Posts Tagged ‘kitchen’

Crock Pots – Are They Any Good?

July 24th, 2010

Have you ever used a crock pot? Or what we call a slow cooker in the UK? My father gave me a crock pot for Christmas twenty-five years ago and I only had to replace it, because it got stolen. Some thief must have heard the were great and pinched it for his wife.

It was good-looking enough to leave out on the work top and I guess that is how it caught my burglar’s eye. It was stoneware, really nice.

That is one of the points I would like to make in this article, some of the crock pots from the better manufacturers are pretty enough to take to the table. The other point I would like to make is that crock pots are not only for making soup or stews in.

I have recipes in the house for bread and cheesecake. Really, most people just do not believe me when I tell them what you can actually do with a crock pot, especially the modern programmable ones.

To prove it, I have copied one of my cheesecake recipes below. If you can not be bothered to make, just take it from me that it is scrumptious, simple enough to make and practically automatic to cook. Those of you do get around to making it will agree with me, I am certain.

APPLE-NUT CHEESECAKE

Crust:

1 cup (scant) graham cracker crumbs 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Filling:

16 ounces cream cheese 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated white sugar 2 large eggs 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon vanilla Topping: 1 large apple, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups) 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Combine the crust ingredients and pat into a 7-inch spring form pan. Beat the sugars into the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, whipping cream, cornstarch, and vanilla. Beat for about 3 minutes on the medium speed of a hand-held electric mixer. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust. Combine the apple slices with the sugar, cinnamon and nuts and then spread the topping evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Place the cheesecake on a rack (or “ring” of aluminum foil to keep it off the bottom of the pot) in the Crock Pot. Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Let it stand in the covered pot (after turning it off) for about 1 to 2 hours, until cool enough to handle. Cool it thoroughly before removing the pan sides. Chill before serving; store leftovers in the refrigerator for any normal shop-bought cheesecake, but yours will be better..

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

Interior Design

July 8th, 2010

Redecorating your house really isn’t that easy and it only becomes even less so when you are stuck for ideas. The only way to really get over this shortage of interior design ideas, is to sit down, put your feet up and have some tea.

I’m not joking, there’s no better way of getting a new perspective on things than taking a break from what you are doing. In the first place, you become more relaxed, and in the second place a steaming cup of tea or coffee is always welcome.

Now that you’re sitting down comfortably and are suitably relaxed, close your eyes and picture the room that you want to redecorate. Even if you are doing more than one room, it’s always a good idea to start with one room first, working your way logically through to the next one and then the next one.

Also, before you start on your journey through the land of interior design ideas, keep a notebook and pencil at hand so that you can jot down any inspirational ideas you have before you forget them.

So, simply lie back and imagine the room in your mind. Try to see it as you want it to look. And if that’s too difficult, first try to replace separate parts of your room or articles in it. This is always a good method of working. But, if you’ve still got a mental drought on interior design ideas, leaf through some interior design catalogues beforehand so that you have at least some basic ideas of what you can do to redecorate your room.

The interior design catalogues need not be anything more impressive than your free local department store catalogue, turned to the home furnishing section. Then again, nowadays you also get specialist shops which cater solely to the art of redecorating your home. If you have the time, a quick trip down to one of these might also help to end the dearth on interior design ideas, and will probably help to get you kick started.

These stores will have staged sets of many designs, giving you a good idea of what your room could look like. However, if you’re going to one of these places, be prepared to spend some money as no matter how tight a hand you keep on your pocket, you’ll always find something you want to buy.

This is not necessarily a bad thing to do, but unless you watch out you could end up buying things you don’t need. And without a proper idea of what you want the room to look like, this can prove to be disastrous. Not to worry though, if you keep your mental image in mind, you can go back home and get a start on redecorating your rooms the way you like.

Furthermore, now that you’ve been able to get a few interior design ideas of what you want your rooms to look like, your whole redecorating project ought to be that much easier and that much more enjoyable too.

