In a previous article, I outlined the basics of budgeting. Hopefully, if you hadn’t had a budget set already, you sat down and took care of organizing a budget for your household. If you haven’t got one in place right now, I would suggest you stop reading now and take some time to set one up. Why is it important?
- If you’re young, you need to know if you’re over-spending or have money to save.
- If you’re older, you’ll need to know you much you live on now and want to live on in the future in order to do an accurate retirement projection. You may end up running out of money very soon, or be able to live on more than you thought.
As a reminder, here is the mock budget that we used in the article:
As mentioned in the title, this article will be addressing the commonly asked questions – if yours doesn’t get answered, please email them to us so we can address them.
What do I do if I have extra money at the end of the month?
There are only 3 things you can do with money: “Give It, Save It or Spend It.” You’ll notice how our budget does not include any religious giving or donating to charity. Maybe your budget will include giving to your place of worship or favorite charity, and if you have extra money, maybe you’ll Give that to them as well. If you decide to Save It, then you have a couple of choices.
Firstly, make sure your Emergency Fund is fully funded. This should be between 3-6 months of living expenses (3 months if married and both partners are working, 6 months if single or only one partner is working). Next, move to college savings for kids. If you’re currently saving and you want to contribute more to those funds, go ahead and Save It there. If you’re not currently saving, no is an ideal time to start.
Then move to retirement savings. If you are not contributing 15% of your take-home/net pay to retirement accounts, then Save It there. Then choose if you want to save for “big-ticket” items (new TV, vacation, new car, etc.) and contribute your extra money to a savings account for those items. Next, pay down the principal on your mortgage or invest the money into a brokerage account. More extra money….? Wow! I guess now is the time where you start to Spend It – go shopping
What if don’t have enough money to make it through the month?
This is a less pleasant question to answer than the one above, and in current times, a more common one. First, establish how short you are at the end of the month (on paper). Let’s say it is $1,000. Go through your budget and cut any fat you can find.
Using our example budget, if you’re short on living expenses, then stop saving for retirement.
- Look at the grocery bill – can you cut that down? Use coupons, buy in bulk, and cook from scratch a lot more than you usually do.
- Cut the gym membership – run the streets and lift bags of salt.
- Cut the XM radio – listen to regular radio.
- Don’t buy as many clothes.
- Have a “stay-cation” and cut the vacation budget down.
- Announce to the family, that Christmas will be a family time this year and there will not be an abundance of gifts. That will be a hard announcement, but everyone has enough stuff, don’t we?!
- Trim the entertainment budget – go out less.
Hopefully this will give you the extra money you need to make it through the month and survive. If not, look for an extra job, have a garage sale, start a home business (dog-walking, grass cutting, baby sitting, etc.) ANYTHING TO GET EXTRA MONEY.
If not having enough money at the end of the month is a common thing, you’ll either need to permanently adjust your lifestyle or earn more money. Start thinking about a job and pay you’d like to have in the not-so distant future and take the steps necessary (class, internships, etc.) to get there
Twitter is now the biggest web 2.0 social site on the planet, well micro blogging to be more precise with millions of users worldwide tweeting about their everyday life, what they are doing & who they are speaking to. It seems a little crazy that anyone would be interesting in Peter telling his followers he is now making a cup of tea but people love it.
However Twitter has more positive uses for the online marketer & webmaster who are more interested in building huge numbers of followers to be able to post their latest offers, links and products to.
There are already many Twitter applications online that do various tasks but very few that do them all & do them well, We want to introduce you to TwitterXtreme.com a brand new Twitter software application that decided to take Twitter by the horns and create an application that would do everything other than the washing up, & who knows in later updates it may do that too.
TwitterXtreme.com is getting plenty of interest online right now and many people are signing up for their newsletter as of June 2009 the application was not officially launched, now let me first tell you how impressed we are with the huge list of tools this application comes with as part of the standard package, if TwitterXtreme.com can deliver what it states it can then this will without doubt be the most powerful Twitter auto poster software online period.
TwitterXtreme.com is an online marketers haven as it offers every conceivable tool required to market your products and services on Twitter and without it been time consuming or difficult.
Let's start with the TwitterXtreme.com fully automated account creation engine that will build an unlimited amount of accounts for you on autopilot 24hrs a day. The account engine will even solve the re-captcha on both Twitter and on Google's Gmail mail servers where the account creation engine will also automatically create email accounts for you too, it so fast and easy to manage literally thousands of Twitter accounts all at once using this section of the application alone.
Now if that wasn't impressive enough this application includes a powerful themes, bio & avatar spinning engine that goes in directly after all automated accounts are created & it spins random new themes which fully include text colour, link colour, link hover colour, background images making every account look like someone spent some time making their Twitter Page unique.
However it doesn't end there either it then changes all the accounts avatars for default ones that come with the application & there are literally hundreds, then it updates each bio with personal details to truly give each account the look & feel of a real user, now that's what we call cooking on gas!
The TwitterXtreme.com Twitter application is by no means a small script either, this is a monster app for your servers and will serve you well in your marketing efforts involving the use of Twitter, you will truly be able to leverage you way to the top of the Twitter list within just weeks if not sooner using this application.
