Coffee in Arabia

That legend may or may not be true, but wherever it was discovered, coffee next popped up in Arabia from 1000AD onwards. Muslims took coffee with them wherever they went (and they went to lots of places in Africa, the Mediterranean and India. But the coffee legend states that they kept the secret of growing coffee very much to themselves, only ever allowing infertile beans to leave the country. Some Sufi monks also knew about coffee but that was as far as it went. The story goes that around the 1600s an Indian pilgrim called Baba Budan managed to smuggle out some fertile beans leading to the flourishing of coffee drinking in other parts of the world. It was time for Europe to get a piece of the coffee action.

A Merchant of Venice

The next chapter of the coffee story saw a Venetian merchant introducing coffee, paving the way for the Dutch to figure out how coffee was produced. It took the Dutch 80 years from the establishment of a coffee plant in 1616 to setting up a coffee estate in what is now Indonesia in 1696. Once the Dutch had coffee, it spread around Europe and from there to other parts of the world. One French naval officer smuggled it out to Martinique where it grew well and was used to supply Latin America.

Brazil Gets Coffee

Believe it or not, one of the world’s great coffee producers, Brazil, didn’t have coffee back until the 18th century and there were some shady dealings to get it. Lt. Col. Francisco de Melo Palheta was given the task of getting some beans so that the country could grab their share of the market. According to the story, he sweet talked the wife of the governor of French Guiana to get the seedlings that would pave the way for a massive coffee empire.

Once Brazil got involved, it was only a matter of time before coffee became something that everyone could drink. Wonder what that goatherd would have made of it?

About the Author

Freelance blogger Sharon Hurley is fascinated by the history of coffee.  She writes for the UK’s no. 1 bottled water cooler supplier Eden Springs who also have office coffee machine hire.

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It’s often said that you can tell a lot about a country from its cuisine. All too often when we think of Spain we make automatic associations with paella or Spanish omelets. Worse still, many travellers don’t venture beyond the expat-heavy tourist resorts located along the Spanish costas where full English breakfasts and a ‘chips-with-everything’ attitude dominate. But like most countries, Spain is a treasure trove of delicious traditional and regional cuisines where the ingredients, flavors and styles of dishes often depend upon the ingredients that are locally plentiful. For those who want to tantalize their taste buds whilst topping up their tan in beautiful Spain, here’s our guide to the best places in which to do both.

The northernmost regions of Spain, whose shores stretch along the Bay of Biscay, benefit from an abundance of seafood and fish and nowhere is this more evident than in Galicia and neighboring Asturias. Although often referred to as ‘green Spain’ thanks to verdant countryside and areas of dense woodland, there is no shortage of sun and sand to enjoy in the many fishing villages and resorts along the coast. Besides stunning medieval cities such as Santiago de Compostela with its magnificent cathedral, northern Spain boasts walking-country that begs to be explored. Galicia presents an array of seafood with goose barnacles, cod, calamares and many shellfish among its specialties. A hearty white bean soup, caldo gallego, is also traditional.

Heading eastwards, the region of Asturias is particularly famed for its haricot beans which provide the base for a popular stew – fabada asturiana – and for its artisan cheeses which include the strongly-flavoured queso de Cabrale. The cuisine of neighboring Cantabria is typified both by the easy availability of plump fresh sardines, but also by tender meats such as lamb and suckling pig. Lush grasslands and a temperate climate have led to comparisons with British countryside, and are the perfect conditions for raising livestock and growing excellent vegetables. To the south of Cantabria lies the small province of La Rioja. With no fewer than seven rivers flowing through it, La Rioja is extremely fertile and is Spain’s most famous wine producing region. Besides drinking fine Spanish wine there is much to enjoy on a visit to La Rioja. The mountain ranges here provide a host of outdoor activities including skiing, climbing, horse riding, bungee-jumping, fishing and hiking. Appetites thus worked up will be sated by La Rioja’s plentiful cured hams, chorizo sausages and traditional pepper and potato dishes.

