Roasting Garlic (KitchenTips)

Posted 30 July, 2001 by PAF-News

First, get the best garlic you can. It should be white, firm, and fresh looking .

Cut off the stem and the top part of the individual cloves to expose all of the cloves.

Place all of the heads in a pan that you can use in an oven. The cut side of the garlic should face up. Pour olive oil on the exposed part of the garlic. Bake in a 200C/375F oven for about 30 minutes or until the garlic begins to soften.

While the garlic is still warm, squeeze the cloves out. They'll pop right out.

You could use roasted garlic to flavour salad oil or to make a vinaigrette for your salad, as a toppping for roasted meat or fish(finely chopped and mixed with fresh parsley) or in dips.

Egg Tips and Ideas (KitchenTips)

Posted 29 July, 2001 by PAF-News

Hard-cooked eggs make a tasty and nutritious ingredient or topping for most vegetables and many casseroles and salads. Stir them into a potato or pasta salad or add to a casserole's cream sauce. Add chopped eggs to croquettes or tuna salad, or stuff tomatoes with your favourite egg salad.

Cooking and Storing Hard Cooked Eggs

Place fresh eggs in a single layer in a saucepan, then cover with water to about 1 inch over the eggs. Bring to a boil, cover, then immediately remove from heat. Drain the boiling water, fill the pan with cold water and let the eggs stand for about 15 minutes. When they have cooled down, you can peel them.
The freshest eggs will be a little more difficult to peel. To make peeling easier, roll the egg over the countertop while applying a little pressure to create many fine cracks. Begin peeling at the large end under cold running water.

Hard cooked eggs in the shell can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks, or up to a week if peeled.

If your eggs get mixed in with the fresh eggs and you're not sure which eggs are raw and which are cooked, spin each on a flat surface. The solid cooked eggs will spin easily; and the raw eggs (with liquid inside) will wobble.

Croatian Cuisine (FoodArticles)

Posted 28 July, 2001 by PAF-News

Having just returned from a weeks holiday on the Adriatic, I thought I will try to make you familiar with the food from this part of the world. For those who don't know, the Adriatic Sea is in Europe, half the coast belonging to Italy, most of the second half to Croatia (part of former Yugoslavia) and the rest of the coast split between Albania and Greece. It is wonderful over there, if nature is what you want from your holiday - beautiful mountains and the sea, all in one place.

But for people who want to explore and try different food, I must say, Croatia could be a big disappointment. In fact, I can't quite say there is Croatian cuisine as such.

Most of the dishes are rather common, grilled meat (burgers, steaks, chicken or turkey skewers) and fish. Hardly any seasonings or spices, and for me, most of it tasted bland. The 'specialities' were represented by grilled squid, mussels, shrimps, lobsters and shellfish, seafood risotto and pasta (strongly influenced by Italian Cuisine or what?!?!).

For starters, you could have a seafood salad (mussels, shellfish, squid and tomatoes), octopus salad (just octopus and tomatoes), a selection of local dry meats and salamis, local cheese (similar to feta cheese) or soup, So, for a salad lover like me, it was yet another disappointment - apart from the ones just mentioned, there was only one other type of salad, safely called 'seasonal salad' made of tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage and onions or whatever else the restaurant had, served with no dressing, but you could make your own by drizzling some vinegar and sunflower oil on top of your salad.

Deserts were mainly represented by 'ice cream cups' - selection of different flavour ice creams, fruit and whipped cream on top, or pancakes.

Perhaps some of you could say, well, this isn't so bad, but trust me, when you haven't got much choice (all restaurants served the same dishes), after a few days you do get ... bored!

PAF NEWS on HOLIDAY UNTIL 27.07.01 (FoodNews)

Posted 19 July, 2001 by PAF-News

Dear All,
just to let you know thatI won't be around from 20th July until 27th July, so please accept apologies for the news section not being updated for a week.

News/Articles/Recipe Postings will resume on the 27th July.

PAF NEWS

British Cuisine (FoodArticles)

Posted 19 July, 2001 by PAF-News

This information is being published following a request by one of our registered users.

Although many consider British Food to be bland and boring, British Cuisine has its typical characteristic. It may not be as spicy as Asian cuisine, not as adventureous as French or Spanish, but it is tasty and British people love it. I am sort of in between Bulgarian, British and Italian cuisine, despite that I live in Britain. So you can have a variety of foods in Britain.