The TwitterXtreme.com Twitter auto poster has a whole lot more going for it that auto creating accounts and spinning themes & bio's as it's an all round automated posting application, kind of makes me feel like a kid in a candy store when I read about all the cool and powerful features they are packing into this script.
If you're looking for a Twitter application that can mass create accounts, make them all unique, auto search & follow, delete followers not returning the follow, parse & post all your RSS feeds, organise & post all your links, auto tweet, grab other users tweets from Twitter give them a spin and repost them, set & forget schedulers, proxy engines, send personal messages to followers & a whole lot more then you need to check out TwitterXtreme.com & see what these whizz kids are doing with this mega Twitter application, it's certainly the best and most feature rich we have seen so far while searching the net for cool & powerful Twitter applications & software.
Please check out our web site ... http://www.gillhamsfishingresorts.com for all the latest news and info about fishing in Thailand at Gillhams Fishing Resorts.
Krabi newsletter March 2009
Hi to all of you following this fishing in Thailand series. This last month has been hectic to say the least with my trip back to the UK and Holland. For those of you who came to see me at the shows, thank you, and a bigger thank you to all of you who booked your holiday with us. To all my friends who I didn’t make it too see, sorry but time ran out. So I suppose to start this newsletter - on with the shows. Firstly Five Lakes in Essex; this one should have been the showpiece, but to be honest the organizers let me down badly to say the least. When it was first talked about our part of the deal was giving the Carpin’ on show a prize of a week’s holiday for two with flights to the value of around ?3,000, which was for sure the best prize any idiot had ever given them. Their part of the deal, I was told, was that I would get a monthly slot on Carp-Talk online (not a lot considering 50% of the pages are repeats), mentions in all Angling Publications comics, and mentions both days throughout the show, the client base for all entries to the competition. Put all this with a free stand, accommodation and meals at the show, and it was a reasonable deal for us, and a blinding one for them.
So what did I get? The Carp-Talk online articles stopped once I had agreed to the prize, the mentions in their magazines never appeared, there wasn’t a single mention during the show, no client base, and a 2m by 2m stand not giving us enough room to swing a mosquito, let alone display our pictures! I wasn’t even asked to come on stage and draw the winner - in fact I had to go and search for someone to check if the winner had been drawn. To top that off, it took them two weeks to give me the winner’s name even though they managed to put it on Carp-Talk online the next week! And what did I get? A bill from them for a table, chairs, and plug for the rabbit hutch they called a stand, and a promise for a free stand of a decent size next year! But will they keep their word! It was comical at the show watching the organizers walking around, and every time they approached our box, oops, sorry, stand, they turned on their heels and walked back the way they came. Not once did one of them come and see us or thank me for the prize. On top of all that I let Rob Maylin share my room (twin beds, honest!). Now Rob snores louder than a jumbo jet on takeoff, so Saturday night there was no sleep - if he snores like that on his visit to us he will cause a tsunami.
Another old friend I met up with at the show was my old pike fishing mucker Max Cottis, who I was pleased to see is now twice my size and shops at Chipperfield’s for his keks! Max has started his own company Ace Advanced Carp Equipment, which every one who demands quality should look out for. He presented me with a typical Max idea, the D-Spool Line Stripper, a brilliant bit of kit that fits on your standard electric drill, and is used to unload and dispose of your old line quickly and safely. It includes a slipping clutch in case the line snags, and this handy bit of kit will save us hours, having 70 reels to maintain. Typical Max idea - simple but brilliant. I am sure Max will come up with many ideas, so my advice to you all is check out the Ace range, as anything Max puts his name to is quality. The blast from the past at the show must go to another old mate. An Alf Garnet lookalike appeared, a little old fella in a denim jacket and jeans, and slid alongside me asking, “How you doing, geezer?” I had to whisper to Rob, “Who is this?” “It’s Ritchie McDonald,” was his reply. Christ, I would never have recognized my old mucker Richie - the only clue was the hooter! Nice to see the little bald fella and hopefully he’s coming out to see us soon.
The most asked question at the show was, “How many fish over 100lb could I catch in a day from your lake?” Oh dear, nothing changes! In comparison the Visma show in Holland was the nuts - obviously set up and run by professionals! I was invited by Leo Burger of Carps Cabin to go on one of their stands, and on arrival I was given a 5m by 4m stand in a prime location – wow, I could swing the cat! All in all Leo and his team treated me like a king, and not a bill in site - top man, top team, and a top show. Thanks to you all, plus a big thank you to our dear friends Wil and Betty who gave up their valid time to help me over the four-day show. Betty, you could sell sand to the Arabs - thanks. Finally, a big thank you to all the people who flocked around the stand to see the fine pictures we had room to display, plus all of you who booked. Lastly, while the shows are on my mind, how about this? While sorting through the archives for some fish pictures for the shows, I came across a picture of Sean stocking a stingray in February 2008. This fish was stocked while I was in England for the 2008 fishing shows, and there right by his hand was a bloody sting! Yes, now the mystery is solved - it was never removed. It didn’t grow, it wasn’t a second sting, it was Sean after his inheritance early - thank god he only stocked the one! Still on the subject of stingrays, apparently it is barbaric to remove their stings. Funny, as they don’t flinch when it’s done, and seem healthy enough, even spawning after it has been done on fish farms. Mind you, some much more barbaric things have been done to these magnificent beasts in the name of glory, records and self-hype, but I won’t comment on this, as others are going to elsewhere, but to the guy who said it - stones and glass houses spring to mind!
