Introduction: Almond Halwa. <PIC> -Almond halwa is indian dessert prepared on special occassions and during festivals.-It has its unique taste and chewy texture and prepared with common ingredientsIngredients:-Half cup almonds-1/4 cup sugar-1/4cup+3tbsp milk-Crushed cardamom-2 tbsp melted butter or ghee-Nuts and raisins for garnishing Step 1: Soak the Almond and Peel. <PIC> -Soak half cup of almonds for 3hours in warm water and peel them or you can soak overnight. Step 2: Blending. <PIC> -Next take peeled almonds in blender and blend them to paste by adding 1/4 cup milk. Step 3: Sauteing. <PIC> -Transfer the almond paste to a non stick pan or vessel.-Add tbsp of melted butter or ghee to it and saute  on low to medium flame for a minute Step 4: Add Sugar. <PIC> -Next add sugar and saute continuosly until the sugar dissolves completely Step 5: Add 3 Tbsp Milk. <PIC> -Further add 3 tbsp milk to it. Here we can dissolve few saffron strands in milk and add for yellow color. -I added normal milk without saffron. Step 6: Add Tbsp of Ghee. <PIC> -Keep stirring until it thickens on low medium flame and again add a tbsp of melted butter-Stir till the mixture seperates from pan. Step 7: Add Cardamom,nuts and Raisins. <PIC> -Finally add crushed cardamom and garnish with nuts and raisinsTIPS.-You can prepare consistency as per your wish by adding little more milk-You can increase the butter or ghee quantity to prevent it from sticking on pan-You can also add saffron or yellow food color-Maintain low flame to prevent burning


