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How to Clean a Kitchen Sink
Jan 28th
A kitchen sink is the dirtiest catering equipment in the kitchen. You put everything in it, dirty clothes, food, pets, and everything small that you can clean in a sink. To keep it sanitized, do the following:
- Remove all the dishes in the sink then rinse it well with water to remove small particles.
- Cut a lemon in half and sprinke the sink with baking soda. Squeeze the lemon then scrub the catering equipment with the baking soda. Reapply the baking soda in the lemon if needed.
- Pour 1 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar down the drain to get rid of odors and clogs. Turn on hot water to allow to flush the drain for about a minute.
- Soak the sponge in vinegar and wipe it in the sink to disinfect and shine it.
- Repeat the process with the handles. You can create a sprayer if you want an effortless cleaning.
Having the Good Stuffs for Your New Home
Jan 12th
Many women love to talk about cookware. This is because most, if not all women love to cook and are innate to take care of their loved ones. Aside from that, it is the women who are to prepare meals for her own family and to do all the household chores.
Women are expected to know a lot of things when it comes to food preparation. For single women, they also desire to know how to cook because the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Do you agree with this? This may be true for some couples and women but not for all. However, I have heard such stories where women cooked a dish for the man they like and even until now their relationship stays strong. This is explained by psychologist as something that men look for. Men mostly are attracted with women who are extra caring especially when they know how to cook delicious foods.
A Certain Knife You Wouldn’t Want to Do Without
Jan 4th
Let me tell you, cutting steak without steak knives is just plain no fun. The key feature to a steak knife of course is its serrated edge, which makes quick work of cutting steaks as well as other things. Most of them are made from stainless steel and because of this they can probably go through a dishwasher without to much trouble. Unless they have a wooden handle, however, (many do) in which case I would not recommend putting them through a dishwasher. Probably it is best to not soak them in water either and instead just wash them thoroughly and dry the out right away with a towel to avoid degrading the wooden handle.
You can find pretty good steak knives at kitchen stores but not usually at a discount store, at least if you want decent quality ones. It pays to shop around for deals so you can get the most for your money.
Wine and My Wine Club
Dec 12th
Wine and my wine club is a part of my life in a rather unique way. I work for a Customs broker that recovers duties and taxes paid on many different types of goods that are imported into the United States and exported to other countries. We have a couple of clients that are importers and exporters of different wines and they are the biggest winners in terms of recovery because unlike other companies, wine companies pay both a duty and tax on their imports. That means, when wine is sold outside of the country, they are eligible to claim 99% of the duty and tax they paid and in many cases, if the wine company is a major imported and makes a lot of sales outside of the country, they have potential to make more money from drawback than almost any other company that imports goods. As a relatively new employee in this industry, I sometimes wonder if these regulations which are very much in favor of wine importers and exporters, are one way to encourage the exportation of wine to the rest of the world.
ChunMee Green Tea: an Introduction
Dec 6th
Chunmee is also called as meicha and sometimes spelt as zhenmei and is a Chinese green tea variety. When translated, chunmee means ‘precious eyebrows’. The dry leaves of this particular green tea have small curves resembling eyebrows.
Aroma and Flavor
Chunmee has a well-pronounced tangy flavor and is sour as compared to other green tea. The tea sourness can be overwhelming if not brewed properly whereas it is specifically brewed for the tangy flavor. Hence, just as with any other green tea, it is necessary to ensure that it is brewed properly. The brewing must be taken care of during steeping. The aroma is variable. Normally, it has a slight smokiness and that is noticeable. The aroma is typical for a pan-fired tea. Though chunmee flavour is diverse, some batches have typical nutty, fruity or floral quality.
Young hyson and Chunmee
Technically, chunmee is regarded as the highest grade of young hyson green tea. Lower grades of young hyson are sold very rarely in US. Hence, both chunmee and young hyson terms are used interchangeably.
Regional variation and other variation of this tea
The quality of chunmee varies from region to region. It depends primarily on the region where it is produced, the climatic conditions and the soil quality. Each of these factors has an influence over the chunmee variety of green tea. However, this is not divided into recognized varieties. Yet, many companies select certain varieties and give them specific names. Chunmee is produced in Anhui, Yunnan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang provinces and Sri Lanka produces Young Hyson green tea.
Nowadays, organic chunmee tea is available widely everywhere. There are companies offering this variety in the form of certified fair trades. There is a decaffeinated form offered by companies as well.
Very Cool Gadget
Nov 28th
Would suggest this to everyone. This wine crate opener is incredible! You have to hold the bottle firmly as the worm goes into and raises the cork, then a press of the reverse button ejects the cork for inspection. My kids purchased me an Oster Electric Wine Opener for Christmas a few years ago. Wouldn’t remove the cork from the first bottle! Worth the $16 bucks because as you can see it took me several bottles to get it right. I removed the screws and took out the damaged cork, but with no help or diagram obviously there is a risk I could not reassemble it just right springs, and so on. My wine crate opener is about 24 months old but still works wonderfully. All mechanical gadgets, including the rabbit, take longer, are more difficulty and have a higher chance of destroying a problem cork. It is really an easy to use opener. I am talking about battery powered, seriously.
An Anniversary Gift
Nov 26th
I knew exactly what to get my parents when their wedding anniversary came up this year. It is the best coffee maker, of course! To everyone who hasn’t heard the story, my father was a barista when he met my mother, and their first date had been totally ruined because he spilled coffee over her dress! But my mother had laughed over it sportingly and eventually they got married. Remembering this story that was told over and over again, I smiled as I researched for the coffee maker to buy. Of course I didn’t buy a new coffee maker for them each year, but it just happened that their old one started to break. There were plenty of choices and recommendations online, and in the end I chose one that was a favorite with many users and appeared to be made of good quality. It was rather expensive but the brand name radiated confidence and so I hope it will be a good gift that will last them for many years.