Delicious Bovril Chicken

Marmite Chicken is probably more famous than Bovril Chicken. But since I only have Bovril at home, Bovril Chicken it shall be then. It is also my very first try and I am quite pleased with how it turned out.

There are two steps in this recipe. The first step is to fry the chicken and the second is to cook the bovril sauce before coating the chicken with it prior to serving. You will need to have fast hands with cooking the sauce because the sauce can dry out pretty fast. However, if you add too much water (to prevent drying out), it would be too runny and not as nice. Anyway, don’t let that fear you into trying this dish. It’s actually an experiment on my part and it works!

This is my recipe for Bovril Chicken
Ingredients

• 6 chicken supremes (the tender piece of the chicken breast, cut into cubes)
• 1 large onion (quartered)
• 5 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
• about 30 to 50 ml warm water
• Oil for deep frying
• Marinade for chicken
• 2 teaspoons light soya sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chinese cooking wine
• a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon corn flour

Seasoning

• 2 heaped teaspoons of bovril
• salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon sugar or to taste

Method
Marinade chicken for 30 minutes or longer and deep fry till golden brown. Set aside.
Leave approximately 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in wok and saute garlic and onions till fragrant. Add seasoning and water and bring to boil. Return fried chicken pieces to wok and stir well to coat the sauce over the chicken.

How To Do Ginkgo Barley Dessert with Foo Chuk?

Ginkgo Barley Dessert with Foo Chuk is one dessert which my wife loves. It is known to be nutritious as cooling. Some chinese restaurants serve this dessert as part of a banquet, though usually for the more expensive menus because the ginkgo nut is rather expensive.
When purchased, the ginkgo nuts usually need to be broken either using a nut cracker or a mortar & pestle with a gentle knock. Ideally, take a toothpick and push the toothpick through the middle section of the nut to remove an “embryo”-like structure. This part of the nut is usually bitter tasting.

As for the foo chuk (soya skin), choose or ask your grocer for the soft type. The hard type is more suited for stews. However, even the soft type has different grades. Some will disintegrate very quickly during cooking whilst some remain intact, but soft enough to eat. The latter is the preferred choice.
This is my wife’s recipe for Ginkgo Barley Dessert with Foo Chuk
Ingredients

• 20 grammes of barley
• About 15 to 20 pieces of ginkgo nuts
• 1 to 2 pieces of foo chuk (more if you like)
• 4 pieces of Screw pine leaves / Daun Pandan (washed and tied to a knot)
• Sugar to taste
• About 1 litre of water

Method
Bring water to boil in a large pot. Add screwpine leaves, barley and ginkgo nuts and let it boil on medium heat for 45 minutes. Add foo chuk and sugar to taste and let it boil for another 15 minutes or so before serving.
Cooking time and amount of ingredients is approximate as it is dependant on your liking. However, the ingredients are essential, of course. You can make do without the screwpine leaves but you will miss out on the fragrance which it imparts.

How to Make Your Cooking Quickly And Relax

Meal time vision quest
As a busy mom, you’ve already mastered the art of time management and multi-tasking and can apply those skills to making dinner. Think about what you’d like to cook for tomorrow’s dinner the night before, and using the list of quick-cook foods below, create a menu. Knowing what you want to cook a day ahead will take the pressure off when it’s crunch time.
Pound, butterfly, dice and mince
Smaller vegetables and thinner cuts of meat will cook faster. The smaller you cut vegetables and herbs, the quicker they will cook, absorb flavors or infuse flavors into a recipe. Vegetables cut to 1/2-inch pieces will cook much quicker than 1-inch or 2-inch pieces. Minced onion, shallots, garlic and herbs will infuse flavor faster. A quicker cook time also ensures nutrients are kept at their peak. Thick cuts of pork, chicken and beef should be pounded to no more than 1-inch thick or butterflied to make them thinner.
Bang for your buck
Use bold ingredients that will build flavors fast. Chicken or vegetable stock used to boil converted rice will add more flavor than just plain water. Water, generously salted, will season pasta or potatoes as they cook. Soups, pan sauces and gravies started with a foundation of diced carrot, celery and onion will infuse complex flavors into the finished recipe. Rich "umami" foods such as tomato paste and crimini mushrooms will also infuse a long-simmered flavor into foods. Wines, vinegars and citrus zest will add a zing to your cooking liquid. A quick marinade of oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and fresh herbs will add a punch of flavor just before cooking. A second batch of the marinade can be made to slather over the cooked meats and vegetables before serving.
Use quick cooking methods
Braising, roasting and long simmered recipes are perfect for lazy weekends, but won’t cut it in a 30-minute kitchen. Stick to shallow pan frying, broiling, grilling, blanching and steaming when you’ve got to get dinner on the table in a hurry.
Cook everything at the same time
If you’ve got four burners, use ‘em all! Keep as many items cooking at the same time as possible. When something is finished cooking, cover it and set it in a warm oven until the rest of the meal is ready. Consider one-pot meals as well. For example, from the list below, you can combine pasta, vegetables and mussels or salmon for a quick, one-pot pasta dinner with a pan sauce of white wine, broth and shallots.
Quick cooking foods
Meat, poultry and fish that cook in 30 minutes or less (no thicker than 1-inch):
Boneless chicken breast: Broiled, grilled or pan-fried, four minutes each side or until temp reaches 160 degrees F. Cover and rest for 10 minutes, temp will increase to 165 degrees F.
Chicken tenderloins: Stir fried, broiled, breaded and pan-fried, two minutes each side.
Boneless pork chops: Broiled, grilled or pan-fried, four minutes each side or until temp reaches 140 degrees F. Cover and rest for five minutes, temp will increase to 145 degrees F. Pounded to 1/4-inch thick, breaded and pan-fried, two minutes each side.
Pork tenderloin: Grilled, broiled, 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from oven when internal temp reaches 140 degrees F. Cover and rest for five minutes, temp will rise to 145 degrees F. Cut into medallions, pan fried, three minutes each side.
New York strip steak: Broiled, grilled, pan-fried, four minutes each side for medium-rare. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.
Skirt steak: Broiled, grilled, pan-fried, four to six minutes each side for medium-rare. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.
Salmon: Broiled, grilled, pan-fried, steamed, poached, four to six minutes each side for medium-rare. Cover and let rest for five minutes before serving.
Cod and similar white fish: Broiled, grilled, pan-fried, steamed, poached, four to five minutes each side until opaque.
Mussels and clams: Steamed, pan-fried, broiled, three to four minutes or until they open. Discard any unopened mussels or clams before serving.
Common (fresh) vegetables that cook in 10 minutes or less:
The following vegetables can be blanched in water for one to three minutes, and then pan fried/pan roasted to caramelize. They can also be steamed for six to seven minutes:
Carrots, onions, potatoes, green beans, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, squash, zucchini, corn on the cob, asparagus and peas

Claypot Chicken with Bitter Gourd

This is my mother’s recipe. I’ve never acquired the taste for bitter gourd all these years though I know it is packed with nutrients and goodness. I am informed that this dish – Chicken with Bitter Gourd is a favourite amongst many who like bitter gourd. I am also informed that the bigger and older the bitter gourd, the less bitter it is.
So, I thought why not I post it up here on this blog for those who like to eat chicken with bitter gourd but do not know how to cook it. My mum used the claypot to retain the warmth of the dish as well as to ensure that the chicken and bitter gourd continue to simmer slowly though it has been removed from the cooker. If you don’t have a claypot, it doesn’t really matter. Just serve it on a plate.
This is my mother’s recipe for Claypot Chicken with Bitter Gourd.
Ingredients
1 large bitter gourd (wash, remove seeds, cut halved across the bitter gourd and then, cut to chunk bite sizes)
2 whole chicken legs (remove skin and cut to chunky bite sizes. You can keep the skin if you don’t mind the dish slightly oily)
5 pieces dried chinese mushrooms (pre-soaked till soft and cut to two with stems discarded)
1 1/2 tablespoons tau cheo
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tablespoons cooking oil (preferably palm oil)
1 cup warm water
Seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons dark soya sauce
Salt to taste
a pinch of sugar
Method
Heat oil in wok and stir-fry garlic and tau cheo for 30 seconds. Add chinese mushrooms, chicken and bitter gourd and continue stir-frying till outer layer of chicken meat is cooked.
Add seasoning and water enough to cover the ingredients. Bring to boil. Meanwhile, if you have a claypot, heat it up whilst waiting for the gravy to boil in the wok.
Once the gravy is boiling, transfer contents into claypot and simmer for 15 minutes on medium heat till gravy reduced to your liking. If you do not have a claypot, simmer likewise.

