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Must-Know Tips When Serving Wine

February 18, 2016 by

You may enjoy drinking wine at home, but how much do you really know about serving it to your guests? If you want to learn how to properly serve reds, whites, and even dessert wines at your next dinner party at Avana Stone Canyon, check out these simple tips.

  • Invest in a good set of wine glasses. They don’t have to be expensive (many closet less than $5 a piece), but having the proper wine glasses is the first step toward serving great tasting wine. Choose tulip-shaped glasses with stems or without, and make sure that they’re made of real glass to avoid that plastic taste.
  • Clean the glasses. Before serving wine, clean your glasses thoroughly by hand using simple dish soap and hot water. Rinse thoroughly before using.
  • Serve at the proper temperature. If you’re serving light white wines or sparkling wines, keep them at a cool 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Full-bodied whites, such as chardonnays, and lighter reds should be served at 50 to 60 degrees, while red wines and ports should be served at 60 to 65 degrees.
  • Keep it at the proper temperature. Keep your wine tasting great all night by using an ice bucket for white wines. Red wines can simply sit on the counter to stay at room temperature.

25 Tips on How to Serve Wine [Bauduc Blog]
Organic Wine Serving Tips [Frey Vineyards]
How to Serve Wine 101: Tips on the Perfect Serving Temperature [Wine Spectator]

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Ice Cream Cones Have a New Purpose in These Fun Recipes

January 21, 2016 by

Although you’ve probably only used ice cream cones for, well, ice cream, the recipe possibilities are truly endless for this sweet, crunchy treat—if you think creatively. Here are three completely unique spins on the classic ice cream cone.

Apple Snack Mix [tasteofhome.com]
This fun snack mix makes a wonderful kids’ party favor at birthday parties or bonfires. Cinnamon flavored cereal, roasted peanuts, sunflower kernels, apple chips, and a number of other hearty ingredients mix together to create a crunchy snack mix that looks adorable served in a sweet waffle cone.

Mini Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes [kraftrecipes.com]
Even if you aren’t serving ice cream in your ice cream cone, you can still emulate the cute look of the beloved summertime sweet. These creative cupcakes are baked into mini ice cream cones and then topped with a swirl of icing that looks just like soft serve.

Popcorn Ball Ice Cream Cones [cookiesandcups.com]
If you prefer the crunch of popcorn to the icy chill of ice cream, you’ll love this fun snack. By mixing the popcorn with marshmallows and chocolate candies, you can create a uniquely sweet treat that looks just like vanilla ice cream. Serve it on top of a classic sugar cone to make it even more authentic!

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Did You Know You Can Make Ice Cream With Just One Ingredient? It’s Bananas!

October 22, 2015 by

It may sound too good (and too easy) to be true, but you can make low-calorie, homemade ice cream with one simple ingredient: frozen bananas! Still unsure of how it works? Follow these simple steps to learn how to make this simple and healthy dessert after tonight’s dinner.

  1. Start with overripe bananas. While you can use yellow bananas, they won’t have the same sweet flavor and soft texture.
  2. Peel the bananas and cut them into slices. It doesn’t particularly matter if they’re all uniform.
  3. Place the banana slices into an air-tight container and freeze them in the freezer, preferably overnight or all day while you’re at work.
  4. Blend the now-frozen banana slices in a food processor. If you don’t have one, a traditional blender would also work, thought it may be a bit more difficult to remove the ice cream once it’s done.
  5. Blend until a soft-serve ice cream consistency is achieved. It may look a bit like frozen banana oatmeal at first, but after blending for five minutes or so, you’ll start to see the ice cream take shape.
  6. Eat your healthy homemade ice cream! Like any good ice cream, you can also top it with your favorite sauce, sprinkles, or even fresh fruit and nuts.

How To Make Creamy Ice Cream with Just One Ingredient! [The Kitchn]
One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream [Chop Chop]
5 Delicious Banana 'Ice Cream' Recipes [Women’s Health]

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Stumped by Cooking Conversions? Bookmark These 3 Websites!

April 2, 2015 by

Using precise measurements is very important when cooking or baking, but that can be difficult to do when a recipe uses the Metric system or a tool using a unit of measurement that you don’t have on hand. Bookmark these cooking measurement equivalent websites to use during your next kitchen endeavor.

Info Please
This simple, easy to read website offers a few different comparison charts that will help you to find a measurement in cups, tablespoons, or whatever type of measuring tool you have in your kitchen arsenal. It includes cups to tablespoons, Metric measurements to US measurements, and many more.

Fact Monster
This website is equally simple, and it offers comparison charts for a variety of different measurement equivalents. It also includes a conversion calculator that enables you to input your own units if you run into a particularly tricky measurement.

