Hurom slow juicer from the Maybank Treats Fair in Mid Valley + recipe of making soya bean milk

Last Friday was the Maybank Treats Fair in Mid Valley. Traffic was horrendous but for those that persevere, the shopping experience was worth it.

I went and I saw a lot of stuff that I would like to get my hands on. However, my eyes was set on getting a slow juicer. Need to get something to make a healthy breakfast. Two of the best brands in the market is Hurom and Kuving, both from South Korea.

The pro- and con- for both:

Hurom:

• Pro: Sold under AEON. Hence able to collect AEON points plus an additional coupons as well as cash voucher amounting to RM200
• Pro: Get a beautiful ceramic knife plus a slushy maker
• Con: Need to prepare the food first by cutting it in small chunks

Kuving

• Pro: Whole fruits can go into the machine without needing to cut
• Con: Gave a large dehydrator to make dry fruits.   

After talking to both sales persons, I've decided on the Hurom. Why? Because, it is still best to cut a fruit in small chunks. You never know, there could be worms in there and it is better safe then sorry. Moreover, the knife and AEON coupons and cash voucher is more value added to me.

After un-boxing it, I decided to juice my first recipe. An orange, a small apple and a guava. I was very surprised to get close to a paint of pure juice.

On Saturday, I did soya bean milk! It worked. This is my own recipe:

• 1 part soya beans
• 3 parts water
• rock sugar

Soak the beans in water for a few hours or overnight. Rinse it. Then prepare 3 parts water. Start crushing. Pour the milk into a pan. Bring the heat up gently until it is simmering and put the rock sugar to your required level of sweetness. It is then ready.

Sarawak laksa for dinner last night

One of my favorite laksa - Sarawak laksa - was on the menu last night. Got bits of chicken as well as thinly sliced eggs and boiled prawns (also some cucumber on the insistence of my wife). Heaven!

The condiments...

The broth. Made from ingredients from Sarawak. Loads of pepper.

Making my own energy bar

Do you know that it is not difficult to make your own energy bar? With just oats, honey, raisins and any other ingredients that you like (we add chocolate chips) you can make it. The other items you need are a tray and a fridge.

Once cooled, you can cut them into bars. Its healthy and has a lot of energy. Try it.

Oven baked Hard-Boiled eggs

New recipe!!

Making lunch for the family

Over the weekend I had to make lunch for the family. Got some chicken drumsticks, dumped them in a tray. Add some salt, pepper, chilli flakes, some paprika and a bit of oil. Baked it in an over at 180 Celsius for over an hour and lunch is served!

For the first 45 minutes cover it with foil first so as not to lose moisture. After that take it off to get the charring effect.

Visual reference for coffee recipes

Below is a visual reference for coffee recipes. Can use this to impress your home guests with your coffee skills.

Recipe to make a churro

Below is the recipe to make a churro. My kids love this sweet when they were introduced to it during their visit to Disneyland LA.

Healthy breakfast concoction - good stuff

While rummaging my fridge a few mornings ago, I stumble upon a handful of muesli cereal, honey and Greek yogurt. Ummm, I started to wonder how it would taste like if I mixed them up together. So, I concocted the following recipe:

• first layer of Greek yogurt;
• second layer of honey;
• third layer of muesli;
• fourth layer of Greek yogurt;
• fifth layer of honey;
• sixth layer of muesli;
• seventh layer of Greek yogurt; and
• finally, honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon 

Something sweet yet healthy with some crunchiness!

Courgette and parmesan soup

MORE?

