Full of Soul and Delicious Food

One of the many “welcome back to school” events was the first Black Student Union (BSU) event of the school year. “Taste of Soul” brought students together over a delicious meal and fun activities in Birmingham Plaza on the PLNU campus.
                                             

Held on September 7 between the Fermanian Business Center and the Fermanian School of Business, the Taste of Soul BBQ gave off a positive aura that could be felt all the way from the Greek Amphitheatre. The Birmingham Plaza overlooks the ocean and, conveniently enough, the BBQ began at 6 p.m., just in time for the sunset. With a turnout of about 40 Point Loma students, and a few faculty members, the atmosphere was extremely welcoming and uplifting.

Everyone was encouraged to indulge in the delicious food that the BSU graciously offered at no expense. The buffet-style dinner included pulled pork, fried chicken, collard greens, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. Refreshments included lemonade and, wait for it…water. Each table was garnished with a variety of candy in order to keep the energy levels prosperous throughout the night.

Everybody was then asked to engage in a friendly game of musical chairs. No matter how juvenile this game may seem, the members of BSU definitely know how to make it a fun and memorable experience. The irresistible music made the players dance and the onlookers smile. The top five winners were rewarded with water guns which resulted in a friendly, but serious, water fight.

As the sun disappeared from sight, BSU wrapped up the night with some dancing and plugs for their next events. BSU will be hosting a game night September 21 at 6 p.m. in the Commuter Lounge and “Unspoken” (a spoken word event) October 5 from 5 to 9 p.m. in the ARC.

How To Cook Aunt Eliane’s Whole Potatoes Sautéed in Butter

A lot of Ecuadorian dishes have potatoes as a side dish, sometimes the potatoes are boiled, fried, mashed, in patties, you name it, one of my favorite potato sides is when the potatoes are roasted and cooked alongside a meat dish, however this can’t always be done, especially when you aren’t cooking a meat dish or the dish doesn’t allow the potatoes to be cooked with it. I like boiled potatoes, but I always feel like they’re missing something, even if they’re served with a sauce, so last summer we were visiting Nico’s aunt Eliane in Provence and she was making potatoes as a side for a wonderful meal she made (my mouth is watering), she boiled them first and then sautéed them with butter until they had a nice golden brown color, they were so good, so now whenever I have a dish that usually has plain boring boiled potatoes as a side I sauté the potatoes in butter until they are browned, leave it up to the French to turn something boring into something delicious. The way I see it this is a compromise, maybe not as healthy as plain boiled potatoes, but tasty enough without being completely fried (don’t get me started on homemade fried potatoes – I give into that weakness about every six months).
Ingredients:
10 Yukon gold potatoes, washed
Water for boiling potatoes
4 tbs butter
Salt to taste
Preparation:
Boil the potatoes until tender, let cool down and peel the potatoes
Heat the butter in a large sauté pan and add the potatoes, cook until well browned on all sides.
Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Spring Vegetable Rolls Recipe

INGREDIENTS
FOR THE PANCAKES:
Flour 1 cup
Milk 2 cups
Soda-bi-carbonate A pinch
Oil 2 tsps.
Oil for shallow frying
Salt ½ tsp.
FOR THE STUFFING:
French beans 50 gms.
Carrots 50 gms.
Cabbage 100 gms.
Bean sprouts 100 gms.
Onions(finely chopped) 2 nos.
Capsicum(thinely sliced) 2 nos.
Soya sauce 1 tsp.
White pepper ½ tsp.
Sugar ½ tsp.
Ajinomoto ½ tsp.
Oil 3 tbsps.
Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
For making the Pancakes:
1. Sift salt and flour. Add milk gradually, beating well
to make a smooth thin batter for the pancakes.
2. Add soda-bi-carbonate and mix well.
3. Heat a non stick pan. Pour a little batter on it and
tilt the pan so that batter spreads evenly.
4. Remove when the under side is cooked. Do not cook
the other side.
5. Make the remaining pancake in the same way and keep
it in a napkin one on top of the other.
To Prepare The Filling:
1. Cut the vegetables(except beansprouts) into thin long stripes.
2. Heat the oil in a kadhai. Add onions, sprouts
and vegetables and stir fry for 5 minutes.
3. Add ajinomoto, salt, pepper and sugar and
fry for further 3 minutes.
4. Add soya sauce and mix well.
Assembling:
1. Take the pancake and place little filling on the
cooked side, at one end which is nearest to you.
2. Fold the left side and then the right side.
Holding the sides, roll upwards. Seal the edges with
cornflour paste, made by dissolving 1 tsp.
of cornflour in 1 tsp. ofwater.
3. Heat some oil in a pan and shallow fry the rolls
on all sides till golden brown.
4. Drain on a paper napkin and cut diagonally
into 1 inches pieces.
5. Serve hot with chili-garlic sauce.

