Cooking Blog

Dinnerware is something that no home can do without,

You may be looking for dinnerware for your own home or alternatively buying some as a gift for friends or family.

As you probably already know, there are so many dinnerware options to choose from it can be quite bewildering, so what features should you look for?

Dinnerware Materials

The choice of materials for dinnerware is quite varied. However, there are a number of excellent types out there for you to choose from.

The more expensive materials include porcelain, china and EAPG. There are other, cheaper materials however and these include earthenware, stoneware, pottery and glass.

The type of material you eventually choose will depend on the application and look that you want to achieve. If you are interested in entertaining then you should make sure you get a dinnerware set made from bone china.

Popular choices for everyday use include glass and earthenware.

Other dinnerware considerations

Choosing dinnerware for use in family homes brings with it its own dangers, particularly if young children are involved. Many people have at least two sets, one for everyday use and another for special occasions.

Your interior color scheme will also affect the choice and color of pattern no doubt. Usually dinnerware is on display and of course you want it to fit in with the color scheme you have chosen for its surroundings.

Colors as well as the patterns and overall quality of the dinnerware will play a part in achieving the right look if you are looking to create colorful designer kitchens.

Consideration needs to be given as to whether your new dinnerware is microwave and dishwasher safe. It could be a wiser move just to wash the most valuable items by hand.

However, you will want to ensure that your everyday dinnerware is safe to use in these labor saving devices.

Finally, remember that dinnerware does not only comprise the plates and cups, you also need to consider the styling and practicality of the accessories such as soup bowls, salad dishes, condiment holders and gravy boats etc.

These items of dinnerware help to add a more expensive look to your set in addition you can always find a range of free kitchen ideas on the internet for further research.

Share This

There is much interest in Absinthe, which is also known as Green Fairy or La Fee Verte. People want to know what is the recommended amount of Absinthe to use when preparing a drink, how to buy it, what type to by and how to prepare it.

First you will need to buy quality Absinthe which is rich in essential oils and that contains wormwood. There are Absinthe substitute and fake Absinthes on sale that contain southernwood or roman wormwood instead of common wormwood (artemisia absinthium). Make sure you buy a real Absinthe. If you are in a country where it is hard to find a good quality Absinthe then you can make your own using essences from AbsintheKit.com.

After you have your Absinthe, you will need to learn the Ritural, or La Louche. This is the traditional French or Swiss way of preparing Absinthe and it uses one shot of Absinthe. Here are the instructions to follow:-

To perform the Ritual, you will need an Absinthe glass, a slotted Absinthe spoon, a lump of sugar and iced water.

- Pour between 25 - 50 ml of Absinthe into a glass.
- Rest the special spoon over the rim of the glass and place a cube of sugar on it.
- Showly drip iced water over the suger either by using a steady hand to pour from a carafe or from the tap of the fountain. Dripping it slowly will give the sugar chance to dissolve and drip through the slots of the spoon. You will see a lovely “louche” effect as the water mixes into the alcohol. The drink louches as the oils of the herbs are souble in alcohol but not in water and therefore make the mixture cmoudy when water is added.
- Sit down and enjoy your drink.

The Czech or Bohemian Method is very similar to the Ritual but is a modern way of preparing cheap Czech Absinthes. The Bohemian method is scorned by many Absinthe followers.

Tips and instructions for using the Bohemian method:-

- Pour 25 to 50 ml of Absinthe into a glass and dip the cube of sugar into it and soak the sugar.
- Place the sugar cube on the Absinthe spoon and rest the spoon on the rim of the glass.
- Set the sugar cube alight for one minute to allow the sugar to caramelize and melt. The sugar should drip thru the slots of the spoon and into the Absinthe.
- Put the spoon into the glass while pouring the iced water into the Absinthe to put out flames and to cause the Absinthe to louche.
- Enjoy.

If you want to enjoy your Absinthe properly the you will want some Absinthiana – Absinthe glasses, spoons and perhaps even an Absinthe fountain to control the flow of the water. You can find replicas of antique spoons and glasses for purchased from AbsintheKit.com.

What is the recommended amount of Absinthe to use when preparing an Absinthe drink? Use about 45 ml or a US shot. Obviously Absinthe can be used in cocktails so to a Google search to find recipes online.

Share This

Australian food - What really is tim tam?

Australian food? what is in reality Australian food, does Australian food even exist? is often the debate happening in many discussion groups on the web.

Australian food has been strongly influence by hundreds of different cultures worldwide: English, Italian, Greek, Spanish immigrants to say a few. Australian Immigrants have brought their traditional food from their home countries and this has been combined with Australian produce and styles resulting in a well renowned and unique fusion, is this Australian food some ask.

