Culinary, cooking, food and restaurant » traditional food

Holiday Accommodation and Food Prague

admin — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 02:26:43 +0000

Prague is one of the most popular travel destinations in Europe. The Capital of the Czech Republic is regarded as an architectural gem and a string of new hotels are now springing up across the city to cope with this large influx of tourists.
Between March and November is the most popular time for tourists and accommodation during this time can be tight. There are now many holiday homes and apartments available to rent direct from their owners which help provide a more personal choice of accommodation.
It is no wonder that one in three Czechs are overweight when you see the rich Czech diet. The variety of food available includes traditional Czech soups which are well known for their richness and large portions.
The Czechs are big meat eaters and unlike other European countries like their meat served with plenty of fat with thick rich sauces. It is also not uncommon to receive pastry based side dishes and the Czechs love their deserts. Traditionally the meal is accompanied by large volumes of the local Czech beer.
A speciality Czech soup is beef broth with liver dumplings or egg yolk and vermicelli. Typically thick soups are served as every day dishes and goulash soup is a particular favourite. Other popular soups are made from beans, peas and lentils.
Another favourite is cabbage soup with thick slices of home made sausage. Eating soup is a good way of warming yourself up during Prague’s cold winters. During the summer months’ visitors are offered ham and horseradish rolls or toast with minced meat and peppers.
A favourite main course is pork and duck served with generous helpings of cabbage and dumplings. The pork is served with lots of fat and is said to taste quite different to pork served elsewhere around the world. Beef is also a popular dish and is often served roasted in a creamy sauce with dumplings. Some restaurants serve this with cranberries.
To finish off the meal fruit dumplings are often served. These can be stuffed with strawberries, cherries or plums and are dished up warm. If you do not fancy the dumplings most restaurants also offer home made pancakes with a variety of fillings.
The national drink is lager. It is served in a tall chilled glass and some of the bars serving it have existed since the Middle Ages. For wine lovers, there is a large selection of Bohemian and Moravian wines available. The Czechs are keener on white wines and usually young wines.
Most visitors who sample the traditional food at one of Prague’s many restaurants agree that it is an experience that they enjoy and will come back for. The variation in price and choice ensures that there are restaurants to cater for almost all tastes and price ranges.
There are daily flights to Prague from all over the world and most European and American airlines have landing slots there. Prague’s international airport is at Ruzyne and is only about 12 miles away from the city centre and regular buses transfer visitors from the airport to the city centre. It is no wonder that Prague is growing into one of the most popular holiday destinations in Europe.

Raw Food: Christmas Food

admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 02:26:35 +0000

Christmas is a time when we think of family get-togethers and abundance. It is memory lane for most of us, enjoying friends, memorable times and good comfort, traditional foods. But the weeks after the holidays are usually weight gains, health problems from too many sweets and food.

Today white sugar, white flour, dairy products, trans and saturated fats, refined cars and excess calories are on the “no-no” list … and with the holiday times it feels as if the cakes, cookies and candies will become obsolete. And we begin to feel deprived and panic stricken. After all, it is a long-time tradition.

One answer is to make some raw food desserts and take them to get-togethers and family meals. Use nuts, dried fruits, and avocadoes instead of white flour and white sugar. They have a lot of flavor, looks and are good for you. Oh yes … and they are easy to put together. Jenny Cornbleet has a book out called “Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People”. In it there are desserts – cakes, cookies, fruit crisps, pies, tarts, puddings, mousses, shakes, and ice cream recipes all raw – for holidays and all meals. Guess what? They taste better than their sugar laden counterparts.

One recipe is for a “Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce” which calls for 1 ½ cups raw walnuts, dash of salt, 8 pitted medjool dates, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa or carob powder, ½ tsp vanilla extract, and 2 tsp water. For the raspberry sauce you use 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (thaw and drain if frozen) with ¼ cup pitted medjooy dates, soaked for 30 minutes and drained. Place the walnuts and salt in a food processor with the S blade and process until finely ground. Add dates, cocoa powder, and vanilla … process until mixture becomes sticky. Add water and process briefly. Transfer to a serving plate and form a 5 inch round cake. Place the raspberries and dates in a blender and mix until smooth, pouring over the cake just before serving.

