TOP 5 COOKING TIP AND TRICKS OF THE DAY 4

To make puris soft and fluffy use milk instead of water when kneeding the dough.

To ensure that dal cooks quickly, add a little bit of oil and turmeric powder to it before pressure cooking.

 

To brown onions, add a little salt to the pan. This speeds up the process.

 

In our warm climate bananas tend to get over-ripe. To stop the process of ripening put bananas in the refrigerator. The skin may turn black, but the fruit itself will remain firm.

 

Never store onions and potatoes in the same bag or container. Separate them to prevent the potatoes from rotting.

 

Tip of the Day – Never Refrigerate Bread…Freeze It!

Tip of the Day – Never Refrigerate Bread…Freeze It!

The best way to keep bread is at room temperature. After 2-3 days, you should wrap the bread well, put it in a freezer bag and freeze it.  Never store any bread in the refrigerator, because the cold temperature (38º-40º) accelerates the crystallization of the starches, causing the bread to stale much faster. When I bake a bread, as soon as it cools completely, I cut it, freeze half immediately and keep the other half cut-side down on a cutting board covered with a clean cloth. When that’s consumed, I take out the frozen half, defrost it at room temperature or wrap it in foil and bake in a 450º oven for 10 minutes and it tastes just as good as the day it was baked.

The Top 4 Foods To Avoid If You Want To Be Healthy

The Top 4 Foods To Avoid If You Want To Be Healthy
You’ve probably heard it before and you’ll going to hear it again now: “Americans are overfed and undernourished.” It means that, as a nation, we are eating plenty of calories but they are doing nothing to nourish our bodies and give us what we need.

We are ‘starving’ as a nation and it’s no wonder that we have high rates of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. We are what we eat. And few people truly understand how foods can help to keep them healthy or how they can fail to keep them healthy.

We live in an age of scientifically-created foods which have little to any resemblance of how nature did it first. There are certain foods that make up a large percentage of the average American diet.

It wouldn't be such a big deal if these foods were eaten occasionally. But the problem comes when we consistently consume them day after day, meal after meal.

So what are the top 4 ‘foods’ to avoid if you want to be healthy?

1. Sugar

If you can make only one change in your diet, it must be to eliminate sugar completely--or at least as much as possible. Many people tell me that they ‘eat no sugar at all.’ But what they are really saying is that they don’t add sugar to their meals or drinks from the sugar bowl. Once you start reading labels of boxed foods, you’ll soon learn that sugar (in all of its chemically created/altered forms) is present in most, if not all, processed foods. It’s almost impossible to avoid! The average American eats over 160 pounds of sugar a year!

Sugar, even in small amounts, is detrimental to your health. It suppresses the immune system for hours and plays significant effect on your hormones, throwing your body out of balance and into a state of biochemical chaos. If you eat sugar, morning, noon and night, your body is always in this state of chaos leading to disease.

Furthermore, sugar is actually an antinutrient, meaning that it leaches nutrients from your body! Because certain nutrients are removed from sugar in the refining process, your body cannot process it. So, it leaches minerals from your body to attach to the refined sugar molecules in order to move the sugar through your body. Also, because it’s an antinutrient, sugar also causes calcium to be lost in the urine, which in turn is replaced by calcium from the bones, leading to osteoporosis.

It’s important to understand the difference between natural sugar, like that present in fruits and some vegetables and altered sugar - such as white sugar. Natural sugar is good for your body. Refined sugar, on the other hand, is destructive to human health.

2. White Flour

Almost all bread, pasta and baked goods are made with white flour. It’s easy-to-use, easy-to-store, and practically never goes bad. However, white flour contains little nutrition, is toxic and is an antinutrient (like sugar). And the scary part is that the average American consumes more than 200 pounds of white flour every year!

Almost all nutrients that were once contained in wheat are lost in the process of creating white flour. And just like sugar, because white-flour is no longer a ‘whole food’, it actually leaches minerals from the body in order to metabolize it.

To avoid the health problems associated with processed grains, use whole grains such as: millet, oats, quinoa, spelt, amaranth, kamut and brown rice.