The native ‘Australian’ Aboriginals too have influenced culinary Australia with their ‘Bush Tucker’ which means ‘ Australian Food ‘ so when you’re planning your Australia visit, prepare yourself for some real local delicacies that are a combination of the familiar with the outrageous, maybe Australian food. Some are trying to establish that Australian Food is actually Aboriginal food as the only real and authentic Australian food. Australian food or not it is hard to define.

Australian aborigines in fact selected Australian food which was available around them and ate it for nutritional purposes. There was no refrigeration or storage containers at that time in Australia. In every part of Australia, the local food knowledge of which Australian food plants were edible, palatable, or delicious, as well as the best time for harvest, harvest and preparation methods, were passed down by word of mouth to the next generation. That was the real Australian Food for the aborigines.

If you are passing though Australia you may as well taste some of the animals that some consider this to be the ultimate Australian food and when back home regret not to have had the opportunity to try. What Australian food did you try?

Have you had Kangaroo meat, crocodiles or emus meat many are asked. Crocodile meat though not common throughout Australia is available in some North Territory restaurants, perhaps as a novelty more then anything else and with some restaurants wanting to create Australian food based menus, that include Kangaroo and Emus. You might want to head off there to give that sort off Australian Food a try, maybe….

To a more conventional Australian Food, diary in Australia is very popular with a thriving cheese industry that exports worldwide. While we are talking about cheese, we can’t fail to mention the wine produced in large amounts by its wine regions, which have gained a strong reputation overseas. In addition to it’s grapes, Australia regions are ideal for the growth of a good Australian food range of fruits from apples and oranges to more exotic fruits like kiwi fruits, pineapples, bananas and mangoes.

So again Australia food …. Australia with its waterways has some fantastic fresh sea food which is cooked in a variety of unique ways. Two examples of popular Australian food indulgence are Crayfish and Barramundi. Crayfish are a crustacean like lobster, but instead of large claws the Crayfish have a spiky exterior for defense. Barramundi, a tasty prized fighting fish, are a large fish found in both fresh and salt water especially in the North of Australia a real Australian food love.

Damper is a more quintessential example of Australian food. It is a type of bread it was common amongst bush tucker (food) settlers. Macadamias are a tasty Australian nut that is a popular duty free item when you’re at an Australian airport so you might want to have have some of this Australian food delight in your suitcase to show off at arrival.

For a true indigenous Australian food experience you could try some traditional Aboriginal food like yams or grubs. You will probably have to be on a tour that involves finding yams or grubs in the appropriate region to sample this type of Australian food.

Another well known Australian Food is certainly Vegemite : an Australian food yeast based spread, similar to the US Marmite. It has an extremely strong distinct taste that is either loved or disliked and some say, likely an acquired taste.

So…some great Australian food that really is worth trying at least once, somethings you can only wish you tried once you have left the airport.

So Australian food or not Australian food? We leave this dilemma with you to be solved!

AussieFoodShop.com
Delivering Australia Worldwide
Free quick and easy recipes.

Share This

Food and the kitchen is something that has become the centre of our families no matter where we happen to be in the world, and we see that often it is our children that are driving the choices that we make in the kitchen. When we find that we are constantly dealing with kids cooking recipes and children\’s recipes in order to cater for the needs and wants of our children; then we have to get to get good at children\’s recipes for our children. We have to deal with preparing foods for when they want to go to school and for those weekend trips; this means that we really do need to get to grips with children\’s recipes as the types of food that our children like to eat. As with anything else the more we do it the better we get and that goes for when we are looking to prepare good quality recipes for kids and so it makes sense not to just look upon this as a chore but; as something that is a core part of our overall food preparation activities.

When we are dealing with children we know that they often have ‘sweet teeth’ and then we find ourselves preparing cake decorating supplies and carrot cake recipe in order to make sure that they are catered for adequately. Many people are hoping to improve their carrot cake recipe and the associated preparations skills and are taking steps to do this by going to weekend or evening classes where they can learn the very latest cooking and preparation skills in order to take their cooking abilities to the next level. When it comes down to it we all love cakes and desserts as; they are seen to be one of the key things that round of a really nice meal. It is almost like having a good quality wine with our dinner – really nice carrot cake recipe and carrot cake recipe is something that adds to the overall dining experience.

We also have to make our skill levels develop for sugar cookie recipes and cookie dough as we have to deal with preparing cookie dough in line with carrot cake recipe and children\’s recipes. Yes, the young people amongst us really do like to eat the sweet things such as pasties and cookies so the best we can do is to make sure we prepare the best cookie and pastry cake recipes to make them happy. When we do this, we will add to our overall food and recipe preparation skills and that will be a great thing for all of the family members.

