http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=1466798

I HAVE PUBLISHED TWO BOOKS!!! BOOKS THAT WILL GET YOU THROUGH YOUR DAY!!!

http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=1466798

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
• 1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, EAGLE BRAND®, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Servings Per Recipe: 8

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 380

• Total Fat: 14.3g
• Cholesterol: 71mg
• Sodium: 350mg
• Total Carbs: 30.5g
• Dietary Fiber: 3.3g
• Protein: 5.9g

quite funny post!!!

Many people ask no more than that their tea be "wet and warm", but in the hunt for perfection in a tea cup, a scientist has created a formula for optimal temperature, infusion and imbibation. Oh, and when to put the milk in.

There are 11 rules for perfect tea making, rules from which nobody should dare depart, said George Orwell.

The great critic of Hitler and Stalin, was not above a bit of teatime Totalitarianism himself, it seems. Orwell said that tea - one of the "mainstays of civilization" - is ruined by sweetening and that anyone flouting his diktat on shunning the sugar bowl could not be called "a true tealover".

Aside from sweet-toothed tea drinkers, the author also displayed a distaste for scientists. So to mark the 100th anniversary of Orwell's birth, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has decided to look at his 11-point formula - and rubbish a good many of his supposedly "golden" rules.

Dr Andrew Stapley, a chemical engineer at Loughborough University, has brought the weight of his scientific knowledge (and shameless personal preferences) to bear on the question of the perfect cuppa, and found that Orwell was wrong on a number of points.

Orwell's six-spoons of tea per pot - mightily extravagant when the author set down this rule during post-war rationing - is still far too strong today. The RSC endorses no more than a single spoon of leaves.

As for adding milk to the tea after it is poured, the RSC issues a stern scientific warning against the practice. It seems that dribbling a stream of milk into hot water makes "denaturation of milk proteins" more likely. And who would want that?

"At high temperatures, milk proteins - which are normally all curled up foetus-like - begin to unfold and link together in clumps. This is what happens in UHT [ultra heat-treated] milk, and is why it doesn't taste as good a fresh milk," says Dr Stapley.

It is better to have the chilled milk massed at the bottom of the cup, awaiting the stream of hot tea. This allows the milk to cool the tea, rather than the tea ruinously raise the temperature of the milk.

Also, unlike in Orwell's rules, science seems to bear no grudge against those who would take sugar with their tea - provided it's white sugar.

Indeed, the addition of sugar is praised since it "acts to moderate the natural astringency of tea" - which translated into unscientific terms means that it makes tea, wait for it, less bitter.

This is heresy to Orwell. "Tea is meant to be bitter, just as beer is meant to be bitter," he said. What would he have made of the alcopop suggested by the RSC?

He would recognise and appreciate some elements of Dr Stapley's perfect cuppa. The RSC brew uses Indian Assam tea leaves, which falls within Orwell's tight stipulations. He said no other nation's tea made him feel "wiser, braver or more optimistic".

There is no real scientific reason for Assam winning out over other leaf varieties, it just happens to be a strong tea to Dr Stapley's own taste.

"While some things are backed by science, others - like the choice of Assam - are based on my own preferences. I'm sure there are going to be plenty of people coming up with better methods to make tea and it's good that we have that debate," says Dr Stapley.

Finally, the RSC recommends that the perfect cup of tea made by following its formula should be drunk while reading George Orwell's account of 1930s drudgery and vagrancy Down and Out in Paris and London.

Think carrot cake think American. It has that twang about it, but carrots have been included in sweet recipes in Britain since mediaeval times. Because carrots provided a cheaper and more easily available alternative to other sweeteners, their use was encouraged again during the Second World War, at the time of rationing. However, carrot cake didn’t really take off in popularity until the last quarter of the twentieth century; now you’ll find it in every coffee shop and tea room.

Apart from the fact that it tastes delicious, there’s an air of wholesomeness about carrot cake, a feeling that not only is it not bad for you but it’s actually doing you good!

And if that’s your reason for baking it, far be it from us to disillusion you!

There are probably as many recipes for carrot cake as there are people who make it, but we’ll try to help you consider the options, to allow you to experiment, as well as share our favourite recipe.

