What is the attraction?

Aside from the fact that you get to try all sorts of tasty treats, there is the artistry involved in making a beautifully decorated cake. Cakes are as much a work of art as any canvas painting or watercolour. People love a challenge and there are so many different type of cakes & different occasions that there is always a new flavour or design to try. Some bakers love to see their family and friends enjoying their cakes and this is enough to send them back to the kitchen again and again. Some find that it is a relaxing hobby. The sheer concentration needed to make intricate decorations allows you to escape from the pressures of the world for a little bit.  

How Do You Get Started?

Start off by buying a few simple baking books. Try a simple vanilla sponge cake or some vanilla fairy cakes. No doubt you will have a few sunken cakes and burnt edges before perfecting your sponge, once you do you can then have a go at icing and topping your cakes as you have the perfect cake base to start from. There are a number of magazines that you could buy and normally they give away a different tool with each issue. As you progress you will need to invest in some professional and higher quality tools as you will soon outgrow these basic starter implements. Take a look online at cake making blogs as they will be jam packed (or should that be jam filled?) with inspirational pictures and new recipes for you to try. One of the main things to remember when you are starting out is not to get disheartened if your cakes aren’t perfect. That will come with time and practice! 

Vicky loves cakes! She is also an avid craft enthusiast who loves to try her hand at new things. 

There is almost no limit to the amount of different vegetables and even fruits that you can use to enhance even the most mundane outdoor event. And here are a few ideas that will help you get started whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just planted your first seed.

Tomatoes

These are probably the first plants that spring to mind when you think of summer time eating, and it’s little wonder that they would. They are incredibly healthy, delicious and go well with virtually any main course, from burgers to pasta. They are also easy to nurture and take care of, requiring only regular watering and the same fertilizer as the rest of your garden. Tomatoes are easily one of the best summer time vegetable additions to any garden.

Cucumbers

There is nothing more refreshing on a warm summer evening than a cool and crisp cucumber to go along with whatever you might have prepared for dinner. They are also a quick and healthy snack, and can be drizzled with something like apple cider vinegar or salad dressing for a little bit more flavor. Growing them is not particularly difficult, although they like many other vegetables require quite a bit of water, so make sure your garden is well irrigated.

Asparagus

This is a vegetable that can definitely split opinions, and it’s not likely to be a hit with small children like the other produce mentioned here, but it definitely is worth planting if you are preparing a lot of meat dishes such as steaks and chicken. It goes well with virtually any savory dish, and is very healthy for you to boot. It also doesn’t have nearly the water and nutrient requirements from the soil that plants such as cucumbers do.

Beans

Beans are a great addition to a huge number of dishes. And they are often easier to grow than you might think at first. Green beans are probably the best for the beginning gardener, as they require the least amount of care and are still likely to turn out well, even if you don’t have much experience growing beans.

These are but a few of the great side dishes that you can easily grow in your garden for those great summer meals you have planned. Good luck!

There are many organic gardening and natural garden pest control products availlable (see here) to protect your green spaces from everything from roaches to wood-eating carpenter bees. 

Decide on your menu: typically, guests should be treated and indulged to a variety of red and white wines, usually 4-6 different bottles. Your cheese menu should depend entirely upon what is best matched. Sauvignon Blanc, for example, pairs excellently with Gruyere and sharp Cheddar cheeses. Ensure that the produce you serve is in season for optimal palate-pleasing.

Make sure all small kitchen appliances are in proper working order. Are you planning to serve a Bleu Cheese & Riesling fondue with crusty bread and thick apple chunks for dipping? Brilliant choice – just make sure your fondue pot is in perfect working order or replace the necessary parts. The same goes for your other small kitchen appliances that you might use on the day of your tasting: your blender, toaster oven, coffee maker, or mixer.

Create your guest list, send invites with requests for RSVP’s and – just for fun – ask guests to select “red” or “white” ahead of time. This can help you devise an ideal wine menu, although all should feel encouraged to try new things and find new favorites!

