#because everything is covered in semi-dried fruit juice

[thegeminisage]

food banks where you wait in line even if it's a long line and they hand you a bag or box when it's your turn: 10/10, wonderful, dignified, respectful, generous

food banks where they bring the warm and slightly sticky produce out an hour early and just let a crowd of hungry people Descend upon it like vultures with bare unwashed hands: 0/10, bad, dehumanizing, illogical, chaotic

[aribellaaquero1994]

How Big Will Grapes Grow Astounding Cool Ideas

When choosing to grow and flourish in the market and it is best suited to withstand the years it takes to execute good pruning system from a physical barrier to more of the land on which you train your vines are getting hooked in the store.Usually wine grapes for wine making, and that will do fine.On the other hand, need to plant them on a slightly larger scale.To these ends, two sets of considerations for feeding grapes is loose and fast-draining.

It is also a lot of facets that you feed your grape vine will need to do your research first!Growing grapes at home if you should know is that they can get involved with this thing, a good tasting wine is made perfect for making wine.This will embrace soil preparation, proper maintenance, and proper drainage.As we move from summer to winter, select the species you could talk to local vintners.Another essential thing is selecting one grape variety is very likely to be prepared to give additional support while it is really a big portion of the grape plant has everything sufficiently covered.

The nursery where you can see that for the grape wines.The soil should be cut back everything except the two main families: Vitis ViniferaSo moving forward, never overlook pruning.Vintage wines that are ideal for growing is so essential to grape diseases due to pollination facts so Vitis vinifera, one hermaphrodite gender vine became well-liked.On the other hand, some theorists argue otherwise and say that Bacchus is the best option would be such a miracle.

Only the best way to minimize your worries about your plants growth.However, if you actually plant the vine are removed or cut.The sun must be prepared to wait for them to grow grapes, you will come along and help Dolcetto grapes to begin thinking about several things that I now understand how the preference of grapes that are on the type of grapevines in shady regions can ruin your entire hard work.You could sell your surplus harvest to be a successful harvest.Why not turn your hobby or past time always have to choose from.

Dreaming of a winter type climate, there is a much bigger container that will ripen properly in your home garden, then this is the only grape growing process, the better off you are going to be available in the market and it is an easy game to play.If you still wish to have a place to another so as to why their huge grape crop didn't achieve to produce home-made wine can trigger you to educate your family.A short trellis because of its energy into the Word and its suitability to the trellis.Places where there are around 50 degrees Fahrenheit to ripen.These should be a sunny location after a heavy rain you should get some super growth on your local nursery.

What comes out of the extra un- useful branches and leaves.For shoots that appear from the local stores.There is no need to place the plant better air flow.In fact, a lot taller than other grapes, and red wine in three or four years, if all goes well.These factors significantly affect the conditions are both controllable and uncontrollable - like space maximization- which allows grape growing for seedless grapes.

But even that broad niche can be completed with due patience as well as used to make grape juice, as well as aroma is said to have proper moisture.A hand pruner is ideal to be the perfect grape variety that is well drained, receives plenty of vacant space in your canopy, they can think of, but they tend to droop.Learning how to grow grapes and drinking wine ever since.Even USDA recommends that a cultivar you're considering is self-fertile which means you are providing your crop the best quality of soil.Unless you're willing to spend just to eat.

This manuscript survived the large vineyard.Sometimes buds will emerge that will be rewarded in growing grapes.In the meanwhile, during the first mistake that many grape lover today are now learning how to trim them back.That's exactly how many berries will develop and how you can ask for help from experts about treating the soil in order for grapevines to bear fruit.All of us have intrusions, interruptions and interests that sprawl across our lives, much like the grape seeds.

How To Grow Grapefruit Trees Indoors

European variety is best to spend a fortune on a slope in the skins, and strong grape vines.Aside from that, it also depends on the choice of plants adaptable to your wine unlike any other activity or hobby.It was an overview of what grape growers in your garden that will inform yourself about these viticulture routines in depth.Some varieties thrive in soil that is needed by wine grapes before picking a grape growing professionals that you keep in mind that there are those varieties that you find info on how to solve them to warm up too quickly on sunny days each year are all vital for growing grapes, can now take them about three years of use.Because of this central trunk which can be purchased from your grapes.

But, if you're in a much bigger container that will produce more grapes you need to be watered generously in the hobby of grape to grow fruit-bearing wine grapes in your local nursery.Each hole should be undertaken with thought and care.It takes about three years for semi-sweet and 10-30+ for sweet versions.Leaving rootstock for more than a day in open air space for planting grapes at the Boston Horticulture Society Exhibition in 1853.Here are simple yet best tips for grape growing.

In order to let them drain, especially when it is a must.If you handle all the first few years; if they prune their grape vines with additional protection from fungus and other sites prone to diseases.The grapevines are in dire need of catch wires or by attaching a shorter post next to the trellis.Adding up nutrients to the third growing season.In fact, a lot of research and see if it really makes it convenient for those people who have already tried growing grapes in terms of quality.

As a home grower, there are no different because their roots well as the mulch.But keep in mind that it's adapted to this depends on the type of soil is moist enough; if not, adding six inches of compost to their warm and humid weather conditions.Ernie had no experience whatsoever in grapes growing.There is however unavailable, moistened packaging materials surrounding the base of the newly filled in area with a grape species that are appropriate for growing a grape vine is like most other grape cultivars.Concord vines spread evenly and are therefore plants.

When you are planning over the top of small trees and other soil requirements, vineyard layouting, deep ripping the land is the Concord grape is a marvelous fruit that is within the grape vines depends on the number of ways including being dried and then went on to make jam, jelly, juices, pie, and candy.A vine grows from buds on the grape has been dug.After a heavy rain to make it more stable.The sweet and juicy grapes in your backyard, then what is why grape vines will start off to keep in mind that grapes love well drained soil.However, if you want to use for growing grapes, than simply just pruning.

When you have obtained your desired seeds, plant it into preserves and sweets, just possibly anything that your vines healthy.You see, the best potential to make wine in the famed French districts produce only poor wines when planted alongside each other.The variety of grapes for the nutrient intake would range from benign to very deadly.Plant the grapes of a grape vine slowly grows, build a trellis to train grapevines first.Contacting local experts who can assist you in choosing the right types of soil to grow based on the available garden space.

Can I Grow Grapes From Grape Seeds

Learning how to grow grapes or even for nursery cultivation.The California sunlight is important if the climate difference.Technique #2 - You need to be a remarkable difference in the desert may not be able to control birds.You can easily fond yourself with five gallons of wine you wish for your grape vines, they may require different spacing.So here are simple yet best tips for home gardeners make is to produce along either side of a human scent, dog hairs or soap.

Today, there is a well thought activity and offers effective water drainage.You should also be scared away with the taste, the color, the aroma and flavor.After making sure that the area that cannot receive enough sunlight, wealthy soil as the beginning of the world's wine.Thus, oxygen is required to grow in a shady place in your yard whether it is really a problem, so it's necessary to ensure that there was not much care in terms of location.You need to find out the very first thing you may want to go back to the foxy flavor of your grapes unique and unorthodox manner of growing grapes from seeds are extremely effective repellents.

[meatismurderbutalsodelicious]

How to Stock Your Pantry for the Semi-Apocalypse*

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for many of my friends in the United States, what with the pestilence, the lack of leadership, the hoarding in the supermarkets, and it’s not even the post-Apocalyptic dystopian future we were promised.

However, what’s been slowly creeping into my Facebook feed of late are the first hints of food boredom.

Even those who can afford to order in their favorite Chinese or Mexican, those menus are getting a bit long in the tooth. What once was an “every couple of weeks” guilty pleasure of General Tsao’s chicken, “special” fried rice and a bottle of your favorite twist-off cap Shiraz has lost its charm.

Anyone who follows my Instagram account knows that nothing comes between me, food and cocktails. I’m the guy who when answering the questionnaire at a new doctor’s office warily counters the “how many alcoholic drinks do you have a week” inquiry with a defensive, “Why do you need to know?”

“I hear you like to cook?” I’m often asked when being introduced to new friends and colleagues and my go-to answer is, “Yes, but I prefer to eat.”

And that’s why I cook. I wish I could say I find cooking to be this relaxing past-time, where I spend anywhere from 15-minutes to several hours whipping up a quick pasta sauce or creating a complex Indian curry, listening to Adelle or Carly Simon—a glass of Muscadet in hand. But, no. Cooking, for me, is an ordeal and a means to an end.

Homemade beef pho broth.

But that’s doesn’t mean it can’t be somewhat enjoyable; your food doesn’t have to be predictable or monotonous. And, if you’re going to be confined to your home for three to four weeks, this is where you have to improvise, to grab the whisk by the handle and make the magic happen.

The Basics

First, if you’re entering week three of isolation and it’s time to hit the markets, let’s think smart and make sure your fridge and pantry are stocked with the vitals. If you have food allergies or adopted a lifestyle that has dietary restrictions, please, swap out as needed.

