fresh and we care about this!” It is no surprise that a display kitchen generates higher dollar volume than does a conventional kitchen area hidden behind swinging doors. The guest encounter is enhanced, the food quality improves, and profitability increases. 1 good rule for developing atmosphere is to supply a change of pace. When we go to the movies, for instance, we nearly shift gears as we enter the lobby, then the theater, selecting a seat and preparing to watch the show.

You ought to already have researched the needs and interests of potential customers in your website evaluation. Now ask yourself: What would be a welcome alter of pace for them? Some examples: Lunch in a bright, casual caf offers a respite from the everyday office cubicle. Outdoor dining on an umbrella-covered patio beats the heck out of a windowless skyscraper. And a glowing fireplace inside a corner from the room is incredibly inviting when the weather is cold. Can you think of others? Knowing a bit about environmental psychology will help. This is the study from the deep, even primal reasons that individuals feel particular ways about seating, lighting, music, and other style elements. Two basic human needs are the root of guests’ behavior: security and stimulation. Humans like to have their own special space, sufficient for comfort and ease and protected from intrusion.

They also like their environment to become fascinating and engaging, within limits. Thinking about your own dining experiences can help you grasp this idea a lot more fully. Do you notice that when given the choice, most people would rather sit at a booth on the perimeter of the dining region than out within the middle of the room at a table? If there’s as well much empty space around us, we feel exposed, and that makes us uncomfortable. If the dining area is as well stimulating-too busy, as well loud-we are likely to turn and leave; and if it’s exactly the opposite, we’ve got the place to ourselves, we also are uncomfortable.

Humans are social creatures who appreciate the fact that they have chosen a popular place. The crucial to great dining-space design is to find the right balance between comfort and ease, security, and the guests’ tolerance for stimulation, and also the target market is key. Younger customers will appreciate vivid contrasts in light and color, and they won’t mind it should you crank up the music, while the over-50 crowd usually feels out of place inside a poorly lit or noisy atmosphere. Will yours be a gathering place for singles or the ultimate power lunch spot for the company crowd? A haven for families? An escape for empty nesters? Examples of market driven design particulars: The option of large, round tables often leaves room for a latecomer to join his or her dining party.

A wide aisle, stretching from the entryway to the bar, spotlights individuals as they enter and creates an impression of bustling movement. Elevating the bar or raising the tables at the perimeter of the room provides guests having a much better view of other tables and activity. You can find two distinct paths to successful dining design. 1 is to create the latest hot spot, by making a trendy statement that becomes a must-visit for sophisticated clientele. Nothing is unimaginable if the budget will permit it! The second path would be to create a dining encounter that’s unique but still has some staying power. Style in this case will include simple, classic particulars which will nevertheless look good in five years. Regardless from the path, simplicity seems to be the new watchword in restaurant style. Rather than cluttering walls and shelves with memorabilia, today’s destination restaurants are more like public buildings, clean and unobtrusive. Furnishings ar e attractive, comfortable, and functional.

Use of light, fascinating fabrics, and stylish shapes have replaced the clutter, putting the emphasis about the foods rather than the dcor. The menu is perhaps one of the most essential starting point for use by the designer. The type(s) of food will influence the kitchen design, and it’s imperative that the kitchen area and dining areas work well in tandem. How? The number of seats, regardless of whether there’s a bar or not, the sizes and numbers of wait stations all figure prominently in creating that seamless relationship that allows the kitchen area to turn out the best item in sufficient quantities to satisfy the customers.

Let Slow Cooking Crock Pots Do the Work For You

To bring out the best flavors of your dishes, slow cooking is recommended. And one way to effectively do this is by using the kitchen appliance crock pots. A lot of dishes of dishes are using these pots to provide that extra attention and effort in cooking them slowly and lengthy. Popular dishes that are can be perfect through slow cookers are vegetables, meats, soups and desserts.

This style of cooking has been around for years now. And it seems that every home just cannot simply live without it. It has become a necessity for every homemaker to have these at home. These pots come in different shapes, styles and sizes. The best selling are the mini crock pots. These may be smaller than the usual pots but can be equally efficient when it comes to slow cooking.

These mini crock pots are designed for smaller portion of meals. It is best for cooking soups, dips and single-sized dishes and meals. Mini crock pots also come in manual and automatic types of cooking. These automatic types of crock pots act like an oven or an electric broiler where a timer can be set. These may also come in different shapes and colors. Most of the time, they come in round or oval shapes. These also have glass knobbed lids so that you may be able to see your dishes while being cooked.

