This is a great party trick or anytime cool-down treat — by shaking up an unopened bottle of soda before cooling it for a few hours, you can make an instant slushie of any flavor you want.
Here’s the process:
1. Get a room-temperature bottle or can of soda.
2. Shake it up violently to increase the pressure. This pressure is what will keep the soda from freezing even when it’s super-cooled.
3. Place the soda in the freezer for about three hours. In the video below the 500-milliliter sodas are chilled for 3 hours and 15 minutes.
4. Take out the soda bottle and open and close the cap quickly, before inverting the soda. The liquid will freeze into a carbonated slush.
As we begin July’s month of grilling as we’ve done in the past, I thought I’d start off with a dish which is very easy to prepare and has the wonderful flavors of the Caribbean in every bite. Don’t be intimidated with the amount of scotch bonnet pepper we used as it’s well balanced with the earthy sweetness of the honey. If Tehya can come upstairs with clean bamboo skewers in hand and say “dad this shrimp was on point!”, I’m sure you can handle the little Caribbean sunshine of it all.
Notes: Wear gloves when handling scotch bonnet peppers and do remember to wash your hands immediately after with soap and water. Do NOT include any of the seeds and white membrane surround the seeds if you’re overly concerned about the raw heat.
If you’re not sure how to peel and devein shrimp, watch this video…
There are really just two steps to preparing this dish (marinate and grill).. So let’s start off by marinating the shrimp. In a strong zipper bag or plastic container, place the cleaned shrimp and all the other ingredients. Give it a good toss and store it in the fridge for one hour.
As the shrimp marinates, I’d recommend soaking the bamboo skewers in water to help prevent them from burning while on the grill. After one hour, it’s just a matter of threading the shrimp onto the skewers and heading out to a relatively hot grill. If you have a grill pan, you can certainly make these indoors on your stove.
When I cleaned my shrimp I left a little bit of the tail/shell on, just for presentation purposes.. the choice is yours.
Lightly grease your grill surface to prevent sticking (I used cooking spray, but you can dampen a paper towel with vegetable oil and brush) then place the skewers on (medium/low flame) on one side for 3-4 minutes.
After which you’ll then flip them over and cook for another couple minutes. Try not to over-cook them and pay attention to any flare-ups which may cause them to burn. The lid of my grill was covered during the grilling process . Remember they will continue cooking with its residual heat after removing off the direct flame, so factor that in so you don’t end up with rubbery shrimp at the end.
Squeeze on some fresh lemon juice and enjoy! I got 5 skewers with the one lb of shrimp and that’s pretty much enough for 5 people (1 skewer had only 2 shrimp though). Your guests will be raving after just one bite, so I would definitely double up on the recipe (just the shrimp as there will be enough marinade) to accommodate their immediate addiction.
Don’t forget to check back all of this month for more exciting and taste-bud challenging recipes off the grill!
1 large can stewed tomatoes, I use the ones with spices added
cracked black pepper to taste
garlic to taste
other seasonings as desired, I use some basil, red peppers, whatever looks good, this is one of those things that it rarely is exactly the same thing twice
hot water, 1-2 cups
When you start putting vegetables in your stock pot they take up quite a bit of room. A trick I learned from my sister is to chop and add as you go, start with cabbage and pour your hot water over that right away to help it start to cook down. Heat on medium-high heat until boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are as tender as you like. That’s it. Your whole house will smell amazing. I like to use it as a pre-dinner soup, it has no protein so obviously you can’t eat just this, it will fill you up so you have less room for other stuff!
Healthy foods that rev up your metabolism, helping to kick it into high gear. Combine this with 30 minutes of exercise 4 times a week and watch your body change! Proper fuel for better performance!
I used shredded cheese for this recipe because I melt the cheese in the broiler first so that the tomatoes and cilantro get covered in gooey cheese.
So take your two slices of bread and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Put some cheese on the bread, then add the cilantro and tomato (each on a different slice). Then top with more cheese.
Place the tray in the broiler just long enough for the cheese to melt, about 30 seconds or so. The key here is to melt the cheese but don’t wilt the cilantro.
Remove the tray from the boiler and smear on some guac.
Add 1/2 tablespoon of butter to an iron skillet and melt it over a medium-high heat. Then place the assembled sandwich in the skillet and brown on both sides, melting the cheese further.
The Quik Cook! continues with national cuisine favorites from around the world from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe! Today’s port-of-call: Ecuador for Ceviche De Pescado!
Ceviche De Pescado (Fish Ceviche)
The fish cooks in the lime juice! Hardly a Quik! recipe with the marianting time for fish & veggie marinate totaling 5 hours! But once the fish is “cooked”, mixed with the marinade & seasoned, it’s ready. Totally worth it!)
