20 December 2011, Australia

Tasting Australia at Adelaide

Held in Adelaide since its inception in 1997, Tasting Australia is an internationally successful food and wine festival.

A unique eight-day event, it provides entertainment, education and information to over 50,000 food and wine professionals, the media and food-loving members of the public.

The 2012 Tasting Australia festival will be the most innovative and diverse in the festival’s history, with an increase in youth activities, regional experiences and a strong focus on the arts.

The festival program will encompass celebrity lunches and dinners, free events, children’s events, chef showcases, regional events, classes and demos, debates, auctions and conferences.

Highlights of the 2012 festival program include:

The Feast For The Senses event – a two day al fresco extravaganza which features more than 100 food and beverage outlets, hands-on cooking classes and celebrity cooking demonstrations with local chefs and international culinary celebrities.
L-Plates – gives festival-goers hands on cooking experience and the chance to learn from the masters. With sessions each day hosted by respected South Australian food professionals, amateur foodies will be able to learn how to make everything from artisan breads and pastries to contemporary cocktails.
Kids in the Kitchen – a free event that gives children the chance to learn about the principles of simple and delicious food preparation. Well-known teachers will include Maggie Beer, Guy Grossi, Pete Evans and Paul Mercurio.

Christmas Pudding, a tradition in Merry Old England, gained popularity and prestige thanks to Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”. Prior to the Cratchett family’s exultations over the “pudding bubbling away in the copper” as the “finest pudding in all England”, Christmas Pudding was a finale for Christmas feast. However, the traditional Christmas Pudding preparations began months in advance. Traditional recipes all call for beef suet as the cohesive ingredient. Fruits and citron peel, dried and soaked in brandy for 3 months mascerated to a soft consistency. Though Christmas pudding recipes vary, the end result is not pudding, but a type of fruit cake. The highlight of Christmas pudding is presenting it in the center of the table, flame with brandy and serve with a brandy hard sauce.

Christmas Pudding ingredients in Italy is slightly different than the English version. It is usually made with similar dried fruits, figs and pignoli nuts (pine nuts) are added. It’s more dense and darker in color. Instead of a brandied hard sauce, often lemon and anise are added to a bit of sweetened mascarpone cheese for a topping. Or, it’s drizzled with a wine-laced honey. In Eastern European countries, dried apricot, dates and chestnuts comprise the ingredients. In these countries, it’s known as a “steamed” pudding because it is set in a large water bath to steam for six or more hours. Steamed persimmon pudding is one variety that is well known in this part of the world.

4 slices of Halloumi Cheese
2 Slices of Sourdough bread
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
2-3 Tbs Extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tsp Parmesan Grated Cheese
1 Tsp Parsley
Green Tossed Salads

You will want to have the Halloumi cheese sliced into equally thick slices and rub each with a little olive oil. Grill on a hot outdoor grill for best results to release the great flavor of the cheese. Brown the cheese on both sides turning as needed.

In another small bowl mix together the garlic powder, 2-3 Tbs of the extra-virgin olive oil, the grated parmesan chees and the 1 Tbs parsley. Take the four slices of sourdough bread and brush the oil mixture on one side to start the grilling. When you turn the sourdough bread over to grill then brush the oil mixture on the other side. Brown the bread lightly on both sides.

Have two plates lightly covered with a tossed green salad preferably with baby spinach and romaine. Divide the grilled slices of sourdough bread between the two plates and then place the Hallourni cheese over the the grilled sourdough bread and tossed salads.

A calorie is a unit of food energy, a vital power source released during digestion. Calories are frequently restricted in weight loss programs and often need to be counted. Many diet experts claim that calorie counting is a fail-safe way to lose weight and a way to maintain a slim body.

The most successful way to lose weight is to take in fewer calories than your body actually requires to function well. It is usually accompanied by a suitable exercise program. Calorie counting is a tried and true method to keep track of everything you consume and can also help you figure out your eating habits. It can teach you which foods are good for you, and which ones are no. Besides that, this weight loss technique will reveal hidden calories, the ones you often tend to forget about.

When starting a weight loss regimen it is important to know your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and how many calories your body burns naturally. In other words, you have to figure out what energy is required for your basic and essential body functions, such as maintaining body temperature, the beating of your heart, and your breathing. At the same time, you will have to determine the amount of calories you want to burn every day. The right amount for you personally, will greatly depend on your age, gender, exercise habits, height and current weight.

Tracking nutritional content and calorie amounts is easy. Many health experts, physicians and dieticians have compiled lists of foods and their respective calorie value. These charts are distributed in medical facilities, at drug and health food stores, and are posted on many websites on the Internet. These resource food databases include massive amounts of food groups and brand names. Unfortunately, not all food products are included, and in order to make healthy, informed food choices, it is also important to understand food labels, which are found on cans and other grocery packaging. Most of the time the label information is straight forward and will list every nutritional value of the product, including calorie amounts per serving. Do not hesitate to call the phone number listed on the label if you have trouble deciphering the printed information chart.

