Secret To Cooking Vegetables

Vegetables are essential to the human diet. We get a great deal of our daily vitamin content from vegetables. We need to make sure that how we cook them does not drain vitamin contents and benefits of consumption.

Cooking vegetables can be tricky. Over cooking can make vegetables bland and soggy. My belief is that vegetables should not be boiled. Boling not only rob us of vitamin content, it is the main culprit in turning vegetables to a lifeless, tasteless form.

If we cannot boil, how do we proceed?

First option, steaming vegetables is always a good choice. This will leave vegetables full of life. They will be crisp and colorful. It will also not deplete the vegetables of their vitamin content.

By rule of thumb, vegetables will only need a few minutes in the steam.

For those who do not have official vegetable steamers, an easy steamer can be fashioned out a of pot, a metal colander, and a pot lid. Place a small amount of water in the bottom of a given pot. Fit the metal colander into the pot. Start to boil the water. You will begin the see the steam rise. Place your vegetables into the metal colander and place the pot lid over the metal colander and pot. This collection of kitchen items will allow you to steam vegetables as good as any fancy store bought steamer.

Another good option is to cook your vegetables in a wok. The secret to the wok is that it cooks quickly at a very high temperature. Vegetables retain their flavors, textures, and colors with small amount of nutrient loss.

My favorite wok recipe for vegetables is to cook broccoli, carrots, bok choy, and snow peas in a very light garlic sauce. The vegetables remain crisp and the garlic adds just the right amount of flavoring. This combination can be served with any cut of meat.

I hope you will see that secret to cooking vegetables is not to over cook. Vegetables need to remain crisp, full of color. As you learn different tricks to bringing your vegetables to life, these will become the most requested dishes on your dinner table.

About the Author:
Sharon Stajda loves cooking and entertaining. For more information, visit Cooking Vegetables
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Frugal Cooking With Herbs

Herbs are fun to grow and easy to use. Herbs can be a frugal cook's best friend because they can enhance even the simplest fare making it seem grand! Herbs are easy to grow--you can even grow them on your kitchen windowsill.

The addition of herbs can change completely the flavor of foods-from homemade breads to soups, stews and vegetables. And they can add variety and excitement to your diet.

A beginner should use herbs with care, adding a little at a time and adjusting to your own taste. Each herb has its own individual flavor and certain herbs also have well-known associations with particular foods. Basil is often paired with tomatoes, rosemary with lamb, chives with cream cheese and cottage cheese.

Fresh herbs are wonderful as garnishes. Herb vinegars can be used in salad dressings, soups and marinades. You can also add fresh herbs to mayonnaise or butter for a different flavor.

Fresh herbs will keep in the refrigerator for several days. A good way to freeze herbs such as basil, oregano, and dill is to chop, place in ice cube trays, cover with water and freeze. Then just add to stews and sauces when needed.

Some easy herbs to grow are lemon balm, rosemary, oregano, dill, basil, parsley, peppermint, lavendar, sage. Of course, you can buy herbs to cook with at the supermarket, also.

Here are some simple recipes to get you started using herbs in your cooking.

Lemon Chive Dressing

1 clove garlic
dash of salt
Rind of 1 lemon, finely grated
and the juice
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Put the garlic and salt in a bowl and crush together. Add lemon rind, juice and mustard, stirring until smooth. Slowly whisk in the oil. Fold in chives and season with black pepper, if desired.

This is a good dressing to pour over warm, cooked new potatoes. Add finely chopped green onions.

Mint Iced Tea

Wash 8 sprigs of fresh mint, 12 inches long (any mint, spearmint, peppermint, applemint will do). Place in blender with 4 cups water and liquefy. Let it set for about 1/2 hour and strain.

Herb Butter

1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoons fresh herbs or 2 teaspoons of dried herbs

Soften the butter to room temperature. Finely chop the fresh herbs. Blend herbs and butter well. Store in fridge.

Use to season vegetables, as a spread on bread, biscuits or baked potatoes. Anywhere you normally use butter.

Here's something different: not really cooking, but a recipe that you might find fun!
Basil-Lemon Facial Mask

Pulverize a handful of fresh basil leaves. Peel 1/2 of an avocado and mash. Add avocado to basil in blender, along with 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon honey.
Mix until smooth.

Apply to clean face and leave as long as desired. Rinse off with lukewarm water.

In short, you don't have to be an herb specialist to learn to enjoy using herbs.


