November 8th, 2021 Blog, Breakfast, Dessert, Special Recipes Comments Off on Fresh Whipped Cream Picture Book Recipe

Fresh Whipped Cream Picture Book Recipe



Fresh Whipped Cream

What doesn’t go great with fresh whipped cream? I often have the vat-sized measuring cup you see below in the fridge good to go whenever I need it: in coffee, on pancakes, French toast or with fresh fruit – and it’s incredibly easy to make!

The secret to whipping cream as quickly as possible is using cold ingredients: fresh heavy whipped cream straight from the refrigerator and, if you have time, even using a freezer-chilled mixing bowl or measuring cup, as shown below.

Here are the only 3 ingredients and pieces of kitchen equipment you need.

Click this link or any picture on this page for a complete step-by-step picture book recipe.

October 29th, 2021 Blog Comments Off on Margarita Cocktail – all in Pictures

Margarita Cocktail – all in Pictures

Was speaking with Tom, one of the good people running our local Hickory, NC, ABC store and a big Margarita fan, about the need to use quality ingredients to make a Margarita cocktail the full-on flavorful way it was meant to be made. Though no one agrees on that exact origin of this wildly popular cocktail, the “original” Margarita recipe calls for only the following 3 ingredients/ratios (minus the salt on the glass rim that I never use): 1 part lime juice, 1 part orange liqueur and 2 parts tequila.

Considering that tequila makes up half the drink and is, therefore, the Margarita flavor driver, I strongly agree with the dead-on accurate advice I’ve gotten from my good friend and well-trusted Julio’s Liquors owner, Ryan Maloney, and his staff, as well as what I’ve read in print and on-line that the best tequila to use to make a Margarita is 100% pure agave blanco (white) tequila, like the one shown in the photo above. As an alternative, and to make a less dry (sweeter) drink, you can use reposado tequila, which gets its name from “resting” (that’s what “reposado” means)in oak barrels for 2-24 months.

Once you’ve decided to use good tequila, I certainly recommend not ruining it with low grade orange liqueur, like run-of-the-mill triple sec. Instead, use a higher grade orange liqueur, which, yes, is more expensive but is well worth the price if you want a crisp, clean, explosively flavored Margarita. My go-to orange liqueur, which was recommended by my same Julio friends, is Pierre Ferrand Orange Curaçao, which has a flavor very much like Grand Marnier but is not as syrupy sweet.

Finally, there’s no substitute for fresh lime juice even if you don’t have a citrus juicer and have to squeeze the lime by hand.

Here’s what I use to make a fresh Margarita:

Click this link or any picture on this page for a complete fresh Margarita picture book recipe – and enjoy! (Tom, I appreciate the fun talk the other day!)

September 13th, 2021 Blog, Cycling Food, Dessert, Fitness Food, Running Food Comments Off on Fresh Banana-Mango Ice Cream Picture Book Recipe

Fresh Banana-Mango Ice Cream Picture Book Recipe

Last post showed how to make very quick & easy – and fully flavorful – simple banana ice cream made with only bananas, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon. This recipe takes that banana ice cream from simple to exciting by adding fresh mango, coconut flakes, raisins – and even rum-soaked raisins (they go GREAT with this!). Of course, like any recipe you see here, the added ingredients I just mentioned, though they work terrifically well together, are just suggestions. You can substitute mango with pineapple, blueberries, or strawberries. You can use any kind of dried fruit and add chocolate chips or chocolate powder – and much more. So, use your imagination to make your full-on banana ice cream the way you want to suit your taste and dietary needs.

Here are the ingredients I use (yep, rum raisins in the jar).

Click any picture on this page for a complete, easy-to-follow step-by-step picture book recipe.

 

July 17th, 2021 Blog, How To & Tips Comments Off on How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife Without a Knife Sharpener

How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife Without a Knife Sharpener

First, sorry for the delay between the last post and this one. Had to focus on other parts of life – but always made sure to make the most of putting together something good to eat for all meals. That is non-negotiable!

