veggie heart cVegetarianism is a special plant-based diet. A lot of people all around the world are vegetarians and vegans. They eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds. Also veggie products are quorn (mock meat mycoprotein produced in the United Kingdom and Ireland), soya beans, tofu (it is made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks), vecon (nutritious and versatile, gluten free vegetable stock with vitamins and iron) etc. But you don't have to use those products to cook veggie dishes – all of us from time to time eat vegetarian dishes.

valentines cSaint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day – is a holiday held on February 14 and dedicated to love and affection between a couple. People in love celebrate this Day almost all over the world. They send each other valentines – special love cards, usually heart-shaped. They spend all the day together, watching romantic movies, walking, dining in restaurants. And, of course, they cook delicious meals for their lovers.

fish2 cMany people like fish. And experts say that we should eat seafood at least 2 times a week. The best fish is the one with omega3 – like mackerel, herring or sardines. Also salmon and trout are rather good for health and delicious. But different kinds of fish need different cooking techniques. Chose method of cooking according to the fish and your taste. The most healthy food is steamed, boiled and baked fish.

merry-christmasChristmas or Christmas Day is a great holiday celebrated all over the world. It is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ. In different countries the date of celebration varies – most people celebrate Christmas on December 25, but in Eastern Europe the marry day is on January 7.

pizza cPizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread that has different toppings. The obligatory ingredients are tomato sauce and cheese. But nowadays there are also lots of pizza recipes without cheese and tomato sauce. Today pizza is a traditional Italian dish but similar food we can find in many world cuisines.

Thanksgiving-Day_avaThanksgiving Day is a nice family festival celebrated in United States, Canada and several other countries. In Canada it is celebrated on the second Monday of October, in US – on the fourth Thursday of November. This holiday has a very long tradition. The main attributes of Thanksgiving Day are: special food, family parties, Thanksgiving gifts, songs and jokes and so on.

Greek-Kebabs_cKebab is a very delicious meat dish. Nowadays when we say "kebabs" we mean shish kebabs (which are cooked and served on skewer). But in Asia and Middle East – where kebabs are traditional food – kebab is a wide variety of meat dishes. It can be grilled, roasted, and stewed meat (cuts of meat or even ground meat).

brewing-bottles_cHome Brewing. The next step: Finishing. When fermentation has stopped or when the specific gravity has fallen close to final gravity it is time for barrelling the ale or, more correctly, casking it, because a barrel is specifically a thirty-six gallon cask. There are not any special precautions that need to be taken when casking, except to ensure that a minimum of air gets dissolved in the beer and that a minimum of yeast and sediment gets carried across.

sweetest_day_cGreat US holiday Sweetest Day is celebrated in several states and is one of the favourite for Americans. It is much alike with St. Valentine's Day. But on Sweetest Day we remember husbands, boyfriends, and just relatives and friends whom we love and respect. This holiday is celebrated on the 3rd Saturday in October.

fermentation_cWhen the wort has been collected in the fermentation vessel, and cool, it will be necessary to dilute it down to the proper original gravity by topping up the fermentation vessel with water until the desired gravity is reached. The higher the original gravity of the wort, the higher will be the strength and body of the finished beer. Any recipe can be adjusted to provide a stronger or weaker version of the same beer by either using more or less ingredients, or by topping up the fermentation vessel with more or less water as appropriate.

beer_home_brewing_cThe boil is one of the most important stages in the brewing process, although it is the simplest to perform. The boil destroys any bacteria that may be present in the wort, destroys the enzymes to prevent further saccharification, drives off undesirable compounds in the wort, extracts the bit-tering substances from the hops, and caramelises some of the sugars which provide colour and flavour. The boil also causes proteins to coagulate and settle out, thereby improving the clarity and stability of the finished beer.

Mashing-and-Sparging_cAt first glance at this article it may seem that mashing is an extremely difficult process and super-critical as regards temperature, time, and 1001 other things. Please rest assured that it is not. The mash is surprisingly easy, tolerant, recovers well from up-cocks, and rarely fails. It is time consuming - yes, but it is not difficult or particularly critical. If you do not understand some of the technical aspects of this chapter do not let it concern you. You can quite safely skip the difficult bits. You do not really need to know what goes on during the mash, just as you do not need to know the chemical reactions that take place when baking a cake. Mashing is similar to making a pot of tea, except that the temperature at which the infusion takes place is lower.

Serving-Coffee_cMethods of cooking and serving different kinds of refined coffee: Moka, Cafe Liegeois, Cafe Brulot and so on. Also read about partners (Digestifs, Cognac, Armagnac, Eaux-de-vie, Liqueurs), presentation of coffee (what cup to take, how much coffee to pour, when and how to serve), problems with cooking it.

desserts_cAlmost everyone likes desserts – different cakes, jellies, pies, cookies, fruit dishes, ice cream and so on. If you're making a party don't forget about a dessert. But you should know some peculiarities of serving sweet dishes. For example, what wine to serve to fruits and sweets, how to decorate different dishes and the table, what problems you can face while cooking desserts and so on. Also we offer you several nice recipes of delicious sweet dishes.

Puddings_cPudding is a very popular dish in US. We cook it for parties and as every day dish. There is a tradition to serve Christmas pudding at Christmas dinner. But not all of us knows how to serve puddings right, what partners should be served with this dish, what problems may appear and so on. In this article you can read some information about all that and also you can find several exciting pudding recipes here.