Home Brewing Skyrockets – A Look at the Benefits for Newbies

Home brewing is certainly nothing new – it’s actually a throwback to the roots of brewing, when families made their own brews because there were few alternatives. That changed in the US with the rise of big breweries, but the modern resurgence in brewing at home truly is something new, or rather, something old happening for new reasons. Why is home brewing gaining so much steam? Here are some interesting reasons cited by actual home brewers.

Really Social in an Age of False Connections

Most of us are stuffed to the gills with “social” activities. We check Facebook, “like” our friends’ posts, share things that matter to us, tweet with buddies on Twitter and grow our business networks on LinkedIn. We’re so overloaded with “social” that it’s becoming difficult to remember what it was like to actually engage in social activities. Interestingly, home brewing is extremely social and allows you to connect (or reconnect) with people old and new to your life. Continue reading “Home Brewing Skyrockets – A Look at the Benefits for Newbies”

The Most Nutritious Meal We Could Have

If there is one easy way to get a well-rounded meal that is also made from raw and living foods it is in the form of a salad. Though common views of salads tend to see them as consisting entirely of vegetables, the reality is that you can make a remarkably healthy and completely nutritious meal in your salad bowl and it can include fruit, nuts, herbs, and more.

How is that possible? After all, how can a salad give you plenty of protein or fatty acid? How can it bring adequate carbohydrates and fats? The body needs all of these things throughout the course of a day, and it might seem that a “typical” salad would be unable to deliver. This, however, is an inaccurate view of the many dishes that can be called “salad”.

As a prime example, consider something like a “quinoa salad”. There are dozens and dozens of variations on this theme, but the thing that is most important is that quinoa. An ancient (and mightily delicious) grain, packs a lot of nutritional “punch”. It is loaded with fiber and protein, contains tons of nutrients, and partners beautifully with vegetables, fruits, nuts, and any sort of dressing. It can be cooked until very tender or left with a bit of bite (al dente) to ensure texture in your salad. This will also allow the grain to absorb juices, enzymes, and flavors from raw veggies, dressings, or fruits tossed into the mix. Continue reading “The Most Nutritious Meal We Could Have”

The Priority List For Buying Small Kitchen Appliances

In the process of setting up a kitchen the shopping list is endless. A lot of course depends on the eating habits of the family, whether they prefer eating out or like cooking at home for more nourishing, wholesome and economical meals. The shopping list inevitably includes crockery, cutlery, cooking pans and serving bowls, large kitchen appliances and gadgets like the cooking range or gas hob, refrigerator, dishwasher and so on. These are rated as essentials. Next in line comes the range of small kitchen appliances which includes some indispensable appliances and many which serve specific functions and may not be used every day or every week. Budget constraints also make it necessary that we buy some now and some later since the expense list is too long. How then does one decide which small kitchen appliance to buy first?

Deciding on the Most Important Small Kitchen Appliances Continue reading “The Priority List For Buying Small Kitchen Appliances”

Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken With Lemony Mascarpone Sauce

If you’re a fan of the classic Italian dish Veal Saltimbocca (or Chicken Saltimbocca), this recipe may seem a little familiar. Saltimbocca typically calls for thin pieces of meat rolled or stuffed with bacon or prosciutto, along with slices of cheese and fresh herbs, most often sage.

In this slightly askew version, I rub chicken breasts with dried sage and wrap them in thin slices of prosciutto before pan-searing them.

Instead of using cheese slices, I made a creamy mascarpone cheese sauce, blended with fresh lemon juice and zest. It melts over the chicken breasts for a deliciously silky finish. Continue reading “Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken With Lemony Mascarpone Sauce”

White Barbecue Sauce – Gourmet BBQ Sauce at Its Best

Barbecuing is not what it used to be. When growing up the only time that my family would start up the grill or smoker was in the summer and on the weekends. Today, people barbecue every night and all year round. Barbecue sauces have come along way since then as well. There used to be only a couple of choices at your local market. But now with the invention of “super” markets the amount barbecue sauces you can buy locally has grown significantly. For those gourmet barbecue sauces the web is probably the only place you will find these unique sauces. If you don’t live in the Alabama area the only place you will find traditional White BBQ Sauce like Big Bob Gibson’s is on the web or of course you can try to make it yourself.

