Cola Marinated Pork Chops

May 17th, 2008

These marinated pork chops are bound to be a favorite for many great meals.

1 (12 oz.) can cola
1/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 (3/4 inch) bone-in-pork loin chops

Directions

In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine the first seven ingredients; mix well. Pour 1-1/2 cups into a larger resealable plastic bag; add pork chop. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 8 hour or overnight. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade for basting.

Drain and discard marinade from pork. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 5 to 6 on each side or until meat juices run clear, basting with reserved marinade.

© Donna Monday
Earn a College Degree while watching TV!
www.online-distance-learning-careers.com

Canarian Recipes for Shrove Tuesday

May 3rd, 2008

For the British at least, Shrove Tuesday is probably better known as Pancake Day. Those wonderful delicacies, smothered in sugar and lemon and often tossed around in village competitions. As you will see from the recipes below, the Brits certainly don’t have the monopoly of this type of fare for the occasion:

REBANDAS DE CARNAVAL

This a great way to use up stale bread at any time.

Ingredients:

1 “yesterday’s” Canarian loaf (any crusty white bread like a French stick or baguette will do just as well), 1 egg, 1 cup of milk approx., Sugar, Sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

Method:

Slice the bread diagonally into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices and discard the ends of the loaf. Beat the egg, milk and cinnamon together in a bowl then soak the bread slices briefly in the mixture. Lift them carefully and fry gently in oil in a shallow frying pan, turning once. Remove when golden, arrange on a plate and sprinkle with sugar. Watch them disappear fast!

(A variation on this recipe is to substitute half the milk with white wine.)

TORTILLA DE CARNAVAL

Ingredients:

Gofio, Plain Flour (optional), Three or four egg yolks, Ground cinnamon, Half a litre of milk, Sugar, Aniseed liqueur or Marie Brizard.

Method:

Mix the egg yolks with the milk, cinnamon and sugar (the amount of which you can vary according to taste), along with a dribble of the aniseed liqueur. Beat well, then add the gofio a little at a time, until you have a consistency resembling custard. (You can mix flour with the gofio, again according to preference). Fry small amounts of the mixture until golden in hot oil to make little pancakes. It is customary to eat them at Carnaval time, accompanied by coffee.

About The Author

Pamela Heywood has been resident in Tenerife since 1992. Formerly an accountant in the UK, she has since written for local magazines and newspapers and now runs several web sites, publishing a number of ezines. This article first appeared in Tenerife Topics, a monthly newsletter that looks mostly at the other face of Tenerife from that the tourist usually discovers. http://tenerife-topics.8m.com

5 Ways to Save Money On Organic Food

April 27th, 2008

Grow your own

The cheapest method has got to be to grow your own. The great thing is that it doesn’t require you to have much garden space, or even a garden at all!

We grow tomatoes, and strawberries in containers and the extra benefit is that you get total control over the growing conditions.

The best combination is to have organic soil together with organically produced seeds or plants, that way you ensure you get the full flavour and benefit.

Containers can be placed anywhere that receives a reasonable amount of daylight, which means that you can use them on balconies or other hard surfaces.

Look for your local suppliers

One of the most satisfying things to do is to buy organic food locally. That way you get the freshest ingredients for your kitchen and also get to support local businesses. With no transportation costs for the supplier too you should get very competitive prices.

Don’t forget that these same businesses will be employing local staff so you are also helping the local economy, everybody wins in this scenario.

Local markets

We visit a big monthly market held on a disused airstrip. Organic food is just one of the variety of items sold there but the prices are very, very good indeed. Of course they are all local suppliers and with several of them in one place we benefit from healthy competition and get to sample a lot of fruit!

Local box schemes

If you are unable to get out of your house or are too busy working to select your groceries by hand then why not subscribe to an organic box scheme?

You will receive, delivered to your door, a weekly selection of fruit and vegetables in season.

Farm shops

Finally, investigate whether any farms near you are operating an organic farm shop. Our local one is operated on an open farm so that you can go and see where the animals are being kept and take a look at the crops being grown.

They actually have a well-designed walking route around the farm which makes a nice day out for the kids too.

If you investigate the options above you should be able to make considerable savings whilst you and your family sample the delights and advantages of organic food

Virginia Louise is a keen convert to the organic way of life, having two children has especially highlighted the benefits to be gained by them from eating organically.

