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Gift baskets are very popular among the people having good taste and culture. The concept of gift basket was coming from fruit basket; while there are some other outcomes of gift basket-such as wine gift basket.

Wine is very important item to celebrate any occasion like wedding, birthday, anniversary etc.It gives a pleasant realisation of life and forces you to sing and dance while you can speak and walk. Wine and music are indispensable parts of every party. Wine is the only aspect which turns an occasion into a party.

A wine gift basket is a collection of excellent wines which is gifted to exhilarate the mood of any party. A wine gift basket is an ideal gift for the anniversary purpose; this will rejuvenate the conjugal life of the couple and share their experiences of year’s long relationship. A peg of wine is a great way to express one’s gratitude and thankfulness. Wine warms up a chilled Christmas evening into sizzling one. Wine is also very suitable for Valentine’s Day celebration. Wine represents the concealed romance of people’s life and makes them express their hidden feelings.

There are some people who consider this as the “last resort” gift type. But things are not always the same as a lot of hard work, concept and expertise are involved in this. The sender of the wine gift basket must remember that this is a gift and it should not be designed on the basis of his/her choices. The sender must know the choice and taste of the receiver so that the sender get an appreciation from the receiver.

These baskets are excellent presentations for both men and women as they are convenient for any occasions such as weddings, anniversaries or birthdays. Generally it is considered that men like their drinks in a can or twist top bottle which is very wrong guess. There are any men who like to prefer wine of different flavours and packages. It is not true that men are always not eager to spend extra times to uncork the bottles; many of them may prefer to give some extra effort to uncork their

adored bottles. As per the women are concerned they prefer the wine accessories such as crystal glasses, ice-pots or decanter. It is always recommended for the sender to gift wine on the basis of receiver’s knowledge. If the receiver is not so accustomed with the wine then a guideline book to enjoy the gift is a great idea. Wine accessories can also be send if the receiver is an epicure of wine. In addition of Wine, some wine accessories can be appended. Accessories like crystal glasses,crorkscrews can be added to make it a worthwhile and warm.

As there are verities of wine gift baskets for different festivals and occasions, but choosing wine baskets for the proper occasions is very important.Winebaskets should not contain wine or wine accessories only, other delicious snacks such as chocolate, cheeses or cookies can be send. The prices of the wine gift baskets are also very important. The senders may have tasty and lucrative wine baskets range between $22 to $55.

A wine gift basket can be gifted to anyone-to friend, to immediate boss or to superior boss, to parents, senior people and last but not the least to your beloved.

Abhijit Dey for http://www.buy-california-wine-online.com

Read more about Wines http://www.buy-california-wine-online.com/wine-gift-basket.html

Copyright 2006 http://www.buy-california-wine-online.com

A passion for food and food preparation could be your inspiration for enrolling in the culinary arts. What goals are you shooting for? Are you wishing for fame and fortune as a restaurant magnate? Or perhaps you simply hope to improve your skills at something you enjoy doing? Just as you have expectations, so do cooking schools and culinary institutes. They typically all have the same culinary goals, although the class structure and curricula may differ.
Most programs that can be found at different cooking schools have culinary arts goals that address the needs of entry level food service employees. The requirements for this training is very essential for all those who wish to enroll in the profession of culinary arts.
Throughout the years, the culinary arts profession has become increasingly popular. There has been an increase in people who pursue a formal education in the culinary arts, hoping it will improve their future career prospects.
To assess if you really have with is necessary to be successful in the field, culinary institutes require you to undergo exams and some interviews. One of the objectives for culinary arts is to train people who possess the skills and the enthusiasm for the program.
Popular restaurants serve as the host sites for internships, completed by students in the programs. The school trusts that the students will be taught the most important things by experience and exposure in the real workplace setting.

Barbecuing has long been a favorite pastime for many and the grills people are buying have only become bigger and better as the years go by. But, with so many grills to choose from, how do consumers know which company produces the best? Well, the Weber Grill company has proven itself to be one of the greatest choices when purchasing gas, smoke and charcoal grills. Not only are their products top of the line, but they’re made with quality materials and are complete with the latest and greatest inventions in grilling. So, when you buy a Weber grill, you know without a doubt that it will stand the test of time and that it will cook up fantastic food that will leave your neighbors in awe. What could be better than that?

