Quinoa - Food For Warriors

Quinoa, once the sustenance of INCA warriors has made the incredible journey onto the shelves of health food shops across the land. It is believed that Quinoa first started to be cultivated over 5000 years ago in the mountains of Bolivia and was the staple diet of INCA warriors who would feast on this nutritious food while preparing for battle. Armed with their weapons and sufficient energy from Quinoa's slow release carbohydrate the INCA's would embark on long marches and go into battle safe in the knowledge that the Quinoa grain gave them strength and energy.

A highly durable and resilient crop, Quinoa thrived in these arid high altitude regions but was nearly wiped out during the 1500 by a Spanish explorer by the name of Francisco Pizarro. Quinoa was considered to be a scared food of the INCA people and Francisco believed that if he destroyed the Quinoa plant he could weaken the culture of the INCA. He was unsuccessful and 5000 years on Quinoa is available on the shelves of most supermarkets.

Contrary to popular belief Quinoa  is not actually a cereal grain, but in fact a seed. Quinoa is referred  to as Quinoa grain or pseudo-cereal which is the term given to foods that are cooked and eaten like grains and have similar nutritional profiles to grains. Surprisingly the Quinoa grain is closely related to leafy vegetables like beets, swiss chard and spinach, and its leaves can be eaten as well as the seeds. Quinoa is often misspelt 'kinoa' and mispronounced as 'keenoha'. The correct pronunciation is 'keenwa'.

Quinoa is a resilient plant that thrives in drought ridden terrain and can grow in poor soils with very little water. This quality has earned it a reputation as a super crop by the United Nations. The plant itself can grow to almost 2 meters and produces colourful seed-heads, most beautiful of the lot is red Quinoa. Each seed-head contains an abundance of the Quinoa grain.

There are many different varieties of Quinoa but the one most commonly found on the shelves of your supermarket or health food shop is the white variety. Black and Red Quinoa seeds are also available in addition you will find Quinoa flour and Quinoa flakes being sold. It is a fabulously versatile ingredient that will complement practically any meal from breakfast cereals, salads, breads and even chocolate cake. So it doesn't just provide a tasty feast for INCA warriors but will provide the nutrients absent from most modern diets today.

The Adventures of Lulu (2) Tales of the Mysterious

The full title is: Tales of the Mysterious Coconut Snack Cake Box Abduction



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4avKPolYiU&hl=en

Tasty Desserts - Delicious Carrot Cake Recipe

Carrot cakes are moist, dense cakes made with grated carrot. Carrots have long been used to sweeten foods when other sweeteners were scarce. They are most frequently frosted with cream cheese frosting and often decorated with frosting carrots.

Some carrot cakes also have optional ingredients added, such as pineapple, coconut, raisins, or nuts. Unlike most cakes, carrot cakes are made more like sweet bread. Carrot cakes have been popular since the 1960s in America, although they have been made in one form or another since Medieval times.

It seems this cake is something you either love or hate. Most people seem to take offense at the optional ingredients more than the cake itself. If you find you have picky eaters at your table, try making a plain carrot cake without nuts or any other added ingredients. You will most likely find that suddenly your picky eater will dig in with gusto. If you like the nuts and such, you can always add them to the frosting at the end when you are serving. This way everyone can enjoy the cake with all the trimmings that they like.

Recipe for Carrot Cake

This moist, delicious cake is perfect for a spring gathering.

What You Need

3 cups all purpose flour
2-3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups carrot, finely grated
2 jars carrot puree (4 oz each) from the baby food aisle

Frosting

3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

How to Make It

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Position rack in the center of the oven. Spray two 9 inch round cake pans with cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda together in a mixing bowl. Using a separate bowl, whisk eggs, oil, and vanilla together. Add to the dry ingredients. Beat on low for a minute. Add in the grated carrots and carrot puree. Stir until just mixed.

Pour the batter into the oiled cake pans. Bake about 40 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. When done, move the pans to a wire rack and let them cool completely.

For the frosting, sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl and set it aside. In another bowl, mix the cream cheese, vanilla, butter, and salt together, scraping the mixture off the sides of the bowl. Mix until smooth. Add the powdered sugar a little bit at a time, beating until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Place one layer on a platter. Use one third of the frosting on the top. Place the second layer on top, flat side up. Spread another third of the icing over the top and the final third around the sides. Decorate if you wish.

Overnight Ginger Snaps - Add Spice to Your Holiday Baking

Recently it dawned on me that many of the recipes I love contain spices-cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg, and I wondered why that is. Why do recipes for Pumpkin Pie, Molasses Crinkles, Tomato Soup Cake, Cinnamon Buns and War Cake appeal so much to me and make me recall happy childhood memories? Why do I choose these recipes over and over again?

Perhaps it has to do with aromas, with the sense of smell invoking memories. According to research I did on the internet, the word 'spice' refers to a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetable substance, and the earliest evidence of its use by humankind was around 50,000 B.C. Back then, spices were connected with magic, medicine, religion, tradition and preservation (think mummification).

During the Middle Ages, spices such as black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, ginger and cloves were imported to Europe from plantations in Asia and Africa, and with the discovery of the New World additional spices found their home in the kitchen. Who can imagine cooking without vanilla, allspice, bell and chilli peppers, and even chocolate? What a bland world we would live in.

So now this makes sense to me, my predilection for sharing spicy recipes and the memories each recipe evokes in me. I'll do my best to offer a variety of recipes in the future, recipes that contain no cinnamon or cloves or ginger, but not today.