3. Processed Oils

Many people think that low-fat is healthy. This is not the case. We NEED healthy fats in our diet. Our cells are surrounded by a cell membrane built with....fats! The important thing though is using high-quality building materials to create these cell membranes. When oils are heated above 392 degrees F (as most supermarket oils are, which are used in junk foods like potato chips, candy, breakfast cereals, and salad dressings) the fat molecules change shape, turning them into a difference and toxic category of fats called “trans-fats.”

When cells are built from trans-fats they become brittle and weak. If the cells throughout your body are made with these types of fats, you have a serious problem. The health of our bodies is boiled down to the health of our 75 trillion cells. If the majority of these cells are weak, then our bodies are going to be weak and diseased.

Put healthful oils into your diet like high-quality olive oil, hemp seed oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, pumpkin seed oil, and organic butter or ghee.

4. Milk

Milk products have a reputation of being highly nutritious and necessary in everybody’s diet. And yet the nations with the highest milk consumption also have the highest rates of osteoporosis, breast cancer, allergies and diabetes. In fact, 70% of the world’s population does not even drink milk or consume other dairy products such as cheese, yogurt and ice cream.

One of the largest problems with milk is the pasteurization process: it alters the milk proteins. It actually changes the molecular structure so that the body cannot process and receive the protein in the milk. And not only that, it renders the proteins actually toxic to the body!

And the calcium in milk? Forget about it. Milk robs calcium from bones. The protein in cow milk metabolizes to strong acids which can be harmful to the body. So, what does the body do? It uses calcium (from the bones) to neutralize those acids. Cow’s milk is most certainly NOT ‘nature's most perfect food’ as the milk and dairy administration would have you to believe. Instead, why not try making your own nut milks which are easy-to-make fresh, and loaded with nutrients.

Our foods are more ‘make-believe’ then ever. The further away you get from how nature created our ‘perfect whole foods’ the more likely you are to develop instances of sickness and disease. Aim for a whole-food diet, remove these 4 “foods” from your diet and enjoy vibrant health!

Sources included for this article: Never Be Sick Again

10 Foods That Aren’t From Where You Think

There are plenty of foods that are either named after places or are assumed to come from certain places. The following is a list of certain food origins that we’re frequently wrong about.

10German Chocolate Cake

German chocolate cake is delicious, but its name is lying to you; it’s not German at all. It was named after a German, though: a man named Sam German. He didn’t invent the cake itself, but back in 1852, he created a chocolate bar. It was different from normal chocolate (at the time) because it was made for cooking, and it came to be called Baker’s German Sweet Chocolate.
The first time the recipe for this cake was published was way back in the late ’50s. It was advertised in a Dallas newspaper and became popular almost immediately. The demand for German’s baking chocolate skyrocketed, and his name became synonymous with the dessert.

9 Baked Alaska

The Baked Alaska dessert was actually invented in New York City, most likely in 1868—the same year the US purchased Alaska from Russia. Charles Ranhofer, the chef who named it, called it Baked Alaska to cash in on the fame of the recently completed deal. It was considered a luxury at the time, since making ice cream in the 1860s was a laborious process and wasn’t yet mechanized.

8 French Dip

The French dip sandwich, perhaps unsurprisingly, isn’t from France. It was invented at Phillipe’s in Los Angeles, in 1918. The first sandwich of its kind came about by accident. The restaurant’s namesake, Phillipe Mathieu, was making a sandwich for a police officer when he accidentally dropped the roll into hot oil. The officer (supposedly named French) bought it anyway. He loved it so much that he returned the next day with his friends and they all ordered their rolls dipped in oil.
Another restaurant in the area, Cole’s Pacific Electric Buffet, also claim the invention of the French dip. In their version, they dipped the bread in jus (like au jus) to make it softer for a customer that was on her way back from a dentist’s appointment.

7 Coney Dog

The Coney dog may be attributed to Coney Island, but its true origins lie a few states west: Michigan. Much like the French dip, the exact origin is unknown, as there are three different eateries that claim they invented the iconic dog. All three restaurants are located in Michigan. So there you have it. While we can’t be sure of the exact origin, we know it’s definitely not from New York.

