Bidvertizer

How Much Can You Earn With Google AdSense

Let's say you have a goal of earning $100,000 a year from AdSense. Is that possible?

Let's see ... $100,000 divided by 365 = $274 a day. So your goal is to produce either:

274 pages which earn $1 a day
OR
548 pages which earn 50 cents a day
OR
1096 pages which earn 25 cents a day

The following are hypothetical cases. To earn $1 a day per page, you need, per page...

400 visitors, 5% click-through rate (CTR) and average 5c payout.
Or 200 visitors, 10% CTR and an average 5c payout.
Or 100 visitors, 10% CTR, and an average 10c payout.
Or 100 visitors, 5% CTR, and an average 20c payout.
Or 50 visitors, 10% CTR and 20c average payout.
Or 25 visitors, 20% CTR and 20c average payout.
Or 20 visitors, 10% CTR and 50c average payout.
Or 10 visitors, 20% CTR and 50c average payout.
Or 5 visitors, 20% CTR and $1 average payout.

Let's assume you choose a goal somewhere around the middle, say aiming for 50 visitors per page and want 274 pages earning $1 a day. You'd need 274 x 50 = 13,700 pageviews a day.

Does that sound too tough? If so, you'd better look for more profitable keywords and ways to improve your click-through rates.

Let's try a different scenario. You choose more profitable keywords and make your $1 on average per page from, say, 10 visitors. 274 x 10 = 2740 pageviews a day.

That's looking easier to achieve. If your average visitor sees 3 pages, you now need 913 unique visitors a day.

Is that too tough to achieve in your niche? If so, create two sites, each attracting half that number, 456 unique visitors, a day.

Can't achieve those click-through rates and payouts? Then you'll either need more pages on your sites on more niche sites.

Some affiliates have a goal of writing one article a day and building one site a month.

Need a little more help reaching that $100,000 goal? Add affiliate commissions into the equation. Add a newsletter for repeat sales.

Choose the goal which best matches your site or sites.

Then start building keyword-rich pages containing well researched, profitable keywords, and get lots of high quality links to your site.

Please note, because of the AdSense rules, these are all hypothetical cases. I'm not allowed to give real cases. Real CTR rates and payouts vary hugely.


It's fast

Google usually approves web sites in less than a day.

After your site is approved, within a few hours a special Google spider will spider your site. Then it's time to paste the code into your site and the text ads will appear.

You can choose between either horizontal or skyscraper AdSense ads.
Google is doing a good job of finding ads that are highly relevant to the web pages.

Google says:

"We go beyond simple keyword matching to understand the context and content of web pages. Based on an algorithm that includes such factors as keyword analysis, word frequency, font size, and the overall link structure of the web, we know what a page is about, and can precisely match Google ads to each page."

Occasionally Google gets it wrong. It places great importance on the file name. So be sure to use important keywords in the file name of each page, such as "contextual-advertising.html" for an article on contextual advertising.

Also, watch out for your anchor text - the words in the links on your page. We've found that sometimes if irrelevant ads are being served, you can fix the problem by rewriting anchor text.

You can check the relevance of the ads by looking at the text ads near the top-right of this page.

Double Your Earnings From Blogs

Well first of all you can only make money from Google adsense if your blog/website is receiving some traffic as you can only make money from Google adsense if there are people clicking on the ads Google places on your website.

So I will create a few quick tips on how to increase the traffic to your blog, especially if like me you are using the free blog site blogger. If your site already receives a good amount of traffic and you feel you do not need to improve this skip on to later in this post. If, however, you wish to improve your traffic to your blog her are a few tips if you are using blogger:

1)Go into your settings and ping weblogs.com – this is a simple service that tells blogger to notify weblogs.com every time you update your blog. This means that your blog will be listed in their websites recently updated list which is extra publicity for your blog.

2)Install E-mail this post – This allows people to send your post to other people this will not have an immediate effect on the amount of people who come to your blog but over time more and more people will become aware of your blog so this allows others to publicize your blog for you.

3)Add your blog to blogger’s listings – Now this is an obvious one but many people turn this setting off when they start and forget to turn it back on. This is simple added publicity whenever you update your blog it will appear in the recently updated section on blogger and it can appear when someone clicks on next blog on the navbar. This is just a free access to traffic.

4)Turn on your site feed – Allowing people to subscribe to your site feed, you are practically guaranteeing yourself repeat readers as if someone is subscribing to your blog they definitely want to read what you have to post.

5)Be an active commenter – If you comment on someone else’s blog and leave a link to your own blog on the comment then you can be pretty sure that they are going to click on your link to return the favour. So the more blogs you comment on the more people will look at your blog.

6)Blog Soldiers - This service will get you instant traffic completely free it works by you viewing other member's Blogs and in return other members view your Blog, there is a 2:1 ratio so if you view 10 peoples' blogs then 5 people will view your blog. This is easy traffic with minimal effort and no fee. To join this website click on this link - Blog Soldiers

Of coarse these techniques will only work if you have a good blog with interesting, easy to read context. Here are some suggestions to improving your blog so when people go on your blog once they will want to keep on returning:

1)Write quality content - Nowadays readers want posts on blogs to have proper punctuation, correct grammar and spellings. You need to have some respect for your readers and accept that bad spelling and grammar is very unattractive in a blog.

2)Keep your posts short and sweet – No one wants to spend hours reading a post that is practically an essay they want all the information in a sizeable chunk. You want your readers to be able to pop in read up and click on. Another way to make readers happier to read your posts is by keeping your paragraphs short so readers can read a paragraph and if they need to do something else come back and pick up where they left off.

3)Publish regularly – People will only keep on returning to your blog if they think there will be something new on there when they do. So if you stop publishing new posts they will stop reading your blog and start reading someone else’s.

Now the last thing I recommend is to join Technorati this website is a blogger’s best friend, it is one of the best providers of traffic to blogs. Technorati makes your blog much easier to find when people search by Technorati tags. Technorati is also a large blog ranking engine it will rank your blog by the number of links to your blog from various websites. The higher your rank the easier your blog is to find when people search for things and a higher rank gives your blog greater credibility in Technorati which will improve your traffic. So if you haven’t signed up to this website do and then claim your blog.

Of coarse if you want to guarentee your website is one of the top results on your keywords you will need to use a system like Yahoo! search marketing. You can now start with £50 credit in your new Yahoo! Search Marketing account and can watch your company rise to the top of the search results.

I am now going to assume that you have used all the tips above or you already had a fairly decent traffic and have or are about to add Google adsense to your blog and want to know some tips to improving your revenue/income from Google adsense. So here they are:



1)Simple mistake – Nearly everyone who first uses Google Adsense makes this mistake including me, which is to simply put the box with the Google adverts in at the very top of the page and expect people to start clicking. But my own research and that of many other bloggers shows that people do not look at the very top of the page as their eyes quickly scan for the start of the real content meaning a large percentage of your traffic will not even see your ads. So instead you should put the ads somewhere nearer the content of your page maybe even halfway through a post so readers not only look at the ads but also see them when they are useful to them.

2)Blending Ads – In the old days we used to think the best way for an ad to get clicked on is for it to stand out like a sore thumb forcing you to look at it. But, nowadays, readers have got used to seeing these ads and simply ignore them so you need to change your ads from being something that stands out to something that blends in with the rest of the blog, readers will then see the ads as helpful links not annoying adverts. This is very simple to do with Google adsense so try experimenting with the colour of the adsense boxes and borders. You may see a dramatic increase in the number of clicks with a certain colour but this colour will be different with every blog.

3)Content is key – As you may or may not be aware Google adsense works by crawling around your blog and working out what ads are most suited to your blog. So if you have a very specific content then Google adsense can provide very specific ads and as everyone who goes on your blog will be interested in that topic they will be interested in the ads so therefore you will get a higher click rate and therefore a larger revenue from your traffic.

4)Size of the Google adsense boxes – This may seem trivial but trust me it can have a huge impact on your revenue, whenever possible use wide ad boxes as these are easier on the eye as we naturally read across the page so the brain is happier to digest the ads which to you means more people seeing and reading your ads. Of course only use wider ads if you have the space as its better to have a thinner ad box than no ad box, but if you have the choice between a wide and short ad box or a thin and tall ad box then always choose the wide option.

5)Google adsense has expanded – Don’t just go for the simple Google adsense text ads you can now have image ads and even video ads. So test these and see if they are more effective and increase your revenue if they don’t then just switch back. You can also add a Google search bar on your blog and refer people to Google products all of these will earn you extra revenue so try them and see if they work for you.

So there you are you now know when to blend your ads amidst content so readers see them as useful links instead of annoying adverts, to use wider advert boxes whenever possible and to experiment with the colour of your ads and the borders. But most of all I recommend you mess around with it now and again and experiment until you find what is right for you blog. I hope you found this post interesting and you will use it to increase your revenue/income if you already have Google adsense or as a help to where to position your ads when you do join Google adsense as you want to make some profit from your blog. So go on make money from your blog. I hope you found this google adsense guide helpful, if you did please leave a comment.

P.S please remember that google adsense is not the only way to make money from your website or blog, there are plenty of adsense alternatives I would recommend Text Link Ads which pay you to place text links on your website and you get paid no matter if people click on them or not as they are mainly bought to increase search engine rankings. Also if you want to improve your search engine ranking click you may also want to look into them.

There is also AdBrite that sells adspace that is worth looking into I have found them very effective allowing you to set the price for your adspace or them setting it for you this allows you to put a very cheap price on the adspace if you get very small amount of traffic or sell it at high prices if you get high amounts of traffic. This means all bloggers can make some income not just highly read blog. You can also choose to accept or reject any ads you want or set them to be auto accepted

There is also adult friend finder that has very good payouts but only use these if you have an adult audience as some of their banners do contain nudity. If your website has this then i would recommend you look into them.

