Using fresh herbs in a variety of ways

Herbs are fun and easy to grow. When harvested they make even the simplest meal seem like a gourmet delight. By using herbs in your cooking you can easily change the flavors of your recipes in many different ways, according to which herbs you add. Fresh herbs are great in breads, stews, soups or vegetables. Every time you add a different herb you have completely changed the taste. If you are a beginner start slowly, add just a little at a time adjusting as you go along until you have it just right. You will see in most instances that an individual herb is associated with a particular food item. Basil is paired with tomatoes, Oregano with sauces, Rosemary with lamb and Chives with butter or cream cheese. Of course, none of them are limited to these items, but you will see them paired most often with that particular food. Use your imagination and experiment, experiment, experiment! You can make herb vinegars for salad dressings, marinades, or soups. Herb oils are very useful in cooking whenever a recipe calls for it. Fresh herbs as garnishes dress up any dish making it look truly spectacular. Lay individual sprigs of rosemary over broiled lamb chops. Chop fresh parsley and sprinkle it over the top of your potato salad. The combinations are endless and the outcome delicious. Fresh herbs will keep in the refrigerator for several days but then you must freeze them. They can be frozen by laying them a paper towel and putting them in a plastic bag. Once they are frozen only use them in cooking not as garnishes. A friend of mine washes them, puts them an ice cube tray, covers them with water and then freezes them. When she needs them for soup, stews or sauces she just drops a cube in. My favorite herbs to grow are basil, oregano, lemon balm, parsley and mint. Mint is great but be careful, mint can over run your garden. A tip here would be to bury an empty coffee can and plant the mint in it. The can prevents the mint from “creeping” all through your garden. I love to make herb butters. Take a half of a cup of softened butter and mix in about 4 tablespoons of a fresh herb. Lay out a piece of saran wrap, place the butter in the middle roll the saran wrap up to form a “log” out of the butter. Put in the refrigerator and anytime you need a pat of butter just cut it off the “log”. (Hints for “log” butter: potatoes, bread, steaks, noodles or any kind of sauce). A fresh herb in any salad dressing really makes it sparkle. You can use any herb or a combination, be creative. I learned a trick a long time ago using basil, lemon and avocados to create and instant natural face mask. Put a big handful of basil in a blender and run it on high. Once the basil has been pulverized, throw in a half of an avocado and a large teaspoon of lemon juice, mix until smooth. Wash your face, pat it dry and gently rub the avocado mixture on. Leave it on as long as you like, then use warm water to it wash off. These are just a few ways you can use fresh herbs from your garden. I am sure you will come up with many more. Happy planting. Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved. This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

What you should know about specialty coffee and tea

Coffee and tea has long been a traded commodity in the orient. It has been considered as a drink only for royalties and kings. These two commodities are processed in almost the same manner for it to become a soothing and relaxing drink. Knowing Good Quality Specialty Coffee and Tea Specialty coffee and tea should be made from the best coffee beans and tea leaves in the market. Coffee and tea experts believe that the best brews come from homegrown and handpicked batches. But this handpicking process can just be a myth since it really does not affect how the taste and texture comes out. The one thing that could affect the flavor and texture of coffee and tea is the climate since this can affect the humidity and moisture of the raw products. It is important to know the quality of specialty coffee and tea since top quality produce are prized at a bigger rate than that of mediocre quality ones. Having to know the difference can give you the edge in the specialty coffee and tea market by going to specialty coffee and tea shops that are willing to give you the right value for your money. A good hint to detect a medium or a mediocre type of specialty coffee and tea commodity is the smell of burnt beans from roasting. These kinds of produce are intentionally burnt because it gives out a good flavor if it is in this state. Adding Flavor to Your Specialty Coffee and Tea In the past decade the specialty coffee and tea business has exponentially grown. Many specialty coffee and tea shops have been sprouting and eating up each other’s neighborhood market shares; each of then brewing and concocting their own original flavors and mixes. The way coffee and tea is consumed has drastically changed over the years. Before coffee and tea was only taken hot and straight out of the coffee maker or from an instant foil pack. Now, specialty coffee and tea drinks are made hot or cold depending on the consumer’s preference. Vast variety of flavors and other ingredients such as grounded biscuits and whip creams are added to the drink to have that perfect specialty coffee and tea concoction. But these are just flavors and ingredients to enhance the specialty coffee and tea experience. A good flavored specialty coffee and tea should not be overpowered by the taste of its other ingredients. The aroma, texture and flavor of the original coffee and tea must still be present to give coffee and tea drinkers the full experience.

Chocolate fondue fountain buying chocolate

Most people don't put much effort into buying chocolate for a chocolate fondue fountain. Perhaps they have a few bags of chocolate chips on hand or they'll even buy some of those brick sized chocolate bars. Sure this will work fine and the whole fountain concept will still impress your party guests. But true chocolate aficionados use gourmet chocolate in their fountains and you can definitely taste the difference. Melting regular supermarket chocolate chips is not an option in the most popular home versions of the chocolate fondue fountain. The chocolate will be too thick and if it can actually be pumped to the top of the fountain, you won't get that cascading waterfall effect that these machines are famous for. Plain chocolate will just drip if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, it will clog your fountain, leaving you with a few pounds of chocolate that needs to be melted with hot water before you can use your fountain again. When using regular chocolate, you will need to add a significant amount of vegetable oil in order for the chocolate to be fluid enough for the fountain to work. The best way to melt supermarket chocolate is with a double boiler. For every two pounds of chocolate, you should slowly add one cup of vegetable oil while stirring. If you can handle your double boiler and an electric mixer at once, then the mixing won't be too hard. You probably won't need the entire cup of oil so add it slowly and stop when you think the chocolate looks right. But don't forget that you can't add more oil when the chocolate is already in the fountain. So if you are in doubt, add more oil. The easiest way to set up your chocolate fondue fountain is to use couverture chocolate. Couverture is a French word that means to cover. Courverture chocolate is usually used for making candies or for dipping so it's perfect for a chocolate fountain. It's made with a higher percentage of cocoa butter than normal chocolate and melts to a smoother texture. Couverture chocolate will give you that elegant looking waterfall effect without any additional oil or mixing required. The only drawback is that it's very expensive when compared to supermarket chocolate. Melting couverture chocolate is the same as regular chocolate. Either use a double boiler or a microwave. Since you won't be adding any additional oil or using the electric mixer, the microwave can work great. Set the microwave for a minute at a time and stir in between. Whoever decided that turning a chocolate fondue fountain into a home appliance should be given a medal. Why save the chocolate fountain for weddings and other large parties when you can now set it up every weekend. If you are having a birthday party or a barbeque, why not add some pizzazz to the event with a chocolate fondue fountain. Whether you choose expensive couverture chocolate or regular supermarket chocolate chips, it's sure to taste delicious.