All of the slow cookers including the mini have a bowl inside which removable. This is designed for easier cleaning. After cooking, you may just easily remove the bowl and wash it with soap and water. This is to provide ease especially if the food sticks to the bowl or was unattended for a long period of time.

As been said, these come in different sizes. So it is up to you to choose which size will fit your cooking and your family. If you have a large family or you just simply eat large amounts of food, you may take the regular or large sized. But if you live alone or just few in the family, the mini crock pot is perfect for you. It may save you space for keeping and save time in cooking.

Once you have chosen the appropriate style for you, cooking experience will never be the same again. Everything may be cooked with just the right amount of time and pressure and your dishes will never have to be rushed when cooking. All the flavors and taste will come out in your dishes. There are also other recipes that you may find that are perfect for slow cookers have chosen, the important part is it provides benefits of a quick, easy dinner preparation and cooking convenience. So, once you get to a kitchen section of a certain store, find the crock pots and see which one will fit your personality and family size. This is truly one of the best kitchen appliances that you should keep using to help make your life simpler.

Trivia and Fun Facts About Coffee

For a bit of fun and light reading, I’ve put together a little list of coffee related facts for you…

A Cup Of Coffee A Day…: Coffee has a ton of health benefits. It has antioxidants, can help improve cognitive function, has been said to lower the risk of prostate cancer, and a offers a host of other benefits too. You might as well add it to that apple a day.

In Demand: It rotates between the first and second most traded commodity in the world, seconded only by oil. It’s not hard to imagine either. Imagine all of the hundreds of millions coffee drinkers in the world from the US, South America, Asia, and who could forget Europe.

Coffee Makers: Coffee makers have been around for about 200 years. They were pretty different back then though! We’re spoilt for choice these days with the hundreds of varieties of them available.

Decaffeinated – Really?: All coffee has caffeine in it, even decaf coffee. The truth is that it’s impossible for producers to totally take out all traces of caffeine. Decaf coffee definitely contains less caffeine than regular coffee though – approximately 70-90% less.

Expensive Coffee Isn’t the Best: More and more taste tests are proving that expensive brands aren’t always the best. In fact, in a recent taste test by a national US publication, the most popular brand in the world (you can guess which one) was beaten by a much less “chic” brand in a blind taste test.

Coffee Belt: Coffee is grown in lots of different countries, and across a few continents. What each of these places has in common though is that they are nearly all located between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

What's For Dinner? 30 Minute Menus For 2010 - 13th Edition

This is the 13th edition of the weekly 30-minute menus for 2010. These are published on a weekly basis; I like to develop the weekly menus on Thursday or Friday, grocery shop on Saturday, and start the week’s menus on Sunday.

Are you getting ready for Easter? I am almost there and this week’s menus will help me because they are easy on the budget and prep time. I have even included ‘cook once – eat three times’ menus with the Chicken with Herbed Wine Sauce followed by Warm Citrus Salad and Chicken Pot Pie; since all entrees are so different, no one will complain about ‘left overs’!

My family will begin arriving on Friday for the special weekend. I will be serving the Grilled Shrimp with Greek Veggie Salsa to honor Good Friday and it is so easy and quick to prepare. On Saturday, our dinner will be the Spaghetti Bolognese menu; I love serving this for big family meals because it can be cooked ahead and left to simmer (and let the flavors develop) so it will be ready when folks are ready to eat. To stay with the Italian theme for Saturday, I will serve a ‘Meatball Magic’ appetizer course consisting of: Swiss wedge or gouda ball; meatballs with mango chutney; endive, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, and mixed bell peppers with basil pesto and sun dried tomato pesto; sea salt pita chips, spring onion water crackers; and Valdosta spiced pecans.

You will find that I use several cooking methods, mix and match, to get dinner on the table quickly! (The ingredients in parenthesis show some of my quick-prep steps.) You can always substitute your favorite made-from-scratch recipes when you have more time.

I hope you have a great week!

