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Basic Cooking Utensils (Part 2)

Thursday, June 14th, 2007 by The Cooking Guy

Here is the second part on cooking utensils. I have added some tips to help you along.

Utensils and other Oddments

• Spoons are a must, be it big ones or small ones. Whether it’s wooden, metal or plastic is entirely up to you. I would personally go with the wooden or metal spoons, unless you’re getting good quality plastic. The cheaper plastic spoons tend to turn very rubbery on you at the most inconvenient times.

• Knives should be chosen with an eye for quality. Anything less will leave you wallowing with a dull blade and the frustration of not being able to even cut a tomato after a few days. Knives can come as sets or they can be bought individually. If you’re buying your knives individually go first for an 8 inch chef’s knife, a serrated bread knife, and two or three paring knives between 2-3 inches in length.

• No matter what spoon you buy, you should invest in at least one long handled wooden spoon to get you out of a tight corner. These are an invaluable part of your cooking implements.

• A good spatula for all those fry-ups you’re going to be doing!

• A ladle is good for soups and sauces alike

• A whisk for “whisking” up a light and fluffy omelet

• Foil comes in useful for baking and for preserving or storing foods

• Cling film is essential for the odds and ends that always seem to need doing, just be careful not to get it over your hands. It becomes slightly difficult to control then.

• Paper towels can be used for just about anything from patting down wet foods, to sopping up spillages, to draining off the excess oils from fried foods.

Hopefully, you have found this list useful to help you get started in cooking.

Basic Cooking Utensils

Wednesday, June 13th, 2007 by The Cooking Guy

Here, I’ve tried to give you a rundown on some of the essential pots, pans and other oddments that you will need to commence your cooking experience. This list too is by no means complete and I’ve only added a few things for you to get started.

For beginners to amateur chefs it’s essential to have a list of pots, pans, and utensils. It’s important to start with a fully functional kitchen. Here’s a suggested list:

POTS AND PANS

• 1 QUART SAUCE PAN. For boiling small items or reducing a small amount of sauce.
• 3 QUART SAUCER PAN. Rounded bottom makes it easier to stir sauces as they reduce.
• 3 QUART SAUCE PAN. All purpose pan with straight sides and lid, works for pasta sauces and braise as well as sautéing and frying.
• 10 INCH FRY PAN. Sloped sides make flipping fried foods easier. Aluminum is fine, but should be heavy with a thick bottom.
• 8 INCH NON-STICK FRY PAN. For omelets or other delicate dishes. Should be heavy with thick bottom.
• 9 QUART DUTCH OVEN. Enamel coated cast iron pot retains heat well, making it great for slow cooking stews and braises.
• STOCK/PASTA POT WITH STEAMER INSERTS.

SMALL APPLIANCES

• FOOD PROCESSOR. Find a durable brand that will chop and puree evenly.
• SPICE GRINDER. A coffee grinder will do. Designate one specifically for spices so your coffee doesn’t taste like cumin.
• IMMERSION BLENDER. For pureeing soup without having to remove from the pot.
• BLENDER. The fewer the speeds the better; look for a sturdy, lightweight bowl.
• INSULATED RICE COOKER. You can also use this for risotto, pilaf, porridges and polenta.

BAKEWARE

• TWO 9-BY-2 INCH CAKE PANS. Silicone, spring form and drop-bottom versions all release cakes easily.
• 8 OR 12 CUP SILICONE MUFFIN PAN. Non-stick silicone surface and flexibility negates the need for muffin liners.
• 13-BY-9 INCH BAKING PAN. Heavy duty helps brownies and casseroles cook evenly. Pick one 3-4 inches deep for lasagna.
• TWO 3 INCH INSULATED COOKIE SHEETS. Heavy duty pans prevent burning ensures even browning and are less likely to warp.
• TWO 3 SILPAT MATS. These handy reusable non-stick silicone cookie sheet liners fill in for parchment paper.
• 8-BY-8 INCH BAKING PAN.
• 9-INCH PIE PAN. Heat proof glass browns crusts beautifully and won’t mark when you cut slices.
• TWO LOAF PANS. For quick as well as yeast breads.
• COOLING RACKS.
• FLOUR SIFTER.
• ROLLING PIN. Choose between a tapered no-handle version, designed for tolling out round dough’s, or an all-purpose heavy one with ball-bearings handles.
• BAKERS SCRAPER. For handling and cutting dough and cleaning cutting boards.
• PASTRY BLENDER. For cutting butter into flour in pasty dough.
• OFFSET SPATULA. Thin metal spatula for frosting cakes.