Enclosed by mountain ranges and boasting a dramatic landscape, a Mediterranean climate prone to extremes of temperature and nine individual provinces each bursting with fascinating and historic towns and cities to discover, the vast region of Castile and León in northwest Spain is a must for lovers of natural beauty and spectacular architecture. More fine wines and cheeses originate here, whilst specialties include Morcilla – a spiced black pudding, garlic soup, a host of traditional sausages, the ever-popular suckling pig and roast lamb and Jamón de Guijuelo, another of Spain’s many fine cured hams. Pork is at the head of the menu in the region of Aragon in the northeast, an area popular both in summer and winter thanks to the activities offered by the Pyrenees Mountains. Aragon is also known for its snails (caracoles picantes a la aragonesa) and for many sweet Spanish delicacies including various turrones (types of nougat often made with honey), marzipans, and almond cakes.

Washed by the Mediterranean Sea, Catalonia’s Costa Brava has become synonymous with tourist-heavy holiday resorts but the region also encompasses Barcelona and a host of other historic cities. Traditional Catalan cuisine is considered to be among Spain’s finest and whatever your reason for visiting the region you shouldn’t miss out on specialities such as the simple but delicious pa amb tomàquet – toasted bread flavored with tomato, garlic, olive oil and salt. The combination of rice and seafood is at the forefront of Catalan cuisine; not only in the classic paella but also in dishes such as arros negre – rice coloured black using cuttlefish ink. Catalonia has its own interpretation of the pizza, here called the coca, which can be either savory or sweet and a version of crème brulee called crema Catalana. If these dishes aren’t enough to tempt you away from the British-style stodge offered by the average Costa Brava tourist restaurant, then surely Catalonia’s outstanding traditional sausages, cured hams, roast beefs and tapas are.

Bordering Portugal, Extremadura is billed as one of Spain’s last remaining unspoiled regions. Rich in medieval and Roman ruins and, in Guadalupe, a monastery that is a World Heritage Site, Extremadura offers visitors an insight into ‘real’ Spain. A National Park, plus scenic mountains, valleys and rustic villages combine to provide a travel experience unlike any other in Spain.  Removed from the coast, fresh fish is not Extremadura’s forte although dishes featuring salt cod are popular. More so is cocido extremeño, a rich and robust stew of chickpeas, lamb, sausage and vegetables. Other specialities of the region include pollo al padre Pero which is chicken braised in a pepper and tomato sauce and el frite; lamb fried in garlic, onion, lemon and paprika. Extremadura’s regional neighbour is Castilla la Mancha, the location of Spain’s vast central plains. Toledo is the region’s historic capital city, but Spanish heritage abounds in cities such as Guadalajara, Cuenca, Ciudad Real and Albacete. Beautiful Moorish architecture is abundant, as are castles and the windmills made famous by Cervantes’ Don Quixote. Castilla la Mancha is generously steeped in natural beauty, boasting spectacular river canyons, mountains, gorges and forests. Although the gastronomy of Castilla la Mancha is similar to that of Extremadura, the region is famous both for its saffron which is used to add a unique flavor and color to many Spanish rice dishes, and for its Manchego cheese, produced from sheep’s milk.

To the east of Castilla la Mancha and beneath Catalonia on Spain’s Mediterranean east coast is Valencia: the birthplace of the famous paella. The ubiquity of this dish is owed to the fact that Valencia is Spain’s chief rice growing region, although the area is equally well known for its citrus fruits, exporting oranges, lemons, satsumas and clementines worldwide. It’s worth noting that paella is not exclusively a fish dish; variants including chicken or meat are equally common.

