Six Neat Things

You know whats neat? I don’t know this from personal experience, but I hear that nutritional supplements give you energy, and that’s neat. It’s particularly neat, because I’m tired, and I still have lots to do. I know from personal experience that coffee and chocolate are energizing, and they taste better. I also have them right here in the house with me. Hmmm.

Of course, one might also argue on the side of adequate sleep for energizing one.

This post brought to you by the number 24 (hours in my day) and the letter t, o and o (much to do).

Today’s neat thing is for people who cook, and also for people who shop for food. And quite possible for people who eat, and I think that covers just about everybody, doesn’t it? It’s chefs.com recipes! The front pageof this site is a winner. You’ve got your whole grain goodies (and they do look good), your veggies (including a stir-fry) and your staples (mac and cheese!!) right there. And at the bottom, links to the recipes people search for most often.

I really like the expandable menus in the sidebar. You can see it all at a glance, but you can also navigate from baking to cheesecakes in just a couple of clicks.

This neat thing is for the hungry among you. Or the not so hungry, looking to get an appetite. Or the cooks who would love to be chefs! It’s the CSCA website, and it will make you drool! CSCA stands for the California School of Culinary Arts, and it is located in Pasadena. The school has several different programs, and financial aid is available. That picture is just one example of the delightful things you can learn to make.

Ok, readers, today I am asking for your help. I read this page today about green tea and weight loss, and I want to know what you think. I’m not interesting in losing massive amounts of weight, but I am needing to replace the kick to my metabolism that smoking used to provide. I do like the flavor of green tea, so here are my questions for you:

1) Do you drink it?
2) How much and how often?
3) Do you find it increases your energy level and/or metabolism?

Please let me know your thoughts and experiences!

I was just looking at the Le Cordon Bleu Pâtisserie and Baking Program at http://www.miamiculinary.com/. The site is in frames, so i can’t get a direct link for you, but trust me when I say this is a neat thing. No, I take that back, don’t trust me; go check it out for yourself. The program lasts just nine months, bit the list of stuff you’ll learn to make and do is impressive: tartlets, creams, icings, pies, cakes, principles of kitchen management, specialty yeast dough, sponge dough, and decorate cakes ranging from simple royal icing to wedding cakes just to start!

This is one course I’d love to take myself! I may just use that list to design my own self taught course since leaving home for nine months isn’t exactly an option just now.

Today’s neat thing is a calorie counter. Now, don’t you groan and think I am going to go on and on about dieting and what not. That’s not where I am going at all. Instead, I am going to talk about calories in general. You need a certain amount of calories to function, and that amount is determined by a variety of factors, including age, current weight, desired weight and activity level. Here’s what I know that most people don’t (or don’t remember when they go on a “diet”). Eating too few calories can actually cause you to gain weight!

The site the counter is on is called My Fitness Pal, and it is a free site. Whether you need to lose weight, maintain, or even gain (yeah, I know, but there are some folks out there like that), you can use the calorie counter to make sure you are on the right track.

This site scours the internet for recipes and put them in one handy spot for you. FoodieView-The Recipe Search Engine has over 1 million recipes, and you can search by ingredients, cuisine, chefs, etc. This is an awesome tool for the budding chef and the experienced cook alike. And they have a recipe box to store your favorites or ones you’d like to try.

I discovered this site via my sons’ scouting. www.mypyramid.gov teaches kids and adults all about the food pyramid and how to make healthy food choices. You can enter your own personal characteristics and it will spit out a food chart specifically for you. There is also helpful information on activity levels. Healthy eating and activity now is probably neater than phentermine later.

No, baking soda will not defunk your frig, and mayo does not hasten the spoiling of salads. Lots more, too. Kitchen Myths Debunked explains the truth behind many kitchen falsehoods. I totally disagree with her on the bananas, as I find that refrigeration ruins them, and I have my own secret to keep guacamole from turning brown: use a tablespoon or so of lemon juice per avocado. Delectable flavor and pleasant appearance.

The picture alone makes this page a neat thing. What I have discovered for you is a recipe page. And. it’s. all. chocolate. It’s part of the Gourmet Chocolate of the Month Club website, but you don’t have to buy anything to cook up one of these tasty treats. Pure decadence in chocolate form. Cakes, candies, and cookies begin the list, and it continues right on through pies and puddings.

Here’s a nice cooking reference. Each listed spice in the Encyclopedia of Spicestakes you to a page with info on the history, storage, uses, and way more on that particular spice. I really like the “heat scale”. Handy if you want to do a little something different and have small children

I’d love to see a search box where you could enter a particular food, and it would list complimentary spices.