Introduction: Harry Potter - the Weasley's Burrow Gingerbread House. <PIC> There is no denying that I am a proud Harry Potter nerd. Honestly, Ten years or more of my life has been spent being involved in that story whether through the books or the movies so I thought I would make a tribute to the best building in the whole series: The Weasley Family home or more formally “The Burrows”.   I love it because it has an amazing DIY feel to it.  Much like myself, they are on a close budget, they have to make do with things that are not perfect or they make it work somehow. Mrs. Weasley makes her family home knit sweaters for Christmas and they reuse books and clothing,  just like me!  In my mind that house is kept together with magic, duct tape and love.
	I am not an excellent cook, but I do like to bake. This gingerbread house, which I actually made a year ago, is the first gingerbread house I have made as an adult. I remember making them as a child with my mother and adding a lot of white icing and gumdrops and loads of sugary bits. However my gingerbread house is not about the candy it's about the gingerbread. Lots and lots of tasty Gingerbread.This house stands at just about 2'-9" tall and used 4 double batches of gingerbread to create.   I also changed the spice equation on my grandmother's recipe to be heavy on the cinnamon, light on the ginger, with a little added nutmeg and no cloves.
	As I mentioned above, I did make this gingerbread house a year ago, and not knowing I would be entering it into this contest or onto instructables, I did not take the kind of photo documentation that the folks here at instructables are accustomed to. I put my thinking cap on and decided to use my other skills to attempt to make up for that.  I did an approximation of my template for this gingerbread house on AutoCAD and to help demonstrate the steps I painted some watercolour renderings. It's a bit of an artistic instructable! Why not!?
	This baking endeavour took me 40 hours, a fair bit of money and ingredients as well as a small piece of my sanity! I do a lot of crafting, embroidery and craft swaps and this was not in my regular arsenal of skills so it was a major challenge for me. If want to see what I usually spend my time doing - you are most welcome to peruse my blog at your discretion.
	  Step 1: Supplies. <PIC>
	This is what you will need to accomplish this:To make the model:
		3 pieces of 2'-0" x 3'-0" foamcore - colour of your choosing
		Tape
		Tinfoil
		Large sheet or roll of paper
		Pencil and eraser
		Images of the orginal house
		ruler
		Cutting Mat for paper
		Exacto Blade        To make all of the gingerbread:
	There are 4 double batches to make this which is a massive amount of ingredients. This list is the final tally of what you will need. I will give you a more specific per batch recipe once you get to that step.16 stick of unsalted butter, softened12 cups packed light brown sugar16 eggs8 cups dark molasses ( Some light molasses in there too) 8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract50 cups flour ( of various kinds) 24 teaspoons ground ginger24 teaspoons ground cinnamon8 teaspoons baking soda2 teaspoons ground nutmeg4 teaspoons saltTo make the royal icing:
	Again this cumulative for the whole house18 cups of Icing sugar12 eggsTo decorate and shape the gingerbread before and after baking:Big cookie sheetSmall cookie Sheetparchment paperrolling pinSharp knife ( paring knife works well)Dull butter knifeIcing tips
		Icing bags ( I just used sandwich bags.. a little cheap i know..)
		Paint brushes ( Nylon, new and washed with dish soap)
		Spray food colouring - red
		Dark Brown and Black food colouring
		regular Red, Blue and Yellow food colouring
		6 cans of canned food ( for propping things up on)
		2 Large cinnamon Sticks
		about 2 cups of Shreddies ( for the roof shingles)
		Licorice shoelaces
		yellow and green nerds
		a brown candy stick
	  Step 2: Sketching and Creating a Foamcore Model of the House. <PIC> I have a background in theatre, so I am familiar with making models.  I decided to make a model of the gingerbread house out of foam core. Using reference images of the House, the first thing I did was draw out on a large sheet of paper my estimated size of the house, my initial sketch had the finished house at about 5 feet, which was insane and not going to happen,  so I just about halved the size and drew it at the height of  2’9” tall. I then used that sketch to figure out the size of my foam core pieces.  As I said before I made some templates, a facsimile of what I originally did. These are my approximated pieces. I did this on AutoCAD this week to show people how made this, so if you use this as a template to make your own, please double check and make your own foam core pieces  because I haven’t put these drawings specifically together before, and I am positive there are things that are not perfect.  (Pay attention especially to the angles on the roofs) The scale is about 3/16" = 1'-0", when this is printed on 8-1/2 by 11 paper.
	I put together the foam core pieces with tape, checking to see that they all fit well together. Starting at the bottom I worked my way up to the top until I had the all of the pieces made and looking like the original reference.
	I then labelled each piece, took the model apart and used each individual piece for my gingerbread template. Step 3: Making the Gingerbread Dough. <PIC> As I mentioned before,  I am giving you the recipe for one single batch, so that if you wanted to use it for something smaller you could go right on ahead and do that.
	Gingerbread Recipe for one single batch:2 stick of unsalted butter, softened1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar2 eggs1 cup dark molasses 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract6 1/4 cups flour3 teaspoons ground ginger3 teaspoons ground cinnamon1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg1/2 teaspoon salt
	Mixing the Gingerbread Dough
	I used a little hand mixer for some of this, but sometimes it got too much for that! So most of the time I just ended  up doing it with my hands, and boy were they sore by the time I was done! Mix together the butter until it’s creamy smooth. Put the sugar into that and mix until it gets kind of fluffy and light. Mix in your eggs one at a time, then add Molasses and
	Mix the dry ingredients in a separate large bowl– Flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and Salt.  Little bits at a time, add in the dry mixture to the wet, till you get a nice dough.  Wrap that puppy up, and put it in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 hours. Use this time to reflect or perhaps get inspiration and watch a Harry Potter Film. Step 4: Rolling Out and Making Your Gingerbread Pieces. <PIC> Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and put parchment paper on  2 large cookie sheets. As the pieces are really big for this, you will need large cookie sheets.
	Sprinkle a bit of flour on to your dough rolling surface, find two pieces of anything that can be your thickness gauge on your gingerbread. ( I used some leftover foam core) Stick them on either side of your roller, so that you don’t get any thinner than that thickness with your roller, a nice even surface pays off in the end.  Split your dough up and start rolling it out.  Use the foam core pieces from the model to create your gingerbread shapes. I used a very sharp paring knife to do all of my cutting and it worked out really well.
	This is also where I added in some detail on the gingerbread, I took the template off, then I added in wooden slats on to the surface of the gingerbread, I used a dull butter knife to add grooves into the gingerbread which would give it a bit more detail once it’s baked.
	  Step 5: Baking the Gingerbread. <PIC>
          At this point your oven should be hot and ready at 350 degrees F.  You can stick your cookie sheets with your gingerbread pieces into the oven.
	Bake that until it’s pretty stiff, I put mine in for about 18 minutes. Once you take them out of the oven, take the template that you made the shape from and double check that they are the same. Before the Gingerbread cools is a great time to chop off any weird bits that have happened from baking.  Once it hardens it’s very difficult to change the shape.  Do not lift up off of the tray until cools as this may end in catastrophe.! Occasionally I would use the parchment paper as a sliding surface and take the pieces off of the tray and slide the parchment onto another surface. This I would do with extreme caution.   I let them cool over night especially the larger pieces because I wanted them to be really hard and stiff.  If you don’t want to wait that long just absolutely make sure they have cooled completely.
	The two huge pieces ( top sides)  I baked for another 10 minutes on a lower temperature.Now that you know how I baked each piece of gingerbread you should know how crazy it got.  There are just under 200 pieces to this gingerbread house, so my house became a gingerbread factory, I would roll out two cookie sheets worth of pieces put them in the oven, then start on another two cookie sheets of pieces. I would then swap two cookie sheets out of the oven once they were baked for another two cookie sheets of unbaked that would then head into the oven. Baking this entire gingerbread house took me two and a half days of my oven being on almost the whole time.  The only time I turned my oven off, was when I was mixing more dough. There were pieces of baked gingerbread on every flat surface in my house.
         Step 6: Royal Icing Time, Oh Yeah.... <PIC>
	I know there is a bit of a debate over making royal icing with raw eggs or not with eggs. But when you are talking about a 3 foot tall gingerbread house you need it to stick together.  What a lot of websites recommend when working with raw eggs is to make sure that you use properly refrigerated, clean, grade A or AA eggs with intact shells and to avoid contact between all of the bits, so the yolk, egg whites and the shell.  It tasted great and no salmonella when we made it, however do note that it is a risk.Royal Icing:3 cups confectioners' sugar, plus more as needed2 egg whitesTo make the royal icing: whip confectioners sugar and egg whites together until you get a nice even consistency.  Here is my trick in order to hide my icing. I tint it the same colour as the gingerbread.  I add a brown food colouring to my icing, so that it looks very similar and doesn’t stand out. My technique is also helpful for hiding the icing, I try to put it on as clean as possible, so the mess and the bulk of the icing is on the inside of the piece I am working on.
	  Step 7: Assembly: Make a Base, Put on a Bottom.. <PIC>
	Using a large portion of the foamcore I made an organic earthy shape in which I covered in tin foil and taped down to the underside of the shape.Now we start to build!
	The "bottom" pieces which are the foundation for the whole thing are the first pieces to go on.
	I then put a load of icing on the bottom edge of the “bottom” section of the house and propped it up with canned items sticking the "bottom" to the base. I put together the four walls and placed a bead of icing down the back of the seam between the two walls.  Once I had my four base walls setting up I left those for a day to TRULY harden. This I feel was crucial. The bottom section was the foundation for another 2 feet of gingerbread, so it had to be solid.
	  Step 8: Putting the Top Section Together. <PIC>
	In the mean time while the bottom section was drying I started to put together my “top” section. The Top side pieces were so big that they needed reinforced icing and gingerbread braces on the back of them.  I essentially put this part together like a box and let it dry unattached to the rest of the house.   Step 9: Roof on the Bottom Section. <PIC>
	After the bottom section was dry, I added on the side window extension, I then “Stuccoed” the entire bottom section and the base with icing that had been tinted a light brown. Once that dried I then started to put together the “bottom” roof section.
	As this is still part of the foundation I wanted this on really well so I put a gingerbread piece ( let's call it a tab) on the inside of the bottom of the roof section so that when it was on an angle it wouldn’t slide down the wall. It also helps to keep the roof level or square(ish).  I let this dry completely. Then I put icing all along the top of the "bottom" section wall and placed my two side roof pieces on. Having the tabs there held them in place. Then I put icing at the top connecting the two roof pieces.
	Then I added a couple gingerbread bracing pieces on the inside of my roof. ( Those are the three tabs on each side in the picture) so that when I put the front and back roof pieces on they had more surface to adhere to and they wouldn't just push inside the house.
	I then coated all the seams with copious amounts of icing and let that dry overnight before I put the "top" section on. Step 10: Top and Bottom Become One!. <PIC>
	Once both the bottom and top sections were dry and the first roof was on,  I prepared to put "top" and "bottom"  together. If you can see from the picture, there are cinnamon sticks holding up the front end of the house. The cinnamon sticks go through a hole in the front roof section so that they are touching the base. I wanted to be extra careful in weight distribution as I was very worried the whole thing would fall apart. As it turns out, once I had glued the top section to the bottom section there was so much surface area covered that the weight wasn't an issue at all, barely any weight actually sat on the cinnamon sticks, it just all somehow magically worked out!  Which is great because after spending the amount of time I had to get to that point, I was very worried the whole thing would collapse. Lucky for me, It faired amazingly! Step 11: Assembly: Window and Porch Extensions. <PIC>
	While the top and bottom section were setting, I put together all of the window and roof extensions which protruded from the house. I made each one of these, seperate from the house, allowing them to set before I attached them.  I didn't put the roof sections of the window extenstions on until I put the windows on to the house.   Once these were set, I attached them and put on their roofs. Step 12: Putting on the Top Section Roofs. <PIC> This seems pretty easy, but these pieces gave me a bit of hassle. Even though I used my tab technique on these roofs as well, they did not want to stay together at the centre. I ended up gluing them with icing using cans and anything I could find to keep them in place.
Now this is where some people might get mad at me. The whole house isn't actually finished. Turns out that no matter what I did my last two pieces of porch roof just would not stick on 4 measley posts. I tried just about everything and then decided that their porch roof had suffered a casualty in the wind, or maybe one of the Weasley's experimented with some muggle thing and blew it off the house! However I continued on with the rest of the house because I was too into it not to.  Step 13: Decoration: the Sprayed Shreddies Roof. <PIC> Now that all the main Gingerbread pieces were on I could start to decorate!  I used Shreddies Cereal as my roof Shingles.  I laid out a large piece of Tin Foil then spread out the Shreddies flat along the entire surface of tin foil. I then used Spray Red Food colouring ( I believe it's often used on cupcakes) To dye my shingles red.  I started gluing them on with icing from the bottom and worked my way up making sure to break the bottom of each shingle just a little bit so it looked older and a bit more aged.
On the corners of the roof, I put a line of shreddies down to hide the seam.
Once they were all on and dry, I used a bit of black and brown icing and a paint brush to paint in shadows and dirt. Step 14: The Pig Pen and the Laundry Line With Sweaters!. <PIC> This bit was rather fun.  In the original image of the house, they had a pig pen at the side.  I made a lot of long  thin pieces out of gingerbread that I had used for a lots of things, including tabs on the roofs and porch posts. I turned these on there side to make the pig pen.
The Sweaters are probably my favourite part of the whole thing. I wanted something on the house that would really reflect the Weasley's DIY creativity, and I loved her knit sweaters, so I decided to make a Laundry line with the entire Weasley Families Christmas sweaters on it.
They were very easy to make. I just rolled out some really thin gingerbread, and used my paring knife to kind of eyeball a sweater shape. I baked them, then used a fine paint brush and brown food colouring to give them there details.  I used a licorice shoelace for the laundry line and a candy stick for the laundry post. Step 15: Decoration: Wooden Slats  to Ramshacklify and Window Trim. <PIC> To make the house look more ramshackle I used two different techniques.  I painted the wooden slats  I had made by putting grooves in the gingerbread all different shades of brown, and I added "wooden slats" or pieces of gingerbread that were thin and long. I also painted those in different colours. I put those on the house on different angles and tried to make it look like they were just holding the thing all together.
I also used more of those skinny pieces of flat, long thin gingerbread to put trim around all the rest of the windows. I painted these different colours as well.  Step 16: Finally, I Nerdified It.. <PIC> I put some wet icing down and then put some nerds candy on it to look like grass and rocks.
That's my entire process! Thanks for reading this far! I hope you all forgive my artistic interpretations of cooking gingerbread!
If I have missed any steps you want to know about please let me know. This is my first instructable and I appreciate any feedback you can give me.


