Archive for April, 2010
Some people like to add cream, milk, sugar and a litany of other ingredients to their coffee—but not me. I like my coffee to be pure, allowing me to enjoy the rich, natural flavor of the beans. If you are a purist like me, you know how important having top-of-the-line ingredients and equipment is if you are going to fully enjoy the unadulterated taste of a cup of coffee.
There are three main components to take into consideration: the beans, the water and the coffee maker. Since you save money by foregoing the cream and sugar, you can allocate more funds to invest in high-quality beans. It is also advisable to use purified water to prevent mineral deposits or an acidic taste. Finally, using a premium coffee maker will ensure that you are able to customize the strength of the coffee to your liking.
Deceptively simple in its preparation, pasta has been a cooking staple for centuries. Americans alone consume 14 pounds of pasta per year; imagine the vast quantities of spaghetti the Italians surely slurp. Few images say ”family” like a boiling pot of pasta in a busy kitchen.
We all think we know how to cook pasta. Believe it or not, there are a few basic techniques used to improve the taste and texture of pasta. Try adding a few cracks of sea salt from a salt mill to the pot to set up a tasty base for the succulent sauce. To anticipate the perfect consistency, do as the Italians do: test your pasta by tossing an occasional strand against the ceiling. If it sticks, you’re ready to dig in.