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The history of American barbecue is strongly entrenched into its sociological history. The word barbecue simultaneously brings to our mind the US and vice versa. But BBQ is more a passionate factor in the southern states of USA than any other place. Its origin dates back to the times of the Civil War and even before it. Thus, the history of American barbecue is almost the history of America itself.

To make a long story short, though the history of American barbecue states that it originated in the south, nevertheless there is no single taste prevalent there. The taste, ingredients used and sometimes even the method of cooking varies from state to state and even town to town. It would be convenient to understand if the region is divided into the South, East Coast and Central South sections.

In the South, the meat is not at all what the original barbecue used to be made of, and they usually use mutton and beef cooked only in the slow cooking method. They also have a complete range of BBQ sauces to go with their bar-b-q that can vary between a sweet tomato sauce or a fiery red-hot one.

The East Coast however holds on to its original beginnings and has pork for its BBQ meat and vinegar sauces to accompany it. The side dishes that are a common favorite are coleslaw and hushpuppies – a cornmeal pastry. The vinegar sauces however see many variations like vinegar sauces rich in tomato, or a yellow mustard based sauce, with side dishes like bread and stew or hash with rice.

In the Central South, the meat remains to be pork and its ribs, but the way it is cut differs, in the sense it is pulled rather than chopped. They are slow cooked, shredded by hand and covered with ample amounts of sauce. The ribs are greased with sauce or covered with a mix of sharp spices before pit cooking. The sauce here however is a sweet tomato sauce with a hint of pepper and molasses. It is usually served with coleslaw, French fries, baked beans and cornbread. Further, in the west beef gets more preference over pork.

The history of American barbecue narrates a tale that has modified itself with the times, but even now, if you want a bite of the all-original American barbecue, it would do you good to visit any of the Southern states.

The true origins of tea as a beverage are unknown, but it is believed that tea drinking began about 5,000 years ago in China, where the tea plant, “Camellia sinensis,” is native.

It is perhaps because of this lack of verifiable information on the beginning of tea and tea drinking that a number of legends have sprung up around the creation of tea as a beverage.

The World’s First Tea Drinker?

One of the more popular legends of how tea drinking began center around “Shennong,” who was believed to be an ancient Chinese emperor, herbalist and farmer (in fact, his name means the Divine Farmer).

Shennong was fairly knowledgeable about science in his day and he believed water should be boiled in order to make it safe enough for drinking. While on a journey around 2737 B.C., he stopped briefly to rest. His servants gathered twigs, including those from a tea plant, to make a fire to boil his water in.

A few of the tea leaves from the burning tea twigs floated in the heat from the fire and landed into the pot of boiling water. His curiosity piqued by the discoloration of the boiling water caused by the tea leaves, Shennong decided to try the accidental brew. He apparently enjoyed it, and thus tea the beverage was born. No word on whether Shennong took his tea with sugar and milk, though.

Wan Tu Drink Some Tea?

A variation of the Shennong tea legend has an evil, cruel man by the name of “Wan Tu” as the discoverer of tea. The way this variation goes is that Wan Tu was banished to the southern areas of China because of his despotic temperament.

While there, he too falls prey to falling tea leaves in his pot of boiling water. Wan Tu drinks the tea and, as legend has it, he finds tea so refreshing he becomes a kinder, gentler man. Instant Tea?

There is another Chinese legend on the discovery of tea, albeit with a twist of Buddhism. This particular legend has it that “Bodhidharma,” an Indian Buddhist monk famous as the founder of Zen Buddhism, traveled to China. While there, he became so angry at his drowsiness during meditation, he cut off his eyelids and threw them to the ground. His eyelids sprang into tea bushes immediately, thus creating instant tea, in a manner of speaking.

Since its introduction to the western world, tea has grown in popularity and is now the second most popular beverage in the world after water. Throughout its history tea demand has grown as a result of its good taste, health and medicinal properties and increasingly efficient channels of production and distribution.

Perhaps the most important benefit of tea for tea drinker is that aura of good feeling and stress reduction for those who regularly consume the beverage.

Tea growing and distribution became big business throughout the world as enterprising individuals and companies invested in tea plantations and distribution assets to meet the growing demand for tea. As the business grew, national governments saw tea as a valuable source of revenue. Government regulation and taxation often had a detrimental effect on free commerce and customer satisfaction however.

The growth in popularity of tea in a country like England, a country whose tea culture is well established, is a good case study on the social and fiscal influences on the consumption of tea.

During the sixteenth century in England, tea became a popular beverage mainly for the upper classes. Based upon a unique taste and realization of tea health benefits, more efficient channels of distribution and a growing understanding of the life style benefits of tea, imports grew slowly at first. Nevertheless, this growth accelerated into the 18th century.

During this time taxation, smuggling and adulteration of tea became significant factors in the English tea culture.

Considering tea a tropical luxury, the English government saw revenue raising opportunities in tea to fund a military buildup that supported expansion of the British Empire.

By the eighteenth century, tea was a hugely popular drink in Britain, but, to the ordinary consumer, it was also prohibitively expensive. Smuggling of tea became a growth industry in England as smugglers profited as they met the demand for lower cost tea by ignoring oppressive customs duties.

