FoodRevo blog

In our house muffins hold a grand place of honor – in the hands of the toddlers. These ‘travel friendly’ little cakes are, in my opinion, the perfect food; especially for little kids. Muffins are just the right size for little hands and little mouths as well. During the warm months, I can give a kid a muffin from the back door and they run gleefully across the yard with snack in hand. Healthy, hearty and delicious, muffins are a meal in one.

Muffins, generally speaking, come in two types – American and English. My favorite muffins to bake and serve are bread-like textured American muffins. The bumpy muffin tops are great on their own, but bake a fruit-filled muffin recipe, and you’ve created a masterpiece. One word of caution on baking muffins: do not over mix or you’ll have a tough muffin with holes in the middle. Stir about 10 strokes and your muffins will be fine. Not that a hungry little kid is going to notice however!

If you’re concerned with feeding your family healthy muffins, and who isn’t of course, there are some wonderful choices in recipes. Low fat versions are good for diet conscious parents as well.

Here are a couple of healthy and delicious muffin recipes for you to try.

Applesauce Oat Muffins

1-1/2 cups oats
1-1/4 cs flour

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda

1 c applesauce
1 egg

1/2 c milk
5 tbsp oil

1/2 c brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Add applesauce, milk, brown sugar, egg, oil. Mix just until moist, about 10 strokes, do not over mix. Put in muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake 20 minutes or until passes toothpick test.

Raisin and Pumpkin Muffins

1-1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup Splenda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup can pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
5 tbsp melted butter
1 egg beaten

1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 400. Mix dry ingredients together. Add milk, pumpkin, vanilla, butter and egg, stirring gently 2 times. Add raisins, and stir just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full, and bake 18-20 minutes or until passes toothpick test.

Mix up a quick batch of muffins, and watch the crowd come sniffing around to see what’s baking! Muffins are best eaten right after they’ve cooled, but also freeze well and can be heated in the microwave, making them great for family meal planning. Give a kid a muffin today and watch him smile!

About the Author: Sherry Frewerd publishes several websites for affiliate marketing and is a Family Child Care Provider. Visit muffinandbreadrecipes.com muffinandbreadrecipes.com and ‘Family Play and Learn’ a play and learning resource for Toddler and Preschool Learning Activities – familyplayandlearn.com familyplayandlearn.com

Lobster has always be one of those extravagant meals which few people ever try because of the high cost. With restaurants paying thirty dollars a pound, by the time they put their markup on it, you’re easily paying sixty dollars for a ten ounce tail. This high cost leaves lobster dinners for the well-to do or at least only for special occasions. But, this doesn’t have to be.

With more and more retail store offering lobster, you can create a romantic dinner for two at a reasonable price. If you buy two eight ounce tails for thirty dollars, that’s only fifteen dollars a person. Add a starch and vegetable and it’s still cheaper than going out to dinner and having steak or even chicken. Turn the lights down low, add a candle and ship the kid’s off to grandma’s house.

Cooking lobster is relatively easy. There are hundred’s of recipes on the internet or in books. The simplest way is to split the shell down the top, pull the meat out of the shell about 90% of the way and lay it on top of the shell. Place in a pan with a little water and cover with foil (do not let the foil touch the lobster). Cook at 350 degrees until the meat turns white (around 140 F) then baste with butter and season with salt and pepper. As with any food, avoid the temptation to overcook it. When overcooked the lobster meat will become tough and less appealing.

About Lobster

Lobsters are ten legged arthropods, meaning they have no backbone. The lobster creates its skeleton on the outside in the form of a shell with joint appendages. There are two major types of lobster on the market. Maine also called Canadian or American lobster and spiny sometimes call rock lobster.

