Category: Blog

Close Window

What Is RSS?

Click on the orange RSS button on any page to get the latest pages published on this site. You can use the same RSS button anywhere else on the Web, to get newsfeeds from CNN or BBC, or just about anything else, including news on upcoming movies and DVD releases, your favorite musician’s tour updates, etc.

Once you get started, it’s like having your favorite parts of the Web come to you. No need to go out and check for updates all the time. No need for bookmarks!

“RSS” means “Really Simple Syndication.” But that’s just a fancy way of saying that you can keep up with all the updates to this site without having to check the site every week to see “what’s new.” New pages and updates to old ones are released through RSS.

How do you get started? Easy!

Download a free RSS Reader first (or skip to the bottom to learn about Web-based readers). This is special software that reads the RSS feeds…

Windows — RssReader
http://www.rssreader.com

Mac — NetNewsWire
http://netnewswireapp.com

Once you’re set up, here’s all you have to do…

Right-click on the orange RSS button on any page of this site, or any other blog or news source that interests you. Copy the URL and paste it into your RSS reader.

That’s it! You’ll be subscribed.

You can also use a Web-based RSS reader, like Feedly or My Yahoo!. Look for one or both of these buttons on a page on this site.

Click on a button to add the RSS feed to that Web-based reader. If you don’t yet have an account, you can set up one after clicking on the button.

Close Window

Plus, when you know how to make guacamole, you basically have a thousand guacamole recipes in one. It’s super versatile – it can be chunky or smooth, hot or mild, and made with as much or as little seasoning as you like. You can make it just the way you like it.

And you have complete control over what goes into your guacamole dip. Guacamole is actually a really healthy snack, if you make it yourself. The main ingredient, avocados, are great for you – but some of the store-bought kind aren’t even made with real avocados!

So here’s how to make guacamole dip – easy, healthy, and delicious. In this article, we’ll go over the ingredients you’ll need, and how to make the dip.

Ingredients For Guacamole Dip

The first step to learning how to make guacamole dip is figuring out what ingredients you’ll need. Guacamole is so versatile. There are lots of ingredients to choose from to make a dip that’s just right for you. Make it as simple or as complicated as you like!

We’ll go over four categories: avocados, vegetables, seasonings, and texture-changers. Pretty much any ingredient you can add to a guacamole dip falls under of those.

Avocados

There are a lot of different ingredients you can use in a guacamole dip. But there’s just one ingredient that you absolutely must have: avocados. After all, guacamole is an avocado dip!

The most important thing you need to know about avocados is how to pick a good, ripe one, because an unripe avocado is really unpleasant – bitter, hard, and a real pain to peel.

• A ripe avocado has deep dark green skin, almost black.
• A ripe avocado is firm, but if you press it, it’ll yield just a bit.
  • If the avocado is very hard, it’s not ripe.
  • If the avocado is squishy when you press it, or it feels like there’s space between the peel and the flesh, the avocado is too ripe.
• The skin on a ripe avocado peels off really easily.
• If you can’t find any perfectly ripe avocados, you can get one that’s not ripe yet. It’ll ripen at room temperature in a few days. You can use it as soon as it ripens, or keep in it the fridge once it’s ripe.

If you’re planning on making guacamole dip, it’s a good idea to get your avocados ahead of time. Some grocery store carry ripe avocados, but some don’t – you have to buy them ahead of time to make sure they have time to ripen.

Notes

Just like apples, avocado goes brown really quickly once it’s peeled. Air causes it to oxidize. It’s not harmful, but it affects the taste a bit, and of course it doesn’t really look nice. So don’t prepare your avocado too far ahead of time.

Vegetables And Aromatics

Technically, guacamole doesn’t need to be anything more than just mashed avocados. But you can add a ton of flavor with just a few vegetables. Here are some possibilities:

• • Tomatoes. You can dice tomatoes and mix them into the mashed avocado to add a bit of juicy freshness. Make the chunks as big as you like. If you like smaller pieces of tomato, try using cherry tomatoes.

