Excalibur 2900 9 Tray Dehydrator

Features of the Excalibur Model ED-2900 Dehydrator * Controlled environment for a wide variety of uses, i.e. making fruit roll-ups and trail mixes, drying flower arrangements and herbs, plus various uses for art and crafts, and photos * 9 Trays with 15 square feet of drying area * Includes 9 polyscreen tray liners * Includes 28-page dehydrating guide * 7" FAN/600 WATTS * 1-Year warranty

Essential oils are highly concentrated aromatic oils derived from plants, widely used in aromatherapy for their medicinal and mood-enhancing effects. Some essential oils also have culinary uses, however, and these powerful plant essences can be used to rejuvenate, or in place of, dried herbs and spices, which can lose aroma and flavor over time.

A number of essential oils have been designated as Generally Regarded As Safe [GRAS] to use as food additives by the US Food and Drug Administration. These include those listed below.

• Basil ......Ocimum basilicum L.
• Bergamot (bergamot orange) .......... Citrus aurantium L. subsp. Bergamia Wright et Arn.
• Bitter almond (free from prussic acid) .........Prunus amygdalus Batsch, Prunus armeniaca L. or Prunus persica (L.)
• Cinnamon bark, ............Ceylon Cinnamomum zeylanicum Nees.
• Coriander ...........Coriandrum sativum L.
• Cumin .............Cuminum cyminum L.
• Ginger ............Zingiber officinale Rosc.
• Grapefruit ..........Citrus paradisi Macf.
• Laurel leaves (Bay) ..........Laurus spp.
• Lavender ...........Lavandula officinalis Chaix.
• Lemon Citrus ..........limon (L.) Burm. f.
• Lime Citrus ...............aurantifolia Swingle.
• Mandarin Citrus ...........reticulata Blanco.
• Marjoram, sweet.............. Majorana hortensis Moench.
• Nutmeg ...........Myristica fragrans Houtt. Origanum Origanum spp.
• Parsley ............Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Mansf.
• Pepper, ...........black Piper nigrum L.
• Sage ............Salvia officinalis L.
• Rosemary .............Rosmarinus officinalis L.
• Thyme ................Thymus vulgaris L. and Thymus zygis var. gracilis

Boiss.

When using essential oils in your cooking, it is important that they are 100% pure and of therapeutic grade. Essential oils are highly concentrated and, consequently, very potent, and so should also be used sparingly. The recipes below give suggested amounts, but probably the best way to establish what suits your taste is through trial and error.

Here are just a few simple ideas that you could try. Like herbs and spices, different essential oils provide good accompaniments to different ingredients. Generally, essential oils that go well with poultry include basil, dill, fennel, lemon, marjoram, mellisa, orange, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon and thyme. For red meat, try basil, clove, dill, fennel, marjoram, mellisa, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon and/or thyme. Essential oils that go well with fish or seafood include black pepper, fennel, lavender, lemon, lime, orange, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme.

Meat

When cooking joints of red meat, simply add 1 drop of essential oil to a vegetable oil and brush over the meat before cooking. Essential oils can also be added to the cooking oil when browning mince meat (lamb or beef) - use 1 drop per half-kilo of meat.

For chicken, add 2 drops each of lemon and orange essential oils to 4 tablespoons of honey and 1 dessert spoon of mustard. Make a paste and brush over the chicken before grilling or baking.

Fish

Add 1 drop of essential oil to 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Brush over white fish steaks and grill.

Vegetables

Try stir-frying your vegetables in an essential oil (diluted 1 drop to 1 tablespoon of olive oil). Cardamon, cumin, nutmeg and ginger are good choices.

Steaming your vegetables over water containing an essential oil can also be interesting - try nutmeg and lemon for greens.

Dishes that don't require cooking

Of course, some recipes don't need 'cooking', and essential oils are ideal for this kind of thing.

Marinades

Essential oils are ideal for making marinades - simply add a few drops of your selected essential oil(s) to honey or olive oil and brush on the meat. Place oiled red meat in a bowl containing red wine, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 chopped onion and 1 drop of orange essential oil. Season and leave for up to 8 hours.

Salad dressings

Essential oils also make great salad dressings. Add 1 drop of your chosen essential oil to 10 ml of vegetable oil and/or vinegar. Basil, clove, lavender, lemon, lime, rosemary, sage and thyme are good choices for salad dressings.

Herb butter

Add 1 drop of the essential oil of your choice to 1 cube of softened butter. Mix gently and add to potatoes, other vegetables, toast...