Chinese Food Bak Chang Recipe

We’ve finally reached the third installment in the Bak Chang series and today, I will feature our family Bak Chang recipe. Now, this recipe is definitely not for beginners as a considerable amount of skill and estimation on ingredients are required. You see, with home-cooked food, we don’t measure ingredients using measuring spoons or cups. Rather, it’s a lot to do with estimation or what the locals call “agak-agak” (“estimate”). So, this recipe is a guide for you so that you roughly know what ingredients go into the Bak Chang and how is is prepared and cooked.
This Bak Chang recipe is quite close to the Nyonya Bak Chang especially in the taste department. It is probably world’s apart from Cantonese Bak Chang which tends to be a bit on the saltish side and contains bigger chunks of ingredients. Those who are fond of eating saltish Bak Changs might find this not suited to their palate because our Bak Chang recipe is sweet and saltish with a slight emphasis on the former. Nevertheless, for those who are craving for a slightly sweetish Bak Chang, this might be the recipe you are looking for. In this recipe, we are looking at making approximately 25 Bak Changs depending on how you wrap the Bak Chang.
Ingredients
1 kg glutinous rice (washed, pre-soaked for 4 to 6 hours and drained)
1 kg pork (lean pork from the fore thigh, cut into small cubes not more than 1cm sides)
300 grammes dried winter melon (cut into small cubes not more than 1cm sides)
250 grammes dried prawns (rinsed and pounded)
15 pieces chinese dried mushroom (pre-soaked till soft and cut into cubes not more than 1 cm sides)
8 shallots (sliced thinly)
1 bulb garlic (chopped)
60 pieces Bak Chang bamboo leaves (washed thoroughly and boiled for 15 minutes to soften)
5 tablespoons cooking oil
10 pieces pandan leaves (knotted)
Reed or Banana stem reed to tie
Seasoning
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons dark soya sauce
4 tablespoons coriander powder (ketumbar)
Liberal dashes of white pepper powder
Method
Heat 2 tablespoons cooking oil in wok and fry 1/2 the garlic and shallots till aromatic. Add glutinous rice, 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce, 1 tablespoon of ketumbar and 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper powder. Stir well. Remove and leave to cool.
Heat up 3 tablespoons of cooking oil in wok and fry the other half of garlic and shallots till aromatic. Add dried prawns and stir till aromatic. Next, add mushrooms and pork. Stir well followed by adding of winter melon and seasoning to taste. Stir till even and pork is cooked. Set aside to cool.
Wrap the Bak Changs. Bring to boil a large pot of water and throw in the pandan leaves. Boil Bak Chang for 3 hours completely submerged and covered. For best results, use a charcoal stove. For quick cooking, use a pressure cooker and boil for approximately 45 minutes on pressure and 15 minutes standing.