Google AdSense Do's And Dont's

Adsense don'ts

While Google is a nice partner to work with, they are strict on a number of issues.

* Once you implement the code, do not click on the ads yourself. Given the amount that some advertisers are willing to pay, Google is very, very sensitive to click fraud.
* Tell anyone else using a computer from your home not to click on the AdSense ads, just to be safe.
* Do not ever, ever try to "game" the system. Google is well aware of most of the tricks people use to engage in click fraud and pursues those people vigorously
* Don't implement AdSense code where no-one will see it.
* Don't incentive AdSense ads by offering rewards to visitors for clicking on ads.
* Don't beg for clicks e.g. "help support this site, click on this ad"
* Don't place AdSense ads on an empty page.

Any of the above can result in your AdSense account being suspended.

AdSense do's

* Customize your AdSense ads, don't just use the default settings.
* Write your content with not only the reader in mind, but with Adsense considerations as an issue.
* Don't be too concerned with AdSense ads taking away from other offers on your site. It's been my experience that if people are interested in your content, and in the AdSense ads, they'll finish reading your copy first, then come back to the ad if that's of interest to them.
* See AdSense as a partner, not a competitor. If you don't have what your visitor is wanting, while you may not get a sale, you may still generate revenue from that visitor by using AdSense.
* Positioning is important, place the ads where they are most likely to be seen.
* Google allows you to place up to three instances of AdSense code on each page - use them if you can, but vary the type of implementation

SearchEngineOptimization Tips

Getting those High paying keywords

Applying top paying keywords in your website is quite similar to Search Engine Optimization. However, there are many differences as well. The following will discuss how to apply top paying keywords as well as traffic pulling keywords to a webpage for maximum payouts and traffic.

First of all, you must understand that Google Adsense bot (formally known as Google Mediabot) is a subset of Google's main crawler. The crawler detects the theme of the pages and makes an entry in the Google's index (a private index - not shown publicly) that records the theme of all the pages hosting Adsense script. This means that Google's Mediabot is very similar to Google's crawler that is used to index your web page.

There are two types of optimizations that you need to follow to make a web page search engine optimized. Same is the case with Adsense Optimization.

Internal Optimization : Internal Optimization includes Meta tags, Title Text, Optimization of content, and internal linking of your website. Here we will learn how to increase relevancy of ads and how to inject keywords that will help you get high paying ads. Internal Optimization has a high impact on the relevancy of ads and CTR.

External Optimization : This includes the web pages that are giving links to you (external profile of your website), anchor text being used to link your website, and many more variables that search engines use to evaluate the authoritative importance of a web page. External Optimization helps bring relevant traffic to your website and enables you to earn more by getting more CTR (Click Thru Ratio).
How long does your webpage take to show high paying ads?

This is an important question that needs to be answered. As soon as you apply Adsense script in a webpage, it is visited by the Google Mediabot (within 2 hours to 48 hours, if the bot is free - immediately). Google Mediabot's responsibility is to evaluate the theme of the web page, and enable ads almost immediately so that your website traffic does not see FREE SERVICE ADS.

The relevancy of ads increases as Google's main crawler visits your website and updates its index. Furthermore, you may observe an increase in the earnings as the PR of your website/web page increases. This means that in case of Google Adsense, the internal factors that affect the ads of a particular page are evaluated by Google Mediabot (but Google's main crawler can overwrite them). And on the other hand, the external factors are inspected by the Google Crawler over a period of time. Having said that, there are simply many many factors (including those which you cannot control) that affect your ads. We are going to discuss the factors that you can control. Lets take control!
Remember:

1. Relevancy of ads may increase as your page is indexed by Google.
2. EPC (Earnings Per lick) may increase as your PR increases.
3. It entirely depends upon you how well you promote your website and get maximum earnings from your website/web pages.
4. In case of Google, many variables are involved.

Google AdSense Pros And Cons

Google's AdSense is a superb revenue generating opportunity for small, medium and large web sites.

Some webmasters are designing brand new sites specifically for serving AdSense text ads. (It's against the AdSense rules to design a site purely for AdSense, so you'll want to include a few affiliate links or sell your own product, too.)

AdSense allows you to serve text-based Google AdWords on your web site and receive a share of the pay-per-click payment. AdSense ads are similar to the AdWords ads you see on the right-hand side at Google when you do a search there.

AdSense is having a huge impact on the affiliate marketing industry. It's often much easier to generate revenue from AdSense than from an affiliate program.

Weak affiliate merchants will die faster than ever.

If you're a merchant running a lousy affiliate program, now's the time to improve it FAST.


AdSense's advantages

AdSense is simple to join.

It's easy to paste a bit of code into your pages.

It's free to join.

You don't have to spend time finding advertisers.

Google provides well written, highly relevant ads - chosen to closely match the content on your pages.

You don't have to waste time choosing different ads for different pages.

You don't have to mess around with different code for various affiliate programs.

You're free to concentrate on providing good content and Google does the work of finding the best ads for your pages from 100,000 AdWords advertisers.

It's suitable for beginners or marketing veterans.

AdSense provides simple, easy-to-understand stats.

If you have affiliate links on your site, you ARE allowed to add AdSense ads. However, with your affiliate links, you must not mimic the look and feel of the Google ads.

You can filter up to 200 URLs, so you can block ads for sites that don't meet your standards. You can also block strong competitors.

Inevitably, AdSense is competing strongly for space on web sites with all other revenue sharing opportunities.

If you own a small web site you can plug a bit of AdSense code into your site and almost instantly relevant text ads that are likely to appeal to your visitors will appear on your pages.

If you own several sites, you need apply only once. This makes AdSense much simpler than joining a bunch of affiliate programs.

As you can see, I'm really keen on this revenue sharing service.
Sign up for AdSense.


Disadvantages

One problem is inappropriate ads. You don't want spammy junk advertised on your site. Google's standards probably aren't as high as yours. You can filter out 200 URLs, but in some industries that won't be enough.

The stats Google supplies are inadequate. They're easy to understand at a glance. However, they don't tell you exactly which ads people are clicking on, or which keywords are involved. That's frustrating.

Also, I'd like to be able to identify and block ads that have very low payout rates, without doing a lot of sleuthing and messing around.

The ad panels say "Ads by Google" - free advertising for Google. You don't earn anything if someone clicks on that link.

The minimum payout is $100, which is regarded as too high by sites which don't receive much traffic. That won't worry experienced webmasters.

Also, sites that want to display AdSense ads may not include "other content-targeted and/or text-based ads on the pages displaying AdWords ads." However, human beings review the sites. Rejected sites have been able to appeal successfully.

Another disadvantage is that Google doesn't allow you to share your stats with other webmasters. The AdSense Terms and Conditions say:

"Confidentiality. You agree not to disclose Google Confidential Information without Google's prior written consent. 'Google Confidential Information' includes without limitation: ... (b) click-through rates or other statistics relating to Site performance in the Program provided to you by Google..."

That's really weird. Web site owners need to be able to share such information and discuss successes and failures.

A big disadvantage of the service is that Google doesn't say how much its AdSense partners will receive. You'll just receive an unknown share of the revenue.

Only a company with the goodwill and respect Google has earned could get away with such a cheeky offer.

Google says:

"How much will I earn through this program? The AdWords ads you are able to display on your content pages are cost-per-click (CPC) ads. This means that advertisers pay only when users click on ads. You'll receive a portion of the amount paid for clicks on AdWords ads on your website. Although we don't disclose the exact revenue share, our goal is to enable publishers to make as much or more than they could with other advertising networks."

So the only way to know how much you'll earn is to try it and see. If you want to bail out, all you have to do is remove the code from your site.

Don't put all your eggs in the AdSense basket. If Google discovers fraudulent clicks on ads appearing on your pages, it can dump your site from the service, and refuse to pay you all revenue owed. Some webmasters who claim total innocence have had this happen to them.

Google has made several changes to its AdSense FAQ, clarifying varying things. For example, it IS possible to apply for separate accounts for separate web sites. I've done so, and checked with Google that it's OK in my case. Read the rules - they look ambiguous to me. If in doubt, ask first!

Some time after the launch of AdSense, Google added "channels" which improve the tracking. I strongly recommend that you experiment with these.

Sites with "excessive advertising" are being rejected.

How to Increase Blog Traffic

1. Learn to Leverage Big Traffic
When I first started blogging, I had romantic notions of an incoming rush of traffic hitting my blog. A couple of months in I began to realize that that wasn’t going to happen.
I remember the light going on in my mind one day - the rush of traffic just wasn’t going to ‘appear’. Of course there was a trickle of traffic that did just ‘appear’ - but if I wanted traffic in large numbers I was going to have to find some way of going and getting it.
I began to ask myself a question:

‘where is my potential traffic?’

At any given moment, millions of people are using the Internet - a certain percentage of them were interested in and even searching for the information that I had written - so where were they and how was I going to get them?

So where are your potential readers?

I can’t answer that question for each of you (because it varies, depending upon your blog’s topic) but here are a few suggestions of where your readers may already be gathering:

1. Forums - yep, they are Web 1.0 (or 1.3 maybe) in many ways - but the reality is that people are probably discussing your topic every day already on a forum somewhere in large numbers.
2. Social Sites - sites like Digg, Reddit, Flickr, YouTube and MySpace are generating massive traffic at the moment. Many of them won’t have the kind of traffic that will naturally relate to your site - but increasingly social networking and bookmarking sites are arranging themselves around specific topics and verticals.
3. Bigger Blogs - on most topics there is already a blog that is at least covering a related topic.
4. Bigger Sites - don’t just look at the blogosphere - doing so will limit yourself so much.

