Food for Thought

From the many studies in recent years that have linked diet to cognitive function, scientists are slowly putting together a list of foods that seem to have particular influence on the health of the brain.

Studies have shown improvements in memory, IQ, concentration and mood; others have shown a reduced risk of cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Remember to eat these foods and you'll be more likely to remember everything else.

Antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables:

blueberries

strawberries

blackberries

red peppers

oranges

apples

spinach

Foods dense in vitamin E:

nuts

soybean oil (found in many bottled salad dressings)

canola oil

wheat germ

Whole grains:

whole oats

barley

Foods rich in folic acid:

leafy green vegetables

citrus fruits

dried beans

Foods rich in omega-3s:

fish

flaxseed

purslane

One-Two Punch for Alzheimer's

A recent study of 4,740 elderly people linked the combination of vitamin C and E supplements with a 60 percent reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease. The benefits appeared in people who were taking daily supplements containing about 400 IU of vitamin E and 500 mg of vitamin C.

Why would these two work only in combination? Epidemiologist Peter Zandi at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health says that fat-soluble vitamin E "stays around in the body for a relatively long time," while water-soluble vitamin C is rapidly excreted. Zandi speculates that "vitamin C may serve primarily to recharge the antioxidant capacities of the vitamin E that is in the body."

Arch. of Neur., Jan. 2004

Source:
www.food.yahoo.com

Right Way to Cook Vegetable

Vitamins are organic food substances found only in living things, plants and animals. They are essential for our bodies to function properly, for growth, energy and for our general well-being. With very few exceptions the human body cannot manufacture or synthesize vitamins.

Some vegetables can be eaten raw, but most of them need some cooking so they can be easily digested and their nutrients easily absorbed!

Notes to remember when cooking vegetables :

1. Don’t over boil vegetables! Blanch them for 3 or 4 minutes or until they’re a bit softer.
2. Don’t forget that leaf vegetables cook much faster than root vegetables. For example :
   Try steaming as much as you can.
   Thin vegetable peels should not be taken unlike in potatoes or turnips as they prevent soluble vitamins to dissolve in the water.
   
3. Don’t use too much water when boiling them , use the small rest of liquid in soups and sauces.
   
4. Cover the pans where you cook the vegetables so you can shorten the cooking time. A pressure cooker is great if you’re careful and don’t overcook them. Leaf vegetables should be cooked uncovered the first minutes they start boiling so they don’t get too dark.
   
5. Boil the water before you add the vegetables, the oxygen will be released from the water and less vitamins will be lost by oxidation.

Braising!!

Braising is a method used for less tender cuts of meat such as steaks and roasts. Braising allows thick cuts of beef to tenderize and become flavorful.

Braising is a combination cooking method using both moist and dry heat, typically the food is seared at a high temperature and the cooking process is finished in a covered pot with a variable amount of liquid, resulting in a particular flavour.

A successful braise intermingles the flavours of the foods being cooked and the cooking liquid. Also, the dissolved collagen and gelatins from the meat enrich and add body to the liquid. Braising is economical, as it allows the use of tough and inexpensive cuts, and efficient, as it often employs a single pot to cook an entire meal.

The 4 basics of braising
1. Browning
Brown the meat (preferably in the same pot in which you’ll be braising it) in a single layer on the stovetop in about a tablespoon of olive oil, and transfer to a plate when done. Don’t rush it. The more developed the color, the deeper and more concentrated the flavor of the braise will be.

2. Deglazing
Add aromatics like garlic, shallots, and hardy herbs such as rosemary and thyme, and cook until fragrant and golden. Deglaze the pan with wine, dissolving the tasty brown bits that are stuck to the pan. Add the braising liquid, such as beef broth, and bring to a simmer.

3. Slow cooking
Add the main ingredient back to the pan, cover tightly with a lid, and move to the oven. Cook until the meat and/or vegetables are fork-tender.

4. Finishing
Remove the meat or vegetables from the pan, transfer to a large plate, and cover loosely with foil. Reduce the remaining sauce on the stove top over medium-high heat. Cook for 10 to 20 minutes, or until the liquid has thickened enough to barely coat the back of a spoon. Lower heat, add meat back to the pan, and simmer for about another 5 minutes to heat through.