Today I'm sharing a recipe for Overnight Ginger Snaps, another one of my favourite recipes that have been passed down from mother to daughter. I hope you try these-they are simple to make, oh so tasty (even the raw dough is good), and will certainly be a hit with your family this holiday season. These crisp, crunchy cookies dearly beg to be dipped into a steaming cup of coffee or tea or hot chocolate, so you may want to have the coffee brewed or the kettle on when you offer these treats to your loved ones.

Overnight Ginger Snaps

1 cup shortening

½ cup molasses

½ cup brown sugar

2 tsp. ginger

½ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. cloves

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

2 ½ - 3 cups flour

Directions

Cream together shortening and molasses. Add brown sugar, spices, salt and baking soda. Add flour last. Mix together well. Roll in long rolls, wrap in waxed paper and place in refrigerator until firm. Slice and bake in moderate (350° F) oven for 10 - 12 minutes until lightly browned.

Note: Cookie dough keeps in refrigerator for several days or can also be frozen to bake when you wish.

Easy Cake Recipes For Baking Newbies

If you fall into the novice rank of baking, you are probably on the lookout for less complex but tasty recipes. Sometimes a nice home baked cake is just the thing to brighten a dull afternoon, but you don't have to be a trained baker to pull off a simple, yet delicious cake. In this article, I've included a few of my favorite cake recipes that should be quite do-able for people with all kinds of baking experience (or lack thereof!). I hope you enjoy them!

Cherry Cheese Cake

Ingredients:
20 Oreo cookies, finely crushed
5 (8-oz) packages of cream cheese (softened)
1 (21-oz) can cherry pie filling
3 tbsp melted butter or margarine
1 cup sour cream
3 tbsp flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
4 eggs

Directions:
Line a 13 x 9-in baking pan with aluminum foil, making sure that he foil extends up over the sides of the baking dish. In a small bowl, mix the butter and the Oreo crumbs together. Press this mixture into the bottom of the pan (this will be your chocolate graham-like crust). In a large bowl, use a fork to soften the cream cheese a bit, then add the flour, sugar, and vanilla. Use a mixer set to a low speed and blend the ingredients together. Pour this over the Oreo crust. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 40 minutes, or until the center of the cheese cake is nearly set. Allow the cake to cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Top with the cherry pie filling. Use the foil to lift the cake from the pan for easy cutting and serving.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients:
1 package yellow cake mix
1 jar maraschino cherries, drained
1 can sliced pineapple rings, drained
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp butter

Directions:
Coat a large cake pan with 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of brown sugar onto the butter. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of coconut over the brown sugar. Arrange the pineapple rings (no overlapping) on top of the coconut, then place a cherry in the center of each ring and in between rings, if you like. Prepare the cake mix as directed on the box, then pour the batter over the pineapple rings. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 - 50 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean). Cool for about 20 minutes. To transfer to a serving plate, place the plate on top of the baking dish, then carefully turn over. The cake should slide out of the baking dish and onto the serving plate.

Banana Cake

Ingredients:
1 package yellow cake mix
1 tsp baking soda
2 very ripe bananas, mashed

Directions:
Mix the yellow cake batter according to the directions on the box. Mash the bananas together with the baking soda. Stir this into the cake batter and mix well. Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 13-in baking dish. Place in the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for one hour. DO NOT preheat the oven before placing the cake in. Let the cake cool thoroughly before serving. Can be topped with cream cheese frosting after it has cooled.

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Ingredients:
1 package yellow cake mix
1 package instant butterscotch pudding mix
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
4 eggs
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Grease a 10-in Bundt cake pan (or a 9 x 13-in baking pan). Stir together the cake mix, butterscotch pudding mix, and vanilla pudding mix. Add the oil, water, and eggs and blend together well. In another bowl, mix together the cinnamon, brown sugar, and nuts. Pour half of the cake batter into the pan, then sprinkle half of the nut mixture on top. Pour the remaining batter into the pan, then top with the remaining nut mixture. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F, then turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees F and bake for another 40 minutes.

Hot Spicy Lamb and Eggplant Recipe

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Total cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

- 500g (1lb) eggplant, cut into batons
- 600g (1 1/4lb) lamb fillet, sliced diagonally
- oil, for cooking
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 cup (250ml/8 fl oz.) thick coconut cream
- 1 small red chilli, seeded and chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped mint
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley lemon wedges, to serve

Directions:

1. Heat the wok it becomes hot, then add 2 teaspoons of the oil and swirl it around to coat the side. After stir-fry the onion until it becomes soft and somehow golden. Then remove from the wok and set it aside.

2 After that, add 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok and cook the eggplant in two batches over very high heat until it becomes cooked through. Then remove and drain on paper towels.

3. Then reheat the wok and add 2 tea¬spoons of the oil. After that, stir-fry the lamb in two batches over very high heat until it becomes browned and just cooked enough.

4. After that return all the lamb to the wok with the onion and eggplant and add the chilli, the garlic and the spices, and cook for about 1 minute or so. Pour in the coconut cream and bring to the boil.

5. Then stir in the fresh herbs and season with some salt and pepper. Serve it immediately with the lemon wedges.

Nutrition Value:

- Protein 35g;
- Fat 30g;
- Carbohydrate 7g;
- Dietary Fibre 5g;
- Cholesterol 100mg;
- Energy 1775kJ (425cal)

Candles By Victoria Review Part 1

Just a review of the candles and scent shots that I've accumulated over time (the ones I haven't used up, anyway). I love talking about these candles! (Obviously, since I talked so long I had to make part 1 and part 2) And I love ordering new ones even more! Join me on the Pouring Pot message board! www.candlesbyvictoria.com



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZwkTFFETUA&hl=en