Pets trust their owners to love and care for them in the same way that they show their unconditional loyalty and love to their carers. Many pet owners would not feed their valued pet friends commercial foods if they knew the origin and contents of their products.  Some manufacturers include diseased or spoiled meat carcases, euthanised carcases still containing drug residues, intensive farmed meat, fly blown or worm infested meat, foods that are alien and indigestible to the animal’s natural diet , too high a salt content, chemicals and preservatives, low imbalanced nutrition content and the list goes on. They are all waste products unfit for human consumption.  Aromatic additives and salts are included to encourage an animal to demand foods in the same way that junk food manufacturers target human consumption of their products. Don’t be fooled by the manufacturers’ claims that their pet food diet formulas are balanced and healthy - check into it for yourself!  More will be said on this subject but now onto the promised tips and recipes for pet food!

Animals, because they are color blind, choose their foods by smell. Most dogs like gamey flavors best, as well as liver, fat, cooked garlic, cooked onions, horse meat, lamb, beef, cheese and fish. Cats enjoy chicken, liver, fish, turkey, lamb, and yeast, and prefer fresh to aged flavors.

Remember that cats are fussy eaters and it is not wise to continually feed them their favorite foods. Soon they will refuse to eat anything else; it is your job to see your cat has a balanced diet.

Animals do not need salt added to their diet as the natural salt in the food is enough for them.

Dogs may eat any vegetable they want, but cats should not have any starchy veggies, like peas and corn. Some dogs and cats even enjoy fruits!  Avoid giving them fruit pips in case they get stuck!

It’s a good idea to always add a grain, such as Kibble, wheat germ, cooked oatmeal or whole wheat bread to meat dinners. For dogs use 75% carbohydrate foods (grains and vegetables) to 25% meat; for cats use half carbohydrate foods to half meat.  However, grains are not naturally found in a dog or cats diet so if you feel they are having a reaction to them leave them out and increase the vegetables or substitute a different grain.

You will find, once you begin making your own pet foods, that it is really relatively simple and you will save some money as well. remember that all pet foods should be served at room temperature; don’t serve food cold from the refrigerator nor hot from the stove.

Incidentally, you should know that cats should be fed three times a day, while an adult dog needs only one meal a day.

Here are some pet recipes you can make at home:

Sauteed Liver

Heat 1 teaspoon corn oil in a pan.

Add 1/4 pound beef liver and fry on both sides until cooked but not dry inside.

Add 1/2 cup water to the pan and mix it up with all the brown bits.

For dogs, cut the liver into pieces and serve; for cats, grind the liver in a blender, using the pan juices.

Chicken Soup

Combine 1 chicken liver, 1 giblet, 1 chicken heart, 1 chicken neck, 2 cups water and 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley.

Cover and simmer until the giblet is tender.

Chop all the meat for dogs removing bones and mix with kibble; for cats, you may want to grind the meat in the blender.

Veal Stew

Combine in a pot and simmer:

1/2 pound stewing veal,

1 cup canned tomatoes,

1 cup water,

1 chicken bouillon cube,

1/2 onion (chopped),

parsley and a dash of garlic powder.

When meat is tender, remove all the bones.

For dogs, cut the meat in chunks, and mix stew with kibble or some other grain;

for cats, grind the stew in blender, adding atablespoon of wheat germ or 1/2 slice of whole wheat bread.

Liver Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine 1/2 cup dry milk and 1/2 cup wheat germ; drizzle 1 teaspoon honey on top.

Add one 3 1/3 oz. jar of strained liver baby food or homemade blended liver and stir until everything is well mixed.

Form the mixture into balls; place them on an oiled cookie sheet and flatten them with a fork.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes.

Consistency should be fudgy.

Store in a jar in the fridge; freeze if keeping more than a few days.

Lamb Stew

Follow the recipe for Veal Stew, using chunks of lamb instead and leaving out the tomato if desired.

Mackerel Dinner

Heat 1 tsp. corn oil in a skillet and fry 1 small mackerel until it flakes apart easily. Remove and cool. Pour 1/2 cup hot water into the pan and scrape the brown bits into it. Remove the bones from the fish and mix with the juice. For dogs, serve in pieces with kibble; for cats, grind with the pan juices.