You do not have to give up all your comfort foods, just find a healthier recipe for it. You will find the dessert to be much tastier. But should you choose to nibble on a few old foods, do so in moderation, do not go overboard, and remember to wait and let your stomach digest properly before the next meal.

Fresh, Delicious And Simple – The Food Of Majorca

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:26:49 +0000

When you’re planning an all inclusive holiday to Majorca, perhaps the last thing on your mind is the excellent food available while out there. Obviously the beaches, sunshine and activities are at the forefront of your mind at this stage, but you’ll be relieved to hear that Majorca’s food is really good and made from local produce. The seafood, especially is fresh and flavoursome, and although it’s possible to get every type of cuisine under the sun (you can easily find an authentic curry house, or a full English breakfast in the resorts) the local Majorca cuisine is hearty, flavoursome and fairly priced. In this article, I shall outline some of the traditional foods you can expect to find on a package holiday to Majorca.

Breakfasts

Common wisdom dictates that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and whether you believe this or not, it’s best to become a temporary subscriber so you can enjoy an ensaimada each morning. These are spiral yeast buns dusted with icing sugar, and are rarely seen outside of the island, making them a popular product for tourists to fill their suitcases with when the time comes to leave the island paradise. Make sure you bring a few back when you reach the end of your all inclusive holiday to Majorca.

Light Bites

Although these are labelled as light bites, it’s very easy to come back to these Majorcan food items, making them into a whole meal and spoiling your dinner! Treats range from trampos (similar to vegetarian pizza), cocarrious (local pasties), local soups and pa’amb oli – a traditional mix of Majorcan bread, garlic, tomato and olive oil, sometimes with cheese or cured ham on top. You should definitely try these delicacies of Majorca’s cuisine during your visit to the island.

Filling Dinners

If you have managed to resist filling up on cocarrious, the main meals are sure to leave you satisfied. Pork is the main meat in Majorca’s cuisine, and the lechona asada (roast sucking pig) is a favourite for those who usually end up with eyes bigger than their stomachs. Pork also plays a big part in sobrasada (chorizo sausages) and llom amb col, an old favourite of pork wrapped in cabbage with pine nuts and raisons. Lamb is an alternative to pork based dishes, and fish eaters will delight in the fresh monkfish and bream, and may even indulge in the lobster stew on a special occasion. Another favourite in Majorcan food is ‘frit mallorqui’ – a fry up of offal, potatoes, tomatoes and onions.

All of this sounds a little worrying for vegetarians looking to find good cuisine in Majorca, but rest assured there are a number of options available for them, all using vegetables grown locally: cauliflower with raisins and pine nuts, pumpkin fritters, various mushroom dishes, and my personal favourite: tumbet, which is a ratatouille of aubergines, peppers and potatoes in olive oil.

Indulging the Sweet Tooth

Majorca’s deserts aren’t the strong point of Majorcan food, but there’s still enough here to warrant saving some space for afters. Turron is handmade nougat with local almonds, puding is the name for a desert similar to crème caramel and geixonera de brossat is delightful local cheese cake. For those without enough room, the local fruit and nuts are considered a good way to round off a meal.

…and to drink?

But to compliment Majorca’s cuisine, you need a good drink to wash it down. It seems natural for an island that was once occupied by the Romans to be big wine drinkers, and the Majorcans do not disappoint. The central plains of the island have proved excellent for grape production, with Benissalem the main village for wine. The red wine named after the settlement is particularly recommended. Elsewhere, the island also makes rather fine brandy – and you may find yourself sneaking a couple of bottles home from your package holiday to Majorca!

