Homemade Wine

Homemade Wine Instructions Using Concentrates

Before you begin to make a batch of homemade wine you’ll need to decide if you’re going to use fresh fruits or concentrates.

Lots of beginners prefer concentrates because it’s much easier to consistently produce top quality wines and takes away some of the concerns about getting good results from that first batch.

Most concentrates have simple and easy to follow instructions directly on the package so even if this is your first batch, provided you can follow instructions there is no doubt that the results will be a good quality homemade wine.

You’ll also find that in most cases concentrates include some of, if not all of the other ingredients you will need to brew your batch of wine. And if you’re really lucky all those other ingredients will already be measured and ready to use. This really cuts down on the risk of measuring wrong or discovering you don’t have all the necessary ingredients half way through the process. Again, this is a real bonus for the beginning winemaker as it reduces the chances of making mistakes that beginning winemaker’s are prone to make.

One more great advantage is the variety of homemade wine you will be able to make.

The majority of us are not lucky enough to have a wide range of grapes or fresh fruits to choose from but with concentrates you can get fruits and grapes that come from all around the world. This gives you the choice of making wines that you would not otherwise be able to make. Even if you have a wide variety of produce available locally, concentrates mean you won’t need to be concerned with trying to obtain fruits and grapes when they are out of the normal growing season.

Using concentrates to make homemade wine is really pretty easy.

Using whatever container you will be using for the fermentation process, mix the concentrate with the correct amount of water. Add the yeast and whatever other ingredients are called for in the homemade wine instructions you received with the concentrate. Check the directions carefully but the majority of concentrates require about 6 gallons of water for the mix.

At some point you will have to siphon the wine from your container to separate it from the sediment. Check the directions as they’ll provides you with the proper time that this ought to be done and don’t forget that this will most likely be done a few times. Once this is done it is time to bottle the wine which is typically around 30 – 45 days after you’ve started the process.

Another advantage for home winemaker’s to make use of concentrates is that they don’t require all the space as using fresh fruits.

If you have a small space and you can follow simple homemade wine instructions then using concentrates will allow you to make your own wonderful wine.

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Pancakes

Pancakes are a thin, flat, round cake prepared from a batter, and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan.

Most pancakes are quick breads; some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Most pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side. Depending on the region, pancakes may be served at any time, with a variety of toppings or fillings including jam, chocolate chips, fruit, syrup or meat.

Archaeological evidence suggests that varieties of pancakes are probably the earliest and most widespread types of cereal food eaten in prehistoric societies whereby dry carbohydrate-rich seed flours mixed with the available protein-rich liquids, usually milk and eggs, were baked on hot stones or in shallow earthenware pots over an open fire to form a nutritious and highly palatable foodstuff.

In the medieval and modern Christian period, especially in Britain, pancakes were made to use up stored items prior to the period of Lent fasting beginning on Shrovetide.

Since eggs were forbidden foods during Lent, making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday was a good way to use up eggs before Lentern fasts began.

The pancake’s shape and structure varies worldwide. There are numerous variations of them throughout Europe. In Germany, pancakes can be made from potatoes. A crêpe is a Breton variety of thin pancake cooked on one or both sides in a special crepe pan to achieve a network of fine bubbles often compared to lace – a savory variety made from buckwheat is usually known as a galette.

Pancakes in North America

North Americans at times garnish pancakes with fruits like banana.
American or Canadian pancakes (sometimes called hotcakes, griddlecakes, or flapjacks) are pancakes that contain a raising agent such as baking powder; proportions of eggs, flour, and milk or buttermilk create a thick batter. Many recipes remind the reader that the ingredients should be mixed until they are just combined, even if lumps remain, as the lumps will smoothen out during the cooking process. Sugar and spices such as cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg are sometimes added.

The pancakes can be made sweet or savory by adding ingredients such as blueberries, strawberries, cheese, bananas, apples or chocolate chips to the batter.

This batter is ladled or poured onto a hot surface, and spreads to form a circle about ¼ or ? inch (1 cm) thick. The raising agent causes bubbles to rise to the uncooked side, before the pancake is flipped. These pancakes, very light in texture, are usually served at breakfast topped with maple syrup, butter, jam, peanut butter, nuts, fruit and/or honey. Pancakes may be served with a bit of powdered sugar and whipped cream, or with cane syrup or molasses instead of syrup or honey. Some pancake recipes use yogurt to give the pancakes a semi-thick, relatively moist consistency.

