Frances Ellen Speaks!

Archive for October, 2007

Here are a few suggestions that will decrease your preparation time when cooking.

Kitchen Tip #1 – Green Pepper. I like to have green peppers on hand at all times. Depending on the recipe I am using, I sometimes use sliced peppers, while at other times I need them chopped. So first, you will need two peppers. Slice each pepper into quarters. Clean out the seeds, making sure you cut away the white part that is inside the pepper because that’s the part that gives the pepper a bitter taste. After you have cleaned both peppers, slice one and chop the other. Put each in their own separate Ziploc bag and store them in the freezer until you need them.

Kitchen Tip #2 – Onions. I use a lot of chopped onions when I cook, so I always have a large bag in the freezer. In the past, when I have purchased vegetables already chopped from the freezer section of the supermarket, the experience has been less than stellar. After a while they get soft and soggy. However, if you chop your vegetables fresh, they will stay crisp. I’ve never had a problem with any of the fresh vegetables that I’ve chopped myself. There is one thing to remember about storing onions in the freezer, though. You must double bag them. Put the chopped onions into a plastic bag and then seal that bag into another plastic bag. This ensures that the onion odor will not seep into the freezer or into the refrigerator. Be assured that in a double bag, the onion odor will stay where it’s supposed to stay and it won’t invade other foods.

Kitchen Tip #3 – Bread. I like nice, crispy hoagie rolls–crisp on the outside, soft and fresh on the inside. That’s the way I like French Bread and Sour French Bread, too. So, if you have a favorite bakery where you buy your bread, but you buy in small quantities because you know it will go stale before you eat all of it, here’s the secret to freezing bread. Buy it fresh, same day fresh if possible, and then take it home and freeze it immediately. If it goes in the freezer fresh, it will come out fresh. My family eats a lot of bread so it seldom is in the freezer longer than a month. The only type of bread I’ve noticed that becomes somewhat moist after a few weeks are hot dog buns and hamburger buns, but marble breads, white breads, bagels, French breads and kaiser rolls come out as fresh as the day you bought them.

Kitchen Tip #4 – Make it a habit to chop and freeze herbs that you use frequently, too. I always have frozen chopped garlic, parsley, chives, mint and dill. Freeze those you use the most. Your meals will taste so much better if you use fresh herbs instead of the dried.

Now here’s the recipe I promised. It uses some of the above ingredients from the freezer.

Moroccan Hamburgers

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 large egg
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients throughly; shape into 8 (4-inch) patties. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. (For investment cooking, freeze 5 to 6 months. Thaw before grilling.)
Grill, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat (350º to 400º) 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until beef is no longer pink.

Yield:
8 servings

This scrumptious recipe was posted at: http://airmiles.wordpress.com/2007/10/18/recipe-round-up-freeze-ahead-meals/

Oh, and just for fun, and only if you want to smile, go here:

http://birdloversonly.blogspot.com/2007/09/may-i-have-this-dance.html

Let me tell you about the excursions I took while on my cruise. They didn’t disappoint.

Truth be told, I usually look forward to doing a lot of reading and relaxing on a cruise, but on this particular trip, I traveled with my friend, Robin, who had never been on a cruise before. “I want to experience everything,” she said, so we planned to do an excursion at every port.

Even though I’m young at heart (we danced every night while onboard until the wee hours), the thought of also taking part in super-adventurous explorations at every port was daunting and, yes, would have been impossible. But all major cruise lines offer a vast and varied list of shore excursions and, luckily, there are any number of things one can do without nursing a cartload of aches and pains the next day. The excursions we chose were a perfect fit for both of us.

• First stop–Cozumel, Mexico for our adventure on the Atlantis Submarine. The dive went down to a depth of 125 feet. The water was crystal clear, and our pilot pointed out the different coral formations and fish we encounterd. A most excellent voyage.
• Our next port was Belize, where we toured a Mayan Ruin known as Altun Ha. We had a knowledgeable guide who explained how the site was discovered, where certain bodies were unearthed, and what the archeologists surmised each time something new was uncovered. Robin climbed to the top of the tallest temple. I was happy to be the person on the ground acting as the photographer.
• Our last and most physically challenging excursion was a Catamaran & Snorkling Adventure off the coast of Roatan, Honduras. The underwater beauty of the reef with its inhabitants was astounding.

Of course, a cruise wouldn’t be a cruise without a little shopping. We bought the obligatory t-shirts and a few souvenirs.

Possibly the best part of any cruise, which I touched on briefly in my last post, is the people that you meet onboard the ship. Robin and I shared dinner with a lovely group of people each night and one evening after dinner, at Robin’s suggestion, we all shuffled up to Deck 5 to have our picture taken in Western costumes. The perfect memento for a perfect cruise.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been cruising. Some of the things I like best about this type of vacation are:

1)  The ship is your hotel,  2)  You don’t need a rental car to get around,  3)  The food is abundant and there’s no decision-making regarding which unfamiliar restaurant to eat at,  4)  There’s loads of activites on and off the ship,  5)  There’s plenty of time to relax, if that’s your preference, and  6)  You always meet new and interesting people.

The Carnival Cruise Line, which I sailed on this time, still advertises itself as The Fun Ships, but the age of its passengers has changed over the past 10 or 15 years. It’s not exclusively for the young, single crowd. All ages sail on Carnival now. There’s something for everyone and, you can feel perfectly comfortable bringing the grandkids along. They have excellent programs for both youngsters and teens.

An article from USA Today reports:

“… Carnival and Disney Cruise Line stand out for their exceptionally comprehensive children’s and teens’ programs.

Disney Cruise Line is no surprise winner in this category, for obvious reasons. The Disney Magic and Disney Wonder have entire decks dedicated to kid-friendly activities and separate family and adults-only pools. Cabins are designed to accommodate families with extra beds and split bathrooms, and Disney characters make appearances throughout the sailing.

Camp Carnival offers age-specific, supervised activities for kids ages two to five, six to eight, nine to 11, 12 to 14, and 15 to 17. Its ships offer extensive children’s play areas, as well as the Club O2 teen lounge. Children do not need to be toilet-trained to take part in Camp Carnival activities.”

While the kids are being entertained, you are free to, pehaps, enjoy a massage in the Spa, or take in an exercise class, or shop on board. Carnival gets high marks for their Fun Shops, which are varied and fit every individual’s pocketbook.

Although I cruised with Carnival this time, I often cruise with Royal Caribbean, which I have enjoyed many times in the past, also.

Lest this sound too much like an advertisement, I will mention that trying to move 3,000 or more people off any ship at the end of a cruise is a long, tedious process, and not all of my cruising experiences have been wonderful. I went on a Norwegian cruise a few years back that was an absolute horror, although since then, I have met other people who enjoyed their Norwegian cruise.

Overall, cruising is one of my favorite ways to vacation, and if you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend you give it a try.

Next week, I’ll tell you about the many excursions I took during this trip.