Since last month’s newsletter with our heatwave conditions and no rain, March has been like June here, raining every afternoon much to our gardener’s delight. The lake has had a good flush through and is at its maximum level. Perfect conditions for this month’s visit by National Geographic to film my old mucker Rob Maylin - the spawny git even got a business class ticket thrown in with the deal. Watch out in May as another mate arrives, Keith ‘Made in England’ Jenkins - now that will be a blast. I can’t wait to take Keith to our local nightspot to see the in-house band - we are gonna rock! No visit to England is complete without a visit to my dear friend Bob Baker, aka Richworth baits. Apart from a stock up of 300 method feeders, Uncle Bobbie gave us five litres of the old favorite salmon oil – wow, that’s a flavour from my dark past. I am sure the carp here are gonna love it! The day before I visited Bob I went to the Cemex Horton Church Pool to see my old mates Ladders and Dell, and as I parked the car, lo and behold a guy had a 40lb-plus carp, the first 40lb European carp I have seen in five years since my exile – oh, I want one again now! Another trip I made was to see my old mate Rob Eustace at Gold Label Tackle. The big fat boss, tubby Terry Eustace visited Krabi whilst I was in the UK – a bit of a long way to go to avoid me, I thought! We went out, had a few beers, and the obligatory Indian, only to return to Rob’s for the Chelsea game. Rob’s mate Alan Boon is a Chelsea fanatic, and when Chelsea scored, he was off the sofa dancing like a good’un, and Rob’s Staffordshire terrier seized his foot, bit through his shoe, shaking him like a rat. Obviously the dog ain’t no Chelsea fan!
Before I left home for the UK we bought 20 arapaima from 150lb to 220lb from a fish farm that went broke, plus two breeding pairs around the 350lb mark, which went to our fish farm to keep new strains coming into our arapaima breeding program. Back to the 20 fish - all our stock ponds are full to capacity, so we netted off the top bay of the main lake and put them in behind the net to settle down. Well, all the other fish in the lake tumbled that a free feast was on offer every day, so when these fish were fed, arapaima and all the catfish species sneaked over the net and cashed in on the feast. So many fish in a small space resulted in some in-house fighting, resulting in a sorubim, tiger catfish and rohu, who thought it would be a cool place to hide, getting themselves killed in the fighting, On my return, the area behind the net was bulging with various freeloaders - all our 300lb-plus arapaima were in there, so no wonder they have been absent this month. Also there were big red tail catfish and Chao Phraya - one red tail was huge, and when he gets caught he will be 100lb-plus for sure. Now the net is out of place and the food has stopped going in, some big fish should be on the cards, and the boost to the arapaima stocks should make for some good fishing over the coming months.
The plea for a giant weigh sling has been answered by Army Andy, who makes slings, mats etc to order. My dear friend Ruth from Yateley Angling put us onto Andy, as he makes specials to order for them and the Tackle Box. He has made us a stretcher type cradle that will allow us to weigh a record arapaima safely, so once one is caught under the IGFA rules, Gillhams should soon be the home of another world record. I couldn’t bring it back with me, as my bags were full of other goodies, but Rob is bringing it with him next week. Not much controversial gossip this month, as I was away, but Sean had one dick in who claimed to fish at home all year for one big carp. So he had managed to fit in a few hours to come here and get some monsters, but gave up after five hours, disappointed not to have had a fish over the 100lb mark - as Sean said, another twat! So that’s about it on gossip for this month, but watch out for next month as we have some crackers already plus we will have the return of Maylin! So it’s on to the fish reports.
12 anglers came for fishing holidays in Thailand, and 26 came on day trips. Between them they caught 407 fish of 17 species, made up as follows… 39 arapaima to 220lb, eight alligator gar to 20lb, 55 Amazon red tail catfish to 70lb, six Asian red tail catfish to 30lb, ten black pacu to 35lb, six Chao Phraya catfish to 50lb, three giant featherback to 7lb, one giant snakehead of 4lb, nine Julian’s golden prize carp to 30lb, four Mekong catfish to 120lb, six rohu to 20lb, five spotted featherback to 10lb, 215 Siamese carp to 120lb, four striped snakehead to 4lb, 20 spotted sorubim to 40lb, eight shovel nosed tiger catfish to 20lb, two wallago attu to 20lb, and six wallago leeri to 10lb.
The first visitor to arrive this month had the unfortunate name of Gordon Brown. Oh if only it had been the Gordon Brown we could have saved Britain from destruction, and put him through the fish mincer and fed him to the arapaima - it’s about all he would be any good for! This Gordon though was an American with the misfortune of sharing the other prat’s name. In a couple of days fishing he landed arapaima to 150lb and Siamese carp to 55lb, plus a small red tail. Next to arrive was a returning client Carsten Brandt with his delightful other half Eva. Now Carsten had to suffer a dramatic temperature change to come here, going from -38 to +35! Carsten comes from Greenland and had vowed last year after coming for a day and a night, to get his dream fish, an arapaima. Well he achieved that in style, landing seven to 200lb in his seven-day stay. In all Carsten landed 42 fish of six species with Siamese carp to 60lb, red tail catfish to 55lb, and a rare Julian’s golden prize carp along with rohu and alligator gar.
