Where were you in the blizzard of 2010? We had just arrived in Vermont, borrowing a generous friend's house for a few days. We were down a long, unplowed track, snowed in with a couple of feet of snow. It was absolutely gorgeous, lean birch trees stark against a spread of bright white, icicles dangling from the eaves.
But what about dinner?
Luckily we'd brought eggs, bread, and milk, not knowing how far we'd be from the nearest store. We ended up feasting on French toast.
I hadn't thought about pantry staples in a while. When you're in your own home, you tend to keep the basics you'd need at hand without having to think about it.
My 10 basics:
Bread
Milk
Eggs
Pasta
Canned tomatoes
Cheese
Chocolate (ahem)
Frozen mixed veggies
Beans
Rice
What are your pantry essentials? Does your list match mine? Have you ever been stranded with an odd selection of ingredients and how did you convert them into dinner?
For more info- http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2010/12/top-10-foods-for-when-youre-snowed-in.html
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Practical information to Chinese tea
Tea culture is one of my favorite things about China. Be thousands of years and serves as a means, not only to heal and strengthen the body, but also a central coordinating body in Chinese culture, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world after water. Now that you’re in China, it is not a bad thing for you knowing more about tea of China. The four common styles of tea, in order from least oxidized to most oxidized, are White, Green, Oolong and Black.
White Tea is comparatively unprocessed in comparability with other teas, and may be permitted to oxidize quite little. The identify arrives previous your fact that most white tea essentially is white and grayish searching and commonly times have small white fuzzy hairs covering the leaf. White tea create quite pale eco-friendly or yellowish liquor while are almost definitely the most delicate in flavor and aroma. A tasty, but affordable daily white tea you possibly can consume is often called White Peony in pinyin Bai Mu Dan.
Green Tea is normally subjected to some multi-step treatment of steaming, pan-firing, and/or rolling before getting dried to freeze the oxidation process. Small oxidation happens in most eco-friendly teas, as well as in inclusion they are differentiated from white tea largely by means of the additional ways of manipulating or digesting the leaf before drying. In China, one previous your most good recognized eco-friendly tea is Dragon Well, pinyin: prolonged Jing, from Hangzhou. The Chinese language program commonly wants to consume eco-friendly tea previous your tall glass. It usually could be brewed 3-4 times.
Oolong Tea also goes by means of a multi-step treatment of steaming, pan-firing or rolling. While in contrast to eco-friendly tea it’s permitted to “wither” which offers the leaf time to oxidize. Oolongs usually range between 20% and 80% oxidization. Oolongs usually tend to be more powerful and bolder in flavor than eco-friendly or White tea and existing much less astringency than both the more powerful black color and lighter eco-friendly teas. Oolong’s sleek and plentiful flavor has a tendency to allow it to be an ideal tea for new tea drinkers.
Black Tea goes by means of an equivalent digesting to eco-friendly and Oolong tea but is permitted to oxidize much more completely. The brewed liquor of your black color tea ranges in between darker brown and deep red. Black color tea commonly contain the strongest flavor and, in some cases, best astringency. Westerners usually increase handsome and milk to their black color teas, however the Chineselanguage program frown upon this. consume a high class loose leaf back once more tea immediate and you also might recognize why the Chinese language program by no signifies need to increase milk or handsome to their tea.
The most recognized black color tea in China is Wuyishan’s huge red-colored Robe, recognized in course of Chinese language program as Da Hong Pao. This tea could possibly get pretty expensive, but purchaser bewares, there may be essentially loads of phony Da Hong Pao covering the market. It attributes a honey like flavor that’s unforgettable.
Actually there is a common arguement that some consider Da Hong Pa a black tea and some consider it an oolong. This can also depend on the fermentation of the Da Hong Pao as well. The real traditional Da Hong Pao is more fermented and thus classified as a black tea.