Fish Cookies

Follow the recipe for Liver Cookies but use instead 3 1/2 ounces of mashed and boned mackerel, either canned or freshly cooked.

Beef Cookies

Following the recipe for Liver Cookies, using cooked beef puree instead.

Dog Morsels

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 cups white flour

1 cup skim milk powder

2 eggs

water

1/2 cup melted beef or pork drippings (or lard)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix ingredients together with enough water to make a stiff dough. Roll out and cut into Christmas shapes. Bake on cookie sheet until hard.

Kitty Treats

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup tuna oil, chicken broth or beef bouillon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all ingredients into a dough. Dust hands with flour and form small, 1/2-inch-thick, round”biscuits”. Set on greased cookie sheet. Bake 30 minutes (or until biscuits are slightly browned).

Cool 30 minutes before serving.

Budgie Brownies

1 cup cornmeal

1 tsp. finely ground cuttlebone

1 cup hulled millet

2 tbsp. liquid honey

1/4 cup whole wheat flour 2 eggs

2 tbsp. raw wheat germ

4 egg yolks (for larger birds add 1/2 cup peanuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Pat into a greased and floured baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until firm (if edges start to get too brown, cover with foil).

Cool and cut into small squares.

Keep watching for more pet recipes.  Momsy

Lee Porter an author and entrepreneur for HealthSufficiency, a continuing health, personal development and life dynamic education and business development company helping people to be meet their potential to lead healthy, prosperous and successful lives.

Tags: home-madepet food, cat food, dog food, budgie food, commercial pet food,

In order to make your own baby foods, you’ll need something to cook in. A steamer basket is cheap and by cooking fruits and vegetables in it, you’ll be sure of keeping the nutrients in the food, instead of in the cooking water.

To puree your foods, you can use a fork, a food mill or blender. A blender quickly purees almost anything into the finest consistency. When your baby first starts on solids, you’ll be pureeing things to a very fine consistency and, as baby gets a little older, you will make foods a little coarser.

You may wish to buy a food mill which comes in large and small sizes. It is very handy and inexpensive. The food mill strains most cooked foods to a very smooth consistency, although meats can be a problem as they will have a coarser texture.

As babies are susceptible to digestive upsets, you’ll want to take note of the following tips concerning the handling of foods:

- always work with clean hands.

- always use clean utensils.

- prepare foods immediately upon removing them from the refrigerator.

- freeze immediately after cooking any foods you want to store.

You can prepare large amounts of foods at once and freeze them. Take your prepared foods and plop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Freeze the plops right away and then take them off the sheet when they are frozen and put them into plastic bags. Label and date. You can also freeze the food in plastic “pop out” ice cube trays. Small Tupperware jars with lids serve the same purpose and stack easily. Frozen baby foods can be stored for up to two months.

When you take frozen foods out for baby, warm the food in a cup placed in a saucepan of boiling water with a lid on.

Cereals are typically the first foods given to a baby because they contain lots of iron. You can buy the commercial baby cereals, or prepare your own, by running oatmeal through your blender, for instance.

Fruits are generally given next. Except for raw, mashed banana, you will need to cook all other fruits till they are soft.

Try making your own apple sauce and pear sauce; don’t add any sugar, as these fruits are sweet enough on their own. You can also peel peaches, plums and apricots and boil or steam them.

Use fresh vegetables whenever possible in order to provide the best nutrition and flavor for your baby. Frozen vegetables are better to use than canned. Steaming vegetables is the best method of preparation. Carrots and sweet potato are two popular choices to begin with.

Yogurt, mashed cottage cheese, mashed pumpkin, baked potato, avocado and tofu (oriental soy bean curd) are all popular with babies. One good idea is to blend together cottage cheese, banana and fresh orange juice - delicious!

Meats should be added slowly. They can be boiled or broiled, then put in the blender with a little milk and perhaps banana or cream of rice to get the right consistency. Chicken is generally the first meat baby is introduced to and usually goes down fairly well.