Ok - the above list is pretty general but it’s hard to be more specific without knowing the topic at hand.
The key is to find those places where your potential traffic is already gathering and then to think about how you can become a part of those sites/communities in a way that draws traffic to your blog.

In general I find that other site owners are more than willing to share a little link love around IF you provide them with some value too.

Notice I said IF you provide them with value. It doesn’t mean:

* sending an email asking for a link or offering to trade links
* spamming their site’s comments/forum
* manipulating their site or readers into coming to your site

Find out a way of genuinely enhancing their site and becoming a valued part of their community.

* Write them free content
* Genuinely participate in comments in ways that add value to the conversation
* Use a signature in your communications with people in the community (as long as it’s within the rules to do so)
* Provide them with some link love (even if it’s not returned)
* Get to know the authors - thank them for anything that they do do for you

Over time (and this isn’t usually an overnight process) you’ll find that the more you add to and participate in larger sites, the more you’ll personally get out of it.

2. Get discovered one reader at a time
The second piece of advice I’ll give is to not get caught up in finding the big incoming link that will bring a rush of traffic.
Yes you should be on the lookout for these opportunities - but don’t forget the readers you’ve currently got and don’t forget the small trickles of traffic that you already have from smaller sources.

Google and other Search Engines - millions of people start their search for information here every day - while it’s a long term thing to grow SE traffic it does add up over time. Learn some basic search engine optimization techniques and incorporate it into the way you blog. While search engines like Google will only ever send you one reader at a time - they can do so in very large numbers over time.

Reader Recommendations - one of the most powerful forces at your disposal as a blogger is your current reader. 10 readers who each find two new readers for your blog each month who each find two new readers for your blog each month will see you end up with a readership of over 40,000 within 12 months. While that might not be a reasonable expectation - the fact remains that blogging is by its nature a viral medium. Tap into this - concentrate on providing value to your current readers and you will find over time that you could be on the receiving end of some viral growth.

Smaller Blogs - Getting a link from a larger blog or website can be a huge rush (for example last week I got a link from the front page of Yahoo.com as a featured article and it was a fun thing to watch) but sometimes it’s the links from smaller blogs that have a more lasting impact upon your blog. Build relationships with other blogs in your niche (not just the powerful ones) and over time you’ll find that the traffic that they send will not only bring you new loyal readers but that the links will help your search engine ranking.

Bonus Tip - Live with an Attitude of Openness to Opportunity
A few years ago I had a business coach. The main thing I took home from the time I spent with him was that he was someone that was constantly on the lookout for synergy and opportunity with those that he met. He didn’t do it in a manipulative way - but he had this ability to connect with people and spot potential connecting points between what he did and what the other person did.

Almost as if every conversation he had led to a new mutually beneficial business partnership, customer or product idea. The result was that his business grew.

As bloggers, I think this is an attitude that all of us could learn from.

Don’t expect the large rush of traffic to land in your lap - it rarely comes.

DO look for opportunities and DO be willing to act quickly upon them and in time you’ll find the growth will come.

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:-
Dark Bitter Chocolate (melted) 125gms
Egg yolks 2
Egg whites 3
Sugar 60gms
Butter (melted) 50gms
Whipped Cream 300ml
Liqueur, brandy or rum 15ml (approx)


Method:-
Mix the melted butter and chocolate.
Beat egg yolks with sugar.
Beat egg whites stiff.
Fold in egg yolks, egg whites into the melted chocolate mixture.
Fold in whipped cream, reserving a little for garnish.
Mix in liqueur (optional..!).
Refrigerate till chilled.
Pipe out into glasses (chilled).
Garnish with cream and chocolate decoration.

CHINESE STYLE FRIED CHICKEN

2 whole chicken breasts, boned and skinned
2 tomatoes, cut in pieces (1/2 inch)
1 green pepper, cut in pieces (1/2 inch)
2 tbsp. oil
Mushrooms (optional)
--SAUCE--
1/4 c. corn syrup
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 c. water
1 tbsp. corn starch
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Pinch garlic powder
2 tbsp. sherry (optional)
Mix together
Heat oil in large skillet. Add chicken cut in 1/2 inch pieces and cook for 3 minutes. Stir occasionally. Stir in tomatoes and green pepper. Add sauce, mix, bring to boil, stirring constantly. Continue to boil for 1 minute.
Mixture thickens because of corn starch. Serve over cooked rice Serves 4.

OVEN FRIED CHICKEN

1 frying chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 lb. melted butter
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. dry bread crumbs, finely crushed cornflakes or flour
Dip chicken pieces in butter, then shake in paper bag containing remaining dry ingredients. Place skin side up in lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish and bake 50 minutes at 350 degrees or until done. Serves 6-8.

Fitness

What is fitness? Fitness can be performance-related or health-related. Performance-related fitness is a measure of an athlete's agility, balance, power, and speed. This topic focuses on health-related fitness, which you can achieve through regular physical activity. The benefits of both types of fitness are a healthy heart and lungs (cardiorespiratory fitness), increased flexibility, and muscular strength and endurance.
Health-related fitness helps you feel your best and reduces the risk of heart attack, colon cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Being fit helps you to have more energy throughout the day for work or school and energy left over to enjoy your leisure time.
How much physical activity is required to become fit?
Experts recommend: 1
Activity at moderate intensity (equal to a brisk walk) for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week or more.
Vigorous exercise for 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week or more. Vigorous exercise is done at a pace that increases your heart rate to 70% or more of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is the fastest your heart can beat at a maximum activity level. To find your target heart for exercising, use the target heart rate calculator.
Children and teens should be active at least 1 hour a day.
What types of physical activity improve fitness?
Most experts agree that there are three kinds of fitness:
Flexibility is the ability to move joints and use muscles through their full range of motion. Stretching is a flexibility exercise.
Aerobic (cardiorespiratory) fitness is the body's ability to use oxygen efficiently and depends upon the condition of your heart, lungs, and muscles. This type of fitness increases the amount of oxygen that is delivered to your muscles, which allows them to work longer. Walking is a type of aerobic exercise.
Muscular fitness includes building stronger muscles and increasing how long you can use them (endurance). Resistance training through weight lifting and body movements such as push-ups can improve muscular fitness.
Keep in mind that you may be fairly fit in one area (perhaps aerobic fitness) but just getting started with another (such as flexibility or muscle strengthening).
How can I be more physically active?
Try to make physical activity a regular and essential part of your day, just like brushing your teeth or going to work. Start slowly and be sure to consult your doctor first, especially if you aren't active at all or have health problems. Make an appointment with yourself when you are most likely to keep it. For example, consider scheduling your activity in the morning if you tend to talk yourself out of it later in the day.
Activity throughout the day burns calories and helps maintain your weight. Small activities such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking far away and walking to your office or the grocery store can add up quickly to the recommended 30 minutes of moderate activity. Make a plan to ride your bike to work once a week. Instead of e-mailing or calling a coworker, get up and walk to his or her desk. If you don't have time to take one 30-minute walk, break it up into three 10-minute walks.
Walking is an activity that most people can do safely and routinely with family members, friends, coworkers, or pets. Keep track of your steps with a step counter or pedometer, which you can buy at a sporting goods store. If you have a desk job, you may see how little you actually move in a typical day. Wearing the step counter will motivate you to accumulate more steps during the day.
If you want a more structured way to get exercise, consider joining a health club or community center that offers fitness activities. Find an activity that you love and feel you can stick with, and then vary it with other activities so you don't get bored. For example, 3 days a week, take a brisk, 30-minute walk with a friend and then lift some weights together. On other days, take a water aerobics class, ride a bike, or take the dog for a hike. Join a softball, volleyball, or basketball league. The more you can find activities you like, the greater your chances for success. Use the activity calorie calculator to find out how many calories are burned during various activities.

Automatic XP Function

If you have Windows XP, you've probably noticed that when you install a new program, XP automatically highlights that program in your Start menu so you can easily find it. It also gives you a little pop up message telling you that you have new programs in your list.

Well, have you ever found those features to be annoying or unnecessary? Do you want to get rid of them? If you do, here's how. Right click on your bottom taskbar (on any open space) and select Properties. In the next box that appears, choose the Start menu tab and then click Customize. Now you're going to want to choose the Advanced tab and make sure the box that says "Highlight newly installed programs" is unchecked. Then click OK twice to make the change permanent.

Now, XP won't bother you when you install a new program on your computer and you can just go about your business!

How the Web Works

Introduction


For many of us, the Internet and Web Browsing has become a daily activity. Whether it is for checking stock prices, buying food, doing work, ordering books and music, or just to browse a favorite site, web browsing has become an institution in our lives much the way television is. Have you ever wondered how this whole web thing works, though? This tutorial is designed to explain the history and concepts of the Web and how it works technically. After you browse to a site, you will understand actually how it is done and how your computer retrieves this information. Our first stop, is the history of the Web.

History of the Web

The Web finds its roots at CERN, the European Organization for Particle Physics Research, in 1989 when Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau designed a system called Enquire. This system would allow documents to have links between different pieces of data whether they be files on the local computer or stored on a remote computer. The main motivation is said to have been the ability to access library information that was spread across multiple servers at CERN.

On November 12th, 1990, Tim Berners-Lee published a formal proposal called "Information Management: A Proposal" that outlined the World Wide Web as we know it today by using a system for displaying information called HyperText, which was first described 1945 by a man named Vannevar Bush, to link documents into a large scale information pool. The following day on November 13th, 1990, Tim Berners-Lee created the first web page and that following December wrote the first web browser and web server. The name of this program that was created, was called the WorldWideWeb. Thus we have the name we use today.

