Catering Melbourne Blog

Healthy eating is hearty challenge

Some people think the solution to healthy eating is just to keep telling us to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, cereals and grains and lean meats and to prepare our meals at home. We know we should, most of us would like to, but the reality is that our busy lives don’t always make it easy. Over the past few years, the Heart Foundation has been studying where and when Australians eat and, not surprisingly, we are spending more time and more money eating out or picking up takeaways. Like it or not, Australians eat 2.7 million meals at fast food restaurants every day. One in every three dollars we spend on food is on meals prepared outside of our homes and this trend will continue. We asked Australians how we could help them and a resounding eight out of 10 wanted healthier choices when eating out. For 20 years, the Heart Foundation Tick has challenged food companies to develop healthier products and we have helped make choosing healthier products easier for increasingly busy people. The Tick simply lets people know the food is a healthier choice when compared with similar foods. Last week, Crust Gourmet Pizza Bars announced six pizzas which had earned the Heart Foundation Tick. Pizza is our third most popular takeaway and pizza chains sell 190 million pizzas a year in Australia. A pizza does not have to be unhealthy, but our testing showed pizza from the top two chains contained on average more than 5g of salt and 20g of saturated fat. That is more than any person should be getting in one day, let alone one meal. Cameron Prout is CEO of the Heart Foundation, Queensland. The Courier Mail, February 29.

Top Seven Tips for the advanced Pasta Lover

Most people think cooking pasta is really easy. Just throw some noodles into boiling water and drain it, right?

Wrong! I am going to reveal some secrets here that will make pasta one of your favourite dishes ever.

But allow me a short digression. To a serious pasta lover, the word “noodles” is just dreadful — at least when you talk about Italian pasta. Calling Italian pasta “noodles” would be like calling baseball “Stickball” — just plain sad, enough to make me cry.

But let’s cut to the chase. You probably think that to cook nice pasta the ingredients are the most important things. Well, guess again.

PASTA SECRET #1: ATTITUDE

The most important thing when cooking pasta is your attitude. You don’t have to be a Zen archer or a samurai warrior just to prepare pasta, but one of the best pasta cooks in Northern Italy, Grandma, always told me that cooking pasta without the right attitude will never work.

Cooking pasta is an act of love, even self-sacrifice. You do not want to come right off the street with a bag of grocery and start cooking. Clean up, change your clothes, and maybe even take a shower. This puts you in the right frame of mind.

Beyond that, cooking pasta requires inner purity, personal energy, one-pointed concentration, even your prana. Otherwise cooking becomes just mechanical, heartless food preparation — MacDonald’s style cooking. Not good even for a dog.

Before you even start, stand in your kitchen, face the stove and get inwardly ready to cook. If you know how, try a short meditation. Silence around and inside you is a must. You want to be very deep inside yourself when you cook.

Visualise the pasta dish you are going to prepare. Imagine the aroma of the pasta, the mouth-watering appearance, the sound the moist pasta strands make when stirred together, even before the sauce cradles them. Imagine your joy while lifting a forkful to your mouth.

Then, act with determination, precision but never in a hurry.

PASTA SECRET #2: POT, WATER AND SALT

Once you have attitude, you need the right pot, good water and good salt.

Always use a large and deep pot. No shallow or small pan for boiling pasta! The best ones are those wonderful stainless steel beauties, with a very thick bottom. I know, they are expensive. But think how much money you’ll be saving by having your pasta at home instead of going to some expensive Italian restaurant.

Use lots of water. You need 1 quart for each portion (100g. or 3.5oz) of dry pasta. Even if you are going to cook a quick “spaghettata” just for yourself, always use at least a quart of water. If your tap water is chlorinated and tastes like it just came out of a swimming pool, buy a good filtration system for your kitchen. It’s worth it.

Now, the salt — to a real Italian, there is nothing more depressing than pasta cooked without salt. You need 10 grams of salt per each quarter of water in the pot. If salt must be eliminated from your diet for health reasons, maybe you could stick to rice for a while.

There are different kinds of salt, just as there are different kinds of water and pots. Some people say that iodised salt makes tomato sauce more acidic; that’s absurd. Just ordinary salt is not enough. I recommend unprocessed rock sea salt, preferably harvested from the Mediterranean sea.