There is no rush to start your baby on solid foods. Milk is their most important food. Your doctor’s recommendations and your own intuition will help you to know when to begin introducing solids to your baby’s diet. Always remember to be patient with your baby and allow at least a few days between newly added foods to make sure baby doesn’t suffer any reactions. Feed baby in a relaxed atmosphere and enjoy their reactions and self discovery!

To the next time:

Momsy

Momsy has known the Chef all his life and introduced him to many of the dishes he has been inspired to include in his menus on special “food like Mom cooked” days. He has been most fortunate that she agreed to share her tips as a guest contributor.

Lee Porter an author and entrepreneur for HealthSufficiency, a continuing health, personal development and life dynamic education and business development company helping people to be meet their potential to lead healthy, prosperous and successful lives.

Tags: babyfood preparation, home cookked baby food, home prepared baby food, yogurt, mashed cottage cheese, mashed pumpkin, baked potato, avocado, tofu, banana, fresh orange juice, meat, cicken, milk, cereals, mashed banana, freeze food, oatmeal, blender, fruit, apple sauce, pear sauce, hygiene, food mill, home cooked food,

Many people prefer to avoid coffee and its caffeine in particular but like a drink with a coffee like flavour. You can make coffee similar drinks from both beech nuts and chicory.

Collect the nuts from an American Beech Tree after the first hard frost when they have normally dropped to the ground.  You may have to be quick and get them before the squirrel’s begin harvesting.

Remove the nuts from their husks and dry roast in the oven until they are dark and brittle.  Grind the roasted nuts in an electric blender and store in an airtight container.  They store well and can be used all year round.  The beech nut coffee is prepared in the same way as regular coffee.

Chicory coffee is prepared from the roots of the plant which you can find just about everywhere there’s a road.  It has bright blue daisy-shaped flowers and almost leafless stalks.   The white fleshy roots are roasted until dark brown and brittle then ground and stored in an air-tight container.  It stores well but must be kept away from moisture because it will become a rock solid mass.  It is prepared like coffee with 1 1/2 teaspoons of chicory to a cup of water.  It is magnificent prepared in milk and is an excellent tonic for the kidneys.  Drink all year round.

Tags: coffee, chicory, American beech tree nuts, kidney tonic, drinks

Every year, an estimated 7 million Americans suffer from cases of food borne illness, commonly referred to as ‘food poisoning.’ Some cases are violent and even result in death. The culprit is food that has dangerously high levels of bacteria due to improper cooking or handling.

Consumers and food handlers equally bear the responsibility for keeping food safe for eating. An all-around safety approach needs to be adopted to purchasing, storing and preparing both traditional and new meat and poultry products.

Food safety is usually taken for granted by the buying public but recently there was a case of food poisoning caused by under cooked meat that caught everyone’s attention. It was found that it would never have happened if the meat had been properly cooked. E.Coli 0157.H7 is a potent bacteria, but it can be completely destroyed when the meat is fully cooked.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 85 percent of food borne illness cases could be avoided each year if consumers handle food properly. The most common food borne illnesses are caused by a combination of bacteria, naturally present in the environment and food handling mistakes. Ironically, these are also the easiest types of food borne illnesses to prevent. Proper cooking or processing of raw meat and poultry kills bacteria that can cause food borne illness.

Shopping food safety tips:

• Buy well cooked, hot foods, avoid luke warm foods
• When you’re out, grocery shop last, take food straight home to the refrigerator.
• Never leave food in a hot car!
• Don’t buy anything you won’t use before the use-by date.
• Don’t buy food in poor condition.
• Make sure refrigerated food is cold to the touch.
• Frozen food should be rock-solid.
• Canned goods should be free of dents, cracks or bulging lids which can indicate a serious food poisoning threat.
• Sealed bags of vegetables, fruits and nuts should not be bulging.

At home:

• The performance and maintenance of your refrigerator is of the utmost importance. Check the temperature of your refrigerator with an appliance thermometer. To keep bacteria in check, the refrigerator should run at 40o F (4oC); the freezer unit at 0oF (-4oC). Generally, keep your refrigerator as cold as possible without freezing your milk or lettuce. When you prepare food, keep everything clean and thaw out any frozen food you plan to prepare in your refrigerator. Take it out of the freezer in advance and place it in the refrigerated section of your refrigerator.

