Mulled cider recipe

Mulled cider is a wonderful winter warmer.  It is a tradition recipe that seems to be becoming a forgotten pleasure.  I first experienced it at a tradition English pub but was not able to find a venue that sells it since.  Of course, I then said to myself; you know what, I can make it myself.  The best bit, it is so easy to make. :)

Ingredients:

1 Litre of cider
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg cloves
4 cloves

Directions:

Important note:  It is important not to let the mixture boil at any point during the heating process.  Alcohol has a low boiling point and will very quickly evaporate off.

Mix 100 mils of the cider with the spices and honey in a frying pan.  Pour the rest of the cider into a large saucepan and leave this to the side for the moment.  You don't want to heat this yet.  Place the frying pan on medium high heat and stir as it simmers.  Heat this mixture for approximately 12 minutes.  Take the frying pan off the heat and place this to the side to cool.  Begin to warm the rest of the cider, being careful not to over heat. After this warms a little mix in the spiced cider from the frying pan.  When the cider comes up to a comfortable drinking temperature, remove the saucepan from the heat.

Serve an enjoy.

Suggestions:

Mulled cider makes a nice compliment to most desserts. :)  It is also fantastic chilled.

The importance of sifting

Sifting is an important, and often forgotten, element in baking.  Historically, the act of sifting flour came about as a way of removing the lumps from the grinding stones used to mill the flour, insects and insect parts and removing the solid lumps of flour that form when flour was kept in poor, damp conditions.  However, the practise has continued into modern baking for one very good reason - it separates and aerates the flour.  This is  an important step to achieving light and fluffy cakes and muffins.  Aerating the flour allows more space between the flour molecules so the yeast have more space to grow or allows for more air for the reaction that causes baking soda/bicarbonate to create air pockets.  Whether you use yeast or bicarb, sifting clearly helps to create a lighter product.

Chocolate chunk Bikkies/Cookies; Gluten-free and Dairy Free.

A simple recipe for simply sweet bikkies.  I want one now.

Ingredients:

Gluten free Flour 1 1/2 cups.
1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
1/2 cups sugar (preferable brown)
1/2 cup margarine.
1/2 a block of dark chocolate (Green and Blacks or another variety that doesn't include milk in the recipe)

Directions:
Pre-heat the over to 180 degrees Celsius.  Break the chocolate block into small chunks.  Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and mix in the sugar and baking soda.  Slightly melt the margarine and mix into the flour.  Ensure the mix is cool before adding the chocolate chunks.  After you have mixed in the chocolate, spoon the mixture onto a greased baking tray ensuring that the dough is spread evenly apart.  Place the tray into the oven and remove when the cookies are golden brown.  It is particularly important to allow gluten-free biscuits to cool before you consume them as the biscuits cool down the harden significantly.

Tips for giving up the cigarettes.

Quitting smoking is hard.  Anyone who has attempted will tell you that.  I quit smoking quite a few years ago.  I will say, that for me personally, it was the best choice I could have made.  I feel that quitting is harder then ever since pharmaceutical companies started targeting those who want to quit with nicotine gum, hypnotherapy, pills; my list could on.  All these expensive solutions don't necessarily help.  Hypnotherapy doesn't work on everyone and nicotine gum only serves to feed the real addiction (although, it does stop you from inhaling nicotine via smoke).  So I compiled a list of things I found helpful when I quit.

1)  If you are still smoking or using nicotine patches/gum, then slowly cut back. It is okay for this to take months.  Lifestyle changes do not happen over night and quitting cold turkey has 50/50 chance of leaving you more addicted then ever. (I could explain the psychological and sociological reasons behind this but it's not necessary; all you need to know is that going cold turkey is risky.)

2) Cut down on stress levels where you can.  It is all to easy to light up in moments of stress.  The best thing you can do is start have 15 min periods throughout the day where you relax.  Meditate or read, or anything else that is calming.

3)  Be wary of food, alcohol and even excessive exercise.  When giving up one addiction it is all too easy to use another as a crutch.  The idea quitting smoking is to give up an addiction - not create a new one.

4)  Have a healthy diet with 9-10 different serves of fruit/vegetables a day.  This helps in two ways.  Firstly, it helps your lung clear and repair themselves as the body has a ready supply of vitamins and minerals.  Secondly, it helps ease the symptoms of detoxification as the traces of the nicotine and other nasty chemicals found in smoke are purged from you system.

5) Drink lots of water; this also help clean and repair the body.

6)  Remember to get a healthy amount of exercise every day.  While to much can make you an adrenaline junkie, just enough exercise can help clear and strengthen the lungs.


I sincerely hope these tips help someone.  And if you do feel the need to quit, I wish the best of luck.  Remember, though, it does take years for lungs to fully recover from the damage smoking causes and the heavier/ longer you have been smoking, the longer it will take for your lungs to recover.

My table is gone ;.;

I bought this old, but really nice drop-leaf oak table about a year and a half ago.  At the time I needed a dining table.  Today I had to get rid of it.  I have a fancy, new, electric height-adjustable desk coming.  The desk will do my back a lot of good.  It will make work at home so much easier since I will have an actually desk to work at and will actually be able to use my supportive office chair.  This all great, but I can't help missing my oak table.  It was an antique but it was pretty.

Banana Carrot Cake; gluten free, dairy free, egg free

Following up on my 'Going Bananas' post, I was inspired to share this classic recipe; altered for us allergy sufferers.

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas

2 medium carrots

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups gluten free flour

1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda.

2 teaspoons egg replacer

1 1/2 cups soy milk or hazelnut milk

8 cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease a cake tin.  Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and stir in the sugar, egg replacer, spices, soda and milk.  Peel the carrots and grate the carrots into the flour mix, stirring periodically. Mash the banana's and then mix them into the flour as well.  Stir thoroughly and then pour the mix into the greased cake tin.  Bake for approximately 40 minutes.  The cake is ready when a knife through the centre comes away clean.

Serving suggestions:

Spread a smidgeon of Nutella on a slice for a wicked treat.

Or

Serve with a scoop of ice cream.

There are so many possibilities.

Going Bananas

I was in the Co-op today getting myself some lunch.  I thought, 'Bananas, that's a nice healthy option to have with my salad'. I went to grab a few from the fruit selection, and then I discovered all of the bananas were over-ripe!  They were spotty and bursting out of their skins!  They were clearly not going to be sold, which is just wasteful.  There's so much that can be made from ripe bananas.

Banana Cake - in Chocolate, nut, cinnamon and coffee varieties.

Banana Bread - Chocolate chip, rye banana, pumpkin.

Banana muffins - Chocolate chip, nutmeg, cinnamon.

Banana pancakes

Banana Milkshakes

Banana smoothies.

Banana cookies.

Banana pie.

Banana sorbet.

It's so easy to make something tasty out of over-ripe bananas!