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Archive for October, 2009

Oatmeal Stout

Posted by ben On October - 25 - 2009Comments Off








Photo by: Jeffk


5 gallons, extract with grains

OG = 1.054 IBU = 34

The grains are mashed prior to the addition of the dry malt extract. The oats have a negligible enzyme content. Hence the American six-row barley with its high enzyme content is used to saccharify the oats.


Ingredients:


6 lbs. amber, dry malt extract
1 lb. crystal malt, 60° Lovibond
1.5 lb. American six-row pale ale malt
18 oz. oatmeal (quick)
0.5 lb. chocolate malt
0.5 lb. roasted barley
1/2 tsp. Irish moss, for 15 min.
2 oz. Fuggles hop pellets (4.2% alpha acid), for 45 min.
Wyeast 1084, Irish ale yeast


Step by Step:

Prepare a yeast starter a day or two before brew day. Crush the specialty grains and malt, and mix them with the oats in a coarse, nylon bag. Tie up the nylon bag to seal it. Heat 3 gals. of water to 155° F in a pot with a lid and add the bag of grains. Keep this pot covered, maintaining a temperature between 150° and 158° F for one hour to convert the starch. This can be done, for example, by placing the entire pot in an oven preheated to 150° F. Remove the grain bag, and pour 1 qt. of rinse water over it and into the pot. This rinses some of the residual sugars from the grains. In a separate pot bring 3 gals. of water to a boil for at least 15 min. Add 2 of these gallons to a clean, sanitized fermenter. Keep the other gallon of water covered, in reserve. Bring the wort to a boil, and slowly but vigorously mix in the dry malt extract. Boil the wort vigorously for 15 min. and add the hops. Boil for 30 more min. Add Irish moss and boil 15 more minutes. Total boil is 60 min. Cool the wort to room temperature within 30 min. of the end of the boil. Siphon the wort off of the trub, into the fermenter, adding the reserved water as necessary to bring the final wort volume to 5.5 gals. Aerate the wort for 15 minutes. Mix the yeast starter into the wort. Seal the fermenter with an air lock, and ferment until completion.


All Grain Option:

 
5 gallons

OG = 1.052 IBU = 35

The recipe specifies about 10 percent oats, for which a single-step infusion mash will suffice.


Ingredients:


8 lbs. pale two-row English ale malt
1 lb. crystal malt, 60° Lovibond
18 oz. oatmeal (quick)
0.5 lb. chocolate malt
0.5 lb. roasted barley
1/2 tsp. Irish moss
2 oz. Fuggles hops for boiling (4.2% alpha acid), for 45 min.
1 pack Wyeast 1084, Irish ale yeast


Step by Step:

Prepare a yeast starter a day or two before you start your brewing. Mix the crushed grains well in a clean, dry bucket. Heat 11 qts. of water to 174° F. Mash in slowly in stages, as described below. The temperature of the mash should be between 150° and 158° F. Within this range, higher levels give a less fermentable wort and a more full-bodied beer. Lower temperatures give a more fermentable wort. Acidify 5 gals. of sparge water to a pH of 5.7 using lactic acid. Homebrewing shops sell solutions of 88 percent lactic acid concentration. A stock solution of the acid may be prepared by mixing 2 tsp. into 3 cups of water. This stock solution can be stored, and using about 1/2 cup will reduce the pH of 5 gals. of tap water to nearly 5.7. Be sure to verify this using pH papers or some other means. Acidification prevents excessive extraction of husk tannins. Heat the acidified sparge water to a temperature at or just below 170° F. Maintain the mash vessel at temperature for at least 1 hour. Mash out, raising the temperature of the mash to 168° F. To begin the sparge, slowly drain and collect 1/2 gal. wort from the lauter tun, then gently pour this back on top of the grain bed. Repeat twice more; this establishes the grain bed and produces relatively clear initial runnings of wort by filtering out any fine grain particles within the bed. Begin the sparge, maintaining the sparge water at or just below 170° F. Typically sparging for this recipes takes 45 min. to 1 hour. More time is needed if the oat content is increased. Collect 6.5 gals. of wort.

