This guy called Joseph Kony is barely literate and no one had heard of him until 1987 when he launched his so-called Lord’s Resistance Army in the backyards of Gulu in north of the country.

We were told that the guy had been an altar boy in a catholic church in Gulu and he had rebelled against the leaders of the country because they were not leading the country according to the Judaic Ten Commandments.

We were told that his wisdom emanated from God and that he was in touch with God the Almighty.

His military organization preached strict observance of the Ten Commandments. Those who breached the God’s law received merciless retribution that included decapitation, chopping off lips and limbs and being buried alive.

For some reason known to him alone, riding a bicycle on a Friday was punished by smashing the limbs with a hammer.

Attempts to capture Joseph Kony have been futile, perhaps because of his superior spiritual powers. People say, “He sees what we don’t see and he hears what we don’t hear.”

When in December 14, 2008, a combined force of Uganda, South Sudanese and Congolese soldiers made a surprise attack on his camps in the jungles of Garamba National Park, DRC, the rebel leader, together his forces, escaped unhurt. Only his guitar and laptops were found.

Then in retaliation, he went on a murdering spree, killing civilians and more than 800 civilians alone in a crowded catholic church on 25 December 2008.

Kony is now the most feared man in northern Uganda, northeastern DRC, southern Sudan and southeastern CAR.

Can he ever be caught so that peace can come to the affected areas?

The whole world is watching while people die in the hands of these murderous thugs but it is not responding. Would a man like Kony survive this long in the jungles of  Britain or Kosovo? Of course not, but he can survive in Africa because he is killing Africans. Let him hack one or two Europeans or American and the whole world would be at arms shouting barbarian, murderer, killer, blah, blah —-.

Even if the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague has indicted the top brass of the rebels, including Kony himself, the organisation must be assisted to apprehend and bring the rebels to book.

New image in the silence photography contest

Cropped and contrast only.

For any of you who have photographed an LCD screen, you have noticed that it displayed differently, than when you are j …
Silently Chopping photography picture

Well it’s been awhile. My how time flies when you’re not in school.

Thursday I tried to do my chirstmas shopping. But unfortunately I didn’t quite finish. Dang it. Holiday shopping = not fun.

But now I’m home. Upon getting  home friday I set my sights on some candy making. Fudge!

Here it is cooling. OMG, did that take forever!

This fudge was like WAY too sweet to be honest. Makes my teeth hurt. And yet can’t stop eating it.

Yesterday was super busy. First I went and got groceries. My parents were up late doing Operation Red Nose (driving the drunks home.) and these days you have to hit the stores early to avoid the horribleness that is holiday shopping. Plus I LOVE grocery shopping and when I’m home I use my parents money to indulge in a few things I totally wouldn’t on my own.

Then it was off to the Christmas Tree Farm!

Our tree!

We’ll be setting it up later. After the tree hunting (I did the chopping, hard work!) we went to a little coffee chain Cowboy Coffee for some treats.

Raspberry and Pistachio biscotti. This was delicious! Usually I’m sorely disappointed by store made biscotti. But this was really good.
My mom knows about the blog (I don’t know if she reads it) and upon seeing me photographing my treat, pushed hers in front of my camera…

Pumpkin pecan loaf. Also really good (I had to have a bite!). And then so my dad wouldn’t feel left out I snapped a quick shot of his raspberry muffin:

After this I went to meet my friend for a little catch up and shopping. I had a pita from Extreme Pita but I didn’t take a picture. I still didn’t finish my shopping, all I accomplished was getting my self  a hat.

I went for a run last night, which is slightly dangerous as Kamloops is a valley, and I live at the top of the hill, so all the running is up or down. But I was careful, ran in lit places and watched for icy patches. It was so nice to run around and look at the Christmas lights. Made me all warm and fuzzy.

The night ended with a trip out for some fun and dancing. When we left the bar it was snowing! So far I’ve seen snow and sun in Kamloops. Love it! Even the cloudiness seems brighter then Vancouver.

Alright I’m off. I think I need to do some baking. Hmmm, something yummy. I’m honestly leaving to some biscotti… with an orange and cloves plus cinnamon flavour? Hmmm, think I’ll browse the net before I settle on a final plan.