As development of the WorldWideWeb continued, more people from around the world started to get involved , until in 1992 one of the first web browsers that supported graphics was introduced called Pei-Yuan Wei's Viola. This led to Marc Andreessen of NCSA, releasing in 1993 a program for UNIX called Mosaic. Mosaic was the spark that marked the rise in popularity of the World Wide Web and no longer kept it confined in the academic circles. Marc Andreesen went on to form Mosaic Communications, which then evolved into Netscape Communications. Netscape was the first mainstream graphical Web Browser.

As time went on, more features started to be added to the browser, more companies got on the Internet, and personal homepages started springing up everywhere, and the Web as we know it was created.

The Technology behind the Web

The web works on three standards. These standards are generally adhered to by all companies that make products that work with the World Wide Web.

These standards are:

URL (Uniform Resource Locator): These are the addresses that you enter into your web browser to connect to a web site. The URL is broken up into 4 parts which are the protocol, the hostname, the port number, and the path that you are requesting.
Protocol:
The protocol part of an URL is the funny string of characters that you see before the hostname. Examples are http, ftp, telnet:, etc. They are separated from the hostname with a colon and two forward slashes ( :// ). These protocols tell your browser what type of service to use when you connect with the web browser to the hostname. If you leave the protocol off your address, by default the Web Browser will assume you are using the HTTP protocol, which is for connecting to web sites, so there is no need to type in the http:// every time you go to a web site. If you specify another protocol like ftp, then the browser will act as an ftp client that will enable you to connect to a ftp server to download files.
Hostname:
The hostname is the address you are going to. For example, if you are going to the address http://www.bleepingcomputer.com, then www.bleepingcomputer.com is the hostname.
Port Number:
The port number is a number that you can append to the hostname with a colon ( : ) between them. For example http://www.bleepingcomputer.com:80. If you leave the port number off, which almost everyone does, then the browser will automatically use port 80 as that is the default port for the http protocol.
Path:
This is the path on the server, culminating with the filename you are trying to reach. For example, the URL http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/examples/example1.html. The path in this case is /examples/example1.html. This path corresponds to an actual directory structure on the web server. So on the web server there is a root directory, an examples directory underneath that root directory, and a file called example1.html underneath that.

HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol): This is a defined process of how to transfer information between a web browser and a web server. All web browsers and web servers follow this process.

HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language): This is the language used in web pages to format text, images, and page layout. This language is in pure text and is entered into a file that has an ending of html. It is possible to put HTML in documents that do not end in html, but for the purpose of this tutorial, we are only focusing on pure HTML documents. The text in these documents contain special codes, called tags, that tell the web browser when it reads the file how to format the text. Lets try an example below.

If you were to create a file called helloworld.html and save it on your hard drive, you could then open this file with your browser and have it displayed. The contents of this file will have the following text:

Hello World!!!!

If you were to open up this document in your browser you would see the following:

Hello World!!!!

As you can see the text, Hello World, has been shown to you in bold print. This was because we enclosed the words in the tags , which means any text after it will be bold, and then the ending means this is the end of the bold formatting. All tags in HTML have a beginning tag, that starts the formatting, and an ending tag, that stops the formatting. There are many many more tags available to use in HTML, the bold ( ) tag being just one of them.

Web Browser and Web Servers

In order for the Web to work you need web browsers and web servers which work hand in hand. The web browser is a piece of software that is used to interpret the information found in an HTML document and display the content of that document based upon the HTML tags found within it. A web server is a computer that stores HTML documents, otherwise known as web pages, and waits for connections from web browsers. When a web browser connects to a web server, the web server sends the requested document, if it exists, back to the web browser for display.

Actually Browsing a Web Site

Now that you understand the basics behind how the Web works, lets walk you through the actual process of how your computer goes to a web site and displays it in your browser.

The first step of course is to open your web browser, whether that be Netscape, Internet Explorer, or Mozilla. When your browser opens, you have the option of connecting to another web site. In the address field, type the location of where you would like to go. For this example, lets go to www.bleepingcomputer.com.

You type http://www.bleepingcomputer.com, or www.bleepingcomputer.com as the http:// is optional, in the address field and press enter or go. The below diagram explains what happens:


As you can see, when you try to connect to a site, your web browser opens an Internet connection and tries to connect to the web server specified in the host portion of the URL. If it connects, the web browser sends the web server the path portion of the URL. If that path exists on the web server, the web server sends the content of the HTML file back to your browser. Your browser reads through the HTML of the document, following the instructions found there as it displays the information on your screen.

That is all there is to it to retrieving a web page from a remote computer.

TCP and UDP Ports Explained

Introduction


In this tutorial we will discuss the concept of Ports and how they work with IP addresses. If you have not read our article on IP addresses and need a brush up, you can find the article here. If you understand the concepts of IP addresses, then lets move on to TCP and UDP ports and how they work.

The devices and comptuers connected to the Internet use a protocol called TCP/IP to communicate with each other. When a computer in New York wants to send a piece of data to a computer in England, it must know the destination IP address that it woud like to send the information to. That information is sent most often via two methods, UDP and TCP.

The two Internet workhorses: UDP and TCP

UDP? TCP? I know you are getting confused, but I promise I will explain this in very basic terms so that you can understand this concept.

TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol. Using this method, the computer sending the data connects directly to the computer it is sending the data it to, and stay connected for the duration of the transfer. With this method, the two computers can guarantee that the data has arrived safely and correctly, and then they disconnect the connection. This method of transferring data tends to be quicker and more reliable, but puts a higher load on the computer as it has to monitor the connection and the data going across it. A real life comparison to this method would be to pick up the phone and call a friend. You have a conversation and when it is over, you both hang up, releasing the connection.

UDP stands for User Datagram Protocol. Using this method, the computer sending the data packages the information into a nice little package and releases it into the network with the hopes that it will get to the right place. What this means is that UDP does not connect directly to the receiving computer like TCP does, but rather sends the data out and relies on the devices in between the sending computer and the receiving computer to get the data where it is supposed to go properly. This method of transmission does not provide any guarantee that the data you send will ever reach its destination. On the other hand, this method of transmission has a very low overhead and is therefore very popular to use for services that are not that important to work on the first try. A comparison you can use for this method is the plain old US Postal Service. You place your mail in the mailbox and hope the Postal Service will get it to the proper location. Most of the time they do, but sometimes it gets lost along the way.

Now that you understand what TCP and UDP are, we can start discussing TCP and UDP ports in detail. Lets move on to the next section where we can describe the concept of ports better.

TCP and UDP Ports

As you know every computer or device on the Internet must have a unique number assigned to it called the IP address. This IP address is used to recognize your particular computer out of the millions of other computers connected to the Internet. When information is sent over the Internet to your computer how does your computer accept that information? It accepts that information by using TCP or UDP ports.

An easy way to understand ports is to imagine your IP address is a cable box and the ports are the different channels on that cable box. The cable company knows how to send cable to your cable box based upon a unique serial number associated with that box (IP Address), and then you receive the individual shows on different channels (Ports).

Ports work the same way. You have an IP address, and then many ports on that IP address. When I say many, I mean many. You can have a total of 65,535 TCP Ports and another 65,535 UDP ports. When a program on your computer sends or receives data over the Internet it sends that data to an ip address and a specific port on the remote computer, and receives the data on a usually random port on its own computer. If it uses the TCP protocol to send and receive the data then it will connect and bind itself to a TCP port. If it uses the UDP protocol to send and receive data, it will use a UDP port. Figure 1, below, is a represenation of an IP address split into its many TCP and UDP ports. Note that once an application binds itself to a particular port, that port can not be used by any other application. It is first come, first served.



This all probably still feels confusing to you, and there is nothing wrong with that, as this is a complicated concept to grasp. Therefore, I will give you an example of how this works in real life so you can have a better understanding. We will use web servers in our example as you all know that a web server is a computer running an application that allows other computers to connect to it and retrieve the web pages stored there.

In order for a web server to accept connections from remote computers, such as yourself, it must bind the web server application to a local port. It will then use this port to listen for and accept connections from remote computers. Web servers typically bind to the TCP port 80, which is what the http protocol uses by default, and then will wait and listen for connections from remote devices. Once a device is connected, it will send the requested web pages to the remote device, and when done disconnect the connection.

On the other hand, if you are the remote user connecting to a web server it would work in reverse. Your web browser would pick a random TCP port from a certain range of port numbers, and attempt to connect to port 80 on the IP address of the web server. When the connection is established, the web browser will send the request for a particular web page and receive it from the web server. Then both computers will disconnect the connection.

Now, what if you wanted to run an FTP server, which is a server that allows you to transfer and receive files from remote computers, on the same web server. FTP servers use TCP ports 20 and 21 to send and receive information, so you won't have any conflicts with the web server running on TCP port 80. Therefore, the FTP server application when it starts will bind itself to TCP ports 20 and 21, and wait for connections in order to send and receive data.

Most major applications have a specific port that they listen on and they register this information with an organization called IANA. You can see a list of applications and the ports they use at the IANA Registry. With developers registering the ports their applications use with IANA, the chances of two programs attempting to use the same port, and therefore causing a conflict, will be diminished.

