Two of the most popular and tremendously successful public cooks today, Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray, have contrasting backgrounds and styles. Former stockbroker and fashion model, Martha Stewart, got her cooking and sewing skills from her mother and her gardening skills from her father. Her career took off after she was asked to develop a book of recipes called “Entertaining”. Considered an expert in fine living, she formed Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia with a friend and concentrated not only on cooking but in all other homemaking aspects as well. Her upscale style is evident in her numerous television shows. In 2004, Martha was imprisoned for 5 months because of lying about a stock sale. After her release in March 2005, she started The Martha Stewart Show. Martha continues to be a well-respected figure when it comes to cooking, gardening, arts & craft, and homemaking in general. While Martha divides her time between her homemaking and business, Rachael Ray devotes hers in creating sumptuous dishes in 30 minutes or less. Rachael was introduced to a wide range of cooking techniques at an early age. After working at Macy’s Fresh Foods Department she became a food buyer and eventually, chef, of Cowan and Lobel, where she had a cooking class featuring meals cooked in 30 minutes. This concept became the backbone of her show, 30 Minute Meals. Rachael’s recipes are presented in an entertaining manner in her shows, Rachael Ray and Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels. She admits to using store-bought items to complement her cooking. Her style, in contrast to Martha’s, is quick and simple; one that any regular-eating guy could appreciate. The only similarity between Rachael and Martha is the fact that they have both authored a good number of bestselling cookbooks.
Scrambled eggs are a busy cook’s best friend. They can be thrown together for a quick nutritious dinner or lingered over at a leisurely brunch. Because eggs are so affordable they are a great asset to families on a budget.
The great thing about scrambled eggs is they can be dressed up by adding sliced shallots or fresh vegetables. You can even top scrambled eggs with a hollandaise sauce and have an elegant Scrambled Eggs Benedict.
When shopping for eggs look for the freshest eggs available. If you do not live near a farm, shop in farmers markets or specialty stores. You can also look for organic eggs. Organic eggs will often times have brown shells but they make excellent scrambled eggs.
When it comes time to cook your scrambled eggs temperature does not mater. Eggs can be cold from the refrigerator or at room temperature. Follow the 7 simple steps below and your scrambled eggs will come out moist and tender.
1. Crack eggs in a large bowl, add a spoon full of fat such as butter, olive oil or sour cream
2. Whisk to blend, whisk the eggs until they are completely blended and yolks are well incorporated
3. Melt butter in a skillet over low heat
4. When the butter is melted pour eggs in and stir immediately. Continue to stir the entire time the eggs are cooking this will keep the eggs forming only small curds.
5. As the scrambled eggs begin to thicken slowly they will begin to look like cottage cheese curds.
6. Once the scrambled eggs form curds and are glossy remove from the eggs from the heat.
7. Continue to stir the scrambled eggs for one more minute while they finish cooking.
Avoid overheating the scrambled eggs this will cause the proteins to bind and cause large dry chewy curds.
Shauna Hanus is a gourmet cook who specializes in creating gourmet recipes. She has extensive experience cooking with easy to find grocery items to create delightful gourmet meals. She is also the publisher of a no cost bi-monthly gourmet newsletter. Her newsletter is always fun and informational packed with tips and trivia you can use everyday. Sign up for her newsletter and learn more about Gourmayeats Weekly Recipe Club at http://www.gourmayeats.com/recipe.html
Buying coffee online is not what it used to be. Just like everything else these days, the coffee business has attracted the entrepreneur. This is both good and bad, yet generally not in your best interest.
Your goal is to eliminate as many middlemen as possible, not only to get the Best Price, but also the Freshest Coffee. Too many people between you and the roaster will sacrifice either time (freshness) or money (yours!).
In a drop-ship world, quality control is an important factor. When buying coffee online, knowing what goes on behind the website is the key. Is the website just a front to collect orders and send them on somewhere else ? Are the coffee beans roasted in-house or locally, or are they shipped from across the country to sit on a shelf waiting for orders?
When you surf around the website, can you easily find information on: the history of the company, the ownership, and most importantly - contact information? If you can’t find - at the very least - a phone number and a street address, it is time to shop elsewhere. There also needs to be an explanation of where the coffee is roasted and a little info about the packaging and shipping process. And finally, the website should clearly state the “returns” policy.