This article is taken from- http://ezinearticles.cz.cc/practical-information-to-chinese-tea/
White Tea is comparatively unprocessed in comparability with other teas, and may be permitted to oxidize quite little. The identify arrives previous your fact that most white tea essentially is white and grayish searching and commonly times have small white fuzzy hairs covering the leaf. White tea create quite pale eco-friendly or yellowish liquor while are almost definitely the most delicate in flavor and aroma. A tasty, but affordable daily white tea you possibly can consume is often called White Peony in pinyin Bai Mu Dan.
Green Tea is normally subjected to some multi-step treatment of steaming, pan-firing, and/or rolling before getting dried to freeze the oxidation process. Small oxidation happens in most eco-friendly teas, as well as in inclusion they are differentiated from white tea largely by means of the additional ways of manipulating or digesting the leaf before drying. In China, one previous your most good recognized eco-friendly tea is Dragon Well, pinyin: prolonged Jing, from Hangzhou. The Chinese language program commonly wants to consume eco-friendly tea previous your tall glass. It usually could be brewed 3-4 times.
Oolong Tea also goes by means of a multi-step treatment of steaming, pan-firing or rolling. While in contrast to eco-friendly tea it’s permitted to “wither” which offers the leaf time to oxidize. Oolongs usually range between 20% and 80% oxidization. Oolongs usually tend to be more powerful and bolder in flavor than eco-friendly or White tea and existing much less astringency than both the more powerful black color and lighter eco-friendly teas. Oolong’s sleek and plentiful flavor has a tendency to allow it to be an ideal tea for new tea drinkers.
Black Tea goes by means of an equivalent digesting to eco-friendly and Oolong tea but is permitted to oxidize much more completely. The brewed liquor of your black color tea ranges in between darker brown and deep red. Black color tea commonly contain the strongest flavor and, in some cases, best astringency. Westerners usually increase handsome and milk to their black color teas, however the Chineselanguage program frown upon this. consume a high class loose leaf back once more tea immediate and you also might recognize why the Chinese language program by no signifies need to increase milk or handsome to their tea.
The most recognized black color tea in China is Wuyishan’s huge red-colored Robe, recognized in course of Chinese language program as Da Hong Pao. This tea could possibly get pretty expensive, but purchaser bewares, there may be essentially loads of phony Da Hong Pao covering the market. It attributes a honey like flavor that’s unforgettable.
Actually there is a common arguement that some consider Da Hong Pa a black tea and some consider it an oolong. This can also depend on the fermentation of the Da Hong Pao as well. The real traditional Da Hong Pao is more fermented and thus classified as a black tea.
This article is taken from- http://ezinearticles.cz.cc/practical-information-to-chinese-tea/
Everyone Should Eat More Chocolate!
The ‘candy of love’ is what you seek out when you lose a love. And we love to love it. Chocolate! Those that love chocolate now have more reasons to savor their favorite snack.Some medical experts are now calling dark chocolate Healthy Chocolate a “super-food,” and for good reason. A daily chocolate can help you enjoy a healthier life. And that’s good news for anyone who’s ever had the craving for the taste of smooth, delicious chocolate.
In men, consumption of dark chocolate with a sensible diet plan may improve cardio system function. Dark chocolate has some powerful antioxidants in its key ingredient, cacao. These compounds fight free-radicals in your body and can help reduce blood pressure and even lower the likelihood of future heart attacks. Some studies suggest that two servings (one ounce each) every day may offer the benefit of lower risk for heart attack. Tyramine and Phenylethylamine are bioactive compounds found in chocolate that can improve brainfunction and provide that instant engergy charge. In fact, Men’s Health Magazine called dark chocolate an “instant energy bullet” in an article called “What to Eat When you Work Out.”
Many women crave chocolate when they have a hormonal change or feel stressed out. Now, there may actually be a scientific reason for that. According to a 2009 study, eating just an ounce and a half of dark chocolate every day for two weeks actually reduced the level of stress hormones in people who were experiencing high anxiety.
