Black Bean Soup

Friday 9 December 2011 5 comments
Eating soups is one of the most comforting foods you can ever eat especially during the colder, winter days as it helps you keep your temperatures at warm. There are a lot of different soups and recipes you can find that match your taste and preference if you want to eat one and most of them can easily be made at home with ingredients fresh from the market.

One of the many exotic soups you can find that is equally delectable and healthy is the black bean soup. This soup is especially poplar in the Latin American region and is made from black turtle bean.

The black turtle bean has a meaty, dense texture and a flavor very similar to that of mushrooms making it a very popular dish among vegetarians. It is used in most Latin American dishes such as Feijoada of Brazil, Moros con Cristianos of Cuba, Gallo Pinto of Costa Rica and Pabellon Criollo of Venezuela.

Black bean soup is a very healthy dish also as it is low on calories yet high on fiber; it contains low cholesterol and saturated fat plus, diabetic people will find comfort knowing that this dish is tagged as diabetic appropriate. So, if you want to eat healthy and would really like to try out this dish, here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of canola oil
1 onion, small, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 cans of 15-ounces black bean, rinsed
3 cups of water
½ cup of prepared salsa, can be store bought or homemade
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lime juice
4 tablespoons sour cream, preferably reduced fat (optional)
2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

What you need to do:


  • Heat the canola oil in a medium sauce pan on a medium-high heat until the sauce pan is hot, but not smoking. Then, add chopped onions and cook them until translucent for about 2-3 minutes.
  • Add chili powder and cumin and keep on cooking for about 1 more minute.
  • Add the beans, salsa, water and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and then simmer for about 10 minutes.
  • Next, remove from heat and add lime juice then stir.
  • Pour half of the mixture into a blender and begin to puree. After attaining a soft creamy texture, pour back to the remaining grainy mixture and serve with sour cream and/or cilantro if desired.

Making Of Pasta

Wednesday 7 December 2011 0 comments
Actually pasta is one of the most common dishes cooked by people all over the world. It is easy to make and loved by almost all people. As you can see both the adults and the children alike are fond of eating pasta. They go out to heir favorite diners like McDonald's and other Italian restaurants and buy their favorite pasta meal. In addition, pasta does not choose gender because both men and women enjoy eating this dish. But you can save yourself from all that trouble of having to go out and buy your pasta meal.

It is important that you know how to make pasta so that whenever there are guests that are coming over your house or your family is in the mood for some Italian cuisines then it will all just be easy for you as long as you have all the ingredients that you need.

First of all, there are many different kinds of pasta. But since Italy is famous for this dish, we often associate this to this country. But even America and China have special pasta dishes. And I believe almost every country has their own ways of making pasta dishes. It is not only Italy that pasta can be found because other countries using their unique sauces also have a special way of making this dish more flavorful. It really depends on the preference of the person or on his mood whether he s in for some pasta marinara, Italiana, Alfredo, Carbonara, Sicilian and many others.

For most people they consider pasta as a staple food because in almost all occasions, you can find this delectable dish on the table. Whether it is your wedding, birthday, thanksgiving and job promotion celebration, you always have pasta as one of the dishes that you are going to prepare. Plus, pasta can be a good source of carbohydrates thus giving you the energy that you need to keep going. Depending on the ingredients that will be used, they can also be a rich source of protein if there are meatballs of course and some nutrients too.

By this time you already know why it is important to know how to make pasta. Sometimes fast food can be really boring. For those who are every particular with food preparation, it is wise that you have an idea on how to make this favorite dish of yours. You can even experiment with it. As long as you have all the ingredients that you need, you can make your very own pasta. Plus, if you can turn it into an outstanding dish, you could even compete with other pasta dishes in restaurants and you will get known for it.

