Benefits of Learning How to Cook

I grew up in a very large family composed of a dozen of children, 6 boys and 6 girls. One can imagine how a 14-seater dining table is filled with food day in and day out on normal, ordinary days. In a large family like ours, kitchen is always the busiest part. Having a family of my own, I just can't help admiring my parents. They managed to feed us varieties of food daily, complete and healthy. Both my mother and father knew how to cook. During those olden times, mothers usually stayed home, acted as just plain housewives, attending to every needs of the family members. My father cooked more often than my mother did. He really loved to cook and this worked best for the whole household, minus one chore for my mother. We were trained to help in the preparation of the ingredients (and in almost all household chores). Even the smallest task as peeling, mincing or chopping or washing the utensils, was a big deal to us when we were young, For me, I felt I contributed a lot already. We had so much fun and enjoyed each other in the kitchen, until such time that we were the ones cooking for the family already and my parents were just watching

From the scenario in our family kitchen, had my parents didn't know how to cook, bonding with the rest of the family while cooking in the kitchen would never be possible. The point here, it helped greatly in fostering good relationships among family members and at the same time, everyone learned even just the very basic in cooking.

Learning and knowing how to cook can flourish into a food business. And we all know that food- related businesses can most likely succeed than fail, food being a basic need. Even the smallest food stall that carries only a single product and requires a simple cooking technique as frying or grilling can be a good source of income.

On friends and family gatherings, special occasions like weddings and birthdays, food is essential. A gathering or a party can never be called one if there's no food served. And rendering such occasion requires a lot of expenses. Normally, there is a need to hire a cook or a chef or a catering service to attend to the food to be served. But, if one or several members of the family can cook, expenses for this can be lessened. Foods to be served can most likely be delicious and satisfying since they are prepared by cooks who definitely knew the guests likes and tastes.

There are still lots of advantages that cooking brings. All of the above mentioned are just but some reasons why one should learn how to cook. I only have this to say, this is one most satisfying, fulfilling and most gratifying task that one needs to learn.

Tips for Perfect Baking

Hi again everyone! Back after the Halloween. More of holidays coming, Thanksgiving and Christmas, meaning, dining just everywhere and anywhere with family and friends. Baked products are ever present when dessert time comes and they are the ones that makes an ordinary meal special. It becomes special when spruced up with cakes, pastries, pie and cookies. Foods served on special occasions like birthdays and weddings seemed to be incomplete without them .They are saved for last because they are the best. So, cooking these baked products should be done perfectly, not soggy in consistency, nor dry, crumbly nor tough. Important and basic rules should be followed to make these very tempting, sweet baked foods successful. Let me share them with you.

·         One very important rule is, strictly follow the recipe directions. Exact measurement is essential to avoid the imperfections I mentioned earlier. So, read the recipe carefully.

·         All ingredients should be ready before starting. As much as possible, make sure that all are fresh and best in quality.

·         Be ready with all the baking utensils like mixer, measuring cups, whisk, baking pans among others. Arrange them in order as specified in the recipe. In this way, there is that kind of ease – feeling and movement as you go along.

·         Be accurate in measuring all the ingredients, never over or under measure. Don’t shake or pack the measuring cup if not specified in the instructions.

·         Always sift the flour before measuring, then, sift again with the baking powder. Sifting is needed to break the clumps and adds air to the flour and makes measurement uniform. This also makes cakes and pastries lighter. Sifted flour is lesser in weight (about 20%) than flour that has settled. But the best way to have uniform results is to weigh the flour. Many recipes nowadays give the measurements of ingredients by weight.

·         Always beat in the eggs one at a time unless specified.

·         When the instructions call for pre-heating the oven at a specific temperature, do it, no more no less.

More tips for perfect baking:

·         To avoid over cooking, take the cake out of the oven immediately after baking and place it on a rack, if available, or on a pan placed on top of a wet rag to cool off.

·         Place a dish of cold water at the bottom shelf of an oven to prevent the edges from burning or if the cake browns before it is cooked when baking small cakes.

·         To avoid icing breaks when slicing cakes, wet the knife in boiling water before cutting the cake.

·         Dip the utensils in boiling water occasionally when icing the cake to avoid the icing from drying up.