Boil the wort vigorously for 15 min. Add hops and boil 30 more min. Add Irish moss and boil 15 more minutes. Total boil is 60 min. Cool the wort to room temperature within 30 min. of the end of the boil. Siphon the wort off the trub into a sanitized fermenter. Aerate the wort for 15 min. Pitch the yeast starter. Seal the fermenter with an air lock, and let the fermentation proceed until complete.

Source: BYO


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Zucchini Wine

Posted by ben On October - 25 - 2009ADD COMMENTS
* 4 pounds zucchini
* 3 campden tablets
* 2 oranges
* 2 lemons
* 7 cups sugar
* pectic enzyme
* nutrients
* 1 package wine yeast
* water

Wash zucchini. Leave skin on. Chop zucchini and place in primary fermentor.

Wash oranges and lemons. Slice thinly and add to zucchini. Stir in sugar and nutrients.

Pour 16 cups boiling water over mixture. Stir to dissolve sugar. Let cool. Add pectic enzyme.

The next day, check specific gravity — it should be between 1.090 and 1.100. Add yeast. Stir daily for five days, until frothing stops.

Strain. Siphon into secondary fermentor and attach airlock.

For a dry wine, rack in three weeks, and every three months for one year. Bottle.

For a sweet wine, rack at three weeks. Add 1/2 cup corn syrup dissolved in 1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermentor. Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart with the addition of syrup. Rack every three months until one year old. Bottle.
Variations

1. Instead of granulated sugar, try honey or brown sugar.
2. For a spiced wine, add 1 ounce fresh ginger root, sliced thin, to the water before boiling it. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes before pouring it over the cucumbers.

NOTE:

This recipe makes 1 gallon of wine. To make a larger batch of wine, just multiply all ingredients by the number of gallons you want EXCEPT the yeast. One packet of wine yeast is sufficient for up to 5 gallons of wine.

photo by ILoveButter


Popularity: 4% [?]

The Healthy Effects of Hot Peppers

Posted by ben On October - 24 - 20092 COMMENTS

by T. J. Connelly

Hot peppers are much more than something which can add a mouth burn or kick in the pants to your cuisine. Capsaicin is the active ingredient in hot peppers. It is the chemical which imparts the burn that is characteristic of all hot peppers. The most common type of hot pepper which is used in food preparation is cayenne. Cayenne is a family of peppers that are characteristically long and thin with a bit of curl. They start out green and ripen to a luscious red color.

Capsaicin is a potent vasodilator. This means that it opens up blood vessels which makes the blood flow better, increasing circulation. They are also high in beta carotene, the vitamin A precursor. Vitamin A is needed for a healthy immune system, good vision, and cell division. These peppers are also rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, which are both powerful antioxidants. As an interesting aside, zeaxanthin sounds a lot like astaxanthin, which is another powerful antioxidant found in an algae which finds it’s way into krill and salmon, which makes salmon pink. Lutein and zeaxanthin are beneficial for vision and the cardiovascular system.

Capsaicin is a pain fighter. It might sound odd that something which can cause pain is a pain fighter, but it reduces the amount of a pro inflammatory neurochemical called “substance P”. The pain is reduced with a reduced amount of this substance. Reducing inflammation is good for your entire body and for any body system.

Capsaicin helps to control weight. This occurs with the increase in metabolism. Notice that hot pepper eaters usually start sweating. This is more related to the increase in metabolism in the form of thermogenesis than the hot feeling from the pepper burn. Insulin levels are also positively affected by hot peppers. Insulin is also known as the fat storage hormone, and fat cannot be stored without the presence of insulin. Likewise with less insulin floating around, less fat is stored.

