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The Arabic Food kitchen invites you to read about  10 Random Cooking Tips and Tricks.

1. When it's strawberry season, buy extra to freeze. Freeze them unwashed in zipper bags. They work great in winter time smoothies. Just take several out rinse and cut the top off and plop in the blender with a banana and orange juice.

2. Hate making bacon because of the splatter mess? Make it in the oven. Spray a cookie sheet and line up the bacon. Bake at 375 degrees until almost done. I drain on paper towels and store in the refrigerator in fresh paper towels. You can take out just what you need and microwave them in another paper towel until done.

3. Isn't slicing grapes or cherry tomatoes in half time consuming? Get 2 plastic carton container lids and put them in between the lids. You can then easily slice them in a few strokes between the lids.

4. Like to make pizzas on the grill in the summer? After you make the dough, roll it out into individual serving size pizza rounds. Then, grill lightly on one side. Stack them for guests to top as they wish. Make sure they put sauce and toppings on the grilled side. Put back on the grill to finish.

5. Like steel cut oats, but don't have 30 minutes to wait for it in the morning? Make the recipe with one cup of oats and put it in a container in the refrigerator. Scoop out only what you need each morning and microwave. Works great!

6. Have bananas that are getting too ripe, but no time to make banana bread? Peel them and put them in a plastic zipper bag, getting as much air out as possible, and freeze. They will be ready to go when you have the time to bake.

7. Love chocolate desserts? Visit the grocery or drug stores after a holiday and up seasonal chocolate really inexpensively for great desserts in the future.

8. Don't you love those grocery store rotisserie chickens? I cut the breast meat off the bone for my kids, and save the rest of the chicken in a gallon zipper bag in the freezer. You can put it in a stockpot with water, onion, carrot, celery, poultry season, bay leaf and a little salt and pepper for the start of great chicken noodle soup. There is already a lot of great seasoning that adds to the depth of flavor.

9. Have just a bit of steak, chicken or fish left from a meal? Save it and make a quesadilla appetizer tomorrow for everyone to munch on before dinner, or an after school snack.

10. Make too much icing for those sugar cookies? Put the leftovers into zipper bags and store in the freezer. When you need to decorate a few cookies or write on a cake, you'll have them ready made and in a variety of colors.


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The Arabic Food Recipes kitchen invites you to read this article about Tips on Keeping Food Fresh.

Following are some interesting tips on keeping food items fresh with different applications. Dry storage, refrigeration, pickling, brine, and more.

• If you store half an apple in the container where you are storing a cake, the cake will retain it's freshness longer.
• Cottage cheese will remain fresher longer if you store it upside down in the refrigerator. This slows the effects of oxidation.
• To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water, if it sinks then it is fresh, if it floats to the surface, throw it away.
• To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.
• The best time to harvest fruits and vegetables for maximum flavor is in the morning.
• Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
• Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it.
• What should you do with fruit with mold? Throw it away rather than simply cutting off the mold since mold on fruit goes much deeper than what appears on the fruit.
• Mushrooms should never be soaked in water because they absorb liquid and will become mushy.
• To keep mushrooms from discoloring, squeeze the juice of one quarter lemon onto a paper towel and wipe each cap with the dampened towel, this also helps clean the mushrooms.

Storing Potatoes

• Store potatoes, loosely packed, in a cool dark place. Do not store in the refrigerator.
• Avoid rinsing potatoes before storing.
• Store in a cool, dark, dry place. A root cellar, if you have one, is the best storage option.
• Make sure the temperature in the area is about 45 to 50 degrees F. Don't store potatoes in the refrigerator, or they will become too sweet.
• Avoid storing potatoes with onions because, when close together, they produce gases that spoil both.
• Store potatoes no longer than two months if mature. If they are new, store no longer than one week.
• Check on them occasionally and remove those that have become soft or shriveled, as well as those that have sprouted.

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The Arabic Food Recipes kitchen (The Home of Delicious Arabic Food Recipes) invites you to read about Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Enjoy Arabic food and learn How To Choose Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Extra virgin olive oil -- cold pressed -- first pressed -- unfiltered -- light -- pure -- choosing olive oil has become almost as daunting as choosing wine. The way you want to use the oil determines how you choose the oil. Some olive oils are better for frying and sautéing, while others should be used exclusively for drizzling over a dish seconds before serving.