Traditional Jamaican Recipes & Food

admin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:26:56 +0000

The flavors of Jamaica are the product of the island’s history combined with a verdant, lush climate. The Spanish, British, African and East Indian have all had an influence over what is today a unique island cuisine made colorful by the many tropical fruits that thrive here.

The waters off Jamaica have always teemed with fish and seafood is the primary protein source for islanders. Snapper, grouper, sea bass and other reef a deep sea fish are caught daily by the many fishermen whose boats line the beaches. Spiny lobster, shrimp and freshwater crustaceans are readily available and cooked usually in a thick sauce. Chicken and goats are well suited to the small mountainous island and are kept by many families but cattle are rare and beef is not the predominant meat.

Many of Jamaica’s fruits, including pineapple, mango, banana and avocado were brought to the region by slave traders and plantation owners experimenting with crops. What were once sugar cane fields are now being used to grow fruits and ackee for export and domestic use.

Few other cuisines mix such a range of spices and tastes – sweet, hot and savory – as Jamaican cooking. Jamaican food wouldn’t be the same without the spices, seasonings and colors from: Allspice, the pimento berry.

Among many of the spices grown in Jamaica are nutmeg, ginger, thyme, scotch bonnet peppers, which are integral distinct flavors of Jamaican cooking. The pungent thyme grows rampantly on the island and is found in the majority of Jamaican foods.

Favourite Jamaican foods are those for coconut cake, rum punch & beef jerky recipies.

Real Jamaican food, when cooked with feeling, is a soul-satisfying experience.

For further tips and ideas for cooking great and traditional food from around the world, visit Jamaican Recipes

This article was submitted by Jen Carter, owner of the World Recipes website.

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Traditional Food of Nigerian recipes

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:20:24 +0000

Staple foods in the Nigerian diet include: peanuts or ground-nuts, yams, cassava, fish, rice, okra, bananas, guinea corn and millet, and palm nuts.

They are usually starchy and Nigerians love to cook with a lot of pepper and spices especially those from the southwest and southeast. This recipe uses all local ingredients to create a tasty and nourishing meal.

These recipes celebrate the traditional food of Nigeria: -

Egusi Soup

Ground Egusi seeds give this soup a unique color and flavour. If you can’t find Egusi seeds in your store, you can substitute pumpkinseeds or Pepitas, which you can find in Latin American grocery stores. This soup is thickened with flour ground from seeds of gourds, melons, pumpkins, and squashes, many of which are native to Africa.

200 g Water Leaves
50 g Egusi seeds
1 teaspoon Dry Ground Red Pepper
1 medium Onion
100ml Palm Oil
10g Dry Ground Crayfish
120g Fresh Tomatoes
100ml Water
Salt & Pepper to taste

Wash the water leaves well in clean, fresh water.
Liquidise or pulverise the onions, tomatoes and egusi seeds until smooth.
Add the dry ground pepper and fry in palm oil for five minutes.
Add the water, put the lid on and cook for five minutes.
Now add the water leaves, replace lid and cook for a further five minutes.
Finally, add the crayfish and seasoning, warming through well.

Serve with pounded yam or cooked rice and a meat stew, to provide protein.
Alternatively, serve with eba, fufu or any suitable carbohydrate.

Curried Okra

This traditional recipe for Okra (or Okro, as it is called in some part of Nigeria) is one that can be created anywhere in the world, as it uses ingredients that can be found in any local store.

The word “okra” comes from Africa and means “lady’s fingers” in Igbo, one of the languages spoken in Nigeria. Although Okra originated from Africa, it is now available around the world. Some people consider Okra alone is too gooey, but this tasty recipe makes good use of it’s properties.

When buying fresh okra, look for young pods free of bruises, tender but not soft, and no more than 4 inches long.

500g Okra
2 Onions
180g Oil
3 cloves garlic
2 Tomatoes
2 teaspoons of curry powder
½ teaspoon of turmeric
Pinch of black pepper
½ teaspoon of salt

Slice one of the onions finely and fry gently in oil.
Liquids the remaining onion, tomatoes and garlic.
Add this puree to the frying onions.
Add the spices.
Fry gently for five minutes.
Top and tail the okra and cut into pieces about 1cm thick.
Add to the spices and cook gently for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with cooked rice and a meat stew, for protein.

