Rather than just tossing a bag of popcorn into your microwave, you can now have really good-tasting popcorn just like you would get at the theater. And the best part is that you don’t have to pay a high price to get it. All you need to do is invest in a popcorn popper machine. There are a number from which to choose, so you should easily be able to find a unit that will be just what you need. And prices vary depending on the type of unit, so you will also find something to fit your budget. Read More…
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Category : Food
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We live in a society that is in a constant rush from one activity to another. It can be argued that this is not always the best way to live, but the fact remains that we often try to start the next activity before we have even finished what we are in the middle of doing. One place where it can sometimes be difficult to save on time is the kitchen. This is especially true for doing things like heating things up. Read More…
MOM! Can I have a Bob the Builder cake for my birthday party? Uh-oh. This is one that many moms and dads will come across sooner or later, and if you’re no good at baking, let alone cake decoration, you’ll already be breaking out into a cold sweat. Don’t worry – there are lots of options with a character cake like this, depending on your level of skill and amount of motivation!
If you’re completely cake-phobic, and have no intention of making your own Bob, the easiest option will always be to purchase a ready-made version. These are sometimes hard to find in stores, but many custom bakers will be able to do you a version. This is expensive, though, with some bespoke cakes costing between 60 and 80 dollars.
However, if you are scared of baking but really want to give it a go, there are several options. The simplest is to buy a plain sponge cake of your choice from any store, cover with plain icing and then decorate with ready-made rice paper Bob the builder cake toppers, which are readily available on the web – just do a search and you will see. If you’re feeling braver still, there are cake experts on the web who are marketing “kits”, which contain everything you need to bake a perfect Bob the Builder cake , guiding you through the process step-by-step.
Experienced bakers can search the web for designs and inspiration. If you need a little guidance on shape, pre-formed Bob tins are available – if you’re looking for a bargain you can snap up a used one on eBay for less than a dollar. And don’t assume that a Bob the Builder cake has to be Bob-shaped: flat designs which mimic fields or construction sites can be just as effective. So, whichever method you choose, enjoy the process and your little one will end up with a fantastic cake.
When planning a dinner party, it’s usually customary to offer a wide assortment of appetizers. Though there are ready-made appetizers you can put out on a table such as a bowl of nuts or a tray of cheese and crackers, a memorable appetizer you can offer to your guests is one that you made yourself. The thought of having to prepare appetizers is one that can put one in jitters when you have so much to think about already. With a little research, there are hundreds of gourmet appetizer recipes available on the internet or in hundreds of cookbooks. Read More…
If you’re from the American military, you’ll undoubtedly be familiar with MREs or more commonly known as Meals Ready to Eat in civilian circles. And after years of being laughed at for being barely edible on the account they taste so bad, things have finally turned around. Read More…
Top Performing Grills: Tips For Cleaning Your BBQ Islands & Stand-Alone Grills
Filed Under : Food by Guest
If you want great tasting BBQ every time and want to enhance the life of your outdoor kitchen islands and grills, then it is a must to properly clean them after every use. Now, I know it is incredibly tempting to go plop down on the sofa after an intense day of party hosting and backyard grilling, but you must resist the urge to wait and clean your grill the next day. Cleaning it immediately will save you time and energy over cleaning it after the gunk has had time to harden and settle on the grates. Plus clean up is pretty easy when you do it after each grill. And to start, all you need is a wire brush.
If you have a gas grill: You can just wipe down the grates with the brush to get rid of any food particles. Turn on the “clean” setting and let it heat a few minutes–this burns up any food that has fallen into the grill.
If you have a charcoal grill: You also wipe down the grates with your wire brush, then make sure to take out your ash catcher and wipe it down as well.
If you have cast iron grates: You must try to prevent rusting by adding oil to the grates after you have wiped them down with the brush.
Super simple right? And doing this will ensure that your BBQ Islands and stand-alone grills never give your food any weird flavorings. As an added tip, you should always oil your grates before you grill. This will help prevent your food from sticking and therefore makes clean up easier.
To take it a step further, you must also remember to periodically give your outdoor kitchen islands and grills a deep cleaning. This is also pretty simple if you haven’t let your grills get too gunked up. It simply requires that you remove the parts from your grill, clean each of them individually, and brush down the inside of your grills.
If you have a charcoal grill:
- Start by filling up a bucket with warm soapy water.
- Take out your grates and place them in your bucket or in a sink full of warm soapy water.
- Then you just have to remove the ash catcher and coal grate and clean them with the water.
- Brush down the insides of the grill with the water as well.
If you have a gas grill:
- Follow the same first two steps that you would do with gas grills.
- Then remove the flame shield, any briquettes, or lava rocks.
