How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

We like little treats to celebrate the weekend. Bonus points if the recipe is easy and can be made with the kids. So, we got our hands and tooth on a really simple chocolate chip cookie recipe. The best part is the dough can be preserved for several weeks, so that you can make instant cookies. Enjoy baking this weekend!

Ingredients:

½ tsp of baking soda
1 egg
1 tsp of vanilla essence
½ tsp of baking powder
1/3 cup castor sugar
¾ cup of mini chocolate chips
½ cup of brown sugar
½ cup of melted butter at room temperature
1 ½ cup of all purpose flour

Method:

1. Take a big glass bowl and shift the butter. 
2. Add castor sugar and brown sugar. 
3. Take a wooden spoon and mix till you get a nice creamy mixture. 
4. Now, add the egg and give it a good beating to incorporate the mixture. 
5. Take a sieve and add the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Now, sieve it over the egg, sugar and butter mix. 
6. Now, mix all the ingredients with a gentle hand. 
7. Add some flour to cup filled with chocolate chips. Mix the two so that they get evenly coated.
8. Now, add the flour-coated chocolate chips to the cookie dough. Incorporate them well. Use your hands to get the ingredients together. 
9. Preheat the oven to 200 degree centigrade. Take a baking tray lined with some parchment paper. 
10. To get evenly shaped cookies, use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the dough. 
11. Drop the dough on the sheet with the scoop and place them two inches apart. 
12. Now put them in the oven and let them bake for 8-10 minutes. As soon as you see the edges brown, take them out. You don't want to dry them because these are essentially chewy cookies.

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Content Ref From  - idiva.com

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How to Buy & Preserve Vegetables

We know the many benefits of a fruit-filled and vegetable-rich diet. You can get the best of both worlds if you have mastered the art of buying the season’s freshest produce.

The best way to test is by using your sense of sight, touch and smell. See if the colour is bright and the surface is spotless, and touch to feel the firmness as you look out for any bruises. Use your nose to check for smell, because most locally produced fruits and veggies will retain their signature fragrance, while imported varieties are devoid of the amazing garden-fresh aromas suggesting that they contain preservatives.    

We roll out a handy guide to pick the tastiest, crunchiest and juiciest fruits and veggies for your home and hearth.

FRUITS:
1. Apple: Although apples are found through the year, the season is from August to October.  Don’t buy if they are mushy or bruised. The skin of the fruit should be smooth and taut. You can also smell to check if they have that lovely apple-y fragrance. This also guarantees freshness. Although blemish-free is desirable, some of the locally grown apples also have a thicker skin with light spots.
 
2. Banana: There is no running away from bananas because they are found all year round. Although you might feel that a smooth and spotless peel assures you of quality, small brown spots in fact indicate ripeness and don’t necessarily mean that the banana is overripe or damaged.
  
3. Mango: The king of fruits is a summer favourite. The skin of the mango signals how fresh the fruit is. If it is wrinkled, it is definitely overripe. Smooth and velvety skin indicates good quality as well as freshness. Remember to take in the delicious smell of alphonso and kesar mangoes. Some mangoes also have spots but as long as they are not to mushy, you are good to go.  
 
4. Grapes: Grapes contain potent antioxidants and the best season to buy them is from October to April. Uniformity in the bunch and a golden green colour signal the freshness and quality of the grapes. Black grapes have a deep and rich violet hue. Carefully check the stems to look for molding. When it comes to grapes, always taste one before buying the bunch.
 
5. Pomegranate: This heart-healthy fruit keeps you company through the year. A vibrant, glossy and smooth skin is a sure shot way of knowing that the fruit is fresh. If the weight of the fruit feels heavy for its size, you will know that the inside is densely populated with delicious arils. Tap it; if you hear a thudding dense sound, you will know that the fruit is juicy.
 
6. Watermelon: Most summers are incomplete without the watermelon and freshest varieties are available from April to June. Just like the pomegranate, the best watermelon should be heavier for its size. A sturdy tap on the fruit that gives a thudding sound is a good indicator of how juicy it is. Touch to feel the firmness and ensure that it is free of bruises.

