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June 23, 2011

What Are Bags Under Your Eyes?

Bags under your eyes are traditionally associated with a lack of sleep, but the fact is that some people are more liable to them that others. Some of this has to do with lack of sleep, fair enough, but other factors are age, skin sort and bone structure.

Therefore, if you begin getting bags under your eyes all of a sudden, then you can assume that the problem is because of recent events, but if you merely find that the bags under your eyes are becoming more and more obvious as you get older, then the reason may be more basic.

Many people, especially women, spend time each day of their adult life looking after the skin under their eyes, because they realize that that region of their face is the most scrutinized by friends and strangers alike. People are conscious that their eyes are mirrors of their feelings (or even souls) and they want those mirrors to be set in as attractive frames as possible.

The fact is that for the majority of younger individuals, the reason for bags under the eyes is as simple as lack of sleep. However, it is the reason for the lack of sleep that ought to be the main concern.

If it is only because they have young babies, then that is par for the course or if it is because of partying all night, the remedy is simple, but if it is because they are worrying all night then that is something else. The source for the worry has to be sorted out.

Illness is another cause for acquiring bags under your eyes and then it is a question of going to your doctor. Sleeping disorders such as sleep apnea and insomnia also fall into this category, but doctors can help here too.

There are thousands or treatments for bags under your eyes which come about as a result of weakening facial skin muscles, which normally happens because of age. Some individuals use expensive skin creams and others opt to use more traditional remedies. However, both the costly creams and the traditional cures usually rely on the use of astringents.

I cannot profess to know which are the best creams, but I can list a few of the time-honored remedies for bags under your eyes. Numerous individuals try used tea bags, slices of cucumber or cold eye covers like wet cotton wool that has been held in the fridge or even the freezer.

Still other individuals want an immediate and more permanent remedy for the bags under their eyes and opt for surgery. This kind of surgery is not as radical as having a full face lift but it works in a similar manner. A person who undergoes tucks under the eyes will experience black eyes for a short time and a little discomfort at first, but the improvement will last for years.

Some people choose to have this type of surgery done ‘whilst on holiday’ somewhere, so that none of their friends notice that they have black eyes for a couple of days.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a number of subjects, but is now concerned with Designer Spectacles. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at Spectacles Direct.

June 9, 2011

Crockpot Cooking In The Summer

Cooking inside in the summer is such as a nuisance, is it not? You would like to be outdoors in the fresh air instead of sweating at a hot cooker but anyway, you are not even sure that the family or even yourself will want to eat hot food once it has been prepared. This is difficult that lots of household cooks face in the summer, especially if there is a young family involved.

Young Johnny will not touch ‘rabbit food’ – he wants meat and little Jenny does not want sandwiches again, because she had them for lunch. So, what can you do?

The crockpot can come to the rescue quite perfectly. Because it cooks over a long time without much heat, so the kitchen will not warm up much. You can put a casserole or a stew in there in the morning before going to work and let it cook all day and then, when you are back, you can simply knock up a salad for those who do not want a heavy meal.

It covers all the bases without costing any extra time on your behalf. Not just that, but if no one fancies what is in the crockpot, nothing is lost because it can be warmed up again the following day.

Using a crockpot to cook in this fashion will also save a great deal on electricity. Why? Not only for the cooking of the food in the crockpot, but also because if you cooked a traditional meal in the summer heat, you would need to switch on the air conditioning and the extractor fan.

This means that utilizing the crockpot to help supply an alternative or even the main meal during the summer is a win-win situation whichever way you look at it and it is cheaper as well.

That takes care of the main meal, but if there is more agreement in your family and you know from the start that everyone will eat a salad, you could use the crockpot to prepare a sweet. Or you could purchase a second crockpot.

Regrettably, crockpot cooking has acquired the reputation of just being good for preparing stews, but the fact is that this is very far from the truth. You can use it for roasting a joint or baking a cheesecake with loads of choices in between.

Two more benefits of cooking with a crockpot are:

Firstly, if you cook in a hurry, there is a predisposition to use rice or pasta as a filler instead of vegetables, whereas if you can prepare the vegetables a while before hand it is simpler to include them

Secondly, there is just one pan to clean after eating instead of two or three or more. This saves more time and energy as well.

You almost certainly have never been shown how to use your crockpot for cooking anything more difficult than a stew, so perhaps the first thing to do is buy yourself a decent crockpot recipe book which teaches a wide variety of meals including sweets and breads.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the 2 quart crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

June 1, 2011

Contact Lenses Versus Specs

Has your eyesight deteriorated to the point where you have to wear specs? Are you happy about that? Well, there are several alternatives to be had these days, so you do have other choices. If you do not want to undergo surgery, you can still opt for contact lenses. In fact, contact lenses have been a viable alternative to glasses for decades.

Surgery can be a more permanent solution to problems with eyesight, but for various reasons, some people do not want to take up this option. This leaves contact lenses as the best alternative. The first thing to notice about contact lenses is that most people will not know that you are wearing them. This is very important to some people and not significant to others at all.

Contact lenses provide better all-round or peripheral vision than spectacles. When you look to the side wearing glasses, there is no glass there, but contact lenses cover your entire pupil so that your vision is closer to normal. This is safer if you are driving a car or riding a bike or even trying to cross a road.

Another difficulty that numerous people find with spectacles is that they leave indentations on the nose. Some people find these ugly. Glasses also need frequent cleaning, which many people find maddening, whereas contact lenses are cleaned by the eyes’ normal cleaning system – in other words, automatically.

Stylists also think that their prescription spectacles have to go with what they are wearing. This can mean that you have to have a dozen pairs of glasses. If your eyesight deteriorates further, which is fairly probable, all those specs will have to be up-graded as well. This is not true with contact lenses of course.

Both spectacles and contact lenses can adjust for astigmatism or bad eyesight, which comes to most people after the age of forty. Occasionally earlier and sometimes later, but it will happen. Your choice, if you do not want to undergo surgery, is whether you would rather wear spectacles or contact lenses.

In the past, contact lenses were very expensive, which is why many people still discount using them, but in fact it is no longer true. Contact lenses are more costly, but not much more now. In fact, you can buy disposable contact lenses and many people do do that.

The fact is that there are better alternatives to wearing either contacts or specs, but most people do not know it. It is possible these days to have one eye operation and never have to wear glasses again. Or you could have laser surgery and almost certainly not need specs again for ten or twenty years, but some people are adverse to having surgery and so they opt for glasses or contacts.

In the long run, surgery is almost definitely less expensive than wearing contact lenses and wearing contact lenses is almost definitely cheaper than wearing glasses, but it is the same with most items, people just look at the up-front costs and cheaper is rarely better.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on several topics, but is now concerned with Designer Spectacles. If you would like to know more, please go over to our web site at Spectacles Direct.

May 10, 2011

Contact Lens And Glasses: Eye Tests

Before you can buy contact lenses, or spectacles either for that matter, you will need to submit yourself to an eye test. However, the eye test for contact lenses is a little more detailed than a test for regular specs, so you ought to tell the optometrist which type of lens you want before the test starts in order to save time.

An eye test will usually start with a physical examination of your eyes for signs of eye disease such as cataracts and glaucoma or general worries such as high blood pressure or diabetes. This is why it is so vital to have an eye test at least every two years, because a physician does not give scheduled checks for cataracts, diabetes or glaucoma, the three of which can turn you blind.

Your optometrist might pose other questions too such as why you would prefer to have contact lenses rather than specs and whether you have had any problems with your eyes. The decision to wear contact lenses or spectacles is entirely yours, although in some countries spectacles may be free whereas there might be a charge for contact lenses because they are more expensive.

The results of the optometrist’s test will yield a set of numbers which will tell an optician the strength of the lens required for each eye as the lens required for each eye is usually different. This is commonly referred to as your prescription. Then you take this prescription to an optician to pick your spectacle frames, if you are having spectacles, and to have your lenses made or and installed.

In the case of specs, lenses will either have to be cut or and adjusted for the frames that you want and in the case of contact lenses, you might have to have the lenses manufactured. In either case, you might be lucky enough to walk out of the shop wearing your glasses or contacts or you may have to return in a few hours or even a couple days. No optician worth his salt will sell you expensive lenses without a prescription.

There is an clear vital difference between glasses and contact lenses – contacts have to make contact with your eyeballs and not all eyeballs are exactly the same shape. Therefore, if you would like contacts, the optometrist will have to measure the exact curvature or the exact contours of your eyes and this will be part of your prescription. Some eyes are naturally drier than others and this can have an effect on the sort of contact lenses that you should purchase.

Your optician will then frequently give you a pair of trial contact lenses and require you to return a few days later for further tests. You may have to wear a number of types of contacts before you find a type or marque that suits your particular eyes and sight.

Once you have contacts that appear to suit, you will have to follow the instructions and advice that comes with them and return for your check-ups when you are told to. These follow-ups are important to make sure that the contact lenses are not aggravating your eyes or causing more serious issues.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with Designer Spectacles. If you want to know more, please go over to our website at Spectacles Direct.