• Always wash your hands in hot soapy water before preparing and handling any food as well as after you use the bathroom, change diapers, handle pets, etc.

• Remember, too, that bacteria can live in your kitchen towels, sponges and dish cloths. Wash them often and replace the dish cloths and sponges you use regularly every few weeks.

• Be absolutely sure that you keep all raw meats, poultry and fish and their juices away from other food. For instance, wash your hands, your cutting board and knife in hot soapy water after cutting up the chicken and before dicing salad ingredients.

• It is best to use plastic cutting boards rather than wooden ones where bacteria can hide in grooves.

• Don’t take your food out of the freezer and leave it on the kitchen counter to thaw. This is extremely dangerous since the bacteria can grow in the outer layers of the food before the inside thaws. It is wise to do your marinating in the refrigerator too.

• Don’t eat food that has fallen on the floor, you do not know what anyone has trod in and brought in on the sole of their shoes.

Follow the simple hygiene procedures and you should be fine!

Fast food and eating on the run contributes to poor health and will increase any pre-existing health conditions that you have.  Its more immediate, short-term affect is that it will not provide enough energy to sustain your daily activity which will lead to tiredness, stress, inability to relax and think correctly and this will manifest as poor judgement, bad decision making and bad moods that could affect your relationships at work and home.  It will also encourage your reliance on greasy, sugary and/or caffeinated junk foods for an instant but unsustainable lift.

There are other options that you could consider that would enable you to eat while keeping to your busy schedule.  For instance, arrange business breakfasts, lunches, morning or afternoon snack breaks and consider picking up the tab for co-workers or the people that you are visiting on your current trip.  Sharing food and drink is a bonding experience and would have the effect of putting your co-workers, clients and associates in a good mood during which you would learn a little more about the person and how they conduct their business whilst you eat. 

For all the same reasons given above, skipping eating is not an option.  You must eat at sometime, so it makes sense to schedule time for it into your daily planner.  Its benefits are many.  It schedules breaks during which time you can refuel to help you stay on top of your next session of meetings or work, to maintain clarity of thought (this presupposes that you do not indulge in alcoholic beverages or a heavy stodgy meal that are difficult to digest.)  It gives you something to look forward to and break any arduous activities, allows you to relax, helps to keep you mindful of other people’s need to eat and refuel and keeps them in good mood and energy for their activities making them easier to negotiate with or work alongside.  Remember some people have ill health conditions or very sensitive sugar levels that make it imperative that they eat regularly. 

Select a nice, yet not overly expensive restaurant where you can find enough privacy to discuss business or cultivate your business relationships.  It may even be possible to have dinner in a restaurant in the motel or hotel in which you are staying.  If you invite others with whom you need to discuss business-related matters, it becomes a dinner meeting and depending on the topic of discussion, it may be tax deductible.

If you are working close to home but are still busy and keeping long hours, for the sake of your family relationships, it is still advantageous to schedule meal breaks, at least the evening meal with your wife, partner and any children.  It strengthens family bonds and helps keep home communication lines open and at the same time gives you the opportunity to hear about their activities and progress so that you do not get to feel you are missing your loved one’s development, being left out or a stranger in the home and allows you all to discuss anything of importance with each other.  Sharing meals with friends and family members is a precious quality time and should be enjoyed without diversions like television or telephone interruptions.  It demonstrates that although you are occupied with more pressing business matters, they are still very important to you and you care about them.  It also helps them to be more understanding when extremely pressing business engagements come up from which you really cannot escape.  While staying on top of your business needs is important you can’t let it consume you and ruin the relationship you have with your family.

If you know ahead of time you are going to have to work late, and you really cannot get home, contact the family and have them meet you somewhere for dinner. It does not always have to be at a fancy restaurant, sometimes eating a fast-food meal, (preferably one that also tries to cater for the more discerning eater) will satisfy any children you may have, but taking the time out of your schedule to have dinner with the family will do wonders for your relationship.

In some instances it might be better to have the family join you for dinner at your workplace. You can call and order in an evening meal or ask your spouse to stop on their way to your office and pick something up to share with you when they get there.  If this looks like being a regular occurrence at least for a while and especially if budget is tight, your spouse might agree to prepare something at home to eat with you in your office.  The list here is endless and dependant on what is available and your preferences.  While eating a decent meal for dinner is important, it is always important to spend time with your family.

