BENIFITS:ORANGE PEEL

5 BENEFITS OF ORANGE PEELS:

Most of us uses pulp of orange and throw away it's peel.I don't know why we are doing this,while God has given us so much things and we are not using this.There are some benefits of orange  peels that we didn't know usually.

1. REDUCES CHOLESTEROL NATURALLY:    

                            

                       Orange peels helps to reduce cholesterol naturally.

2. USE AS A MOSQUITO REPELLENT:

                           Apply orange peels over your skin to repel the mosquitoes.  

3. IT IS GOOD FOR SKIN ALSO:

                                                    

                                                                     It is good for cleaning skin.some people makes orange peel mask.

4. GOOD FOR FAIRNESS:

                                                                  

                                                          It is also good for fairness because it acts as a collagen biosynthesis regulator and it is known to control inter cellular colloidal substances.

5. IT ALSO HELPS THE BODY TO FIGHT AGAINST DISEASES:

                     It helps the body fortify against infections by strengthening the immune system of the body.In winter it also helps to control or avoid flu and fever.

                                        

Chorizo and Chickpeas in Paprika-Tomato Sauce

I love food-- cooking, eating or even looking at it. I like going to Borough Market even if I know I can't afford the gourmet ingredients or delicacies there. But on a recent trip, I don't know what came over me and I got half a chorizo sausage. I think it was the recent Nigel Slater chorizo and chickpea stew video that I was watching on BBC iplayer, plus the smell of the sizzling chorizos outside Brindisa, that convinced the poor miser side of my brain to get it.

Then I realised I got the wrong chorizo, you want the soft semi-cured chorizo for cooking. The fully cured one, which I got, is much harder and can be sliced thinly and eaten 'raw' as tapas or over crusty bread, kind of like Italian salami or Chinese lap cheong. And is more expensive. Boo. It isn't that bad though, because in a cured sausage, the meat develops so much flavour over time that you need less to flavour the food it goes into, also it's like meat compressed, so there's more than you see. It was about 2.50 pounds for that and I think i can squeeze 4 servings from that, especially beefed up with legumes and vegetables.

I decided to make the most out of my mistake, and converted the Plan A paprika-tomato stew gravy into a paprika-tomato sauce to go over the seared chorizo and cooked chickpeas. And was very happy that I made a "mistake" (:

Chorizo and Chickpeas in Paprika-Tomato Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients

About 1/2 of half a cured chorizo horseshoe-shaped sausage, sliced into 1-cm thick coins (I'm sorry I really don't know how much that is in grams. but you don't have to be too accurate!)

1 cup of (soaked, then) cooked chickpeas (reserve about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid)

1 large onion, sliced thinly

1 large tomato, diced (or you can use about 1/4 cup of canned tomatoes)

1 tsp of paprika

1 tsp of chilli powder (or more or less depending on how manly you are ;)

1 sprig of fresh thyme (or you can use dried!)

splash of balsamic vinegar

1/2 tbsp of evoo (don't need a lot because of the fat in the chorizo)

To serve

about 2 tbsp of chopped fresh parsley

zest of half a lemon

Method

1. Over medium high heat, sear the chorizo slices in the olive oil on both sides. It should ooze out some wonderful paprika-infused oil of its own.

2. Add the onions and saute till they turn translucent.

3. Add the herbs and spices, diced tomato and splash of balsamic vinegar, and continue cooking till the tomato fully cooks down.

4. Add the cooked chickpeas plus a bit of the cooking liquid and then simmer until all the juices and liquid evaporates and the sauce thickens and becomes quite sticky.

5. Serve with the chopped fresh parsley and lemon zest tossed through to brighten everything up!

If you love sizzling sausages or salami and smoky sweet spicy sour sticky sauces (I'm getting really good at alliteration huh), you'll love this!

This is an entry for My Legume Love Affair#31, the "Make it with Paprika Mondays" Challenge, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.

Cheezburger of the Day

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Un petit sejour ce weekend

"Thinking Outside the Box" exhibit collect at the Met in NYC

Yes.  

Let me just finish off a few tidbits in my travel case... 

Yes, all done.  

Now I am ready.  

Oh, la, la. 

A little weekend away does require so many little "necessities".

Thank you to Quintessence for providing me with this peek into how far (down) we have come in terms of ornate, decadent personal grooming essentials.  This exhibit "Thinking Outside of the Box" is currently at the Met in NYC.