6 Curry Powder

The curry powder we know today is nothing like the original spice it was supposed to mimic. It was heavily influenced by the British, and in India it isn’t even referred to as curry. They call it masala, and there are many different varieties. The curry powder we know best is what the British produced when they tried to replicate the flavors they encountered in traditional Indian cooking. True Indian curry powder is custom-made to accompany whatever food is being prepared.

5 Maraschino Cherries

Maraschino cherries may have an Italian-sounding name, but they actually come from Croatia. Originally, Maraschino was the name of a liquor made from the Croatian Marasca cherries. Then fresh cherries were preserved in their own alcohol, and that’s what a Maraschino cherry is (or was). In the 1800s, they made their way to the US, where Americans replaced the Marasca cherries with Queen Anne cherries, which grew in Oregon. In 1912, the USDA formalized the term, and any non-Marasca cherry had to be labeled as an imitation product.
The Maraschino cherries you buy at the grocery store today are made using a different method, one that’s alcohol-free. First they’re brined in a liquid calcium solution. Then they’re placed in sweetened, artificially colored syrup.

4 Ketchup

Ketchup may seem like an American invention since it’s a featured condiment for almost every American food from meatloaf to eggs. However, ketchup originated from a different type of sauce from China, which was made from fish. Five hundred years ago, Chinese sailors were sailing down the Mekong coast when they found a sauce made from fermented anchovies. The sauce was popular in Vietnam, and the Chinese sailors gave it the name “ke-tchup.” This name is in the ancient language Hokkien, and the last syllable, “tchup,” means “sauce.”
In the 17th century, British traders made their way to the region, and they ended up discovering ke-tchup. One hundred years later, they were hooked and ke-tchup became a prized possession.

3 Sauerkraut

“Sauerkraut” means “sour cabbage” in German, so you’d think it was a German invention. While it goes well with most German food, the original was Chinese. It came about around 2,000 years ago and was enjoyed by laborers building the Great Wall. The only real difference is that the Chinese fermented their cabbage in rice wine. The Germans draw out the water with salt.
It was popular with Chinese workers because it was a good vitamin source, stored easily and did not spoil, and was a cheap and widely available food.

2 Bologna

The bologna we eat today is nothing like the food it’s originally based on. Bologna is supposedly named after the city in Italy, but the meat it is most similar to is mortadella. Mortadella is actually from Italy but only slightly resembles bologna. It’s often eaten by itself or as part of an appetizer platter with cheese, bread, or sliced peppers and tomatoes. bologna is a sliced, processed meat and is most often used in sandwiches.
Mortadella is of much higher quality and uses only the finest pork meat. It is liberally sprinkled with cubes of pure pork fat and minced, mixing everything together. The original stuff from Bologna will be marked as such and will have added pistachios and black pepper.

1 Tempura

While we may attribute tempura cooking to the Japanese, it was actually a Portuguese innovation. Evidence lies in old Moorish cookbooks from the 13th century that feature tempura recipes. The word “tempura” is actually thought to have derived from the Portuguese word “temporas” which means “Lent.” This makes sense, as the Catholic population would eat fish on Fridays and eventually decided to fry it—possibly because everything tastes better when it’s fried.
Portuguese sailors (including traders and missionaries) spread it throughout the world, and it took hold in Japan in the 16th century. It spread to England as well, and is now part of their world-famous fish and chips.

 

Top 10 Basic Cooking Tricks

This is a first for the List Universe – a cooking topic. This list will teach you 10 very basic cooking tips to guarantee restaurant level perfection every time. The basis for most of these methods is from the French technique.
1. How to boil an egg

The perfect hard-boiled egg should have a moist and bright center – it should not be pale yellow and powdery and there should definitely be no signs of green around it (this signifies overcooking).
To perfectly boil an egg, you need a pot which is large enough to hold the number of eggs you want to cook without them touching – but do not let it be so big that the eggs can move around the pot. Fill it with just enough water that the eggs will just be covered when you add them. Bring the water to the boil and add the eggs one by one with a spoon so that you don’t crack the shells. Set a timer for 8 minutes. After exactly eight minutes take the eggs off and run cold water into the pot until the eggs are completely cold (this stops the cooking process). You will now have perfect hard boiled eggs.
2. How to scramble an egg

