Diamond Rings and More

Posts Tagged ‘gourmet’

Not very long ago, it was not at all unusual to see blind people walking the streets tap-tapping away with their white sticks, being guided by a dog, normally a Labrador, but I have not seen anyone like that in Britain for years, as far as I remember.

That has to become a good thing; it has to mean that we are starting to cure or at least improve most types of blindness.

My aunty had cataracts for years when I was a kid in the Sixties – it was just one of those facts of life. Some individuals got them when they were old and others did not.

My brother’s mother-in-law had cataracts in the late Nineties and she was enrolled on a two year waiting list to have them taken away, but at least she had hope and they were going to be taken away free of charge.

I do not know of anyone else that has eye trouble except myself. I could not get my glasses clean one day and then a friend said he saw a white spot in one of my eyes. He took me to the hospital and the optician said that I had ‘premature senile cataracts’.

Well, I live in Thailand now and he did not use those precise words. He told me that the cataracts were because I was prematurely senile.

I asked him if that was what he really meant; he looked it up in a book and we both had a hearty laugh about it, although he never really corrected himself.

My condition turned out to be a little more problematic than just cataracts, but when I went from the local hospital to a major hospital in Pattaya, the surgeon saw me within 30 minutes and asked me if I wanted the cataracts taken away.

I said that I did and she was prepared to do the operation there and then. I got it put off for 24 hours, but she would have sorted my eye out that day in a 30 minute operation, which does not need anaesthetic. I think that that was wonderful.

We have come a long way from habitually seeing blind people on the street and putting up with cataracts during a two-year waiting list to immediate removal of cataracts by laser surgery in 40-50 years.

At least we have in the Developed World and in the East as well, if you have the money. There are still millions of people in Asia and especially in Africa suffering blindness and partial blindness for the sake of an easy 30 minute operation.

Two weeks after my surgical treatment, my other eye started to cloud over. It was as if it had been holding on with its last scrap of strength until I got his mate sorted out.

I had that one done last year and when I was allowed to take off my patch and look around me with two decent eyes again for the first time in a decade, I could not believe that I had forgotten how bright the world actually is and that I had not noticed how dingy my world had gotten.

If you are worried about an eye operation, do not be. What you will experience when you are able to see properly again will make all the apprehension seem ridiculous and if you have the opportunity to give someone their eyesight back, please do it.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a variety of subjects, and is now involved with 500 Delicious Diabetic Recipes. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Easy Diabetic Meals

Some people have always contended that some fruits, nuts or vegetables are super foods. This is a contentious subject, but it has to be the case that some foodstuffs are better for you than others, but whether it is reasonable to hype up a foodstuff for a quick sale is another subject. Blueberries are a case in point. Are blueberries a super fruit or not?

Advocates of blueberries say that they are rich in antioxidants and that they can improve vision and reduce eye strain; enhance brain and memory functions and resist urinary tract infections (UTI’s). Blueberries are said to be rich in antioxidants and anthocyanins, but what are they?

Well, antioxidants are thought to counteract the effects of oxidation and free radicals, which are often associated with the development of cancer and anthocyanins are a form of flavonoids, which are also an anti-carcinogen.

Blueberries are also in the bottom category of the Glycemic Index. The Glycemic Index uses white bread as the marker against which every foodstuff is measured. Above 70 is thought to be high; between 56 and 59 is medium and below 55 is low. Blueberries, at 53, is at the high end of low. This is not important knowledge for many individuals, but it is important for dieters and diabetics.

Blueberries are said to improve eyesight because of the anthocyanins, which reinforce the capillaries, which would assist the flow of blood to the eyes, which may help conserve vision. This would improve eye strain or eye tiredness

If this assists preserve vision, it would also delay hair loss, because hair loss is normally associated with a lack of blood/nutrition to the hair follicles which then simply die of starvation, as in male pattern baldness.

Blueberries are a fruit high in flavonoids which are antioxidants as stated above. Some people claim that flavonoids can improve the connections between neurons in the brain, which would almost certainly increase mental capacity.

