Author Archives: Better Baking Bible

Are you Re-decorating Your Kitchen and Home? Here are 4 Things You Need to Replace!

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If you are thinking about giving your kitchen and home a whole new look, keep reading!

Dining Chairs

To begin with, when a dining table goes out of fashion or its color fades out, we rush into an online or local store to replace it with a more modern one or at least refurbish it. But what about dining chairs? They are made of wood (oak, chestnut etc.) or steel or iron. They also come into all kinds of coloring such as black, grey, white or more fascinating ones as oatmeal or brushed hues. They can be truly inspiring in terms of style since on the market we can find Antoinette, vintage, French Louis or studio sorts of chairs. In terms of pricing, they vary between 100€ and 300€. You have to be very cautious though while thinking of their height and I am not referring only to the height of the back but mainly to that of the seat. Besides, a high-rise seat won’t suit a short table and you won’t be able to sit properly and enjoy your meal. Vice versa, a short chair can’t be combined with a tall table as you will struggle to reach the middle of the table or even worse your own dish!

COFFEE TABLES

Except for the dining room, living room has got a special place in our heart as well and we hunger it to make us feel like home. So, we select carefully our sofas and we confirm that they fit and suit the provided space in terms of dimensions, design trends, shade, coziness. Will it be a double or a triple sofa or are we going to need some armchairs, too? Should they be of similar tinting to the kitchen and the dining or must they make a difference and stand out from the rest of the furniture?

Nonetheless, you have already missed on something important, a subtle detail that could transform the whole living room-a coffee table! The place you share food and drinks with friends or read your beloved newspaper or magazine. Yeah, I guess some of you already own one but it may be a bit odd or damaged already as time goes by. Now, it’s about time you traded it. Let’s check on available options. Starting off with pricing, they range from 85€ to 600€ so it won’t be a major concern to get it at a price you feel happy with. It’s not only about that for sure. You have to decide on the style-they’re made of. To name but a few wood, metal, steel or mirrored glass and shape (oval, round, rectangular, square and so on) are used, so you’ll find yourself spoilt for choice!

STOOLS

OK, now picture that… You think everything is arranged since you’ve just been delivered your new sofas and armchairs. You have also received a brand-new coffee table as well as a TV set. What about a stool to rest your feet after a hard day at the office? Did you forget about that? You will claim “I’ll lie along the sofa to rest my whole body” but you can’t unfortunately since the rest members of the family want their space as well. So, what are you waiting for? Surf the Net and order your individual stool as soon as possible. They are constructed of oak wood, antique glass, fabric and other kinds of materials to suit your needs and taste. No matter how your living room is decorated, you will land a tasteful stool no matter what. The prices begin from 119€ and top up to 349€ depending on the size, shape and style. Wait no more and place your order now at www.my-furniture.com.com.au to get great value for money furniture.

BEDSIDE TABLES

Now let’s move on to the master and the rest of the bedrooms. There, you might need to look after a lot of stuff. Maybe as a family you will be led to the decision to refresh or change the color on the walls or putting new closets. Apart from that, if drapes are damaged and worn, they should end up in a second-hand store. For sure, the bed or the mattress itself could be replaced with new, more elegant and comfortable ones. And the bedside tables..? Have you totally forgotten about them? Haven’t you had enough of this old-fashioned wenge wood hue already? I know you have. Let’s start considering throwing them away and buying mirrored glass or acacia wood ones. Don’t forget though to play with mix-and-match styling and think of the use they are aimed to. Will the bedside table will be the place of a lamp or they need to fit all your underwear? Keep your mind clear and go easy on your final choices!!!

There are so many different ways to glam up your kitchen, and a lot that you can do all by yourself. Whether it be purchasing new furniture, revamping existing furniture, changing the color scheme of your kitchen, or learning how to fit skirting boards to match your new kitchen cabinets, there is always a way to make your kitchen chic. This year there are tons of beautiful bold decorating trends, making it the perfect time to experiment with new trends and have some fun!

Cocktails at Home with Grenadine Syrup

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Homemade cocktails are not as hard as you may think! Here are some easy ways to make a juicy cocktail at home in no-time!

Making a cocktail at home is not as hard as some people may think. It is actually a very common practice in these financially hard economic times that we are living in today because saving money is a top priority. Saving money is more important than ever before, however, you still want to be able to enjoy your earnings without the guilt of spending, especially the way we may spend when we are in a bar atmosphere type of setting. 