One Week Ahead

Count up your RSVP’s and decide which pattern of dinnerware, tableware, and stemware you’ll use. Do you have enough wine glasses? Better to count those, too, and have plenty of extras handy. Décor is important as well, and now is the time to pick out centerpieces, candles, and table covers.

Planning the presentation of the wines, cheeses, and other appetizers is half the fun of throwing a tasting. Some hosts like to make a guessing game out of the wines being served; this is called a “blind tasting”. Others prefer to write placards giving descriptions and flavor notes to look for in each wine selection.

Make a trip to the store and stock up on emergency items (let’s hope you won’t have to use them!) Emergency items should always include at least one box of toothpicks, an extra package of paper napkins (whether you’re using cloth or not), small plastic sampling spoons, and individual plastic cups, in cases of picky eaters or broken wine glasses.

If you’re a generous host or don’t want to be stuck with more honeycomb than you can eat in a year, stock up on some to-go containers. Send your guests home with goodies – think of it them as party favors for a grown-up crowd. Yum!

Day Before

Buy the freshest produce possible for your appetizers and garnish, and the best cheeses possible. Most large supermarkets have cheese specialists these days; consulting the cheese department of your local grocery store can be extremely helpful to hosts who need a little guidance where freshness vs. proper aging is involved.

Clean and sanitize all surfaces upon which food will be served. Pull out all tableware, stemware, serving trays, and dinnerware ahead of time. Put out your tastefully chosen décor so you don’t have to fuss with it at the last minute.

Day Of

Today is the day to focus mainly on hospitality, flavors, and wonderful conversation. Since you’ve so diligently taken care of all other aspects, the rest of your day will be a fun, engaging culinary experience among friends. After all of the planning you’ve done, you deserve to sit back and enjoy your wine. Cheers!

 [Rae Alton is a content specialist and frequent dinner party host from Greensboro, North Carolina. When not writing articles or hosting, she can be found experimenting in the kitchen with her four year old.]

Blood Sugar Moderation

It is a well known fact that a person’s blood sugar can impact every aspect of their health. If your blood sugar is too low, you may experience anything from a headache or blurry vision all the way up to a loss of consciousness or a total inability to concentrate. The actual title of “breakfast” comes from breaking the evening fast. Since you don’t eat while you sleep, your blood sugar naturally goes down between your last meal of the night and the first thing you eat the next day. As your blood sugar decreases, your cellular functions slow down. When you eat breakfast, those processes pick up again.

Weight Loss

Starving yourself will not help you lose weight. If you skip breakfast in the morning, your metabolism will actually slow down to a crawl. This will cause any calories you take in later in the day to be immediately stored as fat, and in the interim your body will keep itself going by raiding your muscles for energy.

When some of your muscle mass is consumed, the muscle’s natural effect on your metabolism is reduced. Every pound of muscle you have uses an additional 50 calories per day, so losing a few pounds of muscle will mean you have to exercise more vigorously and eat even less to compensate and continue losing weight. In a sense, you cannot skip breakfast. You can merely choose whether to eat food or your own muscles.

Staying Awake

There are two things that your body needs in order to stay awake and alert during the day: water and calories. While many people are dehydrated much of the time, skipping breakfast is another very poor choice for keeping you awake during the day. While adrenaline should carry you for a couple of hours, by a few hours in you may be suffering from a groggy feeling and an unclear mind.

Breakfast may not seem convenient sometimes. However, it is definitely the most important meal of the day. With a good breakfast in your system, your body and mind will work at their best.

About the Author: Hal Autery loves breakfast and would eat “breakfast foods” all day if he could. When he’s not working, he can be found searching for recipes or writing about health and wellness issues for women, including yeast infection treatment options, women’s heart issues, and depression.

If you have ever watched a programme like Emergency ER you will know that the kitchen is room in your house that can be a dangerous place to hang out. Are there ways to help ensure you stay safe and keep you producing quality food. Yes is the answer. Read on and absorb the tips and you can learn a few tips and tricks to improve your kitchen experience.

Sharpen your tools

Having a sharp knife will make chopping much safer. When you are struggling to cut and chop with a blunt old knife you are more likely to get frustrated and make a mistake. So before you start anything ensure you have a sharp knife.