Then along came Neil ‘no tip’ with his much better half Kim. After leaving us last month they had been travelling around Thailand and Vietnam only to miss Steve’s cooking and our beautiful resort. This time around Kim put her foot down on the little wimp and made him take her out on day trips all week. He was allowed to fish on an hourly basis before and after day trips, and still managed a respectful catch of 28 fish of seven species for the week, these being arapaima to 150lb, spotted sorubim to 30lb, red tail catfish to 55lb, Siamese carp to 50lb, tiger catfish of 15lb, a 10lb rohu, and lastly a giant snakehead of 4lb. Now these snakehead were never stocked below 12lb, so it is another baby of a species breeding here in perfect conditions, it makes us wonder what will end up here, as fish keep breeding in the perfect environment we have created. Talking of fish that have bred here, how’s this for a catch of fish for a day ticket? Swedish angler Johan came for a day trip and landed two wallago leeri of 8lb and 10lb (black wallago), again both bred here as we never stocked these fish under 20lb. Actually six of these fish have come out this month, so there has been a very successful spawning of these beautiful rare fish. Johan also had two giant featherback of 5lb and 7lb, another fish that has been spawning away here for the last two years. Again these cracking looking fish were never stocked under 10lb. Johan went on to catch a rare Julian’s golden prize carp of 24lb, an Asian red tail catfish, plus an Amazon red tail catfish and two Siamese carp. That’s six species in a day with three of them being old Poppa Eustace’s target species for his holiday.
Talking of the old fat git Poppa Terry Eustace, he was the next arrival, taking a nicely planned trip to coincide with my trip to Europe. Terry arrived at his new PB weight of 21 stone 6lb – wow, that’s an awful lot of flab on the old bloodhound lookalike! Terry’s target species this trip were Siamese carp, and he managed ten up to 75lb, but had to suffer the swim next to him turning up one of 120lb. Terry has another passion apart from eating, and that’s catching new species, so imagine the old sod’s face when a day ticket angler opposite him caught all the ones he wanted. Terry was on a roll, and not his usual bacon one! When disaster struck, he wasn’t like the old weeble that used to wobble and not fall down - poor old Poppa took a tumble landing heavily (well he would), and he damaged his ribs, which curtailed his fishing. He had to extend his stay for another week as he was unfit to fly, and he spent the next week unable to fish, but perfectly capable of eating all day! Terry’s tally before the accident was 16 fish with two arapaima to 170lb, and a new species in the shape of an 18lb tiger catfish that the silly sod managed to delete from his camera whilst looking at it!
Swedish women can certainly fish, as Asa showed her boyfriend Mathias. This couple only came for two days’ fishing and a two-night stay, but in the first hour she landed a 170lb arapaima and a Siamese carp, only to gain a ban from fishing the next day in case she showed Mathias up further. She said her arms ached, but refused a lie detector test. Mathias never achieved the arapaima, but did land six fish of four species. Talking of short stay visitors, expat Warren made the six-hour journey here again this month from his home in Hua Hin. Last month when Warren was here he bought a kilo of the Gillham special boilies. Having used at least 15 of them, he took them home and fished a local lake with them, only to return with at least half a kilo for this trip. At the end of four days he had landed 12 fish, the best a 170lb arapaima, and went home with at least ten boilies for his next trip. Now that must be the best eight quid the fella has ever spent. He runs a restaurant as a living, and Christ, I dread to think what they do with the leftovers. I bet he doesn’t know what a sell by date is either! Another nice fella to arrive with his lovely family was Neil Cobley; he came for a two week family holiday using Gillhams as a base to go sight seeing etc, and fishing odd hours between trips out. Neil had asked a million questions prior to coming, and he brought some spods, making him the first to try them here. Also being a Nutrabaits fan, he made the kids wear the same clothes the entire trip so he could fit in 40kg of his favourite baits. He spodded vast amounts of maize, and fished his beloved boilies over the top when after a few slow days something clicked! He gave maize a try, and the change of tactics paid off when the first day he landed a cracking 120lb Siamese carp, which now adorns his Facebook profile picture. One day trip Neil went on was a day’s training at the local Thai boxing stadium. It cost him more money than a day’s fishing here to get his arse kicked! To be fair to Neil, he treated his family holiday with 100% commitment, but on his odd hours fishing he put in the same effort to prove what a good fisherman can do here if he studies the lake and puts in the work. Neil ended his holiday with more fish than those who don’t try catch while they sit fishing all day every day. He caught 34 fish of nine species, including five arapaima to 180lb, 18 Siamese carp to 120lb, three rare Julian’s golden prize carp, sorubim, pacu, alligator gar, and Asian red tail cats along with a rare tiger catfish and an even rarer wallago attu (silver wallago). Just shows what accurate casting and spodding can do! I wonder what Neil would have achieved if he had fished full days?
John Cristlas came to try our style of fishing for a day, being a keen fly fisherman at home in the UK. Fishing with static baits on alarms was new to John, and after a couple of hours declared this type of fishing, although relaxing, wasn’t his thing. This all changed 40 minutes later when he latched into a 100lb Siamese carp that took him three quarters of an hour to land. This fish had him shaking with excitement, and when an hour later his fish bait rattled off he was hooked, or rather a bloody great stingray was! After an hour of tugging and pulling the hook hold gave, and poor John was left wondering what might have been. He is now going to take up carping in the UK, thinking 100lb carp are plentiful! Seriously though, he is now another statistic of somebody who is hooked on carping, and he knows to beat his PB he will have to return to swell my bank balance - oh I love the draw of Gillhams.