With the right tools, you too can make these at home cocktail drinks just by having a few key supplies available such as the alcohol, which are spirit(s) of your choice, the right kind of syrup to go with the spirit you have chosen, and it also helps by having a cocktail shaker. Once you have these tools that are needed to successfully make your cocktails yourself, you will be in business and you can impress your friends and family with your new technique in making refreshing inexpensive cocktails at home. If you want to add a special twist to those at home cocktails, try adding some delicious Monin syrups. There are some really good syrups, like Grenadine Syrup, that can be added to your spirits. Some of the very popular cocktail drinks that can be made at home are:

  • Mojito
  • Martini
  • Daiquiri
  • Margarita
  • Negroni

Savory or Sweet with Grenadine Syrups

When you are making these cocktails at home, the choices are endless and some of the most common cocktails made with grenadine are drinks like Tequila Sunrise, Sea Breeze, Zombi, Pink Lady, and many more. Alcohol is not the only thing that can be used to make these delicious and refreshing drinks. You can add your choice of flavorful non-alcoholic syrups to give that extra twist to not only your cocktails, but you can do savory or sweet dishes like baking cookies, cakes, pies, including chicken recipes. Also, put a little on some ice cream; you can create some interesting flavors.

Tips About Grenadine Cocktails

To understand the term grenadine, it originates from the word grenade. This is the French word for the primary ingredient used which is pomegranate. This word comes from the Italian word pome, meaning apple, and granite, meaning seed. Hence the term grenadine. Grenadine is a non-alcoholic syrup and it is red in color and the taste of grenadine is sweet and tart. When this drink is made in places like a bar or restaurant, the bartender will usually add this syrup in to give the drink a reddish or pinkish color. 

Grenadine syrup is made out of pomegranate juice and water and sometimes it is flavored with a few drops of lemon juice. Bartenders, oftentimes, like to use blackcurrant juice for a more pronounced tart flavor profile and it contains no corn syrup or red dyes. For example, if you wanted to make that Pink Lady cocktail, the ingredients needed are gin, lemon juice, egg whites, grenadine, and Maraschino cherry. If you wanted to make a Zombie even more potent, it contains four types of rums and brandy which are light rum, navy rum, orange rum, overproof rum, and apricot brandy. The other ingredients you would need are lemon juice, lime juice, and orange juice. If you are not sure what kinds of alcohol to use, here is a list of some of the most common spirits purchased to make cocktails at home:

  • Gin
  • Bourbon
  • Rye Whiskey
  • Rum (Light or Dark)
  • Absinthe

These are just naming a few of the spirits you can use to make these cocktails while at home.

These syrups are widely popular. Chefs around the world are incorporating these delicious syrups into their desserts and their cocktail recipes and they are telling us what inspired them to do so. These types of non-alcoholic syrups are becoming very popular across the world and the trend for them is continuously growing. The fact that the syrups can be used for a variety of things across the board makes grenadine syrup that much more interesting to explore.

5 Ways To Make Your Kitchen More Baking-Friendly

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 There is nothing sweeter than the smell of home baked goods spreading throughout your house. The candied air, thick with powdered sugar, and the delicate spice of cinnamon give you a warm, fuzzy feeling – and make your stomach rumble!

Photo: Bakes & Kropp Fine Cabinetry – Maid Sailors Home Cleaning

Baking is often presented as a scientific process with many variables that could negatively affect the outcome. Many people struggle to perfect their cakes, cookies, and pastries in their kitchens. We all know the old saying, ‘a good workman never blames his tools’. When it comes to baking, however, it could be your environment and equipment that are causing all your cakes to collapse and your cookies to melt into buttery puddles!

If you’re keen to get your baking groove on, here are 5 brilliant ways to make your beautiful kitchen more baking-friendly.

1. Change your countertops

We’ve all been there. No matter how much flour you dust onto your countertop, your dough will just not stop sticking! The surface you’re working on can either make it easier or harder to make your baked goods. If only you had a better kitchen…If you plan to experiment with pastry and bread-making in particular, you should really think about the material your work surface is made of.

Marble, whilst quite pricey, is praised highly for pastry-making in particular as it keeps cool and makes it easy to roll out your pastry dough for laminating. If you can’t afford to resurface all of your counters, you could source a large block of your chosen material to place on top of your original counter when you need it.

Pick a material that is easy to clean too, as you’ll likely be making a lot of mess while you’re in baking mode!

