Julia
Those who love a good cup of coffee often prefer a home brewed espresso rather than visiting Starbucks and there are many people now who have chosen to invest in their very own espresso machine. They are now extremely affordable and complement any kitchen and Gaggia have a wide choice of gaggia coffee machines to choose from to suit everybody’s taste.
One such machine on the market is the Baby Gaggia, it has good coffeee machine reviews, this small unit has been manufactured since 1977 by the Italian company and as far as espresso machines go is at the top end of the market. The machine is pump driven allowing the water to be delivered to the coffee at the correct pressure, this is essential when making a cup of espresso.
There is no fiddling around when filling the machine with water as it is easily filled from the top. When filling with water it is far better to use filtered water this can help to cut down on lime scale. The machine can be used with either coffee grounds or pods; the difference between the two is there is less mess with pods than with coffee grounds. Coffee pod machines however can be more expensive and there is not as much choice when selecting coffee.
Julia
Have you ever been to a restaurant and ordered a plate full of the most succulent, mouth watering ribs or chicken that you ever tasted? Well, believe it or not, these tasty ribs (or chicken or brisket or butts) hardly compare to the better BBQ meats found at barbecue competitions.
Barbecue competitions are cook-offs where different crews (competitors) prepare their various BBQ specialties and compete with one another. The BBQ recipes and meats are then judged by a team who in turn reward the best BBQ’d meats with trophies and other honors.
Okay now that you know where to get the best barbecue chicken or ribs or what not, how do you cook these bbq recipes yourself so you can enjoy these tasty delights in your own back yard?
It is difficult to easily find this information. It is out there, but the good stuff, just like the scrumptious barbecues, are hard to find.
Simply put, it doesn’t matter how great your grilling recipes or BBQ sauce are — if you aren’t doing these bbq tips and other things correctly, you’re missing out on that coveted barbecue taste.
Julia
With winter fast receding for another year, the approaching summer brings with it the promise of longer evenings, warm sunshine and an opportunity for the kids to escape the confines of the home and emerge to enjoy playing outside during the long summer nights.
However, with the advances in digital entertainment and coupled with the fears faced by parents in letting their children play outside unsupervised, many youngsters will spend the coming evenings in front of the television or video games console rather than running amok outside with their friends. This alarming reluctance to venture outdoors to play tag, hide and seek, cowboys and Indians or the current game of choice is being widely attributed to the rising tide of obesity in our youngsters.
So far this year, the media have highlighted this topic by reporting on health risks involved in being overweight – not just in children, but also in adults. Individuals who are classed as obese have a much higher chance of developing life changing diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and osteoarthritis, to name just a few. Also, from the opposite end of the range, these obesity reports are coupled with the recent ‘size zero’ outcry that has inundated our celebrity-obsessed culture. However, both extremes court numerous health risks and the current buzzword to assess whether you are ‘too skinny’ or ‘too fat’ is BMI – Body Mass Index.
BMI looks at the ratio between your weight and height to assess what your body weight should be. The guide can then be used to establish whether an individual is of ‘normal’ weight or not; but there have been numerous debates as to whether BMI is an accurate assessment of health relating to weight as not everyone can agree on the point when someone becomes ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’. With confusion about what you should eat or how much you should weigh, are we becoming a society obsessed with image or the possibility of a health crisis when our indulgencies finally catch up with us?
For providers of healthcare, these life style trends can cause concern. If the NHS is struggling to cope with the illnesses of an active generation, how will it cope with the consequences of the current sedentary generation? Some private medical insurance providers have jumped on the bandwagon and reward those members who lead a healthy life style or have a ‘normal’ BMI by offering a discount on their premiums. Alternatively, loadings can occur if your life style is not so healthy or your BMI a little higher than necessary. Get a bmi calculator at diet debate.
Julia
Having more body weight than is considered healthy or allowed for one’s age is risky for your health. If you want to lose weight you must swap your bad eating and shopping habits for good ones. This also means changing your cooking habits as well, by replacing high-calorie to low-calorie foods, such as butter, creams, cheese, whole milk, etc.
As a result, you can eliminate on hundreds of calories on what you eat every day. To give you a help hand, here are some easy tricks to keep you cooking and eating less calories.
If you feel the need to satisfy your hunger, eat an apple pie or a salad.
To eliminate the use of butter and/or oil, use nonstick pan when cooking.
Instead of sprinkling butter, use butter-flavored seasoning on vegetables.
Remove the fat from the meat.
Cook stews and other casseroles ahead of time, then refrigerate. Take care to remove congealed fat before serving.
Remove the skin of chicken before serving.
Drip away fats by cooking hamburgers on the rack.
Replace the regular margarine (100 cal.) with diet margarine (50 cal.).
When using cereals, choose those with the least calories then add fresh fruits to be more nutritious.
For desserts, casseroles and sauces, replace heavy cream (51 cal./tbsp.) with evaporated skim milk (12 cal./tbsp.).
Two egg whites (34 cal.) are a good substitute of one egg (82 cal.) in cake recipes.
Choose real fruits over an juice.
For snacks, low-calorie fruits and salads are good replacements for crackers and breads.
In parties do not avoid to eat, good substitutes for snacks are carrot strips, raw mushroom caps and pickle slices.
As a general rule, select a food you eat regularly, then look for a lower-calorie choice.
The above suggestions aren’t rocket science, but reducing your calorie intake, you will reduce and your body fat as well.
Julia
Fish Cooking Basics
I must admit that I have met more than a few fishermen that know every trick in the book to catch fish, but after they have caught it, have no idea what to do with it. So if you are still wondering what you should be doing with those fish you caught, I have some help for you. The basic techniques for turning those fish into food are very simple and I have outlined the basic information and cooking methods for you.