Virginia runs an information site on the advantages of organic food where you can obtain lots of free information about what makes organic food so beneficial, where to get it and suggested recipes.

Peppermint Cookie Recipe

April 17th, 2008

The peppermint cookie recipe has a rich flavor and a great looking pink glaze. A great way to use up all those leftover candy canes!

Ingredients

Cookie:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons salted butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

1-2 tablespoons milk

2-3 drops red food coloring

peppermint candy canes, crushed

Hardware

Large bowl

Medium bowl

Cookie sheets

Plastic wrap

Mixer

Step 1: In a large bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter, and peppermint extract. With an electric mixer, beat at medium speed until creamy.

Step 2: Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour and cornstarch, beat until well mixed.

Step 3: Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (30-60 minutes).

Step 4: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 5: Shape dough into teaspoon size balls. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Step 6: Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand 1 minute; transfer cookies to cooling surface.

Glaze:

Step 1: In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter, peppermint extract, and enough milk for desired glazing consistency.

Step 2: Stir in a few drops of red food coloring. Drizzle over cookies.

Step 3: While glaze is sticky sprinkle with crushed candy cane pieces.

Makes 30 cookies.

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 Christmas cookie recipes visit http://kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com/christmas-cookie-recipes.html

For some great tasting biscotti recipes visit http://kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com/biscotti-recipes.html

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

Take the effort out of Coffee making with a krups coffee mak

April 6th, 2008

Preparing a good cup of coffee is easy with a krups coffee maker. But, do you simply combine ground beans with water until the brew is drinkable with a krups coffee maker? Of course not, to make that exquisite cup, one needs to follow a virtual checklist of do’s and don’ts.
Ask any connoisseur especially, one who uses a krups coffee maker, and he will tell you that in addition to having thoroughly cleaned equipment you’ll need fresh quality coffee beans, clear water, the right grind and the right amount of coffee (A good rule of thumb to make an excellent cup is 2 level tablespoons for each 6oz cup of coffee), the right brewing temperature (195-200F or 95-98C); to warming your cup before pouring the coffee in, stirring the coffee before serving, and not letting it sit on a warmer for more than 20 minutes. Phew! Quite a chore, isn’t it? Not necessarily, for most coffee drinkers (except those baristas who have all the time in the world!) achieve all this in a jiffy with help from an old, trusted friend - the coffee maker.
Today you have a whole host of coffee makers for the asking - Drip, Expresso, or a combination of the two. And for the tech-savvy, there are programmable coffee makers which allow you to literally order the machine to stir up a refreshing cup of French Coffee, Frappé, Fredo, Expresso, Cappuccino and what-have-you! You could even create your own signature concoction - and give it an exquisite name! But not all coffee makers are created equal. And that’s exactly where the Krups Coffee Maker scores.

Choose the right Coffee Maker.

Choosing the right vehicle that transforms your coffee beans is a hard task. And Krups makes that very task so much easier. Because precision, ingenuity, and unwavering craftsmanship for which Krups is so well known, is quite evident in its awesome range of coffee makers, expresso machines and coffee accessories. And in the rare eventuality of a breakdown, Krups coffee maker parts are easily available. Decidedly, Krups ensures that its coffee maker owners enjoy their cup to the last drip.

About the author:

Mike Yeager
Publisher
http://www.my-coffee-4me.com/

Apple Cheddar Shortcake Recipe

April 1st, 2008

Yield: 6 Servings

1 x ———shortcake———- 2 1/2 c Biscuit mix; bisquick
4 oz Cheddar; sharp shredded 2/3 c Milk
1/3 c Butter; melted 1 x ——-apple topping——–
3/4 c Brown sugar; packed 3 ts Cornstarch
1/2 ts Cinnamon; ground 1/4 ts Salt
1 c Water 4 c Apples; peeled cored sliced
1 x ———-topping———– 1 x Heavy cream; whipped Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Combine the biscuit mix and the cheddar cheese then stir in the milk and butter. Spread the dough into two greased 8-inch layer pans and bake in the preheated oven for
20 minutes. Combine the brown sugar

cornstarch cinnamon and salt in a large saucepan. Stir in the water and cook until clear and thickened. Att the apples cover and simmer until the apples are tender. Spoon half of the apple mixture over one layer. Top with the second layer and remaining apples. Serve warm with whipped cream for a topping.