May 6, 2011

Dry Eyes And Contact Lenses

When you begin to lose your eyesight, which happens to most of us at around the age of forty, you have two basic choices: glasses or contact lenses. Both contact lenses and specs have their advantages and disadvantages, so whichever you choose is really a personal decision. However, some individuals have ‘dry eyes’, which means that the tear ducts do not irrigate the eyes as much as normal.

If someone has dry eyes, then wearing glasses will not exacerbate the condition, but if someone with dry eyes chooses to wear contact lenses for personal reasons, the condition can make their lives very unpleasant.

Some people who wear contacts but have dry eyes will almost certainly experience a discomfort that will lead to the person rubbing their eyes, which will make the situation worse.

There might be medical reasons for the lacrimal ducts not producing enough moisture to lubricate the eyes, but age can be a factor. If you have itchy eyes and are more than sixty, it might be in your interests to change from contacts to spectacles.

Some individuals find it a very hard decision to take. Television personalities and film stars seldom like to be photographed wearing glasses. All right, there are not too many of them, but there are hundreds of millions of people who look up to their screen idols and imitate them blindly.

One of the causes of dry eyes, besides age or personal illness, is environmental conditions. Pollution affects different people in different ways, but tobacco smoke affects most peoples’ eyes, to say nothing of their lungs.

Evaporation is another reason for dry eyes. This sounds strange, because you would think that the water trapped between the eyes and the lenses could not evaporate, but a lot of contact lenses are composed of fifty percent water to make them more supple and therefore more comfortable.

A warm environment will evaporate water from the lenses and the lenses will endeavor to replenish themselves by sucking water off your eyes – a kind of osmosis. This is a sensible reason for soaking your contact lenses in a solution over night. The solution is there to sterilize the lenses, but it will also permit the lenses to ‘fill up’ again.

Therefore, a possible solution to the problem of dry eyes, if evaporation is your problem, is to replace your lenses half way through the day. another way of combatting dry eyes if you would like to wear contacts, is to put drops in your eyes every hour.

You can purchase these drops from a chemist in small containers or you can purchase a litre of the solution and refill your droppers yourself. However, a saline solution (salt and water) is just as good as anything and a great deal cheaper.

If none of this works for you then why not merely switch to spectacles? The trend is to be more open about oneself and part of this trend is to admit your age, wear your wig openly, if that is what you do and be| seen wearing your spectacles.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now concerned with Designer Spectacles. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Spectacles Direct.

Cataracts And The Regain Of Sight

When I was about forty years of age, I could feel that I would soon require specs. I worked long hours in an office at a computer and most of my friends reasoned that this was the cause of my diminishing eyesight. I merely put the spectacles on like everyone else does and got on with the job.

However, ten years later, my eyesight took an abrupt turn for the worse and I was diagnosed with premature senile cataracts, at least that is how they translated it into English from the Thai as I had by now married a Thai lady and moved to her village in rural northern Thailand. I went to a very good hospital in Pattaya known as the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital and one of their senior eye surgeons examined me.

She confirmed the diagnosis and added that it was probable that the other eye would develop a cataract at some time in the future although there was no indication of it at that moment. The next day she carried out an operation to take out the lens from my eye and replace it with a plastic one.

The operation is quite painless although it can become a bit scary and lasts between thirty and sixty minutes. Mine was ‘a long one’, said the surgeon at forty minutes. After an hour’s recovery, a nurse showed my wife and me how to care for my eye and I was allowed to go. My eye was taped over, so I could not see out of it until that evening when my wife put the drops in.

Everything was so vivid and clear. It was truly amazing. I had to keep going back for post-operative care for four weeks and then we went back to the village. I cannot convey how fantastic it was to be able to see clearly again without glasses after what I realized was more than a decade.

The eye or the brain or both take a a little time to modify to the new lens and your eyesight improves for a period of time which can be from six to twenty-four months. Within six months, my other eye started to pack up. It had borne the strain of two eyes for long enough and now that there was a working replacement, it decided to stop fighting the approaching cataract and gave up.

I was not back to square one because my plastic eye was far better that the other one had been in similar circumstances. So, about six months later, I went back to Pattaya to have the other one done. The procedure was the same with the same surgeon. I went back the next day for the check up, but it was a long wait for my turn and the time came around for my drops. My wife put them in but as I removed my protective eye-covering, I noticed the English-language newspaper on the table in front of me.

That was not unusual, but what was really unusual was that I could read it – without specs for the first time in fifteen years! I could see the look of revulsion on my fellow patients’ faces as they looked into my eye so I put the covering back on. (After the operation the eye swells up and it as black as an eight-ball with a blood-red dot in the middle – it is very frightening).

When I went in to see the surgeon and told her about the newspaper, she smiled. “Yes”, she said, “that was my surprise, I put a long-distance lens in last time and a reading lens in this time. Your brain will decide what you are looking at and use the correct eye”.

She had not told me because a small percentage of brains cannot accomplish this trick, which is why some people cannot take to variofocals too.

That was a year ago and both plastic eyes and brain have ‘bedded in’ nicely. I can read a book and drive a car without specs and my world is so brilliant. I still wonder at the brightness everyday. I had not noticed the light getting gradually dimmer for fifteen years.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on several topics, but is now involved with Designer Spectacles. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Spectacles Direct.

April 29, 2011

Testing Visual Perception

Most people would prefer to lose their right arm than lose their eyesight. It is scary for a sighted person to think of the possibility of losing one’s eyesight, yet it occurs to people every day for various reasons. One of these reasons can be autism.

Autism affects different children in different ways, which is one of the reasons why it is so difficult for doctors and therapists to help it. One of the worst things that can have an effect on autistic children is a loss or diminution of visual perception or, to put it bluntly, eyesight.

Naturally, if a child has problems seeing, then it makes learning even more difficult and it isolates that child even more than it was before, since a sensation of isolation is one of the foremost symptoms of autism. However, there are certain exercises that your child’s therapist can teach you which might help improve your child’s eyesight.

It is a characteristic of autism that the sufferer experiences sensory overload or distortion. It is as if the autistic child’s brain cannot deal with what it sees and hears quickly enough, so it sometimes shuts down.

Numerous autistic children also have trouble reading for this very reason, however, some individuals who are not autistic can also suffer from this problem. Some people with extreme dyslexia can undergo a similar experience. If the parents of an autistic child have these problems too, then it could exacerbate the visual perception of the autistic child.

Some people, whether autistic, dyslexic or not have a problem with some colour combinations and some of those have a problem with black and white, which are of course the colours used on a book’s pages. It is possible to enhance the readability of a page of type by using the Irene Method, which involves putting a colour filter on top of the page thereby altering the black and white colour combination.

If the doctor or therapist of your child has not suggested the Irene Method, you could bring the topic up or simply test it yourself. All you need is several sheets of different coloured cellophane. Blue, red, yellow and green are easy to find and you can overlay two or three of these to make even more colours.

Lay them over the page and see if your child finds one of them easier to read. You might even find that you find one of these new colour combinations easier for you as well. If this works, a pair of glasses with tinted lenses my help your child’s visual perception on a more permanent basis.

In the same manner, some children’s visual perception is improved by replacing the regular white light incandescent or tube lights in the child’s bedroom with a light that is more comfortable on his or her eyes.

These different colour lights and different colour lenses can help your child better judge depth or perspective and can help lessen the confusion that sensory overload can cause. If you can accomplish this, you will be making a big difference to your child’s quality of life.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with Designer Spectacles. If you would like to know more, please go over to our web site at Spectacles Direct.

April 21, 2011

Cataracts, Surgery And Recovery

You have to be very cautious with your eyes because they can so easily be damaged beyond repair. My eyesight started to deteriorate when I reached forty, like most people. My friends and family put that down to the fact that I was sitting in front of a computer screen for about twelve hours a day and had done since I was twenty-eight. Still, there was nothing I could do about that, that was my job. I was self-conscious of wearing glasses at first, but you soon get used to that.

My eyes continued to get worse and at a greater rate than friends of a comparable age, but I considered that that was just the luck of the draw. However, one morning about ten years later, I woke up and it was as if my spectacles were dirty. I spent the next day or two cleaning them, but I could not seem to move the dirt on the right lens.

By that time, my vision was too bad to see without glasses and I only had the one pair. I had moved to rural Thailand and procuring a second pair was no easy feat.

After a couple of days of cleaning and polishing my glasses a friend offered to take me the 75 km to the nearest good hospital. The opthamologist looked in my eyes and said: “I am very sorry, but you are senile”. I had been called mad before, but not senile. I was fifty-two. It is not really a statement that beggars a question, so I just looked at him and put on a glum expression, hoping that I was not confirming his diagnosis.