Occupying the majority of southern Spain and its south coast, the region of Andalucía is responsible for providing many of Spain’s iconic aspects such as bullfighting, Spanish guitar, flamenco dancing and tapas. This far south, with the coast of Africa just a hop away over the water,  constant sunshine and high temperatures are virtually guaranteed and the resorts of the Costa Almeria are among the most popular in the country. But away from the packed beaches Andalucía offers a compact cross-section of all that is best about the rest of Spain; beautiful countryside, charming villages, National Parks, historic areas and mountain ranges. Proximity to the sea once again ensures a cuisine bursting with seafood flavors, but Andalucía is also a major growing region for olives. Serrano ham originates here and soups –including gazpacho, casseroles, cheeses and variations on the simple but delicious Spanish omelets are all staples of the Andalucian menu.

Amy is a guest blogger from Easyjet who provide flights to Malaga and flights to Madrid as well as other destinations in Spain for your own gastronomic tour!

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Certain Greek dishes (or at least; a number of Greek-influenced dishes) may be available to buy from your local supermarket and a number of restaurants may claim to specialize in such cuisine but to experience the truly authentic taste of Greece, one must go directly to the source.

Should you ever happen to take a holiday in Greece, these are the five dishes you simply must try:

Moussaka

Image accreditation: greek-recipe.com

Moussaka – a dish comprising aubergine (AKA eggplant), potatoes and meat – may not have originated from Greece (there is debate to whether it stemmed from the Mediterranean or Middle East where the dish is served in the form of a salad) but the Greek version of the dish is definitely the best known variety.  This variety is traditionally made with three layers; the ground layer is sautéed slices of aubergine whilst the middle is lamb mince cooked with chopped vine-ripened tomatoes, onion, garlic, herbs and spices which is then topped with béchamel sauce or an egg custard, depending on the chef’s/diner’s preference.

Moussaka is usually served warm – often with a side salad – to allow the flavours in the dish to really come through.

Strapatsada

Image accreditation: medcookingalaska.blogspot.com

Strapatsada (also known as ‘strapatso’) is a dish that is often eaten across all regions of Greece for lunch or as a light snack. The dish is popular due to its simple preparation method and low cost ingredients. Chopped tomatoes and olive oil are cooked in a frying pan to create a thick sauce and then beaten eggs are slowly added to the pan to create strapatsada, to which feta cheese and herbs such as oregano and thyme can also then be added to taste. And you thought standard scrambled eggs were good!

The dish can be served both hot and cold (depending on preference) and can be found in many Greek cafes and restaurants during the summer months, for this is when Greece’s tomato crops flourish.

Loukoumades

Image accreditation: angelothomas.com

Also known as “Greek honey dumplings”, this dessert comprises balls of dough which are flash fried to become crispy and golden brown on the outside, whilst remaining light and fluffy on the inside. Although there are several cuisines globally which have desserts containing fried dough, the Greek variant sees these balls spiced with cinnamon and lightly dusted with icing sugar once cooked.

The Greek often serve these delicious dough balls warm with a drizzle of honey and an optional dollop of natural Greek yogurt (a famed accompaniment for honey) on the side. Loukoumades are sold to locals and tourists from more than a handful of street stalls, sweet shops and restaurants dotted around the country.

Fasolada

Image accreditation: RobW_

Often referred to as the “national food of the Greeks”, fasolada is a hearty, meat-free soup dish which is made from stewed white and/or lima beans, olive oil and a selection of vegetables. Typical ingredients of this nutrition-rich and healthy meal include plum tomatoes, carrots, onion, celery, bay leaf and parsley but the dish is such a staple in the Greek diet that many different recipes for it exist across the islands.  The soup’s high bean content means it is a thicker broth than many other soups making it filling. Many also like to add a sprinkle of feta cheese to the surface of this soup.

Fasolada is often served hot with crusty bread during the winter and on occasion; cold during the warmer months. There are Brazilian and Italian versions of the dish but each of these is typically not suitable for vegetarians.

Souvlaki

Image accreditation: 123rf.com

Whilst exploring a new country, sometimes it can be hard not to give into the tempting accessibility of fast food. If a quick but tasty meal is required whilst on holiday in Greece, you are sure to find somewhere the sells souvlaki – typically lamb meat and chopped vegetables grilled on a skewer (though chicken and pork variants are sold for those tourists less familiar with lamb) – close by.

