Coconut For Coconuts

There is a craze right now that's permeating our cooking and even our beauty habits.It seems we cuckoo for coconuts - in every form.  It's all over these days from flakes to oils, in our best dishes and on our cuticles. Is it too much or does this tropical stunner actually have benefits.

First of all the coconut is not a nut but a drupe, or an offspring with a fleshy outer part covering a seed or pit (think more peaches and plums). The name coco derives from the Portuguese word for skull, thanks to the face like indentations in it sailors who first saw it on their travels were amused by this , hence the name. The meat or the interior white flesh is called copra when dried and used in baking and cooking. The oil and milk from it is used both in food and beauty products. Then there is the coconut water which is everywhere these days.It grows primarily in tropical climates and is not what would be considered domesticated. The meat itself is high in carbs and fat.A one hundred gram serving can yield a whopping 354 calories. with 89% of it being saturated fat. This also applies to coconut oil too which is high in  saturated fat and lauric acid, the last being responsible for raising cholesterol to sky high levels.Ditto for the coconut milk  which is derived from the oil.It is  better to stick with the low calorie , low carb,   coconut water .It also  has a significant amount of  electrolytes  - good for those playing sports.

So is being coconuts for coconuts worth it? The fruit is , for baking and candy making. The copra does have the perfect taste that meshes well with chocolate, vanilla and even lemon cake. As we all know it's a great decoration for Easter cupcakes and holiday meringues.The flakes are also  excellent gracing curries  and other Asian dishes. Again, it's good if you want a splurge  but not  good if you  have it a few times a week.? It also doesn't apply to an Almond Joy or Mounds splurge.then If you do want; a healthy fix of coconut   then try Zola's dark chocolate coconut nuggets instead. What about coconut oil? Health conscious  home chefs could try the one Lou Ana puts out ,The Southern California company makes theirs non -hydrogenated and zero calories which is perfect for any kind of cooking and baking. It also aids in losing weight, speeding up metabolism as well as helping to fend off staph bacteria along with several different kinds of cancer. Coconut oil is  also good for softening cracked heels, cuticles and sun fried hair, Coconut water is another must have.Again Zola, a brand new, sustainable company has different waters that are perfect with a meal or just as a refresher. Also Vita Coca is another good choice with even a newly added cafe latte to drink..

The coconut craze will be wth us for a while. Take what you will from it and use it to benefit your diet and lifestyle. You can go mad for the health aspects of them.

The Perfect Wine Shop

We all  know what makes a good food store. We know it;s a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, good customer service and a welcoming atmosphere. Now what makes a good wine shop? Ask anyone and they'll draw a blank. What does make a liquor store stand out?

The answer was a very good article in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Eric Asimov wrote about it in  his Pour Column and it's worth saving. Many people just walk into their local liquor store and overlook the obvious signs . One , the ambient temperature should be fifty four degrees - the temperature of a wine cellar. If your local wine shop feels a bit too warm , then walk out  and find a moderately cooler one.Also, another bad sign is if the place is flooded with sunlight.  A liquor store should be dark, otherwise  the light can damage the wine,especially if it's in clear or light blue bottles.
Dusty merchandise is also a telling sign, The staff has been lax in upkeep and possible negligent with inventory. Another sign of an attentive sales force. Look at the description listed under the bottles.Staff written ones means they're personally involved and a distinct point of view. They'll also offer you advice on what to  buy  and even offer samples.Buyers should also note if the bottles are laying down or standing up. It's a good sign if they're placed on their side, this way the cork won't dry out  and let in oxygen.This can oxidize the wine.

Mr. Asimov also visits some of the better wines shops across the country. He visits Bay Grape in San Francisco which even has wifi and tables  There are also discussion groups with sales people leading them and teaching shoppers about different types. All of this has made Bay Grape a popular wine shop with a loyal clientele. New York City also has wine shops that are much more. Take Black Label Wine Merchants..Sales clerks will either  engage shoppers in conversations to determine their likes and dislikes or back away from the more distant ones. Some stores even track their shoppers purchases, to better anticipate their next trips to the store as well as help them in the future. Wine shop owner.Vanessa Moore, of Unwined In Alexandria Virginia,trains her staff to recognize customers by name and get to know their tastes. There's also another family aspect  in the sense that she only buys from family wineries. She does change brands frequently  which can turn off devotees of certain wineries. Greenwich Village's Some Good Wine offers wines from places that normally aren't associated with wine making, from the Canary Islands, Corsica and the Czech Republic, thanks to owner Jeremy' Blocks passion for exotic wines.This means his customers can also expand their repertoire too.

