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bentonpena · 5 years ago

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Tofu Freaking Rules

Tofu Freaking Rules https://bit.ly/350TvUV

We need to talk about tofu. As Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger mania sweeps the globe, the OG vegan protein is getting left behind—and I, for one, hate to see it. If you’re serious about reducing your reliance on animal products, tofu has the potential to change your diet—and life—for the better.

To some extent, I get why so many people, particularly American meat-eaters, are resistant to the entire concept of tofu. Western culture has ruthlessly (and racist-ly) slandered the humble soy-based protein for as long as we’ve known about it, so a lot of us were basically programmed from birth to think it’s garbage.

I’m begging you to reconsider. When correctly prepared, tofu is a textural marvel, running the gamut from delicate and custardy to deep-fried and crunchy. Its unmatched flavor-absorbing powers make it a total chameleon; it truly can be anything you want it to be. I’ve loved tofu my whole meat-eating life, and I’m here to convert the naysayers. Welcome to my Tofu Manifesto.

You’re probably thinking about tofu all wrong

The biggest, wrongest tofu misconception is that it’s strictly a meat substitute. Sure, it can be that if it needs to—but tofu’s closest animal protein analog is actually the egg. On their own, eggs are bland; it’s their ability to morph into a staggering array of forms and textures that makes them so special. However you like your eggs—fried crisp with lacy edges, scrambled soft with lots of butter, or cooked into a puffy, tender frittata—I’m willing to bet your preferences come down to texture rather than flavor.

The same is true for tofu, which is why I’m skeptical when people insist they don’t like how it tastes. Soft and silken tofu has a more noticeable soy milk vibe than the firm stuff, but for the most part, it adds no flavor whatsoever to a dish. Tofu only tastes as good as the sauce it’s served in—texture is basically the whole point.

It’s embarrassingly easy to make tofu taste amazing

Contrary to popular assumption, delicious tofu takes barely any work at all. In fact, all the usual hacks try way too hard: Pressing takes forever (and freezing even longer); marinating often yields profoundly mediocre results; a cornstarch dredge too easily sogs out. None of these techniques work particularly well on medium-to-soft tofu, and with the exception of marinating, they also offer absolutely nothing in the way of seasoning.

For all of these reasons and more, the salt water trick is the only tofu hack worth knowing. Hot, salty water is a tofu prep triple threat: It dehydrates firm tofu so it crisps up quickly, sets super-fragile soft tofu so it doesn’t fall apart, and seasons everything through and through. It also adds as much work to your dinner prep as boiling pasta. I’ll get into the specific techniques in a bit; for now, just know that the salt water hack promoted tofu from something I’d buy occasionally to a legit, can’t-live-without-it staple.

If you remain unmoved, I’ve collected my favorite tofu products and preparations in one place, starting with the most hater-friendly ones. This isn’t a recipe post—it’s all about the technique. (Where applicable, I’ll link to specific recipes that I used and explain how I adjusted them to work with tofu, with the hope that you’ll soon be doing the same.)

Even hardline skeptics love fried tofu puffs

Tofu puffs are cheap, delicious, deep-fried flavor sponges that need zero prep; in other words, they’re easy to love. You can toss them whole into curries and stews for a fun textural element, but I strongly recommend taking 30 seconds to slice them in half. With their honeycomb-like interiors exposed, these puffy little nuggets soak up sauce like nobody’s business—without compromising their crispiness.

To show them off, I made my favorite Maangchi recipe—cheese buldak, or fire chicken with cheese—with halved tofu puffs instead of chicken breast.

Those two ingredients are obviously nothing alike, but the swap totally works thanks to the insanely powerful sauce. Red-hot both in color and spice level, surprisingly sweet, and with enough fresh ginger and garlic to put hair on your chest, it more than picks up the slack for something as bland as chicken breast or unseasoned tofu. Having made this dish with chicken dozens of times, I have to say—I prefer the puffs. Even when saturated with sauce, they stay light and puffy, which is the perfect contrast to the ultra-chewy texture of sliced rice cakes and melted mozzarella.

Pressed tofu does (most of) the prep work for you

As the name implies, pressed tofu has already been pressed to remove most of its moisture, resulting in a pleasantly toothsome texture. You can buy it pre-seasoned with soy sauce and five spice powder, but I like it plain so I can season it however I like.

Here, I whipped up a vaguely Spam-inspired mixture of roughly 2 tablespoons each of soy sauce and sugar, plus a teaspoon of garlic powder and a few shakes of smoky hot sauce (El Yucateco Black Label Reserve for life). I added some cubed pressed tofu and let everyone hang out about 20 minutes, flipping them around halfway through. You don’t need much marinade; a shallow layer is plenty.

I then used it to bulk up a super basic batch of fried rice with ginger, garlic, carrots, and frozen peas. The cubes got nicely crispy and charred on the edges, and were just what I needed to add some substance to a huge bowl of fried carbs.

Unseasoned pressed tofu also makes great vegan “paneer:” Cube it up and marinate in lemon juice with a few pinches of salt for 30 minutes, or longer if you have the time. As with regular paneer, you can pan-fry the tofu or leave it alone; either way, you’ll be surprised at how closely the marinated tofu mimics the texture and flavor of the real thing.

Medium-to-firm tofu needs a little TLC

This range of the tofu spectrum is the most recognizable and the least immediately appealing. I mean, just look at this:

In my experience, the variations between medium, firm, and extra-firm tofu are pretty meaningless, and I use them all interchangeably. Left uncooked, they all have a texture best described as “rubbery,” with no discernible flavor at all. Their highest calling is getting crispy in a hot skillet and doused in a flavorful sauce.

All you need to make crunchy pan-fried tofu is salt water, a good nonstick pan, and all of 20-30 minutes. That’s it. Here’s my usual procedure for a standard 1-pound block.

Before I do any other ingredient prep, I bring 2-3 cups of salted water and 2 teaspoons of table salt to a strong boil in a saucepan. Then I cut the heat, slide in my tofu, and let it sit while I prepare the rest of the recipe. After 15-20 minutes, I drain off the water and either pat the tofu dry on clean towels or leave it in the colander until I need it.