The Maine lobster inhabits the cold waters of the Atlantic in the area of Canada and the northeast United States. This lobster has two claws, one claw very large and flat, while the other is smaller and thinner. These lobster take up to seven years to reach one pound and average about one to three pounds when harvested. The Maine lobster is sold live or already cooked and usually the meat used in mixed dishes or dishes like lobster thermador

The spiny lobster is a clawless warmwater variety, which are actually large seagoing crayfish. There are 49 species of spiny lobster which swim the world’s warm waters. Because the tail is the only real edible part of the spiny lobster, it is usually sold frozen as a lobster tail. The spiny lobster found off Florida, Brazil and the Caribbean are called “warmwater tails”, while those found off South Africa, New Zealand and Australia are markets as “coldwater tails”. The coldwater variety of spiny lobster is considered superior and favored among restaurants.

Cooking lobster at home can be a delicious alternative to going out. Why not give it a try?

About The Author

Chef Richard has worked for some of the top fine dining restaurants in the United States and is the author of the ebook “Chef’s Special”. You can find free recipes, informative articles and order the ebook at csrecipes.com” target=”_new csrecipes.com

The hot sauce history is the history of enterprising men fired by the fiery chilly into crafting the hot sauce that is a rage among the gourmet lovers. The hot sauce history also chronicles their ventures to create ingenious hot sauce variations that grace almost every cuisine in the world.

Sauce historians have gathered information mainly from the labels on the hot sauce bottles housed in private collections. Hot sauce advertisements obtained from city directories and newspapers are other resources. Information in general is sparse, but whatever are available, points to a rich and varied hot sauce history.

The flaming hot sauce had a humble beginning in the form of cayenne sauces in Massachusetts way back in1807.

1849 is a landmark year in the history of hot sauce. The first sauce import took place in 1849 when England’s Lea & Perrin’s Worcestershire sauce made its way into the USA and Colonel White raised the first chronicled Tabasco chilly crop.

Colonel White prepared the world’s first Tabasco sauce and advertised it. Hot sauce was now well and truly geared towards commercialization.

A variation of the hot sauce came out in 1860 when J. McCollick & Co. of New York City produced a Bird Pepper Sauce.

But the hot sauce really captured the imagination of the public with Edward McIlhenny’s ripened Tabasco hot sauce in 1868.

1870 and 1906 are high watermarks in hot sauce history whence McIlhenny secured a patent on the Tabasco variety of hot sauce and the McIlhenny clan trademarked the Tabasco brand, respectively.

Hot sauce marketing broke new grounds with Chicago-based William Railton’s 1877 advertisement copy for his Chilly Sauce, which positioned it as an exotic variety with medicinal benefits.

The legendary Poppie’s Hotter ‘n Hell Pepper Sauce had its moorings in south Louisiana under Poppie Devillier in 1893.

The success of the Tabasco hot sauce opened the floodgates to experimentation with various flavors. Thus in 1916, Charles Erath of New Orleans produced the Red Hot Creole Pepper Sauce; in 1923 Crystal Hot Sauce made its debut courtesy Baumer Foods, Louisiana; in 1941 the La Victoria Sales Company created a stir with red taco sauce, green taco sauce and enchilada sauce.

These experiments were not confined to only the entrepreneurs. Homemakers too were dabbling their hands at hot sauces, as evident from recipes for barbecue and curry sauces found in “Mrs. Hill’s New Cookbook”. Hot sauce had spread like wild fire.

The hot sauce juggernaut rolled on with David Pace’s picante sauce, made in 1947 and Chris Way’s Dat’l Do It Sauce and Hellish Relish, in the beginning of the 1980s.

Hot sauce history says that Los Angeles leads the way when it comes to hot sauce consumption, with 3.3 million gallons consumed in 1990.

Modern hot sauce history is replete with manufacturers like Sauces & Salsas Ltd, Le Saucier, the first dedicated sauce and hot sauce retail outlet and Chi-Chi’s vying to grab a share of the consumers’ appetite. Hot sauce surely sells like hot cakes.

Chris McCarthy is the owner of InsaneChicken’s insanechicken.com Hot Sauce and BBQ Sauce Catalog and a hot sauce enthusiast. InsaneChicken sells hot sauces, bbq sauces, bbq rubs and salsa’s from around the world. The site also has a insanechicken.com/recipe-of-the-day/ Recipe of the Day section and a insanechicken.com/blog/ Hot Sauce and BBQ Blog.