Sunday: Palm Sunday
Turkey Breast with Herbed Wine Sauce (crock pot; save some turkey for Tuesday and Thursday)
Mashed Potatoes (frozen mashed potato steamers)
Green Beans with Mushrooms
Pecan Pie (purchased pecan pie, canned whipped cream; save some pie for Tuesday)

Monday:
Double Bean Tortilla Stacks (vegetarian; purchased tortillas, jarred salsa, canned black beans and kidney beans, shredded cheese)
Condiments and Veggies (jarred condiments, bagged shredded lettuce)
Spanish Rice (canned diced tomatoes)
Chocolate Pear Tart (chocolate cookie pie crust, canned pears, jarred marmalade, bottled fudge topping)

Tuesday:
Warm Chicken Citrus Salad (chicken from Sunday; bagged salad greens, jarred citrus)
Triple Corn Chowder (canned corn, purchased corn chips)
Pecan Pie (pecan pie from Sunday)

Wednesday:
Grilled Pork Chops
Hobo Potato Packets (canned potatoes and Mexi-corn)
Grilled Pineapple Salad (canned pineapple slices)
Banana Cream Pie (vanilla wafers, instant banana pudding mix, frozen whipped topping)

Thursday:
Chicken Pot Pie (Chicken from Sunday; biscuit mix, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, frozen vegetable mix)
Sliced Tomatoes with Blue Cheese (crumbled blue cheese, bottled vinaigrette)
Blueberry Stacks (refrigerated crescent rolls, jarred blueberry jam)

Friday: Good Friday
Grilled Shrimp with Greek Veggie Salsa (cleaned and deveined shrimp, canned tomatoes)
New Potatoes
Corn on the Cob
Ice Cream with Apple Crunch Topper (purchased ice cream)

Saturday:
Spaghetti Bolognese (boxed pasta, jarred Bolognese sauce)
Italian Vegetables (frozen veggie mix)
Jam Thumbprint Cookies (jarred jam)

I sincerely hope you have fun with your meal planning and preparation,
Elizabeth Randall and Family

A Little Bit About Beef Jerky

Beef jerky is believed to have originated in South America in the early 1800s or earlier. Ancestors of the Inca Empire made a product similar to beef jerky, using the meat from game animals such as deer, elk and buffalo. They salted strips of meat and allowed them to dry in the sun or over hot coals for long periods of time. This method of drying allowed the natives an excellent source of food when fresh meat was not available. The dried meat, if properly stored, could be kept for very long periods of time. Upon the arrival of the Spanish explorers the secrets of ch’arki (charqui) were shared with the rest of the world. The pioneers of North America built smoke houses and hung pieces of meat, (buffalo and beef) over a fire to smoke cure the meat. Beef Jerky is made when the meat is flavored first and then dried and smoked. By adding spice and herbs they were able to make the dried meat much more palatable. Over the years Beef Jerky has become a very popular snack and comes in many, many different flavors and flavor intensities. It takes about 5 pounds of meat to make 1 pound of jerky. You can use most wild game meats, deer, moose, or elk to make jerky as well as domestic meats, including beef, pork and turkey.

It is best to start with five pounds of very lean beef. The eye of round is a great piece of beef to use because it is round and long. There is not a lot of fat and it is easily removed. It is also BEST to REMOVE all or as much of the fat as possible from the beef. The fat does not dry and will go rancid on you. Leaving fat on the meat is a very good way to make very bad Beef Jerky. You should cut the beef into strips, cutting with the grain of the meat. Cut the beef into about a 1/8 of inch thick slices. You can cut the beef into strips (thick or thin/ long or short) it is up to you. You must remember the thicker the beef the longer the drying time, if you are in a hurry then go thin.

One of the easiest ways to slice your beef, so as to get most of your pieces the same thickness is to put your beef into the freezer for 20-30 minutes before you cut it. This firms the meat up and makes it much easier and nicer to slice. As you slice the beef cutout any small or large pockets of fat or sinew you may come across.
The next thing you will want to do is marinate the beef in a combination of soya sauce, sugar, salt, herbs and spices. You may not like it to be too spicy so you will have to adjust the hot ingredients to accommodate your taste buds.

A Basic Beef Jerky Recipe: 1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of soya sauce
1 – 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh garlic
1 – 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons coarse salt
2 -4 table spoons dry crushed hot peppers

Mix the ingredients in a large (1 gallon) glass jar with a tight fitting lid, ad all your sliced beef. Put the lid on as tightly as possible, shake the jar until the beef and marinate are well combined. Remove the lid and ad enough cold water to cover the beef completely. Put the lid back on and refrigerate for 24 -48 hours. Shake the jar up any time you feel the urge. You can add any other herbs, spices or sauces to the marinate you think might taste good. You can also add hoi sin sauce, HP sauce, honey, red hot sauce, teriyaki sauce and many, many more. Use your imagination and you will come up with your favorite jerky marinate in no time.

