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How to cook Figure-Trimming Cherry Cheesecake?

Sandra — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:30:09 +0000

Ever wanted to take a low sugar cheesecake but don’t know how?
Here is a delicious version of cheesecake: Figure-trimming cherry cheesecake recipe

Healthy Guide Recipe

How To Cook Beans Easily Beans are about the best nutrition bargain going. Low in...

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How To Cook Beans Easily

Sandra — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:44:01 +0000

Beans are about the best nutrition bargain going. Low in cost, they provide thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, iron, and calcium. When complemented by grains or dairy products, they are a main source of high-quality protein for vegetarians.

The simplest cooking directions are to sort through the beans and discard any bad ones, then rinse well, drain, and gently boil, uncovered, in three times their volume of water until tender.

For some beans, cooking “until tender” can take a considerable length of time. If you prefer, you can shorten their cooking time by soaking them according to one of the following methods.

Quick soaking: In a kettle, combine 6 to 9 cups hot water with 1 pound dry beans. Bring to a boil over high heat and continue to boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let soak, covered, for 1 hour before draining.
Long soaking: In a kettle, combine 6 to 7 cups cold water with 1 pound dry beans. Add 2 teaspoons salt, (it helps beans absorb water evenly). Let soak for at least 3 to 4 hours or until next day. Drain before cooking.

To cook soaked beans: In a kettle, bring 6 to 7 cups water to a boil. Add drained, soaked beans. Boil gently partially covered, until tender Add water if needed to keep beans covered. Add salt to taste (up to 2 teaspoons) when beans are tender. Drain excess water when done; reserve for soups or stews, if desired.

Beans double in size; 1 pound dry beans yields about 4 cups cooked beans. We prefer to cook a large quantity of beans and freeze whatever we don’t plan to use right away.

The following list of legumes (mostly beans) contains a brief description as well as recommended cooking time after soaking for each item. Note that lentils and split peas do not need soaking.

Black beans: Robust flavor; popular in South American cooking. 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Black-eyed peas: Smooth texture, pealike flavor; good mixed with other vegetables. 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Garbanzos (chick peas, ceci): Firm texture, nutlike flavor; naturals for minestrone, salads. 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Great Northern beans: Mild flavor; good in soups, and combined with other vegetables. 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Kidney beans: Firm texture, meaty flavor; hold shape well in chili dishes and other casseroles. 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Lentils: No soaking needed. Mild flavor blends well with many different foods, spices. 40 to 45 minutes.
Limas, baby: Versatile; use like other white beans in soups, casseroles. 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Pink, pinto, and red beans: Hearty flavor; great for barbecue-style beans, Mexican cooking, soups, casseroles. 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Soybeans: Strong-flavored, near-perfect protein source. Refrigerate while soaking. 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
Split peas, green and yellow: No soaking; good for soups, side dishes. 40 to 50 minutes.
White beans (navy), small: Hold their shape when cooked; classic for baked beans. 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

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Chicken stock

Sandra — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:20:08 +0000

There is no need to follow an exact recipe to make a flavoursome chicken stock. You may find it
convenient to reduce the stock to a smaller volume before storing it in the fridge or freezer. Remember, before freezing, to remove the fat from the surface of cold stock.
Here are two ways to make 6 cups of chicken stock:
• Put aside 6 cups of the strained flavoursome broth that has served to simmer a chicken with vegetables (carrots, celery, onion, leek etc.) This is simple and constitutes good planning.
• Place about 800 g chicken bones (carcasses, necks, wings, or inexpensive chicken pieces) in a saucepan. Cover with 8 cups cold water. Add 1 sliced carrot, 1 sliced onion, 1 sliced stick of celery or a piece of leek, a small pinch of salt (this helps to extract the flavour from the bones), a couple of crushed black peppercorns and 1 clove. The addition of a bouquet garm (a few sprigs of parsley, half a bay leaf and a small sprig of thyme tied together with kitchen string) gives a delicate, aromatic flavour to your stock. Bring it to the boil, simmer for 1 hour, adding a little water if necessary during cooking. Skim the surface and strain.

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How to prepare artichokes for cooking?

Sandra — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:22:27 +0000

The artichoke is a favorite spring vegetable in Mediterranean countries is becoming popular in many countries. Eating this delicate vegetable calls for a little patience as the leaves are savored one by one. However, the reward is certainly worth the effort.

Select unblemished, firm artichokes and preferably those with a stem as they will be fresher.

Preparation: Wash and trim loose outer leaves around base and rub base with lemon juice to help retain color. Steam or cook in boiling water for about 30 mins, or until you can easily detach the leaves.