How to sharpen your tools?

There are plenty of knife sharpening solution out there but which should you go for? I would recommend using a sharpening stone as it delivers really good results easily. All you need to do in to oil the stone and then rub it on the stone for a couple of minutes. This should give you a razor shapr knife. If you are a little unsure on how ot do this then use the power of YouTube. Just type in knife sharpening and your will find loads of helpful videos showing you how to do it.

By the way this isn’t a nice to have, this is essential to safe cooking.

Want to start now and don’t have a sharpening stone, then find a cup and run your blade along the bottom of it. The roughness of the cup bottom will sharpen your knife really well. Just don’t do it on your best china!

Become a production line

If cooking up a big meal, something along the lines of a family roast then you are going to be spending a lot of time chopping and preparing vegetables. Most people tend to prepare one vegetable fully at time. E.g. peel and chop a carrot, then grab another and do the same. Instead you should focus on completed a task first. So do all the peeling first (for all the veg).

By concentrating one just one task at a time you will be quicker to process the vegetables and it will be easier to keep tidy. You won’t be spreading your peelings all over the kitchen if you stay in one place.

This tip alone will save loads of time.

Save money

Using the right tools (i.e. a sharp knife) and staying put and focusing on one job at a time will keep you safer and make you quicker. By not being a slave to labels will help you save fortune. The sad truth is that that the vast majority waste a rather large chunk of the food they buy. The media has turned us into paranoid consumers convinced that eating anything close to the use by date will poison us. Well this is just not the truth.

The thing is that we all have an inbuilt safety mechanism to prevent you from eating spoiled food. Use your eyes and nose and a little bit of common sense. Quite often that milk that goes off tomorrow will be fine to consume for a few more days. When it turns you can easily smell it. Same with vegetables and meat rather than relying on a sticker use your senses and make the judgement yourself.

Just using your common sense will reduce our food bill quite a bit. On the plus side it is also great for the environment too.

Citations:

• One link in author byline

Wriiten on behalf on Teknomek – Stainless Steel Catering Sinks

Beach Picnic:
If you are lucky enough to live by a beach, take advantage of the area for a nice picnic. Having a picnic at the beach allows you to be around other people, enjoy the sun and even go swimming. Some beaches even have tables and benches where you can set your food; while others are all sand areas, so don’t forget a blanket and covers for your food.

Another popular location for picnics is parks, perfect for sitting under the trees and having the kids play in the playground area. If you are on vacation at an island resort most offer picnic packages where they will pack the food for you and even provide transportation to the perfect place.

What should I take on my picnic?
There are some essential things you should bring on a picnic. Always bring a beach towel or blanket unless you are going to be sitting on a bench. Any type of blanket or picnic blanket can be used, as long as it is large enough for everyone. The most important thing to bring is the food, packaged in whatever way you prefer. You can also bring a cooler, beach balls or sport balls, and fun games for your family. It’s also important to grab sunscreen so you can stay protected throughout the day.

What type of food should I bring?
The most popular foods to bring on a picnic include sandwiches, salads, fruit and dessert. Sandwiches are simple and easy to make, plus everyone enjoys them and they are not messy. A great side to a sandwich is a salad, a potato or pasta salad being the best for picnics. As for fruit, watermelon can be a juicy and tasty treat to have in the hot summer days; perfect for cooling you off.

Sometimes when going to a park, you can find a grill where you can grill your own hamburgers, hot dogs and more. This is a great alternative to sandwiches and typical picnic food! As for drinks, you can bring water or any packaged juice drinks. Lemonade is a good refresher during the summer, especially with some fresh homemade cookies or brownies. Also, don’t forget to pack spoons and forks.

Where can I store my food?
Typically, picnic food is stored in picnic baskets which you can purchase or make on your own. They come in many different sizes with tops that close. Some do have larger holes than others, so if you are going to the beach ensure that your food is covered and protected. If you do not own a picnic basket, an alternative can be a simple plastic or paper bag or even a purse or backpack. If you want to keep your food chilly, you can add an ice pack to your basket or carry your food in a portable cooler which comes in many different sizes.