Souvlaki can be served straight from the skewer on which it is cooked, wrapped in pita bread with garnishes and sauces added and/or with a side helping of chips. Yes, this dish is basically a kebab but when cooked in the traditional manner, Mediterranean flavors are sure to dance across the tongue instead of merely serving the purpose of filling in a hunger hole temporarily.

The author of this guest post – Ella McKenzie – tried all five of these dishes whilst on a luxury villa holiday to Greece that she booked with Simpsons Travel. She would recommend them to anyone planning on taking Crete holidays. 

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Some of the most popular mispronunciations are actually quite funny, and here are some of the most popular, to help you avoid these common mistakes in the future, and give you confidence when ordering.

Kung Fu Chicken – Kung Po Chicken

This dish is one of my personal favorites, so it makes me even sadder that so many people get it wrong! The dish is a sweet and spicy treat, often containing water chestnuts, peppers and onions in the sauce. It is becoming increasingly popular with Chinese takeaway fanatics.

Wogan Josh – Rogan Josh

A Rogan Josh is a popular Indian takeaway dish, main with loads of tomatoes and onions. It is not a dish named after the renowned radio presenter; Terry Wogan! Enjoy with a naan bread to mop up all the sauce.

Hashish Kebab – Shish Kebab

This popular kebab does not contain hashish, but more simply just chunks of marinated meat. Lamb Shish kebab is probably the most popular variety.

Porn Crackers – Prawn Crackers

This almost sounds rude, and I can’t imagine some of the reactions you would receive when ordering this down the phone. Prawn crackers are a popular snack for before your meal, don’t think anything else!

Pillow Rice – Pilau Rice

This popular rice is often yellow and coloured with saffron. Bay leaves and other herbs can be found in the rice too, to give it an aromatic and distinctive flavour. Best served with an Indian curry.

Crispy Acrobatic Duck – Crispy Aromatic Duck

I can assure you this duck has never had a gymnastics careers and this is not the real name of this order. This is one of the funnier mistakes, and when people order this it makes me giggle a little bit. I don’t even correct the mistake I find it so funny!

Cat Soup Curry – Katsu Curry

A katsu curry is a Japanese dish made from a piece of meat covered in breadcrumbs and fried. It is then served with a creamy curry sauce which tastes delicious. No cats have been hurt in the making of this dish.

Chicken Gel Frenzy – Chicken Jalfrezi

This is one of the most popular hot Indian dishes. There is plenty of diced chilli, peppers and onions in this dish. You could say it was a frenzy of heat and spice, but that’s still not the name.

One Tonne Soup – Won Ton Soup

Chinese Won Ton soup is a broth with prawn and pork dumplings inside it. Often having noodles inside the dish too, this is the perfect light and healthy takeaway option.

Pompadom – Poppadum

You could say that poppadums are the Indian equivalent to prawn crackers, and just like them they are often mispronounced. Takeaways must be fed up of hearing it spoken wrong, so now you have been warned!

Steve loves food and tries to get the order all correct when he orders Chinese delivery in Hackney or Chinese delivery in Lewisham.

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Try a New Mediterranean Dish

Many dishes of the middle east, at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, have therefore gained prominence even in mainstream diets. A few years ago, no one would have known what you were talking about if you mentioned Humus, that delicious dip made from chick peas and olive oil.  Today, even people who are not ardent vegetarians enjoy this great break from our ubiquitous onion dip, made of sour cream with all of its transfatty acids from dairy products and chemical laden instant soup mix.

So let’s introduce a sort of cousin to Humus that is equally as healthy, delicious and easy to make. And like Humus, it has very few ingredients so you can put it together easily.