Prep Time: 20 min Ready In: 5 hours Serves: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients: 2lb of white fish fillets (corvina, halibut, sea bass, tilapia, sole), cut into small square pieces 2 red onions diced very finely 4 tomatoes diced very finely 2 bell peppers, assorted colors, chopped very finely 20 limes, separated into about 10 limes to cook the fish and 10 limes for the ceviche marinade 1 bunch of cilantro (also known as coriander) chopped as finely as possible Salt and sunflower oil
Preparation: 1. Place the raw fish pieces in a glass dish and cover it with salt and lime juice from about 10-12 limes, the fish should be completely covered by lime juice.
2. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator, let the fish marinate or cook itself in the lime juice for at least 4 hours.
3. Mix the onions, tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro with the juice from the remaining limes and let marinate for about an hour.
4. Once the fish is “cooked” in the lime juices rinse it well and mix it with the vegetable marinade, add salt and sunflower oil to taste.
5. Serve with chifles, patacones, tostones or popcorn.
One of my favorite guilty pleasures is buffalo wings, especially dipped in blue cheese dressing. There’s something about the buffalo chicken and blue cheese combo that really appeals to me and I had a craving for it lately. When I came across a recipe for ham and cheese stuffed pretzel bites, I figured I could substitute it with chicken and blue cheese. That’s when I decided to make these Buffalo Chicken Bites… yum!
These are such an awesome snack, which could be a meal in itself if you have enough of them. It’s not hard since they are addictively delicious! I made a few changes to the original recipe aside from the filling substitution, including omitting the process of boiling the bites before baking. I feared the filling would ooze out during the boiling process so I just baked them after filling and they came out perfectly.
I plan on making these again and experimenting with other fillings such a steak, provolone, sauteed peppers and onions for Philly Cheesesteak Bites… or even pepperoni, italian sausage, mozzarella and mushrooms for Pizza Bites. The filling ideas are endless!
To make the buffalo chicken mixture, in a small bowl, combine the chicken, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, melted butter and hot sauce; set aside.
In a 1 cup measuring cup, heat the milk and then add the 2 tablespoons brown sugar; stir into warm milk until dissolved; place in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Add 2 1/2 cups flour and yeast to the stand mixer and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms, adding up to 1/2 cup additional flour, a little at a time, if necessary. Allow the dough to knead in the stand mixer for 5-7 minutes. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times to form a smooth ball. Place dough into a clean bowl that’s been lightly oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and bubbles appear on surface, about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 4 equal pieces. Lightly dust your hands with flour, then gently roll and stretch 1 piece of dough to form a 12-inch-long rope. Flatten dough and arrange so a long side is nearest you, then roll out to a roughly 12- by 4-inch rectangle with a lightly floured rolling pin. Gently press one fourth of buffalo chicken mixture into lower third of rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border along bottom edge. Stretch bottom edge of dough up over filling and press tightly to seal, then roll up as tightly as possible to form a rope. Cut rope into 12 pieces and transfer to a sheet pan. Make 3 more ropes with remaining dough, filling and cut into pieces, transferring to sheet pans. Let rest at room temperature, uncovered, 30 minutes (dough will rise slightly).
Bake buffalo chicken bites in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned. Remove from oven (some cheese may have melted out.) and brush tops with melted butter before serving (optional).
The Quik Cook! continues with national cuisine favorites from around the world from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe! Today’s port-of-call: Denmark for Frikadeller!
Frikadeller (Danish Meatballs)
Prep Time: 30 min Cook Time: 25 min Serves: Approximately 30 meatballs, 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 slices fresh white bread 1/4 cup milk 3 tablespoons clarified butter, divided 1/2 cup finely chopped onion A pinch plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 pound ground chuck 3/4 pound ground pork 2 large egg yolks 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 3 cups beef broth 1/4 cup heavy cream
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
2. Tear the bread into pieces and place in a small mixing bowl along with the milk. Set aside.
3. In a 12-inch straight sided saute pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sweat until the onions are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread and milk mixture, ground chuck, pork, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and onions. Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1-ounce portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds.
6. Heat the remaining butter in the saute pan over medium-low heat, or in an electric skillet set to 250 degrees F. Add the meatballs and saute until golden brown on all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the meatballs to an ovenproof dish using a slotted spoon and place in the warmed oven.
7. Once all of the meatballs are cooked, decrease the heat to low and add the flour to the pan or skillet. Whisk until lightly browned, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the beef stock and whisk until sauce begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue to cook until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Remove the meatballs from the oven,cover with the gravy and serve.
In order to stay as youthful and as fit as possible, there are certain foods that should be largely avoided. Not only will the avoidance of these foods improve your health, it will also mean that you detoxify your entire system in the process, which is always beneficial.
The foods to avoid when detoxing are also those that are widely recognized as best limited or avoided in your diet in order to maintain good health.
