Sonic Supper!

Archive for February, 2010

Often referred to as the sweetest pleasure of mankind, Chocolate candy is one of the top sellers in America after a long time before enjoying it. Chocolate was discovered by Mayans of the Yucatán Peninsula, in México about 2,600 years ago or so, as evidence found in ruins suggest.

When the Aztecs arrived to the Valley of Mexico, the term chocolate was coined, derived from its Náhuatl name. However, chocolate was only prepared as a beverage or chewed as cacao bean. In this period of history, the World’s Finest Chocolates were totally out of scope.

Chocolate candy was taken to Europa by the hand of conqueror Hernán Cortés, who introduced it to Spain in the 16th century. It was not until the next century when it got back to New England, after the first British settlements overseas, although it is possible that American Native tribes knew how to prepare chocolate beverage.

The following centuries saw the growth of candy manufacturers introducing some of the finest brands, such as Hershey chocolate, Ghirardelli chocolate, Nestle chocolate and Lindt Chocolates, just to name a few.

How to Cook Cajun Food

Cooking great Cajun food is truly an art. There really is very little science to this particular form of cooking that includes a lot more than mere lagniappe from the pantry or the spice cabinet. Cajun cooking is something that has often been imitated around the country and around the world but can very rarely be accurately duplicated.

One of the fascinating things about Cajun cooking is the fact that there are very few exact recipes. Most, if not all authentic Cajun cooking is done to taste rather than measurements. Even more amazing is that from day to day one person can make the same dish over and over and it is quite likely to taste a little bit different each and every time it is made. The major reason for this is that in addition to being an art form in and of itself, Cajun food is often made even more delicious or mysterious simply by the mood of the one doing the cooking.

Gewurztraminer, meaning ’spiced or perfumed traminer’ is a wine grape variety grown in cooler wine growing areas of the world. Often referred to simply as Gewurtz, the grapes have a pink to red skin colour which produce a white wine with a high natural sugar content. The style of wine made is usually off dry which emphasises the flavour of exotic fruits.

The Gewurztraminer grape is grown in Alsace in France, as well as in Germany, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. The advantage of any vine grown at altitude is the long slow ripening period which concentrates the sugars without losing much of the valuable acidity. This prolonged ripening process is what gives varieties like Gewurtz their uniqueness.

Like Riesling, Gewurztraminer is a challenging grape variety to grow. It buds early in the spring, so is vulnerable to frost damage, which in turn causes a reduction in yields (though desirable for quality), but can make the wines more expensive. Harvesting at precisely the right time is vital to capture the fresh acidity as well as the luscious flavours. Get this wrong and the typical Gewurtz character of a flamboyant bouquet of lychees, passion fruit and roses will be lost.

These tips for eating healthy are universal. They are not constricting or unbearable. In fact, you may never notice the changes you make. The great thing about these simple changes is that your body will notice and reward you accordingly.

Replace some butter with some olive oil, for a better balance of healthy fats. Try a 50/50 mix for starters. Olive oil is unquestionably the healthier alternative to butter. Replace heavy carbs such as potatoes and stuffing with herbs that can flavor up a turkey or vegetables. Go organic to avoid hormones, pesticides, and antibiotic residues in meat or produce. Replace mayonnaise with with low-fat yogurt for tasty dressings without the extra fat and artificial stuff.  Trim all visible fat from meats. Stick with lean cuts and white meat.  Consider more nutrient-dense foods for desserts such as sweet potatoes, pecans, and pumpkins.   Check ingredients on any cans that you use. Avoid the bad sugars and look for fresher ingredients.  When choosing honey, try to find raw, unfiltered, cold-pressed organic honey.   Don’t overdue the number of meal courses. Stick with a few basics for a satisfying meal that doesn’t overstuff our guests. Consider serving a salad as the last course (or dessert).

Do you sometimes feel like cooking, especially cooking “healthy” foods, is a chore? - Not to mention expensive. Or do you get frustrated at the end of the week when you have to throw away unused, rotten vegetables that you purchased to make a healthy salad and never found the time to put it all together.

Most households are just trying to stay above water. With our already over booked schedules, it seems impossible to add another task. Trying to shop and prepare healthy meals is not on our number one priority list.

But the truth is there is a little voice inside our heads that always makes us feel guilty about our eating habits. The fact is everyone really does want to eat healthier because we really want to be healthier.

Because of recent scientific evidence supporting the importance of a healthy diet for longevity and health, our priorities need revising. It is a fact that Americans have a hectic stressful lifestyle.

