Barley Risotto With Shrimp

Ingredients:
1/2 cup barley
3 cups chicken stock (substitute any stock)
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 cup minced onions
1/4 of small shrimp
1/2 TBS grated lemon zest
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
salt, pepper and grated Parmesan cheese to taste
you can top some cut scallions for a garnish

Procedure:
It's best to let the barley soak in cold water over night.
Bring the stock to a boil in a pan.
Heat oil in a pan and let the onions sweat (about 5 min. or so)
Stir in the barley when onions are cooked-
pour 1/2 of the stock in the pan to let the barley cook,
and then pour the rest of the stock until the stock pretty much
evaporates and the barley is soft.
Stir in the shrimp when the stock is almost evaporated
and when the shrimp is pink (cooked)
add your lemon zest, salt, pepper and Parmesan Cheese.

Oat.

Whether you want instant or whole oats for your oatmeal-
oats are good for you.

Oat bran... bran being the outer casing of the oats is known to
lower bad cholesterol.

Oats are known to take longer digesting- resulting
in keeping  our stomachs fuller for a little longer
than other grains such as rye or barley.

Oat straw is known to be used by cattle farmers as
bedding because it is usually softer and more dust free.

Oat extract is also known to soothe certain skin
conditions and used in many Aveeno products.


The oat grains are de-husked, heated and cooled to stabilize the
"Oat groats"- the seed inside the husk to make the oats we are
more familiar with like Quaker Oats or any type of oats ready
for your oatmeal. You can purchase instant oats which are
processed and broken down more but are very easy to microwave
or you can purchase whole oats that aren't broken down as much.
Either way... have fun with them- add some fruit,
jelly and nuts to your oatmeal.

 To make whole oats on the stove you can... take
1 TBS butter
1 cup of whole oats
3 cups of boiling water
1/2 cup whole milk
1 TBS brown sugar (substitute an apple by grating about 1/4 of the apple)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
stir all the ingredients on the stove until oats get soft and cooked

You can also make oatmeal cookies with craisins.

2 1/2 cups of uncooked oats
1 cup flour (if you can, sift it)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup softened butter (not heated or melted) room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar (substitute Splenda)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup of craisins (dried cranberries)
or you can do 1/2 and 1/2 of craisins and raisins
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until brown at the top

Jimmy Johns

The Jimmy John's franchise has made it's way to King of Prussia and Conshohocken.

JJ serves delicious gourmet sandwiches that for the price, quantity of food, and quality, should be putting Subway out of business any day now. My current recommendation is the #9, Italian Night Club with a bag of their BBQ chips.

As their slogan says, they are definitely freaky fast and freaky good!

What I like about the store is that it offers a young, hip atmosphere, yet, seems to fit in better in college towns. Regardless, it takes me to a more fun and more cool place, so I like it.

Bottom Line.. If you combine great food, in a fun atmosphere, and at a nice price, I'm a repeat customer for life.

http://www.jimmyjohns.com

*While Lee's Hoagies has been around the Philadelphia area for longer than JJ's, I've only recently discovered it. I haven't dared to venture too far down JJ's sandwich menu because the #9 is so tasty and so after a request I'm wondering if I should conduct a taste test.

Capogiro Gelato Artisans in Philly

Capogiro's is located on...
---119 South 13th Street,
---117 South 29th Street,
---3925 Walnut Street and
---1625 East Passyunk Avenue
all in Philadelphia, PA

Capogiro Gelato Artisans (www.capogirogelato.com)
is owned by Stephanie and John Reitano.
They were inspired on a trip to Italy and realized
there wasn't much gelato being served on the USA.

Capogiro makes 27 different flavors of gelato each and
every morning. Gelato being Italian ice cream.
Their ingredients come from local Pennsylvania farmers
who hand pick their produce and the cows are grass fed and
hormone free. You can ask for a sample of any flavor before
deciding which one you want that day. Some of the flavors are:
Champagne Mango, Dulce De Leche,
Macadamia Nut, Pistacchio Siciliano, Tiramisu,  
Caribbean Sunrise Papaya, Lime with Cilantro, Wild Flower Honey- 
just to name a few. It's a little pricey but worth the treat here and now.

