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   A lot of people who love to cook are very fond of herbs and spices and look for every opportunity to present them into a dish.
Some cooks go overabundant, and sprinkle them in everything on the off chance they will find something new.
Then there are those who avoid seasonings altogether for fear they will ruin an entire dish by over-seasoning, or worse, adding the wrong seasoning.

One such herb is thyme; its most active ingredient - thymol - is a well-known ingredient in products like Listerine and Vicks.
Thymol has antibacterial and antifungal properties, which makes it useful for a number of things.

Its oil, when inhaled, can help to loosen phlegm and relax the muscles in the respiratory tract and when made into a tea, thyme is helpful for colds and flu. Adding thyme to a dish infuses a whole new flavor and fragrance; its dry aroma and slightly minty flavor allow it to pair perfectly with minced garlic in rubs for lamb, pork, or even beef roasts, or by itself to enhance cheese, tomato, and egg dishes.

Try adding some thyme to stuffing, spaghetti, pizza sauces or chilli.
Thyme retains its flavor on drying better than many other herbs, and dried thyme, especially powdered, occupies less space than fresh, so less of it is required when substituted in a recipe.

As a rule of thumb, use one-third as much dried as fresh thyme, a little less if it is ground.
Thyme is slow to release its flavors so it is best added early in the cooking process to ensure proper flavor penetration.

Thyme is great on roast beef, which makes a great Kummelweck.
Kummelweck or a weck is a roast beef sandwich made famous in Buffalo, New York by being served on a special Kaiser roll topped with lots of pretzel salt and caraway seeds.
Its name comes from its creator who is believed to have been William Wahr, a German baker from the Black Forest, an area of Germany where bread rolls are known as wecks.
View video of how to grow Thyme

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Wine exports in New Zealand have reached a new record with wine export revenues increasing 16% to NZ$766 million in the year to March 2008, according to New Zealand Winegrowers. This was up from NZ$661 million in the last year.
‘The continuing growth of wine exports is very satisfying and reflects strong demand for New Zealand wines in new and existing global markets’ commented Philip Gregan, Chief Executive Officer of New Zealand Winegrowers. ‘Our on-going market success reflects our status as world class producer of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and a range of other styles.”
“Export growth for the year to March was constrained by supply shortages of key varieties which restricted export volumes and the high value of the New Zealand dollar, which impacted export returns.’
Over the past decade wine export volumes have risen at an annual growth rate of 19% per annum and 26% per annum for the last five years.
Mr Gregan said continued export growth is expected. ‘In our key markets, such as the UK, Australia, USA and Canada, there is strong and rising demand for our wines. The increased volumes of wine expected from vintage 2008 will help satisfy this demand and will enable new and developing markets such as Asia to be developed. In addition the superb summer weather should ensure the new vintage delivers excellent wines into the market which will add further to our international reputation.”
“This combination of continued strong demand and a quality, increased vintage means we are on track to reach our export goal of $1 billion by 2010,” said Mr Gregan.
View video of New Zealand Pinot Noir 2004

Posted in wine

The history of Mother's Day is centuries old and goes back to the times of ancient Greeks, who held festivities to honor Rhea, the mother of the gods. The early Christians celebrated the Mother's festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honor Mary, the mother of Christ. Interestingly, later on a religious order stretched the holiday to include all mothers, and named it as the Mothering Sunday. The English colonists settled in America discontinued the tradition of Mothering Sunday because of lack of time. In 1872 Julia Ward Howe organized a day for mothers dedicated to peace. It is a landmark in the history of Mother's Day.



The second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year. Mother's day lives on and has spread to various countries of the world. Many countries throughout the world celebrate Mother's Day at various times during the year, but some such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.
View video recipe for Mother’s day.

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According to notable resources cheese was first made in the Middle East.The earliest type was a form of sour milk, which was discovered when domesticated animals were milked.

According to a legend, cheese was 'discovered' by a nameless Arab nomad. He is said to have filled a saddlebag with milk to support him on a journey across the desert by horse. After several hours riding he stopped to quench his thirst, only to find that the milk had separated into watery liquid and solid white lumps. Because the saddlebag, which was made from the stomach of a young animal, contained a coagulating enzyme known as rennin, the milk had been effectively separated into curds and whey by the combination of the rennin, the hot sun and the trotting motions of the horse. The nomad, unconcerned with these details, found the whey drinkable and the curds edible.

Cheese was known to the ancient Sumerians four thousand years before the birth of Christ. The ancient Greeks acknowledged Aristaeus, a son of Apollo and Cyrene, with its discovery; it is mentioned in the Old Testament.

In Roman time cheese making was done with skill and knowledge and reached a high standard. By this time the developing process had been perfected and it was known that various treatments and conditions under storage resulted indifferent flavours and characteristics.
The larger Roman houses had a separate cheese kitchen, the caseale, and also specific areas where cheese could be matured. In large towns home-made cheese could be taken to a special centre to be smoked. Cheese was served on the tables of the elite and travelled to the far corners of the Roman Empire as a regular part of the rations for the army.

During the Middle Ages, monks became creators and developers and so contributed to the many classic varieties of cheese today. During the Renaissance period cheese suffered a drop in popularity, being considered unhealthy, but it regained favour by the nineteenth century, the period that saw the start of the move from farm to factory production.
View video of cheese making

Posted in Cheese

An estimated 500 people attended the customer appreciation party at the Tye-Dyed Iguana reptile store’s edible bug cookout on Saturday afternoon. The free event is annual, but the bug buffet was new this year.
A moving bug chef prepared scorpions, crickets, beetle grubs, and caterpillars. He barbecued cockroaches and deep-fried scorpions. A keen crowd of adults and children watched and waited their turns for a plate of these creepy crawlies.
Reactions were mixed, but most of the brave agreed: They're hard to pick out of your teeth.
"It's like French fries, except juicier," said Marty Bass, a 9-year-old from Fairview Heights, after finishing a plateful of crickets and rice.
Another cricket-eater, 34-year-old Jason Kemfpr of Mascoutah, described the bug as having a mushroom flavor as he pulled a leg from the corner of his mouth.
Dennis Dixon, a 44-year-old from Dupo, said his barbecued cockroach had a shell quite similar to a shrimp's. He then spat the bug out.
Chef Dave Gracer works in Providence, R.I., as a college writing and literature teacher but travels the country doing bug cooking demonstrations.
He favors his tastes to bush crickets and Thai fried grasshoppers. He never serves-live insects; the bugs served Saturday were dead before they were cooked.
Ray Gallamore, 40, of Dupo made the mistake of ramming an entire scorpion into his mouth at once. The outside was too tough, he said, so it's better just to suck out the meat, which he said tasted a little like shellfish and was "actually pretty good."
Those not eating insects listened to live music, had their faces painted, and wandered the store's range of exotic reptiles for sale.
People lined up for photos with Erik Sprague, known as "Lizardman," a popular traveling comedian famous for his appearance. He had his tongue split to look like a lizard's, and has implants made to look like horns, filed-down, pointed teeth, and green, scale-like tattoos.
He hadn't yet tried the food offered Saturday -- he prefers live insects.
"Wax and grub worms are some of the best snacks on the planet," he said.
View video of bug buffet in Thailand

Posted in food