Using a Charcoal Grill

So you have decided that you want to start barbequing. What more, you have done your research and decided that a charcoal grill is the right type of grill for you. So now you have to pick out the charcoal grill that suits you best.

One of the first things to consider when purchasing your first charcoal grill is what you will be using it for. If you plan on traveling and using your charcoal grill, you will want something small enough to travel with you. Smaller charcoal grills are ideal for cookouts, camping, and tail gate parties, but would not be useful if you were cooking for a larger amount of people. Smaller grills that are easy to transport usually cost under 20 dollars, so you may want to consider purchasing a separate grill for smaller occasions.

Safety should also be a major concern when you are picking out your first charcoal grill. Since you grill will contain hot coals, the number one concern should be whether or not your grill is sturdy. Look for a charcoal grill with a sturdy structure and sturdy legs. If you grill does now have sturdy legs, its chances of falling over is much greater. When a charcoal grill falls over, it send hot coals flying. Many charcoal grills also have built in safety features such as a water reservoir and smothering valves. Undoubtedly, when you are cooking with fire, accidents can happen. In the case that your grill gets out of control or becomes to hot, these safety features will prevent potentially dangerous fires.

One of the most noticeable features when using charcoal is the flavor of the food you cook. To cook with a charcoal grill, you must buy charcoal briquettes and lighter fluid. Charcoal is a one use item, and will need to be discarded after each use. Charcoal can be picked up at your local superstore, gas station, or grocery store, and is typically pretty inexpensive. Charcoal must be light and allowed to burn until the charcoal is no longer on fire, but is red embers. The best way to get the pile to burn is by stacking it in a pyramid.

While no one likes to clean their grill, it is necessary to maintain your grill if you want it to last its intended lifetime. One problem you will face is the fact that Charcoal grills stay hot for a long period of time. You can remedy this situation 2 ways. First you can leave your grill open, allowing it to burn out. This method typically burns a lot of the grease off, but can potentially cause problems if you are not near your barbeque grill. You do not want to start a fire. Another way is to completely close off your grill and deny the fire oxygen. As soon as the grill is cold, or cold enough not to burn you, you will want to clean the grill. Leaving the grill dirty for any amount of time will cause the buildup to become hard, and may make it harder to remove. Use a wire brush to clean off the surface areas of your grill, and then spray cooking oil on the surface. Take the racks off and clean them with dishwashing soap. Dawn or other brands that have degreasers work best. Rinse the racks off, and replace them in the grill.

The Proud Leonidas Belgian Chocolates

Leonidas Kesdekidis, an ordinary Greek citizen was the founder of Leonidas Belgian Chocolates. His company bears his name as the founder of the company who makes wonderful delights like pralines, truffles and other heavenly chocolate assortments. Mr. Kesdekidis arrived at Brussels in the year 1910 and a bit later on marrying one of the locals making him decide to get settled in the said place. He made a large array of pralines in his place situated close to Rempart de Moines for a living.

Mr. Kesdikidis and his descendants goal was to get his home-made wonderful delights of pralines as close as possible to as many consumers, not to mention every creators dream to let the rest of the world know their chocolate concoctions. His strategy of combining world-class quality and the best price is still unbeatable up to this date. Leonidas products are far different from the chocolates of other brands. The fact that only Leonidas has the most concern for the freshness of its chocolates makes it unique and unbeatable. Meanwhile the other brands strategy to make their products fresh is that they have to repackage the product to look fresh but what about the product itself? Yes, the package is fresh but the content is still the same. Whereas at Leonidas, the chocolates will only be boxed on the day that the customers order is received. Other chocolates quality of freshness may be risked for the necessity of longevity. What they do is they are likely to be pre-packed and or intended to be on a shelf of department stores or supermarkets, but not with Leonidas.

At Leonidas, longevity is not a problem because of the packing strategy; instead the main concern is not to compromise the quality of the produce in other terms. Like in the aspect of the ingredients. Most chocolate makers use vegetable fats on their chocolates but with Leonidas they prefer to use genuine cocoa butter. Because of the very high standards that Leonidas had they were able to obtain an ISO 9001 certificate for the produces quality, which by the way is very much over the needed requirement for the production of chocolates.

