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Archive for December, 2008

Soda water, or carbonated water, is plain water to which carbon dioxide gas has been added; it is also referred to as sparkling water. It is the principal ingredient of most “soft drinks” and “pop.”. The process of carbonation results in carbonic acid, which is more familiar to us as soda pop.

Soda water, or club soda, can be produced at home by using a seltzer bottle filled with water and then “charged” with carbon dioxide. Club soda may be virtually the same as plain carbonated water; but it can have a small amount of table salts and sodium trace minerals. Such additives make the taste of home made soda water slightly salty. This process — naturally occuring in some areas — produces carbonated mineral water.

It is thought that sparkling mineral water may sometimes cause a little dental decay. While the potential problem of sparkling water is greater than still water the problem remains low. Regular “pop” or soft drinks stimulate a much higher rate of tooth decay than does sparkling water. The rate is so low that one wonders if carbonated drinks may be little or no factor in causing dental decay.

Artesian wells can be the source for waters that filter among layers of minerals in the ground; the layers contain forms of carbonates, and the waters absorb the carbon dioxide gases released by those carbonates. This produces natural sparkling water. Shoud the water also pick up enough different minerals to become flavored, it becomes sparkling mineral water.

Soda water is basically just water and carbon dioxide. Sparkling mineral water is a carbonation which is naturally-occurring. In the year 1794, a jeweler invented a different kind of device — one to produce artificial carbonated mineral water.

A taste test of several carbonated drinks determined that Perrier, a sparkling natural mineral water, kept its fizz the longest.

Consumers feeling seltzer to be a bit harsh may prefer the more gentle fizz of club soda. As part of the tasting test, club soda seemed to be milder and a little sweeter tasting than standard carbonated water.

Club soda, sparkling mineral water, seltzer, and carbonated water have zero calories, making them a dieter’s choice over soda pop and tonic water.

Mixing water, sugar, carbon dioxide and quinine produces a carbonated drink called tonic water. Quinine was originally added to tonic water to help cure or prevent malaria. Today it is often mixed with gin and lemon or lime for an alcoholic drink.

So, soda water is not so hard to understand, as these simple facts reveal.

When I was a teenager, my friends would be amazed at my ability to produce the perfect omelette to order. And I always told them the secret was in the cooking oil.

They would go home and try it out for themselves. They’d take their mother’s most expensive cooking oil, pour it into the pan, break some eggs, whisk them and pour the mixture into the frying pan. What ensued might be an interestingly textured scrambled egg ensemble. But not an omelette by any stretch of the imagination.

This story contains many lessons, as a kung fu guru might say. Don’t make assumptions might be one. You might also consider waiting to hear the whole story before rushing off. But I think it’s more about this: ask the right question, and you’ll get the right answer.

Sure, cooking oil is important to making an omelette. There are two reasons. First off, to make a great omelette you should pour in enough cooking oil to line the cooking surface of your frying pans. You can’t pour the egg mixture directly onto the frying pan – it’ll stick. Secondly, you need to let the cooking oil get hot. Really hot. The cooking oil doesn’t need to be smoking, but if it is, you can be sure that your omelette isn’t going to stick. So instead of ending up with a frying pan full of scrambled egg, you’ll have a beautifully crafted omelette.

However, the best question certainly wasn’t ‘What’s the secret to cooking the perfect omelette?’ Firstly, that assumes there’s one secret. Secondly, it assumes there’s a secret. There’s no secret to making an omelette, or in the cooking oil. The answer to that question is something like: ‘the secret is in the cooking oil’. So my friends thought that using special/expensive/fancy/organic cooking oil would transform their omelettes. They focused on the object itself like good little consumers.

The right question could have been, ‘How do you make the perfect omelette every time?’ – to which the answer would be a list of ingredients plus instructions to guide you through every step of the way.

Another right question would have been, ‘Can you show me how to make an omelette?’ – and I would have been happy to. After all, there was no secret.

You might immediately hesitate to think that inventing or coming up with your own Low Cost Cooking meal ideas is relatively easy, but in a way it actually can be.  Very often people have a hard time making meals inexpensively because they let themselves get overwhelmed, thinking that they need to watch every penny that every ingredient cost or that they’re never allowed meat, and so on.  Or they’re afraid to adjust the recipes they already have if they’re just not familiar with the kitchen so they need explicit instructions when it comes to cheap meal ideas.  But really it just takes a small amount of creative thinking to Low Price Cooking your meals and to make adjustments to recipes you already have to make those meals much more affordable.