Anyone that spends as much time in the kitchen making curries as us (hello, Indian chefs) will know how irritating cutting onions can be. Uncontrollable tears streaming down your face, itchiness in the eyes, a burning sensation; almost as many tears as in the beginning ten minutes of Pixar’s Up.

Then I tried something remarkably simple to stop the crying and it seems to work – although I’ll be interested to hear if it works for you as well!

When cutting the onion, don’t breathe through your nose – just through your mouth.

Simple as that, give it a go!

Afood processor is a major kitchen appliance found in almost all of the homes as well as the restaurants, hotels. It is a device that helps us completing our tasks more efficiently. A food processor is similar to the mixer-grinder. The difference is that, in a food processor we can do all the odd jobs like shredding, chopping to kneading the flour etc.

friend suggested him to log on to the base or if the bowl isn’t properly fixed to the Toronto appliances and place an order with them. He did it immediately and had a look on the various products displayed by them on the various products displayed by them on the website. He knew my choice very well and he decided to buy a Bosch food processor. Almost all modern food processors have a teen aged son, who has the passion for cooking. Earlier, when my old food processor we can do all the odd jobs like shredding, chopping to kneading the flour etc.

in minutes of time. Today no one have patience as our elders had years ago. All want their work to be done instantly. Food processors play a major role in doing this. Unlike the mixer grinders the food processor came to some inventors when they saw that the chefs are struggling hard from chopping to shredding and all the odd jobs of the week. I got this gift from him on our wedding anniversary itself. Now cooking is done within no time and we can do all the odd jobs like shredding, chopping to kneading the flour etc.

in minutes of time. Today no one have patience as our elders had years ago. All want their work to be done instantly. Food processors play a major kitchen appliance found in almost all of the homes as well as the restaurants, hotels. It is a major kitchen appliance found in almost all of the homes as well as the housewives. They came out in the market. As my old food processor was gone out of order I wanted to go in for a new product for which the name was given as food processor. I got a delightful surprise from him.

Now chopping and shredding, was no more difficult task for me which I was facing from the past few months. And the exciting part is that I got my gift on the various products displayed by them on the website. He knew my choice very well and he decided to buy a Bosch food processor. Almost all modern food processors have safety devices which prevent the motor from operating if the bowl isn’t properly fixed to the bowl. A “pusher” button is provided, sized to slide through the feed tube, protecting fingers.

We should be very clear while buying our home appliances, and should opt for the best. There are varieties of them in the office.

I was asked the other day what I do when I feel angry or upset or frustrated. I thought about it for a moment, then smiled, knowing there could only really be one answer, “You’ll find me in the kitchen.”

And I’m not the only one; even fictional characters know the power of cooking therapy. In Jonathan Carroll’s novel A Ghost in Love, the main character explains to his girlfriend that each time he’s stressed or needs to work through an issue, he picks a complicated recipe to conquer. The act of cooking grounds him, giving him something to focus on. Amen to that!

But why cooking? What’s so engaging about it? Darlin’, it’s not just the cooking part that’s meditative—it’s the whole experience. Everything from chopping to clean-up engages your senses and your awareness. While quickly dicing, you have to keep your ear open for the sizzle of onions and your nose attuned to the potential burning of crostini. You’re forced to develop a keen sense of time and an understanding of everything going on at once. You have to maneuver expertly in a confined space, relying on coordination, precision, and grace. And, if you have guests with you, you better dust off those sparkling conversational skills and throw that in the mix too. The word “multitask” never was so appropriate! Being in the kitchen is like conducting an orchestra, except you’re the one playing all the instruments; but when done with love, a symphony of aromas and flavors emerges.

I retreat into the kitchen for the moving meditation that is cooking. There I find a haven from the uncertainty of life; there my anxiety melts away; there I rediscover my potential and rekindle my faith that everything is going to be okay.

And I also make me some damn good eats.

OK.  I know what you are thinking, and you are right!  I totally had insomnia and got sucked into this “infomercial”…and yes I called!  But I am not even going to bow my head because it was a call that changed my life!!!!  I have never ordered anything from the television prior to the Nicer Dicer, nor since, but this product ROCKS!