Just as you can never judge a book by it’s cover, the price of the coffee is not the final answer. What about the Shipping and Handling charges? Do you have several options on how it is shipped? FedEx, UPS, and even the U.S. Postal Service do not deliver to all locations. For a while FedEx Ground was not delivering anywhere in New Orleans, not even to the areas unaffected by the storm. Certain rural areas do not have local delivery by the USPS - these folks have to pick up their mail at the local post office when they “go to town”.
While most websites offer reasonable shipping rates, others advertise low-priced products and then make up the difference with the shipping charges. After going through most of the online shopping process, some folks just go ahead pay hefty shipping charges just because they want to get on with life.
Last but not least, is the website shopping cart a “secure” site? When you get into the final stages of purchasing the product, look for the “lock” or “key” symbol at the bottom of the webpage. If you don’t see a lock or key, you should think twice about entering your credit card information on a website where the security of your financial information is in question. If the lock or key exists, double-click on it to verify that it is active and valid. You should see the actual dates the “Security Certificate” is valid - make sure they are current.
While you have the Security Certificate window open, click on the Details tab and then click on the Subject field. This will show you more information about the Certificate owner. If you see that the Certificate is issued to a third party, then the website owner may be trying to save a few hundred dollars per year by “sharing” a certificate with another entity. This could also mean that you have been “redirected” to another site, again another reason to exercise caution.
Buying Gourmet Coffee Online is fun, easy, and often the best way to get Fresh Roasted Coffee to your home or office. You can be successful if you simply shop at a website that provides the following:
** Physical Address, Phone Number, and Email Address
** Details on the roasting process and location of the roaster
** Reasonable Shipping Rates
** A Secure Website
** The impression that Quality, Customer Satisfaction, and
Great Coffee are a High Priority!
Copyright © 2006 Carolina Coffee and Tea Company.com All Rights Reserved.
Tom and his wife Nancy, are the Proprietors of Carolina Coffee and Tea Company and are part of a long line of merchants - going all the way back to the early 1900’s with N.H. Slaughter Fancy & Family Groceries. As connoisseurs of great coffee for over 30 years, they specialize in bringing you Fresh Roasted Goodness right to your home or office. Working directly with local roasters, they are your direct link to Great Tasting Coffee. You can visit their online store at http://www.carolinacoffeeandteaco.com They have the Good Stuff!
Instead of going to the local coffee shop, use your espresso machines instead. There are some excellent opportunities out there for you in these new, must have options for your kitchen. Once only used in coffee shops and in restaurants that were high end, these machines have been made so that anyone, anywhere can use them rather easily.
Espresso machines are available in several ways. You may have a favorite method of making the espresso or perhaps you are looking for something that offers a distinctive taste. In most cases, you will find that there are espresso machines that do just what you are looking for. Because they are so easy to use, you will be able to make your favorite espresso flavors yourself as well.
On top of this, you will also find that some machines are also combinations. Love cappuccino as well? Would you like a standard coffee maker along with your new espresso machine? These too can be purchased. You will find them available in a variety of styles and colors to fit any kitchen.
Yet another feature that is important to comment on is their quality. Some of the espresso machine styles that are on the market for individual use are in fact quite capable of making coffee house style coffee that is rich and full flavored, missing nothing except the price tag. And, you can experiment with coffee beans that fit your tastes while in a coffee house you may be limited. Purchase gourmet varieties for pennies on the dollar online and enjoy the coffee that is nothing short of amazing every day that you wake up.
Worried about dealing with these things each morning? Don’t be, because you will find it very hard to find an espresso machine that isn’t easy to use. Clean up is often just as easy as a standard coffee maker so that is not a problem as well. Espresso machines look great, work great and add an air of sophistication to your life.
For more information please see www.espresso-machine-shack.co.uk
I have been preparing my own meals for many years. Like most people, I suppose, I would fix only familiar dishes.
That has changed. For health benefits, I began eating more fruits and vegetables. Trying unfamiliar vegetables and fruits made eating interesting and more enjoyable. Many of those new fruits and vegetables became favorites. I tried many other foods that were new to me, for example, whole grains, various types of beans, seeds and nuts. Many of those became favorites. Using unfamiliar ways of preparing food also made eating more of an adventure. A few of my favorites are pesto (pureed greens and oil), raw foods that are normally eaten cooked, and unusual combinations such as bread with peanut butter, covered with pizza sauce.
