Photographing Food

Okay.....I am in no way saying you have to photograph your food when you put a recipe on this blog.  But I thought this article was really good on tips of how to take pictures of food.  

As we all agree recipes are just better and more appealing when you can see a picture of the food item.  So....if by chance you do ever want to take a picture of your food and sell us on how great it tastes, here are some tips on how to make it look extra appealing  :)  

http://www.lemonpoppycake.com/2012/03/how-to-photograph-food-for-dummies.html

How To Cook Brown Rice

I found this cooking tip from 

http://www.lemonpoppycake.com/2012/01/day-5-secret-to-cooking-brown-rice-plus.html

and it really does work!  Takes the same amount of time as white rice and so much more healthy!

"Brown rice is seems to be a little more temperamental to cook than white rice...... but over the last few years I have perfected my method (well at least I think so).

There are 2 VERY IMPORTANT RULES when cooking brown rice:

1- NEVER USE SALT (trust me... this helps the rice soften quicker)

2-Use FRESH brown rice (well "fresh" as in..... bought from the store within the last 6 months-1 year....brown rice does not have a 30 year shelf life like "white rice" and if it's TOO OLD it doesn't cook well and is often tough and chewy)

I know it seems simple.... but these two rules will help you cook perfect brown rice (long grain or short grain) just like P.F. Chang's brown rice!!

Now there are as many methods to cooking brown rice as there are varieties of rice (7,000 varieties if you can believe that) but if I  use FRESH RICE and NO SALT   I can cook short grain or long grain rice on the stove with a 2:1 ratio (2 cups water to 1 cup rice). Simply bring rice and water to a rolling boil for 2 minutes, cover and turn the heat to low. Allow to simmer for about 25-30 minutes. Check rice after 15 minutes...if the water seems too low just add a little (don't stress).  When your rice is done you can season it with salt......"