He looked at me and then rumaged in his desk, pulled out a book and opened it. “You have premature senile cataracts” he corrected himself. I was not certain whether that was any better as it implied that other parts of me may start failing early as well. Anyway, I thanked him and left. I had no notion what to do next, but at least I knew better that to continue wasting my time attempting to clean my already spotless spectacles.

My wife is very practical and she arranged for us to go to an even better hospital 650 km away. I was seen by one of the hospital’s senior eye surgeons within the hour and was told that I had a cataract in my right eye and that there was a good chance that I would develop one in the left eye too. Then she shocked me by asking: “Do you want me to remove it now?”

It was too big a decision for me to make there and then without any information, so we discussed the operation, she gave me a leaflet and I made an appointment to return the next day. The next day, I was in the operating chair. I was not going to have Laser Correction, but the full replacement of the lens. The procedure is carried out under local anaestetic and does not hurt but it can be uncomfortable at times.

The surgeon cut a small incision of two millimetres a little to the outside of the colour of my eye and squirted in some solution. She then vibrated that fluid with ultra-sound to break up the lens in my eye and washed the pieces of lens out with more fluid before inserting the new lens through the same opening.

By this stage of my life, I could just see light and dark with my right eye, but at one point my eyesight just ceased entirely. It was like watching a window shatter before your eyes only to realise that there was nothing but blackness beyond. Now I definitely was blind in that eye. There was a bit of discomfort, but the surgeon kept talking to me and then she said: “Wait, wait, wait, can you see me?”

And I could.

Absolutely perfectly. Better than I would have been able to fifteen years before, but everything was so bright that it dazzled. I had not noticed how dingy my world had become. A cataract is like having a net curtain over a window, it cuts out a great deal of light. Therefore, the first thing you become aware of whilst you have had a cataract removed is a flood of light. Your world literally is a brighter place – to such an extent that the light hurts.

Be careful with light after the surgery, it cannot bring about lasting damage, but it really does hurt. A passing vehicle can reflect sunlight into your eye and catch you unawares. If you are driving or riding a bicycle, it could be very dangerous. Another risk is reflection. You have an open wound on your face which can get infected by wind-borne germs.

The week following the operation is a lot more risky than the procedure itself. You have an open cut in your eye which they do not stitch. It is left to repair itself, which is not a problem, if you take care.

You have to put two kinds of drops in your eye four times a day and avoid getting water in your eye at all costs. That means do not go out in the rain and do not wash your hair in the shower. Dirt and consequent infection are your main enemies, so put the drops in regularly, avoid dust (and the powdered dog faeces mixed in with it) and all water and be very wary of light.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a number of subjects, but is now involved with Designer Spectacles. If you would like to know more, please go over to our website at Spectacles Direct.

November 12, 2010

Some Facts About Satellite Radio Technology

Satellite radio technology is the equivalent of cable or satellite television and it is certainly here to stay. There are several reasons for this: the quality of the broadcasts is higher, the quality of the apparatus’s reception is higher and the general coverage of the station, that is to say the so-called satellite’s footprint is far greater too.

This means that if you travel long distances, you will be able to stick with the same channel without having to look for a new one every forty or fifty miles as you need to do with AM or FM radio channels.

In order to reach this quality, the recording and playback speed needs to be around the 384 kbps level. The music tracks are catalogued in a similar way to the MP3 system, which uses names called ID3 tags.

Each station on satellite radio attempts to establish its own identity. A music station may try this by playing music only of one type or from only one period or decade. This means that you may get a satellite radio station called 1970′s Punk music or Twentieth Century Classical Music.

On some stations, the music controller or disc jockey will choose, say, fifty minutes worth of music, will listen to it in order to ascertain that the quality and the order are correct and then let the computer play it over the airwaves. This leaves ten minutes every hour for the news and then the programme can be repeated automatically.

Satellite transmission uses digital recordings and each channel is encoded on a different frequency. Similarly, each decoder, say, in your car or your home needs to recognize and decode each channel separately as well. This coding and decoding is done very quickly, in fact in what is called ‘real time’.

The resulting binary or digital code is then turned into into analogue signals so that your speakers can reproduce it. This process produces sound which is just about of CD quality.

The transmitting satellites are in a geo-stationary orbit at 23,000 miles above the Earth and have a large footprint which is the name given to the region of ground that is capable of receiving their broadcasts.

In America, for example, the two fields concentrated on at first were the densely populated east and west coasts in order to maximize possible income. One satellite would be incapable of covering the whole of the United States in that orbit.

In order to receive satellite transmissions, you will have to use a special antenna on your decoder. This antenna must be capable of receiving L-band transmissions for it to be of use.

These new antennas are a big improvement on the satellite dishes (similar to those used for satellite TV) that one used to have to have in order to take advantage of satellite radio technology

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a variety of topics, but is now involved with Bose radio alarm clocks. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Bose Digital Radio.

July 16, 2010

Crock Pots – Are They Any Good?

Have you ever used a crock pot? Or what we call a slow cooker in the UK? My father gave me a crock pot for Christmas twenty-five years ago and I only had to replace it, because it got stolen. Some thief must have heard the were great and pinched it for his wife.

It was good-looking enough to leave out on the work top and I suppose that is how it caught my burglar’s eye. It was stoneware, really nice.

That is one of the points I would like to make in this article, some of the crock pots from the better manufacturers are pretty enough to take to the table. The other point I would like to make is that crock pots are not only for making soup or stews in.

I have recipes in the house for bread and cheesecake. Really, most people just do not believe me when I tell them what you can actually do with a crock pot, especially the modern programmable ones.

To prove it, I have reproduced one of my cheesecake recipes below. If you can not be bothered to make, just take it from me that it is gorgeous, simple enough to make and practically automatic to make. Those of you do get around to making it will agree with me, I am sure.

APPLE-NUT CHEESECAKE

Crust:

1 cup (scant) graham cracker crumbs 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Filling:

16 ounces cream cheese 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated white sugar 2 large eggs 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon vanilla Topping: 1 large apple, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups) 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Combine the crust ingredients and pat into a 7-inch spring form pan. Beat the sugars into the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, whipping cream, cornstarch, and vanilla. Beat for about 3 minutes on the medium speed of a hand-held electric mixer. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust. Combine the apple slices with the sugar, cinnamon and nuts and then spread the topping evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Place the cheesecake on a rack (or “ring” of aluminum foil to keep it off the bottom of the pot) in the Crock Pot. Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Let it stand in the covered pot (after turning it off) for about 1 to 2 hours, until cool enough to handle. Cool it thoroughly before removing the pan sides. Chill before serving; store leftovers in the refrigerator for any normal shop-bought cheesecake, but yours will be better..

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

June 5, 2010

Food: Five Tips For Storing Food

There can not be many people who do not like food, but the human race, being what it is, I guess there are a few. For the rest of us, food is a source of daily enjoyment and, like drink, it is often used to mark a celebration. not only that, but different foodstuffs are used for the different meals or definite occasions.

Celebratory meals were indubitably planned around the seasonal foods available, but some foods were transported great distances for the benefit of those who could pay for them. For example, my Dad thought it was a great treat to get an orange in his stocking on Christmas Day 60 years ago. How times have altered, very few children would think an orange a gift, special or otherwise, any day of the year nowadays.

Nonetheless, the storage of food is still a daily concern and so, I have listed a few top tips on storing food hereunder, so that you will get the best from what you have bought or grown long afterward.

The Smells Of Summer: the scent of fresh garden herbs are one of the joys of Summer. You can preserve many of these herbs in the following way. Take a suitably sized glass bottle and stuff your favourite herb into it until you can get not get even one more leaf in. Then fill it to the brim with your favourite oil olive oil (salad oil, not cooking oil). Leave it in the strong sunlight for two days if you are using basil or two weeks for tarragon. Allow the water to part from the oil and decant the oil off into another bottle. Just one or two drops of this oil on a salad or spaghetti will bring back Summer memoirs.

Bin Ends: sometimes, after a party for example, you may wake up to several small amounts of wine in different bottles. Of course, you can pour like wines into each other. When you are done, pour a teaspoon of olive oil into each bottle. This will create an air proof layer over the wine thereby preserving the wine for another week or two to go together with your favourite dinners – in the cooking process naturally.

Storing Garlic: cloves of peeled garlic will keep for months if you stuff them into a screw-topped jar and cover them with olive oil. As you use the garlic, top up with more olive oil. The oil will absorb some of the flavour of the garlic and make a fabulous (basis for a) salad dressing. If you have used tinned garlic, the rest can be preserved in the same way, but you should rinse and dry them first.

Saving Tomato Paste: if you suspect that you will not be able to use up the left over half a tin or tube of tomato paste quickly, you can put it into the ice cube tray and freeze it into blocks until you are ready to use it.