To get that crispy surface going, I coat my big cast-iron skillet with a thin layer of neutral oil and heat it over medium-high. I then add the tofu, spread it into an even layer, and leave it completely alone for at least 5 minutes.

Once the edges start to brown, I flip it over and do the same on the other side.

Boom. Done. Obviously, I used crumbled tofu here—it’s my favorite—but this works just as well with cubes, slabs, triangles, or any other shape you can dream up.

Don’t sleep on crumbled tofu

I know I said that tofu isn’t a meat substitute, but crispy tofu crumbles get really fucking close. In many cases, I prefer them to meat because they hold their shape—and a surprising amount of crunch—even when simmered for a long time. Sure, they don’t give you the specific richness you get with ground pork or beef, but with the right recipe you won’t miss it at all.

Speaking of the right recipe, Bon Appétit Test Kitchen director Chris Morocco’s spicy sweet sambal pork noodles are flawless—but, despite the name, I’ve actually never made them with meat. I only had tofu the first time I made them, and they turned out so well that I’m fine with never learning how they taste with pork.

I make the recipe exactly as written, except—obviously—I leave the pork out. Instead, I fry up soaked, crumbled firm tofu in a separate skillet while the sauce simmers, then dump ‘em in and toss everything together with cooked noodles. This cuts at least 30 minutes off the cook time without compromising on anything except porkiness, which I promise won’t even register.

You can also use tofu crumbles like ground beef. I usually throw in some minced onion and garlic in once the tofu is nice and crispy, then cook it down with a little tomato paste, taco seasoning, and cheap beer if I’ve got it.

It’s not beefy, exactly, but it tastes incredible in its own right—and makes a killer vegan-friendly crunchwrap filling.

You can roast tofu, too

Maybe you’d rather not spray your stovetop with oil in the name of crispy tofu. In that case, roasted tofu is for you. The results are directly comparable to pan-frying—they just take a little longer to get there.

Start with soaked, drained tofu, preferably cut into triangles or flat slabs so they’re easy to flip. Arrange on a clean towel and let them dry out while your oven preheats to 450ºF.

If you like, cut a vegetable of your choice into similarly-sized pieces and toss them with a tablespoon or two of neutral oil; I’m using kabocha squash here.

Place a sheet pan on the lowest oven rack. After about 3 minutes, add 2-3 tablespoons of neutral oil to the pan, put it back in the oven, and heat for another minute or two. Carefully transfer the tofu and vegetables to the hot oiled pan, return to the bottom rack, and roast for at least 20 minutes. Flip everything over and roast for another 15-20 minutes, until the tofu is super crispy on both sides and the vegetables are browned and soft.

You can eat the whole shebang straight off the pan—perhaps drizzled with spicy peanut sauce or chili oil—but I added mine to a quick curry made with Maesri panang curry paste, palm sugar, and coconut milk. (Maesri is the only brand I’ve found that doesn’t use shrimp paste or fish sauce; if you usually avoid prepared curry paste for allergy or vegan reasons, give it a try.)

To be completely honest, the kabocha was a miss—the flesh was too dry, and the skin was super tough. The crispy roasted tofu, however, slapped. They can’t all be bangers; such is the nature of experimentation.

When you feel ready, silken tofu is there for you

The next stop on our tour de tofu is the most controversial, misunderstood one yet: Soft or silken tofu. Yes, it’s bland. Unseasoned coagulated soy milk isn’t going to blow your mind with super-concentrated umami or whatever. But when prepared correctly, soft tofu is more than just delicious—it’s absolutely sublime. I will go to bat for it all day long, and I would love to tell you why.

The dish that changed my mind about silken tofu came from Biwa, a now-closed izakaya-style bar in Portland. It was deceptively simple: A whole block of chilled silken tofu drizzled with sweet soy sauce and topped with bias-cut scallions, fistfuls of toasted sesame seeds, and paper-thin bonito shavings. I ordered it every time, and my friends would always be like—“Cold tofu? Why?” But if I could convince them to take a bite, they’d understand. It was like eating a deeply savory panna cotta.

Unfortunately, my dearly departed Tofu Slab is no more—and my attempts to recreate it have been so unsuccessful that I’m forced to settle for the next best thing: Salt water-soaked silken tofu mounded on hot white rice and drowned in chili oil, soy sauce, and black vinegar.

I’m not complaining. The salt water, once again, is key: It turns a cold, slimy block of tofu into a piping-hot savory custard, which is the perfect canvas for condiments. Sure, there’s not much in the way of textural contrast, but the softness is so comforting and nice that I think a crunchy element would actually defeat the purpose. It’s a delicious, balanced, reasonably nutritious meal you can throw together in the time it takes to cook a pot of rice.

Putting it all together: All-tofu mapo tofu

Neglecting to mention mapo tofu in an article about tofu is basically journalistic malpractice. The iconic Sichuanese tofu dish is rich, meaty, spicy, funky, sour, and savory all at once—and slicked with lip-numbing Sichuan peppercorn oil for good measure. It’s a top 3 dish for me; I make it all the time, usually using Maggie Zhu’s recipe from the Omnivore’s Cookbook.

Being a big vegetable fan, I’ve experimented with using minced veg—eggplant, mushrooms, and even carrots—in place of the traditional ground meat. But this time, I decided to follow my vision and make a variant I’m calling “Oops! All Tofu.” I approached this recipe just like the sambal noodles, swapping crispy tofu crumbles in for the ground pork—but this time, I also soaked some cubed soft tofu in a fresh pot of salt water while the sauce simmered away.

This was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever made. The nubbins of soft tofu were literally melt-in-your-mouth tender, while the crispy crumbles turned downright meaty as they soaked up the spicy, salty, rich sauce. It made me even more certain of all of the (correct) tofu opinions I just laid out before you and, if you’ll let it, it has the power to convert you too.