How to Make Baba Ghannouj

Ingredients:

• One eggplant
• Olive Oil
• Whole garlic, peeled and minced
• Lemon juice

Take an eggplant, cut it in half, rub it all around with olive oil and bake it in a 350 degree oven for one half hour. (Talk about easy!) Test it after a half an hour to make sure it is soft, and cook longer if necessary until the middle is soft and pulpy and can be broken easily with a fork. Let the eggplant cool so that you can handle it, and then scoop the meat from inside the skin into a food processor.

At first on low, then increasing speed as the pulp becomes creamier, process the eggplant “meat” until it is the consistency of oatmeal (or Humus, if you prefer that comparison). Once it is of the proper consistency, add minced garlic and lemon juice, stopping and tasting it gradually. Add more garlic and lemon juice, according to taste. Some people like a very garlicky Baba Ghannouj, others prefer it to taste more of lemons. Experiment until you find your perfect mix for your taste. Drizzle olive oil over the top before serving, and serve with pita bread and good black olives.

A delicious, low calorie, healthy snack or appetizer that your family and guests will love!

The Baba Ghannouj recipe has become the fantastic social gathering dip recipes, an old time Mediterranean recipe. Do a people search an invite your old time friends and high school buddies and let them taste this classic recipe, in Mediterranean style. It’s simple to prepare and will definitely capture their taste buds.

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She had moved into an adorable little apartment with a bit of outdoor space – a small miracle in the city.

There was just one catch – it needed major work.

Neither of us had a green thumb, but we knew we wanted an inviting spot to hold an outdoor party and enough homegrown veggies to carry us through the summer months.

So, one sunny Saturday, we rolled up our sleeves, borrowed some gardening tools from the neighbor and set to work on transforming an overgrown flowerbed and brown grass into a backyard oasis.

Getting Started
Before we got started on the organic garden, priority number one was addressing the dead patch of grass. We sprinkled a little organic lawn fertilizer around and in less than a week, my friend had a lush barbecue-ready backyard. Bonus: With a little upkeep, the bright spring green lasted from Memorial Day all the way through Labor Day.

Why Organic?

There are many known benefits of planting an organic garden for the earth and also for humans. But when we were at the local nursery, we were sold on the tiny organic plants because of the promise of higher vitamin and mineral content. Apparently The Soil Association did a study that found organic veggies have higher levels of Vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium. Goodbye daily vitamin!

What to Plant

Since this was our first organic garden, we went in with intentions of keeping it simple. Just as you shouldn’t go grocery shopping hungry, you probably shouldn’t go plant shopping hungry either. We ended up buying all the ingredients we’d ever need for a delicious summer salad and then some – spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, green beans, broccoli and cauliflower. And we threw in a few herbs for good measure.

How to Plant

Thankfully for these garden newbies, each of our organic seedlings came with specific instructions on how much sun it needed to grow, how deep it should go in the ground and how far apart it needed to be from other plants. At first we tried to be exact, but as the afternoon wore on, we began eyeballing. Thankfully the vegetables, plants and herbs were forgiving and spouted anyway.

Caring for your Organic Garden

A layer of organic mulch in the flowerbed helped keep the weeds mostly at bay. And, as the veggies grew, we staked them with bamboo and twine to keep them climbing and producing that delicious organic produce. And, of course, basil was far from being put in the corner of that organic garden.

This guest post brought to you by Stephanie Kalina-Metzger, who enjoys blogging about how to get the most out of your outdoor space with an organic garden and organic lawn fertilizers.

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Jordan is well known in the Middle East for its stability and tolerance. This has led to Jordanian cuisine becoming quite elaborate, with influences from Middle Eastern neighbours and Western immigrants alike.

Tahini, thyme, sage and mint are essential ingredients for any aspiring Jordanian cook.

Jordanians are well known for hospitality; according to their tourist board, “a Jordanian invitation means that you are expected to bring nothing and eat everything.”

It’s no surprise then that meal times in Jordan are all about socialising. The national dish Mansaf illustrates this perfectly. Mansaf is served as a communal dish, which guests are invited to dig into with tasty local flatbread shrak.

