Is Wine Good for You? Reading This Could Change Your Life!

In these health-conscious times we live in, people are always watching what they eat. However, now it seems people are also starting to watch what they drink. Alcohol is usually blamed for many long-term health-related illnesses, but is it really deserving of this reputation? Many wine enthusiasts will tell you about it, pointing out the “French Paradox” as evidence, but many people will ask, ‘Is red wine good for you?”. Despite the alcohol content, there is a lot of research that will lead people to believe that it may actually hold some health benefits, such as lowering the risk of heart disease, lowering high blood pressure, reducing cancer and even helping you to live longer. So let’s take a look at this question and see if your everyday health could benefit from red wine.

First of all, no one should be led to believe that drinking wine is the cure for everything. When discussing the benefits of red wine, you need to moderate your intake to no more than two standard glasses per day. If you limit your intake to this, you can definitely get all the health benefits. The first benefit is the ability to lower the levels of low density lipoproteins, usually referred to as LDL or ‘bad cholesterol’, in your body. This is because a good glass of red has a number of antioxidants called flavonoids. In addition to this, it also has the added benefit of raising levels of high density lipoproteins, HDL or “good cholesterol”, which adds to lowering the risk of heart-disease overall. Continue reading “Is Wine Good for You? Reading This Could Change Your Life!”

Outrageous Orange Souffle From Scratch

Want to impress them with a fruit soufflé? You can easily make this in a casserole versus in individual dishes. I’ll show you tricks for 2 types of soufflés, this is an easier dessert to make than most people think. So go ahead, impress someone you love today, easily! You can prepare the soufflé then throw this in the oven when you are sitting down to dinner. By the time you are ready to serve coffee, your dessert is ready.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed certainly the best for fresh flavor)
4 eggs separated (separate when cold, much easier to do when eggs are cold)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter to stabilize egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure orange extract
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange rind
Well pre-heated oven at 425 with oven rack placed low in oven (not on the lowest, but not in the middle either)
1 UN-greased casserole dish 1-1/2 quarts size

Continue reading “Outrageous Orange Souffle From Scratch”

Wine Cellars and Wine Storage

Many boomers are very serious about their wine collections and want to protect their investments. Many are looking to have wine cellars built or wine coolers installed in their kitchens. A good bottle of wine usually never lasts long in my hands, but I figured I’d pass along some wine storage tips for those planning to start a wine collection:

Keep Wine Temps Down

Make sure the wine bottles are stored at a consistent temperature (usually between 53 and 59 degrees Fahrenheit, with 55% to 75% humidity.) Keeping temps constant is a key. One of your best bets is a wine cellar in your basement or a wine fridge in your kitchen. Without those options, don’t rack the wine in a warm, bright area – keep them in a dark place, low to the ground.

If you have a cellar installed, make sure they put the lights on a timer so that the heat from the lamps don’t interfere with temperatures.

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Popular Japanese Dishes

The Japanese are known to love their food and this can be seen by the number of takeaway and restaurants that have become well established and cooking programmes on TV are now showing more far eastern cuisine dishes.

The West has now embraced Japanese cuisine and seafood is a popular dish served at many restaurants, even takeaway Japanese has become popular. Many Japanese restaurants and takeaways are fast popping up across the UK. Chinatown in London is diverse with Japanese restaurants. These restaurants provide the ultimate experience in Japanese dining.

Here are some popular Japanese dishes:

Sashimi and sushi Continue reading “Popular Japanese Dishes”

Simple Crockpot Meal Ideas

When dinner has to be easy to make and appeal to the whole family, using a crockpot for a simple meal ideal is a great way to do both. The crockpot is a very versatile appliance, especially if you tend to have a busy schedule. Simply add your ingredients, plug it in, turn it on, and after a few hours dinner is ready! It’s great no-fuss way to have a home cooked dinner without a lot of work.

Chili is a very easy and delicious crockpot meal to make. All you need is ground meat, kidney, pinto or navy beans, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and spices. You can even try different variations, such as adding corn, black beans and salsa for a southwestern chili. And chili is one of those meals that freezes well, so you won’t have to worry about leftovers.

