Friday, June 7, 2013

Gluten free, healthy cookie recipe.

I do not need to eat gluten free food, but I make different recipes up because a family member does need to follow that regime. I enjoy making up various recipes and since my bariatric surgery, my interest has not changed; I just eat a lot less of the product. Here's one that has good amounts of protein and is relatively OK, calorie wise.
The quantities don't seem to matter a hell of a lot.
What shall I call this?  OK, ginger quinoa cookies with added gogi berries or anything else your imagination allows.
Place in a bowl a couple of tablespoons of melted butter (bugger using damned crappy margarine!)
Chuck in some sugar (maybe about half as cup) then biff in some desiccated coconut (about a cup). Add about half a cup of quinoa flour (or cornflour), about a cup of Quinoa flakes  and heaps of dried ginger (I used  about one large tablespoon of ginger) If you love ginger add more! Then add cinnamon. It just doesn't seem to matter what you use in the way of spices.
Now the fun part. Get your hands into the mixture and scrunch it up and add a little mils if you want. Water is fine too, but the main thing is to have a nice stiff mixture that you can roll out into small balls on a tray lined with baking paper. Press them flat and shove into an oven heated to about 160C and bake for about 10 minutes. Then, turn the oven off and after ten more minutes open the oven to let them cool. They go nice and hard which makes them a yummy dunking companion with your favourite hot drink. Great in the kids lunches too.
If you manage to stuff up this recipe, go and buy your cookies from the shops!

Why are our teenage children fighting---with trajic results?

I do not think for a moment that the tragic death of a young Kelston boy was a premeditated killing; the two boys involved in the fight against the young boy did not go to kill----but they did (two of them) possibly go for a fight. Unfortunately this scenario is enacted in our school grounds and on our sports fields on a regular basis. What is behind such mindless 'not give a stuff'' about the consequences. behaviours? It is very worrying that young people fight at the drop of the hat, for no reason other than gang or friendship affiliations, revenge for imagined slights and egged on by social media formats. Fighting for young people has always been a fact of life, but the difference now is that too many people know about what is about to occur and then bring along associates who have no feeling for anything other than to have fun at someone else's' cost.
Lets face it; the examples some of their senior 'heroes' portray are less than honourable. When we see household 'names' behaving badly and violently, why would we expect teenagers to hold back. The idea of serious consequences for a fight seem beyond the understanding of young people. The simple fact is that if a heavy fist or boot comes into contact with a young head or other body regions, the results are very different to those that are shown on films and TV. Once hit hard (and some adults encourage their children to hit hard so that the 'opponent' does not get up!) the medical conclusion is quite different from that which suggests the 'fallen' simply gets up and 'has another go. 'School yards and sports fields are becoming dangerous places, not just for those fighting, but for those who stand and watch. We need to take a long and hard look at the values we are instilling in our kids. Such ideas of unfettered violence do not exist in a vacuum!

'Dig it out of the hole in the ground, just doesn't cut it for Australia's economic woes at the present!

In the last few decades much of Australia's dramatic rise in living standard and subsequently a beacon for many NZers, has been due to the capacity of the 'lucky country' to be able to dig their wealth from huge holes in the ground. It is no secret that China's economic boom has been closely related to this phenomenon. Dig it out in the form of iron ore and other metals and send it to China, then bring it back as consumer goods for the ever hungry Australian market, whilst making a handy profit with a degree of trickle down for the workers of Australia. NZ, too has seen some benefit, because if Australia is doing well, so are we to a certain extent. That China has surpassed Australia as our largest trading partner is also significant. All three nations are inextricably tied re combined economic futures.
What now, that Australia is receiving less for its mineral exports? Will the economy become unstuck? Will Julia Gillard's Government be the next victim of this downturn? Would the upcoming beating be as huge if the economy had not been affected by this lessening of export prices? Will New Zealanders considering a 'jump over the ditch,' reconsider their plans? Will those their who do not collect any benefits that NZ offers to the Australians living in NZ need to look over their shoulders and return to NZ?
A new phase in Trans Tasman economic and social ties is about to play out for NZ in Australia and perhaps the flow will reverse, if recent figures continue to grow re the outflow of NZers to Australia. History does repeat and  we often do not learn from it. Hopefully, we will see a reinvigoration of our economy, with the return of our compatriots and the NZ economy will rise---before the worm turns again!