Wizard Recipes

It helps to keep a variety of rices in your pantry at all times, as they make an easy side dish and are used in many types of cooking across the world. Keep rice in its original packaging until opening, then store it in an airtight container at room temperature.

I liked to write cooking instructions for each and affix them to the lid of the container for handy reference (for example, “combine 1 cup water,  1 / 2 cup rice, and  1 / 2  teaspoon salt; cook 25 minutes”). For best results, use within a year.

Arborio rice: When properly prepared, this shortgrain Italian rice develops a creamy texture and a chewy center and has an exceptional ability to absorb flavors, making it ideal for risotto. Carnaroli is similar in starch content.

Basmati rice: With its slender long grains, basmati is prized for its delicate nutty aroma. It is an essential element of Indian cooking.

Brown rice (medium- to long-grain) is the entire grain of rice with only the inedible husk removed. The nutritious, high-fiber bran coating gives it its light tan color. When cooked, brown rice has a strong, nutty flavor and chewy texture. Medium-grain brown rice is starchier than the long-grain variety.

Jasmine rice: This long-grain rice has the aroma of basmati but the softer, starchier texture of mediumgrain rice. It is ideal for serving with Thai curries.

Sushi rice: Japanese sushi rice is a short-grained, glutinous white rice that becomes moist, firm, and sticky when cooked. If you can’t find Japanese sushi rice, substitute short-grained white rice (called pearl).

White rice (medium- to long-grain), which has been stripped of the husk and bran, has a mild flavor and firm texture, making it a versatile vehicle for carrying the flavor of other ingredients. Medium-grain is a little stickier than the long-grain variety.

Converted white rice, which is made by soaking, pressuresteaming, and then drying unhulled grains, takes slightly longer to cook than unconverted white rice; it also has a pale tan color. Instant or quick white rice has been fully or partially cooked before being dehydrated and packaged; this should not be substituted in recipes.

White rice (short-grain, or pearl): The fat, almost round grains of short-grain white rice have a higher starch content than medium- and long-grain rice. They become moist and viscous when cooked, causing the grains to stick together. Also called glutinous rice (even though it is gluten-free), this variety is most often used in Asian cooking.

Wild rice is actually the seed of a grass found in the Great Lakes region of the United States. It is harvested by hand and it has a nutty flavor and chewy texture, making it particularly good in rice salads and stuffings. Although wild rice can take up to an hour to cook, it is important to watch it carefully toward the end; overcooking produces starchy results.

SALT

The two most common types are kosher (coarse) salt and table (iodized) salt. Kosher salt is a good choice for cooking (and brining) and for use at the table. Since coarse salt does not contain any additives or iodine, it has a cleaner flavor and is not as strong or sharply acidic as table salt; it also dissolves quickly in cold water.

When seasoning foods, the larger grain of coarse salt make it easier to control the amount you use (and the saltiness of the dish). In most recipes, these salts can generally be used interchangeably, without altering amounts, though you may prefer to use table salt for baking.

If you want to add a more distinctive accent to dishes, consider one of the many types of sea salts.Fleur de sel, one of the rarest and most prized of sea salts, comes from the Brittany region of France; it has a mild salty taste and is best used as a condiment, sprinkled over salads, egg dishes, fish, and other foods at the table.

Gray salt also hails from Brittany, and has a stronger saltiness. Maldon, an English sea salt, consists of small white crystalline flakes that can easily be crushed with your fingers and added to dishes as they cook or once they are at the table. Sundried sea salts also come from Sicily and Maine; they are perfect for garnishing the rims of cocktail glasses.

A dessert always consists of sweet food of some kind, and in the usual meal it is served as the last course. Sometimes, especially in more elaborate meals, another course, such as cheese and coffee, may follow, but ordinarily the dessert is the last food that is served.

The eating of something sweet after the heavy course of a meal has undoubtedly become a habit with almost every person. At any rate, a dinner in which a dessert is not included generally leaves one unsatisfied and gives the feeling that the meal has not been properly completed.