A good wine shop has to have several different components to be successful. The bottom line is both the merchandise and the customers  have to be treated special. This translates into a liquor stoe with a long life and a loyal follwing.

Making Your Pasta Blush

Homemade pasta is exciting on its own. It's fun to make and a treat to taste. Now imagine adding color and more depth to it and you have a truly interesting dish.It's easy to do  - and brings lunch or dinner up another notch.

David Tanis experimented this and wrote about it in his  A City Kitchen column in today's New York Times Food section.Handmade or home made pasta is one of the simplest preps ever.It's just a mix of eggs and flour, mixed together and then kneaded to form a thick dough. It's usually then rolled out and cut or put through a pasta machine to be cut into ribbons or sheets.The result is a yellowy spaghetti or fettucini ,a perfect base for a homemade marinara or creamy Alfredo sauce. Yet is it enough? Does it need more?Mr.Tanis believes so and has a number of suggestions. A colored pasta not only zings up the dish but adds another layer of flavor. Green pasta can be made with pureeing fresh spinach or chard to the recipe. It gives the usually eggy tasting dough a garden fresh taste. Herbs, always included in any Italian dish, can be respun into a batch of angel hair .Add parsley , rosemary and sage to any dough for a speckled , light green result  that's perfect for any Spring dinner.Saffron not only gives a rich , golden hue but also a distinct flavor that 's great with any seafood sauce.

The recipe that Mr/ Tanis gives is for a peppery, red pasta, redolent with Hungarian paprika.cayenne and pimenten.It's a rusty looking pasta that he teams up with sweet vegetables. The reason behind this combo is that the two opposite flavors compliment each other,All together there is a heady dose of hot spices in the dough.It's zingy enough  so it needs a mellowness to tame it down a bit. Mr. Tanis pairs it with butternut squash along with pancetta for some meat and saltiness. Ricotta gives the sauce  a creaminess. This could also be reversed and made into a ravioli with the squash mixture inside a hot pepper dough.Another idea is serving it with an arrabiata sauce for sheer heat or with lobster for a spin on seafood version. Today's masterful recipe could also be reversed with a butternut squash pasta and a spicy sauce.It's just as easy to make as the hot pasta, and the result is a lovely orange fettucini or bucatini,if you like red colored pasta without the heat , then try a tomato based  or red pepper based one. The first requires two tablespoons of tomato sauce added while the second just needs a small unseeded pepper. For a scarlet pasta, try adding half a cup of cooked beets.


Pasta doesn't doesn't have to be bland both in taste and in flavor. Whip up a batch of spicy red or Springy green for a different spin on a classic dish.It's fun and colorful.

Churrasco Lovers Rejoice!

For those who love churrasco, that tasty Brazilian barbecue or just meat  lovers in general, there's a great new cookbook  for you to try and enjoy. Churrasco: Grilling The Brazilian Way is chock full of traditional recipes that highlight barbecued beef,lamb and even chicken along with sides. More ambitious home chefs will even love the idea of building their own grill too.

The highly illustrated book (Gibbs Smith Publishers 2016) was written by Evandro Caregnato, creative director for the restaurant chain Texas de Brazil, which has broadened American palates to the delights of hearty gaucho food. Mr. Caregnato was born in  southern Brazil where kids learn how to barbecue early. Many people associate this amazing country with the sexy beaches of Rio or the primitive beauty of the Amazon , but it also has a strong gaucho culture in the country's southernmost province. The churrasco grill was one of the first fast foods , with grills being set up alongside gas stations. Soon sides were being served with the beef and lamb , then other foods such as soups and rolls. The grilled meats comes in many different cuts and they're beautifully portrayed here for novice grillers to note. He explains each one in detail,and how to use them.What is really fun are the how tos for the various grills.They would make an interesting back yard project for any serious home chef.There is the complicated one made with a fifty five gallon steel drum and the much simpler four armed cross spit. These are followed by an entire page of grilling tips that would even be beneficial for an American style barbecue.