Brown.... Ah! Use A Splash Of Citrus But SPRAY!

Sometimes you come across a time when you
need to cut apples or some pears ahead of time and you
want to prevent them from turning brown...

Many of us already know about how the acid in citrus fruits
like lemon help keep the apples fresher and from turning brown-




I've got 2 tips for you...
depending on what the fruit is for...
you might not want a lemony flavor on your apples
so instead of using lemon juice, you can also use a lemon-lime
soda which won't leave the lemony taste
and tip 2 is to have the lemon juice in a small spray
bottle and just simply spray or mist your apples, pears,
avocados and even lettuce for a salad. The light lemon mist
will keep your salad and fruit fresher!
If you squeeze fresh lemons into a cup and pour it into
your sprayer... the fresh lemon juice will keep for
2-3 weeks in the refrigerator!

​
Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

How Much Have You Paid For Pajeon ?

Pajeon.....the "pa" prounounced "pah" for the Korean word scallions
and "jeon" pronounced "jun" meaning battered ingredients
Pajeon is a Korean style pancake that is usually eaten as a snack
or as an appetizer in restaurants.

How much have you paid for Pajeon?....
this dish that has really HIGH profit margins.

Korean style pancakes go for these prices...
$6.95, $10.95, $12.95, $17 and $18.95

You can easily make these pancakes at home with the recipe below.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups water
2 eggs
1 bunch scallions
shredded carrots (optional)
veggie oil to fry
S & P (salt & pepper) to taste

to make Hae-Mul (seafood) pajeon...
just add 1 cup of oysters
1 cup chopped fresh clams
1 cup of baby shrimp or larger shrimp cut into pieces
(try to use the baby shrimp tho)

Procedure:
Cut scallions about 1-2 inch long and mix with
all the other ingredients. Drizzle a little veggie oil in your pan
and ladle the mix into a big circle filling your whole frying pan.
After the one side cooks and you see the flour start to brown and
get a little crispy- use your flipping skills and flip the pajeon over.
Cook until it gets crispy. The skill is flipping the whole pancake
over without it breaking and having the pancake not too thick.
That's it! Don't pay $12-$15 for it.
Order something that isn't so easy to make at home.

A good dipping sauce for Pajeon is...
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 TBS on white vinegar
1 stalk of minced scallion
1 glove of grated garlic
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp of sugar or Splenda
sprinkle of sesame seeds

Roast Your Capsicum Annuum

Fancy name for bell peppers...
Eating vegetables fresh is great but,
sometimes you can do things to bring out more flavor
and of course have a little fun with it.

Roasting bell peppers separates the tough skin and brings out the
pepper's flavor by basically bringing out it's natural sugars.

You can use roasted peppers to top pizzas and salads, or add them to
Mediterranean-style sauces, make relishes, salsas for breads....
and that's only a few things you can do with them.

How can I roast bell peppers you ask.... ?

OVEN style
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Cut your peppers in half, place on a baking sheet and
drizzle a little olive oil on them
roast for 30 minutes turning a few times while roasting...
I like to turn it to broil for the last 5-7 minutes
to get a little char on it.
After you take the peppers out of the oven
you want to throw the peppers into a plastic zip lock bag
or container to keep the heat in and let them sweat in the sauna
for about 10 minutes or so.
The peppers being in a sauna will really let their skins loose.


GRILL style
Turn your grill on and throw the peppers that you cut in half- right on the grill grates.... again, drizzle some olive oil and cook until the peppers are tender and a little charred. Again, you want to let them sweat in a bag or container... cutting them into slices and throwing them into the container you want to store them is the easiest.
You can keep roasted peppers in the refrigerator
for about a week and in the freezer for about a month...