Jonnycake (also spelled “johnnycake,” johnny cake, and “journey cake”) or Johnny Bread is a cornmeal flatbread that was an early American staple food, and is still eaten in the West Indies and Bermuda.The modern johnnycake is stereotypically identified with today’s “Rhode Island” foods, though jonnycakes are a cultural staple in all of the northern US. A modern jonnycake is fried cornmeal gruel, which is made from yellow or white cornmeal mixed with salt and hot water or milk, and frequently lightly sweetened.

Yaniqueques or yanikeke are a Dominican Republic version of the jonnycake. They are a fried bread rather than a pancake and are a popular beach food.[28]

Sourdough was used by prospectors and pioneers to make sourdough pancakes without having to buy yeast.

Prospectors would carry a pot of sourdough to make pancakes and bread as it could last indefinitely, needing only flour and water to replenish it. Sourdough pancakes are now a particular speciality in Alaska.

A flapjack is a thick small pancake, generally around 10 cm in diameter. Flapjacks are often served in a stack with syrup and butter, which can be accompanied by bacon. The terms pancake and flapjack are often confused and today in the US are nearly synonymous. The Oxford English Dictionary records the word flapjack as being used as early as the beginning of the 17th century, referring to a flat tart or pan-cake.

Shakespeare refers to pancakes in All’s Well That Ends Well and to flap-jacks in Pericles, Prince of Tyre:

“Come, thou shant go home, and we’ll have flesh for holidays, fish for fasting-days, and moreo’er puddings and flap-jacks, and thou shalt be welcome.”

The word elements: flap- meaning a tossed mixture and jack, an uncertain word suggesting a variety, imply any ingredients could be called a flapjack.

Silver dollar pancakes refer to pancakes about two to three inches (5 to 7 cm) in diameter, or just a bit bigger than the pre-1979 silver dollar coins in the United States, for which they are named. It is usually made by frying a small spoonful of the same batter as any other pancake.

One serving is usually five to ten silver dollar pancakes.

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Stir-frying Vegetables

You’ve decided to a prepare a healthy stir-fry from scratch, using ingredients you have on hand.

Not sure whether a certain vegetable is a good candidate for stir-frying?

It all comes down to the density and moisture level of the vegetable.

High moisture vegetables that are not too hard, like zucchini, sweet peppers, spinach and mung bean sprouts, can be quickly stir-fried at high heat without the addition of extra liquid.
Denser, low moisture vegetables like broccoli and carrots, on the other hand, require more cooking time. Most recipes call for the vegetables to be stir-fried briefly and then boiled in a liquid such as chicken broth.

Another option is to briefly blanch the vegetables prior to stir-frying.

Many vegetables fall somewhere between these two extremes. Snow peas (also called sugar peas and snap peas) have medium moisture levels and thickness – they can be stir-fried dry or finished in a sauce. Asparagus, on the other hand, is a high moisture vegetable but relatively hard and thick – liquid is usually added.

More Tips on Stir-frying Vegetables:

For all vegetables, cut them into uniform size before stir-frying. This ensures that they will cook evenly.

Be sure the vegetables are thoroughly drained before stir-frying. (A good tip is to wash the vegetables and leave them to drain earlier in the day). Wet vegetables can ruin a stir-fry.
On the other hand, if vegetables become too dry during stir-frying, they can burn. To prevent this, splash them with a bit of Chinese rice wine, dry sherry, or water while stir-frying.

Keep moving the vegetables during stir-frying. This also helps prevent them burning.

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Cooking Tilapia

It is given that baking is the most popular form of cooking tilapia; however, many people are not aware of the proper way of baking tilapia in order to get the most out of it.

In order to be well acquainted with the proper cooking of tilapia, it is good to start by introducing three types of methods to bake tilapia. The first is with the use of garlic and olive oil.

The ingredients are: four tilapia fillets, four cloves of crushed garlic, a chopped onion, three tablespoons of olive oil, and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

Before cooking the fillets, make sure to pat them dry first.

Afterwards, rub the fish with garlic and then organize them in a bowl. Add olive oil and top with onion. Then place the tilapia inside the refrigerator for six to eight hours.

Preheat the oven to 175° Celsius or 350° Fahrenheit.

While you are preheating the oven, remove the tilapia from the refrigerator and arrange onto a baking dish.

At this point, pour the remaining marinade onto the fish and season with a quarter teaspoon of white pepper and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne black pepper. Once done, place the baking dish with the tilapia inside the oven and cook it for 30 minutes. After cooking, serve immediately while it is still hot.

