Fruit consumption goes down a lot during winters. Most people complain that it is boring to eat fruit in winter, and the real nice ones are too expensive to buy! Now, that’s really like being caught between the devil and the deep blue sea!

Glamorous, good looking fruits like berries and oranges have always hogged a lot of media attention regarding their amazing health benefits, color, and flavor. Most people don’t realize that the humble apple is a little powerhouse of nutrients too. The apple skin is especially packed with antioxidant phytochemicals.

Do you know apple is one of the most widely cultivated fruit trees in the world? But unfortunately people seem to be going off this wonder fruit rich in Vitamin C and numerous other antioxidant compounds.

According to a recent research, if mothers -to-be want to protect their babies from asthma, then they should consume apples regularly. The study also says that quercetin, an antioxidant found in apples, may protect you against illness after intensive exercise or other activity (though, you will need to have about 100 apples a day to get the benefits of quercetin!)

Apples are also believed to reduce the risk of cancer (colon, prostrate, and lung) by preventing DNA damage.

If you are on a diet or a heart patient, then apple is definitely the fruit for you, because compared to its calorie content it is high on fiber and has absolutely no cholesterol.

So, don’t get carried away by any health fads and fashions, and keep yourself glowing and fit by eating an apple everyday!

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Ever given a thought that washing the veggies and fruits bought from the market with water would make them perfectly clean? Sorry to say but the latest tests prove that merely using water as cleansing agent does not leave them all clean.

Some people use vinegar and some even use soap. But are these techniques as effective as they should be? Keeping the same in mind a group of bimonthly American cooking magazine Cook’s Illustrated decided and conducted a small test.

In the test, they washed fruit with just one of the following solutions:

1. Antibacterial soap (not okay as food safety experts maintain that soap isn’t something one should eat)

2. One part vinegar and three parts water

3. Scrubbing with a brush
4. Plain water

After washing the fruit they rubbed a sterilized cotton swab outside the fruit. The leftover grime accumulated on the swabs was then placed in Petri dishes and kept at 80F for many days.

The result obtained show that the best solution is of water and vinegar as it helped getting rid off 98 percent of the germs. The second best option is to use a scrubbing brush as it removed a tiny bit more than just water alone.

To get the same level of cleanliness at your home all one has to do is spray the fruit with sufficient amount of vinegar and then rinse it under the tap. The cold water helps in washing away the residual flavor from the vinegar, and finishes the cleaning process.

Now I leave it up to you to decide that you continue using the traditional way of cleaning fruits and vegetables with plain water or switch over to a vinegar solution.

Source:Allwomenstalk

Ingredients:

¾ cup white sugar
¼-cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
¾ cup pumpkin puree
¼-cup water
1 1/2 whole-wheat pastry flour
¾-teaspoon baking powder
1/2-teaspoon baking soda
¼-teaspoon ground cloves
1-teaspoon cinnamon
¼-teaspoon salt
¼-teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix sugar, oil, eggs in a large bowl. Add pumpkin puree and water. Now add all the dry ingredients and the chocolate chips. Pour the mixture in greased muffin tins until they are 2/3 full with the batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes and your whole-wheat pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are ready to be devoured.

Source:slashfood
Picture:guy sports

Yummy rich chocolate cake, who would not want to bake one? But the thought of the complicated, time-consuming procedure perhaps discourages you to attempt. Here is a no frills simplest recipe for a delicious chocolate cake.

The ingredients are the usual ones but here the mixer does more than half of the job for you. And yet you get a nice soft chocolate cake. If you want to simplify the method further, then avoid making glaze, just smear a thick chocolate sauce over the cake.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup cocoa, plus 1 tablespoon for dusting
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespooons unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter one 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper and dust the pan with 1 tablespoon cocoa. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cayenne and set aside.

In a double boiler over simmering water, melt 6 ounces chocolate and the butter. Set aside. In a large bowl using an electric mixer set on medium high, beat the eggs and sugars until the mixture thickens and increases in volume-about 5 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low, add the chocolate mixture and the vanilla, and beat until combined. Gradually add the four mixture and beat until incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven until cake springs back when lightly touched in the center-30 to 40 minutes.