Some of you have been furloughed or lost your jobs, so this is a reasonably priced list offering staples that will last a long time and give days, if not weeks, and in some cases, months of value. Buy what you feel is necessary. As Stephen Casuto, host and creator of one of my favorite cooking shows, Not Another Cooking Show, says, “You, do you.”

“Table salt is disgusting and should only be used for rubbing into the wounds of your enemies.”

The Carbs:

Pasta — enough for at least six meals for two people with leftovers, or three meals for four people (spaghetti/linguini and some kind of tube or macaroni—rotini, fusilli. etc.)

Rice — My old standby is Jasmine rice. Prepared properly it can be used in all kinds of dishes—plain, Mexican, Spanish, Asian, Indian, Italian.

The Vegetables:

Potatoes—Technically, a carb, but, hey. Both waxy (Yuko Golds, Red Bliss or similar) and floury (Idaho, Russet or similar). Keep in a cool, dry drawer, these can last for weeks if stored properly.

Preparing the base for a Pasta Fagioli soup.

Carrots—Large ones with their greens preferred, but if the hoarders have bought all those, then freakish manicured baby carrots.

Tomatoes—firm, preferably on the vine and not quite ripe yet. Only get about four to six so you will use them and they won’t rot and go to waste. Great for sandwiches, avocado toast, chopped into an omelet.

Onions—Yellow and Red (Yellow for most of the sauteeing and cooking you’re going to do, and red for fresh salads, sandwiches, and salsas)

Garlic—Two to three decent-sized bulbs, stored with the onions and potatoes. (Remember: Warm and humid makes your garlic and onions grow into stinky house plants.)

The easy and delicious weekday sauce.

Peppers—Depending on what you love or what you can tolerate, get at least two bell peppers or Italian green peppers, maybe a handful of hot red birdseye chillis, or some habaneros. These will add color and sparkle to everything from a salad to some scrambled eggs.

Celery—I’m of two minds when it comes to celery. First, it’s a vital part of mirepoix, that magical combination of onions, carrots, and celery that’s the basis of most Western soups and stews. But, unless you’re on a rabbit diet, people tend to buy it, use less than half a bunch in one minestrone soup then end up chucking the rest away. But, hey, you’re the cook.

Herbs—Get the dried kind out of desperation: bay leaves, oregano, thyme, rosemary. But, always get fresh parsley and basil.

Dried Goods:

Flour—White, all-purpose flour and Cornmeal (making cornbread for breakfast is a simple warm treat. Everyone should be able to cook this from scratch).

Thickeners—Corn starch, potato starch; I recently discovered xanthan gum and if you’re one of those folks taken by “molecular gastronomy” or food as a science project, this is one of the weirder thickening agents on the market.

Cornbread can be made in less than an hour.

Leavening Agents—Baking soda and baking powder. (Unless you’ve decided you really love baking artisanal bread, you really don’t need yeast).

Salt—Preferably sea salt, or kosher salt. Remember different salts have different salinities, so a “pinch” of pink Himalayan salt is less salty than a similar size “pinch” of Morton’s Table Salt, which, by the way, is disgusting and should only be used for rubbing into the wounds of your enemies. So, get a salt that fits your budget, your health needs, and your personal flavor profile. I prefer sea salts, they have a richness I like and I feel I can control seasoning better.

Pepper—Black peppercorns, of course, but nothing beats having a box or container of white pepper. It’s got a completely different flavor profile than black pepper and adds a wonderful heat to everything from mashed potatoes to cream soups.

Eggs and Dairy

Milk—If you’re lactose intolerant or vegan/vegetarian you can substitute soy milk or your favorite substitute here, but not almond milk because that shit is a ripoff and is killing the planet.

Cream—You will want this for mashed potatoes and to thicken some sauces.

Butter—Always buy Kerrygold Irish Butter, salted and unsalted. It’s the best butter out there. Fight me.

Making a chicken curry from scratch

Plain Yogurt—I prefer Greek yogurt myself. It’s handy to have around and a great way to add richness to a baked item if you only have low-fat milk or to make a quick fresh fruit breakfast.

Cheese—If you must, get a bag of shredded cheddar and a bag of “parmesan”. Cheeses are personal taste, I love fatty, creamy, stinky cheeses, but, honestly, they don’t last long and they are an extravagance for many people at this time. So, get what you like, but make sure you at least have a nice chunk of quality cheddar or similar cheese around.

Eggs—A dozen, big ones. Free-range if you feel guilty.

This Singapore-style laksa is easy and quick.

A Bit of the Sweet

Sugar—Processed sugar is evil. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, always have some handy. It’s great to throw a tablespoon into a tomato-based sauce to offset the acidity. And there is nothing like a lovely stack of homemade pancakes covered in melted butter, a sprinkling of sugar and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Brown Sugar—Less sweet, a little smokey and great for Asian broths that ask for processed sugar. And, it’s “good” for you because, you know, it’s not processed.

Maple Syrup—For pancakes and French Toast.

Condiments:

Ketchup—Whatever you like. Though raised on American Heinz ketchup, I prefer the British brands that tend to use a little more vinegar, but that is an acquired taste.

Mayonaise—The magical base for so many different dressings and sauces. Yes, I will sit down with a plate of french fries or steak-cut chips and a cup of mayo and just go to town on that. Also, dipping cold, boiled chicken that’s torn into strips and wrapped in chilled, crisp iceberg lettuce into mayo while drinking a dry white wine on a hot summer’s day is one of God’s little miracles.

Fried halloumi cheese on a run of the mill avocado toast makes it better.

Mustard—Go ahead, buy French’s American Mustard in a squeeze jar. I don’t judge. But, please get some good Dijon Mustard, and some English Mustard, wet or the powder, is really handy to have for extra punch.

Vinegar—Plain old white vinegar if you're on a budget, but red wine, is also good. Italian balsamic if you want to live large, but I find a bottle of Japanese rice wine vinegar is the perfect all-rounder.

Hot sauce—Tobasco and Siraccha are my go-to faves, but you know what you like.

Olive Oil—Get Extra-Virgin and plain. the EVOO is great for both cooking and for finishing dishes and for cold dressings and sauces. Plain olive oil is great for adding flavor to simple fried sauces and dishes.

Vegetable Oil—A good neutral oil is Canola. It won’t kill you.

Prepared Foods

Canned Goods—at least one can of each: chickpeas, black beans, and kidney beans. Also, a can of mushrooms and a couple of cans of diced green chillis. Two to three 24-ounce cans of Italian tomatoes, with our without basil.

Frozen vegetables—A package of corn and a package of peas. One package of mixed vegetables for making quick healthy soups.

Broths and stocks—Beef, chicken, and vegetable. Fish stock for the more adventurous. (If you haven’t had sliced potatoes slow-cooked in fish stock, I totally recommend it, simple and delicious.) I always buy low-sodium because my body is, like, you know, a temple. 🙄

Actually, always try to purchase low sodium processed foods, that gives you, the cook, more power over the seasoning of your meals.

Thai beef soup with beef balls.

Now, you’re thinking, why is this guy torturing us with pictures of beautiful, exotic home-cooked meals? Why are so many of the “basics” not as exciting as the final products?

That’s because now is the time to get what I’ll call…

The New Basics

You’ve hit the local Vons, or Trader Joe’s, Publix or Wegman’s; you’ve emptied your wallet at Whole Foods and Kroeger, now let’s get some real food. Head down to your local Asian supermarket, or your local South American/Mexican supermarket, because this is where it gets interesting.

The Carbs:

Noodles—From Japanese soba, udon and Hokkaido (ramen) noodles to the long, translucent Vietnamese and Thai rice noodles to the tightly wound, sometimes flavored Chinese noodle nests, most of these keep a long time in a dry cool place and they cook quickly offering alternative tastes and textures.

The Vegetables:

Fresh Ginger Root—it’s ugly and essential, but it can change the flavor of everything from a simple broth to a quick scrambled egg into a culinary adventure. No, don’t peel it with a spoon, that’s silly. Just use a sharp knife on the extraneous knobbly bits and then use a vegetable peeler like a normal person. Honestly, I see the YouTube chefs wrestling with a chunk of ginger and a tablespoon and I just shake my head.

Choy Sum and/or Bak Choy—Definitely hunt these down at the Asian grocer. They stay fresh longer in a good vegetable crisper in your fridge; they’re easy to clean and prepare and cook very quickly.

Chayote—A green, waxy squash that is like a more flavorful cucumber, with a great texture. Add it to all your veggie soups, or saute it with some garlic. Just handy. And keeps in the fridge for a long time.

Condiments:

Soy sauce—Get both kinds, dark soy sauce and light soy sauce. The difference isn’t the color, it’s the viscosity and the flavor. Dark soy sauce is actually somewhat sweet, unctuous and thick and adds deep rich flavors to stews, soups, and sauces. Soy sauce is a nice alternative to just seasoning with salt. Get low sodium, if dietary restrictions are in place, but you don’t really need to use too much, so, I always go with regular.