Eating artichokes: Detach the leaves and carefully dip each one in a sauce or dressing before nibbling off the thin coating leaves have been removed you will notice a little soft hairy part, which is to be discarded. Below this is the heart — the best part of the artichoke.

Suggested Seasoning: Lemon juice and a dot of butter or margarine, freshly ground black pepper.

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Moderating sugar intake at home

Sandra — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:59:18 +0000

Refined sugar is a major cause of dental decay, and foods containing sugar often also contain fat. Examples of such foods are biscuits, chocolate, pastries, desserts and cakes.

Refined sugar contains no nutrients other than carbohydrate.

Some practical steps:

Explain other members of the family, in particular children, that overeating of sugary foods affects the rest of our diet. Provide your family with drinks that have no added sugar.

If you normally take sugar in tea or coffee, gradually reduce its quantity. Follow the recommendations for weekly fat consumption.
Cutting down on sugar in our diet will lead to a reduction in fat consumption as well. (Butter and sugar, and cream and sugar, form the basis of many cakes and desserts.) Avoid or limit foods high in sugar, such as ice-cream, and jam, and carefully read the labels on foods you suspect of containing sugar. “No added sugar” applies only to sucrose. Other calorie-containing sweeteners such as glucose or fructose are permissible additives.

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Cooking and learning together with children

Sandra — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:15:11 +0000

I love letting my girls holding butter knives, casseroles, and what not for preparing food. From as small as 3 years old, my girl will learn how to cut vegetables with butter knife. At the age of 7 years old, little JE has already know how to sliced and chopped garlic into small pieces.

They really enjoy such jobs as making sushis, pouring mayonnaise, spreading butter on the toasted bread. Children really see at all as a game without realising that they are learning to cook.

When I look back on my own children, I now understand that all the little cooking games we played at home in our kitchen provided me with knowledge ! cherish every day of my life. But most importantly, they made me appreciate cooking as one of life’s most pleasurable tasks and one that keeps me in good health. I feel endless gratitude to my mother for having allowed me to participate in all the small kitchen jobs. For me and my family they were moments of joy, togetherness and love.

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How to get your kids to vege that they don’t like?

Sandra — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:14:11 +0000

JJ has always dislike the taste of zucchini. The best thing that I would do to make this as one of the food that she will take was to make sushi. Yes, you spell it right, S-U-S-H-I, the Japanese Sushi! Be it the sushi roll or california roll, I will need to slice the zucchini into long slices and slot it in together with other vegetables such as carrot, etc. And she will be happily taking them without even spitting it out!

Water chestnut is another horrible food to her. I would chopped it into small pieces, together with other vegetables such as carrot, grated soy bean, and some corn flour, and salt — I make patties out of it. And she would not even know that I have put the water chestnut in the tasty patties. Haha!

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How to Cook Soup for the Heart’s Sake?

Sandra — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:48:10 +0000

A research team has found that using natural water offers some protection against forms of heart disease. A team of doctors reported to The Lancet, a medical journal, that in areas where there is natural water, the residents have a lower cardiovascular death rate, not to mention lower blood vessel damage. An explanation is that natural water contains large amounts of calcium and magnesium. The doctors report, “These findings would suggest of calcium and magnesium content of drinking water is of importance in relation to the concentration of these mineral elements in the tissues. ”

The researches further point out that vegetables boiled in soft water lose an appreciable amount of their calcium content to the water, while the calcium content of vegetables boiled in natural or hard (untreated) water may be conserved or even increased. In addition, it has been recorded that blood cholesterol levels may be lowered by increasing calcium intake.

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Serving a dish

Sandra — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:06:05 +0000

Once the steaming hot or piping cold dish is completed, what is the next step? Does the recipe call for immediate serving, whipping, stirring? Does the recipe permit you to store dish, refrigerate it, keep it at room temperature, or what?

There instructions for serving are as important as accurate measurement of ingredients. If you new at health cookery, begin with simple dishes, those which require fewer ingredients. Gradually you progress to more complex recipes. Once you master the basic skills, you may experiment with different ingredients; have an adventure with unusual combinations, original ideas, and zesty methods of preparations.

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How to Retain Nutrients When Cooking

Sandra — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:38:52 +0000

1.Minimum Heat: High temperature affect food values. Foods should be tenderized but not overcooked. A favored method is to cook until moderately tender.

2. Minimum Water: Some minerals are water soluable and will vanish when foods are cooked in too much water, Useas little water as possible.

3. Minimum air exposure: Wherever possible, plunge foods into boiling water quickly and then cover the cooking vessel with a lid. This avoids oxidation and conserves Vitamins A and C.

4. Minimum Trimming: Some fruits and vegetables have to be trimmed before cooking, so the wise step is to cook them as quickly as possible after exposing their surfaces.

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