It may also slow down the degeneration of brain cells and so also the traditionally-perceived degeneration in mental capacity that is associated with old age. If this is a fact, then the consumption of blueberries would also help slow down the progression of lack of motor control: that is, it could help the elderly move more smoothly, less inelegantly.

However, the same people will admit that to make a 5-6% improvement in motor skills would probably take a daily consumption of around 100 grammes per day, which is naturally not an insignificant amount, even if you like them and grow them yourself.

It has also been stated that the daily consumption of blueberries reduces the quantity of LDL in the blood, which is popularly called ‘bad cholesterol’.

If you want to test the effects of eating blueberries on yourself, here are a few suggestions on how you can incorporate them into your diet.

Fresh blueberries: eat while in season but freeze as much as you can get hold of.

Frozen blueberries: cook in pancakes, muffins and put in home-made ice-cream.

Dried blueberries: eat like raisins as a snack or coat in chocolate.

In this manner, you will be able to resolve the question for yourself : blueberries are they a super fruit?

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now concerned with how to cook for diabetics. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Cookbooks For Diabetics.

Sandwiches are one of the first ever fast food recipes. You can make them in advance and take them with you, they can be consumed hot or cold but they do not require re-heating. Sandwiches can include meat or not and in fact are a robust meal for a vegetarian. Sandwiches are the vegetarian’s answer to a hamburger. So, I have put three very healthy sandwich recipes below that do not involve meat.

Recipe 1

French Onion Sandwiches Serves 4

2 tablespoons butter or margarine 4 ounces seasonal mushrooms, chopped pretty small 1 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings 1 cup vegetable stock 1 tablespoon cornflour 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1 clove garlic, chopped finely or 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder Dash of pepper 4 (1-inch) slices French bread, toasted 2 (1-ounce) slices Swiss cheese, halved (optional)

In a large skillet melt butter. Add mushrooms and cook on medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until tender. Remove from skillet, retaining juice.

Cook onion in juice until tender.

Combine stock, cornflour, Worcestershire sauce, garlic (or garlic powder) and pepper. Add to skillet. Cook and stir until bubbly. Boil and stir 2 minutes more.

Place mushrooms on bread. Top with cheese and onion mix.

Recipe 2

Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches Serves 4

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced 1 large egg white 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper 1 pound green tomatoes (3 medium), cut in 1/2-inch slices 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise dressing 1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives 4 green-leaf lettuce leaves 8 slices firm whole-grain or white bread, toasted

Cook mushrooms. Drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, in pie pan, beat egg white with salt. In another pie pan, combine cornstarch and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Dip tomato slices in egg-whites to cover both sides, then dip in cornmeal to coat both sides well. Lay on waxed paper.

In mushroom juice in skillet, cook tomato, a few at a time, over medium-high heat until golden brown and heated through, around 3 minutes. Drain.

In small bowl, combine mayonnaise, yogurt, chives and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread on toast. Arrange lettuce, tomatoes, and mushrooms between toast slices.

Recipe 3

Greek Salad Heroes Serves 2

3/4 cup thinly sliced fresh mushrooms 1/2 cup thinly sliced cucumber 2 tablespoons ripe olives 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano 2 Roma or small tomatoes, thinly sliced 1 clove garlic, minced 2 (2 1/2 ounce) submarine rolls 2 lettuce leaves

Combine first 8 items in a small bowl; toss lightly. Let stand for 30 minutes, mixing occasionally.

Cut a thin slice off the top of each roll and set aside.

Cut a 2-inch wide, V-shape wedge down the length of each roll (as they do at Subway). Set aside bread wedges for another use.

Drain vegetable mixture. Line each roll with a lettuce leaf and spoon vegetable mixture evenly on top, cover with roll tops.

These healthy sandwich recipes without meat make a lovely snack or light luncheon but can be kept fresh in a lunch box all day.

If you would like to know more about Welsh food, food in general or cooking eggs in particular, please go over to Traditional Welsh Recipes

The management of waste is an important part of cooking, which is part of household management. One of the first things to comprehend while contemplating waste is the difference between waste and refuse. Waste is the disposal of something that could have been consumed, whereas refuse is the disposal of something that could not have been consumed.