Healthy Pizza Cooking

The original Pizza comes from Italy and can be found in the Pizzeria (Pizza shop) which each portion of pizzanya diameter of approximately 30 cm or more, with a thin dough has been drawn. One of the secret delights of Italy Pizza is the process of pemanggangannya that performed inside the traditional oven with coals. This is because if baked with electric oven, large pizza dough will become tough thin. In this website I will give you easy recipe to make healthy pizza. Hope you can try this recipe.Ingredients:
1.500 g plain flour
2.1 packet instant yeast
3.15 g granulated sugar
4.1 teaspoon salt
5.50 ml olive oil
6.300 ml of warm water
Sauce:
1. olive oil 2 tbsp/corn
2.1 onion, finely chopped
3.2 cloves garlic, memarkan, finely chopped
4.500 g tomato red, finely grated
5.2 tbsp tomato paste
6.1 tsp. ground basil
7.1 tsp oregano, dried leaves (powder)
8.1/2 tsp pepper powder
9.1 tsp salt
10.1 tsp sugar
Topping:
1.50 g of broccoli, boiled briefly the quotation marks,
2.50 g cauliflower, quotation marks, boiled briefly
3.150 g of bacon, sliced, sautéed briefly box small
4. chicken sausage 2 bh, transverse slices, sautéed briefly
5.150 g cheese, grated
How To Make Pizza:
1. Make pizza: place the flour, salt, sugar, instant yeast in a bowl. Create a hole in the Center. Stir in oil, mix well with warm water to tuangi well blended. Put the dough on a clean surface. Knead the dough by hand until the kalis. Bulatkan dough, place it in a warm place for 1 hour to inflate twice again. Kempiskan dough. Gilas batter to thin. Print round 10 cm.
2. Make the sauce: heat the olive oil, saute the onion and garlic until fragrant and wither. Stir in tomatoes and other ingredients. Stir until boiling and condensed. Lift.
3. Basting each with sauce until flat.
4. give toppings, sprinkle cheese on top of it. Bake in hot oven at 200 C for 20 minutes until cooked. Remove and serve.

Delicious Food for Dinner At Home

We recently enjoyed a wonderful dinner at People’s Palace, our favorite thai restaurant in Makati, but came away slightly hungry. The food at People’s Palace is very good, but a bit pricey, and portions are a little modest in size… but I suppose that’s how they are going to turn a profit. :) There was one thing about the dinner on a busy Saturday night that did perturb me more than a bit. Less than two minutes (literally) after ordering our meal, the first three dishes appeared before our eyes.

 I understand it is in their interest to get clients out as quickly as possible to put more diners into the seats, but for the prices they charge, shouldn’t they try to have a semblance of preparing each dish carefully, say allowing a decent interval of 5-10 minutes before they are rushed to the table so that customers have time to savor a drink and think the chefs are slaving away? Rather than give the impression that the Top 10 dishes are pre-made and waiting around a kitchen counter for the final dressing before being whisked to the table? It’s a quibble, but just as food taking too long is irritating, food coming too fast is likewise food for thought.




With the Thai taste buds on full gear, and makrut limes in the yard, all it took to trigger some thai food fever at home was a visit to the weekend markets that yielded lots of dayap, cilantro, pomelos and chilies and had us inviting friends over for dinner on the spur of the moment.

I will say that People’s Palace had a better handle on the spices and the balance of flavors, they are still our favorite, but this home-cooked meal satisfied on several other levels.
Up top, a grilled beef salad made with rare flank steak, sliced on the bias and served over greens together with some sliced red grapes for sweetness (something I tasted at the dockside restaurant of the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok years back) and a spicy dressing of lime juice and fish sauce with chilies. The second photo, a humongous pomelo salad with shredded chicken, brined and poached shrimp, homemade toasted coconut, fried shallots, peanuts, and a dressing of lime, palm sugar and patis.A rather pallid-looking but incendiary green papaya salad that had been dressed and marinated for an hour in the fridge. Authentically bruised papaya, long beans (sitaw) and tomatoes and a bit of cilantro absorbed the flavors of pungent dried shrimp, chilies and fish sauce.

Honey Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

Every week I sit down, flip through my recipes and cookbooks and come up with some semblance of a meal plan for the week. Well, I try and do this anyways. Usually this works out really well and I'm not stuck trying to figure something out for dinner at the last minute.




Occasionally this backfires a little when there is an abrupt change of plans. Like oh, inviting friends over to dinner in the middle of the week. Don't get me wrong, I love to have people over for dinner, but I don't typically like to serve first-time meals to them. If it's my family, sure, they can be guinea pigs. Friends, it's a little different. I want to make sure whatever it is I'm feeding them is good, because, you know, I'd like them to come back after all.



However, I decided to take a chance with this recipe. All the ingredients were familiar and seemed like they should work well together. I guess sometimes risks pay off. It was delicious. Sweet with a little bit of bite from the ginger. Not to mention fairly easy to pull off.1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed



2 teaspoons garlic powder



2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided



1/2 teaspoon salt



1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper



3 cups fat-free, low sodium chicken broth, divided



1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch



2 tablespoons honey



1 teaspoon ground ginger



1 cup long-grain white rice



1 tablespoon oil



4 cups washed baby spinach



Place chicken in a medium bowl. Season chicken with garlic powder, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, salt and pepper. Set aside.



In a small bowl, combine remaining tablespoon soy sauce, 1 cup broth, cornstarch, honey, and ginger; set aside.



In a small saucepan, bring the rice and remaining 2 cups broth to a boil. Cover and lower heat to medium-low for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, recover and let sit for 5 minutes.



Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Stir in baby spinach; cook 1 minute, or until wilted. Stir broth/cornstarch mixture, then add to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly until sauce is thickened and translucent. Serve chicken and spinach over rice.

Makes Four Personal Pizzas

Pizza Dough




Pasta per pizza



Makes 4 personal pizzas



1 oz. of fresh active yeast



1 glass of milk



1 glass of water



1 finger of extra virgin olive oil



1 finger of beer



1 glass of high gluten flour



salt & pepper



enough all-purpose flour to make a smooth dough



Note: The ‘glass’ size is a typical wine glass. Exact amounts are not important as long as the same glass is used throughout the recipe.



Heat liquid ingredients to tepid.



Add yeast & dissolve completely. Wait 2-3 minutes for yeast to activate.



Join us every Thursday at our Agriturismo/Farmhouse as we fire up the outdoor wood burning oven, dine al'fresco family-style in the garden & enjoy handmade pizzas, salad from our garden, dessert & a quarter litre of wine for 15 Euro per person.



Add high gluten flour & mix in. Begin adding all-purpose flour cup by cup & incorporating until a dough suitable for turning on a board is achieved.



Turn dough out on board, knead for 10 minutes or until dough is smooth & elastic, adding flour as needed.



