Microwave Ovens: Innovative Models By Alden Jerry

Microwave ovens help in cooking food with remarkable speed. The convection facility in an oven provides a 'airflow' circulation that heats up the food in less time using much less electricity. Cooking in this appliance is a lot faster than conventional methods of cooking as it operates at much lower temperatures. With microwave cooking, nutrient values are preserved and the actual taste of the food remains intact. It also requires a minimum quantity of oil to cook any dish.

Food cooked in this appliance is as nutritious as food cooked in other ways, and studies prove that ovens retain more vitamins, minerals and nutrients than boiling. There are several kinds of microwave ovens in the market. Some renowned brands are Kenwood, Stoves, Panasonic and lots more. Select from the different brands and models and serve your family, friends & guests with tasty, healthy and delicious food.

The microwave oven can help in making food quicker. Today it has taken the important place of cooking appliances at home and is used for reheating, cooking and melting. You can find them in different colours like white, black and silver. Explore the appliance that will give you convenience, features and affordability. They are now more than a handy re-heating option and fulfil quite different roles within different households. Kenwood, Panasonic, Russell Hobbs have introduced excellent microwave ovens for consumers. Each one is capable of providing the cooking requirements of people and is equipped with advanced features to provide more cooking convenience and efficiency.

These available oven models are capable of doing your more basic chores like grilling, roasting and barbecue. They have functions such as Auto Roast, Auto Defrost, Ferment Function, as well as Child Lock to prevent accidental operation by youngsters. There are Grill models in the oven line also that can be used for your frequent grilled food favourites.

Alden Jerry is an expert writer. Visit to know more about best microwave Ovens like Stoves S7-E450MWCOMBI at price comparison shop

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Olive Oil, Your Health, Your Kitchen

This is a good article that I would love to share with you all. I am using olive oil for cooking too and it is great. You should try it.

OLIVE OIL, YOUR HEALTH, YOUR KITCHEN

Extra virgin olive oil has become such a symbol of healthy eating that it is hard to believe that it was once accused of increasing the harmful cholesterol. It was a fat, so it had to be bad for us. Fortunately, we left those times behind and now olive oil and most fats are much better understood.

The main reason olive oil is healthy is because it is rich in healthy monounsaturated fatty acids.About 75% of that monounsaturated fat is oleic acid, which is very stable even at high temperatures. Moreover, our body processes oleic acid easier than other fatty acids.

Secondly, organic extra virgin olive oil also contains high levels of antioxidants like phenols,and vitamins E and A, which fight free radicals and thus prevent premature aging. Those antioxidants help neutralize the oxidation process, which is common to alls fats, and preserve the properties of olive oil too.

So, the fact that olive oil is capable of resisting oxidation at higher temperatures much better than seed oils makes it the safest vegetable oil for frying.

Many in the non-Mediterranean industrialized countries feel uneasy when a Mediterranean recipe calls for frying in olive oil. Frying is an old cooking technique that is very popular in the Mediterranean cuisines. It is as much an integral part of the healthy traditional Mediterranean diet as consuming raw olive oil with bread and salads.

Some olive oil tips for the kitchen.

When heated up, olive oil expands in volume and food absorbs it less than other cooking oils. Therefore, you need a smaller quantity of olive oil.

If it didn't burn in your frying pan, you can reuse olive oil up to three times. Some say even five times, but I personally never use it more than twice.

Olive oil transmits flavors between foods, so never fry meat in olive oil you used to fry fish and vice versa. My grandmother always kept a jar for fish and one for meat next to the olive oil bottle. It is the best way not to get flavors mixed up.

Finally, olive oil looks thicker than other vegetable oils, but this is only appearance as, contrary to popular belief, it has no more calories than sunflower oil, for instance.

Olive oil for your health.

In the 13th century Arnau de Vilanova, doctor of the Catalan royal family, already realized that a moderate intake of olive oil enhanced the vital functions of the body. In the 20th century, the late American doctor, Ancel Keys MD, documented that the olive oil based Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

We see that contemporary research has confirmed what the Mediterranean peoples knew and practiced intuitively all along.

Heart disease is the Achilles' heel of modern societies living at a frantic pace. Since Dr. Keys and his followers realized that we in the Mediterranean have a better cardiovascular health,the first medical studies on olive oil focused mainly on that area.

They proved that olive oil balances the cholesterol levels, can reduce the risk of a heart attack, can play a role in the prevention of arteriosclerosis, and fights high blood pressure.

Later, research was extended to other areas like digestion, cancer, and diabetes. The results have been very positive and olive oil usually comes through with flying colors.

One particular study concluded that with only two tablespoons of virgin olive oil every day you can begin to experience the health benefits that the Mediterranean peoples have enjoyed for so long. Incorporating it naturally into your eating practices is simple.