The Brits have long believed in four meals a day. The cuisine has been influenced by the traditions and tastes from different parts of the British empire: teas from Ceylon and chutney, kedgeree, and mulligatawny soup from India. The British nanny has also played a role with her nursery favourites, such as Bread and Butter Pudding, Spotted Dick, and Treacle Tart. Roast beef with Yorkshire Pudding and Plum Pudding are important contributions to international cuisine. Other popular dishes include Cornish Pasties and Beefsteak and Kidney Pie. The English developed a line of spicy sauces including ketchup, mint sauce and Worcestershire sauce.

In the better restaurants, today there is an emphasis on fine, fresh ingredients. Salmon, Dover sole, prawns, game, and lamb are choice items. Wild fowl and game are specialties. But most restaurants will serve the typical English Dishes - beef steak, rump steak, chicken breast, turkey and pork roasts - served with boiled or roast potatos and a selection of boiled vegetables - cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, peas and sprouts. In every little village, you will also find the typical Fish & Chip Shop (selling fish fried in batter and chips) or the Corner Kebab House (becoming increasingly popular as the place to stop on your way home from the pub). Indian and Chinese cuisine are also becoming popular, so popular that food items such as Chicken Curry or Stir Fries are almost part of the British Cuisine, and when I say this, I mean they are offered even in pubs and cooked to suit the British taste and some have nothing to do with the original meals.

Among English cakes and pastries, many are tied to the various holidays of the year. Hot Cross Buns are eaten on Good Friday, Simnel Cake is for Mothering Sunday, Plum Pudding for Christmas, and Twelfth Night Cake for Epiphany. Other deserts include Sponge Cakes, Cheese Cakes, Apple Pie, Vanila Slices, Fresh Cream Buns, Mince Pies. Local specialities include Bath Buns, Chelsea Buns, Eccles Cakes, Banbury Cakes, Staffordshire Oatcakes (similar to pancakes). Cheeses are choice regional specialties, including Stilton, farm-house cheddars and Cheshire Cheese.

A Glossary of Foods and Terms

Tipsy Cake
a sherry-soaked pound or sponge cake with custard and cream

Bubble and Squeak
cabbage and mashed potatoes fried together

Angels on Horseback
oysters wrapped in bacon and grilled

Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding
possibly the most famous dish, prime rib of beef with a puffed flour, egg, and milk pudding

Cornish Pasties
individual potato and meat pies

Fish and Chips
Deep-fried white fish and potatoes

Hot Cross Buns
a yeast bun marked with a frosting cross

Cumberland Sauce
a currant jelly, wine, and mustard sauce

Old English Plum Pudding
a raisin and citron steamed pudding

Welsh Rabbit
the original name for rarebit, the Welsh dish consisting of cheese melted with beer, then poured on toast and broiled

Gammon
mildly cured English ham

Caster sugar
superfine granulated sugar

Golden Syrup
an amber-colored syrup with a consistency of honey, made from refined cane sugar. Substitute one part dark corn syrup mixed with four parts light corn syrup

Dining in England

English Breakfast
The traditional English breakfast is a bountiful event, and generally included in the price of a stay at a bed and breakfast hotel. It includes a glass of orange juice, a bowl of cereal, and a plate of crisply grilled bacon, sausage, or finnan haddie, fried or scrambled eggs, and grilled tomato halves, sautéed mushrooms, and fried bread. A rack of freshly made toast, butter, and marmalade and tea or coffee accompanies.

Lunch in a Pub or as a Picnic
Pubs are located throughout the country and they offer both sandwiches and hot food along with beer and ales. Smoked salmon and cress on brown bread and the Plowman's Lunch, a plate of cheese, chutney, pickles, and bread are classic.

Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea is still a custom for some people, often served between 4 and 6 PM. It can include a plate of delectable little sandwiches -- cucumber, seafood, deviled meat or egg -- scones, buns, tarts and cakes. Tea shops offer scones with clotted cream or Devonshire cream and jam.

Being Vegetarian (FoodArticles)

Posted 19 July, 2001 by PAF-News

Today, science has a better understanding of why fruits and vegetables should be part of a healthy eating plan. You probably enjoy them because they taste nice. Some eat them because they've heard they are actually full of goodness.

As most of us have probably noticed, it is becoming much easier to order vegetarian dishes at your favourite restaurant or buy meat-free products at the supermarket or your local grocery store. Many of these meat-free products are soy-, vegetable-, grain-, or bean-based.

What Research Shows
According to one study, if your diet is high in animal protein and contains fewer foods of vegetable origin, there was a higher risk for heart disease and some cancers. In another study, researchers concluded that substituting some soy protein for animal protein can significantly lower both the total serum cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels. According to another research if soy fiber is added to the diet, a more consistent blood glucose (blood sugar) level may be achieved. Fruits and vegetables provide important nutrients including antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, beta carotene and lycopene. Antioxidants have disease-fighting properties that protect cells from damage by substances called free radicals. Antioxidants work by neutralizing free radicals.