2. Pretty pantry

Your pantry holds the key to a world of experimental baking. To make your kitchen more baking-friendly, you absolutely must have a well thought-out pantry storage system in place. Baking ventures often flop when you use poor quality ingredients. We’re all guilty of impulsively purchasing quirky flours or bulk-buying ingredients on sale. If you don’t keep track of what you have and when it expires, you might end up with a cake that is tasteless and flat as a pancake!

Organising the contents of your pantry into categories will make it easy for you to grab and go when you’re in a hurry to whip something up. Employing handy storage solutions like lazy susans or basket containers will help keep ingredient categories together.

3. Upgrade your equipment

The last thing you want after spending an afternoon mixing dough, chilling it for a few hours, and carefully cutting it into delicate shapes, is for your cookies to stick to a grimey cookie sheet, never to be tasted. Make your kitchen baking-friendly by filling your cupboards with good quality equipment that covers you for all your potential baking needs.

If you make a rocking banana bread, make sure you have a sturdy loaf tin. Maybe you make exquisite cupcakes with the most delicious buttercream frosting – carry a decent cupcake tin, cupcake liners, and quality piping bags!

Your cupboards should include all the basic baking essentials like a mixing bowl or two, spatula, whisk, knives, and baking pans. The best baked goods are never the result of makeshift cake tins formed out of other cooking materials you have on hand.

4. Pay attention to your appliances

Crucial to moist and chewy baked goods is a good-functioning oven. If your oven is dirty, the smell of caked on grease will permeate into your cakes – yuck! The grime might also affect the temperature control which will affect the timings and rise of your baked goods.

You should carry out a monthly oven clean to keep it in ship shape for baking. This doesn’t need to be difficult and you don’t need to use toxic chemicals to scrape the gunge off either.

Simply make a paste out of bicarbonate of soda and water and lather the inside of your oven with it. Shut the door and leave it overnight. The next day, return with a spray bottle of vinegar and a sturdy cloth or sponge for scrubbing. Spray vinegar on a patch of paste and watch it fizz and dissolve. Start scrubbing it off and at the end you’ll be left with a lovely shiny oven – free of odours!

5. Easy cleaning

When you’re baking, it can be easy to become overwhelmed by the number of ingredients you have spilling out over your counter and the growing pile of equipment in your sink, waiting to be washed. Cleaning up is an inevitable part of baking so make it easy for yourself.

Install a taller faucet at your kitchen sink to make it easier to pile bulkier cooking equipment in. It’s a pain to clean large mixing bowls in a tiny sink, so this will give you a lot of extra space to work with. Always have a supply of clean cloths and surface spray at the ready to wipe down your surface at regular intervals during the baking process.

Get your bake on!

These 5 tips will make your kitchen more baking-friendly, removing the uncertainty about what your final cake will look and taste like. Making sure you have fresh ingredients and a clean and functional work environment will make the process more enjoyable and far easier!

Dirty Dishes? How Your Dishwasher Might be the Problem

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Have you ever opened your dishwasher, only to find a stack of dirty dishes? Dishwashers are designed to make our lives easier, but when they stop working correctly they can leave us with our hands full!

More households than ever before rely on a dishwasher to clean their dishes, with dishwashers found in as much as 46% households. It’s far from uncommon for your dishwasher to fail to clean dishes properly. Below, we’ve listed four common reasons for your dishwasher to fail to fully clean its contents, from blockages and valve damage to issues with your water temperature or pre-washing process.

Failing water inlet valve

Dishwashers have an inlet valve that controls the flow of water into the dishwasher. Over time, this valve can become worn out and less durable than normal. After a lot of wear, it’s possible that the valve can fail, preventing water from flowing into the dishwasher effectively.

Most of time, a failing water inlet valve will start to become noisy, creating a tapping sound that you should be able to notice while your dishwasher is operating. The solution: for this problem, you’ll need to call in the experts to have the valve replaced and the dishwasher repaired.

Inadequate water flow

Even if your dishwasher’s water inlet valve is working properly, it’s possible that too little water is flowing into the machine from your home’s water supply.

If you have low water pressure at home, this could affect your dishwasher. It’s also possible that the pipe supplying water to the dishwasher could be blocked, reducing the pressure and holding back water that should be flowing in.

In either case, you can check this problem by opening your dishwasher door during the washing cycle, just after it’s finished filling with water. If the water line isn’t above the heating coil, there’s simply not enough water inside for the dishwasher to function correctly.