• Onions add a ton of flavor, and make a really yummy guacamole. The best way to add onion is to mince is very finely, so that it blends in really well, and adds lots of flavor, without any overpowering chunks. If you’re using red onion, though, you might want to leave bigger pieces in, for color.
• Garlic is always great in guacamole. You don’t have to add it, but a bit of minced or crushed garlic goes a long way. I love garlic, so I always add about a cloves per avocado.
• Peppers. What kind? Pretty much any kind. Hot peppers like chile or jalapeno add a nice bit of heat if you prefer something spicy. But bell peppers can be a nice addition, too. They’re not spicy, but they’ll add color, crunch and flavor to your guacamole dip.

These are just a few things you can add. The fun part about learning how to make guacamole is experimenting and finding out what you like best! So don’t be afraid to try different veggies.

And don’t be afraid to try out different quantities. Start by adding a little bit of each vegetable, and then taste the dip. You can always add more if you need to. And the more you make guacamole dip, the easier it’ll be for you to figure out just how much to add.

Seasonings, Herbs And Spices

I find that avocados are delicious all on their own, so I generally go light on the seasonings. But it’s true that avocados are kind of mild flavored, and the right seasonings can really go a long way towards making your guacamole dip outstanding.

Wondering what to add? Here are some ideas.

• • Most guacamole dips have some lemon or lime juice in them. It doesn’t just add flavor – it helps prevent the avocado from oxidizing, so that your guacamole doesn’t turn brown as fast.
    • You can add anywhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon per avocado, depending on what you like.
    • Some people swear by lemon juice, others lime. It all comes down to peoples’ tastes, and you can’t argue with that! Try both out, and see what you like best. I prefer lime myself, but it’s delicious with lemon, too.
  • Salt doesn’t just add saltiness. It enhances all the other flavors in the dip. So you definitely want a bit of salt in the mix. The amount you need depends on the size of your avocados and how coarse your salt is, but a 1/4 teaspoon per avocado is a good guideline

• Cilantro is a really popular herb for guacamole. My husband and I can’t stand it, so it’s banned from our house, but if you like cilantro, it’s goes great in guacamole dip. Just chop some up and add it to the dip.
• Other herbs, spices or seasonings you can use are cumin, cayenne pepper, chile powder, black pepper, or hot sauce. But you can experiment with any seasoning you like. It’s always easy to make more guacamole!

Notes

When you’re adding a seasoning, remember that it’s always easy to add more, but it’s not always so easy to take it out of the dip. So start with a bit, mix it in the guacamole dip, and then add more only if you feel it needs more.

Texture

A lot of people like their guacamole to keep the nice texture of mashed avocados. But sometimes it’s nice to try something a little different. If you want a creamier guacamole, try adding sour cream, yogurt, or a bit of olive oil.

Just stir it into the mashed avocados a bit at a time until the taste and texture is right.

How To Make Guacamole Dip

Alright, now that we know what ingredients can go in the dip, it’s time to find out how to make guacamole. And it really couldn’t be any easier.

Here’s how you do it.

1. Slice the avocados in half and split them apart. Cut the half that still has the pit in half again – you should be able to pull the pit right out. Peel the avocados, or scoop out the flesh with a spoon.
2. Mash the avocados. You can do this in lots of different ways, depending on how chunky you like your guacamole dip.
   • Mashing with a fork lets you leave it chunky or smooth, depending on what you want.
   • A potato masher will give you pretty smooth results.
   • You can also use a food processor or a blender for the creamiest results. I find that it’s usually not worth the clean up, especially since I like a chunkier guacamole dip!
3. If you’re using olive oil, yogurt or sour cream, stir it into the guacamole until the texture is just right.
4. Mince, chop and dice your vegetables and seasonings, and add them to the guacamole.
5. Mix well, and you’re done!

Storing Your Guacamole Dip

Guacamole is an awesome snack, but it doesn’t keep very well. Any contact with air will make the avocados turn brown after a few hours. It won’t taste quite the same, and it won’t look nearly as nice, either.

Since it’s so easy to make, the best thing to do is to make your guacamole dip right before you plan on serving it, but if you really need to make it ahead of time, here are a few tricks.

• If you’re not serving it right away, keep the guacamole in the fridge. If you don’t like cold guacamole, you can let it warm up to room temperature before you eat it.
• Minimize the guacamole’s exposure to air. You can cover it with plastic wrap (if the wrap touches the surface of the dip, it’s even better), place it in a Tupperware, or even in a Ziploc bag with the air pushed out.
• Lemon and lime juice help slow down oxidation. So the more you add, the longer it’ll take for the dip to get brown. Obviously you don’t want to affect the flavor too much, but even a bit of citrus juice will keep the guacamole green for a few hours.