The second baking method for tilapia is the “easy baked” tilapia.

Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Prepare four tilapia fillets, one and a half teaspoons of garlic powder, a pinch of salt, three tablespoons of melted butter, three tablespoons of lemon juice, half a teaspoon of dried oregano, a pinch of paprika and two tablespoons of drained capers. After preparing all your ingredients, place the fish onto a baking dish followed by mixing lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and butter into a container. This time, you can pour the added mixture of oregano, paprika and capers. Bake the fish for 20 to 30 minutes. You can serve the baked tilapia with rice or as is, especially if you are on a low-carb diet.

The third method of baking tilapia is the Hudson’s baked tilapia with dill sauce.

For this baking method, you need four ounces of tilapia fillets, pepper, salt, one tablespoon of any seasoning powder, a quarter cup of mayonnaise, half a cup of sour cream, one lemon sliced thinly, half a quarter teaspoon on garlic powder, two tablespoons of chopped fresh dill and one teaspoon of fresh lemon juice.

First, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit or 175° Celsius. After that, grease the baking dish lightly. Follow by seasoning the fillets with salt, pepper, and seasoning powder according to taste. Once you are done, arrange the fillets into a single layer on the baking dish. Now, place the sliced lemons over the fillets. It is recommended that you use only two slices for every piece of fillet to make sure that it covers most of the surface. At this time, you can start baking the fillets for 15 to 20 minutes uncovered. If the fish can be easily flaked with a fork, remove it from the oven. While the fillets are still inside the oven, prepare a mixture of sour cream, lemon juice, mayonnaise, garlic powder and dill in a bowl.

When the tilapia is cooked, serve it together with the sauce.

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FRUIT COCKTAIL

Fruit Cocktail made of a combination of fruits are often served as the first course of a meal, usually a luncheon or a dinner, to precede the soup course.

In warm weather, they are an excellent substitute for heavy cocktails made of lobster or crab, and they may even be used to replace the soup course. The fruits used for this purpose should be the more acid ones, for the acids and flavors are intended to serve as an appetizer, or the same purpose for which the hot and highly seasoned soups are taken. Fruit cocktail should always be served ice cold.

Grape fruit cocktail.

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The fruit cocktail here explained may be served in stemmed glasses or in the shells of the grapefruit. If the fruit shells are to be used, the grapefruit should be cut into two parts, half way between the blossom and the stem ends, the fruit removed, and the edges of the shell then notched.

This plan of serving a cocktail should be adopted only when small grapefruits are used, for if the shells are large more fruit will have to be used than is agreeable for a cocktail.

2 grapefruits 2 oranges 1 c. diced pineapple, fresh or canned Powdered sugar

Remove the pulp from the grapefruits and oranges. However, if the grapefruit shells are to be used for serving the cocktail, the grapefruit should be cut in half and the pulp then taken out of the skin with a sharp knife. With the sections of pulp removed, cut each one into several pieces. Add the diced pineapple to the other fruits, mix together well and set on ice until thoroughly chilled. Put in cocktail glasses or grapefruit shells, pour a spoonful or two of orange juice over each serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar, garnish with a cherry, and serve ice cold.

Summer fruit cocktail.

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As strawberries and pineapples can be obtained fresh at the same time during the summer, they are often used together in a cocktail. When sweetened slightly with powdered sugar and allowed to become ice cold, these fruits make a delicious combination.

2 c. diced fresh pineapple 2 c. sliced strawberries Powdered sugar

Prepare a fresh pineapple, and cut each slice into small pieces or dice. Wash and hull the strawberries and slice them into small slices. Mix the two fruits and sprinkle them with powdered sugar. Place in cocktail glasses and allow to stand on ice a short time before serving.

Fruit cocktail.

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A fruit cocktail proper is made by combining a number of different kinds of fruit, such as bananas, pineapple, oranges, and maraschino cherries. Such a cocktail is served in a stemmed glass set on a small plate. Nothing more delicious than this can be prepared for the first course of a dinner or a luncheon that is to be served daintily. Its advantage is that it can be made at almost any season of the year with these particular fruits.

2 bananas 1 c. canned pineapple 2 oranges 1 doz. maraschino cherries Lemon juice Powdered sugar

Peel the bananas and dice them. Dice the pineapple. Remove the pulp from the oranges in the manner, and cut each section into several pieces. Mix these three fruits. Cut the cherries in half and add to the mixture. Set on ice until thoroughly chilled. To serve, put into cocktail glasses and add to each glass 1 tablespoonful of maraschino juice from the cherries and 1 teaspoonful of lemon juice. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Some fruit cocktail recipes to begin the fun!