Space is running out again but we must mention returning client Graham Jones, who came for a ten-day stay, mainly sightseeing, but with three days fishing. The plan went out the window once Graham started fishing; he ended up fishing all ten days, landing 34 fish with the third 100lb-plus carp this month in the shape of a fine 110lb fish, plus four arapaima to 130lb along with red tail catfish and pacu. Another couple who wished they had booked their whole holiday here instead of five days were Don and Ann Spence. They had stayed at another fishery in the past that was a crap hole, and were dubious about what to expect here. As soon as they arrived they made the usual comment that our website does not do the resort justice. Don had a few fish under his belt, including an arapaima, when he hooked into a turbocharged arapaima that took him the length of the lake then burst through the net holding the new arapaima back. Sean had to swim out with the rod, dive down and swim through the hole in the net, then hand the rod back to Don who duly played and landed the 200lb beast on the sanctuary side of the net. Don ended up with 17 fish for the five days, made up of five species, which included a rare wallago attu. Another day ticket angler was father and son team Hohan and Mattrah Jonsson from Sweden. When father Hohan landed a 150lb arapaima and Mattrah failed to land one, they returned another day when dad wasn’t allowed to fish, as he had spanked Mattrah the first time. Well he got his arapaima this time around, beating dad by 20lb with a fine 170lb fish. They ended their campaign with 17 fish between them of five species. Last but not least our international appeal proved itself again with another country being represented by Denmark angler Preben Klausen coming for a five-day fishing holiday. His plan was to fish Siame carp, and despite catching 11 he failed to get a big one, but made up for it with two arapaima of 150lb and 190lb along with red tail catfish. He ended his holiday pleased, but with plenty of targets to return for.
That’s me folks, out of space for another month. We sure are becoming known worldwide for our big fish - our visitors this month came from nine different countries, which shows the power of the Internet. Watch out for next month’s news letter to see how Rob performs for National Geographic, and also to see if the Carpin’ on show have had me shot for daring to speak out against them! April has started off with some good fish and loads of gossip, so see you next month for more on the greatest fishing resort on the planet. Until then check out the website www.gillhamsfishingresorts.com or phone us on +66861644554. Forget the recession - that’s what credit cards are for - book that holiday of a lifetime and make your dreams come true. Tight lines, and catch a whacker from Stuart and all the team at Gillhams Fishing Resorts, Krabi, Thailand.
Please check out our web site ... http://www.gillhamsfishingresorts.com for all the latest news and info about fishing in Thailand at Gillhams Fishing Resorts.
About the Author
IAAPA 2009 - Universal Space (UNIS) booth - Cooking Mama, h2overdrive motion + more
Far too often people overlook the importance of using the proper tools when cooking fine meals. While there is nothing in the world that can quite compare to cooking with the finest and freshest of ingredients, these things can only be enhanced by making use of the perfect tools for the job at hand.
When it comes to pots and pans and skillets you should keep in mind that conductivity is of extreme importance. You should also select pots and pans that are made of a heavier gauge. This allows your pans to heat evenly avoiding hot spots, which can lead to food that may 'stick' to your pan or scorch during the cooking process. This means that simply stopping in at your local mass market retailer and purchasing any old set of pots and pans is probably not the best course of action for the best possible quality in your kitchen.
Kitchen Knives are also important ingredients in the kitchens of today. If you plan to prepare many meals in your kitchen, then the quality of your knives is of the utmost importance. Your knives are an investment you shouldn't have to make too often in your lifetime. For this reason, select a really good set and be prepared to make a sizeable investment in your knives. You will never understand, unless you've tried to prepare foods with knives of inferior quality, just how important it is to purchase good quality and well-balanced knives for your kitchen. You should also try the handles in your hand to see how comfortable they feel before purchasing a set of knives. If you do a lot of chopping and cutting during your meal preparation and cooking you will want to make sure that the knives you are using feel comfortable in your hands.
If you are like me and plan on cooking a Great Deal of meat then you should also invest in a jacquard. This useful tool helps not only when it comes to tenderizing rather rough and tumble cuts of meat but also pierces the surface so that rubs and marinades can penetrate for a more flavorful experience. This is by far one of my favorite kitchen gadgets and it isn't a sizeable investment for the added value it provides to meals.
A good quality grater is another tool that no kitchen should be complete without. There are many who feel that with all the pre shredded cheese products on the market today this tool is obsolete but nothing could be further from the truth. First of all, pre grated and pre packaged cheese simply doesn't touch the quality of flavor that freshly grated cheese provides. Second, cheese isn't the only thing that these graters are useful for grating. Graters are excellent tools for grating citrus fruits, spices, garlic, chocolate, and even onions. If you do a good deal of baking in addition to your cooking you should not overlook the value of having a quality grater in your kitchen.
