Foody Thoughts

The founder of the Van business was Paul Van Doren. Paul was born in 1930 and raised in and around the Boston region. His first job was at the shoe factory where his mother worked, where he helped making shoes. Paul did well in the long run becoming Vice President of Randy’s, a distinguished shoe business in Boston.. Paul decided to go directly into the shoe business for himself with three partners and formed the Van Doren Rubber Company, setting-up the factory in California in 1966. He noted the lack of profit margin for the manufacturer but also saw the huge profits made by the retailer, so he opened a retail outlet . It went well with the company selling a respectable 12 pairs of shoes on their first day of trading which was March 16th 1966 - the shoes sold were the famous Vans decks (these later became known as Authentic).

The 1970s was to see a period of financial growth for the business maily because of new designs being developed and introduced to the market including rubber mukluks (for the US Government) and wool lined canvas shoes.Vans were a big hit with skateboarders, who enjoyed the hardness of the sneakers and enjoyed the sticky sole. Vans were very popular in California throughout this period.

Nineteen seventy five saw the introduction of the Vans Era. The Era featured a padded collar and a range of color combinations and quickly became the shoe of choice for a whole generation of skateboarders. The ubiquitous Vans Slip-on was introduced in 1979. It was incredibly popular with skateboarders and BMX bike riders. This ongoing launching of exceptionally successful shoes brought the company a ton of success and consequently the business had in the region of seventy outlets in California towards the end of the 1970s. Around this period Vans went first national and then international, opening retail outlets and working with distributors..

Many changes came to Vans during the decade of the 80s.. The constant product development continued. In an attempt to compete with the really large companies in the market Vans developed shoes for markets outside of the skateboarding and BMX worlds and looked at surfing, wake-boardings and motor cross. Vans Slip-ons became incredibly popular, gaining sales all over the world.

This period also saw the original founder, Paul Van Doren, taking a step-back from total involvement in the daily running of the business.

Never ending growth and expansion brought about financial problems. The situation came to a head when the company declared bankruptcy in 1983. It took Vans three years to get back on its feet, though it did pay-off its creditors. The original founders sold the business to an investment firm: the company went on to be sold more than once.

Vans came out of the 80s stronger, which led to success in the 1990s. Strategically things changed. The company took product manufacturing offshore, necessitating a closure of their California manufacturing plant. Advancing the company began sponsoring national events like the ‘Inaugural Triple Crown’ series which ended-up changing its title to the ‘Vans Triple Crown’ series, and the ‘Warped Tour’ music festival. The company opened skate parks: the first in 1998 in Orange County along with the second in 2002 in Orlando. Naming rights are also important and Vans has, for example, the naming rights to Australia’s internationally famous Bowl-a-Rama location.

Click Black Vans Authentics for details.

Don’t consider dining at the Wafu eaterie in Australia if you can’t eat all of your meal, it’s likely you will be asked to stay away in future.

Diners are asked to be mindful of the amount of food they order and to order just the right amount “in harmony with your appetite.”

The Wafu’s website implores diners to waste nothing and to even contemplate sharing meals!

The under-current of this approach is ‘Japanese cuisine’ ‘guilt free’, or to put it another way: “Wafu is not just a restaurant, it is an extension of Yukako’s personal ethos toward nourishment and sustenance. Wafu is the expression of an ethical and spiritual commitment to food.”

June 9, 2010: Firefighters were not able to save the Riviera Restaurant from the fire flames. The famed old restaurant, established sixty miles away from Chicago, was entirely gutted.

Getting water on the fire was not easy since there were no hydrants close to the restaurant. Tankers were called in to bring water to firefighters.

Other crews from some communities in the region were also called to help.

No one was hurt in the fire. An investigation is now underway.

Turkey has opened a restaurant for vultures to attempt to help conserve four species of the bird.

The region is the base of four vulture varieties, the bearded, the Egyptian, the Griffon and the Black vulture.

Igdir, near the Armenian border has been selected for the site.

The significance of food in Italian traditions cannot be over-stated. The meal time in Italy is the time to unwind with family and friends and not just a time to eat. Accordingly Italian meals last longer than in other countries and can sometimes go on for a number of hours.

A traditional Italian meal has four courses; primo, secondo, contorno, digestivo, translating as first course, second course, side dish and digestive. In more ceremonial situations, for example a wedding (or Easter or Christmas) meals will be made of up to nine courses. Shorter meals are of course taken, pizza baked in a traditional wood burning pizza oven being one example.

A normal Italian evening out with friends begins with what is called an aperitivo. This is a light alcoholic drink such as Vermouth, Campari or Prosecco wine, or possibly a non-alcoholic fruit juice. This is often taken at a separate bar with friends, before going on to the meal. Italian meals are served in a number of courses with each type of food served separately. Thus an Italian meal is really quite different from the equivalent in other countries.