Return dough to original bowl, cover with a kitchen towel. Allow to double to triple in size in a warm draft-free place. Normally for about 3 hours.



Punch dough down & cut into baseball size balls of dough for individual pizzas.Are you a pizzaiolo at heart? Try our famous hands-on pizza class (featured in Food & Wine) and learn the secrets of making pizza from scratch, rolling & tossing your dough and collecting fresh ingredients for the toppings & sauce straight from our organic garden! Then master the art of firing your pizza in the outdoor wood burning oven!

Chinese Cooking Eggplant

Here, roasted vegetables are some quick and tasteful ones! Tamarind Place the square in small bowl. Cover with boiling water and let rest until pulp soft, sometimes breaking apart with a fork, about 45 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer tamarind pulp with seeds set sieve over medium bowl. Pulp Press through sieve, so that seed back. Cook squash in medium saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain squash. Return to same pot and mash, to a smooth puree.To do fried vegetable filling and very good, but easy. Bring medium saucepan of water to the boil, salt generously. Add snow peas and cook just until al dente, about 15 seconds. From large slotted spoon, transfer peas sieve. Rinse with cold water and drain well. Repeat the cooking, Rinse, drain, and with each remaining vegetable in different batches in the same pot of boiling salted water until just tender crisp vegetables, about 1 minute for Asparagus, about 3 minutes for eggplant and zucchini, and about 1 minute for bok choy leaves. Pat dry peas, cut on diagonal into thin strips



Skillet sautéed vegetable medley of fresh vegetables include broccoli, zucchini and yellow squash, mushrooms and tomatoes, grapes, and seasoned with basil and garlic. Tamarind is a legume with large brown seed capsules. After the resurrection of the mushrooms and carrots along with the rest of the spices and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Then, lentils and tomatoes and stir well to break up tomatoes and mix them all together. The plant food is also very good and easy to cook and serve with your Taste.



Roasted vegetables is a perfect dinner. Available in Asian markets and in the Asian foods part of many supermarkets. First, you add all the spices in an empty pan, then over medium heat, warm elicit from them by their taste fragrance will tell when this happens. Scrape them all in a mortar, pound it into a powder. Now add the oil in the pan and take it when hot add onions and peppers together with garlic and ginger. Let these cook together for 5 minutes. Please buy online

An Easy Mexican Recipe Mostly Loved By Kids

Ingredients:



1 cup chicken cooked and sliced



2 tortillas



1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese



1/4 shredded cheddar cheese



1/3 finely sliced onions



1/4 chopped tomatoes



1/4 cup diced (small) bell pepper



1/4 cup chopped mushrooms



1 green chili



1 tablespoon olive oil



Method:



In a fry pan add 1/2 tablespoon oil and place tortilla.



Sprinkle half the cheese on the tortilla.



Spread the veggies and chicken.



Again spread the rest of cheese and cover with the second tortilla.



Flip the tortilla and add rest of the oil to make it golden brown from the other side.



Turn off the flame.



Cut into pieces and serve with your kid’s favorite dip.

Delicious Food You Could Chose

The Dutch cooking customs in the early days of the Cape colony were changed forever with the arrival of the slaves from the Far East. Malay slaves began to arrive at the Cape towards the end of the 17th century. Among the man were skilled fishermen, and the women were expert cooks who included a multitude of spices in their dishes.




They brought aniseed, star fennel, turmeric, cardamom and ginger (both green and dried) amongst others. They brought a variety of massalas, mixtures of different spices used for different dishes, common to the Indonesian culinary culture and they brought saltpetre, the miracle ingredient for pickling.

The intermingling of the early Dutch and Malay cookery is known today as the Cape Dutch cuisine, a fragrant style of cooking which is unique to South Africa.A good example of the Malay influence on South Africa’s cuisine. The word sosatie comes from the Indonesian words "sesate" (skewered meat) and "sate" (spicy sauce). They are made with small pieces of lamb threaded on thin wooden skewers, with small cubes of bacon in between. Un like kebabs, "sosaties" are marinated in a curry marinade for up to two days. A popular delicacy at most South African "braais" (barbecues).

Very tasty with the lovely smell of cinnamon sticks, turmeric and crushed cardamom pods. served with their rich curries, yellow rice is further enhanced with raisins and fried almond shavings.

Healthy And Tasty Treat Seafood

Preparing tasty dishes everyday for family that is healthy along with being delicious is a very difficult task indeed. Then again, when you have a tea party at home, it is very difficult to decide on a healthy snack that is tasty too. And then there is the question of time, especially if you are working. Most of you will go for outside food in such situations but there is another way too and that is sea food. They are extremely delicious if cooked well, do not take much time and are very healthy too.

　You do not only mean fish by sea food, there are other varieties too like crab, lobster, shrimp and so on. You can prepare tasty dishes with lobster for dinner for your family or crab cakes for your friends for the kitty party or shrimp for the office party that is to be held at your home. The recipes for the dishes that can be easily cooked at home without much fuss but will be delicious too can be found from cook books or from the Internet as well. Especially for preparing crab cakes, you will find a variety of different recipes that are extremely easy to make at home.
    Before preparing crab cake or lobster or shrimp or any other sea food for that matter, make sure you know the food habits of all the people coming as your guests well, as everyone do not like sea food and some are even allergic to it. After preparing an awesome dish of crab cake for your guests, if you find out they cannot taste it due to some kind of allergy it will be a complete waste of your time and energy hence do be well informed before trying it for a party or a gathering. For your family too, make sure they like sea food and are not allergic to it.
    Sea foods are extremely healthy and hence there is no need to worry about the health of your family while serving it to them. If they like it, you can serve it to them daily even by preparing different varieties of crab cake or fish or lobster or shrimp. Hence just go ahead and make time saving delicious as well as healthy sea food dishes and prepare to be showered with compliments from everyone, family as well as guests.

StirFried Boneless Chicken with Capsicums in Teriyaki Sauce

　　
　　One of the earliest dishes I tried out at Japanese restaurants was the Chicken Teriyaki. Lightly grilled and basted with the mildly sweet teriyaki sauce, the tender pieces of chicken always go well with steamed rice. Though I’ve seen the teriyaki marinade being sold at the supermarket shelves, I never got around to buying them until a few months ago – now that I have an oven at home.
I never knew that it was so easy to prepare a dish of oven-roasted chicken teriyaki to perfection but that would be a recipe for another day to share with you. For today, let me share with you what I attempted for the first time which resulted in a thumbs up from my wife

　　Stir-fried boneless chicken with capsicums in teriyaki sauce may be a long name to pronounce but definitely short and easy to cook. Ingredients are simple and cooking time is minimal. I do think that this dish would be better if a couple of slices of onion are included but you won’t be disappointed even if you don’t have it. The capsicums themselves will give a slight robust taste to this dish, not to mention, a crunch to the otherwise tender pieces of chicken.
For the chicken, I chose the whole leg of chicken, completely deboned with skin removed. Breast meat may not be suitable as it is less tender. The skin is removed so that the dish will turn out less oily. Moreover, it would not be suitable to stir fry the chicken with meat intact. If you prefer to have the chicken skin on, roasting would be a better option. I never knew chicken teriyaki was so simple, and this recipe could even withstand the toughest restaurant reviews – it’s that delicious

　　This is my quick recipe for Stir Fried Boneless Chicken with Capsicums in Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
2 whole leg of chicken (deboned, skin removed and cut into bite sizes)
1 capsicum (julienned)
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 ½ tablespoons cooking oil (peanut, mixed or palm oil)
100 ml hot water
Marinade
2 teaspoons light soya sauce
A couple of dashes of white pepper powder
1 teaspoon of corn flour
Seasoning
1 tablespoon of thick teriyaki sauce
2 teaspoons light soya sauce
A couple of dashes of black pepper powder to taste
Salt to taste
Method
Season chicken with marinade for about ½ hour before cooking.
Heat wok on high heat till smoky. Add oil, garlic and chicken. Stir briskly. Add capsicums when chicken meat is seared.
Add seasoning and water and bring to boil.
Cook chicken thoroughly and dish up when gravy is reduced.
Serve hot with steamed white rice.