The best type of scrambled eggs, in my opinion, is French style – the French style is much more like a sauce than the English style which is usually dry. In the early days of this method, the chef would use a double-boiler to cook the eggs so that the result was like custard. The method here is faster and has more body. You can use 2-4 eggs per person depending on how hungry people are.
In a large pot put a knob of butter (between 25-40 grams) and turn the heat on low. While the butter is melting, crack your eggs in to a bowl. Once the butter has fully melted (it should not be bubbling or the heat is too high) add a large pinch of salt and ground pepper to the eggs and mix with a fork until just combined (don’t overmix the eggs). Do not add anything else to the eggs at this time. Pour the egg mixture in to the pot and stir constantly. If the mixture does not seem to be thickening you can turn the heat up just a little. You should soon start to see curds appearing which are the parts of the egg that have cooked. keep mixing at a moderate pace until almost all of the egg has changed to curds. There should still be a small amount of runny egg left. Take it off the heat immediately. Add another knob of butter and stir until it is melted, then add 3-4 tablespoons of cream (you can use more if you prefer the eggs slightly runnier). Taste for salt and if needed, add more. You should be able to pour this thick mixture.
3. How to make an omelette

There is really only one rule with an omelette – it must not brown. For one omelette take a small sized pan and melt a small knob of butter in it. Turn the heat to medium low. While the butter is melting, crack your eggs in to a bowl, add a good pinch of salt and pepper and mix until only just combined (do not overmix). When the butter has melted and is just beginning to sizzle, pour the egg mix in to the pan. Using a soft utensil like a wooden spoon, stir the omelette the whole time, breaking up any curds that form. When you have only a little runny egg left on the top take the pan off the heat and put it under the grill. Grill until the top has dried completely but has not browned. Remove from the grill, fold the omelette in half and slide on to the serving plate. You can add additional toppings before putting it under the grill if you wish, and you can also drizzle a little cream over the top at the same time.
4. How to cook pasta

Pasta is a very simple dish that can be prepared very quickly. This technique of cooking will give you perfect pasta without spills. Take a very large pot – a stock pot is ideal. Half fill it with water and add enough salt that when you taste the water it tastes like the sea (this is a lot of salt, but it is necessary to bring out the flavor in the pasta – it is the way pasta is cooked in Italy). Do not add oil or anything else to the water. Put the pot on to boil. When the water is boiling vigorously, add the pasta. You may need to give the pasta a bit of a stir from time to time, to make sure it doesn’t stick together. Each type of pasta takes a different time to cook (though it is generally between 8 and ten minutes) – you should find instructions for timing on the packet. Use that timing but start to check the pasta two minutes before the time is up because packet instructions often put a longer time than is needed. To test the pasta remove a single piece and bite it – if it is soft on the outside with a firm (but not crunchy) centre, it is ready (this is called the al dente stage). Reserve one cup of the cooking water, then strain the pasta but do not rinse it and do not strain it dry. An easy way to serve this (which is popular in Italy) is to mix a good sized knob of butter with the pasta and serve it with parmesan cheese. If you are using a sauce, you can add some of the reserved water to it for added flavour.
5. How to cook perfect steak

This is the French method which is always rarer than non-French methods. You need a good heavy bottomed pan or grill and you need to put it on a fiery hot heat. You should use a nice thick cut of steak (I am presuming you are using at least a 2cm thick slice). Lightly salt and pepper the steak on both sides. If you are using a grill, brush the steak with oil, otherwise the rest of the technique is the same. To your hot pan add a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil (it should be just enough to coat the pan – you don’t want to boil the steak in oil). Add a good sized knob of butter to the oil. It should sizzle. Ensure the bottom of the pan is well coated with maybe 1 or 2 millimeters of butter. Add your steak to the pan and do not touch it. It must not be moved in the pan while it is cooking. This will give you a nice crisp on the outside of the meat. Cooking times are:
Bleu (very rare – the best way to eat steak): 1 minutes on each side
Rare: 2-3 minutes on each side
Medium: 4 minutes on each side
Well-done: 5-6 minutes on each side
Just before turning the steak, you can add another small knob of butter to the pan. Turn the steak and, again, do not touch it until the cooking time is done. Remove the steak from the pan, put on a plate, cover with foil and leave to rest for 3-5 minutes before serving. This allows the meat fibres to relax – giving a more tender bite.
6. How to cook rice