PASTA SECRET #3: PASTA

Even if you are not Italian, you must know the difference between Italian pasta and *noodles*.

Pasta of course must be made only with 100% durum wheat. Durum is the hardest of all wheats. Its high protein content and gluten strength make durum wheat ideal for pasta and bread.

High-quality pasta has a golden colour with a vaguely translucent appearance. At the touch, it should feel porous. Just looking at it will give you joy.

Without any doubt, the best pasta in the world is made in Italy. Don’t be fooled by packages that say “Imported from Italy”. That means the pasta could be made elsewhere, and brought over to Italy just so that it can have the Italian name on it.

Also, don’t trust big companies like Barilla. Their pasta is not Italian anymore, but made locally, often from low quality local non-durum wheat flour — in Italy that’s even forbidden by law. Barilla, if you are reading this, please don’t forget your Italian roots: never save money on making pasta.

Use the best pasta available. I recommend you look for Italian favourites like De Cecco or Voiello. De Cecco is probably one of the best pastas you can buy outside of Italy.

PASTA SECRET #4: COOKING

Once the water is ebullient, and by that I mean boiling with zest, add the salt. Wait for the salt to dissolve — when the water starts boiling again add the pasta.

Don’t just throw the pasta in the pot. Submerge it completely all at once, at the centre of the pot where the boiling is most intense. That will allow a more even cooking.

Once it is all submerged, stir it immediately and keep stirring every minute or so. Use a wooden fork. Wood is better than metal. The metallic vibration would lessen the mysterious alchemy between salted water and pasta taking place right in front of your eyes.

Never add oil. Oil coats the pasta and causing it to repel rather than absorb the sauce. Oil is needed only if you use low-quality pasta, which tends to get glued together.

Bu sure not to overcook the pasta — on Italian packages the cooking time is usually printed correctly.

If the package doesn’t indicate the cooking time, just sample a strand of the pasta. Break it, and see if the inside — “heart of the pasta”, as we call it in Italy — is still whitish. That means the pasta is still not cooked.

This is the most critical part of all. It is almost a matter of intuition. The only way of describing it is that you need to stop cooking at precisely the right moment when the whiteness at the “heart” is disappeared, but its shadow is still lingering. Once the whiteness is just gone, it’s time for draining.

Pasta should be served “al dente”, which literally means “firm to the tooth.”
Better to stop cooking a few seconds sooner than later, since the pasta will in any case continue cooking for a little while after you drain it.

Overcooked pasta is not only mushy, but not edible anymore. I hope your dog likes it, because mine doesn’t.

PASTA SECRET #5: DRAINING

Once the pasta is cooked, stop the cooking immediately by adding a glass of cold water. Be sure not to drain the pasta too much because that makes it too dry and takes away flavour. The strands need to be glossy with moisture.

If you use a good pasta brand you do not need to eliminate any excess starch. Too much rinsing takes away the superb flavour of your pasta.

Pasta water is not “dirty water”. In fact, you want to preserve a glassful of the cooking water to add to your sauce. It is going to add that final touch of flavour that makes the marriage between pasta and sauce a perfect bond.

PASTA SECRET #6: SAUCE

American cooks usually over-sauce pasta, usually because it is so tasteless. Do not “over-sauce” your pasta. Use just enough sauce to cover the strands.

Cooked right, pasta needs no special sauce to savour it. Just try adding a trickle of Italian extra virgin olive oil, a few fresh basil leaves and a drizzle of Parmigiano Reggiano — a veritable delight by itself.

No matter what, serve the pasta steaming hot. Never, ever serve lukewarm or cold pasta.

Serve it hot, serve it on a nice plate, serve it with a smile, Be proud of it. You worked hard, and your pasta beats with the heart of Italy.

PASTA SECRET #7: PRACTICE

I’ve given you the secrets handed down in the Bontempi family from generation to generation, since the times Rome was a just rustic village on the Mediterranean sea and pasta was still made of spelt flour. Now it’s up to you. Practice, practice, and practice.

Let me part by saying: cooking pasta may be a solitary ritual, but eating pasta is not. Do not eat that beauty just by yourself. Make it a social event. Invite friends over.