Final Delights Before the Frost

　　
　　Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
FALL BOUNTY The apples, cider and pumpkins at Hindinger Farm, in Hamden, are typical of the late-season offerings available at farms and orchards throughout the state.
The air may be a bit nippier, but it is not too late to enjoy the fruits of the fall harvest at local farms. At this time of year that means apples (and apple cider), along with pumpkins, squashes, gourds — and pies. These three orchards are representative of what is available at many farms around the state.
Related
Times Topic: Connecticut Dining

　　Connect With Us on Twitter
Follow @NYTMetro for New York breaking news and headlines.
Enlarge This Image

　　Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
Enlarge This Image

　　Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
Sharon
The three views from Ellsworth Hill Orchard’s retail store very much reflect what this farm is about. One is of the rolling hills where its apple orchards and berry patches thrive. Another overlooks its corn maze. The third is through a plate glass window into the cider-making room.
If the weather remains mild, the orchard will continue to be open for pick-your-own apples. In the event of heavy frost, many types will be available in the store, including Empire, Honeycrisp, Gala, Cortland, Northern Spy, Macintosh, Idared, Golden Delicious and Macoun ($1.89 to $2.29 a pound, prepicked). “The later varieties are getting sweeter over time,” Michael Bozzi, the owner, said.
Mr. Bozzi, a former landscaper, bought the business 11 years ago. Under his direction, Ellsworth Hill added blueberries, cherries, peaches, plums, fall raspberries and Asian pears ($3 a pound), an autumn specialty. In a bit of landscaping ingenuity, the corn maze is keyed to a sheet of crossword-puzzle-style clues designed to lead participants through it. Like the orchard, it should be open through November ($5 to $7 per person, free for children 5 and under).
Whatever the weather, this is the season for apple cider ($2 a cup, $4 a half-gallon), made on the premises and sold unpasteurized and preservative-free. In addition to the cider mill, the farm store has a kitchen that produces spiced cider doughnuts ($5 a half-dozen), muffins ($4 for two) and three kinds of pies: apple, pumpkin and fruits of the farm ($14.50 each). “With all that fresh baking,” Mr. Bozzi said, “it smells pretty nice here in the fall.”
Ellsworth Hill Orchard and Berry Farm, 461 Cornwall Bridge Road (Route 4), Sharon; ellsworthfarm.com or (860) 364-0025. Open daily, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cash only.
Hamden
The sign in front of Hindinger Farm reads, “A family tradition of quality since 1893.” With goats frolicking in a pen to the left of the retail store and cornstalks and hay bales out front, a good part of that tradition is easy to imagine.
Hindinger sells crackers for feeding the goats (50 cents for a small bag), but the bulk of its business is in people food. The farm stand carries a large range of fresh produce, much of it grown on the property. That includes an array of apples — Ginger Gold, Honeycrisp and Empire, all at $1.75 a pound — and Bosc pears. Cool-weather crops of broccoli ($1.75 a pound), white and savoy cabbages (40 to 60 cents a pound) and sundry winter squashes (75 cents a pound for acorn, butternut and spaghetti) should last through Thanksgiving.
Hindinger also offers more than a dozen preserves, jellies and fruit butters; several kinds of salsa; salad dressings and barbecue sauces; preserved peaches; marinated mushrooms; peppers; beans; even pickled beef balls ($5 to $7 for most 20-ounce jars).
Then there is the distinctive selection of pumpkins — warted, peanut, one-too-many, cheese, fairytale and blue jarrandale ($11 apiece) — and gourds, both the green gooseneck variety ($8 each) and colorful miniatures ($1.50 a pound). A decorative combination of a few will last far beyond jack-o’-lantern season.
Hindinger Farm, 835 Dunbar Hill Road, Hamden; hindingersfarm.com or (203) 288-0700. Open Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Shelton
In spite of its name, Beardsley’s Cider Mill and Orchard is not just about freshly crushed apple cider. It may seem that way, however, should you visit on a weekend, when production in the cider room, at one end of the retail store, gets under way.
There are roughly 5,000 apple trees at Beardsley’s, spread over 27 acres. Between the wet summer and Tropical Storm Irene, the farm lost an estimated 15 percent of its crop, but there are still plenty of apples — more than 30 varieties are grown at the farm ($9 a half-peck, or $1 per apple).
While all of its apples are fine for eating or baking, Beardsley’s prefers to use Winesap, Northern Spy, Russet and Baldwin for cider production, with a minimum of three varieties going into a batch ($5.50 a gallon). Unfortunately, the mix will be light on Baldwins this year since deer ate most of them. “They’re very impudent, taking the better ones and munching on them right in front of us,” said Dave Beardsley, who ran the farm for many years before his son, Dan, took over.
Baked goods are another Beardsley’s specialty. More than a dozen pies, including sugarless apple, can be purchased throughout the week ($14), and fried dough, dusted with sugar and cinnamon, is featured on weekends ($4). There are cider doughnuts too, with bits of apple inside ($1 each), fruit breads ($6 a loaf), cookies ($3 for three) and pumpkin cheesecake ($21).
Most of the jarred goods are made for the farm by an outside vendor. One notable exception is the honey ($7.25 for a one-pound jar), which is produced by the same bees that help pollinate Beardsley’s apple trees.
Beardsley’s Cider Mill and Orchard, 278 Leavenworth Road (Route 110), Shelton; beardsleyscidermill.com or (203) 926-1098. Open daily, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Last Chance Foods: The Weird World of Mushrooms

　　
　　Call them creepy, poisonous, delicious, or beautiful — what is certain about mushrooms is that they are essential to a functioning planet. Fungi comprise approximately 25 percent of the world’s biomass, yet they exist in a strange category that is neither plant nor animal, explains Eugenia Bone, the author of the new book, Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms.
A food writer and co-president of the New York Mycological Society, Bone notes that fungi are integrated into almost every aspect of life on the planet. From a culinary perspective, edible mushrooms provide an enormous range of flavors and deliver an umami-packed punch.
Mushrooms also are prized — and lucrative — finds for foragers. By some estimates, wild mushroom harvesting represents the largest legal cash crop in the country. This year’s wet weather, in particular, has brought a bounty of mushrooms such as black trumpets.
“We’re moving toward the end of the season, but it’s been unbelievable,” says Bone, whose book is out this week from Rodale. “I guess, the silver lining of hurricane Irene was all of these mushrooms.”
While wild varieties like oyster mushrooms and hen-of-the-woods claim a prized spot on menus at high-end restaurants, white button

　　mushrooms also have their place in the kitchen.
“I think those white mushrooms can taste pretty good actually,” Bone says. “The white button mushroom and the cremini, little brown one, and the portobello are all the same species. It’s all the same mushroom. They’re just selected for color, and a porchini is just a grown-up cremini.”
One advantage of store-bought mushrooms is that they don’t really need to be washed. They’re grown in sterile soil, so Bone just cuts off any dirty parts. Mushrooms should only be rinsed right before use, and there’s no need to painstakingly wipe each one with a damp cloth. Don’t soak the mushrooms, but be sure to give wild mushrooms a thorough rinse.
Most importantly: Cook all mushrooms.
The main reason for that piece of advice is because mushrooms aren’t very digestible in raw form. “Mushroom cell walls are made of chitin, the same thing that shrimp shells are made from,” says Bone. “It’s one of the things that makes scientists say that mushrooms are closer to us on the evolutionary scale than they are to plants.”

