Beef Milano Ingredients:
15g butter
180g onion, skinned and sliced
1 small clove garlic, skinned and finely chopped or crushed
2 level tabsps tomato paste
1/2 level tsp salt
1/2 level tsp pepper
450g raw minced beef
110g short macaroni, cooked
225g tomatoes, skinned and sliced
280 ml cheese sauce
Garnishing:
2 large tomatoes, sliced
small bunch of parsley or watercress
To Make:
Heat the butter in a pan, add the onion and fry slowly until soft and lightly coloured. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste. Add the salt and pepper and beef and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mince has separated and coloured. Lightly grease a 450g loaf tin.Divide the beef and macaroni in half. Place half the pasta on the base of the tin and cover with half the mince. Place the sliced tomatoes in a layer on top, covering with the remainder of the mince. Next, add the remaining pasta to the cheese sauce and pour over the top of the meat.
Place in an oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 200 Centigrade. Turn out on to a serving dish and garnish with sliced parsley or watercress and a few extra tomato slices.
To Make the Cheese Sauce:
280 ml milk
1/4 carrot, peeled and roughly cut
1/4 onion, studded with a clove
1/2 small sprig parsley
bouquet garni
a pinch of salt
a pinch of ground black pepper
60g butter
60g plain flour
60g grated Cheddar cheese
Method:
Heat the milk with the carrot, cloved studded onion, parsley, bouquet garni, salt and pepper. Bring the milk almost to the boil, remove from heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Melt the butter in a large pan but do not overheat. Remove from the heat, add the flour and blend well together. Cook the roux for 3 minutes, remove from the heat and gradually add the warm, strained milk. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring . Add the grated cheese.
Cooking the Macaroni:
Most outer packaging of pasta has instructions on how to cook them. In case, you have thrown the packaging away, this is how you cook pasta. Put some clean water into a deep saucepan. The water level should cover the pasta. Add 1 tabsp of cooking oil in to the water. Put the saucepan on the heat and add in the pasta. Cook till the water boils.The pasta is cooked in about 7-8 minutes.Drain tthe water and toss tha pasta.
(The oil is added to prevent the pasta from sticking together)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Basic Beef Casserole
Stews are made from tougher cuts of meat and cooked for at least more than one hour to tenderise the meat. Meat tenderizers can be used to help speed up the tendering process. Wherever, available the leaf of the jackfruit tree can be added to the stew as a tenderizer. A more scientific method I learn from a cousin is to put 2 steel tablespoons into the pot. The reason being the metal spoon increases the temperature of the liquid and hence helps hasten the cooking. Sounds logical but I have never tried it.
Today I am going to post the basic beef casserole recipe. Casseroles are different from stews as everything that needs cooking is placed in a dish (called the casserole) and cooked in the oven. No stirring is required, only a low to medium oven temperature. However, it is similar to stewing in the sense that it needs a longer time to cook.
BASIC BEEF CASSEROLE
1 1/2 lbs (or 700g) stewing beef steak
a scoop of seasoned flour, or flour mixed with a soup base
1 tablespoon butter
100g onions, skinned and chopped
210ml stock
salt and freshly ground pepper
bouquet garni.( You can use kaffir lime leaf or curry leaves as alternatives to bouquet garni.)
(makes 1 casserole, serves 4)
TO MAKE:
Cut the meat into 1 cm to 1 1/2 cm cubes, and toss into seasoned flour.Heat the butter in a large pan and fry the onions until beginning to brown. Remove from the pan, draining well. Fry the meat a little at a time until brown all over. Place the meat and and oniuons in a casserole. Sprinkle the remaining flour into the fat left in the pan, stir in the stock and bring to the boil, season with salt and pepper, add bouquet garni and pour over the meat. Cover and cook in the oven at 190 degrees C for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
To make the casserole a wholesome meal, you may add potatoes and root vegetables such as carrots and radish.
The casserole is best eaten with hard crust bread, or unleavened bread such as chapatti or parathas.