In Alabama Barbecue traditional Sauce uses Mayonnaise as its base rather than tomato sauce, vinegar, or any of the other more typical barbecue sauce bases. It is clearly a region favorite. Bob Gibson of Decatur, Alabama is credited with the invention the white sauce back in 1925. Friends and family were first treated to this secret-recipe sauce on chicken and pork at weekend barbecues where boards were nailed to trees for tables. Today, this famous mayonnaise-based condiment is traditionally employed to baste chicken, seafood and pork. Continue reading “White Barbecue Sauce – Gourmet BBQ Sauce at Its Best”

23 Amazing Uses for Banana Peels

Banana is a fruit commonly found in most households. Yet – we never realize the diverse benefits and uses that this fruit has. Apart from being a fantastic source of potassium, banana peels are packed with nutrients and vitamins. It holds so much more than just nutrition. It aids us in so many beneficial uses within our daily lives. Next time you eat a banana – preserve it!

Listed below are a range of fantastic and convenient uses:

1. Bruises

Having an unsightly bruise can be embarrassing. Simply rub the inside of a banana peel over the bruise. This will help diminish the appearance.

2. Depression Continue reading “23 Amazing Uses for Banana Peels”

Mass Production Lumpia Shanghai Recipe

I’ve been asked on several occasions to help wrap lumpia for various clubs, organizations, and parties. I decided to try to make these “lumpia wrapping parties” a little more effective. The main problem when wrapping lumpia is the time spent gossiping and less time wrapping. So even after 3 hours and 10 people the total number of wrapped lumpia is under 100.

The other problem is food contamination with the number of hands. Germs scare me and if you ever see me in the kitchen I’m washing my hands after I touch anything.

In order to increase wrapping speed and decrease contamination came up with the idea to use an pastry bag to squeeze the meat onto the lumpia wrapper. (I feel like this is the same way mass production companies do it for their lumpia, if not, maybe I’ll sell my idea). Continue reading “Mass Production Lumpia Shanghai Recipe”

3 Yummy Peanut Butter Snack Recipes That Kids Will Love

Peanut butter sure is yummy, but did you know that it’s good for the health, too? It is packed full of healthy fat that’s good for the heart. It’s a good treat you can indulge without having to feel guilty!

If this scrumptious treat is something your kids love, make them a special snack instead of the usual PBJ sandwich!

Try these 3 yummy snack recipes for kids:

Yummy No-Bake Nutty Bites

What you need:

1 1/2 cups rolled or quick oats
2/3 cup natural peanut butter
3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup

Continue reading “3 Yummy Peanut Butter Snack Recipes That Kids Will Love”

Strawberry Fools

The season for English strawberries is short and sweet. The jewel in the crown of summer fruits needs to be treated with respect and devotion.

Probably one of the earliest packaged foods, sold in the 16th century in cone-shaped baskets, regarded in medieval times as an aphrodisiac and by the Romans as a cure for melancholy and bad breath, this is a fruit to be treasured.

Eaten freshly picked from your garden with lashings of clotted cream or liberally doused with black pepper to draw out their flavour, strawberry recipes that can lengthen the intensity of that first taste of summer are a must for a discerning cook.

Continue reading “Strawberry Fools”

Make Your Own Margarine at Home

Since its humble beginnings in France in the 1800s, margarine has always used the simplest of ingredients to bring tasty and well-balanced treats to every family table. Ask how margarine is made and you’ll be surprised that it can be made with only five ingredients. These include natural plant oils, milk, lemon juice, egg yolk and salt. And believe it or not, making margarine on a larger scale isn’t more complicated.

More about margarine’s essential ingredients

Before we find out how to make homemade margarine, we’ll take a closer a look at margarine’s main ingredients.

First up is a blend of nature’s finest plant oils, like soybean, sunflower, rapeseed and palm or coconut oils. These oils all have essential fats the body can’t produce so they play an important part in anyone’s daily diet.

The second ingredient is water. Normally water makes up a fifth of regular margarine, but could be more in low-fat or light spreads. The water content of margarines also differs from brand to brand. Continue reading “Make Your Own Margarine at Home”