Of course there are many more cooking tools than I could possibly mention here. Those mentioned above simply happen to be among my personal favorites. There are all kinds of appliances that in my humble opinion no kitchen is truly complete without. In addition to these great appliances there are many tools that are simple matters of preference. Do you peel enough potatoes to warrant a special device for doing so or do you simply opt to purchase an ergonomically designed Potato Peeler and peel them by hand? There are no one size Fits All answers when it comes to kitchen tools and many of us are often limited by serious budget constraints and restrictions. My best advice if this is the situation for you is to purchase the best possible quality you can afford and build from there. Even if it means replacing one pot or knife at a time until you can manage a complete set of superior quality cooking tools you will find it well worth the price you've paid in the long run.
Cooking school is valuable! Often when it comes to cook school and a cooking job, you are building a base for a life direction and life path. Remember the Navy's commercial, it's more than a job, it's an adventure? Definitely, that has to be true for you sooner or later.
When you steer, your course to hone your skills in cooking you are also embarking on one of the greatest adventures of your career. Not only will you the skills and techniques you need in cooking school but also you will gain good friends and valuable resources.
The thrill of cooking is a perfect starting line but it will not be sufficient by itself. For more details go to: www.cat-head-biscuit.com Knowledge is very important and cooking school will build your thrill of cooking into a top skill that will certainly earn you a wealth of money as well as respect and appreciation for your knowledge and confidence in any cooking environment.
The knowing "how to" part of cooking is what determines the good from the best and will allow you to embrace excellence on much deeper levels. You begin with the interest; you just need the "how to".
My Brother from England likes cooking crepes. He is actually very passionate about it and always wants to cook them at family gatherings. The only thing is, it is also one of the only things he knows how to prepare. Although someone might consider him an expert on crepes, his knowledge base and practical cooking experience doesn't go beyond that.
This is exactly why you should go ahead and take the opportunity of going to cooking school like you know you should. You will get a lot out of it and your family and friends or customers will take advantage of the rewards along with you. Boy I wish my Brother in law had gone to cooking school so we could have something at reunions besides crepes even though he makes wonderful crepes.
The right cooking schools give you the basics that you must have to excel in commercial kitchens as well as practical knowledge about how to run your own Home Kitchen. For help visit: www.breakfasts-recipes.com you learn things like nutrition that is so important today with people exercising and being calorie conscience. As you know, cooking school's students are often hired by major hotels, resorts and health spas. One of the most important aspects of being a chef is to be able to produce tasty but nutritious menus that will please anyone looking for health and long life.
As you face the future, cooking school will also make clear to you the foundation of food storage and safe food handling practices that will put in place foundation for you to build on. You will also learn and become an expert on all of those fabulous herbs and spices. Knowing when you can substitute dried herbs for fresh ones and how to properly store fresh herbs to keep their flavor will put your sauces on everyone's favorites list.
Without a cooking school to guide us, how would we learn about high and low heat techniques, thickeners, pan searing, quick pan frying or cooking at high altitudes? It is the cooking techniques that you must have and that you will gain from cooking school. You will also receive an arsenal of tools, knives, kitchen equipment and neat gadgets to make cooking easier and better. Cooking schools give you that
If you want something better than a dead end job in a kitchen then don't settle for less. Invest yourself in the cooking you desire and get the knowledge and skills to take your love of cooking to its top level. Set a life path and make it an adventure, be your best and let your talent shine. Reach for the dreams you have and enroll in cooking schools.
Most Types for Cooking With Limited Amounts of Sugar Free!
Do you love sugar but have to cut back? Does your low sugar diet preclude your favorite desserts and make your food taste bland? If so, not to worry, there are ways to bake even your favorite desserts using less sugar, with or without sugar substitutes. It just requires some experimentation and a working knowledge of what sugar actually does in a recipe. Once you understand what the role of sugar is in your baking and cooking, you can make appropriate adjustments and substitutes.
In most types of cooking, sugar is only there for the flavor - the sweetening power. You can easily reduce the amount of sugar that you use in fruit compote, for instance, and you'll probably find that the fruit flavors are far more intense. Natural sugars like fructose in fruit and lactose in milk a lot of nutritional value along with the carbs and calories. Using natural sweeteners like apple juice is one way to add sweetness while cutting back on granulated sugar. Sugar substitutes are another way to add sweetness to drinks and food without adding calories or carbohydrates.
However, baking with sugar is a different story. Granulated sugar does more than sweeten baked goods. It can affect volume, moisture texture and color of the finished cakes, cookies, pies and candy. Substituting other ingredients for sugar in baked goods can cause your baked goods to fail - or at least come out far differently than you expect. If you are using sugar substitutes in baking, for more details visit to www.300-dip-recipes.com or trying to cut back on sugar in your baked goods, here are some tips to help you out.
Sugar substitutes work best in cold recipes, or added at the end of cooking time. Heat can destroy the sweetness of most sugar substitutes and leave an unpleasant aftertaste. Try using sugar substitutes half and half with sugar in your baked substitutes. Use spices and other flavor enhancers to bring out the flavor of dishes when you reduce sugar. Lemon and orange zest brings out fruit flavors. Vanilla and nut flavorings make baked goods smell buttery and sweet, which enhances the sweetness of your recipes. Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and allspice all enhance sweetness in recipes. When you cut sugar in chocolate recipes, for more details visit to www.chef-123.com substitute strong, cold coffee for some of the liquid to enhance the chocolate flavor without adding additional sweetness. Top reduced sugar baked goods with fruit or fruit spread to put the flavors right up front so that they are tasted immediately. Sprinkle reduced sugar cakes with cinnamon and sugar substitute for the same effect.