Parsley Crumble: keep bunches of parsley in the deep freeze. Then, when you need it, you can just crumple the head of the bunch in your hand immediately over the pot or plate where you require it and put it back in the freezer. The stalks can be used in the stock pot. in fact, this method works for all herbs.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the crock pots by Rival. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

categories: crock pots,recipes,kitchen,gourmet,nutrition,food,health,fitness,hobbies,recreation,reviews,other,uncategorized,business

May 30, 2010

Cooking Food Properly

Everybody likes a meal properly prepared. The proof of this, if it needs proving, is that members of religious orders like monks often have to eat boring food like porridge, gruel and unleaven bread for penance.

I would like to share a few tips with you to help you get the most out of your food.

Chicken Tarragon – I love chicken tarragon, but this is my favourite version. Take: 1 chicken; .25 teaspoon of chopped onions; 1 heaped tablespoon of dried tarragon (double of fresh); brown stock or Bovril and water, cream, flour and salt.

Roast the chicken, carve it and put in a plate. Pour off the fat and make a gravy with it, the salt and the flour. Bulk the gravy up with the stock or Bovril and water. Add the tarragon and cream and cook for a minute or two. Serve with the gravy already poured over the chicken or serve the gravy separately. Add your favourite vegetables. This recipe will serve four.

Chicken Left-Overs – if you are unsure what to do with left over chicken, you could do worse than try this recipe.

Chop the chicken up small and mix it with sliced avocado. Cover with mayonnaise and sprinkle with crumbled, fried, crispy bacon. If this sounds good to you, take it from me that it tastes even better.

Apple Sauce – if you like apple sauce with your pork, bake a couple of cooking apples beside your joint of pork. Prepare and core them just as you would as if you were going to prepare them normally. Sprinkle with sugar, if required. Then, run a knife tip around them, so that they will puff upwards, but still retain their form. Gorgeous.

Sauces – if you cannot get the sauce right, just strain it and do not tell anyone. Nobody will know the difference and what are strainers for if not straining?

Soups And Stews – if you find that you have added too much salt to a soup or stew at the last moment, do not be concerned. Put a cube of sugar in a large spoon and lower it into the liquid for twenty seconds. It will absorb the surplus salt. If you have longer, and it is appropriate, add a diced potato and it will absorb the salt too.

Pie Crust – if you want a quick, yet flexible topping for a savoury pie like chicken or beef, leave the pastry off. Take a large bag of crisps; pop the bag to let the air out and scrunch it up until the crisps are but crumbs. Pour this over your pie before you bake it. It is odd but you can experiment with different flavoured crisps.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the Rival Versaware crock pots. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

categories: crock pots,recipes,kitchen,gourmet,nutrition,food,health,fitness,hobbies,recreation,reviews,other,uncategorized,business

May 13, 2010

Cooking: Five Tips On Cooking Food

There can not be many individuals who do not like their food, but the human race, being what it is, I expect that there are a few of them. However, for the remainder of us, cuisine is a font of daily enjoyment and, like drink, it is frequently used to denote a celebration. not only that, but various foodstuffs are used for the various meals or distinct celebrations.

Festive meals were undoubtedly planned around the seasonal foodstuffs available, but a number of foods were ferried enormous distances for the benefit of those who could afford them. For example, my father deemed it a grand treat to get an orange in his stocking on Christmas Day sixty years back. How the times have altered! Very few kids would think an orange a present, special or not, any day of the year in our time.

Nonetheless, the preservation of foodstuff is still a daily affair and therefore, I have written a couple of good tips on storing food underneath, so that you will get the best from what you have bought or grown in your garden even a long while later.

Chicken Stuffed With Spoons: a great way of preparing chicken to be eaten at a cold buffet or in sandwiches, is to put as many spoons as possible into the cavity of the chicken (not silver or plated ones though). Then, place the chicken in a large saucepan or pot and bring the water to the boil slowly. Simmer for 10 minutes, cover and leave until the water is room temperature. The spoons will retain the heat and cook the chicken from the inside out. it will be one of the most succulent chickens you have ever eaten.

Roasted Crisp And Light: if you like crisp-skinned roasties, it is best to parboil them first, but that is only half the story. so, boil the potatoes for five minutes and drain thoroughly. Put the lid on the pan and shake it about violently. Bang it hard on the chopping block several times. The harder the better. Then put the parboiled potatoes in the baking tray with the meat or fowl to cook as you would normally.

Salad Soup: Do not throw away salad that has been soaked in salad dressing. Whisk it up in a food processor with a can of tomatoes of tinned soup. Add lots of garlic to taste and adjust the thickness to suit your taste. Chill it down and you will have one of the most delicious summer soups ever.

Curdling Cure: if your mayonnaise has curdled there is one sure fire way to bring it back to life. stir in a couple of tablespoons of Hellmann’s mayonnaise and your problem will be over.

Simply Scrumptious Topping: a really, quick, delicious and almost infinitely variable topping for a savory pie can be made in seconds. Choose the flavour you want from the crisp rack; puncture the bag to let our the air and then crush the contents in the gag. it really adds something to a pie. The same trick can be used on the bottom of a potato pie a Texan housewife told me.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topicss, but is currently involved with researching the 2 quart crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

categories: crock pots,recipes,kitchen,gourmet,nutrition,food,health,fitness,hobbies,recreation,reviews,other,uncategorized,business

April 25, 2010

Cooking Tips For Two

Whether you are cooking for two for romance or out of necessity, you will discover that there are many resources online and off to help you find the perfect meals for your marvelous twosomes. One thing to bear in mind however is that when cooking for two, it is sometimes best if two are doing the cooking. This permits cooking to become a chance for communication rather than just a chore.

Despite the fact that there are many resources and recipes available to those that are cooking for two, there are even more recipes for those cooking for four, especially the traditional recipes that are designed to feed a family of four. These provide an opening to stretch your food budget even further.

By cooking traditional meals for four and eating half of it, you have managed to cook two meals for the time investment of one. It is a good deal for many, but particularly for those that do not like the idea of cooking at all.

Young and older couples alike frequently discover that it is as easy and almost the equivalent cost to go to a fast food or other informal restaurant as it is to prepare a pleasant, healthy meal for two at home. The one thing they often forget is that cooking for two can be an appealing way to bring a little romance into the evening.

When cooking for two, you will have as much occasion to be imaginative as in anything else you do in your life. You have the option of trying appetizing new recipes and the knowledge that if you do not like the food, you are not wasting a lot of money.

You can try mixing and matching flavors and textures. You can make works of art on your plate as in nouveau cuisine. Or you can go farmhouse style. Cooking for two opens doors that are not readily available when cooking for larger numbers with more limiting tastes.

Cooking for two is a great way to get your partner involved in the cooking process as well. When cooking for two you can find out the things that you both like and those that are not so appealing to one or the other of you.

Make sure that when you are cooking for two that you induce an open and honest dialog about the things that you like and dislike about the meals being cooked. This will help you determine things to add to your regular menu as well as the things to avoid making a part of your dinner rotation.

Perhaps the best thing about cooking for two is the fact that you can afford to try special occasion cuisine more often when you are cooking for only two than when you are cooking for a larger crowd. Bring on the steaks and lobster tail. Learn how to make shrimp scampi and fillet mignon. Take the time, when cooking for two, to prepare those dishes that you enjoy most.

Cooking for two is a great way of exploring the culinary universe and exposing your palates to some amazing surprises along the way. The Internet, bookstores, and libraries are filled with books about cooking for two. Take advantage of the chance to do just that and you will be amazed at the world of flavors you have been missing out on.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with the Rival Versaware crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

April 20, 2010

Events From January Ten Years Ago

I was searching through a history book and it was talking about memorable events of ten years ago, but I had forgotten most of them. I have picked out some of the events of exactly ten years ago this month – January, in a word. So here are a few things that you may or in all probability will not remember from January 2000.

1 – on his first day as acting president, Vladimir Putin left to visit Russian troops in Chechnya.

4 – President Clinton recommends Alan Greenspan to a fourth four year term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

5 – President Clinton rules that Elian Gonzalez, a six year old Cuban boy who survived the capsizing of a refugee boat, should be returned to his father in Cuba.

6 – much of Miami is shut down by hundreds of Cuban-Americans protesting the Gonzalez decision. – the S.E.C reports that most partners of Price, Waterhouse, Coopers, the world’s largest accounting firm, violated regulations requiring that they may not hold stock in firms that they audit. Five partners were fired.

7 – Vice Pres. Al Gore back-tracks on his promise to ensure that all new appointees to the Joint Chiefs of Staff were sympathetic to permitting gays to serve openly in the military.

8 – AOL announces a merger with Time Warner for $165 billion: the world’s biggest ever.

11 – the British government rules that General Pinochet is medically unfit to stand trial for suspected crimes against humanity in Chile during his presidency.

13 – executives at the nation’s leading drugs companies say they want to work with Clinton to institute Medicare coverage for prescription drugs this year.

15 – Arkan, the notorious Serbian paramilitary leader was shot dead in a hotel lobby in Belgrade.

18 – Helmut Kohl resigns as honorary Christian Democratic Party chairman over suggestions of corruption from within the party.

