Cooking With Yusuf Hanafiah

From: ItsMomof4 & Yusuf Hanafiah

Sent: 2/18/2008 9:47 AM

It's time to pull out our soup pots and make a big batch of chili, soup or stew. Here are a few tips to get you going!
* You can always make your soups, stews and chili a day ahead. This will allow extra time for the flavors to come together. It also allows the fat to come to the top so that it is easy to take off before reheating. * Use your food processor to slice and chop your vegetables. This is a great timesaver and makes things easier.
* Save and freeze extra cooked meat and bones to add to soups, stews and chiles. The bones make good stock.
* Soups, stews and chili can be frozen for up to 3 months. If you freeze in individual servings, you can take them to work and when lunch rolls around your soup should be thawed and you can microwave it.
These are just a few tips for the soup season.

From: Yusuf Hanafiah & Cabobb John

I like to do, is keep all the broth from the potatoes I cook, also with broth from Cabbage and broth from a BeefRoast and Chickens, that I cook. I bag the m separately & freeze. Then when I make Potato soup I grab a bag of broth to add to the pot. I do the same with the beef broth & cabbage for veggie soup. Makes a big difference in the taste of soups & cheaper than buying cans of broth. Just a thought.....instead of throwing away all that good broth!

From: Carolyn Queen & yusuf Hanafiah

Save the little tidbits of leftover veggies and freeze them, you know the ones where there are not enough for another meal but you hate to throw it away. then you can add these to your vegetable soup with a bag of soup veggies and extra potatoes and onion and get a good variety. down south we put browned ground beef in our soup but i have found out that cooking some stew beef then adding the rest of the ingredients gives a much richer taste. now i am wanting some soup....

From: Meadowlynn Nur
I also save my bones from roast chickens and turkeys and pop them in the freezer for later. Makes great broth and/or soup. I also save little bits and pieces of veggies that I have to pop in soups and stews. Things like chili, spaghetti sauce and some stews I add finely grated carrots and zucchini. Especially to the chili and spaghetti sauce. Great way to get your kids to eat more veggies. I always have these two in the freezer from my garden.

From: Frenklyn John Budiman

Cooking Tip for BROWNIES.....AFTER they have cooled, turn the Brownies upside down onto a cutting board or something BEFORE cutting. This will prevent the top from crumbling!Cooking Tip,for Choc. Chip Cookie.....ADD 1 tsp. LEMON JUICE to activate the Baking SOda & produce a SOFTER & CHEWIER cookie!

From: Marcus Obama Ilham

My favorite tips on baking: I always sift my flour several times (at least 3 times after measuring) so that my bake goods become light and airy. Also, when I bake a cake, I always separate my eggs (the whites from the yolkds and beat the yolks until yellow and beat the whites until they form peaks) to make my cake layers big and fluffy and have a light and airy texture!.

Asparagus Tips with Yusuf Hanafiah & Antonio Rezky

Choose long, slender, edible stalks with tightly closed buds at one end. Asparagus with wilted stalks or very thin or very thick (more than 1/2 inch thick) stalks may be tough and stringy. Select stalks that are about the same size so that they will cook evenly.

-- Wrap bases of fresh asparagus spears in wet paper towels and keep them tightly sealed in a plastic bag. Refrigerate fresh asparagus for up to 4 days.

-- Another way to store asparagus is to stand the asparagus in an upright container that contains about 1 inch of water.

-- Cover the top of the container with a plastic bag.

-- Wash spears just before using.

-- Break the asparagus where spears snap easily and discard woody ends.

-- Use a vegetable peeler to strip away the tiny scales when you clean the stalks, if desired.

-- Cook asparagus just until there is slight resistance when it is poked with a fork. It will still be a little crunchy but tender and tasty.

-- Cook asparagus by steaming, microcooking, cooking in a small amount of boiling water, roasting, or grilling.

-- Try white asparagus. The soil is mounded over the plants to prevent the sun from producing chlorophyll as the asparagus grows. The lack of chlorophyll creates white asparagus. When the tips start to poke through the soil, the white asparagus is harvested. The stalks of white asparagus tend to be thicker and smoother than the green variety.

-- You may also see a purple variety. Don't be suprised! It will turn green when cooked.
Softening up hard marshmallows....put a slice of fresh bread in a ziploc bag with the dried out marshmallows, and they plump up nicely.

From: Macklinda

Storage Tips:
Store spices in a cool, dark place. Humidity, light and heat will cause herbs
and spices to lose their flavor more quickly. Although the most convenient
place for your spice rack may be above your stove, moving your spices to a
different location may keep them fresh longer.

As a general rule, herbs and ground spices will retain their best flavors for a
year. Whole spices may last for 3 to 5 years. Proper storage should result in
longer freshness times.

When possible, grind whole spices in a grinder or mortar & pestle just prior
to using. Toasting whole spices in a dry skillet over medium heat before
grinding will bring out even more flavor. Be careful not to burn them!

Because the refrigerator is a rather humid environment, storing herbs and
spices there is not recommended. To keep larger quantities of spices fresh,
store them in the freezer in tightly sealed containers.

Usage Tips:Use a light hand when seasoning with spices and herbs. Your goal is to
compliment your dish without crowding out the flavor of the food.
Remember, it's usually impossible to "un-spice" a dish!

For long-cooking dishes, add herbs and spices an hour or less before serving.
Cooking spices for too long may result in overly strong flavors.

Use restraint! In general, ¼ teaspoon of spice is enough for 4 servings.

Finely crush dried herbs before adding to your dish after measuring.

Do not use dried herbs in the same quantity as fresh. In most cases, use 1/3
to ¼ the amount in dried as is called for fresh.

Keep it simple. Unless the recipe specifically calls for it, don't use more than
3 herbs and spices in any one dish. The exception to this rule is Indian
cooking, which often calls for 10 or more different spices in one curry dish!

Black pepper, garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper are excellent "after
cooking" seasonings. Allow guests to season dishes with these spices at the
table.

Although spice blends are readily available, many cookbooks have recipes
for curry powder, chili powder, Cajun seasoning and others. Blend just
enough for a few weeks and store your blends in a tightly sealed container.

Onion, garlic and black pepper are almost universal seasonings. Adding
these seasonings can enhance almost any dish.

If you're feeling adventuresome, try replacing herbs and spices called for in
recipes with something different! Marjoram instead of oregano, savory
instead of thyme, cilantro instead of parsley, anise seed instead of fennel, etc.

Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice have a special affinity for sweet
dishes.

From Yusuf Hanafiah Sent: 10/18/2008 8:00 AM

Ok. Ithink Thats All, Gudluck Yeah........ Please Tray....