Chocolate lava cake is a treat for any chocoholic at heart. It's a rich and decadent cake filled with dense fudge. Lucky dessert eaters will delight in the rich fudge that oozes from the center as they cut into the cake; as a result, the cake doesn't need any frosting. This is a great dessert to serve when entertaining, or as a tasty treat just for yourself.
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 425 F.
2. Melt the dark chocolate, semisweet chocolate and bittersweet chocolate with the butter in a medium bowl. Stir until well combined.
3. Mix the flour and sugar in a large bowl, add the chocolate mixture and combine thoroughly.
4. Add the egg yolks and then the eggs one at a time until batter is smooth. Mix with electric mixer on medium speed for 45 seconds until batter becomes silky and even.
5. Stir in the vanilla and hazelnut.
6. Pour the batter into individual custard cups. Bake for 15 minutes until edges are firm.
7. Leave the cakes to cool at least five minutes before serving. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
The prickly pear cactus has wide distribution throughout the United States, and its use as a food product is becoming more popular. The cactus pads and the fruit have excellent nutritional value, and both are good for controlling blood sugar. This article talks about use the fruits to make juice that can be used to flavor foods, marinate meat for the grill and used as a mix for drinks.
Instructions
1. The fruits ripen in the late summer into early fall, depending on where you live. In the hot desert southwest, mid-August is when people start picking the fruits. They are ripe when they are bright red or purple, depending on the variety. Locate a source of prickly pear fruit near you to pick yourself. It might be as close as your backyard, or it might be on a distant mountain.
2. Put on your leather gloves, and use tongs to take the fruits off the cactus pads. Be careful. All prickly pear cacti have long needles, and the fruits have little fuzzy needles on them that look harmless, but are just as painful to get in your skin as the long spines are.
3. Grab the fruit gently using the tongs. The fruits are surprisingly full of water and are easy to bruise, causing the skin to break. Put the fruit in the pail. Harvest enough to make as much juice as you want. Since they are a seasonal fruit, you might want to pick more than you think you'll use immediately and put some in the freezer for using throughout the year.
4. Process the fruit as quickly as you can after picking to ensure that you get the most flavor and nutrition from it. If you can't do it that day, refrigerate it overnight.
5. Rinse off the fruit. The easiest way to get rid of those nasty stickers and fuzz is to burn them off. Either use a gas stove or some kind of gas burner and hold them over flame and burn them off. Lacking a direct flame, you can put them on your barbecue with hot coals underneath to get rid of the stickers. Roll them around so that they are all gone from the sides and the top.
6. Drop the cleaned fruits into a pot and add about one to two cups of water to get them cooking. Small batches require less water. Cover the pan and turn on the heat to medium low and wait until the fruits are easily pierced with a fork. This takes about half an hour.
7. When they are tender, take the potato masher and try to force as much juice out of the cooked fruits as you can.
8. Put the cheese cloth into a colander and dump the prickly pear mash into it over a large bowl. Let the fruit drain until the pulp is cool enough to handle with your hands. Don the latex gloves and start squeezing the remaining juice from the pulp.
9. At this point, your juice is ready for consuming or freezing. Try putting the extra juice in jars for the freezer or heavy plastic bags. If you want to use it right away, put it in a pitcher and chill it in the refrigerator. Depending on your application, you can add a little sugar to bring the flavor out and sweeten it up a little.
Tags: prickly pear, burn them, cactus pads, Make Prickly, Make Prickly Pear
Make muffin mix more interesting with a few add-ins.
There are few things better than the smell of freshly baked blueberry muffins emerging freshly baked from the oven. Except maybe eating them! Store-bought muffin mixes offer pre-measured ingredients that you can mix up quickly for faster results than homemade muffins. However, muffin mixes can sometimes lack in variety, leaving you wanting a little something extra to really make your blueberry muffins pop. Luckily, with a few items you may have in your pantry, you can jazz up your muffin mix in no time.
Instructions
1. Mix in fresh or frozen berries such as raspberries, strawberries or blackberries to the mix before baking for a deeper, more complex berry flavor.
2. Spice up your muffin mix before baking by adding cinnamon, nutmeg or ground ginger, or even a combination of the three. Spices like these will give the baked muffins a warmer flavor profile.
3. Stir semi-sweet, white, milk or mini chocolate chips into the mix before baking for a sweeter, more dessert-like muffin.