The circumstances of my life encouraged more changes. Making do with a small amount of money gave me a liking for oatmeal, beans, and other very low-cost foods. Growing up on a farm and having a garden each year provided new fruits and vegetables to try and enjoy. Having been raised to ‘waste not, want not’, helped me not to pass up unusual foods: gifts such as my sister’s ‘beans ‘n’ greens’, the landlord’s parogies, and my son’s homemade deer jerky. The point is: The changes in my diet gave me more foods to enjoy. I now know that I can like a great many unfamiliar foods. At first some of those foods may not be enjoyed because they are so different and are unrecognized as a
‘goody’. For me, that recognition is typically made gradually by many small trials. Once that recognition is made, the food ‘hits the spot’ and can be nutritious, healthy and convenient. Then I have yet another food to enjoy.
The process of trying new foods and having them become enjoyed fare, makes eating an adventure. Eating becomes more nteresting and more enjoyed. Meals become more than a time to enjoy what I have enjoyed before. Awareness is heightened by experiencing the unfamiliar. There is anticipation of discovery of a new enjoyment. Meals become pay-off times of previous experimentation efforts. The food is more appreciated for having creative effort invested in it. Perhaps I have gained a health benefit, saved some prep time, saved money that can be used for some other purpose, and have added to my repertoire of pleasure.
A cookbook might help you get ideas about what new foods to try. A cookbook about a particular ethnic food or some other unfamiliar category of food would be particularly helpful. Buy one or get one from the library. Some ethnic categories are Middle Eastern, Southeast Asian, African, soul food, Southern, and Mexican. Other categories are health food,
quick and easy recipes, weight loss diets, vegetarian recipes, and using food from the garden. You might even enjoy some obscure categories such as pioneer food, early American/Native American food, wild food, early European food, food from storage, and low cost food. I particularly like quick and easy cookbooks.
If you need help becoming comfortable with trying new foods, try small changes:
- Eat breakfast foods at lunch or supper.
Or try a vegetable at breakfast. If you normally have a sandwich at bedtime, have a salad instead.
- Try different brands from the ones you normally use.
- Leave out one or more ingredients from your standard recipes. Or change the proportions - a little more of this or a little less of that.
- Substitute a similar ingredient for a usual ingredient, for instance, orange juice concentrate or lemon juice instead of vinegar on a salad.
- It may help to eat smaller portions but include a greater number of foods at each meal.
That may help you develop a liking for variety.
- Try unusual combinations such as cooked chicken and raw fruit cut in small pieces and mixed together…or pizza sauce on a peanut butter open-face sandwich…or a teaspoon of honey or pancake syrup on a dark green, leafy salad.
Salads are great to experiment with. Many vegetables can be enjoyed in a salad. Try various amounts and combinations of carrot, tomato, cabbage, broccoli, bell pepper, cucumber, or other vegetables you enjoy. Use other types of greens: romaine lettuce, bibb lettuce, collards, mache and basil. Dressing can be just oil, pesto, syrup, tomato sauce, ketchup, fruit juices,
mayonnaise, peanut butter softened with oil, and even jam or jelly.
Dressing can be used to soften the strong flavor of raw cabbage, basil, or dark green lettuce.
The subtle flavors of many vegetables are easily hidden with anything more than tiny amounts of vinegar, lemon juice and tomato sauce. Try a salad without any dressing to enjoy the full flavor of the vegetables. The vegetables can be proportioned to subdue or enhance particular flavors - use less basil to lessen its pungent flavor, use more carrot to boost its flavor and texture. Other salad ingredients can be nuts, peanuts, coconut, cereal, baked beans, and fruit. Some ingredients I like are raw beets, raw potato and raw sweet potato.