There may be little time available for healthy cooking. But again, the warning is clear - we must eat healthy in order to live lives free from the risk of chronic devastating disease. Eating healthier starts in our own kitchens. Cooking healthy nutritious meals at home is possible.

Sunday Dinner Potluck

What are you cooking to contribute to Sunday dinner at your local church? Far too many times I watched as person after person walked in with store purchased fried chicken. Whether the reason for this was lack of time, lack of planning, or lack of ideas I was never quite certain. I was certain however, that this was not isolated to my church alone.

It may seem odd but I have traveled all over the country and lived in many different areas of the culture. One thing that seems constant no matter where I live is that someone inevitably brings fried chicken from a local restaurant or deli as his or her potluck offering. There is nothing wrong with this of course, but there are so many great recipes available for Sunday dinner cooking that it seems odd that so many would resort to this tired old tradition rather than spicing things up with a spicy taco casserole or sweetening the deal with some delightfully delicious and simple to make dessert.

Planning a big party takes a lot of expertise. Or does it? Does a person need to be a gourmet cook to host a gourmet party? Maybe not. A person isn’t necessarily a good cook just because they can make good food. They just have all the right recipes, is all. So relax, and don’t succumb to the pressure that you need to be a gourmet cook to host your party, when all you really need is a gourmet food catalog!

Of course, you could look for the perfect recipes, and hope that everything turns out, and your guests won’t be disappointed in you. But if you fail them, you can forget about hosting any more parties. A party flop stays in people’s minds long after the party has ended. This is your chance to do something right! Forget about all the cooking lessons your mom gave you when you were coming of age. They might be good recipes, but if you are faced with the huge challenge of feeding people, you’re likely to get nervous and forget to add the salt to one recipe, or the flour to another. What a flop your party would be if something were to go wrong.

Basic Cooking for Beginners

If you are learning to cook it is important that everyone started at the beginning originally. I do not know of a single person who was born with a wooden cooking spoon and ready to go. There is a lot of learning that must be done in order to become a prolific cook and then there is always room for improvement. Not only do you need to begin with the basics when it comes to cooking but you almost need to begin again when learning to cook a new cuisine such as Chinese, Thai, or Indian food.

This means that at any given time in your cooking learning cycles there is quite probably someone somewhere that is better and/or worse at cooking than you. Take heart from this because even the best have bad days when it comes to cooking. There are many people who cook for different reasons. Some cook in order to eat and survive while others cook because they actually enjoy the process of cooking. Some cook during times of emotional upheaval and others cook out of sheer boredom. Whatever your reason for cooking or learning to cook you should always begin with the basics.

While reading The China Study was the single biggest motivating factor in my adopting a vegan diet, “Veganomicon” was the book that has sustained me through the transition from meat-eater and has become a fixture in my kitchen.

Veganomicon, which bills itself (rightly so) as the Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, is the product of Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, who also wrote “Vegan with a Vengeance” and “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World”. The pair also created the PostPunkKitchen (theppk.com) vegan recipe website, where you can find some teaser recipes from the Veganomicon book.

My partner and I have tried about 40 of the dishes in Veganomicon, some several times, and our copy of Veganomicon (covered with numerous post-it notes and splatters of various sauces) is never far from our sides or minds.

One of my goals was to attempt all of the 250 recipes in the book. However, we’ve enjoyed the recipes we’ve tried so much (our favorite being “Baja-Style Grilled Tempeh Tacos”), it’s difficult to find reasons to try new ones.

Among our many other favorite recipes are:

We are all in a hurry. We live busy lifestyles, often juggling our careers, our families and our relationships. It is no wonder that many of us resort to ready meals and takeaways. We know that they are not exactly healthy, but they are fast, and fast is good. Spending hours in the kitchen after a long day at work is not a very appealing image.

It’s no secret that cooking with fresh ingredients is a lot healthier for you. There are no added preservatives or other unknown names on the wrapper with lots of numbers attached to it. There’s less salt, less sugar and less fat. And let’s not forget that fresh food tastes better.

You don’t have to be a Jamie Oliver or Nigella Lawson to be able to cook. Nor do you have to spend many hours in the kitchen. Adding a salad to your meal only takes a few minutes – the time it takes to wash and slice a lettuce, some onion, pepper, tomato or whatever you prefer. Mix it all together and you have something fresh and healthy that night. If you place some meat under the grill, you have a pleasant dinner in virtually no time.