Mansaf is made by slow cooking Lamb in a broth made with jameed, fermented and dried yoghurt, before mixing with rice. Almonds are added as a garnish, and more sauce is poured over the top. It is served during big occasions; both happy and sad, and is often cooked as a peace offering.
Mezze (Middle Eastern tapas) dominate mealtimes in Jordan. When it is served as a starter, you might wonder why bother with a main.  You may find dishes you are familiar with, such as hummus, but also new flavours to tickle your tastebuds. Makdous (stuffed pickled eggplant), ful maddamis (crushed pink beans), and kibbeh (meat croquettes) are just some examples.

Jordanian main-courses are well renowned for their delicious flavour combinations.  Baked chicken, tomato and potato stew suniyat dijaj has a unique aromatic flavour given by the addition of cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, and nutmeg. 

Kofta with tahini sauce is rich and decadent. Meatballs made with ground lamb, garlic and parsly are coated in a tahini and lemon juice sauce. Thinly sliced potatoes are placed on top, and the dish is cooked until creamy and thick. Often this is garnished with pine nuts.

While it is possible to buy wine in Jordan, food and drink blogger Regular Wino warns of the quality saying "always have a backup, like some fruit juice or water just in case".

If you’re considering a visit to Jordan there are restaurants within the hotels in Amman (the capital city), but venturing into the city itself is your best bet for traditional cuisine.

For a unique experience of Jordan’s food look out for a Bedouin ‘zarb’; meat and vegetables barbequed in a large pit in the ground. On-street shwarma stands are also worth a visit; I have a friend from Jordan who has tried and failed to find anything to that standard in Europe.

A travel and food blogger, James spends his time scouring the planet looking for new and exciting foods to try.

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A new report, commissioned by the federal government, finds the field is rife with poorly done studies, misdiagnoses and tests that can give misleading results.

While there is no doubt that people can be allergic to certain foods, with reproducible responses ranging from a rash to a severe life-threatening reaction, the true incidence of food allergies is only about 8 percent for children and less than 5 percent for adults, said Dr. Marc Riedl, an author of the new paper and an allergist and immunologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Yet about 30 percent of the population believe they have food allergies. And, Dr. Riedl said, about half the patients coming to his clinic because they had been told they had a food allergy did not really have one.

Dr. Riedl does not dismiss the seriousness of some people’s responses to foods. But, he says, “That accounts for a small percentage of what people term ‘food allergies.’ ”

Even people who had food allergies as children may not have them as adults. People often shed allergies, though no one knows why. And sometimes people develop food allergies as adults, again for unknown reasons.

For their report, Dr. Riedl and his colleagues reviewed all the papers they could find on food allergies published between January 1988 and September 2009 — more than 12,000 articles. In the end, only 72 met their criteria, which included having sufficient data for analysis and using more rigorous tests for allergic responses.

“Everyone has a different definition” of a food allergy, said Dr. Jennifer J. Schneider Chafen of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Palo Alto Health Care System in California and Stanford’s Center for Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research, who was the lead author of the new report. People who receive a diagnosis after one of the two tests most often used — pricking the skin and injecting a tiny amount of the suspect food and looking in blood for IgE antibodies, the type associated with allergies — have less than a 50 percent chance of actually having a food allergy, the investigators found.

One way to see such a reaction is with what is called a food challenge, giving people a suspect food disguised so they do not know if they are eating it or a placebo food. If the disguised food causes a reaction, the person has an allergy.

But in practice, most doctors are reluctant to use food challenges, Dr. Riedl said. They believe the test to be time consuming, and worry about asking people to consume a food, like peanuts, that can elicit a frightening response.

The paper, to be published Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, is part of a large project organized by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to try to impose order on the chaos of food allergy testing. An expert panel will provide guidelines defining food allergies and giving criteria to diagnose and manage patients. They hope to have a final draft by the end of June.