4. Stir a few ounces of cream cheese into the mix before baking for blueberry cheesecake muffins.
5. Mix together brown sugar, butter and flour and sprinkle the mixture on top of the muffin mix before baking for streusel-topped muffins.
Tags: before baking, blueberry muffins, freshly baked, into before, into before baking, muffin before
Sprinkle artificial sweetener on doghnuts for a satisfying sugar alternative.
Individuals with a sugar intolerance experience a range of intestinal symptoms that include bloating, abdominal cramps, flatulence and diarrhea, according to a report in the journal "Digestive Diseases and Sciences." This is a difficult condition to manage, since many foods contain sugars -- from the fructose in fruits to the sucrose in cookies to the lactose in dairy products. One of the most significant dangers of a sugar intolerance is diabetes, and proper diet and exercise are your best defense against developing this disorder. Sugar substitutes often help satisfy the palates of sugar intolerance sufferers.
Stevia
Stevia is an herb native to Paraguay that has been used to sweeten food for centuries. It is a natural alternative to artificial sweeteners. Stevia does not contain any actual sugar and is calorically neutral. While you can usually find stevia in your local health food store, you can also grow the herb at home.
Aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that was first introduced in the United States in 1981. While there has been significant controversy over its safety, the FDA has conducted several studies and concluded that it is not dangerous. Aspartame breaks down into two amino acids -- phenylalanine and aspartic acid -- which are both commonly found in everyday foods. It is used in many consumer products -- from soft drinks to ice cream -- and is available in powder form for sweetening coffee, tea and desserts.
Sucralose
Sucralose is a sweetener derived from the sucrose sugar. While it is chemically similar to sucrose and tastes similar, it does not contain any calories. It is more convenient for baking and cooking than stevia, since you can substitute sucralose in a one-to-one ratio to sugar for recipes. While criticisms in the media have questioned the safety of sucralose, testing by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Health Canada, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives and the Japanese Food Sanitation Council have found it to be safe.
Xylitol
Xylitol is a carbohydrate found in many fruits and vegetables. Isolated as a powder or a liquid, it has been used as a sweetener since the 1960s. In addition to tasting sweet, xylitol is also used as a dental treatment to reduce decay and is an ingredient in many toothpastes and chewing gums.
Tags: sugar intolerance, artificial sweetener, been used, does contain, United States
For lunch or dinner, the perfect way to highlight the taste of beef, pork, turkey or chicken, or to add a rich and creamy accompaniment to mashed potatoes, dressing or rice, is to smother everything in gravy. As a nice touch for breakfast, serve a batch of fresh biscuits topped with homemade sausage gravy.
Types
Types of gravy vary, depending on the meat ingredient used as the base for the gravy. Pan drippings from roasted pork or beef are used to make pan or brown gravy, and drippings from roast chicken are used to make creamy chicken gravy. Traditional Thanksgiving giblet gravy uses the neck, gizzard, liver and heart, along with meat drippings. White gravy uses a mixture of meat drippings combined with flour and either milk or cream, and red-eye gravy uses the drippings from fried ham.
Features
Brown gravy can be made with the drippings, mixed with flour, water and salt and pepper to taste. Onions that roasted along with the meat or were sautéed separately can be added to brown gravy. Giblet gravy can have both onion and celery added, and white gravy is generally used with bits of cooked sausage added to the mixture, then ladled over biscuits. Without the sausage, white gravy is served with fried chicken or chicken-fried steak.
Additional water can be added to the roasting pan to mix with the meat juices and then used as a thin gravy topping.
Considerations
Cut onions into thin strips, dice celery into small sections or slice mushrooms into slivers and then sauté before adding to the gravy. Or cook extra onions and mushrooms with the roasting meat and then add them, along with the drippings, to the gravy mixture.
Flour or cornstarch can be used to thicken the gravy base and, if the meat drippings are limited, use a package of dry gravy mix and water, along with the drippings, to make the gravy. Beef or chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in water or a can of beef or chicken broth can be used as a water substitute to thin the gravy.
Tips
If gravy is made with flour and water, combine these ingredients in a separate container, mix well and then add slowly to the drippings. Bring the mixture to a low boil, then turn the temperature down and continue to cook on heat low, stirring the gravy to remove any lumps. Add liquid if the gravy becomes too thick.
If the gravy is being made directly in a skillet, drain excess oil, if necessary, and keep things just hot enough to brown the flour if making white or brown gravy. Add either water or milk, depending on the type of gravy being made, and cook on low heat.