We all need that jolt of caffeine that you get from a good cup of coffee in the morning. But many times, during the day, the urge for a nice cup of tasty coffee hits, and of course we frequently like a relaxing cup after dinner. Some people can’t drink coffee at night because the caffeine keeps them awake, and for others it is worth having, even if they are going to be tossing and turning and staring at the clock. I am sensitive to caffeine, so even a can of soda after a certain time of night will have me counting sheep. The only solution for me and others like me is to make sure we have decaffeinated coffee in the kitchen. The coffee urge can be satisfied by putting decaf in that old coffee maker, without paying the price of a sleepless night.

If I find I am out of decaf coffee, there is always the local Dunkin Donuts. A quick stop at the local Dunkin Donuts yields a cup of coffee that is every bit as good as caffeinated, but doesn’t have the same effect on the body’s system. A nice change of pace on a hot summer evening is iced coffee, but if, like me, you will be bothered by the caffeine, you can get decaffeinated iced coffee.

Where does the caffeine come from. Caffeine occurs naturally in the coffee bean, and it takes a special water extracting system to remove the caffeine from the molecule. It is an exacting science, with each coffee manufacturer claiming to have their unique, and best system for creating decaffeinated coffee. I don’t really care how it comes about, as long as I can enjoy my delicious cup of Java without the sleepless side effects of regular coffee.

There is little to no difference between the taste of regular and decaffeinated coffee. As a matter of fact, since I can’t tell the difference, I am always concerned that I will get a cup of regular even though I have ordered decaf; since I can’t taste the difference, I won’t know until it is too late. That’s one reason I prefer to keep my own decaffeinated coffee at home and not have to worry about somebody making such a mistake. I can’t risk my much needed sleep. The opposite can also happen, that I order (and need) a strong cup of caffeinated coffee and end up with decaf because the counter girl was just as sleepy as I was. There’s a real bummer, pay $4-$5 for a cup of coffee and not even get the jolt I need to start the day! Well, caffeinated or decaf, I need my coffee.

Peter Wilson’s papers can be encountered on a variety of online publications linked to coffee types. You can see his writings coffee-espresso-maker-tips.com/coffee-maker.html on coffee maker at many different sources for coffee maker knowledge.

A Lime in Barbados has different meanings to different people. Ask a Bajan for a lemon and you will receive a lime. Ask for a lime and receive a lime. Lemonade is made with lime juice. Approach a group of men lounging under a breadfruit tree and ask what they’re up to and you may hear, “Jus limin’.” Liming is hanging out, passing time, relaxing in the company of friends.

Limes are an intregal part of Bajan cooking. Flying fish is “washed” in lime juice and then rinsed before being marinated in a local seasoning mix. Chicken is marinated in lime and garlic before baking. A rum sour is equal parts lime juice and simple syrup—to two parts rum. Traditional gin and tonic drinkers will likely receive their drinks with a lime in Barbados—unless you specifically ask for an imported lemon.

Enjoying a great meal on the island is never a problem, whether you want fine, upscale dining or something local and very casual. You will find virtually every type of cuisine on Barbados, from waterfront dining to international delicacies…ultimately, everywhere you go will find drinks served with the favored Bajan fruit.

So, just relax when in Barbados and learn the practiced art of proper liming. As the saying goes, “when life serves you up a bowl of lemons, make lemonade.” Uh, limeade.

Billy O’Dell is owner of barbadosbarbados.com BarbadosBarbados, an online concierge to Barbados and Bajan cuisine and tourism. He is the owner of Food Affairs, a Bajan catering company that has served many dignitaries and celebrities over the years.

The coconut pecan brownies recipe is quick and easy to make, and the unique taste will have them coming back for more!