Rice is, for many people, a terrifying experience but it need not be as it is actually very simple. This recipe gives perfect fluffy rice every time. I prefer to use Basmati rice which is a long grained white rice from India. This recipe presumes you are using long grained white rice – it will not work with other. This quantity will serve 3-4 people.
In a moderately large pot put some vegetable oil and turn on the head to medium. When the oil is hot, add a finely diced half an onion (you can omit the onion but not the oil). Cook until it has softened. Take a regular coffee mug and fill it to the top with rice. Pour it into the hot onions and stir so the rice is well coated. Fill the mug with hot water and add it to the rice – then fill the mug again and add the second cup to the rice (rice in this method is always cooked with a ratio of 1 cup of rice to two cups of water). Add plenty of salt. If you like a nice variation you can add half a cinnamon stick to the water at this time. Let the rice come back to the boil and put the lid on the pot. Turn the heat down to its lowest setting and set a timer for 15 minutes. Do not remove the lid at all during the cooking time. After fifteen minutes, lift the lid and, using a fork, push the rice away from the side of the pot whilst tilting the pot toward you – if there is any liquid left in the pot return the lid and cook for another minute, checking every minute in the same way as just described. When the pot has no remaining liquid, remove it from the heat, remove the lid, and cover with a cloth for 4-5 minutes. That is it!
7. How to mash potatoes

This method is the French restaurant style of mashing potatoes – it will give you perfect mashed potatoes with no lumps. Peel and halve 6 medium sized potatoes and put them in a pot so they fill the pot about 2/3 of the way. Cover with cold water and add a very liberal amount of salt to the pot (you should be able to taste the salt in the water). Bring to the boil and partially cover the pot with a lid. Depending on the type of potatoes you use, cooking time can range from 10-20 minutes. When the potatoes are soft but not falling apart, remove them from the pot and strain all the water off immediately. Put half to 3/4 of a cup of cream on the stove and bring it to the boil (as soon as it boils turn off the heat). Place the potatoes in to a sieve (the same type you use for sieving flour). Using a sturdy spoon, force the potatoes through the sieve – this is hard work but it is well worth it). Once all of the potatoes have been sieved, put them back in the pot and place this on a low heat on the stove. Add a large knob of butter (30-50gms) and, using a wooden spoon, mix the butter in to the potatoes. While mixing start pouring some of the hot cream in to the mix – this will help melt the butter and adds depth of flavor and creaminess to the mash. Use only enough cream to make the potatoes in to a thick paste. Add a good grating of nutmeg. Taste for seasoning and add pepper and more salt if it is needed. Serve immediately.
8. How to roast potatoes

First of all, the best fat for roasting potatoes is goose or duck fat. If you can not get either of these, you should try to find lard or dripping. Peel your potatoes and cut them in to medium sized pieces (halve small potatoes and quarter large potatoes). Melt 50g of fat per 500g of potatoes in a roasting dish. Add the potato pieces and roll them around until they are fully coated. Season with salt and cook at the top of a preheated oven (190c, 375f, gas mark 5) for 40 minutes. Bast frequently with the fat until they are golden and cooked through. Some people like to partly boil the potatoes first, tossing them in the pot until they get a fluffy outer layer. This is perfectly fine to do but you will need to reduce your cooking time in the oven.
9. How to boil vegetables

Cooking times vary between the vegetables, but this method can be used for virtually all types. Clean or peel (as required) your vegetable and cut into bite sized chunks. Add to a pot and just cover with boiling water. Make sure you put plenty of salt in the water. Place the pot on a moderately-high heat and bring to the boil. You will need to test the vegetables from time to time to check whether they are done. The way to tell is that they should be soft but still have a crisp bite. Green vegetables should not be turning pale green or grey. If the vegetables are soft all the way through, they are overcooked. Strain off the cooking water and serve immediately.
10. How to roast a chicken