Texture and Volume Sugar helps cookie dough to spread during baking. Without sugar, the cookies may not spread properly. When baking cookies using sugar substitutes, flatten each cookie slightly before baking just as you would peanut butter cookies. Intensify sweetness in a dish with fruit juice. Reduce the juice to 1/3 of its original volume by boiling it over high heat for extra sweetness. Muffins and cupcakes cooked with lower sugar may not rise as high or achieve the round-domed top that we expect. Bake them in mini-muffin tins rather than regular size to allow them to rise higher. Add ½ teaspoon of baking soda to a recipe to make baked goods with reduced sugar rise in a shorter baking period. To increase volume, use whipped egg whites in recipes that call for eggs. Start with eggs warmed to room temperature.
Appearance of Baked Goods Spray the top crust of a fruit pie with cooking spray and sprinkle with a tiny amount of sugar before baking. You can reduce the amount of sugar in the filling because each bite of crust puts the sweetness up front - and your pie will brown nicely as a bonus. Cakes and breads made with reduced sugar or sugar substitutes don't brown because there is less sugar to caramelize during baking. Try adding a tablespoon or two of molasses to the recipe to deepen the color and add moisture. Sprinkle cinnamon or nutmeg on top of breads, cakes or muffins to give the impression of browning. In fruit dishes, add a small amount of Dark Brown sugar to give the finished product a deep, rich, buttery brown color.
Texture and Moisture For moister baked goods, use mashed or pureed fruits in place of some of the sugar and butter. You can use applesauce, but ripe bananas, sweet potatoes and carrots are more flavorful and add more tenderness and moisture. (Tip: Why puree? Buy baby food jars of pureed fruits and veggies to use in baked goods. They have no added sugar or salt.) When using a sugar substitute, cooking times are considerably shorter. Pull cookies and brownies out of the oven before they look done. They'll continue to cook while they cool.
There is a selection of different range cookers to choose from on the market some of the ranges to look for are Smeg, Range master, Falcon and Britannia are just some of the brands. These range cookers can vary in size the configurations for hob or fuel type.
The choice has to be made whether it is dual fuel or electric that you are wishing to purchase, the most common one being duel fuel. This is often the most common of all people's choices because of the versatility of multi-function electric cooking combining the quick reaction of being able to cook using gas burners.
However, choosing a range cooker is all down to personal choice. There is also the question of some people wanting LPG. There are some manufacturers that will gladly adapt a range cooker for the use of LPG, saving you the hassle of trying to arrange it yourself.
Once you have chosen your range cooker and decided on the color of your choice although the most popular color normally chosen by people is stainless steel. Also made the choice of either dual fuel or decided you prefer the all-electric model, there are still some other features for you to look out for.
Those of you who have hectic lifestyles would benefit from cookers with electronic programmers, this a great function to have as you can program the start or finish of cooking times. These are great after a long busy day coming home to a meal that is cooking for in the oven. Check out for instance features like the fast pre-heat function this allows for less time waiting for the oven to reach a certain cooking temperature.
Thought has to be taken when choosing the oven size, if choosing a secondary oven these can often be small it may well be worth considering 100cm cooker as opposed to a 90cm the larger width can benefit a second oven, although some 100cm cookers have a small secondary oven.
It is also a good idea when choosing your cooker to consider the options regarding the cleaning of the oven interior. These are called stay clean liners or catalytic liners these help to keep your ovens interior in tiptop condition. It is a good idea to check out for replaceable liners after heavy usage over several years it is possible they will need changing.
If there are small children in the household triple glazing on the cooker doors is a must have, this glazing keeps the doors cool when cooking. Individual pan supports are far easier to clean under a tap than large pan supports.
Most cookers have a grill, if you have chosen a multi-functional oven it is possible to have fan assisted grilling this is a good function when grilling sausages, mixed grills or chops as it reduces spitting and splashing a lot easier in keeping the oven clean. Those who like to use a rotisserie when cooking duck and other game birds may find this feature on some ovens.
There are many features to consider when before purchasing your range cooker so a little bit of research will help you to find the correct one for you. It may be best to look in some high street shops to check out different models and prices. When you have found the range cooker of your choice, go online where you will find range cookers with brand names and many offer a fast free delivery service with an online messaging service. About the Author
The Co-operative Electrical is an online provider of electrical appliances including range cookers.
Business Opportunities in Pakistan 4 Jan 2010 Lahore Pakistan
Cooking healthy for your family is important for everyone. Not only will you be eating healthy meals, but your children will learn a lot from eating healthy. They will get to experience healthy foods that they may have not even tried before, or wanted to. They will learn how to cook healthy meals so that they can pass down this tradition to their own children in the future. They will also come to enjoy healthy meals better than junk or foods that are bad for them.
Cooking healthy meals for your family will give everyone the energy they need for a full day, give them better concentration and focus, and help them do well in life. For more details go to: www.150-venison-recipes.com this will not deprive your family in any way. You will all be getting the proper nutrients you need without completely passing on all treats. Eating healthy is important for your health – not just now, but for the future as well. Studies have shown that eating healthy can help to reduce the risks of various ailments, heart disease, stroke, and many cancers. You can help your family lead a healthier life by cooking healthy meals.