Calorie counters are a way to calculate daily caloric intake. They can be actual portable, handheld devices or, can be sophisticated calculating programs, found online. Calorie counters are also often built into most aerobic exercise equipment, such as treadmills and elliptical trainers. Some even tell you the amount of calories you burn while jogging. Many dieters prefer cyber programs, which are easy to use and will address all the information required for a great diet plan. They will automatically ask for specific personal details, including age, weight loss target, in how much time you want to achieve that goal, what type of diet you prefer, and your level of daily activities.

Exercise counters work on the same principle. You enter specific, detailed physical characteristics, your desired targets and the counter will calculate exactly what is required for you can be successful in your quest. All you have to do is follow the suggested exercise guidelines!

Often differences arise from what food is found in different parts of the world. Rarely will you find corn growing in Asia, but it is a staple in South American cooking. We who live near the oceans and lakes eat seafood, while those who live inland must import seafood, so the cost of cooking it may become prohibitive.

Sometimes religions prohibit certain foods. Kosher food does not include pork or shellfish. So Kosher cooking exists where large Jewish populations exist and can support Kosher markets and butchers.

Because only so many edible substances exist, cooking the same food different ways is often the only difference between tastes that come from different cultures. In South American countries, peppers are a dominant taste in food and the hotter the food, the better, while in North America, cooking with too much pepper would leave the food uneaten.

I think that one of the realizations all cooks come to is that food all over the world is much more the same than it is different. One only has to look at bread, found in all cultures and parts of the world. The French have crepes, the Greeks have pita, Indians have naan, Jews have blintzes, South Americans have tortillas. All breads, all different, yet all the same. We use them in the same way. We wrap our food in bread and generally find it at every meal. We make bread from corn, wheat, rice. If we can make flour, we can make bread. Each culture adds its own flavor because of what is grown locally, what has been passed down through the ages or what is accepted as culturally acceptable.

There are a few eating things to consider when wearing dentures:

-Chew slowly and take your time. It helps to take smaller bites and chew slower for a while. Divide bites in two pieces and chew each half on each side of your mouth.

-Do not bite directly down on crunchy or hard foods, like raw vegetables, hard pretzels and nuts. The dentures would be at risk of breaking at the angle where the denture meets the surface.

-With dentures, you cannot bit down as you could with natural teeth, so biting and chewing will be different. You need to now chew using both sides of your mouth.

-Try to avoid foods with bones. Your gums will be more sensitive at first.

-Stay away from nuts and seeds that may be able to slip underneath the dentures.

-You need to avoid hot and hard foods until the gum tissue gets used to the new dentures.

As time goes by and the more you get use to the dentures, you can add food until you get back to your normal diet.

If you need food that gives you lots of energy and you need it convenient for on-the-go eating, a protein bar can be the perfect solution. Protein bars contain enough protein to sustain your blood sugar level, while offering the carbs needed for that energy boost. For a less expensive energy-packed option, keep some grapes and cottage cheese on-hand. The complex carbs in the fruit coupled with the protein of the dairy food will give you lots of energy to get you through until the next meal. Cooking for foods with energy is just as easy – a lean meat along with healthy vegetables makes a meal full of foods that give you lots of energy.

With so many food choices available today, it can be confusing to know what kind of food to avoid. There are a few simple guidelines that can help you choose healthier options for your diet. When purchasing fresh foods such as meats and produce for use in your cooking, avoid those that have been genetically modified or have been grown using antibiotics or hormones. Organic is best, however if this is out of your price range, be sure to wash your produce thoroughly.

When shopping for packaged food, less ingredients usually means better. When possible, avoid food that contains preservatives and artificial colors or flavors. Stick to food without high fructose corn syrup and saturated fat. If you cannot pronounce an ingredient in a food, you should probably avoid it. Avoid foods that contain a lot of sugar and little nutritional value. For example, 100% fruit juice is superior to juice “cocktail” or soda pop. Avoid those foods which contain only white flour – go with whole grains if possible.

What kind of food to avoid also depends upon your allergies. Some foods which do not contain nuts, for example, may have been packaged on the same machinery as nut-bearing products, so check the labels carefully.

The foods that enhance sexual desire are commonly known as oysters and chocolate. These both are great evening mood enhancers. Caviar is also on the list. Avocados are a great aphrodisiac for your mate if he or she happens to be vegetarian. Often foods that resemble your mate’ sexual parts or reproductive parts can be used to set that sexy tone. These would be bananas, figs, asparagus, eggs, almonds and peaches. I am sure that there are many more. Just use your imagination. Herbs are also great stimulators. Coriander seed, garlic, nutmeg, ginger, and fennel can also put your sexual desires on a whole different level. Let us not forget wine and alcoholic beverages. This combination of lost inhabition and desire can create massive sparks in the bedroom.

Whatever you do, the scent and that special person have to be there to have possibly one of the greatest sexual encounters of your life.

Your day to day health is enhanced by these wonderful sources of Omega 3 oils and proteins that are found in Sushi of many varieties.