Picnics are fun for the family and get you to enjoy the beautiful summer weather at the beach or park! Try eating out a whole different way and spend your summer days in the sun.

John Villareal is a hotel and resort reviewer and, while he’s in between destinations, blogs for mauritiusholidays.com where you can find great deals on various Mauritius holiday packages. In particular he recommends considering le Prince Maurice the next time you decide to travel.

Lavender hot chocolate is rising in popularity amongst those who love a perfect end to an evening. Whether you’ve had a night of drinking wine with friends or just want to snuggle up with a good book and a hot drink, the lavender in this recipe helps you to unwind and relax before bed. Lavender has been used for centuries as a way to eliminate headaches and stress so combining it with our favourite non-alcoholic bedtime drink makes perfect sense. It is all the more better because the floral fragrance of the lavender adds a rich sweet taste that is impossible to imitate.

Simply add Lavender and you have a unique twist on a traditional recipe

Image Courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oatsy40/6553781423/

This recipe is also completely suitable for vegetarians, making it a perfect drink to share amongst friends no matter what their dietary needs are. Although you can save time by making lavender hot chocolate using a big brand cocoa powder and steeping the milk in the flowers or buds, we believe that this perfect plant deserves something a little more special hence our recipe below.

What you will need for four to six people:

• 2 Pints of Whole Milk (you can easily substitute this for rice milk, oat milk or soya milk if preferred)
• 3 Tablespoons of fresh or dried lavender (there’s no denying the sense of satisfaction you gain from harvesting your own lavender by moonlight, just picking the buds or flowers will induce the relaxation this plant is famous for, however if you don’t grow your own many online retailers will sell organic buds by weight.)
• Dark Chocolate (How many bars depends on your taste, we recommend choosing chocolate with a very high cocoa content, however lavender also works incredibly well with white chocolate so if you fancy a change produce white hot chocolate!)
• Sugar to taste (This can be ordinary sugar or if you are prepared you can make your own lavender sugar by adding lavender buds to a muslin bag and leaving in the sugar for two weeks. This eliminates the need for steeping the milk and allows you to choose the quicker version using any hot chocolate powder from the supermarket shelves.)

Method from Scratch

Warm the milk with the lavender buds; don’t allow it to boil as this can make the milk taste hard rather than soft and creamy. Allow to simmer gently until the fragrance of the lavender fills the room, this acts as a perfect amuse bouche!

Remove the lavender and add the chocolate in chunks, stirring until all of it has melted. Then quite simply divide between cups and serve to friends along with a pot of sugar to taste.

Lavender buds

Image Courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/00dann/5961459772/

Quick Method

If you prefer the big brands for your hot chocolate make your own lavender sugar so you can enjoy lavender hot chocolate any night of the week. Simply follow the tips above and make the chocolate as you would normally (using either boiling water or milk) and add the lavender sugar to taste.

For an extra decadent treat if you do grow your own lavender try adding cream to the top of the chocolate and sprinkle with chocolate shavings and fresh lavender flowers. Even children will enjoy the purple addition to their favourite drink and you will enjoy how it helps them drift naturally off to sleep.

If you don’t like the idea of chocolate before bedtime, this method works well as a warm cup of milk, serve with a favourite cookie as a perfect bedtime routine.

This gorgeous recipe has been written by Martina Mercer. Martina works for Lavenderworld.co.uk, who supply a range of lavender based products.

Forget French Cuisine, Italian or exotic Far Eastern cookery.  The British have had a long and enthusiastic relationship with food.  Being a temperate and fertile Island Nation, we’ve never lacked ingredients and our cooks, both great and small, have proudly created a cuisine that has travelled the world and helped us through a war or two.  The Second World War took its toll on this tradition, with rationing reducing the ingredients, if not the inventiveness, of a whole generation of British cooks.  The subsequent fascination with tinned everything and ready meals didn’t help get us back on track.  Today, with concerns about obesity and the importance of healthy eating, we have begun to take more interest in simple home cooking.  Here is a selection of great British Desserts, be warned, they will not all work as a slimming aid!

