Try It Tuesday: Serve Beer in the Right Glass

The beer enthusiast would argue that each sparkling glass contains an array of B vitamins and all the glorious benefits of fermentation, but let's be frank: beer isn't the healthiest thing on Earth.

Even so, there's something to be said of being dedicated to a craft and becoming a master of your interest. I myself laugh at the research articles that claim coffee is harmful to your overall health and choose to, instead, spend my time perfecting the classic French press.

In hopes of inspiring you to elevate your nightly brew to more than just a one-dollar can, I bring to you: How to Serve Beer in the Right Glass!

---

Inspired by the wildly entertaining book: Show Me How
A compulsive library-grab from last week that has proven to be most aesthetically pleasing and strangely inspiring. It offers illustrated instructions on a variety of tasks, from quite necessary to ultimate party trick, including: How to Install a Tire Swing, How to Defend Against a Shark Attack, and, How to Tango.

---

A Belgian ale or barley wine goes great in a tulip glass. The bulbous body and flared lip will make the most of its hearty aroma.

The Weizenbier glass is great for wheat beer because its shape showcases fluffy foam and golden hues.

A strong ale is great in a snifter because the big bowl captures aromas and concentrates them at the glass's lip.

In the US, ales and lagers are typically served in a straight-edged "poor man's pint" glass measuring a measly 475ml.

In England it's illegal to serve a pint less than 600ml and they use a glass with a slight bulge to allow for more head.

Anything with a malty flavour will taste best in a goblet as it traps the flavours and retains hearty head.

Lastly, a flute's elegant form, often used for champagne, boosts carbonation and will compliment fruity and lambic beers.

No matter what your favourite style of beer is it deserves the right glass. Serve anything from a hefty Guinness to a Bud Light to the new Rickard's Blonde (in sampler packs now!) and you're sure to impress. Just be sure that one of your guests knows they're on dishes duty.

Try it Tuesday: Green Kitchenware

Cooking your own meals at home is eco-friendly in itself but what if you're whipping up batches of millet & mushroom cakes all while releasing toxins into your food? You may not even know you're doing it.

So here are a few easy swaps to make to avoid poisoning your healthy food by using unhealthy kitchenware:


Stove Top Cooking

Trade in your non-stick frying pan, your electric griddle and your casserole dishes for one cast iron skillet. It's an all-in-one kitchen tool that is safe, easy to clean and even makes your food more nutritious. Scientists believe frying in a cast iron skillet will transfer dietary iron to your food - sounds good to us prone to anemia! I've been a die-hard skillet-fan for some time now but the key is to get a nice old one. New skillets have not been seasoned and tend to stick. See if a family member has one that they'll part with, or check the second hand store. If you must buy new, oil the skillet often and bake it for a while with a layer of oil. Never wash with soap, or in the dishwasher. Keep in mind a hardy skillet can wreck the nice finish on those fancy flat top stoves so it would be better suited for the BBQ. 


Storing 
It goes without saying that almost all plastic is a no-no, especially when you plan to reheat certain things in a (*hushed voice*) microwave. So many parents make an effort to pack their kids a healthy lunch for school, and then ruin it with a container that leeches yucky chemicals into the food. For storing food, choose glass. It's also nice and easy to pop into a hot oven for reheating. The glass storage containers I've seen are pretty tough and not prone to shattering easily.



Cutting 
Slicing can cause fragments of your board to chip off and enter the food. Now this is on a microscopic level so it's nothing you'll taste or hurt yourself on, but if you're cutting on plastic it's not the best thing to expose your body too. I love using a wood cutting board. There are, however, two considerations when switching to wood: cleanliness and sustainability. Wood is a bacteria-promoter and needs to be thoroughly washed after every use. Use hot water and soap. Or, for less threatening items like red bell pepper, wipe down with half a lemon. Allow to dry fully. With any wooden item we need to be cognizant of its environmental impact. Choose a product that is certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council.


Wiping 
If you're still using paper towel, it's time to stop! Disposable products like this are unnecessary and brutal for the environment. With each use you transfer a beautiful piece of our forests to garbage in a land fill - not pretty. A simple kitchen cloth can handle any of the messes that paper can, and a dirty cloth will take no space at all in your weekly laundry load (or rinse and dry for simple messes). If you really want to go all the way, purchase a cloth made of organic cotton. Cotton's one of those things that is just nasty when it's not organic.

When you're ready to convert more disposable products to reusable check out my posts on diapers and diva cups.


Lastly, Filtering
The best water system I've seen is the Santevia. The countertop model fits nicely on any flat surface and uses gravity and a layered filtration tube to remove most toxins (not fluoride however), alkalize and mineralize.

The kitchen is a great place to change the world, but you've gotta change your tools before you can do it!