Preparation time: less than 30 mins
Cooking time: 10 to 30 mins
Serves 4

Ingredients

* 60ml/2fl oz extra virgin olive oil
* 1 tbsp chopped garlic
* handful basil leaves (preferably Italian), chopped
* sea salt and ground white pepper, to taste
* 1kg/2¼lb green courgettes, cut lengthways into quarters then into 1cm/½in slices
* 750ml/1¼ pint chicken stock
* 60ml/2fl oz single cream
* handful flatleaf parsley, chopped
* 50g/2oz freshly grated parmesan, plus extra to serve

To serve

* crusty bread
* green salad
* salt and freshly ground black pepper


Preparation method

1.Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat.
2.Cook the garlic, basil, salt and courgette slowly for 10 minutes, or until the courgettes are lightly browned and softened.
3.Add white pepper, to taste, then pour in the stock and simmer for 8 minutes, uncovered. Remove from the heat.
4.Put three-quarters of the soup mixture into a food processor and blend until smooth.
5.Return the mixture to the pan and stir in the cream, parsley and parmesan.
6.To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle over more parmesan, to taste. Serve with crusty bread and a green salad.

Vietnamese-style chicken salad

NANG THIS POST

Preparation time: less than 30 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins to 1 hour
Serves 4

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 1 x 1.5-2kg/3lb 5oz-4lb 6oz chicken
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 kaffir lime leaves or bay leaves
• 2 stalks lemongrass

 

For the salad

• 1 cucumber, peeled and seeded, then cut into long strips
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 3 stalks celery, cut into long fine strips
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into long fine strips
• ¼ crisp white cabbage, thinly shredded
• a large handful fresh whole coriander leaves
• a large handful fresh whole mint leaves
• 4-6 whole lettuce leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

For the lime and chilli dressing

• 1 garlic clove
• 1 small red chilli
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 limes
• 3 tbsp fish sauce

Preparation method

1. Put the chicken into a large deep pan or stockpot with the onion and kaffir lime leaves or bay leaves.
   
2. Bruise the lemongrass stalks with the back of a knife and add to the pot.
   
3. Turn the heat on under the pan, add water to cover, then bring gently up to the boil.
   
4. Cover and simmer very gently for about 45 minutes to one hour, then leave to cool in the liquid.
   
5. Once cool, take the chicken out, discard the skin, pull the flesh off the bones and tear into bite-sized pieces. Place in a bowl and set aside. (Strain and save the poaching liquid and use it as stock for another dish.)
   
6. To make the salad, put the cucumber into a clean bowl with the teaspoon of salt. Mix well and set aside for ten minutes.
   
7. Meanwhile, place the sesame seeds into a small frying pan over a moderate heat (don't add oil) and dry-fry until they turn a shade darker, then take them off the heat and transfer immediately to a cool plate to prevent further cooking.
   
8. Once the cucumber has been salting for ten minutes, use your hands to squeeze out any excess liquid from the cucumber. Discard the liquid and transfer the cucumber to a large bowl.
   
9. Add the celery, carrots and cabbage to the cucumber along with the chicken and most of the sesame seeds, reserving a few for garnish.
   
10. For the dressing, peel and roughly chop the garlic then place in a mortar and pestle.
    
11. Deseed and roughly chop the chilli and add to the mortar and pestle.
    
12. Add half of the sugar to the mortar and pestle and pound the garlic and chilli to a rough paste. Add the rest of the sugar and pound again.
    
13. Juice the limes and add to the paste, then add the fish sauce and a splash of cold water and mix together. Taste and adjust the flavours if necessary.
    
14. Toss the salad with enough of the dressing to give a lively flavour, starting with about two-thirds of the dressing and adding more if necessary. Add half the mint and coriander leaves and mix thoroughly.
    
15. Line a serving plate with the lettuce leaves. Pile the salad onto the lettuce, then top with the remaining coriander and mint and reserved sesame seeds. Serve swiftly.
    

Messy Burger Barbecue

NANG THIS POST

 
Original Recipe Yield 8 servings

Ingredients

* 455 g ground beef
* 110 g onion, chopped
* 20 ml white vinegar
* 20 g brown sugar
* 8 ml prepared yellow mustard
* 180 ml ketchup
* salt and pepper to taste
* 6 hamburger buns

Directions

Crumble the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until meat is no longer pink. Drain excess grease, and stir in the vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, ketchup, salt and pepper. Simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Serve on buns.