　　In particular, wild mushrooms should also be cooked because microorganisms might be lurking the cracks and crevices. To put it simply — if indelicately — uncooked wild mushrooms have the potential for giving people worms.
White truffles, however, are an exception to the cooking rule. Bone explains that the chemicals that give truffles their rich, musky flavor are gases that dissipate within a few days and with heat. That is why it’s traditional in Italian cuisine to shave raw truffles over pasta.
When it comes to the much-touted truffle oil, Bone has some bad news: Almost all of it is synthetic. A chemical is synthesized to replicate the flavor of the fungi.
“A few droplets [of the chemical] are put into some olive oil, and it’s poured into a tall skinny beautiful bottle,” Bone says. “Then you pay a fortune for it, but it’s probably 40 cents worth of product in the bottle.”
Try Bone’s recipes for prochini salt and porchini butter. Both are good ways to use mushrooms throughout the year.

Week on the web: Ice Cream Sandwich looks delicious

　　
　　How I learned to stop worrying and love the App Store: Apple's locked-down app store has attracted the ire of Android and free software partisans for its restrictions on user freedom. But app stores can be good for users—so long as they are made more transparent and accountable.
Bitcoin implodes, falls more than 90 percent from June peak: Bitcoin, the world's first peer-to-peer digital currency, has had a wild year. After rising to more than $30 in June, it fell below $3 on Monday. Is the crypto-currency doomed?
Google and Samsung unveil Galaxy Nexus, Android 4 at event: Google and Samsung announced the Galaxy Nexus smartphone at an event in Hong Kong and unveiled Android 4, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich, the new version of Google's mobile operating system.
Can AMD survive Bulldozer's disappointing debut?: AMD has bet its next few years of CPU building on the brand-new Bulldozer architecture, but benchmarks of the new chips have been downright disappointing. AMD has been through this before, though; here's how the situation might improve.
Apple and Android, the slow pall bearers to RIM's eventual demise: RIM lost much of its credibility last week with an outage lasting several days, but the company was already in trouble. Long a trusted name in the enterprise, RIM is being left in the dust by the consumerization of IT.
Droid Razr smartphone makes its debut with a host of new services: Motorola has introduced the Droid Razr, a 7.1 millimeter-thick 4G LTE smartphone with 9 hours of battery life, as well as a new workout-monitoring smartphone and a streaming service for the company's phones.
Stunning "ISAM" live tour combines 3D sets, CG visuals, and crazy math: Amon Tobin's multimedia extravaganza "ISAM" is one of the most dizzying live audio-visual concerts that a person can experience, thanks to sophisticated computer imagery and projection.
Under FCC pressure, mobile carriers adopt "bill shock" warnings: The four major US wireless carriers have agreed to provide consumers with notifications designed to ward off "bill shock"—large, unexpected charges that show up on mobile phone bills.
ARM's new Cortex A7 is tailor-made for Android superphones: ARM's latest CPU, the A7, is the result of ARM's study of how the Android OS utilizes existing ARM chips during normal usage. The result is a CPU that the chipmaker claims will offer double the performance of its predecessor.
A deep-dive tour of Ice Cream Sandwich with Android's chief engineer: Google invited us to its Mountain View campus for hands-on time with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the flagship device on which the new Android OS will launch sometime in November.

Recipes from Winy’s kitchen: Fall food & Halloween Treats

　　Winy Chen, registered dietitian at Beach Cities Health District’s Center for Health & Fitness shares a few of her favorite recipes for fall and for good-cookin’ Halloween fun.
Black bean and corn pitas

　　Black Bean and Corn Pitas. Photo courtesy Vitality Cities
Servings: 8 Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 0 min Level: Easy
Ingredients:
1 (15 oz) can low-sodium black beans
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 cup fresh or no salt added canned tomatoes
1 avocado, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon chili powder
3 medium whole-wheat pita pockets, quarter
1/3 cup shredded part-skim Mozzarella cheese
Directions:
Drain and rinse beans.
In a medium bowl, combine beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado, and garlic.
Add parsley, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and chili powder.
Cut pita bread in quarters and serve.
Nutrition per serving:
170 calories, 5 g fat, 8 g protein, 8 g fiber
Halloween Tips
Halloween conjures up fond memories of carving pumpkins, dressing up in the perfect costume and of course trick-or-treating. As a dietitian who also loves to celebrate this tradition with my children, here are my 5 pieces of advice for parents.
Relax and lighten up. Indulging in candy treats on this one special night ( and maybe a handful of days after) is not going to undermine the everyday healthy habits you’re trying to nurture in your children. The more your focus you put on forbidding children to have candy, the stronger their desire to have it.
Shift children’s focus away from candy by: decorating the house with spooky décor, visiting a local fall festival or pumpkin patch, reading, writing scary Halloween stories, doing arts & crafts such as carving the pumpkin or making masks out of paper plates.
Make good use of Halloween theme cookie cutters to make sandwiches and fruits look more ghoulishly delicious.
Offer healthier trick-or treat giveaways like tattoos, stickers, and small toys like eyeballs and skeletons. If you prefer offering food treats, consider like high quality chocolates, chocolate covered raisins or almonds, pretzel, or fruit puree roll-ups.
Encourage your children to savor the candy one bite at a time. Such treat is be to savored and not gobbled up mindlessly. The practice of mindful eating can even allow your children to eat less as a result.
If you don’t make the candy a major issue, it’s likely your children won’t either. Keep Halloween in perspective. Take the pressure off of your kids and yourself – and enjoy this delightful, guilt-free day!
Fun and Healthy Recipe Ideas
Mummy Bones:
Wrap banana in a whole wheat tortilla with Nutella spread
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

　　photo from SewCraftyMeg
1 pumpkin
Salt totaste
1) Carve the pumpkin as a family activity.
2) Remove the seeds from the strings. Do not wash
3) Place seeds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle a little salt to season
4) Baked at 350 F for about 20 minutes or until seeds turn a light golden color.
Carrot Finger with Pumpkin Dip
3 Tb canned pumpkin
1 cup low fat Greek yogurt
1 Tb honey
1 Tb orange juice
½ tsp cinnamon
1) Mix all ingredients together.
2) Put dabs of dip onto the top of carrot sticks. Stick almond slivers on top to make carrot fingernails.
Black Bean Soup
2 ( 15 oz) cans drained black beans
1 ( 14 ½ oz) can low salt chicken broth
½ cup salsa
1 Tb chili powder
½ tsp cinnamon
1) Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and heat through. Simmer for 20-30 min until thickens.
2) Serve with sour cream, lime slices, and whole grain tortilla chips if desired.

Molten Lava Cakes

One of my m0st favorite desserts to make for Valentine’s Day or special occasions are molten lava cakes. If you’re not familiar with these special chocolate cakes you’re in for a real treat.

Each cake is baked in individual cups (or cupcake tin) and served warm with a melt in your mouth chocolate liquid center (lava).

Don’t let the photo intimidate you from making these miniature decadent chocolate cakes from heaven.

This recipe is really easy, quick to prepare and bake, forgiving, and will make you look like a rock-star.

As a warning, if you dust them with a little powdered sugar, whipped cream, or a scoop of vanilla or mint ice cream, you may earn a reputation as a “Dessert Diva” and will be required to make these every time company comes over. And if you are a guy making this for your sweetie… trust me on this, chocolate is the way to a woman’s heart.

These cakes are as good as the ones you order in fancy restaurants not to mention for a lot less expensive.

So if you’re looking for a great easy chocolate cake dessert to serve for your next romantic dinner or dinner may I suggest these molten lava cakes?
Enjoy!

