Apple Crumble: Gluten-free and Dairy-free

I won't lie, this is a damn easy recipe to make.  It was one of the first deserts I learnt how to cook when I had to go one a gluten free diet.  Apple crumble is dead simple and oh so very cheap.  It also so very yummy.

Ingredients

For Crumble
1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour
200-250grams margarine
3/4 cups sugar.
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 cloves.

For Filling
6-8 Apples
1/2 cups sugar
20 Grams fresh or minced ginger.

Preparation directions

Peel, core and finely slice the apples.  If you are using fresh ginger, peel and dice the ginger as finely as possible.  Mix the apple, sugar and ginger together and spread this apple mixture on to a greased baking tin.  Cover the tin and set aside for the moment.

Sift the gluten-free flour into a mixing bowl.  Mix the sugar, cinnamon, and the cloves into the flour; ensuring the sugar and cinnamon are as evenly mixed into the flour as possible.  Begin to rub the margarine into the flour mix until it is fully mixed together.

Dogs fights.

Dog fights make me very sad. More so then cock fights.  At least roosters would willingly fight each other any way.

Don't get me wrong, I know dogs fight normally.  God knows I've pulled my dogs away from other dogs often enough to know.  However, when they fight it is never to the death unless there's some extenuating circumstances.

To train dogs to fight, the dogs are often deliberately starved and subjected to 'corporal punishment'.  These malnourished dogs are then pitted against other malnourished dogs.  The dogs are forced to continue fighting until one is dead.  And yet, if one of these dogs turn on their 'masters', it is the dog who is put down!

Water, it's good for you.

Many people I know detest the taste of water, preferring instead to drink juices, cordials, teas or coffee.  Water is a vital part of our health and we simply cannot get the water we need from these sources.  Even herbal teas, while more beneficial the black tea, coffee or juices, are not as hydrating as water.  Here are some good reasons to drink water.

1) Dehydration can have serious side effects.  Mild dehydration causes tiredness, migraines, dry mouth, dry eyes, muscular cramps, heart palpitations, impaired kidney function and light-headedness.  Serious dehydration (although this is unlikely to occur in normal situations) cause the bodily functions to slowly shut down eventually cause a coma and then death.

2)  Our body is composed mostly of water.  This means water is integral to most bodily functions.  Water is important to the following:

• Transports nutrients and oxygen into cells
• Moisturizes the air in lungs
• Helps with metabolism
• Protects our vital organ
• Helps our organs to absorb nutrients better
• Regulates body temperature
• Detoxifies
• Protects and moisturizes our joints

This is not a complete list, however, is shows how important water is.

3)  Top 11 health benefits.

1. Lose weight: Drinking water helps you lose weight because it flushes down the by-products of fat breakdown. Drinking water reduces hunger, it’s an effective appetite suppressant so you’ll eat less. Plus, water has zero calories. Here are the further details on how to achieve fat loss by drinking water.
2. Natural Remedy for Headache: Helps to relieve headache and back pains due to dehydration. Although many reasons contribute to headache, dehydration is the common one.
3. Look Younger with Healthier Skin: You’ll look younger when your skin is properly hydrated. Water helps to replenish skin tissues, moisturizes skin and increases skin elasticity.
4. Better Productivity at Work: Your brain is mostly made up of water, thus drinking water helps you think better, be more alert and more concentrated.
5. Better Exercise: Drinking water regulates your body temperature. That means you’ll feel more energetic when doing exercises. Water also helps to fuel your muscle.
6. Helps in Digestion and Constipation: Drinking water raises your metabolism because it helps in digestion. Fiber and water goes hand in hand so that you can have your daily bowel movement.
7. Less Cramps and Sprains: Proper hydration helps keep your joints and muscles lubricated, so you’ll less likely get cramps and sprains.
8. Less Likely to Get Sick and Feel Healthy: Drinking plenty of water helps fight against flu and other ailments like kidney stones and heart attack. Water adds with lemon is used for ailments like respiratory disease, intestinal problems, rheumatism and arthritis etc. In another words one of the benefits of drinking water is that it can improve your immune system. Follow this link for further information on how lemon water can improve your health.
9. Relieves Fatigue: Water is used by the body to help flush out toxins and waste products from the body. If your body lacks water, your heart, for instance, needs to work harder to pump out the oxygenated blood to all cells, so are the rest of the vital organs, your organs will be exhausted and so will you.
10. Good Mood: Your body feels very good and that’s why you feel happy.
11. Reduce the Risk of Cancer: Related to the digestive system, some studies show that drinking a healthy amount of water may reduce the risks of bladder cancer and colon cancer. Water dilutes the concentration of cancer-causing agents in the urine and shortens the time in which they are in contact with bladder lining.

I hope this article shows just how important water is.

Information courtesy of http://www.mangosteen-natural-remedies.com/benefits-of-drinking-water.html

Water Conservation.