Warning
Gravy is prone to having clumps of flour that will cause the consistency of the gravy to be lumpy. While cooking the gravy, stir the mixture and, if the lumps do not dissolve, use the back of a spoon and press each lump against the side of the pan, causing it to dissolve into the gravy mixture.
Cook gravy on low heat to prevent burning or scorching; do not boil.
Tags: along with, drippings from, gravy uses, meat drippings, with drippings
Food dehydration is a food preservation method that removes moisture from the food. This prevents bacterial growth and allows the food to be stored for a long period of time. Fruits and vegetables are easy to dehydrate in a food dehydrator. These machines use a minimal amount of electricity, and the dehydration process and temperatures are easy to monitor.
Instructions
Vegetables
1. Wash the vegetables to remove any loose dirt.
2. Slice and blanch the vegetables. Place a few inches of water into a saucepan and bring the water to a boil. Place a steamer basket into the pot, fill it with sliced vegetables and use a lid to cover the pot tightly. Do not allow the vegetables to touch the water. Let the steam blanch the vegetables for three to eight minutes. Remove the vegetables and pat them dry with paper towels. If you planning to dehydrate mushrooms, onions or peppers skip this step.
3. Set the dehydrator to 130 degrees F. Temperature control methods vary among dehydrator manufacturers and models. Some models require temperatures be set by turning a knob to the desired temperature indicated on the machine. Other models may offer digital temperature control where the user can type in the desired temperature.
4. Place the vegetables in single layers on drying sheets. Slices should not overlap. Periodically rotate the trays during the drying process.
5. Monitor the vegetables and remove them when dry. Dry vegetables will not show any sign of moisture when torn apart. The vegetables may be leathery or brittle. Time will vary from approximately three to six hours, depending on the type of vegetable.
Fruit
6. Wash, pit and slice the fruit. Keep the slices uniform.
7. Put the slices into a small bowl of lemon juice or ascorbic acid. Let the fruit sit in the liquid for five minutes. This step will help prevent the fruit from turning brown.
8. Set the dehydrator to 135 degrees F by turning the temperature knob or entering the temperature on the digital display, depending on the type of dehydrator.
9. Arrange the slices in single layers on the drying sheets. Do not allow the slices to overlap. Periodically rotate the trays during the drying process.
10. Monitor the fruit and remove it when dry. Properly dehydrated fruit will not show any signs of moisture when torn. Depending on the type of fruit, it will be either almost leathery or pliable. Fruit may take from six to 26 hours to fully dehydrate.
Girls want to look feminine and beautiful without a lot of fuss.
The most popular haircuts for girls are ones that are pretty, fun, versatile, easy to manage and timeless. Girls want hair they can care for and style themselves, and most want to be able to achieve different looks with their hair. Here are the most popular haircuts for girls that allow them to get everything they want out of their hair.
Long and Layered
Cutting layers in long hair can remove bulk from thick hair.
Many girls love their hair long and flowing, but they also love body and movement, so they choose long layers. Long hair can be very feminine and pretty as long as the hair is healthy and the layers are cut evenly. Hair at this length can also be pulled up into a ponytail, tied in a bun or braided easily.
The downside to long hair, especially if it's not trimmed often, is that it can get split ends and appear dry. Keeping ends trimmed will allow the hair to continue to grow long and keep it healthy from the roots to the end of the shaft.
Shag
Side bangs on a shag soften and flatter most facial features.
A shag that is slightly below the shoulders is a versatile length and cut because it has the feminine beauty and charm that longer hair has with the ease of styling that shorter hair may have. Because shags tend to have shorter layers, they can appear punky and edgy. Shags look good whether the layers are blended or choppy, so it's a fun and youthful cut.
Bob
Longer bobs are great for younger teens and adolescents.
Hair at this length can be with or without layers. This is a great cut for girls who prefer minimal styling. Shorter hair is easy to wash, condition, dry and detangle, and it takes up less time than long hair because there's less hair to manage. It's a very low-maintenance cut that still looks great and age-appropriate for girls of all ages.
Tags: long hair, their hair, Girls want, Hair this, Hair this length, haircuts girls, popular haircuts
One of the most challenging parts of being on a diet is staying true to it. Try some of these quick and easy low-calorie ideas the next time you're ready to reach for a quick snack.