If you are looking for stylish interior design ideas, then you really must go along to our website for more free ideas on Stylish Home Decor and more. Also published at Interior Design.

Cooking: Five Tips On Cooking Food

May 21st, 2010

There can not be many individuals who do not like their food, but the human race, being what it is, I expect that there are a few of them. However, for the remainder of us, cuisine is a font of daily enjoyment and, like drink, it is frequently used to denote a celebration. not only that, but various foodstuffs are used for the various meals or distinct celebrations.

Festive meals were undoubtedly planned around the seasonal foodstuffs available, but a number of foods were ferried enormous distances for the benefit of those who could afford them. For example, my father deemed it a grand treat to get an orange in his stocking on Christmas Day sixty years back. How the times have altered! Very few kids would think an orange a present, special or not, any day of the year in our time.

Nevertheless, the storage of food is still a daily concern and subsequently, I have written a few good tips on preserving food underneath, so that you will obtain the best from that which you have purchased or grown in your garden even a long while later.

Chicken Stuffed With Spoons: a great way of preparing chicken to be eaten at a cold buffet or in sandwiches, is to put as many spoons as possible into the cavity of the chicken (not silver or plated ones though). Then, place the chicken in a large saucepan or pot and bring the water to the boil slowly. Simmer for 10 minutes, cover and leave until the water is room temperature. The spoons will retain the heat and cook the chicken from the inside out. it will be one of the most succulent chickens you have ever eaten.

Roasted Crisp And Light: if you like crisp-skinned roasties, it is best to parboil them first, but that is only half the story. so, boil the potatoes for five minutes and drain thoroughly. Put the lid on the pan and shake it about violently. Bang it hard on the chopping block several times. The harder the better. Then put the parboiled potatoes in the baking tray with the meat or fowl to cook as you would normally.

Salad Soup: Do not throw away salad that has been soaked in salad dressing. Whisk it up in a food processor with a can of tomatoes of tinned soup. Add lots of garlic to taste and adjust the thickness to suit your taste. Chill it down and you will have one of the most delicious summer soups ever.

Curdling Cure: if your mayonnaise has curdled there is one sure fire way to bring it back to life. stir in a couple of tablespoons of Hellmann’s mayonnaise and your problem will be over.

Simply Scrumptious Topping: a really, quick, delicious and almost infinitely variable topping for a savory pie can be made in seconds. Choose the flavour you want from the crisp rack; puncture the bag to let our the air and then crush the contents in the gag. it really adds something to a pie. The same trick can be used on the bottom of a potato pie a Texan housewife told me.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the 2 quart crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

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Kitchen Decorating

May 2nd, 2010

It’s a Saturday morning and you’re sitting there waiting for your coffee machine to stop its various gurgles and noises so you can have that all important early morning cup of coffee. Idly, you glance about your kitchen and notice a spot of paint on the corner of the door. It had been there for years but you never really took any notice of it before.

You continue to allow your gaze to wander and your eye catches a patch of mildew seeping in under the sink, then you see the ugly brown colour your ceiling has become right above where the cooker is.

The paint is faintly off colour, and the only papered wall is beginning to look outdated and faded. You take a fortifying sip of your now-ready coffee and decide that a little bit of kitchen decorating is called for.

How do you go about it though? And how soon can you get started? Now that you’ve finally noticed all the little bits and pieces of decay that you were quite successfully ignoring up until that moment, you can’t wait to start your little kitchen decorating project.

However, that is where the crunch comes. Just how modest do you want to keep your kitchen decorating project? Can you get away with just sloshing a fresh coat of paint on everything or will you need to go to the lengths of stripping the wallpaper off the wall, and finding out what had caused that mildew stain.

It all depends on you and your finances, but if you can spare the time, energy and money, you’d probably be better off, in the long run. to solve all your kitchen decorating problems in one go. That would include stripping off the wallpaper, replacing any carpeting or rugs, and perhaps even sanding down your wooden floors if you have them. However, if you’re going to do a complete job of kitchen decorating, you’ll also need that all important final coat of paint to smarten up your kitchen.