Drinks

Citrussy oils (e.g. grapefruit, lime, lemon, mandarin, orange and tangerine) and minty oils (e.g. peppermint, spearmint and mint) can add zest to drinks of all kinds. Try adding one or two drops of a selection of essential oils to water for a simple thirst quencher.

Herbal teas: add a few drops of essential oils to boiling water: some to try are lavender, roman chamomile, peppermint, orange, tangerine and lemon.

Mulled wine: add 2 drops each of mandarin and orange essential oils and 1 drop each of clove and cinnamon to 2 tablespoons of honey. Heat 1 litre of red wine slowly, add the flavoured honey and stir. Take off the heat just before the wine starts to bubble. Serve with slices of orange and lemon.

This short article gives just a flavour (sorry!) of the uses that essential oils can be put to in the kitchen. Many more recipes are available in books and on the internet, so why not start searching now and explore the taste explosion that essential oils can provide.

Sources:

electricscotland.com/food/donna/recipe12.html

aroma-essence.com/cooking.html

zhealthinfo.com/recipes1.htm http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fcf182.html

Worwood VA. The Fragrant Pharmacy. A complete guide to aromatherapy & essential oils. Bantam Books, 1996

Alix Williams is a regular contributor to the holistic website Aroma4u.co.uk a home based UK business providing Eco-friendly hand made Aromatherapy Stress Relieving Gifts.

Alix Williams also writes about using unique Essential Oil Gift Ideas for Stress Relief.

For more information regarding Stress related matters (stress in the Workplace), Stress Busting Gift ideas with pure Essential oils, please visit: http://www.aroma4u.co.uk

copyright 2008 Alix Williams (CUS Busting Ltd)

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Just Jerky : The Complete Guide to Making It

Here's the do-it-yourself guide to making your own jerky in an oven, smoker, or food dehydrator with strips or ground beef, venison, poultry, fish and even soy protein.

There are certain flavors that just go together, peanut butter and chocolate for example. Another combination of flavors that makes a perfectly happy marriage is honey and barbecue.

These two flavors have created an uproar in the kitchen with chefs churning out by the masses menu items featuring items drenched in honey barbecue sauce: wings, burgers, steaks, chicken breasts, chicken strips, ribs and more. But the honey barbecue sauce can also make for a very good dry treat!

Honey barbecue beef jerky is a popular homemade jerky flavor to make. Sure, there are plenty of honey barbecue sauces available on grocery store shelves from brands like Ken's, Heinz and Kikomon. But, there are also some sweet and tangy recipes for a honey barbecue marinade that is perfect for slapping on beef jerky. Here is one that we found and enjoy:

Ingredients:

3/4 c honey

1/2 c ketchup

1/4 c butter (1/2 stick)

1 tbsp vinegar

2 tsp Dijon style mustard

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 clove garlic, put through a press

chili powder optional, use to taste

1 lb of meat

Directions:

1. Slice meat in thin strips.

2. In a bowl, combine all ingredients of marinade and mix well.

3. Simmer ingredients for about five minutes. Let cool.

4. Place meat 3-4 layers deep in a container, spooning sauce mixture over each layer.

5. Cover tightly and marinate 6-12 hours in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally.

6. Layout on trays, 24 to 36 hours in dehydrator (or follow directions for oven).

When done, the honey barbecue flavor will have been absorbed in every thread of the meat, giving the jerky a lovely blend of that honey barbecue taste our tastebuds have grown to like.

REVIEW: Not sure that you can make it on your own?

The Jerky Outlet offers an amazing honey barbecue turkey jerky. This is a little different than beef jerky, as it is more of a stick snack, which will need to be refrigerated once open. There is more of a honey flavor than barbecue to it. The jerky is also very soft and a little juicy since it is more of a snack stick, and that can be a nice break from the chewy jerky. This is a very good product and comes in a one pound package for $16.99. So it is a little on the pricey side. Try making your own!

If you found this information on honey barbeque beef jerky useful, you'll want to read this article about buy beef jerky online.