Make the glaze: Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Invert the cake onto the wire rack, remove the parchment paper, and cool completely. Transfer cake to a serving dish. Melt the remaining bittersweet chocolate and drizzle over the top of the cake.

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Everyone is partial towards burgers. And why not so? They make a complete meal by itself, are tasty, easy-to-hold and eat, some preparation can be done in advance and above all they can be made as nutritious as you want by adding vegetables. Here are 3 very simple recipes for 3 kinds of chicken burgers.

Basic burger, barbecue burgers and teriyaki burgers are the commonest burgers served all over the world. Though the basic taste remains the same, the flavours are distinctly different. Do try all of them and find out which you like the most.

Basic Burgers

1 pound ground chicken breasts
1 medium carrot, grated (1/2 cup)
2 green onions, minced
1 garlic clove, crushed with garlic press
4 hamburger buns, warmed
Sliced cucumber, lettuce leaves, and green onion (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare Basic Burgers: In medium bowl, with hand, mix ground chicken, carrot, green onions, and garlic until evenly combined.

2. On waxed paper, shape chicken mixture into four 3 1/2-inch round patties (mixture will be very soft and moist).

3. Place patties on grill over medium heat and cook about 12 minutes or until juices run clear when center of burger is pierced with tip of knife, turning over once. (If you have a grill with widely spaced grates, you may want to place burgers on a perforated grill topper to keep them intact.)
4. Place burgers on warmed buns. Serve with cucumber slices, lettuce leaves, and green onions if you like.

Barbecue Burgers :
Prepare and cook Basic Burgers as above, but in step 1, add 2 tablespoons chili sauce, 1 tablespoon light (mild) molasses, 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper sauce,* 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to ground chicken mixture.

Teriyaki Burgers:

Prepare and cook Basic Burgers as above, but in step 1, add 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar; 2 teaspoons grated, peeled fresh ginger; and 2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil to ground chicken mixture. (Prepare burger mixture just before cooking to prevent ginger from changing texture of meat.)

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For all those who love salads here is a news to feast on. Reports have it that, a southern Spanish town has tossed what the officials call the World’s Biggest Salad on Saturday.

The salad is said to involve 6,700 kilograms of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, peppers and olives.

The preparation of the salad took three hours with 20 cooks working on it to mix all the ingredients needed to make the salad.

The salad was made in a town of Pulpi in the province of Almeria considered to be one of Spain’s main fruit and vegetable growing area.

Reports have it that this salad will be distributed to all the restaurants in Pulpi who will in turn serve their customers for free.

People of the town surely have a big reason to feast outside in numerous restaurants across the town.

A Guinness Book of World Records judge made his presence felt at the venue where this one of a kind salad was tossed. He confirmed that this is the World’s Biggest salad ever tossed and had set a new record all together.

With the world always setting some extravagant record or the other, this unique record will take some spices from cooks across the world to break. Only time can tell if this record will be broken by any other town in the world.

Since France is considered a paradise for chefs, considering the availability of different kind of experimental cuisines, will a town in this part of the world eye at the record?.

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Adding orange to the coffee might seem to be stretching one’s culinary creativity a bit too far. But, that’s not the case with this recipe. The zingy orange flavour adds just that extra tang to the strong coffee mixture. Also, a very small amount of the added spices give it an added flavour.

The blend of all these ingredients is so smooth that this all-new combination will surely be enjoyed.

Ingredients:

1/4 to 1/3 cup ground coffee beans
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons orange liqueur
2 tablespoons light cream
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions

1. Place a coffee filter in coffee filter basket of 10-cup drip electric coffeemaker. Combine ground beans, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves in coffee filter.

2. Fill carafe with water. Prepare coffee according to coffeemaker directions. Stir in orange liqueur and light cream and/or brown sugar. If desired, garnish each serving with orange wedges. Serve the drinks immediately. Makes 8 (6-ounce) servings.

If you like it cold, then, cool the coffee at room temperature, covered for 2 hours. Later, serve over ice. If desired, stir light cream and/or brown sugar into coffee before serving.