The Basics with a Minor Tweak
Frozen berries are out of this world. For a quick 79 calorie snack, slip a baggie with 5.5 ounces of fresh blueberries in the freezer.
Substitution is Key
The next time you try a quick and easy quesadilla, opt for some key substitutions. High fiber, wheat tortillas and low-fat, low-calorie cheese are no-brainers, but don't forget to swap out the cooking oil or butter for extra virgin olive oil or non-fat spray and add a little spice to counteract the low-fat taste.
Better than the Box
Ward off the diet taste of low calorie desserts by improving the mix. For example, for a high fiber banana nut muffin mix, use extra virgin olive oil instead of butter, egg beaters instead of eggs and add one serving of dark chocolate chips. Pour into a cake pan instead of muffin tins for a low-calorie, high-fiber cake.
Uncommon Supermarket Finds
Prowl the supermarket for great pre-packaged low-calorie snacks and keep them accessible in your purse or briefcase when you're on the go. Watch out for the often-overlooked but tasty alternatives available to you, like dark chocolate covered soy nuts.
Long Live French Fries
Next time you're looking to satisfy a craving for fries, dodge the drive-through and take the initiative to make them yourself. All you need is some fresh potatoes cut into the desired shape, a large skillet and a small amount of olive oil. Add fresh seasonings and salt to taste.
Tags: dark chocolate, extra virgin, extra virgin olive, next time, quick easy
Churros can also be filled with chocolate or fruit fillings.
Churros, or Spanish doughnuts, are deep-fried pastry in the shape of a long roll. They are usually sprinkled with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. They are a simple snack and most kids absolutely love them.
Instructions
1. Heat the water, butter and salt in a saucepan on medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then slowly stir in the flour.
2. Stir the mixture until it forms a ball and remove from the heat.
3. Beat the eggs well and stir them into the dough.
4. Place the dough into a plastic bag and seal it.
5. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. It should be about 1 1/2 inches deep.
6. Cut the end corner of the plastic bag and squeeze out strips of batter into the frying pan.
7. Fry a couple of strips at a time, browning each side for a couple of minutes. They should be evenly golden brown.
8. Remove them from the grease and drain on a paper towel. Sprinkle the churros with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.
Chocolate-covered pretzels make tasty party snacks.
Chocolate-covered pretzels provide the perfect combination of sweet and salty. If you're hosting a New Year's Eve party, set out bowls of chocolate-covered pretzels for guests to enjoy and nibble on. Finger foods will allow partygoers to mix and mingle while snacking. Commemorate the occasion by giving the chocolate-covered pretzels a festive look.
Colorful Pretzel Rods
Jazz up salty pretzel rods by covering them colorful candy sprinkles. Dip 3/4 of each rod into white, dark or milk chocolate and lay them on a parchment or wax paper. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the rods with festive candy sprinkles in shades of red, green, purple or blue. You can completely cover the chocolate in sprinkles or apply them in decorative stripes. Guests can hold on to the bottom of the rods without getting chocolate on their hands.
Mint-Covered Pretzels
Get into the holiday spirit by accenting chocolate-dipped pretzels with peppermint bits. Completely cover pretzel twists with melted dark or white chocolate. Crush candy canes into fine pieces and sprinkle them onto the chocolate. Other festive pretzel toppings include red hots and crushed almonds or cashews. For a winter wonderland appearance, sprinkle white chocolate-covered pretzels with coconut flakes.
Sparkling Sugared Pretzels
Make your chocolate-covered pretzels extra sweet and shiny by sprinkling them with sanding sugar. Sanding sugar, which is coarser than its traditional white counterpart, reflects light to create sparkle. Enrobe pretzel rods or twists in any type of melted chocolate and dust them with shimmering iridescent, silver or gold sanding sugar for a celebratory look.
Confetti-Topped Pretzels
When midnight rolls around, your New Year's Eve party guests can celebrate with confetti-topped pretzels. Dip any type of pretzels in rich chocolate and sprinkle them with colorful edible confetti, which is made from sugar. To fit the special occasion, choose confetti featuring shapes such as diamonds, stars and snowflakes.
Few things are as delicious as the taste, or even the scent, of a hot loaf of homemade bread, fresh out of the oven. Good homemade breads are so light, it seems you could eat half a loaf before you've had enough. But if you don't treat your dough right, you could wind up with a heavy loaf that weighs you down.
Instructions
1. Use bread flour. It contains more wheat gluten than all-purpose flour, which makes the dough rise more, creating a lighter loaf.