Calorie-Cutting Tactics

Starvation and deprivation diets simply don't work. Instead, the little things are what matter. Here are seven ideas to get you started:

1. Eat breakfast.

A study published in the February 2002 journal Obesity Research found that eating breakfast was a key behavior among people who averaged a 60-pound weight loss and kept it off an average of six years. Participants told researchers that skipping breakfast made them so hungry that they overate during other meals and snacked on unhealthy, high-calorie foods.

2.Measure that cereal.

The average serving of cereal is 1 cup. Yet most adults pour out at least twice that.

3. Scoop and save.

Every now and then someone comes up with such a cool kitchen utensil that you just have to rush right out and buy it. That's the Lê Scoop. Its function: to scoop out the inside dough from a bagel, leaving you with the outer crust (and, of course, less fat and fewer calories). Fill the inside with nonfat cottage cheese sprinkled with ground flaxseeds for an easy, low-fat, low-calorie breakfast.

4.Buy the smaller size.

The larger the portion in front of you, the more you'll eat. It's a proven fact. When researchers sent 79 parents home with a video and either 1- or 2-pound bags of M&Ms along with either a medium or jumbo size tub of popcorn for each family member, they ate more M&M's from the 2-pound bag than the 1-pound bag, and about half a tub of popcorn, regardless of the tub size.

5. Make smart switches.

See how much you can save by switching from high-fat, high-calorie indulgences to lower-fat, lower-calorie options. Just by making the following substitutions, you could lose 25 pounds a year:

Instead of eating this once a week	Try this once a week	Calorie savings
Large fries	1-ounce snack-size bag of potato chips	383 calories a week, or 5.7 pounds a year
Fried chicken breast	Roasted chicken breast and wing and thigh without skin	243 calories a week, or 3.6 pounds a year
Burger	Veggie burger	216 calories a week, or 3.2 pounds a year
Three slices bacon	Two slices deli-style ham and two eggs and egg substitute	199 calories a week, or 3 pounds a year
Chocolate ice cream	Nonfat fudgsicle bar	240 calories a week, (1 cup) or 3.6 pounds a year
Pasta carbonara	Pasta with tomato sauce (1 cup)	246 calories a week, or 3.7 pounds a year
One slice cheesecake	One slice angel food cake with strawberry topping	130 calories a week, or 1.9 pounds a year

6. Skip the soda.

If you drink non-diet soda, you can cut 160 calories (per 16 ounces) out of your day just by switching to diet soda. Better yet, drink green tea or water flavored with a squeeze of lemon or lime.

7. Start with soup.

Studies show that people who start a meal with soup--especially broth-based soup--end up eating fewer calories by the end of the day without feeling hungrier.

Superfoods to the Rescue

A gourmet's delight? Definitely. A huge dose of heart health--from good fats and fiber to powerful antioxidants and essential vitamins and minerals? Without a doubt.

Superfoods such as the five described below work better than supplements to slash your risk of heart disease. Not only do they entertain your taste buds like a four-star chef, they also battle all six deadly heart attackers at the same time. Specifically, these amazing foods can:

• Reduce your risk of artery-clogging atherosclerosis
• Whittle away at cholesterol
• Lower your blood pressure
• Cool inflammation
• Neutralize damaging free radicals
• Reduce your chances of developing metabolic syndrome by keeping blood sugar lower and steadier
• When eaten in healthy portions, help you lose weight

You don't have to go to the health food store to find them; just wheel your cart through the supermarket. (Hint: Most are in the perimeter aisles, including the produce, meat, and dairy departments.) More good news: We've pulled together the quickest, tastiest ways to cook and serve these healing foods, from tried-and-true favorites to fresh, new ideas. Healthy eating doesn't have to take extra time out of your busy day--reaching for an ounce of dark chocolate or a fistful of walnuts is as quick as grabbing a bag of chips. And the taste? Out of this world.