Today I am going to post the basic beef casserole recipe. Casseroles are different from stews as everything that needs cooking is placed in a dish (called the casserole) and cooked in the oven. No stirring is required, only a low to medium oven temperature. However, it is similar to stewing in the sense that it needs a longer time to cook.
BASIC BEEF CASSEROLE
1 1/2 lbs (or 700g) stewing beef steak
a scoop of seasoned flour, or flour mixed with a soup base
1 tablespoon butter
100g onions, skinned and chopped
210ml stock
salt and freshly ground pepper
bouquet garni.( You can use kaffir lime leaf or curry leaves as alternatives to bouquet garni.)
(makes 1 casserole, serves 4)
TO MAKE:
Cut the meat into 1 cm to 1 1/2 cm cubes, and toss into seasoned flour.Heat the butter in a large pan and fry the onions until beginning to brown. Remove from the pan, draining well. Fry the meat a little at a time until brown all over. Place the meat and and oniuons in a casserole. Sprinkle the remaining flour into the fat left in the pan, stir in the stock and bring to the boil, season with salt and pepper, add bouquet garni and pour over the meat. Cover and cook in the oven at 190 degrees C for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
To make the casserole a wholesome meal, you may add potatoes and root vegetables such as carrots and radish.
The casserole is best eaten with hard crust bread, or unleavened bread such as chapatti or parathas.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Time to Reduce Sugar Consumption Too
This article is also adapted from articles appearing in the Sunday Star.It is a public message from CAP, the Consumers' Association of Penang.
Malaysians consume an average of 26 teaspoons of sugar per person daily, revealed a 2005 survey. And early this year, 2010, the country was ranked the world’s eighth highest sugar user. It is typical of Malaysians to want to top all the world statistics whether positively but more negatively!
In the 70s, Malaysians only consumed 17 teaspoons of sugar per person per day.
Malaysians consumed sugar in the form of, among others, soft drinks, condensed milk, flavoured drinks, junk food and even breakfast cereals. A CAP survey revealed that some drinks and food contained 10 teaspoons of sugar in one serving.
A brand of orange juice contained 40.8 teaspoons of sugar in a two-litre pack while a brand of cordial syrup had 200 teaspoons in a two-litre bottle
The International Diabetes Institute recorded Malaysia as having the fourth highest number of diabetics in Asia with 800,000 cases in 2007, which was expected to increase to 1.3 million in 2010.
Sugar is said to link to over 60 ailments such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart problems, osteoporosis, kidney problems, asthma and allergies.
According to the Health Ministry’s statistics, 11.6 million of the 16 million adults nationwide are sick with a non-communicable disease like diabetes, hypertension or cancer. "Malaysia has the most overweight and obese people in Asia with 54% of the adult population either being obese or overweight," says the CAP president.
CAP also urged the Government to make it a requirement for manufacturers to graphically display the sugar content in their products by the number of teaspoons as well as colour labelling with red, orange and green indicating the sugar level as high, medium or low respectively.
“The Government should also stop advertisements of highly-sugared drinks and food during children’s television viewing hours, and educate schoolchildren and the public on the dangers of excessive sugar intake,” CAP further proposed.
It makes a lot of sense to reduce the high sugar intake in children in order to prevent teeth caries, bad teeth development and obesity in young children. We should realise that being obese is not healthy even among children as obese children make obese adults, and obese people, whether adults or children, certainly face a lot of problems. These problems are not only focused on health issues but also personality and character issues. I have noticed that some obese people tend to have low self esteem and lack confidence and social skills.
It is now time for us to reflect on our sweet habits, as well as the habits of our loved ones,before it is too late. It is wise to cut down on sweet treats, (cakes, sweets and ice-creams); and reduce or refrain from adding too much sugar in our cooking.
I have witnessed an obese boy who tragically died of diabetes at the age of 14. His diet never included plain water. He only consumed sweetened water or canned drinks. So, for parents out there, it pays to teach your offsprings good dietary habits right from when they are in their diapers.
Malaysians consume an average of 26 teaspoons of sugar per person daily, revealed a 2005 survey. And early this year, 2010, the country was ranked the world’s eighth highest sugar user. It is typical of Malaysians to want to top all the world statistics whether positively but more negatively!
