With a Side of Hope

Hi there!  Happy Tuesday to you!  I hope your week is off to a good start!  It’s been quite dreary and rainy here so far this week.  I’m hoping things turn around.  I think it’s supposed to be bad rain all day today.  We do need the rain but I just hate how dreary weather makes you feel.  It makes you not want to get out of bed.  I definitely didn’t feel like doing that today.  I stayed up past my bedtime once again last night because Mike and I were trying to catch up on DVR shows.  Our DVR is getting so filled and I never have time to watch anything!  We caught up on the Amazing Race and Gossip Girl last night.  So that was good.  I was able to watch a few shows by myself when I got home from work.  So we are slowly getting there.

My stomach wasn’t feeling very good all day yesterday so I wanted to take things very easy with dinner.  I ended up making a Bertolli Meal Soup that we had in the freezer.  I was not a fan of this variety of the soup.  It had an odd flavor and I couldn’t get into it.  I added some spinach to the soup and it did nothing.  I would not buy this flavor again.  It was the Roasted Chicken and Rontini Pasta. I like the other one much better.  I did get to use our new soup crocks though!

My dinner

Love the soup crock!

So yesterday I came across a really interesting article that I thought I would share.  The Huffington Post put out an article about the Most Commonly Confused Foods.  I thought I would share and see what you think or if you happen to confuse any of these foods.

The first commonly confused food is:

Pimenton vs. Paprika

Both of these spices are made from ground, dried peppers.  They are both red in color and range in flavor from hot to sweet to everything in between.  The major difference is how they are dried.

If a recipe says paprika use Hungarian paprika.  If a recipe says use Spanish paprika, smoked paprika or pimenton, use pimenton unless you don’t want a smoky flavor.   source

Soy Sauce vs. Tamari

The difference is soy sauce comes from China and contains both soybeans and wheat.  Tamari is from Japan is from the byproduct of miso making.  It contains no wheat and is safe for people with gluten intolerance’s.

Both can used interchangeably in recipes but if you are allergic to gluten make sure to check the labels before using.  source

Ginger Ale vs. Ginger Beer

The difference is that ginger beer is fermented (brewed) and ginger ale is carbonated water that has been flavored with ginger.  Ginger beers retain a very small amount of alcohol, too little to be considered an alcoholic beverage by the FDA.  source

Seltzer, Club Soda, Tonic Water, Spring Water

Seltzer is plain water that has been artificially carbonated.  Club soda is seltzer but contains minerals to enhance flavor.  Tonic water is bitter from the addition of quinine.  Spring water is naturally sparkling and comes from underground springs.  source

Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda

Baking soda requires an acidic ingredient (like buttermilk, yogurt, chocolate or honey) in a batter to help a baked good rise. Baking powder doesn’t require an acidic ingredient in a batter to help a baked good rise. It’s made from a combination of baking soda, cream of tartar (an acid itself) and corn starch.

The two cannot be substituted for each other because chemically they are different.  Baking powder contains baking soda but not the other way around.  source

Unsweetened Cocoa vs. Dutch Process Cocoa

Dutch process cocoa has been neutralized which turns the powder a pale, reddish-brown — it also makes it chemically nonreactive.  Unsweetened cocoa is untreated and thus remains acidic and bitter — since it’s an acid it does react (with baking soda, for example) in certain recipes.

Do not swap these out for one another in recipes.  Dutch process cocoa does not react with baking soda like regular cocoa does.  Only use dutch process cocoa in recipes that having baking powder.  source

Sweet Potatoes vs. Yams

Sweet potatoes are often mislabeled as yams in the supermarket.  Sweet potatoes come in two main varieties — one with a golden skin, creamy white flesh and a crumbly texture and the other with a copper skin, orange flesh that’s sweet and soft.  Yams are starchy tubers with an almost black bark-like skin and white, purple or reddish flesh.

You can use both interchangeably however if you are using a recipe that specifically calls for actual yams, you might need to search other markets to find them.  source

So there you have it!  The most commonly confused foods according to the Huffington Post.  What do you think?  Do you confuse any of these?  Should another food have made the list?

I always have wondered about baking soda and baking powder.  Sometimes I’ll have to look it up for myself to see if they can be used interchangeably.  I think that is one of the most common ones that people wonder about.  I also found the sweet potatoes and yams interesting!  I often see sweet potatoes mislabeled as yams in the supermarket.  All these times I’m thinking I’m eating a yam and it’s really a sweet potato.  It’s still good to me!  I think find it interesting that supermarkets do that.  I guess most people like myself cannot really tell the difference since they look so similar.

Well I hope you enjoyed learning something new today.  Have a great Tuesday!

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