HOW TO HIDE DRIVES IN WINDOWS XP

******************************
THIS METHOD WAS DISCOVERED BY ME
******************************

1. Go to Start > run > type "diskpart".
a dos window will appear with following discription.
DISKPART>

2. then type "list volume"

this will look like it

Volume### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
-------------- ---- ------ --- ----- ---- ------- -----

Volume 0 F DC-ROM
Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 7000MB Healthy
Volume 2 D soft NTFS Partition 8000MB Healthy
Volume 3 E Porn NTFS Partition 8000MB Healthy


3.if u wanna hide drive E then type "select volume 3"

then a message will appear in same winwods { Volume 3 is the selected volume}

4.now type " remove letter E"
now a message will come { Diskpart Removed the Drive letter }
sometime it requires the reboot the computer .

Diskpart will remove the letter .Windows XP is not having capabilty to identify the unkown volume.

Dont afraid ur Data will remain same .
to Come back to the Drive repeat the process . but in 4th step which is shown in this post replace " remove" to "assign"
i mean type " assign letter E"

How to install Invision Power Board

Installing: Step 1 - Uploading

At this point, you should have the zip archive "unzipped" and the contents similar to those shown in the structure and CHMOD guide. If you do not have a similar structure, check to make sure you have your zip program preferences set to allow creation of directories and to preserve case and long filenames.

If you haven't done so already, create a new directory on your server named appropriately (if you wanted to access the forums via 'http://www.domain.com/forums/', create a directory called 'forums' in the 'public_html' or 'www' directory on your webserver.

Using your FTP client, move into the directory you wish to upload to (if you followed the above advice, move into the newly created 'forums' directory.)

Using your FTP client, create the following directories "archive_in", "archive_out", "cache", "fonts", "html", "lang", "modules", "Skin", "sources", "ssi_templates", "style_images", and "uploads" (TIP: If your FTP client supports "Drag n' Drop" which most modern clients do, you can save yourself some time and effort by simply selecting all the files from the "unzipped" zip archive and drag them into your FTP client window, this will then copy all the files, creating the directories as it goes. If you choose to do this, you can safely ignore most of the following instruction, just remember to CHMOD as outlined in the stucture and CHMOD guide).

Once the directories have been created, CHMOD "archive_in", "archive_out" and "uploads" to 0755 (if you get permissions errors later on, you can CHMOD these to "0777"). Now, upload the contents of the files in your local folders (from the zip file) into the corresponding directories you've just created on your server. Some folders will contain other files and folders, upload them all - preserving the structure you have in your zip file (for example, upload the entire contents of the "html" folder on your computer to the "html" directory on the server).

Once you have finished uploading into the directories, upload the rest of the files "admin.php", "conf_global.php", "conf_mime_types.php", "css.php", "index.php", "install_templates.txt", "sm_install.php", "ssi.php" to the same place as you created the directories earlier (into "forums" for our example).
CHMOD "conf_global.php" to 0666 (if you get permission denied errors later on, you can CHMOD this to 0777).

That's it, the hard work is now done! You can proceed to the next step.

Installing: Step 2 - Using the Installer

An installer is provided to assist you in entering the information Invision Power Board needs to connect to your mySQL database and to create your new administrators account.

Run the "sm_install.php" file through your web browser by entering the URL to it into your browser address bar (if you have followed our example, type in http://www.domain.com/forums/sm_install.php, naturally subsituting 'domain.com' for your web address.)

You will be presented with a short information screen, if you receive an error telling you that "conf_global.php" does not have suitable permissions, CHMOD "conf_global.php" to 0777 via your FTP client.

Clicking on proceed will present you with a simple information form. You will need to know your mySQL username and password at this point. If you do not know it, please ask your web host - in most cases it is different from the FTP log in information.

The form is very straightfoward, with only the following points needing closer examination. If you do not know what your mySQL "host" is, try "mysql" (without the quotes). if the mySQL server is on the same server as your website (and in most cases it is) this will suffice.
If you have created a new database for Invision Power Board, or wish to use an existing database, enter the name of the database in the appropriate field.

Unless you intend to install multiple copies of Invision Power Board into the same database, you can leave the "table prefix" blank. If you do not have a mySQL password (if you are installing Invision Power Board on your local server) this can be left blank.
After submitting the form, you will be informed of any errors - if you do get an error similar to "permission denied for user@localhost using password YES" - the chances are you have either your mySQL username, mySQL password or mySQL database name wrong. Consult with your webhost for the correct information and resubmit the form.

If the installation was successful, you will receive notification to that effect.
Follow the link to finish off the installation and to log into your newly installed board. When the log in page loads, enter in the information you chose for your administrator account.
Once you are logged into the board, click on the "Admin CP" link found in the navigation bar to access the Administration Control Panel.

Installing: Step 3 - Admin CP First Steps

The Invision Power Board administration control panel is a very sophisticated tool. This is where you can create new categories and forums for your board, as well as set bad word filters, edit emoticons, change the board colours and so on. We recommend you browse the documentation at Invision Power Board before getting attempting some of the more complex operations.

Lets get stuck in!
The first thing you will need to do is remove the "sm_install.php" file from your server; although Invision Power Board locks the installer after a successful install, it's always a good idea to remove the installer as re-running it will delete your database tables.

Before anyone can post, we need some forums!
If you wish to get stuck in straight away, now would be a good time to create some forums for your members to post in.
In the Administrators CP, click on the "Forum Control" expanding menu in the left menu frame. When it loads, click on "New Category".
If your website was about computers, you could enter "PC Software" as the category name. Submit the form by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.
Now we have a category to "group" the forums, lets create a forum or two.

Click on "New Forum" found in the same expandable menu. Choose "Normal Forum" from the drop down box and proceed.
There are many options here, which are outside the scope of this guide, for more information see the documentation at Invision Power Board. We can create a new forum without knowing what all the options do. Using our example, you might want a forum dedicated to "Games" - if so, enter "Games" as the forum title, and a suitable description for the new forum. When you have done this scroll down and submit the form by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.

If you now go back to your board, and refresh the page, you will see the new category and forum. Try a little test post to make sure the system is running perfectly.

Congratulations! You have installed and set up your new Invision Power Board. If you ran into trouble, please click on the "Help!" link in the top menu bar for the FAQ and how to get support.

File Structure and CHMOD values

Below is a table showing the file structure and recommended CHMOD values for the file (and in the case of directories, the CHMOD values for the contents of the directories).
The CHMOD values are not needed for Windows based servers and can be safely ignored. The CHMOD values may vary from system to system, if in doubt, CHMOD everything to 0777.
Most systems will not need to CHMOD everything to install successfully, use the table below to determine what needs CHMOD'ding for installation, and what can be left until later.

How To Password Protect Folders in XP

Do you share a computer with other users and want some extra security on your folders? There are two ways to password protect a folder built into Windows XP (for other Windows flavors, there are some freeware/shareware programs out there).

#1 If you have a log in password for your account, this can be used to protect folders from other users. Your hard drive must be formatted using NTFS (which it probably is unless you're dual booting with another operating system). Here's what to do...

Right-click the folder that you want to make private and choose "Properties" (or Alt+Double-click). Go to the "Sharing" tab and check the "Make this folder private" box.


Click Apply . If you do not have a password on your account, a box will pop up asking if you want to assign a password. This must be done if you want to make the folder private, so click Yes . You will need to use your password to log on to your computer from then on.

Type in a password then confirm it. Click the "Create Password" button then close the Password window.

Click OK in the Properties dialog box.

Now anyone else logged on to your computer can't access that file without knowing your password.

#2 If the Folder is Zipped you can give it a unique password.

Just double-click the zipped folder. In the top menu select File then click "Add a Password


I THINK IS USEFULL IF U LIKE THEN REPLY

How to acces the internet via your standard m*cro$oft Calculator

How to acces the internet via your standard m*cro$oft Calculator
When your browser(s) is/are messed up for some unexplainable reason

1. Open your MS Calculator. This is normally found in Start => All Programs => Accessories => Calculator.
2. Open the help-window by pressing the F1 key.
3. Click the top-left corner icon of the help window once (Standard is a Document with a Questionmark).
4. Select Go to URL-address.
5. Type your address into the avaliable field, but remember to type http://, and not just www. (or equivalent).
6. Have fun!

Easy Cooking

Name that beef
USDA Prime, Choice, Select? "Young beef with the most marbling is given the Prime or highest quality grade. Prime is usually sold to restaurants, but may be available in some specialty markets. Choice is the most widely available grade in the retail market. Select has the least amount of marbling, but may not be as tender, juicy or flavorful as Prime or Choice."

"Beef tenderloin steak is also called filet or filet mignon. These extremely tender, boneless steaks are cut from the whole tenderloin."

"Round tip steaks, also called 'minute,' 'breakfast,' or 'sandwich' steaks, cook very quickly; take care not to overcook or they will be dry."

"A Porterhouse steak differs from a T-Bone in that the Porterhouse tenderloin diameter is no less than 1 1/4 inches measured across the center compared to the T-Bone tenderloin, which is not less than 1/2 inch."

"Delmonico" is a fancy name for ribeye. You'll find the word Delmonico more commonly in the Northeast (the original Delmonico's Restaurant was in NYC); ribeye is the label of choice in the Southeast.

Coals hot enough?
"Approximately 30 minutes prior to grilling, prepare the charcoal fire so coals have time to reach medium temperature. At medium, the coals will be ash-covered. To check the temperature of the coals, spread the coals in a single layer. CAREFULLY hold the palm of your hand above the coals at cooking height. Count the number of seconds you can hold your hand in that position before the heat forces you to pull it away: approximately 4 seconds for medium heat. Position the cooking grid and follow recipe directions. (For gas grills, consult the owner's manual for preheating instructions.)"

How to make hamburger patties
"Use a gentle touch when shaping ground beef patties. Overhandling will result in a firm, compact texture after cooking. Don't press or flatten with spatula during cooking."

Buying beef
"Make sure the package is cold and has no holes or tears. Excessive liquid in a package may indicate improper storage or beef that is past its optimum shelf life."