This created a demand among the British population for cheaper tea, and when that demand could not be met by legal means, a great opportunity was presented to those people who were less than concerned about breaking the law. From the beginning of the eighteenth century, the trade in smuggled tea began to flourish.

This was tea that was brought in illegally – it was not imported by the East India Company, and it did not pass through customs. Being light and easy to transport, tea was a very profitable smuggling commodity – even more so than alcohol in which there was also a healthy smuggling trade.

The State Needs Money

Like any state, 18th Century England was no exception to the need to raise revenue. Mercantilism was the English policy and a military presence was required to support the English role in overseas colonies and possessions. Expansion of world interests requires two things: a strong military and funds to support military activities.

The state looked to import duties and excise taxes as a way to raise the necessary funds and these taxes soon became excessive. The Government had to legitimize the tax and did so by treating tea initially as a “luxury” that could support high duties in the eyes of the public. Later, tea was correctly classified as a “necessity” that would only support lower levels of taxation.

Before the Tax Reform Act of 1784 for example, the price of tea was burdened with taxes and duties of over 100% of the pretax price.

In addition, although the supply of tea continued to increase as tea plantations became more productive, the price remained high as the East India Company (granted a monopoly on tea imports by the English Government) artificially manipulated supplies to maintain prices.

High Taxes and Manipulated Supply Lead to Smuggling as a Growth Industry

A pattern developed in English commerce in tea. As taxes were raised on tea imports, smuggling increased in a successful attempt to meet the underlying growth in demand for tea. But smuggling and high taxes had a direct relationship and smuggling produced a negative effect on the English economy and population at large.

Although taxation is important for raising revenue, most economists know that high taxation encouraged smuggling, and the quantity of tea being smuggled was directly linked to the level of duty levied on legal tea imports. In England, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, the government’s need to finance a war in Spain led to an increase in taxation on tea, and the price of leaves rose dramatically.

The tax was outrageous and fueled the activities of the tea smugglers. Duty was later slashed by Henry Pelham in 1745. This meant that more tea was brought in legally – the quantity passing through customs more than doubled – and the increase of tea imports on which duty was paid actually led to the government’s revenues from tea being increased.

But in the 1750s the need to finance another war led to the duty on tea being raised again. This in turn led to a surge in the business of the smugglers, which continued to flourish throughout the third quarter of the eighteenth century.

Though illegal, the smugglers had the support of millions of people who could not otherwise afford to buy tea.

Much tea was smuggled in from continental Europe, shipped into Britain via the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Although smuggling was widespread, in the first decades of the eighteenth century many of the smugglers themselves operated on a very small scale. Many smugglers used their own small boats and the contraband tea was then sold on to personal contacts and local shopkeepers.

It was by now widely acknowledged that the only way to tackle the smuggling problem was to make tea cheaper – in effect, to reduce the duty paid on it. So the East India Company, who had powerful allies in the British Parliament, lobbied for the duty to be lowered. The power of the corporate world was thus added to popular demand for permanent change in the tea tax.

It was when William Pitt the Younger became Prime Minister in 1783 that the work of the anti-tea duty forces finally achieved their goal. As a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Pitt was familiar with tax policy and the impact of high taxes on tax revenue. He understood that raising the tax rate often resulted in decreased tax revenue.

Pitt slashed the tax on tea, and made up for the revenue lost by hugely increasing the window tax. This was a property tax which was much easier to enforce. The Commutation Act of 1784 reduced the tax on tea from 119 per cent to 12.5 per cent. The smuggling of tea ceased to be profitable, and the smuggling trade vanished virtually overnight. More importantly tea was treated as a necessity rather than a luxury with long term implications for lower tea taxes.

The consumption of lower taxed tea rocketed, so much so that even with the reduced rate of tax, the amount of revenue collected from tea was soon restored and eventually exceeded pre-reduction revenue. Equally important, tea became the standard beverage for most of the entire English population.

Tea drinkers had the window tax to thank in part for the boost in popularity of their favorite beverage!

There is nothing great than sipping a hot cup of coffee in the chilly mornings. It simply feels great having the espresso. Yes, we are talking espresso, which is one of the most famous and preferred coffee types across the globe. Well, since we started talking about espresso, why not take a brief sneak peek into its history and what exactly it is. What do you say?

Basically espresso is a flavorful and strong coffee beverage prepared when hot water is forced under a high pressure and made to pass through finely ground coffee beans. The color of the coffee is typically dark brown with brown/red colored foam on the top. Espresso is commonly served in small portions.

Unlike other drip-brewed coffees, espresso is identified with its robust flavor and thick consistency. Following its potency, straight espresso or espresso served without milk or sweetener is generally considered to be an acquired taste. In the United States, this espresso is served in small amounts known as shots. Many avid coffee fanatics even order single or double espressos along with a glass of water to void the taste.

Espresso was basically originated in Italy in the 20th century. Indeed Espresso is an Italian word that means fast. A gentleman named Luigi Bezzera made a coffee machine that had four divisions and a boiler in 1901. He even got the machine patented. This machine used to force boiling water and steam via coffee into the container or cup. This very machine is regarded as the inception of espresso.