Introduction: Healthy and Delicious Single-serving No-bake Cheesecake!. <PIC> Never feel guilty again for eating buttery or unhealthy cakes! Do not renounce to the pleasure of eating a yummy cheesecake! Here I present you the healthiest cheesecake you will ever find on the internet! I hope you enjoy it! It is so easy and quick to make, it has only six ingredients and you just have to leave it overnight in the fridge and you can enjoy it the next morning (that's an extra point if you are rushing for work or school every morning).Please vote for me in the ''20 minutes meal challenge'' contest! I will appreciate it!  Step 1: . <PIC> Step 1: Gather your tools and Ingredients.Tools:- Hand wisk.- Instrument to make purees. Or you could use a colander to give the cheese a more creamy texture.Ingredients:- Cottage cheese.- Any kind of Milk.- Lemon juice.- Honey or sugar. I mixed them both.- Blueberry, or any kind of berry, jam. I used raspberry and lychee jam.- Crackers, for the base. Step 2: Step 2: Create the Smooth, Creamy Texture.. <PIC> Pass your cheese through the colander and mix it well. Then add 10 ml of milk or so, mix until you reach your desired smooth consistency. Step 3: Step 3: Add Lemon Juice and Honey/sugar.. <PIC> First add your sweetener, I used 1tsp of honey and 1/2 tsp of white sugar. You can adjust this step to taste. Afterwards, pour a few drops of lemon juice, it will condensate the mixture when you place it in the fridge overnight and you will get a cheesecake texture, plus a yummy flavour. Step 4: Step 4: Start Layering. <PIC> Crumble your Crackers and pour your cheese mixture on top of it. Place your jam on the cheese and top it all off with a few crumbles of your crackers! Done!