Some housewives, however, make the mistake of serving a heavy  dessert after a large meal, with the result that those served leave the table feeling they have had too much to eat. If this occurs, the same combination of food should be avoided another time and a simple dessert used to follow a dinner that is already sufficiently heavy.

There is nothing fixed about the dessert course of a meal. It may be very simple or it may be as complicated and elaborate as desired. To make an elaborate dessert usually requires a good deal of time, and unless time and care can be devoted to such a dessert it should not be attempted.

However, whether a dessert is simple or elaborate, it should always be made sufficiently attractive to appeal to an appetite that is already almost satisfied. Besides providing a chance to end a meal in an attractive and appetizing way, it offers a splendid opportunity to carry out a color scheme that may be adopted for a meal.

Of course, this is seldom done, except for a party or a company meal, for a color scheme has no particular value other than to appeal to the esthetic sense.

The cost of desserts is also a matter that may be varied. For instance, it may be low, as in plain rice pudding, which contains merely rice and milk, or it may be high, as in such concoctions as mousse or parfait, which may contain cream, eggs, gelatine, and fruit.

It is possible then, with correct planning, to make the price of the dessert equalize the cost of the meal. For example, if the previous courses have contained expensive foods, the dessert should be an economical one, whereas an expensive one is permissible either when an elaborate meal is desired or when the cheapness of the food served before the dessert warrants greater expense in the final dish.

The fact that desserts are often a means of economically utilizing left-over foods should not be overlooked. A famous cooking expert is responsible for the statement that any edible left-over may be utilized in the making of soup, salad, or dessert. This is an important truth to keep in mind, for, with the exception of a knowledge of the correct purchase and cooking of foods, nothing makes so much for economy in cookery as the economical use of leftovers.

Desserts are really of two kinds: those which are heavy, such as hot puddings and pastry, and those which are light or of a less substantial nature, such as gelatine, custards, ices, etc. In general, light desserts are either frozen or allowed to cool before they are used and consequently may be made some time before the serving of the meal.

Food, like the people who eat it, can be stimulated by wine or spirits and, as with people, it can also be spoiled. The quality in a white or red wine, vermouth, Madeira, or brandy which heightens the character of cooking is not the alcohol content, which is usually evaporated, but the flavor. Therefore any wine or spirit used in cooking must be a good one.

If it is excessively fruity, sour, or unsavory in any way, these tastes will only be emphasized by the cook­ing, which ordinarily reduces volume and concentrates flavor. If you have not a good wine to use, it is far better to omit it, for a poor one can spoil a simple dish and utterly debase a noble one.

White wine

White wine for cooking should be strong and dry, but never sour or fruity. A most satisfactory choice is white Macon, made from the Pinot Blanc or the Chardonnay grape. It has all the right qualities and, in France, is not expensive. As the right white wine is not as reasonable to acquire in America, we have found that a good, dry, white vermouth is an excellent substitute, and much better than the wrong kind of white wine.

Red wine

A good, young, full-bodied red wine is the type you should use for cook­ing. In France you would pick a Macon, one of the lesser Burgundies, one of the more full-bodied regional Bordeaux such as St.-Emilion, or a good local wine having these qualities.

Fortified wines, spirits, and liqueurs

Fortified wines, spirits, and liqueurs are used principally for final flavor­ings. As they must be of excellent quality they are always expensive; but usually only a small quantity is called for, so your supply should last quite a while. Here, particularly, if you do not want to spend the money for a good bottle, omit the ingredient or pick another recipe.

RUM and LIQUEURS are called for in desserts. Dark Jamaican rum is the best type to use here, to get a full rum flavor. Among liqueurs, orange is most frequently specified; good imported brands as touchstones for flavor are Cointreau, Grand Marnier, and curacao.

MADEIRA and PORT arc often the final flavor-fillip for sauces, as in a brown Madeira sauce for ham, or chicken in port wine. These wines should be the genuine imported article of a medium-dry type, but can be the more moderately priced examples from a good firm.

SHERRY and MARSALA are rare in French cooking. If used in place of port or Madeira they tend to give an un-French flavor to most French recipes.

