The Chianti Wine Regions

The region of Chianti is a tiny area in the heart of Tuscany between Siena and Florence and overlooks the Elsa Valley.  The land is fertile with olive groves, green forests, and those delicious grapes just waiting to be picked off the vine and smashed into the most heavenly of drinks-Chianti wine.

For many years, Italians have enjoyed the prestige of being recognized for having the largest harvest of grapes and the finest vintages of wine in the Mediterranean.  The present day farmers can thank the Phoenicians for bringing vines to this area.  They named the area, ''Oenotria'', the ''land of wine''.  The ripe fields, combined with the sun and Tuscan air led many others to this area to cultivate the grapes including, the Greeks, Etruscans, and Roman.  In many cases, these cultures brought their own vines to mingle with the originals.

A plague of insects, called phylloxera, swept through Europe in the18th century effectively halting wine production in the area.  The insects were known to feed on the roots and leaves, destroying the vines.  Eventually Italian vintners triumphed over the insect and recovered from the loss.

In the late 1960's the land of the Chianti area was in a down cycle and parcels of land were sold for very little.  Visionaries, seeing the obvious advantages of such beautiful countryside and fertile soil, rebuilt the vineyards to become some of the most credited vines in the world.

What makes the land unique in the area is the climate of the region.  The warmth which is constant, lasts much of the year with little rain fall.  The soil is dry and full of stones infused with limestone providing many nutrients and minerals for the grapes.  In addition, the clever vintners of the area only allow a limited amount of irrigation through the fields; therefore the vines have to delve deep into the ground to acquire water and nutrients.

The Italian government has its own classification for wine making with specific requirements for growing and making the wine.  DOCG, which stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, and is similar to the French AOC.  These government standards control the techniques from each of the eight regions of Chianti, keeping the regions wine making unique.  The regions of Chianti are Chianti Classico, Colli Arentini, Colli Fiorentini, Coli Senesi, Colli Pisane, Montalbano, Rufina, and Montispertoli.

Chianti Classico is the most widely known wine of the region, not only for its name, but also for the superb quality.  This wine comes from the vines species called vitis vinifera, which is the starting point for 99% of the wines in the world.  Of this vine, Italy grows more than 100 official varieties.

In the Chianti region, of which there are roughly 25,000 acres, two thirds of the land is given to the production of the Chianti Classico, and uses at least 80% of the Sangiovese grape.  In the other 20% of the region other wines are made using Sangiovese blended with Canaiolo and Colorino.  For the white wines a Trebbiano or Malvasia are used.  Again, the government controls the yields to nine tons in order to maintain a premium wine.

The lush red wine of the Chianti that pours into a glass like pooling velvet grows darker when aged.  The flavors that wash across the tongue are dry, slightly tannic, with an intense aroma, sometimes hinting of violet.  The vintners have no requirements mandated by the government regarding the aging process, but most use aged oak casks for their most savory bottles of wine called Riserva wines.  They are 12% alcohol content by volume.

Like the Romans, the Chianti has stormed the land making it known to all points of the world.  Yet it is the humble vintner creating this amazing wine under strict regulations that has the wine world at their feet.

Make Eating Healthy Foods Fun

Children everywhere in the world have an on-going love affair with junk food such as hamburgers, pizza, candy, soda and salty foods like potato chips and french fries.  Unfortunately, it's hard to find a single child who has these same strong feeling for the healthy food that they need such as grains, vegetables, fruits and foods reach in nutrients such as meat, beans, fish and nuts.

Fortunately, there is one tied and tested strategy to make kids eat the kind of healthy food that some of them may not want -- that's by making it fun.