Ingredients

3/4 cup pecan halves, coarsely chopped

4 eggs

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) salted butter, melted

4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup flaked coconut

Frosting:

32 pecan halves

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup pecan halves, coarsely chopped

1 can ready-to-spread vanilla frosting

Hardware

Whisk

Large bowl

Medium bowl

Small microwave safe bowl

13×9-inch baking pan

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 2: Lightly grease a 13×9-inch baking pan; set aside.

Step 3: In a small microwave safe bowl, place the butter and baking chocolate. Microwave at medium setting for 1 minute; stir mixture. Microwave for additional 30 second intervals until chocolate and butter are combined and smooth; set aside.

Step 4: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and 2 cups of packed brown sugar until well blended.

Step 5: Add chocolate mixture and vanilla extract; mix well.

Step 6: Stir in flour and salt until well blended.

Step 7: Stir in 1/2 cup of coconut and 3/4 cup of chopped pecans.

Step 8: Pour batter into prepared 13×9-inch baking pan.

Step 9: Bake 30 minutes; do not overbake. Cool completely.

Frosting:

Step 1: In a medium bowl, mix together 1/2 cup coconut, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, and 3/4 cup chopped pecans; spread over brownies.

Step 2: Place a pecan half on top of each cut brownie square.

Makes 32 brownies.

For more information on baking procedures and hardware used in this recipe see our Baking Tips section.

Important: Feel free to republish this article on your website. However, you are not allowed to modify any part of its content and all links should be kept active.

For more great brownie recipes visit kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com/brownie-recipes.html kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com/brownie-recipes.html

For some great tasting scone recipes visit kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com/scone-recipes.html kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com/scone-recipes.html

For cookie baking tips and a wide selection of recipes visit kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com/ kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com/

Handwashing, the most important step for food safety.
Food safety for the ‘Average Joe’-Article Two

In 2002, a Food Standards agency conducted a survey of 1,000 food workers. Of these 39%…390 of those surveyed…did not wash their hands after using the toilet. 53% didn’t wash their hands before preparing food. Broken down even further, it has been determined (based on this as well as other surveys) that half of all men and a quarter of all women make a regular practice of not washing their hands after visiting restroom facilities.

Some of the reasons people give for not washing their hands properly or at all are 1) Lack of time/too busy (54%) 2) Forgetting/having to remember (18%) and 3) Distractions with other/competing tasks.

Handwashing is the simplest–yet the most neglected–disease prevention practice. Germs can survive for up to three hours on hands. Thorough handwashing with hot, soapy water prevents bacteria from transferring from hands to foods. Some of the most hazardous foodborne illnesses can be passed through improper handwashing. E.coli 0157:H7, the deadly foodborne disease that killed a number of people in the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s, is one that can be passed from person to person by improper or neglected handwashing.

Hands must be properly washed after tasks like using the restroom and before preparing food. It is interesting to note that Washington State’s Food Code mandates that food workers wash their hands in the restroom after using the facilities and then again inside the kitchen before preparing food. One handwashing is for “show”, because the food worker will re-contaminate his/her hands after touching doorknobs and such because they were handled by people who had not washed. The second handwashing is the real handwashing required for food safety.

It is important that hands be washed properly to prevent illness. The “rinse and go” method that is all too common nowadays is as ineffective for preventing foodborne bacteria as not washing at all.

How To Wash Your Hands Properly
• Use soap and warm, running water.
• Make sure to wet hands before applying the soap
• Apply a liberal amount of soap to hands
• Rub your hands vigorously for 20 seconds (two rounds of “Happy Birthday”)
• Wash all surfaces, including:
o backs of hands
o wrists
o between fingers
o tips of fingers
o under fingernails
o Rinse your hands well
• Dry your hands with a paper towel.

Many people think that a nail brush is necessary for handwashing, and will keep one near the sink for that reason. The problem is that the nail brush becomes moist and stays that way. Moisture is a fertile breeding ground for bacteria. Unless your nail brush is kept in a sanitizer solution, do not keep a nail brush at the sink. It is possible to wash under the fingernails without using a nail brush.

