How to Boil Water.

How to Boil Water caught my eye at my local bookstore. I liked the attractive bright cover full of pictures of yummy food and the title was perfect in it’s simplicity so I picked it up just to have a look. Sigh… so many of my purchases start this way.

How to Boil Water is a resource book for a new cook or an old cook who didn’t pay much attention in Home Economics class. There is a Victor Borge sketch about a famous violinist who never received his first mail-order violin lesson because it went to Victor. So the violinist was unable to do a basic scrape of the bow across strings because of this missing lesson while being able to play complicated classical pieces that was learned in subsequent lessons. This book will teach you to scrape the bow or bowl as it where.

You will find plenty of delicious, cheap and easy recipes and they literally do teach you how to boil water and then take you from toast to Thanksgiving. The accompanying pictures are understandable and informative. There is an incredibly useful tips with each recipe. The tips are in the categories of shopsmart, cook’s notes, don’t panic, a side of history, wisdom, make it your own, and upgrades. In all they say there are over 1000 recipes, tips and photos spread across 250 pages.

There is a section on how to set up a kitchen. They list the must-haves, the if-you-like-to-bakes and the nice-extras. And they don’t just list them they show you line drawings so you can recognize them. They explain the strategies behind shopping and storage, how to set up a pantry, game plans for safety, where to store fruit to last the longest, etc. The list just goes on.

“The Mechanics of Soup – or how to clean out your vegetable drawer in an hour and have something to show for it” pages are worth the price of the book, which is 20 bucks or less. Who knew there was an order to putting stuff in the pot? There is: Aromatics, Main Ingredient, Liquid, Thickeners and Finishers. And then there is the age-old question, “To Puree or Not To Puree.”

What finally sold me on How to Boil Water was the recipe for Aglio Et Olio (spaghetti with olive oil and garlic). I used to sling Rigatoni in a fancy Italian restaurant and the cooks would make this for me with roasted vegetables for dinner. I loved it but never could duplicate it.

How to Boil Water gave me the recipe plus upgrades such as wilting spinach in the oil before adding the spaghetti – huge yum. It gave me information about garlic such as store at room temperature in a dark place and it will last a long time. My garlic was in the fridge. The shopsmart section explained Parmesan cheese and lesser costing alternatives… all information I didn’t know.

If you have a child (9 to 99) that is interesting in cooking or you want to gain confidence in your own cooking then I highly recommend this book.

And if you need a gift for a young adult then pair How to Boil Water up with Eat This Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide and you will give them something really useful… the ability to feed themselves and maybe you someday.

How to Boil Water: food network kitchens

For optimal health, a diet should include hearty helpings of both. Brown rice is a nutritious whole grain, and enriched white rice also has a lot to offer. U.S.-grown white rice contains niacin, thiamin and iron and is fortified with folic acid, which can help everyone–from babies to boomers–protect their health.

Folic acid helps prevent birth defects and may reduce the risk of heart disease, certain cancers and Alzheimer’s disease.

Since most people don’t consume enough of this important B vitamin, adding a few servings of rice can help. Just 1 cup of cooked enriched rice delivers over 80 of the daily recommended 400 micrograms.

Low in calories and fat-free, enriched white rice is also economical. It costs only 10 cents per half-cup cooked serving, with a pound of uncooked rice making more than 2 pounds of cooked rice.

To stretch the food dollar and make hamburgers, meat loaf or meatballs more nutritious and affordable, replace a quarter of the meat with cooked white rice.

Here’s a tasty recipe for Rice Tabbouleh. For more rice recipes and information, visit www.usarice.com. For information on folic acid, visit www.folicacidinfo.org.

Rice Tabbouleh

Yield: Makes 6 servings

3 cups cooked enriched white rice
1 cup chopped, Italian flat-leaf parsley
¾ cup chopped cucumber
¾ cup chopped tomato
¼ cup minced mint leaves
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a large bowl, combine rice, parsley, cucumber, tomato, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss well.

Nutrition Facts: 190 Calories, 10g total fat, 400mg sodium, 24g total carbohydrate, 1g dietary fiber, 3g protein

One inexpensive way to add a healthy dose of folic acid to your diet is to serve enriched white rice.

3 cups raw sliced zucchini
1 1/2 cups fine Italian-flavored cracker crumbs
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 tsp salt, optional
1 cup low-fat milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 med green bell pepper, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 med onion, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Pour into a baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

HOOSIER BAKED CABBAGE

1 head cabbage
1 small jar Cheeze Whiz
1 can cream of celery soup
butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 cups Club Cracker crumbs

Cook cabbage in salted water until tender. Melt Cheeze Whiz in a small amount of water. In a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, layer half the cabbage, cheese, and soup. Repeat the process. Top with the cracker crumbs and dot with butter. Bake in a 350 degree oven for twenty minutes.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/recipes-articles/hoosierstyle-vegetable-casseroles-and-they-are-perfect-for-diabetics-too-676902.html

The survey findings indicate that West Coast consumers have been heavily impacted by the recession and that they have already adapted their shopping and cooking habits to increase savings. At the same time, these households see a silver lining in their ability to control grocery shopping and food preparation costs more than other areas of daily life (such as commuting, housing, etc.). The findings also suggest that consumers are moving away from viewing food as entertainment and are eating healthier by going back to basics. Highlights include:

– West Coast families have been hit hard by the economy with one in four respondents having been personally affected by job loss or foreclosure and 40% of respondents knowing two to five people who have been similarly affected.
– The majority (54.7%) of consumers surveyed said grocery shopping has become more difficult compared to last year.
– 22% of West Coast consumers are having difficulty or can no longer afford to feed their family the way they liked due to the cost of groceries.
– Despite the poor economy and rising food prices, 78% of consumers said that grocery shopping is something that they feel they can control, versus other economic factors.
– 78.5% of those surveyed said they are now shopping smarter and feel a sense of accomplishment when they save. 35.6% said their family is eating healthier in this economy.
– 64.1% of respondents said they are eating at home at least one more night a week instead of going out.
– 87.6% of respondents agree that family meals provide a source of comfort.
– Despite the economy, most families (70.3%) will enjoy the same meals they always have over the holidays, without sacrificing quantity or the quality of foods prepared.

Dominick Lombardi gave the Harmons cashier a crisp $100 bill Friday morning and walked away with a gift card of the same value for the grocery store.

It’s a Christmas gift for his mother-in-law, said Lombardi, a Bountiful resident. “My mother-in-law takes care of plenty of kids and grandkids, and this is the best gift for her,” he said.

Usually, Lombardi and his wife buy her jewelry for Christmas and would never think of buying a card for groceries. “She’s a good shopper,” and she can always find deals, Lombardi said, but with rising food prices, stretching the dollar is harder than ever.

“In this day and age, with the economy the way it is, the thing you have to do is take care of food and gas,” Lombardi said. “Everything else is extra.”

The tables sit pristine, linens immaculate. The wine bottles are uncorked, the glasses bereft of fingerprints. In the back, the ovens are scorching in the kitchen.

But the customers – where are they?

“I look around: There’s nobody here,” said Michael Elpidoforos, owner/chef at Zabaglione, whose Italian dishes fetch an average of $24. “I’m ready to lock the door.”

In a time of perilous 401(k)s, a faltering stock market, and shaky job security, fine dining out, it seems, has been left to simmer on the back burner.