Food and Drink Articles

Going wine tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley near Santa Barbara? Leave all your planning, mapping and driving hassles behind. It’s all about relaxing and enjoying the wine country experience, right? The following Santa Ynez wine tour companies offer variations on that theme. Maybe there’s one just right for you.

Wine Edventures offer daily tours which feature a knowledgeable guide who will enlighten you about the area and the wineries you are visiting. You can even request a private tour customized to your own wine experience level.

Plus, they have tours which focus on a specific AVA. You can reach them at 805-965-9463.

Another wine tour company is Cloud Climbers Jeep Tours. They’ll take you past orchards and through gorgeous vineyards. The jeeps hold five to seven people and are covered with a canopy so you won’t get sun burnt. Guides let you know about the local history and other information on the natural aspects of the beautiful scenery. The tours include visits to four wineries, plus a gourmet picnic. Call 805-646-3201 for more information.

Santa Barbara Wine Country Cycling Tours take people on half-day or four-day trips through the Santa Ynez Valley. Enjoy the fresh air, the exercise, wine tastings and gourmet picnic lunches. You tour guide will show you the way. To find out more, call 888-557-8687.

For a different mode of travel, try wine tasting by trolley. The Santa Barbara Trolley Company gives tours for 10 to 32 passengers, and each tour comes fully narrated. They’ll even treat you to champagne and hors d’oeuvres. This is a great way to visit wine country with a group. Your guide will take you to about four wineries, stopping for lunch along the way. They can be reached at 805-965-0353.

The Santa Barbara Adventure Company gives Santa Ynez wine tours to four people or more by van. Your guide will take you wine tasting at three to four wineries. A barrel room tour is included at the first one. Call 805-898-0671.

If you’d rather forgo a narrating guide, you can just let a chauffeur drive you around in a limo. Limousine Link is a company that can provide wine tours in stretch limos, passenger vans, mini coaches and other vehicles. Their tours can be personalized to your specifications. Choose the wineries you want to visit and cruise the Santa Ynez Valley in comfort and luxury. Their number is 805-564-4660.

If you need a place to stay in or near Santa Ynez, the Danish town of Solvang is close by and a good base point for your wine touring.

Many people enjoy sipping a cup of green tea with the knowledge that having a daily dose poses numerous advantages for the body. While some are totally aware of the benefit of green tea, others plainly love it for its taste. For those who arenÂ’t in the know, here are some of the benefits that green tea offers.

1. One benefit of green tea is that it lowers your bad cholesterol and increases the good ones. This is the reason why a lot of tea drinkers can still enjoy eating almost twice the food that contains cholesterol as non-tea drinkers and yet still have equal cholesterol count.

2. Another benefit of green tea is that it is one of natureÂ’s most potent antioxidants. The all-natural green tea extract contains catechins that have been shown to ward off viruses. It has also been proven that catechins destroy free radicals that damage the bodyÂ’s cells and leaves the body prone to cancer, heart diseases and other degenerative diseases.

3. Another benefit of green tea is its capability to boost the bodyÂ’s immune system. Green tea has high concentrations of polyphenols and flavenoids that make the body resistant to certain diseases.

4. Dieters also stand to gain from drinking green tea. Research revealed that men who were given a combination of green tea extract and caffeine were able to burn a greater number of calories compared to those who were given caffeine or a placebo only.

5. Another benefit of green tea is that it stimulates metabolism and quickens the process of burning calories. This is why green tea is often touted as a vital part of a healthy diet.

6. Green tea is also known to reduce high blood pressure. By inhibiting angiotensin II, green tea prevents constriction of blood vessels that lead to high blood pressure.

7. One other health benefit of green tea is its ability to fight cancer. A study has found that an anti-oxidant known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) found in green tea represses the growth of cancer cells and destroys some existing cancer cells without damaging healthy cells. There is evidence that a daily diet that includes green tea helps in the reduction of esophageal, stomach, bladder, colon, pancreas and rectum cancer by up to 60 percent. EGCG has been shown to be at least 100 times more effective compared to vitamin C and 25 times more efficient than vitamin E in protecting cells from harmful factors.

8. The antioxidant EGCG in green tea is also reported to prevent the formation of blood clots. This is one benefit of green tea that helps prevent thrombosis, the main cause of heart attacks and stroke.

9. The ability to lower blood sugar is another benefit of green tea. Polyphenols and polysaccharides, the two main antioxidants found in green tea, are effective in reducing the levels of blood sugar in the body, helping to prevent and relieve type-two diabetes.

