Customize Your Puff
You always want you puff pastry to look its best, and taste even better. To avoid the middle of the pastry from rising as much as the edges, prick the surface using a fork. The pastry won’t lose its lightness, and will still be flaky. It just won’t have too many layers. You can always use two baking sheets, to make the puff pastry into flat pieces. This is good to make a napoleon.
Finesse Your Fillings
Soggy pastries aren’t the best pick. All you must do is keep in mind not to over weigh the pastry. Since these are fragile, don’t fill them in with too many ingredients or toppings that would release a lot of liquid. Try and avoid sticky fillings. As a thumb rule, always line your baking tray with butter paper that is greased or a silicone baking mat.
Make It Shine
Puff pastry that looks appetizing is always the best pick. To make your puff pastry shine, take a large egg, beat it slightly with a teaspoon of water. Add that glaze on your pastry. This glaze also prevents turnovers and acts as a glue. Press the layers together softly after simmering the glaze, it sticks better. That extra layer of shine is something that will make your puff pastry stand out.
Bake Now or Later
Hot, or rather warm and light puff pastries are the best. So always bake them in small quantities and serve. A lot of recipes today show how to store these things, and can be taken out just before you need to use them. Some recipes can even be prepped but not baked, wrapped well, and frozen for a week or two. (Check your recipe for specific baking and defrosting instructions.) Soggy puff pastry can be put into the oven and be used too. So, don’t always take the stress of having to do it all right before your party, or having some that aren’t the best. You can always make the puff pastry taste wonderful and look amazing with a few small changes to the bake.
Save Your Scraps
Wasting puff isn’t a need at all. Leftovers aren’t meant for the bin. You can combine them all, roll them out to make palmier or cheese straws. Leftover pastry won’t puff up quite as much and it may be a little uneven, but that’s less important with smaller shapes.
We are a coffee-drinking nation and every form of the beverage – decaf, regular, expresso, latte, cappuccino, macchiato and ristretto is consumed everyday by millions of us. It’s the first thing we need in the morning and the last (for some) after dessert. Black, with cream, with sugar, no sugar, flavored, each of us has a preference with regard to strength. Nespresso’s taken heed of this and given us a gift in a pod with the Nespresso capsules. Available in the regular Arabica and Robusta capsules, they have some amazing seasonal flavors as well.
Nespresso capsules are hermetically sealed in a capsule that holds 5-7 gms of coffee – enough for one serving of coffee. They offer five ranges in Ristretto (25ml), Espresso (40 ml), Lungo (110 ml), Decaffeinated (40 ml and 110 ml) or Flavored (40 ml).
The variations in Nespresso coffee capsules Ristretto range are:
Ristretto Origin – Made from South and Central American Arabicas, it has toasted flavors with cocoa notes and woody undertones.
Ristretto Origin India – A blend of the finest Arabicas with a smidgen of Robusta from Southern India, this full-bodied coffee has hints of spices.
Ristretto Intenso – A strong blend of South and Central American Robustas and Arabicas, the Ristretto Intenso is a full-bodied coffee with a creamy texture and peppery notes.
The variations in Nespresso coffee capsules Espresso range are:
Espresso Origin Brazil: A pure Arabica coffee, it has a mild sweet flavor.
Espresso Leggero: A blend of South American Arabicas and Robusta, it has smooth notes of cocoa and cereal.
Espresso Forte: Exclusively made from South and Central American Arabicas, it has an intensely roasted balance of espresso and fruity notes.
The variations of Nespresso coffee capsules Lungo range are:
Lungo Leggero: Lightly roasted East African, South and Central American Arabicas, with mild notes of jasmine is what makes up this delicious brew.
Lungo Forte: A complex mix of South and Central American Arabicas, this coffee has heavy roasted notes with a slight hint of fruit.
Lungo Origin Guatemala: A mix of Arabica and washed Gourmet Robusta coffee, Lungo Origin Guatemala is smooth and well balanced with dry and malty cereal notes.
The variations of Nespresso coffee capsules in the Decaffeinated range are:
Espresso Decaffeinato: Dark roasted South American Arabicas with a touch of Robusta enhances the cocoa flavors and roasted cereal undertones of this decaffeinated espresso.
Lungo Decaffeinato: This is a slightly more complex blend of separately roasted South American and East African Arabicas. It includes toasted cereal and sweet notes with subtle and floral hints of East African Arabicas.
The variations of Nespresso coffee capsules Flavored range are:
Espresso Vanilla: This silky-flavored coffee is the result of a base of Espresso Forte, which is a complex and heavily-roasted blend of South and Central American Arabicas and a slightly caramelized aroma of vanilla. Espresso Caramel: On a base of Espresso Forte, this complex and intensely roasted blend made from South and Central American Arabicas has the sweetness of caramel.
Here are a few easy and healthy recipe ideas that are both quick to make and light to digest on hot summer days. With very few ingredients, the preparation of these recipes is a breeze. So go on, enjoy these easy, healthy recipes that are brimming with nutrition and taste heavenly too!
Greek Cucumber Rolls
Ingredients (Serves 2)
Directions
This is popular among easy and healthy recipes. Slice cucumber into thin flat strips using a vegetable peeler and arrange them in slices of two on a clean tray. Smear the hummus on top of each slice, then toss some feta cheese, black olives and cut tomatoes on each of the cucumber strips. Squeeze a little lemon juice and sprinkle some finely chopped dill and cilantro. Finally, roll the strips, serve the Greek cucumber rolls and see them being gobbled up by the young and old alike!
Flavorful fettuccine pasta with vegetables
Ingredients (Serves 2)
Directions
Cook the fettuccine pasta according to the directions on the label. In a thick bottomed pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the chopped garlic and shallots. After about a minute or so, add the other vegetables along with salt and toss them gently for a few minutes. The vegetables must cook and be crunchy at the same time. When they are done, add the cooked pasta, Parmesan cheese, and some freshly ground black pepper to it and mix well. Serve this flavorful fettuccine pasta with vegetables for lunch or dinner as a filling, yet light meal.
Sunshine juice
Ingredients (Serves 2)
Direction
Squeeze juice from the oranges and blend the strawberries in a juicer. Then in a pitcher, take the orange juice, strawberry juice, and chilled water together and mix well. Refresh yourself with this yummy sunshine juice with ice cubes on a hot day.