Microbial or antibacterial soaps are not necessary for proper handwashing.
From the New York Times:
Studies show that more than 70 percent of liquid hand soaps sold are now labeled antibacterial, and Americans seem increasingly willing to pay a premium for them. But the truth is that most consumers may not always be getting what they think they are. Over the years, studies have repeatedly shown that antibacterial soaps are no better than plain old soap and water.

One study, published in The Journal of Community Health in 2003, followed adults in 238 households in New York City for nearly a year.

Month after month, the researchers found no difference in the number of microbes that turned up on the hands of people who used either antibacterial soap or regular soap. At least four other large studies have had similar findings.

In fact, the only question now may be whether using antibacterial soaps can cause more harm than good by creating strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Last month, the Food and Drug Administration convened experts to discuss, among other things, whether antibacterial products should be more tightly regulated because of the potential risks they pose.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Studies show that antibacterial soap is no more effective than regular soap.

Due to the recent popularity of waterless hand sanitizers, the misconception abounds that this solution can replace handwashing. While it is good to keep the solution on hand for situations where hands cannot be washed, such as when you are not at home and are not near handwashing facilities, it does not replace proper handwashing, nor is it approved as a substitution by any Environmental Health Agency in America. The Food and Drug Administration, in regards to regulations concerning proper procedures for food services, recommends that hand sanitizers not be used in place of soap and water but only as an adjunct.

Barbara Almanza, an associate professor at Purdue University who teaches safe sanitation practices to workers, recommends that to properly sanitize the hands, soap and water should be used. A hand sanitizer can not and should not take the place of proper cleansing procedures with soap and water.

The very best defense against foodborne illness being passed from person to person or to a loved one who you are cooking for is proper handwashing.

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Building a wine cellar can create the ideal environment to store your wines. Temperature is always a major consideration in wine storage and the ideal wine storage temperature is between 55ºF and 58ºF (13ºC–15ºC), although any temperature between 40º–65ºF (5º–18ºC) will suffice as long as it doesn’t fluctuate too much. Ideally, the humidity should be around 70%. If you can’t achieve these temperatures in your passive wine cellar then you may require a wine cellar cooling unit.

Avoid Home Refrigeration To Store Wine

A standard home refrigerator makes a poor wine cooling solution for several reasons. It is designed specifically to store and look after food products, not to store wines. An atmosphere that works well for meat and vegetables is far too cold and dry for your expensive wine. The preferred temperature for home refrigeration is somewhere between 35ºF and 38ºF (1.7 to 3.3ºC)

Home – or even commercial – refrigeration equipment is built to cool food quickly to prevent it spoiling. This is achieved by blasting cold air until the desired temperature is reached. Then a cycle kicks in whereby once the set temperature is reached, the refrigerator shuts off. When the temperature rises to a pre-determined point, cold air is again blasted. This continuous fluctuating temperature cycle isn’t good for your wines.

Standard refrigeration equipment is designed not only to cool but also to remove moisture. Wine gives off neither heat nor moisture so you end up with an environment that’s way too dry for wine. This will cause wine corks to shrink, which will allow air to get in. Once the air is in contact with your wine the irreversible process of oxidation begins and your wine is ruined!

Vibration can also be an issue with a home refrigerator. Wine requires a calm vibration-free environment in which to develop so any vibration will eventually destroy a fine wine.

Avoid Domestic Air Conditioning

Similarly, home air conditioning provides a poor environment for aging your wines, as it removes the humidity from the air which can lead to corks drying out. Additionally, if air conditioning is only turned on at certain times during the day then the wine will become subject to wide temperature fluctuations, which will inevitably cause irreparable damage to your wine.

To properly cool and humidify a cellar you will need a cooling system designed specifically for cooling a wine cellar.