• Know how you want to use the particular oil. Olive oil can be used for marinades and salad dressings, frying and sautéing and for finishing dishes. The last is when you want only the best oil.

Know your terminology

• In the US, olive oil labels can be misleading. Pure or light oil is actually chemically refined to extract the last possible oil from the olives. Light refers only to flavor, not calories. Oil that is labeled "extra virgin" can be as little as 10% extra virgin oil blended with light or pure!
• "Extra virgin olive oil" is, by definition, cold pressed and first pressed, so don't bother looking for those words on the label. They don't exist on labeling in Italy, and are only used in the US to add to the cost of the oil!
• For the best extra virgin olive oil, look for ones made in Italy, Spain or Greece, which say 100% extra virgin olive oil.

Use different oils for different cooking methods and recipes

• For heavy duty frying or sautéing, use light or pure olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil has a relatively low smoking point, so it cannot be used for those things. Some extra virgin olive oil also has bits of olive pulp in it (this is a good thing!) and those will burn easily.
• For salad dressings and marinades, try virgin oil. It is between extra virgin olive oil and light oil in flavor. If you want a strong olive oil flavor, use extra virgin olive oil in dressings. Be careful blending it with balsamic vinegar! Good balsamic and good extra virgin olive oil will clash. For balsamic vinaigrette, I recommend lighter oils.
• Try extra virgin olive oil as a finish to a dish. By that I mean drizzle a little over a hot-off-the-grill steak that has been rubbed with garlic and pepper, into a bowl of minestrone or pasta fagiole soup, into a pot as you make tomato sauce, over hot cooked broccoli or asparagus or spinach, or onto warm bread. Don't let it actually cook; just enjoy the flavor of it "raw."
• Extra virgin olive oil is also good for dipping bread as in most Italian restaurants these days. In a saucer, combine a clove of crushed garlic (leave it whole, just crush the clove with a knife), a few flakes each of hot pepper and rosemary and a pinch of salt. If you don't like the stronger flavor of extra virgin olive oil, you can do that with lighter oils as well.
• I have had Italians tell me that I am wasting my extra virgin olive oil when I use it to sauté vegetables for pasta sauce, but I do it anyway. It builds layers of flavor into a sauce like nothing else can.

• If you are buying olive oil for health's sake, buy only extra virgin olive oil. The chemicals and heat used to procure lighter oils remove the heart healthy components of olive oil.
• Pay attention to price. The best olive oil is pricey -- and worth every cent -- which is why shops that sell the best allow tasting before purchase.
• Check out the California Olive Oil Council for some great made-in-the-USA olive oils, all grown in California. The same soil that makes for great California wines is the soil preferred by olive trees, and the trees in California are mostly descendants of Spanish varieties planted hundreds of years ago by missionaries. That organization is working to improve labeling and quality standards for olive oil throughout the US, to ensure honesty in what we buy.

Caution:

• Read your labels!
• Pay attention to price!

Quick Tips:

• In gourmet shops, see if you can taste the oil. The best shops will let you!
• Light is olive oil's worst enemy, so the best stuff comes in dark bottles. If it comes in a clear bottle, transfer to a dark one or make sure to store in dark cabinet or corner.
• Keep olive oil away from heat, but do not refrigerate it. Do not store it in the cabinet above the fridge or stove. If buying by the case, store the unopened bottles in a bedroom closet, wine cellar or basement to avoid heat.

Useful Links:
California Olive Oil Council


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The Arabic Food Recipes kitchen (The Home of Delicious Arabic Food Recipes) invites you to read about Halal Food Products. Enjoy Arabic food and learn How To Find Halal Food Products.

Halal is an Arabic term pertaining to anything permissible or lawful in accordance to the Islamic law or Sharia. This includes attitude, behavior, speech, manner, conduct, clothing and dietary laws. However, it is most commonly used to refer to a much narrower context of food regarded as permissible according to Muslim dietary rules.

According to the law of Islam, food can be categorized into halal, meaning permissible, or haram, meaning forbidden. However, a product can sometimes be categorized as mashbooh, meaning doubtful. This includes processed or man-made food, in which further research is needed to distinguish whether it is a halal or haram.

As a rule, in order to find halal food products, you must first know the items to avoid or the haram. These include pork, meat from animals that are not slaughtered according to the Islamic ritual of dhabia, carnivorous animals and birds of prey, land animals without external ears such as snakes and reptiles, animals slaughtered in the name of other gods and not Allah, blood and blood by-products and alcohol and intoxicants. As much as possible, if you want to follow Islamic law, you should also not eat gelatin, enzymes and emulsifiers since their origins are still unknown and are yet to be classified.