In the 70s, Malaysians only consumed 17 teaspoons of sugar per person per day.
Malaysians consumed sugar in the form of, among others, soft drinks, condensed milk, flavoured drinks, junk food and even breakfast cereals. A CAP survey revealed that some drinks and food contained 10 teaspoons of sugar in one serving.
A brand of orange juice contained 40.8 teaspoons of sugar in a two-litre pack while a brand of cordial syrup had 200 teaspoons in a two-litre bottle
The International Diabetes Institute recorded Malaysia as having the fourth highest number of diabetics in Asia with 800,000 cases in 2007, which was expected to increase to 1.3 million in 2010.
Sugar is said to link to over 60 ailments such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart problems, osteoporosis, kidney problems, asthma and allergies.
According to the Health Ministry’s statistics, 11.6 million of the 16 million adults nationwide are sick with a non-communicable disease like diabetes, hypertension or cancer. "Malaysia has the most overweight and obese people in Asia with 54% of the adult population either being obese or overweight," says the CAP president.
CAP also urged the Government to make it a requirement for manufacturers to graphically display the sugar content in their products by the number of teaspoons as well as colour labelling with red, orange and green indicating the sugar level as high, medium or low respectively.
“The Government should also stop advertisements of highly-sugared drinks and food during children’s television viewing hours, and educate schoolchildren and the public on the dangers of excessive sugar intake,” CAP further proposed.
It makes a lot of sense to reduce the high sugar intake in children in order to prevent teeth caries, bad teeth development and obesity in young children. We should realise that being obese is not healthy even among children as obese children make obese adults, and obese people, whether adults or children, certainly face a lot of problems. These problems are not only focused on health issues but also personality and character issues. I have noticed that some obese people tend to have low self esteem and lack confidence and social skills.
It is now time for us to reflect on our sweet habits, as well as the habits of our loved ones,before it is too late. It is wise to cut down on sweet treats, (cakes, sweets and ice-creams); and reduce or refrain from adding too much sugar in our cooking.
I have witnessed an obese boy who tragically died of diabetes at the age of 14. His diet never included plain water. He only consumed sweetened water or canned drinks. So, for parents out there, it pays to teach your offsprings good dietary habits right from when they are in their diapers.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Salt- Should we ration it in our diet?
The article below has been adapted from articles appearing the Sunday Star.
It is meant as a reminder to myself and those I care about ,on the dangers of consuming to much salt in our diet.
A survey has indicated that Malaysians not only are sweet -toothed but love salty foods as well. It is no wonder that fried salted fish is the daily diet of most people in the villages and a favorite dish during feasts.We are winners in this category as our salt intake is 25% higher than the standard set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Malaysia Diet Guildlines 2010, recommends that an adult's salt intake should not exceed one teaspoon or 5g, which was equivalent to 2,000mg sodium a day.
However, the Food Intake Among Malaysian Adults Research 2002/2003 showed that the salt intake for Malaysian adults is 2,575mg of sodium a day.This comes to about 28.75% from the Malaysia Diet Guildlines 2010, recommendation of 2,000gm of sodium a day.
The Minister of Health has been recorded to have said that "The National Health and Morbidity survey III (2006) found that the prevalence of hypertension among Malaysian adults to be 43%."
A high salt consumption can be related to various health problems such as high blood pressure, osteoporosis, asthma and obesity.
In Malaysia, it is not mandatory to label the salt content in food. However, the Ministry monitors the salt content in processed food and encourage manufacturers to produce low-salt food.
Now for those who have forgotten their Chemistry, you may want to be refreshed as to what constitute the common salt.
Common Salt is the common name for sodium chloride. It is the sodium component of salt that is important. There are about 2.5g of sodium in every 6g of salt. Why do we need salt?
The body needs a certain amount of sodium to function properly.Sodium helps to maintain the concentration of body fluids at correct levels. It also helps cells to take up nutrients.
Why is too much salt bad?
When levels of sodium are too high, the body retains too much water and the volume of bodily fluids increases.
Many medical practitioners believe this process leads to high blood pressure, or hypertension, which in turn is linked to a greater risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.
