Beef Stew

Since I don't have any special baking activities recently, I decided to post up my daily cooking here to keep you remember me :) I've stew quite often at home but never think of taking any pictures of it until my hubby mention to me. 

As I don't have a proper casserole which can be used on the hob to the oven, my stew was cooked in a normal pan then transfer to a slow cooker for further cooking process. I love to make stew simply because it's a one dish meal as it's easy to prepare and serve. Furthermore, it could be turned into different type of pie dish, either bake it with mashed potato, sliced potato, pastry or just have it straight with rice, pasta or mash that would not make me bore about it. I find the stew always taste better after the day it's cooked, so I normally cook more to keep in the fridge or freezer. Some people like to cook stew with stout but it's not for me and my hubby. So I use homemade chicken or beef broth to replace it, we love  it so much! Bon Appetit!

Recipe from Jamie Oliver. (I've slightly amended the recipe to suit our appetite)

Trim the ends off 1 big stick of celery and roughly chop • Peel and roughly chop 1 onions • Peel 1 carrots, slice lengthways and roughly chop • Put a casserole pan on a medium heat, fry 2 slices of chopped streaky bacon until slightly golden brown • Put all the vegetables, 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary and thyme and the 2 dried bay leaves into the pan with 2 lugs of olive oil and fry for 10 minutes

 Add 300g beef  (cut into approximately 2cm cubes) and 1 tablespoon flour • Pour in 1 cup of chicken stock and 1 cup diced can tomatoes • Give it a good stir, then season with some sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper • Bring to the boil, put the lid on and either simmer slowly on your hob or cook in an 180C preheated oven for 3 hours • Remove the lid for the final half hour of simmering or cooking • When done, your meat should be tender and delicious • Remember to remove the bay leaves before serving, and taste it to see if it needs a bit more salt and pepper • You can eat your stew as it is with some mash potato and green peas at the side, or you can use it for pasta or even turn it into a beef pie. 

Federal Government Takes Steps to Strengthen Energy Star Program

Standards are Getting Tougher for Energy-Efficient Heating and Cooling Systems and Other Appliances

According to a March 2010 press release, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have been implementing stricter policies to improve the federal Energy Star program and to increase consumer confidence in the label. The action comes at a crucial time, when more American consumers are both struggling financially and turning to home heating and cooling equipment and home appliances that will save energy and reduce utility bills.


Strengthening Testing and Enforcement

The EPA and DOE have begun a two-part process to expand Energy Star testing:

• The DOE recently started testing on six of the most common Energy Star product types: freezers, washing machines, dishwashers, water heaters, refrigerator-freezers, and room air conditioners. The DOE will conduct testing on more than 200 models at independent laboratories over the next several months.


• The EPA and DOE are currently working on a system that will make the Energy Star qualification process more rigorous. Changes include testing by approved third-party labs, ongoing verification testing, and new manufacturer compliance cooperation procedures.

On the enforcement front, the EPA and DOE have been working to identify and resolve issues with manufacturers who fail to meet Energy Star standards. This includes actions taken against nearly three dozen manufacturers since January 2010:

• January 7, 2010: The DOE announced that freezer manufacturer Haier had signed a consent decree on four of its models that were found to consume more energy than the company reported. As part of their agreement, Haier was ordered to notify all impacted consumers, repair defective units at no cost, and pay a fine of $150,000 to the US Treasury.


• January 25, 2010: The DOE disqualified 34 compact fluorescent lightbulb models from more than two dozen manufacturers. These bulbs did not meet all Energy Star criteria for CFL.


• January 28, 2010: The DOE took action against four companies that manufacture showerheads because the products were not certified to meet federal water conservation standards.


• February 4, 2010: The DOE initiated a civil penalty against an air conditioner and heat pump manufacturer because some of its products were not certified, while other products were certified without the proper testing.


• March 7, 2010: The DOE commenced enforcement actions against two more showerhead manufacturers suspected of marketing products that did not meet federal water conservation standards.


• March 11, 2010: The EPA terminated their partnership with US Inc./US Refrigeration based on the company’s history of Energy Star logo misuse, unresponsiveness to EPA communications, and a habitual failure to comply with Energy Star guidelines.
  
  

Energy Star Brand Aims to Bolster Consumer Trust

The Energy Star program already has several systems in place to ensure consumer confidence in products that carry the Energy Star label. The requirements for certification are as follows:

• To receive the Energy Star label, companies must submit to the federal government data that shows their product(s) meets clear and quantifiable energy efficiency standards.


• The DOE and EPA conduct regular third-party laboratory and “off the shelf” testing of a range of Energy Star products to ensure continued compliance.


• Because the Energy Star label is so attractive to buyers, market competition drives compliance from manufacturers. Manufacturers frequently test competitors’ products to ensure compliance and can report violations to the EPA or DOE.


• When a manufacturer is found to be in violation of Energy Star policies, the label is removed from the affected product, corrective measures are outlined, and if changes are not made the Energy Star partnership may be terminated.
  

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Vanilla Pound Cake with Peach Glaze

Peaches are rich in vitamin C, protein and calcium. 

I wanted to try a simple pound cake today and came up with this recipe. I also wanted to try to bake this cake in my steel mixing bowl. Though it took longer than the usual cake recipes take, but it came out so fluffy, soft and tasted good but not too sweet. But I did want to add some more natural sweetness to it. I had these lovely and fresh peaches, so thought of making a glaze out of these and decorate it on top of the cake.

Hmm…..just read the above description……guess what, I think I did try too many experiments in one recipe. That’s OK…because the end result was good and I did serve this to my friends who came for dinner. Hope they also liked it as much as I did.

Ingredients:

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For Vanilla Pound Cake:

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1 cups Sugar

2 Eggs

1 1/4 cups All-purpose flour

½ cup Milk

¼ cup + 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil (you can substitute with Apple sauce/crushed pineapple)

1¼ tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

Peach Glaze:

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3 big Peaches peel, chore and sliced

¼ cup Brown sugar

¼ tsp Cinnamon powder

1 tbsp Butter

1 pinch Salt

Method:

Vanilla Pound Cake:

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1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9 inch round cake pan/9x13-inch rectangular baking pan/steel mixing bowl (I experimented) with parchment paper. Grease the paper and the sides of the pan well.In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs together until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
2. Add flour, milk, oil, baking powder, and vanilla and beat for another minute, just until the batter is smooth and creamy. Don't over beat.
3. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick poked into the center of the layer comes out clean.

Note:
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 I used the steel mixing bowl and had to bake it longer, for about 75mins.
A single rectangular pan will take longer to bake than round ones.
Loosen the sides of the cake from the pan with a thin knife, then turn out onto a rack and peel off the paper. Let cool completely before covering with frosting, if desired. 

Peach Glaze:
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1. In a sauce pan add all the ingredients and cook for about 7 to 8 mins or until the peaches become little soft/halt cooked (because you need to have some crunch from the peach when u bite it).

Assemble:

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1. Cut the bumpy head of the cake to make a flat surface.

2. Turn the cake upside down and arrange the peach slices in a circular shape and pour the glaze on top.

3. This yummy cake can be kept in fridge to set for about 30 mins so that the juice of the peaches will be absorbed through the cake.

Note: You can also top it up with Whipped cream or ice cream as a complete dessert.