24 – the Supreme Court rules that laws restricting political contributions to $1,000 in Missouri are constitutional.

25 – the Congressional Budget Office reports that the flood of tax revenues resulting from the exceptionally strong economy will last for ten years.

26 – ‘The New York Times’ informs that U.S investigators have unveiled links between a group of Algerians charged with plotting a terrorist strike in the U.S. and Osama Bin Laden, the exiled Saudi accused of bombing two American embassies.

31 – Republican Gov. George Ryan of Illinois halts all executions in the state citing a disgraceful record of convicting innocent people and putting them on death row. – top officials n the C.I.A. are accused of blocking an internal investigation into indications that the agency’s past director, John M. Deutsch, mishandled secret information.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with custom wall calendars If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please visit our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

Food: Some Great Tips

With a world population in excess of six billion people, we are all becoming increasingly aware that food is a scarce resource. Traditionally, people have not seen food as a resource, but more of a birthright. However, the populations of many Third World countries are forced to be more pragmatic.

We in the West are continuously bombarded by implorations for donations by charities and I think that many people are getting a bit weary of it. I also think that people are mistrustful of the charity workers’ expenses and fees, especially after the MPs’ expenses scandal in the UK. So, what can you do, if you want to make some sort of contribution?

I think that the best thing one can do is not to squander food. Not squandering or wasting food will decrease the quantity you have to buy, which will leave more on the supermarket shelves. This will increase supply, which will decrease prices. Therefore, by not buying so much food, you will be saving money and reducing the price of what you do buy. Can not be bad, can it?

So, here are a few of my favourite money-saving tips.

Funnel – I have bought a few funnels in my time, but they always seemed to have fallen to the back of the cupboard when I needed one. I do not buy them anymore. Instead, I cut the top 9″ off the top of a plastic cola bottle. When I am done with it, I throw it away, especially if I used it for pouring oil.

Microwave – sometimes, when you open the microwave oven door, a whiff of the last meal comes out. Instead of spending money on cleaners or what-not, put a slice of lemon in a saucer of water and microwave it for three minutes after every time you use it.

Cabbage – boiling cabbage really smells! However, there are three ways of hiding the smell without using air freshener. The first way is to put a slice of lemon in the cabbage water as it cooks. The second way is to boil a small pan of vinegar next to the cooking cabbage and the third is to place a sieve over the cooking cabbage and put a round of stale bread in it. These techniques work because the lemon cancels the smell of the cabbage as does the vinegar and the stale bread absorbs the smell.

Fish Fingers – it is not nice to have smelly fingers after preparing fish, onions or garlic. As an alternative to washing and washing your hands, rub a little lemon juice on them and rinse for immediate relief.

Sponge – a tablespoon of hot water beaten into a sponge mixture at the last minute will greatly enhance the rise and the texture of the cake.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the crock pots by Rival. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

categories: crock pots,recipes,kitchen,gourmet,nutrition,food,health,fitness,hobbies,recreation,reviews,other,uncategorized,business

April 13, 2010

Holidays And Holy Days

Congress and the president have designated ten days as federal holidays. Being ‘federal’, these holidays theoretically only pertain to federal employees and residents of the District of Columbia, although they are so widely observed that they can be thought of as national holidays.

Legally, it is up to each individual state to designate public holidays. If the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the Friday before or the Monday after is given in lieu to make a long weekend.

New Year’s Day (January 1) – celebrating the New Year dates back to pre-Christian times, when rites were performed to attempt to ensure the return of Spring.

Martin Luther King Jnr. Day (third Monday in January) – before he was assassinated in 1968, Martin Luther King Jnr. was the foremost civil rights leader in the 1950′s and 1960′s. He was given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Congress set this day aside to commemorate his life and achievements in 1983.

Washington’s Birthday (third Monday in February) – originally it was commemorated on Washington’s actual birthday, the 22nd of February, but it was moved in 1971 to make a long weekend. It is sometimes known as Presidents’ Day, because it is near Lincoln’s birthday on the 12th February.

Memorial Day (last Monday in May) – also called Decoration Day, it honours soldiers fallen in battle.It originates from the Civil War and is traditionally marked by parades and services.

Independence Day (4th July) – this, the most significant US holiday, marks the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. It was first celebrated in 1777 and is marked by fireworks, parades and speeches.

Labor Day (first Monday in September) – this, the idea of Peter J. McGuire, the president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, was adopted in 1894 to celebrate American workers.

Columbus Day (second Monday in October) – Christopher Columbus and his crew landed in the Bahamas on Oct 12th 1492. It was first commemorated in 1792, although it was not officially recognized until 1909. It is a cause of special pride to Italian-Americans, who claim the Genoan voyager as their own.

Veterans Day (Nov 11th) – or Armistice Day commemorates the end of the First World War on Nov 11th 1918. It was made a legal holiday in 1938, but its name was changed in 1954 to honour all American veteran soldiers.

Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November) – it was first celebrated in Plymouth County, Massachusetts in 1621, the year in which the Pilgrims landed in the New World to give thanks for the new harvest and the new land they had colonized. President Lincoln made it a holiday in 1863.

Christmas Day (December 25th) – Christians commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Franklin Covey planner refillss If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

April 6, 2010

Mardi Gras Cajun Style

Mardi Gras is a special time of the year down in Cajun Country. Even if you don’t live down in New Orleans you can still rejoice in some of the fun and revelry associated with Mardi Gras by throwing a grand old meal worthy of King Rex himself.

The trick about bringing Mardi Gras to the Midwest or wherever you may be, is to always have the mindset that makes Mardi Gras such fun and an enjoyable event for people from all over the world. If that doesn’t work a bowl or two of gumbo topped off with some Mardi Gras music should do the trick quite nicely.

Seriously though, part of the charm and intrigue of Mardi Gras and the city of New Orleans is the cuisine that has made this city almost as famous as its ability to party. If you are wondering what to cook to bring the spirit of Mardi Gras into your home, try any of the traditional favorites. If ingredients prove tricky to come by you might want to add a little rice, a little spice, and a lot of hot sauces to your favorite family meal.

Those who live in New Orleans often use rice to stretch the budget. Rice is filling and is cost effective. This makes rice a great basis of a meal for many of the families of New Orleans many of whom have been pretty poor traditionally.

Rice is used in all manner of dishes from gumbo to red beans and jambalaya and many dishes in between. It is almost certainly the one staple of Cajun cuisine that you will find everywhere you go.

Otherwise there are wide variances in cookery according to cost and culture (though the more expensive foods are typically considered Creole rather than Cajun. Sort of a city cousin – country cousin type relationship between the cuisines).

Spices are prevalent in these dishes for much the same reason that rice is. They have traditionally been an inexpensive method of seasoning food that would otherwise be quite insipid. Expect to find plenty of spices and some heat in most traditional Cajun dishes all over the city. Some restaurants that cater to tourists have slightly watered down versions of local favorites.

If you want to eat something with a little less kick, a po-boy or muffaletta might be what you are looking for. These sandwiches are more than a little deceiving in appearance because they are very filling. French fries are still a Cajun favorite, although we also have a popular dish called fried sweet potatoes.

You can find recipes for all of these online quite easily though you will probably have trouble finding the perfect bread for a po boy anywhere outside the Crescent City. There is a unique “chewiness” to the perfect po boy bread that may be copied in other places but not equaled anywhere in the country.

For the best finish to your Cajun cooking you should make a point of buying some chicory coffee. This is easily accomplished via the Cafe du Monde website if your local coffee shop doesn’t have any. Historically, chicory was added to coffee and often used instead of coffee because it was much cheaper.

This meant it could make the more expensive coffee beans go further and yet deliver a similar taste and texture with that hint of chicory. It’s a somewhat unique flavor and for many people is synonymous with the city itself.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the crock pots by Rival. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

categories: crock pots,recipes,kitchen,gourmet,nutrition,food,health,fitness,hobbies,recreation,reviews,other,uncategorized,business

March 21, 2010

Reviews About RC Cars And Trucks

I have read loads of reviews about remote control cars, because I am a subscriber to a remote control car enthusiasts’ magazine that carries articles about all the different sorts of remote control gas cars on the market. It also suggests the best one to buy depending on whether you are a first time owner or an RC old hand. The magazine is fantastic, and it helps me understand what other RC car owners feel about the different models and brands of RC cars and trucks.

I have to say that people’s views vary quite widely on every subject, which is why it’?s probably always best to do your own studying and get what best suits you, rather than getting what other people say will suit you, when they do not even know you. Having said that, many first time buyers do not actually know what they are looking for, and it is really these people that these reports are written for.

However, these reviews are not meant to be taken too literally, rather they are intended as a guideline so that prospective greenhorn buyers have to think about the aspects of buying a remote control gas car or truck. It also gives experts a run down of the salient facts. Then you need to make up your own mind whether you care, for instance, whether the car’s engine runs on gas or nitro.

