Thursday, 10 September 2009
The Award Winning Temecula Valley Wine Story
While grapes have been grown and wineries being fruitful since the early 70s in Temecula California, much has changed of late. The Valley itself is with an ideal climate for accomplishing high quality wine grapes: hot, sunny days; cool evenings; long growing season; and limited rainfall during the growing season. The effect of great draining and decomposed granite soil, led numerous entrepreneurs to Temecula with wine in mind. Names like Callaway influenced the pack with a belief and drive to put Temecula on the map. The aim in the early 70s was to produce a commercial acceptable product and increase the awareness of this new California appellation. They were wildly successful and Callaway Winery became known as The
Saturday, 5 September 2009
New Black Pepper Corn Bread - Hearty and Delicious
This hearty and dense corn bread is delicious when served with chili, stew, or soup. Enjoy with any meal where a spicy (but not overpowering) bread is desirable.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal, divided
1 1/2 teaspoon gourmet black pepper
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup boiling water
1 package fast rising yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup hot water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 cups bread flour, divided
How to make hearty black pepper corn bread:
1) Mix one cup of the cornmeal, pepper, seasoning salt, and onion powder with the boiling water until well blended and smooth. Let the mixture cool to 120 F (about ten minutes).
2) Mix in yeast, sugar, the 1/4 cup hot water, and olive oil. Add one cup of the bread flour and mix until smooth and elastic, which should take about five minutes. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place (free of drafts) until risen and puffy (about 45 minutes).
3) Grease a nine-inch glass pie plate with vegetable oil.
4) Knead more bread flour in until the mix is not sticky. Continue kneading on floured surface until smooth and elastic (about five minutes of kneading). Shape into a ball. Place in the plate and flatten out to fill the bottom. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, which should take about 50 minutes or so.
5) Score the top of the bread in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Bake at 350 F or 180 C for 35 to 45 minutes, or until bread is light brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from the plate and serve warm.
Makes one pan, about ten servings.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
180 calories
5 grams protein
36 grams carbohydrates
2 grams fat
0 grams saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
110 mg sodium
3 grams dietary fiber
Brief History of Cornbread
Native Americans were using ground corn for cooking long before Europeans arrived in North America. They mastered the skill of drying and grinding corn into corn meal, which is the basic component of cornbread. Corn was sacred to the Mayans, Aztecs and Incas. European explorers, faced with feeding themselves with whatever was available locally, fashioned cornmeal into cornbread. Cornbread was very popular during the Civil War because it was cheap to make, and could be made in many different ways. Being thin and flat as prepared, it was ideal for transporting over long distances, and could provide significant nutritional value without a lot of bulk and weight.
Popular types of cornbread today include skillet baked cornbread ((grease is heated in a skillet and the batter is poured directly into the hot grease before baking), corn pone (baked or fried in butter or grease), johnnycakes (a pancake-like cornbread), and hush puppies (deep fried and popular with seafood dishes).
Tastes in cornbread vary by region. In the United States, northern and southern cornbreads are different. Northern cooks often prefer yellow corn meal, and a finished bread that is sweetened with sugar or molasses. Southern cooks often prefer white corn meal, and a more salty taste. In the southwest, a spicy jalapeno cornbread prepared with corn kernels and shredded cheese is popular.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal, divided
1 1/2 teaspoon gourmet black pepper
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup boiling water
1 package fast rising yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup hot water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 cups bread flour, divided
How to make hearty black pepper corn bread:
1) Mix one cup of the cornmeal, pepper, seasoning salt, and onion powder with the boiling water until well blended and smooth. Let the mixture cool to 120 F (about ten minutes).
2) Mix in yeast, sugar, the 1/4 cup hot water, and olive oil. Add one cup of the bread flour and mix until smooth and elastic, which should take about five minutes. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place (free of drafts) until risen and puffy (about 45 minutes).
3) Grease a nine-inch glass pie plate with vegetable oil.
4) Knead more bread flour in until the mix is not sticky. Continue kneading on floured surface until smooth and elastic (about five minutes of kneading). Shape into a ball. Place in the plate and flatten out to fill the bottom. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, which should take about 50 minutes or so.
5) Score the top of the bread in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Bake at 350 F or 180 C for 35 to 45 minutes, or until bread is light brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from the plate and serve warm.
Makes one pan, about ten servings.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
180 calories
5 grams protein
36 grams carbohydrates
2 grams fat
0 grams saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
110 mg sodium
3 grams dietary fiber
Brief History of Cornbread
Native Americans were using ground corn for cooking long before Europeans arrived in North America. They mastered the skill of drying and grinding corn into corn meal, which is the basic component of cornbread. Corn was sacred to the Mayans, Aztecs and Incas. European explorers, faced with feeding themselves with whatever was available locally, fashioned cornmeal into cornbread. Cornbread was very popular during the Civil War because it was cheap to make, and could be made in many different ways. Being thin and flat as prepared, it was ideal for transporting over long distances, and could provide significant nutritional value without a lot of bulk and weight.