With thanks to the Nigerian people who made us so welcome in their homes, gave us a love of traditional Nigerian food and who helped us overcome our fear of eating with our fingers!

Food ERP Leader Batchmaster Right for Traditions Foods

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:19:27 +0000

The combination of BatchMaster Software, for superior operational efficiencies, and Microsoft Dynamics GP for mission-critical financial management and reporting tools, will realistically address the challenges Traditions Foods seem to be facing and eliminate current barriers to their growth by diminishing incurred losses in efficiency and profits, especially as Tradition Foods enters the contract manufacturing arena, where they may need to manage potential customer supplied inventory.

Inventory Control

• BatchMaster customers have reduced out-of-stocks by understanding demand. As a result, customer satisfaction is improved and sales increased, leading to an improved margin per year.

• On the other hand, other customers were over-stocking. In such cases, customers were able to run more lean by reducing inventory levels, allowing for better cash flow.

• Inventory Turns – After implementing BatchMaster ERP, the increase averaged to 7.9 with projections of 11.2 turns per year. On-time delivery averaged to 94.6% versus the 73.9% pre ERP.

• Once a wireless warehouse system is in place, data accuracy, efficiency, and tight inventory control is simplified even further by utilizing hand held devices to scan barcodes upon receipt of goods, for bin transfers, and for shipping. When shipping multi-media data formats are also supported in the case where you may want to include a picture of a palate on the shipping documents to decrease the number of lost packages that Traditions Foods occassionally encounters.

Nutritional Information

BatchMaster is a unique ERP system; as an industry specific solution it includes a very mature lab, recipe, and nutritional analysis toolset that other ERP systems do not supply. Traditions Foods already has a standalone system in place for nutritional management, however, Tradition Foods finds great value having such features available as part of an integrated system.

Regulatory Compliance

The BatchMaster product will support Bio-Terrorism Act, FDA, HACCP, and 21 CFR Part 11 requirements to the full extent of the regulations in place.

Integrated Environment

In an integrated solution, all major departments (recipe management, production, sales, purchasing, shipping, accounting) are integrated and share a common database. This allows for management reporting and analysis for decision support and determining key performance indicators. There is also one version of the truth.

BatchMaster Software, Inc. has provided advanced ERP solutions for over two decades with more than one thousand five hundred installations worldwide. BatchMaster’s customers can be found in every formula or recipe-based business, including food, beverage, cosmetic, personal care, paint, coating, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and specialty chemical industries. Flexible, easy to learn and use, and scalable to grow with a process manufacturing business, BatchMaster is the definitive solution for the challenges facing small to midsize process manufacturers. BatchMaster has more than a hundred technical staff numbers of highly-qualified software professionals.

BatchMaster’s vice-president, Ingrid Leon noted, “To understand why the Traditions Foods’ management team selected BatchMaster ERP requires looking the choices available. The evaluation was very structured and objective; they wanted a system built for food and beverage manufacturing as well as a supplier who understood their industry and was vested in their success. Since this was a long-term investment, they wanted the ERP system selected to be built on leading not bleeding edge technology. Traditions Foods was one of the few management teams who talked about a Return-on-Investment Analysis for the project…clearly world-class thinking.”

Traditional Methods of Cooking and Traditional Food

admin — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:20:16 +0000

While there are those who prefer to stick to traditional methods of cooking and traditional food, there are also classes of people who are always willing to experiment with new culinary delights! The French cuisine consists of traditional and regional dishes, as well as continental food flavored with the French ethnic touch. It is because of this that French food has become so popular in the rest of Europe, USA, for more help visit to: www.cheese-cake-recipes.com.and many other countries. This popularity has therefore led to the initiation of the French Cooking School USA.