If you have ever eaten hot peppers when you are suffering from a head cold or allergies, you would notice the beneficial effect of your nasal passages clearing up. Your nose runs and you can clear it easily. The mucous membranes drain in the presence of all of this capsaicin. One smart man out there built a multimillion dollar business selling a nasal spray with the active ingredient of capsaicin for the very purpose of supplanting nasal membrane clearing medications. It really works and the company’s sales are growing by leaps and bounds year after year.

There was an old wives tale that hot peppers and spicy food caused stomach ulcers. It was thought that logically anything that hot must be able to burn through the stomach’s lining and cause ulcers. It was later discovered that not only was that not the case, but that capsaicin is beneficial to stomach ulcer sufferers because it brings more blood flow to the region, thus promoting cleansing and healing of the ulcer. The hot chemical is also known to inhibit the H. Pylori bacteria now known to cause the majority of stomach ulcers.

Hot peppers come in many varieties and strengths. Some are mildly hot and easily tolerated, while others are in the “super hot” class and can cause burning sensations that can go on for a day or more. Capsaicin is something that your body can build a tolerance to with enough regular exposure, so real chili heads can tolerate much hotter peppers than the average bland food eater. Likewise, if a chili head slacks off, their tolerance will wane and they will have to build it up again to be able to eat the hottest peppers with reckless abandon.

I hope that this provided enough reason to go out and try hot peppers in a variety of ways, from fresh peppers to flakes, powders, and sauces. They are healthy for you and you might turn into the next voracious chili head.

About the Author

Tom has been writing articles on many different subjects because his Bachelor of Arts degree imbued him with a love of knowledge in many different areas. His latest site is about patio chair cushions and discount chair cushions which liven up any outdoor recreation space.


Popularity: 2% [?]

7 Sins of Homebrewing

Posted by ben On October - 23 - 20092 COMMENTS

And now on to the Seven Sins of Home Beer Brewing:

1. Sanitation and Cleanliness.
2. Fermenting your beer at the wrong temperature.
3. Not reading the instructions that were included with your kit.
4. Not using fresh yeast.
5. Not having checklists to navigate you through your brew day.
6. Bottling the beer before it’s ready.
7. Fretting about your home brew!

So, there you have it, the Seven Sins of Home Beer Brewing, now how do you avoid them? It’s simple, just read on my home brewing friend!

1. Make certain anything that is going to make contact with the beer after the boil is over is free of dirt, grit and slime. Also make absolutely sure that all of your equipment has been completely sanitized BEFORE it touches any of your home brew.

2. Make sure the yeast strain you picked out will have a suggested fermentation temperature. Be certain you are within that recommended range. Most ale yeasts can be fermented in the 60’s to low 70’s F, most homes have at least one room that will work for that.

The last five ways to avoid those home brewing pitfalls will be discussed in part two of this series.

I highly recommend the Beer Easy Video Series. It will walk you through each step of the home beer brewing process.


Popularity: 7% [?]

This press release is an announcement submitted by California Center for Public Health Advocacy.

DAVIS, CA, SEPTEMBER 17, 2009 – While health officials have long suspected the link between obesity and soda consumption, research released today provides the first scientific evidence of the potent role soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages play in fueling California’s expanding girth.

In their landmark study: Bubbling Over: Soda Consumption and Its Link to Obesity in California, researchers from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA) discovered a strong correlation between soda consumption and weight. Based upon data from more than 40,000 interviews conducted by the California Health Interview Surveys (CHIS), researchers found that adults who drink a soda or more per day are 27 percent more likely to be overweight than those who do not drink sodas, regardless of income or ethnicity.

“The science is clear and conclusive: soda is fueling California’s $41 billion a year obesity epidemic,” says CCPHA Executive Director Dr. Harold Goldstein, an author of the research brief. “We drink soda like water. But unlike water, soda serves up a whopping 17 teaspoons of sugar in every 20-ounce serving.”