That's right, make eating healthy food fun.  And how do you do that?  Here are some tips:

1. The Sneak Attack.  Try sneaking in some of those fruits and vegetables along with the kind of food they like, say, making muffins out of bananas or apples.  There are lots of vegetables the you can throw in when you're serving the kids pizza.  You could also make them look funny by arranging them creatively on a plate or making them stand up like people.  Sure, some people don't want their kids playing with food, but if it will help them get healthier, it may be worth the effort.
2. Funny Name Game.  If your kids are below the age of four, here's a nifty trick that gets them every time.  Give the fruits and vegetables funny names and concoct elaborate stories.  Some stories will end with these funny-named vegetables getting swallowed alive by the giant child.  In another version, the vegetables run for cover and hide from their enemies by entering a big cave that happens to be your child's mouth where they quickly get gulped down.
3. The Taste Test.  Kids dislike vegetables because they don't like the taste.  Therefore, make the healthy foods taste better and your child will love them.  For instance, put peanut butter on celery or add a dash of flavor to broccoli with ranch dressing.  I'm sure you can think of dozens of ways to spruce up healthy food.

The key is to find creative ways to make your children enjoy eating healthy food.  And once they've acquired a taste for it, eating healthy foods will be second nature to them.

Live Longer With The Mediterranean Diet

One of the biggest problems EU leaders have to find ways to overcome is the fact that the "old" continent is in fact becoming old.  As the European birth rate has been dropping at a rapid rate over the last couple of decades, the European continent will become soon a continent inhabited by a increasing majority of seniors.  Since this demographic trend develops, EU reforms and retirement policies try to address the issue and give Europe its chance to maintain its productivity levels high and its overall outcome on surplus.  Thus, contemporary ethnographic studies support that keeping Europeans health at high levels, especially for those over the age of sixty, is not only a social policy act governments should focus on providing, but also a wise economic policy that will keep Europeans able to continue being productive members of society and thus, lowering the negative outcomes of an alarming EU reality.  One method to keep older people healthier is to focus on their dietary habits and introducing new nutritional practices that can increase life expectancy levels.  According to researchers, one of the choices an aging person has to keep being healthy and active is to follow the Mediterranean diet.

In fact, the Mediterranean diet is associated with longer life expectancy among the elderly, because it is characterized by a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and cereals.  Furthermore, one of the basic nutritional elements shared across all Mediterranean cultures is the high intake of fish and the low consumption levels of saturated fats.  On the other hand, olive oil, which belongs to the unsaturated fats category, helps the human organism function and provides all the necessary ingredients for the aged part of the EU's population to continue being healthy and thrive.  Furthermore, the low intake of dairy products and meat and the modest consumption of alcohol have helped the elderly in countries like Spain and Greece to live longer and healthier lives and maintain their productivity levels high close to the end of their lives.

As current evidence suggests, such a diet is beneficial to the health of all individuals regardless of their age group or residence location.  Scientists, after examining a variety of factors like diet, lifestyle, medical history, physical activity levels, and smoking have recognized the importance of the Mediterranean diet in keeping the body fit and the mind working properly.  In fact, a higher dietary score was associated with a lower overall death rate and evidence suggests that people who follow such a dietary plan are expected to live longer and suffer less from illnesses.

What is alarming though is that the younger generation of Europe that has began following the Western type of diet-larger portions, fewer meals, less vegetable and fruit intake-have experienced problems associated with weight gain and are now battling against disfiguring their body types.  Modern way of living, stress, less available time to prepare a proper meal and other problems, have led parents to neglect the nutrition of their children and has led them to fight problems such that of youth obesity and low self-esteem.  Educating seniors should be a combined effort with educating youth as both age groups are considered currently to be the future of the "aging" European continent.

Hot Sauce Collection -- An Anthology Of Delight

Archimedes had his brainwave while in the bathtub.  Newton had his when he was relaxing beneath an apple tree.  Great ideas come in flashes.  The idea of starting a hot sauce collection came to Hot Sauce Harry's while vacationing in the Caribbeans.  Wanting to avoid the stereotype souvenirs, they found the notion of gifting hot sauce quite appealing.  Thus were planted the seeds of a massive hot sauce collection.

Hot Sauce Harry's house their formidable hot sauce collection at their flagship store in Dallas Farmers' Market.  Greenhorn hot sauce collectors can make their forays from here.  The store has sauce collections that span the entire Caribbean, Mexican and Louisiana gamut.  Name a hot sauce and get it here.

Hot sauce collectors can begin their sauce collections in two ways.  They can go for sheer numbers where the more, the merrier it is.  Thus, they can build up a voluminous hot sauce collection in no time at all.  Or they may choose to be nitpicky, concentrating only on specific hot sauce types.