All in all, I like this magazine because it considers people from all walks of life, and its writers and editor appreciate that even if you are interested in buying a gas remote control car, you may not have enough money or you might be reading just out of interest in RC cars or trucks.

We all understand that money is hard to come by these days, and consumers are becoming more and more well-informed about the goods they want, which is a good thing in my view. After all, there are other merchants who only desire to get the most money they can for their goods and mark up their RC model car prices to inflated amounts in the hope that they will get a couple of foolish patrons that did not do their groundwork.

And I am sure that they probably do get a few patrons like that, because they do stay in business somehow and I frequently hear awfulness stories about individuals who have paid far too much for their RC gas car or truck.

When you ask them why they did not take the trouble to read the reports in a magazine, they usually say that they did not know about the magazines, or even worse, that they did not have sufficient time. Therefore it appears that they had enough time to work like a dog for the money, but then not enough time to read a short magazine review? I doubt it very much. With a bit of luck, consumers will continue becoming more and more careful about their purchases.

It is such a pity, so, If you happen to be a new RC car enthusiast, or you know someone who is, please make sure you read the remote control car and truck reviews before concluding a purchase. It can literally save you hundreds of your hard earned dollars.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the remote control-gas-car. If you have an interest in model or toy rc vehicles, please go over to our website now at 1/5 Scale RC Cars

categories: reviews,rc,radio,kids and teens,remote cotrol,entertainment,sport,models,toys,vehicles,autos and trucks,product reviews,outdoor,other

March 5, 2010

Modern Crock Pots

In America, most people call these electric cookers crock pots, whereas in the Great Britain they are usually called slow cookers. Crock pots by Rival, DeLonghi, Hamilton Beach, Cuisinart and Toastess are particularly good examples of modern crock pots. Some of these crock pots are programmable, which gives the cook more flexibility that the slow cookers of twenty years did not.

The first crock pots had only an on/off switch and no temperature control. This had the consequence that the meals you could prepare with them were restricted, if you used your crock pot for cooking food while you were out of the house at work for eight hours or more. Modern slow cookers like those crock pots mentioned previously have revolutionized all that. Nowadays, modern crock pots are programmable.

These modern crock pots are very flexible and with the finest of them, you can set the temperature that the slow cooker should function at and the duration of time it should cook for just like a microwave oven. For example, you could program a modern slow cooker to cook at, say, 180c for an hour and then 100c for two hours

Most people do not appreciate the features that modern crock pots have. Regrettably, there are still a lot of individuals who still believe that slow cookers are only any good for cooking rice, boiling soup or preparing cheap cuts of meat like scrag end of mutton. This is just not true any more, although manual crock pots were capable of more than that as well. Modern variable slow cookers can be used to make bread, cheesecake, custards and even sponges.

In fact, it is a good idea to get away from the old fashioned concepts people have about slow cookers and try to perceive them as an oven, which does not need a pot to cook in. Try the recipe underneath and judge for yourself.

BANANA BREAD

1 3/4 c flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/3 c shortening 2/3 c sugar 2 eggs, well beaten 1 1/2 c banana, well mashed, overripe 1/2 c walnuts, coarsely chopped

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the electric beater on low, fluff shortening in a small bowl, until it is soft and creamy. Add the sugar gradually. Beat in the eggs in a slow stream. With a fork, beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture, ? the bananas another 1/3 of the flour mixture, the rest of the bananas and then the last of the flour mixture. Fold in the walnuts. Turn into a greased and floured baking unit or a 2 1/2 quart mold and cover.

Place on a rack in your crock pot. Cover the crock pot, but prop the lid open with a toothpick or a twist of foil to let the excess steam escape. Cook on HIGH for 4 to 6 hours. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Serve Warm.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the crock pots by Rival. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

categories: crock pots,recipes,kitchen,gourmet,nutrition,food,health,fitness,hobbies,recreation,reviews,other,uncategorized,business

February 7, 2010

Enjoying Alcoholic Drinks

In the West, alcoholic drinks are never far away from the scene at festive times, but do we aways know how to get the most from these expensive luxuries? Too many people these days just think its a question of ‘getting as much down as possible in as little time as possible’. This is the wrong attitude.

After all, most people understand that a good meal does not consist of eating as many chips as possible in fifteen minutes, so why should that theory not apply to having a drink too? You will get far more enjoyment from a bottle of wine, if you spend an extra dollar on it and drink it slowly with a friend and some suitable food than if you gurgle down a cheap bottle of plonk on your own. It makes obvious sense, but not everyone realizes it.

So, with that idea in mind, I have put together a few tips on how to get more enjoyment from your alcoholic drinks, if you are old enough and of that turn of mind.

Gin and Vodka – if these white spirits are your proffered tipple, always keep the bottle in the fridge, not the drinks cabinet. Keep the mixers in the fridge too. That way the ice will last longer and you will not be tempted to have to swig it down before the ice melts. If you are having friends around, go one step further and put the bottle in the freezer. It will not go solid. You can even cut the top off a plastic cola bottle, put the bottle of gin or vodka in that, fill it with water and then freeze it. Take off the plastic bottle and you have an attractive “collar of ice” around your bottle.

The Last Tot – five minutes or so after finishing a bottle of spirits, tip it out one more time and the bottle that you thought was drained will deliver one more tot of contents. It is not a lot, but it is a pleasant free surprise. The same works for many alcohol based products including underarm roll-on and scent.

White Wine – white wines taste best when they have been gently chilled over a prolonged length of time, but if you get taken by surprise visitors, put the bottle of wine in a container of ice and cold water. Try not to have to put it in the deep freeze, it is too severe, but if you have to, then ten minutes is all that it takes.

Port – it is always better to decant port and older, heavier red wines, because of the sediment that may be in the bottom of the bottle, which tastes awful and because it aids the aeration of the wine. However, it is not always easy to see when the dregs are coming. The manuals say to use a candle, but they were written a hundred years ago. The strong beam from a flashlight is far better. Try using a Durabeam because its swivel head allows it to be directed more precisely.

Decanters – sometimes the stopper becomes stuck fast. Tap it with another glass item and it should come free. If not, run the neck of the decanter under hot water for a few seconds and it will come out.

Labels – if you store your wine in a damp place where the labels are likely to rot or fall off, spray them with hair lacquer first.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

categories: crock pots,recipes,kitchen,gourmet,nutrition,food,health,fitness,hobbies,recreation,reviews,other,uncategorized,business

February 4, 2010

Hanukkah Cooking Traditions

Whether you are genuinely seeking opportunities to explore new cultures or you are Jewish looking for appetizing recipes and cooking tips, you have come to the right place to get some of the essentials. For as long as there have been family traditions, eating good food at special events and during festive times has been a part of the jollity.

Unfortunately, that appetizing food cannot be enjoyed unless someone goes to the trouble of actually preparing it. If you are looking for some tasty treats to do with the Hanukkah celebrations or just want to get a taste of what other cultures do during their religious or cultural celebrations there are lots of great foodstuffs you could be cooking for this particular holiday.

Oil is imperative in the celebration of Hanukkah and, as a result, many of the foodstuffs that are part of Hanukkah celebrations are prepared in oil. One popular favorite is Latkes, which are a kind of potato pancake that is deep-fried. Another popular favorite is fried lamb chops. The lamb is breaded and then fried much like many Americans fry chicken. Once again oil is used in the cooking of the meal.

If you are thinking about something more like finger food or a snack, you could consider deep-fried ricotta balls, fried zucchini, fried onion rings and fried mozzarella are appetizing savory fried delights for the season of light. Of course, fried food is not the only thing that is eaten during this 8-day celebration, but it does play a vital part in the menu and in the festivities.

Even the sweet treats for this celebration include a few fried goodies. There are apple fritters and raspberry dough nuts and lots of other luscious fried foods for you to snack on. If you like something a little sinful to eat during this delightful celebration you might like to try blintzes in your favorite flavor. There are many to pick from and their recipes can be found easily online.

If you would like to provide something a little healthier in your cuisine, then you might wish to include an Israeli salad, stewed white beans, and baked aubergines and peppers. These meals provide the opportunity to consume something that is not either fried or sweet to help weight watchers, who always have a problem during holiday seasons no matter which religion they observe.

Other Hanukkah favorites include appetizing dishes such as cheese gelt coins, loukoumades, vegetable kugel, and brisket. Once again the recipes for these dishes are very widely available online and in books on Jewish cooking and traditions.

To make things go a little more efficiently prepare as much food as possible well ahead and store items away quickly in order to stop them going off. Enlist the assistance of children and other family members when needed to move things along by taking turns preparing food.

You should also make an effort to keep the preparations as simple as possible to avoid delays and stress. This is a time of the year that is meant to be dedicated to celebration not to struggling to cook tons of food. The good news is that with all that deep fried food, it is unlikely that you will find these dishes too difficult to cook. Good luck and have fun exploring the world of cooking for Hanukkah.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the 2 quart crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

categories: crock pots,recipes,kitchen,gourmet,nutrition,food,health,fitness,hobbies,recreation,reviews,other,uncategorized,business

January 28, 2010

Food – Tips For Preparing And Storing It

In these times of superior awareness of the shortages in the world and the recent economic problems in the whole world, but particularly in the wealthy Western countries, which are the powerhouses of most Third World countries’ progress, people are more aware of waste. It is a sin again to throw away food, like it was 50 years ago.