BRANDY is the most ubiquitous spirit in French cooking from desserts to sauces, consommes, aspics, and flambees. Because there are dreadful con­coctions bottled under the label of brandy, wc have specified cognac whenever brandy is required in a recipe, as a reminder that you use a good brand. You do not have to buy Three-star or V.S.O.P, but whatever you use should com­pare favorably in taste with a good cognac.

Restaurateurs and chefs are becoming more and more attentive to people’s health and diet concerns. Many of them are reexamining their menus, modifying their cooking practices, and adding new, healthful items to their menus. Some have developed new menus that are specially planned to follow as closely as possible the eight recommendations listed here.

An increased health consciousness has affected the way we think about food and the way we cook. Professional cooks are making their foods more healthful in several ways:

1. Using less fat in cooking.

Cooking methods that require no added fat, such as simmering, poaching , baking, steaming, and grilling, can be considered the most healthful. For sautéing, nonstick pans are becoming more widely used because little or no fat is needed. With regular pans, one can be careful to use as little fat as possible.

Grilling is popular because it can be done without first coating the food with fat. If this is done, however, one must be careful not to let the food dry out. Using less fat in cooking also means using ingredients with less fat. Excess external

fat can be trimmed from meats and poultry. Low-fat sauces, such as salsas and vegetable purées, can often be used instead of high-fat sauces. Recipes can often be modified so that quantities of high-fat ingredients, such as butter, cheese, and bacon, are reduced.

2. Using unsaturated fats.

When you do use fats, try to substitute monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil or canola oil, for saturated fats when appropriate.

3. Emphasizing flavor.

Taste is the most important factor in preparing nutritious food. The most vitamin packed dish does no one any good if it is uneaten because it doesn’t taste good.

Preparing flavorful foods requires knowledge of the principles of cooking. You can’t rely simply on nutritional information. Rely more on the natural flavors of foods and less on salt and other additives that should be decreased in the diet.

4. Using the freshest, highest-quality foods possible.

In order to prepare delicious foods with little or no added salt and with less reliance on high-fat, high-sodium sauces and condiments, it is important to use high quality natural ingredients at their peak of flavor. Healthful cooking means letting the true flavors of foods dominate.

To enhance natural flavors without added salt, cooks are using more fresh herbs, hot seasonings such as chilies, ginger, and pepper, and flavorful ingredients like garlic, browned onions, and flavored vinegars.

5. Storing foods properly.

Foods in storage lose nutrients as they age. The loss of nutrients can be slowed, however, by proper storage. This applies particularly to proper refrigeration. For each category of perishable food discussed in this book, pay close attention to how the foods should be stored.

6. Modifying portion sizes.

It is not necessary to feature huge slabs of meat to serve satisfying meals. Smaller portions of well-trimmed meat, poultry ,or fish, nicely balanced on the plate with an assortment of attractive fresh vegetables and complex carbohydrates, are likely to be more healthful.

Sauces often get the blame for adding calories to a meal, but if a sauce is flavorful, you don’t need much. Make a better sauce and serve less of it. Also, if a sauce isn’t too thick, it won’t cling as heavily to the food, and a little will go farther.

7. Giving your family a healthful choice.

Offer a menu with a variety of foods so that everyone can choose a well-balanced meal suited to their needs and desires. It’s not necessary to cook only “diet food,” but a menu that offers French fries as the only available starch is not well balanced.

Place more emphasis on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Offer a menu with choices from all the groups in the USDA food pyramid or the Canadian rainbow, with a variety of choices from the bottom half of the pyramid or the outer rings of the rainbow. Be flexible in the kitchen..

8. Using nutritional information.

Study the nutritional content of foods in order to plan healthful menus. Many publications are available that list the nutritional content of common food items. Some restaurants have even hired registered dietitians to analyze their menus and give advice on how to make their food more healthful.

Hiring a dietitian is, of course, not practical for every operation.

On the other Hand ,a basic awareness of nutrition helps every professional minimize the fat, cholesterol, and sodium in and maximize the nutritional content and balance of the foods they serve.