7. Oranges: The zesty orange is a winter favourite and is available from October to March. This tricky fruit can deceive the eye. Even a wrinkled peel can house juicy orange segments. Of course, a smooth and glossy peel will indicate freshness but the best test is to feel the weight which should feel more for its size. Let your nose lead the way when it comes to freshness. Also, look out for any brown spots or patches which are a sure shot sign of a rotting orange.
   
8. Pears: Pears should be firm to touch and should not be bruised. Test the neck of the fruit for ripeness. Since the fruit ripens from the core to the outside, the neck comes closest to the core and is a good indicator of the ripeness of the fruit. Fall is the best season to buy pears. Use your nose to check the rich aroma of the fruit.

9. Pineapple: Pineapples are available through the year. Place your nose near the bottom of the fruit, the part furthest away from the spiked leaves and it should give the sweet pineapple-y fragrance.  Check this part to ensure that it is not molding or mushy as a test for its freshness. The skin should be yellow-green in colour. Gauge the weight to check if it is heavier than the size indicates.

10. Papaya: This fruit fortified with Vitamin A can be eaten through the year. You can pick the freshest and best quality papaya merely by touch. Check to see that the surface is not mushy and there are no white molds in the creases. Also, the weight should be more than the size suggests.  

One you are home with your big basket of fruits, store them well to retain their freshness. The new range of Whirlpool three-door World Series frost-free refrigerators are equipped with unique6th Sense ActiveFresh technology, that will keep your fruits and vegetables fresher for longer. Moreover, the Microblock technology prevents microbial growth to keep healthy fruits fresh.

VEGETABLES:

1. Onion: Although available throughout the year, the best onions are harvested in the winter. Check the peel, it needs to be silky and thin while the surface of the onion should be firm. There should be no cuts or blemishes.

2. Potatoes: The potato peel is a good indicator of its freshness. If it is thin and flaky, you have hit gold. Don’t buy potatoes that have a soft green colour or have a mushy surface.

3. Spinach: The freshest spinach is found in the winter. The green colour should be uniform from the leaf through the stem. You can gently break the corner of a leaf to check how juicy and fresh it is.   

4. Cabbage: Garden-fresh cabbages are uniformly firm and the leaves are crisp with no browning. Also, the weight should be slightly heavier for its size. The best and freshest cabbages are available during winter.   

5. Cauliflower: The florets should have a lovely pale white colour with no indication of browning. Also they should be compact and surrounded by fresh green leaves of the plant. Avoid buying if you notice discolouration or light brown patches. Winter is the best season to buy fresh cauliflower.

6. Tomatoes: Available throughout the year, the freshest tomatoes will have a bright, glossy and taut skin. Also, there are no spots or bruises and their surface isn’t mushy.  

7. Carrots: Look for the bright orange colour and feel the firmness of the vegetable. Also look for any wrinkles or cracks that suggest that the vegetable is not fresh.

8. Lemon: The skin of the lemon is a good indicator of the freshness. Smooth and taut skin that gives out the citrus-y fragrance unique to a lime is your best bet. Browning skin signals that the lime is rotting.   

9. Lady’s Finger: Lady’s Finger or Bhindi is a readily available vegetable. Its fresh green colour and blemish-free skin will indicate the quality and freshness of the vegetable. Lightly press the surface to check for firmness. It should feel firm but not hard or mushy.

10. French Beans: A year-round vegetable, beans are consumed almost on a daily basis. Look for slender beans that appear crisp. The thicker beans are more mature and aren’t as tasty. If the skin is browning or wilting, avoid buying them.  

You would want your stock of veggies to retain their freshness and nourishment for at least a week. The Fresh Keeper in the Whirlpool Protton World Series three-door refrigerators reduces the oxidation process of the vegetables and slows down decaying, thus keeping your veggies fresh for longer.

The 6th Sense ActiveFresh technology checks loss of moisture. The much needed High Moisture Retention Technology maintains optimum temperature in the vegetable compartment to avoid any damage to your veggies.

Additionally, the Microblock technology avoids microbial growth to retain nourishing properties and prevents any damage to your fruits and veggies. Enjoy cooking with these delish veggies as your health shines!