The Science of Cooking
Whether you need to know oven temperature conversions from Celsius to Fahrenheit or volume measurements from Metric to American Standard, The Science of Cooking has it all. This site also offers charts converting volume units, dry measurement equivalents, and much more.

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Healthy Rice and Potato Dishes That Won’t Weigh You Down

December 18, 2014 by

Starches and whole grains are important for feeling energized, but if eaten in excess, they can make you feel heavy or weighed-down. These delicious and nutritious recipes from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute incorporate rice and potatoes into your diet in a way that benefits your body and provides proper portion sizes.

Delicious Oven French Fries
Though fast food French fries are anything but healthy, this oven-baked alternative provides the same classic taste without the added fat and salt.

Wonderful Stuffed Potatoes
By stuffing a baked potato with low fat milk and cottage cheese instead of the usual sour cream, you can save calories and still get the same savory taste.

Candied Yams
The holiday favorite gets a healthy makeover in this fast and easy recipe, with sweet brown sugar and tangy orange juice for a boost of added flavor.

Scallion Rice
The addition of green onions and bullion gives this simple, low-calorie rice dish a little something extra, and makes it perfect for eating with a variety of meats, vegetables or stir-fries.

Sunshine Rice
Perfect for pairing with grilled chicken or for eating on its own, this rice recipe contains unique ingredients like hot sauce, almonds, and lemon juice for a distinctly flavorful taste.

For more healthy rice and potato dishes, visit the NIH website by clicking here.

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Find In-Season Produce Near You With the NRDC’s Interactive Map

September 18, 2014 by

If your kitchen is stocked with organic produce, then you're probably already aware of the health and environmental benefits of eating local. Produce that's grown locally has less distance to travel to reach grocery stores, thereby reducing pollution caused by transporting the fruits or veggies across states—or in some cases, continents! What's more, locally grown produce is more flavorful and nutritious, oftentimes landing on grocery store shelves at the peak of ripeness. (Read this article by Michigan State University for more reasons to eat local.)

So you want to eat local, but you're not sure what's in season. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)'s Eat Local map can help! This interactive map makes it easy to see what fruits and veggies are at peak availability near you. Simply click your state for a list of in-season fruits and veggies separated by month. Click each hyperlinked vegetable and fruit for cooking tips and to learn about the produce's nutritional benefits!

Click here to explore what produce is in season near you with help from the Eat Local map!

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Three Ways to Make the Most Out of Fresh Mint

June 19, 2014 by

Many windowsill herb gardens include zesty, sweet-smelling mint because it’s one of the easiest plants to grow. Once your planters are overflowing with the leafy green plants, however, it can be difficult to find use for all of that fresh mint. Here are three smart ways to make the most out of mint in and around your home.

  1. Boost your beverages. Mint makes a fresh, tasty addition to beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Simply add a few leaves of mint to a large pitcher of cold iced tea, or muddle some in a tall glass of water after your next outdoor workout. If you want to spice up a batch of cocktails, mint is a necessary addition to mojitos or elegant juleps!
  2. Make your own cleaners. While many store-bought cleaners give off a faint chemical smell, making your own all-natural home cleaners will leave each room smelling refreshed. To clean floors or countertops, dilute one cup of white vinegar with one gallon of water, then add a few drops of mint essential oil for its sweet smell.
  3. Cure an upset stomach. Whether you or your little ones have a tummy ache, mint is a wonderful at-home remedy for anyone in the family. Steep some mint or peppermint in hot water to alleviate an upset stomach or nausea.

15 Uses for Mint [Mother Earth Living]
15 Uses for Mint [Apartment Therapy]
26 Uses for Mint [Fluster Buster]

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Imponderable of the Day: Why Does Popcorn Pop?

May 14, 2014 by

You know popcorn as the accompaniment to your movie-going experience, but have you ever stopped to ponder what causes popcorn to pop? There's actually a science behind this light and puffy snack, and it starts with the water content of each individual popcorn kernel.

Within each protective hull of popcorn, there's a small amount of moisture—13.5% to 14% by mass, to be exact. (Any more or less, and the popcorn won't pop.) As the kernel is heated, the water begins to expand, creating steam. Once the pressure inside the kernel reaches 135 pounds per square inch (around 350 degrees Fahrenheit), the kernel's protective hull finally gives way, turning the kernel inside out and exposing the kernel's starchy endosperm. This soft starch rapidly expands, then immediately cools, resulting in popcorn's unique irregular shape.

That said, not any old corn can be used for popcorn. Only zea mays everta, a particular strain of cultivated corn, can make popcorn.

What Makes Popcorn Pop? [The Popcorn Board]
What Makes Popcorn Pop? [Mental Floss]
How Does Popcorn Pop? [Human Touch of Chemistry]

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