UTENSILS

• KNIFE SET. 8 inch chefs and/or 7 inch hollow-edge, 5 inch utility, 4 inch paring, serrated knife. Some prefer the santoku for its ultra thin blade over a French style chef’s knife.
• KITCHEN SHEARS. For butchering poultry, snipping herbs.
• KNIFE BLOCK OR MAGNET. Keeps knife edges sharp and protected.
• CUTTING BOARDS.
• SPOONS. An assortment of wooden spoons as well as a slotted spoon and ladle.
• BALLOON WHISK AND FLAT WHISK. Balloon whisk is for adding volume, flat whisk is for getting into a corner of a pan while stirring sauces.
• SOLID SPATULA, WOK SPATULA. Solid spatulas lift and turn; wok spatulas lift are designed for stir-fries.
• HEAT PROOF SILICONE SPATULAS. For baking or cooking on non-stick surfaces.
• TWO PAIRS OF TONGS IN DIFFERENT SIZES. Look for sturdy ones with locking device.
• VEGETABLE PEELER.
• MICROPLANE GRATER. For efficient grating of zest, nutmeg, and ginger.
• BOX GRATER. For cheese and vegetables.
• PASTRY BRUSHES IN VARIOUS WIDTHS.
• NESTING STAINLESS STEEL MIXING BOWLS. Preferably with rubber non-slip coatings.
• LIQIUD MEASURING CUP SET. 1 cup, 2 cup, 4 cup. Look for one that has numbers that can be read from above.
• STAINLESS STEEL DRY MEASURING CUPS.
• MEASURING SPOONS. Narrow kind fits into spice jars.
• DIGITAL TIMER.
• INSTANT READ THERMOMETER. Easier to read that dial thermometers and gives temperatures quickly.
• OVER THERMOMETER. Helps ensure your oven is calibrated.
• FINE MESH SIEVE. For straining stocks and sauces.
• LARGE COLANDER.
• PEPPER MILL. Fresh ground pepper is always best.

Cooking Measurements

Friday, June 8th, 2007 by The Cooking Guy

Before you start cooking, you need to know how much different measurements mean. So here are some common terms you will come across.

DROPS/TEASPOON

• 10 drops = dash
• dash = less than 1/8 teaspoons (tsp.)
• 1 teaspoon = 6 dashes
• 1 teaspoon = 5 milliliters (ml) 
• 8 teaspoon = 1 ounce (oz.)
• 1 tablespoon (tbsp) = 3 teaspoons (tsp)
• 2 tablespoons = 1 ounce (oz.)

CUPS

• 1/16 cup (c) = 1 tablespoon
• 1/8 cup = 2 tablespoons
• 1/6 cup = 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
• 1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons
• 1/3 cup = 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
• 3/8 cup = 6 tablespoons
• 1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons
• 2/3 cup = 10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
• 3/4 cup = 12 tablespoons
• 1 cup = 48 teaspoons
• 1 cup= 16 tablespoons
• 4 cups = 1 quart

LIQUID MEASUREMENT

• 8 fluid ounces (fl oz) = 1 cup
• 1 pint (pt) = 2 cups
• 1 liter = 4 cups
• 1 quart (qt) = 2 pints
• 1 gallon (gal) = 4 quarts

WEIGHT MEASUREMENT

• 16 ounces (oz) = 1 pound (lb)

LENGTH MEASUREMENT

• 1 milliliter (ml) = 1 cubic centimeter (cc)
• 1 inch (in) = 2.54 centimeters (cm)

Equivalents

1 pound (lb) = 2 cups butter = 4 cups all-purpose flour = 2 cups granulated sugar = 3 1/2 c. powdered sugar = 2 2/3 cups brown sugar = 2 cups milk

Eggs

½ cup = 2 large eggs = 3 medium eggs

Butter

1 lb. = 32 tbsp. 1 lb. = 2 cups ¼ lb. = 1 bar 1 bar = 4 oz. 1 bar = ½ cup

Baking

• 1 pkg. yeast = 1 ½ tsp.

Caramel Popcorn Recipe

Thursday, June 7th, 2007 by The Cooking Guy

Last night, I decided to teach my 5 year old daughter how to make caramel popcorn. This would be her first attempt in making something all by herself. I decided on caramel popcorn because I feel it’s easy as well as good to eat.

We had a blast spending this time together and I suggest it to all parents. It’s a good way to have quality time with your kids as well as preparing them for life out on their own. She did a great job and I decided to share my experience and put the recipe online so others could use it to help teach their kids the love of cooking. If you have any other recipes that are easy for a 5 year old to learn please feel free to post them on this website.