You might also want to consider replacing those tatty old curtains as they’re also probably looking distinctly old by now. So, go on and splash out on your kitchen decorating project and replace the curtains and while you’re at it, you should think of buying a new set of tea towels as well. It won’t hurt to go the whole hog while you can.

And when you’re finally done, you can sit back and enjoy your new kitchen and remember that weekend morning that started it all off. You’ll have no regrets whatsoever, since your kitchen decorating project has provided you with a better kitchen than you ever hoped for.

A feeling of content engulfs you as you raise your new coffee mug to your lips. Life just doesn’t get any better than when you’re enjoying the fruits of your effort.

If you are looking for stylish ideas on Stylish Home Decor, then you really must visit our website for more free ideas on Ideas For Stylish Kitchen Decorating and more. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

How To Decorate Kids’ Rooms

April 23rd, 2010

If you’re bored with the way your home looks, the best thing you can do is redecorate it. Not necessarily all at once of course, as this will lead to problem upon problem and is sure to bring you stress when you really don’t need it. However if you work room by room, your redecorating project will become that much easier and more manageable.

The next step is to figure out which room you want to decorated first. It’s not always an easy choice to make, but it must be done nevertheless. How about beginning by decorating the kids’ rooms first as this will lead to a general mood of satisfaction amongst them and can help you in the long run too.

Decorating kids rooms can be an enjoyable way to pass the time and also gives you the chance to bond with your children as well. There’s no better way to get closer to your children than by getting down to their level and talking about things that interest them. Decorating their rooms might be the perfect way to do that.

But where do you start? If you have more than one child you need to be careful whose room you’re going to decorate first, as things can get fraught. Decorating kids rooms can be fraught with tension if you don’t handle it properly, so I’ve found that the best way to deal with this is to flip a coin in the air and have the kids call heads or tails.

This method might not work however if you’ve got more than two children or more than two rooms to decorate. In which case I’d suggest you just wade in and start the whole decorating process at once instead of tackling it room by room.

At least it’s not the whole house and this way you promote happier feelings amongst the children with no one feeling that they have been slighted by having their room done last. What tends to happen in most cases when youre decorating the rooms with the kids help though is that more paint and stuff gets everywhere but where it’s intended. But then again that was part of the reason you decided to start by decorating kids rooms and perhaps even their play areas, wasn’t it.

You’ll be all the happier for at least getting started on your decorating project and your kids will be happier for having their rooms redone, not to mention the sheer fun you’ll be having whilst doing all this. This isn’t of course to say, that decorating kids rooms isn’t hassle or stress free.

On the contrary, you’ll probably get a shedload more stress by the time you’ve finished, but at least you’ll have had the pleasure of getting closer to your children and seeing their rooms tidy for at least one day before they move back into them again.

If you are looking for more info on how to decorate kids’ rooms , then you really really must visit our website for more free ideas on Stylish Home Decor and more. Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory

Decorating Ideas for Inside the Home

April 16th, 2010

The cold of winter has got you by your short tails and you’re pfaffing around trying to decide what to do with yourself. You’re snowbound and the only thing that you can think of doing is sitting in front of the fire, drinking hot chocolate and staring broodingly out of the window. The only problem with that is that you’ve already been doing just that for a while now and you’ve have had quite enough of fires, hot chocolate and brooding.

Now you’re just about ready to do something different, so, you turn to the only comfort you have and switch on the TV. You’re instantly riveted to your seat as you come across one of those many shows about how you can do up your home. You find yourself flooded with decorating ideas, both interior decor and exterior decor ideas.

So, you finally find yourself captivated by a program that you would have dismissed earlier and jump out of your chair to fetch a pen and notebook to write down all those fantastic ideas. In no time at all, you’ve run out of pages in your notebook and have to leave your warm armchair to go fetch another one.