The Basics

Fat

The fat you use will determine the method – creaming or all-in-one - as well. Butter or margarine is one option but more usually oil is used. Olive oil is too heavy; a light vegetable oil - groundnut maybe - is the best choice.

Flour

It’s got to be wholemeal – organic stoneground if you like – for the healthy option. Self-raising is best, with baking powder and spices (cinnamon, mixed, nutmeg) sieved in. Most recipes call for some extra bicarbonate of soda to help the raising process as well.

Sugar

Dark and brown for a lovely rich colour as well as that moist sweetness that is so associated with carrot cake. Weightwatchers UK use runny honey as an alternative – yes, there is a diet version of Carrot Cake!

Carrots

Find the easiest way you can to grate them! If you have a food processor, use that, otherwise it’s a time-consuming job. And take care not to grate your fingers! When you put the grated carrot in the bowl you might fear you’re going to end up with a cake full of bits, but don’t worry: they soften as they cook and become unrecognisable.

Eggs

Last but not least, the number of eggs – free-range large are best – you can use from 2 to 4 range. Add to that a pinch of salt to draw out flavour.

Added Extras

Desiccated coconut adds a distinctive taste and texture to the cake, as do ground almonds. Less intrusively you can add chopped walnuts or pecans to the mix, using the same nuts to decorate the topping.

Less usual, but if you particularly like them, you could include sultanas or raisins. So much choice and we haven’t even looked at topping yet!

Topping

Include a flavouring of your choice, beat it all together, adding a little milk if it’s too stiff and you’ve got your topping ready to spread on the cooled cake. Decorate with nuts, zest or leave simple.

Of course, you can use low-fat cheese or leave the cake unfrosted. It will still be delicious!

And Now The Perfect Carrot Cake

• 12½ oz carrots
• 2 oz pecans
• 4 oz self-raising wholemeal flour
• 4 oz plain wholemeal flour
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 8 fl oz vegetable oil
• 6 oz soft brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons’ golden syrup

Ingredients for the topping

• 7 oz cream cheese
• 2 oz softened unsalted butter
• 2 oz sifted icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  
  

• Start off by grating 12½ oz carrots and chopping 2 oz pecans. Put to one side.
  
  
• Sieve together 4 oz self-raising flour and 4 oz plain flour (both wholemeal) with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg and 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda. (Tip the bran bits left in the sieve into the mixture.)
  
  
• Whisk together 8 fl oz vegetable oil, 6 oz soft brown sugar, 4 eggs and 2 tablespoons’ golden syrup. (Heat the spoon first and the syrup will slide off easily.)
  
  
• Add this to the dry ingredients and mix until it’s nice and smooth. Stir in the carrots and pecans.
  
  
• Tip the mixture into a greased lined tin and cook at 160oC for an hour, or until cooked.
  
  
• For the topping, mix 7 oz cream cheese, 2 oz softened unsalted butter, 2 oz sifted icing sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, until smooth.
  
  
• Allow the cake to cool and then add the topping
  
  

This was our favourite, so we really hope you enjoy it!

Alex Tamba Brima and Santigie Borbor Kanu were jailed for 50 years each and Brima Kamara for 45 years.

All three were senior members of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council that toppled the government in 1997.

They are the first sentences given by the court, following the end of Sierra Leone's civil war five years ago.

The three defendants have the right to appeal.

If they lose they are likely to serve their prison sentences in Europe rather than Sierra Leone because of security concerns, court officials said.

The charges linked them to fighters from the rebel Revolutionary United Front, who raped women, burned villages, conscripted thousands of child soldiers and forced others to work as labourers in diamond mines.

"The three accused persons have committed violations of human rights in which civilians were mutilated, [and] other civilians were killed and burnt in their houses," Judge Julia Sebutinde said, passing sentence in the capital Freetown.

"They also were participants in abducting children for slavery and as child soldiers," she said.

The court has indicted a total of 12 people in connection with the war, including the former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who is accused of backing the RUF.

Mr Taylor is on trial in The Hague because of fears that trying him in West Africa could jeopardise the new-found peace of Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Three of those indicted, including RUF leader Foday Sankoh, died before their verdicts were delivered.

Imported from external blog

my sister is gunna have a baby, im excited!!! all prayers needed for this time, i hope it all goes well and inshalla she will have a healthy baby, its due november time i love her very much and if she ever reads this she will know!!! xxxx