Internet via Lifehacker https://bit.ly/2VwWgKq April 24, 2020 at 12:01PM

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lenakrruger · 6 years ago

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Recipes for Realtors: Stewed prunes, oxtails and oranges

I was rearranging my pantry shelf, and it’s a rare thing to find things in tins, but I came across a large container of preserved prunes. And I decided it was time to use them again. This is a quick and easy sauce to make and it keeps well in a glass-covered container in the fridge for several days.

Remove the prunes using a strainer or a slotted spoon and put the liquid into a saucepan. Measure the liquid and add half as much granulated sugar and a cup of Offley Ruby Port.

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Bring it to a gentle simmer and reduce by a third. Stir well with a wooden spoon to incorporate the sugar. Mash the moisture-filled prunes or pulse coarsely. Add a pinch of salt.

Stir the mashed prunes into the reduced sauce pot, on simmer. Squeeze the juice of a fresh sweet orange into the pot and add orange segments from another whole orange, cut from between the membranes.

You could add the zest of a fresh orange or mince a few rinds from your candied citrus sugar jar to finish the sauce, just when ready to serve.

Alternate: You might consider adding a large dollop of sour cream to the port sauce; if you do, do not reheat. The sauce will separate. Just gently fold in the sour cream at the last minute and serve.

Remove the cooked oxtails from their cooking pot (see below), using a spider spoon, and cover with the port prune sauce on a serving platter. Gourmet at its best.

This sauce can also be used over top of pan-fried pork loin medallions (you can substitute veal medallions) or over centre-cut grilled thick pork chops. It’s a wonderful accompaniment to roasted whole unstuffed rock Cornish hens that have been roasted with my kumquat marmalade spread over the birds in the last few minutes of roasting. Or, use this prune port sauce with pan-fried duck breast, served medium rare, or over my turkey roll recipe at this link.

Paired with a citrus panna cotta or citrus zabaglione, made with minced rind from your pantry citrus sugar jar, you could even serve dessert in a matching puddle of your main course port prune sauce (save a bit before you add the oxtails). You might top a martini glass of the pudding with a dollop of Port Chantilly Crème (the kind used as filling for my Bird’s Nest Pavlova recipe). Or, top an espresso with a tiny spoon of the ruby port cream.

Suggested pairing: Offley Ruby Port. Let it breathe. Serve at a cool room temperature from a narrow neck decanter or directly from its bottle, chilled just a bit.

Another idea: Drizzle the prune port sauce on my grilled goat cheese spinach sandwich recipe you can find here. Scroll down to comments for Grilled Goat Cheese Spinach Sandwich Special (and so much more …)

Or, enjoy the sauce on an open face grilled brown bread slice, topped with thinly sliced roasted turkey and crispy bacon. Very yummy, either way. Note: if you have found a place to buy English bloomer bread that is very popular in U.K., it grills wonderfully. It’s also perfect to serve with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon at breakfast.

Asbach oxtails

In a heavy, coated, cast-iron pot, sauté oxtails in hot butter until brown. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and a sprig of dry, fresh thyme. When cooked, add a little chopped parsley.

Add the following to the pot, then cover: Sweat a large Spanish onion, chopped medium fine; three celery sticks, chopped small but coarse; three carrots, large, cut in pennies on the diagonal.

Add one quart (four cups) of homemade chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down. Simmer two hours. During the last half hour of cooking, add a quarter cup of Asbach brandy. Reduce. Sauce will thicken slightly.

You can serve the oxtails dish at this stage. Or, you can remove the oxtails so they don’t continue cooking (don’t overcook the meat) and add half and half cream. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat (don’t cover the pot) and reduce just slightly.

Serve over whipped, mashed potatoes, wide egg noodles or Basmati rice. Also good with crepes. Fill the crepes with the oxtails and serve the crepes in a reduced puddle of the natural sauce or the cream sauce, with the veggies on the plate pushed to the side.

If you have never eaten oxtails, you are missing out on a wonderful dish; but bear in mind, this is exceptionally rich and will be a great surprise for guests, too.

A different approach: Using either method, right at the end, add a tin of whole tomatoes and liquid; break up the tomatoes just a little.

Then, if you would rather have oxtail tomato soup, add another quart of homemade chicken stock. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and serve. When ready to serve, top each individual serving with a few shavings of frozen Asbach butter from your always at-the-ready freezer supply. Do not stir. Just let the compound butter melt.

More amazing oxtails: Hungarian oxtail goulash

Prepare as above: Let the meat fall off the bones; pull apart the meat using two forks. Reduce the sauce a little on low heat.

Check seasoning. Adjust salt, pepper and add a heaping tablespoon of Hungarian sweet paprika (not the smoky version, unless that is your personal preference). Gently fold in, just before serving, a large scoop of firm full fat sour cream. Do not reheat after adding the sour cream. Keep the cooking pan hot, covered until serving.

Serve the Hungarian oxtail goulash in a large family-style presentation in a large deep platter, along with a bed of my homemade sauerkraut. This works well as a side dish with plain breaded Wiener schnitzel or breaded chicken cutlets or pork cutlets and a generous serving of homemade egg noodles or spaetzle.

A word about food storage spaces

If you live near a grocery store or market, go in off-hours when checkout lines are less likely to be busy. And go more often. Most people never have enough refrigerator space no matter how big the fridge is, and kitchen cabinet space is often at a premium.

The luxury of having a separate pantry is just that. Unless you have one set, dedicated cabinet for food storage items, it’s better to shop frequently. It’s never a long walk to the basement and a worthwhile investment to put dedicated shelving in place for things best kept in a cool dark place.

Many Italian-built homes have a cantina. It’s not a real cantina unless it has an open air-exchange hole (as a listing rep be careful how you identify that space; you could find yourself paying to modify it). But nonetheless it is a cold room. But be careful about condensation accumulating. Keep an eye open for mould. That is never acceptable.

Back in the pre-war days, and even sometimes after, one could find dedicated giant storage bins in house basements, under a removable basement window, allowing those who grew their own potatoes and root vegetables a means of putting a slide in place and loading wagon-loads of veggies onto slides that delivered the homegrown wonders right to the storage bins, where they provided family food all through the off-seasons. Bins were made from bug-free woods, never from shipping skids that might carry uninvited guests in transit.