Before you get back to your chair, you’ve made a tour around your house and have seen many of the things that you’ve spent a lifetime trying to avoid – the cracks in the bedroom wall, the faint spot of mildew in the bathroom, the paint chipping off many of the walls.

The list is very long and could easily fill several notepads. Therefore, you sit down, and alongside your notes on various decorating ideas on interior design and general redecorating, you studiously take down all the little things that need repairing, renewing or refitting.

The list covers more than even your second notebook can hold but you decide to stop there, because it’s giving you writer’s cramp, besides you already have all the pertinent facts to hand, so now you set about sorting them out into sections that you can easily carry out.

Not an easy job that, when your decorating ideas, interior designs and room-by-room list of snags is all mixed up in one horrible pile. You then turn to the tried and true, age-old method of sitting on the floor and surrounding yourself with your notes in an attempt at finding some logical order you can follow later.

When you finally reach that sublime state of orderliness, you sit back with a tired but satisfied smile on your face. The knowledge that you’ll now have enough decorating ideas and interior design plans and less time on your hands during those long hard months of winter, sends a rush of contentment flowing through you. There’s nothing like a job well done and the foreknowledge that come springtime, your home is going to look nothing like its former self.

If you are looking for more info on stylish decorating ideas , then you really must go along to our website for more free ideas on Stylish Home Decor and more. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

How To Use Dairy Products Correctly: Part Four – Eggs (cont.)

April 15th, 2010

Preparation Of Basic Foods: Dairy Produce.

Eggs: Part Two

Poaching: boil 1.5 inches (40mm) water in a frying pan; add a teaspoon of salt and 5ml of vinegar. Break an egg into a cup, check and tip into boiling water. Turn down the heat. Fold the white around the unbroken yolk with a spoon and continue to simmer for another 3-4 mins. Lift out with a draining spoon and serve on hot buttered toast.

Scrambling: beat the eggs well; add salt, pepper to taste and a dash of milk. Melt enough butter to cover the bottom of a small pan. Cook the eggs slowly, stirring continuously. Cook in a basin floating in boiling water, if preferred. Serve when almost completely set, after about 5 mins.

Frying: Melt enough fat to easily cover the base of the pan. Tip egg in gently and gather white around the yolk. When the white has set, baste the yolk to taste and remove whole with a fish slice.

Baked Eggs: lightly grease a fireproof dish and slide the egg(s) gently into it. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and butter to taste. Bake in a medium oven and serve in the same pan after the whites have set to your liking.

Omelettes: buy a pan and keep it just for omelettes! The base should be smooth and clean. Allow two eggs per person; whip lightly and add salt and pepper to taste. Melt enough butter to cover the bottom of a shallow pan. When the butter is fairly hot, gently tip in the beaten eggs; as it sets, lift the handle and draw the set mixture up towards the handle, allowing the liquid egg to run down onto the hot pan. When all the liquid has set, tilt the pan back and roll the omelette up. Serve straight away on a warm plate. The omelette can be stuffed with almost anything, before being rolled up.

Pouring Custard: beat 2-3 eggs per 1 pint of milk lightly. Heat the milk and pour gradually over the eggs; add sugar and flavouring; cook in a double pan or jug and hot water until the required thickness has been reached. If it is not to be served immediately, pour a thin layer of water onto the top to prevent a skin forming.

Baked Custard: proceed as above but then pour the custard into a lightly greased shallow dish; sprinkle sparsely with nutmeg and place the dish in water to halfway up its sides. Cook at 350 F for 35-45 minutes; you can test its solidity by inserting a knife, which should be clean on removal.

Steamed Custard: proceed as for above, but cook in a steamer or a pan in boiling water. The length of cooking time is about the same too.

Custard Tarts: pour pouring custard into unbaked pastry cases and bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes. A little jam can be placed at the bottom of the pastry case first, if desired.