Enjoy The Stuffed French Toast

My mom’s friend, Anita made this stuffed french toast for my bridal brunch when I got married. I’ve had the recipe for a while but have just never gotten around to making it. This past weekend my bible study had a surprise brunch for one of our friends and I thought I would make this. Everyone immediately asked for the recipe! It was so delicious!! This is definitely great for a brunch because you make it the night before and then bake it the morning of.
Ingredients:
16 ounces loaf French Bread (18 slices)
8 oz. cream cheese (1/4 inch slices) (use fat free if desired)
3 oz. additional cream cheese (1/4 inch slices) (use fat free if desired)
12 large eggs
2 cups milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
dash of cinnamon
1 tbsp. sugar
Directions:
Line greased 13×9 baking dish with 1/2 of bread slices, top with cream cheese slices and rest of bread. Combine the rest of ingredients, pour over the bread. Cover and chill for 8 hours.
Let stand at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes prior to baking.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, lightly covering with foil after the first 20 minutes.
Serve with additional syrup to pour over top of individual slices.

Food And Wine Harvest Holiday in Le Marche, Italy

If you call yourself a "foodie," pig lover, wine-o, tartufaio, gourmet or gourmand this culinary holiday is for you! Vegetarians seek refuge elsewhere because for five nights in October it's a carnivore's delight in the foothills of the Apennine Mountains of Central Italy. This fall savor the slow food & experience Italian farm life first hand with this unique holiday at La Tavola Marche (Organic Farm, Inn & Cooking School) for mushroom hunting, pig butchering, sausage making, chicken slaughtering & butchering with hands-on cooking classes incorporating the fresh butchered meats and a fabulous wine tour & tasting. The first night you are welcomed to the 300 year old stone farmhouse with the rich smells of a slow roasting fire escaping through the kitchen door, a feast to be remembered with each of the five courses paired with local Marche wines and topped with truffles.At La Tavola Marche you know where your food comes from; vegetables fresh picked from the garden, eggs from the hens, truffles foraged from the hills and fresh meat from our free-range chickens or the next door neighbor. Spend the morning with our local butcher in Urbania for a demonstration on butchering, follow the process, identifying and trimming different cuts of pork, learning the best cooking technique for each cut well as a range of basic butchery skills. Learn the basics of the aging process, how to make salami, cured meats and sausages. Back at the farmhouse we will stuff our own sausages to grill over the open fire for dinner! After a day of meat, relax the following day by sampling the best family-run vineyards of Le Marche with a full day wine tour & tasting. Later in the week hike into the woods to forage for mushrooms then get down & dirty; slaughter & butcher our free range chickens incorporating it into cooking class for classic stock, stews & roasts.Includes: Five nights accommodations, welcome five course feast, two full day cooking classes, wine tour & transportation, mushroom hunt, butchering class, breakfast daily, three lunches, four dinners, evening snack, wine with meals, heating, all taxes. Price based on double occupancy. Special discounted rate for group of 4 or more.
WINE TOUR:
Enjoy a half-day private guided wine tasting & tour with lunch by an Italian wine expert of the best family-run, most characteristic vineyards of Le Marche. You will have the chance to visit a cheese factory, honey producer, an oil mill, wineries and of course taste all those products.
SLOW FOOD:
The night of your arrival devour our five-course feast, prepared with fresh truffles and fresh ingredients from our garden, each course paired with wine from a local Marche vineyard.
FARM LIFE:
From collecting eggs from the hens to slaughtering the chickens for winter it is all part of life on the farm. Visit our local butcher for a morning lesson in chartucerie and butchering with lunch at a local Osteria after. Take a walk into the woods foraging for wild mushrooms.
COOKING CLASS:
Using the fresh butchered meats Chef Jason will teach you how to make the fundamentals from soups & stocks to slow roasting & braising.