It’s no secret that Filipino cuisine is one of the best in the world, but like any good food, it has to have its secrets. Few people have really mastered authentic Filipino food—not the washed-down fare you get in fast foods and diners, but real, home-made native dishes. Although most of us can whip up something when we need to, it can be hard to capture that distinct Filipino taste.

So what really goes into our food? How do you make your food taste truly Filipino? There’s really no single answer, because no one can define our food—we come from a hodgepodge of cultures, after all. But one thing that sets us apart from our Asian neighbors is our heavy use of spices. Whereas other cuisines prefer subtle hints of flavor, we like a big burst of it with every bite.

So that’s the first rule: be generous with the spice. If you want your dish to fit in with other Filipino recipes, get to know the spices that go into them. Here are some of the most common.

Ginger

Ginger is used in most of Asian cuisine, and Filipino food recipes. In the Philippines, it is most commonly used in soups and stews; dishes such as arroz caldo (rice porridge), and tinola (chicken stew) use garlic as their main spice. It goes particularly well with chicken and fish dishes, where it provides a nice contrast to the strong meat flavors. Ginger is used both for flavor and aroma, although the flesh of the root is not always eaten. Most people just crush the root and drop it into the dish, then take it out just before serving.

Chili

We’re not as wild about spicy food as the Thais, but we do like a bit of bite in our food. Virtually every Filipino dish can be spiced up with chili peppers, from rich meat viands to everyday soups and noodles. Sauces like patis (fish sauce) and soy sauce are often mixed with crushed chili and used as dips or marinades. Bicol, a region in southeastern Luzon, is known for using chili peppers in most of its dishes. Perhaps the most popular is Bicol express, made with meat, bagoong (sautéed shrimp paste), coconut milk, and chopped green chilies.

Garlic and onions

These two almost always go together, especially in meat and vegetable dishes. You may be more familiar with Taiwanese and Australian garlic, which have larger cloves and are easier to work with. But if you want a stronger, spicier flavor, go for native garlic. Philippine garlic comes in smaller bulbs, with cloves less than half the size of other types. This makes them hard to handle, but it’s well worth the trouble.

Philippine onions are strong and pungent, making them a great source of flavor. Use native red onions for sautéing and pickling, but use the white ones for salads and sandwiches. If you’re making rice porridge, top it with chopped green onions for extra spice.

Lemongrass

Lemongrass has strong-smelling leaves and stalks commonly used in soups, teas and sauces. The leaf is slightly sweet with a hint of citrus, a perfect complement to gravy and other meat sauces. There are several ways to use lemongrass, but the most common method is cooking the fresh leaves (sometimes the entire stalk or bulb) with the food to release the flavor. If you’re using the stalk, take only the soft inner part and chop it up before dropping it in. You can also use dried and powdered lemongrass, especially if you’re in the city and fresh leaves are hard to find.

Pandan

Pandan is mostly an aromatic ingredient, most commonly used with plain white rice. Just add a couple of leaves to your rice as it boils, and it comes out with a strong, inviting aroma. Some regions even weave it onto rice pots for an even stronger scent. You can do the same with rice cakes, puddings, and other Filipino desserts recipes.

Bay leaf

The strong, pungent taste of bay leaves makes them a perfect fit for Filipino cooking recipes. The leaf has a wide range of uses, from meat sauces and dips to main dishes like adobo, menudo and mechado. Dried bay leaves are traditionally used; fresh bay is seldom available in local markets. The leaf itself is not usually eaten; like ginger, you can take out the leaves once you’re ready to serve. However, most people just leave them in and set them aside when eating.

So you are fresh to a low carb way of dieting are you? If so, there is no doubt that you have many queries about how the low carb plan works, what to eat and not to eat, and about the low carb rules. Well, the best recommendation that I can give you to read on and note every significant thing about the low carb in your head.

The low carb in general is often mistaken as a short term diet fad. The truth holds that low carb is not a short term and a quick fad diet, where you just follow a formula for a few weeks and then lose a few weights then in the end go back to your old eating routines.

With that, it is then necessary to consider that when you deal with low carb, you are dealing about a lifestyle change. In the principle of this one of the latest diet fads, you need to acknowledge how the foods make your body feel and how to feed it properly. Engaging in this diet fad is not just about eliminating sugar and starchy foods. It also means replacing all those carbohydrates that you eliminate with high quality and nutritious proteins as well as quality fats as well.

