Christian InTech Articles - Cooking TIps

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3 Tips For Giving A Great Gift I know that trying to find just the right gift for somebody can be like going to the dentist at times. Ok, maybe that's a little bit dramatic. But when people ask me about what they should get someone for whatever the occasion, they are somtimes in... Clarifying Butter Clarified butter is a delightfully rich concentrated butter that can be used in cooking and making mouth watering sauces. Traditional methods for making this rich butter concentrate can be a little intimidating at first, but not anymore. There is a... Conquer Florence Italy Florence Italy accommodation as far as hotel and farmhouse are concerned, let your imagination go from richly furnished five star hotels either in the hub of the city or smaller town accommodations, hidden away in the green hued countryside.... Good Food/Bad Food What's Left to Eat What's Good Today is Bad Tomorrow: What Can I Eat? We've entered the Twilight Zone when it comes to the multitude of diets being promoted today. Starting with the Atkins Diet, then the South Beach Diet, now the Hamptons Diet and more. All higher in... What is in your BLT? The traditional BLT that is, a Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich is hard to beat. Think back, can you remember eating a warm BLT on white bread with a thin layer of mayonnaise, the real stuff not that fat free flavor free product we seem to use...         Growing Your Own Salad It's not exactly fast food. It could take most of the summer to get your salad (which seems to be roughly the speed of most pizza places) but it is well worth the wait. With only the most rudimentary of tools, a little space in the back yards, and some elbow grease, anybody can have a truly fresh salad. Gardening is a rewarding hobby. Flower growers can see the beauty of their labors all summer long. The vegetable growers also get a great reward. They can hear the fresh crunch of home-grown lettuce and taste the mouth-watering tomato that just came off the vine minutes before you tasted it. A gardener can grow his own salad, making it as simple or complicated as he would like. As with any salad the first thing he starts with is the lettuce. Any true vegetable aficionado will tell you that there is no such thing as lettuce. The leafy salad staple comes in a variety of tastes, shapes, sizes, and colors. Gardeners can grow iceberg lettuce (the normal kind you find in the grocery store), butterhead, romaine, or countless other lettuces. The produce section of the supermarket generally doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the types of lettuces out there. It's best just to check what grows in your area and plant whatever looks good. Next on the salad is the tomato - the ripe, red wedges add visual appeal as well as deep flavor. Tomatoes tend to be robust plants and can grow in a variety of climates. Its best to stake them to make sure that the tomatoes do not touch the ground. This can be anything from a simple wooden stake to an elaborate metal cage. Keep an eye on them, though. They'll sprout up and ripen seemingly overnight. Pick them when they are plump and red, slice them into sections, and enjoy! To add some extra color to the salad, not to mention some Vitamin A for good eyesight, shave some fresh carrots over the salad, or chop them into round pieces. The carrot is another hearty vegetable. Unlike the tomato, the carrot grows into the ground, thus it grows better in loose soil. When you are ready to make your fresh salad, simply go to the ground and pull out any carrot bigger than your finger. Slice it up and you are ready to eat! One of the last things to add to a fresh grown salad is a few cucumber slices. Cucumbers are fast-growing plants - most varieties are ready to pick in 2 months. When you are ready for your salad, go to the garden and pull one of these off the vine, clean it, slice it and eat it. A simple hobby is turned into a delicious salad - with its crisp greens, ripe tomatoes, crunchy carrots, and brisk cucumbers. And they eat their fresh home-grown salads, gardeners can definitely enjoy the fruits ... er ... vegetables of their labors. About the author: Kirsten Hawkins is a food and nutrition expert specializing the Mexican, Chinese, and Italian food. Visithttp://www.food-and-nutrition.com/ for more information on cooking delicious and healthy meals.