Simple tips for saving water and reducing environmental harm.

Water is a vital part of our life.  We drink it, we cook with it, we wash and clean with it, and flush it down our dunnies.  However the problem, is not how we use it, but the state we leave our water in when we flush it back into the environment.  Each year the cost of producing clean drinking water increases, thanks as much to consumption as to environmental contamination.  Now there are a lot of plumbing feature that could be installed to save water.  The problem there is not everyone can afford to make these changes.  This said there are a lot of changes that we can make to the way in which we use water that will reduce usage and environmental impact.

These are some of the ways we can help:

1) Toilet. Don't flush the loo so often - urine sitting in the toilet will not do any harm.  Depending on the size of the cistern, each flush can use anything from 5-13 liters per flush.  This is 5 days worth of drinkable water that is go straight down the drain, since we do not use gray water systems.
2) Bathing.  Avoid using the shower if possible or switch the shower on and off as necessary.  Showers can use 158liters in a 10minute period.  Rinsing, at most, takes a minute.  Arguable, depending on the volume of a bath, less is used in a bath tub.
3) Dishwashing.  If you leave the rinse tap running as you wash dishes, then using a dishwasher can actually reduce water consumption if the dishwasher is run when full.  However, if you have only one sink in which to do dishes, it is best to fill up a bucket or tub with hot water in order to rinse the dishes, rather then rinsing the dishes under a running tap.  I always found this idea of rinsing dishes under a running tap laughable until i had to deal with only have a single sink in the kitchen.
4) Laundry.  It is very had to cut water consumption here.  This first tip is to make sure loads are always full and always run on economy settings.  There, of course, is the option of hand-washing.  However, that would be a long, difficult process.

The above tips only tackle water consumption, however we face the bigger problem of environmental contamination of the water we do use.  These are a few ways to reduce the environmental impact:

1) Bathing.  A lot of the chemicals we use to clean our hair, skin, teeth, ect. are all damaging to the environment and make it difficult to clean water for further use.  We can switch to more environmentally friendly brands that are made from organic components which actually break down naturally.
2) Cleaning.  Culturally, we tend to be on the ocd side when it comes to cleanly homes.  All the products we use to clean our house are not chemicals we want released into our drinking water.  It is very easy to switch to more friendly solutions.  A good brand is Ecover.  The company produces everything from toilet cleaner to laundry liquid and dishwasher tablets.  It is well worth investing in cleaning solutions that bio degrade naturally.

Sunflower

Sunflower,
Soaking up the sun,
Watch rabbits run.

Sunflower,
Drenched in light,
A gentle sprite.

Sunflower,
Gazing far,
Watch the star.

Sunflower,
Living life
Without strife.

Sunflower.

the fun of Dragon

I am writing this post using the speech recognition program Dragon. Dragon is a useful program for dictating to your computer. However it sometimes struggles to recognise the words I'm using. There are times when I have too retrain so that it understands what I am saying and translates it correctly. This can be a frustrating process, often I can type what I'm dictating quicker than the computer can understand it.

The program has its uses though. It is quite handy in situations where you can't type.I can sit laptop on a chair in front of me a metre away (this is as far as the cord for the headset stretchers)and still put this post together. If I were not hindered by the cord I could walk around the room and dictate.I do not need to wear my hands out typing, all I need to do is talk. This makes it so much easier to put documents together.

Home made bread: Gluten-free, Egg-free

The most satisfying bread is home made bread, this is just as true for gluten free bread.  Unfortunately most recipes involve the use of eggs, making the it difficult for those of us with egg intolerances and those celiacs who happen to be vegan.  Eggs happen to be added to the dough to reduce the crumbling of the bread so there is not an option of removing the eggs without a substitute.  Luckily, I happened upon an egg replacer at my local speciality store.  After a little experimenting I finished with this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Gluten free flour
1 teaspoon Yeast
Warm water (3 cups, not all of this will be used).
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Egg replacer.
1 tablespoon oil


Preparation:

Before begining it is best to sit the ingredients out so that the reach a temperature between 20-37 degrees Celsius.  This will aid the rising process as this temperature range allows for optimal yeast growth.  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease a loaf tin.  When the ingredients have reached the optimal temperature sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the yeast, sugar, salt, and the egg replacer.  Mix these ingrediants thoroughly.  Once the yeast is deposited evenly through the flour slowly begin to mix the warm water into the the flour.  Do this in stages.  You will know there is enough water in the dough mix when it gathers into a lump. When this occurs place the bread dough in the greased loaf tin.  Cover the tin and leave to sit in a warm spot for an hour to allow the dough to rise.  Then place the tin in the oven until the bread is cooked to the centre.

Variation tips:  For yummy alternatives try adding seeds or herds to the bread mix.

Slicing tips:  Gluten free bread is notoriously crumbly even with eggs/egg replacer in the mix.  The best way to slice bread is to use a serrated knife to gently saw through the loaf.