Tips on Picking Fresh Fruit

Going into the grocery store to pick some fresh fruits for your family may seem like a simple task, but it is not always as easy as it looks. Picking the fresh and juicy fruits can be a very hard task for anyone who is not well informed on how to pick the different types of fruits. There are so many fruits out there that it becomes hard to tell what is fresh and what is not between the fruits.

The rule of thumb with all fruit is to use your sense of smell first. If it smells sweet its probably good. For bananas, you should always look for brown spots. Bananas are at their very best when there are brown spots on them rather than green on the tops of the stems. If you are planning on using them in a few days, buy them green and put them in a bowl in the sun. The sun will help to ripen them quickly so that they will be perfect when you want to use them. Cantaloupes, on the other hand, you cannot just look at to tell if they are ripe or not. For cantaloupes and honeydew melon, you need to solely rely on your sense of smell. If the melon smells sweet and an overall nice smell, then it is probably ready to cut that day and eat. If you just barely smelling a scent of anything then you probably need to wait a day or two before you serve it to everyone. With honeydews, if the skin is beige with green colored veins, then know that it is not ready yet and you need to wait a day or two.

Oranges are a little bit harder than most to figure out if they are ripe or not. You first need to hold the orange in one hand. If it feels slightly firm, then it is probably close to being ready. You should also look for bruises or other moldy spots to let you know that it is either over ripe or bruised on the inside.

Although watermelons are technically considered a melon, they are not famous for the smell of their fruit. Watermelons are a thicker melon so it is harder for the smell of the fruit to escape out of its pores. The way to find a good watermelon is the tap test. If you lay your hand on the melon and give it a slight tap you will usually hear some type of sound. The deeper and thicker the sound is the sweeter and riper the melon will be.

Malaysian Fish Curry

INGREDIENTS :

1½ lb of your favorite fresh fish - cut into steaks, fillets, large cubes, kept whole - if you wish for small size fish
4 tbsp Malaysian fish curry powder
1-2 tbsp chili powder, or to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 med onions [1 finely minced and 1 cut into thick slices]
3-4 tbsp tomato paste or one large ripe tomato, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
½ cup coconut milk
1-1½ cups water
2 assam gelugor [tamarind skins] [Substitute: juice of half a lemon]
1½-2 cups of your favorite vegetable for fish curry - brinjals [Japanese eggplant] cut into 1½ inch pieces or small whole okra [ladies fingers]
1 tsp sugar

To Prepare :

In a small bowl, combine curry powder and chili powder, add a few tbsp of water and mix into a thick paste
In a wok or pot, heat ghee or vegetable oil on high, stir-fry minced onion until lightly browned, add garlic and stir-fry for a few seconds
Add curry paste, reduce heat to low, stir-fry until quite toasted and oil starts to ooze from paste - do not burn!
Add tomato paste or diced tomato, coconut milk, water, sugar and season with salt , bring to a slow boil
Add brinjals, potatoes or okra, simmer until vegetables are par cooked
Add fish and sliced onions, cover and simmer gently
When fish is just done, remove promptly from heat, let stand for 15 mins [for flavors to meld]
Serve with bread, roti or steamed rice

Coconut Almond Mocha Macaroons Recipe

Macaroons are a Passover favorite for many, who have a sweet tooth. For this new harvest season celebration, I have come up with a new recipe. If you love espresso, and also love coconuts and almonds then you should try this recipe. This is a delicious treat for any and all who love coconut but we are going to spice them up just a little bit, by adding espresso coffee flavor to these little coconut desserts. These mini espresso, coconut and almond macaroons will melt in your mouth, and are made with just a few ingredients. These will take some time so you may want to make these in advance.

Coconut Almond Mocha Macaroons:

1/2 cup honey

1/4 Teaspoon of vanilla bean paste

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon instant powdered coffee or espresso

2 1/2 Cups shredded, sweetened coconut

1 Cup of ground almonds

3/4 Cup matzo cake meal

2 Egg whites

1 Bag of Chocolate covered coffee espresso beans, from your local store or Starbucks has them.

First things first you will line a baking tray with non stick baking parchment paper. You will finely grind the 1 cup of almonds in short bursts in a food processor until they form a fine meal and set aside until ready for them. In a small saucepan you will combine the honey, cocoa powder and coffee powder while cooking and stirring over a low to medium heat until powders are dissolved and mixture is smooth. You will remove from the heat and let cool about 10 to 15 minutes.

While the cocoa mixture is cooling you will place the egg whites in a bowl, and whisk until they form stiff peaks, when they start to get stiff you will start to gradually add the sugar, and you will continue whisking until it forms a thick and shiny or glossy meringue.

