Cooking World

Ingredients:
To prepare the pastry you will need:
200g/7 oz/1 and a half cups flour: you may take either white or wholemeal
100g/3 and a half oz/ half a cup margarine (vegan)
5 or 6 tablespoons of cold water

Ingredients for the filling:
1 piece silken or firm tofu - about 200g/7oz
half teaspoon turmeric
1 roughly chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons soya milk
a pinch of seasalt
And there are some additional ingredients to your choice: chopped tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, sliced onions, cheatin’ ham (which is soy based meat analogue), tinned sweetcorn, diced peppers.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 380F. Rub the margarine into the flour to a breadcrumb texture in a large dish. Add the water gradually and mix to a dough. Roll this out on a floured board to fit your flat pie or quiche dish. Grease dish and line with the pastry.

Combine the tofu, turmeric, soya milk, onion, garlic and salt in a kitchen unit until fairly smooth. Stir your favorite ingredients - mushroom and tomato are great. Even just a plain tart filled with sliced tomatoes is a very nice meal when accompanied with new potatoes and salad. If you are going to cook a sage and onion tart, add a handful of fresh sage to the tofu mixture before processing.
Add the filling mixture into the pastry case and bake in the oven for another 45 minutes or until firm in the middle.

To prepare this tasty piece of vegetarian cuisine you need:
500g block of vegan frozen puff pastry, defrosted
some tablespoons olive oil
1 pack of any vegan sausages
1 leek, chopped
10 large flat mushrooms
large handful of cashew nuts
1 tin of red kidney beans
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
2-3 tablespoons cider or wine
2-3 of bay leaves

Preheat the oven to 400F and cook the sausages. While they are cooking prepare the rest of the filling. Heat the oil and cook the leek for a few minutes until softened with the bay leaves. Roughly chop and add the mushrooms and cook for the next couple minutes. Add the nuts, beans, soy sauce, cider or wine and cook for a short while until the filling is well combined. Chop the sausages into large chunks and place them in a large pie dish with the rest of the filling, remove the bay leaves at this point.
Roll out the pastry and stick it on top. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the pastry is well risen and golden brown.
It tastes well with roast potatoes and salad.

The sixth place takes the European cuisine. This one is the most mysterious concept. The person, who wishes to go to the restaurant of the European cuisine, can mean the collection European hits (oysters and goulash, fondue and risotto with ink of a cuttlefish and so on), any cuisines of Europe people (French, Spanish, Italian…) and Russian. And, certainly, organizing banquets clients, as a rule, choose the European cuisine. And the more is the company, the more probability of European cuisine – to please everybody. So the word “European”, applied to cuisine, means “traditional”.
The seventh place - the Chinese cuisine. On the eighth place is the Caucasian cuisine. First of all go Armenian, Georgian, Azerbaijan.
On the ninth place is the French cuisine. The common sense says, that expensive French restaurants should not be meet at every step.
The tendency of the last years - opening of restaurants with the mixed cuisines where classical dishes of the Mediterranean cuisine are offered together with sushi and “hits” from Russian cuisine (do not confuse with “fusion” where all is mixed on one plate). However, this tendency is not desire to please any client, but a part of the world process.

We have a number of reasons to go to a restaurant. And not always we go there to appease our hunger. But if nevertheless the visitor goes to a restaurant to have a meal, then cuisine of a restaurant becomes determinative. The classical answer to a question about someone’s preference about cuisine, sounds like: good.
According to «Restaurant Rating» company, in practice the case is as fallowing, for example, Muscovites most of all prefer Italian cuisine. On the second place - Japanese cuisine. On the third - Russian. All the same people go to the restaurant for something extraordinary. To tell the truth, Italian and Japanese became so habitual, that, perhaps, in the nearest future situation can change. The first place can take the Russian cuisine (by a principle «sushi we can have at home».
By the way, clients of the “Restaurant Rating» frequently define their wishes by two words: “fish” or “meat”. As a matter of fact, concepts «the meat cuisine» and «fish cuisine» (the fourth and fifth place of a rating) are rather confused if only not to mean national cuisines with abundance of meat or fish dishes in it. Other case that there are some restaurants specializing on preparation of these products: stake - houses and fish-houses, fish restaurants, grills - bars.

Much-spoken cuisine in China is a harmonious amalgamation of color, fragrance, taste and shape. To cook a dish chefs pick choice and various ingredients and seasonings and take advantage of complicated skills handed down from their fathers and grand-fathers. In their cooking art they use such methods as boiling, stewing, braising, frying, steaming, crisping, baking, and simmering and so on. When they finalize their masterpieces they put them on a great variety of plates and dishes so that they are a real pleasure to view, to smell and ultimately to enjoy.
Chopsticks – are source of long-aged wonder for many foreigners. To see even the smallest child eat with such dexterity is quite amazing. The use of two simple sticks in this way is an art and demands certain skills not to stay hungry.
Cuisine can rise to many different occasions from luxury court feasts, fetes, holy sacrificial rites, joyous wedding ceremonies to simple daily meals and snacks. The art of a good cook is to prepare a wholesome and necessary dish to suit the occasion.