This is an important distinction, because there is little you can do with something like, say, egg shells, but if you buy so many eggs that half of them go off before you can use them, it is a different question. Over buying is tough, particularly if you strive to do most of your shopping in one session.

The secret to wasting less is in experience and know-how. For example, if beef rises above a particular cost an inexpert cook may decide to purchase pork or lamb, yet the choice is not that easy, because there is much more inedible fat in pork and lamb than there is in lean beef.

After poor selection of products, the next biggest source of waste is choosing the wrong way of preparing or cooking the food. Peeling too thick or cooking at a very high heat are good examples of this difficulty.

A successful week’s menu ought to supply all the nutrients, vitamins and fibre that a person requires. We do not have to eat all vitamins and all nutrients each day, yet there are some that we should eat every day and we ought to eat enough fibre every day as well. This is not a problem to set up. Specialists recommend eating five portions of fruit and vegetables each day, yet maybe the skill comes in providing variation to avert boredom.

Some people can accomplish this variation pretty intuitively, but for the rest of us there is another line of attack and it is called planning. You can easily plan the meals for a week before you go shopping. Planning your meals like this will also save you money, because it discourages impulse purchasing. If you still have an issue with impulse buying, order your groceries through their web site.

Two good tips for holding costs down yet for still providing variety were also largely ostracized in the Seventies and Eighties, but which are also experiencing a come-back now are: eating seasonal, local food and preparing three (or at least two) course meals.

Local seasonal ingredients are cheaper than stuff flown in from half-way around the world (or should be) and starting dinner off with soup and a bread roll and finishing it with a dessert means that you do not have to eat so much of the main course, which is normally the most costly of the three courses.

If you want to read more about Welsh food, food in general or cooking eggs in particular, please go over to Traditional Welsh Recipes

There was a time, say thirty or forty years ago, when vegetarians had a difficult time telling non-vegetarians why it was so imperative to stop eating meat. The situation was exacerbated because vegetarians back then did not get the support from the food manufacturers and supermarkets that they do now either. In brief, it was far more difficult to become a vegetarian than it is now.

Moreover, in those far off days, lots of hippies and others following an ‘alternative’ lifestyle were first generation vegetarians and so they could not look to their parents for support and advice. Those individuals are now in their forties and fifties with children and even grandchildren of their own, many of whom are also vegetarian.

Being second or even third generation vegetarian is very different from being first, not least because they have been able to see the effects of a vegetarian lifestyle on their parents and even grandparents. It might never cross such a person’s mind to crave a bacon sandwich with tomato sauce or a French dip beef sandwich au jus, because the idea is abhorrent to them.

They have not had to make a conscious decision or a huge physical effort to strip meat from their diet after perhaps eating it for twenty years or more. My father gave up meat for ethical as well as practical reasons when he was sixty and he craved ‘bacon butties’ (sandwiches) for the rest of his life. He found it hard.

His reasons for giving up meat were pretty typical: he objected to the callousness to animals that is brought about by intensive farming techniques in some countries; he objected to the use of hormones and preservatives in live animals and he believed that eating so much meat was not a sustainable lifestyle for a growing world populace, that was growing increasingly rich enough that everybody would would like to eat more meat sooner or later.

Society does not help or encourage the would-be vegetarian. The farming industry has grown huge and they have a vested interest in selling us their dairy, meat and eggs. It is hard to escape pictures and hoardings marketing their products. Although the situation is better these days, restaurants still cater usually to the meat-eaters and vegetarian meals always appear small and expensive by comparison.

Luckily there are plenty of ‘Eastern’ restaurants that cater naturally to the vegetarian because many Easterners are vegetarian. You can always find vegetarian meals on a Chinese, Japanese or an Indian menu. Hindus are vegetarian. Thai restaurants will also have a high quantity of meatless meals.

However, if you do not like spicy food, you are back in the pizza hut or the sandwich bar in most towns. Society has moved on, but there is still a long way to go but the vegetarian life is definitely getting easier to maintain. There is comfort in numbers, so it would be worth taking vegetarian cookery lessons if your resolve begins to weaken.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of subjects, and is now involved with how to cook for diabetics. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Cookbooks For Diabetics.