Soup - Add Nutrition In Your Daily Life

0 comments
As a child, when I was unwell or laid up in bed with the cold virus, my mother would insist that I had a bowl of warm thick nutritious soup. It is a great comfort food and maybe it was a placebo effect but I always seem to feel better after a bowl of warm soup. I particularly like having soups on cold bleak winter days. The great thing about soup is that you can make it with whatever food you have in your kitchen and that includes left overs. To make soups with good flavour make sure you have excellent soup stock.

If you are keen to make great soups, you will find thousands of recipes on the Internet or on the bookshelves. There is no great need to have special equipment to make great soups. A chopping board, a sharp knife and a pan is all you need sometimes. A blender will be a useful equipment to get the consistency of your choice.

Soup is international and the taste and ingredients vary. In the Far East lentils are used and although they have different names, it is basically a soup. With globalisation, we are now fortunate to enjoy all these fabulous soups and when making homemade soups, we can now continue to add new items from overseas.

Health experts tell us, we should have five portions of fruits and vegetables a day. Soup is an excellent way to reach your daily target. Fruits with high carbohydrate and fructose level are not the best choice for many. Vegetables, beans, nuts and lentils are recommended by all health professionals and they are the natural choice for soups. Most children are not keen to eat vegetables especially broccoli and other brain foods. In soups, you can add portions of these healthy food items and liquidise the end product and children will have no idea they are enjoying foods they consider yucky.

In the stores today are various soup makers. Some are very expensive but the price has dropped since Cuisinart, a company renown for reliability, joined the market. Now all you need to do is chop up your food items, add your stock to your soup maker and leave it in the soup maker and once completed, you can use the blender option to give your soup the consistency you want. The soup makers available in the shops will blend, cook and maker soup, and the entire process takes about one hour. If time is at a premium, then a soup maker is an excellent choice. It is also a wonderful small equipment in your kitchen if you have small children.

Yummy Tomato Soup

Monday 5 December 2011 0 comments
आवश्यक सामग्री - Ingredients for Tomato Soup

टमाटर - 600 ग्राम
अदरक - 1 इंच लम्बा टुकड़ा
मक्खन - 1 टेबिल स्पून
मटर छिली हुई - आधी छोटी कटोरी
गाजर - आधा कटोरी बारीक कटी हूई
नमक - स्वादानुसार ( 1 छोटी चम्मच )
काली मिर्च - आधा छोटी चम्मच
कोर्न फ्लोर - टेबिल स्पून
क्रीम - 1 टेबिल स्पून


विधि - How to make Tomato Soup

टमाटर को साफ पानी में अच्छी तरह धो लिजिये. अदरक को छील कर धो लीजिये.

टमाटर और अदरक को मिक्सी से बारीक पीस लीजिये.

टमाटर के मिश्रण को किसी बर्तन में भर कर गैस पर रखिये और 8-10 मिनिट तक उबालिये.

उबाले हुये टमाटर के पेस्ट को सूप छानने वाली छलनी में छान लीजिये.

कार्न फ्लोर(स्ट्रार्च) को 2 टेबिल स्पून पानी में घोल लीजिये, गुठलियां न पढ़ने दें. पानी बढ़ा कर 1 कप कर लीजिये( पहले हम कम पानी इस लिये लेते हैं क्यों कि ज्यादा पानी में कार्न फ्लोर घोला जायेगा तो गुठलियां पढ़ने की सम्भावना अधिक रहती है ).

कढ़ाई में मक्खन डाल कर गरम करें. मटर और गाजर डाल कर 3-4 मिनिट तक भूनें, सब्जियां नरम होने पर, कार्न फ्लोर का घोला हुआ पानी, छने हुये टमाटर का सूप, नमक और काली मिर्च डाल दें. आवश्यकतानुसार पानी मिला दीजिये, उबाल आने के बाद 4-5 मिनिट तक पकायें.

टमाटर का सूप तैयार है, गरमा गरम टमाटर का सूप के ऊपर क्रीम डाल कर परोसिये और पीजिये

चार लोगों के लिये.

लगने वाला समय 25 मिनट