Pumpkin Soup

Ingredient

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium onions, sliced

2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger root

3 cups water

1-3/4 cups nonfat chicken broth

2 cups canned pumpkinPinch nutmeg

1/2 cup light sour cream

Direction

Heat olive oil in a stockpot over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Add onions, carrots, and ginger; cook until golden, stirring constantly. Stir in the water, chicken broth, pumpkin, and nutmeg. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Puree soup in a blender, carefully working with small batches at a time. Do not fill blender more than half way each time. Pour pureed soup into a soup tureen or back into stock pot. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Serve each bowl of soup with a dollop of sour cream, and sprinkle with additional nutmeg to garnish.

Hot and Sour Chicken and Cabbage Soup

PREP TIME
40 Min
COOK TIME
25 Min
READY IN
1 Hr 5 Min

INGREDIENTS

10 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced lemon grass
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 onion, cut in strips
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed
1/2 head cabbage, shredded
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour chicken broth into a large pot. Stir in hot pepper flakes, vinegar, soy sauce, lemon grass, fish sauce, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and keep at a simmer.

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in cubed chicken, and cook until no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes. Stir chicken into the simmering soup along with the cabbage and bean sprouts. Simmer until the cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Remove the pot from the heat, and slowly stir in the beaten egg, then gently stir in the chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Fashioned Pancakes

PREP TIME

5 Min
COOK TIME
15 Min
READY IN
20 Min

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Cooking Lobster at Home

Lobster has always be one of those extravagant meals which few people ever try because of the high cost. With restaurants paying thirty dollars a pound, by the time they put their markup on it, you're easily paying sixty dollars for a ten ounce tail. This high cost leaves lobster dinners for the well-to do or at least only for special occasions. But, this doesn't have to be.

With more and more retail store offering lobster, you can create a romantic dinner for two at a reasonable price. If you buy two eight ounce tails for thirty dollars, that's only fifteen dollars a person. Add a starch and vegetable and it's still cheaper than going out to dinner and having steak or even chicken. Turn the lights down low, add a candle and ship the kid's off to grandma's house.

Cooking lobster is relatively easy. There are hundred's of recipes on the internet or in books. The simplest way is to split the shell down the top, pull the meat out of the shell about 90% of the way and lay it on top of the shell. Place in a pan with a little water and cover with foil (do not let the foil touch the lobster). Cook at 350 degrees until the meat turns white (around 140 F) then baste with butter and season with salt and pepper. As with any food, avoid the temptation to overcook it. When overcooked the lobster meat will become tough and less appealing.

About Lobster

Lobsters are ten legged arthropods, meaning they have no backbone. The lobster creates its skeleton on the outside in the form of a shell with joint appendages. There are two major types of lobster on the market. Maine also called Canadian or American lobster and spiny sometimes call rock lobster.

The Maine lobster inhabits the cold waters of the Atlantic in the area of Canada and the northeast United States. This lobster has two claws, one claw very large and flat, while the other is smaller and thinner. These lobster take up to seven years to reach one pound and average about one to three pounds when harvested. The Maine lobster is sold live or already cooked and usually the meat used in mixed dishes or dishes like lobster thermador

The spiny lobster is a clawless warmwater variety, which are actually large seagoing crayfish.

There are 49 species of spiny lobster which swim the world's warm waters. Because the tail is the only real edible part of the spiny lobster, it is usually sold frozen as a lobster tail. The spiny lobster found off Florida, Brazil and the Caribbean are called "warmwater tails", while those found off South Africa, New Zealand and Australia are markets as "coldwater tails". The coldwater variety of spiny lobster is considered superior and favored among restaurants.

Cooking lobster at home can be a delicious alternative to going out. Why not give it a try?

Ten Steps to Perfect Pasta

I'm amazed at how often I get e-mail from a disgruntled home cook, lamenting the fact that, once again, a dish of pasta has turned into a culinary disaster. I hear stories of overcooked, undercooked, tasteless pasta that may also be stuck together, or otherwise inedible. In fact, I recently had the experience where I was shopping with a friend and I suggested that she buy some pasta. Her response was that it was too unpredictable to cook.

It needn't be that way. First of all, 90% of cooking is being there. That is, letting the telephone ring through to voice-mail; perhaps leaving guests in the living room sipping their Chardonnay and simply keeping your focus on the task at hand. And by being there-that is, tending the pasta-you'll be able to do the only test available to judge its doneness: to taste.

Those two tips alone will improve your pasta-cooking skills, but I offer here, ten little steps that, taken together, will guarantee a perfect dish of pasta every time. Follow these steps, and you'll prepare pasta that will consistently impress your family, your friends, and your harshest critic; you.

1. All pasta is not created equal. Choose a brand with a solid reputation in the marketplace. De Cecco and Barilla are two fine brands readily available in supermarkets.

2. Use a pot that's large enough to accommodate the pasta without crowding. For one pound of pasta, an eight-quart pot is good; a ten-quart pot is better. Pasta needs room to move freely as it cooks. At a minimum, use nothing smaller than a six-quart pot.

3. Use plenty of water. For one pound of pasta, you should use at least six quarts of water.

4. Add salt to the water. About 1 Tbs. per gallon. Salt adds flavor to the pasta that helps to create a well-seasoned dish. Often, a perfectly seasoned sauce will still taste like it needs "something" because the pasta is unseasoned.

