PajMon Information Blog

Posts Tagged ‘recipes’

For many many years, going back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, people have used presses to extract olive oil from the olive, the press is used to separate the olive oil and vegetation water from the solid body of the olive. Once these two have been separated, a decanter is used to separate the oil from the water. In able to gain a fine olive oil, there is a process that must be used before the olive is pressed.

First of all the olives should be harvested and the bad olives removed from the bunch. The olives are then put under a special stone called millstone or in some areas a ground stone. The olives should stay under the stone for just over a half an hour to turn them into a paste, also to guarantee that the paste collects the right aromas and smell that come from the fruit enzymes and forms into the olive oil drops.

Once this process is over and the olives are converted into a paste, the past is spread onto fiber disks. Once fully and evenly spread onto the disks the paste is placed into the press machine. The press will then apply the necessary pressure needed to compact the past and percolate the oil forms and the water in the paste. Water is placed in the sides of the press to simplify the process of percolation.

When the pressing is finished the oil and water must be separated to achieve a pure olive oil. With the traditional process both the oil and the water a put into a decanter but there is another process that is a lot quicker than the decanter. The faster process is one called vertical centrifuge and is used to complete the whole process of oil and water separation a lot faster.

Once the extraction process has been fully completed, the cleaning process begins. This process has to be done thoroughly because if not the remaining past will begin to ferment on the millstones and disks causing other oils to get contaminated and change the taste of the oil completely. Every time new oil is to be made, a complete check that the press and millstones are completely clean must be done.

Using this traditional method of making olive oil has some advantages, these include that the olives are very well ground and easily pomaced. But the complication at the time of cleaning, the hours of extra manual labor and the time it takes to wait after the harvesting to the time of pressing the olives to make the oil can be classed as disadvantages when using this method, and because of this people have invented other methods that save time.

Mexico offers a unique cuisine that is delicious and healthy. Ancestral home to the Mayan, Aztec and Zapotec civilizations, Mexico has a long history in cultivating food. Native staples included avocados, sweet potatoes, corn, beans, tomatoes, peppers, and a variety of squash. For meat, they hunted deer, turkey, quail, and rabbit. Chocolate is a native plant in this area, and was prepared as a beverage for the Aztec royalty.

When the Spanish arrived in Mexico, they brought their favorite foods with them. Pork, beef, cheese, and cream were added and combined with the native foods. The Spanish brought sheep, chickens, wheat, and sugar. Three hundred years later when Spain finally gave up control of Mexico, their influence on Mexican food was well established.

Corn is a major part of Mexican meals. Cornmeal, known as masa, is made into a dough that can be formed into tortillas, empanadas, or tamales. Corn is also added to soups, stews, and other dishes. Tortillas made of flour are more common in northern Mexico. Chili peppers are also a main part of the Mexican diet. Jalapenos, poblano, and Serrano chilies are just a few of the common choices in the Mexican household.

Beans also provide a good source of protein in Mexican meals. Pinto beans are found in the north, while black beans are popular in the Yucatan peninsula. There are many different varieties used throughout Mexico to make dishes like frijoles (refried beans).

There are many regional favorites found in the typical Mexican meal. Beef is used frequently in the north, as it is hot and dry, with good grazing grounds. The Pacific coast is known for coffee production and its corn stew. The Gulf coast offers a wide variety of seafood and fish dishes, tropical fruits and vegetables. Central Mexico has the most distinctive Spanish influence, and the Yucatan people commonly eat seafood, shellfish, eggs, corn, and black beans. Herbs are used liberally throughout Mexico.

If you want to try making an authentic Mexican meal at home, there are many recipes online to try. Mexican rice recipe are easy and delicious. They are a good dish to start out with. Once you have tried making rice (arroz in Mexico), you will find yourself adding it to your menu frequently.

Try something new and experiment. Adding a different bean can change the texture or flavor to a dish. Add tortillas or refried beans as a side dish, or throw together some fresh seafood and citrus juice to make a cooling ceviche on a hot day. Mexican food is great for kids to make, too. Let them make their own quesadillas or tacos.

For something new, try a Mexican breakfast. In the summer, a simple bowl of mixed tropical fruit is an authentic choice. On a colder day, try some scrambled eggs mixed with salsa. Fill a tortilla with a fried egg, tomatoes, ham, chilies, and cheese and serve it up with some refried beans for a taste you will find exciting.

Dropping a few unwanted pounds is really a matter of common sense. For example, you can’t eat 1/2 of a grapefruit and a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, then reward yourself with a greasy, fast-food burger for lunch. Sorry, but the breakfast doesn’t cancel out the burger. Healthier living is a mindset. So if losing a little flab is high on the list, consider these 10 common-sense approaches:

1. Fast food is a no-no. Anything processed should be avoided as much as possible. While you might think they taste good, food and drinks such as candy, ice cream, Coke, Pepsi, cake, etc. often contain hidden sugar and fat.

2. Be more active. Get the blood pumping. Dust off the bike, swim, take a stroll around the block — anything that will burn some calories and help to curb your appetite. If you’re not sure how much you can take, ask your doctor.