- Turn on the “clean” setting of your grill, as mentioned above, to burn away anything that has fallen into the grill.
- Clean the inside walls of the grill and clean around the burner with soapy water.
- Take a look at the burner to see if it is clogged. If it is really clogged then you should replace it or you will have a burnt flavor in all of your food. Clogged burners also prevent even distribution of heat during grilling.
- If you have briquettes or lava rocks, check to see if they are covered with food particles. If they are severely encrusted with left over food, then you should replace them as well.
If your BBQ islands and grills are peeling, then this is a good time to give them a new paint job. You can find the appropriate paint at your local hardware store. Properly maintaining your grills by following these simple tips will ensure that your BBQ Islands always perform at a top level for years to come.
A little bit of history. In the middle of the nineteenth century, Arabs were the first to start growing eggplants on what is now Sicily and in southern Italy. It was not an immediate success, actually, for a long time, eating eggplants was seen as the result of insanity or immorality. Eventually, after many centuries this bad reputation ended and eggplants could start to become popular in many shapes, sizes and color. Read More…
This fantastic recipe serves 4 people. It is very quick and easy to prepare, it won’t take more than 15 minutes to get the ingredients ready and around 10 minutes cooking time. Shrimp recipes are really healthy in general if you don’t abuse saturated fat ingredients, and this particular stir fry is great is you are on a diet or want to eat a really healthy dish. Serve with rice.
454g cooked jumbo shrimp in their shells
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh root ginger
2 tbsp dry/medium sherry
1 egg white
1 tsp corn flour
227g broccoli, cut into small florets
2 tsp stir fry or vegetable oil
4 spring onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
1- Shell the jumbo shrimp, removing the black intestinal vein that runs along the back of each shrimp. Split the shrimp in half lengthways and place them in a bowl.
2- Add the ginger, sherry, egg white and corn flour to the shrimp and stir well. Cover and leave in a cool place or the refrigerator to marinate for 30 minutes.
3- Blanch the broccoli florets in boiling slated water for 2 or 3 minutes and then drain well and set aside.
4- Heat the oil in a wok or deep frying pan until hot, then add the shrimp. Stir-fry for 1 minute, then remove and keep warm.
5- Add the brococoli and spring onions, and stir fry for about 3 minutes, until the broccoli is just tender but still bright green and with a little bite. Stir in the shrimp and soy sauce and serve the stir fry immediately.
Serve with rice if desired. If you prefer to cook the shrimp from raw, just place them in boiling water (add a bay leaf) and salt. They will be ready when they turn pink. Do not overcook as they become rubbery. For delicious shrimp recipes make sure you cook the seafood yourself. It doesn’t take long and it is a lot tastier.
A Chinese tea set is rather fascinating, and perfect to use for brewing and drinking green or wulong tea. The whole process of brewing and serving Chinese teas is an art which is too complex to go into detail about here. Tea masters have perfected the process, and most Chinese people are fairly familiar with the main procedures involved. Chinese tea sets are very different from the traditional Western porcelain or china tea set in many ways.
Usually they consist of several items, including small tea cups, one or more tea pots, a wooden tray, tongs, needles and scoops, and the truly traditional sets also include a small bucket. Of course, there are usually many different packets or containers of Chinese teas scattered around as well! Chinese tea sets are exclusively made from clay and porcelain, while the other utensils are made from wood.
A Chinese tea pot is a small squat looking pot, which holds considerably more tea than one would guess at first glance. It is traditionally made from a porous clay, specifically designed so that the tea pot itself would, with time, become diffused with the tea itself, thus lending even more flavor to teas brewed in the pot. A real tea lover will have many different pots, which each one used to brew a specific type of tea. At the very least you should have one for your oolong tea, one for your green tea and one for your pu erh tea. This type of tea pot is called a YiXing tea pot and it is very famous and well known in Asia.
Tea cups are either made from glazed clay or from porcelain, either substance is perfectly acceptable. They differ very much from western tea cups in that they do not have any handles. Instead the cup is cradled in the hand while the tea is delicately sipped and outwardly appreciated!
Wooden utensils are used to first of all scoop the loose leaf tea out of the container and into the tea pot, and then to clear away clogged tea leaves from the spout of the tea pot. Chinese tea makers are very liberal with their use of hot water, thus all pouring is done on a wooden tray that is designed to either catch water spills, or to drain them off via a small draining tube into a small bucket hidden under the table.
When you think of going out for a picnic, the first thing that pops up in your mind is the picnic basket. From ancient times, there has been a strong connection between the picnic and picnic baskets. Even up till modern day times people feel comfortable and get warm and fuzzy feelings when they have a picnic basket rather than some other container or any other choice to carry their food to a picnic. The picnic basket has been the tradition. Read More…
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