5. Bring the water to a full, rolling boil before adding the pasta. One of the prime causes for pasta

sticking together is that the water had not yet come to a full boil. When you add pasta to water that has not yet reached the boiling point, it releases natural starches, which act like glue. Since the pasta is simply sitting in the water at the time, the strands stick together.

6. Bring the water back to the boil as quickly as possible after adding the pasta. In the case of pasta strands, like spaghetti or linguine, stir the pasta until it has wilted and become submerged in the cooking water, then cover the pot until the water returns to the boil. When the water has boiled, though, uncover the pot, and finish cooking uncovered.

7. Stir the pasta two or three times throughout the cooking process. Pasta cooks in eight to ten minutes. The brief time you spend attending to it away from family or guests will reap huge rewards at the dinner table.

8. Never add olive oil to the pasta cooking water. The olive oil coats the pasta, and prevents sauce from adhering to it when you've put the entire dish together.

9. Cook the pasta to the 'al dente' state. The only way to judge this is by tasting. Manufacturer's cooking times are mere guidelines. Begin tasting the pasta about two minutes before the manufacturer says it should be done. Also, there will be a small amount of carryover cooking between the time you remove the pasta from the stove, drain in the sink, and combine with the sauce.

10. Never rinse pasta. When you rinse pasta, you're washing away most of the starches and nutrients that you were seeking to enjoy in the first place.
So be there. Be attentive. Taste, and learn when pasta has cooked to the consistency that you like. Follow these ten little steps, and you'll develop a reputation as a miracle worker with pasta. And with the myriad of sauces in the Italian and Italian-American cuisines, you will have expanded your cooking repertoire beyond your wildest dreams.

Make It With Mint

It wouldn't be summer without fresh mint in pots on the front porch and in the garden. Mint is so easy to grow, it has such a wonderful fresh scent, and it can be used for all sorts of things.

Here are some easy ways to use mint:

Put a few fresh spearmint or peppermint sprigs in a teapot with your favorite tea. Let steep for 2-3 minutes and serve.

Use sprigs of mint as a pretty garnish for a special dessert.

For a casual arrangement for your dining room or kitchen table, fill an attractive glass or ceramic pitcher, vase, or other container with water. Add several long sprigs of fresh mint (being sure to strip away any mint leaves that would be covered by the water). The mint will add color to the room, scent the air, and even help keep pesky ants away.

Pot your favorite mint in a pretty container on your front porch to provide a welcoming fresh scent to anyone who comes to visit.

Add chopped mint leaves to scrambled eggs, omelettes, quiches, or souffles.

Mix mint in with your regular tabbouleh recipe for a refreshing summer salad.

Add mint to cooked peas, carrots, or potatoes at the end of the cooking process, then discard the mint leaves before serving the vegetables.

Make frozen mint cubes to use in many of your favorite foods and beverages. Finely chop some mint sprigs, then stuff them into ice cube trays, and fill each section of the tray with water. Freeze. When frozen, empty the trays into freezer bags. Use the mint cubes for iced tea or other beverages, or put a few cubes in your favorite casserole or stew.

Remember?next time you're thinking of creating a special dish, or even an attractive arrangement for your table, make it with mint.

Garlic

Garlic, there's nothing like the smell of garlic. It's great in soups and sauces, roasted with meats or on it's own, and it's wonderful mixed with butter and slathered on bread and then baked.

The scientific name for garlic is Allium Sativum. It is related to the lily and the onion. Although related to the onion, and having a flavor that very slightly resembles that of an onion, garlic does not bring tears to the eyes when chopped.

When buying fresh garlic, be sure that the head feels very firm when you squeeze it. Over time, garlic will soften and begin to sprout, which turns the garlic bitter. To store fresh garlic, keep it in a dark, cool place, such as the basement. Do not refrigerate or freeze the garlic, as it will begin to loose it's taste.

To peel a clove of garlic, place it on a cutting board, and put the flat of the blade of the knife against it. Press down on the other side of the blade with the heel of your hand, flattening the garlic slightly. The skin will come right off.

The strong flavor and odor of garlic come from sulfur compounds within the cells. The more cells that are broken, the stronger the flavor of the garlic will be. For the mildest flavor, just use a whole or slightly crushed clove of garlic. For a bit stronger flavor, slice or chop the garlic, and for the strongest flavor, mash the garlic into a paste.

Cooking garlic tames the strong flavor, and changes it in different ways, depending on how it's cooked. If using in a sauce, it can be sweated or sauteed. In sweating the garlic, it is first chopped finely, and then added to a cold pan with some oil, it is then gently heated, causing the oil to become infused with the garlic flavor. To sautee garlic, heat the oil in the pan first, and then add the chopped garlic, stirring frequently, and being careful not to let the garlic burn and become bitter.

Roasting the garlic softens the flavor, and makes it soft and perfect for mixing with cream cheese to spread onto toast, or just spread on the toast itself.
To roast the garlic, take a whole head of garlic, and remove the papery outer skin. Place the garlic on a piece of aluminum foil, and drizzle with some olive oil. Loosely wrap the garlic in the foil, and place it into a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Remove the garlic and let it cool. When cool enough to handle, separate the cloves of garlic, and squeeze each one. The flesh should pop right out. The roasted garlic is great mixed with cheese or potatoes, or on it's own.

Don't be afraid to use garlic in your cooking. Garlic is flavorful, and healthful, and of course, it will keep those pesky vampires away