Stuffed peppers, made with rice, diced vegetables, and topped with a tomato based sauce are excellent when prepared in a crockpot. Because of the slow cooking process the flavor of the peppers truly comes alive. Another great option is stuffed cabbage rolls made by using either rice or barley based filling and simmering with a tomato sauce. Continue reading “Simple Crockpot Meal Ideas”

Tips For Preparing Chicken Stock For Chicken-Based Soups

When people see a recipe using chicken stock, more likely than not, they open a can or box of chicken stock from the supermarket. What they might not realize is that making homemade chicken stock is really no more difficult than boiling water. The only difference is that you add some vegetables and spices to the water to flavor it. Once you make your own chicken stock, you will not want to go back to canned or boxed broth (except when you’ve run out of homemade stock from your freezer).

The basic ingredients in a good homemade chicken stock are chicken bones (and skin sometimes), onion, celery, carrots, peppercorns and bay leaves. You can also add parsley, ginger, and thyme. If you make roast chicken, save the bones and skin. While you’re washing the dishes after a roast chicken dinner, simply put the chicken bones and skin in a stock pot, along with some onion, celery, carrots, peppercorns and bay leaves, and let it simmer for a few hours. If you don’t have a roast chicken carcass, you can use chicken backs, chicken wings, or other chicken parts. After the chicken stock is done cooking, let it cool to room temperature, then strain the broth and divide it into containers that are can be stored in the freezer. Continue reading “Tips For Preparing Chicken Stock For Chicken-Based Soups”

How to Prepare Chicken Saagwala

Punjabi food is known for its spicy flavour. This is an indigenous Punjabi dish which is locally called Murg Saagwala. If chicken and spinach would blend in a juicy, succulent and nutritious fusion then it is certainly a recipe for Chicken Saagwala.

Ingredients:

1 cup of chicken ( Cut the chicken into pieces)
3 cups of spinach puree
1 table spoon cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
½ cup grated onions
¼ cup of tomato puree
2 tablespoons salt
¼ tablespoon garam masala
½ tablespoon of red pepper (powdered)
½ tablespoon of coriander seeds (powdered)
1 cup oil
Cream for garnishing

Continue reading “How to Prepare Chicken Saagwala”

Seared Chicken Breasts With Roasted-Cauliflower Puree

Cauliflower is at its best during fall and winter, and roasting it is one way to bring out its deepest, richest flavor. Add creamy roasted garlic and chicken broth for an easy, delicious addition to pan-seared chicken.

Note: While raw cauliflower is virtually white, roasting it turns the florets a wonderful caramel brown color, so the puree will reflect that hue-and include tiny flecks of charred vegetable as well.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the Sauce Continue reading “Seared Chicken Breasts With Roasted-Cauliflower Puree”

The Wine Lover’s Guide To Craft Beer

If you’re the type of person that notices everything that’s a little different at your local watering hole, you’ve no doubt noticed a change as to what is on tap behind the bar. Where once you saw some of the biggest beer companies on the planet, you now see some slightly obscure craft beer offerings. As you’ve processed these changes, you’ve probably asked yourself one important question – what is craft beer?

The truth is that the answer to that question is incredibly complex. There’s no real way to answer that question, and it’s this inherent evasiveness that perhaps gives craft beer its mystique. That said, even if you can’t quite pin down an exact definition of what craft beer is, you can get a better idea of what it brings to the table if you compare it with the complexities that go hand-in-hand with making wine.

OK, wine fanatics. Before you flip out, understand that this article is for you. If you enjoy wine, from the making of it to the pairing of it with different foods and everything in between, you have taken some time to get to know the intricate details of wine. There’s a refinement to enjoying wine, which is why you ‘enjoy’ it rather than ‘drink’ it. The same can be said of craft beer. Continue reading “The Wine Lover’s Guide To Craft Beer”

South American Famous Dessert – Dulce De Leche

Dulce de leche is a favorite in most South American countries. It can be eaten as a dessert, as part of a dessert, filling cakes, topping cakes, as candy, over toasts, over loaves of bread, with crackers, or by the spoonful!

In each country dulce de leche has a different name and its recipe is slightly different, except in Argentina and Uruguay, where the recipe is the same and is called the same.

Actually it is impossible to determine whether it is a Uruguayan dessert, a Argentinean dessert or from another country. Some years ago, in 2003, Argentina claimed before the UN that the dulce de leche be proclaimed an Argentinean product and Uruguay asked it to be proclaimed a Rio de la Plata product, thus making it clear that the origin is really unknown.

So here we will try to make up the history of this famous dulce de leche, which is not an easy thing to do! Continue reading “South American Famous Dessert – Dulce De Leche”