In 1903, Desiderio Pavoni purchased the patent from Luigi Bezzera and the Pavoni Compnay started developing coffee machines in 1905 which were based on Luigi’s patent. The machines produced by the company came to be known as the “La Pavona” and became famous immensely. These machines even reached the America in 1927.

The flaws in these early machines soon came forward. The boiling water and the steam that was forced via machine gave coffee a certain kind of burn flavor. So, Cremonesi in 1938 built a piston pump that forced hot water rather than boiling water through the coffee. Moreover, this design was also incorporated in Achille Gaggia’s coffee bar. During the World War II the Gaggia’s small quantity of machines were destroyed by a bomb and any further developments of espresso machines got hindered.

As the war came to the end, Gaggia began manufacturing a viable piston pump. As the machine used the spring lever, it was considered very innovative. Following the use of the spring lever, the coffee could be pressurized which was entirely independent of the boiler. These earlier machines used to employ the force of the boiler pressure to force water through the coffee. The coffee that was produced from this machine characterized a Creama which became the hallmark of espresso coffee. In true terms, this was a major inception of espresso machines.

Further in 1961, M Faema made an improvement in the Gaggia’s machine. Faema developed machine that consisted of an electric pump. This pump used to force water through the coffee. This machine underlined the inception of pump driven machines which paved way for the modern espresso machines.

It’s official, people of all ages love to receive gourmet foods as a gift. For any occasion, for birthdays, for anniversaries, for Christmas, for Mother’s Day, for Father’s Day, it doesn’t matter. Gourmet foods are one of the few gifts that you can count on to please the recipient. Everyone who receives a gourmet food gift basket or package feels special. Here is a guide to the most popular types of gourmet food gifts and what type of gift recipient they are perfect for:

Cheeses

Cheese is a great gift for the true “foodie”, or anyone who also enjoys wine. Gourmet cheeses are available from all over the world, but the very best specialty cheeses tend to come from France, Italy, England, Spain, Ireland and, of course, the United States. Whether you get someone a true cheddar from England or a wedge of genuine Brie from France, you are getting someone a very special gift that will surely be savored.

Gourmet Cheesecake

Cakes are nice, cheese is nice, but put these two things together and you have cheesecake! Cheesecake is a wonderful and special gift that’s especially nice to bring along to a party or dinner as a hostess gift. Many types of cheesecake are available, from decadently rich chocolate truffle cheesecake to cheesecakes swirled with candies, cookies, fruit and even biscotti.

Baked Goods

Cookies, cakes, pastry, pies, coffee cakes, anything that is baked, people love! If you have someone on your gift giving list who loves cookies, then get them a cookie bouquet. There are also luxurious specialty cakes available online to buy. Some of the most popular cakes online are coffee cakes. Coffee cakes are especially wonderful gifts to give to a couple or a large family. There’s nothing better than a breakfast of coffee and a wedge of coffee cake on Christmas morning.

Chocolates

Who doesn’t love to receive chocolates as a gift? Just about everyone LOVES chocolate, and there is a wide array of chocolates available online. From truffles topped with edible gold leaf and gold dust to silky smooth fudge to boxes of chocolates that are filled with exotic creams, nuts and fillings. Nothing pleases quite like chocolate.

Drinks

Drinks are a surprisingly popular gift idea. From fine wines to flavored coffee to organic teas to rarely produced sodas, drinks are a thoughtful gift. Give a fine wine to go with some good imported cheese or give someone a case of their favorite soda that they haven’t been able to get for 20 years. Teas are also a nice gift for anyone who enjoys a healthier lifestyle or who simply enjoys a nice calming drink. There are many teas available, including lovely gift boxed varieties, fine imported teas from Japan and China, as well as organic teas, herbal teas and many flavored varieties of tea.

Fruits & Nuts

Fruit as a gift has been around a long time, from the old pioneer days when people could not afford expensive gifts, they picked the bounty from their own orchard and gave that instead. Fruit is a fantastic gift for older people, anyone who enjoys healthier treats, as well as folks who can’t get certain types of fruit in their area. In addition, dried fruits and nuts are a great traditional gift for just about anyone who enjoys healthy snacks. Nuts are super healthy and are also a nice gift for anyone who enjoys baking.

Whether you choose a decadent and luxurious gourmet food gift or a more healthful treat, a gourmet food gift is one that won’t fail to please.

You will be right in thinking that there must be an alternative to drinking commercial beer that large factories containing huge copper containers manned by white-coated employees are churning out and for which you end up paying more than you wish to pay.

The answer is simple. You should think about buying home beer brewing kits and brew your own beer at home which will help to save your money while experiencing the pleasure of drinking beer that (if made properly) will taste the way that you want it to taste.

Make Two Gallons or More with a Kit

With Microbrew home beer brewing kits you will find that you can make as much as two gallons of beer that should cost you a mere twelve dollars or so. With the typical home Microbrew home beer brewing kit you will find that it comes with a Brew Keg as well as hops and malts and some “Boosters” as well that are “the additives that add the alcohol”. Along with the plastic caps for the Brew Keg that can be used over and over again is included the instructions.