I don’t mind cooking, though 9 times out of 10 I will find a short-cut if there is one!  If someone else can do it better than I can why would I re-invent the wheel?  Thus my love for pre-made pie dough, Whole Food’s pizza dough, Trader Joe’s frozen Garlic Cubes…I could go on and on!  Well the only thing about eating fresh and healthy that I frankly think BLOWS is all these darn fruit and veggies have to be peeled, cleaned, chopped or diced.  I think if a recipe called for a bell pepper and you could just drop the whole darn pepper in…well more people would probably eat their veggies.  I HIGHLY DISLIKE chopping and dicing.  I know some of you may find it therapeutic and even relaxing-yeah for you!  I do not!

So two years ago when I saw this infomercial I thought why not?  Guess what, it is the real deal and it rocks!  I am putting this video in so you can see 1st-hand how it works (sorry about the guys annoying accent)!  I have had mine for two years and nothing has cracked, broken-notta!  It really is a work-horse and gets used in our house almost every day!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssNVPIOoRFQ

And this is the only product of this kind I am endorsing!  If you go buy a slap-chop that is your own fault!!!  (NOT THE SAME THING PEOPLE)

Ora cá está, directamente para o Sequencing, o 2º episódio de beatmaking, da autoria deste que vos escreve!

Neste episódio a qualidade de som é pior porque foi gravado com uma câmara foleira mas, por outro lado, vão poder ouvir a minha voz a tentar explicar o que fiz e a dizer anormalidades como “concerto ao vivo”! Esta e muitas outras piadas, apenas no 2º Episódio de Beatmaking videos do Stereo Tipo tipo tipo tipo tipo…..

Paz,

Stereo!

I think the blog post title rather fitting today, because chopping is exactly what I’ve been doing lately. How’s that, one might ask. Well, I’ll tell you. I’ve taken the Hunters for Hire series bible and chopped it up into bite sized pieces. I can just imagine my cohorts cringing in pain at the mere thought, and to be honest, I can totally understand the reaction. However, I’m working on how to carry important notes around with me in the smallest amount of space possible with the easiest way of locating and/or accessing the information I need at any given point in time. Did that make sense? If not, let me try again. I’m breaking it up into much smaller segments, with the files labeled according to what they contain, so I can open up the section required without having to jump around in a 222 page document. For now, I think I’ll load them onto my Sony, but once I manage to talk my way into an iPod Touch, I’ll be using it to store writing notes on.

Why not just put the original file on Red? Well, Red has a small screen and I hate switching between files. My memory isn’t what it used to be since the fibro fogs set in so frequently, so I really need the notes to be on a separate device, which is why I’ve not put them on Red. I managed to get all details and two systems done. Only about 20 systems left to go. :^P It’s a long, tedious process, but it will be worth it in the end. I’ve been needing to do it for quite some time, but I don’t say procrastination is my middle name for nothing. My plan is to have everything handy, lightweight and very organized for the next time I go to B&N and Starbucks to write. That’s the plan anyhow.

The Hunters for Hire bible isn’t the only thing I’m chopping up. I have to type up and organize all my handwritten notes on Project X as well as several other projects I have going and my comprehensive name list. I collect names from everything—books, TV, movies, phonebooks, just hearing someone say a name out in public. I tend to use the same handful and am working hard on expanding my naming horizons.

Another reason to compile, organize and condense the writing notes. The new portable office will only hold so much. I hope to get all of my notes digitized by the time I manage to finaggle my way into an iPod Touch. I want an iPhone, too, and after a long discussion with hubby, I think he finally understands why I want both, not just one or the other. Maybe one day. A girl’s gotta dream about something, right?

Anyhow, I need to get to work on Dagger. I’m determined to write something on it today—anything, really. Once that’s out of the way, I’ll pour more of myself into organizing everything before I start my next project, which will hopefully help the next project go much more smoothly than this last one has. Thems the hopes I have anyhow.

If you read my post yesterday, you know I had 12 guests at my house Saturday night for tacos, perudo and “brie and grape quesadillas!  That’s “Taco Night” with 2 different salsas and 2 different guacamoles – did I say for 12 PEOPLE – 6 of whom were men who eat a LOT!  I think one of them ate 5 “tostada” size tacos….anyway….

