Whats4Eats Blog

Well, not really. But it might seem like it for a while.

Whats4Eats is going semi-dormant over the next couple months as we make big changes and migrate the whole website to a new setup.

Not only will these changes make it easier for us to get new recipes and material up more quickly and efficiently. The new site will be loaded with new features just for you.

Look for:

• Personalization: Whats4Eats will remain a free website, but now, if you register, you’ll have access to extra tools like saving your favorite recipes, a personal homepage, avatars and editing permissions (see wikis below).
• Forums: New and improved message boards where you can look for solutions to your cooking questions…or offer answers!
• Blogs (yes plural): We’re working with partners to bring you different viewpoints and voices. We’ll start out small and build bigger.
• Wiki: This new part of the site will be modeled on the well known Wikipedia. You’ll be able to add and edit recipes and information on country cuisine.
• Shopping: Finding the right ingredients, utensils and cookbooks will be easier than ever with Whats4Eats’ new and improved on-line store.

So you may think you hear snoring, but we’ll be busy at work. I’ll keep in touch through occasional blog entries and maybe add a new recipe here and there. If you need help, you know where you can contact me.

In the meantime, keep visiting, and keep eating, and we’ll see you in June!

Chef Brad

Hi All,

There seems to be a glitch in the comments form on the recipe pages. I am working to fix it, but it might be a problem for a day or two. Sorry for the inconvenience.

The good news is I hope to have a new forum up and running by Monday. I know a lot of you visit and have questions about this recipe or that. Or you want to know where you can buy such-and-such exotic ingredient when you live in Pocatello, Idaho.

The forum will be a place where you can all get together, talk back and forth and answer each other’s questions.

Later,

Chef Brad

Simmering foods need to be stirred. Otherwise what’s on the bottom will burn before what’s on the top is cooked. What’s more, anything added to the pot after it is put on the fire needs to be stirred in to get evenly distributed.

But proper stirring is not a simple matter of clockwise versus counterclockwise. Circular stirring just makes the food go ’round and ’round with nothing mixing together. So what’s the magic secret?

Stir in a figure “8″. It keeps the food from sloshing over the sides of the pot, and it quickly and efficiently incorporates any ingredients you add during simmering. And don’t forget to scrape up the bottom edges of the pot occasionally. Food tends to settle there and can burn.

That’s it! Chef secret. Simple, yet useful.

These days we all want to help improve the environment, minimize global warming and leave behind a better world for following generations. But the enormity of the environmental issues we all face can be overwhelming and intimidating. What can little old you do to make a difference in such a big, big world?

You’re in luck! You can take some simple, small steps that work out to a big effect. I’ve put together a list of 5 things you can do to have a maximum impact with a minimum effort. These suggestions don’t call for a radical change in your behavior, just a modest adjustment to what you buy and when you buy it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Do you love Indian food? Are you a food tv junkie? Prefer a gentle, motherly hand to guide you through a recipe?

Then Manjula’s Kitchen is for you!

I came across Manjula while surfing recipe videos on Youtube. This woman is wonderful. Her videos are all homemade, and it appears the camera is held by her husband. She has a variety of Indian dishes represented - a little over 40 as of today - and it’s totally fun to watch her cook.

I tried a couple of her recipes and they turned out really well. I especially liked the besan ka puda. It’s so tasty! The palak paneer is equally good.

The only thing missing now is the Smeller-net or the World Wide Sniff!