When choosing which type of Weber grill is right for you, first decide if a gas, charcoal or smoke grill will fit best into your lifestyle. Charcoal grills are known for their convenience and for that great flavor they add to your food. Gas grills are great for backyards and for the family that loves to barbecue. Smoke grills are renowned for the unmistakable taste they infuse meat, vegetables and potatoes with. Whatever you want and expect from a grill, Weber has it. But, if you want to know some of the absolute best grills Weber makes, look no further than this article.

The Award for Top Gas Grill Goes To:

Weber Genesis Silver B Premium (LP) Grill

This is the best grill for backyard barbecues, parties or just for an everyday dinner! No matter if you’re cooking corn on the cob, steak or hamburgers, your food will turn out perfectly every single time. This Weber grill is the top choice for those looking to invest in a grill that will last for life! Take a look at all it has to offer:

3 individually adjustable stainless steel burners

3 tool holders

Drip pan

Warming rack (At long last you can keep your food warm while it’s waiting to be served)

Fuel gage

Wheels that are all-terrain and all-weather. You can wheel this grill anywhere and not have to worry about rocks, pebbles or grass making it hard for you.

Storage! What grilling connoisseur hasn’t wanted more space and storage around their grill at one time or another? The Weber Genesis has three areas for you to place your seasonings, meat or tools as well as plentiful storage below.

Easy cleaning

All in all, the Weber Genesis is the best gas grill on the market right now. It goes for around $420 but it’s worth every penny.

The Award for Best Charcoal Grill Goes To:

Weber Performer

Charcoal grills are a favorite of many, and the best one in the Weber line is the Weber Performer. Charcoal Weber grills cook up hotter, allow you to burn wood and light up with fire. Granted, they do require a little bit more attention and time than others and are a little messier, but the flavor cannot be beat. So, if a charcoal grill is for you, check out the advantages of purchasing the Performer.

Push button igniter

22.5 inch diameter cooking area

Dual-Purpose thermometer for perfectly cooked food every time

Bottom storage

All-weather wheels that are crack proof
Weber Cookbook included
One-Touch Cleaning System
Heavy Duty Steel Cart
This Weber Grill is ideal for those who love to barbecue and enjoy the aroma and taste of charcoal. The range for this grill is between $349-400

The Award for Best Smoke Grill Goes To:
Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker 2820
The top smoker by Weber is the Smokey Mountain Cooker 2820. This Weber grill will last for years and will provide all of that amazing flavor you have come to expect from a smoke grill. Beginners and barbecuing professionals both will be able to fully enjoy the benefits of this grill because it works equally well for apartment renters and home owners.
Easy to assemble
Easy to clean
Compact and easy to maneuver
Fits large amount of food despite its size
Weber grill cookbook
Individually controlled vents
Rust-resistant fuel door
Heavy duty
Vinyl cover
This may be the cheapest of the Weber grills reviewed so far, but that doesn’t mean the quality suffered for the sake of a lower price. On the contrary, the review for this grill is very positive and the price gives it even higher marks. You’ll pay only $190-200 for this top-notch grill.

After you’ve decided which Weber grill will work best for you, it will be time to decide on all the extras you will be presented with. You will be offered all the add-ons, like brushes, basters and even talking thermometers. But, the top choice for an extra has to be the electric rotisserie. Not only is this a fun addition to any grill, it’s also a must-have for the seasoned professional. It will add something new to the everyday barbecue grill and will enable you to roast hamburgers and hot dogs. So, take a look at the rotisserie’s highlights and see how great it is for yourself!

Weber Basket Rotisserie, Electric 9891

High quality electric motor

Basket is made out of plated carbon steel

Easy to use

Fits most Weber grills

The Weber Basket Rotisserie, Electric 9891 will make your grill stand out and make your food more impressive than it already is. It’s not the easiest to clean, but in the end, any effort on your part will have been worth it. Plan on spending $110-100 for this item.