About the Author

For more information on cooking guidelines & recipes visit http://www.RecipeStation.com - Search for Quick Recipes

Garlic Lemon Chicken, a healthy break during the holiday season

March 27th, 2008

Garlic Lemon Chicken is a wonderful dish during the Holliday
season. Christmas and Thanksgiving often mean spending a lot of
time in the kitchen; this tasteful but easy dish is great for
those other days during this cozy family season.

Your family will love it and you won’t have to spend all your
time in the kitchen. Besides, garlic is very healthy and a bit
of a counter weight to all those heavy cholesterol rich foods
that are consumed during this time of year.

Are you ready for this truly delicious garlic lemon chicken?

Let’s get all of the ingredients together that you will need to
prepare this wonderful chicken dish.

You can either purchase a whole chicken and then cut it into
pieces or just buy the cuts that your family enjoys such as
chicken thighs or breasts. Remember the most calorie rich part
of the chicken is just under the skin. So you might want to go
for the breasts.

You will also need:

  • 10 cloves of minced garlic,
  • 4 tablespoons of
    margarine,
  • 3 large lemons,
  • 1 teaspoon of dried
    oregano,
  • salt,
  • pepper, and
  • parsley.

You should begin by preheating your broiler. Take your chicken
and rinse underwater and skin, then rinse again well under cold
water and place in a large baking dish. Squeeze the lemons and
reserve the juice.

Sprinkle about one half of the garlic over the chicken and dab
of the margarine on various spots on the chicken. Pour of the
juice from the lemons on your chicken, and season with the
oregano, salt, and pepper. Broil for about 15 minutes, remember
to baste quite often. This last part is important, so invest
heavily in these 15 minutes.

Remove and turn the chicken, add the remaining of the
ingredients just like you did before broiling for the first
time. Now you will need to broil your chicken again for another
15 minutes.

Remember, to baste your chicken so it does not burn. If the
chicken starts to become too crispy, you can change from broil
to bake and bake at 350 degrees until the chicken is completely
done.

Remove the chicken from the oven and pour the remaining sauce
from the baking dish over your chicken and serve.

Everyone will absolutely love this garlic chicken dish. It’s
great to serve this chicken meal with whipped potatoes and a
garden salad.

How to Cook a Steak

March 23rd, 2008

- Always oil the meat, not the pan.
- Remove any excess oil and wipe off any marinading herbs as they will burn.
- Heat the pan as high as you can - don’t use a non-stick pan as you can’t heat it high enough without the possibility of it giving off fumes. Use a cast-iron skillet but don’t oil it. (If you use a stainless steel frying pan, you have no choice but to oil it lightly, as it will stick otherwise. However, you will find that the smoke goes everywhere.)
- If you want your steak rare, cook it over high heat to an internal temperature of 50C, then take it out of the pan and leave it to rest covered and measure the internal temperature with a meat thermometer again after 5-10 minutes and after that, until it reaches 60C. If you cook it to 60C in the pan, the meat will continue to cook after that and you will end up with medium-rare meat.
- For medium, cook the steak until it reaches an internal temperature of 61C and leave it to rest, covered, until the thermometer reaches 71C.
- For well done, take it off the pan at 67C and leave it to rest until it reaches 77C.
- If you find it does not reach the required temperature, just pop it back in the pan and sear it again on both sides quickly. Then take it off, cover it, let it rest and measure the temperature again.
- It is very important when you are cooking meat that you sear all sides of the meat. Just lift the meat up with a tongs and hold the edge of the meat against the pan until it is browned.

Testing done-ness by touch
- You can also test the doneness of meat with your fingertip. If the steak is rare, it will feel fleshy. As it turns to medium-rare you will see droplets of bloody juice appearing on the surface.
- When it reaches medium-rare, the surface will ’spring’ back when you touch it. The juices emerging will still be red.
- Medium-done meat is firm, and the juices are pink.
- Medium-well-done meat feels more sturdy, firmer to the touch and the juices are brown and pink.
- Well-done meat has a hard surface, and doesn’t spring back. The juices that come out will be brown.