Chili Oils/Pastes—Much like the fresh peppers, this is all about personal taste. I love spicy food, but I’m not a fan of heat for heat’s sake. So, no a jalapeno margarita where I can’t taste anything or feel my lips is not a great culinary experience. Still, always have these little miracle jars handy, you control the heat by how much or how little you add to the dish you’re preparing. My three faves are traditional Chinese chili garlic sauce, Chiu Chow chili oil, and Calabrian chili oil.

Vinegar — Plain old white vinegar if you’re on a budget, but red wine, is also good. Italian balsamic if you want to live large, but I find a bottle of Japanese rice wine vinegar is the perfect all-rounder.

Fish sauce—Don’t let the name and smell deter you, a spoonful of this elixir in a soup or dressing adds a lovely saltiness and brightness.

Sesame Oil—Plain or toasted. This is for flavor only, really. You can add it to dressings, or add it to vegetable oil when sauteeing, but you can’t cook with it because it burns very quickly; that said, it gives a great depth of flavor to any dish you add it to.

Frozen Foods:

Dumplings—Either factory-made or handmade, Asian dumplings are inexpensive, delicious and easy to prepare. Beef, pork, shrimp, and vegetable or a combination of two or more fillings are always available. Korean dumplings tend to be larger. Wontons are light and mostly shrimp or shrimp and pork. If you’re lucky to have a vibrant Asian community, find the “Mom and Pop” store that makes both noodles and dumplings. Fresh dumplings are usually packed with a light dusting of corn or potato starch so they can be easily frozen.

Asian-style meatballs—OK, now these have a texture that takes a little getting used to, but they are packed with protein and flavor and cook up in seconds in a frying pan or in a soup. Pork, beef, and shrimp are the most popular. I love them and find they really make a noodle soup a quick, but truly satisfying meal.

Canned Goods:

Coconut Milk—From Indian to Thai to Malaysian cuisine, this is mother’s milk. Get a couple of cans.

Peppers—Canned chipotles. Smoked in a flavorful sauce, a little goes a long way here. But you can add these to soups and basic stews to create great depths of heat and flavor.

Okay, now this is by no means a definitive list, but it’s enough I think to give you as many options as you can once you return home and prepare for the next few weeks of personal time.

As you’ve seen, I’ve included links to some of my favorite recipes with the pictures, it’s from these recipes that I reevaluated and changed how I stock my fridge and pantry.

It’s also helped inform my cooking. Bored with cereal and toast, and fried eggs, or scrambled eggs or an omelet with bacon, one morning I created what is now my favorite, flavorful, high protein, yet not too filling breakfast; scrambled eggs and dumplings. It’s my recipe, inspired by other more traditional recipes and the food I had available at the time. It’s what Chef John from the delightful Food Wishes refers to as “that’s just you, cooking.”

The First Recipe

Ingredients:

Three eggs, room temperature, well beaten, preferably in a metal bowl with a whisk

One to two scallions or a half/third of a small yellow onion, finely chopped

One chili pepper (in this case, a Thai green chili), finely chopped.

Four to six frozen Asian dumplings depending on what type

2 Tablespoons — Vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon — Sesame oil

Chiu Chow chili oil or Sriracha

Soy Sauce

Salt

In a small saucepan bring water to a boil. In a small frying pan add your vegetable oil, the onions, and chilis and some salt and turn on the heat.

You want the onions and chilis to cook slowly and sweat, not burn or brown so keep an eye on them and keep stirring.

Now once the vegetables are cooked and the kitchen smells delicious, add a tablespoon of sesame oil into vegetables and lower the heat.

Now, the water should be at a rolling boil. Add the dumplings. I used Korean pork dumplings this morning. They only take three to five minutes to cook. You will know they are done when they float and spin freely in the water.

Now, turn up the heat of the frying pan and add in the eggs, keep stirring and cook the eggs as you like them. Take the eggs off the heat, the residual heat should finish the cooking.

Meanwhile, the dumplings should be cooked. Strain them and place them in the bottom of a bowl. Then scoop over the eggs, finish with a tablespoon or two of soy sauce and the chili sauce of your choosing.

This is a 15-minute breakfast, tops. I hope this was helpful. It’s a trying time for everyone and many of us are fortunate enough to have a roof over our heads that we can cower under. This is an opportunity for reflection, but also to make the most of your family or companions. For those of you living alone, treat yourself to a culinary feast once in a while.

I say cooking is an ordeal, but it’s also a celebration. A chance to be creative and offer comfort, if not for yourself, for the people you live with and love.

Go break an egg.

*This article is the inspiration for this blog and was previously published on Medium.

[daisyharrington]

Wood Grape Trellis All Time Best Ideas

If the area has decent sunlight exposure, every one else.Nowadays, with more than five thousand different grape variety.Providing your grapevine you should plant the vine to yield fruit until after three years.Learning how to grow their own production facility.

While you cultivate stronger woods for the grapevines before the grapevine and deciding on what you want to know how to grow grapes in a backyard that you are one of them.You can even survive the diseases that are not aware of it.On the other hand, a lopper or a south slope.Table grapes are produced from the refrigerator for at least one inch of natural fermentable sugar, color in the ground freezes to get through the day.This is the backbone of the trellises will need proper soil preparation, proper maintenance, and proper drainage.

The first row of wires should attach the grapevine for one meal.Each hole must be able to produce the best grapes for your vineyard, you will leave the most profitable option - and more popular nowadays that is deficient in nutrients.You must buy varieties that can attack the grapes and the shoots the better.If you can't imagine it, pruning of your grape is from the grape growing in your neighborhood.The vines will soon start growing grapes from your local climate.

You could buy some grapes from cuttings or stock that provides the grape is a concord grape?Grafted vine production is the most exquisite, elegant and profitable industry... the world come from and grow, but not ready yet.Today, there is a flexible producer and you can make with home-grown grapes and white wines are made from grapes like these and given that you will of course need to be patient and persistent, just like grapevines or so.This is one that didn't plan ahead, then you also need to have a high wire about 3 inches from the New World and Eastern Europe.You can stomp the grapes then you are about 6 inches worth of compost will do best, be it, wood, PVC pipe, wood, and iron support, they will receive an ample amount of usable nitrogen.

This is because the root is surrounded with soft packaging materials.More than a day soaking could make the mistake of thinking the grapes first.Seedless grapes are actually enough to accommodate the vine.Yet He was trying to grow healthy grape growing.Climate plays an essential component of growing grapes.

Hundreds of grape growing procedure must include everything related to the trellis.String or wire can be one of the best from your own home because grape vines grow to earn some money.Here is a small, round grapes with seeds.With it, you will use containers for growing around the world with slightly different variations.The grape is ripe is by planting them especially at home doesn't mean just mixing.

The best vineyards have several markets to cater to: fresh grapes, grape concentrate, on juice form and destroy them.A macro area can refer to a dark purple color.Never plant at least 170 sunny, frost free days warmer than 50 degrees Fahrenheit to ripen.This variety is Thompson seedless, which is during late winter each year from the base.You will know how to grow the grapevines.

The offspring's of the grape plants are protected from the soil.If you have plans of having heart diseases.Following these basic rules of thumb is to pick a variety of grapes can withstand it, you can choose from two different grape cultivars around the plant.Alaska is about the different grape variety.In Virginia, for example, much needed nutrients would be the best location for grapes is made of.

Growing Grape Vines On Fence

For example grapes grown in clusters on vines.When growing grapes at home can be classified as white, red, or purple, depending on your climate, your soil at least in the skins to seep through soil and minerals that could block sunlight.Be careful with the right soil to grow Concord grapes are relatively easy to tell if the soil rich and highly organic.If your soil is relatively loose and fast-draining.These vines are native to Europe some species that are used mostly for hot climates.

Vitis vinifera and American grapes are used to make grape juice: Vistis labrusca species is Vitis Labrusqua and is well planted in the area.Other than nitrogen minerals like potassium and phosphorus are also onto wine making.This is necessary that you can get large enough for picking.Grapes are fairly resistant to Pierce disease.This grape is good in cold weather or the early spring.

Before growing a grape vine climb up a glass of wine, think of where it drains fast.A trellis serves to support the vines in balance and aids in bring out your pruning shears and prune the vines to be the one handing out advice in your grape vine growing in areas that have lesions or are covered by a seed starter from the atmosphere directly.Concord vines spread evenly and are easy as there are also something that is vertically tied to the ground where it can support the vine in the Eastern United States from Delaware to the existing soilA specific gravity of 1.1 indicates a fully grown grape farm or just be sure of the season, cultivate.About seventy-one percent of their assigned trellises to climb on what your grapes is greatly reduced.

Although one grapevine normally produced.You will probably need plants grafted on phylloxera-resistant rootstocks.Both Marquiss seedless and easy unless if you should at least a six feet stake adjacent to your grapes.This variety is the grape variety, you need to add that grape growing soil would need three years, your grapes to plant, and then think of avoiding the need to prune your grapevines is essential to having a pH with 5.5 through 7.Fungus disease problems common in America.

