World Cuisine : Potatoes or Rice? Rice! It Has Jewels!!

Potatoes are wonderful food.  There is no limit to the recipes for preparing them.  But if one were to ask me about rice.  I would say the same thing.  If someone were to ask me to choose between a potato dish and a rice dish, I would have to go with this rice dish.  How could I resist?  It so pretty and exotic!  Plus.  It has jewels!

Persian Jeweled Rice
| The View From Great Island

Persian Jeweled Rice is a spectacular rice pilaf topped with colorful gem-like fruits and nuts ~ this popular wedding dish is a celebration in itself!

More rice dishes you'll love just as much!

This rice dish has cranberries is a perfect American Thanksgiving side dish. Don't you think so? 

PERSIAN CRANBERRY RICE PILAF | littlespicejar.com




Rosh Hashanah Sweet Basmati Rice with Carrots & Raisins | mayihavethatrecipe.com

Your Kids Are Going To LOVE These 4 Fried Rice Ideas | buzzfeed.com

Food Blog Spotlight : Sam's Place ~ Old and New Family Recipes

Sam Monaco publishes a food blog sharing awesome photos and recipes of scrumptious food that he makes himself. Visit his blog to find recipes for:

• Appetizers/Snacks
• Main Dishes/Grilling
• Soups/Salads/Sandwiches
• Pasta
• Desserts/Cookies/Candy

Why would anybody like this blog?  Because it's just good old-fashioned home cooking.  Nothing overly fancy or ostentatious.  It's everyday family-style hearty and comforting food.  The blog's tagline reads "Old and new family recipes prepared with the most delicious and fresh ingredients."

I publish a food magazine via Flipboard ~ My I Like Eating Channel. A few of Sam's blog posts are circulated via my magazine. I'm doubling the fun and resharing content from Sam's Place that was flipped first to my foodie magazine. Enjoy!

Baked Butter Garlic Chicken Wings

These baked butter garlic chicken wings made the perfect game day treat last week. You don't have to wait for a game day to enjoy these. Serve these for a nice appetizer or snack at your next party or just a snack for the family. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of garlic.

Italian Peasant Soup

We are certainly in the cold season now, and when it gets cold outside we like our soups. There is nothing better than serving your family a hearty and healthy bowl of soup. I like all kinds of soups, especially in the winter months, which happens to last a long time in here in Western New York.

Cast Iron Skillet Pork Chops

It's winter here in Western New York, and there is nothing better to get you through those cold days than some good fashioned comfort food. I decided to make some cast iron skillet pork chops. This is another quick and easy meal to put on the table after a long day at work.

Glazed Lemon Almond Biscotti

Every year my cousin sends me a box of fresh lemons from his backyard lemon trees in Arizona. So, I put them to good use with these Glazed Lemon Almond Biscotti. The lemon and almond are a delicious combination of flavors for biscotti. If you're not a fan of almond flavor you can leave it out.

Poor Man's Pizza My Grandmother's Recipe

Poor Man's Pizza, another recipe passed down from my grandmother. I really don't know why my grandmother called this poor man's pizza, I never asked. I learned how to make this by watching her. Although my grandmother made it best, isn't that always the case? 

Moms Who Think - Halloween Recipes

Rummaging through foodie links gathered from here, there, and everywhere, and found a great blog which hadn't been visited in a while.

Best collection of Halloween Recipes at Moms Who Think ever!  Go for the Jack O'Lantern Pizza.  That way you can celebrate Halloween and National Pizza Month.  Wash it down with some Monster Slime Punch.  Grave cupcakes, optional.  :)

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Food Blog Spotlight : A Fall Neapolitan Style Dinner | jovinacooksitalian (Reblog)

Have you ever found a food blogger or food blog that is undeniably magnificent? Several years back I came across this woman's blog and am so happy to find that it is still being published. Her posts not only have great recipes but great food history too!


This one that is being shared as a reblog is perfect because it's for the fall season and it's about Italy, one of those places on my bucket list of "Places to Visit".  Will likely never realize that dream but dreaming about it is a wonderful thing.

Dream Italian?  Think Italian.  Be Italian!