Duck a L'orange

Ingredients :

• 5-6 lb cut duck
• ½ cup red wine
• 1 tablespoon peeling orange
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 3 tablespoon salad oil
• 1 tablespoon potato starch
• 1 ¼ cups orange juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ¼ teaspoon ginger
• ¹/₈ teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup sections orange

Method :

1. Puncture duckling generously with fork, then place on rack in rosting pan. Pour most of the sweet red wine over duckling pieces.
2. Roast in slow oven about 325^o F, basting occasionally, allowing for about 25 minutes/pound.
3. In medium saucepan, sauté orange peel and garlic in oil. Mix in ginger, pepper and orange sections. Then simmer for about 5 minutes.
4. Serve hot with roast duckling with roast duckling.

Serve 06

Source :
www.homemade-recipe.blogspot.com

Smart Eat

We eat and snacking everyday..
But sometimes we enjoyed our meal until forget about our own health and the impact of what we swallowed..

The Center for Science in the Public Interest just released a report on the state of processed foods and it doesn't like what it found. Only seven cereals and one cheese, for example, were included in the top category of foods, those that met all the nutritional and food safety criteria; not one frozen dinner or fast-food meal was included in that category. The report also told us that frozen and canned fruits and vegetables, fruit-flavored yogurts, and fast food falls into the last-place category of "best of a bad lot".

From this we know that homemade meal is better than fast-food or frozen meal, moreover if we used right ingredients on our meal.

Health food contained no more than 30 percent of calories should come from fat, and no more than 10 percent from saturated fat within it. No foods could be included among the best if they contained artificial colors, aspartame, caffeine, monosodium glutamate, saccharin, sodium nitrite, sulfites or the antioxidants BHA and BHT beacuse it were not appropriate to food safety criteria.
It isn't necessary that each food in a healthful diet contain only 30 percent of its calories from fat; some foods can contain more, others less.

The right thing, of course to eat and feed people that we loved with fresh and well-cooked meal with right ingredients.

Have a health meal!!

source:
www.homemade-recipe.blogspot.com

Make favorite foods 100% success!!

Actually, to make someone impress with food is very simple.All you need to make are good-looking and good smell food, moreover It has to according to appetite person who eat it (Despite you make a very delicious food but it not compatible with person who eat it, it is worthless).

To get all of the "ingredients" to make your food always remembered by the eater, you have to know their appetite!! This point is very important, because despite you make a very delicious food but it not compatible with the eater, it is worthless. For example, you cook very delicious prawn appetizer and serve it with very eye-catching looked. But your eater is allergic to seafood. Your hard work will be all useless.

The second thing to remember is to give some attention to your food's appearance. Because the first things that influence the person who eat your food is the appearance.

Beside that don't forget to add some special spices to your food! Some cookers usually give not enough attention about this. Actually, some people give attention to the smell of the food. They even sometime can't enjoy the meal that smells weird.

Have a nice cook and make them enjoy!

source:
www.homemade-recipe.blogspot.com

Everyone Can Be a Good Cooker

I know everyone can be a good Chef if they follow this simple ways. I get this way from my Experience!! Let's be a chef!!

1. Use your heart to cook.
Cook is not only about look at the recipe and follows the instruction. Cook is also about give happiness and special feeling to the eater. If you just cook without use your heart and feeling, just look at the recipe, do what it say and cook, you may make delicious food. But, you have to know that your creation will be more special if you cook with your feeling. And the most special thing is if you cook with your heart, you will enjoy cook activity.

2. Ask and learned from someone that know more about cook
Learn is never ending journey. This wise word told us to never stop learns, so don't be afraid to ask and learned from someone that can cook better than you. In everyday, there is something that presents to learn. Nothing perfect in this world!! So, kept Try and don’t give up!!

3. Corresponding to people appetite.
If you cook, you are cook to make the eater enjoy and eat "ravenously". So, when you cook, you have to know how your consuming appetite is and appropriate your food with his/her appetite.

4. Don't be afraid to failed, and keep trying.
Sometime, we may fail when cook. But, don't be afraid and keep trying. If you never give up, you will success and make a well-cooked delicious food!

5. Share with others.
Share your cooking experience with other cookers so that you can learn and cook together. Let's share with others in www.homemade-recipe.blogspot.com
Don't forget to share your food creation recipes too..

With this you can be a very good chef. Now your duty is apply all steps and see the results.

Source:
www.homemade-recipe.blogspot.com