1. Almonds

Super nutrients. Monounsaturated fat, magnesium, calcium, potassium, fiber.
Serving size. 1 ounce (about 24 almonds); 160 calories.
Benefits. A single serving of these crunchy, protein-packed nuggets provides a whopping 9 grams of monounsaturated fat to help slash LDLs ("bad" cholesterol) and boost HDLs ("good" cholesterol). Simply choosing almonds instead of a doughnut, chips, or pretzels for two snacks a day could cut LDLs nearly by 10 percent. Almonds also pack 6 percent of your daily calcium quota and 20 percent of the magnesium you need--two minerals proven to help lower blood pressure. Bonus: You get 35 percent of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin E, an artery-protecting antioxidant, as well as 3 grams of fiber. Just be sure to stop with one handful at snack time--advice that holds true for all nuts because they're calorie-dense.

Good ideas:

• One serving of almonds fits neatly into an empty Altoids mints tin. Fill the tin each morning and slip it into your purse or briefcase
• Toss some almonds into salads, stir-fries, fruit salad, or hot or cold cereal
• Keep slivered and sliced almonds on hand (store them in the freezer for freshness) to add to vegetable dishes, muffins, and cookies

2. Apples

Super nutrients. Antioxidants, fiber.
Serving size. 1 medium; 80 calories.
Benefits. Red Delicious, Granny Smith, and Gala apples earned spots on the USDA's top-20 list of antioxidant-rich foods thanks to hefty quantities of the flavonoid quercetin (flavonoids are natural chemicals in plants that, when in your bloodstream, remove free radical molecules, fight inflammation, and impede cancer). Bonus: Apples are a rich source of pectin, a soluble fiber. In a recent study at the University of California, Davis, people who ate two apples a day had fewer oxidized, artery-attacking LDLs than non-apple eaters.

Good ideas:

• Chop an apple and add to hot cereal
• For a portable snack, cut up an apple and place the slices in a zipper-lock plastic bag with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Carry it with you in an insulated lunch bag (with a freezer pack) to eat at lunch or as a snack. It tastes like apple pie, without the crust or the sugar
• For a quick baked apple, core an apple, pack the center with raisins and walnuts, and dust with cinnamon. Place it in a bowl with 1/4 cup of orange juice, apple juice, or water and microwave on high for 5 minutes, or until done

3. Carrots

Super nutrients. One of nature's top sources of beta-carotene, an artery-protecting antioxidant.
Serving size. 1 medium; 32 calories.
Benefits. Carrots are color therapy for your cardiovascular system. These veggies' brilliant orange hue is a sign of super-high levels of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that guards against artery-clogging oxidized LDL cholesterol. Only foods like carrots offer this protection--recent studies suggest that antioxidant pills don't help your heart. Cooked carrots have twice the antioxidant power of raw carrots because heat breaks down tough cell walls so that your body can use what's inside. Carrots also provide blood pressure-lowering potassium and magnesium, plus the homocysteine-lowering combination of folate; vitamin B6; and the antioxidants alpha-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin.

Good ideas:

• Set out a bowl of baby carrots when you're cooking as a healthy snack that won't fill you up with unwanted calories or wreck your appetite
• Buy sliced and shredded carrots in the produce department; add them to soups, salads, and casseroles.
• Instead of chips, serve presliced carrots with dip
• Add finely grated carrots to muffins, tuna or salmon salad, and casseroles
• Microwave baby carrots and stir in a dollop of honey for a sweet side dish
• Roast carrots in the oven with olive oil

4. Milk

Super nutrients. Great source of blood pressure-lowering calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
Serving size. 8 ounces 1% milk;110 calories.
Benefits. Your heart--and your waistline--love it when you have a milk mustache. (So, of course, do your bones!) A growing stack of research proves that calcium and other minerals in milk help lower blood pressure by keeping arteries flexible and helping your kidneys flush pressure-boosting sodium out of your body. A glass of cold moo juice at lunch or a generous splash on your morning cereal could cut your risk of insulin resistance--a potent heart disease risk factor--by 71 percent
and help you lose weight. How? Mayo Clinic researchers suspect that calcium "down-regulates" fat absorption by fat cells and "up-regulates" fat burning.