Lastly, now that you have read a review on the best grills available, you can make an educated decision of your own. If you’ve used a charcoal, gas and smoke grill before, you probably have a pretty good idea which one you like the best. Some barbecue lovers will purchase a few different grills to match their moods, while others have only one that they are faithful to. So, no matter what grill suits you, make sure it’s a Weber grill if you are looking for quality that will last for years to come.

Copyright © Jeremy Hier

PERMISSIONS TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in its entirety free of charge, electronically or in print, provided it appears with the included copyright and author’s resource box with live website links.

Jeremy Hier is the Business Manager and Webmaster of http://www.gas-grills-4u.com

Shannon Willoby is a 25 year old freelance writer living in Phoenix, Arizona. She likes to offer her advice and tips to consumers looking to purchase http://www.gas-grills-4u.com/natural-gas-grills.htm and http://www.gas-grills-4u.com/electric-grill.htm

Insomnia and fatigue are two sides of the same coin: if a person is unable to sleep at night, they are usually fatigued during the day. However, some people get eight to 12 hours of sleep a night and still have fatigue.

The top part of the brain stem is called the mesencephalon, and it determines our sleeping/waking patterns. The specific term is the “mesencephalic reticular activating system” which is a three-dollar phrase for “top of the brain stem.” If the mesencephalon is firing, you will be awake. If the mesencephalon decreases frequency of firing, you will be tired and unable to stay awake. Patients who experience insomnia probably have a mesencephalon that is over-firing. Patients with fatigue who seem to get enough sleep may have a decreased frequency of firing of the mesencephalon.

A thorough neurological examination should be performed in order to determine the exact state of the nervous system.

As a Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist, I utilize treatment modalities that increase or decrease frequency of firing on the mid-brain. For example, visual stimulation with red or green light from the left side crosses through the mid-brain and increases the frequency of firing in the right cerebral cortex (right brain). The effects of visual stimulation are monitored by blood pressure and pulse. Increased frequency of firing (impulses) of the cortex (brain) should lower the blood pressure and pulse via ponto-medullary (lower brain stem) stimulation. Increased cortical (brain) stimulation also fires to the cerebellum (back part of the brain) via feedback mechanisms. The cerebellum controls involuntary muscles of the spinal cord. Auditory stimulation (sound) in the left ear increases frequency of firing (impulses) in the temporal lobe of the brain. Auditory stimulation is monitored by blood pressure and pulse. Treatments may include unilateral (one-sided) exercises and unilateral (one-sided) adjustments or manipulations. Extremities (arms and legs), lumbar spine (low back), and cervical spine (neck) may be manipulated on one side only to fire muscle spindle cells (muscle receptors) and joint mechanoreceptors (joint receptors) into the same cerebellum (back part of the brain) and opposite cerebral cortex (brain). The thoracic (mid-back) spine may be globally manipulated to fire the dorsal columns (back part of the spinal cord).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Michael L. Johnson is a Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist with over twenty years of experience in private practice, over 850 hours of neurological studies, and 3800 hours of postgraduate education. His best-selling book What Do You Do When the Medications Don’t Work? - A Non-Drug Treatment of Dizziness, Migraine Headaches, Fibromyalgia, and Other Chronic Conditions is available at http://www.askdrjohnson.com. © 2005 M. L. Johnson

The moment you pull that cork, wine comes in contact with air. And once that happens, the oxidation process begins. If you’re not planning on consuming all the wine in one sitting, you need to know how to store the remaining wine so it won’t go bad.

Oxidation is the chemical reaction that occurs when oxygen comes in contact with wine. At first, oxidation is a good thing; it helps “open up” the wine, revealing different facets of its bouquet and aroma. However, after a couple of hours, further oxidation is a bad thing. It starts to damage the wine and will eventually ruin it.

Many of us have had the experience of leaving an unfinished bottle out all night without the cork back on. The difference in flavor and aroma the next day is striking and unmistakable. Even if re-corked the next day, the wine will usually taste flat, “raisiny,” and unpleasant — all a product of the oxidation process.

So how do you preserve an open bottle of wine when you don’t want to (or can’t) drink the whole thing in one sitting? There are only four reliable methods of preserving the remaining wine, some more reliable than others:

1. First, put the cork back on and put the wine in the fridge. The oxidative process slows down dramatically in cooler temperatures. This is a very easy — and a fairly reliable — method when you don’t have any other choices. Certainly much better than leaving an open bottle on the kitchen counter overnight.