10 minutes to the inch
Whether you are grilling, frying, baking, poaching, steaming of broiling your fish, the basic rule is that it will take 8-10 minutes of cooking time for every inch of thickness. The biggest mistake most people make in cooking fish is to over cook it. Now if the fish is frozen, count on 20 minutes per inch.
It starts at the water
Fish can degrade quickly after you catch it. One thing you can do to prevent this is kill the fish as quickly as possible. Smack it in the head with a club, then cut the gills with a knife. This will bleed the fish out quickly and slow down spoilage.
You caught it, you clean it
OK, so you probably know this already, but you need to clean the innards out, using a sharpknife and your thumb or narrow spoon. The longer you leave that stuff in there, the more chance it will have to start messing with the fish’s flavor.
When is it done?
The classical definition is that fish is done when it hits 160° and the juices run clear. Stick a fork into the thickest portion and twist gently. It should be flaky, but please, what ever you do, don’t let it cook into dry nastiness.
NUKING (MICROWAVING) FISH - Fillets, 1″ thick steaks
Yes, this is a valid fish cooking method!Microwaves cook by exciting (heating up) the water in whatever you put in there. Now call me crazy, but fish are just full of moisture. Gee… wonder why? Here are the proper steps for nuking fish. Allow 6 minutes per pound of fish, and remember that no two microwave ovens will be the same so adjust accordingly.
- Arrange the fish with the thickest parts towards the edge of the plate, and tuck and thin parts under so they don’t get overdone. One layer deep only please.
- Cover with plastic wrap, but pull one corner back just a little, or punch a little hole in it to vent steam.
- Don’t blast it! Cook at 70% of full power. Again, we are looking for just flaky.
- Let the fish rest for three minutes after you nuke it.
PAN FRYING (SAUTÉING) - Fillets less than 1-1/2″ thick, scallops, large shrimp
The old standby by for cooking fish, there are countless variations on how to pay fry fish.The basics are to heat butter or oil over medium heat in a pan big enough to comfortably hold your fish. Then cook on one side till brown then turn over and brown the other side. This shouldn’t take long so don’t over cook them!
What you do with them before you drop them in the pan is what matters the most. To be a purist, you can pat them dry and just lightly season them with salt and pepper. Of course if you want to get fancy, you can always coat them with egg and bread them with flour or bread crumbs.Then we get into seasoning of the breading and things get really interesting. Have fun, experiment.
BROILING - Fillets & Steaks 1/4″ to 1-1/2″ thick, Scallops & Shrimp
Think of broiling as blast cooking your seafood. Put the top rack ~4 inches below the broiling element and pre-heat that puppy. One thing to remember is that broiling can suck the moisture right out of fish, so you have to make sure it doesn’t dry out and get nasty. Fish like Salmon, Tuna and Swordfish have enough oil already to keep them moist, but think about marinating other types of fish.
Drop your fish on the broiling pan, season it lightly and get it under the broiler. Keep a watchful eye on it though. Broilers will take food from done to crispy in the blink of an eye.
STEAMING SEAFOOD - Fillets, Steaks, Whole Fish and Shellfish
Steaming is about as easy and healthy as it gets. No added oil is needed, just a little salt and pepper. If you like, you can steam your veggies right along with your fish! Just remember the 10 minutes to an inch rule and go for it.
BAKING SEAFOOD - Fish Fillets, Steaks, Shellfish & Whole Fish
Baking is the tame version of broiling. Set your oven for 450° and away you go! As for the fish, arrange them one layer deep in a lightly oiled pan, tucking any thin parts under so they don’t burn. Variations include breading, coating with oil/butter, and topping with fruit and/or veggies.
POACHING (NOT BOILING) SEAFOOD - Whole fish, Steaks, Fillets, Shrimp, Scallops
Basic poaching technique is to cook the seafood in a broad, shallow pan filled with enough hot, but not boiling liquid to completely cover it. Any liquid will do, from plain water to concoctions of water, wine, herbs and stock. The liquid should be brought to a boil then turned down till you see movement, but no bubbles breaking on the surface. Carefully place your food in the water and cook the required time. Another very healthy way to cook your seafood!
STIR-FRYING - Chunks and strips of firm fish, Shrimp, Scallops, Squid
Stir frying is broiling from the bottom effectively. This is because to correctly stir fry, even cooking, make sure that your pieces of food are fairly uniform. Here is the basic stir frying technique.
- Heat the wok over high heat with oil till the oil starts to smoke. Add your vegetables if any and stir constantly. Cook until they are just a little tender and then set aside.
- Add oil if needed and reheat the pan. Cook the seafood, stirring constantly so it doesn’t stick. Cook until it is browned slightly and opaque in the center.
- Add the veggies back in along with some sauce and any other seasonings you like. And you are done!
GOOD OLD GRILLING - What can’t you grill?
Whole encyclopedias could, and probably have been written about grilling. It must tap into some primal spot in our soul to be outside, cooking or burning a piece of meat over some hot coals. Here are the main points to remember.
- Keep your grill clean! Dirt grills cook unevenly and dirty grates are more likely to have food stick to them.
- Oil your grill grates! It will help keep the food from bonding to them.
- Grilling can dry food out like broiling does, so use fatty fish, and consider using a marinade or oiling and seasoning your fish before grilling.
- For fish that is small, or might fall apart, use aluminum foil on the grill.
- Once you put the food down on the grates, don’t mess with it! As my cooking hero Alton Brown says ‘Just walk away!’ Granted, not for long but don’t fiddle with it till it is time to turn it over.
So there you have the basics of cooking fish. Best of luck in your cooking adventures! Just remember to let your creativity flow and don’t be afraid of trying new things!
