Archive for December, 2010
Winter is over, spring has sprung, and summer is on its way. It’s the perfect time to take the cover off of the barbecue grill and get grilling. BBQ food is the perfect start to a great summer. As the smells of neighborhood grills begin wafting down the streets of towns all across America, there is a theme that permeates the breeze. Summer is here; it’s time for fun in the sun.
There is nothing that takes me back to my childhood quite like BBQ food. The smells, the flavors, and most importantly, the feeling of quality time spent with family and the knowledge that we are building memories for our children to someday share with their children. If you think about it, you can have BBQ food of some sort, almost any night of the week. As long as you are willing to use your grill, which has the benefit of keeping the heat of cooking on the outside of your home.
Here are some great grilling ideas that will enable you to have BBQ food almost anytime you want.
1) Veggies taste better when cooked on a grill. You can also have fun mixing flavors and seasonings. Kraft had a great idea of butter mix-ins for vegetables, I also like to marinate mine in Italian dressing and grill them in foil packets.
2) Almost any meat you can purchase will taste better cooked on a grill. I even enjoy smoked sausage cooked on a grill with BBQ sauce.
3) Make it a great night by allowing family members to make their own shish kabobs.
4) Have theme nights for your BBQ food, you can do Italian BBQ, Mexican BBQ, Caribbean, be creative and have fun.
The real beauty of BBQ food is that it is an excuse we use to build lasting memories of good times with family and friends. There is no reason we can’t make meal times special each and every day, not just during the summer months.
Whatever your reasons are, you have decided to explore the interesting and exciting world of vegetarianism. If you have been a vegetarian for a while or have been researching about vegetarianism, you might already have some idea of what kind of vegetarian you are or want to be. There are four types:
1. Lacto vegetarians- Their diet consists of no animal products, or eggs, but do include dairy products, such as milk,
cheese, yogurt, etc.
2. Ovo-Vegetarians- Their diet consists of no animal or diary products but will eat eggs.
3. Lacto-ovo vegetarians- As you may have already guessed; don’t include any animal products in their diet but will include
dairy products and eggs.
4. Vegan- Their diet consists of only plant-based foods, which means it excludes everything that has come from an animal, such as meat, dairy, eggs, honey, etc.
If you haven’t decided what kind of vegetarian you would like to be don’t worry! Not everyone knows exactly what kind they want to be at first (I didn’t), but by experimenting and trying different recipes you will figure out what you need and want or don’t need and want.
Becoming a vegetarian can be as easy as you choose to make it. Whether you enjoy preparing delectable, delicious meals or choose quick and easy ones, vegetarian meals can be very satisfying. If you get in the habit of keeping the following on hand, meal preparation time will become a snap:
-Ready-to-eat, whole-grain breakfast cereals, and quick-cooking whole-grain cereals such as oatmeal, whole-grain breads and
crackers, such as rye, whole wheat, and mixed grain and other grains such as barley and bulgur wheat
-Canned beans, such as pinto, black beans, and garbanzo beans
-Rice (including brown, wild, etc.) and pasta (now available in whole wheat, spinach, and other flavors) with tomato sauce and canned beans and/or chopped veggies
-Vegetarian soups like lentil, navy bean, or minestrone
-A wide variety of plain frozen vegetables, and canned and frozen fruit
-Fortified soymilks and soy cheeses, should you choose to not eat dairy
-A wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, which should be the core of any diet
As you learn to experiment with foods and learn that a meatless diet doesn’t have to lack variety, you’ll find your decision for vegetarianism was not only wise, but easy and fun come mealtime.
In addition to some wonderful history, the country of Belgium is “The Beer country”. Bordering France, Luxembourg, Germany and The Netherlands, Belgium is in the heart of Europe. This technologically advanced member of NATO and the EU is truly a beer-lovers haven.
So much so, in fact, that the Belgian Brewer’s Guild boasts that a beer lover could easily enjoy a different beer every day and not have to duplicate his selection for over a year. How’s that for choices, beer lovers?
In a practice that dates back a long time, some of Belgium’s more famous breweries are actually brewed in monasteries. These are called trappiste breweries and are brewed by members of the monastic order. There are five well known trappiste breweries: Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, and Westveltren.
They all produce multiple types of beers with the exception of Orval. They believe that producing a single beer allows them to concentrate on one product and not lose focus by concentrating on multiple beers.
Most breweries produce a “dubble” or “tripple” variety, referring to the strength of the beer which is the result of the fermentation activity. The trappiste beers are bottle conditioned and are often stored in cellars where they can evolve into some wonderful beers with age.
More widely available are the “biere d’abbaye” or “abby beers” that are no longer brewed at the abbeys but have been contracted out to local brewers. The original formula is used by the brewer, but the beers are more plentiful to more modern brewing capabilities.
Recently, Belgian beers and ales have greatly influenced the brewing in America. A few examples of this are typified by Celis Brewery in Austin, Tx., New Belgium of Ft. Collins, Co., North Coast Brewing in Ft. Bragg, Ca., and Unibroue in Quebec.
If you haven’t already tried beers from Belgium, you’re in for a rare treat. After all, it’s not “The Beer Country” for nothing.