Watch out for raw greens and other raw vegetables that cause digestion system upset. It only takes small amounts of some raw vegetables to cause a lot of discomfort. Use small quantities of an untested food to begin with until you know how well your body deals with it. The body will adapt to some foods over a period of weeks or months but results vary from food to food and, I suppose, from individual to individual. Some raw foods I avoid because of previous bad experiences are green beans, asparagus, and beet leafs. I don’t eat more than a tablespoon of raw parsley pesto in a day. The same for kale. I don’t eat more than the equivalent of 1/4-cup pesto of raw Chinese cabbage.
To develop a liking for a new food, eat it at the beginning of a meal when you are most hungry. Being hungry greatly improves the ability to appreciate the taste of a food. Eat only a small amount of the new food at each sitting. For some foods, a tiny bite, just enough to sense its flavor, is enough to handle at first. Don’t give up easily on a food that at first seems too strange to be enjoyed. Some foods will require dozens of ‘get acquainted’ trials.
Other strategies for liking new foods:
- Read about nutrition and health to know the benefits of a changed diet.
- Be aware of how much time you spend shopping for food and other food related tasks. Would you rather have some of that time available for other things? Non-traditional foods can use preparation methods that take less time.
- Make a choice about the money you spend for food. Atypical foods may be less expensive than traditional and popular food. Getting the most bang for the buck can add to the pleasure of eating.
- Make a decision to increase the pleasure in your life. Your success in developing a fondness for a new food, will encourage you to try other kinds of new pleasures.
Have reasons in mind to try unusual foods:
- to be able to enjoy healthy foods.
- to enjoy low-prep-time foods.
- to use what you can grow in your garden.
- for the satisfaction of acquiring new pleasures.
- to increase your enjoyment of eating.
Know why liking new foods is difficult. This is the know-your-enemy principle. It seems to help me. People have an instinctive protection against eating toxic foods. Nature has provided you with a mistrust for new, unfamiliar food. If the food is enough different from what you are used to, it will not be immediately liked. This is a necessary instinct that keeps you from poisoning yourself by eating the wrong mushroom, for example. Evolution along with chemistry eliminated the gulp-down-anything individuals from our gene pool. The little-by-little taste-developers survived.
If it’s the sugar, salt and spices you depend upon to enjoy food, other flavors will go unappreciated. To help your fondness for new foods come easier, ease up on spices, salt, and sugar. That encourages your taste to appreciate a greater variety of flavors. You then can more appreciate the sweetness of cherry tomatoes, the sweetness of raw pumpkin, and the sweetness of sweet potatoes, for example. You can enjoy the mild flavor of raw chestnuts, the richness of nuts, and the subtle starchiness of cereal grains. Your palate will be more adept at experiencing the pleasures of subtle flavors. A great many foods that previously seemed mostly tasteless, can then be enjoyed for their unique flavors.
Your enjoyment of stronger tasting food will be helped by reducing sugar and salt use. You will be switching from depending on saltiness and sweetness to getting pleasure from other flavors.
Finding new foods:
- Browse at a health food store, a farmers market or an ethnic food festival.
- Take the time to look at all the items at a local supermarket.
- Browse at local ethnic food markets: Middle Eastern or Greek, for example.
- Try raw foods and whole grains.
- Use native plants and foraged plants. Know what you are doing, there are poisonous plants that resemble edible ones. A few plants are toxic even when eaten in small quantities.
- Do your own cooking and gardening, if you have the time and space.
A few unusual recipes can be found at
www.leisureideas.com/easy recipes unusual recipes.htm
Alan Detwiler writes about things to do to have fun. His website is http://www.leisureideas.com
To find his books, do a search for his name in the Ebooks and Docs section of Amazon.com’s Book department.
Athens is a melting pot of traditional cuisine, accompanied by traditional music, and the urge to feed the tourist’s stomach. Because Greek cuisine is popular, but at the same time one of many, one can find restaurants to everyone’s taste. So if you decide not to eat a traditional dish (such as Souvlaki, Keftedes or Kalamaraki) at a Taverna, make sure you go to an authentic Ouzeria Greek cafe after your dinner, not in the least to drink away your garlic taste.
One tiny detail that might be of interest, Greeks generally do not eat breakfast. Therefore, it is up to you to be inventive. Go to a shop and buy some bread or take my advice and start eating the delicious Greek snacks (Kebabs and Koulouria for example) as early as possible.
