What?s Cooking in your kitchen this Diwali? * Diwali Sugar Free Sweets * Diwali Namkeens * Send Diwali Gifts to India

By admin on March 27, 2010

With Diwali round the corner, the families have already started preparing for the big occasion. What is the one thing which is given major importance in this festival? Most of you must have guessed it right, it is the sweets. Diwali is one such festival which involves majority of sweets consumption in a year. The amount of sweets and variety of sweets which are prepared for Diwali is enormous and all these are prepared in its very old traditional way. 

Gujarati’s are famous world wide for their love for sweets. They start and end their day with sweets and therefore they expertise in making mouth watering dishes, let it be sweets or other savories. We share with you some of the traditional gujarati Diwali special dishes. 

Some of the traditional dishes which ever gujarati family prepares on Diwali are – Fafda, Mathiya, Lilva Kachori, Patra, Khandavi, Khaman Dhokada, in sweets they have Ghujara, Magaj, Besan ki Barfi, Soan Papdi, Kaju Katli, and many more Diwali Namkeens.

Sweets are added attractions for festivals like Diwali. A must eat because as one goes from home to home congratulating people on festivals it is considered a omen to offer sweets to the well wisher. It goes the same for dry fruits and Dry Fruits Sweets. Although you will realize how easy it is to prepare these sweets once you have gone through the recipe sections of various festivals.

Diwali Gifts are also exchanged with relatives and friends. They are send as gifts and that includes not only sweets but other Gift Items like chocolates, gift hampers, dry fruits, apparels and much more. People do a lot of shopping for home decors and for themselves as well. New apparels and accessories are shopped for and worn on all the 5 days celebration of Diwali.

Each and every festival brings with it the joy of the festival and ceremonious food that is awaited for all year long. These special recipes provide a great opportunity to discover and taste the delicacies of Indians. Everybody is allowed to forget about their health related problem and enjoy the food and sweets to the fullest.

Eshop.webindia123.com is an online gift shopping extravaganza. It was established with an objective of becoming a solid bridge for people expressing their feelings to each other. It is amongst the top gift portals for Send Diwali Sweets to India or anywhere in the world. You can also Send Diwali Namkeens Online.

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Most Types for Cooking With Limited Amounts of Sugar Free!

By admin on March 22, 2010

Do you love sugar but have to cut back? Does your low sugar diet preclude your favorite desserts and make your food taste bland? If so, not to worry, there are ways to bake even your favorite desserts using less sugar, with or without sugar substitutes. It just requires some experimentation and a working knowledge of what sugar actually does in a recipe. Once you understand what the role of sugar is in your baking and cooking, you can make appropriate adjustments and substitutes.

In most types of cooking, sugar is only there for the flavor – the sweetening power. You can easily reduce the amount of sugar that you use in fruit compote, for instance, and you’ll probably find that the fruit flavors are far more intense. Natural sugars like fructose in fruit and lactose in milk a lot of nutritional value along with the carbs and calories. Using natural sweeteners like apple juice is one way to add sweetness while cutting back on granulated sugar. Sugar substitutes are another way to add sweetness to drinks and food without adding calories or carbohydrates.

However, baking with sugar is a different story. Granulated sugar does more than sweeten baked goods. It can affect volume, moisture texture and color of the finished cakes, cookies, pies and candy. Substituting other ingredients for sugar in baked goods can cause your baked goods to fail – or at least come out far differently than you expect. If you are using sugar substitutes in baking, for more details visit to www.300-dip-recipes.com or trying to cut back on sugar in your baked goods, here are some tips to help you out.

Sugar substitutes work best in cold recipes, or added at the end of cooking time. Heat can destroy the sweetness of most sugar substitutes and leave an unpleasant aftertaste.
Try using sugar substitutes half and half with sugar in your baked substitutes.
Use spices and other flavor enhancers to bring out the flavor of dishes when you reduce sugar. Lemon and orange zest brings out fruit flavors. Vanilla and nut flavorings make baked goods smell buttery and sweet, which enhances the sweetness of your recipes. Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and allspice all enhance sweetness in recipes.
When you cut sugar in chocolate recipes, for more details visit to www.chef-123.com substitute strong, cold coffee for some of the liquid to enhance the chocolate flavor without adding additional sweetness.
Top reduced sugar baked goods with fruit or fruit spread to put the flavors right up front so that they are tasted immediately.
Sprinkle reduced sugar cakes with cinnamon and sugar substitute for the same effect.