10. One other benefit of green tea is the promotion of oral health. Green tea has components that help prevent tooth decay and bad breath. Green tea also suppresses the process of plaque formation by destroying bacteria that cause it.

Often when people bring up wine in a conversation or a thought, much thought is usually given to where the wine came from. When you study the name of the wine, such as burgundy or champagne, you’ll find a log about the origin of the wine. Burgundy for instance, we all know comes from France, same as burgundy. There are many wines in your local wine store out there - several of which come from France.

In the olden times, peasants made the wines in France, and they also drank it themselves. Wine making is very old in France, which is really no surprise as French wine is some of the best in the world.

New world wines own the ingredients that were used in the label, while French old world wine is labeled with the location. In doing so, the French definitely left a bit of a romantic buzz when you purchase any of their wine.

Most wine enthusiasts all over the world consider French wine to be the best. Wine lovers from all over the world would rather buy French wine over any other. There are several various kinds of French wine available, giving you plenty to choose from. This way, you can drink and compare wine based on aroma, taste, and even the texture.

The thirteen different regions in France have literally thousands of vineyards that produce wine, making the possibilities for French wine endless. France is also known for having the ideal location for growing grapes, including the ideal soil conditions and vineyards that are very close to the water. The weather in France is always good, making it one of the best locations in the world for wine.

French wine varies from the most common types that you can find virtually everywhere that sells wine, to the rare vintage, which can be very difficult to come across. If you are seeking one of the more rare types of French wine, your best chance would be to use the Internet.

You can find thousands of different types of wine, including rare French wine. Rare vintage French wine is extremely hard to find, even sometimes so online. You can always seek your vintage by looking at wine forums including the many different wine websites.

All in all, French wine is simply a cut above the rest. Some other wines may use the same ingredients and methods in production, but they don’t taste the same as those made in France.

Once you taste a wine that was made in France - you’ll know it. The wine from France is all about the quality and a taste you’ll simply never forget.

Even though it hasn’t been one hundred percent backed up by science yet, there has been a lot of good research done on the base of the green tea. So one know fact is that green tea does help in weight loss, particularly by speeding up your metabolism. I personally have met people who have lost a considerable amount of pounds by introducing green tea into their daily usage.

And this is how it works. It was found that green tea does raise your metabolic rate and that it also has a lot effect on fat oxidation (that is actually where green tea helps). Many believed that these effects were due to caffeine in green tea, but today it has been proven that caffeine has nothing to do with it. Green tea has even less caffeine then coffee, so that is certainly not the case.

It was even proven by many researches that those people who drank green tea during their diet plan lost pounds quite considerably faster then the ones that drank coffee. So green tea really does work, but be carefully it will work as long as you are restricting yourself with proper diet and exercise plan. The best thing about green tea is that there are no known side effects that have been reported.

According to some research, green tea helps you to speed up your metabolism by 3 percent, or additional 67 calories a day. However, it all depends on the individual, off course if there is more weight involved the more calories you would be burning and vice versa.

Off course, it is absurd that green tea alone can help you lose weight, you still need to have a regular healthy diet plan! It can work only as your daily supplement to your new diet plan. So if you have already undergone a good weight loss plan, together with exercise and diet, then try drinking two to three glasses of green tea a day. Even if you do not believe in its help to speeding up your metabolism, no bad thing can come of tea. First, it is highly healthy and it is better to drink tea then soda or coffee for that matter.

Because it has been proven to have no side effects, and still a lot of people claim that it is helpful not only in losing the weight, but also in many other health problems, like heart attacks, it is worth to try. There is a good chance that green tea will help speed up your metabolism!

Your kid is about to have his birthday in just a couple of ideas and you are probably now wondering about decorating ideas for the birthday cake. You are tempted to just purchase the ice-cream cake or mud cake from the local shop to save you time and to not be worried about the cake. However, will your kid really enjoy this? It’s unlikely, so here are the best birthday cake decorating ideas for your kid’s special day.

1. Decorate the cake based on a certain theme. You probably already know what your kid likes and you can be assured that they will be rapt if their cake is decorated accordingly. For example, if you kid loves soccer, then he will simply adore a cake decorated as a soccer field with goals on either end.

2. Cover your cake with sweets. There’s no cake more delicious and irresistible than one completely covered with your kid’s favourite sweets. You can buy packets of sweets from the shops and stick them on top all over the cake.

3. Don’t settle for the traditional square or round shaped cake. These days almost all cakes are either in the shape of a square or circle. Why do you have to do the same? Your kid might like dinosaurs, and they will be happy if the cake was in the shape of a dinosaur. This may take more time and effort but it will certainly be worth it in the end.

