Quality ingredients. Are they still important in cooking?

Life in a hurry forces us to adjust every aspect of our lives to a fast-paced race throughout the day. We need quick fixes for everything: transportation, tasks, food. We suffer from time deficiency. It shows in how and what we eat. Are quality ingredients important in cooking?

We don’t give much thought about the ingredients, while ordering at a fast-food restaurant. We want it here and now and move on. Still, we demand high quality and rich flavours from the dishes that we eat. By now we’re used to processed food. Even restaurants find salvation in products that are easier to stock and last longer. This little, dark secret becomes a reality for many restaurants these days. Luckily, there are places, which still believe that nothing can replace the rich flavour of fresh ingredients. 

In search of the best flavor

The healthy life style re-introduces us to the world of rich flavor. Processed food and artificial flavors are not healthy. It needs preservatives and chemicals to last. The products lose taste and the dishes have an average, flat taste. That’s why food with fresh ingredients has the upper hand. It’s easy to bring out from those products their best qualities. The dishes are a lot more nutritious and have a far better impact on improving health.

Local supply and seasonal dishes

Restaurants, like Salt Flakes London, know that food is an unforgettable experience. It can only be achieved with fresh and local ingredients. The dishes are visually more alluring on the plate. It’s easier to bring out the best qualities from the cuisine. It’s a real feast of tastes and quality.

The restaurant goers start to notice the beneficial impact of local food suppliers. The items don’t have far to travel from the local farm to the restaurant table. The seasonal menus re-introduce people to the best nutritional gems of local cuisine.

In a fast-paced world, we need to notice the need for a better-quality food. Restaurants, which pay attention to freshness and quality, will be victorious in the race for the best flavour.

Meat Handling Claws and a Recipe for Bihon or Rice Noodles

#TGIF! Thank God It's Friday, it's been a long week for us because my husband  worked  Monday.  He is  off on Mondays but he decided to work  this week because he wants to have some extra cash for the coming of Christmas season.  But anyway,  I was very busy today.  I spent my entire morning cleaning our home and after that I  prepared some food.  

 Before I give you the recipe for pancit or bihon or rice noodles, I would like to  thank Cavetools for this meat handling claws that made my cooking time a little quicker today.  These high quality meat shredding forks is awesome to have in the kitchen if you  love to cook because it makes it easier  to handle the meat and shred it.  I love that I don't have to wait for the meat to get cold before I can shred it.  This will be great for pulled pork, chicken, beef, brisket, turkey, hams, roasts.  I also love  that you can  handle it  with its barbecue handler paws design.  This would be a great  gift this Christmas for your Mom or wife or sister  who love to cook.  You can use the discount code  MEATCLAW15 for 15% off via amazon.

 Now for the recipe of this favorite Filipino food we called bihon. 

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 pack of rice sticks or bihon
• 1 lb chicken breast
• 2 chopped shallots
• 2 stalks of celery chopped
• 2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
• Chinese cabbage, sliced 
• 1/2 cup of  soy sauce
• boiled eggs
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup  coconut oil.
• 1 chicken cube
• 2 quarts of water
• 1 lemon, sliced.

 Procedure:

• Boil 2 quarts of water, add the  chicken cub,  and cook the chicken breast.   When the meat is cook, take it out the pan and  shred  it using the meat claws or you can use fork.  I used to shred  it by my hands and I sometimes get burned since I rushed especially if I don't have  enough time.  I don't like using fork because it takes longer for me to get it done but you can definitely use fork.  Don't throw  away the broth.

• Cook the noodles in the chicken broth for 5 minutes.  The noodles will most likely absorb all of it and  the flavor of the chicken.  

•  Boil the eggs and when it's done, dump the hot water and replace it with ice cold water.  This would make peeling off the shell easier.  Slice the eggs and  put it away to garnish the noodles later.

• Heat the coconut oil in a pan and  saute the  shallots,  carrots, and celery for  3 minutes then add the Chinese cabbage.  Cook for another 2 minutes then add the veggie and meat mixture to the noodles on a separate  pan or wok and mix it up.  Add the soy sauce, salt, and pepper.  Cook for another 5 minutes and then serve while it is hot.  Garnish it with sliced eggs and squeeze some lemons on your plate.  Enjoy!

 Today was a busy day but a very special day for my son.  This is the first time he  ever invited a friend at our home.  My son and his best friend always play at their house but this is the first time he came to our home so I wanted  it to be special for both of them.  I made a snack platter with veggies and fruits and I also made some pigs in a blanket.  Then donuts for sweet treat at the end. 

 They definitely made use every minute of their time.  They played with their car collection after we  all ate then they went outside and ride  the green machine and the rocker board.  They also passed football and  watched  a movie.

Don't forget to grab a pair of the meat claws on Amazon or at Cave Tools website.  It's really a handy tool in the kitchen, I love it!

Disclosure: The owner of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review.  I was provided with the complimentary product/s mentioned  for testing purposes and to help me  facilitate this review but  opinions are my own.

Lentil

If it just me, I would cook lentil regularly.  I love  lentils  and I cook it  the way we cook  our mung beans.  My husband and kids love it when I  sautee sausages in it.  I always have a bag of lentils in my pantry because I crave for it  once in a while.  Lentils are not only delicious but they are healthy and affordable.

Here are some benefits of eating lentils according to the article that I read online. 

• a  single cup of cooked lentils contains 16 grams of dietary fiber
• cooked lentils provide 18 grams of protein per cup
• each cup of cooked lentils has 358 micrograms of folate. 
• a cup of lentils provides 87 percent of the iron men need daily and 38 percent of the amount a woman needs. 

I will have to  include the recipe of this  yummy lentil next time.