Showing posts with label Virily. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virily. Show all posts

Thursday, April 4, 2024

Home Cooking: Dishes My Mom Used to Make: Oxtail Stew

Are there any dishes that your mom used to make when you were growing up that you thought were incredibly delicious? Real comfort food. Dishes that are even more comforting when you think back fondly on that dish or those dishes and realize that you never learned the recipe or how to prepare it for your own family!

My mom used to cook oxtail stew.


My mother is passed away now. I never got her recipe. Of course, you can Google oxtail stew and find a bazillion recipes. But I’ll bet none of them will taste like the stew my mom used to make. Nevertheless, if you’ve never eaten a hearty bowl of oxtail stew and would like try, here are a few recipes.



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Recall fond memories of the smells from your mother’s kitchen? Ready to fill your bowls?

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NOTE:  This is my original content first published April 2018 at Virily, a social blogging community ~ Dishes My Mom Used to Make: Oxtail Stew



Friday, February 23, 2024

Salt is Beautiful

Salt is so commonplace that we tend to take it for granted. It is much more than just a food seasoning. People have very interesting ways in which they use it. Despite the fact that many say it’s bad for your health, it’s not really all that bad.

This seasoning is invaluable to our daily lives and it has amazing health benefits. It also has a spiritual application. Jesus likened His disciples to “the salt of the earth”.

No doubt in my mind. Salt is beautiful.



#1 Salt in History

#2 Salt in Peaceful Protest

#3 Salt in Health

#4 Too Much Salt is Not Good

#5 Salt Sampler


#6 Salt Shakers


Click to continue viewing “More Salt LUV” 
#7 Jada Chicken Salt is Becoming Popular
#8 Salt in Therapy
#9 Salt Lamps Make Great Gifts
#10 Vegan Sea Salt Caramel Ice Cream

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Are the Foods You Love to Eat on a List?

FOOD! This topic has so much variety that one of my friends suggested the best 2 words to describe it is “food diversity”. Diversity is right. People love sharing recipes. Nutritionists and medical practitioners share information about health benefits, health tips, and healthy eating. Others like to go on a sort of “food safari” and talk about all the bizarre foods they discovered.



#1 Top 10 List of Superfoods


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EatingWell publishes a free newsletter and you can receive articles with weight loss tips and healthy recipes. They published a top 10 list of superfoods you can and should eat every day The great thing about this list is there is a superfood (or super drink) that can please everybody in my house. My daughters love tea. My husband loves oranges. And I love sweet potato!

#2 Medical Advice About Superfoods


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For contrast and comparison, another listing of superfoods was published via Medical News Today and it shares insightful information about the health benefits and about taking supplements.

#3 WARNING: Delicacies Can Be Dangerous!


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Many people are blessed to travel the world and get introduced to new foods they have never tasted or even heard of. Here is some advice you should never ignore. In some countries, certain foods may be considered “delicacies” but … “Prepare them wrong and you can die!” Some foods don't even require preparation because they are eaten raw. My first time seeing this fruit was when I visited The Bahamas to meet my husband's parents. I tasted it. It was delicious. So it was a shock to see that star fruit was on this list of "dangerous foods". Who knew?

#4 100 Healthiest Foods ~ Is Your Favorite Food on the List?

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It's great to review a Top 10 List of healthy foods to eat. But a list of the Top 100 healthy foods gives you more to choose from. That's 10 times YUM! YUM! Pomegranates, one of my favorite fruits is on this list. Spirulina is also on the list. To my surprise, certain meats, like bison, are also on the list.

Original source:  Virily.com


Thursday, September 8, 2022

Food Blurb: Herbs and Spices: 5 Exotic Spices

Asafetida, dried avocado leaves, epazote, grains of paradise, and juniper berries are 5 wonderful cooking ingredients. Which country should we thank for introducing these 5 exotic spices to the global community of food lovers?

  • "Asafoetida was familiar in the early Mediterranean, having come by land across Iran." (Source)
  • Dried avocado leaves are a secret Mexican ingredient.  (Source)
  • "The epazote herb is commonly used in the cuisines and traditional medicines of central and southern Mexico and Guatemala." (Source)
  • "Grains of paradise are native to Africa's West coast, namely the countries Ghana, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Togo and Nigeria." (Source)
  • "The juniper is an evergreen tree native to Europe, Asia, and the northern parts of North America and it is especially abundant in central Texas and Eastern Oregon." It has an interesting history and folklore. (Source)








Source: Virily.com

Thursday, July 29, 2021

My Favorite Fun Food: Pudding!