Overly low water temperature

Your dishwasher needs hot water to be able to soften food waste and other debris that’s stuck on your dishes. Even with the right amount of water and detergent, a lack of heat can make it impossible for even the most powerful dishwasher to get rid of stubborn food scraps.

Just like inadequate water flow, this usually isn’t a problem with your water heater. Instead, it’s usually caused by setting the water temperature on your boiler too low. To check, use a thermometer to check the temperature of your hot water as it comes out of the tap. If it’s not between 50°C and 65°C, it’s probably not hot enough to soften any leftover food scraps on your dishes.

Not enough pre-washing

While your dishwasher should be more than powerful enough to clean away most food waste, it isn’t a piece of magic technology. If you put plates with lots of firm food waste stuck to to them in your dishwasher, there’s a good chance it won’t be strong enough to completely wash it away.

To get the best results from your dishwasher, try pre-washing your dishes before you put them inside. This is particularly important for dishes covered in food waste that can harden, such as rice, porridge and other starches, as well as some sauces. It also helps to use the right type of detergent. If you still see food waste on your dishes after pre-washing, consider trying a more powerful detergent that’s better suited to loosening food waste.

Easy Ways to Cook Healthy Food

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Cooking food at home is definitely the way to go if you truly want to be as healthy as you can be, here are some easy ideas that will make this process a breeze!

If you regularly eat food from restaurants, you will find it very difficult to lead a healthy and sustainable lifestyle in any meaningful way. Part of this has to do with the fast cooking methods that are used, methods that imbibe your food with highly damaging elements that will be a serious burden on your health. Cooking food at home is definitely the way to go if you truly want to be as healthy as you can be, and there are tons of easy recipes like simple low calorie tuna salad, chicken wraps, and more! Almost 90% of people you see around you do visit the gym a couple times in the week just to keep fit; but some of these people do visit the gym consecutively for the whole week just to keep fit and exercise of course. BUT – it’s not enough if you don’t eat a healthy diet either.

These are some ways in which you can make the food you cook at home a bit healthier for everyone that might be eating it as well as becoming a better home cook the easy way!

Make Low Fat Sauces

Cooking healthy food does not necessarily mean that you will have to eat bland offerings regularly, you just need to cut down on the aspects of your meals that are contributing the most to the fact that they are truly unhealthy. For example, you don’t have to stop eating pasta. Indeed, pasta can be a delicious meal that can leave you feeling nice and full therefore preventing mid meal snacking which can be a huge cause of unintentional and often uncontrollable weight loss. It’s not the pasta itself which is bad for you, it is the other things you add to it.

Sauces are a great way to flavor your foods and they add a delicious element to your meals that would make you truly enjoy them. That being said, if your sauces are full of cream, cheese and butter, they won’t be very food for you. Using the pasta example once again, making a light tomato based sauce would be a much better idea. You would get a delicious meal without any of the unhealthy ingredients that are full of saturated fat.

Change Your Cooking Style

Chicken in and of itself is not an unhealthy food. Indeed, it can be a perfectly healthy way to fill up your stomach and give your body some much needed protein. However, deep fried chicken is definitely not good for you at all. So what is the difference here between the same pieces of meat, why is one healthy while the other is so terrible for you? A lot of this has to do with the manner in which the chicken has been cooked. Deep frying soaks the chicken in unhealthy fat which is why you should avoid it as much as possible.

However, if you were to grill your chicken, not only would it still be absolutely delicious but it wouldn’t be nearly as unhealthy as the alternative. Steaming is also a great way to cook your food without making it bad for you, although steamed chicken might not taste all that great. If you really want fried chicken, there are alternative frying methods that you can opt for instead of deep frying. Shallow frying is not exactly the best way to cook your food healthily but it is miles better than deep frying and often results in absolutely delicious chicken. If you want to avoid oil completely and still fry your food, air frying is a great option that you can think about.

Use a Meal Prep Service

One of the most difficult aspects of eating in a truly healthy manner has to do with the fact that you might not know exactly what you want to cook on any given day. Making choices like this can be so hard that you might retreat to the same old comfortable options you are used to, options that are not exactly well known for being healthful in any serious way. You can opt for a healthy meal prep delivery service to help yourself out in this regard. These meal prep services will give you all the ingredients you need for your meal along with a recipe that will tell you how to cook your meal. This is certainly going to make the cooking process far easier than it would have been otherwise, and will give you a plan that you can follow in your quest to eat healthier food.