Some people who didn’t have open-slat wooden basement bins used open hemp sacks for storage. The coal or wood-fired furnace was often in the basement, so that kept any dampness at bay. In Canada, many basement areas had earthen floors.

Although the European immigrants brought their wonderful recipes from overseas with them, some foodstuffs really are international. Made with a local twist. Here is a good example.

Stale bread Austrian-style dumplings

This is another wartime and post-wartime dish. Today we are still in a war – against food pricing and waste.

Bread is bread wherever you go or wherever you live. For these wonderful bread dumplings, you can use almost any bread. It just so happens the dumplings are still a staple in Northern Italy and Austria. And a particular favourite, too, among travellers to the region.

Don’t waste those easily dried out baguettes or rolls that become rock hard, almost impossible to bring back to life: French, Italian or Portuguese. Put the dried-out bread in a large plastic bag, lay a clean lightweight tea towel over it, and using your meat pounder hammer, smash the dried bread into large pieces.

Place the bread chunks into a large glass bowl. Just barely cover with half and half cream. The bread will expand as it absorbs the liquid. Let the bread sit for a few hours. You don’t want the bread soggy. Just moist.

Regular readers might notice I rarely use milk in my recipes. I don’t drink milk and haven’t since I was preschool when I was forced to drink milk that was “off”. I could never bring myself to drink it again, although very occasionally I would succumb to a hot chocolate or a milkshake. To me, ever after, milk tastes like whatever the cow had eaten, so I simply avoided it completely. Milk is full of natural sugars. Cream is not. Fat, yes. Sugar, no.

Now for these dumplings some people use flour as a binder. For an exception, perhaps use almonds or hazelnuts that have been ground to a powder flour-like texture. For six cups of soaked moistened bread, use about three-quarters cup of ground nuts (or flour). Whisk a large fresh egg and mix into the moistened bread. Sprinkle with minced fresh parsley and fresh lemon thyme. Grate a little fresh nutmeg into the mix and a little salt and pepper.

Now for the special touch: add a half cup of my special minced spinach mix from your fridge or thawed overnight freezer storage. But use spinach to which you have added chopped crispy bacon (not store-bought bacon bits).

To see my spinach special recipe scroll down to the sandwich comments here.

The dumplings need to be a generous size, about the size of a cup. Roll scoops of the bread mixture in your dry floured hands to form a ball shape. Dredge in seasoned flour. Cover on a tray with a clean tea towel.

Gently poach the bread dumplings in a large uncovered pot of simmering homemade chicken broth, perhaps for six minutes. Using a spider spoon, gently move the dumplings around in the broth. Do not overcook them.

Pull the dumplings apart into two pieces using two forks and sprinkle with Parmesan and serve alongside my Tiroler mushroom and cheese-filled Wiener schnitzel and spaetzle with a side of my special red cabbage or homemade sauerkraut. The dumplings are also a wonderful side with my sacrilegious Shiraz veal or with my delicious oxtail goulash.

This is a hungry-man meal for sure.

Any leftover dumplings can be sliced about a half-inch thick the next day and reheated quickly in sizzling butter and served with sugared carrots and blanched sweet peas or minty mushy peas.

Alternate: Mince white button mushrooms and minced onion, equal parts. Just sauté once over lightly in sizzling butter, cool slightly and add a little to the moist bread mix. With or without the spinach mix.

Another alternate: Coarsely chop cooked lobster claw meat and mix into the bread dumpling mix. You can keep on hand a flash frozen tin of lobster for this purpose (thaw and squeeze out the liquid; freeze the liquid and save for another recipe) or buy ready-cooked lobster claw packages. Add a little minced fresh tarragon. Poach the dumplings in chicken stock or homemade fish stock.

When ready to serve, spritz with homemade lobster oil or melt a lobster compound butter puck from your stored log and pour over each melt-in-your-mouth seafood dumpling.

Serve the large dumplings as a side, with a tiny drizzle of Petite Maison white truffle Dijon, with a generous bowl of thick Canadian seafood chowder or lobster bisque.

Plums up! Or figgy dumplings.

Prepare the bread dumplings using cognac marinated plums or black mission figs, finely chopped (squeeze out excess liquid) and drizzle each dumpling with a little Chantilly Cream and offer a starter as a unique large amuse bouche.

There’s nothing difficult about preparing your meals in a gourmet fashion as a home cook. As my readers know, nothing goes to waste in my kitchen. And busy Realtors have to eat, so cooking at home actually saves time because you have an opportunity to multi-task. It’s simply a matter of being organized – mis en place. Just like at the office.

The post Recipes for Realtors: Stewed prunes, oxtails and oranges appeared first on REM | Real Estate Magazine.

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felishasheats · 6 years ago

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Recipes for Realtors: Stewed prunes, oxtails and oranges

Remove the prunes using a strainer or a slotted spoon and put the liquid into a saucepan. Measure the liquid and add half as much granulated sugar and a cup of Offley Ruby Port.

[banner]

Bring it to a gentle simmer and reduce by a third. Stir well with a wooden spoon to incorporate the sugar. Mash the moisture-filled prunes or pulse coarsely. Add a pinch of salt.

Stir the mashed prunes into the reduced sauce pot, on simmer. Squeeze the juice of a fresh sweet orange into the pot and add orange segments from another whole orange, cut from between the membranes.

You could add the zest of a fresh orange or mince a few rinds from your candied citrus sugar jar to finish the sauce, just when ready to serve.

Remove the cooked oxtails from their cooking pot (see below), using a spider spoon, and cover with the port prune sauce on a serving platter. Gourmet at its best.

Suggested pairing: Offley Ruby Port. Let it breathe. Serve at a cool room temperature from a narrow neck decanter or directly from its bottle, chilled just a bit.

Asbach oxtails

In a heavy, coated, cast-iron pot, sauté oxtails in hot butter until brown. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and a sprig of dry, fresh thyme. When cooked, add a little chopped parsley.

