Brazilian Avocado Chocolate Shake

This is the low cal version of the milkshake my Brazilian friend told me about.
Ingredients
1 ripe avocado
2 tablespoons unsweetened drinking chocolate (like Caotina)
1/4 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup milk

Method

1. Cut the avocado in two and scoop out the flesh.
2. Add the chocolate and the rest of the ingredients.
3. Blend until uniform - it will have the texture of melted ice-cream.
4. Drink immediately.

Variation
You can even make it with berries and bananas instead of the chocolate powder.

Stawberry Banana Bran Muffins

My daughter ate 7 of the 12 muffins I made. This is definitely a keeper.

Ingredients:
1 cup strawberries cut into small pieces
2 ripe bananas chopped up small
1 1/4 cup white flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400F.
2. Prepare a muffin pan by lining the slots with muffin cups.
3. Mix together the strawberries and the bananas. Add the oil, honey, brown sugar , vanilla and salt.
4. Add the oat bran, wheat bran, and flour. Mix together.
5. Add the eggs and mix until it is just all combined. Do not over mix.
6. Pour into the muffin cups (the easiest way is to use an ice-cream scoop).
7. Put into the hot over - after about 5 minutes lower the heat to 350F and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in it comes out clean.

1. Add the

Poached Chicken Balls

This is my spin on Annabel Karmel's Chicken Apple balls. It's great for kids.
Ingredients:
200g ground chicken
2 stalks of spring onion very finely chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
1 tablespoon coriander finely chopped
1/4 apple peeled and very finely chopped
2 drops sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 egg
1 slice of white bread without the crust -broken into very small pieces
breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder(like the Maggie Soup Base)

Method:

1. Put a pot of water to boil with about 1.5 liters of water. Add the Bouillon and allow to come to a boil.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients (except bread crumbs)together in a bowl and mix well. Leave to rest for about 15 minutes (this allows the bread to soak in some of the excess miquid). If the mixture is still a bit "soft" add some breadcrubs - the end mixture should stil be soft but you should be able to make balls in your hand.
3. Make balls and put directly into the boiling water.
4. Reduce heat to MEDIUM.
5. Allow balls to cook for 5-6 minutes until done.

Rosemary Pepper Lamb chops

Ingredients
6-7 lamb chops
3 tablespoons rosemary finely chopped
1 tablespoon thyme finely chopped
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 teaspoon soy sauce
flour to thicken
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup Mirin (or use Sherry, sweet wine etc)

Method

1. Mix together in a plate the chopped rosemary, thyme, pepper, garlic and paprika.
2. Trim all the fat off the chops. Wash the chops, then roll them in the herb mixture.
3. Heat the oil in the pan until it is hot (but not smoking).
4. Add the chops care fully in the hot oil. Fry for 1 -2 minutes on one side. Then flip over to the other side. Allow to cook for 2 minutes on HIGH.
5. Reduce heat to MEDIUM HIGH.
6. Add the Mirin and cover.
7. Allow to cook for about 12 - 15 minutes for well done lamb chops.
8. Remove chops using tongs and place in a plate.
9. There will be some liquid in the pan. Turn the heat to HIGH.
10. Add the soy sauce.
11. Add a little bit of flour to thicken. Stir constantly. After 1-2 minutes it should be thick.
12. Serve the Lamb chops with the sauce.

Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

3 x boneless chicken breasts - cut into 1 inch squares
2 tbsp oil
5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 inch ginger finely chopped
3 spring onions finely chopped
zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup green beans cut into pieces (or sugar snap peas whole)
1 red pepper chopped up into 1 inch pieces
1 cup peeled and finely chopped cucumbers
2 drops sesame oil

For the sauce:
3/4 glass orange juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar (or whatever white vinegar you have)
3 tbsp mirin (if you don't have it use grape juice, sherry or even white wine)
1 tsp cornstarch mixed in 1/4 cup water
2 dried red chillies or 1 fresh jalapeno pepper

Method:

1. Heat the pan and add the oil to it. When the oil is hot add the chicken pieces and cook on HIGH until golden brown on both sides- about 3-6 minutes.


2. Add the spring onions and saute for 1 minute


3. Add the ginger, garlic, and orange zest and saute for 1 minute


4. Add the red peppers and beans and saute for 2 -3 minutes.


5. Mix all the ingredients of the sauce except the cornstarch into a glass.


6. Add the sauce mixture to the chicken and cook on HIGH until the sauce starts to bubble and boil. Allow to boil for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly.


7. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir - the sauce will start to thicken immediately.


8. When the sauce is as thick as you want it to be, add the chopped cucumbers.


9. Add the sesame oil and give it a good stir.


10. Serve immediately with rice.

Chickpea salad with Yogurt

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon whole cumin
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 dried whole red chillies (or use 1 fresh green chili)
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
1/4 cup finely chopped herbs (basil, cilantro or mint)
salt to taste

Method:

1. Open the can and rise well the chickpeas. Allow all the water to drain out. Place in a large bowl.
2. In a small pan heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds, whole cumin and chillies and fry until the mustard seeds pop. Make sure not to burn the mixture.
3. Add spice mixture to the chickpeas and mix.
4. Add the yogurt. Mix well.
5. Add the chopped herbs and mix well.
6. Add salt to taste.
7. Can be served cold or at room temperature.

Israel's Peace

I am laughing as I write this blog. Laughing at how low humanity has become. It's the feeling that comes after you cry about the downfall of something, when things continue going down and crying seems redundant - you laugh. Today I am laughing about Israel's pathetic claims of peace.

For those of you who have been reading the news, in the past few days, Israel has blown up a hospital which housed one of only 2 neonatal units and intensive care units in Gaza, children on incubators were taken on the street and most of them did die. While I am now beyond outraged at the brutal genocide that Israel is committing, I am also deeply saddened by the international community's inability to stop it. What does this mean? It means that legitimate forms of world governance are useless. The only things that matters is who is stronger and who will persevere. While it is true that in the middle east Israel is stronger, it is also true that the the Palestinians and Lebanese have a way of persevering over this neo-Nazi country.

But this is not what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about this pathetic 'unilateral cease fire' that Israel has agreed to. Firstly, Israel UNILATERALLY COMMITTED GENOCIDE, Israel UNILATERALLY COMMITS APARTHEID and Israel UNILATERALLY MURDERS INFANTS (Oh how the Israelis must be so proud of their sons who have turned into baby killers!). And now Israel wants "unilateral cease fire". The problem with this statement is you cannot decide something unilaterally - not when you destroy a land, take away all the resources and treat the legal owners of the land as slaves. You also cannot make unilateral peace with the US because the US is not at war with you. It would be like me making a unilateral agreement with my friend in which I agree to stop killing those I was killing earlier - it has no value. On one hand, Tzipi was signing a document in Washington and at the same time, the IDF put a missile into a high rise building which was FULL of residents sleeping. What kind of cease fire is this??

Also, I want it stated here first - ISRAEL HAS LOST THE WAR IN GAZA. The unilateral cease fire is no more than a surrender notice to Hamas. Israel said at the onset of this genocide campaign that they would remove Hamas. They will never be able to succeed and they have not been successful. Hamas can only be neutralized when the need of a militant organization fades, and that is when there is real peace and statehood for the Palestinians. The Israelis committed despicable acts of war crimes, became baby kills, undertook a "cleansing" that equated to genocide and of the 1200 people that they butchered, more than 800 were women and children. You could argue that the rest were Hamas - but this would imply that every male Palestinian over the age of 15 is a militant - which if it were true, Israel would be fighting with an army as big as it's own. So likely the number of actual Hamas fighters killed are pretty low - and low enough to not really matter.

So what happens now? Israel has been unable to destroy Hamas (as it was unable to destroy Hezbollah), Israeli troops will continue to stay in Gaza and kill more kids (because even though they signed the cease fire - it doesn't actually apply to the IDF) and Hamas will grow stronger. I believe it is a fair statement to make that Israel has exponentially increased the risk for it's population and the diaspora because of the genocide it committed. If Israel hoped to achieve anything with these acts of genocide in Gaza - it has failed. It has once again proved that Israel has only the muscle but not the brain to actually protect it's own people.

Israel has also shown the world that it is capable of using weapons of mass destruction (the white phosphorous), that it does not value life or democracy and that basically it is a rogue nation that should really be on the list of AXIS OF EVIL and boycotted by all self respecting democratic states.

We, as human beings have lost our morality if we accept any more of Israel's lies, murder and ethnic cleansing. Speak up world! Speak up for Humanity!