Essentially, the low carb way of eating is considered to have given several benefits to the dieters? health and thus aid them in losing weight. So in line with such great news that this form of dieting contributes to the conditions of its followers, it is a common knowledge that when dealing with the low carb, a knowledge that many people cannot eat large amounts of carbohydrate foods such as sugar and starches without making and storing body fats is greatly expected.

Speaking of this latest diet fad, it is also interesting to know that under its principle, all the carbohydrates, except for the dietary fiber, are absolutely broken down into simple sugars molecules and is done through the digestive process. Also considered under the low carb principle is that the body will not burn fat for fuel unless a steady supply of easy-to-burn is there.

The low carb dieting also holds the principle that when the blood sugar remains stable after the process for following the low carb diet, the dieters will no longer be able to feel for food longing and the since the ketones are produced through the low carb dieting, the presence of the ketones are then vital for controlling the hunger. Thus the dieter will be able to lose fat and eventually lose weight.

An omelet or omelette is a breakfast food that consists of an egg based wrapper around a filling of your favorite foods. Omelets are very easy to make and require little time to create. Always be sure that your fillings are pre-cooked or able to be finished in the time available.

Basic ingredients needed for one omelet:

2 eggs
Oil, non-stick spray, butter or margarine
Salt and/or pepper (optional to taste)
Filling

Suggested fillings for an omelet:

Ham, cheese, green peppers and onions
Chopped chicken, Swiss cheese and pre-cooked bacon
Pre-cooked bacon and sausage
Broccoli or most other seasonal vegetables
Chopped tomatoes, optionally with the gooey seedy parts removed
Pan fried garlic, mushrooms, and fennel
Zucchini and leeks
Cheese; cheddar, pecorino Romano, blue cheese, Swiss.
Spinach, cheese and pinenuts.
Sauteed spinach
Pancetta, wood fired or lightly roasted baby potatoes & fresh herbs
New potatoes, mushrooms and cheese
Sausage, mushrooms and blue cheese
Smoked salmon, crispy potatoes and herbs with sour cream
Smoked salmon, brie and fresh herbs
Prawns and brie with fennel confit
Pancetta, bocconcini and basil

These suggested fillings are only to give you ideas. Basically, you may use any fillings that you like. Egg omelets can be different every time you make them!

Chop up the filling and add them to a pan with Oil, non-stick spray, butter or margarine. Stir occasionally and allow to cook until done. If you are using meats, such as chicken, pork, beef or fish pre-cook the meat before adding to the filling. Note that if you will be using a cheese product you do not add it to the filling at this time.

Mix or whisk the eggs in a bowl until they are evenly colored. Add salt and pepper to taste. You may add water or milk to the eggs to thin them out if desired. If you are limiting cholesterol in your diet you may separate the eggs and use only the whites. If you choose to do this use 3 to 4 eggs instead of two.

Pour the egg mixture into a cool skillet or frying pan. Rotate the pan until the eggs cover the entire surface of the pan. Turn the heat setting to about the middle - not too hot. Stir constantly until the egg mixture becomes solid. If you do not stir the eggs enough you may have some difficulty in getting the upper portion of the eggs to solidify. If this happens you can lift the edges of the eggs and tilt the pan slightly to allow the still liquid egg mixture to flow under the solidified part.

Loosen the egg at the edges until you can slide a spatula under the eggs. You will need to flip the eggs carefully to avoid breaking them up.

Once you have flipped the eggs it is time to place the hot filling on top of the mixture. Cover 1/2 of the egg mixture with your chosen fillings. If you decided to use cheese now is the time to add it.

Slip the spatula under the half that doesnt have the filling and flip it over to enclose the filling,

After folding your omelet, you may want to top it with grated cheddar cheese, hollandaise sauce or other topping. You may also garnish the omelet with cream cheese or sour cream.

One of the basic tools that a kitchen should not be without is a good knife and a cutlery set. There are may processes in food preparation and these include among others the slicing, chopping and cutting of food ingredients. As one may think one sturdy kitchen knife can handle all the cutting tasks, think again. There are more to knives than meets the eye and the types of kitchen knives available in the market today are quite a handful. Here are a few of them.