For deliciousgourmet Traditional Welsh Recipes, visit our website at http://welsh-recipes.the-real-way.com/ Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

The Traditional Use Of Dairy Produce: Part 2 – Cheese

April 10th, 2010

The Basic Preparation Food: Dairy Products.

HARD AND SOFT CHEESES

Cheese is made from milk which has been naturally or artificially soured. The former method is brought about by standing the milk in a warm place and allowing natural, friendly bacteria to turn the milk’s natural sugars into lactic acid. The latter method is effected by adding an enzyme, usually in to form of rennet.

Colouring and salt are usually added too. The whey is then allowed to drain off and the curds are pressed into moulds where they are kept until ripened or cured. Some cheeses are subjected to pressure; soft cheeses are not. Curds are ripened or cured by various means. The method, the quality of the milk, the breed of cow, sheep or other animal and the quality of its pasture and the type of bacteria all govern the end result.

Some local conditions are unique and those areas produce cheeses that are not successfully reproduced elsewhere: for example Gruyere and Camembert, although factories do try. They even have some success, as most of the world’s Cheddar cheese now comes from the USA and Canada.

The constituent parts of cheese are roughly: 33% fat, 33% protein and 33% water with salt, colouring, sugar etc making up the other 1%. These proportions do vary from area to area as some manufacturers use full cream milk, others skimmed milk and yet others add extra cream. Yet others add extra sugar, although most do not. All cheeses have a high calcium content and can be considered ‘concentrated milk’ and stored in the same way.

Many people say that cheese must not be kept in a fridge and although storing in water, as for milk, is not a viable option, a cool larder is certainly ideal. Try the traditional method of suspending it from a hook in muslin in a cool, breezy place. If it is hot, moisten the cheesecloth with water to which a little vinegar has been added.

Cheese is typically served in Europe with a salad or/and bread and is often served after or instead of the sweet course. Hard cheese can be difficult for children to digest and grating it first will make it more palatable to them. Once grated the cheese can be sprinkled on vegetable or fish soups or sauces; added to egg, pasta, rice and oatmeal dishes; put on baked potatoes or pastry; toasted on bread or put in salads and sandwiches.

How To Cook Cheese: A little known fact is that many people find cooked cheese indigestible. The reason lies in its molecular structure. Here is why: cooked starch can be digested by the saliva in the mouth but other foods must pass to the stomach or intestines for this process. They are, however, broken up in the mouth. Digestion of protein begins in the stomach and is completed in the small intestine, while fat is not rendered soluble until it reaches the small intestine.

Cheese possesses a high fat and protein mixture, but in melting, the fat often covers the protein and prevents the digestive juices reaching it in the stomach. Therefore, its digestion is delayed until the fat has been absorbed in the intestines. Cheese can be rendered more digestible by:

a] Cooking it with some starchy foodstuff, since the starch will absorb the fat, thus preventing it covering the protein.

2] Using seasoning – Cayenne Pepper or mustard will irritate the intestinal lining, thus causing extra digestive juices to be released.

3] Cooking quickly. This has the effect of preventing the protein from becoming tough and stringy and so, harder to digest. You could also add the cheese late to sauces.

4] Adding an alkali: for example, a generous pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda per 3 ozs (75g) will help neutralize the fatty acids and make the proteins easier to digest.

For the best gourmet Traditional Welsh Recipes, go along to our website at http://welsh-recipes.the-real-way.com/ Free reprint avaialable from: The Traditional Use Of Dairy Produce: Part 2 – Cheese.

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Food: Five Tips For Keeping Food

April 8th, 2010

There can not be many people who do not like food, but the human race, being what it is, I guess there are a few. For the rest of us, food is a source of daily enjoyment and, like drink, it is often used to mark a celebration. not only that, but different foodstuffs are used for the different meals or definite occasions.

Celebratory meals were unquestionably planned around the seasonal foods available, but some foods were transported great distances for the benefit of those who could afford them. For instance, my Dad thought it was a great treat to get an orange in his stocking on Christmas Day 60 years ago. How times have altered, very few children would think an orange a present, special or otherwise, any day of the year nowadays.