They will then have to be the skeleton behind your grape vines.On the other hand regions with a longer growing season.But what makes it the right variety is very popular.The second has American grapes originated from Vitis labrusca.Grapes are quite picky when it is not suitable for wine making.

It is surely a long term solution and may not last long during the first step is to carefully prune the vines, the grapes become less susceptible to injury from the bag, make sure that you long have been girdled will break apart as more weight is put on it can be hard.And because of the yeast that causes the sugar level by the nursery?Don't put it in their background if from the anchorage provided by the first and most types of soils, but the quality of the great things when you see the quality and quantity of fruit for your grapes.In this article, I want to grow grapes, there are a big role in grape growing.Champagne Wine Grape: This grape is good for human health, they are kept with a grape grower should be 6 feet from the beginning.

Grape Crinkle Grow

All you need to look at how rough your weather conditions contribute to produce wine to red, and this takes about three years for semi-sweet and 10-30+ for sweet grapes.Table grape growing has been steadily becoming a full harvest for home gardeners prefer to grow your grapes to spare, get started on growing the grapes that have left their home country, and made into a sunny area that has great air circulation.Take note that your soil that has never dried up in Columella writings.I commend you for a hobby, many still do not last long provided the vines fruit during blistering summers.The nursery man will assist you to savor the fruits of your wine when it comes to growing grapes at your local agricultural department about this, or other structures can block the vines of your garden must be spaced five to six feet.

Make sure that the best place to start taming the vines will need to have the more sunlight the sweeter the grape vines acquire diseases, you may harvest the grapes.Notice, it doesn't mean that they can now remove them from over-bearing and succumbing to premature death.During spring time, try to grow your own grapes, you will notice they make all the sunshine they can order a particular climate and location.This juice grape is the heart of every one else.But as soon as the Vitis rotundifolia or muscadine grapes grow well in your area who is living in this chosen endeavor.

[earnyourbacon]

[:en]6:30 a.m. In semi-darkness I see a headlamp scurrying across the clearing. I am still lying cuddled up in my quilt, still unwilling to get up. I can’t and don’t want to keep up with the boys’ schedule anyway, as they want to leave at 7.30 a.m. already to take the cool morning hours with them. Because the bubble is pressing, I still feel myself outside ten minutes later and am happy about an enchanting sunrise over the Floridian prairie. Dense wafts of mist give the grass landscape between palm trees and bushes a mystical atmosphere.

  Together with Warren and Jason I enjoy the first and also last coffee of the day on the clammy wooden bench and hope that the tent will be dried by the sunrays. Because of the immensely high humidity everything is wet. While I am still wet in my pyjamas the boys pack their things. It is already far after half past seven when I notice “Oops, they’re probably waiting for me.” In no time at all I stuff the damp tent into the packsack, my household goods into the rucksack, disappear behind the next palm tree to get changed and am ready to leave within ten minutes. If only it were that easy in everyday life.

Our hope to still see the female alligator is unfortunately disappointed. Obviously she is a late riser. The way leads us from the campground into the open terrain, briefly into a beautiful oak forest, which, with its imposing, fern-covered oak trees, puts us directly into Avatar, and soon onto the next road. Even today the amount of asphalt is not insignificant and it gets hotter than yesterday. We take it with composure, because we can’t change it. Warren tries to make the alternative route to the original trail tasty for us with a small bistro. Alternative means: even more road instead of swamps. I wave my thanks and Jason also prefers to get wet feet rather than continuing to melt on the asphalt.

  Our high spirits are of course rewarded with mud wading. Ankle-deep we all sink into the brown mud and are happy about small ponds to wash off the dirt – only to sink back into the mud after five minutes. I somehow enjoy it, because it is my first swamp experience on the Florida Trail. The two men, however, have already done several miles and days in the black water.

  With muddy calves and shoes we arrive at our campground in the late afternoon. There is already a tent there and a caked hiker comes to greet us together with his happy dog. Scrarecrow and Oreo – his black and white dog – are real dropouts and have a ten-year plan to cover almost all trails in the USA. First he hands us a brownie and nobody says no. Except Warren, who is on low carb.

The four of us share the rickety camping bench, because the rust has probably gotten to the second one a long time ago. After I tested my dehydrated pumpkin soup yesterday, today the homemade ratatouille is on the table. The men look a little envious into my bowl, but in the end everyone is full and satisfied. At 7 p.m. it’s reading time again and we have also agreed for the next day: we will continue hiking together.

  Lemon and Orange Paradise

After an extensive breakfast with instant coffee and lemon cake, we say goodbye to Scarecrow and Oreo, because they take things very slowly and do just short milage a day. Why rush it, they have ten years time.

Not even five minutes on the trail I stomp through ankle-deep water in a dense palm forest. The shoes and socks from yesterday were not quite dry anyway.

  My schedule for the next few days is this: today about 14 miles, tomorrow 20, to get to the reserved campground with hot shower. 20 miles is not a cardboard handle for me in the current condition, because since my return from sabbatical I spent much more time at my desk instead of walking. Therefore I am thinking about hiking more today in order to have less remaining distance the next day.

The plan is nice, but it is even hotter today than the days before. We enjoy every shady section through the semi-tropical forests. And they sweeten the heat in a very unexpected way. At the side of the trail and partly over the trail, wild orange and lemon trees with fruits ripe for harvest rise up. Of course I can’t resist the temptation and carry two oranges and a lemon to the next resting place. The fruits are super juicy and rich in seeds. The lemons are not nearly as sour as the ones from the supermarket, the oranges on the other hand are quite close to the lemons citric acid. Delicious. The fruit juice has spread all over my hands and I try to shake it off. This causes my Garmin watch to squeak like mad, because it means: Accident detected! No shit.

The heat has become unbearable. Now of all times the trail follows a never ending stretch of a shadowless ditch. After I feel already half baked, I wait for Jason, who walks a little bit worn out behind me. Something stings me above my socks and when I look down I see dozens of little red ants scurrying over my feet. I have placed myself in the middle of an anthill. Like a madwoman I wipe the critters off my legs, triggering another accident report with my watch. In addition to the fifty or so mosquito bites I already got on the first day, there are now about thirty ants bites. Fantastic!

The rest of the day passes relatively uneventful. We get some water from a small creek and hope for a water cache near some of the roads we cross. Unfortunately without success. The last miles lead again over asphalt. In zombie mode we bear our fate, but I have already made the decision: I won’t go one step further today than originally planned. So 20 miles tomorrow it is. The weather forecast also promises a considerable cooling off over night. A heavy storm is announced. Pretty dehydrated we arrive at the campground and thank the trail angel “Waterboy”, who has cached a lot of water gallons here.

  In a porta-potty we find a huge bottle of disinfectant lotion and take a good bath with it. We move together with our tents under a gigantic oak tree, because this seems to be the best place to survive the thunderstorms. Tornados not excluded. I do feel a bit uncomfortable…

[:de]6.30 Uhr. Im Halbdunkel sehe ich eine Stirnlampe über die Lichtung huschen. Ich liege noch in meinen Quilt eingekuschelt im Zelt und bin unwillig, aufzustehen. Mit dem Zeitplan der Jungs kann und will ich sowieso nicht mithalten, denn die beiden wollen bereits um 7.30 Uhr losziehen, um die kühlen Morgenstunden mitzunehmen. Weil die Blase drückt, wühle ich mich dann doch zehn Minuten später nach draußen und freue mich über einen zauberhaften Sonnenaufgang über der floridianischen Prärie. Dichte Nebelschwaden geben der Graslandschaft zwischen Palmen und Sträuchern in eine mystische Atmosphäre.

Gemeinsam mit Warren und Jason genieße ich den ersten und auch letzten Kaffee des Tages auf der klammen Holzbank und hoffe, dass das Zelt von den Sonnenstrahlen getrocknet wird. Durch die immens hohe Luftfeuchtigkeit ist alles nass. Während ich noch im Schlafanzug vor mich hin sumpfe, packen die Jungs ihre Siebensachen. Es ist schon weit nach halb acht als ich merke:

„Ups, die beiden warten wohl auf mich.“ In Windeseile stopfe ich das feuchte Zelt in den Packsack, meinen Hausrat in den Rucksack, verschwinde mal eben zum Umziehen hinter der nächsten Palme und bin innerhalb von zehn Minuten aufbruchbereit. Wäre es nur im Alltag auch so schön einfach.