Molten Lava Cakes Recipe
5.0 from 1 reviewsPrint
Recipe type: Dessert
Author: Savory Sweet Life
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 20 mins
Serves: 6
Molten Lava Cakes adapted from Paula Deen’s Home Cooking
Ingredients
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) butter
8 oz (1 cup) chocolate chips (any type of chocolate chips will work but I recommend semi-sweet or a combination of bitter and semi-sweet)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
OPTIONAL : 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur (Kahlua) OR 1 tsp. instant coffee powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray 6 -6 ounce custard (ramekin) cups or cupcake tin. In a medium microwavable bowl, melt chocolate chips and butter in the microwave for 60 seconds and then in 30 second increments until smooth (about 1.5-2 minutes total). Add flour and sugar to chocolate/butter sauce. Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth.

Add vanilla and coffee liqueur/instant coffee and mix everything until combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the each cups. Place cups on top of a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. The edges should be firm but the center will be runny.

Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates or you can serve each molten lava cake still in the cup.

Notes

Some optional “finishing” ideas are: sprinkle powdered sugar on top, add a dollop of whipped cream of ice cream, add raspberries or strawberries, or any combination of the above. Enjoy!

Pavlova

We eat a lot of birthday cake at the office. Almost daily, songs break out, people flock, and a decadent dessert is devoured in record time. This week was Lesia’s turn. Nothing says “it’s that time of year again already?” like a homemade treat and a song.

Pavlova is the other birthday cake in my house. (I married an Australian.) It’s a really simple dessert that you can do in advance. It’s light, delicious, and versatile – practically perfect (like marrying an Australian). Consider it the dessert equivalent of a pair of Groove Pants.

If channeling your inner domestic goddess is on your list of things to do this year (or you’re hosting an Oscar party in the not-too-distant future), I recommend mastering this simple recipe. I modified this one from Gourmet magazine, courtesy of my favourite and yours, epicurious.com. Follow it to the letter and achieve amazing results.
before you begin

There are tricks to making it the best it can be. Remember these simple yet important things.

Meringue and humidity don’t get along. I’ll spare you the scientific explanation. Bottom line is you won’t get great results. If it’s humid where you are, pick another dessert.

Room temperature is best. Your egg whites will whip up better if they’re at room temperature. (Don’t have time to wait? Put those chilly eggs in a bowl with lukewarm water to speed up the process.)
Keep it clean. Egg whites have a reputation for being high maintenance. Make sure there is zero egg yolk mingling with the whites and ensure your egg beaters and bowl are squeaky clean.
Look but don’t touch. It’s best to keep the oven door closed as much as possible. Spy on your masterpiece through that handy window.
tools of the trade
Besides the obvious (oven, electric mixer, baking sheet, parchment paper and your fearless self), here are some things that are nice to have when making pavlova.

A piping bag and large open star tip. You can simply spoon the meringue onto parchment to create a carefully disheveled nest or you can pipe your meringue for extra glamour and appeal. Both are lovely. (It’s like lip gloss versus lipstick.)

A long offset spatula. It has a million uses, one being getting that beautiful meringue off the parchment in one easy swipe.
A Microplane zester. It’s my favourite gift for my soon-to-be-foodie friends. It makes zesting lemons (and grating hard cheeses, chocolate and spices) a breeze.

one more thing

Need more reasons to quickly make pavlova for a special occasion?
It’s easy to make. If you have a standing mixer like this sexy one, you’ll be laughing.
It’s easy to dress up. Pipe single serving nests or bite-sized ones for a fete. Watch this video at the 2:00 mark to see it done.

It’s easy to fix mistakes. It didn’t work? Grab a martini glass, crumble the meringue, layer on some lemon curd and berries and voila!

You’re a genius.
It’s easy to sweat off. OK, there’s a bit of whipping cream, but life is about balance and it’s really light compared to many desserts. (Training for a marathon? You’ve probably earned an extra slice anyways.)

German chocolate cake

For those watching out for calories, stay away.

For those looking for absolute pleasure, here's a German chocolate cake recipe and frosting that you can't miss. Either as a dessert or a birthday party cake, this recipe never fails any occasion. An extremely easy to make recipe, this cake is a total indulgent sin.

The impressive chocolate cake, gets a delectable flavor of rich caramel, laced with coconut on top. The bare sides of the cake, allows you to see what lies beneath and in between. So, let's take a look at the German chocolate cake recipe and frosting recipe. Read more on cake recipes.

German Chocolate Cake Recipe and Frosting Recipe

Ingredients for the Cake

Buttermilk, ¾ cup
Vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
Yolk of eggs, 5 medium
Sugar, 2 cups
Egg whites, 5 medium
Salt, ½ teaspoon
Baking soda, 1 teaspoon
Sifted cake flour, 2 ½ cups
Warm milk, ¼ cup
Butter, 1 cup (2 sticks)
Sweet dark chocolate, 4 ounces
Ingredients for the Frosting
Warm milk, ¼ cup
Finely ground pecans, walnuts, or almonds, 1 ½ cups
Fresh or frozen and thawed grated coconut, 10 ounces
Vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
Butter, ½ cup (1 stick)
Evaporated milk, 1 cup
Egg yolks, 4 medium
Sugar, 1 cup
Directions
Preheat the oven at 350º F.

Begin by preparing the dark chocolate by melting it in a double boiler. Stir it till it smoothens out. Add ½ stick of butter and stir it, once again, till it's completely blended with the chocolate. Now pour ¼ cup of warm milk in the chocolate-butter mixture, stir till smooth and set aside for cooling.
Grease the cake pans with butter and lightly dust the base of the pan with flour.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together.

In a large bowl beat the egg whites till they are frothy and fluffy.
In another bowl, blend the remaining 1 ½ sticks of butter and sugar. Slowly, add the egg yolks as well. Once the mixture is fluffy, add the cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla extract and mix well.

With the mixer on the low, stir buttermilk and flour mixture. Do this by adding the flour to the buttermilk slowly. Now add the egg white batter to the buttermilk mixture and stir the mixture once again, to get rid of the lumps.
Now mix all the batter together and divide them into pans. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes.

You will know the cake is done when it will start pulling away from the sides of the pan. Once the cake is done and cooled, run a knife around the edges of each pan and turn the layers of the cake onto wire racks.
Directions for Frosting

To make the frosting, combine milk, egg yolks and sugar on top of a double boiler. Stir the mixture till it's totally blended and add the butter. Place this mixture over simmering water and bring to boil. Stir the mixture till it thickens.

Add the nuts, pecans, coconut and vanilla. Allow it to cool to begin frosting. Place the cake on a cake stand and frost each layer completely including the tops and the sides. For a better taste, poke the layers on top for the frosting to seep inside.For making the frosting easier, use grated coconut.
This will allow you to spread the frosting much more easily, without disrupting the top layer of the cake.
 
The quantity mentioned in this recipe will serve 12. I hope you found this German chocolate cake recipe and frosting easy to make. Bon appétit!

Citrus fruits

Citrus fruits are very well-known for their flavor, fragrance and juiciness. This may be because of the presence of citric acid, flavonoids and limonoids. These fruits are very much rich in Vitamin C content.

