Useful Cooking Tips For The Novice Cook

 By Karen Li 

Photo: escoffieronline.com
 
Everyone loves a good meal. However not everyone can cook a good meal. Despair not for cooking is a skill that can be easily learned. Eating healthy home-cooked meal should be a choice you readily choose. Here are some quick tips to get you going.

Whether you are using stainless steel cookware, non-stick cookware or maybe the environmental-friendly green cookware, always make sure the pots and pans are thoroughly cleaned before using and after using them. Dirty cookware with bits of food still stuck inside can ruin whatever dish you are cooking. Besides, it can be rather unhygienic and may even cause stomach upset.
Getting organized before the start of proper cooking is essential. Prepare all the necessary ingredients in advance. Get ready all the pots and pans needed. This is to avoid frantically searching for a missing ingredient or cooking tool. This is especially true of Chinese stir-frying using a Asian wok. Speed is essential for successful stir-frying.

If you are new to cooking, then it is better to measure the ingredients accurately. The correct amount of salt, sugar and whatever sauce you are using contribute towards the delectable taste of the dish. This is also true of the oil used for cooking. This will help to prevent your dish from getting too oily or too dry. You can skip the measuring part once you have become more expert in cooking.
Freeze left-over sauces in ice trays. All you have to do is just sauté some in a pan for a quick meal. Leftover vegetables or meat can be used for fried rice. Just add in some spices such as minced ginger, garlic or basil and you have a nutritious meal to enjoy.

Here is a tip to lower the fat content in your mashed potato. Add cauliflower and mashed together with the potato. Mashed potatoes and mashed cauliflower have the same texture and color but now the dish has much lower calories, a tasty dish of healthy home-cooked mashed potato for your enjoyment. Adding in hot milk will also result in more fluffy mashed potato.

Here is another quick tip to remove the fat from the surface of your pot of hot soup. Place an ice-cube on a spoon. Then skim the surface of the soup. The fat will cling to the spoon and can now be easily removed. That is the beauty of home cooked soup - tasty, less oily and healthy.

Cooking can be so fun. Enjoying healthy home cooked meals with your family and loved ones can be so gratifying and warming to the soul. As the saying goes, "practice makes perfect" and this certainly applies to cooking too. Have fun discovering new flavors, new methods. You might even discover the hidden creative side of you.

Wondering what is the best cookware or safe cookware to use? Please click here for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karen_Li

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7523128

Share

Traditional Bacalhau Dishes in the Algarve

 By Larissa Vinci 

Photo: 2.bp.blogspot.com
 
Many tourists who visit Portugal are surprised by the popularity of the dried, salted codfish called bacalhau. This fish can be considered a symbol of Portuguese cuisine. It is said that there are over 365 ways to cook bacalhau and more than 1,000 recipes in Portugal alone. There are many recipe variations depending on region. This fish is usually served with green or mature wines. Popular dishes include Bacalhau da Consoada, Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá, Bacalhau com Piri-piri, Bacalhau Gratinado, and Bacalhau Frito à Açoriana. Many recipes have their origins in the Algarve.
This region is known for its delicious desserts and fine wines. Most restaurants located here serve modern and traditional bacalhau dishes. There is even a section dedicated to this fish in the supermarket. Once you have tasted bacalhau, you will understand why it is traditionally served up as the main course during holidays. Here are some of the most famous bacalhau dishes in the Algarve:

Bacalhau no Forno

Bacalhau no Forno is a typical salted cod fish recipe in the Algarve. In order to prepare it, you need cod fish fillets, tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, white wine, and potatoes. This dish has a specific taste and a salty flavor. It is said that Bacalhau no Forno is one of the simplest and most delicious fish cod recipes.

Bacalhau à Algarvia

Bacalhau à Algarvia or golden codfish with potatoes is a traditional recipe that can be found in most restaurants and dining venues. For this recipe you need salted cod fish, russet potatoes, garlic, onion, flour, parsley, and olive oil. This dish is served hot.