We all know that vegetables, whether edible or not, are part of plants-potatoes are enlarged parts of the roots, carrots are the roots themselves, celery is the main stalk, spinach is the leaf, artichoke is the flower and eggplant is the fruit. Mushrooms are exceptions. They don’t belong in the Plant Kingdom but are fungi.

Several parts of certain plant may be edible, such as the root and leaves of turnips and beets, while in some plants a certain part is edible, others may be poisonous. The enlarged root of the potato plant is perfectly healthy to eat but the poisonous leaves you want to eat only if you are contemplating suicide. Rhubarb has a wonderful edible stalk but the leaves can kill you.

All vegetables have fibers, a substance essential to human health, but some have more, others have less. Fibers give rigidity and shape to the living plant. We cannot digest fibers, which are organic substance called cellulose, so they have no nutritive values to the body. But we cannot digest our foods without them.

The vegetables that cook quickly, e.g. cabbage, have relatively low amounts of fiber, those that are slow-cooking, such as artichoke, are often high in fiber. Age also determines how much fiber a vegetable has. The older it is, the more fibrous. A young kohlrabi is soft and tender like a fresh radish, while an old one is hard to cut through with a knife, it is so full of tough fibers.

The root-end parts of plants have higher fiber content than the blossom-end part. The bottom portion of an asparagus is full of coarse, tough fibers while the young top velvety-tender tips have very little.

Cooking for best appearance

There are pigments that Nature uses to dye vegetables. Intensely colored vegetables on the plate give a great impact to our visual senses that translates to heightening appetites. Our early American heritage from English and northern European immigrants favored overcooked vegetables, a tradition that continued until relatively recently.

Overcooking kills flavor because the volatile flavor components escape with the steam, but it also kills color pigments. Compare the favor and color of overcooked green beans to crisp quick-cooked beans. Today’s tendency of vegetable cookery among the new foodies is crisp, but tender-brief cooking to the point of al dente. But such tendency is regional. People in the southern U.S., for instance, still tend to cook vegetables longer than their compatriots on the East and West coasts.

Green is the most common vegetable color. The pigment chlorophyll gives the green coloration and this pigment is sensitive to length of cooking and acidity of the cooking liquid. Both destroy the pigment and change it to another pigment that has a drab, unappetizing army olive-green color.

Never cook green vegetables in acidic liquid. Yet, all vegetables contain some acid and long cooking leaches those into the cooking liquid. As a result, the water becomes more and more acidic and the chlorophyll pigment disappears. Cooking green vegetables in uncovered pot is helpful because in covered pot water concentrates the acid, but without the lid much of it evaporates with the steam.

Older cookbooks suggest adding baking soda to the cooking water to make it alkaline and retain bright colors. More recently nutritionists found, on the other hand, that vegetables they cook in alkaline water lose much more nutrients than those they cook in neutral and acidic water. Hence, never add baking soda to the vegetable cooking water.

Yellow and orange vegetables owe their colors to pigments called carotenoids. Carrots, corn, tomato, winter squashes and red peppers carry these pigments. They are very stable in either long cooking or acids, but if you cook these vegetables very long, even these pigments transform and the vegetables’ color turn dull.

Red and purple color pigments are called anthocyanins. Beets and red cabbage carry these. They are very stable on long cooking but prolonged overcooking still destroys them, and your beet or cabbage turns colorless. But these pigments are extremely sensitive to acidity. Acid brightens the pigments, alkali changes them to blue or blue-green as you may have noticed when cooking red cabbage.

The change is not permanent-add a little acid (vinegar, lemon juice or cream of tartar) to the cooking water for your red cabbage that had turned blue, and it changes back to red.

White color pigments are the anthoxanthins. Potatoes, white cabbage, onion and cauliflower carry these pigments but also the white parts of leeks, celery, cucumber and zucchini. White pigments are stable on long cooking and remain stable in acidic cooking water.

Alkalic water changes them to yellow pigments. So if you want your cauliflower to turn dingy yellow for your dinner guests you don’t like, add baking soda to the cooking water. Otherwise a little lemon juice or other acid keeps white vegetables snow white. But prolonged overcooking or holding vegetables over heat too long also changes colors to dull yellow, grayish pink or any unappetizing shades.