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CEREALS A PERFECT START FOR ANY DAY

Why do cereals make the perfect breakfast?

Because usually in the morning you are in a rush, maybe breakfast is the last on the list of your priorities. Or maybe it isn’t there at all. Breakfast is a very important meal that your body needs. In order to make breakfast give you power and strengths it has to be rich in sugar and low on fats. A proper diet must be firstly equilibrated. This is why you need a tasty and nutritional breakfast but mostly a healthy one.

The breakfast aliment that is key for mornings and has all these qualities are cereals.

Breakfast cereals are made from corn and rice most times and they are the optimal solution for every morning.

Cereals have a rich content of vitamins like vitamin A, C, the whole complex of B vitamins, minerals like iron, magnesium, copper ,phosphor and zinc and anti-oxidants as well.

Also cereals are an important source of calcium.

They provide an adequate quantity of calcium for any age, and vitamin D that has a very important role in helping the calcium be absorbed by the organism. Cereals have a low quantity of saturated fats, but a high quantity or unsaturated fats, substances good for the organism.

The fibers in cereals have a huge role in everyone’s health.

Heath in a bowl

Because they are an aliment so rich in fibers, minerals and nutritive substances, cereals for breakfast are ideal mornings.

You will start your day in a tasty way and they will provide you with the necessary energy and power to get through the day. Their benefit effect is immediate, but there is also one that is seen on a long term. Getting used to eating cereals for breakfast helps you watch over your weigh and helps you maintain your health.

Some dangerous diseases that cereals protect you from are: heart diseases, diabetes, obesity, intestinal affections, even cancer.

So, if you make a habit out of eating cereals is as if you were making a long term investment for your health.

For those of you that want to start the day with a smile on their face, cereals are definitely the best option.

DIFFERENT WAYS TO COOK RICE

Rice needs to be thoroughly washed.

A good way to do this is to put it into a colander, in a deep pan of water. Rub the rice well with the hands, lifting the colander in and out the water, and changing the water until it is clear; then drain. In this way the grit is deposited in the water, and the rice left thoroughly clean.

The best method of cooking rice is by steaming it.

If boiled in much water, it loses a portion of its already small percentage of nitrogenous elements. It requires much less time for cooking than any of the other grains. Like all the dried grains and seeds, rice swells in cooking to several times its original bulk. When cooked, each grain of rice should be separate and distinct, yet perfectly tender.

Steamed rice

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Soak a cup of rice in one and a fourth cups of water for an hour, then add a cup of milk, turn into a dish suitable for serving it from at table, and place in a steam-cooker or a covered steamer over a kettle of boiling water, and steam for an hour. It should be stirred with a fork occasionally, for the first ten or fifteen minutes.

Boiled rice (japanese method)

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Thoroughly cleanse the rice by washing in several waters, and soak it overnight. In the morning, drain it, and put to cook in an equal quantity of boiling water, that is, a pint of water for a pint of rice. For cooking, a stewpan with tightly fitting cover should be used. Heat the water to boiling, then add the rice, and after stirring, put on the cover, which is not again to be removed during the boiling. At first, as the water boils, steam will puff out freely from under the cover, but when the water has nearly evaporated, which will be in eight to ten minutes, according to the age and quality of the rice, only a faint suggestion of steam will be observed, and the stewpan must then be removed from over the fire to some place on the range, where it will not burn, to swell and dry for fifteen or twenty minutes.

Rice to be boiled in the ordinary manner requires two quarts of boiling water to one cupful of rice.

It should be boiled rapidly until tender, then drained at once, and set in a moderate oven to become dry. Picking and lifting lightly occasionally with a fork will make it more flaky and dry. Care must be taken, however, not to mash the rice grains.

Rice with fig sauce.

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Steam a cupful of best rice as directed above, and when done, serve with a fig sauce. Dish a spoonful of the fig sauce with each saucer of rice, and serve with plenty of cream. Rice served in this way requires no sugar for dressing, and is a most wholesome breakfast dish.

Orange rice

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Wash and steam the rice. Prepare some oranges by separating into sections and cutting each section in halves, removing the seeds and all the white portion. Sprinkle the oranges lightly with sugar, and let them stand while the rice is cooking. Serve a portion of the orange on each saucerful of rice.