At the restaurant one commonly would start with the antipasto (literally translating as “before the meal”) which could be either a hot or a cold appetizer.

The first course (the primo) usually contains something hot such as soup, risotto or pasta.

The main plate of an Italian meal is the secondo (second course). This is typically a cooked meat such as chicken or pork. Veal too is common.

The contorno is typically a side salad or a side of grilled vegetables to accompany the second course.

The secondo is followed by formaggio e frutta (cheese and fruits). Many local cheeses would be eaten with fruits of all kinds. The dolce course would follow bringing with it cakes and cookies.

And, of course as Italy is celebrated for a choice of diverse varieties of coffee, which is enjoyed after the food before the round of liqueurs.

Let’s Not Forget Pizza

One dish Italy is celebrated for is pizza. Pizza is enjoyed worldwide and now has a vast range of sizes and flavor toppings. Known at one time as the ‘Neapolitan pie with tomato’ it wasn’t until 1889 that cheese was added to the pizza by chef Raffaele Esposito. It was firstly created in honor of the Queen Consort of Italy and represented the colors of the Italian flag with its green herbs, red tomato sauce and white mozzarella cheese.

Pasta

Another food class Italy is famed for is pasta. Pasta is a general term for a range of foods that are made out of dough made from wheat and water and occasionally including vegetable extracts and eggs. There are hundreds of different types of pasta, due to the texture, shape and size. Consequently pasta can be used in scores of different ways. Some common forms are spaghetti (thin sticks), lasagne (sheets), macaroni (small tubes) and fusilli (small swirls of pasta).

Let’s Not Forget Wine

Wine of course plays an essential role in Italian culture and the Italian economy. Italy is famed for its wine and produces and exports more wine than anywhere else in the world. Vino cotto is a form of wine produced in central Italy, made for private use and not for sale commercially. The wine is heated in a copper vessel until the volume is condensed to around half. This wine is left to age for a few years, each year a little more wine is added to make up for evaporation.

Commercial Pizza Oven

Dubai newspaper ‘The National’ reports that the Dubai State has lifted a ban on food preparation with alcohol on the proviso that this kind of food is clearly marked.

Dubai is reversing the 2003 law that bans cuisine preparation with alcohol because the majority Islamic inhabitants could not recognize whether food included alcohol. Although implementation of the law was announced on Sunday, the decision has since been reversed. Cooking containing alcohol could be served if was distinct from from other food and clearly labeled.

Awadhi was quoted as saying “We have found violations where hotels are not clearly stating alcohol content in their food.” Awadhi also stated that alcohol should be handled like other “non-halal products” such as pork.

Ref: Wood burning pizza ovens

Here is an easy recipe for a very tasty home-made cheese and tomato pizza. The main work is in the dough preparation but get this right and the result is wonderful.

For the pizza dough you will need:

• Salt 1tsp
• Warm water 120ml
• Olive oil 1tsp
• White Flour 225g
• Yeast 1tsp
• Sugar 0/5tsp

Pizza Topping Ingredients:

• 125g - Buffalo mozzarella cheese
• 4tbsp - Tomato Sauce
• 1tsp - dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparing The Pizza Dough:

1) Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and add the yeast and the sugar. Combine and cread a dough with a central space for adding oil and water.

2) Add the water and olive oil to the small hole and mix well with your hands while bringing the ingrediants together to make a small ball. Add extra flour and water if required.

3) Keep mixing for approximately three minutes or until the mix is one ball and the bowl is reasonably clean.

4) Move the dough to a floured surface and continue to knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

5) Allow the dough to raise, which should take roughly an hour. For best results lightly oil a bowl and also the surface of your dough, wrap it in a clean dry cloth and leave in the bowl.

6) The dough will rise to approximately double its original size.

7) Spend a further minute or two kneading the dough.

8) Stretch out the dough in a circle. Decide how thick or thin you want your pizza base to be.

Place your dough on a non-stick baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees Celcius. Spread your tomato sauce evenly over your pizza base. Now scatter the mozzarella around the pizza evenly and sprinkle with salt, pepper and oregano. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Place on the top shelf of the oven and cook for around fifteen minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the base is firm. Now you can add your own choice of extra toppings. Remember to ensure any meat used has been previously cooked. Then return to the oven for a further 4-7 minutes.

You can add your own personal choice of extra meat, fish or vegatables.

A recent report from the USA describes the real and surprisingly high price of foodstuff related illness. At more than one hundred and fifty billion US Dollars per year, the cost is far higher that previously estimated.

Sandra Eskin - Director of Food Safety at Washington’s Pew Charitable Trust informed a recent press conference.

These health-related costs take account of doctor services, hospital services, medicines and in addition quality-of-life losses, such as death, pain, suffering and disability.