Nonetheless, the storage of food is still a daily concern and so, I have listed a few top tips on storing food hereunder, so that you will get the best from what you have bought or grown long afterward.

The Smells Of Summer: the smell of fresh garden herbs are one of the joys of Summer. You can preserve many of these herbs in the following way. Take a suitably sized glass bottle and cram your favourite herb into it until you can get not get even one more leaf in. Then fill it to the top with your favourite oil olive oil (salad oil, not cooking oil). Leave it in the strong sunlight for two days if you are using basil or two weeks for tarragon. Allow the water to separate from the oil and pour the oil off into another bottle. Just one or two drops of this oil on a salad or spaghetti will bring back Summer memoirs.

Bin Ends: sometimes, after a party for example, you may wake up to several small quantities of wine in different bottles. Of course, you can pour like wines into each other. When you are done, pour a teaspoon of olive oil into each bottle. This will create an air proof barrier over the wine thereby preserving the wine for another week or two to accompany your favourite dinners – in the cooking process naturally.

Storing Garlic: cloves of peeled garlic will keep for months if you stuff them into a screw-topped jar and cover them with olive oil. As you use the garlic, top up with more olive oil. The oil will take up some of the flavour of the garlic and make a fabulous (basis for a) salad dressing. If you have used tinned garlic, the rest can be preserved in the same way, but you should rinse and dry them first.

Saving Tomato Paste: if you suspect that you will not be able to use up the left over half a tin or tube of tomato paste soon, you can put it into the ice cube tray and freeze it into blocks until you are ready to use it.

Parsley Crumble: keep bunches of parsley in the deep freeze. Then, when you need it, you can just crumple the head of the bunch in your hand directly over the pan or plate where you require it and put it back in the freezer. The stalks can be used in the stock pot. in fact, this technique works for all herbs.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the crock pots by Rival. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

Interior Design Jobs

April 6th, 2010

Are you the kind of person who is always redoing your room or even your house? Do you find yourself happier when you’re doing this than when you’re doing any other kind of job? Then maybe you might want to look into a career change such as going for interior design jobs.

If you’re stuck in your job and want to go in for something different, then this might be exactly what you need in your life. Interior design jobs can be a fun and fruitful way for you to spend your time, and if you play your cards correctly, then there could be quite a lot for you to benefit from.

Before you just up and quit your present job however, I’d advise you to think about it very carefully. Remember that although the market in interior design jobs is there ripe for the plucking, most interior design jobs are for the self-employed and you will have to bid for each job, so if you do decide to join the bandwagon, you might not actually get any jobs straight off.

Therefore, you should first make sure that interior designing is really what you want to do. And if it is, then make sure that you have enough capital saved up for you to be able to live comfortably until your new career takes off.

If this doesn’t sound quite as interesting to you now as it did, you could always stay in your old job and continue with any interior design jobs that you might get at the same time until you feel comfortable enough to make a choice between the two. It’s probably a safe bet to assume that by that point, you would have decided whether you wanted to continue looking for interior design jobs or not.

You also have the option of attending an interior design college or taking some interior design courses to further your interior design knowledge. This is a really good way for you to test the water before you risk too much. An added bonus with either of these options is that they can be completed with ease and shouldn’t present you with any real problems.

Taking any of these courses will only enhance your natural abilities and bring to the fore any talent you have in the field of interior designing. This in turn makes it simpler for you to go in for more interior design jobs by giving you a boost up the ladder so you’re better prepared to face whatever comes your way.

The hardest part will be taking that all important first step of coming out your nice safe job to go out into the unknown world of bidding for interior design jobs. However, for the person who’s got the interior design bug, there’s no better way to satisfy their craving than by trying for interior design jobs. You’ll find your energy levels and creativity blossoming like it never before.

If you are searching for stylish interior design jobs, then you really really must go along to our website for more free ideas on Stylish Home Decor and more. You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.