Dark chocolate has been linked to various benefits that protect and repair your body after exercise, including reduced stress on the heart, improved muscle recovery and reduced fatigue. Many of the studies of the benefits of chocolate analyze the high level of flavanol content in cocoa. Flavanol content has been linked to lots of cardiovascular benefits, including improved blood flow, arterial elasticity and decreasing blood pressure. Instead of an apple a day, just a square of chocolate might be all you need to improve your recovery after a workout.
Making pinto beans and rice is something you can do by soaking them overnight to unlock the maximum amount of flavor. Make pinto beans and rice with help from an experienced culinary professional in this free video clip.
Ranch-style pinto beans with Jalapeno peppers use about five jalapenos for maximum flavor. Make ranch-style pinto beans with Jalapeno peppers with help from an experienced culinary professional in this free video clip.
Apple vinegar spray is a great way to prevent your dog from chewing on various types of household items and furniture. Use apple vinegar spray for dog chewing with help from a certified professional dog trainer in this free video clip.
Raising yeast for bread in a high altitude is going to require you to experiment with different types of flour. Learn about raising yeast for bread in a high altitude with help from a food and nutrition expert in this free video clip.
The most important ingredient in a vanilla bean smoothie is the fresh vanilla bean itself. Make vanilla bean smoothies with help from a food service industry professional in this free video clip.
When making gum paste fondant palm trees, you're always going to want to keep a few basic things in mind. Make gum paste fondant palm trees with help from the Cake Diva in this free video clip.
Dark chocolate raspberry fondue doesn't have to be high in fat - most people just make it that way. Make low-fat dark chocolate raspberry fondue with help from a chef instructor in this free video clip.
Dry bean rooster crafts are a really fun way to spend an afternoon at home. Find out about dry bean rooster crafts with help from a crafts expert with over fifteen years of experience in this free video clip.
Making dried pinto beans on the stove top isn't nearly as difficult as you might assume it to be. Make dried pinto beans on the stove top with help from the author or co-author of several bestselling and award-winning cookbooks in this free video clip.
A shake with Greek yogurt, frozen raspberries and dark chocolate is a shake so delicious that you'll want one every day. Make a shake with Greek yogurt, frozen raspberries and dark chocolate with help from the creator of foodmoodgirl.com in this free video clip.
Dark chocolate raspberry cheese tarts will surely please even the pickiest eaters in your family. Make dark chocolate raspberry cheese tarts with help from a specialty food expert in this free video clip.
Gum paste needs to be utilized in a very particular way, especially if you're mixing it with fondant. Use gum paste mixed with fondant with help from a renowned cake artist in this free video clip.
Balsamic vinegar and feta dip can be prepared right at home through the proper use of a few key ingredients. Make balsamic vinegar and feta dip with help from a registered dietitian specializing in health and wellness in this free video clip.
Making peppermint bark requires a few key ingredients, like white chocolate bars. Make peppermint bark with white chocolate bars with help from an experienced baker in this free video clip.
Caramelized bananas in Phyllo dough are a lot easier to make at home than you might at first assume. Make caramelized bananas in Phyllo dough with help from a self-taught pastry chef in this free video clip.
Making sugar gum paste for wedding cakes is a lot easier than you might be assuming it is. Make sugar gum paste with help from a graduate of the Classic Pastry Arts Program at the French Culinary Institute in New York City in this free video clip.
Making fondant and gumpaste Wilton bows requires the right tools and a little bit of know-how. Find out how to make fondant and gumpaste Wilton bows with help from a graduate of the Classic Pastry Arts Program at the French Culinary Institute in New York City in this free video clip.
Gumpaste flowers can make a great addition to nearly any type of wedding cake. Find out how to make gumpaste flowers with help from a graduate of the Classic Pastry Arts Program at the French Culinary Institute in New York City in this free video clip.
Making white balsamic vinegar vinaigrette is very simple and only requires that you follow a few basic steps. Get a great recipe for white balsamic vinegar vinaigrette with help from a culinary professional in this free video clip.
Making fondant or gum paste butterflies is a great way to give your creation a unique, memorable look. Make fondant or gum paste butterflies with help from a custom cake decorator in this free video clip.
