How to Best Freeze Meat

In order to protect your meats until the day of the BBQ here is a reminder of seven tips to follow for better taste and nutrition:

1. Thaw meats in the refrigerator a day or so before use – this helps ensure safety and preserve proteins.

2. Put foods to be frozen in the freezer as fast as you can and in the coldest part of the fridge – the faster meat freezes the better quality it will retain, faster is better.

3. Buy separate refrigerator and freezer thermometers. Keep the fridge between 34 °F and 40 °F and the freezer below 0 °F.

4. Keep the freezer as full as you can and label date frozen foods – this helps keep the temperature

5. Never refreeze meats specially seafood – Texture and taste will be affected and if completely thawed food safety might be a problem.

6. Use packaging materials made for freezing – Freezer bags/wraps help protect food and avoid freezer burn.

7. If you must freeze, buy commercially frozen products – These will generally retain their eating and nutritional qualities better than home frozen products. Your fridge will not freeze food as fast as commercial freezing processes do and they will typically freeze these when they are fresher.

All these tips translate to better taste and nutrition than you can attain at home.

Quick Tips for Great BBQ Ribs

Here are a few quick tips to make your BBQ ribs tastier and juicier. For great ribs follow these tips:

1. Marinade the meat or rub in the seasonings at least 1 hr before cooking more is better but if it’s done too long, unless it’s a tough cut, you could overpower the meat. Anywhere from one to six hours is good enough.

2. Grill ribs bone side down until the bones start to separate from the meat without turning. This is a key point that helps produce tender ribs.

3. Brush BBQ sauce or any sauce that has sugar only at the tail end of cooking.

4. Allow the ribs to sit for 10 minutes before eating or cutting this helps the meat stay juicy.

5. Use tongs to handle the meat forks will pierce the meat and allow the juices to escape. Piercing the meat reduces the flavor and moisture of the meat.

You can try this tips this weekend or the next time you grill ribs and you will see and taste the difference.

Summer Food Festivals

I was reading about the second annual Chicago Pizza Fest which features an wide choice of pizzas from deep dish to thin to stuffed. It also has live music, wine tastings, a pizza-eating contest, a “best pizza” contest, dough tossing, and a cornhole tournament. Summer is here and so are Summer Food Street Festivals.

These festivals are a great way to taste a lot of different foods at a reasonable price and great family entertainment. When you go, be adventurous and make sure you record what you and your family really likes and give those dishes a try at home. Talk as much as you can with the owners and trade opinions with the other patrons. You will be amazed at all the great information you learn and the fun you will have.

Look around your community for some of the upcoming festivals. I can vouch for the San Gennaro in NYC being a fun all-around experience but there are others you could take a look at. Get out there and have great fun for the whole family at reasonable prices.

Summer Produce

Friday, June 20, 2008 is the first day of summer. The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year. The official start to the summer solstice is 11:59pm EST. Form now until the fall remember that the produce in season packs a wallop of nutrition.

The markets will be full of freshly picked fruits and vegetables. To get the most nutrition bang for your buck try the following:

Cabbage: Great source of Vitamin C and fiber.

Cantaloupes: Good source of Vitamins A and C.

Citrus: Valencia oranges, grapefruit, and lemons are all good sources of Vitamin C.

Corn: Great source of fiber, linoleic and linolenic acid. These are great for your nerves, arteries and also your skin.

Lettuce: good source of Vitamin A, and Folic Acid. The darker it is the more nutrients it contains.

Melons: Good source of Vitamins A and C.

Peaches and Nectarines: Good source of Vitamin A and fiber if you eat the skin.

Summer Squash: Vitamin C and fiber if you you eat the skin.

Tomatoes: Good source of the antioxidant lycopene and Vitamin C. While the salmonella issue is here stick to cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, or better yet grow your own at home.

Make sure you eat a good variety of food including fruits and vegetables. Remember to eat your five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Have fun with Summer recipes and enjoy a great summer!!!

Floods Raise Food Prices

The recent Midwest floods are ensuring food prices remain at historically high levels. The floods have devastated a sizable portion of the corn and soybean crops in Iowa.

Corn and soybean are used in cattle feed which could in turn put pressure on meat prices. This on the heel of higher prices due to oil price increases.

This has the effect of making your food budget an important aspect of your cost savings in the current tough times. Let's look at various ways to reduce the grocery budget and save some money for other items. First get back in the kitchen and prepare your own foods, try and at least reduce dining out by half. At the grocery store cut out prepared foods they are more expensive on a per serving basis. Prepare your own lunch or at least take your own drinks to work and save considerable money.

The coming weeks we will focus on useful tips to saving money on groceries and food in general to give you a hand in these tough times.

Great Puerto Rican Cookboks!

Recently I came across two great cookbooks from a self-published author, Homestyle Puerto Rican Cooking and Sabrosuras Boricuas. These newer entries into the Puerto Rican cookbooks are not that well known yet but they have been garnering rave reviews from cooking experts. They have won various awards including "Best Latino Cuisine Book" at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards and an "Honorable Mention" in the 9th Annual International Latino Book Awards. There are great recipes in these books and they will be a hit with your family. To buy them and for more information about the author go to http://www.sabrosurasboricuas.com/ and thell them theminutegourmet.com sent you. You can also get this and other cookbooks at http://www.tiendaboricua.com/sys_view_cat.asp?IdCat=721.

Buen Provecho!

Happy Father's Day!

"Dad, you're someone to look up to no matter how tall I've grown." Author Unknown

Whether you are eating Sausage and beer in Germany, BBQ Steaks in US or Pork in Puerto Rico happy Father's day to all!

Do you want an additional $50 a month!

Here are some interesting facts from an article from CNNMoney.com:

Putting a homemade meal on the table five to seven nights a week the way your mother did may seem daunting.
In order to move from the weekend meal to the day-to-day basics you should:

1. Bone up on your home ec, check out Mitchell Davis' "Kitchen Sense" and Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything," which are loaded with recipes for quick and simple meals (or any of our great suggestions).

2. Plan entrées with overlapping ingredients and buy everything for the week at once, you can not only save money but, often, put a dinner together in the time it would take to pick up takeout.

These great ideas can lead to potential savings of $50 a month or more!!! KISS, PLAN and ENJOY!

God Bless homecooking!!!