Hello!  Thank you so much for visiting my foodie blog.  Was it the word "pudding" that tempted you here?  LOL.  Food Ways is just one of the places on the web where I publish or have published content about my love for food.    

Virily.com is a social blogging community and I have published content there on a wide range of topics.  One of those topics is food!  One of my favorite post series is called "Irresistible Fun Food".  I shared about 20 posts in this series.  Sharing a link to my post about pudding.  Enjoy!


Pudding goes on my list for fun food, thanks to Jell-O’s creation of instant pudding.  In my circles, mention pudding and folks just want to know if they’re being offered banana pudding or chocolate pudding.  No surprise that if you search for pudding recipes on Twitter, the first few recipes that pop up are banana and chocolate.

After that, there is rice pudding or bread pudding.  The recipes for these are not instant.  I will admit that I was never a fan of old-fashioned rice pudding but the way the Indians make it gave me second thoughts.  I do like the old-fashioned bread pudding because my mom used to bake it with old bread and raisins.  It was very filling.


These are the common puddings (or rather the puddings that I know about). When it comes to pudding there are some cooks or chefs who use ingredients that never crossed my mind like persimmon or tiramisu.

♦  Click through to continue reading and view additional content:

Irresistible Fun Food: Pudding


Saturday, June 12, 2021

What Are the 3 Obvious Reasons Why People Love Herbs and Spices?

Several years back I started looking for ways to earn income working from home. Affiliate marketing was suggested and since eating is one of my favorite things, I decided to kill two birds with one stone Watching a lot of cooking shows on television inspired me and I wanted to learn how to use different herbs and spices in my cooking. I signed up to become an affiliate marketer for various companies that sell cooking ingredients. In order to market the products, I learned about them: how to use the ingredients in various recipes, the medicinal benefits, etc. There are three awesome things about herbs and spices that I already knew but my knowledge and understanding have been reinforced. They are the 3 obvious reasons why people love herbs and spices.

  • Number One: Spices and herbs can turn everyday meals into a sumptuous fare and make dining with family and friends a very enjoyable and memorable event. Not that sitting down at the table with friends or family and partaking of a bland meal doesn’t have its positives. I mean … you can have great fun with relatives and friends at the table – telling jokes, talking about sports, the weather, etc. Everything but the food! Oh, there won’t be any insults. But there won’t be any compliments dished up either. They probably won’t look forward to coming over for another meal and will likely make polite excuses about why they can’t attend the next time they’re invited.


  • Number Two: Spices and herbs help you to develop a healthy respect and appreciation not just for various cuisines but for different cultures. One of my favorite TV cooking shows is “East Meets West” because the aim of the program is to blend the cooking techniques and ingredients of eastern and western dishes to make a fusion cuisine. My interest in learning more about herbs and spices started was because I wanted to use more than just salt, black pepper, and garlic powder, to season my food; and also wanted to make dietary changes for health reasons without having to eat tasteless food. Mind you, there was no excuse for me limiting myself to what one well known American chef referred to as “house seasoning” (salt, black pepper, and garlic powder). In the house I grew up in, my mother used oregano, bay leaf, thyme, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, Italian herb blend, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, etc. There were all kinds of herbs and spices in our kitchen cabinet. All used – whenever my mom was doing the cooking. When you have to do your own cooking; you look for easy street. Now that I’m older and wiser and there are lots of cooking shows on television all the time – there’s no lack of inspiration.


  • Number Three: Spices have a fascinating history. At one time they were considered such a highly valued commodity that nations fought wars over them. Indonesia was proclaimed a republic in 1945, and the islands which were formerly known as the Spice Islands are known today as the Moluccas Islands. Discovering these islands was quite an adventure for the explorers. As a result of their efforts and sacrifice, we can experience the joys of many flavorful and exotic herbs and spices every day because they can be easily purchased online or at our local grocery store. Even though obtaining them is now very convenient, their availability, not just for cooking but for medicinal purposes, should never be taken for granted.
Simply Ming: Easy Techniques for East-Meets-West Meals

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Source: Virily.com

* Follow my posts about Herbs and Spices on Noise.Cash.

