Carp Love French Fries?

In the fall of the year normally the last week of September my son, brother, I and a friend takes a 3 hour trip to McConnelsville, Ohio. This is a fall fishing trip in which normally we stay about three days. We fish an area owned by AEP (America Electric Power Company) this area is open to the public; all it takes is a permit that you can print out from their web site. AEP has around 300 lakes to fish some are very small while others are over a mile long. But this is not a story about fishing in the AEP area this is a story about the Muskingum River Carp and Catfish.

Each day we track around on the AEP area and then in the evening we go back to our hotel, the Three Sisters Inn on NW 60. That’s the great thing about our trip; we fish for Bass all day then around 4:00 pm or so we head back to the hotel clean-up a little then get something to eat. Because of the time it takes to get back to the lakes and the fact that across the road from the hotel is the Muskingum River and the hotel has is own docks we had to try a little river fishing. We usually never fish for Carp but we figured “hey why not”. I did not come on this trip to sit around the hotel room and watch TV, I can do that at home.

Continue reading “Carp Love French Fries?”

Burmese Salads – Tenderly Tossed by Golden Hands

One of my many favorite places to eat in Rangoon, Burma is at an excellent Burmese fresh salad bar on the street right next to Sule Pagoda. It opens in the evenings as the parking spaces empty, spilling off the sidewalk and across the street.

This place is famous in Burma for the best hand-tossed rice salad in Rangoon and probably the world. It is the Golden Hand Tossed Salad Bar.

Low plastic tables and stools filled with contented customers are out in the street. At the far edge of the sidewalk are lined up a couple tables. On these tables jars of different ingredients are placed on a shelf. Behind the table, laughing and chatting, lovely Burmese ladies with long delicate fingers are mixing your salad up to order.

I pull up a tiny stool, with my knees around my ears I have a look at the menu on the low table. Pickled Tea Salad, Pickled Rice Salad, Pickled Ginger Salad…I don’t even bother reading any more, I know what I want. A young lad with a longyi pulled up and tucked around in back comes bouncing up and I ask for rice salad. Continue reading “Burmese Salads – Tenderly Tossed by Golden Hands”

Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cooking by Susan O’Brien Review

When you want to lose weight it can be very hard to find recipes that are as nice as your mother used to make, but not quite so fattening. With 200 recipes, this book holds out a lot of promise for diabetics or people like me who want to lose weight. Now, by sugar-free it doesn’t mean that the food produced will be entirely sugar-free, merely that you don’t add unnatural sugars.

My first impressions of this book are great. It looks good, and is certainly easy to read. The instructions are, I think, also very easy to follow. As cookbooks go it is also reasonably entertaining.

The recipes cover all the main meals, and even some snacks to keep you going through the long day.

If you have to avoid certain foods because of medical conditions it is ideal. In fact, recipes are generally free of gluten, sugar and usually dairy. Continue reading “Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cooking by Susan O’Brien Review”

Why the Food Pyramid Sucks

Have you ever had one of those moments… Someone asks you a question which seems to be really simple, yet you know if you answer it, it opens up for a 100 more questions?

After explaining to my friend about my feelings on why counting calories doesn’t work, I think he was having a little bit of a paradigm shift regarding his health, nutrition and weight loss. I had just created a monster and I knew more questions would come flying at me!

The penny had dropped and all was not as it seemed in the world of weight loss and marketing. He began to understand that nutrient dense food was of the utmost importance when it came to weight loss, not counting calories. He also began to realize that most of his daily diet consisted of food that was not nutrient dense. It was loaded with refined grains, white flour and starch like breads, pastas, rice etc.

Continue reading “Why the Food Pyramid Sucks”

Processing of Sugar From Sugar Palm

Sugar palm or kaong is abundant along river banks of Philippine archipelago. It has sweet yummy sap coming from its cut male flower. It has sugar content ranging form 10 to 20 degrees Brix. This characteristic makes it possible to process it into sugar. Kaong sugar is healthier compared to regular sugar and other substitute. It has low glycemic index (GI) of 35. Having low GI value, it is safe for diabetics. Kaong sugar can be use for coffee, tea, baking and cooking.

Low-GI foods are slow to digest and absorb. This cause gradual rise in blood sugar and insulin levels, and have proven benefits for health. It was shown to improve both glucose and lipid levels in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. They have benefits for weight control because they help control appetite and delay hunger. Low GI diets also reduce insulin levels and insulin resistance.