Citrus fruits which are also called acid fruits have many therapeutic benefits due to their detoxifying nature. Citrus fruits belong to the family called Rutaceae. Citrus fruit trees are also called ornamental trees as they give rise to the citrus fruits of various forms and sizes ranging from small to large and round to oval.
Though the exact location of origin of citrus fruits is not known, it is believed that they originated around 8000 years ago somewhere near South-East Asia. Now these fruits are produced in many countries and rank first in international fresh citrus fruits trade. Spain is one of the leading countries known for supplying these fruits.
Types of Citrus Fruits
There are innumerable types of citrus fruits ranging from small to large ones. It's not possible to list out all of them, but most common ones are listed below.
Lemon-It is one of the most common citrus fruits, which is oval or round in shape, yellow or green in color and having a juicy acidic flesh. Lemons are very much rich in vitamins and are used in many soft drinks like lemonade.
Orange-It is round in shape, reddish-yellow in color with a thick skin. It is high in citric acid and vitamins. Oranges can be consumed fresh, used in soft drinks or made into a juice.
Lime-It is an oval-shaped, small bright green citrus fruit rich in acidic and vitamin content. It is also used in many summer drinks.
Leech Lime-It is an oval-shaped, yellow or green colored citrus fruit slightly bigger than lime. Leech lime juice can be drunk by mixing it with water and sugar.
Grapefruit-It is a round-shaped, large yellow citrus fruit with acid juicy pulp. It can be eaten raw or used in preparing marmalade.
Citron - It is a yellowish-green colored, large lemon-like citrus fruit with a thick peel. The preserved and candied citron peel is used in fruitcakes, cookery and confectionery.
Kumquat-It is a small, oval-shaped, orange-yellow citrus fruit with thin sweet edible peel and acidic flesh. It can be eaten fresh or even eaten raw with the edible peel.
Mandarin Orange-It is a small, reddish-orange colored, loose-skinned citrus fruit. It can be eaten fresh or used as a sweetener in grapefruit juices.
Pummelo - It is large, pear-shaped, yellow colored citrus fruit with coarse dry pulp. It is similar to grapefruit and is called father of grapefruits due to its large size.
Citrus fruits have several medicinal and nutritive properties, which help in treating or fighting against several diseases. Citrus fruits like lemons may help in reducing the pain caused due to bee stings. Some types of citrus fruits may help in reducing the risk of cancers and heart diseases. Orange, which is a rich source of vitamin C can prevent scurvy, caused due to vitamin C deficiency.
Tangerine-It is a type of mandarin orange having an orange-red color and citrus taste.
Health Benefits of Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits are consumed not only because of their taste but also because of the beneficial effects they have on the health. There are various health benefits associated with the consumption of citrus fruits, as they are low in fat, free of cholesterol and sodium.
Citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C content, acidic content and are good sources of minerals, carbohydrates and fibers. They also contain essential nutrients like calcium, copper, folate, potassium, magnesium, niacin and vitamin B6 required for the proper functioning of the body.
Some types of citrus fruits are sources of essential oils, which are used in perfumes and other cosmetic products.
Citrus fruits don't have any negative effects on the health, but should be avoided if you are suffering from cold and flu as they can make you sicker. Also, some people may have problems with the consumption of citrus fruits due to the presence of acidic content.

Brisket Braised with Bourbon and Apricots

　　“MEAT SPAGHETTI!”

That’s what my boyfriend shouted across the room when he saw me lift up a piece of 7 hour braised brisket from the slow cooker. This is proper Sunday cooking: a big piece of cow, slung in a pot and allowed to cook down until the meat falls apart with so much as a sideways glance from hungry eyes.
I’ve been experimenting with brisket on the BBQ over the summer and I almost got it right – almost. It’s hard to achieve still-moist brisket complete with proper smoke ring on a small home BBQ but I’ll get there, next year. Now it’s all about the patient braising in my shiny new slow-cooking Crock Pot.
The 1.2 kg hunk of brisket sure did look cosy coddled in that pot with some home-made beef stock and a good slug of bourbon. I added dried apricots for sweetness, which plumped up and gradually broke down leaving little amber nuggets clinging to the meat. Man, was I proud when I served this up (and I don’t mind saying so myself); so rich and tender it made me want to give myself a big ol’ pat on my smug-ass back.
After I’d finished with the patting, my thoughts turned to the leftovers. The Sandwich. A really generous portion of warmed brisket packed against coleslaw, sliced pickles, Frank’s Hot Sauce and French’s mustard. I think it’s fair to say I was in a state of mind approaching ecstasy when I sat down to consume this beautiful behemoth. She was big, she was messy and she was filthy in a good way. So worth the wait.
Seven-Hour Brisket Braised with Bourbon and Apricots (fed 2 people for 3 meals, generously)
1.195kg brisket (look, that’s what it weighed – I’m not taking the piss)
10 dried apricots
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic, peeled
A slosh of Frank’s Hot Sauce (or other hot sauce, or chilli flakes)
2 bay leaves
150ml bourbon
About 400ml good quality beef stock (I made mine)
Put the brisket in the slow cooker and add the onion, garlic, Frank’s, bay leaves, apricots, bourbon and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Add about half of the stock or whatever your slow cooker can take. I added half then topped it up halfway through cooking time.
Set the cooker to low and cook for seven hours, or until the meat is falling apart. As I say, you’ll need to top up with stock half way through (makes sure you warm it up first). When the meat is ready, remove it and shred it. Set aside.

In a saucepan over a high heat, reduce the sauce by about half then add the meat back into it. Serve with slaw and sourdough. Beans would also be nice. Make sure you save some for the sandwich. I mean that.

Jhal Muri Express

Last night The Florence pub in Herne Hill held a little gathering of SE London’s best street food traders. Among them, our sweet-toothed Brixton lass Chocstar, Yianni from The (legendary) Meatwagon* and the amazing Angus Denoon, with his Kolkata street food.
Just look at that van. I was like a moth to a neon light. An Aladdin’s Cave, decked out with cosy cushions and flower garlands. Bags of Indian limes hang from the doors; incense and gas stoves burn. Angus sits outside in front of his prep bench, surrounded by steaming pots and garnishes.
It was a freezing evening and nothing appealed more than a carton of warming dahl. Angus lifted the lid on one of the silver containers and portioned out the tender, spiced lentils. But this dahl is all about the garnish. He quickly and skilfully chopped ginger, shallots and coriander. The end of a cucumber was deftly criss-crossed and shaved into tiny chunks. A few thick slices of coconut and a slick of dark tamarind sauce; a squeeze of Indian lime juice. The final topping was a handful of small crunchy bits, which looked like short lengths of fried vermicelli but were actually ‘sev’, made with chickpea (gram) flour. Angus explained that it’s similar to the stuff you get in Bombay Mix but better because it absorbs less oil.
What had started out as quite a plain dahl base was now an in your face mix of textures and bold flavours. It blew my socks off. I’d never tasted anything quite like it.
Angus spends much of his time in Kolkata and he’s made some amazing films there which get down and busy with the streets of the city and the way that food weaves right the way through them, binding communities together. I’ve only watched a few of the short films so far but my favourite is one about chai. The film opens with a shot of a man’s hands forming clay on a wheel – he is making cups, with incredible skill and precision – hundreds and hundreds of identical cups. The film moves on to the streets to see cup after cup filled with hot chai and ends with them smashing on the floor as they are discarded. A fascinating film about an everyday life-cycle in Kolkata.
Angus told me he is planning another screening of his films soon and I urge you to go and watch. You can enjoy his vegetarian street snacks at the same time. I’ve never been to India, but I hear his style is very authentic and it certainly tastes the business. Thank goodness for people like Angus, eh? Going and getting all inspired then bringing it back home to make our lives more exciting.

Wedge salad with blue cheese

　　I just love how the Americans cut a big wedge of iceberg, drench it in blue cheese dressing and then call it a salad. Respect.

