Brownie Cuts

Who doesn't love a good, yummy, chocolatey, fudgy brownie?
Sometimes when they are slightly gooey it is a little hard to cut
them- as they stick to your knife and start to break apart.
I've found out that if you use a plastic knife- the brownies don't
stick to the disposable, plastic knife and it glides perfectly.
No more lumpy weird shaped brownies!  woohoo.

What Really Is "Garam Masala"?

Garam masala (gah-RAHM mah-SAH-lah)
is basically a blend of spices.
It is very aromatic and it's most commonly known
in Indian dishes consisting of curries and rice.

There are as many different blends of garam masala
as there are Indian cooks.
Most blends include black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cumin,
coriander, cardamom, dried chilies, mace (not pepper spray)
and nutmeg.

Just Eat The Granola Topping

Home-made granola as a topping or as a healthy snack.
It's always nice to make home-made things mainly because
you can control what is going into it and also because
it is fun?!! 

Ingredients:
1 cup of old fashioned oats (make it multi-grain to make it really healthy)
3/4 - 1 cup of slivered almonds
small handful of craisins & sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of wheat germ (it can be found near the oatmeal)
1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
1/4 cup or several drizzles around the mix of agave nectar
S & P to taste- don't over do the S & P
I like to drizzle a little honey also (honey optional)

Procedure:
Heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all your ingredients together and spoon your mix on
some parchment paper on your flat oven pan.
Bake your granola topping for about 10-12 minutes.

That's it!
These will not be granola bars...
They are more of a topping or large crumbs you can snack on.
Cultivate it, make it your own and add different colored raisins,
other nuts and or add cereal even!

Sausage Sub With The Works

Cut some onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms and saute them up
with a little S & P and garlic powder.
(If you are using salt... don't add garlic salt- add garlic powder.)
Once the veggies are just about done and to your liking...
add a little tomato sauce and mix in the pan.

Once they are cooked... take them out and set them aside in a bowl
or plate.... and then take your favorite sausage link and cut it in half length wise
and grill it on your grill or fry it in the pan until it browns up nicely.
Place the sausage in a hot dog bun or cut some Italian  bread up
and top your sub with the fried vegetables.
Add some hot peppers if you like it spicy.

You can get a really good sausage sub at "Midway" if you dare to go
to Seaside Heights.  If you speak the NY slang if you know what I mean.

Why do bagels have holes?

When you eat a bagel...
Have you ever wondered why there is a hole in the middle?
Why is there a hole?

It's just for the purpose of cooking them evenly.
They were made without the hole waaay back in the day and
found that the center wouldn't cook all the way and
would be doughy... so they made them with holes.
It also became easier for the bakers to transport them to trays
for cooking and delivering them as well.

Buttermilk Has No Butter...

When people hear buttermilk...
They might think ah, milk with lots of creamy butter...
probably tastes good because of the butter but probably
very fattening. This couldn't be further from the truth.

There actually isn't any butter in buttermilk, per se.
Buttermilk is the liquid  that is left after the butter has 
been separated from the milk, often used for making breads. 
Sometimes buttermilk  is also made from cultured milk 
by adding a bacteria to sweet milk. Different but a 
little similar to yogurt.

Buttermilk has less fat than whole milk because the 
fat has been removed. Due to buttermilk having more 
lactic acid than even skim milk- it's often recommended for 
people with digestive problems to drink 
buttermilk rather than regular milk.

A Good Germ

Is there such a thing as a good germ?
Yes, there is. Wheat Germ.  It comes from a very small part
of the wheat kernel. It is one of the most nutritional
food items out there. Wheat germ has 23 nutrients and
is the most nutritious per ounce for any grain or vegetable.

The germ is also the part that germinates and forms into
wheat grass. a.k.a. cat grass. If you go to a smoothie bar-
many times they have power drinks/smoothies
that have the green grass.... that's wheat grass.

 

So what can you do with it? You can incorporate it into
baking cookies, making granola, adding it to your smoothies
and scooping a little into your cereal or even sprinkling a little
on top of your salads instead of croutons.