Bouillabaisse A Summer Treat

Nothing signifies a good summer meal than the Provencale classic bouillabaisse.It's a delicious blend of spices, and stock. served with toasted bread and aioli. The soup is a relatively easy recipe to make and a perfect way to enjoy the seafood of the season.

This southern French treat was the subject of Mark Bittman's How To Cook Anything column in today's New York Times Dining section. Mr. Bittman is a pro at recipes and he simplifies and walks the reader through the various and sometimes complicated steps.The most important facet about bouillabaisse is getting the stock right. This is the base for the perfect one and it has to be made correctly. Cooks also have to beg their local fish market for not only fish bones but lobster and fish shells. These last two are easy to get if you buy a lot shellfish. Another must is buying a good mix of fish , from scallops to halibut along with clams. Fish should be boned and chopped.

Now here's the tricky part of the dish. Bouillabaisse requires some fancy , expensive ingredients too . These include saffron which can run up to 65 dollars along with the pricey liqueurs of Pernod or pastis. These are fennel tasting drinks that bring out the different meld of fish , spices and vegetables.Can bouillabaisse be made without them. Saffron has a unique taste that is delicious. Without it the treat would just be a fish stew. An alternative is possibly buying the Spanish saffron which all grocery stores  sell.It doesn't quite have the punch of a good one though.As for the liqueurs, possibly add more fennel.The recipe calls for one bulb but you can vary and add a second one to amp up the anise flavor.

Bouillabaisse is a wonderful summer treat. Make it to not only impress family and friends but to introduce them to this deliciousmeld of seafood and spices. It's a great way to celebrate the season.

Vegan Birthdays

What to make for any birthday party can be tough. A vegan birthday is usually ten times as worse. There's no meat along with dairy or eggs. This can make any kind of food from appetizers to cake daunting.Yet surprisingly enough you can create a tasty feast from starters to desserts.

Beans and legumes are a big part of any vegans diet.A fun party treat is a garbanzo bean or white bean hummus. This can be made with several additions such as garlic or lemon along with lime. Have toasted pita cut into triangles for fun dipping. Salsa and guacamole dips can also be made and served with chips or even pretzels.As the party progresses soy or black bean burgers can be served on pitas or egg and dairy free rolls. (look into your local grocery store or make the rolls yourself ). There are even vegan corn dogs which can be served with a variety of dips. A veggie plate may seem cliched but it is the perfect platter and side for any vegan celebration.

The dessert and birthday cake part is the  toughest.Most big cities do have dairy and egg free cakes and cupcakes. They  are usually in tasty flavors like chocolate mint or even cinnamon spice. However if you're far from the big city the Internet  can provide you with enough recipes so there can be celebratory cakes and sweets. Another fun idea is again as cliched as a veggie plate but a fruit platter with  a tangy honey lemon dip can be a lovely way to end a meat free , evening. Also homemade fruit palletas or Mexican Popsicles are a neat way of ending a summer barbecue,

A vegan party is a pretty easy affair to create. It may take some extra planning but you can have the same fun foods as a regular party. The only twist - no animals were harmed .

Nehi An American Classic

Americans love soda s bad as it is for us.It's encoded into our modern DNA. One of the most beloved is Nehi which was a part of American life and snacking for a long time. It also introduced the US ot fruit flavored soft drinks, a departure from Coca Cola.

Nehi first started in 1924, at the height of Prohibition and the Jazz Age. Chero Cola and Union Bottle Works introduced this alternative to cola with the different flavors of grape, root beer, peach and orange. Watermelon and cherry were later added. It hit a low in sales during the Depression but increased in sales during the Second World War. Glamourous celebrities from Hedy Lamarr to Joan Crawford became spokes models pushed it , .The name came from a salesman Claude Hatcher describing a competitor's bottle as being knee high hence the unusual name.It captured people's attention back in the Seventies when MASH character Radar O'Reilly  loved drinking grape NeHi.

Since it's not being mass produced as it once was, Nehi is kind of hard to find. Some sorts around the country do sell it. However fans can also buy it via Amazon and a site called Hometown Favorites. This last offers the drink as low as 79 cents a bottle along with peach and orange flavors along with grape. .Southern candy  stores and sweet shops also sell it and even make ice cream sodas with it. None of the newer sodas compete with it. Unfortunately it's original parent company Royal Crown doesn;t feature it on its' site.

Nehi is one of those American classics that satisfied millions of Americans during the last century.it was a sweet way to pass a summer afternoon or evening.It was a wonderful drink for a time slower than we know today.

