Tag Archives: tips for cooking

Rice

Tips for Cooking Rice

Tips for Cooking Rice: Rice is cooked in millions of households every day, yet cooking it properly still bedevils many aspiring cooks. Cooking tasty rice can be a simple process, provided you follow a few simple steps.

Use a ratio of 2 cups of water or broth to 1 cup of rice

Too little liquid results in partially cooked rice burnt to the bottom of the pot. Too much liquid, results in gloppy mushy rice.

Always rinse your rice

Before cooking rice, always rinse it. This will make it less sticky and prevent it from clumping together.

Add salt/seasonings to water before adding rice 

Don’t wait until the rice is cooked to add seasoning. This ensures an even flavoring throughout the rice. You can also add other spices like cardamom or cinnamon with the salt. And if you want to be adventurous, substitute coconut milk for water.

Add a splash of oil to your rice to prevent the individual grains from sticking together: For rice that you don’t want to stick together, add a dash of oil or a pat of butter into the cooking liquid. As the rice cooks, it’ll prevent it from sticking together and give you beautiful defined grains.

Rice cooking temperature

Once you add rice to boiling water, reduce heat to low or medium/low heat, stir once or twice, and then cover pot. Check periodically for doneness.

Towel underneath the lid

During the final stages of cooking, place a kitchen towel underneath the lid to absorb any condensation and prevent it from getting mushy. The idea here is that the towel traps the condensation that would otherwise rain back down onto the rice and cause it to get soggy. Just place the towel underneath the lid during the last few minutes of cooking.

Fluff rice with a fork

Just before serving the rice, gently fluff the rice with a fork to separate the grains. And these are you tips for cooking rice.

What are the best seasoning to use with Beef

We all know salt and pepper is all a good steak really needs. Have you ever wondered what other spices are good for cooking beef? Here are some of my favorite seasoning for beef. So lets take a simple grilled steak to the next level and get you a printable cheat sheet for your kitchen!

Bay leaf

Bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used in cooking. It can be whole or ground dried pieces of the plant. It comes from several plants such as: Bay laurel. Fresh or dried bay leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavor and fragrance.

Cayenne seasoning

The cayenne pepper is a type of Capsicum annuum. It is usually a moderately hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes.

Chili

Chili powder (also powdered chili, chile powder or chilli powder) is the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties of chili pepper, sometimes with the addition of other spices (also sometimes known as chili powder blend). It is used as a spice to add pungency or piquancy and flavor to dishes.

Curry

The main spices found in most curry powders of the Indian subcontinent are coriander, cumin, and turmeric. A wide range of additional spices may be included depending on the geographic region and the foods being included (fish, lentils, red or white meat, rice, and vegetables).

Dill

Dill is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus Anethum. Dill is widely grown in Eurasia where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food.

Ginger

Ginger is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems about a meter tall bearing narrow leaf blades.

Mustard

Mustard Powder by OliveNation is crafted by grinding the seeds of the mustard plant. This fine yellow powder has a tangy, mildly hot flavor and is also known as dry mustard or ground mustard.

Paprika

Paprika is a ground spice made from dried red fruits of the larger and sweeter varieties of the plant Capsicum annuum, called bell pepper or sweet pepper. The most common variety used for making paprika is tomato pepper, sometimes with the addition of more pungent varieties, called chili peppers, and cayenne pepper.

Marjoram seasoning

Marjoram is a somewhat cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavors. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted marjoram are used to distinguish it from other plants of the genus Origanum.

Oregano

Oregano is a flowering plant in the mint family. It is native to temperate Western and Southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region. Oregano is a perennial herb, growing from 20–80 cm tall, with opposite leaves 1–4 cm long. The flowers are purple, 3–4 mm long, produced in erect spikes.

Parsley

Parsley or garden parsley is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region, naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as a herb, a spice, and a vegetable.

Rosemary

Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly known as rosemary, is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs.


Thyme

Thyme is an aromatic perennial evergreen herb with culinary, medicinal, and ornamental uses. The most common variety is Thymus vulgaris. Thyme is of the genus Thymus of the mint family, and a relative of the oregano genus Origanum.

10 herbs seasoning that go well with lamb

Best Spices for Lamb: There’s nothing better than a perfectly herbed rack of lamb. If you are new to cooking with herbs or just want a brand new flavor combo to try. Simply combine some my favorites from the list below. 

Basil, also called great basil or Saint-Joseph’s-wort

Basil is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae. This herb is native to tropical regions from central Africa to Southeast Asia. It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide.

Cardamom, sometimes cardamon or cardamum

This a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia.

Most curry powder recipes include coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, and chili peppers in their blends.

Depending on the recipe, additional ingredients such as ginger, garlic, asafoetida, fennel seed. Also caraway, cinnamon, clove, mustard seed, green cardamom, black cardamom, nutmeg, white turmeric. Finally curry leaf, long pepper, and black pepper may also be included.

Dill is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae.

It is the only species in the genus Anethum. Dill is widely grown in Eurasia where its leaves. And seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food.

Mace is made from the lacy, red outer coating

that covers the shell around the nutmeg kernel. Once this coating is removed, it’s dried, and can be found and purchased as whole, golden-orange “blades“, though it’s mostly commonly sold ground. In flavor, mace is very similar to nutmeg, though more subtle and delicate.

Marjoram is a somewhat cold-sensitive perennial herb

Marjoram is undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavors. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted marjoram are used to distinguish it from other plants of the genus Origanum.

Mint: Mentha is a genus of plants in the family Lamiaceae.

It is estimated that 13 to 18 species exist, and the exact distinction between species is still unclear. Hybridization between some of the species occurs naturally. Many other hybrids, as well as numerous cultivars, are known.

Oregano is a flowering plant in the mint family.

It is native to temperate Western and Southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region. Oregano is a perennial herb, growing from 20–80 cm tall, with opposite leaves 1–4 cm long. The flowers are purple, 3–4 mm long, produced in erect spikes.

Paprika is a ground spice made from dried red fruits

The larger and sweeter varieties of the plant Capsicum annuum, called bell pepper or sweet pepper. The most common variety used for making paprika is tomato pepper, sometimes with the addition of more pungent varieties, called chili peppers, and cayenne pepper.

Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly known as rosemary

This spice is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs.


Turmeric is a flowering plant

of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the roots of which are used in cooking.