I was loading up my cart Saturday afternoon at the market, when I got a text from my son, saying two more of his friends were coming, (that’s what brought the count to 12) so I strolled back to the produce section and grabbed a few more tomatoes and avocados.  Its tough to judge how much to buy when you’re feeding twelve, so I bought about 4 pounds each of the tomatoes and avocados.

Making the salsa is usually the most laborious part of any “Taco Night” – it requires soooo much chopping, between the tomatoes, the onions, the garlic, plus, I like to throw a little cucumber and roasted corn in there.

When I got home and got everything prepped, I looked down at about 30 tomatoes staring back at me and thought….”ugh.”  Then I remembered a little gadget I bought at Williams Sonoma a couple years ago, the “Vegetable Chop & Measure”

the "Vegetable Chop & Measure"

I bought it on a whim, but only used it a couple times.  I don’t find I need any shortcuts when it comes to cutting and chopping, so it ended up in the back of one of my drawers…..BUT, again, as I gazed down at that ga-zillion pounds of tomatoes, garlic and onions, I thought “maybe I could use a little help here”, so I reached for my “chopper”.

I got EVERYTHING chopped in about 3 minutes!

I don’t know if I’m going to use it everyday – like I said chopping isn’t a difficult task for me, but the next time I’m cooking for a crowd – this baby will be my Wingman!

Check out this link to Williams Sonoma – remember, Christmas is right around the corner, if you have any foodie friends and family who might like one!

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/cw369/

Roasted Corn Salsa:

8 vine-ripened tomatoes – chopped
1/2 white or Bermuda onion – finely chopped
1 garlic clove – minced
1 jalapeño pepper – gutted and minced
1 handful ( about a cup) fresh cilantro – chopped
1/2 cucumber – peeled, seeded and chopped
juice from 1/2 lime
1 ear white corn – roasted on the stovetop – kernels removed
Kosher salt, pepper, a dash of cumin and red chili flakes – to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and let it “marry” for about 30 minutes before serving!

salsa with roasted corn

Cá está, em primeira mão para o Sequencing, o primeiro episódio dos vídeos de Beatmaking que vou (tentar) fazer a partir de agora! Eu não disse??? Eu avisei!!!

Pode ser que existam por aí maluquinhos, tipo eu, que ficam 5-10 minutos no youtube a ver um tipo a mexer em botões e a abanar a cabeça. Porém, cortei a minha cabeça no vídeo, mas acreditem em mim quando digo que estava a abanar consideravelmente.

Se quiserem mandar beijinhos ou insultos, mandem-nos para stereotipo.prod@gmail.com, deixem comentário em www.myspace.com/stereotipobeats ou até, vejam só, sigam-me no twitter!

Stereo!

This past weekend I attended my first class at the Central Market Cooking School! Instead of diving head first into group cooking I thought I would start with my technique first. I have to give myself kudos for how far I’ve come with my knife skills in the kitchen. Ever since I received my first set of cutlery as a wedding gift, I have slowly but surely improved. The first hurdle was overcoming the fear. Something about a large, shiny, and deadly object lying in my shaky hands freaked me out just a bit. Prep-time for me was like cooking an entire meal in itself. Needless to say, the simple task of chopping an onion felt like an eternity. Once I was able to grip my knife with confidence I was on my way!

Now, by no means am I anywhere close to chopping like a culinary expert, but I am leaps and bounds better than I was. Along with my new found technique has come a few scary confrontations with my trusty knife; resulting in a little bit of blood and minor yelps. I have to blame my lack of proper instruction on my accidents. So, I set out to learn the right steps before delving any deeper into the culinary world.

First Step: Know Your Knives!

I don’t have a full set of knives, but even with half a set I still only use one or two knives. According to my instructor for the day there are three main pieces to focus on; Chef’s Knife, Paring Knife, and Serrated Knife. I prefer to use a Santuku Knife as my main tool, but it’s definitely a personal preference. Everyone has their own style of cooking. So choose your knives according to your everyday use, and don’t worry, there are plenty to choose from.

Second Step: What not to do with your friendly blades!