Herei s a recipe for Greek salad:
3-4 tomatoes
2 medium-sized cucumbers
1 sliced onion
1 lettuce (cut)
1 green sliced pepper
200 grams (7 oz) Feta cheese
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 table spoons vinegar
150 grams (5 oz) black olives
2 tablespoons caper (optional)
Oregano
Salt & Pepper
First wash all the vegetables very well. Slice the tomatoes in thin quarters. Peel and slice thinly the cucumbers
Add the cucumbers, the lettuce, the oregano, the black olives, the onion, the green pepper and the caper (optional). Dress the salad with the olive oil, vinegar and salt and mix them. Add the Feta cheese broken into small pieces
The above recipe is for 5-6 servings.
http://www.greek-athens-greece.com/index.html
The espresso coffee maker is a unique coffee-making machine. It specializes in serving just the perfect cup of rich, creamy and frothy Italian coffee drink named espresso that is just so irresistible! The brewing technique implemented to make espresso coffee is very exclusive. In this particular brewing method you are forcing hot water through finely ground coffee at a high pressure to make the coffee.
So as to force the water through the fine-ground coffee, the espresso coffee maker utilizes pressure that comes from heating water inside a sealed vessel. The pressure can be generated by a pressure pump or by steam. Pressure pump fitted espresso machines are the best as they generate more consistent pressure at the optimal brewing temperature.
Most commercial espresso machines are pump driven while the majority of the home espresso makers are steam driven.
An espresso coffee maker brews your espresso quick and fast. It is convenient and simple to operate. Making espressos at home could never get easier than this. If you are a true espresso fanatic then you just can’t ignore this smart looking coffee making gadget!
The most important part of the espresso coffee maker is the pressure pump. The coffee liquid is subjected to optimum levels of pressure in a short time. The water that is passed under high pressure through the freshly ground coffee should be just below the boiling point. As a result the maximum flavor and aroma is distilled out into your coffee.
The coffee brewing principle used to make espresso coffee in the espresso coffee maker is ideal to make less caffeinated espresso coffee. The high pressure applied in the process actually sucks out bitter oils and discharges far less caffeine than the other brewing processes. So espresso coffee is much healthier than other types of brewed coffee. Forget all those caffeine blues when you are sipping into your creamy espresso!
The capacity of the pressure pump device fitted in the espresso coffee maker is expressed in ‘bars’. A bar is equivalent to kg/square centimeter. A good pump can withstand pressures up to 15 bars or more. So it is essential for you to check these configurations before buying an espresso machine.
You must consider one very important aspect about enjoying a perfect cup of espresso. The creamy froth layer that forms at the top must stay as it is for a considerable period of time. So a pressure of around 7-9 bars must be passed through the coffee in the espresso coffee maker. Otherwise the froth will vanish as soon as it is formed making your espresso not worth a sip!
You can select from a wide range of impressive espresso coffee maker machines available in the market to suit your needs. These coffee making gadgets are offered at competitive prices in a variety of models. The espresso coffee makers are standard household appliances in most American homes!
You can buy a good quality standard espresso coffee maker without having to burn a hole in your pockets. A variety of low budget (less than $100) compact espresso machines are available. Some of the top low price espresso models are:
- Krups Caffe Duomo Espresso Machine
- Melitta MEX2B Espresso Coffeemaker
- DeLonghi Caffe Nabucco
- Krups Allegro Espresso maker
- Mr. Coffee Espresso machine
- Stove Top Espresso makers
However, for a more advance and superior quality espresso coffee maker you will have to shell out somewhere between $500-$1000. Some top brands in this price range are:
- Gaggia Syncrony Compact Espresso Machine
- Delonghi Magnifica Automatic Espresso Machine
- La Pavoni espresso machine
- Krups Orchestro Dialog 2-cup Espresso Machine
- Saeco Charisma Automatic Espresso Machine
- Francis Francis! X5 Espresso machine
Espresso coffee maker machines that are installed in coffee shops, coffee bars and restaurants are huge and much more elaborate than the home espresso machines. Commercial espresso machines require a higher level of operating skill and a more thorough knowledge of espresso making. A skilled barista is sure to create magic with any type of espresso device!
© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.
Randy has more articles on coffee and coffee beans at The Ultimate Coffee Information Website such as Do Coffee Enemas Really Work?.
