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If you find yourself trying to come up with something for supper every night then check out this quick solution to get inspired when making meals for your family.
Okay, now I need to ask do you find yourself making the same meals over and over and over? It seems like I get in a rut and fix the same foods on a rotating scale. Granted I have picky eaters in my family but not that picky.
I decided to do something about it. After reflecting on it for awhile I discovered the biggest problem with cooking supper was deciding what to make so I got out a notebook and started writing down meal ideas complete with side dishes. I even asked friends and family occasionally what they were having for dinner to get more ideas.
I had my daughter give me ideas too for her favorite meal choices and side dishes. She did a good job of coming up with things I hadn't even made in a long time. I found that asking her when she was hungry seemed to help her creative juices come up with more ideas.
Now each week I have my little notebook of meal ideas and I decide on 8 of them and go shopping for the ingredients to make them. I then make a list and put it on the board of the 8 different menu choices and cross them off as I make them.
At the end of the week there is always one meal left over, I often find I didn't make it because someone doesn't like it much or it takes too long to prepare. I then make a little note in my notebook saying cook this when so and so won't be home, or only put this on the supper list when you know you have time to make it.
I find I don't dread cooking supper nearly as much, I have eliminated the quick run to the grocery store before making supper, and have made my life much simpler when it comes to cooking supper.
Read More... Why is It I Can Never Think Of Anything "Good" To Make For Supper?
Posted in:
cooking supper,
family,
good,
idea,
ideas,
making meals,
meal,
meal ideas,
quick,
side dishes,
supper
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Looking for a delicious and simple way to grill up that fresh tuna steak that you just caught or bought from the local seafood market? Grilled tuna steak is a delightful and exciting entree for any special meal. There are various methods to spice up and flavor your catch, but today we want to talk about a popular method using wasabi powder. This unique spice is being used by many top chefs to add a special flare and flavoring to the tuna.
Assemble the following recipe ingredients:
• tuna steaks, cut to a thickness of 3/4 inch to 1 1/2 inch each ( your preference )
• 4 to 6 ounces of butter
• 1 cup of teriyaki marinade
• 1 tablespoon of wasabi powder
• 2 chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil, peanut oil, or vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste
Get started by marinating the tuna in the teriyaki marinade. Place the tuna into the marinade and completely coat both sides of the meat. Cover, place into the refrigerator and let the tuna sit and marnate for an hour or more, overnight is good too.
When ready, start up your grill and get it good and hot, but not too hot. Ideally bring it to the same temperature as if you were grilling a regular beef steak on the grill. Then mix the wasabi powder, butter and the green onions together and place it aside for the time being. Once the grill is to the ideal temperature and you are ready, then brush the oil onto the tuna steaks and season the meat with salt and pepper to taste. While grilling, periodically baste the tuna with the left over teriyaki marinade. This will help to keep the tuna moist and add additional flavor. Cook until they are done to your desired temperature, then serve with the butter. You can also let some butter melt on the tuna fillets as they are cooking as well.
Alternative set of recipe ingredients and marinade flavoring:
• tuna steaks, 1-inch thick
• Sesame oil
• 1 rounded tsp. cornstarch
• 1/3 c. rice vinegar
• 1/3 c. mirin
• 1/3 c. soy sauce
• 3 tbsp. minced crystallized ginger
Popular tuna species:
Tuna is a popular, delicious and rich tasting seafood that is prepared in many ways. It is perfect for grilling, sautee, and broiling. The flesh of tuna is pink because the tuna's muscle tissue has a higher oxygen capacity than other fish species.
• Bluefin: An important source of seafood, providing much of the tuna used in sushi. It is a particular delicacy in Japan where it has been reported that the price of a single giant tuna can exceed $100,000 on the Tokyo fish market.
• Yellowfin: found in open waters of tropical and subtropical seas worldwide, though not in the Mediterranean Sea. It has been reported to be up to 94 inches in length and 440 lb in weight. The second dorsal fin and the anal fin are both bright yellow, thus the common name, and they are very long, as are the pectoral fins. The main body is very dark metallic blue, changing to silver on the belly.
• Albacore: found in the open waters of all tropical and temperate oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea. It is a prized food, and a significant fishery. Methods of fishing include rod and reel, long-line fishing and purse seining and are highly sought after by sport fishers and recreational fisherman.
• Bigeye
• Blackfin
Read More... Grilling Tuna Steak For A Simple Gourmet Meal
Posted in:
gourmet,
grilling,
meal,
seafood,
simple,
steak,
tuna
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Cooking with eggs - all you ever wanter to know. Why are boiled eggs difficult to peel sometimes? How do you tell if an egg is fresh? All your questions answered.
We use eggs in so many recipes. They are a staple in the kitchen.
An egg can be cooked alone – boiled, poached, fried, scrambled.
Or used as an ingredient in baking, batters and cakes.
Alternatively use an egg to thicken sauces or to add air to lighten dishes.
The egg is truly amazing. And without it – well our menus sure would be dull.
But do you know much about the egg?
Chances are that you have never even given it a thought. Well it is time you did.
The most critical aspect of the egg is – it’s air content. (bet you thought I was going to say the shell).
When first laid, the egg has barely any air inside a tiny air pocket. However, because the shell is porous, it allows air to penetrate. And as time passes, air moves inside the egg and the air pocket grows.
As this air pocket enlarges, the moisture in the egg evaporates. So, as the egg gets older the yolk becomes less plump and flatter and the white separates and spreads.
And this all impacts on cooking. Depending on how you intend on using the egg determines how fresh an egg you should use.
If you fry an older egg, you will end with a flat ‘pancake’ instead of a neat rounded egg.
The more stale an egg the more fragile and difficult to separate it will be.
As opposed to the fresh egg, which has a tight and tough inner skin. This makes peeling the shell off the boiled egg very frustrating. As the egg ages with skin relaxes allowing the shell to peel much easier.
If you are lucky enough to have your own hens, then you know how old your eggs are. But what if you have to buy them?
The easiest method of tell how old an egg is, is to put the egg in a dish of water.
If it sinks and lies horizontally – very fresh.
If it sinks but tilts slightly – about 1 week old.
If it sinks but stands vertically – older, stale.
But if it floats – it’s off and be careful not to crack the shell.
Some people prefer brown eggs and some white. But nutritionally they are the same.
The yolks will also vary in color depending of the diet of the hen.
Do you find your eggs crack when boiling? Well, follow these simple steps to get perfect eggs, every time.
Use 2 week old eggs and ensure they are at room temperature. Make as pin prick in the rounded flat end of the egg – this allows any steam that might build up to escape.
Use as small a saucepan as possible, so the eggs fit in snuggly – you don’t want to much space otherwise they may bounce around and crack.
Bring to the boil but only simmer do not boil vigorously. Follow these tips and your eggs won’t crack.
So, for frying and poaching use as fresh an egg as possible. When the recipe calls for eggs to be separated, use fresh eggs as well. But if you want easy to peel eggs use the older ones. And when it comes to scrambling, fresher is best but older ones will do.
Happy Egg Cooking
Lisa “The Crock Cook”
Read More... Cooking With Eggs
Posted in:
boiling,
cooking,
eatting,
egg,
frying,
meal,
poaching,
recipe
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