Windsor Academy» Cooking, Food & Wine

A Versatile Nonstick Springform Pan

admin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:25:12 +0000

The baking fever has begun at our house. This last weekend we baked a batch of chocolate chip banana muffins to have for a breakfast treat and a loaf of fresh Italian bread that we enjoyed with our pasta dinner. Even today the house still smells delicious from all of the baked goods. During the fall and winter seasons we’ll end up making a lot of homemade goodies, including family favorites like pumpkin pie, cherry cheesecake, pecan pie, and German chocolate cake. I’ve purchased some good baking pans over the last few years since I’ve found the quality of the pan makes a big difference in the quality of my baking results, especially when it comes to cakes. One of my favorite purchases is my Kaiser Bakeware La Forme Perfect Nonstick Springform Pan.

I love this pan, as I do all of my Kaiser cake pans. This clever nonstick springform cake pan set comes with two bases, a flat bottom and a decorate fluted base. The interior of the pan is lined with a durable silicone finish that easily releases your baked goods and cleans up in a snap. The pan itself is made of commercial weight steel, and you can feel how sturdy it is just by handling it. I imagine I’ll be using my Kaiser pans for many years to come.

Dinner Can’t Get Much Easier Than These Creamy Pork Chops

admin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:04:24 +0000

I love being able to decide what’s for dinner in a matter of moments, sometimes without a trip to the grocery store. Being able to put frozen pork chops into a crockpot and end up with wonderfully creamy pork chops is a real miracle some days. And who would think that something this easy could be this delicious. When you use a really great cut of meat, all the goodness is right there to begin with. But, truthfully, any cut of meat would be great in this recipe.

A bonus with this crockpot recipe is that with one phone call to my husband, he can get supper in the crockpot and we’re all set. Depending on our work schedules, he can pull the pork chops out of the freezer, throw them in the crockpot with the soup, and we are ready for dinner. When I get home, I don’t mind throwing together a little salad, steaming some broccoli, and peeling some potatoes if dinner will be ready to go. Dinnertime feels a little more relaxed when no one is asking me “What’s for dinner”?

Cake Baking is Easy in This Square Springform Pan

admin — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:14:32 +0000

I really enjoy cooking, baking, and experimenting with new recipes. Now, not all of my experiments turn out well, but the fun is in the trying. One of the things I seem to have the most trouble with is my cakes. Part of the reason is that I often have to make vegan cakes because of some food allergies in the family, so the texture is difficult to get right without using eggs. But even when I use the standard recipes I have trouble removing my cake from the pan without losing chunks from it, which is not pretty. I realized I needed to get better quality pans, but to make it more idiot-proof I opted for something even better, a quality square springform pan.

What makes using a springform pan so great is the easy release of the cake from the pan – simply open the buckle, remove the sides of the pan and a perfect cake. This pan comes in 2 great sizes and is made of sturdy commercial-grade steel, so it holds up very well. And besides using it for cakes, it’s great for baking breads and lasagna too. It’s now one of my favorite pieces of kitchen bakeware.

Aquasana AQ-4500 Undercounter Filter Makes Life Easy!

admin — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:35:00 +0000

Aquasana‘s AQ-4500 under counter water filter has not only won awards but makes cooking with clean filtered water easy. The AQ-4500 connects in a few minutes and comes with an easy to use faucet, which mounts in your sink. The faucet is easy to use and can be used by cooks and kids alike! Providing a safe environment and clean water to your family is every parents desire and Aquasana makes it a snap to do so. Voted the best buy for a water filter system by Consumers Digest five years straight, the Aquasana AQ-4500 uses a combination of carbon filtration, ion exchange and sub- micron filtration to provide clear, clean water for pennies a gallon. The California Department of Public Health Services has also certified the Aquasana water filter.

The Aquasana AQ-4500 comes complete with filter cartridges, faucet adapter and counter top faucet,and we were provided clear directions with the packaging. The filters should be changed every six months, however they aren’t very expensive at less than fifty dollars for both cartridges. They filter out chlorine, lead, VOCs, MTBE and chlorine resistant parasites/cysts not to mention a list of other contaminants that I can’t spell or say correctly. We enjoy ours every day and are sure you will too!