Texture and Volume
Sugar helps cookie dough to spread during baking. Without sugar, the cookies may not spread properly. When baking cookies using sugar substitutes, flatten each cookie slightly before baking just as you would peanut butter cookies.
Intensify sweetness in a dish with fruit juice. Reduce the juice to 1/3 of its original volume by boiling it over high heat for extra sweetness.
Muffins and cupcakes cooked with lower sugar may not rise as high or achieve the round-domed top that we expect. Bake them in mini-muffin tins rather than regular size to allow them to rise higher.
Add ½ teaspoon of baking soda to a recipe to make baked goods with reduced sugar rise in a shorter baking period.
To increase volume, use whipped egg whites in recipes that call for eggs. Start with eggs warmed to room temperature.

Appearance of Baked Goods
Spray the top crust of a fruit pie with cooking spray and sprinkle with a tiny amount of sugar before baking. You can reduce the amount of sugar in the filling because each bite of crust puts the sweetness up front – and your pie will brown nicely as a bonus.
Cakes and breads made with reduced sugar or sugar substitutes don’t brown because there is less sugar to caramelize during baking. Try adding a tablespoon or two of molasses to the recipe to deepen the color and add moisture.
Sprinkle cinnamon or nutmeg on top of breads, cakes or muffins to give the impression of browning.
In fruit dishes, add a small amount of dark brown sugar to give the finished product a deep, rich, buttery brown color.

Texture and Moisture
For moister baked goods, use mashed or pureed fruits in place of some of the sugar and butter. You can use applesauce, but ripe bananas, sweet potatoes and carrots are more flavorful and add more tenderness and moisture. (Tip: Why puree? Buy baby food jars of pureed fruits and veggies to use in baked goods. They have no added sugar or salt.)
When using a sugar substitute, cooking times are considerably shorter. Pull cookies and brownies out of the oven before they look done. They’ll continue to cook while they cool.

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Cooking Techniques-free Recipes

By admin on March 17, 2010

Healthier eating habits can also easily begin at home, simply by some of the ways that food is prepared. Healthy food does not ever have to mean that your meals will be boring, either because there are many healthy cooking tips which will actually enhance the flavors while improving your health!

Healthy eating may be much easier at home, when you have control over how your food is prepared, and portion control. When it comes to eating out, keeping your habits healthy does not always appear to be quite as easy for you.

For this you can take this easy steps that eating out at a restaurant in order to both eat a nice meal, and to do it healthily. Making healthy eating choices is a step by step process which will eventually become a routine, and a way of life. Here are some tips for eating healthily while eating out.

Never think about giving dessert up, simply by choosing to eat healthily! There are many wonderful things that you can do with fruit, such as mixing a bowl of berries and low fat or fat free vanilla yogurt for a sweet treat at your home. Another favorite involves sautéed bananas which are sprinkled with a little bit of vanilla extract and cinnamon. There are so many things that you can do with healthy, fresh fruit that you will not even have to think about sugar-packed treats like candies and ice cream to make your life healthy.

CHEF’S PENCIL presents delicious, healthy & tasty recipes just only for you. We have all kind recipes of all seasons. We have a great variety in our delicious food like SUMMER RECIPES, SPRING RECIPES, AUTUMN-FALL RECIPES, WINTER RECIPES, COCKTAIL & DRINK RECIPES and many more things.

Sometimes, the food you eat is unable to provide you the required nutrition. It may happen due to several reasons, which primarily includes the consumption of inorganic food. The fruits and vegetables we consume are not grown organically. Another set of problems, when consumption of fast food becomes a habit. Ingestion of such food does not provide wholesome nourishment to your body. Skipping of meals is also a common practice leading to lack of nutrition. Sol gar supplements are made to meet such deficiencies.
Cooking Techniques

Chefs Pencil ? Online Resources and Guide Book for summer recipes, spring recipes, cocktail and drink, stock, souces, dips and more.