Good ideas: 

• A favorite cocoa recipe: Mix 1 cup of fat-free or low-fat milk, two packets of sugar substitute, and cocoa in a small saucepan or microwaveable cup and heat for about 1 minute
• Cook hot cereal and low-sodium instant or canned soups with milk instead of water
• Make milk your drive-through thirst quencher. Most fast-food restaurants offer the low-fat variety in cartons or single-serve bottles
• Order a latte with fat-free milk instead of black or with cream at your favorite coffee shop
• Make sugar-free instant pudding with low-fat or fat-free milk and serve it with berries
• Use fat-free evaporated milk in place of regular milk in baked goods, soups, and sauces. A cup contains 742 milligrams of calcium--more than double the amount in low-fat milk
• Whip partially frozen fat-free evaporated milk for a high-calcium dessert topping that has one-tenth the calories of regular whipped cream
• Puree fat-free or low-fat cottage cheese and fat-free evaporated milk with some lemon juice and rosemary for a light pasta sauce

5. Kidney Beans

Super nutrients. Soluble fiber, folate, potassium, magnesium.
Serving size. 1/2 cup; 112 calories.
Benefits. Eating beans four times a week--in baked beans, bean dip, chili, or a salad sprinkled with chickpeas or black beans--could cut your risk of coronary heart disease by 20 to 30 percent. Make some of them kidney beans; they're rich in LDL-lowering soluble fiber (2 grams in a 1/2-cup serving) and homocysteine-controlling folate, as well as blood pressure-easing potassium and magnesium.

Bonus: Thanks to healthy doses of fiber and protein, beans give you steady energy, not a sudden rise (and fall) of blood sugar that ups your risk of metabolic syndrome and weight gain.

Good ideas:

• Rinse canned kidney beans before using to remove sodium. Toss them into chili, casseroles, and soups
• For a quick tamale pie, serve warm kidney beans over a piece of cornbread and top with grated cheese
• Make a better three-bean salad: Combine kidney, black, and white beans, then mix in chopped tomatoes and scallions. Dress with olive oil, lemon juice, and black pepper
• In a food processor or blender, combine cooked kidney beans with garlic, cumin, and chili peppers for a delicious spread that can be used as a dip for crudités or a sandwich filling

 

Fishing around Pulau Sembilan

Went fishing at Pulau Sembilan. Caught a number of fish including a couple of squids. The colourful fish is called the Parrot fish while the big plain looking is called the Queen fish.

Very tasty! We cooked the squids that night for dinner as well as half of the Queen fish (deep fried). We then cooked the rest of the Queen fish curry style.

GreenSpace: The water wasted in boiling pasta

Interesting article on how to save water and energy when boiling pasta.

---------------------------------------------

Harold McGee had just dumped a big pot of pasta water into the sink and was waiting for his fogged eyeglasses to clear when he began to think about water.

Why was it necessary to boil pasta in so much of it? Could he use less? How much energy could he save?

This idle musing launched a quest for McGee, who writes a sciencey-cooking column called "The Curious Cook." He wanted to determine just how low he could go. As any box of pasta instructs, cooking a pound of it requires four to six quarts of water.

McGee tried two quarts. Then he went to 1.5 quarts. He had to stir a little more frequently, but the pasta turned out fine.

According to the National Pasta Association, Americans buy 1.35 billion pounds of packaged, dry pasta a year.

McGee did some quick calculations based on a billion pounds. Factoring in the energy to boil water, the inefficiency of burners and so on, he concluded that energy savings from using less water would amount to 250,000 to 500,000 barrels of oil a year.

Which would be equivalent to 5 percent of what Americans use driving in a day. At current prices, it would translate into savings of $18 million to $36 million.

I calculated further how much water the nation would save going with six cups instead of six quarts, and it was more than 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Alas, one can aggregate just about anything and, as in this case, the result looks big.

But common sense tells me that the pasta water problem is picayune compared with our larger eco-footprints.

Indeed, it's absurd, ridiculous, silly.

But, of course, I love it.

I see it as symbolic: Waste is bad.

Maybe one day waste will even be as verboten as rudeness. You wouldn't let a door slam in the face of the person behind you. So why would you use a coffee cup made from their - and your - resources just once and then throw it away? Or boil pasta in excess water?

