Happy 4th July!

4th July makes me want to be an American! They're the best at making food fun!

Meat-free, Microwave, Minestrone, Monday

This hearty, fresh version of the popular Italian soup is packed with vegetables, beans and flavour...and takes a mere 10 minutes in the microwave! Perfect for a Monday night after a long day at the office!!!

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

226g green beans, stem ends trimmed, roughly sliced into pieces

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/3 cup couscous

428ml chicken stock

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Salt

Flat leaf parsley and shaved Parmesan (optional garnish)

Directions

In a microwave-safe dish, place oil, carrots, peppers, green beans and garlic and stir to coat. Cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add couscous, broth, tomato paste, beans, 1 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover, microwave on high until vegetables and couscous are tender, 5 minutes. If desired, stir in parsley and garnish with cheese. Enjoy!

A collection of very cool Pepsi Ads

Spam, anyone?

Burger King's latest addition - Spam Burgers. Apparently very popular with Japanese ladies. Hard to believe.

Coffee on the Run.......

Have you seen these very cool bodum travel press coffee maker mugs??? They are travelling mugs made from plastic, rubber, silicone and stainless steel and have a built in plunger. They also have double walls to keep your coffee hot and your fingers safe from burning! Genius and a must have! Get yours from Yuppie Chef at R280 a pop

Get Wine Smarter

http://www.getsmarter.co.za/certificate-in-wine-evaluation

We think this looks like a brilliant, interesting, tasty course, offered through Stellenbosch University.

Invitation Gallery

We stumbled upon this wonderful invitation design website Invitation Gallery

All locally designed, completely funky and very unusual. We love them all.

Everything you see this winter, we owe to Pasta.

I don't know if it's winter but we're loving pasta at the moment.

Pasta for lunch. Pasta for supper. Pasta to work for lunch but have it for breakfast pasta.

"everything you see I owe to Spaghetti" Sophia Loren

an easy one"pan"wonder for a meat-free monday night

olive, ricotta and polenta bake

ingredients (serves 2)

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

20g unsalted butter

salt and cracked black pepper

1/2 cup instant polenta

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan

100g ricotta

1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons pitted olives

1/2 cup rocket leaves

place the stock, butter, salt and pepper in an ovenproof frying pan over medium heat. bring to the boil and gradually stir in the polenta. cook, stirring for 1 minute or until thickened. top with parmesan, ricotta, tomatoes and olives and place under a preheated grill for 10-12 minutes until golden. top with rocket and serve.

The not so pleasant side of food...

WHAT IS E. COLI?

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a bacteria found living in the intestines of people and animals. It can be transmitted through contaminated water or food - especially raw vegetables and undercooked meat.

It is usually harmless, but can cause brief bouts of diarrhea. More toxic strains can cause severe diarrhea followed by serious organ system damage such as kidney failure.

'SUPER-TOXIC STRAIN'

Scientists at the Beijing Genomic Institute said the outbreak of infection - first reported in Germany - is caused by a new "super-toxic" E. coli strain. However, both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Britain's Health Protection Agency said the strain has been seen before, though both agencies added that it is very rare.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Cook foods correctly and thoroughly. Wash your hands before preparing food and eating food.

COUNTRIES AFFECTED

Germany

Germany has been hardest hit by the outbreak with 15 deaths and more than 1,500 other people sickened by the bacteria.

As it works to contain the outbreak, Germany has banned vegetable imports from Spain while also drastically reducing the number of imports from the Netherlands. Authorities also are advising people to avoid all raw vegetables, particularly cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes.

Spain

Spanish officials have strongly denied allegations from Germany that the outbreak originated from cucumbers from the cities of Almeria and Malaga. The European Commission on Wednesday rescinded its health warning against cucumbers from the country. The warning was lifted after Spanish authorities shared with the commission negative test results on the produce in question, according to a statement from the Spanish Health Ministry.

Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said Wednesday that Spain will not rule out "taking action against the authorities (in Germany) who questioned the quality of our products."

Sweden

The one death in Sweden was a woman who had been traveling in Spain. Another 43 cases of infection have been reported in the country.

United Kingdom

Britain's Health Protection Agency on Thursday confirmed that there were four new cases in England suspected to be related to the outbreak, bringing the total number of cases in the country to seven.

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday imposed a temporary ban on cucumbers from Spain, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Denmark and the Netherlands

The European Union says a suspect batch of cucumbers imported from either Denmark or the Netherlands and sold in Germany is under investigation. Fourteen cases of E. coli infection have been reported in Denmark, eight in the Netherlands.

Russia

The Russian Agriculture Ministry announced a ban Thursday on fresh vegetable imports from the European Union in an effort to prevent the outbreak from affecting the country.

Customs officials have been instructed to prevent the produce from entering the country, while supermarkets and food chains in Russia were told to withdraw European vegetables from their produce bins, officials said.

The ban on fresh vegetables from the European Union comes three days after Russia blocked the import of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and salad greens from Germany and Spain.

Elsewhere

Cases of infection have also been reported in Austria, France, Norway and Switzerland. All of the cases, except for two, are people who had been recently visiting or had contact with people recently visiting northern Germany, according to the World Health Organization.

Wash your hands!

How do you know if your hands are washed properly? Sing Happy Birthday whilst doing it! That time is sufficient to ensure cleaniless. Use paper towels to dry your hands as this mechanical action also helps remove extra bacteria.

source: cnn.com