Image courtesy: ©Thinkstock photos/ Getty images

Reference: idiva

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• cooking tips,
• grocery shopping,
• fruits,
• vegetables

Best Cooking Oils and Benefits by Qusec Online Grocery Store

If we just roll back to lakh of years before when the men lived in caves and were known as early men, they did not even know fire and accidentally they discovered fire and from then they learnt the art of cooking. I do not know if at all they used oil for their cooking but I surely tell, the whole world needs oil for coking now. The discovery or rather the invention of this has been a remarkable and the most essential part of our lives. Now we not know the art of cooking without the use of oil. This is the advantage of the oil in the world. 

Different apart of the country uses different oils for cooking based on the food habitats and also based on the availability of the edible oil in that region. Some use coconut oil for cooking while some use palm oil. Some are comfortable with sunflower oil while some people are used to groundnut oil. In this way, many types of oil has been used in the cooking world.

When we are in cities like Bangalore, it so happens that we have accessibility to all type of oils which we need. The best advantage in these developed and metropolitan cities is that we can sit at home and order whatever we want on an online supermarket and then enjoy the free home delivery service too. So when we have accessibility to almost all the oils, the option has to be made with the health point of view and this is the reason why we are making this blog which lists the best cooking oils with its benefits. 

The cooking oils are used in a flame usually that is at high heat. Hence oils that are stable need to be used as it does not go rancid so easily. The oxidation of oils gives out free radicals and also leads to the formation of harmful compounds. As monounsaturated and saturated fats are resistant to heat, such kinds of oils are to be used to yield better health.

The best cooking oils list with its benefits:

1.      Coconut oil[The first best] – 90% of fatty acids present in the coconut oil is saturated fats and this makes it very much resistant to heat and hence is the best high heat cooking oil. The Lauric acid present helps in the improvement of cholesterol and also helps to fight against pathogens and bacteria. It is basically semi solid when it is kept at room temperature. It has 92% of saturated and 6% of monounsaturated fats and hence is the best to be used for cooking purpose.

2.      Olive oil – Olive oil is very famous for the keeping up of the health of heart. This is said to be the core reason which adds to the health of Mediterranean diet. It raises the HDL and lowers the LDL cholesterol of the body. It has 75% monounsaturated and 14% of saturated fats. It is also said to be heat resistant oil in spite of the presence of small amount of unsaturated fatty acids. Extra virgin olive oil is said to have more amount of nutrients and also large amount of anti-oxidant levels in it and the added fact is that, it has better taste.

3.      Butter - Butter is actually a very good oil if processed in the right way. It has fairly good amount of nutrition in it. It has vitamin A, vitamin K etc. Fatty acids like Butyrate and Linoleic acid is present in it which is said to be a very crucial and important requirement which is important in the point of view of health. Butter has 68% of saturated and 28% of monounsaturated fats. The presence of small amounts of proteins and sugar promote the burning of butter in high flame. Hence to avoid this, butter is processed to make ghee which is the exclusive butterfat. This is the importance of butter.

4.      Palm oil – it is derived from the oil palm fruit and mainly it has saturated and monounsaturated fats and this is why it is the best for cooking. It is very rich in vitamins like vitamin E. It is the best for cooking and it is very useful.

5.      Vegetableand seed oils – The industrial seed and vegetable oils are obtained by high processing and has a rich omega-6 fatty acid content in it. The use of such oil has to be avoided to the maximum extent. 

With all these knowledge about the use and importance of oil, I am pretty sure that anyone after reading this would just think twice before making any order on online supermarkets and will also choose the best of the oils and hence will make his health the best from it. 

Care to be taken in storing oils:

Heat, light and oxygen are the main cause for oxidative damage of the oils, hence store it in a cool and proper place.

It is not recommendable to buy large quantity of oils and to store it at home as the oil may get rancid.

The unsaturated oils have to be protected against interaction with oxygen as it readily gets rancid after that.

Hence the best way to store oil is by a tightly closed container in a cool, dark and dry place. This makes the oil resistant against going rancid and can be used for longer period without any side effects.

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