The French Cooking School USA, an association of different schools, was inaugurated with the idea of imparting knowledge about French recipes and French delicacies to people wishing to qualify as professionals in the art of French cooking. Development of teaching skills is also a part of the program. In addition, the advancement of science and technology and schools under this association being placed at varied locations has ensured that distance poses no problem to learning.

Having earned the distinction of being the most exploratory international institution where the culinary arts and cooking are concerned, the French Cooking School USA uses varied cooking techniques unique to France and innovative recipes to provide an extraordinary learning experience for its students. The School is run by people thoroughly acquainted with French gourmet cooking as well as the essence of France’s culture. Is it any wonder then that superb masterpieces like Soufflés and Bisques have come from the French Cooking School USA?

Two of the more popular schools associated with the French Cooking School USA are the Cole Dijon Cooking School and the Cook Street School of Fine Cooking.

The Cole Dijon Cooking School conducts classes at Chef Drew Holladay Home. There are small groups of students who are scheduled to attend eight sessions of teaching. This school basically caters to cooking in the home. So people who wish to confine their culinary skills to their own homes or bring a change in their regular menus take admission here. Trained cooks demonstrate newer ways of cooking routine food to bring about variety.

The students at Cook Street School of Fine Cooking in Colorado learn specialized French cooking and how to prepare wine. Certificates are awarded at the end of the course. Though the fees demanded are quite affordable, the students get thorough training in the science of good eating. They can therefore opt for careers in culinary art. The course program imparts knowledge about the heritage of French cuisine, how a menu has to be prepared, knowledge about wines, and how an appetite for good food is to be developed.

Another school of mention associated with the French Cooking School USA, is the New School of Cooking. For more detail go to:www.cooking-groundbeef.com.An amateur takes admission and departs as a professional cook! There is the flexibility of taking up part-time, or full-time baking courses of one-year duration. Training is given by professional chefs. There is also the option of learning Italian and Asian cooking in addition to French cooking.

Thus, the French Cooking School USA provides an ideal atmosphere and learning experience for anyone desiring to master French cooking!

Recipe Manufacturing Software Helps Traditions Foods Addresses Regulatory Compliance

admin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:18:56 +0000

BatchMaster Software, Inc. has provided process manufacturing software solutions for over two decades with more than one thousand five hundred installations worldwide. BatchMaster’s customers can be found in every formula and recipe based industry segment, including food, beverage, cosmetic, personal care, paint, coating, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and specialty chemical. Some of the key benefits of using BatchMaster software include keeping accurate inventory, lot traceability and lot recall, regulatory compliance and just-in-time manufacturing resulting in lower production costs and improved customer service. Flexible, easy to learn and use, and scalable to grow with a process manufacturing business, BatchMaster is the definitive solution for the challenges facing small to midsize process manufacturers. BatchMaster team consists of over a hundred professionals, bringing on-going innovation to product offerings and serving customers as trusted advisors for all process manufacturing and supply-chain challenges.

Inventory Control

• BatchMaster customers have reduced out-of-stocks by understanding demand. As a result, customer satisfaction is improved and sales increased, leading to an improved margin per year.

• On the other hand, other customers were over-stocking. In such cases, customers were able to run more lean by reducing inventory levels, allowing for better cash flow.

• Inventory Turns – After implementing BatchMaster ERP, the increase averaged to 7.9 with projections of 11.2 turns per year. On-time delivery averaged to 94.6% versus the 73.9% pre ERP.

Nutritional Information

Regulatory Compliance

The BatchMaster product will support Bio-Terrorism Act, FDA, HACCP, and 21 CFR Part 11 requirements to the full extent of the regulations in place.

Integrated Environment

Traditions Foods ROI Analysis Made Batchmaster Manufacturing Software Best Choice

admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:19:17 +0000

Inventory Control

• BatchMaster customers have reduced out-of-stocks by understanding demand. As a result, customer satisfaction is improved and sales increased, leading to an improved margin per year.