Guacamole dip really is super fast and easy to make. It doesn’t take much more than 5 minutes, and doesn’t need a whole lot of cleanup. A perfect, healthy snack!

Braising is a cooking technique where you cook food by partially immersing it in liquid. Depending on the liquid you use, you’ll get different results. And with different herbs and spices, you have an almost infinite number of possibilities.

Glazed carrots are just braised carrots, but with the cooking liquid reduced to a delicious glaze.

Braising is an especially nice way to cook carrots – sweet liquids add to the carrots’ natural sweetness, and savory liquids make a nice contrast.

In this article, I’ll talk about how to make braised and glazed carrots. First, I’ll go over preparing the carrots, seasonings and cooking liquids. Then, I’ll talk about how to braise the carrots. Finally, I’ll show how to turn the cooking liquid into a yummy glaze.

Here we go!

Preparing The Ingredients

When you’re cooking vegetables, the first step is always to prepare the vegetables. But when you’re making braised or glazed carrots, you also need to gather your seasonings and your cooking liquid.

Preparing The Carrots

The first thing you need to do is wash the carrots. No matter where you get them from, there might be dirt, chemicals, or micro-organisms left on them, and a bit of lukewarm water will help get that off. Just scrub them gently.

You can also peel the carrots if you like. Sometimes it’s better not to, though, since carrots have a lot of flavor and nutrients right up near the surface – you don’t want to peel that away! But if you feel your carrots need a good peel, go for it.

The last step is to cut up the carrots. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

• Smaller pieces cook faster.
  • If you don’t have a lot of time, small, diagonal slices will cook very quickly.
  • If you prefer bigger pieces, you can do that too. They’ll cook just as well and won’t burn or anything, but it’ll take longer. Whole carrots can take really long, unless they’re baby carrots, so it’s best to cut them up a little!
• Smaller pieces have more surface area. That means that they’ll caramelize more if you decide to sear them, and they’ll absorb more flavors from the sauce or glaze.
• Some cooking methods, like boiling, leech out nutrients and flavors from the carrots. The smaller the pieces, the more they lose. But when you’re braising, you can use the cooking liquid, so there’s really hardly any loss at all.

Once the carrots are cut up and ready, you can look at seasonings.

Picking Seasonings

The seasonings are what’ll make your braised and glazed carrots really stand out. With just a few herbs and spices, you can turn carrots into something really amazing.

There are a few different ways to use seasonings.

• Sauté them while you sear the carrots. This works best with aromatics like onions, shallots, or garlic, but it can also bring out the flavors of certain herbs and spices. Rosemary and thyme are wonderful when you heat them up a little!
• And them to the cooking liquid. This works wonderfully for most herbs and spices. It releases their flavor in a gentler way than sautéing. You can also add other seasonings like mustard, honey, sugar, salt, or pepper to the cooking liquid.
• Sprinkle them on top of the cooked carrots. This works best for fresh, chopped herbs like chives, parsley, chervil or dill. You get a nice fresh flavor that contrasts with the warm, braised carrot taste. You can also sprinkle some coarse sea salt on top of the carrots for a bit of crunchiness.

Don’t be afraid to be creative with your seasonings. The worst that can happen is you have a dish you don’t love… but you may also discover something amazing!

Notes

• If you want to make glazed carrots, you’ll need to have some kind of sugar in the sauce. You can add honey or sugar, or just use fruit juices as the cooking liquid. It’ll help the sauce boil down to a nice glaze-y consistency.

Picking A Cooking Liquid

One of the great thing about braised carrots is the different blend of flavors you can end up with. Seasonings give some variety, but the cooking liquid you pick also makes a huge difference. And it’s the base for your sauce or glaze, so it really influences the taste of your glazed carrots.

Some liquids that go especially nicely with carrots are orange juice, vegetable or chicken stock, white wine or a bit of melted honey. And you can combine them, or add a bit of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice or chili sauce for a little extra kick.

Again, never be afraid to try out different things. For example, there are lots of different fruit juices you can try out, and you may end up with a really nice surprise if you experiment. Orange juice will give you wonderful orange carrots, and a delicious blend of flavors.