This can only be a good thing although it is a shame that it took an international financial disaster to make us recall the lesson. Nowadays, waste of any kind is greeted with public censure and so it is at home too. Most people spend a very high proportion of their outgoings on food and so anyone who wants to cut back, has to first look to this quarter to make a saving.

However, saving does not inevitably mean ‘not buying’, it can and should mean ‘not throwing away’. In other words, prepare your food and do not let your food go off. Preparation and storage are the key words. With that thought in mind, here are a few of my tips for preparing and storing food correctly.

Bread – tons of bread is thrown away every day, because it has gone stale or mouldy and yet it is totally unnecessary. Keep your bread in the deep freezer and not in the bread bin. A whole loaf will slice frozen with the proper knife and sliced bread will come away slice by slice. There is no requirement to defrost as it only takes a minute or two at room temperature.

Bananas – most people understand that banana skins go black if stored in the fridge, but most people do not know that bananas can be frozen solid. Yes, the skins will still turn black, but the fruit will be unharmed.

Cake – to prevent cake from going fusty, store it in a tin with an apple. The moisture in the apple will stop the cake from going hard.

Watercress – to keep watercress from wilting, store it upside down in water, that is stalks up.

Salt – salt often gets damp, particularly if stored in a steamy kitchen without sufficient ventilation, but you do not have to fret about that if you put two or three grains of rice in the salt cellar. They will absorb the moisture before the salt.

Cereal – prevent cereal from going soft by resealing the bag with a few clothes pegs. Your cereal will last weeks more.

Jam – boiling jam makes a scum which has to be skimmed off and thrown away. This wastes jam, goodness and flavour. However, if you whisk a knob of butter into the mixture at the last moment the scum will not materialize, saving time and goodness.

Funnel – you always seem to need a funnel when you do not have one. Then you vow to get a funnel for the next time. Do not bother. Just cut the top nine inches off a plastic bottle of cola. It makes an excellent throw-away funnel. Some of the larger bottles even have a handle on them which is even better.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

categories: crock pots,recipes,kitchen,gourmet,nutrition,food,health,fitness,hobbies,recreation,reviews,other,uncategorized,business

January 18, 2010

Cooking: Five Tips On Cooking Food

There can not be a lot of individuals who do not enjoy their food, but the human race, being what it is, I suppose that there are a few of them. However, for the rest of us, food is a font of daily enjoyment and, like a beverage, it is frequently employed to denote a happy event. not only that, but various foods are used for the different meals or distinct events. Celebratory meals were indubitably planned around the seasonal foodstuffs available, but some foodstuffs were transported huge distances for the benefit of those who could afford them. For example, my Dad considered it a grand treat to be given an orange in his stocking on Christmas Day 60 years past. How the times have changed! Very few children would judge an orange a present, special or not, any day of the year nowadays.

Nonetheless, the preservation of food is still a daily affair and therefore, I have written a few good guidelines on preserving foodstuff below, so that you will obtain the best from that which you have bought or grown in your garden even a long while later.

Chicken Stuffed With Spoons: a great way of preparing chicken to be eaten at a cold buffet or in sandwiches, is to put as many spoons as possible into the cavity of the chicken (not silver or plated ones though). Then, place the chicken in a large saucepan or pot and bring the water to the boil slowly. Simmer for 10 minutes, cover and leave until the water is room temperature. The spoons will retain the heat and cook the chicken from the inside out. it will be one of the most succulent chickens you have ever eaten.

Roasted Crisp And Light: if you like crisp-skinned roasties, it is best to parboil them first, but that is only half the story. so, boil the potatoes for five minutes and drain thoroughly. Put the lid on the pan and shake it about violently. Bang it hard on the chopping block several times. The harder the better. Then put the parboiled potatoes in the baking tray with the meat or fowl to cook as you would normally.

Salad Soup: Do not throw away salad that has been soaked in salad dressing. Whisk it up in a food processor with a can of tomatoes of tinned soup. Add lots of garlic to taste and adjust the thickness to suit your taste. Chill it down and you will have one of the most delicious summer soups ever.

Curdling Cure: if your mayonnaise has curdled there is one sure fire way to bring it back to life. stir in a couple of tablespoons of Hellmann’s mayonnaise and your problem will be over.

Simply Scrumptious Topping: a really, quick, delicious and almost infinitely variable topping for a savory pie can be made in seconds. Choose the flavour you want from the crisp rack; puncture the bag to let our the air and then crush the contents in the gag. it really adds something to a pie. The same trick can be used on the bottom of a potato pie a Texan housewife told me.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

January 17, 2010

Tower Home Theater Speakers – The 101 On Tower Speakers

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Jessica Lauren @ 7:16 am

Think of yourself in your den or living room listening to your favorite music or possibly you are watching one of those exciting new movies.

If you are not using the right equipment then you may hear rattling or distortion in your speakers. Coming home from work or having a long day dealing with the kids makes you less than enduring and you do not want to hear more noise or deal with another frustration.

When you are setting up an in house theater system you might want to consider investing in some tower home theater speakers. In this article we are going to discuss two of the things that I believe give you a reason to take a second look at tower home theater speakers.

*Tower Speaker’s Style

Even though style may not be a big deal for some people when they are mulling over their next speaker purchase,there are some that may think it’s quite a big deal. Picture the husband that is longing for a great in home theater experience that rivals the cinema but the wife that does not want her den to be cluttered and messy because of bulk and unattractive speakers. Tower home theater speakers are a great way to come to a compromise because of their sleek and attractive design.

*Sound

The tower home theater speakers will allow you to get a great sound out of the attractive speaker. If you want proper lower sounds I would suggest that you add a subwoofer along with your tower speakers. This will help you to get a full experience of the low sounds. Other than that little note the sound get great reviews.

Now you know two things that make tower home theater speakers a good idea for your living room or den. Only you know what you need so now it’s time for you to take a look at some speakers.

Learn more about tower home theater speakers. Stop by Jessica Lauren’s site where you can find out all about cheap speakers and what it can do for you.

January 15, 2010

Food: Five Tips

There can not be many people who do not like their food, but the human race, being what it is, I expect that there are a few of them. However, for the rest of us, food is a font of daily pleasure and, like a beverage, it is often employed to commemorate a celebration. not only that, but different foods are served for the different meals or distinct celebrations.

Celebratory meals were unquestionably considered around the seasonal foodstuffs on hand, but some foods were ferried enormous distances for the benefit of those who could meet the expense of them. For instance, my Dad considered it a grand luxury to get an orange in his stocking on Christmas Day sixty years past. How the times have changed! Very few kids would think an orange a gift, special or not, any day of the year these days.

Nevertheless, the storage of foodstuff is still a daily affair and therefore, I have written a few good tips on storing foodstuff below, so that you will obtain the best from that which you have purchased or grown in your garden even a long time afterward.

The Quickest Quiche: a quiche is the conventional healthy fast food and this is one of the finest quick methods to make one. Put one onion, four eggs four ounces/125 grammes of butter, half a pint/250 ml milk, baking powder, 2 ounces/60 grammes of grated Cheddar cheese, parsley, salt and pepper and whatever else you like into a strong food mixer/blender. Whirl it all up together and pour it into an appropriate dish, lined if you have it with some pre-made, shop bought, pastry. Bake at 190C/375F/Gas Mark 6 for 40 minutes. It serves four and is delicious.

Heavenly Hamburgers: next time you make hamburgers, do not salt the meat before cooking them. Use your usual recipe and make the patties as usual. Then, put a handful of sea salt in your favourite heavy duty frying pan and heat it up to very hot. Drop the hamburgers onto the salt and cook as usual. The outside of the hamburger will go crisp and the fat will be kept to the absolute minimum.

Salmon In The Papers: a fantastic way to cook a whole salmon is to cook it in newspaper. You ought to try it. Prepare your salmon according to your favourite recipe. Then wrap in three or four thoroughly drenched sheets of newspaper (any one). Make a nice parcel out of it; as neat as you can. Place the soaking-wet parcel on a baking tray in the centre of a moderate oven. Bake until the paper is dry on the top and then turn it over. When that side is dry the salmon is done. It’ll take about an hour. If you want to eat it hot, peal the paper off straight away and dish up. If you want to eat it cold, leave the package until it is cold and then unwrap. Either way the skin will stick to the newspaper.

Off The Wall: if you are uncertain when spaghetti is fit to be eaten, through a strand at a tiled wall. If it sticks, it is done.