My only hope is that the birthday cake decorating ideas presented in this article will greatly assist you in making your kid’s birthday a special occasion.

Gin is a juniper berry-flavored grain spirit . The word is an English shortening of Genever, the Dutch word for juniper. The origins of Gin are rather murky. In the late 1580s a juniper-flavored spirit of some sort was found in Holland by British troops who were fighting against the Spanish in the Dutch War of Independence. They gratefully drank it to give them what they soon came to call “Dutch courage” in battle. The Dutch themselves were encouraged by their government to favor such grain spirits over imported wine and brandy by lack of excise taxes on such local drinks.

A clearer beginning was a few decades later in the 1600s when a Dr. Franciscus de la Boë in the university town of Leiden created a juniper and spice-flavored medicinal spirit that he promoted as a diuretic. Genever soon found favor across the English Channel; first as a medicine (Samuel Pepys wrote in 1660 of curing a case of “colic” with a dose of “strong water made with juniper”) and then as a beverage.

When the Dutch Protestant William of Orange and his English wife Mary became co-rulers of England after the “Glorious Revolution” drove James II from the throne, he moved to discourage the importation of brandy from the Catholic wine-making countries by setting high tariffs. As a replacement he promoted the production of grain spirits (”corn brandy” as it was known at the time) by abolishing taxes and licensing fees for the manufacture of such local products as Gin. History has shown that prohibition never works, but unfettered production of alcohol has its problems too.

By the 1720s it was estimated that a quarter of the households in London were used for the production or sale of Gin. Mass drunkenness became a serious problem. The cartoonist Hogarth’s famous depiction of such behavior in “Gin Lane” shows a sign above a Gin shop that states, “Drunk for a penny/Dead drunk for twopence/Clean straw for Nothing.” Panicky attempts by the government to prohibit Gin production, such as the Gin Act of 1736, resulted in massive illicit distilling and the cynical marketing of “medicinal” spirits with such fanciful names as Cuckold’s Comfort and My Lady’s Eye Water.

A combination of reimposed government controls, the growth of high-quality commercial Gin distillers, the increasing popularity of imported rum, and a general feeling of public exhaustion gradually brought this mass hysteria under control, although the problems caused by the combination of cheap Gin and extreme poverty extended well into the 19th century. Fagin’s irritable comment to a child in the film Oliver -”Shut up and drink your Gin!”-had a basis in historical fact.

Starting in the 18th century the British Empire began its worldwide growth; and wherever the Union Jack went, English-style gins followed. In British North American colonies such celebrated Americans as Paul Revere and George Washington were notably fond of Gin, and the Quakers were well-known for their habit of drinking Gin toddies after funerals.

The arrival of the Victorian era in England in the mid-19th century ushered in a low-key rehabilitation of Gin’s reputation. The harsh, sweetened “Old Tom” styles of Gin of the early 1700s slowly gave way to a new cleaner style called Dry Gin. This style of Gin became identified with the city of London to the extent that the term “London Dry” Gin became a generic term for the style, regardless of where it was actually produced. Genteel middle-class ladies sipped their sloe Gin (Gin flavored with sloe berries) while consulting Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management (a wildly popular Victorian cross between the Joy of Cooking and Martha Stewart lifestyle books) for Gin-based mixed drink recipes.

The British military, particularly the officer corps, became a hotbed of Gin consumption. Hundreds of Gin-based mixed drinks were invented and the mastery of their making was considered part of a young officer’s training. The best known of these cocktails, the Gin and Tonic, was created as a way for Englishmen in tropical colonies to take their daily dose of quinine, a very bitter medicine used to ward off malaria. Modern tonic water still contains quinine, though as a flavoring rather than a medicine.

In Holland the production of Genever was quickly integrated into the vast Dutch trading system. The port of Rotterdam became the center of Genever distilling, as distilleries opened there to take advantage of the abundance of needed spices that were arriving from the Dutch colonies in the East Indies (present-day Indonesia). Many of today’s leading Dutch Genever distillers can trace their origins back to the 16th and 17th centuries. Examples include such firms as Bols (founded 1575) and de Kuyper (1695).