How To Make Braised Carrots

Once you’ve gathered and prepared your ingredients, you’re ready to start cooking and make braised carrots.

Here’s how you do it.

1. Heat a bit of butter in a pan over medium high heat.
   • You can also use oil or a combination of oil and butter to prevent burning, but butter gives a nicer flavor in a sauce.
   • Try to use a pan that can fit all your carrots in a single layer. Braised carrots are much tastier if more of the carrots are immersed in the sauce!
2. Add the carrots and seasonings you want to sauté to the pan, and sauté them until they’re browned to your liking.
   • You don’t have to sear the vegetables at all. If you don’t like the caramelized flavor, then don’t worry about this step!
   • The goal is to just get the surface to cook, not the inside. You want the carrots to finish cooking in the liquid so that they get more flavorful.
3. Add the cooking liquid and other seasonings, and bring it to a boil.
4. Place a fitted lid over the pan. You want the steam to stay trapped so that it can help cook the carrots. Lower the temperature a bit so that you have a light simmer.
5. Cook the carrots until they’re as tender as you like them, then remove them from the liquid. I find a slotted spoon is the best tool!
6. Set the carrots aside. We’ll go over making the sauce or glaze in the next section.

And now you have some braised carrots! Read on to find out how to turn them into delicious glazed carrots.

Making A Sauce Or Glaze

Braised carrots are pretty delicious all on their own. They get really yummy and flavorful from the cooking liquid and seasonings. But you can make them even more outstanding with a sauce. Or, you can even turn that sauce into a glaze and make amazing glazed carrots.

After removing the carrots, you’ll find you have some cooking liquid left. That’ll be the base for your sauce. It’s full of great flavors, and any nutrients the carrots might have lost ended up in the liquid. It’s perfect!

Here’s what you do.

1. Taste the cooking liquid. If you find it needs a little extra something, go ahead and add it.
   • You can try a bit of vinegar or soy sauce, some fruit juice, spices, anything you like. Or don’t add anything at all.
   • Go easy on the seasonings. As the sauce reduces, the flavors will get more intense, so it’s best to start with something that’s not too strong tasting.
2. Bring the liquid to a boil. Let it boil down until it starts to thicken.
   • If your sauce has lots of gelatin (from a good chicken stock), or lots of sugar (from honey or just sugar added to it), the sauce should thicken on its own.
3. If the sauce doesn’t thicken, mix about a teaspoon of flour or cornstarch with a bit of water. Mix it really really well, and then add it to the sauce. Stir it in well. As the sauce boils it’ll thicken.
   • You can use more or less flour as needed, but remember, it’s better to start with less and add more, because once it’s in the sauce, you can’t take it back out!
   • If your cooking liquid has enough sugar in it, it’ll turn into a glaze. Otherwise it’ll be more of a sauce. Either way, it’ll be delicious!
4. Spoon the sauce over the carrots, or place the carrots back in the sauce or glaze, toss to get them coated, and simmer them a few minutes.
5. Serve, and enjoy!

And that’s how to make braised carrots, and take it one step further to make glazed carrots. You’ll love it!

Cookies – Cakes – Squares & Bars – Crisps & Cobblers –
Candies – Frosting & Icing – Pies

Desserts have a bit of a special place in the food hierarchy. On the one hand, desserts are sweet, delicious, and everyone loves them.

But they’re not always healthy, and so they’re sometimes looked down on as a bad choice.

But dessert is an important part of a meal. It’s not just about having something sweet or decadent. Easy dessert recipes help to put a closing note on the meal, so that you feel that the meal is done. It’s like the period at the end of the sentence, or the credits at the end of a movie.

So how do you enjoy dessert without overdoing it? The first way is to eat dessert in moderation. One cookie does just as good a job of bringing the meal to a close as three, so there’s no need to overdo it.

Or, you can go for healthier desserts. My mom always made fruit plates for us – strawberries, oranges, bananas, whatever was in season. And having it all cut up for us made all the difference. I love fruit, but I’ll admit, I’ll eat a lot more if someone pre-peels it for me.

So you don’t have to avoid dessert. Just be smart about it! And these easy dessert recipes will give you a few tasty ideas for sweet treats.

Cookies

There’s absolutely nothing like homemade cookies, fresh out of the oven. They can be as simple as drop chocolate chip cookies, or they can be cut out and decorated, but cookies are always good. Here are a few easy dessert recipes for cookies.

