Tips Guides Resources

This is a recipe for a creamy seafood pate, or dip, which you can put on crackers, vegetables, or wedges of bread. You will need to get a brain mold, or some other kind of mold, to use to shape your pate. Makes a nice shrimp or crab flavored dip, which can be spooky as long as you use a spooky mold. There are a couple brain molds for sale on Amazon pretty much at all times.

The Recipe

* 1 can (about 10 oz) reduced sodium, low fat cream of mushroom soup

* 8 ounces reduced fat or low fat cream cheese, softened

* 1 envelope unflavored (and sugar free) gelatin
softened in 1/4 cup water

* 3 pounds cooked shrimp, coarsely chopped
(or 1 pound crab meat)

* 1 cup lite, reduced fat, or low fat mayonnaise
(or Miracle Whip)

* 1 tablespoon lemon juice

* Tabasco or creole seasoning to taste

* oil or Pam non-stick spray for surface of mold

Directions

If you have a food processor, you may want to grind your shrimp or crab meat up into more of a paste. This will give the pate more of a smooth texture, all the better to resemble actual brain matter. =)

Be careful with your cream of mushroom soup, because most versions made with cream are high in fat.

1. Heat the mushroom soup, undiluted, in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Stir occasionally to keep from burning or sticking to pan.
3. Mix the cream cheese in with the soup.
4. Stir in softened gelatin and blend well.
5. Fold in remaining ingredients and pour into your lightly-oiled mold.
6. Chill until firm and serve with your favorite crackers.

Once firm, you should be able to dump the pate out into a bowl or even onto a plate. The oil or non-stick spray is what allows us to dump it out. Don’t forget to lightly grease that mold!

How to Fold

When preparing a recipe, folding is a method of mixing better that is often demonstrated on cooking channels, but not often practiced by those of us who are content eating tuna and chicken 4 times a day. Of course I learned how to fold in Home Economics class back in high school, promptly forgot, and then relearned again a couple years ago for some recipes I was trying out. I do enjoy cooking healthy protein-laced meals.

Because you may not know how to fold, I’ll give you a quick low-down. Basically you want to take a flat spatula and turn the mixture over onto itself, rather than stirring with a spoon.

Healthy, Low Fat, High Protein Eating

As long as you use low fat ingredients when possible, you will end up with a very tasty, moderately healthy dip for crackers, veggies, or bread wedgies. The cream of mushroom soup can be found in a lower fat version, I know because I found it.

I recommend shrimp instead of crab meat, unless you really purchase high quality real crab meat. Don’t use that processed crab-meat-in-a-packet garbage. Bring to work in a small bowl with whole grain or whole wheat crackers for a healthy snack. Serve at a Halloween party with low fat chips or crackers, and surprise your guests with a tasty, but spooky, health food dip!

Nutrition

I really can’t give a nutrient profile on this because of all the variables. It depends on what kind of cream cheese, soup, mayo, and seafood you use. You are going to end up with something that has a moderate amount of protein, fat and carbs. No idea about the total calories. This is more of a Zone Diet 30/30/40 type of meal.

Resources: Steve Hanson has 10 years experience in the fields of exercise science and sports nutrition. He writes articles on all forms of athletic training and nutritional theories. View the blog to learn more about your favorite exercise and nutrition topics. Project Swole : Build Muscle and Lose Fat with Weight Loss, Diet and Conditioning Articles

You have probably heard that pork is “the other white meat”, but you might not have discovered many ways of cooking this delicious meat. Pork is a great alternative to chicken as a way of getting nutrients that your body needs, and you should try to eat pork at least a couple of times a week.

However I know that sometimes it can be boring eating the same meals every night, so here you will find a great way of serving pork that should keep the interest of your family, as well as help get those vital nutrients into them.

I just came across this recipe, and it sounded so good I felt I had to share it with you straight away! Make sure you have a really good butcher who will bone and roll the pork leg for you, to make it a lot easier to prepare.

Give it a go if you get a chance, and let me know what you think!

Recipe Preparation: boil

Recipe Serves: 8

Ingredients for Drunken Pork Recipe

2 -(up to) 3 lb Pork leg
2 Cloves garlic
1 Spring onion stalk
4 -(up to) 6 c Water
1 tb Salt
1 ds Pepper
Sherry

Drunken Pork Preparation

1. Have pork boned and rolled. Crush garlic. Cut spring onion stalk in 1/2-inch sections.

2. Bring water to a boil. Add the pork, garlic, spring onions, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil again, then simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

3. Drain, reserving liquid for stock, and let meat cool, then refrigerate overnight.

4. Cut pork in large chunks. Place in a jar or crock and add enough sherry to fill. Cover the jar tightly and refrigerate for 1 week.