You can use your Microbrew home beer brewing kit to make a variety of beers including Pilsners, Lagers, Stout, Light beers as well as ales that are fruit based. The whole home beer brewing kit exercise requires discipline and once you have combined all of the ingredients and closed the key and started to brew there is no scope for peeking by opening the keg until the whole process has finished.

You must learn to trust in the microbrew kit instructions and not deviate from the set path and you should certainly not rush the process at all.

If you like some variety, you can try out the Home Microbrew Kit for Root Beer as well as the one for Birch Beer. There are many different types of home beer brewing kits available that suits the budget, level of experience and those that can be gifted or contains the complete set of tools for brewing beer at home.

All said and done, home beer brewing kits allow you to gain added satisfaction in your glass of beer that just cannot be found in the average commercially brewed beer. Besides saving money, home beer brewing kits allows you to actually brew the beer that tastes just the way you want it and with some improvisation, it allows you to develop a personal style as well as flavor that just cannot be mass produced.

If you live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, you know how the beer industry does quite well there. With all those beer drinkers, everyone is looking for the latest, greatest beer. Sure, there are many beers to choose from that are sold in bars and gas stations but there is always room for improvement.

If you live in Tulsa, and you are sick and tired of all the beer you have to choose from, then why not make your own? That’s right, Tulsa home brewing has never been easier since the advent of the internet. All you have to do is look up how to brew your own beer and you can find a lot of information on how to do it, as well as find out how to brew different types of beer.

Patience Is Key

When you brew your own beer, you first must decide what kind of beer you would like to brew. You can find different ingredients that make different kinds of beers. For example, you can make light beer, dark beer, heavy beer or any combination of the three, or you can even form your own creation by experimentation. Just remember that beer takes time to ferment. That means that the bacteria in the beer have to work their magic in order for the beer to attain the proper taste and potency level that make a good beer. If you try to force the fermentation process, you won’t be happy with the results and you will essentially have wasted your time.

When you make your own Tulsa home brew, invite all your friends over so that they can have a taste. You often have to have a second opinion to make sure that your Tulsa home brew came out as expected and there is no better way to do that than to invite all your friends over for a Tulsa home brew party. Just make sure that you offer free Tulsa home brew. Selling beer, or any liquor for that matter, requires a license and you wouldn’t want to break any laws in your Tulsa home brew ventures.

The only thing you have to do is decide which kinds of beer you want to brew. You can even brew several different kinds and have a kind of taste test amongst you and your friends. Once you find the kind of Tulsa home brew you like, you can make as much of as you want. Then, you won’t have to settle for all the beers commercially available to you. You can make your own Tulsa home brew and you have the freedom to make it just the way you like it.

Raising the temperature of mash can be a slow, yet necessary process and using a home brew steam generator can cut the time. However, using steam to heat the mash can also be dangerous as steam can cause sever burns, quickly. While water heated to boiling at 212-degrees Fahrenheit is hot, steam heated to the same temperature will do more damage simply because boiling water begins to cool as soon as it touches your skin. Steam, on the other hand, will need to condense to water before beginning to cool off, giving it more time to inflict more damage and pain.

With that in mind, a home brew steam generator can decrease the time it takes to heat the mash by considering the same principal. Essentially, steam can be generated in a pressure cooker and then piped into the container holding the mash. As the steam enters, it maintains its temperature longer than boiling water will and increases the temperature of the mash at a rate of about one degree centigrade, 33.8 degrees Fahrenheit, per minute.

There are some precautions to be used for making your own home brew steam generator and having the right heat source is needed, or else the heat of the steam may lack enough power to produce the sustained release of steam that is needed to achieve consistent heat exchange.

Ease Of Construction For Steam Generator

To build your own home brew steam generator you will need an electric hot plate capable of about 2100 watt, along with a pressure cooker, copper tubing, the pressure weight for the cooker and a shut-off valve. The copper tubing is attached to the lid of the pressure cooker by drilling and threading the hole and using a copper connector available at most hardware stores.

The other end of the first copper tube is connected to the input of the shut-off valve. Another tube, connected to the output of the valve goes into the top of the container of mash and extends to the bottom with at least 13-inches lying near the floor of the container.

The end of this tube is pinched closed and a series of small holes, about one-sixteenth of an inch are drilled a half-inch apart to complete the home brew steam generator. Fill the pressure cooker about three-fourths full of clean water and turn on the heat source, leaving the pressure weight off for now. When steam begins to rise from the top tube, clearing any air from the cooker, place the weight in position and the steam will be forced through the tube, in the bottom of the mash, beginning the heating process.

Stir the mash occasionally during heating to keep the temperature uniform. To stop the heating process, turn off the heat source and remove the pressure weight. You can also at this time close the shut-off valve.

Beer drinkers who find it inconvenient or expensive to make trips to the brewery, can now enjoy a cold one at home.

Home brewing kits make it easy to have great tasting beer whenever you want it. The process is a little complex, but the money you’ll save and the satisfaction you’ll receive are well worth the effort.