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It’s ironic. No other word is more apt than that. A girl had to sign up for welfare and cash in the food stamps at the grocery store in order to make both ends meet for her four siblings. The experience probably still haunts her. Years down the lane, this same girl is famous. And what do you think makes her famous? — Food.

Yes, we are talking about Sandra Lee. She is the stunning blonde who cooks up a storm in the kitchen. The star of the Food Network’s “Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra”, author of a number of recipe-books including Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade recipes for Gathering, Valentine, Slow Cooker and a host of others.

In a recent interview with ‘The Insider’, Sandra spilled the binge about her indulgence on the food front. She mentioned that she’d just fry up a pound of bacon and gorge. No wonder her weight soon touched 160 pounds.

Well, that’s a dark foody secret form the cooking guru.

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Source: The Insider Online

For the tikka lovers this is a delightful new preparation. The fresh tomatoes and lettuce blend well with the flavoured tikkas and the generous pinch of green and black cardamom seeds and fennel seeds, ground together give the dish a unique taste.
Also, they look great on a formal table spread. So, go ahead and try out these mildly spicy non-vegetarian wraps.

Ingredients

500g chicken breast, skinned, boned and cut into 2.5cm cubes
vegetable oil, for frying
10 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes
2 tbsp melted butter, to baste
8 tortillas
3⁄4 tsp chaat masala (optional)
1 ⁄2 onion, 2 tomatoes and one head of
Little Gem lettuce, all finely sliced
150ml coriander and mint chutney

Marinade

150ml thick yoghurt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
8g fresh ginger, peeled
15g garlic (approximately 8 large cloves), peeled
1⁄4 - 1 ⁄2 tsp red chilli powder, or to taste
3⁄4 tsp garam masala
generous pinch of green and black cardamom seeds and fennel seeds, ground together
3⁄4 -1 tsp salt, or to taste
30g Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
11 ⁄2 tbsp lemon juice
1 egg
2 rounded tbsp gram flour

Blend together the ingredients for the marinade and tip into a non-metallic bowl. Pierce the chicken all over with a fork and add to the marinade. Leave to marinate in the fridge for a few hours, if possible. Bring back to room temperature before cooking. Preheat the grill.

Brush the grill rack liberally with oil and place some foil below to catch any drips. Thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers, spacing them apart so they do not touch. Grill for 6 minutes (using the upper shelf if your grill has that option), turning halfway, then baste with the butter and grill for another minute - the chicken should be slightly charred at the edges and cooked through.

Meanwhile, wrap the tortillas in foil and warm in the oven for 5 minutes while the chicken is cooking. Using a fork, slide the chicken pieces off the skewers onto a plate and sprinkle over the chaat masala, if using. Divide the chicken into eight portions and place each in the middle of a warmed tortilla, top with the vegetables and spoon over 11 ⁄2-2 tablespoons of the chutney. Fold over the top of the tortilla, pull in the sides and continue wrapping. Cut the wrap in half on the diagonal and serve.

Repeat with the remaining tortillas and serve.

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Can something as simple as a carrot be overpriced to an extent that it becomes a rich man’s luxury? Baby Organic Parisienne carrots, being marketed by M&S are all set to hit the British market at a whopping price of £4.83 per kilo, which is almost four times the price charged for supermarket organic carrots, which retail for just £1.11 per kilo.

These fancy looking carrots, which are expected to be a superhit with kids are more than seven times the cost of ordinary supermarket loose carrots, which sell at just 64p per kilo. The producers of this incarnation attribute high prices to its particularly sweet taste and ultra thin peel, which needn’t be taken off. Because of the strong flavor, these carrots are well eaten raw or as carrot fries, with dips or sliced into innovative shapes.

Marks & Spencer, which is exclusively marketing these organic carrots, believes that the fun shape of these 50p-sized carrots will definitely appeal kids.

The sale of Organic carrots has soared up by almost 10per cent this year and it has now become the biggest selling organic vegetable. Parisienne Carrots, which are being grown in the UK are believed to be having countless health benefits. M&S spokesperson attributed the high price to short supply and brief availability in an year.

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