Consumer Rights

As habitual, I turned to the online edition of my native country’s newspaper, for local news . While reading,I was drawn towards an article which I thought was creditable.It was a worthy act taken by Sri lanka's Health Ministry ,who has directed food manufacturers throughout the nation to take care when printing the date of production,the date of expiry and the ingredients used on the food and drink labels, which will be in effect from July.
From now on, manufacturers will have to strictly abide by the new regulations imposed by the Ministry when selling their manufactured goods.

The Health Ministry has also cautioned the public to keep vigilant on the sale of unhygienic and outdated canned food items and various soft drink products sold by supermarkets, groceries and other food outlets. This move will in fact make the consumers more watchful of what they purchase from the supermarkets or the grocers.They should take extra care to always check labels for the production and expiry dates. In addition,they must make it a point to read the labeled ingredients ,so that they will know if that particular product is good or harmful to them..They now have the right to report to relevant authorities any sale of unhygienic or outdated food stuffs in the supermarket. This step will also make the traders think twice about selling cheap and unhygenic food items with the intent of making quick cash.The risk of falling sick eating food which is outdated or unhygienic,is on a greater altitude, so consumers too should treat this warning as an eye opener .

Handling A Vegetarian

When children are  little, it is the duty of us, as  parents (especially the mother) to see that the children  eat appropriate food at appropriate times.As parents, we often  try to get  the best food across to our children.And on a regular basis,cook healthy meals and feed it to our young off springs. If they didn’t eat to full ,we go to the extent of  supplementing  them with extras, in the form of vitamin syrups.

Most children  at this young  age become very fastidious over food and wouldn’t even think of eating anything new that the mother introduces .By the time they reach  the  adolescent years, they will have the independence of following their own eating habits. At this stage they may have preferences between healthy and unhealthy foods.

If your children show an interest in fruits and vegetables.Be sure to make  dishes using their favourite fruits and vegetables.Each day try to make a different dish. Sometimes they wouldn’t like the same taste of food that is being laid on the table.Often children take hold of whatever they see in the refrigerator when they are hungry, so have slices of fruits and a bowl of salad made  with their favourite vegetables.Try keeping the healthiest food easily accessible.

There are times when they crave for  junk food ..And that’s when the war begins  at the table.Don’t prohibit junk food all at once .It’s all right  if they eat it once in a way.You can help your children limit  junk food as much as possible. And as they start growing they will freely have their choice of food too.

I have a daughter who didn’t quite like the taste of fish,chicken or beef  right from  her toddler years.and I used to think that  it was just a passing phase and didn’t try to coerce her into eating meat.But then a few years later,when she  was about  seven  she started to relish my meat dishes.However one day, while we were having cooked beef curry for dinner, she suddenly prompted where meat came from. And when I said from the cow, she hurriedly left the table, her plate untouched, and innocently said, “Eww…gross  ! A cow dish!’.And ever since, she has not eaten anything that has meat in it. 

She’s fourteen  now and a vegetarian, Being a vegetarian necessarily doesn’t mean she' s eating all the vegetables that I make..She is picky too.! She mostly loves to eat an unbalanced vegetarian diet which consists of fried food and  potatoes.She intensely dislikes when the vegetables are cooked  in the usual type, curried vegetables with gravy, which is commonly prepared in a typical Sri Lankan home.Now I have adapted a different mode of cooking  vegetable dishes just for her.After a lot of convincing,she has started to eat the baked variety.I try my best to see that her diet is nutritionally adequate and healthful. I have been  trying to supplement her with all kinds of everything.  So far I have not succeeded in my many attempts to make her change her mind  to eat meat again .But I guess my tactics are not working anymore.

                       My daughter’s favourite-cauliflower,carrots and zucchini

                        The veggies baked with tomato paste and  mild spices

The Aftermath Of Cooking

Cleaning the kitchen after cooking is not an easy task for a ‘somewhat clumsy’  cook. Thinking  of it makes the head spin. But one way or another it has to be done.Imagine the pile of dishes, pots, pans and the spills and splatters,  all waiting to be cleaned and scrubbed till spick and span. Often people living in apartments have to deal with the odour that seeps after sometime , from cooking.This happens because there is n’t enough ventilation for the cooking smoke to escape.Thus the house is filled with smoke like air ,causing  embarrassing situations when you have unexpected visitors show at your door.

I came across some interesting and useful tips that would become  handy the next time you want to clean your kitchen. It’s amazing how these simple household chemicals act as cleaning agents that assist in making  the kitchen spotless .All these products  could be found in your kitchen.So you don’t have to worry about  spending any extra money.

To clean the oven- mix 330ml of bicarbonate soda with a little water to get a thin paste. Apply this inside the oven. Leave it for a few hours and rinse.

To deodorize the refrigerator-place half a lemon dipped in salt in the middle shelf of the fridge.

Bicarbonate of soda-removes grease, dirt spills and stains from carpets and surfaces.

Vinegar-deodorizes and act as a mild disinfectant

Lemon juice-is a natural bleach.Could be used as stain remover and surface cleaner.

Olive oil- use sparingly as furniture polish and finger print remover for stainless steel.

Happy Cleaning!

                                                          

Cooking Tapioca

The tapioca root

Tapioca is a staple food in some countries and is used widely as a thickening agent mainly in foods. This is a good source of food for people who are allergic to gluten.Tapioca is  free from gluten.It is widely known in my native land that tapioca and ginger (both are  kind of roots) are not compatible and could cause catastrophic results when cooked together or eaten on the same day.Whether this is a  fact or not, I still don’t know, but continue to believe this myth  to this day.