1) Use Plenty of Fruits and Vegetables: Fruits and vegetables are often overlooked in today’s diet. However, fruits and vegetables are very important because they have vitamins, minerals and even antioxidants to keep you healthy, strong and help you fight illnesses. It is important to use fresh ingredients when cooking. Do not overcook your vegetables, as this will take out some of the nutritional value of them. Consider serving your vegetables raw or just blanch them (boil for about 5 minutes). Kids will especially love blanched veggies because it brings out their colors and makes them a little bit softer. Blanching doesn’t take out nutrients because you are only boiling them for 5 minutes. Just wait for the water to boil and place the veggies in. Put them on ice after the 5 minutes to stop the cooking process. You may also want to serve fruits with dinnertime as well. Most people don’t and that is why most people don’t get enough fruit in their daily diet. Serve a fruit and veggie with each meal.
2) Stick To Lean Meats And Fish: Lean meats and fish are an important part of your diet. However, too much meat can actually cause health problems. This is why adding fish to at least two meals a week can increase your health. Lean meats are better for you because they have less fat and sometimes less cholesterol than the other meats. For can visit to: www.classic-dessert-collection.com Look for lean meats in your grocery store. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different types of fish: salmon, tuna steaks, haddock, cod, etc. Fish has important fatty acids that are excellent for your body and mind.
3) Watch the Fat You Use: Try to wean off of real butter and other fatty foods. If you must use real butter remember that just one tab of it a day is enough – no more. There are other options to choose from than just butter or lard. Add some of these items to your kitchen and your meals: Olive Oil, avocado, vegetable oil, butter spread made from olive oil, etc. You can also try using spices for your meals instead of fats. Try balsamic vinegar on your salad instead of salad dressing, or vinegar and olive oil. These can make great alternatives to other fatty foods.
4) What You Drink Counts Too! Do not forget about what you drink. As adults, we tend to not pay any attention to what we choose for beverages. A simple can of soda can have a lot of calories, sodium, sugar, and more in it. It doesn’t really matter if it is diet or not. It is still unhealthy. Cut down on drinks like soda, juices, coffee, and tea. You can healthily have coffee and tea about two times a day – that’s two cups a day, especially if you use sugar and cream. Try using lemon in your tea instead of honey or sugar. The best thing to drink is water. Always try to choose water over any other drink. Kids should not Have More than two cups of juice a day because of the sugar. Make sure they get water everyday – and you too!
5) Treats In Moderation Are Ok: This is not a fad diet. This is a lifestyle change for you and your family. Yes, you can have treats in moderation. Have something every once in a while.
NuWave Oven Is really efficient and fast as seen on TV? What foods cooked in furnace of this new wave like better? These are not the only questions in the minds of American housewives. There is another question too. The latest Kitchen Gadget technology is making the rounds a little advertising and has had some positive comment. However, this product seems to have confused the housewife has no end. To help a housewife decided, here are some essential aspects of different cooking techniques that are in vogue. Basic cooking short, kitchen means applying heat to food. Humanity began with an open fire and eventually evolved in many ways to generate heat. Overall, kitchen modern man, either in an oven, on a countertop or on a grill. kitchens, are divided into types of gas and electricity. Gas heating is very clear and needs no explained. By contrast, the electrical system has many methods. These include elements of the coil, induction heaters and appliances halogen type. Cooking convection cooking convection was developed to maximize the heat used in cooking. In a system of convection, the flow of air circulates inside the oven ensure uniform heating of food. Food is cooked evenly openly eliminating areas that are golden. This type of cooking is particularly useful for the preparation of items such as cakes, vegetables, pasta, biscuits and roasted meat. Induction cooking As explained above, the induction is a form of electric cooking. Induction cooking is unconventional, therefore, not fully understood by many. In a conventional system, heat is applied to the pot directly. Regular stove heaters are an example and, by induction generates heat directly in the cooking himself. Here the cooking element is an powerful electromagnet. When a vessel is placed on the magnet, the magnetic fields induce energy creating heat in the vessel. This translates into a more efficient use heat on a cooler cooking surface. One point should be remembered however. Induction cooking requires all kitchen tops are made of ferrous metal easily argue that the magnetic field. This infrared cooking system uses infrared cooking to produce heat in food. Infrared rays penetrate both inside and outside of food, while resulting in even cooking. So what is all this NuWave oven? Nu Wave promotes a revolutionary technology that combines convection, induction, and systems infrastructure as a whole red color. NuWave oven is a pot-shaped dome that uses heat conduction, infrared heat and a convection fan to cook food faster than all other methods. The other advantages of this gadget are: * not * smoke generates its energy efficiency. Consumes much less electricity than a conventional oven. * Cooks almost everything you can imagine. No need to thaw before cooking. Without There are some issues to be taken into account. Determination of the cooking time is a bit intuitive. Need a little patience and some practice. Once you become familiar with the commissioning, NuWave oven can be a valuable addition to your kitchen. About the Author
Read a review of NuWave oven at JennyReviews.com.JennyReviews.com is a useful resource for product reviews of various household items in additional to a host of articles on general interest.
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