Certain factors to remember if you want to stay clear headed, focussed on your work and maintain your energy factors are:

• Do not drink alcohol, it clouds judgement and after its initial energy charge will make you sleepy
• Do not consume heavy, stodgy carbohydrate packed meals; they slow you down resulting in sleepiness.
• Do not eat turkey; it naturally contains sleep inducing chemicals and makes it hard to think and concentrate.
• Avoid any food substance to which you are allergic.
• Stick to light nourishing meals that consist of foods from each of the food groups preferably raw foods that have not had the nutrients cooked out of them.
• Drink lots of fresh filtered water.
• Eat regularly; a little and often is better than one large meal.
• Never eat whilst you are stressed, so turn off your worries outside of the room you are to eat in or for a given time.  If it is a business meeting, talk generally and leave the serious discussions to the office at a later or earlier time. 
• Focus on and enjoy the moment, the food and your meal companions.

• ½ cup raw, fat free beef mince

• 2 tablespoons of cooked brown rice, mashed or blended smooth

• ½ cup of my dinner (cooked & blended vegetables and some beef gravy or broth from real meat (not canned or powder))

Oh and hold the onions and easy on the potato, you want your Dumplings to keep their waistlines taut and terrific

Add to this:

• 1 tablespoon of barley greens or green food supplement powder (it keeps their fur shining, their insides healthy and their eyes bright)

• 1 pinch calcium powder to counter the effect of too much raw meat (which leaches calcium out of their bones)

1. Stir mince, green and calcium powder into the blended vegetables and broth and add enough rice to achieve the consistency that your pet likes.

2. Serve cold or very slightly warm, but not hot!

This recipe is particularly good for indoor cats like my Dumpling.  This recipe can be made ahead of time and frozen but only if you omit the calcium and green powder which should be stirred in only just before serving.

Yes Dumpling I can see that your bowl’s empty, but this batch is for later, so you can stop licking your lips…

For more than one thousand years, “to shrive” has meant to hear confessions but nowadays it refers to paying little attention to excuses and explanations.

Shrive Tuesday is celebrated differently throughout the world.  In the US, Canada and Australia it is simply known as Shrove Tuesday.  In UK it is known as Pancake Day.  In France, Sweden, New Orleans and Brazil  it is known as Fat Tuesday (Fettisdagen in Swedish and Mardi Gras in French.)  In Poland it takes place on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday and is called Fat Thursday or Trusty Czwartek. In Finland cream and almond paste filled buns traditionally mark the day.

Shrove Tuesday starts off the Mardi Gras festival to party before a time of self-denial.  There is a pancake race in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England which has been taking place since 1445.

Shrove-Tuesday, at whose entrance in the morning all the whole kingdom is inquiet, but by that time the clocke strikes eleven, which (by the help of a knavish sexton) is commonly before nine, then there is a bell rung, cal’d the Pancake-bell, the sound whereof makes thousands of people distracted, and forgetful either of manners or humanitie; then there is a thing called wheaten floure, which the cookes do mingle with water, eggs, spice, and other tragical, magical inchantments, and then they put it by little and little into a frying pan of boiling suet, where it makes a confused dismal hissing, (like the Lernean Snakes in the reeds of Acheron, Stix, or Phlegeton) until at last, by the skill of the Cooke, it is transformed into the forme of a Flip-Jack, cal’d a Pancake, which ominous incantation the ignorant people doe devoure very greedily. John Taylor, English poet (1580 - 1654) ; Jack-a-Lent, His Beginning and Entertainment (1630)

Old Fashioned Pancake Day Songs

A-shrovin’, a-shrovin’,
i be come a-shrovin’,
a piece of bread, a piece of cheese,
A bit of your fat bacaon,
Or a dish of dough-nuts,
All of your own makin’!
from Wiltshire.

A-shrovin’, a-shrovin’,
Nice meat in a pie,
my mouth is very dry.
from Wiltshire.

