Dr. Jonathan “Jon” Vrban is a cooking enthusiast who recently started writing his own cookbook. To procure fresh ingredients for his recipes, Dr. Jonathan Vrban maintains an herb garden at his home in Hawaii. Creating a thriving herb garden requires careful planning, especially when it comes to selecting a location. Gardeners interested in growing fresh herbs should find an outdoor spot at home which receives at least six hours of sunlight each day. While some herbs such as parsley can grow efficiently in the shade, most herbs require ample sunshine and warmth for healthy development. To help trap heat in the soil, gardeners should consider using stone or brick as garden edging. Herb gardens are sensitive to water, and planting your garden in a location that allows standing water to gather beneath the soil can cause plant roots to rot. It is crucial that gardeners not overwater herbs and that they ensure that the bed the herbs are planted in is either raised or packed with organic matter to improve drainage.
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Jonathan Vrban participates in a number of activities in his free time at his Hawaii home. For instance, Jonathan “Jon” Vrban enjoys baking, even creating his own recipes. A popular activity for people around the world, baking can be highly enjoyable and can yield delicious results. However, people should keep in mind that baking is a science, and a great number of factors influence the quality of the final results. While properly measuring and combining the ingredients is important, so is what happens afterward, when the ingredients go into the oven. For instance, make sure the food reaches the proper temperature during baking. Sometimes oven temperatures are slightly higher or lower than the setting. Therefore, use an oven thermometer to determine the true temperature of the oven and monitor it during baking. You can use this accurate reading to make adjustments that will help ensure the temperature matches what the recipe calls for. In addition, ovens tend to have some areas that get hotter than others. For instance, the front of the oven might have a slightly lower temperature than the back. To ensure your baked goods don’t get overly done on one side, you might rotate the pan or sheet partway through cooking. In fact, recipes sometimes indicate this in their baking instructions. Ignoring this guideline can result in baked goods that are visibly browner on one side than the other. Jonathan “Jon” Vrban enjoys a wide range of hobbies, including gardening, cooking, and baking. Jonathan Vrban has created a number of recipes for baked goods and is in the process of writing a cookbook to share these culinary creations. Many people find baking to be a rewarding activity. They enjoy the process of preparation, the delicious smell of the food in the oven, and the final results. However, baking can be challenging when first starting out. Unlike cooking, baking is more of an exact science, and failure to follow steps properly can end with less-than-desirable results. For instance, recipes often indicate that ingredients should be at room temperature when combined. While it can be tempting to skip this step and mix ingredients straight out of the refrigerator, cold ingredients are more difficult to mix properly. If you plan to start a baking project in the morning, you might consider setting butter and eggs out before going to bed. Another key consideration is to follow the recipe, even if you think there is something you do not need. Beginner bakers might think that salt is optional if they are creating something sweet, such as a cookie or cake. However, the salt actually serves to bring out the sweetness of the baked good and create better flavors overall. Finally, bakers should check for the freshness of their ingredients. Common baking ingredients such as yeast and baking soda lose their quality over time. If you have not baked for a while, you might need to purchase replacement ingredients. A resident of Honolulu, Hawaii, Jonathan “Jon” Vrban has a passion for cooking. Jonathan Vrban is currently writing a baking cookbook, and he aims to share his recipes online through cooking videos.
When crafting a home cooking video, a novice may find it challenging to create professional final products. One tip beginners are often not aware of is that audio may be more important than video to the quality of the final product. Food52’s professional videographer recommends investing in a directional microphone to achieve the best audio. Costing approximately $30, lavalier microphones pick up external sound clearly, which is valuable during editing. Instead of shooting multiple shots of a single action or portion of a recipe, a person can gather enough detail and video through a single take. This method ensures continuity when recording. Keep in mind that the videographer should move quickly between the cook and the actual process of handling food to obtain the greatest amount of usable content. Later, during the editing process, a person can use software to remove unnecessary scenes or transitions from a recording and recombine footage to create a fluid cooking video. The same applies to eliminating dead air and filler words in the audio. Jonathan "Jon" Vrban spends time pursuing his many hobbies, including gardening at his home in Oahu, Hawaii. Among the plants Jonathan Vrban grows in his garden is basil, which he uses to make classic Italian pesto.