2. Stir the yeast, salt, water and other ingredients in with the smallest amount of flour the recipe calls for. If the range is three to five cups of flour, start with three.
3. Switch from stirring to kneading when the dough becomes firm enough. If it pulls away from the side of the bowl, you can work it by hand.
4. Add flour if the dough is too soft to knead well, but only a quarter-cup at a time. Too much flour and the dough will be too heavy to rise as much.
5. Let the dough rise, covered with a moist towel, in a warm place. The top of the stove with the oven turned to 200 degrees will work, or inside a dishwasher if you let the hot water run for a couple of minutes, then stop.
6. When the dough appears to have doubled in size, press the tip of your finger gently into it. If it yields gently, and doesn't spring back instantly, it's ready to bake.
Used for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the soft spread known as cream cheese may be different than a lot of regular cheeses like American, provolone and cheddar, and it provides a unique taste and texture that fills refrigerators all over the world. Cream cheese continues to grow in popularity and in the range of recipes it's used in.
History
Worldwide, cream cheese was noted as a popular food during the 1750s and expanded in use in Normandy, France, during the 1850s. It was created and used in the United States in 1872 by a dairy farmer named William Lawrence. The Kraft Co. bought his product and now sales the "Philadelphia" cream cheese that is found in stores today.
Function
Cream cheese is created through a cooling and heating process with milk. Milk is combined with bacteria in freezing temperatures just as the milk is starting to soften. To prevent the milk from turning to liquid, it is quickly moved to a heated area where the product stabilizes and cream cheese is formed. A mixture of other elements like carob gum and guar are added to prevent the cream cheese from liquidizing and losing its water.
Types
Kraft's Philadelphia cream cheese is one of the most popular cream cheeses available and there is a whole range of products. Along with the regular cream cheese, there are flavored cream cheeses that include fruits, chives and even salmon, as well as light versions.
Recipes
Cream cheese is commonly used on it own, on top of a bagel, English muffin or even toast. Crackers are also popular with cream cheese, but it is included in a lot of recipes, as well. Cream cheese is used in the popular dessert cheesecake, as well as in many dips. It is popular in potato recipes and mixed with other cheeses.
Considerations
Cream cheese is one of the fattiest cheeses available, so if concerned about nutrition, you may want to opt for "light" cream cheese. It is also important to look at the expiration date on cream cheese, because it can go bad fairly quickly. Look for any spots of mold before consuming the cream cheese.
An octopus shape is an exciting way to present foods such as cupcakes and hot dogs.
The octopus is a majestic animal, and a common favorite with children the world over. These elegant creatures can be recreated for lunch or dessert with a couple of inventive tricks and decorations. Cupcakes and hot dogs are two foods that can be quickly transformed into octopi for a quick party or after-school snack.
Instructions
Make an Octopus Cupcake
1. Bake a batch of standard-sized cupcakes in cupcake baking cups. Yellow cake or chocolate cake recipes are ideal. Mix about five drops of orange food coloring into homemade buttercream frosting or store-bought frosting.
2. Set one cupcake, still in its baking cup, on a flat surface. Spread a small amount of orange buttercream frosting on top of the cupcake.
3. Unwrap a second cupcake and place it upside down on top of the cupcake from Step 1. Push firmly into place to secure it.
4. Frost the top cupcake thoroughly with the orange buttercream to create a round, dome shape.
5. Press two M&M'S into the front of the top cupcake to make the octopus's eyes. Push a handful of gummy worms into the top of the bottom cupcake to represent the octopus's legs.
Make a Hot Dog Octopus
6. Lay an uncooked hot dog on a flat cutting surface and hold one end firmly between your fingers.
7. Cut the hot dog in half lengthwise, going only two-thirds of the length of the hot dog.
8. Rotate the hot dog about 90 degrees and cut lengthwise, again only cutting about two-thirds of the way down.
9. Repeat Step 3, rotating the hot dog and cutting once more. This will create eight "legs" at one end of the hot dog and leave a single "head" on top.
10. Boil the hot dog until it is cooked through and hot on the inside. Put on a plate with a garnish of fruit and veggies.
Tags: buttercream frosting, frosting cupcake, Make Octopus, orange buttercream
Gruyere cheese is a a semi-firm or semi-hard cheese made of cow's milk. Gruyere named after the Swiss town from which it originated in the 12th century. Gruyere is a light brown cheese with a mild, nutty flavor; it is commonly used in fondues, souffles and melted on sandwiches. If Gruyere cheese is not easily available to you, or you like Gruyere and want to try something similar, there are many cheeses available.