Add the following to the pot, then cover: Sweat a large Spanish onion, chopped medium fine; three celery sticks, chopped small but coarse; three carrots, large, cut in pennies on the diagonal.

If you have never eaten oxtails, you are missing out on a wonderful dish; but bear in mind, this is exceptionally rich and will be a great surprise for guests, too.

A different approach: Using either method, right at the end, add a tin of whole tomatoes and liquid; break up the tomatoes just a little.

More amazing oxtails: Hungarian oxtail goulash

Prepare as above: Let the meat fall off the bones; pull apart the meat using two forks. Reduce the sauce a little on low heat.

A word about food storage spaces

Although the European immigrants brought their wonderful recipes from overseas with them, some foodstuffs really are international. Made with a local twist. Here is a good example.

Stale bread Austrian-style dumplings

This is another wartime and post-wartime dish. Today we are still in a war – against food pricing and waste.

To see my spinach special recipe scroll down to the sandwich comments here.

This is a hungry-man meal for sure.

Any leftover dumplings can be sliced about a half-inch thick the next day and reheated quickly in sizzling butter and served with sugared carrots and blanched sweet peas or minty mushy peas.

When ready to serve, spritz with homemade lobster oil or melt a lobster compound butter puck from your stored log and pour over each melt-in-your-mouth seafood dumpling.

Serve the large dumplings as a side, with a tiny drizzle of Petite Maison white truffle Dijon, with a generous bowl of thick Canadian seafood chowder or lobster bisque.

Plums up! Or figgy dumplings.

The post Recipes for Realtors: Stewed prunes, oxtails and oranges appeared first on REM | Real Estate Magazine.

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denise-major-dodge · 7 years ago

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First let’s understand, what is a stroke?

When there is restricted blood flow to a particular part of the brain a stroke will be triggered. Tissue dies within the brain due to oxygen loss when blood flow is constrained.

Within the United States there are less cases of strokes than twenty-five years ago due to improvements with high blood pressure control.

The elderly are most likely to suffer a stroke; it typically occurs between the ages of 60 and 80.

The downside is that it is still possible for people under the age of 60 to suffer from a stroke, which is 34% of all strokes in the U.S. in 2009 according to the CDC.

Strokes and heart attacks share the same risk profiles, in that anyone that suffers from a stroke is also at risk of a heart attack and vice versa.

If you have diabetes or a high cholesterol count you are more likely to suffer from a stroke or heart attack in your future if you haven’t already.

No one is the same and there is also no entirely identical human response to a stroke or heart attack. The damage can vary from mild to severe and is potentially life threatening. When an individual suffers from a MILD stroke it is more likely that they will recover 100% versus someone that experiences a more severe case.

Moderate strokes will leave SOME permanent effects on that individual that can range from speech impediments, limb paralysis, and sometimes total paralysis. The good news is approximately 50 percent of stroke cases successfully reach partial to total recovery, and is why it’s the leading cause of disability in the U.S.

What are the symptoms of someone suffering from a stroke?

As I had mentioned earlier, no two peoples are identical in their physical response to a stroke, but there are some things you can keep an eye out for: • Fainting or Vertigo (dizzy spells) • Disorientation • Loss of Hearing • Loss of Memory • Paralysis • Blurred Vision • Loss of Vision • Clumsiness • Numbness • Difficulty Speaking • Loss of Consciousness • Loss of Speech • One Side of the Body is Paralyzed

Hidden Causes of Heart Attack and Stroke By Christian Wilde >>>>

What are the causes of a stroke?

Half of all strokes are caused by blood clots, but some other causes include high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, cerebral embolism, and coronary artery disease.

There are some factors that will increase the chance of eventually having a stroke, including: • Irregular Heart Beat • Diabetes • Obesity • Recent Heart Attack • Damaged Heart Valves • Smoking • Birth Control Pills • High Blood Cholesterol

Here’s something to consider:

A human being with even a slightly elevated high blood pressure measurement, is six times as likely to have a stroke than someone with a healthy blood pressure reading.

^^^ Omron BP742N 5 Series Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor with Cuff for Standard & Large Arms No. 1 doctor and pharmacist recommended brand and #1 selling Manufacturer of Blood Pressure Monitors for 40 years

What can you expect when you have a stroke or someone close and near to you has one?

Medical science doesn’t have a cure for strokes. Holding yourself accountable for living a healthy lifestyle will reduce the likelihood of a stroke happening to you. But after a stroke has occurred you can expect some if not all of the following:

physical therapy to stop the muscles from weakening further

CT scans to observe brain activity and rule out tumors and other possible causes of a stroke

A carotid arteriogram which is a specialized x-ray for observing arteries

Chest x-rays

ECG

MRI

Stroke patients most likely than not will be expected to spend a bit of time in the hospital to monitor changes.

<<< 58 Stroke Preventive Meal Recipes: The Stroke-Survivors Solution to a Healthy Diet and Long Life by Joe Correa CSN

If you have a family history of strokes, suffered from a stroke, or want to proactively try to prevent it, here is a diet to consider:

• AVOID butter, animal fats, sugar, ice cream, greasy fried foods, white flour, red meat, and cheeses high in fat. INSTEAD EAT THESE: Neufchatel, Parmesan, or Goat Cheese, Fruit Sorbets, Dark Chocolate Dipped Frozen Banana’s, Greek Yogurt Popsicle, baked lean meat, lightly cooked vegetables in olive oil, raw vegetables and fruits, dried fruits, whole wheat flower, and vegan options. • AVOID red meat, bacon, fatty cuts of meat, dark meat, and any meat deep fried. INSTEAD EAT THESE: Fish, white meats like skinless turkey or chicken breast baked. • AVOID sugary or artificially flavored beverages like Coca Cola, Mountain Dew, Pepsi, any Soda Product, Kool-Aid, Rockstar, Monster, any Energy Drink, and highly caffeinated drinks like coffee. INSTEAD CONSUME THESE: purified water, flavored water (let some sliced strawberries, lemons, or cucumbers soak in your water for an all nature flavor), carbonated water, lightly caffeinated or decaf tea (try green tea or a fruit/flower flavored tea like hibiscus and berry), RAW cane sugar (tip: soak the RAW sugar in a ½ cup of boiling water and shake or stir vigorously to melt the sugar completely), or flavored & carbonated ICE water (it’s a brand you can find at Wal Mart, Big Lots!, and other grocery stores; they’re typically between $ 0.50 – $ 1.50 a bottle and are ZERO calories). • AVOID white bread, Hawaiian rolls, cake, donuts, sugary cereals, and the like. INSTEAD CONSUME THESE: whole wheat/whole grain bread with nuts, whole wheat cereals, organic oatmeal, oat, wheat, barley, millet, buckwheat, fig bars, and brown rice. • AVOID fried vegetables or vegetables stir fried in regular soy sauce (which has HIGH salt content and can contribute to high blood pressure). INSTEAD CONSUME THESE: raw vegetables and fruits, dried vegetables and fruits, fruits mixed with Greek yogurt, organic trail mix, nuts, seeds, beans, steamed vegetables, baked fruits (don’t add extra sugar, most fruits have more than enough natural sugar, they shouldn’t need any more. If you MUST add sugar, consider a healthy alternative approved by your doctor like Splenda, Extra, or RAW sugar). • AVOID vegetable oil, canola oil, corn oil, margarine, butter, whipping cream, and the like. INSTEAD CONSUME THESE: avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, yogurt • AVOID nicotine, alcohol, or caffeine. INSTEAD CONSIDER: talking to someone about switching to a vape, weaning off of cigarettes, or finding a method the works for you, non-alcohol options of beers, ordering your drink virgin, ordering your coffee decaf, and maybe talking to a local physician that prescribes medical marijuana to find out if CBD & THC products will be helpful in recovery or prevention.

What are supplements that you can take to ease stroke symptoms or help prevent a stroke from occurring besides diet changes?

Phosphadityl Choline directly affects memory function by increasing its acetylcholine levels. Suggested Dosage: 10 to 20 g daily and ONLY consuming a high-quality product for utmost safety. Phosphadityl Serine also has a huge effect on brain function due to its being one of the prime phospholipids found in brain tissue. Suggested Dosage: 300 mg divided out in three doses with three meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner before 6pm)

<<< Momental Mind Unflavored Complete Nootropic Blend

Mix 1-2 scoops with 8-10 ounces of water or your favorite beverage. You can also add to shakes, smoothies, and other recipes.

Drink whenever you are looking for a nourishing boost to your brain and your body. Most patients and supporters use this alongside their morning coffee to have that extra advantage to kick start the day.

Anandaful Health Extra Strength Brain Supplement >>>>

Includes Ginkgo Biloba and other effective ingredients.

Ginkgo Biloba reverses mental deterioration caused by cerebrovascular insufficiency according to a variety of clinical studies. It’s powerful in decreasing and preventing edema and dementia, which usually occurs after a stroke. Suggested Dosage: 60mg of 24% extract taken two to three times daily (two for mild to moderate strokes or three for moderate to severe strokes)

<<< Superior Source No Shot Methylcobalamin Vitamin B12/B6/Folic Acid Tablets, 5000 mcg/800 mcg, 60 Count

No shot methylcobalamin vitamin B12/vitamin B6 with folic acid micro lingual tablets go to work fast, under the tongue. Works synergistically to support healthy heart function. Provide essential nutrients for the cardiovascular system.

Vitamin B12 & Folic Acid Combined will help replenish the depletion of these vitamins. Most stroke patients are found to be deficient in these two particular vitamins. Consuming a multi vitamin that has these two vitamins contained within it is a great way to help prevent a stroke from occurring. Suggested Dosage: 1,000 to 2,000 mg daily of B12, which can also be administered in injections if given permission by a medical doctor. Folic Acid should be taken as directed on the container and with the support of a medical doctor.

Pure Naturals Lecithin Brain & Nerve Supplement >>>

Provides raw materials that are used for the structure and functioning of every cell in the body Assists with the production of a vital brain chemical that is vital to nervous system function and important for memory Promotes cardiovascular health Supports Digestive Health Promotes Brain Health

Lecithin rouses the making of acetylcholine and improves overall brain function. Another bonus of Lecithin is its benefits in fighting depression and lower cholesterol levels. Suggested Dosage: 100mg three times a day with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Choose the granules or capsulized lecithin.

<<< Qunol 100 mg and 120 softgels for easy consumption

Qunol Ultra’s specially-formulated (solubilized) CoQ10 dissolves 100% in water and fat, providing 3X better absorption. With Qunol Ultra CoQ10, optimum blood levels of CoQ10 are reached in just weeks—not months as with regular CoQ10.

Omega -3 Fatty Acids have proven in scientific experiments to boost cerebral blood flow, decrease swelling, and help normalize the brains prostaglandins. Suggested Dosage: Take as directed with a Vitamin E supplement.

Solgar – Chromium Picolinate 500 mcg, 120 Vegetable Capsules >>>

May help maintain healthy blood sugar levels already within a normal range. Chromium is a component of a number of enzymes that release energy from cells and is required for proper receptor functioning necessary for nutrient metabolism.

Chromium has been shown in recent studies that people suffering from vascular disease have low levels of chromium. Suggested Dosage: Take as directed, utilizing picolinate or GTF products ONLY.

Potassium can be depleted from your system if you take high blood pressure medication or diuretics. Suggested Dosage: Take as directed on container.

St. John’s Wort, Gotu Kola, and Gingko have proven to boost blood flow in and around the brain, and raises the brains serotonin levels. Suggested Dosage: Take each herb as directed, using guaranteed potency extracts.

Capsicum strengthens artery walls, cleans veins, and increases blood flow. Suggested Dosage: Use as a pure extract with a meal as directed on the container.

What Can the Caregiver Do to Improve the Stroke Survivor’s Quality of Life?