Wine Cellar Cooling Units

Wine cellar cooling units can be set at any temperature within the optimum range for successfully aging wines and they cool the air slowly and gently. They are designed to maintain humidity rather than dehydrating the cellar although sometimes additional humidification may be required in extremely dry climates. This type of wine cellar cooling unit is usually installed approximately 18 inches from the top of the room in order to achieve maximum cooling. The unit will also require an unobstructed airflow and adequate ventilation to dissipate the heat generated by the unit.

It is also possible to install a split air system into a wine cellar although these units can be very expensive with prices running into many thousands of dollars.

A split air system is installed outside the wine cellar and the supply and return air is ducted to and from the wine cellar. This wine cellar refrigeration system works like a central air-conditioning system and is similarly quiet. This system would usually include electronic controls and a digital display. There are many options available with split system cooling including humidifiers, dehumidifiers and alarm units. With the addition of the options, a split air system will provide you with total control of your wine cellar refrigeration, albeit at a large cost.

If you find that your wine cellar requires a cooling unit it is worthwhile shopping around and comparing brands. There are few bargains, however, you should be able to save money with a little research.

Alison Stevens manages the website winecellarsecrets.com” target=”_blank Wine Cellar Secrets. She is also a regular contributor to the winecellarsecrets.blogspot.com” target=”_blank Wine Cellar Secrets blog

I have made all kinds of pancakes. There are pancakes made from leftover mashed potatoes and ones made with instant potato flakes. A flat pancake made with boiled, riced potatoes is known as Lefse. They are all good to eat and made basically the same way except for Lefse which calls for a special technique and utensils. Raw potato pancakes are just a little different as they are more of a savory dish.

To make potato pancakes I use large russet potatoes, a hand grater, a large bowl and a cast iron griddle. I peel the potatoes and place them in a large bowl of cold water and let them soak for 5-hours. This will get a lot of the starch out of the potato and make a better pancake. I make sure the potatoes are completely covered with the water.

The proportions for the pancakes are important. For every 2-cups of grated potatoes I use 2-well beaten eggs, 1-tablespoon of flour, a pinch of baking powder, 1/2-teaspoon salt and 1/4-teaspoon pepper. I mix the eggs and dry ingredients together before I grate the potatoes. If the potatoes stand without being in the batter they tend to start turning black, so I only make enough batter for 2-cups of grated potatoes at a time.

After the potatoes have soaked for 5-hours I grate them one at a time, leaving the whole potatoes in the water until they are grated. When everything is mixed together I put large spoonfuls onto a hot buttered cast iron griddle. I cook them over medium heat until they are golden brown on both sides turning over only once.

Sometimes I grate a little onion with the potatoes and add a sprinkle of nutmeg to the batter. It gives a little different flavor. I like to serve these with pork roast and applesauce.

Everything I write about is from personal observation and life experiences. I love to cook and prepare foods in different ways. I like sharing my experiences about food and cooking. My website pothaven.com pothaven.com was created because of my interest in quality cookware and cooking.

It is not totally clear when exactly coffee came in to being and quite a few arguments float around about whether its from Italy or actually from Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has been credited with possibly being the start of coffee because goat herders are reported to have seen the goats eating berries and then having a lot more energy,so the goat herder tried some of the berries and the same thing happened to him,his energy levels went sky high. The berries were free growing in Ethiopia & so we then had one of the first coffees. The visiting Arabians took some of the plants home to see if they could grow them and then we had the well known Arabica coffee beans.

Turkey is the first known country to use coffee as a drink,they would crush & roast the coffee beans and add these to different herbs & spices & mix together in boiling water.
The venetian coffee trade merchants were the ones to bring coffee to Europe, much to the disgust of good Catholics as they referred to it as “the devils drink”
Fortunately for us Europeans, the pope loved the new drink and could find no reason to condemn it and so it was brought over to Europe.

Coffee was introduced to America at a later date. Manufacturers realised that the lift coffee gave to people especially in the mornings to wake up properly would be a lucrative market and so they all started competing and came up with all the different flavoured coffees that are around today.

Bought to you by Rossgo of coffeemakers4coffee.com coffeemakers4coffee.com