Emmentaler
Emmentaler is known by several other names such as Emmental, Emmenthaler or Bavarian Swiss cheese. Like Gruyere, Emmentaler has a nutty, mild flavor and is an excellent cheese for melting. Emmentaler has more holes than Gruyere and is more yellow in color.
Jarlsburg
Jarlsburg is another cheese very similar to Gruyere. This cheese is the Norwegian version of Emmentaler. Jarlsburg has a large amount of holes and is a creamy yellow cheese with a mild flavor.
Appenzell
Appenzell, also known as Appenzeller, is another semi-firm cheese similar to Gruyere. Appenzell is creamy, much like Gruyere, but it has a slightly more pungent taste, and stinky cheese smell.
Comte
Comte, also called Gruyere de Comte, is a French version of Gruyere. Like Gruyere, Comte has a mild nutty flavor, and works well for melting. One slight difference between Comte and Gruyere is that Comte has a sweet taste.
Tags: cheese with, cheese with mild, Gruyere cheese, Gruyere Comte, Like Gruyere
Boiled crawfish is more than a food. To many people, it is a delicacy. To a Cajun, it is a way of life.
Crawfish, or mudbugs, are typically eaten at large gatherings where they are boiled in an outdoor pot with seasoning, potatoes, corn on the cob and onions. Attendees then load some of the mudbugs and trimmings onto a tray or platter, sit down and feast.
The biggest hurdle to enjoying the pastime is peeling the crawfish. If you can master the process below, however, the meal is well worth the trouble.
Instructions
1. Take a crawfish from the platter in front of you. The crawfish should be a nice, dark red color with a large tail. The tail is where the meat is.
2. Take the crawfish in two hands, one on the upper body and one on the tail.
3. Twist the tail away from the body. When you feel it start to loosen, pull it completely away from the body.
4. Set aside the upper body. Holding the tail in one hand, squeeze the underneath of the tail near its bottom and, with your other hand, pull the meat out of the top of the tail. If necessary, peel away some of the shell.
5. Pop the peeled crawfish tail into your mouth.
6. If so inclined, pick up the upper body and suck the spicy juices out of the opening where the tail was attached.
7. Savor your treat before moving on to the next crawfish.
Tags: upper body, away from, away from body, from body, Take crawfish
1. Find the largest pitcher or punch bowl you have. It's often a good idea to make extra sangria, because it tends to go fast at a party.
2. Fill the pitcher or punch bowl with one bottle of red wine. Any type of red wine will suffice, although some people prefer to use Spanish red wines. For a lighter sangria, use a lighter red wine, such as a Shiraz.
3. Cut an orange and a lime into wedges and squeeze the juice into the punch bowl. Remove the seeds beforehand if you have the time.
4. Drop the squeezed wedges of orange and lemon into the punch bowl. Leaving the fruit wedges in the mixture will give it a fruitier taste and make it more pleasing to the eye, as well.
5. Pour in about 2 tbsp. of sugar for every bottle of red wine you use in your recipe.
6. Add 1 shot of brandy to the mixture. Brandy is traditional, but it can be substituted with another liquor. For instance, rum and gin both make excellent additions to red wine sangria.
7. Put your sangria mix in the fridge and allow it to chill for about 12 to 24 hours.
8. Combine the mix with 1 3/4 to 2 cups ginger ale and serve immediately. This will give your sangria a nice kick of liveliness and effervescence.
9. Forgo the overnight chilling of the sangria if the party is a last-minute occasion and you do not have time. As red wine sangria needs to be served cold, you will need to use a chilled red wine, however, and plenty of ice in your punch bowl.
10. Experiment with your own sangria recipes and try adding additional fruits and berries. Bananas, strawberries, raspberries, peaches and other fruits make excellent sangria variations.
Tags: punch bowl, your sangria, bottle wine, have time, into punch, into punch bowl
The word pomegranate is derived from a Latin word that means "apple of numerous seeds," according to Produce-Pete. Pomegranates are a bit bigger and heavier than oranges, with a smooth, thick reddish skin. Inside are dozens of tiny orbs filled with red, tart pomegranate juice. Since you can't bite into a pomegranate and the seeds inside are small and easily broken, figuring out get them in your mouth can be a challenge. Many feel the exotic treat is worth the fuss.