Courses: Brewmaster courses are the best way to learn the intricate details that go into creating great beer. Lessons are available online, in guides and books, an in classroom settings. Check with your community college to see if brewmaster courses are available in your area. Whatever type of lesson you choose, it should fully cover areas including beermaking methods and ingredients. Once you have an understanding of the beermaking process, you can shop for a home brewing machine.

Beer Brewing Machines: Several different styles and many brands of home brewing machines are widely available. They type of machine you buy will be determined by the style of beer you’d like to create. Each system will carry its own unique set of instructions, so be sure to read the directions very carefully.

The key to making great beer is in the ingredients. What goes into your beer directly affects the aroma and flavour; so don’t scrimp on second best. Once you get used to basic home brewing techniques, you can begin to experiment with a mixture of flavours.

Any gourmet will tell you that there is no greater source of pride than serving a truly personal creation. The same holds true for home brewers. You can easily create a truly unique brew to share with your friends. The home brewing recipe is quite simple: Start with a clear understanding of the brewing process, invest in a good quality home brewing machine, and then add the best ingredients. You’ll have great tasting beer, anytime you want it.

Beer has been brewed at home, more or less for the past several thousand years. There is not much said about the practice before the nineteenth century. At some point though, men figured out that CO2 (carbon dioxide) was needed for brewing beer at home. This most likely strengthened the fascination with home brewing. Larger breweries were not quite so thrilled with the home-based competition.

The Inland Revenue Act of 1880 in the United Kingdom demanded private citizens to pay for a license in order to pursue their pastime. The same types of hardships were felt by home brewers in the United States. A law passed in 1920 banned anyone, private of company to produce alcohol. Organized crime saw a boost in activity during the famous “Prohibition” period.

Times have changed now and home brewing is enjoyed by many, with interest in the process growing as more time passes. It can be a very relaxing and enjoyable hobby. There is some work that goes into making beer at home, but it is minimal and the result is something really great that you can share with friends and family.

What CO2 Is To Brewing Beer At Home

Brewing beer at home is not at all difficult as long as you can and will follow directions. There are four basic ingredients necessary for every batch you make: Water Yeast Malted Grain Hops

There is a fifth ingredient, but it arrives a little late to the party: carbon dioxide, or CO2. You cannot brew beer at home without it. Actually no one can brew beer anywhere without carbon dioxide. How do you get it? It is produced by the yeast and hops in the beer. There is an important process of aging that is necessary if you want really good beer.

Once bottled, leave it be for no less than two weeks. It is during this time that the carbon dioxide is produced and your beer is carbonated. There are a few other ways to add CO2 to your home brewed beer, but the aging is still something to allow.

The quick way to possibly add CO2 to beer brewed at home is to pump it into your keg or container directly. This speeds up the aging process and gets you to your brew a lot faster.

The more traditional way for home brewing beer with CO2 is by adding wort to the finished product before sealing it. Wort is simply unfermented beer; adding that for the yeast produces carbon dioxide.

Organic Food Information: The Benefits

Oh how the world has changed over the last 50 years, not all of it has been good. As you are looking for organic food information you have obviously become aware that a better alternative exists and you are taking a critical look at the source and production practices of the companies entrusted with producing the worlds food supplies.

The purpose of organic food information is to give you an understanding of what is going into your food. You will see that there are many benefits to organic food that you didn’t know before. The basis behind knowing about organic food information is the fact that farmers are resorting to using a lethal cocktail of artificial fertilizers and pesticides to control disease and insect attack in order to produce more crops to satisfy growing demand. These artificial additives leave a toxic chemical residue in and on the fruit and vegetables we consume which in turn is absorbed and stored by our bodies .

Even the quality of food has gone down in recent years. Today’s fruits has nowhere near the Vitamin C levels they did at one time. However, with organic food information you learn that organic food has fifty percent more nutrients, minerals and vitamins than any other form of produce that has been grown under intensive farming. If you aren’t eating non organic produce you will have to eat more fruit in order to make up for this deficiency. But then the dangerous cycle continues since you will be eating more chemicals that are worse for your health than they are good for you.

Animals and Hormones

Another aspect of organic food information is the production of meats and poultry, most only consider produce when it comes to organic food information disregarding the antibiotics and hormones that are given to both cattle and poultry that are being force fed. Ask yourself what happens to all these antibiotics and hormones when the animal is s;slaughtered, the residue of these antibiotics and growth hormones reside in the meat which are then consumed ,digested and stored in human bodies. There is no way that an animal that isn’t kept in healthy conditions can produce healthy food for humans to eat.

You have nothing to lose by trying organic product, not only will it be healthy for you but you will also be able to eat produce and meat the way they are supposed to be. You will likely be so impressed with the taste of organic fruit that you will never return to the mass produced fruit again. While cost and availability can be a big issue for some, you can do a bit of research online and find a local store that stocks organic produce for a reasonable price.

Have a look around and I am sure you can find an organic farm near your home this will allow you to go direct to the farmer who produces organic produce.