5. Drain pork, slice thin and serve cold.

Another really different type of pork recipe you could try is right here:

Pork braised in milk

Ask your butcher to chine and skin the pork loin. (Chining means removing the backbone from the rack of ribs so that you can carve between the ribs). The milk and lemon sauce will appear lumpy and curdled, but tastes delicious and you can strain it if you want.

Ingredients:-

1 x 2.25kg pork loin
50ml olive oil
1L milk
4 garlic cloves, cut in half lengthways
15g sage or rosemary leaves
Grated zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 lemon

SERVES 6

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). Prepare the pork by trimming the fat to leave just a thin layer. The bone and fat keeps the pork moist. Heat the olive oil in a large roasting tin. Add the pork and brown the meat on all sides. Remove the pork and pour away the fat from the roasting tin.

Add the garlic and sage to the tin and place the pork on top of them. Season with salt and pepper and pour the milk over the pork. Return to the heat and bring just to the boil. Remove the tin from the heat again, add the lemon zest and drizzle with the lemon juice.

Put in the oven and roast for about 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 150C (300F) and cook for another 1-1.25 hours, depending on the meats thickness. If necessary add a little more milk every so often to keep the meat roasting in liquid. Baste the meat with the juices every 30 minutes. Do not cover, so that the juices reduce and the fat on the pork becomes crisp.

To test if the pork is cooked, poke a skewer into the middle of the meat, count to ten and pull it out. Touch it on the inside of your wrist, and if it feels hot the meat is cooked through. Leave the meat to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Strain the sauce if you like, and serve with the meat.

Mick Reade has been working as a chef in Australia for over 10 years, in a variety of different types of kitchens all across the country, and now helps teach others how easy it can be to cook healthy delicious food. For a free cookbook, check out http://alleasyfoodrecipes.com

Baking has been many cultures’ favorite technique for creating snacks, desserts, and accompaniments to meals for many years. Now, it is very well-known as the method for creating sweets and all sorts of wondrous mouthwatering pastries.

In ancient history, the first evidence of baking occurred when humans took wild grass grains, soaked it in water, and mixed everything together, mashing it into a kind of broth-like paste. Then, the paste was cooked by pouring it onto a flat, hot rock, resulting in a bread-like substance. Later, this paste was roasted on hot embers, which made bread-making easier, as it could now be made anytime fire was created.

Around 2500 B.C., records show that the Egyptians already had bread, and may have actually learned the process from the Babylonians. The Greek Aristophanes, around 400 B.C., also recorded information that showed that tortes with patterns and honey flans existed in Greek cuisine. Dispyrus was also created by the Greeks around that time and widely popular; was a donut-like bread made from flour and honey and shaped in a ring; soaked in wine, it was eaten when hot.

In the Roman Empire, baking flourished widely. In about 300 B.C., the pastry cook became an occupation for Romans (known as the pastillarium). This became a very highly respected profession because pastries were considered decadent, and Romans loved festivity and celebration. Thus, pastries were often cooked especially for large banquets, and any pastry cook who could invent new types of tasty treats, unseen at any other banquet, was highly prized.

Around 1 A.D., there were more than three hundred pastry chefs in Rome alone, and Cato wrote about how they created all sorts of diverse foods, and flourished because of those foods. Cato speaks of an enormous amount of breads; included amongst these are the libum (sacrificial cakes made with flour), placenta (groats and cress), spira (our modern day flour pretzels), scibilata (tortes), savaillum (sweet cake), and globus apherica (fritters).

A great selection of these, with many different variations, different ingredients, and varied patterns, were often found at banquets and dining halls. To bake bread, the Romans used an oven with its own chimney and had grain mills to grind grain into flour.

Eventually, because of Rome, the art of baking became widely known throughout Europe, and eventually spread to the eastern parts of Asia. Bakers often baked goods at home and then sold them in the streets-children loved their goods.

In fact, this scene was so common that Rembrandt illustrated a work that depicted a pastry chef selling pancakes in the streets of Germany, and young children surrounding him, clamoring to get a sample. In London, pastry chef sold their goods in handcarts, which were very convenient shops on wheels.

This way, they developed a system of “delivery” baked goods to people’s households, and the demand for baked goods increased greatly as a result. Finally, in Paris, the first open-air cafe of baked goods was developed, and baking became an established art throughout the entire world.