I have definitely formed my own bad habits and lazy techniques (hence the reason for the class). For example: don’t grip the end of your knife in a tight fist and just start whacking away, control is the key. Once I learned the proper way to hold my blade I formed a nice red sore at the base of my index finger! Apparently I wasn’t the only person in the class feeling the pain. Once another student brought it up, she was told that she was on her way to culinary expertise! I guess a little discomfort just comes with the territory when learning the ropes of cooking.

The biggest no-no I had to break was the way I sliced an avocado and deseeded a jalapeno.  Apparently it’s bad to hold half of an avocado in your hand, while using your large knife to cut slits vertically and horizontally into the flesh. First things first…put the avocado down on your cutting board and use a parring knife! The awkwardness of cutting with a large blade, only inches away from poking through to the palm of your hands, is not an ideal way to slice an avocado. Now as for jalapenos…same thing…set your jalapeno flat on the cutting board, and using your parring knife (not your chef’s knife), slowly peel away the vein and seeds. Now I’m sure a lot of you are saying, well Sarah did it take a class for you to realize your not suppose to hold your food while cutting? Well, bad habits are easy to form, and unless you are taught a better way…bad habits are usually there to stay.

The fun things I learned!

Along with learning easier ways to cut uniform pieces, I learned some pretty cool ways to cut a bell pepper and tomato. Before, I would just cut the top off of my bell pepper, then flip it over and cut it in half, then remove the stem and seeds with my hand. What was left was a beaten up looking pepper that had an awkward shape; difficult for even cutting. By placing the knife flat on the cutting board and slowly cutting into the side of the flesh, you can roll the pepper away from the knife while continuing to cut into the flesh. What was left was a perfectly “peeled” and cored pepper. The same process can be used to peel a small tomato; no more awkward cutting and squeezing to get the seeds out.

Final Thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed my first cooking class and was able to quickly apply my new techniques to dinner later on that night. If you’re like me and know how to handle a knife, but tend to be a little sloppy in your chopping efforts, I strongly suggest taking a Knife Skills Course. Now, hopefully, my fingers can rest easy, and I can impress with my ability make pretty little even squares from a carrot!

Happy Chopping!

Edith Piaf – La Vie En Rose: There is something about French music that screams cooking to me. When I listen to this song I can feel myself being swept away to the Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, with my big french hat, learning how to cook something fabulous and French. I also have such a fond memory from my trip to Paris, when my friend and I walked through the side streets, purchasing our bread, wine, and meat from the different specialty stores. Listen and let yourself get whisked away!

When I was making the soup below, I discovered a few things about chopping these two types of vegetables that I want to share with you.

Leeks

I’m one of those people who is extremely sensitive to onions and other vegetables in that family.  They make me bawl like a baby.  Today, I realized the same thing applied to leeks.  I guess I’ve never made leeks before!  Usually, when I chop those vegetables, I wear my Onion Goggles . Next time I cook with leeks, I’m definitely donning my goggles.

Potatoes

I come from the Soviet Union, where we are afraid of 3 things:  catching a cold from a draft, rock ‘n roll music and our freshly peeled/cut potatoes turning brown from exposure to air.  I always dump freshly peeled potatoes in a bowl of water to prevent this happening.  But I would never do that with cut potatoes because I don’t want all the starches to leach out of them before I cook them.

So when I chopped my potatoes for soup today waaaaaaay before I would put them in, I figured I was going to be in trouble.  NOPE!  My small potato dice sat out on the cutting board without even a hint of browning for at least 15 minutes.  There you go:  potato browning, old wives’ tale.  Who knew?

I am learning to cook the way French cuisine has traditionally been taught for many years.

Each morning we get to school, squeeze into the locker room to change into our uniforms, grab our notebooks and head upstairs for a 3 hour lesson on principles, theory and technique. After class, we rush downstairs and change back into street clothes for lunch. Then, an hour later it’s back to the locker room, back into uniforms – this time with apron, tea towel and knife roll in hand -  and back up the stairs to set up our workspace so we’re ready when the chef enters the kitchen.

It is a lot of rushing around, but the high energy and excitement in the building is probably good preparation for the hustle of a professional kitchen.

Today was dedicated to basic vegetable cuts: julienne, slicing, mirepoix (which I can do but not say), bouquet garnis, segmenting, brunoise (small dice) and monder/concasse, words which are only used in relation to tomatoes. I got to class early (unheard of) and snagged a seat in the front row.