Whenever  tapioca is used at home , I make sure that ginger is not added to any other  food for a day or two.The last time I  cooked it,the children didn’t quite like the taste.I had simply boiled  and served it with scrapped coconut and a chilly sambol,something closer to a chutney. I always wondered how tapioca would taste if it was cooked in some different way,other than boiled, which is the usual  and the most common method of cooking tapioca  in my home country. So taking that into consideration, I decided to make something  different and exceptional  this time, when my husband bought some from the grocer.

I remembered ,a few weeks  ago, I had watched the making of kofta on TV, which was telecasted  in the  middle eastern food channel. Kofta is a middle eastern and asian dish . It, is made of ground  meat: most commonly  lamb or beef with a variety of spices added . It is  similar to meatballs. They can be eaten fried, grilled or poached. And that was the recipe I decided to try, ’topiaco kofta-minus the meat . With the vegetarian recipe  in mind,I reached  for the bag of tapioca and headed toward the kitchen.Once done, everyone relished them.

Flattened and shaped into patties

Sizzling in hot oil

All done and set to eat 

For the above savoury dish,I used mashed tapioca,onions,green chillies,red chilly flakes,salt and lime juice.Mix well and form round patties using the fingers.Chill them in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour.The patties must be firm and not soggy.Then dip in beaten  eggs and coat with bread crumbs before frying in hot oil.

Tip: you can even replace tapioca with  good old potatoes.Mash coarsely the boiled tapioca,add butter,pepper and salt.

Mama's Macaroni

I love making pasta with an assortment  of different shapes, so as to make it  appetizing for my children . The most relished collection of dried  pasta  at home  is the conventional type :  spaghetti (thin rods) and  Macoroni , (tubes) .  I find it  irresistible to stack countless packets of dried ones in the  cabinet , so  I may try out the  new dish that I  might have seen  on the  previous day on “Fatafeat’ , a popular Middle Eastern Food Channel.

My Children love pasta in general, but get divided when choosing the condiments that go with the pasta. The four have a penchant to eat it according to their respective taste buds, which obviously vary. Eventually they end up settling with the  most  common dish , ‘Mama ‘s Macoroni’ which is  applicable to everyone. ” Mama’s Macaroni” –is   my own specified pasta  dish - the name in particular was familiarized by my children.This particular one   is also a  favorite amongst the family and  I can tag it as the ‘most cooked’ dish during  the holidays and festive season.

 Ever since my younger daughter gave up  eating cheese, an absolute condiment in  pasta,  I had to find an alternative. And  was n’t I lucky enough  to  have found it sooner. I couldn’t have found anything better than coconut cream as the substitute.  It’s absolutely delectable with pasta. Although traditionally pasta  is  cooked to the dent,  my children  prefer it flexible and  very  tender .In view of that I have adapted that method  when  cooking  pasta.The recipe I have posted today is made with macoroni, the tubed shaped pasta . And   for my vegetarian  daughter, I skip the meat and add par boiled carrots and zucchini .

^Enjoy!

^{Mama's Macaroni}

^{( Ingredients)}

A packet of macaroni (500 gm packet)

1 1/2 lbs beef ( you can substitute with chicken)

2 large onions chopped

4-5 green chilies (remove seeds if you prefer less spicy)

A small pod of garlic

1inch ginger (or a little more)

1-2 teaspoons of Cummin seeds

1-2 teaspoons of curry powder

1-2 teaspoons pepper or according to your palate

Salt to taste

2 cubes  beef/ chicken stock 

Ghee/butter

1 cup thick coconut milk  or 3-4 tablespoons of coconut milk powder added to a cup of hot water ( * or you can stir in the milk powder straight into the cooking pasta- if you use this method please add  a cup of water  into the pan when  the  pasta is being cooked with the other ingredients.)

For garnishing; 

(optional)

Cheese

Coriander leaves/ parsley

Directions

Boil the macaroni with a little salt (drain it and set aside). Wash & cut the beef into medium sized pieces. Boil the beef with 2-3 cups of water- with a little pepper & salt. Once done set aside (don’t throw the excess liquid).

Pound the ginger, garlic, green chilies & the Cummin seeds (set aside).

In a large pan, heat 2-3 tablespoon of ghee/butter, stir in the chopped onions and when it begins to get soft & translucent, put in the rest of the pounded ingredients (garlic, ginger, green chilies & Cummin seeds). Keep on stirring it you get that aroma (don’t let it brown).

Put in the curry powder and the pepper and give it a good stir. Add the boiled beef with the excess liquid into this sautéed mixture and cover the pan with a lid & cook for 10 minutes. Next add the boiled macaroni. Mix in the  stock cubes. Cover and cook for further 10-15 minutes. Pour in, the cup of coconut milk or the milk powder( If you intend to use the powder ,follow the instructions given * )

 Remember the meat stock cube is already salty, so add  salt only if it’s necessary.  Let it simmer for a while .Transfer in to dish and garnish with chopped coriander/parsley.

 (Ready to serve  for about 8-10 persons)

Or if you still fancy it with cheese

Transfer this cooked pasta into a baking dish. Grate cheese on top of the pasta and bake in a hot oven until the cheese begins to melt .Remove from oven & garnish with chopped coriander leaves/parsley (optional)

 (P.S. You can adjust the spices according to your taste bud.)