Caffeinated drinks
Caffeine is a diuretic and leads to dehydration. As a stimulant, it puts your body under stress and deprives it of essential nutrients. It also prevents your body from absorbing vitamins and minerals.
Alcohol
You should definitely give up alcohol while detoxifying. As well as containing sugar, alcohol is broken into a toxin in your body, and the production of harmful free radicals is increased when it is being metabolized. Alcohol damages the liver, muscles and brain, and depletes your body of essential vitamins and minerals.
Wheat
Wheat bran can irritate the colon. Wheat protein, also known as gluten, is difficult to digest, and may cause bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. Many people are intolerant of wheat but find they can consume other grains without problems. However, if you have celiac disease, you will need to avoid all sources of gluten permanently
Convenience foods, fatty –fried foods and sugary foods
These include store-bought meals, cookies, cakes and spreads. Soft drinks also contain a high amount ofsugar. Diet versions are not suitable alternatives because of the amount of additives they contain.
Choose fresh or dried fruits and whole-food products instead, also drink water or natural fruit juices.
Meat
Meat creates extra work for your digestive system and in the case of red meat contains a lot of harmful saturated fat. Eat small quantities of good-quality, organic protein instead to give your body the amino acids it needs. Eggs, nuts, oily fish, and whole soy products are good choices.
Salt and sugar
Your body needs a great deal of fluid to metabolize foods that are high in refined sugar, so if you eat a lot of these foods, your body will retain a lot of water as well. Sugar disrupts blood glucose levels. Salt prevents fluids from being removed from the body.
Cow’s milk products
Milk increases the production of mucus in the body, so it is not beneficial when detoxing. In addition, many people lack sufficient quantities of the enzyme lactose, which is needed to digest lactose and, therefore, cannot properly digest dairy products.
And if your Dad is anything like mine was, the last thing he wants to do on his special day is to sleep-in, be served breakfast in bed, recieve gifts of love and be relieved of all household and childrearing responsibilities for the day. As opposed to my Mother, who expected all that, and deservedly so.
My Dad’s idea of a great Father’s Day? He’d be left undisturbed as he puttered around all day in the basement, the garage, and the back and front yards of our home to fix-up, breakdown, search for, find, lose again, analyze, build, paint, hammer and generally tinker around with all the myriad projects he simultaneously had going on in all these locations (he was Gemini, June 10th).
Dad would culminate Father’s Day with a delicious BBQ cookout in the back yard for the family. Before we’d know it, the smell of grilled food would come wafting through the house and we’d know it was that time!
His favorite things to grill were porgies and red snapper with a splash of beer. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
2 lbs red snapper or porgies
4 limes, juiced
2 tbsp rub
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp garlic powder
3 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup of your favorite beer (Dad used Miller beer)
Preparation:
1. Ensure fish is clean, in a bowl, rub fish with lime juice.
2. Mix rub with oil and beer and rub over fish. As they say on the islands “You mus’ put he down overnight” which means it’s best if you marinate your fish overnight in the refrigerator. Alternatively, marinate for at least one hour.
3. Wrap fish in foil and grill over hot coals on the bbq for about 30 minutes, turning occasionally.
Weather not permitting, (although my Dad would just put up a pup tent and continued BBQ-ing while we watched patiently from the kitchen bay window) as an alternativel, preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F / and roast the fish for approximately 45 minutes.
4. Enjoy with cool potatoe salad, fresh green salad, red beans and rice and corn on the cob.
Total time: 45 minutes.Juicy grapefruit and lime brighten up these fresh and light shrimp tacos.
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 large grapefruit
• 2 cloves garlic, minced, divided
• 450g large uncooked prawns, peeled, deveined and tails removed
• ½ cup thinly sliced green onions, divided
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 1 avocado, peeled and pitted
• 8 15cm corn tortillas, warmed
INSTRUCTIONS:
ONE : Zest grapefruit and set zest aside in a medium bowl. Segment grapefruit: With a paring knife, slice off ends and remove pith, working from top of fruit to bottom. In a wide shallow bowl, use a knife to make incisions along membranes toward centre of fruit and cut segments free. Cut into bite-size pieces. Reserve juice in bowl and transfer segment pieces to bowl with zest.
TWO : To bowl with juice, add half of garlic, prawns, ¼ cup onions, chilli powder and salt; toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for up to 30 minutes.
THREE : Prepare guacamole: To bowl with segments and zest, add remaining half of garlic and ¼ cup onions. Stir in lime zest and juice, then smash avocado into mixture with a fork or the back of a spoon to form a chunky guacamole. Cover tightly and refrigerate until needed. (Guacamole should be eaten within 2 hours of preparation.)
FOUR : Heat a large frying pan on medium-high. Add prawn mixture and sauté, stirring frequently, until prawns are pink and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Spread guacamole over tortillas and top with shrimp, dividing evenly.
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