Rice with raisins

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Carefully wash a cupful of rice, soak it, and cook as directed for Steamed Rice. After the rice has began to swell, but before it has softened, stir into it lightly, using a fork for the purpose, a cupful of raisins. Serve with cream.

Rice with peaches

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Steam the rice and when done, serve with cream and a nicely ripened peach pared and sliced on each individual dish.

Browned rice

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Spread a cupful of rice on a shallow baking tin, and put into a moderately hot oven to brown. It will need to be stirred frequently to prevent burning and to secure a uniformity of color. Each rice kernel, when sufficiently browned, should be of a yellowish brown, about the color of ripened wheat. Steam the same as directed for ordinary rice, using only two cups of water for each cup of browned rice, and omitting the preliminary soaking. When properly cooked, each kernel will be separated, dry, and mealy.

Rice prepared in this manner is undoubtedly more digestible than when cooked without browning.

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MACARONI RECIPES

Home-made macaroni.

To four cupfuls of flour, add one egg well beaten, and enough water to make a dough that can be rolled. Roll thin on a breadboard and cut into strips. Dry in the sun. The best arrangement for this purpose is a wooden frame to which a square of cheese-cloth has been tightly tacked, upon which the macaroni may be laid in such a way as not to touch, and afterwards covered with a cheese-cloth to keep off the dust during the drying.

Boiled macaroni

Put a large cup of macaroni into boiling water and cook until tender. When done, drained thoroughly, then add a pint of milk, part cream if it can be afforded, a little salt and one well-beaten egg; stir over the fire until it thickens, and serve hot.

Macaroni with cream sauce

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Cook the macaroni as directed in the proceeding, and serve with a cream sauce prepared by heating a scant pint of rich milk to boiling, in a double boiler. When boiling, add a heaping tablespoonful of flour, rubbed smoothed in a little milk and one fourth teaspoonful of salt. If desired, the sauce may be flavored by steeping in the milk before thickening for ten or fifteen minutes, a slice of onion or a few bits of celery, and then removing with a fork.

Macaroni with tomato sauce

Drop a cup of macaroni into boiling milk and water, equal parts. Let it boil for an hour, or until perfectly tender. In the meantime prepare the sauce by rubbing a pint of stewed or canned tomatoes through a colander to remove all seeds and fragments. Heat to boiling, thicken with a little flour; a tablespoonful to the pint will be about the requisite proportion. Add salt and if desired, a half cup of very thin sweet cream. Dish the macaroni into individual dishes, and serve with a small quantity of the sauce poured over each dish.

Macaroni baked with granola

Cook a large cup of macaroni until tender in boiling milk and water. When done, drain and put a layer of the macaroni in the bottom of a pudding dish, and sprinkle over it a scant teaspoonful of granola. Add a second and third layer and sprinkle each with granola; then turn over the whole a custard sauce prepared by mixing together a pint of milk, the well beaten yolks of two eggs or one whole egg, and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt. Care should be taken to arrange the macaroni in layers loosely, so that the sauce will readily permeate the whole. Bake for a few minutes only, until the custard has well set, and serve.

Eggs and macaroni

Cook a cup of macaroni in boiling water. While the macaroni is cooking, boil the yolks of four eggs until mealy. The whole egg may be used if caught so the yolks are mealy in the whites simply jellied, not hardened. When the macaroni is done, drain and put a layer of it arranged loosely in the bottom of a pudding dish. Slice the cooked egg yolks and spread a layer of them over the macaroni. Fill the dish with alternate layers of macaroni and egg, taking care to have the top layer of macaroni. Pour over the whole a cream sauce prepared as follows: Heat one and three fourths cup of rich milk to boiling, add one fourth teaspoonful of salt and one heaping spoonful of flour rubbed smooth in a little cold milk. Cook until thickened, then turn over the macaroni. Sprinkle the top with grated bread crumbs, and brown in a hot oven for eight or ten minutes. Serve hot.

So much macaroni, so little time!

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Great Wine Gifts

For virtually any occasion, such as special moments and holidays, wine makes a great gift.

From informal meetings to wedding celebrations and bashes, wine is a gift that is truly hard to beat. There are several different gifts you can get that relate to wine. No matter who it may be that you are giving the gift to – wine is something that is truly appreciated – a gift from the heart.

Among the several gifts of wine that you can give, is personalized wine.

There are several companies that offer personalized wine and champagne gifts, complete with custom made designs and labels. For corporate events and parties, a personalized wine gift is an ideal way to showcase your gratitude and give a gift that truly shows how much you care.