To produce kaong sugar:

1. Get freshly harvested kaong sap. The taste should be sweet, not alcoholic and not sour. Alcoholic and sour taste are results of fermentation. This occurrence will prevent you in achieving powdered kaong sugar. Color should be white, not yellow or gray. If refractometer is available, the sugar content should be between 10 to 20 degree Brix. Continue reading “Processing of Sugar From Sugar Palm”

How To Make Coconut Wine or The Process of Making Tuba Wine

Introduction:

In the northern part of the Philippines, coconut wine or tuba is referred to as Lambanog. It is made of pure sap (no bark mixed), milky white in color or almost colorless. It is usually consumed fresh as it easily turns sour. Some are distilled to make a harder and more potent alcoholic drink. In Visayas Islands, particularly in Leyte, tuba or coconut wine is made of coconut sap mixed with Barok (The bark of a red mangrove tree, and according to Wikipedia a red lauan tan bark tree) which serves as colorant and preservative that offset fermentation.

The step by step guide to making coconut wine or tuba wine: Continue reading “How To Make Coconut Wine or The Process of Making Tuba Wine”

Coconut Vinegar Benefits and Uses

There seems to be not enough exposure on the uses and health benefits of Natural Coconut Vinegar.

The whole world needs to know more about this unique and tasty product which is a traditional food in the Philippines and many other Asian countries. The versatility and goodness of this vinegar can be enjoyed in so many ways and I’m going to share some of them with you.

Coconut Vinegar is traditionally collected in the Philippines, by tree climbers who climb to where the stem that bears the flowers and fruits are, and cut the ends of the stems so it doesn’t bear fruit anymore. The remaining stems are then placed inside cylinders to catch the nectar (locally called “tuba”) that seeps out, which would normally feed the growing fruits.

Tree climbers go from tree to tree each day collecting the nectar caught in these cylinders. Once collected, the nectar ferments in about 40 to 60 days with the colour changing from a cloudy white, to a clear yellow to a brownish colour which is a natural occurrence of the fermentation process. Continue reading “Coconut Vinegar Benefits and Uses”

Aklan’s Chicken Inubaran

Chicken is the most common poultry dish feature in Philippine cuisine. The widespread recipes in various restaurants and by home chefs are evidences of this liking. What’s great about Pinoy delicacies is the creativity in indigenous cooking. When you get the chance to travel around places, each locality has popular specialty dishes that leave a mark in every tourist’s heart.

In the Western part of the Visayas region lies the oldest province in the country, Aklan. Along the rich heritage is their sumptuous cookery. And one of the most popular Aklan specialty dishes is the Chicken Inubaran (chicken with banana pith). It is a chicken dish cooked with coconut milk and slices of banana pith, locally termed as ubad, which is the center-most layer of the banana trunk. This tender and sweet white part is what gives the recipe a blissful flavor. The preparation of this dish is actually laborious since you have to cut down a whole banana tree to get the pith. But nowadays, you can buy canned hearts of palm or ubod (in Filipino) in local markets or grocery stores. Continue reading “Aklan’s Chicken Inubaran”

Enjoying Familiar Flavors With Chicken Tapa

If you are a fan of beef tapa and are quite fond of having some for breakfast, you may want to try this chicken breakfast tapa for a change. It may not be as famous as its beef counterpart, but it can definitely serve as an interesting and healthier alternative. Like the usual chicken meat that you find in the market, chicken tapa is brimming with nutrients that can surely make you and your family healthy.

Why Try Some Chicken Tapa

It has some health benefits for you and your family, and mostly because of its main ingredient – chicken. Chicken is a great source of protein, which helps in muscle development and growth. It is true that tapa is cured meat which means that you run the risk of consuming more sodium than the daily limits, but if taken in moderation, it can help support body weight goals because the meat is typically lean. This cured meat is also healthy for the bones as it contains phosphorus. Continue reading “Enjoying Familiar Flavors With Chicken Tapa”

Pineapple-Lemon Punch (Pineapple-Calamansi Punch)

If you are looking for a tasty, refreshing drink for a special occasion or a casual family get-together, the Filipino Pineapple-Calamansi or Pineapple-Lemon Punch is a great choice. It is very easy to prepare at home and is great to serve at anytime. Here is an easy recipe to prepare this cool, revitalizing fruity mocktail.

Makes/Servings: 5-6
Ingredients:
Pineapple Juice: 2 ½ cups
Lemon Juice: ½ cup
Ice: 1 cup, crushed or cubes (as per your choice)
Sugar: 6 tablespoons
Light Rum: 1 tablespoon to ½ cup (as per personal choice)
Orange: 2, sliced
Maraschino Cherries: 3-4, to garnish Continue reading “Pineapple-Lemon Punch (Pineapple-Calamansi Punch)”