Belgium developed its own juniper-flavored spirit, called Jenever (with a “j”), in a manner similar to that in Holland (which controlled Belgium for a time in the early 19th century). The two German invasions of Belgium in World Wars I and II had a particularly hard effect on Jenever producers, as the occupying Germans stripped the distilleries of their copper stills and piping for use in the production of shell casings. The remaining handful of present-day Belgian Jenever distillers produce Jenever primarily for the local domestic market. Gin may have originated in Holland and developed into its most popular style in England, but its most enthusiastic modern-day consumers are to be found in Spain, which has the highest per capita consumption in the world. Production of London Dry-style Gin began in the 1930s, but serious consumption did not begin until the mix of Gin and Cola became inexplicably popular in the 1960s.

Gin production in the United States dates back to colonial times, but the great boost to Gin production was the advent of National Prohibition in 1920. Moonshining quickly moved in to fill the gap left by the shutdown of commercial distilleries, but the furtive nature of illicit distilling worked against the production of the then-dominant whiskies, all of which required some aging in oak casks. Bootleggers were not in a position to store and age illegal whisky, and the caramel-colored, prune-juice-dosed grain alcohol substitutes were generally considered to be vile.

Gin, on the other hand, did not require any aging, and was relatively easy to make by mixing raw alcohol with juniper berry extract and other flavorings and spices in a large container such as a bathtub (thus the origin of the term “Bathtub Gin”). These gins were generally of poor quality and taste, a fact that gave rise to the popularity of cocktails in which the mixers served to disguise the taste of the base Gin. Repeal of Prohibition at the end of 1933 ended the production of bootleg Gin, but Gin remained a part of the American beverage scene. It was the dominant white spirit in the United States until the rise of Vodka in the 1960s. It still remains popular, helped along recently by the revived popularity of the Martini.

This is a couple of economical recipes that will enable you to feed your family a “meatloaf” that is different without breaking the bank, so to speak. If you prefer pork over beef, try this ham loaf. For a different take on the traditional meatloaf, try the Norwegian meat loaf.

NORWEGIAN MEAT LOAF

1/2 lb ground beef

5 cups seasoned mashed potatoes

1/2 cup minced onion

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 tbsp flour

3/4 tsp dill weed

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

pinch nutmeg

1/2 cup shredded pasteurized process cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch loaf pan with foil extending about 1/2 inch above sides. In medium bowl, combine ground beef, 2 cups of the potatoes, onion, eggs, flour, dill, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Press mixture into loaf pan. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Carefully remove meatloaf by lifting foil from pan. Peel off foil and transfer with spatula to an oven proof serving platter. In medium bowl, combine remaining potatoes with cheese. Spread on top and sides of loaf. Return to oven and bake 20 minutes or until potatoes are lightly browned. Makes 4 servings.

HAM LOAF

1 1/2 lbs ground ham

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup quick oats

2 eggs, beaten

3 tbsp chopped onion

2 tbsp parsley flakes

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

Combine ham, bread crumbs, oats, eggs, onion, parsley in a large mixing bowl. Mix well and shape into a loaf shape. Sprinkle the sugar over top of loaf. Place loaf in a very lightly greased and floured baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 70 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chai Tea is gaining popularity in North American culture. This Indian spiced tea (pronounced ch + eye) originated in India. Chai means tea. Masala Chai is another term that is used which translates to spiced tea. Chai is the lifeblood of Indian culture. It is ingrained in the everyday life of an Indian household. Most people in India drink about 5-6 cups of tea a day.

The history of Chai dates back to over 5000 years ago. Legends have it that the concoction was created by a king in an Indian court. The concoction was made from a variety of spices and was known to have healing properties. The King was said to use different spices, depending on the ailment. If there is any truth to the legend, that may explain the many variations to chai and chai mixes. It may also explain why chai recipes vary from town to town and from households and neighbourhoods.

What makes Chai Tea

The basic ingredients are a chai mix, black tea and milk.

Chai Mix: A traditional chai mix is a combination of spices that are grounded and or used whole. It can be a powdery mix that is available in Indian stores or you can make it at home quite easily. The base for most mixes include cloves (can be used whole or crushed), cardamoms (very flavourful when crushed and grounded just before use) and cinnamon. Additional ingredients that make-up the different variations are ginger (fresh grated ginger is best), peppercorns, fennel and star anise.

Black Tea : A full bodied black tea is used. It is preferable to use tea leaves as opposed to tea bags for their freshness, taste and aroma. Darjeeling tea, Assam or a full bodied Ceylon Tea are some of the popular teas for making chai.

Milk: Use whole or skimmed milk. In some parts of Asia, a combination of skimmed milk and/or evaporated and sweetened condensed milk is used. The evaporated and condensed milk give it a very milky flavour. The sweetened condensed milk can also be used as a substitute for sugar.

