Melon on toothpicks
To make you will need
1 cantaloupe melon
1 charantais melon, or a melon or watermelon of your choice
Melon baller
Toothpicks (cocktail sticks)

How to
First cut the melons in half, and discard the seeds.  Then, using a melon baller, scoop out as much of the flesh as you reasonably can.  Now simply thread one or two melon balls onto a toothpick – repeat until you have as many appetizers as you need.  Serve chilled.

Here’s a couple of variations on this easy party food idea
*  Halve a cantaloupe melon, and scoop out the seeds.  Next cut each half into 6 wedges.  Remove the peel.  Then cut the melon wedges into bite-size chunks.  Now, wrap a thin strip of Parma ham around each melon chunk, and secure with a toothpick.

*  Halve a charantais melon.  Then remove the pips and fibers.  Now cut the melon into slices.  Remove the skin, then cut the flesh of the melon into bite-size cubes.  Next wrap each melon cube in smoked salmon and pierce with a toothpick.

Incidentally, sprigs of mint, lemon wedges, arugula (rocket) leaves, or black olives, make a nice decoration for a melon ball, a melon chunk and Parma ham, or a charantais melon cube wrapped in smoked salmon, platter.

Cooks tip
You can often find charantais melons in supermarkets or at farmers’ markets.  Charantais melons are small melons, with a pale green to cream skin.  They have deep orange colored flesh.  And they’re just perfect for making easy hors d’oeuvres.

After gathering your bunch of nature’s winter finery, fill a glass vase two-thirds full with tap water – a glass vase that’s wider at the base than at the top, and about 5 inches or so high, is a good kind to use.  Then – cutting the end off of each stem as you go – arrange your stems of greenery, blooms, and berries one by one in your vase.

And there you have it – a Christmas centerpiece that’s easy to make and inexpensive too!

Incidentally, depending on the region in which you live – and of course the weather – you may have some forsythia flowering in your garden.  If so the branches of the forsythia shrub, with their pretty yellow flowers, are just perfect for this kind of Christmas table arrangement.

Happy Christmas!

The moon glows eerily bright
As witches on broomsticks begin their flight
Down In the streets roam the green eyed cats
While low in the sky fly the scary bats
Ghosts walk free in the cold night air
Go out tonight if you dare.

Happy Halloween!

To cream
When you’re making a cake and the recipe says ‘cream together’, this means to beat together the fat and the sugar, until the mixture is pale and light – like whipped cream.

Dredge
Dredging is to sprinkle lightly – typically with flour or sugar.

Fold in – cutting and folding
This is when you use a metal tablespoon to very lightly combine ingredients together – so that the mixture retains its lightness. How to fold in – simply cut through the mixture with the edge of the spoon and lightly lift the ingredients over each other – until they’re combined.

Garnish
This simply means to make a dish look nice by decorating it with something edible. Such as sprigs of parsley, watercress, or lemon slices.

Julienne
This is to cut vegetables, or meat, into thin shreds – about the size of a matchstick.

Sauté
Sautéing is to cook food in a shallow pan with fat or oil, over a high heat. The pan is ’shaken’ to make the food sauter, which is the French word meaning to jump or toss, – to keep it from sticking.

Simmer
Simmering is to keep a liquid just at, or just below, boiling point. How to simmer – bring the liquid to the boil, then adjust the heat so that the surface of the liquid is kept just moving, or ’shivering’. If you see continuous bubbles then the heat is too high.

Enjoy cooking!

Au gratin
This is simply food that is coated with a sauce, and sprinkled with breadcrumbs and sometimes grated cheese too.   Then browned in the oven or under the broiler.

Bake Blind
This is to bake a pastry crust without a filling.  The simplest way to do this is to line a flan pan with pastry, then to prick the base all over with a fork.  Brushing the pastry base and sides with a little beaten egg will help to keep it crisp.  Incidentally, a good tip is to put pastry dough in a plastic bag, then to chill it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before rolling it out.

Baste
Basting means to spoon or ladle hot fat or/and meat juices over food while it’s cooking – so that it keeps moist.

Blanch
Blanching usually means to put food into cold water, bring it to the boil and then to drain off the water.  But it can also mean to plunge the food into boiling water – this method is sometimes used to prepare food for freezing.

Blend
Blending means to mix until smooth.  But it can also mean to mix together a powder with a little cold liquid.

Bouquet garni
Traditionally in muslin but nowadays usually with kitchen twine, a bouquet garni is a small bunch of herbs tied together.  Typically made with a sprig of parsley, a sprig of thyme and a bay leaf, a bouquet garni  is generally used to flavor soups and stews

Hope you find this short cooking term glossary helpful.  Happy cooking!

Ingredients
24 Graham crackers
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup chopped walnuts

you will also need
A cookie sheet with sides
A small saucepan

How to make
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (180°C).

2. Separate the Graham crackers in half.

3. Place the crackers on the cookie sheet.

4. Heat the butter and the sugar in the saucepan until boiling.

5. Add the chopped walnuts to the butter and sugar.

6. Carefully pour the butter, sugar and walnut mixture over the Graham crackers.

7. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until cooked.

Here’s a recipe for you to try in 7 simple steps.

Ingredients
1 lemon
1 tablespoon sugar
2 and a half cups (20 fluid ounces) water

How to make
1.  Wash the lemon and using a vegetable peeler, peel off the rind – take care to avoid the pith – the white bit.

2.  Put one and a quarter cups (10 fluid ounces) of water, the lemon rind and the sugar in a saucepan.

3.  Boil gently to extract the lemony flavor and color.

4.  Allow to cool.  Then strain into a nice pitcher.

5.  Squeeze the lemon.  Then pour the juice into the pitcher through the strainer.

6.  Pour the remaining one and a quarter cups (10 fluid ounces) of water through the strainer into the pitcher.

7.  Serve over ice; sit down, relax, and enjoy a glass or two of deliciously refreshing homemade lemonade.

Pitchers, votive holders, egg cups, tumblers, sugar bowls and creamers, jelly jars, small watering cans and pails are just some of the items that can work really well as containers for flowers.

So be creative and brighten up your home with a pretty flower arrangement that’s just that little bit out of the ordinary.

P.S. Please, only use containers for flowers that you no longer use for food or drink.

Plus if you’re using fancy baking cups, a good suggestion is to use inexpensive white paper liners for the outer (2nd) liner.

Happy Baking!

P.S  Hope you have a lucky St. Patrick’s Day on March 17.

1.  Homemade heart shaped cookies.

2.  Homemade cupcakes, iced, and adorned with pretty sugar roses or heart shaped cake decorations.

3.  Tasty heart shaped sandwiches – simply use a cookie cutter to cut sandwiches into sweet heart shapes.

Don’t forget there are lots of scrumptious Valentine themed goodies in the shops too.  Including chocolate hearts, heart shaped cookies, conversation hearts, and lollipops.  These are sure to make someone special smile.

P.S For a fun and easy Valentines party table centerpiece, simply fill a vase with flower or heart shaped lollipops.

Have a happy Valentine’s Day.