I’m rather fond of the poor old iceberg. It doesn’t have any flavour to speak of but as a big ol’ wedge of crunch, no lettuce does it better. So, you take a quarter of the lettuce and drench it; yes, drench it, in a blue cheese and sour cream dressing. Dribble. You’ll need something to offset all that richness and tang though, so why not sprinkle on a handful of sweet ‘n salty pig-candy pieces? Oh yes indeedy. Picture this: kerrrunch down through that wedge; creamy, salty; nuggets of blue cheese sneaking into every layer but then, hang on what’s this? Chewy shards of sticky, streaky candied bacon, that’s what. Salad garnish crack.
Caramelised walnuts would make a lovely alternative to the bacon but I wasn’t allowed to make those because that would have taken up time I could have been using to make more candied bacon.
Wedge salad with blue cheese dressing and candied bacon (serves 4)
1 iceberg lettuce (try to get a nice round one so your wedges look good)
150g blue cheese (I used Roquefort)
200ml sour cream
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon lemon juice (plus extra just in case; I found I wanted a little more)
1 teaspoon mustard (I used Dijon)
1 tablespoon chives, snipped with scissors
For the candied bacon
8 rashers streaky bacon
1-2 teaspoons of sugar per bacon rasher, depending on size
First candy the bacon by laying the rashers out on a baking tray and sprinkling the sugar evenly over them. Whack them under a hot grill until crisp and caramelised. Wipe the rashers around in the stick juices that have accumulated in the tray, turn them over and cook the other side. Watch them like a hawk once you’ve turned them as they will caramelise extremely fast. Once cooked, remove and let cool on a wire rack. Don’t let the pieces touch each other as they will stick together.
Crush the garlic with a teeny pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar until creamy. Blend the garlic with all the other dressing ingredients together in a bowl. You can do this with a blender if you like but I like my blue cheese dressing quite chunky so I mash it in a bowl to achieve the right consistency; it’s nice to get the odd nugget of cheese. Taste and add salt and pepper if you like; the cheese will already be quite salty. Taste again and add a little more lemon juice if you think it needs it.
Remove any manky outer leaves from your iceberg and quarter it. Wash it. Arrange each wedge on a plate, dollop on the blue cheese dressing. Cut the bacon into pieces and sprinkle over. Serve.

Pork cheek tacos with blood orange and chipotle

　　A slow-cooked meat dish always wants something to offset the richness (beef ragu with gremolata for another example), which is why I thought these pork cheeks would work well in tacos. They need leisurely cooking to melt the fat and render the meat fork-tender. I was thinking along the lines of saucy carnitas.

The blood oranges have hit the shops and so I used some juice to braise the cheeks, combined with Mexican spices and smoky chipotle flakes (you could also add some chipotles en adobo). After 3 hours of bubbling, the meat was coming apart in shreds and the sauce intensely flavoured; it’s probably one of the most delicious slow cooked dishes I’ve ever made. We piled it onto pan-scorched tacos and topped with lime-heavy guacamole, green chilli and Thomasina Miers’ pink onions pickled in citrus juice and herbs.
The leftovers made the largest and most kick ass burrito I’ve ever eaten in my life. I would’ve been embarrassed had anyone actually seen me eating it; meat all over my hands and face. I burnt my cheek with chilli. The sauce left its indelible mark in no less than 3 places on my t-shirt. Totally worth it though, especially considering I bought 10 cheeks for £2.50. Result.
Pork cheeks braised with blood orange and chipotle
10 pork cheeks
Juice of 1 large blood orange
4 cloves
6 allspice berries
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon crushed chipotle chillies (or to taste)
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
2 carrots, very finely chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons tomato purée
1 litre vegetable stock (or enough to comfortably cover the cheeks; the sauce will be reduced at the end)
1 teaspoon sugar
Flour and oil for searing the cheeks
Heat a few tablespoons of the oil in a large, heavy based saucepan. Dust some flour onto a plate and use it to coat the pork cheeks by turning them over on the plate. Once the oil is hot, sear the cheeks a few at a time until brown on all sides then set aside on a plate.
Add the onions and carrots to the pan and cook for 5 minutes or so until softened. Add the spices (in a little bit of muslin if you want to be fancy and make it easy to fish them out later on), orange juice, bay leaves, oregano, tomato purée, sugar and stock, bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Add the pig cheeks back to the pan, put a lid on and cook on the lowest heat possible for 3 hours.
After this time, check the sauce for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary. Remove the meat from the sauce; it should be extremely tender and falling apart at the touch. Shred it and set aside. Fish the whole spices from the sauce then reduce it over a high heat by about two thirds. Basically you want enough to coat the meat in a rich sauce. Add the meat back to the sauce and warm through.
Serve on tacos with guacamole and onions lightly pickled in orange and lime juice with herbs. To cut tacos, use a large glass, teacup or knife to make circles from a large fajita wrap and toast lightly in a dry pan.

Spuntino, Soho

　　I rarely write about restaurants these days. Eating out is still something I do several times a week but a restaurant rarely inspires me enough to want to sit down and tell you lot about it. Nopi is a perfect example. I mean yeah, it was okay but something about it feels a little uptight and damn, it’s expensive. Ottolenghi’s books, I find inspiring. His restaurants, not so much.

Anyway I am breaking my fast with Spuntino because it’s simply bloody brilliant. Nestled amongst the neon strip-lit sex shops of Soho sits Russell Norman’s latest project. It’s a small yet beautiful space, which Russell designed himself; on the first day of ownership he beat a pickaxe through the soulless MDF crust of an Indian restaurant to reveal glorious white glazed tiles and mosaics, slightly faded. Most of the seating is at the bar, the stools made in one of the UK’s oldest forgeries in Elephant, the very same which forged the lions in Trafalgar Square. Caged bulbs hang low above our heads; it’s all very basement chic.

　　
　　
　　We start ordering. It’s small plates, just like Polpo and Polpetto, all more than reasonably priced (Ottolenghi could learn a trick or two from Norman). We start with crunchy fingers of smoky aubergine plunged into fennel yoghurt. Brilliant. Then there’s just no stopping us. The modestly named ‘egg and soldiers’ is just that, but the egg is encased in a crunchy crust, golden oozy yolk ripe for the dunking. House pickles were perfect, not to sweet nor sour, the fennel the best of the bunch and something I’ll definitely be trying at home. Lardo on toast was brilliant because it was lardo on toast (properly charred), caperberries the perfect astringent foil. A ground beef slider was seriously beefy, with that richness and depth that comes only from bone marrow. Melted cheese can never hurt, and it didn’t.

　　
　　And then it came: truffled egg toast. Inspired by a dish in a New York caff with limited cooking facilities, the egg is cooked in the centre of fluffy white bread, a layer of melting Fontina in place of the ‘white’. The whole thing is infused with truffle oil. We descend on it like starving gannets, the yolk oozing from the bread with every cut. This is the food of dreams. There’s also a duck ham, pecorino and mint salad, sausage, lentils and radicchio heady with fennel and mustard and my first taste of grits: cheesy and spiked generously with paprika. Really though, it’s all about that truffled egg toast.

　　
　　We still find room for dessert. Liquorice ice cream with carpaccio-ed pineapple arrives first. “It’s like eating a Black Jack!” I say to the barman who trumps me by saying it’s like eating a Black Jack and a Fruit Salad sweet at the same time, which it is. Brilliant fun. The ‘peanut butter and jam sandwich’ however is even better: the ‘bread’ is made from peanut butter ice cream, thick raspberry jam in the middle, crunchy bits and pieces sprinkled all over. Our spoons clash over the final mouthfuls.
The bar is great too. The staff are knowledgeable about both drinks and food and manage to be super trendy yet not annoying. The atmosphere is buzzing and I say more than several times that I could stay all night. In fact the only problem I can see with Spuntino is the urge to eat absolutely everything on the menu, and drink the bar dry. We spent £120 between two but we ate and drank like Kings and Queens. ‘Spuntini’ are priced at £3-£4.50; the average price of other dishes £5-£6. You can buy a shot of Dewar’s Scotch Whisky for £2 due to the ‘wafer thin margin’. Oh just go. Go, go and go again.