Excessive salt can be dangerous for young babies too.While an adult will be able to get rid of salt from the body through the kidneys into the urine, very young babies cannot process large quantities of salt as their kidneys are still immature.When they are given food with a high salt content before they are at least four months old, they may suffer from kidney, liver and brain damage. Therefore, it is best not to add salt to the foods you prepare for your baby before he/she reaches 1 year old, if you want to save your child's young and not-fully developed klidnays, liver and brain. You have to remember that what you feed your child at a young age could determine your child's future intelligence.
How much salt should we eat?
Experts recommend that adults eat 5-6g of salt a day (equivalent to one teaspoonful). It is estimated that if average consumption was cut to 6g a day, it would prevent 70,000 heart attacks and strokes a year.
And this is not just the salt you add to your food; according to many studies around the world, most of the salt we eat is already in our everyday food like bread and meat. Small amounts of sodium can be found naturally in some foods such as eggs and fish. Hence, you really do not need to add salt when cooking fresh marine fish or eggs.
The salt we sprinkle into our cooking and on cooked food accounts for only 10%-15% of our intake.Never, never place a salt condiment bottle on the table.Similarly, the practice of lacing everything you eat with soya sauce is also not encouraged. It is even worse as the soya sauce contains a lot of sugar as well.
Packaged and processed foods are thought to account for around 75% of the average person’s salt intake.
How to reduce salt intake:
How to look out for salt when shopping:
Buying food that is low in salt is one of the best ways to cut down on salt. So, before putting anything into that shopping cart, check the label to see how much salt is in the food per 100g:
Although the labelling of salt content in food is not compulsory in Malaysia, most imported goods state how much salt is in 100g of food.
Most food labels, however, give the sodium, rather than the salt content, of food.
You can still find out the amount of salt in a product by multiplying the sodium content by 2.5.
So folks, the time has come for us to adopt a better diet with less SALT. Who needs dried salted meats or fish when you can get them fresh nowadays with modern freezing and packaging methods!
It is meant as a reminder to myself and those I care about ,on the dangers of consuming to much salt in our diet.
A survey has indicated that Malaysians not only are sweet -toothed but love salty foods as well. It is no wonder that fried salted fish is the daily diet of most people in the villages and a favorite dish during feasts.We are winners in this category as our salt intake is 25% higher than the standard set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Malaysia Diet Guildlines 2010, recommends that an adult's salt intake should not exceed one teaspoon or 5g, which was equivalent to 2,000mg sodium a day.
However, the Food Intake Among Malaysian Adults Research 2002/2003 showed that the salt intake for Malaysian adults is 2,575mg of sodium a day.This comes to about 28.75% from the Malaysia Diet Guildlines 2010, recommendation of 2,000gm of sodium a day.
The Minister of Health has been recorded to have said that "The National Health and Morbidity survey III (2006) found that the prevalence of hypertension among Malaysian adults to be 43%."
A high salt consumption can be related to various health problems such as high blood pressure, osteoporosis, asthma and obesity.
In Malaysia, it is not mandatory to label the salt content in food. However, the Ministry monitors the salt content in processed food and encourage manufacturers to produce low-salt food.
Now for those who have forgotten their Chemistry, you may want to be refreshed as to what constitute the common salt.
Common Salt is the common name for sodium chloride. It is the sodium component of salt that is important. There are about 2.5g of sodium in every 6g of salt. Why do we need salt?
The body needs a certain amount of sodium to function properly.Sodium helps to maintain the concentration of body fluids at correct levels. It also helps cells to take up nutrients.
Why is too much salt bad?
When levels of sodium are too high, the body retains too much water and the volume of bodily fluids increases.
Many medical practitioners believe this process leads to high blood pressure, or hypertension, which in turn is linked to a greater risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.
Excessive salt can be dangerous for young babies too.While an adult will be able to get rid of salt from the body through the kidneys into the urine, very young babies cannot process large quantities of salt as their kidneys are still immature.When they are given food with a high salt content before they are at least four months old, they may suffer from kidney, liver and brain damage. Therefore, it is best not to add salt to the foods you prepare for your baby before he/she reaches 1 year old, if you want to save your child's young and not-fully developed klidnays, liver and brain. You have to remember that what you feed your child at a young age could determine your child's future intelligence.