"Look for beef that is firm to the touch, not soft."

"Choose beef with a bright cherry-red color, without any grayish or brown blotches. The exception is vacuum-packaged beef, which, due to a lack of oxygen, has a darker purplish-red color. When exposed to the air, it will turn to a bright red."

How to use gluten in bread machines
Pure gluten has the appearance of flour. Add one tablespoon of pure gluten to the flour mixture of a 1 x1/2 pound loaf of bread destined for the bread machine. The gluten feeds the yeast. You will turn out a lighter and better loaf.

How to properly blend brownie ingredients
Most brownie recipes call for melting the chocolate with the fat and adding this mixture to beaten eggs and sugar. Let the chocolate mixture cool completely before adding it to the eggs and sugar as it makes for a lighter brownie.

How to tell if the brownies are cooked
Brownies are cooked when the edges look hard, the top has cracked slightly, and the surface has a glassy appearance. The center should not jiggle when you shake the pan. The toothpick method works on cakey brownies, but not fudgy ones!

About cooling and cutting brownies
As they cool, brownies shrink from the side of the pan and set. Put them out of reach of the thronging hordes and don't cut until they've reached room temperature.

Help! I'm out of baking chocolate!
Substitute 3/4 cup cocoa (unsweetened) and 1/4 cup Crisco for 4 squares (ounces) of chocolate.

See also Tips on melting chocolate

Tips on storing cheese
Store cheese in your refrigerator, which approximates the temperature of our aging rooms. Keep it wrapped tightly in plastic, away from air. Air helps mold grow on cheese. If you get a little mold on the outside, just cut it off. The English say if mold won't eat your cheddar it can't taste very good.

Tips on melting cheese
Bring cheese to room temperature before melting. Melt cheese over a low heat to help prevent toughening and separation of oils and liquid.

Tips on freezing cheese
Most ripened or aged cheese is low in moisture content and can be frozen without drastic flavor and texture changes. Thaw slowly in the refrigerator for 24 hours or more. If frozen for several months, the cheese may dry out somewhat and become crumbly when thawed.

Tips on serving cheese
It's universal thinking - cheese is served best at room temperature. (For a unique and easy meal, go to our Dinner Bell page for Ploughman's Platter.)

How to melt chocolate
Please note that melting chocolate is not the same as tempering chocolate. Tempered chocolate has been subject to certain temperatures and techniques that alter its chemistry. Tempering produces the texture and sheen we expect from fine chocolate candies. To temper chocolate, consult a candy cookbook.

The enemy of melted chocolate is water. Even a hot and humid day can ruin your efforts. Be absolutely sure that hands, utensils, bowls, surfaces - everything that comes in contact with the warm liquid chocolate - are bone dry. One drop of water in warm melted chocolate will cause it to seize (bind, clump and turn grayish in color).

The second nastiest enemy of chocolate is too high heat. It's so easy to scorch! No matter what method you choose to melt chocolate, use patience. Do not take shortcuts.

Microwave Method: Place chocolate (and shortening if you're making candy coating) in a small, deep microwavable bowl. Use a 50% power setting. Nuke in 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval. The chocolate will keep its shape even when melted, so stirring is important. Reduce nuke time to 10 seconds if you suspect chocolate is close to being melted. Alternatively, just let it sit for a minute or two to complete the melting process.

Foolproof Double Boiler Stovetop Method: This method takes more time, but there is actually less for you do than if using the microwave method. And it sure beats the more common stovetop method which calls for simmering the water and invites water droplets to settle in your chocolate! Fill a saucepan with water up to the point that the double boiler bowl would rest its bottom in the water when put in place. Put the lid on the pan and bring the water to a full boil. Remove the lid and don't even think of using it again. Turn off the heat. Place the double boiler bowl filled with chocolate (and grease if you're making chocolate candy coating) on top of the boiled water and set the timer for 25 minutes. Go away. Come back when the buzzer goes off and carefully stir the chocolate. If it still has a way to go, turn the burner on warm or low to help it along. When the chocolate has melted, carefully remove the bowl of chocolate and wipe off the bottom of it with a dry dishtowel. You're now ready to make that chocolate treat.

How to dip candy in chocolate coating
Don't even think of making chocolate dipped candies on a hot and humid day. See notes above on melting chocolate and moisture.

To create a chocolate coating of manageable consistency for candies and other treats, add shortening, peanut or vegetable oil in a ratio of 1 tablespoon grease to 6 - 8 ounces of solid chocolate and melt them together (see tips on melting chocolate above). Food grade canning wax may also be used (To find Coconut Creme Eggs, go to our Recipes page and click on the Desserts button.) The wax method creates the best consistency for dipping and the loveliest luster, but then you are eating a small portion of wax!

Special candy coating chocolate ("couverture") is available commercially. While the chocolate available in the supermarket is both economical and easy to find, you may enjoy experimenting with "professional grade" chocolate next time around.

Do not use butter or margarine in your coating mixture. Butter, particularly American butter, contains water. (Joy's Note: If you're doubtful, wring out a stick like a washcloth and watch the water drip out. I discovered this in the process of making brioche and croissant years ago.) All margarine is not created equal - don't trust it. A Hershey cookbook says even oil can contain some moisture and to use only shortening - our tests were successful with oil, but, admittedly, oil from a freshly opened bottle.

Melted chocolate may also be brushed on a candy center with a pastry brush. Think chocolate paint! Two or three coats may be needed.

Tools? Read on. Real candy dipping forks have tines as thin as needles, but you don't need to use one. Do you have a long-handled, two pronged meat fork in the house? Or a set of fondue forks circa 1968? We found a meat fork at the supermarket for $2.79 and it worked famously. Only use a table fork as a last resort. Why? We're not using the fork to pierce the candy center but to cradle it. Thus the chocolate needs to drip through the cradle of the tines back into the bowl. Too many tines inhibits draining!

Once your candy is coated and resting on the fork, tap the fork on the side of the bowl to shake off extra chocolate. Small, tight circular motions may also help to remove excess chocolate.

Ready to try your hand at candy? Check out our recipes for Peanut Butter Eggs and Coconut Creme Eggs From our Recipes page, click on the Desserts button.

How to use "Baking Pan Liner Paper, A.K.A. Baking Parchment
"This is paper that is coated on both sides with silicone, which prevents cookies from sticking. It also controls the cookies' shapes (if you butter the cookie sheets, the cookies might run out and be too thin on the edges). These are the reasons I use it. But also, I don't object to the fact that I hardly ever have to wash a cookie sheet. And if I have too many sheets of cookies, I prepare the cookies all at once on pieces of baking pan liner paper, and then just slide a cookie sheet under the paper, and it's OK if the sheet is still hot.

In many or most of these recipes [Maida's] the directions say to line the sheets with baking pan liner paper or aluminum foil. Aluminum foil usually does almost the same thing that the paper does.

The baking pan liner paper comes on a roll like wax paper and is generally available in kitchen shops and hardware stores. It also comes in very large sheets in a big box available at wholesale paper companies and wholesale baker supply stores. I bought a box about ten years ago and I recently used the last sheet and had to buy another box. Unless you have a bakery, or unless you write cookie books, a box might be more than you want. But it's such great stuff, it's worth trying to find someone (or some two or three or more) to share it with.

The large sheets are twice as large as most cookies sheets. I work with ten or twenty pieces of it. I fold them in half, and then with a large, heavy, sharp knife, cut through the fold. I then have enough for several days of baking.

If you do a lot of cookie baking, try to get the large box. You'll love it."

Cookie cutters
"Cutters should be sharp, with no rough edges. If the cutter sticks to the dough, dip it in flour each time you use it. Always start cutting at the edge of the rolled-out dough and work toward the center, cutting the cookies as close to each other as possible."

Cookie Jars
"Cookie jars should be airtight. Many of the charming and artistic colorful ones I have seen are not. Glass jars with ground glass around the rim and the cover are airtight. Some plastic or glass jars with a rubber ring around the top are also airtight. But if I have a choice, I use Rubbermaid containers--these are airtight for sure."
Reprinted from Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies with kind permission from the author and publisher.

How to remove baked on food from your baking dishes
Scrape off loose bits of food. Put a couple of tablespoons of dishwasher detergent in the dish and add hot water. Stir the solution - a small wire whisk helps. The solution should be so heavy with detergent that it doesn't all quite dissolve. Leave it overnight. By morning, the baked on food will have lifted right off the surface of the dish. This works particularly well with glass baking dishes. Don't use this method on non-stick surfaces.

How to remove cooked on cheese (and other fatty foods)
Scrape off loose bits of food with a spatula or wipe them off with a paper towel. Then, blast the cheese with blazingly hot water while scraping with a brush or spatula. Be careful! What you don't manage to remove leave to the dishwasher. Leave the brush to the dishwasher, too. It will take care of those gummy bits of cheese better than thou.

How to remove cooked on rice, pasta or other starchy food
You left the stove to catch the Local on The Weather Channel and OOPS! First of all, if the rice has scorched, remove all the nicely cooked rice to a serving dish before the scorched food imparts a nasty flavor. Then, soak the pan in cold water. Cold, not warm, not hot. By the time you finish eating, your pan should have released the cooked on food. If not, try the method above for removing blackened, baked on food.

How to remove cooked on milk
Use the cold water method above (How to remove cooked on rice...). Attention Espresso/Cappuccino Machine Owners: You may know the trick of blowing a shot of steam into a towel and wiping down the steamer with the cloth to keep it clean. This doesn't work well if the milk has caked on. Soak the steam wand in a tall glass of cold water to soften the hardened milk, then wipe with a towel to remove it.