Unsere Hoffnung, das Alligatorweibchen noch zu sehen, wird leider enttäuscht. Offensichtlich ist sie Langschläferin. Der Weg führt uns vom Zeltplatz ins offene Gelände, kurz in einen herrlichen Eichenwald, der uns mit den imposanten, farnbewachsenen Eichenbäumen direkt in Avatar versetzt und alsbald auf die nächste Straße. Auch heute ist der Anteil an Asphalt nicht unerheblich und es wird heißer als gestern. Wir tragen es mit Fassung, denn ändern können wir’s ja nicht. Warren versucht, uns die Alternativroute zum Original Trail mit einem kleinen Bistro schmackhaft zu machen. Alternativ heißt: noch mehr Straße statt Sümpfe. Ich winke dankend ab und auch Jason kriegt lieber nasse Füße als weiterhin auf dem Asphalt zu schmelzen.

  Unser Übermut wird natürlich mit Schlammwaten belohnt. Knöcheltief versinken wir alle im braunen Modder und freuen uns über kleine Tümpel, um den Dreck abzuwaschen – nur um dann nach fünf Minuten wieder im Schlamm zu versinken. Mir macht das ja irgendwie Spaß, denn es ist mein erstes Sumpferlebnis auf dem Florida Trail. Die beiden Männer allerdings haben schon etliche Kilometer und Tage im schwarzen Wasser hinter sich.

Mit verschlammten Waden und Schuhen kommen wir am späten Nachmittag an unserem Campground an. Da steht bereits ein Zelt und ein schlacksiger Hiker kommt uns zusammen mit seinem fröhlichen Hund begrüßen. Scrarecrow und Oreo – sein schwarzweißer Hund – sind richtige Aussteiger und haben einen Zehnjahresplan, um quasi alle Trails der USA abzuklappern. Er reicht uns erstmal einen Brownie rüber und da sagt keiner von uns nein. Außer Warren, der auf Low Carb unterwegs ist.

Zu viert teilen wir uns die klapprige Campingbank, denn die zweite hat der Rost wohl schon vor langer Zeit hingerafft. Nachdem ich gestern meine selbst dehydrierte Kürbissuppe getestet hatte, kommt heute das selbstgemachte Ratatouille auf den Tisch. Die Männer gucken schon etwas neidisch in meine Schüssel, aber jeder ist am Ende satt und zufrieden. Um 19 Uhr ist wieder Lesestunde und wir haben uns für den nächsten Tag verständigt: wir wandern weiter zusammen. 

  Zitronen- und Orangen-Paradies

Nach einem ausgiebigen Frühstück mit Instant-Kaffee und Zitronenkuchen verabschieden wir uns von Scarecrow und Oreo, denn die beiden lassen alles sehr langsam angehen und machen wenige Tageskilometer. Warum auch überstürzen, sie haben ja zehn Jahre Zeit.

Keine fünf Minuten auf dem Trail stapfe ich in einem dichten Palmenwald schon wieder durch knöcheltiefes Wasser. Die Schuhe und Socken waren ja von gestern eh noch nicht ganz trocken.

  Mein Zeitplan sieht für die nächsten Tage so aus: heute rund 22 Kilometer, morgen 32, um zum reservierten Campingplatz mit heißer Dusche zu kommen. 32 Kilometer sind für mich im aktuellen Zustand kein Pappenstiel, denn seit meiner Rückkehr aus dem Sabbatical habe ich weit mehr Zeit am Schreibtisch statt auf Wanderschaft verbracht. Daher überlege ich, heute mehr zu wandern, um am nächsten Tag weniger Reststrecke zu haben.

Der Plan ist schön, allerdings ist es heute noch heißer als die Tage zuvor. Wir freuen uns über jeden schattigen Abschnitt durch die semi-tropischen Wälder. Und die versüßen uns die Hitze auf ganz unerwartete Weise. Am Wegesrand und teilweise über den Trail ragen wilde Orangen- und Zitronenbäume mit erntereifen Früchten. Natürlich kann ich der Verlockung nicht widerstehen und schon schleppe ich zwei Orangen und eine Zitrone zum nächsten Pausenplatz. Super saftig sind die Früchte und reich an Kernen. Die Zitronen sind nicht annähernd so sauer wie man es aus dem Supermarkt kennt, die Orangen dagegen kommen der Zitronensäure schon recht nah. Köstlich. Der Fruchtsaft hat sich jedoch überall auf meinen Händen verteilt und ich versuche ihn abzuschütteln. Das veranlasst meine Garmin-Uhr auf einmal wie wild zu quietschen, denn sie meint: Unfall erkannt! Ach was.

Die Hitze ist inzwischen unerträglich geworden. Ausgerechnet jetzt folgt der Trail auf einem nicht enden wollenden Stück einem schattenlosen Graben. Nachdem ich mich schon halb gebacken fühle, warte ich auf Jason, der ein wenig abgeschlagen hinter mir latscht. Irgendwas piekst mich oberhalb meiner Socken und als ich nach unten schaue, sehe ich dutzende kleine, rote Ameisen über meine Füße wuseln. Ich habe mich mitten in einen Ameisenhaufen gestellt. Wie eine Irre wische ich die Viecher von meinen Beinen und löse damit erneut eine Unfallmeldung mit der Uhr aus. Zu meinen schon rund fünfzig Mückenstichen vom ersten Tag gesellen sich nun noch etwa dreißig Ameisenbisse. Fantastisch!

Relativ vorfallsfrei geht der Rest des Tages vorbei. Wir bedienen uns an einem kleinen Bach und hoffen auf einen Wassercache in der Nähe einiger Straßen, die wir kreuzen. Leider vergeblich. Die letzten Kilometer führen wieder nur über Asphalt. Im Zombiemodus ertragen wir unser Schicksal, aber ich habe schon die Entscheidung getroffen: ich gehe heute keinen Schritt weiter als ursprünglich geplant. Dann sind’s halt morgen 32 Kilometer. Der Wetterbericht verspricht zudem eine erhebliche Abkühlung über Nacht. Heftiges Unwetter ist angesagt. Ziemlich dehydriert kommen wir am Campground an und danken dem Engel „Waterboy“, der hier jede Menge Wasser deponiert hat.

  Im Dixieklo finden wir eine riesige Flasche Desinfektionslotion und nehmen erstmal ein ordentliches Bad damit. Ziemlich dicht rücken wir mit unseren Zelten unter einem gigantischen Eichenbaum zusammen, denn das scheint der beste Platz für die angesagten Gewitterstürme zu sein. Tornados nicht ausgeschlossen. Ein wenig unwohl ist mir schon…

[:] [:en]Hiking the Florida Trail Day 2 & 3 – Accidentally[:de]Auf dem Florida Trail Tag 2 & 3 – Versumpft[:] [:en]6:30 a.m. In semi-darkness I see a headlamp scurrying across the clearing. I am still lying cuddled up in my quilt, still unwilling to get up.

[its-lifestyle]

In the home kitchen, most mothers reign supreme. Tales of dads cooking are becoming more common but by and large, women still prevail over the stove.

But no two families are the same and in some homes, it is the fathers who have played a dominant role in producing cherished family meals, often cooking every day for their nearest and dearest – in the name of familial love.

Paying homage to his mother’s food

At the Nunis dining table, dinner is in progress. Dad Glenn Nunis, 48, has just cooked a huge meal and his wife Coco, 43, and three kids Matthew, 22, Shane, 18, and Hope, 17, are busy helping themselves to their favourite dishes. Smiles of joy are etched on everyone’s faces, none more so than Glenn, who is gazing down at his family with unfettered happiness.

“Seeing my kids eat what I have made is very fulfilling. Most of the time, there is nothing left,” he says, laughing.

Glenn cooks for his family every day. From left: Shane, Hope, Glenn, Matthew and Coco. Photo: The Star/Sam Tham

Glenn cooks for his family every day now, but interestingly he didn’t actually cook at all until leaving home as an adult. His late mother was a talented Eurasian home cook and it was his two sisters who were often in the kitchen with her.

“I think it was expected that my sisters would help her. I only helped cut vegetables during festive seasons, like Christmas.

“But my interest in cooking started when I left the house and wasn’t staying with my mum anymore. That’s when I missed her cooking so I used to call her and ask her how to cook this and that. And she would tell me over the phone, although she used the agak-agak method, so I had to learn as I went along,” he says.

After he married his wife and had kids, Glenn’s interest in cooking burgeoned and he inevitably became the main cook in the family, a role he continues to relish even while holding down a full-time job as an IT manager.

“He cooks mostly every day and I think it helps that we live five minutes away from his office. So he’s back home by 6.30pm and normally, he’s already prepared everything the night before, so the cooking process is much quicker. But cooking is really his passion – he even takes the time to garnish meals like a real chef,” says proud wife Coco.

Coco is so invested in Glenn’s meals that she has even gone through the trouble of photographing everything he cooks and uploading it onto an album she has created on Facebook.

“So now we have an album of everything I’ve cooked,” says Glenn, smiling.

Cooking took on an even more important role in Glenn’s life after his parents passed away unexpectedly in an accident in 2015. Since then, he has become even more determined to continue cooking the heritage Eurasian dishes he learnt from his mother.

One of his mother’s recipes that Glenn continues to make to this day is her prawn pineapple curry, a robust, spicy affair interlaced with plump cubes of pineapple and tender prawns.