“We were approached as in a sense the honest broker who could get parties together to look at this question,” said Dr. Matthew J. Fenton, who oversees the guidelines project for the allergy institute.

Authors of the new report — and experts on the guidelines panel — say even accepted dogma, like the idea that breast-fed babies have fewer allergies or that babies should not eat certain foods like eggs for the first year of life, have little evidence behind them.

Part of the confusion is over what is a food allergy and what is a food intolerance, Dr. Fenton said. Allergies involve the immune system, while intolerances generally do not. For example, a headache from sulfites in wine is not a food allergy. It is an intolerance. The same is true for lactose intolerance, caused by the lack of an enzyme needed to digest sugar in milk.

And other medical conditions can make people think they have food allergies, Dr. Fenton said. For example, people sometimes interpret acid reflux symptoms after eating a particular food as an allergy.

The chairman of the guidelines project, Dr. Joshua Boyce, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard and an allergist and pediatric pulmonologist, said one of the biggest misconceptions some doctors and patients have is that a positive test for IgE antibodies to a food means a person is allergic to that food. It is not necessarily so, he said.

During development, he said, the immune system tends to react to certain food proteins, producing IgE antibodies. But, Dr. Boyce said, “these antibodies can be transient and even inconsequential.”

“There are plenty of individuals with IgE antibodies to various foods who don’t react to those foods at all,” Dr. Boyce said.

The higher the levels of IgE antibodies to a particular food, the greater the likelihood the person will react in an allergic way. But even then, the antibodies do not necessarily portend a severe reaction, Dr. Boyce said. Antibodies to some foods, like peanuts, are much more likely to produce a reaction than ones to other foods, like wheat or corn or rice. No one understands why.

The guidelines panel hopes its report will lead to new research as well as clarify the definition and testing for food allergies.

But for now, Dr. Fenton said, doctors should not use either the skin-prick test or the antibody test as the sole reason for thinking their patients have a food allergy.

“By themselves they are not sufficient,” Dr. Fenton said.

Courtesy: NY Times

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Summertime is all about having fun in the sun and water. Branson can be a very good place to do just that, have fun in the sun with the whole family! The Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel is a great place to stay. they offer so many amenities and the place is just gorgeous! Staying there could not be more comfortable. The beds are really comfy and the layout of the rooms are very nice and perfect for a family vacation!

What can you do in Branson you ask? Check out my hot picks.

1. Live music and Theater
2. 18 holes of golf
3. Shopping
4. Visit the many beautiful lakes
5. Visit the museums

Right now they have several summer packages to choose from to save money such as 25% off, Bed & Breakfast package and then even have a package that can lump your hotel, flight and car rental to save more! In addition you can save up to 20% by booking in advance.

This summer Branson is offering some really great activities and events such as Branson Z Fest, National Kid’s Fest, The Stage One National Dance Finals, cool performances by Travis Tritt and Tanya Tucker and also the fun Father’s Day Bass Pro Boat Show! Also a series of amazing concerts conveniently located on the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing including shows from 65 South, Colgate Country Showdown with KHOZ 102.9, EXILE, The Nashvegas All Stars, and the Liz Moriondo Band! What could be more fun than that?

A perfect day in Branson would include waking up to a wonder and elegant breakfast, Hitting the green for a great game of 18-hole golf, Perhaps a trip to the spa for a aroma therapy message and then an elegant dinner at the Level-2 Steakhouse!

The Branson area is just an electrifying vacation for everyone. It has so much charm with the beauty it beholds. If you visit, you will not be sorry. This will truly be a trip the whole family will not soon forget! Branson has so much to do and see, staying a week is enough time to see everything. The great thing about Branson is it is fun for the whole family, adults and kids alike! The restaurants and dining are fantastic and really should not be overlooked!

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Do you love Starbucks coffee? I do and I am giving away a FREE $10 gift card as a giveaway for the month of February!

All you have to do is leave 1 comment on the blog per day. All names will be put into a random drawing at the end of the month!

Good Luck!

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