juan0505

Annatto seeds One good thing that has always been part of my cooking style was the fact that I could always improvise a meal, by finding what I might have in the refrigerator or freezer, and taking off to prepare myself, (and/or family or friends) a decent, tasty, creation. Last week, when a couple of friends came by, I checked out what I had in the refrigerator and freezer; I came up with this simple, yet delicious, Italian style rice dish. In Italian, Rissotto. Here’s what I came up with: For the Rice 1 cup water 1/3 cup Long Grain Rice 2 Tbls Achiote Oil Achiote is made by boiling 1/4 cup of Annatto seeds in 1/2 cup of Canola Oil for 10 minutes. Strain the seeds out of the mix and discard them. Store the now dark yellow oil in a covered jar and store in your fridge. You need to add only 2 tbls. of oil to the water you boil your rice in and the ensuing golden rice with a marvelous taste will be something you will always make for a rice meal. THE METHOD Preparing the Rice: Put the 1/3rd cup of Rice into the 1/2 cup of H20, to which you’ve added 2 tbls. of the achiote oil. Put it up to a slow boil in your covered pot. It will take about 20 minutes to finish. Meanwhile in your mid-sized Wok, or your favorite pan, put the garlic and onion and begin sauteeing them. When they begin to soften, add the sausage. Continue cooking and occasional stirring of the mix, until the sausage begins to look cooked. (Don’t forget to occasionally stir your rice to prevent it from sticking to your pan.) When the onion, garlic, sausage mix begins to look almost ready, add the tomatoes, (sauce and diced,) the Red Vermouth, the herbs and salt and pepper. Cover the pot after stirring everything together and allow to cook over a medium/low flame for about 20 minutes. By this time your rice should be cooked. While cooking the main dish, keep checking the rice. When all the H20 had been absorbed, it should be done. While waiting for the Rissotto to finish, make a good mixed salad of your favorite veggies. When the rissotto is finished, put the rice into a large bowl. Pour the rissotto over it. Taste to see if you’ve put in enough salt, pepper and herbs. Mix it all together well. Then put a good sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese over it all; place it on your table with a large serving spoon in the bowl and pour everyone a glass of good Italian Chiante. Let everyone dig in. ENJOY! BOOK REVIEW “COOKING NATURALLY” An Evolutionary Gourmet Cuisine of Natural Foods by John R. Calella, who lived and worked in Berkeley. If you’re a vegetarian, or just enjoy having vegetables as part of your diet, you’ll really like this book. Not only does the author talk about gardening, but he also talks about your health and how incorporating veggies into your diet is a way of living a healthy life. In addition to the multitude of recipes dealing with almost all of the vegetables you can think of, the book has a great collection of line drawings. It will probably be difficult for you to find this book, because it was first published in 1978, but if you do find it I think you’ll treasure it.
2008-06-05 10:14:44

pine seeds The fourth-grade students from Pine Hill School recently enjoyed avisit from the Plantmobile, a traveling experimental, educationalprogram that the Mass. Horticultural Society will bring to yourschool. A member of the educational staff presents each programwith a hands-on emphasis to group and individual activities. The goal of the Mass Hort Plantmobile is to strengthenstudents’ observation and analysis skills while learningabout the plant world around them. Since students learn best whiledoing, participants eagerly answered questions and then paired upto inspect, report and analyze their seed and plant specimens.Students learned the connection between flowers, fruits and seedsby dissecting and examining plant material. The experience lasted all day with each fourth-grade classparticipating and enjoying this educational experience. Thismemorable day was brought to the students by the Sherborn GardenClub.
2008-06-05 10:14:12

ajwan seeds NEW DELHI: Wholesale jeera prices fell sharply by Rs 100 perquintal in the national capital on Tuesday on fresh arrivals fromproducing regions.Jeera common and dollar also eased by Rs.100 each at Rs.10,000-10,500 and Rs.10,500-10,600 per quintal respectively on fresharrivals from Rajasthan and Gujarat.Elsewhere, in steady wholesale kirana market here, cloves and poppyseed declined by Rs.10 to Rs 20 per kg on restricted buyingsupport.Cloves shed Rs.10 at Rs.235-290 per kg. Poppy seed varieties suchas Turkey, MP-RAJ and UP were traded lower by Rs.20 each at Rs.475,Rs.480-550 and Rs.430-440 per kg respectively. Market men said sluggish demand against adequate stocks positionattributed to fall in select spices. Lower advices from producingregions and off-marriage season too had negative impact on themarket sentiment, they said.Following were today's quotations (in Rs per quintal):Ajwain 4,200-8,000 Black pepper common 14,900-15,200 Betelnut (kg)95-110, cardamom brown (Jhundiwali) 15,000-15,100 and cardamombrown (Kanchicut) 16,500-20,000.
2008-06-05 10:14:22