Look at this!  

Can you imagine traveling with such luxury?  

Each and every piece is so exquisitely detailed.  Hard to imagine, really.  For goodness sake, my daughter and I drool over the 

Vera Bradley catalog.  

This photo was from her weekend at the Met in NYC.  I miss NYC so much...  The wheat fig newtons in the little delis.  The Halloween parade in the village.  The zeppolis (all hot, sticky, and fried then shaken in a paper bag with loads of powdered sugar) from the Italian fest in Soho.  

Sorry, I digress.  

Today's "Necessities" box

The exhibition includes one hundred boxes, chests and other small containers from the museum’s department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, many of which have not been on display for years. Dating from 1500 – 1900, not only are these pieces mini-masterpieces in their own right but they reflect so much about the life of the period – stylistically, historically and socially. From travel cases to tea caddies to wonderful nécessaires, the objects represent the best of exquisite craftsmanship. They were both practical yet also collected as cherished works of art, made from all manners of material, often encrusted with gems and exotic components.

This Is Not The Time To Talk About Investments In Green Energy And High Speed Rail

The deficit will hit a record high this year. The days of Social Security being used as a piggy bank are over. It's going to be a net seller of Treasuries from here on out.

Meanwhile, Japan, one of our biggest creditors, is starting to go over the cliff.

Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s credit rating was cut for the first time in nine years by Standard & Poor’s as persistent deflation and political gridlock undermine efforts to reduce a 943 trillion yen ($11 trillion) debt burden.

The world’s most indebted nation is now ranked at AA-, the fourth-highest level, putting the country on a par with China, which likely passed Japan last year to become the second-largest economy. The government lacks a “coherent strategy” to address the nation’s debt, the rating company said in a statement. The outlook for the rating is stable, S&P said.

Coherent strategy?!? What kiond of coherent strategy can you have when you're debt load is 200% of your GDP and you've grown accustomed to massive deficit spending? They're doomed. Before they go down, they're going to sell about $900B of US Treasuries.

So forget about high speed rail and green energy and higher education and all the rest. It's time to grow up.

Carrots Parsnips and Cipollini Onions

24 cipollini onions
6 medium/large carrots peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
6 medium/large parsnips peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
crystalized ginger cut into tiny bits amount to taste
water

Put cipollini into boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain and stop the cooking with a shower of cold water. Peel the outer white paper skin from the onions and pat dry. Pour oil into a large cast iron pan over medium high heat. Lightly brown the onions.




Next add parsnips and carrots and saute for a few minutes. The parsnips will turn from white to yellowish.

Then add water just to cover along with maple syrup and crystalized ginger. I used 2 small pieces minced.
Boil all over medium high heat until the liquid reduces to almost none and the vegetables are cooked through. If your veggies are getting fully cooked and there is still a lot of liquid, remove the vegetables from the liquid and then reduce the liquid to an amount just enough to moisten the vegetables and pour over the reserved vegetables and serve.

Note: fresh ginger can be used instead of preserved, or you can skip the ginger and add any number of other flavorings. Good accompaniments for carrots and parsnips are: apples,chives, curry, mustard, tarragon, thyme, parsley, dark sesame oil, cheril, cumin, mint or chile.

Carrots Parsnips and Cipollini Onions

24 cipollini onions
6 medium/large carrots peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
6 medium/large parsnips peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
crystalized ginger cut into tiny bits amount to taste
water

Put cipollini into boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain and stop the cooking with a shower of cold water. Peel the outer white paper skin from the onions and pat dry. Pour oil into a large cast iron pan over medium high heat. Lightly brown the onions.




Next add parsnips and carrots and saute for a few minutes. The parsnips will turn from white to yellowish.

Then add water just to cover along with maple syrup and crystalized ginger. I used 2 small pieces minced.
Boil all over medium high heat until the liquid reduces to almost none and the vegetables are cooked through. If your veggies are getting fully cooked and there is still a lot of liquid, remove the vegetables from the liquid and then reduce the liquid to an amount just enough to moisten the vegetables and pour over the reserved vegetables and serve.

Note: fresh ginger can be used instead of preserved, or you can skip the ginger and add any number of other flavorings. Good accompaniments for carrots and parsnips are: apples,chives, curry, mustard, tarragon, thyme, parsley, dark sesame oil, cheril, cumin, mint or chile.