Once Upon a Time, There Were 10… *

Docking pastry came up on the FOODWINE list this morning. What?? you might ask? That’s what I said. One of the nice gentlemen replied with this (Thanks, Stuart!):

A French guy, a British guy, and a New Yorker are walking through a jungle when, all of a sudden, cannibals appear and take them prisoner.

They are carried to the village and put before the chieftain. He says that they are all going to be skinned and their skins used to make canoes. He also tells them that they will have one last wish.

The French guy goes first and wished for a hand gun so he can shoot himself so he doesn't have to feel the pain of being skinned. The wish is granted, he shouts “Pour France!”, and shoots himself.

The British guy wishes for a sword so he can stab himself before being skinned. The wish is also granted. He shouts “God save the Queen!” and kills himself.

The guy from New York wishes for a fork. All the cannibals are puzzled but the chief grants the wish anyways. So the guy takes the fork, starts stabbing himself, and shouts “Here’s your %$#@ing canoe!!”

*with apologies to Jiminy Cricket

These Cookies Sound Really Good!

How to Bake Lavender and Lemon Cookies

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Lavender and lemon make a delightful combination for homemade cookies. Guests will not be able to resist taking at least two.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon (about 1 gram) dried lavender flowers; must be culinary suitable and chemical-free
  
• 1 cup (227 grams) butter (ensure it is at room temperature)
  
• 2/3 cup (67 grams) sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract
  
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) lemon extract
  
• 1/4 teaspoon (.5 grams) grated, fresh lemon rind (ensure lemon has been well washed)
  
• 2 cups (250 grams) flour (all purpose/plain)
  
• 1/8 teaspoon (.75 gram) salt
  
• Frosting of choice (optional)
  

Steps

1. Grind the lavender flowers. A mortar and pestle is easiest but you can also use a coffee grinder reserved only for food grinding use.
   
2. Cream together ground lavender, butter, sugar, both extracts and the freshly grated lemon rind.
   
3. Add flour and salt.
   
4. Mix the ingredients together. Combine until dough is soft. Add a little extra flour if the dough remains sticky.
   
5. Refrigerate the dough until firm. This may take 1 - 2 hours.
   
6. Preheat the oven to 325ºF (165ºC) before removing dough from the fridge.
   
7. Flour a clean surface, lightly, in preparation for rolling the dough.
   
8. Roll dough out. A quarter of an inch (.635 cm) is an ideal thickness.
   
9. Cut cookies.. You can use a cookie cutter or just make balls.
   
10. Arrange on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
    
11. Bake 12 - 15 minutes. Cookies should only be lightly browned at the edges to retain delicate flavors.
    
12. Remove and cool on wire racks.
    
13. Frost as desired.
    

Tips

• If you have purple food coloring, this can make a delightful complementary frosting for the cookies.
  
• If using fresh lavender, add about twice as much.
  
• If using a mortar and pestle, adding some of the sugar to the lavender may help you grind it finer.
  

Things You'll Need

• Medium mixing bowl
  
• Mixing spoon
  
• Cookie sheet
  
• Parchment or baking paper
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Bake Cookies
  
• How to Dry Your Home Grown Lavender
  
• How to Prune and Harvest Lavender
  
• How to Enjoy a Lemon Italian Ice
  
• How to Make Lemon Pie
  
• How to Make Lemon/Lime Water
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Bake Lavender and Lemon Cookies. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

The Salvation and Downfall of Ireland

How to Celebrate the International Year of the Potato

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

"As wheat and rice prices surge, the humble potato is being rediscovered as a nutritious crop that could cheaply feed an increasingly hungry world."[1]The United Nations declared that 2008 is the International Year of the Potato. The celebration of the International Year of the Potato (IYP) is intended to raise awareness of the importance of the potato, as well as agriculture in general, in addressing issues of global concern, including hunger, poverty and threats to the environment. This article provides some ways for you to join in the celebration of the humble spud.