2. A second option is to transfer the remaining wine to a half-bottle (375ml) and put it in the fridge. Doing this eliminates most of the air that would normally come in contact with the wine in a standard-size bottle (750ml). While more effective that method #1, this involves carefully transferring the wine over, which is only practical to do with a funnel.

3. A third alternative is to pump out the air in the bottle with a “wine pump.” You can get a wine pump virtually anywhere these days, even in stores such as Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Linens and Things. These pumps are fairly reliable, but I’ve found they work best if you also stick the bottle in the refrigerator after pumping out the air (no pump can completely remove the air from the bottle). Otherwise, you’ll still notice a slight difference in taste the next day, and a more pronounced difference the following day and beyond.

4. Use a wine preserver spray. This, by far, is the most effective and dependable method of keeping wine fresh. While these sprays cost about $10 a bottle, they are extremely reliable and effective. In my opinion, this is the only way to store opened wine. The spray is actually a blend of harmless inert gasses (gasses that don’t react with wine), which keep the wine from spoiling. Spraying the inside the bottle displaces the oxygen already present and leaves a blanket of inert gas over the wine. The amazing thing is, the gas will preserve the wine for days, even weeks! Try a can and see for yourself. Look for them at many local wine shops and online by searching for brands such as “Private Preserve.”

What about wine that’s already spoiled? Whatever you do, don’t dump it down the drain. Instead, keep it in the fridge (with a cork on) for recipes that call for a little wine. I always keep a bottle of “spoiled” wine in the fridge for this purpose. And when a sauce calls for a little wine, I don’t have to use the good stuff.

Another idea is to pour it in ice trays and freeze it. And again, when you have a recipe that calls for wine, break off a few “wine cubes” instead.

Some may argue that it’s best to use fresh wine when cooking. I say do what you’d like. But in my house we never waste a drop of wine!

Ed Gandia is a wine writer based in Marietta, GA. He is the author of the “The Bargain Hunter’s Wine Shopping Guide” (http://www.BestWineBargains.com) — an eBook that teaches wine lovers a simple method to find the best, most consistent $10-and-under wines sold in the U.S.

Types of Wines and Pairing Each with Food

When only one variety of grapes is used to make a wine, the wine is called a varietal and is named after that grape. Regulations vary by location, but in California at least 75% of the juice in a wine must be of a particular grape in order for the wine to be labeled as a varietal.

Pairing White Wines with Food

Chardonnay
(Shar-doe-nay)

This popular dry white wine is more full bodied than other white wines. Chardonnay has aromas of fruits and acidity. The aroma typically has flavors of lemon or grapefruit. Fermentation in new oak barrels results in a rich, buttery taste often described as toastiness, vanilla, apple, nutty, or toffee. Chardonnays aged in French oak result in a milder flavor than those aged in American oak.

Food and Wine Pairing: Chardonnay goes well with chicken, seafood, and fish.

Sauvignon Blanc
(So-veen-yawn-blah)

Lighter than Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc usually has a grassy citrus aroma. Flavors range from apple, pear, green tea, limes and freshly mowed grass. You can often detect a little smokiness. California Sauvignon Blancs sometimes have a melon flavor. This is a crisp light wine with a strong acid finish. It is also called Fume Blanc.
American Sauvignon Blanc tends to be grassier than those produced in New Zealand.

Food and Wine Pairing: Sauvignon Blanc pairs well with salads, poultry, seafood, and cheese.

Riesling
(Rees-ling)

Rieslings have a floral aroma. They range from very dry and crisp to intensely sweet depending on where it is from. German Riesling is slightly sweet and balanced with some acidity. California Riesling tends to be sweeter.

Food and Wine Pairing: Rieslings go well with chicken, fish, pork, and spicy foods.

Gewurztraminer
(Gah-vurtz-tra-meener)

Gewurztraminer has a spicy aroma and fruity flavors of peach, apricot, tropical fruits, and lychee. It can be dry or sweet.

Food and Wine Pairing: Gewurztraminers go especially well with spicy Asian dishes and pork sausages.