The recipes , along with the accompanying photos are downright mouth watering. There is a braised rolled beef, a kind of Brazilian braciole that's actually made in a dutch oven as opposed to on a grill.It's stuffed with bacon, sausage and hard boiled eggs. There are veggies in the form of carrots and scallions and its' marinated in a tomato sauce.Carnivores will love the fire roasted picanha or sirloin cap and beef on a Plow Blade. Grill kings will love the gaucho kebabs which is a mix of chicken, beef sirloin or tenderloin bacon and pork loin fire cooked with squash, keilbasa and peppers.along with the grilled lamb recipe. The cookbook also features a large amount of Northern Italian recipes, not surprising because many Piedmontese and Lombards immigrated there in the late 1800's. There is the chewy thick bucatini with quail sauce , a kind of gamy version of chicken cacciatore.Canneloni lovers will enjoy making spinach ones, this recipe rich with whole cream and Parmesan. Seafood, especially salted cod or bacalhau is almost a national dish in Brazil and there a few recipes featuring it. There's also some yummy dessert ones too, including dulce de leche and chocolate truffles. Mr. Caregnato also throws in the country's national drink the caipiriniha, made with cachaca. the sugar cane derive liqueur.

Churrasco:Grilling The Brazilian Way is an great cookbook for those who love churrasco or want to expand their grilling expertise. Get it to experience a delicious way to cook outdoors.It'll make for an interesting season of splendid open air dining.

Leap Year Leap Foods

Today is truly a special day. February 29th only comes once but every four years. Some people celebrate,  and why not.There's nothing like an extra day of fun eating and feasting. Be creative with tonight's dinner. It won;t come gain until 2020.

Since the theme is all about leaping, think toads - not the real kind - but the British classic toad in the hole.This is a baked dish that features cooked sausages in a Yorkshire pudding base. You can use the traditional English sausage or bangers which have  good dose of breadcrumbs or try it with chicken or turkey sausage. Vegans can add in soy sausage instead. Since four is an important number in thiss, think quarters. You can serve marinated chicken quarters with mixed veggies and potatoes (hence four different kind of vegetables) or a four cheese baked mac or pizza. These last two can have a mix of different cheeses. The pasta dish can be drenched in fontina, ,Parmesan cheddar and even the cheesy Velveeta. Try the pizza not just mozzarella but also with Pecorino and Asiago for bite and Monterey Jack for heat. You could also add four toppings from the veggie artichoke hearts, onions, peppers and spinach to meat - sausage, pepperoni , chicken and bacon. Another fun idea is breakfast for dinner with serving four grain pancakes, chock full of whole wheat, oats and corn meal along with regular refined white flour for the fourth grain.  Serve with butter and brandied maple syrup.

It is a special birthday for those born on this day. After all it only happens every four years so make it a good one. One of the best birthday cakes is a surprise one. Cut a slice and be surprised by the pattern inside, It could be polka dots , stripes or leopard spots. For Leap Year kids celebrating their first second or even third (namely fourth ,eight or twelfth birthdays for the average kid) could have an pinata cake. This is simply baking a round cake , whether vanilla or chocolate and filling it with candy,like M&M's gummy worms, and jelly beans, . When the birthday child slices it open he or she will be agape with joy at what spills out. It can be made for adults too. Bake a devil's food cake and fill with Godiva chocolates or homemade truffles. You can also bake cupcakes in this theme as well. Another special treat is champagne cake, a moist white crumb made with 3/4 of champagne. It's an elegant way to celebrate a day that only comes once every four years.

Leap into a special Leap Year party or birthday with themed recipes and  fun cakes. Celebrate the uniqueness of the day. It's a rare time to have fun.

Healthy Oscar Noshing

Tomorrow night is Oscar night, a time to celebrate the year in film,It's also a time for parties, whether small family ones or large ones with fellow move buffs. Celebrate the way those Hollywood celebs do, with healthy dishes and snacks. It's a great way to nosh as the count down for best picture begins.