Once the beef has marinated in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours you can start the drying process. Remove the meat from the marinate and lay it out flat onto kitchen racks ensure that the pieces of meat do not overlap each other. Pat it dry with paper towel and then let it sit in the air for 10-15 minutes or while the oven comes to temperature. The oven should be set to 200-225 degrees F. Place your jerky in the warm oven for about 2-3 hours or until it is done to the degree of dryness you like. Let your beef jerky cool before you store it in a cool dry location. Make sure the store place is well out of sight and out of reach of all others in the area. If they know where it is, you are sure to never get a piece. Enjoy!

Tea As Anti-Oxidant

A study by researchers for people who smoke, consume alcohol, confirmed that those who drink five cups of green tea daily reduced their risk of developing cancer by 20% in men and 50 % in women. Taking a few cups of tea is also beneficial to the heart because it protects us from heart disease.

Medical experts noted that the degree of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries of coffee drinkers and tea drinkers differ. the tea drinkers had 2/3 less coronary damage than the coffee drinkers.

Hence, they concluded that tea protects the aorta from forming deadly plaque. So what is in the tea that make it such a health tonic?

A cup of tea is full of polyphenol, a tough anti oxidant that prevents cell damage related to aging, cancer and coronary heart diseases. The presence of polyphenol in tea, is instrumental in stopping the production of enzymes that produce the cancer causing substances.

Aside from polyphenol, the other two main components of tea are flavanoids and catechins. Flavanoids are anti oxidants that are even more potent than vitamin E. They prevent the oxidation process that causes bad cholesterol (LDL) from building up on the artery walls.

Tea catechins also known to be as powerful as an anti oxidant like beta carotene, a well deserved reputation as a protector of the heart.

Through experiments, the aforementioned anti oxidants has known to lower blood pressure and control bleeding in animals and humans by activating coagulation.

Recent research suggest that green tea is known also to protect against all types of bacteria harmful to our system. Although most of the studies on tea have focused on its anti oxidant, anti cancer properties, there have been also tests done on its ability to help one lose weight.

The polyphenols and catechins in tea that help keep a person healthy also promotes fat firing and regulate blood pressure and insulin levels.

Aside from what had already been mentioned, the other therapeutic benefits in drinking tea are as follows:

a) Reduces the risk of cancer, especially stomach, lungs and skin cancer.
b) Protects against and destroys harmful viruses.
c) Reduces cavities and gum diseases
d) Fights infection
e) Relieve migraines
f) Raises good cholesterol (HDL)
g) Fight tooth decay because tea is such a good source of fluoride (drinking it plain without sugar)

Drinking tea is one of the healthiest thing you can do to yourself, whether it is serve hot or cold.

5 Tips When Making Cakes to Give You Perfect Results Every Time - The Perfect Cake

Nothing can compete with the beauty and lusciousness of a perfectly baked cake. Everyone knows when they eat the perfect cake but few know how to create one of their own. Fortunately baking perfection can be yours by following these five simple tips.

Tip One: Proper Ingredients

Whether you bake from scratch or a mix, the quality of your finished cake will never exceed the quality of your raw ingredients. Baking is unforgiving of low quality ingredients or poorly chosen substitutions. For the best results use the exact ingredient your recipe calls for and always insist on freshness and high quality.

Tip Two: Mixing Technique

Using the best ingredients won’t mean much if they aren’t mixed correctly. Most cake recipes use the creaming method for mixing batter. In rare cases, a recipe may call for some other mixing technique. If mixing instructions aren’t provided, the creaming method will get the job done with the best possible results. Never over mix your batter! This will result in a cake with a tough bread-like texture.

Tip Three: Proper Cookware

Most recipes will call for a specific size and shape of pan. When attempting a new or unfamiliar recipe you will achieve the best results by using the cookware indicated in the recipe. Additionally, invest in good quality cake pans. Cheap cookware can flex and bend as it heats up and often results in lopsided or improperly cooked baked goods.

Tip Four: Know Your Oven

Even the best of ovens have their quirks. To achieve cake perfection be familiar with your oven’s unique characteristics and be prepared to deal with them. Halfway through baking turn your cake pans 180 degrees to help even out their heat exposure. If you are baking on more than one rack at a time, switch pans from one rack to the other when you rotate them. Start checking for done-ness 7 to 5 minutes before the planned cooking time has elapsed to prevent drying out your cake.