With the increase in organic food information many farmers are turning to organic methods so you should have no problem finding one in your area. In addition, you can often get cheaper prices when you purchase from the farmer and not getting your produce from the store.

Although some people would like to go organic and lead a healthier lifestyle, they find themselves stopped by a few things. Among these little stumbling blocks in their paths to going organic, are things like the cost of organic foods, the ready unavailability of organic foods, as well as the little fact that they will also need to find organic food recipes to go with their new lifestyle.

This is in fact a major stumbling block for many people who balk at the thought of not only changing their eating and dietary lifestyles, but of also having to change a lifetime’s worth of cooking experience to accommodate their new healthy lifestyle.

The fact of the matter is that people will go to the trouble of finding organic food suppliers, and of buying their costlier organic meats, dairy and produce, but when they have to actually sit down and find organic food recipes to go along with everything they’ve done thus far, their enthusiasm starts to wane.

This is where people actually tend to go wrong and miss the point. There is no such thing as special organic food recipes just as there is no special method of preparing the foods you buy which are organic.

The whole point is not to have to slog away looking for organic food recipes, replacing the ones you already have and know how to cook well, but to make your entire lifestyle healthier, of which the use of the use of organic foods in your cooking endeavors being a large part.

The trick then to going organic and finding yourself cooking organic food recipes, is to use the same old recipes which you’ve been using thus far and transform them into something other than artery clogging, waistline expanding, sugar level increasing foods.

In other words, now that you’ve gone organic and are using organic foods in your life, you also need to make your cooking style a healthier one as well. This means that if you’re using what amounts to a gallon of fat or oil per day, you might want to cut down on it to almost nothing!

Of course any dietary changes that you make, if they are going to be extensive should be discussed with your physician as you will then be able to get a better picture of what proper changes you need to make. The same advice applies if you have an underlying medical condition which requires you to have a special diet.

Replacing your normal foods with organic foods is fine, but you will need to make sure that when you turn your normal everyday recipes into organic food recipes, that you don’t change your dietary habits in such a radical manner as to be harmful to you. If you’re careful and follow a sensible dietary plan, you won’t really have to make too many food-sacrifices if at all to offset your newly acquired organic food habits.

Organic foods are more popular than ever these days. But what do you know about them?

Organic foods and processed foods are two of the types of fruits, vegetables, and meats that can be found in grocery stores these days. In relation to this, there are several labels that are used in order to determine how much processing food has gone through. One of the steps in determining how nutritious your lifestyle is knowing whether there is a difference in organic or processed foods. Knowing what is contained in each and the effects that they have on your body can help you decide which foods to eat.

The first thing to understand is the definition of the word organic. When food is organic, it means that no preservatives, added chemicals or other types of fertilizers and/or pesticides have been added to the food. With meat, the animals can not have been given any antibiotics or growth hormones. Usually, organic foods must be approved by the USDA in order to be defined as such.

Next are the definitions of “natural” and “processed.” These types of foods can have preservatives, chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides added to them. The meat can have antibiotics and growth hormones in it. Depending on the label of the food, there will be different levels of these additives. There are several reasons why this is done to the food. The first is to prevent extra bacteria from growing on or in the food. The second is that more food can be produced for the consumer. If the food is being transported into a different area, these chemicals allow the food to last longer. Another method that is used is biotechnology and irradiation. These are becoming a standard procedure in killing pathogens while keeping foods fresher than they would have been otherwise.

Another type of food that is often seen is organic that has had certain things done in order alter its content. Low-fat, whole-wheat, gluten-free and reduced-sodium are some of the popular labels that can be seen on processed foods. These foods may be organic, but have been processed in order to provide a different nutritional balance for your diet.

Organic food, however, still has to meet certain criteria in order to be ready to buy. For instance, if the milk is not pasteurized, it may contain bacteria that are not healthy for the consumer and can cause problems. There are also some food producers that do not follow the USDA guidelines for organic food. The products may have pathogens even though they may be available in the grocery store.

There are several different types of foods, all which have been processed to varying levels. Grocery stores offer these different levels of organic and processed foods to consumers. Before going into a grocery store, know which type of food will be better for you to consume. This will help you figure out what balance of nutrition and food works best for you.

It’s not always easy to find natural organic products for the person who has already gone organic, so you can imagine what type of hurdle that might be for those who are still only looking to go organic. Many people, despite their good intentions, will balk at having to buy their weekly grocery supplies from a health food or specialty store.

Over and above the prohibitive cost you would more than likely incur, is the ingrained dislike of anything that is even remotely thought of as good for you. This naturally enough stems for our childhoods when “good” was almost literally shoved down our throats with the expectation that we would grow to like everything green and nasty tasting.

The funny thing is, that we do (to a very great extent – there are a few exceptions!), but we would still readily enough cut off our noses to spite our faces and stay from our good resolutions to buy natural organic products if we had to find our way through a health food store.

Buying our natural organic products from our normal grocery store or supermarket almost makes it seem like a natural (if you will excuse the pun) exercise in grocery shopping. Sure our monthly grocery bill would go up, but we would still have the satisfaction of knowing that we purchased our natural organic products not from a health food store!