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The Benefits Of Sugar Free Cooking

By admin on March 7, 2010

Sugar free cooking is a great skill to learn. Especially when you realize what the benefits are to learning and implementing such a skill. Its important to understand the health risks that are associated with sugar in order to fully understand why sugar free cooking can really improve your life. A regular diet of massive sugar intake is very destructive to your overall health. When you routinely eat lots of added sugar particularly as part of a low-fiber diet that includes lots of processed food , your blood sugar levels are constantly up and down, peaking right after you eat, and then quickly dropping dangerously low as insulin floods your system to prompt your body to store the excess sugar. That is usually the reason why many people feel hungry right after eating a meal that contains high amounts of sugar.

The way the body works is that insulin clears the sugar from your intake, leaving your blood sugar levels very low. What most people don’t know is that because of the constant up and down of your sugar levels, your body becomes resistant to insulin, and clears the path for diabetes. Getting rid of a high sugar diet will eventually stabilize your blood sugar, and prevent diabetes. With a healthy low sugar diet, stabilized blood sugar control can also be a very helpful catalyst for weight loss. Insulin helps your body store blood sugar, and when you eat a high-sugar meal the left over sugar is stored as fat, because of the spike in insulin. Therefore getting rid of a lot of excess sugar can help you lose a lot of weight. So with that said, sugar free cooking can be very beneficial to your everyday diet. Even though it may be beneficial to practice sugar free cooking, when it comes to cooking and baking, sugar is an important ingredient. But with artificial sweeteners such as Splenda and Equal, cooking without sugar is now much more practical. There are numerous recipes available to help you begin the path to healthy sugar-free baking. Although these sweeteners can be used in everyday cooking, many people find it hard to replicate the effect of sugar in their recipes. For example, when baking a pound cake, many people use anywhere from 2 cups to 4 cups of sugar. Using the same amount of artificial sweetener in place of sugar in this recipe can leave the taste and texture of the cake lacking. In this example other techniques are needed to make the cake taste as it would if you were using sugar. There are other recipes that do not require you to do anything other than to  use substitute sugar in place of regular sugar, such as pumpkin pie. It takes some experimentation and creativity to learn the skill of sugar free cooking. For many people it is a process that takes time and patience, but the health benefits alone are worth it. And with sugar free cooking you can have all the pleasures of sugar without the consequences.

I am the owner of the everythingsugarefree blog. Check out the Blog here. http://everythingsugarfree.blogspot.com/

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Top Reasons Cooking Sugar Free is a Health Choice

By admin on February 20, 2010

Americans on average consume large amounts of sugar daily. This is a big problem in our society because increased sugar intake leads to numerous health problems. If you do not reduce the amount of sugar you consume, you may put yourself at risk for developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity. Sugar can be consumed in moderation, but to live as healthy as possible it is recommended to stay away from sugar as much as you can. If you are interested in eliminating sugar from your diet, a great place to start is with sugar substitutes. Sugar substitutes are beneficial to your health because they allow you to avoid the added calories provided by sucrose, which is table sugar.

 

 

<b>Reasons to Avoid Sugars</b>

 

 

 

Heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure are all serious problems that affect Americans daily, but child obesity is a new problem in America. This is a serious problem because it can lead to further health problem later in the child’s life. A study performed by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that children and teens consume sugar-sweetened beverages regularly and these drinks provide an extra 356 calories each day. The main cause of weight-gain is the added calories provided by sugar. Sugar is present in many foods and drinks that are consumed every day and most people eat more sugar than they realize. In order to help reduce the amount of sugar consumed daily; the following is a list of reasons for reducing sugar consumption a healthy alternative such as Splenda.

 

 

 

<b>Research on Excessive Sugar Consumption</b>

 

 

 

Research published in the United States has found that those who drink one cup of soda a day have an increased risk of gaining weight or developing type 2 diabetes than those who consume one cup per month. This study has also proven that type 2 diabetes and obesity are caused by sugar and high fructose corn syrup. This is the main reason one should consider a sugar substitute because more Americans are trying to live healthier lives by limiting sugars. It is also not necessary to sacrifice the flavor of your food and drinks. There are many types of sugar substitutes available on the market; you just need to find one that is best for you.