Tip Five: Frosting Technique

If frosting is called for then a little planning will help it add to your culinary masterpiece. To keep your serving plate clean, try lining the edges of the plate beneath the cake with wax or parchment paper before frosting. After it sets, you can simply pull the paper free and leave the serving plate nice and clean. To keep cake crumbs from ruining your frosting job, coat your entire cake in a thin layer of frosting then allow it to set before applying a final layer.

Copper Tea Kettle - Quick Information About the Different Models of Copper Tea Kettles

Due to advanced technology, copper tea kettle products today have more kicks. This type of kettles was first used and became popular in Europe for boiling water. Now, they offer more benefits than before and this includes stronger construction and more decorative enhancements. As their durability improves, the tea pots are now the perfect way to prepare teas first day in the morning. Apparently, the whistling sound can make your morning completely.

Mauviel Cupretam Pour La Table Tinned Kettles

These tea pots can accommodate a large amount of liquid up to 4 quarts. They are believed to produce nice morning and afternoon teas. The natural aroma from fresh brewed can reinvigorate your senses. These pots host up to 2 mm thick tin lining. They have either a bronze or cast iron handle. On the outside appearance, they are polished and are fastened using solid copper rivets.

Solid-Copper Hammered or Windsor Whistling Kettles

The hammered kettle is finished with protective coating to promote their value. They can be used for decoration if this coating is removed. They can also act as kitchen accessory. The Windsor kettles on the other hand have special outer coating. This protects the appliance from tarnishing. The model incorporated elegance in it with its prominent black handle. Also, the Windsor has brass accent. Both hammered and Windsor kettles are a 2 quart container made of solid-copper with black handle.

Chantal Copper Tea Kettles

The designs of Chantal tea kettles are universally accepted. Their stylish and conventional design made these appliances popular to homeowners. The advantage of using these tea pots is that their steam time is quick. They are constructed with tin lined copper and are great for creating teas in a couple of minutes. In addition, some models have comfortable wooden handle. Practically, it can hold up to 2 quarts of liquid.

Gemstone Vineyards

Gemstone Vineyard

Based in the small town of Yountville in Napa, California Gemstone crafts some of the absolute finest Bordeaux style blends anywhere in the world in addition to hand crafting small lots of Chardonnay. Famed wine critic Robert Parker has long been a fan of Gemstone and his graces when combined with the incredible quality of the wine and low production levels have ensured that Gemstone wines are available only to their own mailing list members and at fine restaurants around the country.

A few years ago the ownership of Gemstone changed from founders Suzie and Paul Frank to the current owners Carole and Michael Marks who come from a high technology background in Silicone Valley. The transition has been seamless because of the hard work of both sides, as well as Marks’ willingness to keep other winery staff consistent, such as winemaker Phillipe Melka who has been a mainstay at Gemstone since 2005 which incidentally was the first year that the winery was able to craft estate wines, controlling everything from the vineyard until the bottle was set on your kitchen table. If Melka’s name sounds familiar he has been called one of the most influential wine consultants in the world, perhaps only behind famed French wine consultant Michele Rolland.

To give you some idea how highly allocated this wine is, you aren’t likely to find many wineries which need to issue apologies to their customers because their entire vintages sold out in only 9 days. Thus is the case with the 2005 Gemstone Proprietary Estate Blend which is the most well known and renowned wine made by Gemston. Consistently scoring 92-96 points from major wine critics this is truly one of the great wines in the world. In many ways it is a classic Napa Cabernet Sauvignon which will benefit from spending a few years in your cellar, although it wouldn’t be neglectful to leave it in your cellar for up to 25 years to see how the bottle ages, which should be quite gracefully.

Gemstone crafts such high quality, sought after wine because of their incredible vineyard. They like to say that “Technology, Innovation, and a Bit of Courage… Extraordinary wine is a product of extraordinary effort in the vineyard…” which I don’t think could be any more true. Planted on a hill with some of the highest stone concentrated soil in all of Napa Valley the original founders decided to divide the property up into micro sizes with most blocks consisting of only 5 vines. This incredible attention to detail shows through in their wines and makes it one of the most sought after and rare in the world.

Dark Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

This is, hands down, the most amazing cookie I have ever tasted! The name is a mouth full, but don’t worry, you won’t be able to say it anyway because your mouth will be full of the cookies! It’s got everything you need for the perfect cookie, and it’s still wheat free! It is full of antioxidants, protein, and good fats. I never thought I would find a cookie that tastes as good as these that is still very healthy. Enjoy!