Anne Kennedy is a food writer, based in Ireland, who just loves food. She thinks there is nothing better than a rare steak served with french fries and mustard, her absolute favourite meal when she visits Paris. Thankfully she is the Managing Editor of a food and wine website, http://www.greatfood.ie so she gets to cook it quite a lot, especially when she is testing a recipe or a cooking method. (After all, you can never be quite sure!)

Low-Carb Pastry Pizzazz

March 21st, 2008

This delicious treat adds only 1.9 grams of carb for a Superb
Roll of any size. Just add a glaze to the rolls once they are
baked. While the rolls are baking, make or of the below
mentioned glaze. Apply the glaze thinly with a pastry brush to
the tops of the hot rolls. It will set within minutes. The rolls
will freeze well, even with the glaze. Thaw at room temperature
or follow directions for heating in the oven. Glaze

SERVING SIZE ,icing for 1 cookie. Carbs per serving 0.5 gram of
carb. Number of servings: 280 Ingredients: 1 egg white (or 3
Tablesps sterilized egg white) 1 cup powdered sugar (unsifted) 3
Teasps vanilla extract

Put the egg white and powdered sugar in the bowl of your
electric mixer and beat on high speed until the sugar is
absorbed and the mixture thickens a bit: scrape sides of bowl as
needed. Mix in the vanilla extract. Apply icing with the tip of
a knife or a small brush. The icing dries quickly, particularly
over freshly baked cookies, rolls, and so forth. Store unused
frosting, covered, in the fridge. Always stir well before using.

Ingredients: cup cold water plus 2 Tablesps (very important) 6
Tablesps butter ( stick) cup vital wheat gluten flour 1/3 cup
unbleached, all-purpose wheat (white) flour trace of salt (two
light shakes or to taste) 3 eggs * 1 egg white

Preheat oven to 420F. Have ready one large, nonstick,
heavy-gauge metal cookie sheet. Put the water and the butter in
a heavy 2-quart saucepan, preferably with a rounded bottom, over
medium heat. Occasionally stir the mixture while you wait for
the butter to melt.

Meanwhile, thoroughly combine the two flours, and a pinch of
salt in a medium-mixing bowl.

As soon as the butter has melted and the mixture begins to
simmer, add the dry mix all at once, and stir vigorously with a
wooden spoon. Within just a few seconds, the dough will become
smooth and leave the bottom and sides of the pan. Keep stirring
until no flour shows. Cook for about 10 seconds longer and
remove from heat.

Put the hot saucepan on a cold burner or other safe surface.
Stir in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each
addition. At first the dough will appear lumpy. When the whole
eggs have been added, the dough will be smooth. It should be
creamy and hold peaks with almost no settling. Work in the egg
white. Now the dough will be just right; it will still hold its
shape, but in softer peaks. It should form mounds that do not
spread on the cookie sheet, but sink back and broaden out
slightly. Occasionally, you may need to make a judgment call.
Depending on the size of the eggs, the dough may be sufficiently
soft even before you add the final egg white. In that case, omit
the egg white or add it by the Tablesp. The right consistency
makes the best rolls. Dough that is too stiff results in smaller
rolls; dough that is too soft (i.e., spreads out wide on the
cookie sheet) may result in flat rolls.

If you like, use your electric mixer to work in the eggs. Simply
transfer the hot dough from the saucepan to the mixer bowl and
beat in the eggs, one at a time. Do not over beat because if you
do, the rolls may develop large air pockets. Use a flat beater
if you have one.

Put spoonfuls of dough on the cookie sheet, choosing the size
you prefer. Use large Teasps or even soupspoons to drop the
dough. Place them fairly close together.

Bake the rolls for about 25 to 28 minutes or until they are
golden brown and crusty on top. Promptly freeze rolls that you
do not plan to use the day they are baked. Take them out of the
bag to thaw at room temperature. You can also put the frozen
rolls in the oven, set at 350F (no need to pre-heat),
and bake for 5 minutes. You can toast rolls (slice in half), but
you need a wide-slot toaster or toaster oven. The rolls toast
rapidly, so use the lowest setting.

Save unused rolls in a dry place until rock hard. They will be
used for Magnificent Bread Crumbs.