Introduction: How to Make a Gingerbread Tardis (with Doctor). <PIC> Travel through time and relative dimension in space deliciously!
This is a fun project that doesn't require a lot of baking experience.  It's easier than a Tardis cake, for example, and it keeps longer.  It does require a a good bit of working space, but no exotic ingredients.  Everything except the gumdrop on top of the Tardis was already in my kitchen. Step 1: Gather Your Materials. You'll need to make sure you have the following things:
	lots of countertop or table space
	paper stencils-- you'll print these out in the next step
	metal cookie sheets—try to get ones that won’t warp in the oven
	parchment paper
	countertop mixer with dough attachment and whisk attachment
	rubber/silicone spatulas
	frosting bags and tips, or ziplock bags
	candy thermometer (optional)
	masking tape (optional)
	paring knife
	frosting knife or table knife
	scissors
	large cereal box or other light cardboard
	pen/pencil
	measuring cups and spoons
	rolling pin
	large metal mixing bowl, other bowls
	plastic wrap
	spatula
	cooling racks
	hot mitts
	large shallow pan
	whisk
	water
	1 blue gumdrop or jellybean
	toothpick
	heavy items to prop up drying pieces (e.g. canned food or books)Check recipes if you're not sure you have enough of these items:
	eggs
	pasturized egg whites (optional)
	powdered sugar
	gel food colors
	light brown sugar
	unsulfured dark molasses
	nonstick spray or oil
	all purpose flour
	baking powder
	salt
	ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves
	milk
	vegetable shortening (Crisco) Step 2: Make Your Stencils. <PIC>
	Print out the templates found in this pdf.  For reference, the front elevation and plan view have been included.  Trace the paper templates onto light cardboard and cut them out.  I used a large cereal box.  Remember to label the cardboard pieces so you don't confuse them. Step 3: Make the Gingerbread Dough.
	This recipe worked well for me, but feel free to use your own if you prefer.
	¾ cup unsalted butter
	1 ½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
	1 cup unsulfured dark molasses
	nonstick spray or oil
	2 eggs
	1 tablespoon water dry ingredients:
	5 ½ cups all purpose flour
	½ teaspoon baking powder
	4 teaspoons ground ginger
	3 teaspoons ground cloves
	2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
	½ teaspoon salt
	Stir together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and set aside.  Cream the butter in a countertop mixer with a dough attachment. (You can do this recipe by hand, but only if you’ve got plenty of upper body strength.  A handheld mixer will not be strong enough.)  Beat in the brown sugar and eggs.  Coat the inside of a measuring cup with nonstick spray or a little oil, then measure out the molasses and add it to the mixing bowl.  The oil prevents the molasses from sticking excessively to the measuring cup.  Add the water to the mixing bowl and beat.  Gradually beat in the dry ingredients, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides.  The dough should be very stiff, almost like Play-doh.  If it is still too soft and sticky, add another half cup of flour.
Divide the gingerbread dough into 3 flattish patties, wrap them in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour (up to two days). Step 4: Make the Gingerbread Pieces. <PIC>
          Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.  Roll out ¼ inch thick on parchment paper or a pastry mat, dusting with flour as necessary to avoid sticking.  A quarter inch is thicker than you might normally roll cookies, so use a ruler to check.  Lay templates on dough and cut out with paring knife.  Make sure to cut out the right number of copies of each piece.
Unstick the pieces by sliding the paring knife underneath them.  Use a spatula to transfer the pieces to the cookie sheets with a minimum of distortion.  It is a good idea to segregate small pieces on different cookie sheets than large ones, because of the difference in baking times.  Once the pieces are on the cookie sheets, lay the templates back on top of them to check that they are still the right shape and size.  Use any remaining dough to make anything you like—gingerbread Daleks, K-9, or whatever.
	 Place cookie sheets in preheated oven.  Do not overload the oven with more than 2 cookie sheets, because this will cause uneven heating.  Watch the pieces through the oven door.   Cooking time varies widely from the small pieces to the large ones.  Small pieces are done in as little as 6 minutes, while large pieces could take 20 minutes or more.  Pieces are done when their edges and corners start to darken.  Don’t overcook—you can always put an undercooked piece back in if you have to.

	With the pieces still on the warm cookie sheets, place the templates back on top of them one last time.  Trim the warm gingerbread as needed—once it cools, it will be too brittle.  Once the pieces are solid enough, transfer them to a rack to finish cooling. Step 5: Make the "Glue" Icing.
	Recipe:
	4 egg whites (Use 8 tablespoons of pasturized egg white product if you’re worried about salmonella)
	5 1/3 cups powdered sugar
	gel food colors
	Note:  There is a small, but measurable, risk inherent in using raw egg whites if you plan to eat your Tardis.  This risk is greater for young children, pregnant women, people with compromised immune systems, and the elderly.  Even clean, unbroken eggs can be contaminated inside.  If you’re worried, you can buy pasturized egg whites in a carton, though these may not foam as well.

	Fill the large, shallow pan with 1-3 inches of water and put it on the stovetop on medium heat.  Clean the metal mixing bowl so that there is no grease, oil, or fat inside.  Put the egg whites in the metal mixing bowl, and put it in the pan of water as a double boiler.  Whisk the egg whites constantly for several minutes until they are warm to the touch (if you’re using a candy thermometer, 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit, no more).  Remove the bowl from the heat, put it immediately into the mixer with the whisk attachment.  Starting out slow, build up to high speed.  Beat until whites form stiff peaks (when you pull the beaters out, the whites form sharp, somewhat droopy points like a Tim Burton landscape).  Gradually beat in the sugar.

	Reserve about a quarter of the icing in a sealed container.  Dye the rest dark blue with the gel coloring and put it in an icing bag with a piping tip, or in a ziplock bag with the corner cut off.  Once this frosting dries, it is like plaster, but it is soluble in warm water. Step 6: Assemble Your Tardis. <PIC>
	Assemble your Tardis in a place where you can leave the pieces without fear that they will be disturbed by unauthorized personnel or pets.  As I was making this project, the gingerbread Doctor had to regenerate twice, having twice suffered a horrible fate at the jaws of ravenous dogs.  (On the plus side, eating gingerbread seems to improve a dog’s breath.)

	Gather some heavy items—like cookbooks or canned goods-- to prop up pieces while they set.  You can also use masking tape to help hold pieces until they set.  Look carefully at the plan view diagram to see how to join the pieces, or the Tardis won’t be square.  If you’ve broken any pieces, glue them back together with icing.

	Assembly order:
	1. back+1 side, roof pieces to each other
	2. other side
	3. base
	4. roof
	5. front left
	6. top right
	7. front right door (I left it slightly open)
	8. frame edges
	9. signs
	 Glue the back to one of the sides first using the blue icing.  Pipe a line along the edge and another line inside the angle of the join, like caulk.  Don’t worry too much if icing shows on the outside; that’s why we dyed it blue.  Prop the pieces up and leave them to set for at least an hour.  While you’re waiting, you can start on assembling the roof and decorating the Doctor.  I used masking tape and a pop bottle lid to hold the roof pieces at an angle while they set.

	Once the back and first side have set, add the second side and leave it to set again.  These first few pieces will need the longest setting time.  After these, the Tardis will have a little more stability and you can get away with working faster.  If something is misplaced, it’s better to find out before the glue has set all the way (3 hours, give or take).