How to guarantee a clean, lint-free window
Run out of Windex? Don't panic. Don't even put it on the shopping list! Fill up the bottle with 3 parts of water and 1 part vinegar (don't waste the balsamic - use white or cider vinegar) and start spraying. Wipe your windows clean with newspaper. You'll be amazed!

How to tell if an egg is fresh
Old wives' tales? Maybe. Lower uncooked eggs into a bowl of water. If the egg settles horizontally, the egg is fresh enough for human consumption. If it settles vertically, feed it to the dog. If it rises to the top, feed it to the hydrangeas.

How to hard cook eggs without cracking them
Cold water method or hot? Room temperature eggs or cold eggs? Cold water plunge or no cold water plunge? Here in the foodies kitchen, we tested every possible permutation-- this is how to hard cook an egg:
Use fresh eggs, preferably organic or grain fed, as they peel more easily once cooked. They also have better texture
and flavor.
Handle like eggs. Or nitroglycerin.
Bring eggs to room temperature before cooking. This helps prevent cracking due to the sudden shock of temperature change and ensures a properly cooked egg. If you do use eggs right out of the refrigerator, add a minute or two to the cooking time.
Simmer eggs. A roiling boil is too violent. Call them "hard cooked" instead of "hard boiled" and you'll remember
this hint.
Don't crowd the pan. The eggs will knock each other and crack.
In a saucepan, bring enough water to cover the eggs to a boil. With a slotted spoon, lower the eggs into the water. Quickly, bring the water back to a boil. Lower the temperature to medium heat and simmer exactly 10 minutes. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and plunge into a bowl of cold tap water. The cold water will stop further cooking and create a gap between shell and egg for easier peeling. You may put the eggs right into a color bath now if you wish.

How to color eggs without the silly kit
In a bowl (not metal), pour in enough water and white distilled vinegar to cover the eggs. For pastel colors use one cup of water to 1 tablespoon of vinegar. (Intensify the color by reducing the amount of water used or leaving the eggs in the dye for longer periods of time.) Using basic food coloring, mix your own shade in the water and vinegar. Be sure the food coloring is completely blended so there are no "stains" on the eggs. Carefully submerge hard cooked eggs in the color bath, rotating frequently, until of desired intensity.

Egg coloring tricks
For an easy tie dyed look, wrap the egg with rubber bands before coloring.
Take a candle or other piece of wax and draw whatever you fancy on the egg-- the dye will not be absorbed by the wax.
Mix some offbeat colors. Or use a very strong solution of dye and leave the eggs in it for a long while-- a deeply colored egg is gorgeous.
Fashion a ring to hold the egg at the end of a handle out of some seizing wire (or other stiff wire) and lower the egg very, very slowly into the bath to create a striated effect.
Let kids decorate the eggs. Set some eggs aside that will not be eaten, collect odds and ends from house and garden, provide glue sticks, and let the little ones put Fabergé to shame.

How to peel a hard cooked egg
Cold eggs peel more easily than room temperature eggs. Gently tap the egg shell on the counter along the egg's "equator." Place the egg between hands and roll back and forth as if you were making a hot dog out of clay. You should feel the shell and membrane loosening from the egg white. Peel off the shell. If the shell is still coming off in irritating bits, peel under running water (this is the last resort).



Tips on using ice cream makers (electric or manual)
To ensure that the egg yolks and sugar of the ice cream base are completely mixed, do it by hand.
Let the base flavors develop overnight in the refrigerator. Adjust the flavor before churning.
Don't chintz on the flavorings - why risk the rest of the expensive ingredients? Choose natural, top quality flavorings and extracts.
Consider adding flavorings with alcohol toward the end of the churning process - alcohol freezes at a lower temperature than the other ingredients and may slow the process.
What NOT to do with salty waste water from the ice cream maker - don't dispose it on the grass or any living thing! (The Romans dumped their nasty old saline on Carthage in 146 B.C. decimating a perfectly good city, but the gelato sure hit the spot!)

How to scoop, serve and serve ice cream
A crust of ice crystals on leftover ice cream is sure a let-down for that midnight hankering! Follow these tips to prevent crystals from forming.
"Temper" ice cream before you scoop - leave it at room temperature for 8-10 minutes before serving. Return ice cream to the freezer immediately after it has been served to minimize the formation of ice crystals.
Forget what your brother-in-law told you about nuking it for 10-20 seconds. Resist the temptation for immediate gratification! Ice cream is a good enough treat on its own!
Serve ice cream in chilled bowls, preferably glass. Not only is the frosted bowl refreshing to look at, but the ice cream will retain its shape longer.
Scooping ice cream: A variation on a theme. Try this! Have a large Pyrex measuring cup or other heat proof container filled with just boiling water standing by. Dip the metal scoop into the hot water, let it heat up for a moment, and then DRY the scoop on a towel. Quickly drag the hot scoop across the ice cream creating tight rolls of the divine stuff. Do not smash the ice cream with the scoop. Think ribbons, not chunks. Repeat the process for each serving.
To store opened ice cream, first place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface and smooth it down lightly with your fingers. Then close the lid securely (use a rubber band if you have to) and return to the depths of your freezer.

Martini Tips
Advice from Martini Master Flick Eggleston

The measurement
"Be scientific. Use a jigger. If you don't know what a jigger is, use a measuring cup. 8 ounces = a cup. You figure it out. Record what works."

The vermouth
"Buy the smallest bottle of vermouth that will support your habit. Refrigerate after opening. After the bottle's been open more than a month, use it for cooking. Buy a fresh one for the bar."

The ice
"One often overlooked ingredient in the perfect martini is the ice that goes into the shaker. As we all know, ice absorbs the flavors around it. First, clean out the freezer. Give Aunt Edna's soup and everything else whose vintage is suspect the heave-ho. (Editor's Note: Jam a freshly opened box of baking soda between the frozen fish sticks.) Fill several children's ice pop molds with your favorite bottled water. Still water, not bubbly. I prefer the kind of long plastic mold that comes in a holder of six or eight. Three sets of this sized mold is enough unless you're having the House majority leader and his girlfriends over. Put a sheet of plastic wrap over the tops of the trays just in case your freezer is channeling the spirit of Aunt Edna."

"If you have a source for bagged party ice that you trust, go ahead and take your chances. I've always been wary of commercial party ice...is it tap water?...filtered water?...is it even clean water? It always tastes slightly metallic to me." (The Editor again: I recommend the Brita system for a quick tap water fix.) "Remember, you want the largest possible pieces of ice in the shaker. Do not use chipped ice. You'll pour out a martini that is about half water." (Egads!)

"This is a good time to frost some glasses. I douse them in water before I put them into the freezer. Filtered tap water works just fine for this purpose. Make sure you put them in upside down if you've used the water trick; otherwise, you'll end up with a little disk of ice in the bottom of the glass that will dislodge itself after the first sip, float to the surface of your drink, and paddle around staring at you."

"If, as a very last resort, you must use old ice, dump it all into a large bowl, fill with clean water and stir. Drain off the water and place the ice back in the freezer to 'set.' If the purity of your ice is suspect, use a few more drops of vermouth. Vow never to let it happen again."

The shake
Again, Flick Eggleston: "It's all about your own personal rhythm. I get sixteen shakes into ten seconds. That works for me. Don't shake too vigorously or too long or you'll break off shards of ice. They'll melt faster and dilute your drink. Much less than ten seconds doesn't get the mix cold enough. Experiment."

More martini resources
If you enjoy blatant commercialism (and who doesn't!?), point to Smirnoff for twelve more amusing and enticing recipes. Vodka martinis shaken, not stirred, of course. For a good old-fashioned book, Mr. Eggleston recommends The Martini Companion - A Connoisseur's Guide by Regan and Regan.

How to skin (blanch) hazelnuts from Maida Heatter
"To skin hazelnuts, spread them on a jelly roll pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the skins parch and begin to flake off. Then wrap them in a towel and let them stand for 15 to 20 minutes. Then, working with a small amount of the nuts at a time, place them on a large, coarse towel (I use a terry cloth bath towel). Fold part of the towel over to enclose the nuts. Rub firmly against the towel, or hold that part of the towel between both hands and rub back and forth. The handling and the texture of the towel will cause most of the skins to flake off. Pick out the nuts and discard the skins. Don't worry about the few little pieces of skin that may remain."
Reprinted from Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies with kind permission from the author and publisher.

Order Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever Today!

Tips on storing nuts from Maida Heatter
"Nuts can turn rancid rather quickly--walnuts and pecans more so than almonds. Always store all nuts airtight in the freezer or refrigerator. In the refrigerator nuts last well for nine months; in the freezer at zero degrees they will last for two years. Bring them to room temperature before using, smell and taste them before using (and, if possible, when you buy them)--you will know quickly if they are rancid. If you even suspect that they might be, do not use them. They would ruin a recipe. Always store nuts in the freezer or refrigerator."
Reprinted from Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever with kind permission from the author and publisher.

Tips on storing olive oil from Joy
Olive oil, like all organic oils, will turn rancid over time if not properly stored. Keep it away from heat, air and light. Don't be tempted to store it in the cupboard over the range or above the refrigerator. Most cooks like to have some handy at the stove. Keep some in a pretty opaque container with a pouring spout within reach of your hand but not of the cooking heat.

Do not store olive oil in the refrigerator--it solidifies at 36 degrees Fahrenheit. If you find your olive oil contains a layer of white solids, the bottle has been chilled. Leave it to reach room temperature-- the olive oil will not have suffered. Joy

How and When to Pick and Wash Fresh Basil Leaves
If you are fanatical, water the plant a few hours before picking to perk up the leaves. Use only fresh basil from a plant that has not yet gone to seed. The leaves are at their sweetest before flowering. Pick just before preparation, bathe tenderly in cold water, and dry by gently blotting between layers of paper towel or dishtowels.

