Cooking tips and resources

Ever wish you could head into the kitchen and whip up a delicious dinner? The good news is that if you've read this far, you'll have no problem at all — because if you can read, you can cook! The trick is knowing some kitchen basics, what kinds of recipes are best, and where to find inspiration for making mouth-watering meals. Read on for some ideas about how to get started.

Kitchen 101: The Basics

Even world-class chefs have to start somewhere. Here are some basic tips for getting off on the right foot in the kitchen.

• Choose recipes that aren't too complicated when you first start cooking. You don't want to be overwhelmed by a recipe that has unusual ingredients or difficult steps, or that is time consuming. Try one- or two-pot dishes, and be sure to check out our recipe section for some simple meal ideas.
• Read the recipe through from beginning to end before you start. Do you have all the right ingredients? Utensils? Appliances?
• Make sure you understand all the directions.
• Check the clock and make sure you have enough time to make the recipe. You don't want to spend tons of time in the kitchen — and with the right recipe, you won't need to. If you have to get dinner on the table by a certain time, figure out when you'll need to start in order to have the meal ready. Most recipe instructions include the amount of time it takes to prepare the dish. It might be a good idea to add 10 or 15 minutes to that time when you first try to conquer the kitchen — just to be on the safe side.
• Assemble all your ingredients in one place before you start. Some chefs like to measure out each ingredient ahead of time before cooking. Pull out the utensils, measuring cups, and spoons you'll be using and keep them handy so you won't need to run all over the kitchen.
• An apron is a good idea if you want to keep your clothes from getting dirty. (You can skip the chef's hat, but it's smart to tie back long hair.)
• Always wash your hands with warm water and soap before any kind of food preparation. You may need to wash your hands several times as you cook, especially after touching raw meat, poultry (chicken and turkey), fish, and egg products.
• Never put cooked or ready-to-serve foods on plates, cutting boards, counters, or other surfaces where you have placed raw meat, poultry, fish, or egg products without first washing these surfaces with hot, soapy water.

Articles

Eating well-done meat doubles your risk of developing bladder cancer

(NaturalNews) You may want to think twice about cooking that meat well-done, according to a new study out of the University of Texas. Researchers there have found that charring meat by frying, barbecuing or otherwise heavily cooking it can lead to the formation of cancer-causing chemicals in the meat.

The study explains that people who eat well-done meat double their risk of developing bladder cancer when compared to people who eat meat on the rarer end of the spectrum. This is due primarily to the heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that form when meat is cooked at very high heat.

Researchers found that three different HCA chemicals form during high-heat cooking that, collectively, raise a person's cancer risk by more than 250 percent. And in people who are genetically predisposed to developing the disease from the meat, the risk jumps nearly 500 percent.

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has identified a total of 17 different HCAs that contribute to causing cancer, and prior research has already established that these char-induced chemicals increase pancreatic cancer risk. But now it appears that they contribute to bladder cancer as well.

The study sheds further light on the direct correlation between the foods we eat and our overall level of health.

"This research reinforces the relationship between diet and cancer," explained Professor Xifeng Wu, lead author of the study, to the American Association for Cancer Research.

The study team made very clear in its report that meat itself is not necessarily the culprit in increasing cancer risk, but rather the intense cooking methods by which it is prepared. And it is not just charred red meat - chicken, pork and even fish cooked heavily may also form cancer-causing HCAs.

Researchers did point out, however, that eating red and processed meat can increase one's risk of developing bowel cancer. But no distinction was made between grass-fed and grain-fed meat and whether or not animal husbandry methods play a role in the health factors of meat, so it is best to investigate this matter for yourself.

According to the U.K. Food Standards Agency, keeping meat away from direct flames when barbecuing or grilling it will help to reduce the development of HCAs and lower one's risk of developing cancer. Slow-cooking meat is another way to inhibit HCS formation.

Tips

APPLES
When cooking fresh apples for pies or sauces, the yield is about 50%.

1 pound raw = 1/2 pound cooked.

Apples absorb odors. They emit ethylene gas, which causes other fruit to ripen quicker.

Store apples at 35 degrees F, 80% humidity to prevent dehydration.

Use tart apples for apple pie.

Apples, pears and potatoes dropped in cold, lightly salted water as they are peeled will retain their color.

Manti

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

• 250 gr ground meat
• 1 large onion (chopped in very small pieces)
• Salt and black pepper

Yogurt Sauce 1:

• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Red Pepper Sauce 2:

• 6-7 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons red pepper ( hot or mild, its up to you)

Method:

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, water, egg, olive oil and salt.
2. Knead them very well until the dough is formed. The dough should be smooth and not sticky. If you feel it is sticky, add a little bit more flour.
3. Cover the bowl with some plastic wrap and let stand at cool room temperature for an hour.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a medium bowl, put onions, meat, salt and black pepper. Knead them together for one minute (do not cook.)
5. Lightly dust a work surface and a rolling pin with flour. Divide the dough into 4 equal balls. Roll out each ball into sheets as thin as you can roll out, but be careful don't tear it.
6. Cut each sheet into squares of about 1.5"x1.5".Put a very small piece of filling at the center of each square. Continue until the dough is finished.
7. As you see below, bring the opposite corners together and make a triangle or, fold them to make a rectangle. Both works fine. Press the sides firmly. (Don't forget to hide your chickpeas for the game. :)
8. Bring two of the adjacent corners together as shown in the picture.
9. In a large pot, boil the water and add a little bit salt, olive oil. Add Manti and stir. Cook for about 15 minutes. Please check while cooking. Don't overcook.
10. Meanwhile, prepare the sauces. Firstly, in a small bowl, grate cloves of garlic and add yogurt, water, salt. Stir them together. Secondly, in a separate sauce pan add olive oil and red pepper, stir together and cook them only for half a minute.
11. When Manti is ready, you can drain well or not, the way you like, it is up to you.
12. Serve warm with yogurt sauce and red sauce.

Baklava

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
• 1 pound chopped nuts
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
2. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
3. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
4. Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Bamya

Muhalabia

Maqloubah

Betresh Hamwee

Mshakal Mashawey

Arayes Lahmeh

Fatayer