Pesto is a well-known sauce that originated in Italy and features just a few key ingredients: basil, garlic, cheese, nuts, and olive oil. However, while simple, it has an intense flavor that many people love. While there are many different variations on pesto recipes, there are a few tips and that a cook should follow to make the best pesto possible. The word "pesto" originates from the Italian word for “to mash” or “to crush.” Therefore, in traditional Italian pesto, ingredients are mashed using a mortar and pestle. Using this old-fashioned method of preparing pesto can be more time consuming than using a food processor to cut and chop, but the results are well worth it. Mashing the basil leaves releases the wonderful a wonderful aroma, and the mashing process helps ensure that the sauce has the best flavor. Additionally, another tip for preparing a great pesto sauce is to use the best quality ingredients. Since the sauce contains so few ingredients, the quality of each one is particularly important. Using high-quality Italian olive oil and cheeses, namely Pecorino Sardo and/or Parmigiano-Reggiano, can take a good pesto recipe to the next level. Dr. Jonathan Vrban worked and lived in San Francisco providing medical care to his patients. Outside of his work, Dr. Vrban spends time growing herbs in his garden and putting them to use in his recipes. Jon Vrban has traveled the world learning about the different cultures from the places he visits, and their unique food produce and cuisine.
Growing herbs alongside flowers and vegetables in the garden can be fun and eye-catching, but gardeners should make sure to take full advantage of the benefits their herbs can provide in the kitchen. Rosemary, for example, can be included in a variety of dishes, either dried or freshly cut. Rosemary’s piney scent makes it a holiday favorite, though it can be a year-round treat on homemade pizza. Thyme can also be used as a cooking accompaniment any time of year, fitting in equally well with warming, wintertime stews and summery marinade recipes perfect for the grill. Lastly, the growth of sage should be monitored by gardeners via a container and regular trimmings. Properly maintained sage can be added to an array of dishes simply by introducing the leaves to the cooking water. Additional sage can be added to the food itself for heightened flavor. Jonathan Vrban, a resident of Hawaii, frequently travels from Hawaii to other parts of the world. When he is not travelling Jonathan Vrban likes to cook and bake. He is especially proud of his chocolate chip cookie recipe, which demands more than 24 hours of prep time and uses the finest ingredients.
While individual bakers all have their own ideas as to what particular elements result in the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, they all tend to agree about the importance of using high-quality chocolate chips. The best way to determine whether a brand of chocolate chips should be included in a cookie recipe is to check its inclusion of high cocoa solids. Chips that contain less than 60 percent will provide only the faintest real chocolate taste, while those with more than 70 percent high cocoa-solids content will provide a rich, complex chocolate flavor upon which the rest of the recipe can be built. Another factor to note is whether a brand contains cocoa butter; the use of this ingredient, rather than cheaper and less flavorful vegetable oil alternatives, greatly enhances the flavor and texture of chocolate chips. Jonathan Vrban, D.N.P., began his career in health care in 1985, when he completed training in radiological technology in Springfield, Missouri. In the years following, he earned several nursing degrees, including a Doctor of Nursing Practice, which he received in 2008 from the Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. When he is not attending to his professional obligations, Jonathan Vrban enjoys numerous activities, including travel, botany, gardening, and cooking.
Many cookbooks emphasize the advantages of using fresh spices and herbs in recipes, and many cooks honor that advice by maintaining gardens of the herbs they use most often. Many herbs can be grown quite easily in a home garden, containers on a patio or deck, or even in pots indoors, and it’s not unusual to see an herb garden of a dozen or so varieties. Oregano, rosemary, thyme, and sage are popular in many Mediterranean dishes and can be planted together in a single large container so the cook can easily snip sprigs of all four. These four herbs will sprawl in their container and produce a visually appealing presentation, and frequent snipping of sprigs will ensure their lively growth. Another favorite herb is basil, which pairs well with tomato-based dishes and salads. The leaves can be used whole, especially when cooking tomato sauces, but some cooks recommend chopping larger leaves. Chives, a member of the onion family, are generally chopped coarsely and used as garnishes on hot foods and soups and in salads; the purple flowertops are also edible. Other popular herbs that can easily be grown in a home garden are dill, tarragon, and cilantro. |
AuthorBased in Honolulu, Hawaii, Jonathan Vrban maintains involvement in a vast array of professional and personal projects, honing his talents as a writer, chef, and gardener. Archives
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