About the author:
Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the bi-weekly newsletter "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another", bringing you practical, money-saving tips, recipes and ideas. Visit her online at http://www.cynroberts.com to subscribe and receive the Free e-course, "Taming the Monster Grocery Bill".
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Steakhouse is More Than Just Meat and Potatoes!

If you really want to enjoy your dinning experience in a steakhouse then you must really know how a good steak tastes like. Yes, there are steakhouses all over, but if you really want to enjoy your food and have a memorable dining experience then you have to search for the perfect place. It is not only about meat and potatoes. A special occasion calls for special celebration in the company of special people. So why don’t you go to a steakhouse to celebrate any memorable experience or occasion.

To enjoy eating steak, you must know about the different types of steak that are made. Ideally a steak dinner consists of a cooked steak with a side dish. In a steakhouse, steaks are cooked in different ways. To be able to enjoy an ideal steak, first of all you must understand that the taste of steak differs greatly depending on the way steak is cooked. Also you must try to find out what type of steak you best like to have.

There are certain common terms that are used to describe the steaks that are cooked in different temperature degrees. Some of the terms are rare, medium rare, raw, blue rare or very rare, well done, medium and medium well done. Once you find out what type of steak you like best to have, go to the steakhouse and ask them to make the steak just as you want to have it. All good steakhouses are capable of making different types of steak.

Select the best steakhouse to enjoy your steak. Yes, there are a quite number of references for a good steak house, and finding out the best from the lot can be quiet a difficult task. Word of mouth is a good way of going about it to find a good steakhouse. Only a genuine steak lover will be able to recognize and tell you where to find the best steak in town. So if you know of anyone who loves eating steak, then you have found out the source for guiding you to the best steakhouse in your city.

The internet is another source for you to find out the best steakhouse for dining with your family for any special occasion. Look on the internet and you will find an immense amount of information on the classic steakhouse. Reading the customer testimonials is also a great way for you to find out about the best steakhouse in your locality.

Beef steak is the most widely loved and eaten steak among the public. Some of the different types of beef steaks are flank steak, skirt steak, hanger steak, flat iron steak, Swiss steak, chuck steak, filet mignon, rump steak, rib steak and round steak.

Many steakhouses also have the provision of arranging Sunday parties and other private parties for customers. So if you want to book a steakhouse for celebrating any special event, just tell them well in advance about what things you want for the event. Almost all major steakhouses have the facility for hosting private parties for clients.

About the Author:
Mark Joseph holds a Masters Degree in Hotel Management. He loves good food and arranging private parties. He is working for Markjosephsteakhouse. To book for Sunday private parties and enjoy tasteful food visit #1 Rated Steak House in New York http://www.markjosephsteakhouse.com/www.markjosephsteakhouse.com
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Cooking Tips For Chicken : Fast And Time Saving

Boneless chicken breasts are your best bet for quick-cooking poultry. They can be a little pricey compared to buying the whole bird (especially if you buy even more expensive cuts, such as breast pieces trimmed into strips or nuggets), but the time savings are well worth it. Without bones and skin it will only take you a few extra seconds to trim the breasts into even faster-cooking strips and cubes.

A whole chicken cut into pieces will cook in less than half an hour in the oven, but if you have a little extra time, a whole roasted chicken is a surprisingly easy alternative, because you don't have to cut it up or handle it excessively. You can sprinkle a few seasonings on the outside, cook it at quite a high heat for speed, and have a moist and delicious roast bird ready in an hour. You may even end up with some leftovers for sandwiches or chicken salad. Roasting vegetables in the pan with chicken sounds like a good idea, but it will actually slow your cooking time and saturate the vegetables with grease. If you don't have any extra time, and may be watching the calories, instead, set baking potatoes on an upper oven rack while the chicken cooks and cook some broccoli or carrots on top of the stove.

Rotisserie chickens, either from one of several national chains or from the deli section of your supermarket, are a blessing to cooks on the run. The intense heat and slow cooking of the rotisserie process makes the chicken deliciously browned on the outside, and they are usually very moist on the inside. Buy a large one and serve it carved, as if it was a regular roast chicken you just pulled out of the oven, or get a smaller one and strip off the meat to incorporate into salads, sandwiches, and casseroles.

About the Author:
Allan Thomas
There are abundance of free cooking recipes and tips available at : http://www.101cookingrecipes.com , http://www.desserts-recipes.com http://www.101vegetarianrecipes.com
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