When you think of where the majority of your grocery budget goes you’ll probably agree that it’s mostly on meat and some produce items.  So this is where your cheap meal ideas will start; substituting or eliminating those items or choosing ones that are less expensive.  For instance chicken breasts are usually about twice the price of chicken legs or thighs, so what recipes do you have where you can use thighs or legs instead?  Or can you hunt down some new recipes for those rather than relying on frying?  Your cheap meal ideas may require some effort on your part but none of these things are terribly difficult.  You can easily reduce the amount of meat you use in many recipes and learn to cook vegetables so that your family is still full despite cutting out the main staple.  And by making side dishes that are more substantial such as stuffed peppers or mushrooms, you’re going to be full that much easier and may not even miss the meat in the first place, so your cheap meal ideas mean just adding more affordable options in these cases.

Many people turn their noses up at vegetarian dishes but these make for great cheap meal ideas.  Think of what things you eat now that you could easily turn into a vegetarian dish – chili, spaghetti without meat, stew or soup, pot pies, stir fry, and so on.  Usually dishes like these are hearty enough that you don’t even miss the meat.  Other Budget Cooking meal ideas simply involve having food that you might not think of such as oatmeal for dinner or cereal and toast for lunch.You can throw away the idea of having a hamburger and frys for lunch and really get cheap and creative with fruit salad served with some cottage cheese.

Sometimes you have to make food yourself in order to save money on it.  Prepared foods you get from the supermarket are always going to be more expensive, so cheap meal ideas will start with what you buy.Sometimes we get in a habit of buying things pre chopped, cooked, or diced and if you really want to save money then you will need to do this at home!

Low Price Cooking is a brand new community website for Cooking Nutritious Food at a lower price to help your family budget. Come by LowPriceCooking to get your free Ebook on LowPriceCooking Basics just for joining the Low Price Cooking community for free. You will find cooking Forums, cooking Videos, Low Price Cooking Community Members and more just for signing up for free to join and then you can get your free Low Price Cooking EBook on Low Price Cooking Basics. Come be A part of our Low Price Cooking Community.

Wanting to make Low Cost Cooking meals is common these days since food prices are going through the roof, and wanting to make healthy meals can also be a struggle.  But the real trick is when you can make cheap healthy meals at the same time!  A box of macaroni and cheese can be less than a dollar but there’s very little nutritional value in that, and a salad is good nutrition but produce can sometimes be the most expensive on your grocery list.  So how do you combine the two so that you can create cheap healthy meals that you and your family will enjoy?

The first thing you need to learn when planning cheap healthy meals is just what is meant by healthy.  Some people think that rice is healthy when it’s actually a simple carb that breaks down as sugar in the body.  It’s healthier than sugar or saturated fat but still not as good as vegetables or lean protein.  And while lean protein is healthy you don’t want to think that all meats are good for you as beef is loaded with saturated fat that clogs the arteries.  These things of course can be had in smaller amounts but creating cheap healthy meals means understanding what is healthy to you and knowing what you can eat in larger amounts and what you need to be balanced about.

Understanding your own budget and what will go over well with your family is also part of creating Budget Cooking healthy meals.  Some people, men in particular, just want to eat meat and hate vegetarian dishes.  It can be part of creating cheap healthy meals to substitute meats for certain vegetables but if your family won’t eat these dishes then you’re just wasting your time and your money as well.  A better idea might be to just cut back on the amount of meat you use and add more veggies to bulk up your meal.  For instance if you’re making a pot roast you can purchase a smaller cut of meat and add carrots, mushrooms, onions, and potatoes to a slow cooker or roasting pan as you cook.  By doing this you’re creating cheap healthy meals that are still very tasty but that involve more vegetables and less meat overall.There are plenty of dishes that you can do with less meat and add more of the other ingredients like veggies, onions, tomatoes, etc.

Get creative when thinking of Low Price Cooking healthy meals.  Try a vegetable stir fry that you serve over noodles; add a small amount of meat for that carnivore in your life!  Serve a loaded baked potato that you top with steamed broccoli and a small amount of cheese.  If you omit the sour cream, butter and bacon bits then a potato can actually be very healthy.Your family will really enjoy your cheap and healthy meals but you will need to put some thought into them in order to make it happen.

Low Price Cooking is a brand new community website for Cooking Nutritious Food at a lower price to help your family budget. Come by LowPriceCooking to get your free Ebook on LowPriceCooking Basics just for joining the Low Price Cooking community for free. You will find cooking Forums, cooking Videos, Low Price Cooking Community Members and more just for signing up for free to join and then you can get your free Low Price Cooking EBook on Low Price Cooking Basics. Visit and be our newest member of the Low Price Cooking Community.