Pinot Grigio
(Pea-no-gree-zhe-oh)

Pinot Grigio is light and crispy with almond, lemon, and vanilla flavors. These wines are also called Pinot Gris.

Food and Wine Pairing: Pinot Grigio goes well with seafood and salmon.

Pairing Red Wines with Food

Cabernet Sauvignon
(Ca-burr-nay So-veen-yawn)

Cabernet Sauvignon is a rich full-bodied wine. Aged in oak, this is a complex wine with cassis and blackberry flavors as well as hints of bell pepper. To make these wines drinkable sooner they are often blended with other grapes. French Bordeaux is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon blended with Merlot to soften the tannins. When blended with Merlot and perhaps Cabernet Franc as well, this Bordeaux style blend is called Meritage in the United States.

Food and Wine Pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon is the classic wine to serve with red meats.

Merlot
(Mare-lo)

Merlot is softer tasting than Cabernet Sauvignon due to having less tannins. It is a smooth, dry wine. Merlot is often described as having the flavors of boysenberry, black cherry, herbs, and mocha.

Food and Wine Pairing: Merlot is best with poultry and grilled meats, but actually goes well with most foods.

Pinot Noir
(Pee-no Na-wahr)

Pinot Noir is a smooth silky wine that is extremely fruity. It is characterized with aromas and flavors of black cherry or rose petals along with hints of spiciness or herbal qualities. Pinot Noirs are enjoyed for their soft velvety texture. High in alcohol, they are full bodied but not heavy.

Food and Wine Pairing: Pinot Noir is best served with grilled salmon, roast beef, lamb, duck, and mushrooms.

Sangiovese
(San-gee-oh-ve-zee)

Sangiovese is a medium bodied dry wine with earthy aromas and berry, plum, spicy, or floral flavors. It has a smooth texture. Sangiovese is the main grape used to produce Italian Chiantis.

Food and Wine Pairing: Sangiovese goes especially well with pasta and other Italian foods.

Barbera
(Bar-bear-uh)

Barbera is often used as a blending grape. As a varietal it can exhibit aromas of berries, plums, or cherries with hints of vanilla, toasty, or smoky flavors.

Food and Wine Pairing: Tomato based pasta dishes are perfect matches to serve with Barbera.

Syrah
(Sah-ra)

Syrah is a hearty wine noted for its complexity of aromas and flavors including raspberry, plum, smoke, and white pepper. It is a dark red wine, sometimes almost black in color. This wine is also called Shiraz.

Food and Wine Pairing: Syrah is great eaten with duck, wild game, steak, and beef.

Zinfandel
(Zin-fan-dell)

Zinfandel can be light to full bodied. It can be rich and spicy or lighter and fruitier. Aromas and flavors that are typical include raspberry, jam, black pepper, and licorice.

Food and Wine Pairing: Zinfandel is wonderful with steaks, grilled meats, and tomato based dishes.

Kathy and her husband Steve spend much of their free time involved with enjoying and tasting wine. Their Web Site, http://www.cheers2wine.com reflects their interest in wine and exploring the wine regions of California.

Baking cookies seem to fill the house with a sense of well being and peace. Perhaps it is the smell of butter, vanilla, and spices emanating from the hot oven. Maybe it is the love and caring attention that is evident in cookies. Home, love, and cookies seem to go together.

Consider refrigerator, or icebox, cookies for the holidays. They can be made up ahead of time-even months ahead-and stored until ready to bake. Baking up those stored refrigerator cookies is mess free, takes little time, and you only need to bake what you need for the moment. Drop cookies are quick cookies; refrigerator cookies are convenient cookies.

Refrigerator cookies are also attractive cookies. Nothing beats the uniform slices and consistent shape of refrigerator cookies. To keep that uniform shape, slice while the dough is still cold and firm and turn the log after every few cookies to keep the log round. If the cookies have a flat edge, mold them back to shape with the curl of your finger before baking.

Roll the refrigerator cookies into logs (or blocks) as directed in the instructions then wrap them in waxed paper and aluminum foil. The logs can be refrigerated for a week or frozen for months. When you are ready to bake, remove the logs from the refrigerator to unthaw. It’s easier to slice a log that is not completely thawed and the cookies bake fine-though you may need to add another minute or so.

