Archive: ‘food’ Category

Milk-free Hot Chocolate And My Favourite Chocolate Cake Recipe

No comments September 6th, 2010

Depending on which hemisphere you live on, the cold season has just finished or it is about to begin. In any case this really doesn’t seem the right moment for a hot chocolate, but do you really need a reason to prepare one? Besides, this one is milk-free, so it is great for lactose intolerant.

Ingredients for four people:
1300ml (2¾ pints) soy milk
16 small marshmallows
350gr (12 oz) dark chocolate
1 pinch of nutmeg

Put the soy milk and the chocolate in a small pan on a low heat until the chocolate has melted and mix well until it is almost boiling, then take off the heat and set aside to five minutes cool.
In the meantime, take four ramekins or small cups and put four marshmallows in each one of them. Pour the hot chocolate and complete with a pinch of nutmeg, or cinnamon or chocolate flakes.
This milk free hot chocolate can become the perfect chocolate for chocolate fountain. Just double the quantities, and use it to fill the bottom container of a chocolate fountain. Dip the marshmallows in the chocolate.

And this one here is one of my favourite chocolate cake recipes.

Ingredients for eight people:
285gr (10 oz) sugar
8 eggs, yolks and whites separated
85gr (3 oz) cocoa powder
100gr (3½ oz) almonds
200gr (7 oz) flour
3 tbsp water or milk
3 tbsp vanilla-flavored sugar

Preheat the oven at 170ºC (338ºF). In a bowl, pour the sugar and the egg yolks and mix them together until foamy. Add cocoa and almonds, one tablespoon at the time, and also some water or milk in case it is too dry. Whip the whites until firm and add them to the egg mix using a wooden spoon, stirring from the bottom up. Lastly add the flour and mix well until smooth.
Pour the mix in a cake tin and bake for about 40 minutes.

If you are tired of baking and want to leave the oven off for a while, here is a recipe you will love: italian dessert tiramisu.

Types of Zojirushi Micom Rice Cooker

No comments September 3rd, 2010

Are you trying to decide which rice cooker is the right one for you? Did you know that these days there is now a bigger selection of top quality Japanese rice cookers on sale in the United States than ever before. So with this greater choice comes a more difficult time knowing which machine you should purchase. Indeed, if you want the best then you should really consider a Zojirushi Micom rice cooker. This style will set you back over $100 and could cost up to about the $400 mark. There are quite a few different machines in this range so it is important to know what the differences are so that you get the best value device.

First of all there are the standard Micom appliances like the best selling Zojirushi NS-LAC05. This one is a 3 cup model. This is one of the other important distinguishing characteristics. There are three different sizes of cooker that you can get. The smallest are the 3 cup units, then there are the 5.5 cup models, followed by the larger 10 cup rice cookers. Zojirushi make Micom machines in these three sizes. Carrying on, Micro Computerized (Micom) rice cookers are controlled by a micro chip that is the “brain” of the machine. When you use one of these cookers you do not have to stir the rice or keep an eye on it in any way. The machine does all the cooking for you.

The biggest jump from regular Micom cookers to a higher level is when you start to consider the Induction Heating range. These machines of course are micro computerized but they also have a sophisticated hi tec heating system that uses a magnetic field instead of a heating element. If you want to get one of these devices it will cost quite a bit more money. They start at around $250. However in my own experience are well worth the extra initial cost. The rice they make tastes better.

Foods that can help you lose belly fat

No comments August 28th, 2010

Just as certain foods can cause us to gain weight there are other foods that we can eat that will actually aid in weight loss, and also help us to lose belly fat. This is because, some types of food, whether it is a fruit or a vegetable, have been proven to burn more calories than they contain, which means you basically are burning calories or helping your body burn calories whenever you eat them.
So, for those who want to know how to lose stomach fat with food, here are some examples:

• Coconuts – These sea faring and travelling nuts are well-known for their hardiness and durability. The tree, itself, is also known to be the tree of wonders because every part can be used in its own way. In weight loss, coconuts have also proven to be effective and that is recommended by most nutritionists since it prevents some diseases. Its water, which is called as coconut water, is known to be quite refreshing and research has proven that it contains more electrolytes than sports drinks do. You can buy coconut milk in most stores and more and more coconut water is being found accessible in the market.

• Cinnamon— Most people they know cinnamon as something that is usually added to the bread to make it tastier and better. However, it is not common knowledge that cinnamon actually does wonders when it comes to losing weight. It’s not only that cinnamon makes the bread and food we eat tastier but it has been proven, along with honey, to do wonders when it comes to weight loss.

Weight loss doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be depriving yourself of the food you love or basically starving yourself. But, in order to lose weight, you must be armed with enough knowledge about the correct types of food and which food are best to eat and which are not supposed to be taken in at all. In order to lose weight and keep on losing weight you need to educate yourself and knowing these two types of food that help in weight loss is the first step towards it. Remember, it is best to know which types of food can be taken in large doses or amounts, and which are better to be eaten seldom, or even never eaten at all.

Step by step, bit by bit, applying all the tips you’ve accumulated and scratching out those that are proven to be ineffective will go long ways when it comes to losing weight.