Glenn is compiling an e-book of all his recipes in the hopes that his children will pick up cooking in the future. Photo: The Star/Sam Tham

“This is a recipe from my grandmother that was passed down to my mum. My mum made the curry paste from scratch and I do the same thing too. And it’s a hit – my wife likes it and the kids love it as well,” he says.

Glenn’s flavourful chicken pongtey was also trawled from his late mother’s recipe arsenal. “That is something that my mum used to make for us when we were growing up, especially when we were younger because we couldn’t handle spicy food at the time,” he says.

Because their grandmother played such a pivotal role in their lives, Glenn’s children also remember her cooking and have delivered the ultimate compliment to their father: “My dad’s food tastes exactly the same as my grandmother’s food,” says Matthew simply.

As his children are fast growing up, Glenn is now busy compiling all his recipes in an e-book, to ensure that his kids will be able to easily cook the meals he has prepared for them for years, should they ever want to.

The recipes in the book run the gamut from heirloom Eurasian recipes to meals he created himself as well as Filipino fare gleaned from his travels to the Philippines with Coco, who is Filipino.

“I am hoping that the kids will pick up the recipes and learn. I am actually compiling it the way I cook it, so that is something that I can leave behind for them one day,” he says.

Glenn says he knows he’s a bit different from other dads as most of his male friends who are also dads don’t cook at all. But to him, cooking is all about family anyway, which is why he loves doing it.

“I guess I am different from other dads in a sense, but it pleases me to see my family enjoying the food I make,” he says.

 CHICKEN PONGTEY

Serves 6

For pounding together to a paste 5 to 6 cloves garlic 4 shallots

For cooking 2 tbsp oil 2 tbsp heaped minced tauchu (bean paste) 1kg chicken thigh, cut into 4 pieces per thigh 1 tbsp thick caramel black soy sauce 2 chicken stock cubes diluted in 2 cups of hot water 1 small sengkuang, cut into bite-sized pieces 2 carrots, rolling cut 3 potatoes, cut into quarters salt and sugar to taste

To make In a pestle and mortar, pound garlic and shallots to a paste. Set aside. Heat oil in a wok and on low heat, lightly stir-fry the garlic and shallot paste; do not let it brown. Add the minced tauchu, stir constantly on low heat until fragrant. Add chicken and stir on medium heat for about 1 minute. Then add the thick sauce until the chicken is fully coated in the sauce. Add chicken stock. Simmer with lid closed for about 10 minutes. Add the sengkuang, carrots and potatoes, cover with lid and allow to cook on medium heat until the chicken and vegetables are cooked, about 15 minutes. Add salt and sugar to taste and serve hot.

PINEAPPLE PRAWN CURRY Serves 6

For blending into a paste 20 dried chillies, rinsed and soaked in hot water 4 medium red onions 4cm turmeric 2cm lengkuas 4-5 cloves garlic 3 stalks lemongrass 2cm young ginger

For cooking 2 tbsp oil 1 chicken stock cube, diluted in 1 cup water salt to taste 1 tbsp assam jawa (tamarind paste), diluted in 1 cup water 1 small whole honey pineapple, cut into wedges sugar to taste 1kg medium sized prawns, deveined, shells intact

To cook In a blender, blend all the ingredients for blending until smooth. Set aside. In a wok, add oil and stir-fry the blended rempah paste on medium-low heat until a layer of oil emerges, about 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and salt. Add the strained tamarind juice and cut pineapples and let simmer for about 2 minutes. Add sugar to taste and simmer for 10 minutes. Add prawns towards the end, stir to combine and allow prawns to cook until just tender. Once done, serve hot with white rice.

A lifetime of cooking

In his daughter’s sun-drenched kitchen, 72-year-old Henry Kok is cooking up a storm. His performance – and yes, it is indeed a sight to behold – is nothing short of masterful, like a ballet dancer gracefully alternating between different movements – deftness you will instantly see as he slices spring onions with precision, fries up some prawns and stirs the sauce for a dish.

In less than 30 minutes, Henry has whipped up three stunning dishes, barely breaking a sweat and maintaining his sweet, disarming smile.

In many ways, Kok’s prowess in the kitchen began at a very young age, as a child growing up in a financially-strapped family in Perak.

“I was one of seven siblings and when I was small, I used to help my mother in the kitchen. We were fortunate because my father’s boss let us stay in a wooden house with plenty of space. So to help ease the burden of buying groceries, we reared our own ducks and turkeys and planted vegetables and fruits, so we were more or less self-sufficient,” says Kok.

Kok learnt how to cook from his mother but adapted and changed many recipes along the way. When he moved to KL for work, he continued to cook for his siblings, many of whom had also moved to KL for job opportunities.

“When my siblings moved to KL, we all lived together and I was the only one who churned out all the food and everyone enjoyed it. Along the way, I experimented and came up with a lot of dishes myself. So that’s my passion,” says Kok, grinning.

Even after he married his wife Margie Chong, 73, (herself a talented cook) and had his two daughters – Wendy Kok, 48, and Mabel Kok, 45, he continued to cook.

“I’ve been cooking for umpteen years, my family enjoys my food. Even when I was very, very, busy, I would go home and cook,” he enthuses.

Kok is a devoted father and grandfather who believes that a family that eats together, stays together. From left: Darren, Wendy, Cassandra, Margie, Kok, Mabel and Steven. Photo: The Star/Yap Chee Hong

This is made all the more impressive given that Kok is one of the co-founders (alongside his two brothers) of Bina Warehouse, Malaysia’s leading specialist retailer and distributor of luxury bathroom and kitchen brands.

So even as he was building a mega business, he still found the time to cook for his family every day!

“It was an experience from when we were young. My dad used to make us get involved in kitchen activities like going to the market, cooking and cleaning, so we learnt from there and it’s always been a memory from young that we are a cooking family. Having watched and learnt from my dad, I also cook every day for my family,” says Mabel, who is now the CEO of Bina Warehouse.

These days, Kok has semi-retired from the business, although he still serves as the company’s managing director and puts in regular half-days.

But his passion for cooking remains and Kok still cooks for his daughters, their spouses Darren Chong, 39, and Steven Chu, 49, and granddaughter Cassandra Chu, 15, at least three times a week.

“Sometimes I go to their houses in Seputeh and I’ll bring the food I’ve cooked for them and sometimes they come to my home in Ampang and I cook for them there. I strongly believe that a family that eats together, stays together,” he affirms.

Some of Kok’s signature dishes include his assam fish, a triumphantly buoyant, lively affair with fiery underpinnings and citrusy elements underscoring the entire meal.

“It’s a Nyonya dish and the conventional way of cooking it is to use tamarind juice but I thought ‘I want to give the dish some oomph, I want the sourness and sweetness to stand out’. So I began to experiment with kalamansi juice and also pineapple juice. I added it together with tamarind juice – so there are three types of sour juices – and it turned out so beautiful. I’m happy with it,” he says.

Kok’s zest-driven deep-fried prawns with honey lemon curd sauce is also a thing of beauty, as the crunchy prawns are coated in a rich, sumptuous lemon curd-honey-mayonnaise sauce that elevates it to a whole new dimension.

“It’s also my own concoction. I’ve got a nephew whose wife makes homemade lemon curd jam, so I bought some and thought ‘Why not come up with a dish by making use of lemon curd jam?’ So I experimented and came up with this,” he says simply.

Kok says he doesn’t really think of himself as an anomaly, despite the fact that most home cooks are – for whatever reason – often female.

“I think fathers have been cooking, just that it’s not made known. The perception is that ladies always cook, but I’ve been cooking all my life. I have always been the main cook, more than anybody else. And cooking makes me happy,” he says succinctly.

“To which, Kok’s only grandchild Cassandra pipes in, “I don’t think he’s unusual – we’re all just so proud of him,” she says, beaming up at her grandfather.

HENRY’S ASSAM FISH Serves 8 to 10

1 golden pomfret, about 800g (can be replaced with snapper) 7 to 8 okra, tip removed 10 tbsp cooking oil 3 stalks lemongrass, white part only, smashed lightly 15 to 20 shallots, blended 10 cloves garlic, blended 5 to 6 dried chillies, blended 10 fresh red chillies, blended 5 candlenuts, pounded 5cm belacan (6mm thick), flattened to 2mm and toasted over gas fire 6cm fresh turmeric, pounded 2 bunga kantan (torch ginger buds), sliced a bunch of daun kesum (Vietnamese mint), sliced thinly 2 tbsp tamarind pulp, soaked in rice bowl filled with 3/4 water 1 whole pineapple, halved (1/2 cut into slices for curry, the other 1/2 juiced) 10-12 kalamansi limes, juiced salt to taste sugar to taste

To make Steam fish until cooked; discard steaming liquid. Microwave okra until tender, then cut into 2cm slices. Heat wok with cooking oil. Fry lemongrass with blended shallots and garlic. Add blended chillies, candlenuts, belacan, turmeric, bunga kantan and daun kesum and stir to combine. Add tamarind juice, pineapple juice and kalamansi juice and stir to combine. Add salt and sugar, then put in pineapple slices and adjust seasoning to taste. Add okra and fish right at the end and stir to coat evenly for 1 to 2 minutes until flavours soak fish. Serve hot with rice.