Thanks, and here’s the recipe I used.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb. brown sugar
• 1 cube butter or margarine
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• Popcorn

PREPARATION:
Bring to brown sugar, butter, and syrup to a boil; add 1 can sweetened condensed milk. I continue to cook for another couple of minutes, stirring constantly because it will burn easily. Pour over popcorn.

Of course, if you are not ready to put in some work, you can also get Microwave Popcorn. Seeing how the corn pops can be quite educational too. If you are interested to know how to make popcorn, read the article I have written at ezinearticle.com.

Handy Kitchen Gadgets (Part 2)

Wednesday, June 6th, 2007 by The Cooking Guy

Ok, as promised, here is part 2 of the handy kitchen gadgets.

Colander
This is useful when you’re washing any vegetables for cooking as you can let the water drain off from the washed vegetables by leaving it in the colander. I also use it to drain the water from my pasta by simply pouring in the contents of the pot into the colander which is in the sink.

Timer
This comes in handy for baking, and for when you’re preparing a time consuming dish which you can leave for long periods of time and forget about. And that’s why it’s so handy. With a timer in your kitchen, you won’t be allowed to forget to turn off, turn over, or baste your dish at the right time.

Clock
I have two of these in my kitchen in places where I can easily turn my head and see them. A clock becomes indispensable if you’re dealing with a few different dishes at once and want to keep track of what time you put each one on the fire. In fact a good memory also becomes indispensable at this point!

Grater
You could do all sorts of wonderful things with these little gadgets, although they’re most often used for grating cheese. I use mine to grate potatoes for hash browns, and even carrots and beetroots for all sorts of dishes.

Rolling Pin
Again, this is what you really need for baking purposes. I’ve also found another use for it: I use it to squash cardamoms very quickly without resorting to my mortar and pestle.

Mortar & Pestle
Ever since I found about this little thing, I’ve used it almost daily in my kitchen. It’s great for crushing ginger, garlic, and even mustard seeds or pepper.

Peeler
Every kitchen needs one of these, otherwise you’ll be thrown back to a time when the luxuries of sliced bread didn’t exist, and when you had to peel everything using a knife. Thereby prolonging your time in the kitchen.

Splatter Screen
Not exactly indispensable, but useful if you fry a great many things, like bacon. You can use it as a shield to stop the oil spattering all over you, and afterwards you can cover up the frying pan with it so the oil doesn’t spatter on the stove while you leave it to cook.

These screens come in a few varieties as well as shapes and sizes. You can choose the plastic or silicone spatter screens, or the wire mesh ones. You’ll also find that they come in the perfect sizes to fit each different size of frying pan.

Multi-Lid
I just thought I’d tag this one on, since I’ve have found it to be of great use to me. You wouldn’t believe the amount of lids that just go missing, or are squashed out of shape in my house, so I finally had to resort to the use of a multi-lid.

These lids are generally very large to accommodate the large sized pans, but on the inside of the lid you will find grooves cut at regular intervals going one full circle. These are at certain specified distances so the lid will be able to fit over many different sized pans.

Multi-purpose Mixer /Grinder & Blender
I decided to lump all of these together for the simple fact that sometimes you will come across one large all-encompassing gadget that implements everything into its features but the kitchen sink.

Some people swear by these things, whether they come separately or as a package deal. But I don’t tend to use mine overly much since I’m not all that fond of washing these up. To me, although they might help with the cooking preparations, they still leave quite a bit to wash.

Juicer
I love juice of any type or variety, and I especially love and prefer the fresh kind. So one day while I was staring longingly at the juicer of my dreams, I did a bit of quick mental arithmetic.

And I came up with the astonishing fact that by buying myself a juicer, I wasn’t really spending any extra money. I was already spending quite a bit on fresh smoothies and juices, not to mention the store bought, carton varieties, so ultimately it would all even out.

Metal rack, or Trivets
These are essential for you to place your hot pots and pans on, when you take them off the fire. These will keep your tables and work surfaces from being damaged. And there is an amazing variety of these to choose from and you will definitely be able to find one to fit in with your décor.

Spoon Rest
This is a lovely little gadget that keeps your spoons from dripping their contents onto your counters while you’re still in the middle of cooking.

Spice Rack
This is a must for anyone who loves their spices and has a vast collection of spice bottles. Like me! It saves space and helps you to keep track of the multitude of spice bottles.

There are many gadgets that you can use in the kitchen, and I’ve got a feeling that I’ve covered only one tenth of what’s available. Some of these gadgets are useful, and some are just plain frivolous and fun, but what they all have in common is that they try to serve some purpose in your kitchen.