• Sugar cookies are about as simple as easy dessert recipes come. Just a few simple ingredients and you’ve got an awesome treat!

  

  • For drop cookies, try this easy sugar cookie recipe. They’re great drizzled with a bit of chocolate!
  • If you want to roll out the dough and make cut out cookies, this cut out sugar cookie recipe is perfect. The cookies keep their shape so well when they bake!
• Sugar cookies look great decorated. This sugar cookie icing recipe will let you make professional looking cookies.
• Gingerbread cookies are awesome around the holidays. And this gingerbread cookie recipe is great because it lets you cut out perfect little gingerbread men. And to decorate, this royal icing recipe is just what you need. It adds the perfect hint of sweetness.

Cakes

Cakes are actually surprisingly easy to make, and they’re so great for special occasions. And I’m a big fan of homemade cakes. For me, they’re better than anything you can get in a bakery or restaurant – my family knows that if I don’t get a homemade cake for my birthday, things will get ugly!

Here are a few simple dessert recipes for cake that I like.

• This is my favorite chocolate cake recipe. It’s the perfect taste, texture and moistness for me. Even the batter is the best looking cake batter I’ve seen!
• And it’s just not cake without a little frosting. This chocolate frosting recipe is perfect for yellow cakes, chocolate cakes… or even just on its own!

Squares And Bar Cookies

Squares and bar cookies make a really nice, elegant looking desserts, and they’re not that hard to make. With these easy dessert recipes, you just need to bake the bars and cut them up. I like to cut them into small servings, so that you get to enjoy the taste but don’t feel too full. Besides, you can always go back for seconds.

• These caramel pecan pie bars are completely decadent and delicious. They’re always a huge hit! With homemade caramel and yummy toasted pecans, don’t expect any leftovers.
• These lemons bars are sweet but tangy, and perfect for a light, slightly fruity dessert.
• This cranberry bars recipe is a great dessert recipe, and it’s pretty wholesome. It would even make a decent breakfast!

Crisps And Cobblers

There are a lot of easy dessert recipes for crisps and cobblers. They make such delicious desserts that are great any day of the week, or even for a special occasion. I particularly love apple crisp — it’s a perfect, warm dessert for a cool autumn day.

• Apple crisp is fantastic. It’s got a great, warm apple filling and a nice crunchy topping. Find out how to make your own delicious apple crisp recipe in this article on making easy apple crisp.

Candies

Of all the easy dessert recipes out there, I think candy recipes are my favorite. There’s just something about candies that looks so fancy and elegant! Like truffles, so pretty, creamy and delicious. Yum!

• This peppermint bark recipe is perfect for the holidays. The marbled chocolate and crushed candy canes are a refreshing treat.
• Truffles are my favorite candy to make. This chocolate truffle recipe is a great starter recipe that you can easily tweak.
• If you want to coat truffles, fruit, or other candies, you’ll need to temper your melted chocolate so that it sets hard and shiny. This article on tempering chocolate will tell you what you need to know about it.
• Chocolate covered strawberries are perfect for Valentine’s Day or an elegant dinner. Or even just for a quick, delicious snack! They’re not hard to make, either. Find out how in this article on making chocolate strawberries.

Frosting And Icing

Generally, I’m not a fan of too much frosting. I find that a lot of bakeries spread it on way too thick. But even I think that cake with a bit of frosting is so much better than without. Here are a few yummy frosting and icing recipes.

• This chocolate frosting recipe is great for cakes.
• If you want to decorate cut out cookies, try this sugar cookie icing recipe. It dries super beautifully, and you’ll have wonderful looking cookies.
• This royal icing recipe is perfect for flavorful cookies that need an extra hint of sweetness, like gingerbread. It dries really hard, and you can use it to build gingerbread houses.

Pies

There’s something special about a delicious homemade pie. Maybe it just makes me think of pies cooling on window sills, but it feels like a delicious, traditional, and comforting dessert. You can’t go wrong with a pie! And there are so many different kinds to choose from. Here’s one of my favorite pie recipes.

• This pumpkin pie recipe is one of my favorite recipes. It’s also my husband’s favorite, and I make it for him every year around his birthday.

I hope this collection of easy dessert recipes helps you put the perfect ending note to a wonderful dinner. Enjoy!