• On the other hand, other customers were over-stocking. In such cases, customers were able to run more lean by reducing inventory levels, allowing for better cash flow.

• Inventory Turns – After implementing BatchMaster ERP, the increase averaged to 7.9 with projections of 11.2 turns per year. On-time delivery averaged to 94.6% versus the 73.9% pre ERP.

Nutritional Information

Regulatory Compliance

The BatchMaster product will support Bio-Terrorism Act, FDA, HACCP, and 21 CFR Part 11 requirements to the full extent of the regulations in place.

Integrated Environment

Italian Traditional Food

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:18:15 +0000

Italian traditional food is known for its wonderful recipes and wines, but often an important side of it is hidden or even unseen.

This side is what eating means for Italians. It’s not just eating, it means much more.

If you happen in a major Italian city you may find some shops with continued opening time. But the most close from 1 to 4.30pm. Italians do stop for lunch.

Life has changed in Italy too, not allowing everyone to go home for lunch and maybe take even a rest. But most public offices close at 2.00pm and the ones that work from 9 to 5 have lunch time, where people go to restaurants and have a real meal.

I went to meet a friend who works in a bank office in Rome and we had lunch together. She suggested a small familiar restaurant (trattoria) where I ate wonderful potato gnocchi and unforgettable artichokes with potatoes. A real lunch, that is maybe served in luxury Italian restaurants abroad, eaten during a lunch break from job.

This idea lead to another interesting fact about restaurants in Italy and Italian restaurants abroad.

Usually, the Italian restaurants abroad are good and sometimes luxury restaurants. Very well decorated and often a very pleasant environment, many times tied to society fashions.

In Italy, the luxury and the “environment” are secondary. Often an Italian friend takes you to a very good restaurant, and it looks too poorly decorated. Don’t worry, he cares about you, because…you eat wonderful food, and that’s the important thing for your friend.

He does not think about taking you to a fashionable place where food is not good. He would fail towards you, and for an Italian, it hurts.

There are so many restaurants in Italy that are square spoiled rooms that are really not inviting…but their food is wonderful. They just don’t consider the decoration, but what you’re going to eat.

In Italy go out to have dinner is also a social program, as all around the world. But what you eat has a stronger role in the whole evening.

Among other cultures, the food may be medium, and people talk about other things and have a good evening.

In Italy, may be the most enjoyable people, but if the food is not good, they will feel like the evening was a little bit wasted for that. They will talk about it, comment it, showing that the food isn’t merely part of the evening, but quite the main attraction.

Another side of tradition concerning Italian food regards eating at certain times, following a established order in eating (never eat a meat dish before the pasta one, for example), and some other small but present rules.

Concerning time, Italians have lunch from 1.00pm to 2.00pm. Most restaurants close at 2.30 pm. It’s frustrating for a tourist visiting Rome, for example, to find the restaurant closed at 3pm.

Now some restaurants are offering different scheduled times, but these are the tourist restaurants, not the good ones. These keep pasta cooked and re-warm it. It’s better not to trust them if you desire a good Italian homemade dish.

A traditional Italian meal begins with the antipasto (which means before the meal). Usually it’s “from land”(di terra) or “from sea” (di mare). Those from land are usually Italian cold cuts, olives, cheese and so on. Those from sea are seafood salad and similar.

After the antipasto comes the first dish, that can be pasta, soup or rice (risotto). After then there’s the second, when you can choose between meat and fish. It’s necessary to add a side, because in Italy they are not included. If you ask for a steak, it will come by itself, with no French fries or salad.

After that, you can eat fruit and a dessert. Then a good coffee and a liquor called “ammazza caffè” (kill the coffee). It can vary between many choices, being the more used nowadays the lemon liquor (limoncello) and grappa.

At this point, your Italian friend looks satisfied. He will probably rest his shoulders on the back of the chair and take a long breath. After a perfect meal, these few minutes just enjoying it all are surely needed.

Culinary, cooking, food and restaurant » traditional food

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