Reports Business Week

Countertop ovens are a progressive and convenient advancement of the stove-top oven. More compact in dimension and energy proficient countertop ovens are a more economical way to roast food.

A good countertop oven will have numerous functions such as warming, baking, broiling and toasting. Many countertop ovens will power-down following a set time because of an in-built timer system. This enhances energy saving and safety.

Most countertop ovens fit a medium-to-large pizza tray or a large baking tray. So although this category of oven is efficient in size, it is by no means too little to utilize to prepare your favourite foods.

The crucial features which a countertop oven should be fitted with incorporate a rack and handle, a solid pizza tray, a manageable crum tray, a broiling grid, so look out for every one of these items when you are choosing which oven to buy.

Convection heating is an optional form of countertop oven. Convection uses hot circulating air, pushed aroundforced all-around the inside of the oven by an internal fan.

Convection cooking is very effective so be sure to reduce the temperature of the oven by roughly 20 degrees Centigrade / 65 Fahrenheit and look at the food a bit sooner than you might with other oven types - ten minutes should be fine.

There are palpable advantages to using a countertop oven, both monetary and economical. Here are some:

• The countertop oven cooks food up to 35% quicker and this is further enhanced when using a convestion style therefore saving more fuel use and money.
• Countertop ovens are space-efficient.
• This style of oven reduces the need for supplementary cooking pans, removing a lot of washing-up.
• Countertop ovens have removeable racks and clear glass doors which make this type of oven easy to keep clean both inside and out.

Visit our website for further information about Countertop Ovens.

A 92 year old chap resident of Port Orange in Florida, who crashed his auto into the side of a restaurant and suffered minor injuries, then climbed out and had his breakfast at the restaurant. The restaurant, known for the quality of it’s pizza and its electric deck oven, suffered damage to the walls. Investigators believe he pushed the gas instead of the break!

Source: www. wesh.com/news/22157235/detail.html

Would free like a feast on the house? It’s simple: just get the better of one of the dinner eating challenges mentioned on the couponsherpa.com website and you’ll get your meal for free. You ought be a meat fan though - the challenges are almost all meat based and vary from eating monster burgers to enormous pizzas and steaks. You might imagine yourself as the equivalent of a black hole, but are you also fast eater? These meals are against the clock: if you don’t beat the clock, you pay-up.

A 92 year old gentleman from Port Orange in Florida, who crashed his auto into the side of a restaurant suffering minor injuries in the process, climbed out and took his breakfast at the restaurant. Investigators believe he pushed the gas pedal instead of the break!

Source: www. wesh.com/news/22157235/detail.html

As a guy I sometimes need some help with cooking. I’m not that I’m bad at cooking, but I just need inspiration now and then. So I looked for a few handy cooking tips and I found some here and there around the web. It’s a small list but with any luck you will find it helpful.

A couple of the tips mention ovens. There are countless different kinds of oven. For example restaurant wall ovens are a class of restaurant oven. A specfic style might be the deck oven which is in the main used for preparing bread or pizza. Here below we mean the ordinary residence kitchen oven.

Benefit from it!

• Carrots make a good sweetener if you don’t have a sauce handy.
• Set aside the juice from roasting as a base for a gravy.
• Allocate yourself loads of time to organize and you will save a lot of hassle later.
• Want to avoid sodden broccoli? The avoid over-cooking it!
• Do you clean mushrooms with running water? Avoid this because the mushrooms will absorb the water. Instead clean them with a damp cloth. Make sure you remove all the dirt.
• The potato ricer is a very versatile tool, particularly for people who would like to cook the top mashed potatoes.
• Salad can be diversified by making use of some red leaves.
• A quality salad spinner will help prevent your lettuce going soggy and looking limp.
• The best type of vegetable steamer is one which has the ability to fold and sit inside a saucepan.
• You can use a teaspoon of dried of Rosemary leaves as an alternative to a table spoon of fresh ones.
• The oven should be heated before putting the joint in the oven to make it easier for it to sear the meats exterior and to ensure the meat doesn’t dry out.
• Always utilize a pan that is large enough - a bit bigger is far better than too small.
• When one purees soup they should make use of a hand blender because it is much easier than taking the ingredients to the food processor.
• When rotating steak, tongs and spatulas are the best apparatus rather than forks.
• Wine that the cook would not drink should not be use to cook.

If you run a restaurant or fast-food outlet take a look at the article here: Restaurant managers - bring in more customers!.

Reference: Deck Ovens.

An alarming story in the New York Times describes many inaccuracies in calorie data on frozen-meal packaging and on the menus is fast-food restaurants. Data from 29 restaurants and ten frozen-meal packets showed big differences.

Source: www. nytimes.com

Reference: Countertop ovens

Countertop ovens