Freezing Pesto
As the best basil is seasonal, you may wish to freeze batches of pesto for a welcome return to summer in the colder months. Before preparing the pesto, have a sterilized glass jar with a lid and a roll of plastic wrap handy. The jar should hold only slightly more than the amount of pesto you are making. Prepare the pesto. Leaving a little space in the jar, pack in the pesto and cover the top with a 1/4 inch layer of olive oil. Press a piece of plastic wrap evenly over the surface of the oil allowing the wrap to hang over the sides of the jar. Screw on the lid and freeze immediately. Pesto will keep for weeks, if not months, if prepared properly. Thaw to room temperature before adding to a recipe.

Miscellaneous Pesto Notes
Pesto and pine nuts. May the two never be torn asunder. Forget what you read about substituting walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts. Pignoli is the only ingredient that provides the creamy texture that binds this sauce.

Never heat pesto sauce - the basil will turn black and taste bitter.

Never use dried basil or you're in for a rude surprise.

Experiment with pesto - add it to soups, soft cheese, sandwiches, life.

When cut basil is exposed to oxygen, it eventually blackens. If you must make pesto ahead of time, cover the top of the batch with a light layer of olive oil and press a piece of plastic wrap evenly over the surface. Refrigerate. Leave the pesto out to reach room temperature before adding to a recipe.

Does your pesto taste a tad flat? Add 1/4 teaspoon of high quality balsamic vinegar to round it out.

How to choose a pie plate
foodies east suggests glass plates. The crusts brown better on the bottom and can be monitored more easily. Buy standard-sized plates (8", 9", or 10") if you're plateless-- deep-dish and other specialty plates can be added to the collection when you're ready to branch out. Most recipes call for standard sizes so you won't have to finagle the recipe.

foodies west prefers the good heavy ceramic plates. Kauffman's Hardware on Main Street in New Holland, PA, was always the place to find them. Glass can brown too quickly. The ceramic ones that are glazed inside and on the rim (but left unglazed outside) are the ticket. They discolor and improve with age and repeated apple filling spilling over the edge. As a kid, I got 1st prize for my crust in every New Holland Farm Show for a long time. So there!

How to use cold to create flaky pastry
Cold, cold, cold --the pastry, the marble slab (if you're lucky enough to own one), the water in the recipe. Cold fat congeals! Rumor has it some chefs even chill the flour, but be mindful that condensation can create lumps.

Should I use my Cuisinart to make a pie crust?
It's tempting to use a food processor to fling together a crust. In this foodies editor's experience, it is impossible to do so and create a pastry as flaky as one made by hand. Despite that caveat, an acceptable crust can still be made, so, if time is short, pull out the trusty Cuisinart. Chill the bowl and blade. Feather that pulse button! Inspect the texture of the dough carefully during pauses. As soon as the dough begins to form a ball, remove it from the machine.

How to use up pastry scraps
Butter scraps, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and bake like cookies. The chef deserves a snack!

foodies west, once again, begs to differ: "Like cookies"? No, no. They are spread with butter, cinnamon and BROWN sugar and then ROLLED into little loose tubes. They are called "Schnukerhiesen". No kidding.

On freezing pastry dough
Pie crust dough freezes better in a ball than rolled-out dough. A ball takes up little room in the freezer and it won't be broken when you shove in another half gallon of ice cream. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap. Thaw at room temperature, in the plastic to prevent it from drying out, until only slightly chilled. Proceed with your pie.



Cooking pumpkin for pies
Cut off the top of the pumpkin and scrape out all the seeds and strings (an old-fashioned ice cream scoop works great). Cut it into sections and with a paring knife, cut the skin off the flesh. Steam the flesh until tender and puree. (Do NOT immerse the pumpkin meat in water and boil - it will soak up the water and make a watery pie.)

Be sure to read our tips on choosing the best pumpkins for pie below in How to pick a pumpkin.

More Halloween ideas: a book recommendation
Cindy Blandino, the foodies producer, is legendary for her Halloween ingenuity. Cindy recommends Donata Maggipinto's book Halloween Treats - Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family.

Cindy writes: "One great idea from Donata Maggipinto's book is using bat and other Halloween cookie cutters to create cute little flying, edible creatures. Place the cookie cutters on a baking sheet. Fill them with Jolly Ranchers or Lifesavers and bake until melted. Make hole in top for hanging, let cool and bingo, scary candy! The process involves a bit more than this, but you get the idea. So get the book! Clever spider web icing design, too." Click here to learn more or order Halloween Treats at Amazon.com.

Using ordinary kitchen tools to carve the pumpkin
Chances are you have some kitchen tools other than the paring knife that will help you carve the Halloween pumpkin. . Your resident ice cream scoop, especially the old-fashioned metal kind, will do a terrific job of scraping out the seeds and strings. A grapefruit knife (the double-edged serrated type) is helpful for carving out large areas. After you've cut the big chunk out with the grapefruit knife, smooth out the edges with a sharp, thin blade. An apple corer makes a clean and perfect circle. A simple vegetable peeler, if inserted into the pumpkin flesh and rotated, carves the perfect nostril. Have fun and be careful!

Using a carpentry tool to carve the pumpkin
From a foodies fan in California, Land of the Cutting Edge:
"After you have scooped out your pumpkin, thin the wall down as much as is practical. Take a coping saw blade (an old worn-out one will do) and wrap about half its length in heavy tape to create a handle. Wrap it tight so the blade doesn't slip inside the tape. If your blade has a small pin through the end (for mounting in the saw), cut or break off about a half inch to eliminate the pin. Push the end of the blade through the pumpkin wall and start cutting. The blade is thin enough to turn sharp corners, allowing you to get some incredible detail. I find it helpful to sketch the design on the pumpkin first using a dry marker or ball point pen. Make sure you don't use a jeweler's saw blade. They're too thin and will just bend.

Make sure the blade teeth are pointed toward you so the blade cuts on the pull stroke (rather then the push stroke). Much better for control. Obviously, this also affects the way you wrap your tape handle. My favorite reason for coping saw blades vs. knife blades? It's almost impossible to sustain a life threatening injury while wielding a coping saw blade. Not true of knives and I have the scars to prove it. Happy carving!"

For those of you who braved the tape-wrapped coping saws in that last paragraph back in 1998, good news in 1999. For 99 cents and with some luck, you'll find the "Creative Pumpkin Carver" (Made in China) at your local supermarket or dime store's kitchy Halloween display. It is essentially a coping saw mounted in a bright orange, pumpkin-patterned handle. "Create Thousands of Designs!" it says. "Créez une multitude de motifs!" it says in French.

We could have been billionaires.

Advanced tip on carving pumpkins
For the serious carver: Hollow out the pumpkins and then let them sit around for a few days to soften them up. Stagger this process in the several days before Halloween - start with the biggest pumpkin first as it will have the thickest walls. Be careful - if you thin the walls too much, or if the gutted pumpkin gets too warm and rots, the walls may collapse. (see our tips on How to pick a pumpkin

How to pick a pumpkin
There are two types of pumpkin available commercially. Sugar pumpkins are usually the smaller, deep orange variety. Field pumpkins - also known as jack o' lanterns - are larger, a brighter shade of orange, and more suitable for carving. Although both varieties are edible, sugar pumpkins have a sweeter flesh and are better for cooking.

Jen McAllister, who seems to know more about fruits and vegetables than Mother Nature herself, suggests pie bakers be on the look out for a variety called "cheese pumpkins." She writes: "They're on the flattish side, are somewhat rust-colored (as opposed to bright orange) and extremely dense, meaty and sweet. Do NOT use them for jack o' lanterns; they'll just make you weep."

Buying and Storing Tomatoes
As long as they are kept at room temperature, tomatoes picked at the mature green stage will finish ripening in supermarkets and after you purchase them. Within a few days, they will soften slightly, turn red and—most important of all—develop their full flavor and aroma.

To avoid interrupting this process, place the tomatoes on a counter or in a shallow bowl at room temperature until they are ready to eat.
DON'T REFRIGERATE THEM.
When tomatoes are chilled below 55° F, the ripening comes to a halt and the flavor never develops.

To speed up the process, keep tomatoes in a brown paper bag or closed container to trap the ethylene gas that helps them ripen. Adding an ethylene-emitting apple or pear to the container can also hasten ripening. Store the tomatoes in a single layer and with the stem ends up, to avoid bruising the delicate "shoulders."

Once they are fully ripened, tomatoes can be held at room temperature or refrigerated for several days. When you’re ready to use them, bring the tomatoes back to room temperature for fullest flavor.

Tomato Techniques
To peel: Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover tomatoes; bring to a boil. Immerse tomatoes about 30 seconds; drain and cool. Remove stem ends and slip off skins.
To seed: Cut tomatoes in half crosswise. Gently squeeze each half, using your fingers to remove seeds. To reserve the juice for use in dressings, sauces or soups, seed the tomato into a strainer held over a bowl.
Tomato Shells: Cut a 1/2 inch slice off the stem end of each tomato. Using a spoon, scoop out the pulp.
Roast: Preheat oven to 450° F. Halve tomatoes crosswise. Place halves, cut side down, on a shallow baking pan; brush with oil. Roast until lightly browned, about 20 minutes; cool. Remove skins and stem ends.
Slow-Cook: Preheat oven to 300° F. Remove stem ends; slice tomatoes. Place slices on a shallow baking pan; brush with oil. Cook until tomatoes soften and shrink, about 45 minutes.