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Nesco American Harvest FD-61WHC Snackmaster Express Food Dehydrator All-In-One Kit with Jerky Gun

The FD-61WHC Snackmaster Express All-In-One kit has a top mounted fan. Easily dries fruit, vegetables and jerky quickly and evenly. Dries food in hours not days. Comes with 5 trays and jerky gun. Unit disassembles easily and all parts are dishwasher safe except the power head. The Opaque Vita-Save exterior helps block harmful lights which destroys nutritional content of food being dehydrated. The Patented fan flow radial air action forces air down the center of the unit and horizontally across each tray for fast, even-drying. No need to rotate

Most people have a preference of whether or not they like their steaks rare, medium, well done, or anywhere in between. Yet, somehow, it seems that cooking a steak to fit these preferences is oftentimes difficult. But with some simple training and a bit of skill, it most certainly can be done. Cooking a steak does not have to be difficult, especially if you follow these few rules:

Take into consideration the thickness of a steak. You must realize that cooking a steak is not an issue of just time. Whereas cooking one steak for 4 minutes might make it medium, cooking a steak that is slightly thicker may turn out rare or medium rare when cooked for the same amount of time.

Also consider the pan temperature.

The cook time is also very important.

You must find a good balance between the three abovementioned things to get the results you desire.

Other things to consider when cooking a steak is the tenderness and size of the cut. The presence of a bone can also change the cooking time as can the method of cooking (barbecuing, sauting, etc.).

If you have a sirloin or rump steak of 1.5 cm thick, then here are a few guidelines to follow when cooking it:

1. Well done, cook it for up to 6 minutes

2. Medium, cook it for about 4 minutes

3. Rare, cook it for just a couple of minutes.

Hold up for a minute are you still confused as to what exactly rare is versus well done? Here is a guide on cooking a steak based off of what the steak should look like (of course, never cut open a steak to see if it is done! It looks tacky, and it causes the steak to dry out).

Well done the steak will be hot, and it will have very little moisture. The color will be a dark grayish. The steak will be firm when touched. There will be no hint of pink left.

Medium well the steak will also be hot, gray, and it will have a juicy center.

Medium a medium steak is light gray, warm, and it will have a juicy center. When touched the steak will offer some resistance. Pink juices will bead up on the surface of the seared side when the steak is turned.

Medium rare the steak will be light pink in color, warm, with a juicy center.

Rare the color will be pink, the temperature will be warm, and the center will be bloody and red! The steak will still feel soft when touched.

Know about the two different types of heat used when cooking a steak:

Dry heat this type of heat does not use liquid and it is used to cook some of the most tender cuts. Examples of cooking with dry heat are broiling, roasting, sauting, pan-broiling, and rotisserie cooking.

Moist heat moist heat, on the other hand, uses steam or liquid. Moist heat cooking methods are soup-making, stewing, braising, and pressure cooking.

You must determine whether or not your steak is cooked based on touch, sight, and the clock. The firmer the meat, the more cooked it is. The lighter the color (from dark purple-red to pink), the more cooked the steak is.

Cooking a steak does not have to be hard, but it can take practice. If you do not get it right the first time, try it again! Be sure to have fun when cooking a steak!

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on steaks and cooking, please visit Filet Mignon.

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Excalibur 2900 9 Tray Dehydrator

Features of the Excalibur Model ED-2900 Dehydrator * Controlled environment for a wide variety of uses, i.e. making fruit roll-ups and trail mixes, drying flower arrangements and herbs, plus various uses for art and crafts, and photos * 9 Trays with 15 square feet of drying area * Includes 9 polyscreen tray liners * Includes 28-page dehydrating guide * 7" FAN/600 WATTS * 1-Year warranty

The most exciting thing about Italian cooking is that there are so many delicious dishes to choose from and are a lot of fun to create. Most people have at least one favourite dish. You may have one yourself. If you don't already know how to prepare it, or you would like to really perfect it, you may consider looking through cookery books or online for more information. If you are really enthusiastic you could look into cookery classes that specialize in this kind of cooking or even in this particular dish.

Or, perhaps you would like to know if it is available in any shops or restaurants locally.
Whatever you do be assured that Italian cooking brochutto is great to prepare and can be a rewarding pastime.

You may have tried this wonderful dish in a restaurant or it has been served to you by a friend or member of your family and now that you have tasted it the need to recreate the experience is great! Italian cooking brochutto is a memorable dish that once tried needs to be repeated. If this is the case for you there are many ways to get all the information you need for this type of cooking at your fingertips.

The best place to source information for Italian cooking brochutto is one the internet. There are countless recipes for you to try. To create your own unique recipe may take some experimentation on your part. You might like to add various ingredients here and there until you create your own individual recipe for Italian cooking brochutto.

The internet is not the only resource available to you. There are excellent bookshops that have a comprehensive supply of cookery books to suit every taste, ethnicity and culture. You may even try your local library which has a wealth of information for you to browse. All this information may inspire you to take your cooking to a new level and to try out many different styles of cooking. You may discover that you have a talent that has never been revealed before.