Chef’s knife

The chef’s knife as its name suggest leads the pack of blades used in the kitchen. This knife can go through all the functions of chopping, slicing, mincing and dicing food elements. A chef’s knife usually measures at 6 to 12 inches. On the average this knife is about 8 inches. The main bonus of this knife is on the blade. The latter is curved to allow for a more accurate and defined cut.

Bread knife

The bread knife is definitely for cutting bread. Sizes measure from 6 to 10 inches and still 8 inches on the average. Bread knives have a jagged saw-like blade that permits them to slice through breads and pastries with ease.

Paring knife

Ranging from between 2 to 4 inches, the paring knife epitomizes the expression “small but terrible.” This knife can work for a lot of purposes same as the chef’s knife albeit its petite size. Ideally paring knifes are used for peeling and tricky cutting tasks such as making garnishes or pare sea foods.

Steak knifes

Sometimes cutting through meat is tough. This is the reason why steak knives came to be. Usually placed near the steak on the dining table setting, the steak knife typically supports a saw-toothed blade. It measures from 4 to 6 inches long.

Carving knife

With a thin blade, a carving knife has the aptitude to slice more precise cuts on cooked meat, poultry, hams and even roasts. A size of a typical carving knife measures between 8 to 15 inches.

Slicing knife

Slicing knives are usually present during barbeques as they slice better through these grilled beef and pork cuts. The blade in a slicing knife may or may not have a serrated blade. Generally, they are longer and narrower than a carving knife and are known to sport a rounded or blunted edge.

Boning knife

Bones can never be too far when there is a boning knife in the picture. Designed to aid in taking out the bones from meat, these knives are flexible enough to get through small spaces. Measurements are usually at 5 to 6 inches.

Fillet knife

Fillet knife is a kind of boning knife that serves to work with fish. The blades of a fillet are longer at 6 to 11 inches.

Peeling knife

As its name entails, the peeling knife is tasked to remove the skin off fruits, vegetables and other foodstuffs. This knife is generally small and its blade has a downward pointed tip.

Decorating knife

If you are preparing something fancy then you need a decorating knife. The ornamental and lavish cuts and patterns in fruits and vegetables on your salad may very well have been conjured with the help of a decorating knife.

This time of year the question always comes up; what wine pairs well with Turkey? If you’ve been asked to bring the wine or have people coming to your house for Holiday dinner, no need to stress about what to serve. The good news is there is no correct answer. Turkey pairs well with red wine or white wine depending on what you and your guests like. Turkey is adaptable and the way it’s prepared as well as other dishes to the meal really dictate what wine to pair it with.

If you are a red wine drinker, try a Pinot Noir. It’s a nice flavored red wine that will pair well with turkey. Pinot Noir has very little tannins which means it won’t overwhelm the meal. Even though gathering around the table and sharing in a holiday meal seems like a great time to pull out a special Cabernet Sauvignon you’ve been saving, don’t. They over power the meal. You could try a Zinfindel but save the “in your face” Zins for after dinner.

There are many good brands of Pinot Noir from California, Burgundy (France) and from Oregon. Find a known name brand in your price range and enjoy the meal. Serve Pinot Noir very lightly chilled. Putting the Pinot Noir in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before serving it will bring out the fruit and will take away the ‘bite’ that alcohol can give when served at room temperature. A couple of good brands

If you like white wines, try a Chardonnay or even a Pinot Gris. This is where the turkey is really adapatable. Almost any good white will work, but stay away from the sweet dessert style whites. Light and crisp Chardonnay’s along with most Sauvignon Blanc’s will work.. If you want to be a little more adventurous, include a Viognier. It has a floral, peach, apricot, pear, fruity flavor and is m edium in body.

Sparkling Wine also works as well, and brings a festive note to the meal. There are some powerful, yet affordable brut Champagnes that have sufficient weight and structure to stand up to a rich meal. Again, stay away from the sweeter Champagnes.