Dennis Weaver is the general manager at The Prepared Pantry (http://www.preparedpantry.com) with recipes, ideas, and the best selection of mixes and ingredients. Visit the free Bakers’ Library for more articles like this, free baking guides, and tested recipes.

What you need:

3-pound chicken

2 tablespoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons fennel

2 teaspoons cumin

0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2.5 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon raw rice

2 tablespoons desiccated, unsweetened coconut

2 whole cloves

3 cardamon pods

2 tablespoons raw cashews

4 tablespoons corn oil

0.5 teaspoon whole fenugreek seeds

1 stick of cinnamon

2 cloves garlic, splintered

5 tablespoons splintered shallots

2-inch fresh pandanus leaf

1 fresh green chili, chopped

1 cup peeled and chopped tomato

0.5 cup fresh coconut milk

What you should do with them:

Skinned the chicken and cut into serving pieces. Put them in a large bowl. Add the cumin, fennel, cayenne pepper, coriander and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Rub those spices all over the chicken and leave them for about 20 minutes.

Put the rice in a cast-iron frying pan, set over medium-high heat and stir well until it turns golden. Add the coconut and stir it until it turns golden.

Withdraw it and let it cool. Take this mixture with the cardamon and grind them with the spices. Empty into a bowl, continue mixing and slowly pour 0.5 cup of water along the way. You have yourself a paste now. Put it aside for a while.

Put the corn oil into a lidded pan and set over medium-high heat.

When the oil is hot, add the pandanus leaf, chili, garlic, shallots, fenugreek seeds and cinnamon. Stir for about 3 minutes.

Add the chicken and brown lightly, don’t stop stirring. Put in the the remaining 1.5 teaspoons of salt, 2.5 cup of water and the tomato. Stir in the spice and nut paste. Wait until it boils, cover it, reduce the heat to low and cook gently for about 30 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk and heat through.

Serve it for 4.

F. Aziz is the owner of all-about-Virgin-Coconut-Oil.com, a site that provides many valuable informations around Virgin Coconut Oil, its definitions, derivations, benefits and uses in the form of articles, reports, recommended sources, books, products and others. Visit all-about-Virgin-Coconut-Oil.com and see whether this miracle oil could help you improve your health.

For years, the idea of roasting your own coffee beans has been kept a mystery by the coffee roasting industry. It had been deemed “too hard” or “too complicated”. Well these are new times and the truth is out; it’s easy, fun and economical and it can be done in a number of ways using items you probably already own!

There is nothing like a cup of coffee that has been freshly roasted, ground and brewed to perfection. There are a growing number of enthusiasts who are roasting their own coffee beans and enjoying the benefits of truly fresh coffee at about one-third of the price of beans from your local coffee shop.

All that is needed to roast your own coffee beans at home is green coffee beans, available from a number of sources, an oven, cookie sheet, oven mitt, metal colander and a wooden spoon. Preheat your oven to 500F, spread raw beans evenly one layer deep on a cookie sheet, place on middle rack of preheated oven and watch them roast. In about 8-10 minutes there will be a crackling noise and smoke with a coffee essence. At this point the roast moves quickly and you need to pay close attention. About 2-3 minutes after the crackling, your coffee beans should be at the shade you like them. Carefully (using the oven mitt) remove the cookie sheet from the oven and pour the beans into the metal colander. Stir the beans with the wooden spoon to help cool quickly. Do this over a sink or outside, as there is chaff that comes off the beans during roasting. And remember; NEVER leave your roasting coffee beans unattended.

Almost any appliance used to pop popcorn can be used to roast coffee beans. The hot air poppers are great, however, you may want to roast outside or in your garage as they blow the chaff out and can be messy. There are a number of manufacturers of home coffee roaster, including several that use a gas grill and rotisserie.

The internet is full of sources to purchase raw beans, but you want to make sure that the supplier you use knows their beans and “cups” their coffee before selling it to you. One of the most reputable sources for green coffee beans is U-Roast-Em, Inc., a high quality, no frills supplier with 30 years in the industry. They can be found at www.u-roast-em.com on the web. Many other sources can be found using your favorite search engine. If you’re interested in using a gas grill to roast your beans, check out www.rkdrums.com or www.buzzroasters.com. For electric, countertop-type coffee roasters, visit www.freshbeansinc.com.