To make chai tea, the chai mix is boiled in water. After allowing it to simmer for a few minutes, tea is added to the mixture and allowed to boil gently for about 5-10 minutes. Milk is then added and allowed to simmer for about 5 minutes. The tea is then strained into a teapot and is sweetened with sugar or honey.

Chai is good for you!

Here are some of the ingredients that make up the tea mix which explains why this brew is good for health.

Cloves

Used in Ayurvedic medicine as an analgesic, cloves are most often used to soothe toothaches and remedy halitosis. It also has antiseptic qualities, and can be used to kill intestinal parasites, fungi, and bacteria. These latter qualities have also led cloves to be used for treating diarrhea and similar digestive ailments.

Cardamoms

Relieves flatulence, harmonises digestion and eases nausea. Useful for combating colds & chills.

Fennel

Fennel has aromatic and carminative properties. Tea made from the fennel seeds is used to ease flatulence of infants and is used by women to ease menopause symptoms.

Cinnamon

Several studies suggest that cinnamon may have a regulatory effect on blood sugar, making it especially beneficial for people with Type 2 diabetes. It has also shown an amazing ability to stop medication-resistant yeast infections. It is a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium.

Elsie’s Easy Chicken In The Oven

This chicken recipe from my personal best recipes cookbook is very easy to prepare. Even though it has to bake in the oven for 1 ½ hour, you can pop it into the oven and carry on with something else, so you really spend very little time on it and it is delicious. Serve this tasty chicken with rice and a mixed salad and you have a meal fit for a king.

Ingredients for this recipe:

• 2 ½ - 3 lb. Chicken cut into 6 pieces
• 1 Cup cream
• 3 Teaspoons curry powder
• 1 Onion chopped finely
• 1 Tin of mushroom soup
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Peeled apple chopped finely
• Salt, pepper and paprika to taste

Method for this recipe:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
2. Sauté the onion, apple and curry powder in the butter until the onion is transparent.
3. Add the soup and the cream and heat it through without boiling.
4. Salt the chicken to taste.
5. In a large, shallow ovenproof dish place the chicken in a single layer.
6. Sprinkle the chicken with the paprika.
7. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
8. Bake uncovered for about 1 ½ hours until done.

The next chicken recipe is really for those days when there is just no time for cooking. Prepare the chicken, pop it in the oven and forget about it until it is done. In this case it is tinfoil that is coming to the rescue. Remember to use the tinfoil with the shiny side on the inside and the matt side on the outside.

Tasty Chicken Done In Tinfoil From My Personal Best Recipes Cookbook.

Place the chicken (size according to requirements) on a large piece of heavy duty tinfoil. Sprinkle a packet of dehydrated soup all over the chicken. (If it is a very large chicken a little extra soup may be needed.) Any spicy soup will do. Brown onion soup is also very good. Place a peeled onion inside the chicken. Wrap the chicken in the tinfoil and place in a pre-heated oven at 400oF for 2 hours until done.

Serve the chicken as you would any roast chicken. As there is not really a lot of gravy I do not usually serve this chicken with rice but rather with potatoes and vegetables.

If you have trouble cooking on a barbeque then don’t worry - you’re by no means alone. Cooking in this way can be tricky, but there are some handy tips that you can use to make things better.

So where should you begin? The first thing that you should consider is of real importance and it too often overlooked by amateur cooks. We’re talking about the issue of food hygiene. If you’re used to cooking a lot then you may be aware of food hygiene issues already. It’s vital that you apply those same rules when cooking on a barbeque.

The way in which you handle meat is of particular importance. You should never allow cooked and raw meats to come into contact with each other. Equally, you should not allow the juices to be contaminated.

What this means for you is that you need to concentrate on how you prepare food, taking particular care to wash hands and equipment at regular intervals. If you’re worried about being able to do this on the day then you should consider how much of the food preparation can be done prior to the occasion. Just as you won’t want to take risks with the preparation, you’ll also want to cook all food properly. It’s vital that you have suitable equipment for the task.

Many like to use Weber BBQ grills, but you should use whatever you are comfortable with. Make sure that you know how the equipment works and which parts of the cooking surface reach which temperatures.

This is important because a failure to have this information will make it very difficult for you to cook food properly. You won’t want to serve food that doesn’t taste very good, or that could be harmful to your guests.

Cooking effectively on a barbeque needn’t be an impossible task. Keep an eye on all food as it cooks, so that you are ready to step in if there are any problems. You can have an enjoyable day and make it one that your guests will all remember for the right reasons.