Birthday is an important holiday in one’s life. When the person is young, usually he will eat noodles before the main celebration, as the long noodles indicate the longevity in China, and birthday cake on the very day. Middle age hero of the occasion will have his birthday grander. In addition to the above, table will be full with peaches in many forms, which symbolizes the longevity and immortality.

On the wedding day, it is also usual to serve Chinese dates, peanuts and chestnuts. Dishes are accompanied by the wish that the couple will soon have a baby in accord with the Chinese proclamation.

Returning home after long absence or departure from home are very significant to most Chinese people. The return home is welcomed with noodles and off home while a farewell is offered with dumplings. This tradition is especially popular in Northeast China.

In Central China, when a baby is born, the father will send red boiled eggs to announce the happy news. Eggs with a black pointed end and dots in an even number such as six or eight, means a boy’s birth; and those without a black point and in an odd number like a five or seven will inform about baby-girl.

The chopsticks are real a wonder among the inventions of the Chinese food culture. This implement helps the dinner to really enjoy his or her food. The use of chopsticks may seem not an easy thing at first, and even may cause some problems, but the next suggestions may be helpful for the beginner:
First, take the upper stick like a pen with your thumb and middle finger. Then, take the lower one with the thumb and set it on the ring finger. And finally, try to move the two sticks and pick up your dish.
With chopsticks it is considerately convenient to eat noodles. You can wind noodle threads lightly but firmly, to avoid splattering soup or sauces in the bowl. With some practice you will become adept at picking up all sorts of small pieces from plates.
Do not take too much at one time, or return your food to the main plate. And be careful to avoid the collision of chopsticks with those of your neighbors since they are longer than forks or knives.
Never insert chopsticks upright for food, as this will be considered as an evil sign and will cause the disapproval of the seniors. The reason is that, it is the unique tradition to show the esteem and care for the dead.
Do not suck the end of a chopstick or keep in the mouth for a long time. Also never point at someone with a chopstick and do not use it to prick food to pick it up. These are also regarded as impolite and irreverent.

China is known as a country that pays great attention to courtesy, and its cuisine culture has deep roots in the China’s history. Being a visitor or just a guest in either a Chinese home or any restaurant you will discover the peculiar courtesies.
It is really an outstanding custom to respect others at the table, and first of all, aged, teachers and guests while taking good care of children.
Chinese people pay great attention to filial piety all the time. For many generations people used to present the best or fine food first to the senior members of the family. Even in ancient times the common poor people still dud their best to help the elder mother or father who took it for granted.
Hosts in this country are all friendly and hospitable, but the guest should also show respect. Guests should not start eating until the host says, something like ‘Please enjoy yourself’, or it may be a sign of disrespect and causes displeasure.
The culture of laying the table assumes that the main courses will be at the center with the supporting dishes evenly placed around them. When the main dishes are cooked in a decorative manner either by cut or other means they will be placed facing the main guests and elder people at the table.

Chinese medicinal cuisine is a long and ancient tradition. History records show that it was used in the ages of far Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220). In the course of time, it has developed into a practical science of nutrition. But this is not just simple combination of food and traditional medicine, it is a distinctive cuisine composed of food and medicinal ingredients following the theory of Chinese medicine.
It is interesting that that Chinese medicinal cuisine is not only the means of health-preservation among the people of native China, but it spreads abroad, especially into Southeast Asia.
People know a wide range of foods which are used in many different ways to improve health. Experts counted more than 600 different kinds of resource from cereals, fruits, vegetables, meats and marine products. Some of them may be unknown to foreigners who won’t wish to try them. Different ingredients are added to strengthen the effects of the cuisine. Such commonly available products as wine, sugar, oil, salt, vinegar and honey, and also almonds, mandarin orange, or peanuts are used in the cooking process.

Medicinal cuisine is traditionally classified under four categories: health-protection cuisine, prevention cuisine, healing cuisine and therapeutic one.
Health-protection cuisine helps to reinforce the required nutritional food to support the organic health. Such dishes as a soup of pumpkin and almond can help to lose weight; soup of angelica and carp helps to maintain beauty; and ginseng congee gives more strength.
Prevention cuisine helps to build resistance to potential sickness. The excellent means to avoid heat stroke in summer is a bean soup. Lotus seeds, lily, yam, chestnuts, and pears can help to prevent dryness in autumn and will strengthen resistance to cold during the winter.
Healing cuisine is intended for rehabilitation after severe disease. Broiled sheep’s heart with rose or braised mutton with angelica will help to restore a healthy constitution.
Therapeutic cuisine is focused at the specific pathology. Fried potatoes with vinegar can adjust the organ and suppress hypertension and carp soup with Tuckahoe may enrich the strength of blood plasma albumen to help reduce swelling.
Everyone should once try this and he will enjoy the delicacy while benefiting from the nourishment. And it will be really amazing experience.