Green, raw coffee beans last for years when properly stored. This allows you to build a collection of fine coffees to choose from as well as buy larger amounts of the great coffees and save more money. Keep your bean collection in a cool, dry place out of any direct sun light and they will last until you roast them. As coffee ages it loses acidity and becomes more mellow. Many like the rich mild cup of a coffee that has had a couple years to rest and mellow. More important than the year of the crop is the quality of the bean, the preparation at origin, transportation and warehousing in country of consumption. If all of these things are done correctly, your green coffee will last for years. Suppliers who know how to cup samples of coffee beans are able to determine if all of these criteria are done correctly before they purchase the beans.

Home roasting is one the fastest growing hobbies in the country and for good reason. It’s fun, easy, saves you money and delivers a cup of coffee like you never thought was possible. Join in the fun and start roasting your own coffee beans.

Jim Cameron is a 30 year veteran in the specialty coffee roasting industry. Jim has authored many articles on various aspects of the industry and traveled abroad to speak at international gatherings of coffee proffessionals. Semi retired, Jim now writes on the subject of roasting and makes green coffee beans available to the home roasting market at his web site: http://www.u-roast-em.com

Ma Po Tou Fu is Sichuan’s well known characteristic dish. Tradition has it that during the Tongzhi years of Qing Dynasty, there is a small inn at the WanFu (Innumerable Blessings) bridge outside the north gate of Chengdu, Sichuan. The woman owner Chen is pretty good at cooking. She uses bean curd, tiny sliced beef, hot pepper, Chinese prickly ash, thick bean sauce and other ingredients to cook. The dish tastes hemp (a unique flavor from the Chinese prickly ash), spicy, fresh, fragrant, and it is delicious, it is extremely well received by the people around the town. At that time there was no official name for this dish. Because Chen has pockmarked face (”ma” face with “ma” happens to be the same character as the “ma” or “hemp” flavor from the Chinese prickly ash), people then started calling it “Ma Po To Fu”. “Po” in this case means woman, wife. So to translate accurately it means “wife of pockmarked face Tou Fu”. From then on it became well-known around the entire nation. It is now a world-renowned Chinese cuisine 100 years later. All the Sichuan restaurants must have this dish.

Along with the development of Sichuan cuisine, most of the overseas Chinese restaurants (Sichuan style or not) all carry this famous dish. Not too long ago, the Japanese merchants even imitated Sichuan “Ma Po Tou Fu” and produced canned “Ma Po Tou Fu” which sell quite well around the world.

Characteristics of the dish: light yellow, tender with gloss, tastes hemp, spicy, fragrant, fresh, and hot. The surface of bean curd is covered with a layer of light red spicy oil, which keeps the heat inside the bean curd so it won’t get quickly lost. It always tastes better when you eat it hot, the unique hemp smell comes from the Chinese prickly ash greets the nostrils and that enhances the overall flavor. It is considered the best delicacy for cold winter season.

Ingredients:

• 2 cakes of bean curd
• 120g (4.2 oz) ground pork
• 1 tablespoon minced green onion
• 1 slice ginger
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 red peppers
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 cup (100cc) soup stock
• 1 teaspoon corn starch

Method:

1. Pour hot water over bean curd, drain and cut into bite sizes.
2. Chop green onion, ginger, garlic and red pepper. Heat oil, fry and add meat.
3. Add bean curd gradually into pan. Stir and pour in soup stock. Simmer over low heat.
4. Thicken with corn starch diluted with water and add to ingredients. Serve hot.

Cooking time: 10 minutes
Nutritional information:
Yield: 4 servings
Each serving provides:
Calories: 198.5
Protein: 13.6 g

Note: You may freely republish this recipe as long as author bio and active hyperlinks are kept intact. Thank you.

Jacklyn Chen - Webmaster of news-blogs.com She is a full time mom who works very hard to make living with multiple web sites. For more information and articles about fine living, visit fine-living.news-blogs.com