Cheap And Cheerful: for a quick, healthy, extraordinary summer sandwich filling, pick some fresh, young dandelion leaves; wash them thoroughly; dress if you wish and put between slices off a good loaf of bread.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching the Rival Versaware crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

categories: crock pots,recipes,kitchen,gourmet,nutrition,food,health,fitness,hobbies,recreation,reviews,other,uncategorized,business

January 12, 2010

Chinese New Year Dishes

There are few festivities celebrated around the world on the identical fantastic scale that the Chinese New Year is celebrated. This is an occasion that affects people all around the world. The celebrations are rather exotic and a lot of fun for everyone who takes part. One thing that many outsiders may not appreciate is that most of the aspects of the Chinese New Year celebrations have a very specific purpose and connotation. Even the food.

Whether you are Chinese are not, I ‘m sure that you could use a degree of good fortune to make things run a little more smoothly in your life.

When it comes to cooking for a Chinese New Year celebration there are a few things you have to keep in mind. The dishes that are prepared each have their very own significance and a definite reason for being cooked.

Dumplings are supposed to bring wealth in the New Year to those who eat them on this particular day. Of course, riches is something that most people want to have and there are many ways of doing so. Other foods that symbolize the attainment of wealth on the Chinese New Year are bamboo shoots, black moss seaweed, egg rolls, and oranges. This is just the start of the lesson in the symbolic nature of dishes for the Chinese New Year.

Longevity or long life is something else that the Chinese famously long for. Eternal youth some may term it. The secret, they say, to a long life is the consumption of the right food as part of the New Year celebrations. Those foodstuffs include: noodles, Chinese garlic, chives, and peanuts.

Success is attributed to foods such as lettuce, whole fish, and pomelo. In addition to prosperity whole fish and pomelo are believed to bring abundance and togetherness (as in marriage or romance) during the coming year.

Chicken is the main course when happiness is the goal. In addition, chicken is linked with marriage, particularly when consumed with foods, which are considered to be dragon foods, such as lobster.

Those wanting children in the near future should add eggs, seeds (such as watermelon seeds) and pomelo – above all the last two, if you want a couple of children.

To end with, if good luck is what you most need, try to add a tangerine or some seaweed to your plate on this special day. If your run of luck has been really very bad of late, you may want to double up on your serving of both.

The Internet contains masses of delicious recipes to help you commemorate the Chinese New Year as traditionally as you can. Recipes for foods such as Jiaozi (Chinese noodles) and egg rolls are to be found online and they will go some way towards creating the right atmosphere. Add a few lettuce wraps and longevity noodles and you will have a good basis for a Chinese New Year meal.

The only other thing you require then to make your Chinese New Year celebrations go with a bang (quite literally) is fireworks. The Chinese New Year would not be the same without them, so choose your food well, either buy it or cook it (or both) and then let off your fireworks safely for a great winters evening’s entertainment.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

categories: crock pots,recipes,kitchen,gourmet,nutrition,food,health,fitness,hobbies,recreation,reviews,other,uncategorized,business

Logitech Computer Speakers x240 – The 101 On Logitech Speakers For Your Computer

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , — Jessica Lauren @ 7:26 am

Looking for some good speakers to play your itunes? Let’s take a look at the logitech computer speakers x240. Is this speaker system worth it’s price and does it give you the sound that you require for your needs? Let’s take a closer look and then you can make an informed decision on whether the logitech computer speakers x240 s are right for you.

The lower price of these speakers will drawn in many people to take another look when they are going down the list of speakers. Even though you want a good price on speakers you do not want a speaker that won’t give you the sound that you want to achieve by getting your new speakers. These speakers give you a good value and are not only have a good price but they also have a good sound. Most of the reviews I have read have 5 stars and your kids will love the fact that your neighbors will be able to hear the xbox if they crank it to the max.

Want to know another of the great features? The integrated stowaway cradle is one of my favorite. All you have to do is slide out the cradle on the control pod. Then you can do what you need to do – charge,sync or play your digital music player. There was a con… people were very sad that it did not come with an ipod. :( lol The headphone jack is also in the control panel.

There is a separate volume control on the subwoofer unlike some other speakers. This can come in pretty handy if you like to tweak your sound. With my non tech savvy self I personally do not touch any of the setting on my speakers.

The speakers also have a nice look. They aren’t big and bulky and won’t be getting in your way since their dimensions are a nice size :

Satellites: 6.9″ x 2.6″ x 3.8″

Subwoofer: 8.7″ x 5.9″ x 8.7″

The subwoofer is a 4 inch down firing subwoofer. I’m really not sure what that means but it’s another piece of information that I found – thought you might want to know. There are many more people that are more technical than myself.

All in all these speakers are a good buy. They offer a good sound and at a reasonable price and if you’re on a budget – like myself – that’s a good thing! You don’t want to sacrifice your sound and entertainment experience but you don’t want to kill your wallet.

Learn more about logitech computer speakers x240. Stop by Jessica Lauren’s site where you can find out all about cheap speakers and what they can do for you.

December 29, 2009

Reading Reviews On Scooters And Motorbikes

I have read tons of reviews about scooters and motorbikes, because I am a subscriber to a scooter and motorcycle enthusiasts’ magazine that carries articles about all the different sorts of scooters and motorcycles on the market. It also recommends the best one to acquire depending on whether you are a first time owner or a two-wheeler old hand. The magazine is great, and it helps me see what other scooter owners think about the different models and brands of scooters.

I have to say that people’s views vary quite widely on every subject, which is why it’s probably always better to do your own studying and get what best suits you, rather than getting what other people say will suit you, when they do not even know you. Having said that, many first time buyers do not actually know what they are looking for, and it is really these people that these reports are written for.

However, these reviews are not meant to be taken too literally, rather they are intended as a guideline so that potential greenhorn buyers have to ruminate about the aspects of buying a scooter or motorbike. It also gives experts a run down of the salient facts. Then you need to make up your own mind whether you care, for example, whether the scooter’s seat is made of leather or fabric.

All in all, I like this magazine because it takes into account people from all walks of life, and its writers and editor understand that even if you are interested in purchasing a scooter, you may not have enough money or you might be reading just out of interest in scooters or motorcycles.

We all know that money is difficult to come by these days, and consumers are becoming more and more well-informed about the goods they want, which is a good thing in my opinion. After all, there are other merchants who just desire to get the most money they can for their products and mark up their scooter prices to inflated amounts in the hope that they will get a few stupid customers that did not do their research.

And I am sure that they probably do get a few patrons like that, because they do stay in business somehow and I regularly hear awfulness stories about individuals who have paid far too much for their scooter or motorbike.

When you ask them why they did not take the time to read the reviews in a magazine, they usually say that they did not know about the magazines, or even worse, that they did not have sufficient time. Therefore it appears that they had sufficient time to work like a dog for the money, but then not sufficient time to read a short magazine review? I doubt it very much. With a bit of luck, consumers will continue becoming more and more careful about their purchases.

It is such a pity, so, If you happen to be a new scooter fan, or you know someone who is, please make sure you read the scooter and motorbike reviews before concluding a purchase. It can literally save you hundreds or even thousands of your hard earned dollars.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the Pink Razor Scooter. If you are interested in a Razor scooter of any type or colour, just go over to our website now for information and bargains at Razor A Scooter

categories: scooters,motorcycles,reviews,advice,sport,exercise,hobbies,health,fitness,kids and teens,self help,weight loss,outdoor,other

December 26, 2009

Ladies Wide Width Shoes – Wide Width Shoes For Women

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Jessica Lauren @ 5:45 am

Are you trying to locate ladies wide width shoes? Wide width ladies’ shoes are swiftly obtainable on the www or you can find them at some stores.

ladies wide width shoes

While there seem to be lots of stores that present a few unique ladies wide width shoes it doesn’t seem to be the shoes that we want – trendy ones. Maybe they think since you are trying to purchase wide shoes you are only interested in comfort and not in style as well.

There are even some web sites on the web that cater to ladies with wide feet. These web sites are the best bet when you are searching for wide width shoes for ladies.

ladies wide width shoes

The right fit of shoe is tremendously important. Wearing the incorrect kind of shoes can give you bad back pain and cause you more trouble than not when you are attempting to walk and get around so it’s of more importance to you than just your overall comfort.

This extra bit of area that your feet will have will work wonders for your health. Yes, I said your health. If you know anything about reflexology then you will know that your feet are linked to your significant organs. That is why a skillful foot massage feels so great.

Now with ladies wide width shoes to be had in designer styles you no longer to have to pick if you want to have comfortable feet or if you are wishing to look stylish. You can now turn heads just as easily in wide shoes as in narrow. You can easily do your feet a favor by getting shoes that fit your feet.

I say it’s time that you do something for yourself. Whether you are single or a Momma and wife – you deserve to look fine and feel exceptional. Take a little time out to pamper yourself and do not feel guilty about doing something that is for your health.

Tired of shoes that are too narrow? Get free information and coupons on Ladies Wide Width Shoes visit http://www.Ladies-Wide-Shoes.com

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