What you need:

1/2 cup of Dark Chocolate Dreams All Natural Peanut Butter from The Peanut Butter Co. (available at Kroger)

1/2 cup of Kroger blended Raspberry yogurt

1/2 cup of packed Kroger Light Brown sugar

1/2 cup of egg whites

1 cup of oat flour (ground from whole oats in food processor)

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

2 cups of quick cooking whole oats

1 cup of sweetened, dried cranberries

How to make them:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Add dark chocolate peanut butter, yogurt, brown sugar, egg whites and vanilla to blender and mix until everything looks creamy. I use the whip setting on my blender. This should only take about a minute, if that. Mix flour and baking soda together in a bowl and then add the mixture from the blender. Mix well. Add whole oats and cranberries to the bowl and mix well. Scoop out rounded teaspoonfuls of batter and place on ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake about 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a minute or two and then finish cooling on a baking rack. Make several batches and freeze the left overs (if there are any!) for a great healthy snack.

Better Baking With a Professional Approach

An old saying suggests that the key to a man’s heart is through his stomach. In other words, if you feed him well, he will be happy and content. Actually, this sentiment isn’t reserved for just men. Many people associate good feelings and emotional comfort with the presence of good food. One of the nicest way to express your affection for your family or significant other is to bake them a heartwarming treat. While it’s fairly simple to follow a recipe, you can learn how to be a top notch baker by learning the professional approach.

Buy the Best Ingredients

Any baker will tell you that the end result is only as good as what went into the project in the first place. You should pay careful attention to all your ingredients as you prepare your recipe. Flour should be fresh; baking flour is preferred, as it is lighter and more suitable for delicate baked goods. In addition, almost all professional bakers prefer unsalted butter. That little bit of extra salt can really affect the finished product, so it’s worth the trouble to use this technique. Finally, when it come to chocolate, you really want to use the best quality that you can reasonably afford. Cheap chocolate has a bitter flavor that can really throw off the final taste of your cake or cookie.

Gather Your Tools

Some people avoid baking as they feel that it is time consuming and difficult. Professional bakers are constantly busy and often multitask in the kitchen. They are able to accomplish so many projects simultaneously because they plan ahead. Before you even begin, gather all your ingredients, as well as any needed tools, such as the mixer and blender. Having everything on hand and visible can cut down on your preparation time significantly. Also, it pays to clean up as you go, in order to avoid a large mess when the baking project is completed.

Step Outside What You Know

No professional baker does anything the hard way. As a matter of necessity, they develop tricks that make their time in the kitchen more productive. You can add these simple techniques to your baking as well. For example, most home cooks manually chop nuts and chocolate with a kitchen knife. A professional chef will use the blender for these tasks, as it can handle them quickly and efficiently. Also, bread dough and egg whites are easy work for a stand mixer. If it can be done better by using a tool, take advantage of that fact. There is no sense in wasting any of your busy day to bake. Proper baking can be done quickly and still provide exceptional results in your baked goods.

Experiment Carefully

One of the most fun parts of baking for a loved one is presenting a new and delicious dessert that will knock their socks off. Professional chefs love to have unique fare on the menu. However, they would never dream of giving a dessert to a customer or client before they had thoroughly tested it out ahead of time. If you know that a special occasion is coming up, and that you would like to prepare a knock-out dessert, do your test runs ahead of time. This will ensure that you are able to work out all the quirks prior to serving. On the big day, you will be presenting a tried and true dish. While your guests may be surprised and pleased, you will be completely familiar with the process before hand.

Get Warm With Your Iceberg Lettuce

If you are sitting in your back yard with a salad as the evening turns to night, you may become a bit chilly. Although the name ‘iceberg lettuce’ is figurative and does not refer to a temperature, salads are generally served cold. This is why it can be so refreshing to light up your fire pit when you have that metal bowl on your lap.

People who are devoted to salad are often involved in an exercise regime. You will feel warm while working, but you might feel chilly after it wears off. If you have a weight-watching group or exercise club for moral support, you will probably want to be strategic about adding heat. You’re all going to be perspiring quite a bit as it is. But once the workouts are over and you’re relaxing with a salad, the peaceful orange and yellow spikes could be a nice way to calm the group back down and lower your heart rates.