Popular types of cornbread today include skillet baked cornbread ((grease is heated in a skillet and the batter is poured directly into the hot grease before baking), corn pone (baked or fried in butter or grease), johnnycakes (a pancake-like cornbread), and hush puppies (deep fried and popular with seafood dishes).
Tastes in cornbread vary by region. In the United States, northern and southern cornbreads are different. Northern cooks often prefer yellow corn meal, and a finished bread that is sweetened with sugar or molasses. Southern cooks often prefer white corn meal, and a more salty taste. In the southwest, a spicy jalapeno cornbread prepared with corn kernels and shredded cheese is popular.
Thursday, 3 September 2009
College Cuisine
Going to college is a grand experience. It's the first time many young adults get the chance to begin taking care of them, no matter what the consequences. One of the main things that worries parents when their child heads out into the world of college is, of course, their diet. What are they going to eat if the cafeteria closes too early? What if they don't like the cafeteria food? What if they didn't even sign up for cafeteria meals?
Parents needn't worry. College students today have developed their own underworld of cuisine, involving quite the array of foods, time-tested by students in the past, and catered specifically to college needs by clever manufacturers.
The main staple of dorm life these days is, of course, the microwave. College students take microwave food to a whole new level. The smell of microwave popcorn is right at home in a dorm, even at 3 am. I had a roommate at college who ate microwave popcorn for breakfast. Quick, easy, cheap and filling- what more could you ask for?
There is also the infamous instant Japanese noodles (the Japanese name for this product does in fact translate to "student cuisine"). One of the biggest things I learned at school was how many ways there are to eat this ubiquitous, 25 cent meal. There's the traditional method of boiling it into soup, of course.
There's also the option of straining the water out before adding the seasoning, creating a haphazard pasta meal. A friend of mine used to give away his seasoning packets to those who liked their soup extra salty, and then use the noodles mixed with cafeteria vegetables to create his own vegetable soup. There is, in fact, an entire culture devoted to forming recipes around these instant noodles. And college students might be the most creative consumers of all.
But the need for so much creativity is not as dire as it once was. Nowadays microwaves are ridiculously cheap to own, and many college students don't think twice about having one in their dorm room. This has caused manufacturers to cater to the college students' needs like never before. Macaroni and cheese that doesn't involve buying milk, and rice dinners in a bag that include all the seasonings, are a huge step forward for students living at school, where access to milk and butter (and having somewhere to keep them if you buy them) is not as easy as it looks.
Sure, not all of this instant and easy food is healthy. Some of it is downright bad for you. But parents needn't worry too much. Your child might spend a few semesters believing the food groups consist of salt, fake chicken, cheese in a pouch, and potato chips... but it will make them appreciate you all the more when they come home.
Parents needn't worry. College students today have developed their own underworld of cuisine, involving quite the array of foods, time-tested by students in the past, and catered specifically to college needs by clever manufacturers.
The main staple of dorm life these days is, of course, the microwave. College students take microwave food to a whole new level. The smell of microwave popcorn is right at home in a dorm, even at 3 am. I had a roommate at college who ate microwave popcorn for breakfast. Quick, easy, cheap and filling- what more could you ask for?
There is also the infamous instant Japanese noodles (the Japanese name for this product does in fact translate to "student cuisine"). One of the biggest things I learned at school was how many ways there are to eat this ubiquitous, 25 cent meal. There's the traditional method of boiling it into soup, of course.
There's also the option of straining the water out before adding the seasoning, creating a haphazard pasta meal. A friend of mine used to give away his seasoning packets to those who liked their soup extra salty, and then use the noodles mixed with cafeteria vegetables to create his own vegetable soup. There is, in fact, an entire culture devoted to forming recipes around these instant noodles. And college students might be the most creative consumers of all.
But the need for so much creativity is not as dire as it once was. Nowadays microwaves are ridiculously cheap to own, and many college students don't think twice about having one in their dorm room. This has caused manufacturers to cater to the college students' needs like never before. Macaroni and cheese that doesn't involve buying milk, and rice dinners in a bag that include all the seasonings, are a huge step forward for students living at school, where access to milk and butter (and having somewhere to keep them if you buy them) is not as easy as it looks.
Sure, not all of this instant and easy food is healthy. Some of it is downright bad for you. But parents needn't worry too much. Your child might spend a few semesters believing the food groups consist of salt, fake chicken, cheese in a pouch, and potato chips... but it will make them appreciate you all the more when they come home.
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