Monday, May 31, 2021

Food Blurb: Medical Advice About Super foods

For contrast and comparison, another listing of superfoods was published via Medical News Today and it shares insightful information about the health benefits and about taking supplements.

♦ ♦  Superfood Kitchen: Cooking with Nature's Most Amazing Foods (Julie Morris's Superfoods)  





Source: Virily.com

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Food Blurb: Top 10 List of Superfoods

EatingWell publishes a free newsletter and you can receive articles with weight loss tips and healthy recipes. They published a top 10 list of superfoods you can and should eat every day The great thing about this list is there is a superfood (or super drink) that can please everybody in my house. My daughters love tea. My husband loves oranges. And I love sweet potato! 

♦ ♦  Nourishing Superfood Bowls: 75 Healthy and Delicious Gluten-Free Meals to Fuel Your Day



Image credit:  A Super Awesome Bowl!



Source: Virily.com

Saturday, May 15, 2021

Food Blurb: WARNING: Delicacies Can Be Dangerous!

Many people are blessed to travel the world and get introduced to new foods they have never tasted or even heard of. Here is some advice you should never ignore. In some countries, certain foods may be considered “delicacies” but … “Prepare them wrong and you can die!” 

Some foods don't even require preparation because they are eaten raw. My first time seeing this fruit was when I visited The Bahamas to meet my husband's parents. I tasted it. It was delicious. So it was a shock to see that star fruit was on this list of "dangerous foods". Who knew?



♦♦  Superfoods Cookbook: Book One: 75+ Recipes of Quick & Easy Cooking, Low Fat Cooking, Gluten-Free Cooking, Wheat Free Cooking, Low Cholesterol Cooking, ... - weight loss plan for women) (Volume 29)





Source: Virily.com

Monday, May 10, 2021

Food Blurb: Herbs and Spices: 3 Spices for a Long Life

Mao Shing Ni (Dr. Mao), is a board-certified anti-aging expert who asserts that there are 3 spices that promote longevity. That’s right. They can help you live longer. Ginger, evergreen, and garlic.







Source: Virily.com



Sunday, April 25, 2021

Food Blurb: Herbs and Spices: Name the Sexy Spices

These herbs and spices are credited with spicing up your sex life: saffron, fenugreek, fennel, cloves, garlic, nutmeg, and basil. The Italians refer to basil as the “grass of kisses”. Perhaps for Valentine’s Day or any romantic occasion, you should get your beloved a basil plant.





Source: Virily.com



Fenugreek Improves Sexual Performance in Men


In the study, 54 men with an average age of 41 were enrolled and divided into two groups. Twenty-seven of the men received twice-daily doses of 300 mg of fenugreek combined with 17 mg of magnesium, 15 mg of zinc and 5 mg of pyridoxine (the brand name of the fenugreek used in the study is Testofen).

Fennel - a source of estrogen and vitamin C - Eat Something Sexy


As an aphrodisiac, fennel is noted as more useful to women than men. You see, it is notably high in phytoestrogens, natural estrogen-like chemicals found in plants. In fact, in the 1930's, it was considered as a possible source for synthetic estrogen. Throughout history, fennel was linked with healthy circulation, improved vision and inflammation reduction.



The Benefits of Garlic for Men - Eat Something Sexy


Garlic is widely recognized as a health food. This relative of onion is a source of a surprising number of vitamins and minerals for something delivered in such a small package. The benefits of garlic include magnesium, selenium and vitamin C. And all of these nutrients are considered essential to sexual health.

"An Experimental Study of Sexual Function Improving Effect of Myristica Fragrans Houtt. (Nutmeg.)"


Nutmeg is a spice which has been used traditionally to treat male sexual disorders, such as erectile dysfunction. A study in rats demonstrated the ability of an alcohol extract of nutmeg to increase male libido and potency. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the sexual effects of nutmeg (Myristica fragrans), it's side effects and toxicity.

Daily Basil Consumption Can Enhance Libido In Men - By Dr. Rahul Gupta | Lybrate

Basil leaves are small plants commonly eaten as fresh vegetables and has a distinctive aroma. Besides as fresh vegetables basil leaves benefits turned out to be one kind of food that can arouse sexual desire of men or so-called aphrodisiac substances.