 Encourage the stroke survivor to attempt to do things independently, but remember to keep expectations realistic. Yes, it will take them more time to make a sand which than it used to, it will be quite a bit harder for them to get dressed, some days will be harder for them than others, and so on.  Try to keep things as structured as possible; same meal times, same day of the week for certain errands, sleep schedules, and so on.  Observe for signs of depression and be a source of encouragement. Praise them when they got through a task that’s hard for them, tell them to keep holding on to hope, and be a patient listening ear when they need to express something. Depression has been shown to debilitate the stroke survivor quicker and make getting through the day very difficult. Some vocal positive reinforcement can go a long way.  You can work together on some basic sign language skills to help when communicating is difficult.  Set the stroke survivor up with an acupuncture appointment to see what work can be done to help reduce pain, and improve nerve & muscle function.

Additional Resources for Further Information & References:

Evergreen Stroke Association (425) 899-3000 www.evergreenhealth.com Kirkland, WA 98034

Barney, P., M.D. (2014). Doctor’s Guide to Natural Medicine (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City, UT: Woodland Publishing. Part three. Individual Ailments and Their Recommended Treatments. Stroke. Pages 382-386.

Treating a Stroke with Natural Medicine and also how to prevent a stroke. First let's understand, what is a stroke? When there is restricted blood flow to a particular part of the brain a stroke will be triggered.

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priyankafoodfuntravel · 8 years ago

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Float is a new Moroccan themed restaurant on Marathalli Outer Ring road. Being on a rooftop gives it an advantage to a ‘ Hip ‘ place to be in among it’s competitors on the vicinity.

Awesome ambiance, with great music, a bar and a rooftop view makes it a perfect hangout place.

It has a “Fish Spa” too which catches up a lot of attention by the patrons. The best part is they don’t charge anything extra for it.

I visited the place with couple of my foodie friends few weeks back and had a great time hanging out, drinking, eating, experiencing Hookah and not to forget the crazy fun in the Fish Spa. Here is my take on the place about the drinks and food that they had to offer us.

Mocktails:

Mango Madness: A mango infused mocktail with cream and grenadine, perfect for Summers.

Orange Virgin Mojito: Such a light refreshing drink, nothing more to explain about it.

Flying Kiwi Mocktail: A colourful layered mocktail with kiwi, litchi and lemonade. A little too sweet for my taste.

Pinky & the Brain: A mocktail with guava juice, cranberry juice and spiced lemon mix. This was more to my liking cause of it’s slight spicy twist.

Cocktails:

Love You Like a Woman: A vodka and white wine based drink with a dash of cranberry syrup and peach schnapps. A sweet cocktail.

Black and White Martini: A vodka based drink with caramel, cream and dark chocolate. It was like falling in love with chocolate.

Scotch Float: A scotch whiskey based drink with red wine, pineapple juice and sweet and sour syrup. This is a drink which I really liked.

Bar Man’s Signature: This was by far one of my favorite drink there, tequila, Chillies, ginger and Indian herbs. A spicy cocktail just as I like them to be.

Dirty Martini: Nothing more to explain here, it’s a classic one with Olives, and every woman’s favorite.

Fiery Tower: The famous flaming tour of cocktails, a Bar Man’s Special. The whole act was mesmerizing.

Chilli Chocolate Bar Man’s Special: A drink with Gin, Dark chocolate and green chillies. This was one which I loved as I prefer my drink to be hot and spicy.

Fire Bull: Drink with tequila, red bull lemon juice and Tabasco sauce, went well with the starters.

Shots:

Rasagulla Shot: A flame shot for those who love their alcohol and desserts together. Spongy rasagulla with Bacardi and Brandy.

Three Eye: A flaming shot with three layers, blue curacao, litchi and whiskey.

Bubble Gum Shot: This was one light pink color shot loved by people with a sweet tooth. Fresh bubble Gum with vodka.

Hajmola shot: This was something which I never tried earlier. It had Gin, blue curacao and amchur masala ( dry mango powder ). A perfect “Chatpata” shot. Though I requested the mixologist to not add blue curacao for me, instead added some lime juice for that extra tangy kick.

Let’s talk about food now, they have an amazing collection of finger food and a very Innovative mains to offer. Some of the combination are really amazing and they have twisted some old chakhnas what we use to have during college time ( due to lack of funds😜😜 ), and turned them into legit finger food according to youth’s liking.

Starters:

Feta VS Watermelon: A perfect starter for the heat in Bangalore. Cubes of watermelon on the bed of rocket lettuce, some herbs, balsamic dressing and a generous helping Feta cheese.

SnowFall Nachos: Crispy Nachos with so.e Mexican salsa on top with Mozzarella dust. A perfect snack with the booze.

Melted Chips: This is the twist I was talking about earlier. Turning plain salted potato chips into something amazing. Chips loaded with Mexican salsa cheese. It just melted in my mouth. My favorite veg starter for sure. A must try.

Jumping Cheese Balls: Cheese Balls coated with batter and fried till crisp. A melting delight in the mouth.

Paneer Crackers: Paneer mixed with herbs and onion then coated with batter and deep fried. A favorite among the vegetarians.

Crispy Corn Pepper: This crispy corn was just right and loved by all. We liked it so much that we ordered ourselves a second helping.

Tarragon Tart: Crispy colourful tarts with Mexican salsa and topped with sour cream, a perfect non messy finger food, and our group loved it.

Onion Fantasy: The good old onion rings, nothing more to say on this but to just enjoy it.

Rainbow Bite: Cute, small, colourful sliders with veg Patty inside. It’s there signature mini burgers.

Exotic Veg Pizza: A thin crust pizza with exotic veggies and corn loaded with cheese.

Hot Bird in the Nest: Crisp fried chicken tossed in hot chilli soya and served on deep-fried noodle basket.

Chicken Tangdi Kabab: The good old Tangdi Kabab enjoyed with beer. I felt that it could use some more marination.

Mutton Seekh kabab: This is again a trusted Mutton starter and loved by every non vegetarian. Succulent kababs with perfect spicing.