There is beauty in numbers.  Therefore, you grab every hot sauce that you can lay your hands on.  However, have your hot sauce collection catalogued right down to the minute detail.  This way you can keep track of where your sauce collections are heading.  Carry your list wherever you go so that you do not end up paying a fortune on a duplicate hot sauce.

The hot sauce debutants may start with the Ass Kickin Kit.  An assortment of five hot sauces, Ass Kickin' Original, Candy Ass, Kick Yo Ass, Pain In The Ass and Smart Ass, they make great collectibles.

Specialty hot sauce collectors may fancy the limited edition hot sauce.  Alternatively, they may go in for representatives from each region, state or province.  They may choose to house in their sauce collections only hot sauce mementos like those released for special occasions and festivals or the hot sauce picked up while vacationing.  These fastidious people avoid the run-of-the-mill hot sauce.

Fussy hot sauce collectors they may be, but whatever be their sauce of specialization, even they cannot resist the lure of 357 Mad Dog Collectors' Edition.  Sporting the tag of The World's Hottest Hot Sauce Ever Made, this hot sauce is akin to the Penny Black among the philatelists or a Rembrandt among the art collectors.

The specialty hot sauce collectors would do well to purchase some literature on hot sauce.  There are some exhaustive guidebooks on the matter like The Hot Sauce Collector's Guide:  A Book for Collectors, Evans and Dewitt's The Hot Sauce Bible.  These books will enlighten you on the various hot sauce brands, both the blue-blooded and the off the shelf types, their history and the names and addresses of hot sauce vendors.

Know your hot sauce well before starting on your sauce collections, so that you can distinguish the vintages from the fakes.

Heat up your hot sauce collection.  Before you know, you'll have a showstopper in hand.

Healthy Low Fat Chicken Recipe | Andy's Famous Chicken

Anyone concerned with getting fit, staying fit, or fitness in general is usually looking for ways to eat more healthfully.  Chicken breasts are one of the most diet friendly lean protein sources you can find and they do taste pretty good.  Lean protein sources are extremely important for all fitness enthusiasts.  Lean protein builds muscle and helps to burn fat.  Here's a low fat healthy chicken recipe that you can vary to suit your mood.

Andy's Famous Chicken

3lbs. package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts -- still frozen
1 12oz. bottle of fat free salad dressing or Lawry's marinade
1 11 x 14 baking pan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place frozen chicken breasts in the baking pan.  Pour dressing or marinade over frozen chicken.  Bake chicken at 400 degrees for about 1 to 1½ hours or until chicken is lightly browned on top.

That's it!  That's the whole healthy low fat chicken recipe.  This chicken recipe is dead easy and especially wonderful when you want a nice dinner but you have piles of chores left to do and don't want to be chained to the stove all evening.  Serve Andy's Famous Chicken with side dishes such as steamed veggies and brown rice or other whole grains and you have a fast, healthy meal that actually tastes good.

This healthy low fat chicken recipe is particularly good with fat free Italian dressing.  Any fat free or low fat salad dressing may be used to maximize the flavor variations that are possible with this dish.  Another good choice would be any flavor Lawry's marinade since that brand tends to be lower in fat and calories.

For those folks who are not quite so fitness oriented, regular botled dressing can be used and the resulting dish will be just as tasty.  Another easy way to go would be canned or bottled curry sauce.  It makes a great spicy dish.  Andy's Famous Chicken is a great recipe for week night dinners and would also be nice enough to serve company.

Grinding Coffee: For Coffee Lovers

If you are a coffee lover, perhaps it is time for you to learn to grind your own coffee.  If you don't have the slightest clue of where to start, then this article is for you!  To begin, there are two main types of coffee grinders on the market today:  burr grinders and blade grinders.

Blade grinders grind the beans unevenly and without consistency in the grind.  Since there are no settings on blade grinding units, you basically grind until you achieve the coarseness or fineness you need.  The blade grinder causes static electricity and tends to make the process a bit messy if you aren't used to doing it.

