Tuesday, December 20, 2011

How To Make Red Onion and Tomato Salad

Most Ecuadorean main meals will be served with a small salad, and many times this salad will be a curtido or have some curtido added to it. The most basic form of curtido is a basic onion curtido, it is great nice and fresh, but sometimes it is even better the day after, I usually make a large batch and keep in the fridge, adding it to salads as needed.
This specific curtido of red onion and tomato is usually served as a side for hornado, encebollado de pescado, fritada, menestra con arroz, carne colorada, etc.
Ingredients:
2 small red onions
Juice of 3 limes
1 tablespoon oil (sunflower or canola)
3 tomatoes
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon salt + more to adjust taste
Preparation:
Cut the onion in half, slice very finely and place in a bowl
Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and let rest for about 10 minutes
Cover the onions with lukewarm water and let rest for another 10 minutes
Rinse and drain the onions
Add the lime juice and the oil, place in the fridge until about 30 minutes before serving
Cut the tomatoes in half and slice very finely
Mix the onions, sliced tomatoes and cilantro, taste and add salt if necessary.
Serving suggestion – for a more complete salad serve with chopped lettuce and avocado slices.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The Tasty And Popular Food - Sandwich

The sandwich first came to America in 1840 by way of Elizabeth Leslie's book, Directions for Cookery. It included a recipe for a ham sandwich, and the tasty meal remains one of the most popular sandwiches in America today. The original recipe called for cold boiled ham to be placed between two thinly sliced pieces of buttered bread with an optional thin layer of mustard. A variety of ham choices can be found in the market, including honey ham, smoked ham, baked ham or the traditional boiled ham. White bread has given way in recent years to healthier choices such as wheat, oatmeal or whole-grain. Other ingredients like lettuce,tomatoes and pickles are commonly found on ham sandwiches.

As with the ham sandwich, any variety of breads can be used with a BLT, although white is still a popular choice. Some people toast the bread while others use it straight from the loaf. Since bacon is salty and the sandwich in whole carries a lot of calories, health-conscious individuals have made some modifications to the original recipe. Substituting turkey bacon, low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise, and wheat or whole grain bread can make a difference in the fat and sodium counts, although admittedly the changes cannot produce the same, full-bodied flavor as the original BLT. Use things other than bread as your end caps. For instance, core an apple, slice it hamburger style, and then put peanut butter in between two slices. Walla! You have a peanut butter sandwich. You can also use crackers, large cookies, pancakes or waffles. For fillings, you can put breakfast foods like eggs, ham, grated carrots, or you can go dessert style and put in chocolate, peanut butter, honey, agave, fruit like applies, bananas, or strawberries. The possibilities are endless!

All this takes is spreading a little butter or oil on each outer side of the sandwich, putting it in the press, and walla! You have a delicious toasted sandwich that adds a lot of fun and excitement to a meal that would have normally just been okay. Perhaps peanut butter and jelly sandwiches rate among the nation's favorites because of their delicious nutty-and-sweet taste or maybe it is due to the fact that they are an easy, inexpensive way to get children to eat meals. When sending sandwiches in a lunchbox, place peanut butter on both sides of the bread to avoid the soggy mess that jelly on bread can create by lunchtime. Other variations call for such additions as honey, marshmallow fluff, raising, chocolate or chocolate syrup, or even potato chips. However, after a long day at the office, the idea of going home and putting an evening meal together is simply too tiring to think about.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Chinese Cuisine : Cola Chicken Wings

My wife is Chinese so we eat Chinese food at home quite regularly. I asked her to teach me a new recipe this weekend, preferably something easy that I could write about and pass on to other hopeless-in-the-kitchen husbands. She suggested we try to make Cola Chicken, and I was pleasantly surprised. Chicken pieces can be deep fried in hot oil instead of baked. Add 2 to 3 inches of hot oil to deep fryer. Bring oil to 370 F. Deep fry in small batches about 10 minutes per batch. Keep chicken warm in 300 F. oven while cooking remaining batches.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Margarine or Butter
1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon Margarine or Butter, melted
1 tablespoon White Vinegar
2 to 3 teaspoons Hot Pepper Sauce
1/4 teaspoon Coarse Salt
Celery Sticks
2 teaspoons Liquid Smoke, divided (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
15 whole chicken wings (about 3 pounds)
1 small onion, sliced
1 cup water

Chop up the Spring onions really small and slice the ginger if it isn't already. We don't need a lot of ginger, just 2 slices of fresh ginger is enough. Add a little oil to a pan and fry the ginger and spring onions (and the chopped chili if you're going to add some at all) until you get a lovely aroma going on there. Don't burn them! Add the chicken, and fry until they start to get a little brown. When that happens, pour in the cola and soy sauce. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer until the sauce has all but disappeared. It should about 15 minutes. As the sauce disappears, take care to stir it a couple of times so it doesn't burn.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Potato Curry Is A Very Tasty Dish