Holiday Recipes You Can Make in Your Crockpot

Are you always short oven space when preparing holiday meals? Let your crockpot or slow cooker help you out. This article has recipes for Diabetic Sweet Potato Casserole and for Bread Dressing. Now how about that for convenience? And aren't we all looking for convenient ways to help us with those large meals!
BREAD DRESSING
1 cup butter
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery
1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
2 cans (8-oz) mushrooms, drained
12 to 13 cups dry bread cubes
1 tsp poultry seasoning*
2 well-beaten eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt*
1 1/2 tsp sage*
1 tsp dried thyme*
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp marjoram, optional*
3 to 5 cups chicken or turkey broth
Melt the butter in a skillet; saute the onion, celery, parsley, and mushrooms.
Place the bread cubes in a very large heat-proof bowl. Pour the butter/vegetable mixture over the bread crumbs. Add the poultry seasoning, salt, sage, thyme, pepper, and marjoram, if using; toss together well to blend in the seasonings. Pour in enough broth to moisten to your desired amount of moisture. Add the well-beaten eggs and mix very well.
Lightly spray the crockpot or slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Pack the dressing into the cooker. Place lid on cooker and cook on high for approximately 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to low setting and cook for 4 to 8 hours.
*Omit if using packaged stuffing mix.
Because you are dealing with raw eggs, be sure to follow the instructions and heat on high first!
DIABETIC SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
This casserole uses Splenda for those who avoid sugar. The other recipe (below this one) uses actual sugar and brown sugar. This recipe is for diabetics or anyone who avoids sugar.
2 cans (18-oz each) sweet potatoes, drained & mashed
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp Splenda Granulated
1 tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
1 tbsp orange juice
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
In a large bowl, mix the sweet potatoes, butter, Splenda granulated, Splenda Brown Sugar Blend together. Beat in the orange juice, eggs, and milk.
Lighly spray the crock of the slow cooker or crockpot and transfer mixture to the cooker.
Topping:
2 tbsp + 2 tsp Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
1/3 cup chopped pecans
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter, melted
Combine the Splenda, pecans, and flour. Add the melted butter stirring until combined. Spread topping over the sweet potato mixture.
Place lid on cooker and cook on high setting for 3 to 4 hours.

Tips For Fine Lobster Cooking

Enjoying fresh, moist lobster is a fine delicacy, and thankfully preparing a live lobster is rather easy! One warning any chef will share is that it is important to cook it immediately and to avoid over-cooking, and therefore drying out the delicate meat. A fresh and thoroughly cooked piece of lobster will be white in color, firm, and juicy. To prepare a lobster and keep it’s fresh from-the-sea flavor Fine Lobster recommends several traditional cooking techniques.
The easiest, most delicious way to cook a live lobster is by boiling as takes least amount of time. Start with a big pot and fill it with seawater (easy for those close to the ocean) or with water heavily salted, roughly about two gallons of water per three pounds of lobster. Thankfully, being crustaceans, they are similar to other arthropods (such as insects) and have a very primitive nervous system that lacks a cerebral cortex, or the part of the brain in humans that detects pain. Therefore, the best process is to place the live lobster head first into boiling water. An easy rule of thumb is to boil the lobster for about eight minutes per pound, and it will be cooked thoroughly but not over done.
Another Fine Lobster recommendation is to steam your live lobster, as it is harder to over cook them and equally delicious as boiling. Select a pot large enough to hold all of the lobster without crowding them, place a steaming rack and about two inches of seawater (or heavily salted water) in the bottom. Over high heat, bring it to a boil, and add the live lobsters one at a time and cover. Steaming takes about ten minutes per pound, but halfway through ensure they are cooking evenly by shifting them around being careful of the hot steam.
Finally, one cooking technique that is often used is parboiling, or partially cooking the meat to later finish it. Parboiling is a great technique for when one wants refrigerate or freeze a whole lobster to finish cooking it later when needed. This also works well to later include the meat in a stir-fry, or even finish it on a grill and avoid drying it out. Before placing the parboiled meat on a hot grill, be certain to brush it with olive oil to avoid it sticking or drying out.
Parboiling follows the same rules as boiling, however only cook the lobster for about two minutes per pound instead of eight. Be sure when done to immediately rinse it in cold water to stop the cooking process. Unless leaving the meat in the whole shell to freeze or refrigerate and finish boiling later, it is advised you remove the meat as this is when it will be easiest. If planning on finishing the meat on the grill, serving a lobster tail on the shell creates a beautiful presentation (it is also easier to handle while grilling!) Simply snip the tail shell lengthwise and pull the meat out and rest it on top of the shell, leaving it connected nearest the tail flipper.
No matter how you prepare it, there is nothing like a fine, fresh Maine lobster to compliment any special occasion. We recommend pairing it with clarified butter or sauce and a fine white wine will bring out the best flavor of the lobster.