 

 

 

<b>Sugar Free Alternatives to Sugar</b>

 

 

 

Sugar-free foods may contain an ingredient called polyols. Polyols provide the quality of sugar based foods without the negative health risks. The main benefits of choosing foods sweetened with polyols are that they taste like sugar, provide less calories, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is allowing foods that use polyols to provide the claim “does not promote tooth decay.”

 

 

 

<b>Splenda as a Sugar Alternative</b>

 

 

 

Splenda, the artificial sweetener is a popular product that can benefit one’s health significantly. Splenda contains zero calories and it is beneficial to those who suffer from heath issues. One disease in particular that can be caused by sugar intake is diabetes. Diabetes is an illness that affects many Americans and those with the disease have to be extra careful not to consume too much sugar.

 

 

 

Diabetes is a disease where blood sugar levels become abnormally high. This results in those suffering from type 1 diabetes to inject insulin into their blood. Many who suffer from diabetes have switched to sugar substitutes because of the low carbohydrates and low amounts of calories present in these products. Artificial Sweeteners are also highly beneficial to diabetics because they provide the flavor of sugars without raising glucose levels.

 

 

<b>Sugar Substitutes are Excellent for Cooking</b>

 

 

 

When it comes to cooking and baking, sugar is an important ingredient. Because of the health risks associated with sugar, you may want to consider a sugar substitute such as Splenda. Splenda acts like a sugar and allows you to bake or cook your favorite meals without sacrificing the flavor provided by sucrose.

 

 

 

Many consume sugar daily and this provides added risks of serious health problems. Switching from sucrose to Splenda can change your life completely by lowering your chance of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. These problems come from the extra calories present in table sugar. Artificial sweeteners also help reduce one’s blood sugar by helping to control diabetes. There are many ways to avoid these health issues and the easiest is to avoid products with large amounts of sugar. There are numerous recipes available to help you begin the path to healthy sugar-free baking. You may also want to begin by considering the substitution of sugar with Splenda or other artificial sweeteners. 

 

 

 

Next time you decide to eat a candy bar or drink a soft drink, remember the health problems associated with excessive sugar consumption or choose sugar alternatives as your sweetener. Although sugar in small amounts is not bad for your health, it is best to avoid it altogether.

 

 

Lisa Parker is a freelance writer who focuses on topics concerning health and exercise, often discussing specific products such as Splenda.

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There Are Lots Of Simple Recipes To Use When Cooking With Kids

By admin on January 19, 2010

A child cooking activity includes a lot of fun in the kitchen. Cooking with kids opens the door for learning opportunities such as math, science and nutrition with the end result being something yummy to eat. There are lots of simple recipes to use when cooking with kids. Since kids love peanut butter and jelly, I have included this Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffin recipe for you to try with your child.Before beginning a cooking activity review some health and safety tips with kids. It is important that they wash their hands before, during and after handling food. This reduces any food borne bacteria (germs) being transferred to the food they are going to eat. For more details www.tailgating-recipe.com .Review safety tips on using knives, electric equipment such as mixers and blenders, and basic kitchen rules such as not running or participating in any horseplay during this activity. Provide aprons for the kids to wear and tie any long hair back off the face.Now you are ready to begin a cooking activity with your child. Pick an easy recipe to begin with and go over the recipe with the child or the group. Set out all the cooking tools that you will need. For more details www.apples-recipes.com This is a perfect time to review math concepts such as measuring, fractions, time and temperatures. You can also discuss science concepts of how certain ingredients like baking powder, baking soda, and egg whites can effect the properties of food.These Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins are a wonderful snack, breakfast treat and school lunch box item.Tools needed to complete this child cooking activity: * Mixing bowls in small, medium and large sizes * One to two spatulas or large spoons * Measuring spoons * Dry-ingredient measuring cups * Liquid measuring cups * Muffin pansIngredients needed are: * 2 cups flour * ½ cup sugar * ¼ teaspoon salt * 1 tablespoon baking powder * ½ cup peanut butter * 1 cup milk * 1 egg * 2 tablespoon melted butter * 1/3 cup jam (any flavor)Instructions to make your muffins:1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray muffin pans with a nonstick cooking spray.2. Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.3. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, peanut butter, egg and melted butter.4. Add the dry ingredients and stir until the flour disappears. Do not stir too much or the muffins will be tough.5. Fill the muffin pan wells half full with batter. Top each with ½ teaspoon of jam, then spoon more batter over the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.Store any leftover muffins in a resealable plastic bag or container. Kids will have some much fun with this cooking activity that they will be asking to cook all the time!