This afternoon I was excited to put into practice what I had learned a few hours earlier. What made so much sense in the morning was a distant memory by the time I had my hairnet on and my knife in hand. Chef had written the assignment on the kitchen white board, and I had my platter of vegetables ready to go, but my mind was blank. Should the brunoise be 2 mm or 3 mm square (like I’d know the difference!)? Is a mirepoix cut roughly or fine? How many pieces of leek was I supposed to use for the bouquet garni casing?

Nevertheless, 90 minutes – and several side conversations with my kitchenmates later- I had completely the lesson and was proud to call Chef over to review my first plates:

(clockwise l to r) diced onion, mirepoix, bouquet garni, julienne leek, chopped shallot, julienne carrot, potato brunoise, tomato 'petal,' concasse, sliced shallot, chopped parsley, minced garlic.

Orange segments in their juice

I have this wonder tool in my kitchen that I can’t live without. It is portable, easy to clean, and multi-functional. Unlike the one trick ponies of kitchen appliances, this tool will slice, dice, peel, chop, mince and julienne. It takes the eyes out of potatoes, hulls strawberries, slices mushrooms and hard-boiled eggs evenly, scores cucumbers, makes tomatoe rosettes, chocolate curls and so much more. It is my kitchen knife.

If you want to know if a chef is crazy, check out how many kitchen tools and appliances he has. I know. I have a million and I still only use my knife! How crazy is that?!? Those appliances that I purchased throughout the years, in three easy payments, sit in my garage, were garage saled, got freecycled or were donated to charity. Sure, they were nifty. They did their little job pretty well. But they took up space. They needed to be stored, retrieved, cleaned usually by arduous methods and then stored again until the next time called for its chore-specific use.

On the other hand, my knife is convenient. Stores nearby in a tiny space. Cleans easily. And performs a variety of tasks. By relying on it, my knife skills have improved vastly. I could perform open heart, brain or plastic surgery if not for that little nuisance of anesthesia. Oh, and that bleeding part. And the sewing up part. Ah, I guess I should keep my knife skills within the kitchen.

If you ever feel the need to wield your knife, here is a good recipe that calls for a lot of chopping. And no bleeding.

Chopped Avocado Salad

Haas avocados, ripe but not overripe

Roma tomatoes

red onion

hearts of Romaine lettuce

bacon, fried crisp

fresh lemons

salt and pepper, to taste

Peel and dice red onion and place in a mixing bowl. Peel, seed and chop the tomatoes and add to bowl. Peel, seed and chop the avocados. Be sure they are not over- or underripe. Place the avocados in with the onion and tomatoes. Squeeze fresh juice from lemons and pour over the vegetables. Salt and pepper to taste. Gently toss. Chop lettuce and place onto serving dishes. Top with generous portions of chopped avocado salad. Garnish with fried bacon slices or, if you can’t resist using your knife more, chop the bacon, too.

How much of each ingredient? Do I need to tell you everything?!? Use what ratio you prefer. It’s all about what tastes good to you.

 ——-Confession

I’ve only done two crazy and stupid things with my kitchen knife: once, I nearly hacked my middle finger off when I tried to imitate the fast-chopping Chinese chefs on television. The other time, I tried to dig out a brown spot on my palm only to learn much later about skin pigmentation.

Food Hygiene – it’s a topic you probably have heard on televised cooking shows. There is a very good reason to understand the importance of using different chopping boards for different foods. There are some important differences in chopping boards as well, in the materials they are made from.

First, why use different chopping boards for different foods? This is a basic sanitation issue. Any time you cut with a blade, there can be tiny grooves left in the cutting boards. The grooves can harbor germs, and bacteria. It is very important to separate raw from cooked foods, in particular meats and poultry. You should also separate the meat from the poultry. This is accomplished by having several boards available and marked for each particular use.

By cutting raw meat on a board and later using the same board for working with cooked meat, the juices and any bacteria from the raw meat are transferred to the cooked meat, and can cause intestinal problems for the person who then eats that cooked meat. The same is true for raw vegetables. Of course, you would wash the vegetables to rid them of dirt and any contaminants, but with the groove situation and bacteria, you could also transfer the raw vegetable problems to your cooked food.