Delicious Food Services in Miami

Miami is one place in Florida where people are very concern about their food habits and what they eat. Good food along with healthy food is what mainly constitutes the idea of food in Miami. This is actually a very good eating habit which most of the people in the world do not follow. Miami Catering is also very famous for its delicious food served with healthiness.
Whenever there is a party in Miami, catering companies have their share of talent to show but, catering in Miami is as beautiful as the beach present there. Miami catering companies can cook different cuisine foods and along with different cuisine food they add fresh ingredients and healthy ingredients to make your meal full.
They also have different meal plans for everyday where they have different food for different people having different daily regimes. For example the food for a sportsmen is completely different from an actor, again the food for an actress is complete different from a normal human being. Catering in Miami have taken new leaps and their sole idea of serving people with delicious yet healthy food have earned them a very good name in many different places not only restricted to Florida.
Another best thing that Catering in Miami has is if you are not very well and do not feel like cooking, these catering companies provide you cheap meals delivered at your home just at a very small and reasonable price. Many such services are also opening at nearby places and also at different parts of the world but Miami still counts for the best in the market with their wonderful idea.

How To Cook The Delicious Food

     Dawn Roads from Aga will show you how to cook delicious seasonal food in the Museum of Iron café at Coalbrookdale on Wednesday, 6th April from 7-9pm.
Dawn Roads from Aga will show you how to cook delicious seasonal food.
Fresh from the oven, guests will have the chance to try fabulous dishes such as chocolate cake, Moroccan tagine, meringue roulade, hot cross bun pudding and goats cheese and asparagus tart – all with a glass of wine.
     There will also be a chance to buy Aga cookware at a discount and tickets include free entry into the Museum of Iron from 6.30pm – 9.30pm. The evening is being held to support the Museum and its charitable aims.
      Ruth Brown, Fundraising Manager, says: “This promises to be a fantastic event for anyone who loves Agas, cooking or eating. Aga has a long history in Coalbrookdale and we thought it would be a great idea to join forces and host an evening, which will support the Museum and inspire people to cook some brilliant spring and Easter themed food.

Tips For Delicious Food lover

　　Most of us think that we eat mainly to nourish the body and keep it fit and healthy. In fact, the food we eat plays a much greater role in our lives because it influences the way we think, feel, act and react every moment. It affects our faculties and behaviour. As many of us are aware, the food we eat has three qualities – inertia or tamas, aggressiveness or rajas and purity or satva. If we eat satvic food, it increases the purity in us. When our internal state is pure or satvic, we grasp things very easily and learning is instantaneous. When we eat tamasic food, our power of comprehension becomes very clouded and we find it extremely hard to accept and assimilate new concepts. When we are rajasic, we are apt to go off at a tangent and lack the ability to identify or resolve the salient issues in any situation. So our inner state of being depends on the food we eat as well as the company we keep and the efficiency and effectiveness of our outer actions depends on our inner state of being.

　　To put it in a nutshell, “what goes in is literally what comes out.” This is the absolute truth. When liquor is imbibed, what comes out is slurred speech. When meat goes in, what comes out is insensitivity to another’s pain. If we put a person who eats satvic food and another who doesn’t into the same traumatic situation, what happens? The rajasic or tamasic person will not even think of praying for the intervention of Divine Grace. His sluggish or aggressive reaction will aggravate the situation and make it more traumatic. The satvic person, on the other hand, will immediately surrender to God and seek Divine help. Then the traumatic situation is instantaneously resolved and passes by harmlessly. So the kind of food you eat decides what kind of person you are and how you shape your life.