3. Be conscious of your fat and carb intake. Obviously, if both of these are high, you’re going to gain weight. You want to find the right balance based on your daily calorie intake. Cut back slightly on one until you see the results you want. You can’t cut both out completely. That’s not healthy either. You need to maintain certain fats in your diet to help break down others.

4. Cut out the fat. Read the labels. If you’re a meat-eater, choose low-fat varieties of fish, skinless chicken, reduced-fat ground turkey, etc. When I cook chicken, I use my kitchen shears and cut off all visible fat. A pain in the neck? Yes. But my health is worth the effort.

5. Scale back on the sweets. As I said earlier, a piece of cake or pie every so often certainly won’t do major damage. But if you have a sweet tooth, you have to discipline yourself to limit how much sugar you’re ingesting.

6. Be mindful of your alcohol consumption. Apart from the other obvious risks, most alcohols are sugar-heavy.

7. Eat smaller meals more often. This will tend to curb your appetite a little more. If you starve yourself all day, you tend to overeat at dinner. Not a good thing, especially when dinner is generally the highest-calorie meal of the day.

8. Occupy your time. Get yourself a hobby. If you have something that will divert your attention, you’ll have less time to think about food.

9. Switch to healthy foods. Eat raw fruits and vegetables as often as possible. Avoid fried and processed foods. Natural foods will provide you with the fat-burning qualities you need.

10. Be disciplined enough to push yourself away from the table. If you begin to eat a lower-fat diet, you’ll find that you’ll be less satisfied because you’re not ingesting as many of the things that made you full before. If you have to snack periodically, choose foods that are lower in fat and/or carbs.

It may be difficult to make the adjustment at first. But if you stick with it, you’ll see results. Just don’t do anything drastic at first. Slowly begin to tweak your diet and see what works best for you.

Have you ever needed a martini every now and then, and not have the money to go to a expensive bar? Do you know how to make one? Wouldn?t you love to learn and know that you no longer have to leave the comfort of your own home in order to drink a martini?

No need to go to the bar, once you learn how to make them and for cheaper. And perhaps you could even start selling your recipes and make a side income with your new knowledge.

You can buy the shaker and glasses from most stores that sell house hold items. Make sure you keep a good stock for flavors, ice and alcohol. That way you don?t have to worry about not having the ingredients when you want to make them

So what do you need to make that cute little martini that you are dying for? Well you need a few items first. A martini shaker and martini glass are in order for you to make them, along with alcohol.

Don?t forget to ask your guest if they want it Shaken or Stirred? Some like it have it stirred instead of shaken, as they feel that shaken makes it bruised. So be sure to keep that in mind, as you make them.

Try out different types of alcohol and see which ones you prefer. With so many options out their, you may find a brand you like better than the others. Also try to mix flavors together and see where they leads you.

Put the ice in the martini shaker and pour some type vermouth in it. Shake well with ice and pour it into the glass and roll in it the glass to coat it.

Pour gin and whatever you use to flavor them into martini shaker and shake hard to get it mixed and cooled. Pour all of it in martini shaker into the martini glass, including the ice and whatever else you put in it.

Add the extras or garnish you want to add, and enjoy your hard work. You might even host a martini party after you find that perfect martini recipe. After all, one cannot not share a great martini.

Most of all though, you should be able to enjoy your martinis and have fun while making them. Without fun and laughter, they lack a key ingredient to them.

Please drink responsibly when drinking any type of alcohol drinks.

Is rice healthy for you? Many people think that starchy foods like breads, rice and pasta are fattening but in reality they are not. If you add fats like margarine, oil, mayonnaise, cheese sauce or gravy to them, you will be adding many extra calories. Grain products such as bread, cereal, rice, and pasta are good for you as they are important sources of carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.

Rice is the principal food in Asia and most rice is eaten in the country where it is grown and it is the main reason why Asian diets are so low in saturated fat. The finished product of paddy rice is a long black grain that you can find on most grocery store shelves. Asians view rice as the focus of the meal while Americans tend to view rice as a side dish to a meat-centered diet.

Cooking rice is simple; all you have to do is to simmer it until the rice is cooked soft. If you don’t have a rice cooker, you can always use an oven or a pot. Mill-husked rice is more expensive than wholly unpolished rice. You can clearly notice the difference between paddy rice and wild rice during the cooking process.

When you remove the outer inedible husk from a rice grain, you will get the brown rice. Brown rice has a light tan coating which is very nutritious and high in fiber and it is quite chewy and taste like nut. The fiber in brown rice is very useful for controlling the blood sugar level so anyone with diabetes problem should treat brown rice as a staple.

The fiber in brown rice can also help to protect you against colon cancer since fiber binds to cancer-causing chemicals, keeping them away from the cells lining the colon, plus it can help normalize bowel function, reducing constipation. While traditional brown rice requires about 45 minutes of cooking time, quick-fix brown rice is now available that takes only 10 minutes to prepare.