Dried tomatoes, also called sun-dried tomatoes, were possibly the most trendy vegetable on the American markets in the 1980s and they still somehow survived into the 1990s though they lost their tarnish. I also think that they are the most overrated vegetable. Their appeal is their appearance.

Dried tomatoes dress up a plate or a dish with their pleasing shape, texture and color. It is the flavor that is somewhat overrated and often does not come up to expectations.

The idea of drying tomatoes to preserve the m is not a new one. This alternative to canning is easy, but it requires warm sunny weather during and after the tomato harvesting season. Any rain or periods of cloudy, cool weather, and the sun-dried tomatoes turn mold-covered and semi-dried. This means that climate limits making truly sun-dried tomatoes to very few tomato-growing areas in the world: the Mediterranean regions of Italy and France and California.

Italians have produced sun-dried tomatoes for at least a century. In the early 1980s importers introduced them to North American markets and they were accepted instantly, even though the imported products were quite costly. Sun-dried tomatoes made a hit with the nouvelle cuisine chefs of the West Coast who constantly search out innovative new products.

They were particularly popular in the winter when red-colored produce was rare. (Red peppers were still not common and outrageously expensive back then, because they were airfreighted from Holland.)

High price or not, dried tomatoes have a long shelflife and are available when needed. They solve the problem of providing a desirable eye-catching red color on the plate during the colorless winter months. That is why the red pepper has been such a smash hit, too.

Home cooks picked up the idea and sun-dried tomatoes were on their way, helped by a generous dose of intense marketing. It didn’t take long before several California dried fruit producers noticed this very profitable opportunity to compete with the pricey Italian imports.

Since they had both the know-how and equipment to dry fruits, it was but a short step to add tomatoes to their line of dried produce. Dried tomatoes, they discovered, bring in much more revenue than prunes and apricots.

To dry tomatoes in the traditional Italian way by sun is slow and labor intensive. It takes 8 to 10 days under the weakening late summer sun. Leaving the tomatoes exposed that long to insects is somewhat questionable, too.

Italians use their sun-dried tomatoes in pasta sauce, so they are always cooked before eating. Americans, on the other hand, eat their sun-dried tomatoes raw or blanched quickly to reconstitute the moisture content.

Drying does not destroy the bacterial contamination so for export, they add sulfur and salt to eliminate bacteria. The California processors also tried heat treatment to solve the problem.

There are three major ways for American processors to dry tomatoes:

1. Like the Italians do, under the sun for 8 to 10 days, then pasteurize to produce a safe and acceptable product. This process retains the original color and some of the flavor.

2. Dried like other fruits, in hot dehydrating ovens at about 190°F (88°C) with fans to draw the moisture off, a process that takes only a few hours. The process is quick and eliminates the need for sulfur or pasteurization because of the heat that kills microorganisms. But the tomato turns rather dark, losing its attractive color, because the heat partially caramelizes sugar. The heat also alters the flavor a great deal, more than pasteurization does.

3. Dehydrated without heat by blowing fans. In warm weather this process takes about 36

hours and results in a product similar to sun-dried tomatoes with good red color and moderate change in flavor. To kill all larvae, processors freeze the dried tomatoes for two days.

It takes 17 pounds (17 kg) of fresh tomatoes to make 1 pound (1 kg) of dehydrated product after about 95 percent of the moisture evaporates. Processors’ favorite is Roma tomatoes, which have less moisture to begin with, but some small specialty producers use other, more flavorful varieties and sell them for premium prices.

While firm and low in moisture, commercial Romas are not very flavorful tomatoes even when fully ripe. None of the dehydrated tomatoes have anywhere

near the flavor of vine-ripened tomatoes. But they do have their own distinctive flavor and special place in our kitchens.

Most good cookbooks tell you not to refrigerate your tomatoes. It is true that in cold temperatures tomatoes, like all foods, lose much of their flavor. Wholesale produce distributors and supermarkets never refrigerate tomatoes either.