Pizza always tops the list of any Oscar party, whether it be the Vanity Fair do or the one in the family living room. Think of the chef to the stars , Wolfgang Puck, when making your own. He introduced the world to such diverse toppings as duck and shiitake mushrooms. Home chefs can easily come up with their own healthy versions. First sub in whole wheat flour  or rice flour for the crust. Just remember that it will not produce a light ,crisp one. It will be a bit dense and chewy.As for the toppings, slice up fresh tomatoes or for a more traditional one, puree them. You can add low fat mozzarella or the soy version. Toppings can be sauteed soy beef crumbles or chicken strips. Add a layer of garlic sauteed spinach or kale. Sprinkle on some mushrooms or just have sliced black olives or onions. You could also use the dough to make fancy and savory toppings. Try caramelized  onions with the cashew cheeses  or a fragrant ratatouille.Sliders are always a fun party dish  and thanks to Gardein, you can have the soy version Serve on whole wheat toast rounds with home made salsa. Have a slide of organic baked potato or sweet potato chips on the side.

Those chips will also be good with a healthy spin on onion dip. Take plain Greek yogurt and mix in some fresh diced onions along with a small pinch of sea salt. Blend thoroughly and serve with the baked chips. Another  fun dip is salsa. Finely chop up two to three (you may want to increase the amount if you have a large Oscar party) vine ripe tomatoes   and blend with finely chopped yellow onions. Bring heat to the party by adding one finely minced jalapeno pepper. Home made dumplings are another good party nosh.Make them healthy by creating whole wheat skins stuffed with shredded cabbage, ginger and carrots. Set them out with little bowls of Kikoman sauce for dipping. Popcorn and movies go hand in hand. Set up bowls of them throughout the viewing area. Have different flavors, from hot pepper to Italian style with a drizzle of rosemary infused oil. Caramel corn is always a good munch and an all natural one is an  easy make. Use melted coconut oil (try the  Lou Ana brand for this) to pop the kernels. More coconut oil i s then boiled with maple syrup, vanilla and sea salt to create the caramel. After this has been cooked it is then poured over the popped corn and tossed. Serve in popcorn boxes for extra fun.

Whether you're rooting for Leo or Eddie, Cate or Brie, sit back and enjoy healthy Oscar noshing. You'll be the winner , enjoying good for you appetizers and snacks. its your ticket to nutrition and nominees.

Paleo Muffins

Muffins are one of the healthiest ways to start off the morning. Well, they were until certain  national coffee chains turned them into sugar and fat bombs. However they can be returned to their original heart healthy goodness with adding all natural ingredients and home baking.Nothing beats a fresh from the oven muffin bursting with benefits..

Julia Moskin realizes this,being an expert home chef and baker,, and wrote about them in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. The paper dropped their breakfast issue then and it was centered on everything AM. Muffins are another aspect of the morning routine. Unfortunately most of the ones eaten are usually purchased through a drive through window and has more sugar than doughnuts and even Twinkies. As Joanne Chang, owner of several Flour bakeries in the Boston area puts it, muffins are nothing more than cake batter poured into muffin tins.How to make them paleo healthy again. By going back to paleo flavorings and ingredients. Instead of using refined white sugar, rely on maple syrup or honey. Make sure there are nuts and whole grains mixed in  Sadly muffin recipes  do need refined white flour in order for the bake to be successful. White flour gives not only taste but lightness.Its' gluten  content also allows the batter to stretch,  rise and give the muffins their rise.. Whole grain is the preferred and it can be varied with the ancient grains of millet, spelt and bran, just to name a few.Buttermilk is the preferred liquid because baking soda needs to be activated by liquid and acid. Try to use newly bought baking soda too . An older one will not give the desired effect.

What else is needed to create the perfect home baked muffin? Ms. Moskin recommends doubling up on the baking soda and baking powder to increase the size of the muffin tops.It also gives the batter a  better chance of rising correctly.Stay away from over beating. Doing such will inhibit leaveners from working. Also ignore that age old advice of not filling up the tins to the top. Do so, but remember to grease the pan's top. This will prevent the muffins from sticking and breaking after they've been cooled.Another old baker' s rule that can be broken is don't rush the batter into the oven directly  after mixing. Resting it allows the grains to soften and absorb the liquids. It produces a  tender crumb and lightness. Baker Chang stores all of her batters overnight in the fridge to get the ultimate best  texture. If you are making muffins are home, just leave the batter on the counter for an hour.Just resist the urge to stir it This will  cause  air bubbles which will expand  cause the baking powder to reactivate and the baking powder to redouble its efforts. This will cause the muffins to have a small or little rise.

Muffins can be both healthy and tasty. The secret is baking them at home, where ingredients can be monitored . Try  making a batch today and enjoy the benefits.