Handy Kitchen Gadgets

Monday, June 4th, 2007 by The Cooking Guy

Here are some handy gadgets that can help you keep track of all your measuring or kitchen needs. Before you dash out to get them, be sure that these gadgets meet your needs or else you might just end up having a kitchen full of useless gadgets.

Kitchen Calculator
It might look like just another ordinary calculator, but it’s really a measurement conversion calculator in disguise. This is top of my list because if you don’t want to keep going through my list of measurements, all you’ll need is this calculator.

Measuring Spoons
These are a must, especially if you’re going to be heavily into cooking. You can find measuring spoons ranging from the inexpensive plastic variety to the more stylish, and slightly more expensive, stainless steel variety. They’re both the same and they both do the same job. It just depends on your sense of style or flair. I went and bought myself a set of the stainless steel variety, having finally become bored with the plastic ones which have been with me since time immemorial.

Measuring Cups
These are also an indispensable part of your cooking program, but you can also get away with having just one measuring jug. Although I was tempted by the set of measuring cups that I saw the other day, I restrained myself, because all I really need is my good old Pyrex measuring jug.

Anything else is unnecessary for me, although if you don’t want to spend time finding out if you have exactly 1 cup of whatever, or if you’ve poured out something that looks like a cup and half, then these are good for you. They work along the same lines as the measuring spoons do, in that you have separate cups for the different measurement values.

Scale
You don’t really need this one unless you’re going to be doing a lot of baking. In which case, this becomes an indispensable tool in your kitchen.

Pepper Grinder
You have a choice here. You can either go with ready-ground pepper, in which case you won’t need any type of gadget. Or you could go with an electric hand held grinder or even a pepper mill. With the grinder you have the least work, and you just need to turn it on. The pepper mill requires a little more work on your part, but is just as good as the grinder.

The advantage I found with both of these over the ready-ground variety of pepper is that for one thing you can control the coarseness of your pepper, and for another, you’ll be getting freshly ground pepper every time.

Can opener
This is a must for those cans that don’t come with a “lift here” tab. Here as well you have a choice. You can go for the manual can opener or the electric variety. It all depends on how many cans you’re going to be opening. If you regularly use cans in your cooking then I would suggest you go for the electric can opener.

Garlic Press
This is ideal if you don’t want the hassle of peeling and chopping your garlic.

Oil Drizzler
I just love all these odd shaped jars and bottles that allow you to drizzle the oil in the quantity that you wish without having half of the bottle tip over into your pan. Needless to say I have a variety of those as well, and I put them all to good use.

I use them for my olive oils, my normal cooking oils, vinegar, and I’ve even kept a special one aside with a tightly sealing lid, for my honey.

Chopping Board
This is a must and something that I should have placed at the beginning! Without this you might as well be chopping foods and stuff on your counters or table tops. As usual you have a choice. You can go with a wooden chopping board, a plastic chopping board or a coated-glass chopping board.

I don’t like the glass one since it makes a loud noise when I’m chopping, and I don’t use the plastic ones any more because they get a used and dirty look very fast, especially if you’re cooking on a daily basis.

The Wooden Cutting Board is the one I prefer, and although it might also become stained, it still retains its aesthetic sense of appeal for me.

Sieve
Again, this is a must if you’re doing any baking as the flour needs to be sifted first before use.

There you have it- some of my favorite kitchen gadgets. I will probably post another article on gadget since there is simply too many to be listed here.

Mexican Fried Rice - The Health Benefits

Monday, June 4th, 2007 by The Cooking Guy

Apart from the amazing contrasts in tastes in this very satisfying meal, Mexican Fried Rice is also crammed with good things for your body.

Vegetables
Every single vegetable has health benefits and cooking them gently in an oven preserves most of the vitamins and minerals, whilst intensifying the flavor.

Most vegetables lose vitamins and minerals when cooked, which is why cooking should be as gentle and as sparing as possible. However, carrot is one vegetable which actually benefits from cooking, as this breaks down the cells and allows it to release more of the beta-caratone (which provides the orange color). Beta-caratone is a pre-cursor of Vitamin A, which the body can use to safely produce just sufficient Vitamin A for its needs. Getting your Vitamin A this way avoids the possibility of overdosing on this vitamin, which is a possibility with Vitamin A pills.

Garlic
Garlic is, of course, well known as a cholesterol buster and strengthener of blood vessels, as well as being anti fungal and anti-bacterial. The most active ingredient in garlic is allicin, which is released when the clove is crushed, so by gently roasting the clove whole, this wonder food still retains some of it’s tremendous health giving benefits, whilst becoming far more palatable than when raw!