Açorda de Bacalhau

Açorda de Bacalhau is another typical dish from the south of Portugal. The recipe has been passed down from generation to generation. It is made with dried cod fish, eggs, extra virgin olive oil, fresh coriander, garlic, and artisan bread. The dish is usually served with black and green olives. Everyone seems to enjoy this recipe, and its taste is divine.

Bacalhau à Assis

It is said that this recipe was invented by the owner of a guesthouse who, surprised by a snowstorm, had to use his last remaining ingredients to feed his guests. Bacalhau à Assis is made with olive oil, potatoes, codfish, onions, carrots, red peppers, smoked ham, eggs, and parsley. The final result is a simple yet delicious recipe that will shake your senses. This dish is popular all over the country.

Some of the most famous Portuguese recipes have their origins in the Algarve. Whether you want to travel to this region or move here, tasting bacalhau is a must. This traditional dish is iconic for the local cuisine.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larissa_Vinci

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7487140

Share

How to Make Seitan: A Great Meat Substitute

 By Lynda Edwards 

Photo: media.npr.org

Even for a non-vegetarian, learning how to make seitan at home can be a skill worth learning. For one thing, it beats having to race out and catch a chicken or butcher a steer. And for another, seitan is fairly easy to make with the right ingredients on hand, notably gluten flour or vital wheat gluten (essentially the same). It's also relatively inexpensive. [Do please, however, stay away from this food if you're gluten intolerant. Even its great taste, high protein/low-carb content, and usability won't make up for the pain.]
What Is It?
For many people, seitan is a terrific source of vegetarian protein. Pronounced "say-tawn" or "see-tawn," it's sometimes referred to as "mock chicken" in Asian restaurants. But you can add seitan to dishes in virtually every cuisine, from Italian to Vietnamese and points in between. You can grind it to make sandwich mix, make delicious wraps with it, and even dehydrate little strips for snacks. In fact, dried seitan makes a great road food or trail mix when combined with seeds, nuts, and perhaps a little dried fruit.
By simply adding this great product to your larder, you'll broaden your protein options considerably. If you can buy it locally, lucky you! If you cannot, just make it at home. This, thanks to gluten flour or vital wheat gluten (essentially the same), is fairly easy to do. In fact, you can find quite simple recipes all over the Internet; with gluten flour and some seasonings, you're pretty much ready to go whenever the mood strikes.
Securing the Gluten Flour
When making seitan, you must have gluten, as it's the principal ingredient. This flour, treated to remove both bran and starch, can sometimes be found in supermarkets. But if your local market does not or will not stock it, you can also buy gluten flour and/or vital wheat gluten from Amazon if you live in North America.
If you do not, don't be dismayed. When gluten flour isn't readily available, you can actually make your own gluten, although it's considerably less convenient than simply buying the powder and going on from there. Still, it's perfectly do-able, and you can find instructions with visuals right here.
Putting the Seitan Together
When preparing the dough, you will first mix together a group of ingredients such as these: vital wheat gluten; perhaps some nutritional yeast; garlic, herbs and other seasonings; tamari, barbeque sauce, or ketchup; and a little wine, water, and/or broth. Then you'll knead the seitan for a short while and pop it into a pot of flavorful broth and simmer until it's thoroughly cooked. Nothing to it, really! And yet it tastes so good and is so versatile. You can find simple recipes all over the Internet.
At our house, we use it as a protein in pasta recipes and also as one of the filling ingredients for our vegetarian shepherd's pie recipe. We couldn't get along without it, and you may eventually feel the same-particularly if you're vegetarian or vegan. Plus, now you actually know how to make this stuff yourself, and how cool is that?

Running out of ideas for vegetarian meals? Give yourself a seven-day break from meal planning with the menus in our Free Report. Claim yours at http://www.vegetarian-diet-tips.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lynda_Edwards

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7446668

Share