Not long ago, the folks on a sustainability list-serve in the region had a big debate going. They had seen an article more or less scoffing at the value of personal action when what the world really needs is political action. It was titled, "Forget Shorter Showers."

The New Yorker's Elizabeth Kolbert took a similar tack, belittling Colin Beavan's year-long adventure in eco-living. (Don't recognize the name? He became famous for not using toilet paper.) It's documented in his book and film, No Impact Man.

Kolbert said that for a sequel, perhaps he could successfully lobby for corporate and political change and call the new book Impact Man.

But isn't it hypocritical to go about badgering politicians and then continue to squander resources? Doesn't it come down to integrity? It's not so much about impact as accountability.

And, in a wacky way, it's about pasta water.

McGee wrote about his experience in his column and got more comments on that than on any previous ones.

He's still using less water, although not for eco reasons. "It's mainly because I'm lazy."

Boiling less water takes less time, of course.

Just the other night, I tried it myself.

With water in the pot, I put on a lid, which would conserve heat. A little over five minutes later, the water began bubbling.

I dumped in the pasta and stirred . . . Magnifico! It wasn't starchy. It wasn't sticky.

But like McGee, I wondered: What would the professionals think?

He consulted two lionesses of Italian cooking, Lidia Bastianich and Marcella Hazan. Both tried it, but had reservations.

So I called Philadelphia's Luca Sena, the Naples-born owner of Ristorante Panorama in Penn's View Hotel.

Few know pasta like Sena, who jokes that he's been cutting back lately. He's down to about six pasta meals a week.

Using less water was nothing new to him. "Honestly," he said, "you don't have to waste all that water."

Nor the energy. If you have a good pot and a good lid, turn off the burner shortly after the water boils and let the pasta finish cooking by itself.

Nor the flavor, which stays intense in less water. "If you overput the water, it's almost a sin," he says.

Sena has the amounts down pat. He uses just enough water so that it's gone by the time the pasta is almost cooked. Then he puts in the sauce - a creamy carbonara, perhaps - and finishes cooking the pasta in that.

"Now you have the flavor into the pasta," he says.

"Put a big bowl in the center of the table. And good bread. And buon appetito!"

Barbecue Chicken Wings, Malaysian Style

INGREDIENTS
12 chicken wings
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dried basil

DIRECTIONS
In a shallow glass bowl combine the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, ground black pepper and dried basil. Mix together. Add chicken wings, cover and refrigerate overnight. Stir together again the next day.

Lightly oil grill and preheat to high heat.

Remove wings from marinade and discard remaining marinade. Grill chicken wings over preheated grill for 8 to 12 minutes each side, or until cooked through and juices run clear.

Cooking Questions: Spices and Herbs

How do I substitute fresh herbs for dried?


The general rule of thumb is to convert teaspoons of dried herbs into tablespoons of fresh ones: for example, use two tablespoons of fresh basil instead of two teaspoons of dried basil. Note that fresh herbs should be added at the end of the cooking process to preserve their flavors.

What is the difference between a spice and an herb?

Spices are pungent or aromatic seasonings obtained from the bark, buds, fruit, roots, seeds or stems of plants and trees, whereas herbs are the fragrant leaves of various annual or perennial plants that grow in temperate zones and do not have woody stems.

*Spices were prized long before recorded history. Though they've always been essential for flavoring food and drink, throughout the ages spices have been used in crowning emperors, making medicines and perfumes, in religious ceremonies and as burial accoutrements for the wealthy. More than 3,000 years ago the Arabs dominated the spice trade, bringing their rare cargo back from India and the Orient by arduous camel caravans. During the Middle Ages the demand for spices was so high that they became rich commodities--a pound of mace could buy three sheep and the same amount of peppercorns could buy freedom for a serf. By that time Venice had a tight hold on Western commerce and controlled the incredibly lucrative European spice trade. That Venetian monopoly was an important catalyst for the expeditions that resulted in the discovery of the New World. Today, the United States is the world's major spice buyer.