How much salt should we eat?
Experts recommend that adults eat 5-6g of salt a day (equivalent to one teaspoonful). It is estimated that if average consumption was cut to 6g a day, it would prevent 70,000 heart attacks and strokes a year.
And this is not just the salt you add to your food; according to many studies around the world, most of the salt we eat is already in our everyday food like bread and meat. Small amounts of sodium can be found naturally in some foods such as eggs and fish. Hence, you really do not need to add salt when cooking fresh marine fish or eggs.
The salt we sprinkle into our cooking and on cooked food accounts for only 10%-15% of our intake.Never, never place a salt condiment bottle on the table.Similarly, the practice of lacing everything you eat with soya sauce is also not encouraged. It is even worse as the soya sauce contains a lot of sugar as well.
Packaged and processed foods are thought to account for around 75% of the average person’s salt intake.
How to reduce salt intake:
- Remove or cut down salt in cooking. Use herbs, spices and other seasonings to enhance flavour.
- Carefully monitor the salt content of processed food you consume. Choose products with lower sodium content.
- Eat more fruit and vegetables - they contain potassium which balances the effect of salt on the body.
- When eating out, make smart choices like asking for your food without salt or for dressings or sauces on the side, so you can only have as much as you need.
How to look out for salt when shopping:
Buying food that is low in salt is one of the best ways to cut down on salt. So, before putting anything into that shopping cart, check the label to see how much salt is in the food per 100g:
Although the labelling of salt content in food is not compulsory in Malaysia, most imported goods state how much salt is in 100g of food.
Most food labels, however, give the sodium, rather than the salt content, of food.
You can still find out the amount of salt in a product by multiplying the sodium content by 2.5.
So folks, the time has come for us to adopt a better diet with less SALT. Who needs dried salted meats or fish when you can get them fresh nowadays with modern freezing and packaging methods!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Malaysia is short of orthodontists
The Sunday Star on April 25, 2010 quoted that the Ministry of Health plans to train 170 orthodontists in 5 years to overcome the shortage of such specialists.
Orthodontics is a dental speciality that concerns itself with genetic variations and developmental aberrations in the dento-facial area, which is the growth and development of the face, jaws and teeth.
Currently there are only 117 orthodontists nationwide and 61% of them serve in the private sector. Thirty-three are in the public sector, including four in Sarawak, 10 in the universities and three in the Defence Ministry.
Private sector practitioners will be invited to work in strategic locations in the country to provide orthodontic care pending the increase in the number serving the public sector..
The ideal ratio is one orthodontist to a population of 100,000 people but currently, it was one orthodontist to 250,000 people. It was observed that the lack of trainers and training centres also contributed to the low number of orthodontists in the country.
The Government would also consider sending people to train in countries like Britain, Australia, New Zealand, India or Hong Kong if it could not get enough trainers and places for them locally.
For budding dentists, if you are interested to pursue your career further, the government is willing to sponsor your training in order to achieve the optimum orthodontists to population ratio.
Orthodontics is a dental speciality that concerns itself with genetic variations and developmental aberrations in the dento-facial area, which is the growth and development of the face, jaws and teeth.
Currently there are only 117 orthodontists nationwide and 61% of them serve in the private sector. Thirty-three are in the public sector, including four in Sarawak, 10 in the universities and three in the Defence Ministry.
Private sector practitioners will be invited to work in strategic locations in the country to provide orthodontic care pending the increase in the number serving the public sector..
The ideal ratio is one orthodontist to a population of 100,000 people but currently, it was one orthodontist to 250,000 people. It was observed that the lack of trainers and training centres also contributed to the low number of orthodontists in the country.
The Government would also consider sending people to train in countries like Britain, Australia, New Zealand, India or Hong Kong if it could not get enough trainers and places for them locally.
For budding dentists, if you are interested to pursue your career further, the government is willing to sponsor your training in order to achieve the optimum orthodontists to population ratio.
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