If your heart is set on replicating the perfect Italian cooking brochutto why not visit a favourite Italian restaurant and try their version of this great dish. You may love the way it tastes and be able to decipher what particular ingredients were used in its creation. It could be a challenge for you to prepare this dish at home later using your memory of the one you had ordered in the restaurant. It could be great fun to prepare and interesting to see how it actually turns out.

Perhaps you have all the information and the enthusiasm but lack that little bit of confidence to try Italian cooking brochutto without some guidance. In this instance it is worthwhile attending a cookery course that offer classes that are devoted to Italian cooking Brochutto. Your teacher will have perfected the dish many times over in her classes so will be the ideal person to instruct you exactly how to perfect it for yourself. There may be many different variations of the way this dish is prepared and possibly a few techniques that you haven't heard of before. Going to cookery classes is a great way to get you on the road to becoming an expert in Italian cooking brochutto.

Abhishek is really passionate about Cooking and he has got some great Cooking Secrets. up his sleeves! Download his FREE 88 Pages Ebook, "Cooking Mastery!" from his website http://www.Cooking-Guru.com/770/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.

dehydrator

Just Jerky : The Complete Guide to Making It

Here's the do-it-yourself guide to making your own jerky in an oven, smoker, or food dehydrator with strips or ground beef, venison, poultry, fish and even soy protein.

The Bradley Smoker is a fully featured smoker. This smoker truly delivers and does it all really well. It can hot or cold smoke, provide the ability for slow, low-temperature roasting. You can smoke your favorite foods up to 8 unsupervised hours. It does this with an automatic smoke generator that is unique only to The Bradley Smoker. Simply load the feeder with bisquettes and this automatic smoker will start loading bisquettes, one about every 20 minutes, then it will add a new one and extinguish the old one by pushing it into a pot of water. It will continue to cook or smoke as long as you keep the feeder loaded. This process works without flaw due to the quality engineering from the folks at The Bradley Smoker Company.

Bradley Smoker Review Features.

This quality smoker has a fully insulated steel exterior that is powder coated and not painted. This means that it will not rust or fade and the color will not peel off providing years of service. The interior of the insulated body is aluminum which makes it immune to oxidation which causes rust and corrosion. It comes with four nickel-plated cooking racks that are a spacious 11 inches by 15 inches that will never rust and are backed by a lifetime guarantee. Ever seen a rusted nickel? The Bradley Smoker has 572 square inches of cooking area that makes room to smoke large quantities of food. It has a cooking range of 140 deg F. to a maximum of 320 degrees. The temperatures are controlled by an infinite head slide switch, which allows you to maintain any desired cooking temperature that can be monitored by the built in temp. gauge.

The Bradley Smoker uses bisquettes that come all the favorite woods and flavors like hickory, mesquite, and apple wood. This provides the ability to have a large selection of smoke flavors. These bisquettes usually come in packs of 48 that coast about $15. On pack provides about 15 hours of total cook time.

This smoker is as versatile as it is reliable. Some key notes to highlight in this Bradley Smoker review is that this smoker cold smokes and also can be used as a food dehydrator, which works very well on meats, vegetables, and fruits. This smoker can easily make some very tasty beef jerky. The cold smoke feature means you can smoke your favorite cheeses. The Bradley Smoker not only provides years of quality service but save you a bundle of money as well.

Find out more. Bradley Automatic Smoker prices and customer reviews

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food pantrie dehydrator and seed sprouter

SPROUT SEEDS FOR MAKING WHEATGRASS OR HIGH ENERGY FOOD FROM SPROUTS. DEHYDRATE FOODS NATURALLY WITHOUT ELECTRICITY. DRY JERKY - APPLES - APRICOTS - ONIONS - MUSHROOMS. CHOCKING HAZARD - CONTAINS SMALL PARTS - NOT FOR CHILDREN UNDER 3

Whether you're a TOP CHEF, an everyday mom and dad cooking for yourself and family, or you're just a hardcore health conscious individual, having the right cutting board is essential.