	Next, glue the back and sides onto the base and glue the roof on.  Stick the front left panel in place, making sure that there is space for the last pieces to fit in.  Stick on the upper right panel, over the door opening.  Put the door in at the angle you choose.  Stick the upright frame edges in place (consult the plan diagram) and stick the top frame edges in place like lintels.  Allow to set and stick the signs on.       Step 7: Decorate Your Doctor. <PIC> Divide the reserved glue icing into small bowls for different colors, as many as you want for the doctor and his outfit.  Remember to leave some white for decorating the Tardis if you haven’t done that yet.  Keep any icing you're not using sealed so it doesn't dry out.
Use the gel colors to tint the icing.  With gel coloring, a tiny bit goes a long way.  Mix to get the colors you want; for example, combine red and green to get brown.  Ice the Doctor.  For the eleventh Doctor, you’ll need brown for his coat shoes and hair, peach for his skin, red for the fez and his shirt stripes, white for his shirt, a tiny bit of purple for a bow tie, and a smidge of pink for his mouth.  You already have blue for his pants.  I also iced a little piece of toothpick to make a sonic screwdriver for him to hold.  The tip of a toothpick is useful for icing the details on the Doctor, too. Step 8: Turn Your Tardis Blue.
	You may choose to leave your Tardis a traditional gingerbread brown.  If you want a blue Tardis, however, you will need to frost it because the molasses makes the gingerbread dough itself too dark to dye.  This recipe is the kind of frosting you’d get on a supermarket cake, chosen for spreadability, color, and shelf life, so don’t expect it to taste as good as a buttercream. I chose to use frosting instead of the plasticky-smooth rolled fondant that is de rigueur for cakes these days, because the Tardis is wooden and slightly battered.

	Blue frosting for outside of Tardis:
	1/3 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco)
	1/8 teaspoon salt
	2 cups powdered sugar (more or less)
	2 tablespoons milk (more or less)
	Cream the shortening and beat in the salt.  Beat in the milk and gradually add the sugar.  If the consistency isn’t how you like it for spreading, add more sugar or milk as necessary.  Color with gel coloring.  This frosting tends to darken slightly on the surface as it dries.
	Make sure the Tardis has securely set.  To be safe, I let mine dry overnight before I frosted it.  Frost the Tardis with a knife.  If you are more of a perfectionist than I am, you can smooth it with a scrap of parchment paper as the frosting sets. Step 9: Add Decorative Details to the Tardis. <PIC>
	Pipe the windows on with white glue icing.  I did this freehand, but if you are feeling very precise you can make the windows as squares on parchment paper and stick them onto the Tardis once they dry.  Draw the square inset panels onto the Tardis freehand with the dark blue glue icing.  Divide the window panes and write on the front sign with the dark blue icing, too.  Spread dark blue as the background of the “Police Box” signs.  Write “Police Box” on the signs in white.  Glue the gumdrop on top. Step 10: Enjoy!. Have fun explaining to your family members what a Tardis is.  "No, Gramma, it only looks like a phone booth."


Introduction: 3-Ingredient Nutella Croissants (+ Video!). <PIC> These easy peasy Nutella croissants only required three ingredients!  They're easy and simply delicious!  An added bonus: watch a guided video tutorial!Yield: makes 10 croissants Step 1: Video.  Step 2: Ingredients. - 1 puff pastry sheet- 1 egg (& beat with 1 tsp of water to make egg wash)- 3/4 cup of nutella, softened (use about 1 tbsp for each croissant)


Introduction: Medusa Truffles. <PIC>
Chocolate Truffles that are fun to make and fun to eat! Step 1: Ingredients. * 8 ounces good-quality semi- or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
* 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
* 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
* White Chocolate spread
* Gummy Worms
* Licorice Whips
* Candy necklace Step 2: Step 1. <PIC>
1. Heat chocolates, butter and milk in a pan until chocolates and butter are partially melted. Remove from heat and stir until completely melted.
.
2. Transfer to a bowl and let stand until firm enough to hold its shape, about 2 hours.
3. Mold chocolate into balls, and place on a cookie sheet. Step 3: Step 2. <PIC>
Place each truffle onto a stick and cover in white chocolate spread.
Cut apart the candy necklace and use the candy to make eyes. Step 4: Step 3. <PIC> Cut a small piece of licorice to use for a mouth.
Place worms on the heads of your truffles to create your Medusas.
Freeze for 30 minutes so worms take on a life of their own.
Enjoy!


Introduction: Apple Oat Protein Pancakes. <PIC> The best breakfast!!! Full of protein! Gluten Free! No sugar, flour, butter, or oil! And of course, delicious!!  Step 1: Apple Oat Protein Pancakes. <PIC> Ingredients1 scoop MTS Caramel Sutra whey (30g)1/4 cup quick oats (20g)2 T unsweetened applesauce (30g)3 T egg substitute (46g)2 T unsweetened almond milk (30ml)1/2 t cinnamon1/2 t baking powder1/2 small apple (25g) feel free to use more!sweetener if desired Instructions Mix all ingredients except appleCut apple into small pieces and add (I remove skin)Let batter sit for 5 min (will thicken)Coat pan with nonstick spray and cook on medium to low heat NotesFeel free to try other flavors of protein powder (vanilla, cinnamon, peanut butter...)Real eggs and any kind of milk will work**This entire stack is only 250 calories 3F 24C 28P****Order MTS whey:Tiger Fitness  http://bit.ly/1LihEWz  Use code KIM to save 5% on all MTS products (must spend $49)MTS Nutrition  http://bit.ly/1rf025v  Use code KH30 to save 30% on your total order!


Introduction: Bread and Mitre Box. <PIC> Slicing bread has never been more perfect with mitre box, that can also be used as a cutting board and a serving tray. Miter box to help you cut thinner, more consistent slices.  People with disabilities can greatly facilitate slicing bread. Mitre box is also ideal for eggplant, squash, cheese, or almost any other sliceable food that'll fit into it. You can build your miter box, it's easy, consisting as it does of only three pieces – front, back, and bottom. There is my tutorial: https://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-mitre-box/


