Category: Food

Food

Ten Terms to Know for Cooking

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I wish I could say I love to cook.  Honestly it is the least favorite household chore I do.  I did not grow up in a cooking family.  Our joke was if it didn’t come out of a box and you couldn’t add water our mother didn’t make it. Well, we thought it was funny.  Mom not so much. Even if it was true.

As an adult, I tried to cook a variety of dishes.  Cookbooks were my best friends.  I wish I could say that I have a natural ability to cook, but I don’t. So as I use these cookbooks I also need to understand some of the vocabulary used. Here is a list of ten cooking words that I’ve run across in reading or watching television shows and their meanings.

Albert Sauce: A horseradish sauce with a base of butter, flour and cream.

Alfredo Sauce: A sauce made with heavy cream, butter, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Ceviche: An appetizer from Latin America made of raw fish marinated in citrus juice.

Bearnaise: A sauce made from a reduction of vinegar, wine, tarragon, shallots and finished with egg yolks and butter.

Acai: A dark purple berry from Central and South America that is rich in nutrients.

Cacciatore: Meaning to prepare food “hunter style” with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, herbs and wine.

Aioli: A garlic mayonaisse

Acini de pepe: Is Italian for peppercorns. Pronounced ah-chee-nee dee-Pay-pay which in cooking can mean tiny rice shaped pasta.

Caffeine: An organic compound found to stimulate the nervous system, release insulin, stimulate heart and kidneys, and dilate the blood vessels.

All Spice: A spice named due to the fact it tastes like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. It is taken from the berry of the evergreen pimiento tree from Jamaica.

Happy Cooking!

 

 

Food

10 Cooking Terms for November.

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I know what you are thinking.  It’s November, the food vocabulary must be about Thanksgiving and turkey! Nah, I’m sure you will be sick of the holiday season by now.  I usually get over it by the time Columbus Day rolls around. I think as I get older the holidays hold less importance for me.  Plus my child is getting older.  Anyway, here are more cooking terms to know.

Genoise- A light, rich cake made with sugar,eggs, butter, flour and vanilla.  It is very similar to a sponge cake.

A La King- A diced food meal (poultry) in a rich cream sauce that has mushrooms, pimento, sherry, and green peppers.

Cut In- A way to distribute evenly a solid fat in flour using a cutting motion using either two knives or a pastry blender.

aioli- a garlic flavored mayonnaise.

Buchede Noel- A term in French for a Christmas Cake (similar to a yule log) that is made from Genoise (see above) and covered in buttercream and formed into a log shape and decorated accordingly.

Dice- Cutting food into 1/4″ pieces or smaller (cubes).

Brandy Alexander- A sweet cocktail usually served after dinner and made with brandy, chocolate liqueur and cream.

Macerate- To soak in a flavored liquid, usually for fruit.

Bonne-Bouche- A French for tasty little bite referring to small snacks.

Arrabbiata- An Italian term translating into “angry”, used for dishes with spicy sauce of tomatoes, pancetta, and chiles.

 

Food

Winter Veggies in Season

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What veggies are in season during the winter months? Here is a list of fruit and veggies you can find more readily available during those cold months.

  1. Kale
  2. Parsnip
  3. Turnip
  4. Spinach
  5. Lettuce
  6. Radish
  7. Brussels Sprouts
  8. Squash
  9. Collard Greens
  10. Dates
  11. Grapefruit
  12. Kiwi
  13. Leeks
  14. Mandarin Oranges
  15. Papaya
  16. Oranges
  17. Pear
  18. Pomegranate
  19. Sweet Potatoes
  20. Tangerines
Food

10 Cooking Terms for October

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  1. Acidity- How tart a wine is.
  2.  Body- How heavy or full a wine feels in your mouth.
  3. Jammy-A red wine with a full cooked fruit flavor.
  4. Tennoir -How a growing region effects a wines flavor.
  5. Tekkamaki -Seaweed wrap of Tuna.
  6. Yama -Decorative Garnish.
  7. Odori -Live Sushi topping.
  8. Agani- Tea served at the end.
  9. Confit – Cooked in grease, oil or sugar water.
  10. Chiffonade -French term meaning “made of rags”, refers to thin strips of fresh herbs or lettuce.
Food · Uncategorized

Where to Find Calcium.

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Calcium is a mineral that is a vital part of bones and teeth. The heart, nerves and blood clotting systems also require calcium to work.  Women are often told the are especially prone to calcium deficiency.  You can find calcium in white beans, figs, sardines with bone in, salmon with bone in, bok choy, kale, blackstrap molasses, almonds, oranges, sesame seeds, and oatmeal.  From what I read we need 1000 mg of calcium a day.

Food

10 Cooking Terms to know.

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Clarify- A process of removing impurities from a liquid.  It usually accomplished by skimming the surface of the liquid as it is heated.

Deglaze- The process of loosening, reducing and dissolving the reside remaining in the pan after meat has been sauteed.

Dot- The process involving the placement of small bit or pieces of food over and around food.

Giblets- The edible inside of poultry that includes the organs.

Gluten- A protein found in wheat,oats, rye, and barley.

Herbs du Provence- A seasoning blind that is used to season meat, poultry or vegetable.  No solid rule on what specific herbs to use in mixture.

Infusion- A process that involves the soaking of a substance in hot liquid to extract the flavor.

Parboil- Cooking food in boiling water for only a short amount of time to retain the color, to help preserve nutrients.

Pinch-1/16 of a teaspoon or a dash.

Food · Self

What are anti-oxidants?

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You hear them all the time in the news, in your favorite women’s magazines.  But what are anti-oxidants really?  And why should you care?

Anti-oxidants are a substance that removes potentially damaging oxidizing agents in a living organism.  It reduces damage due to oxygen, such as those that are caused by free radicals.  Some well known anti-oxidants are enzymes, vitamin C and E, and Beta Carotene which are capable of countering the effects of oxidization.  It is theorized that anti-oxidants may also help reduce your risk of cancer and age related macular degeneration.

A few things that you can find anti-oxidants in are Green Tea, Nuts, Tomatoes, and Sweet Potatoes.