Tag: Helpful Tips

Tips For Great Fish On The Grill

Along with meats, vegetables and poultry, fish is also one of the most popular items anyone can put in on top of the grill. This is because fish has a very pleasant flavor, is quite easy and fun to cook and would offer a healthier option than most other items that are usually grilled. However, there are different methods and approaches to cooking different sorts of fish. Following these methods correctly would make your fish taste much better than how it has always been.

Take note that fish is to be classified into some categories when it comes to grilling and these are whole, fillet, firm and tender fish. These categories are what you should use as a basis to know how to cook it. So to further educate you with other guidelines you must follow when grilling fish, here are some helpful tips to guide you through.

Direct Grilling

Firm fish such as swordfish and tuna are much easier to grill since they do not crumble or break apart as easily as how some other fish would. Being that, you can have them cooked right on top of the fire, just make sure that there isnt too much fire that it would overcook it. Make sure the fire is set on medium when first having the fish grilled and you can later set it higher so that there would be pretty grill marks on the sides of your fish, these of which are the signs of a grill master.

It is also very important that you know how your fish should be. In being so, choose cuts that are at least 1 inch thick and are quite wide. Also when grilling those nice fillets, make sure that you turn them every once in a while or every 2 minutes or so. While you would want to have those nice grill marks, it is more important to have the fish cooked well.

Grilling Hygiene

When grilling, you would not want to have a nice sea bass on top of the grill cooked perfectly and later have it taste like steak. To avoid this, you should practice good grilling hygiene that is you should always see to it that your grill is clean and is fit for use. In grilling hygiene, there are three main guidelines to remember. The grill must be cleaned, it must be hot and it must be oiled too. Take note that fish could stick to the grills surface and damage it easier compared to other items.

First is you have to keep it clean, make sure that you scrub the grills surface each time before you use it and you have to make sure that there are no remnants of any food items on top of it. Another is that you have to keep it oiled. Before grilling, spray a small amount of vegetable oil on the grills surface to keep the fish from sticking to it later on. Last is you have to keep it hot, or pre-heated. Never toss fish on the grills surface right after setting the fire, wait for 15 minute before doing so.

Make Use Of Accessories

Accessories are now widely available to make grilling fish much easier and taste much better. A famous example of this is the fish basket which is a device which puts the fish into a cage like grill and makes it cook evenly on all sides easier. To enhance the fishs flavor, you can also add herbs, lemon and spices with the fish inside the grill for the vapor to sink deep into the fish.

There are a lot of accessories and you can use them depending on how you want fish to be prepared.

Laying Out And Planting Vegetable Gardens

Laying Out and Planting Vegetable Gardens

As you start planting vegetable gardens its important to know how the garden will be laid out. The layout of your own garden will depend on what vegetable you want to grow, the planting space and if you would like to opt for companion planting. Here are some helpful tips on how to layout your own garden and start planting vegetables.

Sit Down and Plan

Before choosing a layout you need to decide on what type of vegetable you would like to grow and where you would like to plant them. Here are other factors you need to consider for your garden layout:

* Garden Space * Amount of Light in the Space * Drainage System * Soil Amendments * Type of Vegetable * Additional Space (if needed)

You should also think about whether you want to grow one type of vegetable like lettuce and tomatoes or if you want one type of vegetable with different kinds. Researching about the amount of light a certain vegetable needs and the amount of space that each need to be planted are both helpful facts to find out.

Make a list of vegetables you want to plant and find out the plant requirements of each and compare it with the garden space you have. This should give you an idea of where you want to plant certain vegetables in your space.

Choose your Garden Layout

There are three basic vegetable garden layouts and they are: rows, beds and potager style.

The most popular rows style of layout requires planting seeds in a row which could either mean planting one type of seed in a row or different seeds in a row.

The bed type of layout is similar the rows style but in a smaller level. This layout allows access to the plant beds from the exterior of the garden or as you walk through the garden path instead of coming from inside of the plant bed. This is particularly convenient to avoid stepping on the beds which tends to pack in the soil and makes it difficult to dig and aerate in the spring or fall. Plant beds are great ways to maximize a garden space and you can even use raised beds for easy gardening.

The most decorative style of layout is the potager which means kitchen garden in French. This layout is described as geometric which allows you to layout your garden in circles or arrange plants by color or even food type.

Consider Companion Planting

The idea behind companion planting involves planting different kinds of plants together so that they help each other grow. A perfect example of this is planting beans, corn and squash together which were commonly done by Native Americans. While the corn gives the beans a place to climb, the beans gives its three companions nutrients in the soil and the squash serves as a shade to the roots of the plants beside it. This not only prevents weeds from growing, it also saves up on water.

Other great plants for companion planting are onions, which scares slugs and aphids away, tomatoes, which grow well with carrots and basil, which improves the taste of tomatoes. Another example is horseradish and potatoes which when planted together give your potatoes protection from disease.

In planting vegetable gardens, this concept is certainly worth considering and if you want to get more information about it, you can do some research online or in your local library.