Some Vegetarian Eating Facts
A well-planned vegetarian eating style can be healthful, nutritionally sound, and beneficial for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. A common myth about vegetarian eating is that the diet makes it hard to get certain nutrients, such as protein. Soy products can provide the high quality protein needed for growth and tissue maintenance. Although other bean- or grain-based products are sources of protein, they don't contain the high quality protein found in soy products.

Since many meat-free products are low in fat and cholesterol, they can fit easily into a cholesterol-lowering eating plan.

Meat-free products vary in their nutrient content. Check the Nutrition Facts label for fiber, iron, and calcium. Thiamin, vitamin B-6, folacin, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and others may also be listed.

Meatless food doesn't only consist of "veggie burgers." Consumer demand for more variety has expanded the range of vegetarian choices in the supermarket. Planning nutritious family meals with meat-free products is quick, easy, and economical. For example, ground meat substitutes are easily incorporated into your favourite family recipes for chili, spaghetti sauces, or casseroles.

Source: American Dietetic Association

Garlic Butter in a Squeeze (KitchenTips)

Posted 18 July, 2001 by PAF-News

A quick way to make garlic butter:
Simply take the butter out of the fridge, cut and 1 cm cubes, then peal a few garlic cloves. Take 1 butter cube and 1 garlic clove and put them into your garlic press. It only takes a squeeze to make a perfectly manageable, soft garlic butter in seconds.

Drying Salad and Greens (KitchenTips)

Posted 18 July, 2001 by PAF-News

No need to purchase a spin drier for your salads.

To dry washed greens, put them in a plastic grocery bag lined with several layers of kitchen towels. Then close the bag and spin it around in a loop a few times, like a lasso. The greens are dry and ready to dress.

Nicole Camire
Burlington, VT

Storing Fresh Parsley (KitchenTips)

Posted 17 July, 2001 by PAF-News

If you can't purchase 'Growing Herbs' (as they sell them in the UK) or grow your own, you can still enjoy fresh parsley.

'Simply keep in a jar and it will last for weeks. Remove the band from stems, but don’t rinse parsley. Place it in a clean jar with stems down, replace lid,and refrigerate. Pour off any water that periodically appears in jar. '

J. Danko
Henderson, NV

Heinz completes acquisition of Classico pasta sauce, and Wyler soup and Bouillon lines (FoodNews)

Posted 17 July, 2001 by PAF-News

H. J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ) has completed the acquisition of the pasta sauce and dry bouillon and soup businesses of Borden Foods Corporation. Terms of the transaction, which was first announced in a news release on June 6, were not disclosed.
"These strong and growing businesses perfectly complement our tomato-based expertise and provide numerous marketing opportunities to further build on our success," noted Heinz Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer William R. Johnson.

This acquisition brings to Heinz a group of outstanding brands, including Classico® pasta sauces (the number-one premium brand in the U.S.), Aunt Millie's® pasta sauce, Mrs. Grass® Recipe soups and Wyler® bouillons and soups. In addition, Heinz now has the Catelli®, Gattuso® (under license) and Bravo® pasta sauce brands, which are all Canadian favorites. Sales of these businesses total more than US$270 million in Canada and the United States.

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the company's future performance. These forward-looking statements are based on management's views and assumptions, and involve risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These include, but are not limited to, sales, earnings and volume growth, competitive and industry conditions, production costs, achieving cost savings programs, acquisitions or disposals of business assets and new product and packaging innovations, and other factors described in ``Cautionary Statement Relevant to Forward-Looking Information'' in the company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 3, 2000, as updated from time to time by the company in its subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, any predictions about these acquisitions could be affected by integration problems; failure to achieve synergies; unanticipated liabilities; participation in new business lines; and changes in competitive environment.

ABOUT HEINZ: With sales over US$9 billion, H. J. Heinz Company is one of the world's leading marketers of branded foods to consumers everywhere, whether in supermarkets, restaurants or on the go. Its 50 companies operate in some 200 countries, with more than 20 power brands, including the Heinz® brand with nearly US$3 billion in annual sales. Among the company's famous brands are Heinz®, StarKist®, Ore-Ida®, 9-Lives®, Wattie's®, Plasmon®, Farley's®, Smart Ones®, Bagel Bites®, John West®, Petit Navire®, Kibbles `n Bits®, Pounce®, Pup-Peroni®, Orlando®, ABC®, Olivine®, Juran® and Pudliszki®. Heinz also uses the famous brands Weight Watchers®, Boston Market® and Linda McCartney® under license.

Information on Heinz is available at www.heinz.com.

Source: Press Release/JustFood

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