You will then stir in the coconut, matzo cake meal, vanilla bean paste, and ground almonds into the somewhat cooled espresso mix, and stir for about 30 seconds or so. You will then start to combine the glossy egg whites in thirds until well-folded in. When ingredients are well mixed you will spoon out about one tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball. You will place the macaroon balls on the parchment-lined baking sheet. You will continue to repeat with remaining dough, placing the macaroon balls about one inch apart. You will press one of the coffee beans into the middle of each macaroon ball.

You will then bake at 300F for 15 - 20 minutes, or until firm. You will then remove the baking sheet from oven, and remove with a spatula from the parchment covered baking sheet and cool on wire baking/cooling racks for about 20-30 minutes. Once cool you will remove the macaroons from the

wire cooling racks and store in airtight container for about 4-6 hours to make sure they are good and set. I hope that you enjoy this recipe.

Chef Shelley Pogue, a Cum Laude, Le Cordon Blue graduate and Executive Research and Development Chef, for Vertical Sales and Marketing, San Ramon, CA. Shelley is also the desserts editor for http://www.BellaOnline.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shelley_Pogue

Ikan Masak Lemak Kuning

Ikan- siang dan basuh (kita guna ikan mackerel)
1/2 labu bawang besar - blend
10 tangkai cili kering - blend (boleh kurang/tambah ikut kepedasan yg disukai) Serai - diketuk
Serbuk kunyit
Santan pekat
Asam keping/buah tomato
Garam
Sedikit gula
Mentimun - opt. tak letak pun takpe
1. Masukkan semua bahan dlm periuk kecuali asam keping/buah tomato dan mentimun
2. Masak diatas api sambil dikacau hingga mendidih supaya tidak pecah minyak santan
3. Masukkan asam keping/buah tomato dan mentimun, biarkan seketika
4. Perasakan dgn garam dan sedikit gula, bolehlah diangkat ***Resepi masak lemak kuning ini juga digunakan utk memasak ayam***

Sira Pisang Sumber: Suami & YahMasri

1 biji pisang tanduk
1.5 cawan air
3/4 cawan gula
1 helai daun pandan - disimpul
2 kuntum bunga cengkih
1 tsp air kapur
air secukupnya

1. Kupas pisang tanduk dan dibelah dua - kita potong2kan coz pisang tanduk ni panjang sangat
2. Rendamkan pisang bersama air kapur dan air yg secukupnya selama 1/2 - 1 jam
3. Masakkan air bersama 3/4 cawan gula, daun pandan dan bunga cengkih, biarkan hingga mendidih
4. Keluarkan pisang dr air rendaman dan masukkan ke dlm air gula
5. Biarkan seketika/ hingga air gula nampak likat, bolehlah diangkat ****Tujuan pisang direndam dgn air kapur supaya pisang menjadi pejal dan tidak menjadi terlalu lembik apabila dimasukkan ke dlm air gula ( info YahMasri)

CAKOI

Bahan-bahan :
400 g tepung ~ diayak
1 cawan air
1 sudu besar majerin ~ dicairkan
1 sudu kecil garam
3 sudu besar gula
1 sudu besar susu pekat manis
1 kuning telur
2 sudu kecil yis segera
1/2 sudu kecil soda bikarbonat
minyak untuk menggoreng

Kaedah :
1. Satukan air, majerin, garam, gula, susu pekat manis, kuning telur, yis dan soda bikarbonat dalam mangkuk besar. Kacau agar sebati.
2. Masukkan tepung sedikit demi sedikit ke dalam bancuhan di atas.
3. Ulikan sehingga menjadi doh yang lembut dan tidak melekat di jari. Biarkan selama setengah jam. Bekas berisi doh hendaklah dibalut di dalam beg plastik yang bersih.
4 Canaikan doh setebal 1/2 sm, kalau boleh dalam bentuk segiempat tepat.
5. Potong kepada kepingan bersaiz 1 inci.
6. Rendamkan lidi di dalam air. Tekankan lidi basah tersebut di atas setiap kepingan 1 inci tersebut.
7. Cantumkan dua kepingan dengan bahagian yang bertanda lidi bertemu antara satu sama lain .
8. Panaskan minyak. Tarik kedua-dua hujung cakoi dan goreng hingga keperangan.

Ayam Percik

ayam
bawang putih-mesin
halia-mesin
serai-mesin
cili kering-mesin (kita guna serbuk cili)
serbuk kunyit
garam
gula
santan
asam keping
hirisan timun
hirisan tomato
1. Masukkan bhn2 mesin, serbuk kunyit, asam keping, garam dan gula ke dlm santan
2. Masukkan ayam ke dlm santan, masakkan sehingga ayam 3/4 masak dan kuah menjadi pekat
3. Angkatkan ayam tersebut dan grillkan sehingga masak
4. Semasa mengrill percik/sapu lebihan kuah ke atas ayam tsb
5. Setelah ayam masak, tuangkan sedikit kuah lagi ke atas ayam tersebut dan hidang bersama hirisan timun dan tomato