They keep them in a cool room at about 55°F (13°C) once they reach the red but firm stage. And you never see them in the chilled vegetable bins at the produce department.

However, lately food scientists disputed the no-refrigeration rule. As aconsequence, I tested two identical-looking, fresh, candy-red vine-ripened tomatoes. One shivered a full day in the refrigerator and the second one rested patiantly on the cool kitchen counter.

At the end of the experiment I allowed the chilled tomato to come back to room temperature and cut both tomatoes for a taste test. I couldn’t detect any difference in flavor or texture. The no-refrigeration rule for tomatoes appears to be an old myth. I urge you to try your own tomato experiment.

TASTINGS Tomato equivalents

¨ 1 medium tomato is ½ cup and equals 1 tablespoon tomato paste

¨ To get tomato sauce from paste, dilute 1 part paste with 2 parts water

¨ Tomato purée is halfway between sauce and paste in concentration

¨ 2 medium tomatoes is ½ pound (225 g) or 1 cup chopped

¨ 1 pound (450 g) tomato yields 1½ cups drained pulp

¨ A large tomato is 7-8 ounces (200-225 g), a medium tomato 4-5 ounces (110-

140 g), a small tomato 3 ounces (85 g)

If you buy tomatoes that are still pink rather than red, ripen them in a warm place for a few days but not in direct sunlight (as some cookbooks suggest). Direct sun cooks or spoils them before they ripen.

To speed ripening, put the tomatoes in a paper bag that traps and concentrates the natural ethylene gas from the tomato. The paper bag lets the accumulated moisture escape that hastens spoiling. Banana is a generous ethylene gas generator. If you have one, put in the bag with the tomato.

When cooking tomato-rich dishes, avoid aluminum and cast-iron pots if the cooking process is longer than 20 or 30 minutes. Not only the acid in the tomatoes leach out too much of the metal, giving the dish an off-flavor, but tomatoes discolor by these metal pots, eventually turning dingy brown.

Anyone with a bare minimum skill in the kitchen can master quick breads. If you don’t make a mistake in following the recipe, if your ingredients are not ancient (especially the baking powder), if your oven temperature is within 25º of what the dial indicates and if you take the bread out of the oven on time, you’ve mastered quick breads.

The variety of quick breads is enormous depending on what flavoring agent you use. From fresh or dried fruit to vegetables, nuts, or often a combination of these are examples. The type of flour and fats or oil, the liquid and the sweetening agent also vary.

Eggs not only hold the bread together but enrich it in flavor and nutrition. Plain quick breads without at least some added flavorings are too bland, yet they are fine to accompany a meal with butter and perhaps jam, marmalade or honey.

All quick breads use the same type of viscous batter. Preparation is user-friendly, ideal for beginners in the kitchen, even young children. Combine all the dry ingredients in a sifter, including dry flavorings like cinnamon and nutmeg, and sift into a bowl.

Combine all liquid ingredients, including eggs and any liquid flavorings like vanilla in another bowl, then lightly mix the wet into the dry. You may add chopped fruits, nuts, grated vegetables or whatever the recipe calls for at any time in this process. An important part is to mix lightly, just until the ingredients are combined.

To much mixing toughens the final product, and that is about the only thing you have to be careful about. Too much mixing is beginners’ downfall and the bread turns out dense and dry. Never use a food processor to mix a quick bread dough.

Pour the batter into a greased pan and bake. After it is done, a quick bread is ready to eat it at once, though it is easier to slices if you let the bread cool a little.

If you overbake your quick bread, it gets too dry. If you underbake it, the center is still soft and doughy. Set your timer 5 to 10 minutes earlier than the recipe calls for, and start testing the bread with a toothpick or bamboo skewer at that point.

As soon as the tester comes out clean, the bread is ready. A thermometer registering 190°F (90°C) in the center is also a good testing device.

Quick breads don’t have a delicate structure like cakes do, they won’t collapse or fall when disturbed. You can go ahead and dance in the kitchen while your quick bread is baking, even if your floor is quite bouncy. The bread won’t mind it (though your neighbors might).