A far better solution is to purchase several chopping boards. If you have ever watched a certain popular cooking show chef, surely you would have heard him caution regarding the important of using different chopping boards. He mentions the ‘chicken police’ and ‘pork police’, and even has different colored cutting boards for each so they do not get mixed up. This is a great idea you can copy!

You can wash and disinfect chopping boards with soapy warm water, and a light diluted bleach solution. You can re-plane wood boards, and clean with coarse salt. Replace your board when needed. Do not put wood boards into dishwashers or soak them in water. A very light grade food quality mineral oil can be used on wood boards to help keep water out of the grooves.

Second, what about the materials chopping boards are made from? Common kitchen chopping boards are made from wood or plastic. Others are available, made from steel, glass, marble, or corian, but although these may be easier to clean than wood or plastic, they can damage your knife blade edges.

Food Hygiene starts with the importance of using different chopping boards for different foods. It ends with healthy meals and healthy, happy people!

Well it was my birthday on the 10th and I got busy for a while!  So i’m back today to do a post on basic food prep and spice combinations!

Well given that there is a lot of great info out there already about food prep, i’ve compiled a list of links here related to the subject. 

Most food prep involves cutting up veggies and while it may sound easy, there are definitly better ways to go about it. There are different techniques depending on how small you want the pieces to be, the shape you want them to be, and what it is you’re cutting up.  The basics are generally chopping, mincing, dicing, slicing, and julienne. 

First, you’ll want to make sure you have a good cutting board and a large sharp knife.  Here are some links to some of the very basic cutting tasks you’ll need for most every day recipes. The garlic one is really good, I felt liberated when I learned how to do the garlic by whacking it with the side of the knife, no more sitting there trying to peel each little one. I am actually guilty of not using fresh garlic at times because I just didn’t want to mess with it, no more!

How to chop an onion – http://www.ehow.com/how_13796_chop-onion.html

How to peel and mince garlic – http://www.ehow.com/how_13874_peel-mince-garlic.html

How to dice vegetables – http://www.ehow.com/how_13877_dice-vegetables.html

How to chop fresh herbs – http://www.ehow.com/how_13873_chop-fresh-herbs.html

How to Julienne Vegetables – http://www.ehow.com/how_13876_julienne-vegetables.html

Ok, as far as basic food prep goes, i’m really not sure what else people would want to know, if i’ve left something out, feel free to comment on it here and i’ll try to include it in a future post.  Now on to spice combinations, here’s where it gets fun. This is really where you need to experiement to see what suits your own personal taste, but there are some basic ones I can tell you, and i’ll include some of my own personal favorites that I use all the time.

One thing to remember about herbs  if you are using them is when you are using dried herbs use less, they are more potent, add them at the start of cooking. If your are using fresh herbs you add them at the end (10 – 20 minutes left cooking time)  so they keep their fresh flavor. 

Mexican – I use these spices a lot, they are very versatile.  Some mexican spices include cumin, cilantro, chile pepper, garlic, turmeric and onion.

Italian – Also incredibly versatile! Basil, thyme, oregano, sage, garlic, red pepper, fennel.

Asian – Ok, they are all versatile, these will make anything taste great Soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, fish sauce, hot peppers, coconut milk.

These are just to give you an idea about which spices to use for which type of cusine you are trying to achieve.  I wouldn’t use them all together, try to limit it to 3 or 4 different spices in each meal, salt and pepper are extra. Now i’ll give you some examples of combos that I like to use.

Lemon – Well, I love the fresh taste of lemon, it goes great with everything, I use it a lot with fish, either just lemon, onions salt and pepper, or lemon, with tarragon (tarragon is a sweet almost licorice tasting herb that goes well with fish, chicken, and vegetables).  I’ll sometimes make a tarragon cream sauce with fish or chicken and lemon, and serve it over noodles or rice. 

Lemon thyme – Ok well i’m not sure how readily available this one is but i’ve been growing my own for a few years, I love this herb because it goes with everything and includes the fresh lemony taste I love, i’ve used it in pretty much everything. Soups, meats, casseroles, with veggies, rice, even in salad dressings. It tastes like thyme but sweeter, and with a zesty lemony taste.