White chocolate needs to be tinted in a very specific way for the best possible results. Find out how to tint white chocolate with help from the Founder and Head Chocolatier for Sulpice Chocolat in this free video clip.
Just because you don't have tomato paste doesn't mean you can't make great pizza sauce at home. Make pizza sauce without tomato paste with help from a professional chef with over 25 years of experience in this free video clip.
Few kitchen aromas are as enticing as the smell of homemade bread in the oven. Making your own bread from scratch can be easy and satisfying, but there's no denying it's a time-consuming process. Fortunately for today's home bakers, there are several techniques you can incorporate into your bread making to speed up the process.
There are few better ways to cap off a meal than with mozzarella, spinach, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar salads. Make mozzarella, spinach, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar salads with help from an experienced cooking teacher in this free video clip.
Vanilla syrup extract is a lot easier to make than you might think. Learn the recipe for vanilla syrup extract with help from a private chef in this free video clip.
Just because you're making a white chocolate latte doesn't mean that drink has to be high in fat. Find out the secret of how to prepare a nonfat skinny white chocolate latte with help from a coffee shop owner and coffee consultant in this free video clip.
Making a white chocolate blended mocha should not be the most difficult thing you attempt to do in a day. Find out how to make a white chocolate blended mocha with help from the owner of a coffee shop and a coffee consultant in this free video clip.
Just because you want to enjoy a frappuccino doesn't mean it has to be high in sugar. Make a sugar free vanilla bean creme frappuccino with help from the owner of a coffee shop and a coffee consultant in this free video clip.
Just because you're using food coloring with your frosting doesn't mean you are stuck with that "food coloring" taste. Get rid of food coloring taste in frosting with help from a lead cake designer in this free video clip.
Bleach is a useful household cleaner, but it can leave unsightly white spots on household fabrics. If you accidentally damage your linens or household textiles with bleach, you can make brown food coloring to cover the bleach stains. Homemade brown food coloring has dyes that can discolor and bleed into fabrics, so it is best to take collectibles and antiques to a professional for restoration.
You know you need to keep your pool clean and sanitary; nobody wants to swim in a pool full of algae. But when summer arrives, last year's leftover algaecide may no longer be safe to use or effective. Commercial algaecides vary widely in composition and longevity, and the only sure way to determine shelf life is to check the manufacturer's information label.
Vodka and white chocolate are two ingredients that, when mixed properly, form an excellent alcoholic beverage for you to enjoy. Make a drink using vodka and white chocolate with help from a bartender in this free video clip.
Using agave nectar to make your own chocolate chunks for baking can help you cut back on the refined sugar in your diet. Agave nectar adds sweetness to otherwise unsweetened chocolate, resulting in a lightly sweetened, tasty chocolate chunk that is ready to fold into cookies, ice cream or other treats.
Getting stains out of clothing is seldom easy or trouble-free. Some of the toughest stains are caused by pigments used deliberately for coloration, such as food colorings and dyes. They're formulated for the purpose of creating permanent, long-lasting color, and quickly form permanent stains if left unchecked. Fortunately, they're water-soluble, so you can beat them if you don't let the stain dry and set. This is especially important with fabrics such as silk, which won't tolerate bleach and many other common cleaning products.
Chickpeas are commonly known as Garbanzo beans. This type of bean has been a staple food in Middle Eastern cuisine since 3000 B.C. and is making its way into many American diets. The health benefits of chickpeas include reduced blood sugar, increased colon health and increased cardiovascular health. Because chickpeas naturally ferment, it is easy to make fresh chickpea dishes such as hummus using relatively few ingredients. Most grocery stores carry dried chickpeas in the dried-bean and lentil section.
Cake balls are a perfect combination of candy and cake. Made from just a few simple ingredients mashed together and dipped in chocolate, these delightful treats can be decorated to coordinate with the color scheme of any holiday or party. Cake balls can be made in virtually any flavor combination as well.
Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes originally conceived Bubble Wrap as a disposable textured wallpaper, but soon saw the value of the plastic wrap with hundreds of cushioning air-filled bubbles for protecting fragile items for shipping. And then, of course, there's the packing material's popularity as a stress reliever. People love to pop those little bubbles. Over time, however, Bubble Wrap loses its pop as the bubbles deflate. Bubble Wrap, like many products, has a shelf life during which it will provide optimal performance.