Steps

1. Learn about the reasons why the potato is an important food crop. The humble potato is being rediscovered as a potentially very useful food crop that can be easily grown in many parts of the world as a source of nutritious food. The benefits of potatoes include:
   
   • Global nature - they have been transported all around the world and are grown almost everywhere
     
   • Ability to feed the hungry - the potato is able to produce more nutritious food per area of land and in harsher environments than any other major food crop, providing “up to 85 percent of the plant is edible human food, compared to around 50% in cereals”.[2]
     
   • Nutritious - potatoes are good for you. They are rich in carbohydrates which provide long-term energy and they have the highest protein content for the root and tuber family, “with an amino-acid pattern that is well matched to human requirements”.[3]
     
   • Increasing future demand - there is an increasing trend in eating potatoes around the world, indicating that potatoes will become more and more important as a substantial food crop.
     
   
   
2. Learn about the different varieties of potatoes. There are many varieties of potatoes and different potatoes are suitable for different uses. There are potatoes suitable for baking, roasting, boiling, mashing, steaming and frying. Ask at your local potato distributor for information on the best types of potato for your cooking needs.
   
3. Learn about the nutrition benefits of the potato. Potatoes have received a lot of bad press from those insisting that potatoes make dieters fat but this bad rap is undeserved. Potatoes are low in fat; it is what you put on a potato can make it fattening but by themselves, potatoes are not a fattening food and can easily satisfy hunger cravings quickly in small portion. Potatoes contain many micronutrients, including vitamin C, iron, B1, B3, B6 and minerals such as potassium, phosphorus and magnesium, and contains folate, pantothenic acid and riboflavin. In addition, potatoes contain valuable dietary fibre and antioxidants to help prevent age-related diseases.[4]
   
4. Note the effects of cooking styles on potato nutrition. The method that you use for cooking potatoes impacts on the nutrition level of the potato.
   
   • Boiling causes a big loss of vitamin C, especially for peeled potatoes
     
   • Frying potatoes and making French fries/chips reduces the mineral and ascorbic acid content and causes the potato to absorb a lot of fat
     
   • Baking causes a higher loss of vitamin C than boiling but retains other vitamins and minerals.[5]
     
   
   
5. Make some potato recipes at home. Get cooking! Almost everyone loves the potato in some form or other and you can put your culinary skills to use cooking potatoes at home. Look for potato recipes on wikiHow and share some of your favourite potato recipes here and with family and friends.
   
6. Grow your own potatoes. Potatoes are really easy to grow and children can also join in the fun of planting them and watching them grow. For more details on growing potatoes for yourself, see our article Plant Potatoes.
   

Tips

• The Bangladesh army is including a 125g potato per member of the army regardless of rank to supplement a decreasing rice diet.[6]
  

Warnings

• The starch in raw potatoes cannot be digested by the human digestive system, so avoid eating potatoes raw.
  
• Avoid potatoes with green skins. The green indicates the presence of glycoalkaloids, which are toxic. These areas are not destroyed by cooking, so cut away green areas prior to cooking or discard entirely green potatoes.
  

Things You'll Need

• Potatoes - different varieties
  
• Resources and information about potatoes
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Plant Potatoes
  
• How to Grow Potatoes in a Wire Cage
  
• How to Bake Potatoes
  
• How to Make Fried Potatoes
  
• How to Make Roast Potatoes
  
• How to Celebrate the International Day for Biodiversity
  
• How to Help Protect Biodiversity
  
• How to Understand the Concept of Biodiversity
  

Sources and Citations

• International Year of the Potato - Official website for IYP
  

1. ↑ IYP, Why Potato?


2. ↑ IYP, Why Potato?


3. ↑ IYP, Why Potato?


4. ↑ IYP, Potatoes, Nutrition and Diet


5. ↑ IYP, Potatoes, Nutrition and Diet


6. ↑ The NZ Herald, Weekend Herald, Let Them Eat Spuds, pB6

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Celebrate the International Year of the Potato. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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Yum!!