·         Refrigerate cakes with frosting made with eggs.

·         For instant decoration of a cake, use empty, clean, squeeze-type mustard or catsup containers and use the narrow spouts for drawing and writing with icing.

·         But if cake is really a failure, never throw it away. Simply cut it into squares and top it with whipped cream and syrup to make it as pudding slices.

      Last but not the least, put your heart in it. Love and enjoy baking to make it perfectly right and surely failure is out of the way.

Turning Leftovers into a Dinner Delight

Done with your meal? What happens to the leftover portions not eaten?  Do they get consumed later or do they sit in the fridge until they start to smell and finally tossed? With the present economy using leftover is the most sensible thing to do. This saves time and when done right, yields easy, pleasing meals for your family. Leftovers usually do not sound good but with good planning, multiple means can result from the effort of preparing for one. Let me show you some examples.

Pork Loin and Rice

You had a good roasted pork loin and rice for dinner and there is some of everything remaining. You don’t want to serve the same thing for the dinner the following night so the pork loin get pushed to the back of the refrigerator.

That’s what usually happens. Not anymore! Eating leftovers the way they were originally served, can easily turn family members off. Let’s use some originality to keep that pork loin from going to waste and having an interesting and healthy meal.

Chop the pork loin up into bite size pieces. In a large skillet or wok, stir mixed vegetables (use a bag of frozen vegetables as a quick alternative), an egg, and the chopped pork loin. Add the leftover rice (or if there’s not enough leftover rice, make a new batch), with a little soy sauce and other seasoning to make pork  fried rice. Now you have a whole new dinner for your hungry family.

This is just one way of turning leftover into a new and flavourful dish. The same can be done using chicken, seafood or beef.

Hamburgers

Leftover hamburgers for dinner can be chopped so they would appear like ground beef once more. The meat can be combined with chilli powder and taco sauce to make beef tacos. Or simply combine it with sauce, tomatoes, chopped peppers and beans to have a pot of chilli.

Just be creative and imaginative and you can find so many ways of turning dinner leftovers into a flavourful and delightful dishes. Now you can have not only one meal for a day but several meals for the week making dinner easier. Sometimes you can prepare dishes on the weekend when you have more time and put them in the freezer to be pulled out for a quick dinner. You don’t have to have the same thing all week but can switch things around with different side dishes combined with leftovers from the main course that looks different.

Surely your family will be surprised in your ability to have different meals during the week that are both good and easy. Besides that, you will save money on your grocery bill by making things go further and not having to throw spoiled food in the trash. So, try these ideas and add some of your own to please the appetite of your family.

Saving Money on Grocery BiIls

With prices going up the scale for almost all commodities, a need to find ways on how to save money is really necessary. Food as a basic necessity eats up a very large percentage of the family budget. But there are still a lot more ways to save on groceries and might as well save on gas too. Save on gas because if the supermarket or the grocery store is nearby, just walk to exercise as well. Now, here are some tips on how to save on grocery bills.

Always take a list of the items to be purchased. This way, only the necessities are bought and thus avoiding those not needed. Be disciplined enough to stick to the list. 

Purchase by volume or bulk especially on staples. Some commodities are cheaper when bought by volume like detergent soaps, toilet papers, vegetables, meat products, cereals, juices and condiments. Just keep in mind what is frequently used.

Using collected coupons add up to savings, so, make it a habit to collect coupons from the papers. They are usually in the papers for promotional items or new products. Whether you like the promo item or not and just got curious about it, at least it was purchased at a discounted price.

Consider the items on sale but take note of the expiry dates especially on food stuffs. If the item is good in  maybe a week or month before the expiration just like fresh milk, soy sauce or other seasonings, canned goods and condiments and other items , at least it must be a fast consumable.

Refrain from buying prepared foods but instead go for the staple food that is cheaper. Always consider which costs less, a prepared food or one that is prepared and cooked at home like a box of spaghetti and cheese. There is an advantage when food is home-cooked. It can be cooked more than enough for the whole family at a lesser cost.

Never shop when hungry. It is more likely to pick up that extra food stuff like chips or cookies that are expensive when the craving for food becomes intense. Better do shopping after a meal, mind is alert and can have good judgement and decision.