Tim Tanis is an independent web publisher.
Also is a working Chef in North Carolina.
For more history visit.
http://www.historyofcooking.com

Red-Red is a popular dish from Ghana made from cowpeas (black-eyed peas). It is thought to have been named for the combination of red pepper and red palm oil that is used in the cooking process. The Red-Red cowpeas stew is usually served with fried plantains, and is a lunch favorite in Ghana, particularly among office workers. If you are “unbeanz,” (i.e. unemployed) you can survive on this meal easily because the ingredients are inexpensive. This is most commonly served with fried ripe plantain (popularly known as “koko”). It is an ideal choice for vegetarians and vegans.

Ingredients:

2-3 cups dried cowpeas (black eyed peas) or similar
1 cup red palm oil (or vegetable oil)
1-2 onions, thinly sliced
2-3 ripe tomatoes, quartered
Cayenne pepper or red pepper
Salt and black pepper to taste
Several ripe or near-ripe plantains
1-2 bouillon cubes
(Optional) Small piece of smoked or dried fish
(Optional) One spoonful of shrimp powder

Step #1

Clean the black-eyed peas in water in a large pot. Soak them in water for at least an hour or overnight. After soaking them, rub them together between your hands to remove the skins. Rinse to wash away the skins and any other debris. Drain them in a colander. If you are using smoked or dried fish: remove the bones and skin, rinse and soak them in water, then dry them. If you are using dried shrimp: grind the shrimp (or obtain already ground or powdered shrimp).

Step #2
Place the black-eyed peas in a large pot, fill the pot with enough water to just cover the peas. Bring to a slow boil; reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the peas are tender; thirty minutes to an hour. When cooked, the peas should be moist, but not standing in water.

Step #3
While the peas are cooking: Heat the oil in a skillet. Fry the onions until slightly browned, then add the tomatoes, and fish and dried shrimp (if desired). Mash and stir the mixture to form a sauce.

Step #4
Stir the onion-tomato mixture into the black-eyed peas. Add bouillon cubes (if you are not using fish or shrimp). Simmer for ten minutes. Add salt, black pepper, and cayenne or red pepper to taste.

Step #5
While peas and sauce is simmering: Prepare fried plantains.

Step #6
Serve peas and plantains side by side on a plate.

How to Prepare Fried Plantains:

Step #1
Peel and thinly slice the plantains lengthwise.

Step #2
Fill a skillet with 1 inch of Canola or vegetable oil. Preheat the skillet until hot, but not smoking.

Step #3
Fry the plantains until they a nice golden brown color, and then flip to the other side. This should take about 2 or 3 minutes in total, but let your eyes be the judge.

Step #4
Remove the plantains from the skillet and place on paper towels to drain the excess oil, then season with salt and pepper. Makes about 6 to 8 servings.

How to Prepare Boiled Plantains:

Drop unpeeled plantains in boiling water. Cook for 15-20 minutes until a test plantain is tender when pierced with a fork. Peel before serving.

Note: Because of the amount of agricultural chemicals used in fruit cultivation, we suggest a good soap and hot-water scrub before boiling plantains. If you prefer, you may peel them before boiling.

A History of the Cowpea:

The cowpea is indigenous to Africa and contributes immensely to the diets of the under-privileged. It used to be called the “poor man’s meat”. However, improvement in the storage and processing techniques of cowpeas has changed this perception. Cowpeas are now accepted, as food in the homes of the rich, the informed, the salaried worker and all those who can afford it. The cowpea is rich in protein and B-vitamins.

Wayne Kiltz is the founder and owner of Africa Imports.
You can find more African recipes at http://africaimports.com/africanrecipes.asp

You can find many other articles on African art, culture, African fashions, and also African business opportunities. Just go to www.africaimports.com

My grandmother passed away when I was twelve. She was born and raised in rural Amish country in Indiana. Though it was over twenty five years ago when she died, I clearly remember her and her funny ways. She had a ‘davenport,’ used ‘rouge,’ and was allergic to perfume and only used ivory soap. She was forever pulling out her annoying vinyl measuring tape from a golden, round, wicker sewing basket with a matching lid she kept next to her sofa, or davenport. She would wrap it around my neck, my arms and my legs, taking notes to ensure the clothing she made me would fit. She always checked to see if I scrubbed behind my ears with a ‘warshcloth’ and her house was not child friendly, at all. She was meticulously clean, in fact she even ironed her sheets. She was peculiar to me as a child, but let me tell you, that woman knew how to bake the best pie in the whole wide world.

Grandma was an awesome cook and she loved to do it. Christmas was amazing as a child. We ate on real china and drank from expensive cranberry glass goblets. She had a special dish for everything on the table and only used the nicest, freshest linens. She always baked at least three different kinds of pies and there would be cookies and candies and homemade bread and turkey and mashed potatoes with amazing gravy and stuffing. Oh, the stuffing or ‘dressing.’ Sorry, I need a moment to reminisce.