Integrating olive oil

The easiest way is to get into the habit of drizzling olive oil over slices of bread or toasts, consuming it as a dressing for sandwiches instead of butter, and adding it to salads with some salt.

Wherever you go in the Mediterranean, Morocco, Provence, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, Catalonia, Andalusia, or Majorca, you'll find people eating their own combination of bread and raw olive oil.

As a Catalan I eat pa amb tomaquet, literally bread with tomato, almost every day: as part of my breakfast, as a snack, or, I admit, when I am too lazy to cook dinner. It is the Catalan bruschetta, so to say, and you can prepare it in no time with slices of bread or toasts, both are fine.

Here is the most basic recipe for pa amb tomaquet.Cut a very ripe tomato crosswise, rub the bread with one half on both sides, drizzle olive oil liberally over the bread and sprinkle some salt.

You can eat it plain or add any topping and accompaniment you like: prosciutto-style or cooked ham, cheese, tuna fish, an omelet, anchovies, figs, olives. Even with a chocolate bar at tea or coffee time, it may sound weird, but it is delicious.

Other recipes with raw olive oil are authentic allioli, salads with olive oil dressing, cold sauces like romesco, and sopa de farigola or thyme soup. As the Catalan saying goes: Sopa sense oli no val un dimoni, literally, Soup without oil isn't worth a devil, meaning that a soup with no oil is junk.

Here is the recipe. In a soup pot, bring 2-quart (2 l) water to a boil together with 2 peeled garlic cloves and 2 sprigs thyme. Simmer for 10 minutes and drain. Place 1 or 2 slices of country-style bread on the bottom of each soup bowl, drizzle them liberally with extra virgin olive oil and ladle the soup over it. In the spring and summer this soup is also great with mint instead of thyme.

Recent studies have shown that the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet are not derived from olive oil alone, but from the Mediterranean diet as a whole. So, eat well and enjoy!

© 2007 Núria Roig, mediterranean-food-recipes.com
Author Info:
At Mediterranean Diet Aromas Núria Roig helps you explore delicious Mediterranean recipes, undiscovered Catalan cuisine, and the relaxed Mediterranean lifestyle from the inside.
Visit www.mediterranean-food-recipes.com/olive-oil.html to keep up to date on the fascinating world of the healthy Mediterranean diet and enjoy the visuals.

Briyani Chicken

I am cooking Briyani Chicken today. I am copying the method that I have used to cook the Shitake Mushroom Chicken (which I cooked a few days ago, check it out if you have not read it).

4 tbsp of ready briyani spices (you can get it at the Indian grocery shop)
600 gm of chicken cut into smaller pieces
2 tbsp of cornflour (for starch)
6 inches of cinnamon (break into two pieces)
150 ml water
1 tbsp of ghee
A pinch of salt for taste

Okay... now we marinade our chicken first

Clean the chicken and put 2 tbsp of briyani spices on to the chicken to marinade.
Keep it for half an hour.

Pour the chicken into the claypot.
Add water and 2 tbsp of briyani spices.
Put in the ghee and cinnamon.
Pop it in the microwave oven and cook for 8 minutes.

Put the cornflour into a bowl and add 50ml water. Mix well.
Take out the chicken after 8 minutes and add in the cornflour.
Pop it in the microwave for another 3 minutes.

Now enjoy your lunch.

Serving: 2 pax.

Baked Chicken Wings In Garlic & Honey Sauce

Got a recipe for baked chicken wings yesterday so I manage to cook it for lunch. It was terrific. Please do give it a try if you are in for chicken wings.

Ingredients:

10 chicken wings
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp chopped shallot
1 tbsp honey

Marinade:
1 tsp chopped garlic, shallot and grated ginger respectively
1 tsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp light soya sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp corn flour
A pinch of pepper

Method:
Rince and drain chicken wings. Put in marinade ingredient to marinade for about 15 minutes
Place the chicken wings on in the claypot and brush with oil.
Pop it in the microwave and cook for 5 minutes
Turn the chicken wings and brush with honey
Pop it in the microwave and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serving: 2-3 pax

p/s: Normally I like to marinade my chicken wings overnight to have better taste!

Shitake Mushroom Chicken

I have just put a few ingredients together and cook it. Lovely.

Ingredients:

600 grams of chicken, chopped it into smaller size
4 shitake mushrooms, slice it into small slices
4 tbsp of light soya sause
A pinch of white pepper
400 ml of shitake mushroom broth
2 1/2 tbsp of corn flour, mixed it in 50ml mushroom broth


Put it all in a claypot and pop it in the microwave oven. Boil for 7 minutes.
Then take it out and stir it and put it back in the microwave oven for another 2 minutes.
Take the claypot out and pour the mixture of corn flour and mushroom broth in.
Pop it in for another 2 minutes and you are done.

Lovely dish to serve 3 pax.