Blog Posts - Page 66 of 74 - Carma's Cookery | Tips for Unleashing Your Kitchen Creativity

Strategic Pantry Stocking

November 7, 2007Well Stocked Pantrypantry, well-stocked kitchen

hilarycl via MorgueFile.com

With the number of holidays coming up, I thought it would be a good idea to discus the staples of the kitchen. How often have you looked into your pantry (whether it a cupboard over your sink or the walk in closet variety) at the end of a day and wondered how you could transform the random ingredients you have on hand into a satisfying family meal? Don’t answer, on the grounds it may incriminate you.

With busy lives — and who isn’t crazy busy in the months of November and December, what with all the family, friend and co-worker get-togethers — it’s often hard to think or plan ahead. Statistics show that most people don’t think about what to have for dinner until after 4pm that day. And when day is done, what we want is to find comfort in our personal time, not the frustration of what to cook or the disappointment of a mediocre meal.
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Product Review: Banana Slicer

October 31, 2007Product ReviewsFruit, Product Review, Tools of the Trade

Image source: Amazon.com

I guess I have bananas on the brain. I was just thinking how much I love to add bananas to my cereal in the morning. Ooooh, and they are so tasty in a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. And don’t forget this berry nestled inside an ice cream sundae after supper!

But think of it: all that slicing can become rather tiring and the slices are never perfect. Some are too thick while others are too thin. So what is a banana lover to do? Invest in the new handy banana slicer, which is reputed to be able to handle an entire banana at one time and produce perfect slices for all your banana slicing needs.

The most wonderful thing about the banana slicer is the simplicity of its design. A single piece of molded plastic in the delightful shape of a banana makes this product not only functional but also fun to look at. One quick chop is all you need to quickly slice an entire fresh banana for your cereal or a quick snack. The banana slicer is 10 inches long, so it suits most bananas on the market today. The gadget is also dishwasher safe so there is no messy banana mess to clean up afterwards. (more…)

Weather, Bees Affect Pumpkin Crops

October 31, 2007All Things Pumpkin

The other day, as my husband was listening to one of his podcasts, it occurred to me that the world is so amazingly connected. The podcast was talking about the issue of bee die offs happening throughout the U.S. They even interviewed a pumpkin farmer about how bees were affecting his crops.

Also, to help me develop content for this blog, I have a Google Alert set for the keyword “pumpkin” and so I get a lot of news about how weather — both lack of rain and too much rain — are adversely affecting the pumpkin crops around the country.

When you hear about global climate change, does it occur to you that this might affect what kind of pie you’ll be able to serve with Thanksgiving dinner? If you don’t like honey, a bee die off might not catch your attention. But this simple fact actually might raise the prices of the vegetables in your local grocery store because the crops are smaller. (more…)

Bananas

October 24, 2007Well Stocked Pantrybananas, Fruit

BHJoco via MorgueFile.com

I love bananas. In fact, I’m thinking of doing a cookbook dedicated just to them — kind of like Bonkers for Bundt Cakes, only for bananas. Their subtle flavor makes them quite versatile: you can serve them plain, sliced on buttered toast, in custard , in sandwiches — you name it. Here are some interesting facts about the humble banana:

The first banana arrived in Britain in 1633.
Despite its odd shape, the banana is actually a berry.
It is the fruit of giant herb related to both ginger and tumeric and came originally from the Malaysian Peninsula.
Banana trees grow to about 10 meters in height and have huge leaves which wind around to form a sort of trunk. Each year individual plants produce a large flower spike in a gorgeous deep cerise colour which eventually becomes the bunch of bananas.

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Cooking for the Day of the Dead

October 17, 2007Special OccasionsDia de los Muertos, holiday cooking, Mexican Food

Adriano Snel via FreeImages.com

I bet you’ve seen plenty of booklets and magazine articles extolling their brand of Halloween cooking ideas. But have you seen any that talk about what to prepare for the following day?

The Day of the Dead or La Dia de los Muertos is an important holiday in Mexican culture. It is actually a three-day celebration, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. It is an opportunity to honor those who have left us behind and a very healthy approach to death that many other cultures would do well to adopt. This is a family event and as such there is typically a good deal of great food involved.

If this is your first celebration of the Day of the Dead you are not alone. Most Americans never adopt this custom and those that are interested enough to try out some of the cuisine of this important day in Mexican society are very rarely versed in the tradition, which makes it difficult.
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Let’s All Go Down to the Pumpkin Patch

October 16, 2007All Things Pumpkin

When I was a kid, my parents used to take me and my sister to the local pumpkin patch to find our very own pumpkins. We’d walk down the rows of vines, turning promising pumpkins around to see if they were just right on all sides. This was the first of the end-of-year traditions, the signal that celebrations aplenty were on their way.

I can still remember the feel of the pumpkin stem’s prickles in my fingers as we cut it from the vine. Then hefting our find back to the car and home to gut them and carve them into creepy creations.

Nowadays, I don’t think kids get that opportunity as often. Yes, there are still pumpkin patches, but they’re more remote and available to people who either live in a rural or semi-rural area or those who don’t mind driving a bit to get their pumpkins.
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Bundt Cake Baking Tips

October 10, 2007Cooking Techniquesbaking, Bundt cake, Desserts

Ideenkoch via Photoxpress.com

Guest Writer: Leona H

Bundt cake recipes are cake recipes that use a “bundt” cake pan or a round baking pan that with a hole in the middle and ridged, decorated sides. Bundt cake recipes use a dense cake such as a butter or pound cake recipe. These cakes are sturdy and last well. Recipes often call for a simple glaze or fruit topping. The name Bundt comes from the German word bund, which means “a gathering of people.”

Bundt cake recipes have grown in popularity since 1966 when a “Tunnel of Fudge” cake recipe used a bundt pan to win second place at a Pillsbury sponsored baking contest. Bundt cake recipes have since been quite popular and bundt cake pan sales have increased.

Because bundt cakes are baked in these intricate pans, there can be mishaps when turning the pan upside down and separating the cake from the pan, ruining a wonderful cake. These mishaps can be avoided by following a few simple steps.

Amazon.com Widgets

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