How to Select and Use Nutmeg

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Nutmeg [Myristica fragrans] is a sweet-tasting and aromatic spice that has many uses, both savoury and sweet. This article explains some of the ways in which you can make the most of nutmeg in your culinary endeavours.

Steps

1. Understand the makeup of the nutmeg. The nutmeg is the inside part of a yellow fruit from the nutmeg tree, namely the kernel.[1] The ripened fruit splits open to reveal a hard, black nutmeg. This nutmeg is dried for culinary usage. Mace is the inner case of the nutmeg and looks like webbing. Mace has a more delicate taste than nutmeg.
   
2. Select your nutmeg. There are two ways to purchase nutmeg.
   
   • The more common way is to purchase it pre-ground in glass, plastic or cardboard containers for ready sprinkling. Nutmeg purchased in this way should be used quickly to get the best flavour, as the flavour deteriorates over time in contact with the air and aromas of the kitchen.
     
   • The preferred method for the sake of ensuring excellent aromatic, spicy and nutty flavour is to purchase the nutmeg in its whole state.[2] You will need to own a nutmeg grinder/mill or nutmeg grater in order to be able to grate the nutmeg; some companies sell the nutmeg in a makeshift grinder as part of the supermarket or gourmet store sales package. It is better to spend a little and buy a solid, metal nutmeg grinder that will last you a long time, if not a lifetime. Alternatively, you can use a rasp-style grater (such as a Microplane) to grate your nutmeg. Freshly ground nutmeg cannot be beaten; its aroma is heady and the taste spectacular. Whole nutmeg will keep for at least one year.
     
   
   
3. Add nutmeg to savoury dishes. Nutmeg goes well with certain types of savoury dishes:
   
   • Cheese dishes
     
   • Pumpkin - pumpkin soup and mashed pumpkin
     
   • Soups
     
   • Spinach
     
   • Ravioli
     
   • Cannelloni, especially the vegetarian version
     
   • Stews, haggis and sausages
     
   • Middle Eastern curry dishes
     
   • Porridges
     
   
   
4. Add nutmeg to sweet dishes. Again, nutmeg goes well with certain types of sweet dishes:
   
   • Custard, including rhubarb and custard
     
   • Cake, especially spice cakes
     
   • Puddings
     
   • Vanilla pastries
     
   
   
5. Add nutmeg as a drink topper. Nutmeg is ideal for:
   
   • Sprinkling over cappucino or latte froth
     
   • Sprinkling over milkshake froth
     
   • Sprinkling over chai froth
     
   • Adding to milk and soy smoothies
     
   • Adding to eggnog
     
   • Infusing spiced or mulled wine
     
   
   

Tips

• The nutmeg tree is native to the Moluccas (also known as The Spice Islands) and is grown principally in the West Indies.
  
• One whole nutmeg is the equivalent of 2 - 3 teaspoons of ground nutmeg.[3]
  
• Do not mistake nutmeg for a nut - it is a kernel.
  

Warnings

• Avoid using very large quantities of nutmeg (over 2 tablespoons), as it is a hallucinogen and poisonous in large doses. The usual amount for culinary usage, however, will not produce these effects.
  

Some people are very sensitive to nutmeg and even a small amount may induce nausea and vomiting.

Things You'll Need

• Nutmeg mill/grinder or a nutmeg grater
  
• Nutmeg, whole or pre-ground
  
• Recipes using nutmeg
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Make Garam Masala
  
• How to Make Pumpkin Soup
  
• How to Make Vanilla Custard
  
• How to Make a Vanilla Bean Milkshake
  
• How to Make Vanilla Panna Cotta
  
• How to Make Cinnamon Rolls
  

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages, Nutmeg and Mace


2. ↑ A Pinch Of..., All About Nutmeg


3. ↑ The Epicentre, Nutmeg

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Select and Use Nutmeg. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Do NOT Let (Rocket) Scientists In the Kitchen

Chocolate Chip Cookies for Scientists

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Good Eats

On the spine of this month’s Real Simple:

I don’t like gourmet cooking or “this” cooking or “that” cooking. I like good cooking.

-James Beard