Do your shopping on the same store. Being familiar with the area on where to find the stuffs needed helps not to get items in the list and makes familiar with the prices. This also avoids buying stuffs not needed as you go along the lanes where there is always a temptation to pick them. And besides, knowing the area where needed stuffs are found is also time-saving.

Implementing all of these help beat high prices and still feast on the food you enjoy and in time can see the actual savings. The thing is, just be serious with the implementation and think of other ways than what are mentioned above and surely make that dollar go a long way for that food stuffs.

Alternatives for Gluten Free Foods for a Healthy Living

The stay of my mother in the hospital for more than a week, made me realized that a healthy lifestyle is really that important. Though she is now 85 years old, she is still up and about. After all these years , this was her second time to be hospitalized due to pneumonia. But i really admire my mom's courage and fighting spirit and yes i admire her most for adhering to a healthy lifestyle. By now, i would like to share with you one way of keeping healthy, and  that is- eating  gluten-free products.

Health issues are mainly the reasons why one eats gluten free foods.  So, it is best to have the knowledge on what food contains gluten so it can be easily removed from our diet and find a substitute instead.  Gluten is a kind of protein which is very strong and elastic particularly found in wheat, barley and rye. Baked products usually contain gluten.  It is gluten that binds ingredients in cookies, pies, and cakes and also makes them moist. The texture of baked products is a result of the air trapped within the sticky boundaries of the products. 

Some develop allergies and many avoid gluten because of a gluten intolerance or what is known as celiac disease. People suffering from this experience immune system reaction that actually breaks down the lining of the intestine that leads to malabsorption of nutrients.

Here are some alternative flours that are gluten free so there is little need to not be able to enjoy baked products.

• Potato starch flour – gluten free thickening agent perfect for cream based soups and sauces. A perfect substitute because of its high starch component.  Mix with a small amount of water for hydration to start it works like a glue. Then, substitute it in place of flour but use half of the amount of flour called for to get the right proportion in the recipe. This is available in health food stores.
• Tapioca Flour – light, white and very smooth flour from cassava roots. Use this kind of flour for  a  nice, chewy baked products like French bread or white bread. This easily combines with soy flour and cornstarch and is available in health food stores.
• Corn Flour – milled from corn and blends well with cornmeal for muffins or cornbread. This is perfect for waffles or pancakes. This can be purchased in health food stores. 

• Soy Flour – a nutty tasting flour rich in protein and high in fat content. The fat content makes baked products smooth in texture. This is combined with other flours to bake brownies, muffins and cookies or any baked products with fruits and nuts. Available in health food stores.
• Cornstarch - a refined starch that comes from corn. This is combined with other flours for baking. Mostly use as clear thickening agent for pudding, sauces and Asian cooking. Readily available in grocery stores and health food stores.
• Cornmeal – a ground corn that comes from either white or yellow meal. Usually combined with other flours and gives a strong, delicious corn flavour in white cakes, pan cakes and waffles. This can be bought in grocery stores and health food stores.
• Brown Rice Flour – comes from unpolished brown rice and has more nutritional value than typical flour because of the bran that it contains. Excellent for baking muffins and cookies or for more dense breads.

• White Rice Flour – a perfect basic flour for gluten free baking. This is excellent for baking because it doesn’t impart any unwanted flavours.  This works well when combined with other flours. The best white rice flour is the fine textured one. This is readily purchased in Asian stores and health food stores.

Gluten Substitutes:

Since gluten is the substance that holds together baked products and make them moist and provides  good  textures,  there is  a need to find a substitute  that will provide similar characteristics without changing texture or flavour.  The following are best substitutes for gluten.

Xanthum Gum – this is formulated in the laboratory, and comes from the dried cell coat of Zanthomonas Campestris.  This works well as a gluten substitute in yeast bread and other baked goods. This is available in health food stores.

Guar Gum – this is a powder form produced from the seed of Cyamopsis  tetragonolobus.  A  more natural binder and an excellent substitute for gluten. This can be purchased in health food stores.

Pre - gel starch – an acceptable gluten substitute. This reduces crumbling in baked products.  Available

 in health food stores.

Eating gluten free is not really hard.  It’s just knowing what best replaces gluten for the recipe that are being prepared. It is a matter of figuring out what works best as a replacement.