How To Turn Your Simple Recipe Into A New And Fun Cakes

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Spice up your cake baking by turning a simple recipe into a whole other ball game. Here’s how!

Baking is fun but believe me no matter how much tasty your cake is, if you keep repeating the same recipe of plain old cake, after a certain time, your kids will be like “Again??!!”. It is going to be really frustrating experience that after all the effort and love you put into it, no one is appreciating it because its just your simple old recipe.

There doesn’t have to be a magic trick to make things better. It just lies in simple ways that can be used to make your kids believe that you have made something new. Before we look into tricks that you can play on your cake, let me share my favourite cake recipe that never fails.

The Simple Cake Recipe

I first came across this recipe in the book that offers 1 cake mix that you can turn into 100 amazing recipes. This is a flawless recipe that has never gone wrong. Here are the ingredients:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees before you start mixing the ingredients.
  2. Take 6 ounces of plain flour with one table spoon of baking powder. Sift and mix well.
  3. Add 3 eggs (beaten), 6 ounces of sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence (optional), 6 ounces of softened butter. Mix all these well.
  4. When the mixture is smooth, add 2 tablespoons of milk.
  5. Pour this mixture into prepared tin and bake on 180 degrees for 35 minutes or until baked well.
  6. Let it cool down before you try your luck at decorating the cake.

I have tried more than half of variations of cakes in this book, and none of those cakes have turned out poorly. So, try them and you will like them too.

Get geared up for a picnic. Bake your cake, decorate it with love, get a Chick-fil-A Original Biscuit and you are all set for a wonderful treat.

How to turn cakes into amazing ones

The good thing about turning cakes into fun ideas is that everyone is going to like it. If you think you do not have what it takes to make awesome ones, then remember the adage of practice makes a man (even a woman) perfect.

  • Buy food colour:

There are so many things that you can do with food colour. It definitely makes the cake’s appearance more appealing.

  • Use allspice:

Not all cakes have to be full of sugar; instead you can tantalize your senses with allspice or such ingredients that you don’t normally use in your recipes.

  • Experiment with fruits:

Fruits should be an essential part of your diet, and there is no easier way of increasing your kids’ intake of fruits than to put them in cakes.

There are countless ways that you can play around with icing; try it and it will get better with each time.

  • Buy a piping cone:

Piping cone comes in handy when you are trying cake decorations; start off with one piping cone and you will love the results.

  • Buy good quality biscuits:

You can use some good quality biscuits in your recipe or for decoration; you can try different shapes and sizes.

  • Try colourful MnM:

MnM are a simple trick of making any cake irresistible.

  • Dust with sugar:

Even if you are in a hurry, simply dust your cake with sugar and you are all set to go!

  • Try funky candles:

When you go out to buy candles next time, shun the traditional cakes and buy some different type to decorate your cake.

  • Go pro:

If you feel confident enough, you can experiment with buttercream and sugar paste; they definitely yield better results.

  • Stick candies everywhere:

If you are out of ideas to decorate candies, you can utilize candies, and stick them all over your cake to make it look fun and appealing.

  • Edible flowers:

If you think you will not be able to do justice to any cake frosting, you can purchase edible flowers and use them to decorate the cakes. There are endless varieties available with different shapes, colours and sizes.

  • Use nuts:

Using nuts in your recipe is a great way of giving it a new flavour and extra nutrients. You can use any nuts according to your preference.

Once you have tried your hand on a few ideas, then you can check online for more cake decorating ideas that you can try. It doesn’t have to be a Master Chef style wedding cake, but you can start off with simple ones and master the art of decorating the cakes.

Baking is an art that comes with practice. Do not be disheartened if your cake decoration looks miserable compared to the recipe you have seen online. Trust us, it gets better with practice.

Easy Wheat Germ Cherry Muffins – Old Original Recipe!

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These wheat germ muffins really bring back childhood memories. I finally found the original recipe from an old recipe book. Take a look!

Wheat germ muffins are one thing my grandmother always used to make and bring back tons of childhood memories when food used to be made of simple, and real ingredients. It’s hard finding recipes that use original and traditional ingredients instead of being packed with sugar, sweeteners and cheap flour. I finally managed to find this recipe in an old cook book of my mothers. These cherry wheat germ muffins are super easy to make and taste delicious. 

You can follow the recipe below and add a cup or two of cherries, however much you like. You can also add raisins instead or even try with blueberries. This recipe is very versatile, so the choice is yours. Hope you enjoy! Let me know in the comments if you miss these old-school recipes… I sure do!