After you read the new Handbook
of Hassle-Free Homecookin, youll find cooking
easier and more enjoyable than before, whether you
cook for yourself or for others. Your kitchen work will
be smoother, your meal and entertainment planning more
effective. The information in this handbook takes the
mystery and guesswork out of cooking and food preparation!
This handbook is no ordinary
cookbook (most cookbooks are actually recipe books).
Instead of recipes, this handbook is filled with facts
about food, how to cook it, and how to serve memorable
meals effortlessly.
I've written this handbook in
plain English not fancy gourmet jargon. Its
for people like you who are serious about enriching your
experience of food and eating without fanciful
jargon, kitchen mess, wasted time and money.
This is a how-to book, designed
for use as a reference manual; youll come back again
and again. I dont expect you to remember all the
information herein. Thats why I carefully developed
an extensive index so you can quickly find topics of interest
when you need them.
I discuss some controversial
subjects, such as dietary fats (what kind? how much
or little?), cholesterol, heart disease, genetically engineered
foods, additives, etc. Please understand that new
information is discovered everyday about food, nutrition,
and biochemistry. I will tell you some of the technical
details so you can make informed decisions. I will tell
you how cooking food can affect its nutritional value
and biochemical makeup.
Further, I discuss topics seldom
if ever discussed in recipe books. Youll find
information about nutrition, kitchen safety, sanitation,
buying and storing food, how to conserve nutrients, ideas
for serving and entertaining, how to read food labels,
etc.
I discuss kitchen sanitation
and safety before discussing cooking because I believe
knowing about sanitation and safety is important before
going into the kitchen.
But you can read the chapters
in any order you want. Its your book!
(Click here
to order.)
Chapter 1. Introduction
The information in this handbook
takes the mystery and guesswork out of cooking
and food preparation!
Chapter 2. Whats a
Cook?
Simply put, a cook is someone
who prepares food for eating. But, theres more
to cooking than just fixing something to eat!
Chapter 3. Your Cooking is
Sensational!
As you've probably noticed,
theres a new upsurge in home cooking and entertaining
by both women and men. So, now theres a tremendous
opportunity to create a dazzling variety of dishes as
we enter a new era of high-tech kitchen gadgets.
Chapter 4. The Hassle-Free
Home Cookin Diet
We seldom give ourselves credit
for being able to choose our diet responsibly, without
others opinion or agreement. We "try" fad diets,
then (subtly) sabotage them, and then blame the diet when
we dont get the results we want. Well, heres
yet another diet for you to "try!"
Chapter 5. Kitchen Utensils
Its amazing how few utensils
it takes to make a kitchen functional. Why not obtain
the utensils that help you create great meals? As with
your other skills, you want the best tools-of-the-trade.
In this chapter, youll take inventory of your kitchen
utensils. Checklist included.
Chapter 6. Kitchen Sanitation
& Safety
This chapter tells you how to
have a clean kitchen while spending the least amount of
time and effort. Whether you do it this way or any
other way is entirely up to you. But, its easier
to produce results in the kitchen if its clean and
well organized. This chapter includes kitchen sanitation
and safety checklists and tells how to recognize signs
of food spoilage.
Chapter 7. Cooking and Preparing
Food
This chapter could make that
unmistakable difference for you whether you cook outside
or inside, whether you cook for 1 or 101! This chapter
includes many checklists you can use to streamline your
cooking activities. It discusses mixing methods, cooking
methods, herbs, spices, wine, soups, salads, sauces, and
gravies, vegetables, rice and pasta. Here youll
find a practical discussion about meat, fish and poultry,
with specific guidelines for buying, cooking, and serving
meats tender and tasty, with nutrients preserved.
This chapter also talks about
baking and shares secrets known only by professional bakers.
Here, youll discover little-known facts about
flour, sugar, shortening, leavening, and flavorings and
how they work together. Once you understand the ingredients,
you can make any baking recipe turn out the way you want
it!
Chapter 8. Conserving Nutritive
Values
Today, you can choose from a
great variety of foods that provide the vitamins, minerals,
protein, and other food nutrients needed for good health.
In this chapter, youll learn how to preserve
nutritive values in the foods you buy, such as, dairy
products, fruits and vegetables, canned goods, etc.
Chapter 9. Serving, Entertaining
& Added Extras
Chapter 9 tells you how food
experts use color and music to create magic mealtime moods.
From quick-bite snacks to regal festive dining, you
can use these same techniques to create your own magical
memorable meals. Treat your friends to a taste of your
own good life! Its fun!
Chapter 10. Proteins, Carbs,
Fiber & Fats
This section is a primer on
four nutrients essential for good health: proteins, carbohydrates,
fiber, and fats. What are they? What is a balanced
diet? Includes handy reference tables.
Chapter 11. Reading Food
Labels
Heres a summary of the
information youll find most often found on food
labels. What information is required? Optional? Youll
learn how to read labels, what the date codes mean, what
"imitation means," etc.
Chapter 12. Food Additives
Additives are plentiful and
put into our foods for several reasons. Mostly they are
products of modern technology. Because they are so
common in todays foods and so controversial, this
chapter with its index of additives, tells you what they
are, why theyre used, how theyre regulatedand
why you should become informed. Chapter includes table
of agents used as stabilizers, leavening, tenderizers,
conditioners, etc.