Introduction: Garlic Rice With Chickpea Lentils Chutney. <PIC> Garlic Rice is a tasty and healthy food which is easily digestible and good for all ages. Here I have also made a chutney with chickpea lentils to be served as side with garlic rice.In this instructable I have explained how to make Garlic Rice and Chickpea Lentils Chutney with easy to understand steps. First, let us see how to make the Garlic Rice Step 1: Ingredients Required for Garlic Rice. <PIC> One cup of Broken Rice. These are not whole rice but fragments of rice grains. Please see the close up in the second picture About 150 grams of Garlic cloves 1 teaspoons of Fenugreek seeds 2 teaspoons of Cumin Seeds Handful of Coriander leaves, Curry leaves and Mint leaves Salt to taste Step 2: Prepare the Ingredients. <PIC> Rinse the broken rice in water few times and drain out the water Shuck garlic and cut into large pieces. it is better to split them in halves Dry roast the Fenugreek seeds and Cumin seeds separately in a small frying pan and keep aside Finely chop Coriander leaves, Curry leaves and Mint leaves Step 3: Pressure Cook. <PIC> Add 3 times of water as that of rice in a pressure cooker and keep over medium flame Once the water starts to boil add broken rice, dry-roasted cumin seeds, dry-roasted fenugreek seeds, garlic, Salt to taste, chopped coriander leaves, curry leaves and mint leaves to the cooker Close the pressure cooker with lid and allow to cook over medium flame Step 4: Remove Garlic Rice From Stove. <PIC> It will take 3/4th of the time for the broken rice to pressure cook than normal whole rice. If you pressure-cook your normal rice for about 5 minutes, then broken rice will be cooked in 3 to 3-1/2 minutes Remove the pressure cooker from stove and allow the pressure to come to normal Once pressure is normal, you can open the lid and transfer the Garlic Rice to a serving bowlIn the next few steps we will see how to make the Chickpea chutney to be served as side with garlic Rice Step 5: Ingredients Required for Chickpea Chutney. <PIC> About half a cup of chickpea lentils 2 dried red chillies 4 Garlic Cloves Salt to taste Step 6: Dry-roast Ingredients. <PIC> We are not using any oil here.To remove the raw smell from the ingredients, chickpea lentils, dried red chillies, Garlic cloves and salt are dry-roasted separately in a small frying pan Transfer the dry-roasted ingredients to a plate and allow to cool down Step 7: Make Chickpea Chutney. <PIC> Once the ingredients are cooled to room temperature, transfer them to a mixer grinder jar First dry-grind all ingredients together without water. This will help in mixing all ingredients together without and large particles Add little amount of water at intervals and grind to a thick paste. Do not add too much of water Once the chickpea chutney is grind to a fine paste, transfer from mixer jar to a serving bowl Step 8: Serve Garlic Rice With CHickpea Chutney. <PIC> Our Garlic Rice and Chickpea Chutney are ready.Serve the tasty Garlic rice to all members of the family. It is very tasty and good for all ages in the family.


Introduction: How to Make Faux Ang-kak. <PIC> ang-kak, also known as red rice, is  is a bright reddish purple fermented rice, which acquires its colour from being cultivated with the mold Monascus purpureus . I've actually only tried this once, but have found it hard to find ever since. if your on a budget, or just feeling a tad bit creative, you can make red rice at home. The good thing about this red rice is that its easy to introduce to the family, because its not something completely new.  Plus, its super cheap! You will need:
2 cups of rice
4 cups of water
a pot
8 drops of food coloring(red)
1 drop of food coloring(blue)
white pepper
marjoram leaves(dried) Step 1: Step 1. <PIC> measure out your rice and water. the general rule is 2 cups of water to every 1 cup of rice. since im useing two cups of rice, I'll use four cups of water Step 2: Step 2. <PIC> put your water in the pot, along with a dash of the seasonings and all the food coloring. you want a purpleish color to the water, but it should still be pretty red. boil the water until it begins to boil, then add your rice, and turn your flame down to a low heat. Step 3: . <PIC>
this is what you water should look like Step 4: Step 3. <PIC>
when your rice is finished, fluff and let stand for a few before serving. Enjoy!


Introduction: Perfect Vintage Meringue . <PIC> I found an old meringue recipe in my cookbooks and have been using it since. I make various types of meringue topped pies as well as meringue cookies. this is from a 1957 family circle cookie cookbook. Step 1: Age Your Eggs, Get Ingredients Ready. <PIC> Ingredients : 2 egg whites 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter1/8 teaspoon salt1 cup POWDERED sugar1/2 teaspoon vanilla  Step 2: Start Making Meringue. <PIC> place egg whites, cream of tarter and egg whites into a bowlbeat until foamyadd sugar slowly 1 teaspoon at a time gradually while beatingcontinue until it forms Stiff peaks stir in vanillaFor meringue cookies:spoon meringue unto cookie sheet like above picture, you can use a piping bag for this. Step 3: Bake Your Meringue. <PIC> here's the fun part:for meringue cookies: cook them low and slow..200 degrees for 3 hours works best for me, I like them really dry, too high can create a toasted look and taste to your meringues.for meringue topping on pie : pipe unto pie and cook at 300 degrees  for 20 min or hotter if you want it more toasted. for extra meringue help and some macaroon links check out my blog on the subject here.http://momsorganicbohofoodfun.com/2015/05/15/meringue-troubleshooting-and-macaroon-help/


Introduction: How to Neutralize Spiciness in Your Mouth. <PIC> This is a guide on how to get rid of the heat in your mouth when it becomes unbearable to deal with. This contains one of the most effective methods to get rid of a lot of spiciness with little use of beverages. Step 1: Understanding Spiciness. <PIC> Spiciness is commonly related to peppers, but it can also be caused by other foods and is consistent with more acidic foods. Although acidic foods are not always spicy, a majority of spicy foods are acidic. There is a measurement of capsaicin in peppers and what it takes to dilute it with water. The numbers on the Scoville scale are equivalent to how many cups of water it takes to dilute the capsaicin in the specified food. So when a pepper reaches 300,000 Scoville units... it becomes hopeless to dilute the capsaicin with water. This is especially difficult due to the fact that capsaicin is an oil and water mainly just moves it around. That is where other liquids and beverages come in handy in neutralizing the capsaicin.For a more public setting solution go to step four! Step 2: Neutralizing Spiciness for the Lactose Tolerant. The most common go to for getting rid of the heat (aside from water) is milk. Some people believe that if they drink enough milk they can get rid of the burn, but instead of destroying it... they just move it to their stomachs. The method I know of may not be the most polite, but it will stop the burn. The method I use is quite simple and effective as long as you follow these steps:1. Fill your mouth partway up with milk2. Swish the milk around to mix it with the heat3. Spit it out instead of swallowing it4. Repeat these steps up to 4 timesThe most it ever took me to do this was 2 times. However, the results may not be the same if you eat a Bhut Jolokia (Ghost pepper) when you can barely handle a Jalapeno.Go to step three if Lactose Intolerant! Step 3: Neutralizing Spiciness for the Lactose Intolerant. The concept is the same as that of milk, but the steps are slightly different:1. Put about a teaspoon of white sugar into your mouth2. Let your saliva dissolve the sugar3. Swish the liquid around your entire mouth4. Spit the liquid out5. Repeat this process up to four timesSame rules apply as the milk. Step 4: Neutralizing Spiciness in a Public Setting. If you happen to run into a spicy food problem at a restaurant you will not want to be spitting out liquids. Here are the steps for anyone to take in such a scenario:1. Bring some sugary gum with you2. Chew the gum for a few minutes (at max)3. As you would normally do with gum... spit it out discreetlyI hope this has been an informative Instructable. Good luck and have fun in your spicy food adventures!