Some good memories there. That is what a great recipe will do, create irreplaceable memories. For twenty five years, I have longed to be again sitting at Grandmas in front of her grand Christmas spread eating a piece of one of her best pies made with the freshest ingredients. Cherry, rhubarb, strawberry, blueberry, the filling is just an after thought when you have a delicious, flaky crust. I certainly cannot go back in time, but guess what, time has brought them to me. I found a box filled with her recipes at my aunts house. She was holding onto them for dear life, but what good is an amazing recipe if it is tucked in a box, unused for years and years.

I pried the magical box from my aunts white knuckles and have decided to not only cook these recipes , one at a time, but I want to share them. I love to cook a dish everyone will enjoy and come back begging for more. My children will inevitably prepare my most beloved and delicious family recipes with their children and they will be talking about how ‘to die for the pie is’ for generations to come. My kids love it when I make something new and exciting for them to eat and even like to help in the kitchen.

Here is a great unique dessert that is so easy to make and yes, it is from the magic box. It is called cobbler cake and you are going to love it. It is great with vanilla ice cream, whipped topping, or just a spoon. I cannot decide whether it is cobbler or cake, but it sure is yummy.

Turn on the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.

1 can of crushed pineapple
1 can of cherry pie filling
1 box of white, yellow or lemon cake, dry
7 oz shredded coconut
1 cup crushed walnuts
1 cup melted butter

First, pour the entire can of pineapple, juice and all into the greased pan. Second, empty the can of cherry pie filling over the pineapple. Next, completely cover the fruits with the dry cake mix and do not stir. Layer the coconut on top of that and then the walnuts. Drizzle the melted butter, (I use a turkey baster) over the entire thing and throw it in the oven. Yes, it is that simple. Set your timer for 70 minutes. It is done when it is golden brown and firm in the middle.

Jane Carrasco has a passion for preparing easy and delicious meals with recipes that her family will love, for generations to come. Go to http://easyrecipe4u.blogspot.com/ to find step by step instructions for preparing the best food with only the best recipes.

There’s nothing like grandma’s good old-fashioned cooking to get everyone’s mouth watering, and study after study has shown that America’s favorite dishes are consistently the classic, old-fashioned recipes they grew up eating at the dining room table.

Classic recipes like meatloaf, fried chicken and apple pie will probably be just as popular a hundred years from now as they were a century ago, because our taste buds are one thing that never really change. And while exotic recipes and ethnic restaurants might be fun for an occasional excursion for most Americans, it’s the good old-fashioned favorites that everyone always comes back to for their mainstay meals.

But while many people might consider it sacrilege to make any changes at all to these classic American recipes, there’s nothing at all wrong with adding your own personal flavor or flare to an old recipe. By experimenting with new ways of preparing and presenting classic recipes, you can add a little excitement to the dinner table and make your family or guests more excited about dishes that might otherwise seem uninspired.

Now, notice that we used the word “experimenting,” and there’s a reason for that. It’s important to realize that there is a fine line between improving an old classic recipe and transforming it into an entirely unappetizing variant. So make sure you taste test your new recipe creations before trying to serve them to a group without fair warning!

If you’re wary of actually changing the ingredients or preparation procedures for a favorite family recipe, one way of “spicing things up” without adding new spices is by changing the way you physically present the meal. Use of things like garnishes, arrangement of food on the plate or table, food colorings, or mixing and matching dishes that you haven’t before may be just what the doctor ordered.

You’d be amazed at how much the “look” of a dish actually changes the perception of its taste by those who are at the table.

While your favorite old-fashioned recipes will retain their great classic taste and flavor, making them more visibly and aesthetically pleasing will be a much-welcomed change for any dinner party that might be tired of the same old stuff over and over again.

Actually changing ingredients and cooking methods for an old-fashioned favorite recipe is much, much more risky and likely to end in a failed attempt that your guests might not approve of, but when it does work, the potential “payoffs” can be much greater.

Successfully modifying a classic recipe, and putting your own personal spin on it, is the mark of a truly innovative and talented cook (or, more properly, “chef”).

As we said earlier, though, you need to look at all major ingredient changes as “experiments” that need to be taste-tested by you or a trusted friend before presenting a new recipe to a roomful of hungry diners. While a successful improvised recipe can get you accolades, there’s nothing worse than presenting a new dish and making everyone at the table wish they hadn’t come to dinner!

You can browse our free online forum for lots of free cooking contests and recipe contests. And don’t forget to visit our network forum for other free stuff online.