Kitchen Herb Garden

Love the smell of fresh basil or crushed mint? Well, think about growing your own herb garden. You may encounter an issue that is common in today’s condos and homes and that is a shortage of space.  So it is best to get a container herb garden to compensate for this. This small mobile herb garden is a better option than growing them on a regular piece of land. Not only is it more convenient to shade your herbs from harsh climates, insects and general changes in the weather, it also helps you to take advantage of the benefits of your herbs throughout the entire year.

However, looking after your container herb garden can be a tedious task since you will need to allocate sufficient time to care for the herbs and make sure that they get all the sunlight they require as well as ensure that the water content in the soil is maintained properly.

One of the advantages of having your own potted garden is that the more common herbs grow fast and don’t need fancy pots. You can use old coffee cans, chipped mugs and dishes to grow rosemary, basil and coriander, while old terracotta pots or even simple clay pots work great for thyme, sage, lavender and oregano.

However, one of the critical aspects to be aware of when you are first starting out is that you should always buy good quality, organic seeds. This is important as the quality and growth of your herbs depend upon the quality of the seeds. Check for the expiration or packing date and avoid any seed that shows discoloration or dampness.

Other than this, the location of the herb garden is of vital importance. Sunlight, shade and temperature vary for different herbs so before planning your herb garden, find out the kind of exposure the herb will need. Some plants like basil require dry air and warm soil while these are sensitive to cold weather so, if you are planting basil indoors, keep it near the window so it gets adequate sunshine.

Container herb gardens flourish well when the soil is rich in nutrients. Make a good mix of clay, sand and soil so that the moisture content is high without being wet all the time. Clay chips are an excellent alternative to damp, lumpy soil as they are able to retain the water for a longer time.

Each herb requires a different moisture level, so check online or look in a reference book for details regarding the moisture content of each herb that you intend to plant. Once your seeds are planted, keep them moist since the proper way of watering these small containers is essential. Root rot is a common ill that develops from over watering, but for the most part, herbs require dryer soil for optimum growth. Some planning and due diligence can enable you to have a flourishing container herb garden that you can enjoy for a long time.

Bell Peppers

Making a garden salad for lunch? Don’t forget to add some bell peppers. Not only do bell peppers add color – especially the red ones – but they really boost the nutritional value of a salad. What are the health benefits of bell peppers?

Health Benefits of Bell Peppers: Red or Green?

Both red and green bell peppers are nutritious, but if you don’t know which one to use, choose the red ones. Red bell peppers are a good source of lycopene, a carotenoid that’s not found in green peppers. Lycopenes are the same bright red carotenes that give processed tomatoes their nutritional punch. Plus, some studies show that lycopenes help to lower the risk of heart disease and prostate cancer – although its benefits against prostate cancer have recently been called into question. The lycopene found in red peppers has the most powerful antioxidant activity of any member of the carotenoid family including carrots.

Health Benefits of Bell Peppers: They’re Good for Your Heart

Lycopene rich red peppers are a particularly good choice for heart health; but green peppers keep you out of the cardiologist’s office too because they’re a good source of cholesterol lowering soluble fiber. Bell peppers also contain B6 and folate to help lower homocysteine levels. High homocysteine levels have been associated with a higher risk of heart disease. Bell peppers are also an excellent source of the powerful antioxidant vitamins A and C which help to wipe out free radicals that oxidize cholesterol and lead to heart disease. There’s 162 milligrams of blood pressure lowering potassium in a cup of bell peppers – another positive for heart health.

Health Benefits of Bell Peppers: They’re Good for Your Eyes

Red bell peppers are an especially good choice for protecting vision. They’re an excellent source of lutein, a carotenoid that helps to lower the risk of macular degeneration of the eyes – the most common cause of age-related visual loss. Eating bell peppers may also reduce the risk of developing cataracts due to their high levels of beta-carotene and vitamin C.

Health Benefits of Bell Peppers: They’re an Excellent Source of Vitamin C

Bell peppers are a surprisingly good source of vitamin C with 175 mg. in a single cup. Studies have shown that a diet rich in vitamin C may lower the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis and reduce inflammation in those who already have it. Vitamin C is also important for a healthy immune system and for building strong collagen to better support skin and joints. Oranges aren’t the only good source of vitamin C!

Other Benefits of Bell Peppers

Because red bell peppers are such a good source of carotenoids, they may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. Plus, they’re so low in calories you can eat them to your heart’s content. One word of warning. Red bell peppers are often heavily sprayed with pesticides, so buy them organic when you can.

Cooking Peppers

Know you know all about the benefits of bell peppers, you’ll surely want to be getting more of them in your diet. Try the pepper recipes collection for some inspirational recipes for bell peppers.

Fad diets will generally suggest that you cut important food groups out of your daily intake. This is harmful to your health because your body needs the nutrients from each of the food groups in order to run properly. When you don’t provide your body with some of these nutrients it will have to work harder in order to get them and this can leave you feeling run down and cause you to become malnourished. You will want to stay away from any and all fad diets which suggest that cut out entire food groups from your daily consumption.

Many fad diets will ask you to live off of only one food for long periods of time. Some examples of these diets include The Cabbage Soup Diet, The Apple Juice Diet, and The Pineapple Diet. There are many problems with diets such as these. One thing that is harmful about these diets is that you will be denying your body of many different nutrients. Your body will look to other means to try to get those nutrients from itself. You will get sick more easily due to the fact that your immune system will be run down. You will have problems focusing and concentrating because you will begin to suffer from mental fatigue. Your body will begin to turn to your muscle and begin tearing it down trying to nourish itself.