If you prefer, there are also ways that you can create your own personalized gift of wine.

First of all, you’ll need to select a wine label from one of the numerous custom wines available. Next, you will need to personalize your text by adding your own messages and ideas. Last, you’ll need to select a container or wrapper that is best appropriate for your gift of wine. You should be as creative as possible, as it will help to make your wine gift to have a bit more impact.

Another great wine related gift that you can give are corkscrews.

Corkscrews make for a truly great gift, allowing you to open wine bottles with the corks intact. Wine lovers who want to open a bottle of wine every now and then, and keep the cork in great shape will truly appreciate the gift of a corkscrew. Corkscrews are also used in restaurants as well, as they can easily remove even the toughest of corks.

Another great gift that relates to wine is the pocket vineyard, which is an electronic device that contains a wine glossary, vintage wine charts, and even suggestions and ideas for pairing wine with food.

The pocket vineyard is a great gift for anyone who likes wine, as it allows them to learn more about wine in general and make better choices overall when it comes to wine.

You can find many other wine gifts to give as well.

If you look on the Internet, you can find all different types of wine gifts that you can give to virtually anyone. You can also find great gifts in local stores as well, many of which are available at great prices. If you aren’t sure about what to get someone, you can always ask. Although there are many different gifts that you can give for a variety of occasions, few gifts have the impact of wine.

If you choose – you can always give the gift of wine – a bottle that is sure to please anyone.

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Recipes With Rosemary

Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs – its clean, spiky scent pervading my kitchen takes me to the South of France on a warm summer’s day.

It is the hardiest plant in my herb garden, surviving our driest summers and putting out new growth as soon as the winter rains begin. You can pick from it all year round and it has useful medicinal properties too.

I love Roast Lamb with generous amounts of rosemary and garlic tucked underneath as it cooks or else I take Nigella Lawson’s advice and mince the garlic and rosemary to a paste with some olive oil and tuck it into small incisions in the meat before cooking.

After that the meat just cooks itself (as long as you remember to switch on the oven for it!) and you have a marvellous Sunday lunch for very little effort. A dash of red wine added to the juices from the roasting dish and warmed through gives you a ‘jus’ that any five star restaurant would be proud to own – do spoon off the excess fat first though. For a totally low effort lunch serve the roast lamb with a generous green salad and boiled new potatoes, or expend the effort you’ve saved with the meat on producing loads of crispy roast potatoes, baked butternut squash and tender green peas.

The following rosemary with pasta sauce recipe came from experimenting with a recipe from Marcella Hazan’s Marcella’s Kitchen.

To her tomato and rosemary pasta sauce I added some tuna to create a nutritious and delicious meal for my kids – the balsamic vinegar gives a mellow, rounded note to the sauce and is not in the least overpowering as I thought it might be.

Penne with Tuna, Tomato, Rosemary and Balsamic Vinegar

For 450g/1lb pasta
8 tablespoons olive oil
3 or 4 cloves garlic
2 sprigs rosemary
450g/1lb tinned tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 tin of tuna drained

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Put the olive oil, thinly sliced garlic and rosemary sprigs in a frying pan over a medium heat.

When the garlic starts sizzling add the tomatoes, with salt and pepper and cook for 10-12 minutes.

When the pasta is just cooked – really al dente – drain and put back in the pan and toss with the sauce over the heat for 1 minute. Add the tuna, stir, then off the heat stir in the balsamic vinegar and serve immediately.

There is a wonderful recipe for a Rosemary Cake in Nigella Lawson’s book ‘Feast’.

She allocates it to her Funeral Feast section, as rosemary has always been the herb of rememberance, but this cake is great for any occasion when a light, not too sweet, plain sponge is required. It has apple in it too and the combination of that and the rosemary, gives a moist but aromatic cake. A long sprig of rosemary adorns the top of the cake and as it cooks releases more aromatic oils into the cake. Try it.

To make use of the health boosting properties of rosemary try a cup of rosemary herbal tea.

One sprig with a cup of boiling water poured over it and left to stand for five to ten minutes, makes a revitalising and stress-relieving tea. It acts as an anti-inflammatory and aids circulation, helps with stress, anxiety and depression and improves memory and concentration. It also is a useful source of easily absorbed calcium, far more effective than taking pills.

So plant a rosemary bush in your garden or in a pot on a balcony for your own free, energy-boosting calcium supplement!

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