Four Family Favourites

• “Apple Crumble” – love it or hate it has to be one of those desserts that epitomises that True Grit of the True Brit.  Crumble was invented in the Second World War as a result of rationing.  Ingredients to make pastry were difficult to come by – especially butter and milk.  The result? Pastry without anything to bind it together, and when it came to the naming of this new frugal topping the traditional British “calling a spade a spade” approach was employed.  It looked like crumble and thus a great British dessert was born.   It’s been a favourite ever since with people who can’t make pastry – probably most of us.  C’mon, faced with a pot of lard and some flour, what would you come up with?  The land-girls done good. 
• “Ginger Bread Men”.  Sorry these should now be known as Ginger Bread People.  Ginger is believed to have arrived in Europe on the return of early Crusaders and was so expensive that it was a luxury item.  Monks are believed to have used it to create celebratory figures at religious festivals; Ginger Bread Jesus’, Ginger Bread Virgins and Ginger Bread Saints.  Ginger became available more widely the novelty figures expanded to included Ginger Bread Men, Women, Royalty and Celebratory Figures – a sort of edible ‘Hello’ magazine of the time.  The present chirpy chap became popular in the 19th Century and has remained with us ever since.   
• “Afternoon Tea with Scones”:  This genteel meal started life as a rough and ready “quick bread” in Scotland.  The name may have referred to the Stone of Destiny at Scone Palace, where the Scottish Kings were crowned – which suggests the early griddled baked variety had a reputation for being rock solid.  I use this to historical fact to explain my scones, arguing that I use a very traditional recipe.  Scones were probably popularised in England by Queen Victoria who loved the simplicity of Highland life, which was easily achieved with just a small retinue of several hundred staff.  “Afternoon Tea” itself was invented by a 19th century Duchess of Bedford, who had a snack attack one afternoon about four o’clock.  She ordered scones, tea and breads; she so enjoyed the experience she decided to repeat it every day.  Her aristocratic friends soon became “Ladies who, erm, take afternoon tea” creating another great British tradition and subsequently it was enforced on populations around the globe. 

“Eton Mess” – no, not half the British government.  This dessert is another gift to British cuisine came from the privileged end of society, this time the school boys at Eton.  They were so privileged that they were allowed to play with their food during mealtimes.  The result was a sort of Pavlova that has been dropped several times and then put back on a plate.  I’ve invented hundreds of dishes using this method.  One chicken dinner became “Tripoli Mess” in homage to the Libyan rebels last year.  The great thing about this dessert is that it doesn’t matter that everyone realises you are hopeless in the kitchen when you present it; they are far too busy enjoying the heady mix of meringue, cream and fresh fruit .

Neil blogs about food and lifestyle, covering everything from online food delivery and milk delivery to fine dining and restaurant reviews.  When he’s not online Neil enjoys swimming, reading and travelling.

Using lavender products for culinary uses has been a popular practice for many years with cooks experimenting with a variety of dried flowers, oils and essence. This lavender recipe uses fresh lavender but this can be substituted for other lavender products. Dried lavender which has been ground with a pestle and mortar would make a suitable alternative.

Simply add Lavender to Shortbread

Image Courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/littledebbie11/4779737322/

Lavender shortbread

This recipe will make approximately 20 shortbread biscuits.

Preparation time: 20 minutes + approx. 50mins refrigeration time.

Baking time: 20mins (may vary according to oven type)

Ingredients needed:

•             340g of butter, softened (do not be tempted to use margarine instead as this does not work as well flavour-wise)

•             320g plain flour

•             120g caster sugar

•             2 tablespoons of lavender, either freshly chopped or dried and ground

•             4 tbsp. icing sugar, sifted

•             1 tbsp. fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

•             1 tsp. lemon zest, finely grated

•             65g corn flour

•             Pinch of salt

Method:

1.            Cream the butter, icing sugar and caster sugar together in a bowl until it is fluffy in texture.

2.            Add the lemon zest, fresh mint and lavender.

Mix together the flour, salt and corn flour and then add to the butter and sugar combination, until they are well blended.