The post begins by giving the reader a quick history of Neopolitan cuisine.  Neopolitan is a cuisine?  Only ever knew it to be a flavor for ice-cream!  In 3 short paragraphs, she took me from ancient Greece and Rome to modern-day Italy and the United States.  Then she set forth an entire Neopolitan dinner, recipes and all, from the first course to the dessert.  Of course, I skipped the courses and went straight to the dessert.  But that's just me!  :)


This blog post is dated 2013.  Liked it then.  Like it now!  The image from her post is an Italian Apple cake.  Isn't it gorgeous?!!

 

A Fall Neapolitan Style Dinner | jovinacooksitalian

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Celebrate National Apple Month in October  (or any month! 🍏)

October is National Pizza Month ~ Let's Celebrate!

October is National Pizza Month. Let's start the celebration with these fun pizza facts.

- - "The longest pizza delivery was from Cape Town, South Africa to Sydney, Australia."

- - "Scientists report that eating pizza once a week can reduce the risk of esophageal cancer. It's the tomatoes and olive oil in the pizza."

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Everyday Exotic Spices: Zanzibar Spices & Heritage Centre: The Continuing Story

A few years back, stumbled across an article detailing a delightful business success story about the efforts of Mzee Foum Garu aka Foum Ali Garu, a spice farmer in Zanzibar. 

Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous archipelago off the coast of Tanzania. Zanzibar and Pemba, its sister island, have a reputation for their spices. Spice farm tours are conducted for travelers to Tanzania. Tourists learn the origins and history of the spices produced in Zanzibar, their culinary and medicinal properties, and the traditional local uses. They also get to sample some delicious local dishes and a tasty “Tea Masala”. Natives and foreign students are invited to enroll at the Kizimbani Agricultural Training Institute of Zanzibar to learn even more via an internship or a volunteer project.  Mr. Garu played an integral role in promoting and developing these tours and training courses.

Image credit: Spice farm, Zanzibar by Mark, on Flickr

The organization founded by Mr. Garu was mentioned in the 2013 write-up as “Zanzibar Organic Spice Products”. It is currently operating under the name “Zanzibar Organic Spice Growers (ZOSG)”, and also recognized by the name “Zanzibar Spices & Heritage Centre”. Mzee Foum Garu combined his experience, knowledge and skills for farming spices with several other small-scale farmers and they grow a wide range of cash crops. In addition to spices (cardamom, vanilla, betel nut, turmeric, cinnamon, curry leaves and nutmeg), they cultivate many tropical fruits and vegetables (such as hairy litchi, durian and jack fruit), and plants and trees (such as moringa, the henna plant, and the lipstick tree). There is a growing European market for these food products cultivated by the zanzibari farmers.

Image credit: Zanzibar Spices & Heritage Centre

The article that inspired this post was dated 2013, however, Foum Ali Garu began his work in the 90s. It's great to read that Garu's success has continued and that other local farmers are also benefitting from the agricultural initiatives he started and the entire region is profiting.

FoumAli Garu, Managing Director, Zanzibar Organic Spice Growers. ©

Interesting Food History: The first spices plantations were established by the Oman Sultan Sayid Sa’id in the 19th century.  ~  "Seyyid Said." Encyclopedia of World Biography. . Encyclopedia.com. 16 Oct. 2017 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.                     

Ingredients in this spice mound: 

Coriander, mustard, fennel, turmeric, cumin, sweet paprika, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, black pepper, cloves and white pepper.

Zanzibar Seasoning : African Blends Collection by Merchant Spice Co.

7 Natural Aphrodisiacs to Spice Up Your Sex Life! by Melisa Marzett (Guest Post)

Spices are a real treasure. They excite the taste buds, add an interesting taste to food, and remind us of other worlds, and the existence of miracles and beauty. Many spices are known for their stimulating effect. It is difficult to explain the nature and origin of this effect, but it exists. Spices are very strong natural aphrodisiacs. They are able to awaken desire and passion. Use spices and color your sexual life!

• Saffron. This spice adds new flavors and colors in dishes cooked from rice. Saffron is very expensive as it is difficult to collect and ship this precious spice. However, you will need just a tiny bit of this spice, two or three stamens will be enough in order to make your dish incredibly delicious! Excessive use of saffron can actually ruin the dish. Scientists say that even a tiny amount of this spice increases sexual desire. In addition, saffron contains zinc, selenium, potassium, magnesium, and has antioxidant properties.