If you want to enjoy something special, try a Beaujolais. Every year in November, Beaujolais Nouveau (”new Beaujolais”) is the first wine to be harvested in the Beaujolais region of France. Made from the Gamay grape, this wine is fresh, fruity, light-bodied and has hints of cherry and plums with peppery finish. It complements holiday fare well, and as it can be enjoyed slightly chilled, it can be enjoyed by those who favor a white wine.

Try one and tell me what you think! I suggest doing a trio of wines; red, white and sparkling. And let the fun and memories begin.

When thinking of healthy foods does brown rice or rice bran come to mind? It is common for us to have a list of favored healthy foods; our favorite fruits and vegetables; skinless white meat chicken; yogurt and low fat cheese.
Then there is that list of foods that brown rice may be on. The list of foods one knows is healthy like brown rice or rice bran and maybe they’ll try it one day; or not. Healthy grains like brown rice or rice bran are usually on this list.

Consciously, the choice is made for white rice instead of brown rice; processed baked goods instead of something with perhaps a healthy grain like rice bran on the ingredient list.

We opt out of the chewy texture and nutty flavor of a natural whole grain item like brown rice; or the unexpected sweetness of a rice bran product? If you had a choice and were ordering take out, would you look on the menu for brown rice? Would you go out of your way to inquire if brown rice were available at your local Asian restaurant?

I’m not talking about the fried rice that just happens to be brown from the cooking and seasoning process; I’m talking about unadulterated brown rice.

Hopefully we haven’t lost something in the low-carb revolution; the part of the message about needing grains like brown rice in our diets to aid in digestion; fight constipation; control blood pressure; and perhaps lower LDL cholesterol in the fight against heart disease.

In addition brown rice provides our bodies with healthy nutrients like magnesium, phosphorus, copper, thiamin, niacin, fiber, iron and vitamin B-6. Brown rice is a staple with other healthy grains in vegetarian and macrobiotic diets for these nutrients. It also has three quarters more dietary fiber than white rice.

The benefits of whole grains may not mean that every individual on the planet needs to follow the recommended guidelines.

Individuals seeking medical attention for diabetes or allergies may receive special nutritional advice from professionals regarding their diet. However adding the right mix of vegetables and healthy grains to your diet is smart eating.

No doubt your taste buds will need some time to adjust. Make your brown rice selection with care. Check labels to ensure a freshness packing date. Since brown rice hasn’t been through the same processes as white rice the expiration date may not be as lengthy. Stale brown rice will taste rancid and shouldn’t be eaten.

Make the transition of adding brown rice or rice bran to your diet a slow process. Gradually swap out processed foods for a smart food like brown rice and rice bran. Read ingredient labels; find whole grain breads that list rice bran in the first few ingredients.

Ask your favorite Asian restaurant if they serve brown rice in place of white rice. Mix it with white rice in a favorite recipe like stuffed peppers until you’re used to the nutty whole grain goodness of the brown rice on its own. In no time your taste buds will be thanking you.

Hong Kong truffle enthusiasts have paid $227,000 for a 750gm white truffle from the town of Alba in Italy’s Piedmont region. Bids also came in from truffle fans in New York and Berlin during the auction, held on November 11. A tartufo bianco from the same region achieved the previous record price of $198,000 at auction last year. Italian truffle markets have seen a peak in prices for the delicacy after a dry summer. Sunday’s truffle auction raised a total of $578,000.

A newly published scientific study shows the incidence of eczema in infants fed on organic dairy products, and whose mothers also consumed organic dairy products, is 36 per cent lower than in children who consume conventional dairy products. While there is a significant body of evidence showing organic food contains higher levels of beneficial nutrients than non-organic foods, this is the first example of a definite health impact (i.e. isolated from other potential beneficial factors) of organic food consumption being published in a peer reviewed journal. While the study confirms it is organic dairy consumption that protects against the development of eczema, the scientists could only hypothesise as to the mechanism which delivered this protection. Their hypothesis follows the established facts of increased levels of the beneficial conjugated linoleic acid isomers found in milk from organically managed cows. A separate recent study confirms that higher levels of conjugated linoleic acids are not only found in cows’ milk but also in the breast milk of women consuming organic milk. This therefore underpins the hypothesis that the higher levels of CLAs in the breast milk of organic milk drinking mothers are a key mechanism in reducing eczema, as well as the organic dairy diet of the infants themselves.