Onion
Onions are a member of the garlic family and so also a powerful anti-oxidant, combating the free radicals which — literally– make our bodies rust up. Although we use white onions in this dish, you can use red, yellow or white onions — or all three! Red and yellow onion, whilst not having such a strong flavor as the white, are more beneficial, being the richest dietary source of quercetin, which is a potent antioxidant and sedative (also found in shallots).

Sweet Peppers
The body cannot store Vitamin C, so it’s necessary to have a daily intake of this vital element. Sweet Peppers (particularly the bright red ones) are an excellent source of Vitamin C and a medium sized red sweet pepper provides more than three times the recommended daily intake.

By only cutting the pepper into large slices and lightly roasting, you minimize the loss of this valuable vitamin. Sweet peppers also contain capsaicin which appears to have the ability to stop damaging cell changes.

Cauliflowerets
The cauliflowerets are one of the cruciferous family of vegetables, which also include cabbage, broccoli, spinach and Brussels sprouts. Scientists are investigating the phytochemical, called suloraphane, found in this group of vegetables. Suloraphane appears to have the ability to detoxify carcinogenic molecules in cells by activating phase 2 enzymes, which are naturally occurring proteins preset in human cells. The most effective of this group of vegetables is Brussels sprouts.

Butter Beans
Butter beans and chick peas are full of soluble fiber, which helps combat cholesterol.

Celery
Celery, is one of the mainstays of cooking in the southern United States and has been used as a remedy for high blood pressure since 200BC. It works by reducing concentrations of stress hormones, which cause the blood vessels to contract.

Rice
Whilst brown rice is more beneficial than white, this dish does taste better with white rice. However, white rice also has merit, so there’s not much harm in having it once in a while. An American professor compared the eating habits of large group of folk with their health and found that those who eat large amounts of rice plus beans and sweet corn enjoyed low rates of colon, breast and prostate cancer.

Mexican Fried Rice Recipe

Sunday, June 3rd, 2007 by The Cooking Guy

Here is a simple Mexican Fried Rice Recipe for you.

Servings: For 2 people
Ingredients:

• 2 oz (50 gms) dried chick peas or 4 oz (100 gms)canned chick peas
• 4oz (100 gms) canned butter beans
• 4oz (100 gms) plum tomatoes either fresh or canned.
• 5oz (125 gms) white Basmati Rice
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 red sweet pepper
• 1 zucchini
• 1 celery stick
• 2 carrots
• 2 onions, white or red or one of each
• 6-8 cauliflowerets
• 6 cloves of garlic

Steps:
Unless you are using canned chick peas, take the dried peas and soak overnight in about 3/4 pint of water. Next day, when the peas have swollen up, boil for about 45 minutes, topping up with fresh water, if necessary.

Chop all the vegetables into large pieces and lay out in a large baking pan and cover with olive oil. This can either be extra virgin olive oil or simply virgin olive oil. The one exception are the cloves of garlic, which require less cooking time and so will be put in later.

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 190c or 375f. After twenty minutes cooking, add the garlic cloves, making sure to baste them with some of the olive oil.

Boil the Basmati Rice in about one pint of water. This should take about ten minutes.

Make the chili sauce by adding the chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper into a jug with 2-3 fluid ozs of water and stir well.

Put the chick peas, butter beans and tomatoes into a pan and mix thoroughly. Then pour in the chili sauce and stir the mixture. Heat this up on the stove for about ten minutes.

Put half the boiled rice in the center of the two plates and top off with half the chili mixture. Add the roasted vegetables in a circle around the rice.

There you have it. Isn’t that a simple dish to do? If you are interested to know about the health benefits of Mexican Fried Rice, do look out for my next post. If you want to see how to prepare it, click here to view Mexican Fried Rice video.

Basic Food You Should Have For Cooking

Saturday, June 2nd, 2007 by The Cooking Guy

Here is a list of the common food items you should have in your kitchen.The list is by no means complete but it will hopefully be able to start you off on the right foot.

• Salt
• Pepper
• Onions
• Garlic
• Tomatoes
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Basil
• Chocolate
• Pasta
• Noodles
• Peanut Butter
• Butter
• Oil
• Sugar
• Shredded coconut
• Flour
• A few jars of ready made spaghetti sauce
• A few canned soups
• Frozen Pizzas
• Honey
• Ginger
• Baking powder
• Yeast
• Ketchup
• Cheese
• Tea
• Coffee
• Milk
• Brown Sugar

I know this is quite a list but all kitchens should have these basic food so that any simple cooking can be done.

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