Turmeric – There is emerging research that says if you eat enough of this it can prevent alzheimers disease, it’s good for your brain.  This is the spice that makes currys and yellow rice dishes yellow.  This is used in many asian, indian, and spanish dishes, it has a subtle warming taste to it that’s hard to describe. By itself it doesn’t seem to taste like much, but leave it out of a recipe and you will notice. Used with fish sauce, garlic, cilantro, and ginger, this will make some amazing asian rice dishes. Used with garlic onion and pimentos, you can make spanish rice.  Lots and lots of other recipes, I have been using this one a lot.

Ginger – I do an amazing marinade with soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, sesame seeds, garlic, and brown sugar that will make everything taste great.  Ginger can be combined with many other spices to create unique flavors, this is a fun one to play with, be carful though, its potent, dried and fresh. This is one that is great in anything from dinner to desert, I have put chopped candied ginger in cookies before with cranberries and it was very good.

Cilantro – I use this a lot, all mexican dishes and fresh salsa of course, but I also love using it in soups, casseroles, rice, and salads.

Well, that’s all I can think of for now, I could go on forever. One last thing i’d like to add is if you can get your hands on fresh herbs, there is nothing like it to improve your cooking. If your put off by the prices at the store, growing your own fresh herbs is easier than you might think, and well worth the trouble. 

Next tuesday, i’ll start sharing some of the best basic recipes that I use everyday and i’ll also be adding recipes from other people’s kitchens. If you have a really good basic recipe, or a quick and easy recipe that uses few ingredients, send it to me and i’ll post it here.  Convo me on my etsy www.jessicac.etsy.com

On the day in question I get stuck late at work and end up rushing around Waitrose on my way home. In my haste, I’m forced to abandon my food mile principles, flinging miniature courgettes from Thailand, garlic from Argentina and New Zealand lamb into my basket. When the clock starts, I have all the mise en place ready. Surely Xanthe would forgive a little sensible planning ahead? Everything has been weighed and measured out.

My spices release little clouds of dust when I open them and the smoked paprika has been languishing (unopened) in my store cupboard since December 2002, but time-poor cooks can’t afford to be fussy. I heat the grill. In go the kofta ingredients into a bowl – lamb, dusty spices, one (large) egg, garlic. The mixture looks alarmingly wet and eggy.

Hands dripping with raw egg and uncooked meat, I throw in more lamb and a spoonful of flour. More rule breaking as I season it with sea salt. Squashing the mixture onto metal skewers - I forgot to buy wooden ones – I pop it onto the griddle which is now smoking angrily. Five minutes and counting.

Double quick, I slice the tomatoes in half but one is black in the middle. Flying across the room, it lands in the bin. On goes the remaining tomato which rapidly starts decomposing (how do Xanthe’s remain so perky?) and the courgettes, which sear at breakneck speed.

Fingers darting madly I turn the poker-hot skewers and airlift the veg onto the chopping board, where I attempt to arrange it with arty abandon. Eight minutes. Next, the hummus. Drained chickpeas from a tin, a dash of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon are thrown into the liquidiser, followed by half a tin of water. The mix looks like a beige swimming pool.

Have I added too much water? Panicking I lose a precious two minutes attacking my kitchen shelves with burglar-like haste trying to find another chickpea tin. And two more minutes ramming it open with a knife as the catch snaps just as it opens. Thirteen minutes.

In goes the whole tin – no point dithering when time is against you. This time the texture is better but the taste needs improving. In go sea salt, another lemon and a dash of tahini. Delicious! Decanting it into a small bowl I place it on the chopping board, alongside the kofta and veg, grab the scissors and scatter mint (unwashed) over the top. Sixteen minutes.

Cooking on a tight deadline is always a messy, panic-laden business, but when my father rings the doorbell at 8pm, bottle of wine under his arm, Xanthe’s lamb skewers with courgettes, tomato and hummus are ready and piping hot, laid out on a wooden chopping board just like the glamorous picture in her book. Other than cheese on toast, scrambled eggs and spaghetti, this is the only meal I have ever given anyone that was cooked in a matter of minutes. My father, though, is feeling anxious.

Video:

With all due respect to link: there