Introduction: Oven Nachos. <PIC> My boyfriend and I make nachos a lot, and we tend to use the microwave... but recently, I have decided that the oven is the ultimate way to do it. The microwave gives you overcooked, rubbery cheese and lots of hot spots.
Doing it either under the broiler or in the oven gives you soft, melted cheese and everything is nice and warm.
And it takes very little time - nachos in ten minutes or less, especially if you keep prepped ingredients on hand! Step 1: What You'll Need:. <PIC>
		plate of tortilla chips
		beans or meat of choice
		diced veggies
		two handfuls shredded cheese
		a broiler or oven set to 375 F
		an oven safe plate
You can change this stuff up a ton! As far as the tortilla chips, I like using round ones because they're more bite-size. But we've even used doritos as tortilla chips. Sometimes I'll do refried beans, and sometimes I'll just use black beans. Shredded chicken, ground beef and chorizo are my favorites on nachos. And as far as veggies, I always use lots of red onion, fresh jalapeno, and bell pepper. Pickled jalapenos work well and give the nachos a wonderful vinegar-y kick. Cheese is up to you - we normally use cheddar because it's what we have on hand. Step 2: Veggies!. <PIC> Dice your veggies up and put them all over. I'd say I use a couple tablespoons of each. The more the better, honestly. Make sure they're distributed evenly.  Step 3: Meat or Beans... or Both.. <PIC> Now add your proteins! I like to heat up meat or refried beans up before I put them on. It'll make the refried beans easier to deal with, and make sure the meat is nice and warm.  Step 4: Add the Cheese!. <PIC> I like to do at least two handfuls of cheese. Just keep going until it looks like a good amount for you.
You want it to be nicely covered, but not drowning in it. Step 5: Broil or Bake!. <PIC> Broiling is the best method. I have a gas oven with the broiler in the bottom and it takes only a minute or two for the nachos to be done. If you have an electric oven, it will take a wee bit longer to broil. Just don't walk away, and set the timer for a minute at a time and check after every minute.
In a preheated 375 F oven, it will take closer to 5 minutes.
You just want the cheese to be fully melted, but not browned. Once it's starting to brown you're on the way to burnt city. :D
These are awesome served with sour cream or guacamole. (Need a guacamole recipe? I've got one!) We like to mix a little hot sauce into sour cream - it's especially good that way!


Introduction: Maple Syrup Butter Cups. <PIC> DIY Butter Cups filled with real Canadian Maple Syrup! What could go better with Waffles on a cold winter morning?  Step 1: Maple Syrup Butter Cups. <PIC> Sometimes I like to play with my food. Especially on a fun breakfast with the family. I was eating a peanut butter cup one day and I thought I could make one out of butter and fill it with maple syrup. I had a tiny muffin tray and picked up some mini paper liners. Next step was to take room temperature butter and spoon it into the liners. with your finger spread the butter to the top of the cup and make sure that there is full coverage on all sides and the bottom.   Put this in the freezer until the butter solidifies. 1/2 hour or so.  Take out the tray and fill each cup with real Canadian Maple Syrup (it would be a travesty not to use the best syrup) make sure you leave a bit of room for the "lid".  Put this back in the freezer to harden again. (Note: I learned something here... I thought that the maple syrup would solidify or at least get very thick like molasses. It does not it was just slightly thicker than normal)  Pull it out of the freezer and spread a layer of butter over the top. Since the cup is freezing cols the butter will pretty much harden as soon as you  put it on.   Carefully peel off the paper liners making sure to not hold them too long as the ridges will melt quickly. Back into freezer for a bit to re-harden.   Since the butter top hardens quickly it is hard to get smooth. I used a blowtorch to melt the top a bit to make it smooth.  Put the tray in the fridge until you are ready to use them. You now have Maple Syrup Butter Cups! Step 2: Liege Waffles. <PIC> These waffles are crunchy on the outside. They are caramelized due to a secret ingredient: chunks of sugarsugar cubes. They are flaky and buttery and soft through the middle. These are traditional Belgian waffles from Liege a city in Belgium, where these are famous and commonly sold by street vendors. Step 3: Grow Da Yeast.... <PIC> Ingredients:1 packet of dry yeast (7g, 1/4oz) 1/3 cup lukewarm water 1 1/2 tbsp white sugar 1/8 tsp saltMix the dry yeast, water, sugar and salt together in a small bowl and set aside for about 15 minutes to let the mixture develop. Step 4: Kneed Some Lovin.... <PIC> Ingredients:2 cups plain flour 3 eggs 220g unsalted butter, softened (1 cup)Place the flour into a large bowl or into the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Make a well in the flour and pour in the yeast mixture. Begin to knead.Still kneading, add the eggs, one at a time. Then add the butter about 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing until each addition is incorporated. The final dough will look like a mixture between cake batter and bread dough. Step 5: Time to Rest & Rise.... <PIC> Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise until it doubles in size (about 1 1/2 hours). Step 6: Rocking Sugar.... <PIC> To make the traditional toffee-like centers in the waffle you need to add chunks of sugar. In Europe you can buy "Pearl Sugar" but in North America it is very hard to find. The best substitute is to take the little square sugar cubes and pound them up a little bit. I put the cubes in a zip lock bag and used a 10lb weight to pound them into 1/4 inch chunks. Gently mix in the sugar chunks and let it rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat your waffle iron. Step 7: Waffle It!. <PIC> Once the waffle iron is hot and the dough rested, scoop dough onto each waffle plate. Cook the waffles for about 5 minutes, until golden brown, crunchy and the sugar is caramelized. Makes about 8 medium-sized waffles. Step 8: Presenting Your Butter Cup & Waffles!. <PIC> I hope you enjoyed!