Burr grinders, on the other hand, grind the beans evenly and are much cleaner and easier to use; especially if you are just learning.  Burr grinders have settings that allow you to choose an exact uniform size and consistency.  They are often recommended for espresso grinds, but can also be used for other types of grinds as well.

If you are concerned about price, blade grinders are the cheaper of the two and sell for roughly $20 each.  On the other hand, burr grinders often cost between $60 to $125.  The extra money for the burr grinder would be well spent since you would be getting a better quality cup of coffee and the clean up would be quicker and easier!

Each coffee brewing method requires a different grind size.  Drip coffee, for example, requires a medium size grind.  Espresso requires a fine grind.  The French press requires a much larger grind size.  The following is a general guideline describing the basic grind requirement for use in coffee makers:

Coarse grind:

Coarse grind is used in a percolator.  The percolator boils the water and forces it over the grounds in a metal filter that has holes in it.  This grind would not be recommended for optimum flavor, as it over-extracts bitter oils and acids.

Medium-course grind:

Medium-coarse grind is used in a French press or metal mess coffee maker that has gold or stainless steel filters.  These coffee makers force grounds to the bottom of the canisters after steeping the water/grounds mixture for several minutes.  This would not be recommended for optimum flavor because it over-extracts bitter oils and acids and is a bad percolator.  However, it is a good choice if you like a strong brew and don't mind a bit of sediment.

Medium grind:

Medium grind is used in drip coffee makers.  These coffee makers pour the water over the grounds in a flat bottom filter.  You may have to experiment with the grinds if you use an electric maker, as this is the only way to control the extraction.

Fine grind:

Fine grind is used in espresso machines, which are considered the most efficient method of brewing.

Extra-fine grind:

Extra-fine grind is used in vacuum pots or some older Espresso machines.

In order to get the best extraction for your coffee enjoyment, grinding the coffee beans properly is the key.  Freshly grinding the coffee prior to brewing is one of the most important steps to a great cup of coffee.  Just remember, the coffee beans should not be ground more than two minutes prior to the beginning of brewing.

Gourmet Seafood Is A Great Gift!

Many people have distaste for the word “gourmet” until they learn the actual meaning of it.  A gourmet is simply a person with a detailed knowledge of the finest food and drink.  The term originally came from the French word “groumet” which is a valet in charge of wine.  Gourmet seafood, then, is the finest seafood.  Sending gourmet seafood as a gift is a special and unique way of showing a person that you care for them.

Gourmet seafood can be a gift to customers, clients or employees.  There are many companies that offer a pleasing and tasty selection.  Careful attention should be paid in order to make the best choice for your important customer.  Sending the gift of gourmet seafood is giving the gift of the prize of New England.  Your employee or customer will be very pleased and delighted with the surprise of gourmet seafood arriving on their doorstep.

You should carefully consider which company you choose before placing an order of gourmet seafood.  Some firms can be easily contacted about the details of your shipment and readily give information about when it will be arriving to your customers and employees.  Many companies even offer discounts on a large order, for example, if your gourmet seafood order totals over $500.

The packages you can order include such favorites as Lobster Lover’s Feast or Surf and Turf.  How about a Maine Lobster Party, or maybe just one or two live Maine lobsters?  A hearty Shrimp and Steak Classic, rustic Australian Rock Lobsters or a Classic New England Clambake can also be ordered.  Of course, the prices of these gourmet seafood packages depend on the quantity and the distance it’s being sent.

How to Order Your Gourmet Seafood

1. You should fill out a corporate gift order form and fax it in to the company.  Or, if you prefer, the customer care line would be happy to take your order.
2. Make sure your billing address and the address your credit card company has on file are the same.
3. Make sure you place an order well in advance, at least 48 hours prior to when you need it to be shipped, in order to avoid any emergencies.  If your gourmet seafood company cannot process your order, they should contact you immediately and provide you with other options.  Always ask for a confirmation of the corrected order if this happens.
4. The gourmet seafood company will contact you just before they process the order to your credit card, in order to get your final confirmation.
5. If you receive a discount, the gourmet seafood company will deduct it from the total, usually before the shipping charges are added.
6. Many gourmet seafood companies will notify the recipient via email, so they’ll know when they should expect their package.  They will also send you an email when the package has been successfully delivered.