Methods for creating gum paste flowers abound. The techniques vary depending on how realistic the decorator wants the final creation to appear. When it comes to making spider mums, there is less room for variation, because of the blossom's distinctive shape. While there is no way to avoid creating the flower's multitude of needle-like petals, there are techniques that allow you to shape a striking spider mum with the skill and tools of a novice cake decorator.
While natural vanilla bean podsare slightly pricy in comparison to vanilla extract, the rich flavor makes this added expenditure well worth it -- and executive pastry chef Heather Bertinetti shows you how to open them and maximize their value.
When pollen becomes scarce in the winter and early spring, beekeepers feed brewer's yeast to their honeybee colonies to help them survive the lean times. Though honeybees can survive solely on the honey stored in the hive, the proteins in yeast and other supplements help colonies grow when they might otherwise stall or even collapse. The yeast supplement also increases the hive's honey output, by giving the bees something other than their own honey to eat.
Constructing a gum paste stiletto shoe is a creative way to take any craft project to the next level. Gum paste is a combination of sugar and dough and is often referred to as "candy clay," according to Baking 911. Creating a gum paste shoe makes for an imaginative decorative cake topper, for example, and will often last up to 14 days when stored in cool, dry areas. A gum paste stiletto is the pen ultimate wedding or birthday decoration for the fashionista in your life.
While some plant experiments can take several weeks or even months before the plants have sprouted and outcomes are ready to be measured, the exploding pinto bean procedure can be done fairly quickly and inexpensively. It will allow you to teach your students two main principles of plant life: germination and seed respiration. Even though the name sounds dangerous, it is completely safe.
If your mother or grandmother ever heralded the skill and efficiency of her stand mixer, chances are good she was smitten with her KitchenAid. Since 1919, the company has been producing powerful, high-quality, sleek mixers that are well-known for their craftsmanship and longevity. No matter which "Professional" model you have, the directions and components are virtually identical.
Colorful desserts provide visual appeal that varies as much as their style and composition. Several naturally occurring colors, such as red, yellow and green, have numerous variants that provide a spectrum of hues to give desserts visual diversity. There are several classifications of desserts, but a cross-section of several types--such as American, French, fruit and savory--best represent the color possibilities of the food.
Nothing sets a more fitting scene for birds than a slender, brown branch. If you have already labored to form gum paste birds, finishing your scene with a branch should be free of complication. Achieving the slight crooks that give branches their unmistakable character requires thoughtful shaping and arrangement. Nevertheless, the other skills for making this detail are within the range of beginning cake decorators. Craft the branches in a size that embellishes your baked creation without dominating it, so that guests can appreciate the entire aviary scene.
Pinto beans belong to the bush or snap bean family and produce slender pods filled with beans on a 1 1/2- to 2-foot plant. These beans are prized as dried beans and are often used as refried beans or a substitute for kidney beans in chili. Planted in full sun for six to eight hours a day, pinto beans thrive with regular watering and consistent weeding, producing an abundant crop ready to harvest in the fall.
Phyllo dough consists of numerous layers of unleavened flour-based dough, similar to puff pastry. As phyllo dough bakes, moisture contained in the dough produces steam, separating the layers slightly and creating a flaky texture. Phyllo dough is commonly found in two market forms – prebaked or fresh. Due to modern flash freezing techniques, prebaked phyllo dough performs as capably and produces results nearly identical to fresh. Phyllo dough, whether made fresh or purchased fresh, is commonly stored in stacks of 20 to 30 sheets and rolled into a cylinder for easy storage.
Closely related to black, navy and kidney beans, pinto beans are relatively easy to grow in home gardens. The pinto bean is also an important commercial crop and is grown all over the United States, but especially in the Southwest. If you plan to grow pintos this year, several factors should be considered for optimum growth and yield.
Unlike pole beans, which require support to stand upright, bush beans grow in the form of a bush that stands 2 to 3 feet tall. A warm-season vegetable, the bush bean must be planted outdoors after all danger of frost has passed. You can plant the beans at two to four week intervals throughout the summer for a non-stop harvest. Bush beans require 70 to 120 days to reach maturity.