Virtually everyone’s grocery budget is being stretched to the limit these days, but most people don’t want to eat food that is just affordable but they want Budget Cooking healthy food that is good for them while still fitting into their budget.  Anyone can pick up boxes of macaroni and cheese for a dollar each and have those for lunch or dinner, but there’s very little nutritional content in items like this.  So what can you do if you’re looking for cheap, healthy food that you can have on a regular basis?

The obvious answer is to eat more fruits and vegetables whenever you can.  These items are nutritious, tasty, and of course the best choice for Low Cost Cooking healthy food that there is.  But the problem with fruits and vegetables is that they can sometimes get a bit boring and repetitious, and many people want a hot meal for lunch or dinner rather than just raw fruits and veggies.  So how can you incorporate these items into your meal plans so that you’re getting the best of cheap, healthy food but not missing out on taste or enjoyment?

Learning to cook is of course one important part, or just following recipes for certain items can make a difference.  Stuffed peppers are a great choice for cheap, healthy food that can be a main course for any meal.  Of course there’s a right way and a wrong way to cook stuffed pepper so that they come out tasty rather than mushy!  But they’re one easy dish that just about everyone enjoys.  You can also have a vegetable stir fry and use different seasonings or sauces to dress them up.  They make a great meal and a good idea for a cheap, healthy food that you can have on its own or that you can serve over noodles or rice.Sometimes its the side dishes that can really help fill people up and its always good to have lots of stemed veggies that can help fill people up.  This means you’re having a cheap, healthy food at every meal but not losing out on the taste of meat, if that’s what you enjoy.

Fruit makes a great dessert in many cases; this is another way of having a Low Price Cooking healthy food that tastes good and that can be used in the place of something else that is less healthy or good for you.Something that is a good subsitute for ice cream is serving fresh fruit with some whipped cream because its a lot less calories and it still can fullfill that craving.Sometimes you try to get creative and you can come up with plenty of things to do wit fruit such as baking an apple and putting cinnamon on it.  Baking it brings out the natural sugars.  This is a cheap, healthy food that just about everyone loves for dessert and that is so easy to make.  By using your imagination and getting familiar with different cooking techniques, you can use fruits and vegetables as cheap, healthy food every single day.

Low Price Cooking is a brand new community website for Cooking Nutritious Food at a lower price to help your family budget. Come by LowPriceCooking to get your free Ebook on LowPriceCooking Basics just for joining the Low Price Cooking community for free. You will find cooking Forums, cooking Videos, Low Price Cooking Community Members and more just for signing up for free to join and then you can get your free Low Price Cooking EBook on Low Price Cooking Basics. Visit and be our newest member of the Low Price Cooking Community.

Back in the 1960s, no self-respecting parent would dream of trying to do anything in the kitchen without first putting on a cooking apron. In those days it wasn't cheap to buy clothes or keep them clean, so it was madness not to protect them when working in the kitchen. Things had become radically different by the end of the decade, though. The cooking apron had begun to symbolise the downtrodden housewife. And then, being tied to your apron strings became something to escape.

Forward wind to our century. Everyone is watching cooking shows on TV before heading into their refitted kitchens to try out their new-found cooking skills. And TV chefs wear cooking aprons. So, now the humble cooking apron, denizon of the liberated woman, is back in style - big time. Now we can all look like a "master chef" simply by tying a couple of apron strings around our waists. Of course, the food we actually prepare once we have our cooking aprons on is another matter - it rarely goes the way it does on TV.

Today’s cooking aprons are now available in a masive variety of colours and styles. And the most popular seem to bear some kind of joke printed on the front (just think which area of the body they cover). Novelty cooking aprons are all the rage. If you're feeling inventive you can use the front of the apron and have a joke of your own printed - at the wearer's expense, of course.

The way we buy cooking aprons has totally changed since the 1960s. Online. They are easier to find, easier to browse for and cheaper to buy. Everything can be done without moving away from the counter in our kitchen. Sometimes, the buying process is so simple, satisfying and cost-effective that we just have to have more than one. At the end of the day, it's always good to be ready if guests arrive unannounced. Once in the kitchen, they should be prepared at least to try on your latest cooking apron and save their clothes, if not their hands, from getting dirty.