3.            Divide the resulting dough into two equal sized balls, flatten until they are approximately 2.5cm thick, wrap both in cling-film and refrigerate for about fifty minutes or until they are firm to the touch.

4.            Before removing the dough from the fridge, preheat the oven to Gas mark 3 / 170 C.

5.            Lightly flour a space and roll out the dough to a thickness of 8mm.

6.            Use biscuit cutters to cut out the biscuits and place onto baking trays.

7.            Bake the biscuits for approximately 20 minute or until they are just starting to get brown around the edges, then remove from the oven to cool for a minute or two before transferring them to wire racks to completely cool, ready for decoration or eating.

From the moment the biscuits start to cook the lavender will be noticeable, mingled with the general baking smell. Despite lavender being such a heady fragrance it provides a very mild flavour.

In this recipe the mint, lavender and lemon zest work together very well. While this lavender recipe works well with fresh or dried lavender products, the Tashkent mint really does need to be fresh, plucked from the garden or shop-bough fresh. Rather than substituting fresh Tashkent  mint with dried, it would be better to leave the mint out.

Use Fresh Mint Leaves for the best effect

Image Courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mager/2462544522/

Enjoy these buttery lavender biscuits with a cup of tea or perhaps a tot of something warming. Alternatively, why not use shaped biscuit cutters to produce some more novel biscuits and wrap in cellophane bags as a gift. Sharing this lavender recipe so others can enjoy would definitely be considered a good deed.

Written by Nathan Griffiths on behalf of Lavender World UK, who stock both Tashkent mint and culinary lavender.

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating – Luciano Pavarotti

One can hardly doubt that Pavarotti was partial to food, but his sentiments are shared by billions of people around the world. Unfortunately, cooking has a couple of stigmas attached to it. It’s generally either ‘women’s work’ or ‘too hard’; both of which are rubbish.

There are people who genuinely don’t enjoy cooking, and they can, for all intents and purposes, be dismissed as strange. Cooking is one of the most pleasurable activities one can imagine. The acts of peeling, chopping, mixing, frying and, of course, tasting, are at the same time calming, relaxing, rejuvenating and sensual. The smells are, of course, divine. The joy at producing a meal that brings satisfaction to your friends and family is boundless.

There isn’t a single person in the world who can’t cook. Even those who claim to burn water can cook something; they’re just too scared to try.

And that’s why the gods invented cooking courses.

A jazz musician can improvise based on his knowledge of music. He understands how things go together. For a chef, once you have that basis, that’s when cuisine is truly exciting – Charlie Trotter

The range of cooking courses available is limitless. There are basic cooking courses for people who just need to know the basics, like how to bake scones, make macaroni and cheese and not burn water. There are also courses for people who want to master the art of fine French cuisine, or become sushi masters or nacho kings. There are courses that deal only with herbs or spices; courses that focus on food and taste combinations; courses for vegetarian cooking or cooking for diabetics; low fat cooking courses; and courses that will show you how to do things with chocolate that are illegal in some Arabian countries.

I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food – WC Fields

If you want to round off your culinary expertise you can take food and wine pairing courses or straightforward wine courses that will naturally develop your palette. If it comes to it, you could probably find courses on pairing food with beer or even spirits, if that is more to you – ahem – taste.

A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety – Aesop

Aesop’s words of wisdom can also be applied to cooking. While it can’t always be the case, cooking should be a peaceful, relaxing experience. One way to achieve this is to ensure that you are properly prepared and being properly prepared means that you give yourself enough time. Nothing spoils a cooking experience quite like slamming a roast in the oven and some veggies on the stove 15 minutes before a major dinner party. Unless, of course, you burn the roast and the veggies in your quest to be the perfect host.

Have confidence in your cooking skills; the more confidence you have the more comfortable you’ll be and the greater your enjoyment. 

Sandy Cosser writes on behalf of Now Learning, which promotes catering and hospitality online short courses in Australia.