Tempura Prawns: Nothing can go wrong if you have prawns with your drinks. My favorite and trust me, I had five😂😂. Crispy batter fried prawns goes perfectly with any drinks enjoyed mostly with beer.

Toro Mexican: This was a filing starter and a must try in Float. Mexican chicken preparation with Indian spices and cheese filled in between pita breads and toasted. They have a paneer one too if you want a vegetarian option.

Boundary Batted Chicken Wings: A perfect snack, hot and tangy chicken lollies, batter fried and tossed with sauce.

Chicken Tikka Pizza: Thin crust pizza with a tandoori chicken tikka bits, Indian spices and cheese.

Mains:

Paneer Tikka Biryani: This is something I’ve never tried earlier, buttery paneer Tikka gravy in served in between dum biryani.

Spaghetti Dal Makhni: If you take twist to new level then this is the dish for you. I was amazed that my absolute favorite Dal Makhni was served with spaghetti. To my surprise, the dish was delish. A must try for the vegetarian out there, you’ll not regret it.

Butter Chicken Biryani: The quintessential butter chicken, soft and succulent boneless chicken with buttery gravy to be served with the dum biryani rice took the concept of fusion to the next level.

Canadian Chicken: Boneless chicken breast cooked in creamy paprika sauce and served with steamed basmati rice. An absolute favorite among our group.

Penne chicken Basil Pesto: Penne pasta tossed in a basil pesto sauce with strips of herbed chicken served with toasted bread. A perfect choice for pesto lovers.

Chicken Piccata: Crumb fried chicken breast served on a bed of penne pasta tossed with extra virgin olive oil and Italian herbs and some cheesey creamy sauce on the top. This one was again my favorite.

Desserts: An array of desserts were served to us. With all of us being ardent dessert lovers, it was the moment we were looking forward to.

To name the few, there was Tiramisu, Strawberry Chocolate Mousse, Choco Lava Cake, and one of my favorite Pan Panna cotta with Rose infusion. Various pastries and chocolate brownie.

My personal rating for the place will be : Location : 5.0 Ambiance : 4.5 Taste : 4.5 Pricing : 4.0 Overall : 4.5

My overall experience was great. The service was commandable. Kudos to the executive chef and the mixologist for creating magic with food and drinks.

A fun evening with great friends and good food, amazing drinks to keep you going, what else do you need on a weekend. They have a valet parking, which is useful. A quick trip: the place is packed during the weekend so an advance reservation would be advisable.

Some more pictures of the fun evening:

A very best of luck to the whole team and looking forward to such great evening here again.

Bookmark us on Zomato

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Float : Rooftop Moroccan Lounge Float is a new Moroccan themed restaurant on Marathalli Outer Ring road. Being on a rooftop gives it an advantage to a ' Hip ' place to be in among it's competitors on the vicinity.

#bangalore food #Bloggers meet #food review #marathalli restaurant #menu review #menu tasting #pubs in bangalore #Restaurant review #restuarants #rooftop restuarants #where to eat in bangalore

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lenakrruger · 6 years ago

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Recipes for Realtors: Stewed prunes, oxtails and oranges

Remove the prunes using a strainer or a slotted spoon and put the liquid into a saucepan. Measure the liquid and add half as much granulated sugar and a cup of Offley Ruby Port.

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Bring it to a gentle simmer and reduce by a third. Stir well with a wooden spoon to incorporate the sugar. Mash the moisture-filled prunes or pulse coarsely. Add a pinch of salt.

Stir the mashed prunes into the reduced sauce pot, on simmer. Squeeze the juice of a fresh sweet orange into the pot and add orange segments from another whole orange, cut from between the membranes.

You could add the zest of a fresh orange or mince a few rinds from your candied citrus sugar jar to finish the sauce, just when ready to serve.

Remove the cooked oxtails from their cooking pot (see below), using a spider spoon, and cover with the port prune sauce on a serving platter. Gourmet at its best.

Suggested pairing: Offley Ruby Port. Let it breathe. Serve at a cool room temperature from a narrow neck decanter or directly from its bottle, chilled just a bit.

Asbach oxtails

In a heavy, coated, cast-iron pot, sauté oxtails in hot butter until brown. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and a sprig of dry, fresh thyme. When cooked, add a little chopped parsley.

Add the following to the pot, then cover: Sweat a large Spanish onion, chopped medium fine; three celery sticks, chopped small but coarse; three carrots, large, cut in pennies on the diagonal.

If you have never eaten oxtails, you are missing out on a wonderful dish; but bear in mind, this is exceptionally rich and will be a great surprise for guests, too.

A different approach: Using either method, right at the end, add a tin of whole tomatoes and liquid; break up the tomatoes just a little.

More amazing oxtails: Hungarian oxtail goulash

Prepare as above: Let the meat fall off the bones; pull apart the meat using two forks. Reduce the sauce a little on low heat.

A word about food storage spaces

Although the European immigrants brought their wonderful recipes from overseas with them, some foodstuffs really are international. Made with a local twist. Here is a good example.

Stale bread Austrian-style dumplings

This is another wartime and post-wartime dish. Today we are still in a war – against food pricing and waste.

To see my spinach special recipe scroll down to the sandwich comments here.

This is a hungry-man meal for sure.

Any leftover dumplings can be sliced about a half-inch thick the next day and reheated quickly in sizzling butter and served with sugared carrots and blanched sweet peas or minty mushy peas.

When ready to serve, spritz with homemade lobster oil or melt a lobster compound butter puck from your stored log and pour over each melt-in-your-mouth seafood dumpling.

Serve the large dumplings as a side, with a tiny drizzle of Petite Maison white truffle Dijon, with a generous bowl of thick Canadian seafood chowder or lobster bisque.

Plums up! Or figgy dumplings.

The post Recipes for Realtors: Stewed prunes, oxtails and oranges appeared first on REM | Real Estate Magazine.

Recipes for Realtors: Stewed prunes, oxtails and oranges published first on https://grandeurparkcondo.tumblr.com/

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