However, all of that notwithstanding, when you go to buy your natural organic products be it at the health food store, or the grocer’s around the corner, there are a few things that you will want to look out for, and these involve the small matter of seals. Not the marine or the army variety, but the variety which involves a stamp or a certification of some sort.

The most commonly recognized of these seals is the USDA seal of organic certification. There are many such different seals for the numerous natural organic products, but it is best if you first learn about them. For instance even though an organic product might be USDA certified, it doesn’t necessarily have to have 100% of organic products contained within its packaging.

In fact, unless it specifically states on the packaging that you are buying a 100% Organic product, you will most likely be getting natural organic products which have only 95% of organic produce or even only a minimum of natural organic products contained within it.

As mentioned earlier, the easiest way to tell the difference is by carefully looking at the packaging of the natural organic products that you are buying. “100% Organic” will give you (not unnaturally enough) a hundred percent of organic produce in your products.

A simple “Organic”, will yield over 95% of organic products in your foods, and the very misleading “Made with Organic Products” will be the one to give you a minimum of only 70% of organic products found within the bounds of the packaging.

Although many African countries such as Kenya and the famous Ivory Coast are only small coffee producers they are by no means insignificant on the world scene. Since its inception the continent of Africa has become world-famous for producing dark, large coffee beans of the highest quality and the most superb taste.

In the foothills of Mount Kenya some of the best beans in the world are cultivated on small farms. Coffee is sold by the size of the bean, with AA being the largest grade. Kenyan coffee is known for consistently achieving this rating.

Estate Kenya ranks as one of the best coffees in the world. Of course it is expensive. Sometimes the retail tag will be twice the price of other products in the range but let me assure you it is well worth the money. Their best bean has huge body combined with an astonishing winy, acidic blackcurrant flavour. The aroma alone is irresistible. From experience I can guarantee it will seduce any coffee connoisseur’s taste buds from within many metres of a brew.

The Ivory Coast is well established as one of the world’s largest producers of the Robusta variety which is specifically used to make espresso blends. Since the country has been affected by political unrest the production has fallen considerably.

Today, in the strife torn country of Rwanda, coffee growing is making a major contribution to the hope for lasting peace and economic recovery of this small nation which has been so devastated by civil war. Since 2001, A.I.D. has invested over $10 million dollars in helping Rwandan’s improve the quality of their coffee mainly by establishing farmer’s cooperatives and assisting small entrepreneurs with finance to purchase for washing stations and training in their use. The Rwanda government’s goal is to make all coffee produced in the country specialty coffee by 2008.

A little known fact is that Australia began growing coffee in 1880 but the fledgling industry was short lived and wound up in 1926. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that it sparked up again. The district of Mareeba in north Queensland claims to be the coffee capital of Australia. With a similar latitude south of the equator as San Paulo in Brazil and Hawaii are north of the equator, the Arabica beans have adapted perfectly to the climate. Also a number of smaller farms have sprung up in the northern rivers area of New South Wales around the regions of Lismore and Byron Bay.

As the world increases its desire for this beautifully flavored bean there is sure to be an array of different varieties surface on the market. Just keep a look out.

While it seems that 99% of the United States (OK, the world) plans to either throw or attend a Super Bowl theme party this year, I know for a fact there are many of us (yes, yours truly included) who would be extremely happy with an alternative theme party idea for that certain Sunday, and all the details for giving one are right here.

Did you know that every January 31st is Backwards Day? It is not a very well-known holiday, but it certainly is a fun theme to build a party around. You can throw one that Sunday as an alternate to the usual Super Bowl party, or also incorporate it within a Super Bowl party for those guests who come, but are not really into football or watching TV commercials.

INVITATIONS TO A BACKWARDS DAY PARTY

If you are mailing out printed invitations, you can put the stamps and return address labels upside down, but do not write the guests’ addresses upside down, unless you want to upset the postal workers. Or, you can address the envelopes correctly, but place the name, address, stamp and return address on the backs of the sealed envelopes, so the guests receive truly backwards party invitations.

Select a generic “We’re Having a Party” style invitation, but write the “Time,” “Date,” “Address” and “RSVP” on the wrong lines. Be sure to give the correct information, just put it on an incorrect line or space on the invitation. Or, you could leave the inside blank (if it opens like a card), and write all of the information on the back of the invitation. Your guests will certainly figure out something’s up! Another idea is to use Super Bowl party invitations and with a thick red marker place a red circle with a slash through it (the universal sign for “NO”) and then announce it’s a Backwards Day Party somewhere else on the invitation. For any of these ideas, you can also fold the invitations inside out before placing them in the envelopes.

MIXED UP DECORATIONS

Any color scheme works fine for paper goods for this theme. Depending on how far you want to take the theme, you can have fun by mixing things up in your house. For example, move items that belong in the kitchen to the living room. Have your guests laughing at the toaster on the cocktail table, or a spatula and roll of paper towels on the fireplace mantle, or an apron tied over a pillow on the couch. Hang your framed pictures backwards with the fronts facing the wall (but be sure they’re secure and won’t fall), or hang them completely upside down and see if any of your guests notice!

