Cooking Tips

Friday, October 2, 2009

Material for T- shirts

since we have the design for the Coaches Shirt, and since I’m looking forward to starting my T-Shirt Business, I did some study on the different types of materials used for shirts in Malaysia.

I believe this will be very useful because I focus on quality . since we found the details, how about we share them with you...
visit the details in my other blog focus on Fashion
http://my-hobbys-fashions.blogspot.com/

thanks!!!.

Brown Sugar Shortbread

Oops. I totally forgot that I promised to post this recipe. What kind of irresponsible blogger am I, anyway?

But if I do say so myself, these are worth the wait. Of course, I can't claim the recipe as my own; it comes from that brilliant local restaurateur Annie Quatrano (Bacchanalia, Star Provisions, Float-a-Way Cafe, Quinones and Abbatoir).

When I worked at Star, I made these several times a week. The best part about the recipe is that you have to trim the edges (more about that later). Translated, that meant lots of great brown sugar shortbread shards for us to shove down our throats. At 7 a.m, when baking was in full force, it made a great breakfast with a cup of coffee!

The first time I tried these, that old man I live with and I were on one of our marathon walks (see previous blog entry). Three-quarters of the way into the walk, we found ourselves at Star Provisions. (It's a wonder they let us in, sweaty and smelly as we were). A quick perusal of the bakery case and we both fixated on the very same thing: brown sugar shortbread fingers!

So we split one. Duh! How dumb was that? So we split another one. And then another. Nirvana! And of course the calories didn't count because we split them (and we were walking 18 miles, right?)

Whatever. All I can say is that you should make these tomorrow. You probably have all the ingredients on hand. Actually, screw that. You should make these tonight! Here's the recipe:

Brown Sugar Shortbread

2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. In an electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Add brown sugar and vanilla and mix well, scraping down sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Gently mix in flour and salt. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl and beaters to incorporate ingredients. Do not overmix. The dough will be a little dry and flaky.

Roll dough between parchment paper or plastic wrap to 1/2-inch thickness. Bake on a parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheet for 20 minutes. Cool completely.

While still on cookie sheet, trim the edges (you then get to eat them - oh yeah!) and cut into bars about 1 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches and separate from one another on the baking sheet. You may need to use 2 baking sheets. Bake bars for another 20 minutes, or until golden.

When cool, roll cookies in a bowl of granulated white sugar to coat.

Yield: 4 dozen bars

A couple of things:
Shortbread spreads when it bakes, so if you cut the raw dough into fingers (or bars), it will spread and lose its shape. Prebaking first, then cutting as desired will maintain the shape.

Do you like my Italian pottery? (That would be the ornate, overly painted plate in the picture. Yeah, and it has roosters on it, too). Henry hates the stuff. He refuses to eat anything on it (even brown sugar shortbread). I, however, love it!!! I decided a long time ago that I was a gay man in my previous life. Guess this proves it!

Wearing batik #batikindonesia

2 Oktober 2009 #batikindonesia

With my lovely mother, look so cute rite?
ugh so sweeet :)

di kantor Kawanku bersama Kak Anggi, kak Uwi, Mba Reda si big boss, mas Alvin.
We love batik :)

bahkan seisi kantor gramedia majalah yang ada di lantai 14 gedung Bumi Daya Plaza, enggak mau kelewatan moment ini :)

Batik di Jakarta, menjadi dress code tersendiri hari ini.
Semua sekolah.
Dan tahukah, setiap orang terlihat lebih menawan dengan batik?
Selamat, akhirnya UNESCO meresmikan batik milik Indonesia dan sebagai warisan dunia.
So kenapa harus malu berbatik ria, kan makin seksi??!

Day 2 and more

I dropped Lily off at "Camp Bow Wow" this morning for her "interview" (we're boarding her during our Thanksgiving trip to Chicago). Needless to say, she's having a blast right now at camp. How do I know this? I'm WATCHING her online! Yep, that's right! Camp Bow Wow has cameras installed in the facility so you can watch your dog play indoors, outdoors, sleep, eat, and more! Since she's going to be one POOPED little puppy tonight, I've asked my husband to take me out on a date tonight! So, here's my day so far...