Dame, is your pan hot?
Lard and corn is dear;
I’ve come a-shovin’,
Tis but once a year.
So up to the flitch
and cut a gurt stitch;
If your hens don’t lay,
I’ll steal your cock away
Afore next Shrove Tuesday.
from Warminster.

Tippety-Tippety-tin;
Give me a pancake and I’ll come in.
Tippety-tippety-toe,
Give me a pancake and then I’ll go.
from West Somerset.

Nicky, nicky, nan,
Give me a pancake and then I’ll be gone.
But if you give me none,
I’ll throw a great stone
And down your door shall come.
from Cornwall.

(Extracts from “A Calendar of Country Customs”)

Recipes

Pancake sweet basic UK recipe

• Plain flour 4oz, 100g
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 egg
• Milk 9fl.oz, 270ml
• Vegetable oil for frying

To serve:

Sugar, Lemon or Orange juice and wedges to garnish

Method:

1. Preheat oven to a very low heat to keep first pancakes warm.
2. Whisk together flour, salt, milk and egg in a large bowl or jug until it is a smooth batter.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan until it is very hot then pour most of it off into a heatproof container so that the pan is just coated with oil.
4. Pour a little of the batter into the pan, tilting the pan to evenly cover the base with a thin layer.
5. Fry over a moderate heat and shake the pan gently so that the pancake doesn’t stick.
6. When the underside is golden (about 1-2 minutes) either flip the pancake by tossing it into the air or turn it over with a palette knife and cook until the other side is golden.
7. Put in a heatproof dish, cover with foil and place in warmed oven whilst you cook the next pancake.
8. Serve by sprinkling each pancake with sugar and traditionally lemon or orange juice.

Variations:

• Add sultanas or cocoa to batter
• Serve with hazelnut spread, any chopped fruit, cream or flambé with cointreau, calvados or another liqueur

Savoury basic pancake mix:

• Plain flour 6oz, 175g
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 eggs
• Milk 13 fl.oz., 390ml
• Vegetable oil for frying

Method:

Prepare as for the method given above for sweet basic pancakes.

Variations:

• Bacon and Chives, chop and add to pancake mixture or serve on top
• Sprinkle grated cheese of any type prior to serving
• Cook pancakes and add filling of cooked leeks and onions, tuna and prawns, cooked flaked fish, chicken or other meat,  scrambled egg, cubed vegetables, ricotta or cottage cheese

“… as fit as a pancake for Shrove Tuesday.” William Shakespeare (All’s Well that Ends Well)

Tossing the pancake

The ceremony on Shrove Tuesday, though it has been modified slightly from time to time, has remained substantially unaltered for centuries. In the morning one of the vergers from the Abbey, bearing a silver mace, conducts the cook, who carries the pancake in a frying pan, into the great hall where all the boys are assembled. When the room was divided by a curtain, this was then drawn aside, and the cook threw the pancake over the bar towards the door, whereupon all the boys scrambled for it. Of late years only a few – one representing each form chosen by the scholars themselves–have taken part in the scramble. Going forward, the cook hurls the pancake aloft in the direction of the bar. If it goes clean over, the selected boys make a wild rush for it in an endeavour to catch it whole, and usually failing, then struggle for it on the floor. The one who secures it, or the biggest portion, is entitled to a guinea. The scrimmage is known as the ‘greeze’.
Stone, Sir Benjamin, Pictures of National Life and History, Cassell and Company, London, 1906

Finnish Shrove Tuesday Buns

• 1 packet active dry yeast
• ¼  cup warm water, 2 oz
• 1 cup warm milk 8 oz
• Sugar, 1 cup, 6oz
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• softened butter, ¾ cup, 6oz
• plain flour, 5-6 cups, 36 oz

Glaze and filling:

• 1 beaten egg
• flaked almonds, 1/3 cup, 2oz
• Almond paste 14oz
• whipping cream, 1 cup, 8 oz
• confectioners’ (Icing) sugar, 3 tablespoons, 1oz

Method:

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and stand for 5 minutes.   Add milk, sugar, salt, eggs, butter and 2 cups of flour and beat until its a smooth, shiny batter.  Add more of the flour until the dough will not absorb any more.  Leave to rest for 15 minutes then knead until smooth and shiny again.  Place the ball of dough in a large, clean, warm, greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise to double its size.  Place the bowl in a draught free warm place.
2. Divide the dough into about 24 balls and place onto a greased baking sheet,  lightly cover and allow them to rise again until double in size and puffy.
3. Preheat over to 400°F, 200°C
4. Brush each bun with beaten egg and sprinkle flaked almonds.  Bake for 12 minutes.  Cool.