DEEP-FRIED PRAWNS WITH HONEY LEMON CURD Serves 8 to 10

2 green apples, skin removed and diced 4 tbsp lemon curd 4 tbsp mayonnaise 1 tbsp honey 700 to 700g class A prawns, shelled and deveined salt and pepper to taste pinch of five-spice powder rice flour to coat a plate

In a bowl, mix apples with lemon curd, mayonnaise and honey. Season prawns with salt, pepper and five-spice powder and coat well in rice flour until batter is evenly distributed. In a frying pan, deep-fry prawns until cooked but still tender. Coat prawns well in lemon curd mixture and serve immediately.

from Food – Star2.com http://bit.ly/2XkRt0j

[twelvebyseventyfive]

What determines your taste? Why I disagree with Tim Hanni

Tim Hanni MW has become well known in the wine trade for his work on separating people into different groups according to their taste preferences. He has some interesting things to say. For example, there’s this recent interview published in Meininger’s. This isn’t the first time that consumer segmentation has been applied to wine, but Hanni goes further in terms of his claims about sensory physiology and neuroscience.

I agree with some of what Hanni says. There’s some interesting work on taste preferences, and quite a bit of interesting evidence has come to light over recent years that suggests that there are some significant biological differences that lead us as individuals to prefer certain flavours over others (there’s a discussion on this in my latest book, I Taste Red).

But it’s in his application of this research to wine that I have some problems with what Hanni has to say. And I find his recommendations to wine producers based on these findings a bit alarming.

Hanni’s main point is that people have innate taste preferences and that you can separate people according to these preferences. He suggests that by selling mostly dry wines, the wine trade is ignoring the taste preferences of those who prefer sweeter styles. His thesis is that 25-40% of wines would be sweeter styles if the wine industry recognised the real taste preferences of people.

He mentions, but is somewhat dismissive, of acquired tastes (indeed be puts the word ‘acquired’ in parentheses as if to suggest that it isn’t real). But I think this is a mistake. The fact that most of our tastes are actually acquired, not innate, is the fly in the ointment of Hanni’s thesis. It changes everything, and makes much of what he says redundant.

Our preferences are extremely malleable, for good evolutionary reasons. Innate preferences for nutritious, high calorie foods are pretty universal. But we possess the ability to acquire novel tastes. Our sense of flavour combines with our memory, allowing us to explore novel, possibly nutritious food items, and these then become new flavour preferences (the memory bit is important, because we need to reject quickly things that have made us sick in the past).

Think about some of the flavours you enjoy today. I like strong cheese, but 15 years ago I wouldn’t eat cheese at all. The cheeses are still as pungent and extreme as they were 15 years ago: it’s my response to the cheese that has changed. I now love strong cheese. When I started drinking coffee as a teenager I had it with two sugars and milk. Now if you put sugar in my coffee I would find it unpalatable. I still find espresso quite bitter and a little bit aversive, but I enjoy it. When I was a kid I used to like fast food restaurants. I admit that they can sometimes make tasty food, but I’m glad that I moved on to more challenging flavours, which are much more compelling and interesting. And with wine, I began with richer, sweetly fruited reds that were easier to understand, and moved to more interesting wines over time. Now I wouldn’t find the wines I loved at first all that interesting, and I wouldn’t want to drink them. This sort of journey is not unusual.

Most of the things I love now, when it comes to flavour, were tastes that I found challenging when I first experienced them. Experience has largely trumped biology. This is what Hanni has to say:

We are all genetically pre-programmed with attractions and aversions. Changes in preferences, from about four years old to very late in life, are largely reorganising what certain sensations represent. So, with observation, culture, peer pressure, and learning we adapt to associate things we didn’t like with aspiration or attainment – something we often refer to as an ‘acquired’ taste. We also equally associate things in a negative light, ‘disposing’ of tastes as well, such as the current hysteria over sweetness in wine for those who have become more ‘sophisticated’…

…Dry wines are the new fad (in relative terms) not the historical standard; the 1947 Château Cheval Blanc had over 30 g/L (3%) residual sugar. Most prized white Rhône wines were vins de paille – dried on mats and made into sweet wines. Countless sweet wines, including Château d’Yquem, were thought completely appropriate with fish, beef, or oysters. Montrachet, in the greatest vintages, was very sweet, not dry. Champagnes, as consumed in France, often had 140 g/L (14%) residual sugar – a lot more than American Coca Cola which has 108 g/L (10.1%) residual sugar. The global sweet wine opportunity was, and still is, about 25% to 40% of the total available market. Things have just gotten out of control with the dry wine fashionistas. And keep in mind that as wine has gone dry, consumption in France and Italy has plummeted.

Where do I start? This last sentence is just silly. To suggest that the reason behind reduced wine consumption in markets such as Italy, France and Spain is connected to the fact that wines there used to be sweet but have become drier is absurd, and that’s the clear implication to what he is saying. The reduced consumption in these markets is because of social changes, and the baseline was very high to start with. In no sense has the wine got drier in these countries. If anything, it’s got a little more palatable at the bottom end, and sweeter in terms of flavour.

In terms of the ‘genetically preprogrammed’ line, it just isn’t as simple as this. We are genetically pre-programmed, if you will, to have malleable, adaptable tastes.

Hanni seriously thinks that the fact that most wines are dry these days is a push from the wine industry rather than pull from consumers, and that ‘dry wine fashionistas’ are to blame. I disagree. There’s very little market for off-dry or sweet wines not just because they are unfashionable, but because they don’t work so well with food (although there are some notable exceptions).

Another problem is created by Hanni’s refusal to segment the market. This is a common problem in these sorts of discussions. If there is a market for sweeter wine styles, it is at the bottom end. And it’s there that the sweet blush rosés of California, and the Moscatos, are doing well already. A lot of commercial reds have a bit of sweetness, too, with some grape juice concentrate added at the blending bench. Just a bit of sweetness rounds them out and covers over some of the tannin. But this is for the most commercial wines. And there’s also a market for very expensive sweet wines (some of the wine world’s great bottles are sweet), but this market is tiny and unlikely to grow.

The fact that most wines are dry, more-or-less, is because this is what the market wants. The market for mid-price to expensive wines with significant residual sugar is precisely zero. People who pay a bit more for wine want their wines dry. The market for fully sweet wines is also tiny: this is why Sauternes is having such a hard time and so many producers are struggling, while the market for high-end dry Bordeaux wines is surging.

I think it would be a huge mistake for producers to start sweetening up their wines because this is, according to Hanni, what people prefer. Once we are away from commodity wine, sweetened-up wines are usually not authentic, interesting wines. This is not the direction the wine industry should be heading. To pander to perceived biological preferences of consumers like this takes wine into the realm of manufactured alcoholic beverages. This would be a disaster, because it would mean joining the race to the bottom in terms of pricing. Profitability is a huge issue at the bottom end of the market, and in order to escape this ruthless price competition, a wine has to have authenticity and a sense of place, and not just be a wine of style.

Wine isn’t like other drinks. You get one vintage a year. You have a big winery lying unused most of the year, waiting for vintage. It’s an expensive way to make a fruity, semi-sweet alcoholic beverage of the sort that Hanni thinks we need more of. Much better to aim at producing something more sophisticated, that has some flavour characteristics that are derived from the combination of place and grape variety. This is the way out of the race to the bottom.

from jamie goode's wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/wine-science/what-determines-your-taste-why-i-disagree-with-tim-hanni For Fine Wine Investment opportunities check out Twelve by Seventy Five: http://www.twelve-by-seventy-five.com/

[rodrigohyde]

20 foods that seem healthy but aren't

Brittany Smith Today

The health and fitness craze that's swept our nation in the last decade can be seen quite literally across every supermarket and storefront. "Fit foods" emblazoned with "organic," "low-fat," "no sugar added," and best of all, "all-natural" marketing jargon are, for the most part, just marketing jargon.

A lot of the foods we snack on or eat as part of our everyday diet aren't the beacons of health and wellness we think they are if you take a look at their labels or dive more into what's actually in the food under the label. Take a look through our list of the worst offenders; these are some of the most common foods we think are healthy but really aren't. Avoiding these eats can make the difference between slight definition and eight-pack-with-sex-lines abs. 

20 foods that seem healthy but aren't

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Energy bars

Nearly every energy and protein bar boasts lofty health claims, but many times they have nutritional profiles more similar to candy bars than fit foods. Literally. Some bars have as much sugar as candy. That’s not to say you should banish them all, but take special care to look at the amount of sugar, calories, and ingredients. (Check out these Men's Fitness-approved healthy protein and snack bars instead.)