Instructions
1. Select a ripe pomegranate from a grocery store or fresh market. Choose one that is large and heavy; the heaviness of the fruit indicates how much juice is stored inside.
2. Slice the skin and peel it back. Reveal the white membrane with the red pomegranate seeds nestled inside. Pluck each one from the skin carefully without breaking the seeds in the process. Eat the seeds; they contain the juice.
3. Slice off the top of the pomegranate, which is called the crown, if you don't want to go through the trouble of plucking out each seed. Once the crown is removed, slice the fruit lengthwise into six sections without splitting the fruit apart. Soak the pomegranate in a bowl of warm water for approximately 10 minutes.
4. Use your fingers to pull the fruit apart while it is still in the bowl of water. Observe as the seeds float to the bottom of the bowl, while the rind and the membrane float to the top. Pour off the top water to get rid of all but the seeds. Pour the seeds and remaining water into strainer. Pour the strained seeds back into the bowl.
5. Eat the seeds carefully without releasing the juice onto your hands or clothing. Remember that pomegranate juice stains quickly and easily. Eat the seeds plain or sprinkle them with sugar or salt.
6. Combine the pomegranate seeds with other foods. Eat them with yogurt, sprinkled over salad or fruit, or as a garnish for fish or other cooked foods.
7. Extract pomegranate juice. Put the seeds into a blender or juicer; add other fruits or juices as desired. Serve drinks chilled or frozen, and freeze any unused portion for later. You can also make pomegranate juice into sorbet. To extract juice directly from the fruit, roll it around on a hard surface before peeling, using enough pressure to burst the seeds inside. Stick a straw into the fruit and suck out the juice directly.
Tags: pomegranate juice, pomegranate seeds, carefully without, fruit apart, juice directly
Pineapples are a great source of nutrition and taste, so knowing choose a ripe one helps. What color do you look for? Is there any truth to the idea that you thump it for a certain sound? Here are tips for picking the right pineapple.
Instructions
1. Color. You want a nice golden color all the way around the fruit, especially the base. It is still good and ripe if it has green on the upper portion. Stay away from a dark brown color as this means the fruit is overripe.
2. Smell the bottom of the pineapple for a fresh, sweet aroma. If there is only a faint aroma, it may have been brought in too soon and is not ripening, as it should. Pineapples are sweeter toward the base of the fruit and this is your source of true ripeness.
3. There is no truth to the rumor that you can thump a pineapple to tell if it is ripe, though this does work for melons. For pineapples stick to your sense of smell and sight. A dried crown means the pineapple is sucking moisture from the top and may be overripe.
4. Once you have chosen the pineapple use it within a day or two. It is acceptable to refrigerate or leave it on the counter at home. Refrigeration will add a day of freshness to it and a crisp cold taste when served.
5. When cutting your pineapple, remember that they are sweeter toward the bottom. If you core the fruit and slice it in rings, some people will get very sweet servings and others more tart. Instead, slice the pineapple lengthways into quarters and cut out the core on each quarter. This way each serving has a bit of all flavors available.
You can cook many donuts at one time with doughnut-makers.
Doughnut-makers have simplified the doughnut-making process. Using a doughnut-maker can be more convenient than frying doughnuts in a pot of oil on the stove. However, if you don't know use the appliance correctly you could end up with burnt or undercooked doughnuts. Fortunately, it isn't difficult to follow the directions for using a doughnut-maker.
Instructions
1. Preheat the doughnut-maker. Make sure the lid is closed. Then, let the appliance heat up. It should take about 4 to 5 minutes for the doughnut-maker to preheat.
2. Spoon the batter into the appliance. Put spoonfuls of a prepared doughnut batter into each cavity in the machine. You may want to brush oil or butter into the non-stick cavities before putting the batter in. Use 1 tablespoon or 2 of batter depending on how large the cavities are in your maker. Do not over fill the cavities.
3. Close the lid, and allow the doughnuts to cook for approximately three minutes.
4. Remove the doughnuts. Using a wooden or plastic spatula, carefully lift each doughnut out of the cavities. If the doughnuts do not come out easily, close the lid and cook for a few more minutes. Be sure to use a wooden or plastic spatula because metal utensils may damage the coating in the doughnut-maker.
If you are looking for an easy get-together idea, having people over doesn't require a lot of cooking. Appetizers are usually quick to put together and there are a great variety of foods to choose from. Read on to learn have an appetizer party.