Breakfast:

1 cappuccino with sugar-free International Delight (0 carbs)

1 slice wheat toast (1 carb)

1/2 Tbsp Smart Balance Light (0 carbs)

1 egg, large (0 carbs)

1 Fiber One bar (2 carbs)

Total: 3 carbs

Lunch:

1/4th Spinach Calzone from last night (3 1/2 carbs)

1/2 c. roasted vegetables: potatoes, carrots, and squash (1/2 carbs)

Total: 4 carbs

Snack:

1 large chocolate chip cookie (2 carbs)

Dinner and PM snack: TBD

While that afternoon cookie isn't the best choice, my co-worker always stops for cookies from an Amish Bakery before our RD meetings each month. So, I know cookies will be there (and she always gets chocolate chip), I will want one, and I need to limit myself to ONE to not go over my carbs.

Anyways, Chicago finds out today whether or not the 2016 Olympics will be held there! I'm really hoping they are, but that's easy to say as I don't live there anymore and will have my parent's home to crash at during the events if we decide to attend. Oh, and the taxes...I won't be paying Illinois taxes :) Either way, an exciting time for Chicago and the Olympics in Chicago supporters (there's a lot against it, and their reasoning is justified). We shall see!

The Chicago Tribune put out an article yesterday stating that life expectancy is still rising in "rich" countries and that many babies born after 2000 may live to be 100 years old. Even more shocking is that this upward trend in life expectancy is not showing a plateau in sight [1]. How old was Moses when he died? 120? Kidding, kidding.

The article states, "While illnesses affecting the elderly like heart disease, cancer and diabetes are rising, advances in medical treatment are also making it possible for them to remain active for longer. The obesity epidemic, however, may complicate matters. Extra weight makes people more susceptible to diseases and may increase their risk of dying. In the U.S., data from 1982 to 2000 showed a major drop in illness and disability among the elderly, though that has now begun to reverse, probably linked to the rise in obesity [1]."

Moving on....ginger. Ginger is by far a favorite ingredient of mine. While nothing tops garlic in my heart, ginger MAY take the silver. For hundreds of years, ginger has been used to ease nausea. A number of studies have been assessed to find that ginger does cure nausea caused from sea-sickness, morning-sickness, and chemotherapy. While the mechanism of action is yet to be determined, the proposed active ingredient in ginger is 6-gingerol, which helps relax intestinal muscles. How much ginger to ease nausea? Studies suggest 0.5 grams to be effective and it's available as powder in capsule form, as well as it's natural root state. Simply shave off several slices of ginger to chew and swallow, or enjoy it blended in water or a smoothie [2].

And did anyone else hear that Coke is putting calories on all their products? Read more here. I have to say, however, it would be MOST useful to do one of two things with say, 20 ounce bottles of soda - 1) list the TOTAL calories and carbohydrates in the whole bottle (people won't look at servings per container!) or 2) do away with anything other than 1-serving containers for individual sale (which won't happen). Unfortunately, even consumers who are trying to follow labels and make better decisions are unclear on how to read nutrition labels. So many of my patients fail to realize that while there are 26 grams of carbohydrate in an 8-ounce serving of soda....there are 65 grams of carbohydrate in the 20-ounce bottles they drink!!! Without knowing how to read the labels, however, most go on thinking they're consuming 26 grams, or "2 carbs". As soon as I point out the math (i.e. "You're drinking more carbohydrates than you're supposed to eat in a MEAL"), that soda loses a lot of appeal. So, I do wish labeling were a bit more straight forward for consumers to utilize appropriately. Off soap box.

In reading a fellow RD's blog this week, I found this YouTube view -- a snipet from The View on an episode hosting Paula Dean and her new cook book for children and specifically, children's lunches. Listen for Barbara Walters calling out Paula, it's great!