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Cool and Fun Kids Recipes, Classic Snack Recipes for Children

By admin on January 18, 2010

Making fun kids snacks is a great way to stave off boredom and keep the kids interested.  Learning to cook is a great activity that kids of all ages can do.  When the food is something fun that the kids are interested in, it can not only be a fun activity but a great learning experience as well.  Be sure to prepare a large area so that the kids can help measure, pour, stir and shake lots of fun recipes.  It’s a great idea to get out the aprons, tablecloths, and plan for a semi-messy kitchen while the kids have great fun making all kinds of fun and creative snacks for kids.  If you love cooking, you should share that love with your children.  Fun Kids recipes you can try at home are listed below.  Be sure to visit our Ebook Library for more great recipe downloads, including Fun Recipes for Kids!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

2 c Sugar

2 c Corn syrup

18 oz Peanut butter

8 c Rice Krispies

6 oz Butterscotch morsels

6 oz Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bring sugar and syrup to a boil. Add peanut butter and cook, stirring until well blended. Remove from heat and pour hot mixture over cereal. Mix quickly and thoroughly. Spread in a greased 9x12x2 inch pan. Sprinkle butterscotch and chocolate morsels over top. Press morsels into bar mixture lightly with spoon. When cool, cut into bars and store at room temperature.

 

Kids Trail Mix

4 c Chex cereal

1/2 c Dried fruit bits

1/2 c Raisins

1/2 c Yogurt covered peanuts

1/2 c Reeces Pieces

Put into a large ziploc bag and shake to mix.

 

For More Great Kids Recipes, check out Fun Recipes for Kids

Angela Sullivan is a professional interior designer, decorator and author. Sign up for a free decorating newslettter, and download or purchase the book Designing On a Budget at http://www.designingonabudget.com The e-book features a great bonus package with worksheets and kitchen ideas. For great decorating information, articles and resources, visit http://www.houseinteriordecorating.com. Also visit Our Ebook Digital Store for great home, family and business self improvement e-books starting at just $1.
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Five Easy Holiday Fudge Recipes

By admin on January 16, 2010

I love baking for the holidays.  There are always so many new recipes to try.  One of my favorite holiday treats is homemade fudge (without nuts, of course).  If your family loves fudge as much as mine does, make them the kind you know they like, and then have them try one of these recipes too.  You might find a new family favorite!  Our family indulges in a little Peanut Butter Fudge every holiday season. 

Candy Store Fudge

1/2 lb. butter, softened18 oz. chocolate chips8 oz. mini-marshmallows3 tsp. vanilla2 c. chopped nuts4 1/2 c. sugar1 can evaporated milk

Place the following ingredients in a large bowl: butter, chocolate chips, marshmallows, vanilla, and nuts and set aside. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly the sugar and evaporated milk and stir for exactly 6 minutes. (Start timing at the rolling boil stage). Mixture scorches easily. Pour this mixture over the ingredients in the bowl and mix with electric mixer until well blended, pour into buttered 9×13-inch pan. Refrigerate for 12 hours.

Peanut Butter Fudge   2 lbs. powdered sugar1 can evaporated milk1/2 c. melted butter or margarine 7 oz. marshmallow creme18 oz. jar of peanut butter Into large, heavy pan place sugar, butter or margarine and evaporated milk, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until ingredients melt. Continue cooking to soft ball stage, 235 degrees on candy thermometer. Remove, quickly stirring in marshmallow creme, peanut butter. Pour into 2 (8x8x2) greased pans. Cut into squares when cool. 