Potato Curry is a very tasty dish that my good friend Shetal eventually gave to me after dozens of meals and much hounding! It is from her home in Guajarati and is the finest potato curry I ever ate. It is a handy dish, which takes less than half an hour to cook and is simply oo-la-la! This version does for four but with a little tinkering you can make it for as many as you like or for as few as you like! Have you always wanted to learn how to make a vegetable curry? Well, it is surprisingly easy to make at home. It also provides a great source of warmth during the winter and keeps you full up for hours throughout the day. One of my favourite dishes is the potato and okra curry. Let's get started on what you need to create this delicious dish.

Chop up 2 medium-sized onions into small pieces and add them to a saucepan. Add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil into the saucepan, and heat both the oil and the onions on the cooker for about 3 minutes on gas mark 6. Stir at all times whilst making sure the onions are well coated with the oil. After 3 minutes, add in all the spices listed above, and carefully mix together with the wooden spoon. Next, add in the whole content of the tin tomatoes. Gently, mash the tomatoes up with the wooden spoon until they are mixed in well with the spices, and until you achieve a consistent brown texture. The blend of spices is what will give the lovely brown colour. Little by little, add in 150 grams of freshly chopped okra into the saucepan. When you add the okra, ensure you fold it in until it is completely covered by the mixture. Continue adding in the rest of the okra this way, until they are all mixed in well. Depending on whether you choose to add the content of 1 tin potatoes or 3 fresh, large potatoes, the method will vary. See below for the Fresh Potato Method and the Tin Potato Method.

Potatoes are commonly known as a staple food in most family tables. We use potatoes for our food, salads and sometimes in our science projects. But did you know that the all around wonderful thing known as the potato has many other uses too. Remove the potatoes skin and cut them into small pieces. Put them in water for about 5 to 10 minutes. They will become softer and easier to cook. Make sure your chicken meat pieces are not too large. If they are, chop them into smaller pieces. It is easier to eat and also cooks faster. Start by heating up just a little of vegetable oil in a wok. Put the curry paste into the wok and stir fry it for a short while. Put the curry leaves into the wok and continue to cook it. Add your potato and chicken into the gravy. Let it boil and cook for around 10 to 15 minutes. Flip the chicken and potatoes so that it is evenly cook. Sample the gravy again and adjust the taste until the curry is to your liking. Cook the curry until the potatoes are soft to your liking. Now add the coconut milk into the curry chicken dish and stir it. Let it boil and sample the gravy and adjust the taste accordingly. Your curry chicken is now ready to be served.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Finding Raw Food

More and more people are beginning to store food. Current events in the world, like the earthquakes in Japan and Chile opened people's eyes, and a lot began to store food. There is still a lot more people who are not storing food and don't even have an idea what could happen if they don't keep emergency food. You could make money with efoods global, by telling people what the importance of survival food is. If you are a motivated person who likes to socialize with people then you will be successful. Enrolling into the company is your fist step, after that just spread the word on the products and the importance of it, and that is cash in your pocket. Have you had a cooked meal recently. Once you have eaten enough that you are no longer hungry then STOP and eat no more. I know there is pressure on you to eat when you are out at a restaurant or at a friends house who has spent hours preparing a meal,but tell them in advance just how much you want to eat.I am sure they will understand.

Eating raw food can increase your health and well being significantly. Raw food is raw plant foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables seeds grain beans nuts dehydrated fruit and seaweed. Don't think that a raw food diet excludes anything that is dried out, such as dates, apricots, or prunes. It is quite all right to warm food just enough to evaporate the water and this will not effect the nutritional quality of your raw food. So start eating raw food now and do your bit for the planet too. Raw food has a much lower carbon footprint than meat. By comparison, some lower-energy breeds easily become obese if fed the same diet as a high-energy breed. If you're adopting or purchasing a dog that may have joint issues later in life, keeping its weight in a low-normal range can help safeguard against potential issues. While every dog is an individual, knowing what to expect from the breed can give you a good starting point.

Whether it's a purebred pup purchased from an award-winning breeder or a little one adopted from the pound, choosing the best large breed puppy food is essential to your new pet. Knowing the requirements of the breed, keeping a close eye on your dog, and choosing a food that is both available and affordable are all important considerations. Balanced, correct nutrition is essential for a growing animal, so choosing the right food using these factors will get your puppy off to a good start. While many people live within a reasonable driving distance of a pet food warehouse that stocks all sorts of exotic delights gleaned from the best large breed puppy food reviews, choosing a food that is hard to obtain is foolhardy. This doesn't mean that you should feed your pup the compressed corn meal at your local grocer. It just means you may want to choose a high-quality food that is widely available.