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Quite a number recipes call for the use of gluten. Gluten is a substance occurring naturally in wheat. When extracted and cooked with appropriate protein-rich food, it has consistency of some types of meat and can thus form an excellent substitute for flesh in the diet, especially when complemented with other foods.

To make your own gluten, mix eat cups of gluten flour (white bread flour is the common source in the Philippines) with 2 1/2 to 3 cups of water to make a stiff dough. Form into a ball and knead well. Let stand underwater for at least 1/2 hour, or overnight if possible. Wash out the starch by kneading with the hand in the water, being careful to keep the dough together. Pour off the starchy water frequently and continue washing until the water is almost clear. The starch itself can be used in cooking or other household tasks.

The lump of gluten should next be sliced into chop-let-size pieces, 1/2 inch thick and 4 or 5 inches square. Cook for one hour in salted water. Seasonings may be added to the water, such as onions soy sauce, and a yeast extract as Vegex or Marmite. Refrigerate or freeze gluten until needed.

To conserve the minerals and vitamins, vegetables should be put to cook in water already boiling. Use only enough water to cook the vegetables without allowing them to scorch, and continue cooking only until the vegetable is done.

The more color of the vegetables that can be preserved, the more attractive and appealing they will be to the appetite, especially when teaching young children to enjoy vegetables. Try to keep the white of onions, cauliflower and cabbage; the green of “greens;” the yellow of carrots; the red of beets.

The white vegetables should be cooked only until they are tender. Cabbage can be cooked in twenty minutes, or fifteen if it is young. Pressure cooking will reduce the time still more. Hard water, that is, with much minerals, will discolor vegetables more than soft water.

During the first few minutes of cooking, vegetables gives off a volatile acid. This acid will darken greens to dirty brown if the pan is kept covered. By leaving the pan uncovered the acid is allowed to escape and green color will not be greatly changed.

The yellow color of carrots, squash and kamote is not easily destroyed. But still we need to think of preserving their food value. baking is best for kamotes and squash; carrots can be steamed.

The red color of beets and red cabbage is easily lost. Beets should be cooked whole. They can be pared or cut later. Adding a little lemon juice to red cabbage will help retain the color. use about one tablespoon of juice to the cup of water you cook the cabbage in.

Do not throw away the water in which vegetables are cooked. It is rich in vitamins and minerals. It can be used in soup, or served with vegetable, or drink as you would with fruit juice.

Any workman can do a better job when he has the correct tools. This hold true for the cook in the kitchen as well. When buying your equipment you will want to consider several things besides the price only.

Aluminumis  probably the best for all-around utensil use. It requires a bit more care to keep it shiny and clean, but that is more than compensated for by giving even heat distribution no matter what kind of range you have. Aluminum ware is usually less expensive than some of the other kinds. It can be obtained in sheet or cast aluminum.

There are still some who may have doubts about the safety of using aluminum. It is possible that every minute quantities of aluminum maybe absorbed into the the food. The same thing happens with iron or copper pots. But these minerals also occur naturally in many foods. Authorities agree that these small quantities have no harmful effect.

Stainless steel is somewhat more expensive, but easier to keep clean and shiny and will not wear as soon as aluminum. Be sure stainless steel pots have copper, aluminum, or laminated-steel bottoms to spread the heat and keep the pots from getting dark heat spots.

Glass is good for baking in the oven, but is not practical for cooking on top of the stove.

Enamelware  is not as common for cooking purposes as it once was. It must be handled carefully to prevent cracking, chipping or discoloring.

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