Butterscotch Fudge

12 oz. bag butterscotch chips1 can sweetened condensed milk1 1/2 c. miniature marshmallows2/3 c. peanut butter1 tsp. vanilla1 c. chopped peanutsdash of salt

Mix butterscotch chips, milk and marshmallows in saucepan; melt on stove. Remove from heat, stir in peanut butter, vanilla and salt. Stir in peanuts. Pour into 9″ square pan. When completely cooled, cut into small squares. Store fudge in refrigerator. 

Almond Cherry Fudge

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips1 can sweetened condensed milk 1/2 c. chopped almonds1/2 c. chopped red candied cherries1 tsp. almond extract

In microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and milk. Cover and microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes or until chips are melted. Stir until smooth. Stir in the almonds, cherries, and almond extract. Spread mixture into an 8×8 pan lined with foil that has been greased. Cover and chill for 2 hours or until set. Using the foil, lift fudge out of pan. Discard foil and cut fudge into 1-inch squares. Store in refrigerator. 

Peppermint Fudge

2/3 c. evaporated milk1 2/3 c. sugar2 tbsp. butter1/2 tsp. salt 2 c. mini-marshmallows1 1/2 c. chocolate chips1/2 tsp. peppermint extract1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Mix milk, sugar, butter, and salt in a sauce pan. Bring to a full boil, then boil for five minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add marshmallows, chocolate chips, peppermint extract, and walnuts. Stir vigorously until marshmallows are melted and thoroughly blended. Pour into 8-inch square pan. Chill. 

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom. For more recipes, organizing tips, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.
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Basic Cooking Terms and the Language Used in Recipes

By admin on January 16, 2010

It can be very frustrating when you are trying to follow a recipe, but you don’t understand the cooking terms used. Sometimes even instructions on a packet of pasta can confuse you – what does cook until “al dente” mean? So, let’s have a look at some basic cooking terms and the language used in recipes: –

Al dente – This term is often used with pasta and literally means “to the tooth/bite”. Boil the pasta until is tender but still has some “bite”, not soggy and falling apart. Packet pasta usually takes 5-10 minutes in boiling water.

Baste – This term is often used when roasting chicken or cooking meat in a marinade. For more details go to: www.classic-dessert-collection.com you will need to regularly “baste” the meat with the juices or sauce to keep it moist. You can use a spoon to spoon the juices or sauce over the meat or you can use a “buster” which is a bit like a syringe or bulb.

Beat – A term often used in cooking or baking. You may be instructed to beat and egg – simply crack an egg into a bowl and beat (stir rapidly) with a fork or whisk to combine the yolk and white. In cake recipes, you may be instructed to beat the margarine and sugar together – use an electric whisk or beater for ease.

Blanch – A recipe may call for blanching vegetable. This simply means to plunge them into boiling water for about a minute.

Chop – self explanatory but use a good sharp knife and try to chop vegetables etc. so that bits are uniform in size and thickness. Onions often have to be chopped finely so chop them as small as you can.

Cream – Cake recipes often instruct you to cream the butter or margarine with the sugar. Beat them together either with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until they are well combined and the mixture has turned a paler color.

Dice – If you are instructed to dice meat or vegetables, it means that you should chop into uniform squares.

Fillet – This word can either be used as a noun or a verb. A meat fillet is a good quality piece of meat which has been “filleted”, had the bones removed.For help visit: www.cooking-chinese-style.com if a recipe asks you to fillet a piece of meat or fish, it means you need to remove the bones. This is tricky so buy fillet meat or ask your butcher or fishmonger to do it for you.

Fold – Cake recipes often tell you to fold in the flour after creaming the margarine and sugar and adding eggs. Add the flour a bit at a time using a metal spoon and a figure of eight movement to “fold” the flour into the mixture while retaining the air added by creaming or beating.

Julienne – This term is used with vegetables. Julienne carrots are carrots which have been chopped into matchsticks or strips.

Marinate – To coat a piece of meat or fish in a sauce usually overnight or for a few hours in the fridge. The meat will take on the flavors from the sauce.

