areana's Profile

I just luckily found these today at a Persian market. I don't think I would have noticed then if I hadn't read this post last week. They were an amazing surprise. I really thought it would be close to a regular almond but not at all. The texture and everything about it is different. The inside is gel like, almost liquid, very juicy with a hint of oil. Once I tasted them, I had to go back and get some more. I didn't know you could eat the outer fuzzy shell. I just tried it but not too sure about it. It is more of an acquired taste, nothing like the inside nut. The outer shell reminds me of eating a green bean with a hint of small wild green apple. I can see why people pickle them, the outer shell could be very nice that way. It was a nice discovery. I will be looking forward to these each year from now on. And thanks for the post.

I think we tend to accumulate water in our body as we age, which might be part of your weight gain. I'm really no expert in this field but I'd say it has often something to do with the metabolism that slows down as women age. I find if I don't sleep enough, 6 hours or less, I somehow start gaining weight slowly. Something to do with my hormones not being activated in my too short sleep and slowing down my metabolism. I'd look at ways to eat things that will more likely increase your metabolism. Drinking coconut water helps for that.

I would try homemade roasted red pepper puree. Just roast the red peppers in the oven, skin, puree in a blender, then reduce in a pan on the stove on low for a while. This way the puree will be thick like tomato paste. You can store it in the fridge for a 2-3 weeks or freeze in ice cube tray. I've been using that for soups, sauces and stews lately, just loving it. I too have issues with acidity, so red peppers is a good alternative for me. Store bought red pepper paste will often have acidity added to it, like vinegar, citric acids, and often hot spices. So I would avoid those if acidity is an issue. And I'd say, squash puree is a good alternative to tomato sauce.

I myself always use ground/grated chocolate but if you insist on using cocoa powder, you can make a cocoa syrup/sauce first: mix the cocoa powder with hot water (and sugar if you want) into a syrup, then you can use that syrup to make your hot chocolate. The syrup will stay good in the fridge for up to 1.5-2 weeks. Making the syrup/sauce will eliminates the clumpy dryness of the cocoa powder. Also, adding a tiny bit of whole cream to your milk will make it silkier. The pot you use to warm up the milk will make a difference, I use a 'milk warmer pot' - thick bottom, tall and very narrow pot. It is made especially for this purpose. Other regular pot might make the milk taste like it's burnt because it has too much of a wide heat surface underneath.

"The filthiest culprit in our homes is the kitchen sponge or cloth

According to Gerba, there are about 10 million bacteria per square inch on a sponge, and a million on a dishcloth.

In other words, a kitchen sponge is 200,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat, and a dishcloth is 20,000 times dirtier.

This is the same the world over.

"Always the dirtiest thing by far is the kitchen sponge," says John Oxford, professor of virology at the University of London and chair of the Hygiene Council - an international body that compares hygiene standards across the world."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20324304

I'd say, don't play too much with the meat in the pan at first otherwise too much water comes out and the meat ends up boiling rather than pan frying, and it will turn in a greyish/dull in color. And always start with a very hot pan, spread out the meat in the pan, then don't touch it until it's ready to be stirred and turned around.

This is precious liquid--the yummie stuff. You can re-use it for stews, sauce, gravy, soup, etc... It will keep well in the fridge for a while but you can also freeze for when needed. In my kitchen, this stuff doesn't last too long and there is never enough of it to come by.

My newly favorite flavor booster right now is "roasted red pepper paste." I add a tablespoon of it to soups, stews, sauces, gravy, vinaigrette, mayonnaise, etc. It's great and simple to make (roast peppers, puree, then reduce on stove for a bit). I'm also a big fan of balsamic vinegar, which I add to sauce, or especially when pan frying veggies, onions or mushroom. It adds a nice flavor to it.

This is a great idea for Halloween treats for kids.
Kids always love cheese crackers and crackers are not loaded with sugar.
I might try this recipe this weekend.
Cheers,

Now, here is a squash question, are squash better only when they are big or can they still be eaten when small? Are they more bitter when small?