Chapter 13. Food Storage
Proper food storage is important
for food safety and to assure products safety
and quality. You must plan ahead to avoid many food storage
pitfalls. In this chapter, youll check out your
own kitchen, see what needs to be improved, and make needed
changes.
Chapter includes step-by-step
checklists for: basic storage, checking your supplies,
checking your refrigerator/freezer, wrapping procedures;
includes storage chart.
Chapter 14. More about Microwaves
Here you will learn more about
microwave radiation, how it cooks, and important safety
issues.
Chapter 15. The Food Pyramid
Here you will learn about the
USDA Food Guide Pyramid, its suggested nutritional
and dietary guidelines, how to make the pyramid work for
you, and some of the controversial and political ramifications.
Chapter also includes a simplified "food combining" formula
for improved digestion and nutrient absorption.
Chapter 16. What about Vitamins?
Less than 20% of us consumes
the recommended five to seven servings of fresh fruits
and vegetables daily. Food supplements dont
replace meals. Yet, many Americans remain deficient in
essential vitamins and minerals even when taking supplements
at maximum recommended dosage. Vitamin and mineral supplements
are far safer than many common over-the-counter "medicines."
This chapter discusses the politics
of how foreign "experts" could dictate to American
companies the maximum vitamins and minerals that can be
placed in food supplements! Congress has received more
letters on vitamins than any other issue!
Chapter 17. Cooking Cautions
One of my reviewers advised
me to exclude this information from the book. I thought
it over. Heres my simple reasoning. Although
this book is about how-to-cook, I believe it should also
include information about how-NOT-to-cook. This chapter
may be an eye-opener for you.
Index
I carefully developed an extensive
index so you can quickly find topics of interest when
you need them. Read The
Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin'
and get valuable information and streamlined cooking techniques
youll use for the rest of your life!
(Ready to order now?
Click here.)
The Handbook
of Hassle-Free Homecookin'
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 7
2. WHATS A COOK? 15
3. YOUR COOKING IS SENSATIONAL! 17
4. THE HASSLE-FREE HOME COOKIN
DIET 27
5. KITCHEN UTENSILS 33
- Taking Inventory of Your Kitchen
Utensils 33
- Thermometers & Scales 35
- Measuring Cups 36
- Kitchen Knives 37
- Microwave Ovens 43
- Microwave Oven Radiation 44
- Where to Shop for Utensils 47
- Caring for Kitchen Utensils 50
- Kitchen Inventory Checklist 52
6. KITCHEN SANITATION &
SAFETY 55
- Easy Kitchen Cleanup 55
- Kitchen Safety Tips 59
- Kitchen Sanitation 63
- Signs of Food Spoilage 65
7. COOKING AND PREPARING
FOOD 69
- Recipes, Mixing Methods, &
Cooking Methods 70
- Mixing Methods 73
- Cooking Methods 74
- Herbs, Spices, Salts, Flavorings,
even Wines 79
- Using Herbs & Spices in
Cooking 81
- Spice Chart 83
- Herb Chart 85
- Using Wine in Cooking 86
- Meat, Fish, Poultry 88
- Soups 107
- Salads 109
- Eggs 112
- Cheese 122
- Sauces & Gravies 128
- Vegetables 132
- Rice and Paste Products 136
- Baking 138
- Coffee, Tea, Cocoa 145
8. CONSERVING NUTRITIVE VALUES 149
- Introduction 149
- Vegetables 152
- Fruits & Fruit Juices 158
- Canned Foods 160
- Frozen Foods 162
- Meat, Poultry, & Fish 164
- Milk 166
- Eggs 168
- Cereals 169
9. SERVING, ENTERTAINING
& ADDED EXTRAS 173
- Cook with Color 173
- Music 177
- How To Get Entertainers 179
- Miscellaneous Party Tips 180
- Making Money At Home 187
- Mc Jacks 191
10. PROTEINS, CARBS, FIBER
& FATS 195
- Introduction 195
- Proteins 197
- Carbohydrates 202
- Dietary Fiber 206
- Fats 209
- Fats in Food and Diet 214
- Fat-Free Foods Subvert Weight-Loss
Efforts 231
- Modified Foods 233
11. READING FOOD LABELS 235
12. FOOD ADDITIVES 245
- Introduction 245
- Why Additives? 248
- Additive Regulations 250
- Additives Generally Recognized
as Safe GRAS 252
- Become Informed 254
- Additives Index 255
13. FOOD STORAGE 263
- Introduction 263
- Basic Storage Rules 264
- Checking the Stock 265
- Checking the Refrigerator 267
- Checking the Freezer 269
- Storage Chart 273
14. MORE ABOUT MICROWAVES 275
- What is Microwave Radiation? 275
- Cooking with Microwaves 276
- Microwave Oven Safety 278
- Microwave Ovens and Health 280
15. THE FOOD PYRAMID 283
- What is the Food Guide Pyramid? 283
- The Food Pyramids Nutrition
Advice 290
- Dietary Guidelines 291
- The Pieces of the Pyramid 293
- How to Make the Pyramid Work 294
- The Pyramids Food Groups 295
16. WHAT ABOUT VITAMINS? 303
- Is A Good Diet All You Need? 303
- Vitamins, Food Supplements &
Politics 305
- Aging & Politics 309
17. COOKING CAUTIONS 311
- Introduction 311
- The Dangers of Overcooking 313
- The Dangers of Undercooking 320
- The Dangers of Cooking at All 322
INDEX 329
Request for Reader Comments 343
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