Instructions
1. Pick a theme for your party. Have a Christmas tree trimming party or have some co-workers over on a Friday night after work. Mix it up and have fun your appetizers will set a tone for your party.
2. Plan to prepare two to three pieces of each recipe for each person who attends. This means you need a relatively firm head count, to avoid shortages on food.
3. Look for recipes you can make ahead of time.
4. Do as much as you can ahead of time. This will save you from slaving in the kitchen while everyone else is having fun.
5. Have a variety of hot and cold appetizers.
6. Look for creative ways to set up your appetizers and beverages.
7. Relax and enjoy your party as you offer your guests yummy food.
The flavor of elephant garlic is not as strong as actual garlic, which makes it more suitable as a salad or sandwich ingredient. While elephant garlic does not boast the ability to boost metabolism like common garlic can, it does provide other health benefits.
Misconceptions
Although it appears to be an oversized relative of common garlic, elephant garlic is in fact a variation of the leek.
Identification
Elephant garlic greatly resembles regular garlic, consisting of several cloves and a white, papery outer layer. The difference is that elephant garlic can be twice the size of common garlic.
Benefits
Elephant garlic is high in fiber and provides calcium, vitamin C and many B vitamins, including folic acid and potassium. It also has anti-inflammatory, diuretic and laxative properties.
Considerations
Elephant garlic can be safely stored in a cool, dry place without other produce for up to six weeks. It can be sliced and eaten raw or cooked.
Fun Fact
Alliumphobia is the fear of garlic. Since elephant garlic is actually a leek variant, though, alliumphobics can rest easy around it.
Pecans are a delicious nut with a crunchy, buttery taste. They can be eaten both raw or cooked. Pecan pie is an American favorite, especially during the holiday season. Pecans are also used to make the famous New Orleans praline candy. The U.S. harvests the majority of the world's pecans. The yearly crop is close to 200,000 tons. Many Americans, especially those in Georgia, New Mexico and Texas, have one or more pecan trees in their backyard. These trees can produce more than just pecans. They can actually make money for their owners.
Instructions
1. Grow the finest pecans you can. Nuture each tree with fertilizer, water and other nutrients. You want to become known for having a high-quality pecan crop so you can earn the highest dollar for your pecans.The shell-out rate of the pecans determines how much value the crop is worth. If your pecans have a low shell out rate of 50 percent or less you will not make much money.
2. Sell directly to commercial purchasers if you have a large pecan crop. Commercial buyers will often eye the crop and give you a price for your pecans based on their appearance. Keep in mind that to sell to a commercial dealer you will have to have at least a ton of pecans that are cleaned and bagged. See "Resources" for a link to commercial pecan sellers.
3. Sell your pecans online. Package your pecans in baggies and sell at auction sites like eBay. To set prices, look at the going rate on eBay; this will vary from season to season. You may also want to develop a personal website to market your pecans.
4. Set up a booth at community events such as craft fairs, school functions, carnivals, farmers markets and other local events and sell bagged pecans. Sell plain bags of pecan nuts and sell bags set up to be gift items. You can find inexpensive mugs, baskets and tins at dollar and thrift stores. Line these with tissue paper and place bags of nuts in them to encourage buyers to purchase them for gifts for others. Be sure to factor the price of the mugs, baskets and tins in your price and add a little extra to make a profit.
5. Advertise your pecan nuts for sale at free classified ad websites such as Craigslist and in local shopping guides that have a free for sale section.
Chocoholics the world over crave the confection's warm taste and texture. You can make your own delectable candy with trays that take care of the hard part: preparing the chocolate to make your candy.
Instructions
1. Select a tray that will fit into the microwave oven easily. This tray should be made of glass. Cover it with wax paper.
2. Lay out the chocolate you want to melt in a single layer on the wax paper lined melting tray.
3. Microwave on high for one minute and stir the chocolate around to see how well it has melted. If it hasn't melted, microwave again for 1/2 to 1 minute.
4. Position the melting tray over a pot of hot water to keep the chocolate from cooling too quickly. To accomplish this, use a small slow cooker or other electric pot.
5. Take a candy center and, using a spoon, roll it around on the chocolate that is still in the melting stage. Use this same technique with strawberries you want to dip into chocolate.
6. Place the piece of candy onto a non-heated tray lined with waxed paper and allow it to set.