Research shows that over the last 30 years Americans consumed 278 more calories per day even as physical activity levels remained relatively unchanged. One of the biggest changes in diet during that period was the enormous increase in soda consumption, accounting for as much as 43 percent of all new calories. According to Goldstein, that research, combined with this new data on soda consumption, offers conclusive proof of the link between soda and obesity.

And while adult soda consumption is troubling, consumption trends among children paint an even more alarming picture for the future health of California. The study found that 41 percent of young children (2-11 years of age) are drinking at least one soda or sugar-sweetened beverage every day. Adolescents (12-17) represent the biggest consumers, with 62 percent (over 2 million youths) drinking one or more sodas every day – the equivalent of consuming 39 pounds of sugar each year in soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages.

“Soda is cheap, sweet and irresistibly marketed to teens,” says the study’s lead author, Dr. Susan H. Babey, a research scientist with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. “Not enough teens know about the health and dietary risks of drinking huge quantities of what is essentially liquid sugar while television and advertising tell them it is ‘cool’ to do so.”

There were major differences in adult consumption rates by county, the study discovered. Residents of the lowest soda consuming counties of Marin, San Francisco, Yolo and San Mateo drink far less soda than their counterparts in the heaviest drinking counties of Kings, Madera, Kern and Imperial. Nevertheless, the soda/obesity linkage still holds true – those who consume large amounts of soda, regardless of where they live, suffer disproportionally from obesity and overweight.

“If we are serious about tackling the obesity crisis, cutting back soda consumption has to be the top priority,” Goldstein asserts. “Parents, communities, businesses and government all have a role to play in helping to reduce consumption. We cannot afford to raise another ‘Pepsi Generation.’”

Funding for the study was provided by The California Endowment, a private statewide health foundation that is a national leader in the childhood obesity prevention movement. “This research clearly shows the very serious health risks of drinking soda and other sweetened beverages. I hope policymakers will read this report closely and think about what they can do to combat the obesity epidemic that is clearly tied to consuming too many sodas,” says Dr. Robert K. Ross, president and CEO of The California Endowment.

The full text of the study is available on the CCPHA Web site at:

http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org/bubblingover.html


Popularity: 1% [?]

Fibre In Your Diet

Posted by ben On October - 21 - 2009ADD COMMENTS
by Rob Baldaro
Fibre is made up of a number of complex carbohydrate and cannot be fully digested by the body. It doesn’t contain any calories, vitamins or minerals, but it is still vital for your health. Fibre is only found in the cell walls of plants. Foods such as meat, fish, eggs and dairy products do not contain any fibre.

Fibre helps in digestion by passing through your bowel and absorbing water which increases the bulk of any waste matter. It makes the waste softer and increases the ease with which it passes through your bowel.

A fibre rich diet can reduce the risk of a number of bowel problems such as constipation, diverticular disease and large bowel cancer. Fibre also helps stabilise blood sugar levels because it slows down the rate at which glucose gets absorbed by the blood stream. It also helps to reduce blood pressure which reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. As it absorbs water, it gives you that full feeling which can help control your appetite if you are trying to loose weight.

An adult should consume about 24g of fibre each day, although this is still under review. There are some studies that show the recommended daily intake should increase to 30g. If you do increase your intake, try to do this gradually as too much too soon could cause bloating, wind and stomach cramps.

As mentioned earlier, all plant foods contain fibre, but some contain more than others. Good sources of fibre include fruit, vegetables, wholegrain rice and pasta, wholemeal bread, wholegrain breakfast cereals, nuts, seeds and bran. Next time you go shopping, have a look at the labels. Labelling regulations allow foods containing at least 3g of fibre per 100g to be labelled as a source of fibre, and foods containing 6g or more to be labelled as high in fibre.

About the Author

Rob produces articles about health and fitness. You can also checkout his latest website over at http://kitchenexhaustfansreview.com which helps people find the best kitchen exhaust fans


Popularity: 1% [?]

