Food

How To Use Over Ripe Fruit And Prevent Wasted Produce

When fruits and vegetables come into season, the price generally drops quite a bit.  Of course we want to stock up on a good deal, so knowing when certain fruits and vegetables are in season makes it easier to plan ahead. 

But what happens when you buy more than you’ll use before things start getting soft and begin to spoil?  With 7 ways to enjoy overripe fruit you will have no excuses for letting any fruit go to waste.

Making sure nothing goes to waste is how you prevent buyer's remorse when you buy too much because your eyes were bigger than your freezer.

Fad Diets Can Put Some Strange Food On The Table

With today’s obsession about obesity, many people will go to any length to lose weight.  Fad diets are all the rage -- everything from low carbohydrates to unusually high protein are being tried with varying success. 

Personally, all it really takes is to surround yourself with some rather unappetizing food to do the trick.  10 unusual foods from around the world should be just about enough to slim down anyone! 

Funny thing, one of them is a local winter time delicacy right here in Minnesota.  Lutefisk, something that should have have been left in Norway when the immigrants came over.

When Was The Last Time You Ate Spam?

No, really!

For me it was today.

I don't know what got into me... I've been all nostalgic lately watching re-runs from the 70s like the Brady Bunch and I Love Lucy. And I've been flashing back to the days when I was a kid and we ate Spam. (Didn't everyone back then?)

My dad used to make it (along with his fried eggs with ketchup), but only on special occasions.

I like it really thin and crispy, so the edges almost curl up. I don't put anything on my Spam sandwich -- just Spam. But after watching the following video, I'm asking myself why I've always sliced Spam on the narrow/short side, rather than the full/larger side. I guess that's how my dad always did it, that's why.

Continue reading: Do You Eat Spam?

How To Keep Food Safe To Eat And Avoid Food Poisoning

Food safety is a big deal.  Salmonella can make you very sick, and that's only one of the possibilities that can happen when food isn't kept within a safe temperature range. 

Washing fruits and vegetables can help keep bacteria at bay, but when the power outage happens, you better know  what to eat first!

Keep this in mind the next time you eat at a buffet.  If the hot food isn't hot and the cold food isn't cold, you're better off asking for a refund and going away hungry.

All About Potatoes For The New Cook

For those new to cooking there may be more to potatoes than meets the eye.  There are a wide variety of potatoes, even purple ones.  Many different dishes can be made from all kinds of potatoes. 

Breakfast potatoes are one of my personal favoites as are cheesey au grautin potatoes. The next time you go to make mashed potatoes, forget the peeler.  Try this easy way to peel potatoes instead.  There's a lot you can do with spuds, this is just the tip of the potato.

It's Football Season - Time To Get A Tailgating Grill!

Labor Day tends to mark the end of the summer season, but grilling has 2 seasons:

summer

- and -

football

Now is the time of year when backyard grillers become parking lot chefs at tailgate parties coast to coast.

About 50 million people tailgate each year, and the centerpiece of the party is the grill.

Before you buy a tailgating grill, here are some things to consider...

Continue reading: Buying A Grill For Tailgate Season

People Really Don't Cook Anymore, Despite All The Food Shows On TV

What a difference a statistic makes.

I thought most folks who spend hours watching cooking shows like Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, Iron Chef, The Next Food Network Star (okay, all the shows on the Food Network) are culinary energized by these shows and head to their kitchens the next weekend to try and make some of the food.

Or they take the tips and recipes in the plethora of food magazines and from the seemingly endless number of food and cooking websites and try to work their magic for the family dinner.

Then I read Michael Pollan's article in the New York Times Magazine from a few weeks ago entitled, Out of the Kitchen, On to the Couch (I know, I'm behind in my reading).

In it, the author of the bestselling In Defense of Food, An Eater's Manifesto uses the movie Julie & Julia as a peg to discuss the current state of food and cooking in America.

Before I even finish the first page, he turns my philosophy upside down by explaining how the all these food shows have actually helped turn cooking from a participation activity into a spectator sport!

Continue reading: People Aren't Cooking Anymore!

Grilling Tips - A Collection Of The Best Tips To Make You A Grill Master At Home

If you're like me, the gas grill has a permanent position just outside the door on the deck.

For at least 3 seasons of the year, if I get the urge for a quick bratwurst for lunch or a steak for supper, my trusty propane-powered cook station is at the ready to satisfy my need for charbroiled meat.

Though I prefer the flavor of a true charcoal barbecue, the convenience of turning the knob and pushing the piezo electric igniter better suits our last-minute "Let's do shrimp on the barbi" lifestyle.

Following are some of the best grilling tips to make you a grill master at home. See lots of little-known secrets from the pros!...

Continue reading: Best Grilling Tips

11 Ways To Get The Most Bang For Your Buck When Shopping At The Local Farmers Market

My first exposure to a Farmer's Market was the Dane County Farmer's Market held every Saturday morning around the courthouse square in Madison, Wisconsin.

There, like at most Farmers Markets, you'll find fresh produce, homemade preserves, unbelievable artisan breads, and the aroma of so many different marvelous foods (like fresh-pressed hot apple cider!) -- all supplied by farms around the area.

Ever since that first time, I've looked forward to visiting every new Farmer's Market I can find. My plan is always to capitalize on all the seasonal good eats I can find!

Following is a collection of tips to help you get the most out of your next shopping trip at the local Farmer's Market...

Continue reading: 11 Tips For Farmer's Market Shopping

Do You Know What You're Eating? Fish Like Orange Roughy & Chilean Sea Bass Have New Names!

Would you eat Slimehead? What about Patagonian Toothfish or Goosefish?

No?

Well, if you've eaten Orange roughy, Chilean Sea Bass or Monkfish then you have.

Those are new, tastier-sounding names for fish that otherwise wouldn't have much market value. They are also 3 fish that a new study, released in the journal "Science," says are part of the 63% of the sea's fish that are in danger and below healthy levels.

I read about the report in the Washington Post. And while the overall report warns of the collapse of seafood stocks if current fishing conditions continue and nothing is done to help these fish regain their numbers, I found the effects of renaming on populations interesting.

Continue reading: Fish Get New Names To Increase Sales