Friday, April 23, 2021

Food Blurb: Herbs and Spices: 6 Spices For Indian Cuisine

If you love Indian cuisine and want to learn how to cook Indian food then to get started you should have these 6 spices in your kitchen cabinet:
  1. turmeric, 
  2. saffron, 
  3. ginger, 
  4. cumin, 
  5. coriander (seed or powder), and 
  6. cardamon







Source: Virily.com










Friday, November 13, 2020

More of My Best Of Chicken Recipes

When I published the first list of My Best of Chicken Recipes, it was well-received But such a list is never really complete. Here are a few more recipes. Hope you like them!

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5 Facts About Chicken:
  1. Chicken is the most common poultry in the world.
  2. PerTV chef Lidia Bastianich, chicken is the most Googled food term.
  3. Chicken is shown Babylonian carvings that date back to 600 B.C.
  4. Africans love chicken so much, suppliers have a hard time keeping up with the demand.
  5. Alektorophobiais the fear of chickens. ( Who would be afraid of a chicken? (O.o)}

Find more interesting facts at The Fact Site.

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#1 Jamie Oliver’s Thai Chicken Laksa

They say that while the king and his noblemen feasted on large portions of meat, the peasants were content to take the leftover meat scraps to make hearty soups or stews to feed themselves and their families.  It has also been said that the servants actually enjoyed better health and lived longer because they consumed less meat, ate more vegetables, and the broth was good for their innards. { Heard that on a televised documentary. I don't get Time magazine anymore. }

I fancy most soups, but particularly chicken soup.  Plus Jamie Oliver believes in healthy eating.  This sounds marvelous!!  Take this to a soup party and there won't be any leftovers to take back home. 

    #2 Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken

    This recipe has three key ingredients: sesame oil, Chinese rice wine, and soy sauce. The word “cups” means these ingredients should be in equal ratio; not a literal measurement.  You will enjoy learning this interesting food history.

      #3 Hot Chicken is a Favorite in Nashville

      Hot chicken is extremely popular fun food and it has an interesting history.  One legend says it was invented in Nashville, Tennessee, during the Great Depression. 

        #4 Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup

        Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of my favorite soups.  Instant Pot seems to have become a favorite small kitchen appliance that many of my friends are using for cooking.  An easy recipe for my favorite soup using Instant Pot?  I should pass this on to my friends to prepare and hope they invite me over to enjoy it.  LOL.




        Original source


        Saturday, October 31, 2020

        My Favorite Chinese TV Chefs

        Growing up in my day (the 50s, 60s, and 70s) there were hardly any TV programs with cooks and chefs that taught you how to be a kitchen diva. But nowadays there are television networks wholly devoted to the topic of cooking techniques, sharing recipes and food diversity or world cuisine. Cooking shows are also all over YouTube. My husband searches for cooking videos. But I liked watching the public broadcast channels (like PBS) or the cooking channels on cable TV such as FoodNetwork.



        These are my four favorite Chinese chefs.


        1. Martin Yan
        2. Ming Tsai
        3. Ching He Huang
        4. Kylie Kwong

        Ever heard of them or watched their shows?

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        #1 Martin Yan (“Remember! If Yan can cook, you can too!”)

        #2 Ming Tsai (in his early days with his mom)

        #3 Ching He Huang (She attended school but it is said she is self-taught.)  She was such a good chef they invited her to come to America to do a TV show. ~ “Easy Chinese San Francisco” with Ching He Huang

        #4 Kylie Kwong (She’s a popular Australian-Chinese chef)

        Sunday, October 11, 2020

        Popular Diets. Which is Best? French, Greek or Japanese?

        Eat like zee French!  NO!  Like the Greek!  No No!  Like the Japanese!  

        • Some say eat like the French. They knosh on cheese, drink red wine by the gallon, and cook with butter. They say it’s a healthy diet.

        • Some say eat like the Greeks. It’s that Mediterranean diet. They use lots of olive oil and eat yogurt. It’s a healthy diet.
        • Finally, others say we should eat like the Japanese. They claim the Japanese people live longer because they eat a lot of fish and pickle their vegetables.

        Which country's diet have you copied?  Or do you just eat whatever is put on the table and ask no questions?

        America’s food scene reflects a lot of cultural diversity so I can eat French, Greek, or Japanese. I don’t know if it will help me live longer, but the food sure does taste good! ☺





        Content first published at Virily.com