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Smart Eating
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No, I don't mean call all friends named Herb to season your life. I'm talking about the much neglected herbs that can season your foods.
Low fat eating generates one legitimate complaint. Foods can seem bland. Since fats, (along with salt and sugar) provide the dominant taste of most foods, replacing them requires ingenuity. One of the most overlooked and underrated kitchen ingredients are herbs.
Herbs have a wonderful capacity to enhance the flavor of foods. And, whether you live in an apartment with sparse room for plants or in the country where you can have a full fledged herb garden these plants can add seasoning to your life before and during cooking.
Here are some helpful hints to introduce you to cooking with herbs:
- The flavor of fresh herbs are more "alive" than dried. If you use dry herbs replace them often and store them in a cool, dark place.
- Go easy, especially at first. Use herbs subtly, adding just enough to heighten food flavors. Start with l/4 teaspoon of dried herbs to four servings. If you use fresh herbs use 3 to 4 times as much. Drying concentrates the flavor.
- Add herbs at the same time as salt and pepper to meats, vegetables, sauces and quick soups. When slow-cooking foods such as stews, adding a dash of herbs during the last half hour of cooking to generate mouth watering aromas that bring family and friends to the table quickly.
- Improve the color and flavor of dried herbs by moistening them with a liquid, using two parts to one parts herbs. Suit the liquid to the dish you're preparing such as lemon juice for salads or broths for meats.
- Add herbs to cold sauces early. Allow them to stand overnight if possible.
- Herbs of any kind, when used judiciously, can make an ordinary dish simply fantastic.
| Smart Eating | Lifestyles |
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