But unlike before when the availability of halal products in the market was very limited, Muslims nowadays can enjoy healthy and delicious meals without compromising their beliefs. This is because your favorite foods such pasta, pizza, burgers, etc. can now be halal certified. Now, you need not need mortgage anything just to finance your search for halal products.

Today, it is estimated that the halal market around the world costs US$580 billion, and with the growing percentage of Muslims following the standards of halal food, which is currently at 70%, it is not as difficult as before to find halal food in the market. There are now a number of restaurants offering and serving halal food. Even in non-Muslim countries, it has been a trend to adhere to Islamic dietary laws.

To determine halal products, it is good that you consult a food guide. Halal standards permit poultry, beef and the meat of herbivores for as long as they are butchered and slaughtered correctly. Fish, shellfish and other seafoods are also permitted to be eaten. Fruits, vegetables, juices and natural ingredients and additives such as sugar and honey are also halal.

It has also become easy to identify halal products since they are now labeled when put on sale. Thus, when you buy food in grocery stores, be sure to check for the labels.  When dining in restaurants and eateries, it would be good to first inquire about the ingredients used or request halal ingredients be included in the recipes. You can also check the Internet for stores and restaurants that offer and sell halal products, since there are now increasing efforts to create organizations that can certify food products as halal or provide listings for Muslim consumers.

Furthermore, with increase in demand, many businesses are now catering to Muslim consumers. Even popular fast food chains such as McDonald's, Pizza Hut, KFC, Wendy’s, Burger King, A&W, Dunkin Donuts and a lot more are offering halal foods that adhere to the standards of Islamic dietary standards. 


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The Arabic Food Recipes kitchen (The Home of Delicious Arabic Food Recipes) invites you to read about Olive Oils. Enjoy Arabic food and learn How To Compare Olive Oils.

The inclusion of olive oil in dietary preparations has paved the way for significant reductions in coronary heart disease. Its fatty acid and phenol components have been linked with improved elasticity of arterial walls that lead to enhanced cardiovascular health. Give your heart some loving by learning how to get the best product on the shelves.

• Know your type. Apart from the growing number of manufacturers that fill the market with their products you also have to deal with various olive oil types.
• Plain olive against extra light olive oil is a common match up in store stands. Bear in mind that they have the same calorie content. They have undergone the same kind of processing which involves heating and blending with oils that possess better quality to upgrade culinary benefits. The only difference that these two has lies in color as extra light is provided with a lighter shade via further processing schemes.
• The nutritive value of regular olive oil can receive a slight downfall due to chemical reactions involved. If you want higher quality and better aroma on the table then you have to side with virgin olive oil. Manufacturers utilize the cold press method to bring this variation to the public.
• If you’re the kind of person that likes to be on top of things then an extra virgin olive oil is the thing for your kitchen. It is squeezed from the freshest olive oil in the field via advanced cold pressing techniques. Its flavor and aroma is regarded as the best in the industry.
• Get the best person’s opinion. Talk to a friend or colleague who is used to having olive oil in their food or hygienic regimen. Take note that olive oil has extended benefits. These people can provide you with types and brands that are suitable for your current needs. Make some visits to Internet sites that offer reviews and forums about the product. You will garner precious information regarding the latest trends and news.
• Take some time to flip, pages that is. There are tons of health and lifestyle magazines and publications in stores across your area. Grab one that has received positive remarks from people you trust particularly issues that can contribute in your bid to compare olive oil bunches. Another route that you can take is by subscribing to free newsletters that culinary web pages dish out. These electronically generated emails normally consist of details that will help you brush up on your olive oil know-how.
• The ending makes a difference. Once cold pressing techniques conclude olive oils can be categorized into two. They can either be filtered or unfiltered. The latter is composed of residues that have made their way during the pressing period. This product can be identified due to fragments that reside at the bottom portion of the bottle.
• Learn from experience. The best judge in comparing olive oil product is you. You can try out various brands until you arrive at the one that matches your taste. Make it a point to read labels. Look for markings that indicate the authenticity of the product. You don’t want to be the latest victim of mediocre products.

Make sure to enjoy every bit of your comparing campaign. This will help you fend off confusing times in the market thus allowing you to reach a sound judgment.

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