In an autobiographical comic strip published in _Streetwise_, the renowned artist Nick Cardy recalled growing up in New York’s Lower East Side. His recipe for black baked potatoes: put a potato inside a tin can with hot ashes, shut the lid, and twirl. Now potatoes are only nominally a salad ingredient, but if you were feeling adventurous or you were a historical-recreation fan, you could try the same trick with your fire pit.

It would probably also be interesting to try the Cardy method with other salad ingredients typically served cold. Even spinning the can around would be good exercise. It might even be good for your Cardy-o-vascular system. You might want to remember that cooking tends to destroy the vitamins in vegetables. They are better for you raw. However, there is no reason you have to remain chilly while eating them. The complex patterns and mystery of a nighttime fire in your fire pit could even make an interesting color contrast with the greens and reds of your salad.

In addition to diet and exercise, health-conscious people are also often hyperaware of sleep and hydration. Warmth and dark are two things that make us fall asleep more easily. With a salad and a fire pit, you will be well on your way to covering all of the bases of a healthy lifestyle.

Pasta Dishes With Fire-Cooked Ingredients

Pasta dishes are remarkably popular and versatile, but it seems like pasta as traditionally prepared can sometimes be bland. Pasta with grilled or fire-cooked meat or vegetables is a wonderful treat. One of the best ways to enhance your pasta dishes is to cook some of the ingredients over a fire pit. So instead of going with everyday pasta dishes, try adding some kick with some fire-cooked ingredients. Here are some ideas for you to use:

Fettuccine Alfredo with Grilled Zucchini
Cut the zucchini into chunks and place in a square of aluminum foil. Feel free to season the zucchini as desired, with salt or garlic. Add olive oil or butter and wrap the zucchini up in the foil. Place the foil package in the fire pit with hot coals and cook for about half an hour. Toss the zucchini in with your fettuccine alfredo pasta.

Tomato Pasta Sauce with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
Tomato sauce is probably the most popular topping for pasta dishes. There are all kinds of things you can add to tomato sauce to make it your own. One of the things you can do to give your pasta sauce some added flavor is to add fire-roasted tomatoes to the sauce. To fire-roast the tomatoes, cut them in half, remove the stem, and let the seeds and juice drain out. Brush the cut sides with olive oil and place the tomatoes over the grill on top of the fire pit. Cook until the skin is blackened, then peel the skin off. Immediately chop the newly roasted tomatoes and gently stir in to your tomato pasta sauce.

Pasta with Fire-Cooked Fish
Place your fish in foil and season it as you wish, with garlic powder, paprika, or oregano. Place a lemon or lime slice in each foil packet with the fish. Cook the fish over hot coals in the fire pit for about fifteen minutes. Before unwrapping the foil, let the fish sit for a minute or two to cool a bit. Unwrap the fish, cut into small or bite-size pieces, and toss into pasta, adding white wine for more flavor.

These dishes are full of flavor and will add some unique taste dimensions to your dinner table. Your pasta dishes are sure to be memorable to both you and your guests if you cook the ingredients over a fire pit and take advantage of the complex flavors that fire pit cooking offers.

Chocolate Gifts - More Than Just a Box of Chocolates!

There is nothing easier than choosing a gift for a chocoholic friend; you don’t need to go out of your way to find the perfect gift because chocolates will always be the only answer. Although that may seem to be the same boring idea over and over again, there will always be more options. With a gift of chocolate, the possibilities for creativity are endless.

There are a lot of different chocolate gift stores in the world right now, there are even those who do things online and with the numerous ideas that they have, you will surely be able to find a suitable one for that chocoholic friend of yours.

We have always heard about the statement “life is like a box of chocolates, you’ll never know what is in it unless you open it”; that is certainly the inspiration for most of the chocolate gifts shops around. Chocolates are one of the gifts that you will never go wrong with, but a touch of surprise and creativity will be much more appreciated. There are fun and innovative gift shops have taken chocolate and stretched it even way beyond what we would have imagined. You can choose from the simple chocolate in the box with different shaped truffles in it to even the most unexpected ones; like bags and boxes made of chocolate.

Yes you heard me right, not a bag or box of chocolates, but an edible bag made out of chocolates. Wouldn’t that be a great surprise? There are several designs and ideas on how to present your chocolate gift. You may choose to use it as a gift on a special occasion or maybe choose to make a chocolate center piece that will surely be the conversation of the party. The versatility of chocolate has given people the chance to make creative things out of it.

