Appetite for life...

How many of you leave your chicken on the bench to defrost or have seen your mothers do it? This is WRONG!!! Bacteria such as salmonella and e-coli are likely to grow to a dangerous level if you leave chicken exposed to a warm temperature for a long time. If not cooked properly, you guys may get food poisoning!

THE RIGHT WAY TO DEFROST.

If it is frozen solid- the best way to defrost is to remove the chicken or fish from the freezer and put it in the refrigerating section (the lower compartment). It will defrost overnight.

If you want to defrost chicken on the bench, make sure the chicken is placed in VERY COLD WATER. However, water has to be changed every 30 minutes until defrosted completely.

Fastest way – put in the microwave and push the defrost button.

(Meat/chicken/fish defrosted in microwave and in cold water should not be frozen again. It has to be cooked immediately)

SAME RULES APPLY TO ANY MEAT OR FISH YOU NEED TO DEFROST.

• It's important to not crowd the pan with too much food when frying, or the food will steam rather than get crispy and brown.

• Will u be surprised if i told you that washing raw chicken that you purchase in packets is completely unnecessary? During packaging blood is removed from the chicken and the pink liquid you find in the package is mostly water absorbed by chicken during chilling process.

• Always turn meat and chicken pieces with tongs instead of a fork. Piercing it with a meat fork allows the juices to escape and can cause food to become dry.

• If you want to boil beetroot and potatoes, start in cool water and bring to a boil.

Labels: a chocolate model i made...ofcourse you can see how crazy i am about the beach..

There are some food that are considered to have aphrodisiac qualities. Meaning, food that can attribute to arousal and intensifying sexual desire. Food are considered to be sexy, because of its texture smell, taste or perhaps of its suggestive appearance.

Scientifically, it has not been proven that any food can do such a trick. However, throughout history there have been some foods that people believe, have the tendency to encourage and speed up human sex drive.

I believe that, eating a particular kind of food cannot necessarily arouse a person. However; a long term practice of eating healthy food can keep you energetic and therefore have a good impact on your sex life. On the other hand, I have to agree that some fruits and vegetables have a very suggestive nature to it. It may be a good idea to buy a selection of such fruits and vegetables from your grocery shop and prepare dinner with your lover. Who knows what will go through your partners mind when you start washing those cucumbers under the running water of the sink….

Here are some fruits and vegetables you may want to include in your grocery list..

Bananas-
As well as having an erotic shape, The banana has also been associated with erotic energy.
Bananas also contain an alkaloid compound 'bufotein' which is thought , may boost your sex drive.

Almonds - Associated with passion and fertility, the smell of almonds is said to excite women, which explains why it is such a common ingredient in soaps and creams.

Avocado-
It has been considered an aphrodisiac in some cultures.

Grains and oats-
Oats encourage the release of testorone in males to help libido.

Garlic-
Garlic is commonly used in Italy and we have all heard about the men of italy being one of the sexiest people. You may want to try make a nice pasta dish with a mild garlic taste. Suggestion - Make sure you have a good mouthwash to use after dinner.

Herbs-
Basil, cardamom, clove, garlic, ginger and pepper are all good for spicing up your sex life.

Oysters-
Oysters were documented as a aphrodisiac food by the Romans in the second century A.D. An additional hypotheses is that the oyster resembles the "female" genitals.

Chocolate-
Do not forget to make a chocolate dessert for the big night!

• When a recipe calls for adding oil, garlic, and onions to a pan, always add garlic last. This keeps it from burning and tasting bitter.

• Microwave a lemon for 15 seconds and double the juice you get before squeezing.

• Never wash mushrooms. Wipe with a dry cloth.

• Always use a wet knife to cut a cake.

The sticky date pudding is very popular in Australia. It is one of my recent favourite cakes. It is moist, sticky and soft in the mouth... Here is my modified recipe of the cake. Tried, tested and everyone loved it!

½ cup butter (make sure it is soft in texture)
1 ¼ cup pitted honey coated dates (make sure the dates are coated in honey or else cake will not be sweet enough)
2 tsp baking powder
1 ¼ cup normal flour (sifted)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
½ tsp salt

-Pre heat oven to 250 degrees Celsius. . Butter a nine inch baking tray. Sprinkle a bit of flour so the cake doesn’t stick to the tray.

-Place the dates in a sauce pan and cover with water (1 ½ cup). Bring to a boil and simmer( meaning reduce heat) and leave for 3 minutes. Remove and add baking powder. Set aside.

-Cream butter, salt and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time. Mix with an electric mixer till smooth. (if u don’t have an electric mixer, use a whisk and mix till smooth). Gently mix in the flour with a big spoon. ( do not mix for a long time after adding the flour). Stir in the cooked dates.

Bake in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes or until cooked in the centre.

Caramel sauce as a topping

½ cup butter
¼ cup unsweetened whipping cream
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla essence

Combine butter, cream and brown sugar and vanilla in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 3 minutes.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS - drizzle sauce over the cake.
Personally i don’t like the Caramel sauce but like to serve the cake with vanilla ice cream.

Makes 10 servings.