Fiddle Tab Makes Learning Fiddle Fast and Easy

Posted by ben On October - 20 - 2009ADD COMMENTS

By Elan Chalford



Learning fiddle tab is so intuitive and so easy that a student picks it up in five minutes. This is true even for five-year-olds.

Before starting this examination of fiddle tab, let’s recall what standard musical notation looks like. The familiar dot-shaped notes on or between the five lines of the musical staff represent exact pitches of musical notes.

The dots show the pitch. Sharp signs or flat signs influence that pitch. The clef sign also has an effect.

Rhythm symbols that show the relative duration of the notes. Other musical terminology, often Italian, indicates the speed of the rhythm. Allegro con brio, for example, means “lively, with enthusiasm.”

Musical notation tells nothing about how to play the music on any given musical instrument. It is designed to be used with all musical instruments.

Fiddle tab, on the other hand, tells exactly what string to play and what finger to use. It’s intuitive and easy to learn.

But it shows the information in a form that only fiddle players can use. It is not universal. Because it is so focused, it is simpler.

On the fiddle tab staff each space represents a string. The top space represents the E-string, the next one, the A-string–and so on.

If you placed a violin with its side, with the neck extending to the left of the body, you would see the strings in exactly the same relationship. If you then reached both hands to pick up the violin, with your left hand under the neck, you would be in position to finger the strings the normal way.

Numbers indicate what finger to use. The number 1 is the first finger–the pointing finger, 2 is the middle finger, 3 the ring finger and 4 the pinkie. An 0 means use no finger. Leave the string open.

The only question remaining is placement of the fingers. We begin with the placement that would produce a major scale. This is the most common tradition in Western music. It’s common to all the melody instruments that I’m aware of, and to singing as well.

All music teachers start with this basic instruction: the do-re-mi of music. These first three notes of the scale are found in countless children’s songs: Are You Sleeping, Brother John?, Row, Row, Row your Boat, and, in the inverse order, Hot Cross Buns, Mary Had a Little Lamb, London Bridge is Falling Down, Three Blind Mice.

That sound, and the relationship of the fingers that produce that sound, underlies fiddle tablature, as I teach it. Any variation from that finger placement will be indicated by the letter L or H. These letters guide the student to place the finger lower or higher than usual.

Rhythm indication in fiddle tab is similar to musical notation, but simplified.

A simple line under a number is called a stem, just as in music notation. It shows the same thing, one beat of rhythm. Two numbers that have stems joined by another line (called a “beam” in music notation) would be played in one beat.

The development of standard musical notation in Western music was a great achievement. It led to the richly complex beauty, power and mystery of great music.

Learning this system is no easy matter. In Europe, a hundred years ago, kids going into music learned to sing solfeggio. This meant translating musical notation into do-re-mi.

In current practice, the difficulty of learning to read music is overcome by fingering notation over the particular note. This is true for keyboard, violin, or brass and woodwinds. Numbers over certain notes aid the student in translating the symbolism of the notational pitch into physical actions.

The American Suzuki Method also uses finger notations over every note. The student has only to intuit when to change string. In this respect it differs not at all from classical violin pedagogy.

In the method that I use, which we may call the fiddle tab method, I show the student tab charts after the initial stage of learning to play a scale. I have never had a student fail to learn how to read tab charts in one lesson. It is intuitive, natural and easy.

Making the transition to reading music later has, likewise, been no great challenge. Some students simply begin Suzuki Violin Book One, with its easy pieces. They quickly learn to read.

Students who prefer fiddling can use Beginning Old-Time Fiddle, by Alan Kaufman. It has both fiddle tab and musical notation. It’s an excellent resource for the transition from tab to music notation.

For more information about learning how to play fiddle using tab charts, set your web browser to Learn to Play Fiddle. You will find an abundance of information and free tab charts.

Elan Chalford, Fiddle Coach
Learn to Play Fiddle without Reading Music
http://fiddleguru.com

Popularity: 1% [?]

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