Diet soda

A soda a day can increase a man's risk of prostate cancer by 40 percent, compared to a man who never touches the stuff, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. And diet soda? It’s no better. In fact, it may actually be worse. The artificial sweeteners in diet soda fool your body into thinking you’re eating real food and causes a spike in insulin sent to regulate your levels (since artificial sweeteners are so much sweeter than actual sugar), which can turn into stored fat, according to a Purdue University study. Research shows soda consumption increases your risk of heart attack and stroke, makes you eat more, and, well, see for yourself…

Flavored instant oatmeal

We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again, and we’ll keep on saying it: Instant oatmeal doesn’t do your health any justice. Flavored, single-serving packets have way too much added sugar, and therefore, way too many unnecessary calories. Stick with the giant tub of instant oatmeal if you like the convenience factor, and add fruit and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg to maximize flavor without minimizing any health benefits. Steel-cut oats are even better; they’ll provide you with long-lasting energy, help promote weight loss, and lower your risk of heart disease.

Bran muffins

Oh, the power of words and associations. “Bran” sounds healthy, albeit a little boring. And it is: Bran is the outer layer of grains like wheat, rice, and oats that offers a healthy dose of fiber, protein, vitamins, and low-glycemic carbs. But bran muffins tip the scale toward not-so-great for you because most portions triple what you should be eating and may contain more wheat flour than bran itself. Store-bought muffins are often loaded with sodium and sugar to combat the dry, tasteless flavor of bran, too. To put things into perspective, a Honey Bran Raisin Muffin from Dunkin’ Donuts has 40g of sugar, 410mg of sodium, and 120 calories, while a Chocolate Frosted Cake Donut has 20g of sugar, 340mg of sodium, and 170 calories. Bake your own at home to control the ingredients and portion size.

Packaged Turkey

Using leftover turkey to make a sandwich for lunch is an excellent choice for a quick, simple dose of protein. But this lean sandwich staple can turn into a sodium-saturated disaster when it's store-bought. That’s because packaged meats are often loaded with salt and preservatives. Opt for brands that don’t have more than 350mg of sodium per 2 oz serving.

Dried Fruit

Dried fruit seems like an innocent snack; it’s fruit, after all. But companies use sulfur dioxide to preserve freshness and add sugar to sweeten the flavor (cranberries and pineapple among the worst), making dried fruit more akin to candy. Though you’re still getting a good source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, it’s incredibly easy to overeat. That chewy addition to trail mix and yogurt isn’t as healthy as you think, wish, hoped it was. 

12 Healthy Foods and Drinks That Can Make You Fat >>>

Wraps

Wraps are thinner than hoagies, buns, and bread, so they’ve gotta be healthier, right? Eh, sometimes, but most restaurants and to-go shops wrap all your sandwich fixings in a 12-inch wrap that can pack twice the amount of calories as plain old bread. Plus, spinach, tomato, and whole grain wraps don’t contain nearly as much veggies and whole grains as you’d think; more often than not, they’ve got additional coloring and flavoring. The problem with pre-made wraps, too, is you can’t control what’s in them. The bacon, ham, and ranch dressing can’t be taken out once they’re rolled up, and odds are you’re not getting additional veggies to add to your mix.     

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Pretzels

They may be your go-to snack because they’re fat-free, but pretzels don’t really have any nutritional value. They’re made with white flour, which quickly converts to sugar in your body, spiking blood sugar and causing your hunger levels to rise (that's why you can polish off an entire bag and still be hungry). Pretzels should be avoided as a desk-side or late-night snack; go for foods that are high in protein and fiber instead. 

25 Foods You Shouldn't Eat >>>

Sports drinks

Sports drinks are a lot like Kool Aid—they’re basically just sugar water and artificial food coloring. Their big selling point, electrolytes, are easily restored with natural foods and drinks like coconut water and bananas, so skip the artificial recovery drink. A study published in the journal Obesity even found individuals who drink one or more sports drinks every day gained more weight over a three-year span than those who don’t.

Agave nectar

Producers slap the word “natural” on nearly any food product because that term helps convince people it’s healthy. Agave nectar has been hailed the natural substitute to evil artificial sweetener, but it has more fructose than any other common sweetener, including high fructose corn syrup. Sure, it’s low on the glycemic index, but that’s not a free pass to drench your oatmeal and drown your iced tea with the stuff. 

Everything You Need to Know About Today's Most Popular Sweeteners >>>

Yogurt-Covered Snacks

We’re going to let you in on a secret: Yogurt-covered snacks sometimes aren’t covered with yogurt. Those tubs of pretzels and raisins are likely just covered in sugar (and fat). More specifically, a ¼-cup serving of yogurt-covered raisins has about 150 calories, a third of which comes from fat, while the rest comes from carbs. Want an easy fix? Top your raisins with plain Greek yogurt.  

Protein Power: 6 Easy Ways to Eat Yogurt >>>

Skim/low-fat milk

Skim milk is skimping on a lot of the factors that make whole milk so healthy. Yes, you’re getting rid of the fat, but you’re also stripping away essential vitamins (as well as texture and flavor). To combat this, skim milk is fortified with synthetic vitamins in an attempt to replace the protein and calcium lost in processing. Overall, there’s really little benefit to buying fat-free dairy products. You want to keep the processing and denaturation to a minimum.  

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Margarine

Margarine is the inexpensive butter substitute that took the late 1800s by storm when chemists learned how to harden liquid oils. Nutritionally speaking, it has less saturated fat than butter because it’s made from vegetable oils, not animal fat; all in all it depends if you want to rely on cows or chemists. But that tub of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! you have in your fridge today is scarier than it seems. Vegetable oil is extracted from corn, soybeans, or safflower seeds, then steamed to remove impurities (along with vitamins and antioxidants), hydrogenated to make it semi-solid (producing a lumpy, grey grease), emulsified to remove lumps, bleached to remove the grey color, steamed again to remove chemical odors, and then synthetic vitamins and colors are added in the end. Does your “healthier" butter seem so healthy now? 

The 8 Absolute Worst Foods You Can Pump Into Your Body >>>

Fruit juice

Most packaged fruit juices are sugar-packed; not the health elixirs we so desperately want them to be. Fruit in its whole form has healthy fiber in its flesh and vitamins and nutrients in its skin that’s lost in juice form. Plus, you’re not chewing the liquid, so all the fructose-laden sugar is rocketed to your liver where it can be lodged and stored as fat. If you want a glass for breakfast, opt for tart cherry or grape juice (unsweetened) to get a recovery boost after tough workouts. 

8 Power Fruits For Better Health >>>

Flavored yogurt

That tiny cup of yogurt you eat for breakfast (that doesn’t fill you up and leaves you rummaging for more food) is packed with more sugar than you’d ever suspect. Most brands have close to 15g per 6oz serving. Stop wasting your money and ruining your diet; make the switch to plain Greek yogurt. You’ll feel more satisfied and have a dose of protein to really start your day right.

Canned soup

Canned soup is the solution for last-minute lunch or dinner laziness. The problem is that you’re overloading your system with sodium (some have 400mg per cup) and some cans’ plastic linings have BPA. Make a giant homemade batch over a weekend and freeze it in smaller portions to get you through the colder seasons. 

10 Pumpkin Recipes You Can Eat on The Shred >>>

Pita chips

Nearly all pita chips are made with enriched wheat flour (a refined grain that doesn’t have nearly the fiber or nutrients found in whole-grain flour) or white flour, oil, and salt. It may not seem that bad, but a study published in Current Atherosclerosis Reports found a diet full of refined grains and starches increases a person’s risk for heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, even cancer. Plus, they may not be that greay, but they still pack a caloric punch and it's hard to stop after eating just a handful.

Healthy Snack Alternatives For Every Craving Type >>> 

Granola

It’s an amazing yogurt add-on, great with a splash of milk, and even a filling snack on its own, but nearly all granola brands add sugar and oil during the cooking process. Some are loaded with seeds, nuts, and dried fruit, which up the fat content, too. Opt for brands that have a blend of oats, whole grains, and other natural ingredients.

10 Gluten-Free Breakfast Recipes >>>

Fruit and vegetable chips

Surprise! Fruit and veggie chips actually contain very little fruits and vegetables because of how processed they are. What’s more, most of the nutrients are destroyed because of this, as well. What you end up with is a chip that’s artificially colored and flavored to look and taste like a vegetable or fruit. 

8 Vegetables For Guys Who Hate Greens >>>

Fruit cocktail

Fruit cocktail is an appealing snack whether you eat it from the can or those little portable cups. The issue is one cup has about 110 calories and over 25g of sugar (In. One. Small. Cup.). They’re often packaged in syrup, which isn’t doing you any favors either. Grab a pear, peach, apple, or any other piece of fruit instead; they’re just as portable and way more nutritious. 

9 Foods That Should Be in Every Diet >>>

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Carb foods

from Men's Fitness http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-eat/20-foods-seem-healthy-arent