10 Spice and Herb Storage Tips

After purchasing fresh and flavorful spices and herbs from your grocery store, proper storage will prolong their freshness.


Here are some suggested storage and usage tips:

1. Whole spices and herbs maintain their freshness longer than ground ones.


2. Keep spices and herbs away from heat, moisture and direct sunlight.


3. Avoid storing spices and herbs over the stove, or near a window.


4. Spices and herbs will keep for a long time if they are stored in airtight bottles. The shelf life of properly stored spices and herbs is approximately 4 years for whole spices, 2-3 years for ground spices and 1-3 years for leafy herbs, depending on the herb.


5. Spices and herbs do not spoil but they do lose their strength. Old and weak seasonings will not deliver the taste they should.


6. There are three checks to use when verifying freshness--look, smell and taste. A visual check for color fading is a good indicator of flavor loss. Taste and smell your spices and herbs; if a fresh aroma or taste is not apparent, they need to be replaced.


7. Do not sprinkle spices and herbs directly from the bottle over a steaming pot. Steam introduced into the bottle will hasten the loss of flavor and aroma. Steam will also result in caking of contents.


8. Make sure your measuring spoon is completely dry when you dip it into the bottle. Moisture introduced into the bottle will also result in caking and flavor loss.


9. Members of the red pepper family, including paprika and chili powder, will retain their color and remain fresher when stored in the refrigerator.


10. Replace bottle lids tightly immediately after use.

Searing Meats

Searing meat browns the surface quickly leaving the inside raw--to be cooked until done by roasting or braising.

For Best Results

Bring meat to room temperature before searing it. In a skillet, heat a small amount of vegetable oil until very hot. Season the meat with salt to help form the tasty crust. When the oil ripples, the pan is ready.

Instant Caramelization

Searing meat in hot oil causes chemical reactions that result in intense flavors and deep brown color. But if the oil isn’t hot enough, meat will just stick to the pan. Deglaze browned bits with wine or stock to create a delicious sauce.

Making Quick Work

Searing requires constant attention. If the oil is hot enough, the meat will brown quickly. As you brown the sides, prop up the meat against the side of the pan. But be careful: toppling meat can splatter hot oil.

Slow Cooking is Good Cooking

Go Easy on the Juice

Because slow cookers work at low temperatures with lids on, there is hardly any liquid lost during cooking. With most cooking methods, the water in meats and vegetables turns to steam and evaporates. But with a slow cooker, there's nowhere for the steam to go--it just collects on the lid and bastes the food. So if you're inventing your own slow cooker recipes or adapting your favorite stovetop and oven recipes for the slow cooker, decrease the amount of liquid you use.

Is Browning Better?

You don't need to brown meat before cooking it in a slow cooker, but there are advantages to searing meat on the stove first. If you coat meat with flour and seasonings and sear it with a little oil in a hot skillet for a few minutes, it can develop a more complex flavor and appetizing color than it will in the crock. Always brown ground beef or any ground meat before adding it to your slow cooker: otherwise, the meat will clump together, remain an unappealing color, and add lots of grease to the finished product.

Lightly Spice

Whole spices such as bay leaves, peppercorns or cinnamon sticks will give slow cooker items a very intense flavor if left in the pot for the entire cooking time, so use them sparingly. Ground spices as well as fresh and dried herbs, on the other hand, can lose much of their flavor if allowed to simmer for several hours in the slow cooker. It's better to add these items during the last two hours of cooking if you can manage it.

Dairy products such as milk, sour cream and cheese also do not hold up well to several hours of simmering. To avoid curdling, wait until the last hour of cooking time to stir in these items. Heavy cream can stand up to heavy cooking.

Sooner or Later

The slow cooker is one of the few cooking methods where you can cut the cooking time by turning up the temperature and still get great results. Food will not burn in a slow cooker because it retains moisture so well, and because the heat is so evenly and gently distributed around the sides as well as the bottom of the pot. If something takes 10 hours on the "low" setting, you can safely cook it for 5 hours on the "high" setting with very similar results.