Other fad diets will promise you wonderful results from eating foods from different food groups at different times of the day. They will suggest that you only eat so many servings of certain foods so many times during the day, or even the week. When you start to follow one of these fad diets you will find that it can be far too time consuming and confusing to do for the long haul. Also, when you begin to mix your foods together once again you will see that your weight will come back on and generally more will follow. The important thing to remember when you choose a diet is that you want it to keep the weight off forever and you want it to help you to become a healthier person.

List of ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray.
1/2 cup of apple juice.
1 cup of carrots, shredded.
1 cup of celery, chopped.
1/2 cup of onion, chopped.
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.
8 cups of cornbread dry cubes.
2 cups of apple, peeled and chopped.
1/2 cup of walnuts, chopped.
1/4 cup of wheat germ, toasted.
1 cup of chicken broth, defatted.

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Coat a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray.

Add the apple juice, shredded carrots, chopped celery and chopped onion; cook until tender.

Stir in the nutmeg.

Lightly coat a 3-4 quart casserole dish with nonstick coating spray.

Place the cornbread cubes, apple, walnuts and wheat germ in casserole dish and toss lightly.

Add the onion mixture.

Drizzle with enough broth to moisten and toss lightly again.

Bake for 35 minutes.

Source: Stuffing Recipes.

List of ingredients:

12 cups of water.
One (4 lb) chicken.
1/3 cup of shortening.
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour.
1 large onion, chopped.
Salt, black and red pepper.
1/2 cup of chopped green onion tops.
1/3 cup of parsley, chopped.
36 oysters.
1 tablespoon of file powder.
Cooked rice.

Directions:

Pour the water into a large pot.

Cut chicken into serving size pieces, and brown in hot shortening.

Once browned, put in the pot with the water, then add the flour to the shortening and brown very slowly.

Add the chopped onion and cook until slightly brown and clear, then add to the chicken and seasonings.

Cook very slowly until the chicken is tender, stirring frequently.

Add green onion tops and parsley.

Cook for 10 minutes, then add the oysters and cook until they curl.

Remove from heat, add the file powder, and stir.

Serve immediately with cooked rice.

Source: Oyster Recipes.

During Yum Cha people socialize over tea and partake of a variety of snack foods. This variety of snack foods is what is referred to as Dim sum. Dim sum refers to the collective dishes partaken of during the tea-drinking tradition of Yum Cha.

In today’s hectic world people don’t always have time for traditional social gatherings like Yum Cha. Recognizing the need to keep up with changing times and the demand for instant foods, some food manufacturers in China and other regions have developed packaged dim sum products. These products can usually be found in grocery stores in many areas of the world. They can be prepared at home in a microwave on a stovetop and enjoyed at any time desired.

Here is an example of a dim sum recipe, pork dim sum:

Ingredients:

14 oz of ground pork.
2 scallions, chopped.
1 3/4 oz of canned bamboo shoots, chopped.
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce.
1 tablespoon of dry sherry.
2 teaspoons of sesame oil.
2 teaspoons of superfine sugar.
1 medium egg white, lightly beaten.
4 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch.
24 wonton wrappers.

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together the ground pork, chopped scallions, bamboo shoots, light soy sauce, dry sherry, sesame oil, superfine sugar, and beaten egg until well combined.

Stir in the cornstarch, mixing thoroughly.

Spread out the wonton wrappers on a counter.

Place a spoonful of the mixture in the center of each wonton wrapper and lightly brush the edges of the wrappers with water.

Bring the sides of the wrappers together in the center of the filling, pinching firmly together.

Line a steamer with a clean damp dish cloth and arrange the wontons inside.

Cover and steam for 6 minutes or until cooked through, then serve.

Source: Dim Sum Recipes.

1 medium egg.
1 ¼ cups of sifted flour.
¾ cup of mashed bananas.
½ cup of shortening.
½ cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of sugar.
1 ¼ teaspoons of baking powder.
¼ teaspoon of baking soda.
¼ teaspoon of salt.
½ teaspoon of cinnamon.
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg.
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract.

FROSTING
¼ cup of mashed bananas.
¼ teaspoon of lemon juice.
1 cup of confectioners sugar.

Preparation Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375F.

Mix all of the (non-frosting) ingredients together.

Spoon the mixture into paper lined muffin pan.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool completely and frost with the banana frosting.

Source:

This recipe came from the cupcake recipes website.

1 large egg.
1 tablespoon of milk.
1 cup of unbleached white flour.
1/2 cup of flaked coconut.
1/4 cup of mashed banana.
1/4 cup of pineapple juice concentrate.
1/4 cup of vegetable oil.
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda.
Grated orange rind.

Preparation and baking:

Mash a ripe banana with a fork to measure ¼ cup.

Beat together the banana, pineapple juice concentrate, vegetable oil, egg, and milk until creamy.

Add the flour, baking soda, and flaked coconut. Beat thoroughly.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto lightly oiled baking sheets and sprinkle with grated orange rind.

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 7-8 minutes or until just brown around the edges and firm to the touch.

Allow to cool on wire racks.

Source: http://www.cookierecipes.org/tropical-cookies.html

The tart is made from a shortcrust pastry case, covered in jam and filled with a sponge style topping flavoured with ground almonds, known as Frangipane.

The tart is then given a coat of icing and nuts are traditionally spinkled on the very top.

1 red onion, chopped.
3 cloves of garlic, crushed.
1/2 cup of dry white wine.
3 cups of steamed sliced asparagus.
1 1/2 lb of boneless lamb chopped into small cubes.
Salt to taste.
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste.

Preparation and cooking method:

Heat a large frying pan and add half of the wine.

Bring to the boil and add the onion and garlic, cook until softened.

Add the lamb and cook for about 6 minutes.

Add the rest of the wine and the asparagus.

Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, until the lamb is tender.

Add pepper and salt to taste.