Chocolate also stimulates endorphin production and contains serotonin, so you just feel better after eating it. Dark chocolate contains caffeine and other stimulants, so you’re alert as well. For the most ‘bliss’ per bite, select chocolate containing at least 75% cacao. Of course no one suggests that you should get out and feast on brownies and triple layer cake. Possible results of this are an increased risk of diabetes as well as increased waistline. It is the dark chocolate that one can eat without guilt – even as a daily indulgence. The antioxidants contained in dark chocolate can also reduce stroke risk as well as lower blood pressure.
Milk or white chocolate requires a high degree of processing which removes many of chocolate’s health benefits. Dark chocolate though, requires less processing and leaves these benefit producing substances in place. The high amount of cacao derivative contained in chocolate includes antioxidants called flavonoids – which are believed to make blood vessels more flexible. Blood vessels may become less likely to support the buildup of plaque within them. These antioxidants are similar to those in berries, green teas and red wine.
You should still keep yourself from going overboard, according to doctors, because of the fat and calories that come in chocolate. By keeping your chocolate intake in balance, and perhaps cutting back on other high-calorie foods, you can indulge every day and stay healthy at the same time. Not a bad compromise, if you consider the cancer and disease fighting properties in a yummy piece of chocolate, after that apple. What’s more, you could actually see a change in your blood pressure, and boost the antioxidants that can help your body ward off disease in the future.
This article is taken from- http://ezinearticles.cz.cc/everyone-should-eat-more-chocolate/
In men, consumption of dark chocolate with a sensible diet plan may improve cardio system function. Dark chocolate has some powerful antioxidants in its key ingredient, cacao. These compounds fight free-radicals in your body and can help reduce blood pressure and even lower the likelihood of future heart attacks. Some studies suggest that two servings (one ounce each) every day may offer the benefit of lower risk for heart attack. Tyramine and Phenylethylamine are bioactive compounds found in chocolate that can improve brainfunction and provide that instant engergy charge. In fact, Men’s Health Magazine called dark chocolate an “instant energy bullet” in an article called “What to Eat When you Work Out.”
Many women crave chocolate when they have a hormonal change or feel stressed out. Now, there may actually be a scientific reason for that. According to a 2009 study, eating just an ounce and a half of dark chocolate every day for two weeks actually reduced the level of stress hormones in people who were experiencing high anxiety.
Chocolate also stimulates endorphin production and contains serotonin, so you just feel better after eating it. Dark chocolate contains caffeine and other stimulants, so you’re alert as well. For the most ‘bliss’ per bite, select chocolate containing at least 75% cacao. Of course no one suggests that you should get out and feast on brownies and triple layer cake. Possible results of this are an increased risk of diabetes as well as increased waistline. It is the dark chocolate that one can eat without guilt – even as a daily indulgence. The antioxidants contained in dark chocolate can also reduce stroke risk as well as lower blood pressure.
Milk or white chocolate requires a high degree of processing which removes many of chocolate’s health benefits. Dark chocolate though, requires less processing and leaves these benefit producing substances in place. The high amount of cacao derivative contained in chocolate includes antioxidants called flavonoids – which are believed to make blood vessels more flexible. Blood vessels may become less likely to support the buildup of plaque within them. These antioxidants are similar to those in berries, green teas and red wine.
You should still keep yourself from going overboard, according to doctors, because of the fat and calories that come in chocolate. By keeping your chocolate intake in balance, and perhaps cutting back on other high-calorie foods, you can indulge every day and stay healthy at the same time. Not a bad compromise, if you consider the cancer and disease fighting properties in a yummy piece of chocolate, after that apple. What’s more, you could actually see a change in your blood pressure, and boost the antioxidants that can help your body ward off disease in the future.
This article is taken from- http://ezinearticles.cz.cc/everyone-should-eat-more-chocolate/
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