To serve:

Slice off cap of each bun and scoop out some of the soft centre.  Fill with almond paste and whipped cream.  Lightly replace lid and dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Copyright L Porter 2008

The method used to cure, smoke and cook the ham will also greatly impact on the flavour of the meat. Many butchers prepare their hams, sausages, bacon and corned silverside with nitrates which is a man-made chemical that preserves and enhances the colour of cured and salted meat. The “smoking” of meat is produced by using an artificial ingredient known as ‘liquid’ smoke during the cooking process which also greatly reduces cooking time.

Cancer Councils around the world are warning people against the use of cancer-forming nitrates found in some dried and cured meats, sausages, hams, bacons, and other smoke flavoured meat goods.

Traditional preparation of cured, smoked meats is an exacting, precise and relatively long process but does not use nitrates. A precise ratio of four naturally occurring elements is combined to form a brine mixture which is injected into the meat in a precise ratio to salt the meat. The meat is then smoked to produce a rich golden colour and give it a distinctive flavour depending on the blend of wood chips and saw dust burned, i.e. hickory wood, pine saw dust, plum wood, etc. The meat is then slowly steamed to retain all the moisture and flavour. The smoking and cooking stages take approximately ten hours.

Traditionally produced hams may take some time to track down and cost a little more but your health and taste buds will love you forever!

This is an excellent fruit cake any celebration, if you don’t like Dark or Light Fruit Cakes, this White Fruit Cake this will probably change your mind. It is a great recipe for launching a kitchen! I have made it for weddings, engagements, Christmases, parties, business launches, and it’s good to eat when you just need a lift too. If you can’t cook find someone who will make if for you!

The cake is better for making it ahead of time and leaving it for at least three days and I am told preferably a couple of weeks before eating it (a cake has never lasted out of the freezer for more than three days in our house!) It freezes well if you need to make it ahead of time or can be left in an air tight tin for some time (but I do find that it gets sticky fingers attacking it, if left unguarded!)

Makes: 2.5kg (5½ lb) cake

Equipment:

Cake tin: spring form tin with a tube centre or a 25cm (10 inch) angel food cake tin
Greaseproof paper
Kitchen Scales
Teaspoon Measure
Sharp Knife (Use under supervision)
Cutting Board
Mixing Bowl
Blender (Use under supervision)
Wooden Spoon
Oven (Use under supervision)

Ingredients:

Crystallised Pineapple (6 Slices)
Candied Citron (170g/6oz)
Candied Lemon & Orange Rind (225g/8oz)
Glacé Cherries (halved) (112g/4oz)
Seedless Raisins (170g/6oz)
Slivered Blanched Almonds (170g/6oz)
Plain Flour (455g/1lb)
Baking Powder (2 teaspoons)
Salt (2 teaspoons)
Fat (Lard or Vegetable Fat) (170g/6oz)
Butter or Margarine (66g/2oz)
White Sugar (455g/1lb)
Milk (112ml/4fl. oz)
Egg Whites (8)

Method:

1. Prepare baking tin by lining it with two layers of greaseproof paper.
2. Cut the candied fruit into large uniform slices so that the cut slices show beautiful colours.
3. Combine fruit and almonds with sifted dry ingredients.
4. Cream together fat, butter or margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Stir in combined fruits, nuts and sifted dry ingredients alternatively with milk to make a stiff batter.
6. In a separate oil free bowl beat egg whites until stiff then gently fold into cake batter.
7. Spoon mixture into prepared tin.
8. Bake in a slow oven (300°F, Mark 2, 150°C) about 2½ hours or until firm to touch and skewer comes out of cake clean.
9. If top seems to be browning too fast, cover it with heavy greaseproof paper during last 45 minutes of baking. Do same with bottom of cake if you have floor gas or electric heated ovens.

Enjoy!

Sue