As the evenings get shorter, the grill needs to be put away and replaced by the croc pot. Invented by the Crock-Pot company, the croc pot, or slow cooker, uses very little power to cook food over a period of several hours. Because the temperature never reaches anywhere near boiling point, food gets cooked without losing any of its natural flavour or nutritional value. This is a cooking pot that is excellent for preparing rich stews. The length of cooking time is ideal for complex dishes that rely on binding diverse flavours. And modern croc pots are ultra-economical.

The concept has caught on. Now manufacturers from Morphy Richards to Breville offer modern, economical slow cookers that are a cinch to use. They have become popular because they are so easy to use. Preparing a nutritious dinner is a real challenge – even more so for tired parents arriving home from work with hungry children to feed. For many, that’s the most chaotic time of the day – and the worst possible moment to start preparing dinner.

A croc pot allows you to choose the best moment to prepare your meal. You can chop your vegetables and prepare your meat in the morning, place it all in the slow cooker and turn it on before you leave the house. Early crock-pots would cook the ingredients at a set, low temperature controlled by a simple thermostat. Contemporary cookware now offer a host of features that essentially allow you to expand your culinary repetoire beyond the limit of simple stews. Some feature more complicated temperature control so that food can be kept warm once its cooked automatically. Others feature a probe that can detect when a joint of meat is done the way you like it, and stop cooking as soon as that point is reached. You can even program more advanced slow cookers to start at a high temperature and drop, or the other way round. However, if energy savings are your biggest concern, you probably won’t want to go for a slow cooker which can cook at high temperatures. When it comes to saving energy, modern croc pots are unbeatable, especially the simple ones.

Slow cookers and croc pots come in many sizes, but only two sizes have become standard. These are the ‘4-quart’ and the ‘6-quart’, which hold exactly what they say on the tin. A 6-quart slow cooker is best suited to a big family with a big kitchen. But one factor that has made croc pots so popular over the years is the prevalence of ‘pot-luck’ dinners. In this case, a 4-quart, handled croc pot would be ideal. Pick up your pot, take it to the party and plug it in. Some croc pots even have a crockery bowl that you can remove from the rest of the cooker. You can serve your dish straight from the bowl in style. And because the crockery pot is quite heavy, it is sufficient to maintain the food at temperature without power.

Now that there have been so many croc pots and slow cookers on the market for such a long time, there are also plenty of recipes to go with them. Once you have familiarized yourself with the basics, the only limit is your own imagination.

Authenic Mexican Food Video

Chilies are popular in many countries, but Mexico enjoys them the most. Popular Mexican peppers have been used for thousands of years as an ingredient in Mexican dishes. There are about 140 different types of chilies grown in Mexico. People tend to shy away from chilies because of their powerful heat when eaten, but not all chilies are unbearable to many.

Mexican peppers are a popular Mexican food used in foods. It is used to add flavor to vegetables, and meats. Another Mexican spice is popular is Chipotle. It is made from Jalapenos that have been dried and smoked. The flavor is one of a kind and goes well with many dishes. It is gaining popularity outside of Mexico. One other type of chile pepper is Ancho. It is different from the other peppers because it has a sweet flavor similar to dried fruit.

Some Mexican spices used in cooking are Cumin, and Oregano. Mexican dishes that include tomatoes are perfect with oregano. It gives the dish an earthy flavor. Cumin gives Mexican dishes a taste that cannot be matched. Cumin takes three to four months of a long summer to grow. Cumin is a dry seed from the herb Cuminum Cyminum which is a member of the parsley family. This spice is the key component in curry power and chili powder. Cumin can also be boiled and served as a tea which is called “cumin cider”. Cumin is a spice that has been used for many centuries and will continue to be used by the people of Mexico.

Another pepper that is found in Mexican cuisine is the Fresno pepper. It looks like a smaller version of a sweet green pepper. You can find them in guacamole and also in dishes that include black beans. Chipotle peppers are another pepper found in Mexico. It is gaining popularity in the United States. It is actually Jalapeno peppers that are dried by being smoked. They add a smoky flavor to dishes. One other pepper is the Serrano. They are bright green in color with a very spicy hot taste. They are often used in salsa.

Achiote is the shrub that the annatto seeds come from which is added to the recado rojo mixture. This shrub is grown in Southeast Asia and was introduced to the Spanish in the 17th century. It is consider an inedible fruit that is used for its seeds. Long ago American Indians used the seeds to make body paints. Parts of the shrub can be used in medical remedies for health problems such as headaches and burns.

