 NewsUSA) – No longer content with tanning on a tropical beach with some easy reading, many Americans are seeking enrichment in their travels. After all, you can read a book at home, but scuba diving, taking authentic French cooking classes or visiting ancient temples requires some traveling.
Americans find unique ways to authenticate their experiences abroad. Some travel with charities that offer volunteer opportunities. “Voluntourism” allows vacationers to experience their destination at the ground level, while also helping local communities. Others seek opportunities to enhance their knowledge or gain new skills. For example, a person traveling to Spain might enroll in a full-immersion Spanish class or take cooking lessons, allowing them to return home with foreign language skills and the ability to cook a mean paella. Travelers can find trips to suit any interest, from learning to rate wines in the French Riviera to participating in archeological digs. Some charities offer vacation packages that raise awareness for their causes. For example, Bread and Water for Africa (www.africanrelief.org), a nonprofit that supports grassroots efforts for community self-sufficiency, health and education, offers a Kenyan Safari and Program Tour. In addition to traditional activities like game drives and village tours, the package includes a visit to the Lewa Children’s Home, an orphanage that provides food, clean water, clothing, shelter, health care and counseling to children who have been neglected, abandoned or orphaned. Travelers, in interacting with the home’s staff and children, see exactly how Bread and Water for Africa’s work benefits communities. Another charity, Running Strong for American Indian Youth (www.indianyouth.org), has run a similar tour every September for the past 20 years that takes participants to Indian reservations in South Dakota. Over the course of a week, visitors not only experience Lakota culture first-hand, but also see how Running Strong’s programs improve reservation life. |
Seeking Personal Enrichment Abroad
Professional Ranges Make Gourmet Meals
 NewsUSA) – Watching food programs has become a favorite activity for many Americans, but recreating the gourmet meals onscreen is often easier said than done. True, television chefs often have cooking degrees from fancy schools and years of restaurant experience, but you don’t need to be a professional to put an impressive meal on the table. What you do need is professional-quality cooking equipment.
Americans looking for the professional cooking experience can buy professional ranges for home-use. These ranges mimic the power and larger cooking surfaces of commercial models in a heavy duty, stainless steel package with the insulation and convenience features required for cooking at home. A burner on a standard stove has a power output of about 9,000 BTU, whereas a professional range for the home will average 15,000 BTU. Putting even more power to work for home chefs, Thermador’s Professional Series ranges and rangetops feature star-shaped burners with an output of 18,000 BTU each. The results: with this much power on every burner, large pots of water will boil in a fraction of the time, and overall faster and more even heating results, allowing the most challenging recipes and techniques to be mastered at home. Thermador, which started making professional-style ranges for home use in the 1990s, recently introduced its fourth-generation Star Burner. The burner’s unique design directs heat evenly from the center of the pan to its edges creating a more even and superior distribution of heat than the standard circular burner, reducing cold spots, which ultimately affects the way the food will cook. Thermador Professional Series ranges also feature patented ExtraLow simmer burners, which have an output of 375 BTU per hour. This precise simmer control system enables home cooks to heat delicate sauces or melt chocolate without scorching or stirring. Professional ranges for the home also offer a streamlined, professional look. With a bold, chiseled profile, high-grade stainless steel knobs and an angled door handle, the Professional Series from Thermador creates a classic, robust feel in any home kitchen. For more information, visit www.thermador.com. |
Make Your Holiday Desserts Better Than Ever
 NewsUSA) – During this season of festive treats, why not take a holiday from the typical buttered-down desserts? Now you can whip up sweet favorites for your family and guests that are full of rich flavor with less saturated fat.
One way to reduce your saturated fat intake and make your holiday baking better is by using I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® Cooking & Baking Sticks in your recipes. They taste and bake like butter with 50 percent less saturated fat than butter and zero grams trans fat per serving. 1 Plus, they are made with a blend of soybean and canola oils, so they are an excellent source of omega-3 ALA. 2 You can use I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Cooking & Baking Sticks in all of your favorite butter recipes. Just swap it for the same amount of butter that your recipe calls for and see how much better your baking can be. Or give this tasty brownie torte a try. You can go to www.bakeittobelieveit.com for this and other delicious recipes. Fudgy Brownie Torte 16 servings Prep Time: 10 minutes, Cook Time: 25 minutes, Chill Time: 1 hour 1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoon I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Cooking & Baking Sticks 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs, slightly beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup heavy or whipping cream Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray, then line bottom with waxed paper and spray again; set aside. Melt 1/2 cup I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Cooking & Baking Sticks, 1 cup chocolate chips and the cocoa in 3-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, then stir in sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt. Stir in flour just until blended. Spread into prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool 15 minutes on wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely. Meanwhile, bring cream just to the boiling point in 1-quart saucepan. Remove from heat, then stir in remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 2 teaspoons Cooking & Baking Stick until melted. Let cool to thicken, stirring occasionally. Place rack with cake on waxed paper, then spread chocolate mixture on cake. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Garnish, if desired, with raspberries. 1 79% vegetable oil spread. Contains 11g fat (3.5g sat. fat, 0g trans fat) per serving. 2 Contains 500mg of omega-3 ALA per serving, which provides 38% of the daily value of ALA (1300 mg). |