This is the last knife sharpening tip, but it’s a good one to deal with the most important tool in the kitchen, a sharp knife.

Now, let’s say you’re away from home, and the knife you’re given to use is dull and there’s no real knife sharpener to be found? No problem. Here’s an excellent tip I learned from a great group of Gelug Tibetan monks while making lunch together with them years ago. To sharpen a dull knife, just run the blade you want to sharpen over the hard-edged back of another knife as shown below.

It’s actually very easy and effective to sharpen a knife “on-the-fly” like this, though using a real sharpener does a better job keep the blade both sharp and true without pits and gouges that can develop on the knife edge if you use only this method.

Here’s how to use the same technique to sharpen a short-bladed knife, like a paring knife.

All right! Next posts: food!

April 18th, 2021 Blog, How To & Tips Comments Off on How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife with an Electric Knife Sharpener Picture Book Directions

How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife with an Electric Knife Sharpener Picture Book Directions

Last two posts showed how to sharpen a kitchen knife with a handheld knife sharpener and a sharpening steel. This post provides a direct link to picture book directions that show how to sharpen a kitchen knife with an electric knife sharpener.

ne thing to note: electric knife sharpeners come in many varieties. Any will sharpen your knife, though those with multiple stage slots, like the one shown below, are more efficient (and, as expected, more expensive) at taking a knife from a coarse to a finely sharpened edge. Before using an electric knife sharpener, make sure you are familiar with the sharpener manufacturer’s owner’s manual (yep, this coming from a guy who routinely avoids directions unless absolutely necessary) and then use the picture directions you can get by clicking this link or any picture on this page.

April 4th, 2021 Blog, How To & Tips Comments Off on How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife with a Sharpening Steel Picture Book Directions

How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife with a Sharpening Steel Picture Book Directions

As mentioned in the last post that showed how to sharpen a kitchen knife using a handheld 1 or 2-stage knife sharpener, a dull kitchen knife is the most dangerous piece of equipment in the kitchen. This post shows how to sharpen a kitchen knife safely with a sharpening steel.

First, the key to using a sharpening steel safely is to slide the knife blade of any size across the steel and away from your body when running the knife both on top of the sharpening steel…

…and bottom of the sharpening steel.

Second, not all sharpening steels are the same. Some of the steels are cut with fine lengthwise grooves while others are diamond dust coated as shown below.

There is a difference in performance. A diamond dust coated sharpening steel can actually help you shape a freshly sharpened knife edge. A grooved sharpening steel will only true/straighten a knife edge that has become curved and bent and, therefore, stops cutting efficiently. A grooved steel will help keep a sharp edge, whereas a diamond coated steel, if used properly, will create a new edge.

Click this link or any picture above for easy-to-follow step-by-step picture book directions that show how to put it all together to sharpen a kitchen knife safely with a sharpening steel.

March 28th, 2021 Blog Comments Off on How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife with a Handheld Sharpener

How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife with a Handheld Sharpener

Last post showed how to make pasta to perfection. Very shortly, I’ll put together posts that show how to make quick, easy and fully flavorful pasta dishes.

First, though, because those recipes will show how to cut a variety ingredients including, of course, fresh garlic (a must with pasta!), I thought I’d put out some quick posts showing how to sharpen a knife using a either handheld knife sharpener (this post), sharpening steel (next post) and electric sharpener (2 posts from now).

Why make such a big deal about keeping kitchen knives sharp? Because, as far as I’m concerned, a dull knife is the most dangerous piece of kitchen equipment. The reason: unpredictability.

As shown above, a dull knife crushes and tears food because the knife edge can’t set an edge without more-than-needed added downward hand pressure that then makes the knife more likely to slide sideways out of control off what you’re cutting and into your anchoring hand regardless how properly you curl your food gripping fingers. (You bet, this has happened to me.)

Click this link or any picture on this page for picture book directions showing how to sharpen a knife with a 1 stage or…

…2 stage handheld knife sharpener.