Leonidas deliver only at the places where there are Leonidas outlets like Hollywood and all over United Kingdom and Belgium. However, they refuse to export for the reason that they didnt want to risk the freshness of every chocolate bar that goes out of their stores but customers outside United Kingdom will be able to send to their loved ones that lives within the country. To date there is only a small number of sellers of Leonidas chocolates because of the high standard requirement that every seller has to comply with for the very cautious storing and freshness concerns.

The chocolates are wrapped in 500grams, 750grams, and one kilogram boxes. Upon order you will not be experiencing the hassle of putting it on presentation boxes for the box alone that Leonidas use will suffice for they are already gift wrapped and there also offer different sorts of gift wrapping, as well as the standard wrap, luxury and or seasonal choices.

These chocolates are supposed to be consumed within 21 days after it is purchased. They should not be kept too long otherwise the freshness and or the quality will not be the same of what is expected of it, although keeping it refrigerated will prolong the shelf life. Storing on the refrigerator, you have to keep it away from other foods that has a very prominent smell or odor, otherwise the chocolate will be ruined because it may absorb the odor of that certain food and may affect the taste and quality.

How Healthy is Mexican Food

If you ask majority of Americans on when the last time they ate Mexican food, usually it is within the last week. Mexican foods have become very popular in the United States. The problem is that the Mexican foods in America are not the same as they are in Mexico. Americans have added super fat and super sized the meals. If you go down to Mexico, you may not even find the same dishes because the dishes were created in America. Authentic Mexican food is rich in fresh vegetables, protein, and nutritious vitamins and spices.

Taco Bell comes to mind as a popular food chain that serves Mexican foods. You will find tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. People in Mexico usually do not eat big platters of tortilla chips in their everyday meals. Because of the food sold in the United States, it is not very healthy. The Mexican foods in America are not as rich in nutrients. It contains high fat, sodium, and calories. It also does not include as many fresh vegetables.

Most traditional Mexican dishes have less fat and calories. This doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy the foods served in American restaurants. You can add more healthy foods to the dish. Tomatoes are high in vitamins and have lycopene which has cancer-fighting properties. Tomatoes can be added to many Mexican dishes. Beans carry high protein and fiber. Instead of eating the beans refried, try getting them whole. It cuts back on the fat. Corn is another vegetable that is healthy in Mexican foods. It is high in vitamins and contains fiber. Adding these to your Mexican dishes will make them healthier than what you are served at Taco Bell.

You may be wondering if people in Mexico eat healthier foods. In America we have the choice to go to health food stores where we can find organic foods and foods not as fattening. The only drawback is that not everyone can afford to buy these foods whenever they grocery shop. In Mexico, healthier choices are available. Each year the health food market in Mexico makes over $500 Million. The consumers make up 5 percent of Mexico’s population. Their age range is from 20 to 50 years old. They usually live in metropolitan areas and can afford to buy these types of healthier foods. If they cannot afford it, they still are not getting all the fats and calories that we find in American foods, especially fast-foods. Authentic Mexican foods still carry many vegetables and ingredients that are good for your body, and also the way the food is cooked is healthier.

You are probably wondering again, is Mexican food healthy for me. Authentic Mexican dishes are, because they carry many vitamins and are generally low in fat. America has fattened up the Mexican dishes making them not a good choice. If you want to go out to eat, try avoiding the major Mexican food chain restaurants. Find a restaurant that serves authentic dishes. It is healthier and will taste even better knowing you are giving your body good foods.

Manual Drip Coffee Makers

Many people don’t really know the difference between automatic and manual drip coffee makers. It’s really very simple. An automatic drip coffee maker pours the hot water over the ground coffee for you while a manual drip coffee maker requires that you do it yourself.

Manual drip coffee makers typically come in single cup to twelve cup varieties and basically give you similar results as an automatic drip coffee maker. Many people feel they get a better tasting cup of coffee when they have the ability to pour the water themselves and choose from a variety of filters and filter holders. A good thing about manual drip coffee makers is that they don’t use electricity and can be used wherever you happen to go. This makes them a great choice for camping. You can boil water over a fire or portable stove for your coffee.