If you want to try some Mexican spices from your home, they are available at major grocery stores. You can even make your own blend of Mexican spices. Gather a few of the mentioned spices in this article, along with paprika and salt, and blend them together for a sensational burst of flavor. This is a great blend in chili. It can be added to foods that are baked, broiled and barbequed. It is perfect on chicken and pork. It is an excellent addition for your next barbeque. Let the grilling begin!

More info on Mexican food can be found here Mexican Bread

Virtually everyone’s grocery budget is being stretched to the limit these days, but most people don’t want to eat food that is just affordable but they want cheap, healthy food that is good for them while still fitting into their budget.Sometimes we all get stuck in the rut of purchasing those boxes of mac and cheese for just over a dollar but remember there is little to no nutrutional value in those items.  So what can you do if you’re looking for Low Cost Cooking healthy food that you can have on a regular basis?

The obvious answer is to eat more fruits and vegetables whenever you can.  These items are nutritious, tasty, and of course the best choice for Budget Cooking healthy food that there is.  But the problem with fruits and vegetables is that they can sometimes get a bit boring and repetitious, and many people want a hot meal for lunch or dinner rather than just raw fruits and veggies.  So how can you incorporate these items into your meal plans so that you’re getting the best of cheap, healthy food but not missing out on taste or enjoyment?

Learning to cook is of course one important part, or just following recipes for certain items can make a difference.  Stuffed peppers are a great choice for cheap, healthy food that can be a main course for any meal.  Of course there’s a right way and a wrong way to cook stuffed pepper so that they come out tasty rather than mushy!  But they’re one easy dish that just about everyone enjoys.A great possibility is also a veggie stir fry and then you can just mix it up with a wide variety of sauces.  They make a great meal and a good idea for a Budget Cooking healthy food that you can have on its own or that you can serve over noodles or rice.  When you have other dinner items you can also just serve more vegetables and less meat; try steaming a variety of vegetables and filling up on those rather than the meat or other main course.If meat is what you enjoy, you will find that you can have cheap and healthy food every time you sit down but you won’t have to miss the taste of beef.

Fruit makes a great dessert in many cases; this is another way of having a cheap, healthy food that tastes good and that can be used in the place of something else that is less healthy or good for you.  Some fresh fruit with a little bit of whipped cream is a small amount of calories, especially when compared to ice cream or something else.  You might need to get a little creative with fruit as a dessert; for instance, try baking an apple with some cinnamon.  Baking it brings out the natural sugars.Everyone loves this food for dessert and the best part is is that its also inexpensive and healthy.  By using your imagination and getting familiar with different cooking techniques, you can use fruits and vegetables as cheap, healthy food every single day.

Low Price Cooking is a brand new community website for Cooking Nutritious Food at a lower price to help your family budget. Come by LowPriceCooking to get your free Ebook on LowPriceCooking Basics just for joining the Low Price Cooking community for free. You will find cooking Forums, cooking Videos, Low Price Cooking Community Members and more just for signing up for free to join and then you can get your free Low Price Cooking EBook on Low Price Cooking Basics. Come be A part of our Low Price Cooking Community.

Did you know that you can now buy fresh fish online? Nowadays there’s very little that can’t be bought over the internet. The massive increase internet usage around the world in recent years, coupled with exposure from search engines such as Google, it is now possible to buy virtually any product or service over the internet.This could seem like a new concept to you, given the relatively short shelf life of fresh fish.  But some savvy fishmongers have realised that there is a market for those looking to buy smoked salmon or buy haddocks fillets on the internet.

They have developed a processing and delivery method that ensures that customers receive high quality fresh fish to their doorstep.the fish retains its freshness and flavours throughout the delivery process, as it is quick frozen shortly after being caught and delivered in specially sealed vacuume packed bags.As the fish is dispatched in a van with a dry ice compartment it will be kept frozen, and will not lose its freshness.

You may not have thought about buying fish online.  But if you consider that we are all working longer hours, with increasingly stressful lifestyles, it makes sense for us to be able to buy fish online rather than rush to the fishmongers during work hours.Fish bought online could actually be fresher than fish bought in the fishmongers or supermarket, as it has been quick frozen and not sat on display.

The other issue to consider is choice, many of the newly formed online fishmongers offer a huge selection of fish that may not be available is a fishmongers in a provincial town.  Aside from that not every town or village has a fishmongers; more often than not consumers are purchasing fresh fish from a supermarket.Even here, your choice is likely to be limited in comparison to that available online.

Just doing a quick search on Google for “Fresh Fish” displays dozens of advertisements from specialist online fishmongers so there is plenty of choice and competition about!