ACTIVITIES, GAMES AND BACKWARDS THEME FUN

Activities are the most hilarious part of this theme party and are sure to engage all of the guests no matter what their ages. Here are some ideas to get started with, but again, only you decide how far you want to go with this theme:

** Wear your clothes backwards or inside out and encourage your guests to do the same by writing a note on the invitation. You can even try wearing your shoes on the wrong feet if you can stand it!

** Greet your guests at the BACK door with “Goodbye! Come again soon.” When they leave be sure to say, “Hello! Good to see you. How nice of you to come!” You can have backwards conversations; describe something or give instructions using the opposite of what is usual. Or, try singing songs backwards!

** Call everyone by their last names instead of their first names.

** Sit on chairs backwards and walk backwards. This is also a perfect party at which to serve dessert first and then proceed to a main course, appetizers or snacks as the festivities continue. See the Menu section below.

** Have your guests write their names and/or a “secret message” backwards on name tags when they arrive. Have a mirror set up nearby so they can check to see if their creations can be read when viewed in a mirror.

** Have a race to see who can recite the alphabet backwards the fastest. Make sure to have a stop watch handy.

** Run relay races backwards if weather allows you some time outdoors. If it is too cold, play a board game backwards, such as Scrabble or Scrabble for Juniors (spell all words backwards), or Chutes and Ladders (go down the ladders and up the chutes). These are two classic games, but there are many more that can be adapted for a backwards theme. Let your imagination soar!

** Watch the DVD of “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray (rated PG for thematic elements), a classic from 1993. A terrific family movie, Bill Murray stars as a sullen/sarcastic news reporter who is stuck living the same day over and over again….until he gets it right. OK, so it’s not exactly a movie with a backwards theme but Groundhog Day is celebrated every February 2nd — and that’s a whole other theme party idea in itself.

** Award a goofy prize to the person who can find the most palindromes in the dictionary. A palindrome is a word, phrase, verse or sentence that reads the same backwards or forwards. Examples of a few are: noon, kayak, racecar, pop, and deed.

** Play your very own Jeopardy game. Make up riddle answers about your family, guests, celebrities, and/or current events and see if the “contestants” can come up with the correct questions. Have a goofy prize for the winner.

BACKWARDS MENU IDEAS

Aside from serving dessert first and the healthier fare later in the party, it is time to get creative with your menu and presentation:

** Since you’re starting with dessert….have an ice cream sundae bar set up with all of the toppings and ice cream ready to go. Be sure your guests start with the cherry and nuts on the bottoms of their bowls, then add the toppings, ice cream and even a brownie to top it off! Or, serve Upside Down cake! There are recipes for many varieties of Upside Down cake to be found online; just type “Upside Down Cake” into your favorite search engine and check out the myriad of results.

** Make sandwich rolls with the meats or cheese on the outside and the bread (tortillas, lavash or any flat breads work well) on the inside. Or serve mini-burgers with the meat on the outside and a piece of a bun on the inside. Slice a hot dog in half and put it on the outside of a half of a hot dog bun. Make sure you have lots of napkins on hand!

** Serve foods in opposite-size helpings. In other words, have a huge bowl of dip with a tiny bowl of potato chips next to it, the reverse of what is customary. Or, have a cookie tray with 12 shot glasses of milk on it and next to it have a large drinking glass with five or six cookies inside it. Consider these “stunt” foods — meant to emphasize the theme as well as to actually be eaten.

Be sure to take lots of photos, too . . . with your guests’ backs to the camera! It may not be a Super Bowl theme, but it is guaranteed to be a super party that your guests will remember for years to come!

One of the biggest problems with trying to eat cheaply is to make sure that you are eating nutritious foods. My secret weapon is oatmeal. Not the flavored crap sold in little packets! You want the type of oatmeal that comes in large flakes and that takes a long time to cook. It is possible that your local supermarket won’t even carry it.

Personally, I go to the nearby health food store for my oatmeal. I get large flake rolled oats. You can also find steel cut oats in some stores. Either way, you are buying food that hasn’t had a lot of processing. Oats, when unprocessed like this, are very good for you.

When money is scarce, a bag of quality oatmeal costs under $2 and will last for a week or two. You can have it for breakfast every day with a bit of milk or yogurt. I don’t even bother to cook my oatmeal, just mixing it with yogurt or putting in some milk. If you find a cheaper meal which has the same level of convenience, while being healthy, please let me know.

It may be obvious, but canned food is generally loaded with salt, sugar and other useless ingredients while at the same time containing highly processed food that is degraded nutritionally. If you are having to be frugal then you should put a bit more time into your own food preparation, so that you can eat better and eat cheaper. For example, buy very large bags of beans and rice. You won’t find wholesome food any cheaper than this.

Finally, there is a concept out there that will generally apply to the foods you purchase. The more processed the food is and the more convenient it is, the more likely it is to be expensive with respect to its nutritional value. Oatmeal is a fantastic exception because while it is as convenient as a box of cereal and has a long shelf life it is unprocessed, healthy and almost as cheap as dirt.