Let's focus on the positives:

Glass or tempered cutting boards depending on the brand you choose are virtually indestructible. For instance, the brand Tuftop is made with highly tempered glass that will look like new for years in your kitchen without cracks, chips, scratches, or cut marks. This brand of cutting board has a cut-proof surface so bacteria, stains, and odors cannot be harbored as they are in other cutting boards. Sanitary-wise, there is no need for harsh chemicals to prevent cross-contamination. Simply wash in warm sudsy water! And it's dishwasher safe. The other benefit of TufTop glass cutting boards is that they are HEAT RESISTANT!!! TufTop cutting boards are trivets for hot dishes such as casseroles and counter savers for hot-off-the-stove pots and pans.

Artwork for The Kitchen:

Tuftop glass cutting boards can add sparkle to any table as an elegant serving platter or dazzling centerpiece with candles. Colorful designs are mounted between shimmering textured glass and a protective vinyl backing. The uses are endless.

Why I Should not buy a Plastic Cutting Board?

The softer surface of plastic boards is scored by knives, and the resulting grooves and cuts in the surface harbor bacteria even after being well washed. However, plastic boards do allow rinsing with harsher cleaning chemicals such as bleach and other disinfectants without damages to the board or retention of the chemical to later contaminate food. But who wants to feel as though they're doing laundry in your master-kitchen feeling like a MASTER CHEF!

Suzette owns and runs a family business that includes the website:
http://www.glassandwoodcuttingboards.com

dehydrator

Excalibur 2900 9 Tray Dehydrator

Features of the Excalibur Model ED-2900 Dehydrator * Controlled environment for a wide variety of uses, i.e. making fruit roll-ups and trail mixes, drying flower arrangements and herbs, plus various uses for art and crafts, and photos * 9 Trays with 15 square feet of drying area * Includes 9 polyscreen tray liners * Includes 28-page dehydrating guide * 7" FAN/600 WATTS * 1-Year warranty

In the fall time the herb growing season starts to wind down, but this doesn't mean the end of your herbs usefulness in the kitchen. Drying herbs in the autumn is a great way to extend their usefulness. Imagine setting around the table with your family on a cold winter night, with the smell of your favorite herbs steaming out from your favorite dish that you so lovingly prepared. Not only that but dried herbs look very appealing hang in in your kitchen or the pantry.

A herb that contains high moisture can be a bit more difficult to dry. Herbs such as bay, dill, thyme, marjoram, summer savory, sage, basil and oregano are just a few that lend themselves to drying.

Herb plants that are going to be harvested should be harvested in the early morning, in this way they have not extended much energy. Also if you can gather them just before they go into bloom they will be in their best condition for you to produce great dried herbs.

Increased flavor is obtained from the herbs if the leaves are dried whole, but when used they should be crumbled first before being added to your favorite dish . Herbs can be kept for a year or two, but for better results and increased flavor is recommended that they be used within six to 12 months. Your dried herbs should be stored in a airtight container placed in a cool dark dry place.

Herb drying can be carried out in a few different ways. These are a drying rack, hanging in warm well ventilated shady spot, microwaving, dehydrator and not really drying but freezing the herb leaves will preserve herbs also.

4 common methods a drying herbs

#1: Air drying
For small batches of herbs one should make sure first that they are rinsed off and all the water padded off. Pick off any of the wilted leaves and just leave the healthy looking ones. Next tie a bundle of herbs tightly around stems and insert into a brown paper bag. Make sure that this bag is large enough as to leave lots of room around the leaves of the plants. It is best practice to hang the herbs upside down as this allows the essential oils to flow into the leaves and increases the flavor greatly. You should hang them in a dark warm area with the temperature somewhere around 70 to 80F.

#2: Microwave drying
For people that don't have the patience or just want to get to their herbs dried quickly, the microwave offers a great solution. The disadvantage is that you can only do small batches at the time. The high-frequency waves produced by the microwave will cook the herbs from the inside to the outside. The drying process usually only takes two or three minutes in the microwave on a high setting.

#3: Oven drying
Oven drying is not a recommended way of drying herbs, as it evaporates the water and essential oils in the herbs to quickly, but for those that can't wait it will suffice. Herb roots can be successfully dried in the oven. Thick walled herbs such as basil and rosemary do well. It should only take a couple hours in the oven to produce your dried herbs.

#4: Dehydrator
The main advantage of using a dehydrator is that you can control the temperature and air circulation. This tends to produce a high quality dried herb. Another advantage of using a dehydrator is that you can dry large quantities of herbs and also herbs with high moisture without any problems.

So if you're looking to prolong your bounty that you have grown in your summer herb garden be sure to try drying your herbs for winter use.

Herbs can give you a sexy strong healthy body, so if that,s what you are looking for check this out!

http://www.herbgarden.rolltra.com

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