Roasting a chicken well is actually a very simply task. Add salt, pepper, one bay leaf, one crushed clove of garlic, and a small bunch of thyme to the body cavity. Salt and pepper the outside and rub a thick coating of soft (but not melted) butter all over the skin. Place the chicken breast side down in a roasting pan (this will help to prevent drying of the breast). Cook in a pre-heated oven (200c, 400f, gas mark 6) for half the cooking time (cooking time is determined by this formula: 15 minutes per 450g – 1lb – of chicken, plus 15 extra minutes). Turn the chicken over and finish cooking it breast side up. Once cooked, put the chicken on a warmed platter and let stand for 15 minutes before serving to allow the juices to settle and the meat to relax. You can use a little boiling water to deglaze the pan and use this as the gravy. This method will give you crispy skin and moist flesh.

 

Top 10 Incredible Food Facts

Food is something we interact with on a daily basis – frequently, in fact. There are many very obscure facts about food that are fascinating and definitely worthy of knowing. So, at the behest of Juggz, here is a nice trivia list about food.
10. Coffee

The Fact: The most expensive coffee in the world comes from civet poop
Kopi Luwak are coffee beans that come from Civet (a cat sized mammal) poo. The animals gorge on only the finest ripe berries, and excrete the partially-digested beans, which are then harvested for sale. Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for between $120 and $600 USD per pound, and is sold mainly in Japan and the United States, but it is increasingly becoming available elsewhere. My question is: who the hell discovered that it tasted good?
9. Feast

The Fact: The largest food item on a menu is roast camel
The camel is stuffed with a sheep’s carcass, which is stuffed with chickens, which are stuffed with fish, which are stuffed with eggs. This feast is sometimes featured in Bedouin weddings.
8. Bugs

The Fact: The FDA allows you to sell bugs and rodent hair for consumption
The FDA allows an average of 30 or more insect fragments, and one or more rodent hairs, per 100 grams of peanut butter. I will certainly think twice before buying my next jar!
7. Soup

The Fact: The first soup was made of hippopotamus
The earliest archeological evidence for the consumption of soup dates back to 6000 BC, and it was hippopotamus soup!
6. Refried Beans

The Fact: Refried beans are only fried once
The reason for this misconception is a translation error. The originals are frijoles refritos which actually means “well fried beans” – not re-fried.
5. Worcestershire Sauce

The Fact: Worcestershire sauce is made from dissolved fish
Worcestershire sauce, the popular English sauce, is made from dissolved anchovies. The anchovies are soaked in vinegar until they have completely melted. The sauce contains the bones and all.
4. Popsicle

The Fact: The Popsicle was invented by an 11 year who kept it secret for 18 years.
The inventor was Frank Epperson who, in 1905, left a mixture of powdered soda and water out on the porch, which contained a stir stick. That night, temperatures in San Francisco reached record low temperature. When he woke the next morning, he discovered that it had frozen to the stir stick, creating a fruit flavored ice treat that he named the epsicle. 18 years later he patented it and called it the Popsicle.
3. Microwaves

The Fact: Microwave cooking was discovered accidentally, when a chocolate bar melted in someone’s pocket
This is very true and very scary – imagine what it was doing to his leg! The fact is, Percy LeBaron Spencer of the Raytheon Company was walking past a radar tube and he noticed that the chocolate bar in his pocket melted. He then tested popcorn in front of the tube (surely turning up the power and standing out of the beam), and it quickly popped all over the room. He is (obviously) known as the inventor of the Microwave oven.
2. Peanuts

The Fact: Dynamite is made with peanuts
Peanut oil can be processed to produce glycerol, which can be used to make nitroglycerin, one of the constituents of dynamite. Note however, there are other processes that can be used to make dynamite without using peanuts at all.
1. Coconut Water

The Fact: Coconut water can be used (in emergencies) as a substitute for blood plasma.
The reason for this is that coconut water (the water found in coconuts – not to be confused with coconut milk, which comes from the flesh of the coconut) is sterile and has an ideal pH level. Coconut water is liquid endosperm – it surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition.