With the Christmas and holiday season approaching, I couldn’t help thinking about how much cooking means to me. It encompasses a whole range of things that are important to me.
One of the things I love about cooking is that it’s creative – It’s mixing a range of different flavors, ingredients. I love putting a wet mess of ingredients into an oven and taking out a cake an hour later. I’ve discovered recently that I can smell when a cake’s ready. I’ve got a nose for cake.
Another thing I love is the pleasure food gives, both to others and to myself. It’s just so rewarding to see the smiles and enjoyment that people experience.
Cooking is an escape, but a legitimate one, because I’m feeding people. I can say “Will you get these kids out from under my feet; I’m trying to cook a meal here”, but I can’t say “Will you get these kids out from under my feet; I’m trying to write a blog post here.” I love pottering in my kitchen, browsing my recipe books, staring out the window in a half-daze, imagining our next meal.
I like looking in the fridge, seeing what I’ve got, reading a recipe, making a match and producing something delicious. I like using things up. For instance, we had half a stale panettone left over after last Christmas, and I turned that into a delicious bread and butter pudding for New Year’s Eve dinner. After Christmas, we were all feeling a little queasy from the rich meals we’d been having, so I used a couple of chicken breasts and some sticks of lemongrass to make a lovely, refreshing chicken broth. There is something of the happy homemaker in this, but I don’t deny, it gives satisfaction.
I love cookbooks. There is a bit of history, culture and personality in each of them.
I like that my repertoire and courage are growing. I’ve learnt that if you follow a recipe, you’re likely to have success, and this has given me confidence.
I like the values that home-cooking instills. I’d rather make my family a tray of home-cooked muffins than buy them the plastic ones filled with preservatives in the supermarket. I love that they are becoming brave eaters, and in our home there is a lot of praise for trying food. They are not required to like it, but they are required to try it. We sit and eat together at least one meal a day – we light candles, chat, gently impart some table manners and enjoy some family time.
I like sharing recipes and talking food. This I do with many of my friends, and also with my blog friends.
Cooking is also an act of love, and a way to show caring.
I believe strongly that food prepared with love has the ability to pass that love along. I try never to cook while angry and always try to add a dash of love for those I’m cooking for.
I have a china service with a Royal mark but no other specification. The word manufactured is spelled in Italian or Spanish. How can I find more information about this china?
Several thoughts come to mind.
You might try taking a piece of your china to a dealer in your area that sells china or try calling a few first to see if they have books to look up china.
You might also try googling the name of your china as it is spelled and see what you come up with.
You didn’t state, but is it possibly antique china or relatively new? If it is more in the antique line, try some antique dealers.
Hope this helps.
Mother’s Day Heirloom Dinnerware – Material Possessions
If you are as busy as most people you are always looking for ways to feed your family in convenient, fast, yet not-too-expensive ways. Try the following suggestions:
1. Cooking several meals for the week at one time. It may take a few hours of your time up front but will pay off in the long run when you come home each evening and have a meal ready to eat in a short amount of time. Try cooking a roast and using part of it as a main meal and then using some for sandwiches, beef stroganoff or as part of a stir-fry. Fry several pounds of hamburger and make a casserole, taco meat and chili to freeze for use later in the week.
2. After you return home from the grocery store clean all the fruits and vegetables you can. When it?s time for a meal all you will have to do is cook them or add them to a salad or soup.
3. Get ideas from the cooking shows on T.V. There are great shows that show you how to make a healthy meal in a short time.
4. Develop a revolving recipe file. If you get bogged down by the idea of having to plan 30 meals a month the recipe file is for you. Let family members choose some of their favorites and put the recipes in a monthly file. Flip to day five or fifteen and there is the meal just waiting to be cooked.
5. Enlist the help of the members of your family. As soon as the kids are old enough divide up the cooking responsibilities. Let everyone take turns with specific tasks or the whole meal. Pair these meals with fruit and veggies that have already been washed and cut-up and you are ready for dinner.
6. Share the cooking with friends or neighbors. I?ve known people who cook four or five of the same meal and then trade with four or five other people. This works best when people share the same basic ideas on what they like and don?t like. It?s a great idea though for a very easy week of evening meals.
7. Save coupons for those convenience things at the grocery store. They have entire entrees and dinners either fresh or frozen. Sometimes they are rather pricy but with the coupons they are good to have on hand for an evening when everyone is running in different directions and time is of the essence.
8. It?s O.K. to eat out from time to time. Clip coupons for these occasions and if you have kids keep a look-out for the places that have special prices for children. Some of the fast-food restaurants are trying to offer item choices that are a little more healthy.
9. Many larger cities have businesses that prepare food for the evening meal. They seem expensive at first but are so convenient and available for one person or entire families. There are many menu choices and meals cooked for special diets. When you calculate the groceries you buy and the times you eat out each week, this may work for you.
10. Combine several of the above ideas into a plan that is best for you.
It is possible with a little planning to cook meals that are quick and easy without spending hours in the kitchen every day.
Chocolate has been a favorite of man for thousands of years. Ancient people brewing the seeds of the cacao tree into a yummy beverage was the beginning of the wide assortment of chocolates that we enjoy today.
Once chocolate was discovered by European conquests, it became a treat only the wealthiest could afford. Not only was chocolate expensive, but it was bitter. Sugar and spices used to sweeten it were expensive too and out of the common man’s reach. It was in the 1800’s that the industrial age and mass production made chocolate candy affordable for everyone.
Chocolate candy became a big hit in stores in the form of the candy bar. It took its place proudly on the general store shelf next to the gum drop, hard candy and candy cane bins of the day. From that meager beginning, the varieties available today are mind boggling. Chocolate candy is available in many different flavors, shapes and with limitless ingredients. Some ingredients such as nuts and fruits are complimentary to the flavor and texture of the chocolate and left whole or diced inside the candy bar. Spices and other flavorings are also added to enhance the chocolate or add interesting flavor notes. Some people can taste a story in their chocolate candy. The flavor medley tells them through their tongue what region of the world each ingredient came from. Travel by chocolate!
Chocolate can also be enjoyed either inside a candy coating or as a coating itself over other yummy treats such as ice cream.
Today many people buy candy online. With the invention of the World Wide Web, you can snack on exotic chocolate candy delicacies made anywhere in the world. Innovations in chocolate recipes and shipping ensure you receive your chocolate candy in perfect condition.
There is also a wide variety of chocolate molds and candy making accessories for you to try your hand at making your own chocolate candy. It’s a fun way to get children involved in the kitchen and also a great way to make personalized gifts. The possibilities are endless in the flavors and ingredients to test. A lot of very successful candy companies started this way, as a hobby in a home kitchen.
Who knows, perhaps one day when that chocolate connoisseur boots up his pc and logs on to buy candy online, the website with the interesting flavors to sample that he chooses to order from may be your own!
Everywhere you look, there is a lot of emphasis on cutting the fat out of our daily diets, but who wants to cut out the fat if it means cutting out the flavor? When it comes to baking, there is a way to cut down on your fat intake without changing the ingredients in your favorite recipes. If you switch to nonstick silicone bakeware, you can cut down on your fat intake with minimal effort. Because the bakeware is nonstick, you never have to use butter, shortening, or grease on your pans or sheets to ensure easy food removal.
The first silicone items made exclusively for baking were small silicone mats that fit nicely on your cookie sheet and allowed you to bake cookies with out greasing the cookie sheet or worrying about the bottoms getting burned. These little mats were a huge success and stores were hard pressed to keep them in stock.
As the popularity of these mats grew, manufacturers decide to explore the idea of making more bakeware from silicone. They began making spoons, spatulas, and whisks that could withstand high heats and could be used with nonstick cookware with no fear of ruining the coating. Silicone utensils were the perfect choice for candy making or any other project that required a boiling and sticky liquid to be stirred.
Kitchen supply manufacturers also introduced silicone potholders and oven gloves. Because they can withstand heats up to 500 degrees, they are the perfect insurance that you won?t get burned when you pull a hot dish from your oven. They don?t conduct heat the way that a cloth potholder does and they are much sturdier and easy to keep clean than traditional potholders. Home canners fell in love with silicone baker?s mitts because they could actually reach into a pot of boiling water to remove a hot jar of food once it was done processing. As an added bonus these durable potholders do double duty as lid grippers making opening jars a snap.
Once silicone hit kitchens in the form of baking mats, utensils, and pot holders, kitchen experts began to see the potential of this material in everyday baking. Suddenly almost any type of bakeware that could traditionally be found in stainless steel, aluminum, glass, or stoneware was being offered in brightly colored silicone. Stores began selling muffin tins, bread loaf pans, cake pans, and pie pans. The most popular pieces tend to be the specialty designed cake pans that allow you to make cakes shaped like everything from roses to pumpkins. They even have mini cake pans that make individual, fancy shaped cakes.
The popularity of silicone bakeware skyrocketed as cooks began to see the benefits of using this material in their kitchens. Foods pop out of silicone pans with amazing ease. You never need to grease, flour, or even use cooking spray on a silicone pan and that adds up to lots of calories and fat grams saved with each meal. Because silicone is very flexible, it is easy to bend and twist it so that cakes and breads pop out easily. You never have to force baked goods out of the pan, so they retain there shape and you don?t see a lot of split and broken cakes.
Silicone is a bakers dream when it comes to making evenly cooked delicacies. The material distributes heat evenly, so you never end up with a cake that is burned around the edges and still not cooked in the middle. It also cools down quickly ensuring that you foods will not continue cooking and possibly drying out once you remove them from the oven.
Because silicone is nonstick, cleanup is a breeze. A little soap and water and any crumb left on your bakeware disappears. It is nonporous, so it never retains any odors from the foods you cook. Completely versatile it goes from oven to table to freezer and can even be thrown in the dishwasher. Once you are done cleaning it, storage is a snap. With its flexibility, you can twist it, bend it, fold it or mash it up so it can fit in the smallest of drawers or cupboards.
If you haven?t tried silicone bakeware, add a piece or two to your kitchen. You will be surprised at its quality and flexibility.
With the Christmas and holiday season approaching, I couldn’t help thinking about how much cooking means to me. It encompasses a whole range of things that are important to me.
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