The main components of manual drip coffee makers are the pot or cup, a filter, and a filter holder. There are more complicated varieties available but for most of them, this is all you will need. First you set your pot or cup on a counter, set the filter holder on top, add a filter and fill it with ground coffee. You boil water on a stove and pour it into the filter. It’s pretty easy but if you don’t know what you are doing or have the proper pot to boil water in, there is a potential to get scalded. Using a teapot or special pot that has a place for pouring is the best way to go as a saucepan isn’t designed for pouring water out.

Every manual drip coffee maker has a special filter and filter holder. The filters can be permanent metal ones or your basic disposable paper ones. Many people like the metal filters because they can be used many times and provide the same water flow each time. Paper filters, though cheaper, can end up costing more in the long run and each brand might let water flow a little differently. The filter holders come in hundreds of varieties but you usually get one with your manual drip coffee maker. If you buy a different one, you run the risk of overflow. Filter holders can be porcelain, plastic, metal, or glass and come in many different sizes.

The manual drip coffee maker pot or cup is an important thing to consider. Do you want to make a single cup or ten cups? A single cup version will take up almost no counter space and is a great choice for people who live alone or in a very small place. The ten to twelve cup versions are great for homes that drink a lot of coffee or for big camping trips. They aren’t as big as an electric coffee maker and can be taken apart for easy cleaning and carrying.

The most important part of any coffee maker is the type of coffee you use. Expensive coffee that is freshly ground will taste much better than coffee from a discount store. Try different types of coffee and decide what kind you like the best.

The Not So Sweet History of Belgian Chocolate

How It All Began

It all started with Leopold II of Belgium in the year 1885 when he colonized Congo. It was a territory eighty-six times bigger than his country. Leopold II was the very first one to commit genocide during the 20th Century.

The chocolate industry first took off during the 1880s, supported by getting hold of the Belgian Congo that has aided an easy way in to Africas cocoa grounds. The truth is that it is very hard to imagine that the Belgian Chocolates history may be that far from being sweet.

There was an estimated 10 million Africans that passed away under the orders of Leopold II. Despite of the war that was happening, Belgians were able to maintain the cocoa importing connections. On the other hand, the Belgian contribution in the chocolate industry is the introduction of their chocolate product which is the praline. It was created and expanded by a Swiss family in Brussels, the Neuhaus family in 1912. The praline was the very first butter cream-filled bite sized chocolate. It was either filled with nuts or cream or coated with milk or milk chocolate or filled also with a very good quality of dark chocolate.

In the year 1912, chocolate started as a gift in Belgium. A Belgian chocolatier created the very first praline, a chocolate that absolutely complied to the gift career it was building. Not later on, a packaging called Ballotin was developed and patented for praline. At that moment the pralines in Ballotin were the most desired gift in every chance somebody has to give someone something as a present.

The Making

Chocolates start with the seeds of a cacao tree. A fruit bearing tree that has large football-shaped like pods, in which the seeds are contained. The cacao tree was first discovered in the United States but now can be grown in many countries near the Equator. These pods are gathered and the seeds are then dried in the sun. After drying, they undergo roasting. When the beans are roasted, they will now be crushed to produce cocoa powder, and then squeezed to get the cocoa butter.

When the powder is ready, it will be mixed with butter. Adding the milk powder and sugar creates chocolate. Each component of the mixture determines the color of the chocolate. Therefore creating different kinds of chocolate like black or the dark chocolate that can be made with up to seventy percent of cocoa in the mixture; milk chocolate containing more milk powder than the others, and of course the white chocolate that does not contain cocoa but cocoa butter only mixed with milk and sugar only.

Trivia

Did you know that if not most, all the pralines during those times were hand made? Presently chocolates are considered as an energy giving food because of its very high content of sugar and calorie. Another fact about chocolate is that it is also considered as one of the many sexual stimulant foods. In fact, aside from being an exceptional energy booster, one of the Aztec emperors drank chocolate to have access to women. It is also known to be use as an anti-depressant. It is known to contain a substance called pheryletylanine that has a positive effect in the event of a nervous depression but not only that, there is something in chocolates that gives anyone a lighter mood every time it is drank.