Summer Birthdays

Summer birthdays can always be fun. There a reba variety of different ways to celebrate,from an elegant tea to a raucous barbecue. Either way it's good food and drink. Sometimes the best parties are just simple, quiet ones. A lovely Sunday afternoon tea works well.Create an atmosphere of elegance with small finger sandwiches and champagne or sparkling wine. Make easy chicken and ham salads using deviled meats mayo and herbs. These are always crowd pleasers. Other fillings can be cucumber and watercress on white bread. You can also serve shrimp cocktail in little bowls along with salads with a berry infused vinaigrette. Of course there should be a birthday cake but have an airy one. Try a sponge or plain vanilla with whipped cream. Serve with some strawberries and or blueberries. A summer birthday party can be loud and raucous too. There's nothing like a fun barbecue full of good food and drinks. Here you can have themes,from down home to Mexican. You can even go over the top with deep fried turkey or even a roasted suckling pig. Make sure you have enough servings as well as enough time to cook meats this major.On a smaller scale think ribs, steaks and quarter pounders. Fried or barbecued chicken is also fun.Of course there are themed from having Italian heroes to Mexican fajitas. End with a tasty store bought ice cream cake.Some family owned ice-cream parlors cam custom make them with peanut butter or chocolate mint ice-cream . Summer birthday parties can be as low key or as wold as you want.There are so many different ways to go and so many different types of food to serve.Any way is the best way.

Healthy Office Eating

Where's the one place where you can gain the most weight? Your office.Thanks to a combo of boredom, nerves and every kind of food available your cubicle or office becomes a buffet .Unfortunately ,it 's usually the wrong kind,full of sugar and salt not to mention fat and empty calories . How to avoid those workplace pounds? Eat healthy. Saying that is easier than doing it.Any office starts the day off with yummy glazed doughnuts or cream cheese topped bagels.Thera 's usually so e one's birthday or shower to celebrate and that means gooey , rich cake.Forget the lunches or snacks that involve every bad ingredient possible. A healthy way to start the work day is opting for a whole grain or pumpernickel bagel with a low calorie cream cheese if your office has it.Some offices will start their meetings off with these along with fresh fruit and cottage cheese.Have a few pieces with a scoop of the cottage cheese. As for lunches ,opt for light like grilled chicken and salad.Skip the sandwiches and go for the wraps along with again ,fresh fruit. Office snacks and parties will always ruin your waistline. Snack machines offer All sorts of varieties of chips and sweets along with the ubiquitous soda and ice cream machines. The best bet is bringing sandwich baggies of almonds ,fruit chunks and veggie pieces. These will keep you full but without all the extra bad stuff. You can even add some Greek yogurt mixed with lemon or lime along with herbs.This makes a nice dipping sauce and also a great source of calcium.Another great carry along snack is the Back To Nature crackers or cookies.These don't have all those artificial ingredients and less calories.As for birthday parties , think about a wafer thin slice as opposed to a slab.Another idea is one of those fruit arrangements in the shape of a cake.It's just as festive but without all that sugar. Eating healthy at the office can be a tricky job. Yet it can be done with the right foods. You just have to work at it and you'll have healthy workplace eating habits.

Too Many Veggies

The summer gives us some amazing harvests.That means we have endless bushels of tomatoes ,corn and peppers along with anything else veggie.Yet what happens when we over buy or over pick? What can be done with all this bounty. Julia Moskin wondered the same thing in yesterday's New York Times Dining section.She wrote about what happens when there are too many veggies in the kitchen or pantry.Most adults only eat less than half of the produce they buy or harvest themselves. the rest usually rots or gets thrown away.This should not be the case. Cook veggies and then store.They make excellent toppings for pizza or pastas.You can also use them in salads too. How to make veggies fly. Go wild and mix them with oils, salts and butter.These are the ingredients that make peppers and onions tasty for all ages.You can also cook cooked veggies into all sorts of dishes.Ms.Moskin has an excellent recipe for a leek and summer vegetable fritter.This combines healthy combos such as leeks ,as wells carrots and peas in a crunchy buttery fried puff which is served with a lemon cream dip. Another idea is turning cooked veggies into a kind of relish such as caramelized onions mixed with peppers and tomatoes as a topping for burgers. Extra veggies in the fridge? Not to worry .Use them for innovative dishes that will make summer dining fun.It's a great way of eating healthy and fun.

Welcome Sprouts!!!

The New York Times Dining section has a brand new and interesting column called Sprouts.It's all about teaching kids to not only eat healthy but cook healthy as well.The column now written by Elaine Louie will be a godsend to those parents who want to introduce their kids to the love of good food and good cooking. The first article is all about a subject dear to my heart - polenta.This is a tricky food to introduce to kids.Little ones through teens are not always happy with this corm mash because it's too mushy or served with meats and sauces that kids detest.This one is different. The recipe is by the chef of the famed Manhattan restaurant Toqueville,Marco Moreira and his ten year old daughter Francesca.It is an easy recipe that involves a yummy blend of polenta and butter along with Parmesan and topped with a simple pomodoro sauce. Anyone would love this as a dinner or even a simple Saturday lunch. In the upcoming months Sprouts will have interesting interviews with chefs and their children. The focus will not just be on young foodies but also good vegetarian eating with easy recipes.Also cookbook authors and restauranteurs along with their offspring will weigh in with all sorts of dishes and opinions. I like the accompanying recipes that come with Sprouts. They're very kid friendly with a strong emphasis on kitchen safety. Each step tells who should do what , the adult or the child.This is a great way of introducing kids to all aspects of cooking, from prep to the actual process. Sprouts is opening a new chapter in the Dining section history.Elaine Louie recognizes that children need to learn not only how to cook but how to eat healthy.It's a great way of turning the next generation into conscientious foodies.