March 13th, 2021 Anti-inflammatory Recipes, Beans, Grains, Nutrition, One Bowl Meals Comments Off on Savory Steel Cut Oats with Beans, Avocado & Bell Pepper Picture Book Recipe

Savory Steel Cut Oats with Beans, Avocado & Bell Pepper Picture Book Recipe

Savory Steel Cut Oats with Beans, Avocado & Bell Pepper

Last post showed how to put together a fully-flavorful, energy sustaining sweet one bowl meal with cooked steel cut oats, nut butter, fresh fruit and kefir.  As I mentioned in earlier posts, steel cut oats are richly versatile and can be used to make savory dishes just as well as sweet tasting dishes.

And I know that sounds counterintuitive, “my breakfast oats mixed with savory ingredients – really?”, but it works great!

Here’s an example: Savory Steel Cut Oats with Beans, Avocado & Bell Pepper that combines the full flavor, chew, and potent fiber, complex carbohydrate and protein benefits of steel cut oats and beans with the zesty flavor of vitamin-rich fresh avocado, bell pepper, and cilantro shown below.

Savory Steel Cut Oats with Beans, Avocado & Bell Pepper Ingredients Click this link or any picture on this page for the easy-to-follow picture book recipe, which, as I’ve mentioned before, is for you to use either as is or as a visual guide to improvise with ingredients and flavors to make this savory steel cut oats meal all your own.

Savory Steel Cut Oats with Beans, Avocado & Bell Pepper Picture Book Recipe

March 12th, 2021 Blog Comments Off on Steel Cut Oats with Nut Butter, Fresh Fruit & Kefir Picture Directions

Steel Cut Oats with Nut Butter, Fresh Fruit & Kefir Picture Directions

Like I mentioned in the last two posts, steel cut oats are fully flavor and can be used in a wide variety of easy-to-make sweet or savory meals. As a guy living by himself right now, I’m a big fan of what I call one bowl meals.

Here’s a terrific breakfast one bowl meal that combines fully flavorful, highly nutritious cooked steel cut oats, with nut butter, fresh fruit and kefir that, in addition to tasting great, provides full-on, sustained energy whether you’re hopping out to do something physical or just want something satisfying to power you through the morning.

Here’s what I used to put it all together.

What you see above and also below in the recipe you can download by either clicking this link or any picture on this page is only a guide. As always, imagination is your only limit. Recipes like these just provide visual guidelines to help turn your imagination into fully flavorful reality.

March 9th, 2021 Blog Comments Off on How to Cook Steel Cut Oats to Make Them More Easily Digestible, Especially For Those in Phase 1 IBD-AID

How to Cook Steel Cut Oats to Make Them More Easily Digestible, Especially For Those in Phase 1 IBD-AID

First, what is IBD-AID? The first part, IBD, is irritable bowel disorder, which translates in practical terms to a painful gut brought on by inflamed intestines. I’ve had it. It’s uncomfortable and recovery takes – and took me – a long time. AID stands for anti-inflammatory diet, which is a richly vibrant diet to live by, sure, to ease IBD, but also to improve digestion and promote a better quality of life overall for everyone. Here’s a chart from UMass Medical School’s Center for Applied Nutrition that highlights foods that promote good digestion.

You probably noticed that steel cut oats are right at the top of the prebiotic food list. Prebiotics are foods that helpful bacteria, or probiotics, in your gut need to eat to stay alive. Keeping those helpful bacteria properly fed, alive and well is exactly what makes for good digestion and helping you feel your best, especially considering that there are many times more bacteria than your own cells in your body.

Personally, once I learned about it, I’ve stuck to an anti-inflammatory diet for decades and absolutely love it for how much better my gut feels as well as for its full-on flavor and variety. Like I write here all the time, flavor rules(!) and no diet, which only means a method of food selection, ever has any chance of working successfully without flavors that taste good.

Click this link or either picture at the top and bottom of this page to learn more about steel cut oats and how to cook them to make them more easily digestible for IBD purposes or otherwise. You can also click this link for more AID specific recipes on this site.

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