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SPICE Spotlight: Saffron

Everyday spices for everyday cooking. Use of the right herbs and spices can turn a bland meal into a sumptuous dining experience.

• Fenugreek. Fenugreek seeds are popular in eastern ethnic cuisines. It is impossible to imagine many Indian dishes without this spice with intriguing flavor. Recent research showed that fenugreek is an aphrodisiac, thus, it is able to increase sexual desire in men with low libido. In addition, fenugreek contains elements that help to reduce sugar levels in blood and to enhance lactation.

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Fenugreek Leaves

• Fennel. This plant looks a bit like celery, but the taste is quite different. Fennel successfully helps to cope with digestive problems, stimulates lactation and helps to clean bronchial passages of mucus. Many people do not like fennel because of its specific flavor and sweetish taste, but maybe you will risk to try it if you take into account the fact that the ancient Egyptians used the fennel to increase women’s libido. (Fennel for women.  Fennel for men.)  Try to grind fennel seeds and add them to your food, its active chemicals that increase sexual desire are found in the seeds of this plant.

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SPICE Spotlight: Fennel

Use of the right herbs and spices can turn a bland meal into a sumptuous dining experience. Shop for exotic herbs and spices online 24/7.

• Cloves. This slightly sweet spice increases blood flow to organs and slightly raises the body temperature. Eastern medicine claims that cloves can increase the body's energy, and its flavor cleans breath. The strong and sensual fragrance is the feature which brightens sexual life.

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Organic Cloves 

• Garlic. Not many people will appreciate "garlic" breath which can ruin the whole date. Nevertheless, regardless of the fact that garlic makes your breath unfresh, it contains a lot of allicin, a substance that enforces blood flow in the genitals, this quality actually makes garlic an aphrodisiac. And parsley easily eliminates the smell of garlic breath.

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SPICE SPOTLIGHT: Garlic

Everyday spices for everyday cooking. Use of the right herbs and spices can turn a bland meal into a sumptuous dining experience.

• Nutmeg. Fragrant nutmeg has long been used in India as a natural aphrodisiac, in Africa it is also known as "Viagra for women". Studies have shown that it really affects people's sexual behavior.

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Spice Farming in Zanzibar

Mzee Foum Garu is a descendant of slaves and comes from a long line of spice farmers. He is the founder of Zanzibar Organic Spice Products; a small plantation, three acres that yields cardamom, vanilla, betel nut, turmeric, cinnamon and two very potent spices - curry leaves and nutmeg.

• Basil. This plant has a sweet taste and aroma, and that is what is known to be the simplest means to stimulate the libido. In fact, the Italians call basil the grass of kisses, and ancient Greeks fed stallions with basil before the "date". Try to add some basil to the salad wait for a pleasant surprise!

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Large Leaf Italian Basil Heirloom Seeds

Yes, spices have many useful qualities. Use them and enjoy nights (or days) full of passion and romance!

About the author:
Melisa Marzett is a well-known blogger and talented writer. Melisa works on such topics as healthy lifestyle, cooking and psychology, and writes for essaywritingservice-reviews.com. 

* (Information above is general and not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice.)

English: Spices in Mapusa Market, Goa, India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Natural aphrodisiacs for women

Natural aphrodisiacs for men

Edible Fruit Bouquet Arrangements: Home Made or Ready Made?

Don't know about you but every year one of my Top 10 New Year's Resolutions is to eat more fruits (and veggies; especially the green leafy kind).  But thinking about it.  Not only is it a good idea to eat more fresh fruit, but since there are holidays, birthdays, and special occasions all throughout the year, giving fruit as a food gift is also a good thing.  

Don't you love receiving fruit baskets and edible arrangements?  

Do you prefer to make your own or purchase these gifts ready made?

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Fabulous How to Video: 
Make Edible Fruit Bouquet Arrangements! 

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But if you're still not into making these arrangements or you don't have the time, there is a convenient way to order online and have this lovely edible gift delivered.

Edible Arrangements Coupons

Fruit Bouquets: Deliver delicious fruit bouquets to share!

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