Pare – Remove the skin from fruit or vegetables.

Peel – Remove the skin from fruit, vegetables or prawns.

Poach – To cook in liquid. Poached eggs are cooked in boiling water and poached fish is often cooked in hot milk.

Puree – To puree a vegetable or fruit is to blend it until it is as smooth as baby food. Use an electric blender.

Sauté – You can sauté vegetables and this means to fry in hot oil over a high heat for a short amount of time.

Season – To flavor with salt and pepper.

Simmer – This term is often used with sauces or recipes like curry or chili. It means to bring a sauce to boiling and then turn down to a level where the sauce is bubbling but not boiling.

Stiff peaks – If you are instructed to beat cream or egg whites until stiff peaks are formed, then you need to whisk or beat until the mixture forms peaks which do not collapse and you could even turn the bowl upside down without the mixture immediately falling out.

Stir-fry – To stir-fry is to cook meat and/or vegetables in a wok at a high temperature. Stir-fry packs can be found in supermarkets and all you have to do is fry them briefly in hot oil in a wok, add sauce or spices and serve with noodles or rice.

Whisk – Use an electric whisk or a hand whisk to beat something like cream.

Hopefully these explanations will help you to feel more confident when using recipes.

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Family Favorite Asian Crock Pot Recipes

By admin on January 15, 2010

One of the easiest methods of getting dinner on the table quickly is with one of the smaller appliances that cook the slowest. What is this wonder appliance? Your crock pot slow cooker of course. There is a multitude of interesting and delicious crock pot recipes available these days. Keep your family well fed and looking forward to coming to the dinner table. By using your crock pot to prepare your meals, you can start it all in the morning and have supper waiting when you come home.

Just about everyone has slow cooked a nice beef stew, in fact it’s one of the most searched for crock pot recipes online. How about trying something different with your crock pot? If you and your family love Asian food, then there is a great Asian crock pot recipe out there to suit your taste and interest. We’ve included three Asian style crock pot recipes below. Give one a try this week and treat your family to a new favorite meal for dinner.

Chinese Pepper Steak

1-1/2 lbs boneless beef round steak

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup sauce

1 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tomato, chopped

2 red or green bell peppers, cut into strips

3 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp water

1 cup fresh bean sprouts

4 scallions, finely chopped

First, trim fat from steak and slice into thin strips. Mix together steak, garlic, salt, pepper, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sugar in your crock pot. Cover and cook on low about 8 hours. 30 minutes before cooking time is done, set your crock pot on high. Add tomato and bell peppers. Dissolve cornstarch in water in small bowl; stir into steak mixture. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until thickened. Stir in bean sprouts. Sprinkle with onions. Serve with rice.

Chicken Chow Mein

1 tbsp oil

1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 carrots, thinly sliced

4 green onions, sliced

3 stalks celery, sliced

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1/3 cup light soy sauce

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 clove garlic, crushed

8 oz bean sprouts

8 oz water chestnuts, sliced

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup water

Brown the chicken in skillet. Put chicken pieces in crock pot and then add all ingredients except cornstarch and water. Stir and cover; cook on low for 8 – 10 hours. Set crock pot to high and combine cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl; stir until dissolved. Stir into the crock pot liquids. Keeping cover slightly ajar to allow steam to escape, cook until thickened, about 15 to 30 minutes. Serve over rice or with chow mein noodles.

Szechuan Pork

1-1/2 lbs boneless pork chops

1 – 8 oz can bamboo shoots, drained

1 – 8 oz can water chestnuts, drained

6 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup Szechuan hot bean sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

2-1/2 tbsp minced fresh ginger

2 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry

4 tsp sesame oil

4 tsp sugar

8 cloves garlic, minced

Trim chops of excess fat and brown on both sides in a skillet on the stovetop. Place chops in the bottom of the crock pot and cover with bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and green onions. Combine remaining ingredients together in a bowl and pour over vegetables. Cook on low for 8 hours or until chops are tender and cooked through. Serve hot with cooked rice.

Get out of the kitchen fast with easy crock pot recipes that your family will love from ‘Family Crock Pot Recipes’ http://familycrockpotrecipes.com
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