Why do some recipes call for baking powder and baking soda? When a sour ingredient is part of the dough-buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream or sour milk-the dough needs both leaveners.

Baking powder was designed for a neutral batter, so if it contains additional acid ingredients, you need something to neutralize it or the chemical reactions are unbalanced. That is what the baking soda does.

The sour liquids in the recipe promote a lighter bread and are the basis for another chemical reaction that produce bubbles. Recipes with sour ingredient always call for baking soda.

Should you change a recipe and substitute sweet milk for any of the sour products, be sure to omit the baking soda. You can also substitute sour liquids for sweet, for example, sour milk or yogurt for milk, sour cream for sweet cream.

But make sure you add baking soda in the ratio of ½ teaspoon for every cup of the sour liquid. Because the baking soda combines with the sour liquid and generates carbon dioxide gas bubbles, you don’t need as much baking powder in the recipe- reduce it slighlty.

The amount of chemical leavening in quick breads is critical. If you don’t add enough, you won’t get the gas bubbles light breads require. If you add too much, all the chemicals don’t completely neutralize during the mixing and baking, and your bread ends up with a chemical or   bitter soapy taste.

Too little mixing, so you don’t distribute the chemicals evenly throughout the dough produces the same effect. You remember the church potluck when that wonderful-looking zucchini bread had such a bitter favor? That is what caused it.

Hopefully it wasn’t your zucchini bread!

Little secrets worth mentioning

-         green leafed vegetables held at room temperature can lose up to 20 % of the vitamin C content, so that’s why you should keep these in the fridge.

-         Canned vegetables represent a very healthy option because they are easy to conserve, do not have any fat added and maintain Vitamin E and B content. Beta carotene is best conserved when canned whereas most of vitamin C is destroyed.

-         See labels for vegetables cans regarding added sugar and salt.

-         Hydro soluble vitamins like C and B group dissolve in the water in which we boil our vegetables. It is best to use steam for cooking. Consume the water from the can in which the vegetables were conserved. It has all the nutrients that vegetables have lost in the process. Also consume soups

-         Use vinegar or lemon juice to sprinkle your vegetables not to go dark

-         Salt removes water from vegetables, so add it only before consuming these or they will just turn soft.

-         Cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage can be consumed raw (only Brussels sprout needs boiling).

-         Asparagus must be consumed exactly in the day in which you bought it. Only the tips can be eaten.

-         Red beetroot contains betanine, a pigment, which is used as an alimentary colorant

-         Beans, peas and soy beans must be left to soak in cold water up to 4 hours before cooking. In this manner you avoid bloating and indigestion

-         Champignons mushrooms can be eaten raw. All other types must be cooked.

-         To avoid vitamin C oxidation at metal contact, rip the salad leafs with your hands. Don’t cut it with the knife.

-         Do not cook spinach for more than 3-4 minutes in order to keep C and B vitamin. Choose fresh spinach salad.

-         Eat aubergines grilled or cooked with some lemon juice.

-         After washing, dry salad or spinach leaves to prevent oxidation.

Due to their high calorie content, these cannot be consumed by themselves, but only along with other products, in small quantities, to take advantage of their qualities only. Fats need carbohydrates in order to be metabolised- metabolising only fats doesn’t lead to glucose, the only energy producing chemical of the organism.

So please do consume:

-         Dried seeds and fruits with cereals and milk

-         Oil of any kind added to fresh or cooked vegetables, in salads or pasta and rice.

Small secrets worth knowing:

-Every kind of vegetable oil is a mix of saturated and poli non saturated fats in diverse proportions. The more saturated an oil is, the more solid it is.

-If you put olive oil in the fridge, you can notice that at the bottom of the bottle this becomes dens due to the mono non saturated fats. Sun flower oil, being poli non saturated, remains liquid in every condition.

- Corn oil is excellent for cooking

-Remember: NONE OF THE VEGETABLE OILS CONTAIN CHOLESTEROL

- All vegetable oils contain the same amount of calories, no matter if they are made of olives, sun flower, nuts, corn, Soybeans

-extra virgin olive oil is the best quality of olive oil you can get.

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