Share This

Pure drinking water is second only to oxygen as the most important necessity of a healthy life.

We as a human race can live for around a month without eating but we would die if we did not drink healthy water for three days. The human body consists of around 80% water and if we did not drink plenty to replenish this, our system would poison itself.

Drinking pure water helps the body to digest food and keeps our temperature consistent. It also distributes life giving oxygen to the body and removes waste and buidl up of toxins. You can begin to see what may happen when we lack drinking water in the amounts we need to function - the body can begin to suffer from the debilitating effects of dehydration. Some of the effects of this are:

• Stomach Pain
• Lack of Energy
• Dry “Cotton” Mouth
• Dizziness and Headaches

Long term, the effects of dehydration can cause issues such as weight gain, high stress levels, kidney stones and other urinary problems and even asthma.

Converslely, the health benefits of drinking water include increased concentration, healthy skin, protection against colds and flu and detox of your body’s natural build up of toxins and waste.

It is well known that 8 glasses of water per day is about the right amount of water to drink to stay healthy, vital and active. This amount is simply a guide to how much pure water you should drink. Obviously if you are exercising or are experiencing higher than normal temperatures, the health benefits may be lost if you do not increase your intake.

8 glasses of water per day is enough to cover the body’s natural loss of around 2.4 litres of water per day. This is lost through perspiration, urine, sweat and faeces on a daily basis, and an increase in the loss from any of these areas will require an increase in the intake of drinking water to make up for this loss.

Be sure to benefit your health from drinking pure water.

Share This

Throughout history and across the world, people from all cultures have used smoke to flavour and preserve a wide range of perishable foods, though meat and fish are the most common. For centuries it was, along with salting, an essential way of maintaining subsistence over late winter and into spring. It also allowed for fish to be consumed inland, as they could not be transported any distance from the port of landing unless they were preserved. Traditionally for sale only in home markets, the use of smoking for preservation allowed fish to be widely exported to the West Indies in the infamous Triangle Trade between Britain, it’s northern colonies and the West Indian plantations.

The rapid growth of logistical infrastructure, begining in the 1840s, enabled the transportation of perishables including large quantities of fresh fish over even longer distances. Heavily smoked and salted products began to dwindle as a result of the improvements to transport infrastructure, as more food could be delivered without the need for such preservation. Smoked fish and meat soon became traditional products, rather than necessary ones. Where smoking was once necessary to preserve food, it is now used more often to simply provide a pleasant mild smoky flavour.

Nowadays, smoking for preservation is common in less developed countries where transportation is limited and climate extremes impact upon food life cycles. In more developed countries where transportation and methods of preservation are increasingly efficient, smoking remains popular for texture and flavour. Smoking of fish especially has remained very popular. Smoked salmon, for example, is considered something of a delicacy in many parts of the world due to it’s delicate taste and moderately high price. Smoked mackerel and smoked haddock have also remained particularly popular. Fish can be cold smoked, to be cooked at a later date, or hot smoked, providing a stronger flavour and Cooking the fish as it smokes.

Share This

By Jim Nettleton

Here’s another tasty recipe from my private collection. Enjoy!

Normal 0

INGREDIENTS

4 chicken leg quarters, skinned

2 large cans chicken broth

1 small package saffron yellow rice

1 small package Velveeta cheese

1/2 pint heavy cream

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. ground rosemary

1 tsp. poultry seasoning, preferably Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Poultry Magic

2 tsp. dried minced onions

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tblsp. flour or cornstarch

In a large pot place chicken broth, garlic, rosemary, poultry seasoning, minced onions and pepper. Add chicken. Cover pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to active simmer. Cook for 40 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, prepare rice according to package instructions.

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

When chicken is done, remove from pot and save pot contents. Place chicken in lightly buttered baking dish and put in oven to crisp for about 15 minutes – keep an eye on it to avoid overdoing the crisping.

While chicken is baking, strain liquid in the pot, then return the liquid to the pot. Pour off all but about 3 cups of the remaining liquid.

Cut Velveeta into small pieces to aid melting. Add cheese to the pot. Add the heavy cream. Over medium heat, stir thoroughly until the mixture is smooth. Mix flour or cornstarch with a small amount of warm water to smooth, then add a little at a time to thicken the sauce, while stirring constantly. Mixture should be thick enough to pour slowly.

Place a bed of rice on each plate, place 2 leg quarters on top of the rice and smother thoroughly with the sauce.

Serves 2.

Share This