So the next time you are thinking of a great gift for your friend or that special someone, try to think out of that chocolate box and go for unique and interesting chocolate gifts that will certainly make their day. Although those chocolate treasures may seem to be just way too beautiful to eat, always remember that the best part of the whole chocolate experience will be when you share it with someone special. So don’t be scared to break that heel out of your chocolate shoe, take a bite and just feel the real essence of what gifts of chocolate are all about.

Get the Best Beverages in a Cafe to Satisfy Your Thirst

Cafe is a place where you can have your meals along with enjoying the environment, which is quite carefree and relaxing. If you want to meet your old friends after a long time and want to have a quality and memorable time then there can be no better place than this. You can have the best time and food in such a place as there are many deals available for different kinds of meals. You can have a quality time with your friends and as these cafes are informal places you do not have to worry about talking out loud or about showing off your formal behavior over there. You can sit there just in the way you like and have a great conversation with your friends. You can gossip or have a chit chat without any problem. You can have quality time with your friends that would be remembered by you for the rest of your life. These cafes not only provide you a great outlook and appearance but if you look at the services provided by them, then you would be inspired by them even more.

These cafes are such a restaurant that has combined a great atmosphere with the cuisines of best taste. You can never have such great deals in such low prices that you can have in such a place. There is a lot of variety of the foods that are available in these deals and you can easily get to taste many of the delicious and luscious foods by paying a little amount. This is due to the informal nature of these places and they are for those who want to have loads of fun by staying within their budget. The deals for the breakfast include many of the great sandwiches and cakes etc that are very tasty and you can have the best time eating those scrumptious foods. Also, you can have the great deals for the lunch and that would make you come back to these places again and again. The kind of taste and environment you can have in these cafes is not provided by any other place. The relaxing and fun filled environment makes your dining experience more lavish and contended with these pl aces.

Also, you can just sit there to have a cup of coffee, beer, wine or any other beverage just for the sake of enjoying the atmosphere of this place.

Should You Buy Organic Chocolate?

Most of us love our chocolate. But did you know there are significant differences between the supermarket varieties, and certified organic product. Commercial interests try to dupe us into believing their product is the real thing, when it left that blissful state long ago on the way to the Supermarket.

Fair Trade

When it comes to chocolate, most of us are aware that when Europeans first took this fruit to Africa, there was child slave labor involved in Cocoa production. These days many farmers use their children to help them take care of their farms, but unfortunately unscrupulous chocolate companies such as Nestle and Hersheys, are more interested in short term profits, than the welfare of African children!

Recently Cadbury announced that they are switching over to Fair Trade Chocolate after intense lobbying from consumer and green groups. Most organic chocolate, on the other hand, is certified free trade. Those wanting a clear conscience when eating chocolate will wish to make sure their favourite brand is fair trade certified!

Pesticides and Toxins

Chocolate in its raw form has been shown to have relatively low levels of toxins such as lead. Unfortunately, this is not the case after processing. Here is the result of one study.

“What’s interesting is that cocoa beans tested had an average lead concentration of

“In fact, a team of American and Nigerian researchers found that lead levels in raw cocoa beans were 60 times lower than lead levels observed in processed chocolate products, the Chicago Tribune reports”.

Chocolate absorbs everything from its environment. That means that toxic substance used in manufacture are going to get into the chocolate! Certified Organic Chocolate comes from areas where pesticides are not used. It may still have residues, but they are generally much lower. Organic chocolate is generally not processed using chemicals, often a larger source of contamination than those in the growing environment.

Additives

When selecting an organic chocolate, make sure they are not using refined sugar in the production. Commercial chocolates have quite a few additives.

Here is the list from Cadbury dark Chocolate. Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Milk Solids, Emulsifiers (Soya lecithin, 476), Flavour. May contain traces of Nuts. Dark Chocolate contains Cocoa solids 45%.

Unfortunately, with no certified foods, including chocolate, there is no requirement to list pesticides, herbicides, lead or other heavy metals in the product. Even the ingredients listed can come from many sources, and may be very detrimental to human health. Omission is a common practice amongst food giants to avoid scrutiny!

Conclusion

When all is said and done, Organic Chocolate is a better alternate to Commercial varieties. It does cost more and Dagoba sell a 56.7 gram square for $6.95 a piece.

Organic chocolate has many advantages, particularly if it is cold pressed and may retain much of the antioxidant and other nutrient value of the raw cocoa bean.