Introduction: How to Make Simple & Spicy Rosemary Thins. <PIC> For me, rosemary always tastes so homely. That may sound a little strange but I feel it’s almost like the herb equivalent of that winter ‘sitting in front of the fire with a mug of soup’ feeling. I don’t know what it is but I just love it. Like a herby hug! These gorgeous Spicy Rosemary Thins are the perfect snack when you're feeling peckish, plus they’re super duper easy & quick to make!Here is what you will need to make approx 25 – 30 Spicy Rosemary Thins. 1 tbsp Fresh Rosemary1/4 tsp Chilli Flakes100g Plain Flour100 g Unsalted Butter, Room Temp100g Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese, Finely Grated1 tsp Baking Powder1/2 tsp Salt Step 1: To Make the Dough. <PIC> Finely chop together the rosemary and chilli flakes.In a food processor, add in the flour, butter, cheese, baking powder, salt & herbs.Pulse until it just comes together to form a dough. Step 2: Roll & Chill. <PIC> Tip the dough out onto a sheet of grease proof or baking paper and knead gently into a log shape.Using the paper as an aid – roll it up into a round log then press the ends in to fill any gaps.Place this in the freezer for 25 minutes to chill. Step 3: Slice. <PIC> Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C & line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicone baking sheet.When the 25 mins are up – remove the dough from the freezer and slice discs approx 3-4mm thick. Step 4: Bake. <PIC> Place the chilled discs onto the baking tray, slightly spaced apart to allow for spreading.Put your Spicy Rosemary Thins into the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 10 – 12 mins or until just turning golden on the edges. Step 5: Tadah!. <PIC> Leave them on the tray for a minute or two to harden then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. (That should only take about 15 mins.)These Spicy Rosemary Thins would make great nibbles if you’re having friends over for a few drinks, or the perfect accompaniment to any cheese board! Far better than most crackers you can buy in the shops that’s for sure. And if you’re worried about the heat of the chilli flakes, it’s not hot I promise. It’s more like a pleasant, gentle warmth in the back of the throat as an after taste. They’re just… well, blinkin’ gorgeous!For more awesome step by step recipes, check out  www.kitchenmason.com


Introduction: Birch Sap Wine. <PIC> It is said that the sap of birches has many virtues. My (vain) grandfather smeared it on his head to prevent hairloss and it is generally believed that it is an excellent treatment for poor health, as a revitalising tonic etc. It is a watery substance, slightly sweet with a silky taste. It is also used to make excellent wines. Birch sap is harvested at the end of winter by the end of February, early March when the first buds start to swell. The harvesting period is short: about two weeks, so if you want to do this you will need to keep a close watch on nature. The recipe I used is taken from an old book by the excellent J.C.C. Berry. Wine making is not difficult; just make sure you work very clean with sterilised equiment. See my instructable on making rose hip wine on this subject.  Step 1: What Will You Need?. <PIC> You will need the following stuff. Most can be found in your shed and local supermarket, the rest is bought from a specilised wine makers shop. Quantities are for 5 litres, scale up or down as needed.A hydrometer  Waterlock(s)  measuring glass  a cork or plug with a hole in it  a hard-plastic or glass pipe, 5-10 cm that snugly fits in the hole in the above cork  A tube, 100-150 cm. The diameter should fit the above pipe  A drill with the same diameter as the small end of the cork  A drilling machine (or hand drill) you can take out in the field  Yeast (we will make a white wine, so can use e.g. Elzas style yeast)  Yeast nutrient  1500 g. sugar, 500 g. raisins, 2 lemons, 2 oranges (use organic raisins, lemons & oranges, you do not want chemicals in your wine)  Something to sterilise your equipment, I use sulphite.  A vessel, large bottle or Demijohn for collecting & fermenting. Actually: it helps to have two/three since you will need to rack off the wine a few times while clearing. You can also use food-grade plastic buckets for this; you can probably get them at a local snack bar or restaurant, they use them for sauses. Make sure you get the lid as well. Drill a small hole in the lid to connect the waterlock; make sure the waterlock is not leaking. A large (soup) pan  5 litres of Birch Sap. Step 2: Collecting Your Sap. <PIC> So you will need to collect 5 litres of birch sap! As said before: the time to do this is when the first buds start to swell, late February, early March. Look for a period without frost. Frozen liquid will expand and can break your bottle. Look out for large and healthy trees with a diameter of at least 25 cm. Remember that you rob the tree of vital nutrients, so keep it reasonable. Do not harvest more than 5 litres from one tree and treat the tree with respect. There are two ways of collecting. The first is by cutting off the end of a branch and shove a bottle over it. Tie the bottle to the branch and you will see the sap dripping down almost immediately. This is nice for small amounts, and we need at least 5 litres. This is how you go about: prepare the tube by connecting the pipe and cork. The cork will go into the tree. Clean a large bottle and connect the other side of the tube to the bottle. On the photo you can see I use a rubber cap used to put a waterlock on a bottle; this works perfectly. Drill a shallow hole in the tree, point your drill slightly upwards; you want the sap to flow down. The height should be higher than the bottle you use; sap flows down, remember? There is no need to drill deeper than 2-3 cm since the sap flows just below the bark. Put the cork in the hole you drilled, make sure it fits tightly. Make sure everything is steady; make sure the bottle cannot be toppled over by cattle or wild animals. Leave and come back the following days to see the progress. After a few days (the sap will flow surprisingly fast!) the bottle will be full. Take the cork out of the hole and plug it firmly with a piece of wood; you may need a hammer for this. This is important since the tree can literally bleed to death if you don't do this. Actually: a few weeks later you will notice that the tree you tapped from will grow leaves 2-3 weeks later than trees you did not tap from. Say thank-you to the tree and take the birch sap home and put it in a dark cool place.  Step 3: Make Wine. <PIC> Mix the yeast with a cup of luke warm water and let it rehydrate for 2-3 hours on a warm spot  Chop the raisins finely  Peel the lemons and oranges, remove all the white stuff from the fruit and squize out al the sap.  Heat the birch sap to at least 90 C (or cook, I don' t cook it since I want as mucb flavour as possible) add the lemon/orange peel and sugar, make sure the sugar dissolves. Do this for 20-25 minutes. Take a sample and weigh it with the hydrometer. Ideally you should read around 1080. When below: add some sugar. When above: prepare for a sweet wine or add water/sap. You can do this in batches if your pan isn't big enough; make sure you cover the vessel/bottle thoroughly every time to prevent polution by wild yeasts and other vermins.Put the chopped raisins in the vessel/bottle you will use for the fermentation, pour the liquid over it. Make sure the bottle is filled no more than 50%. The fermentation will produce froth that can come out through the waterlock creating a mess. You do not want that. You may want to use multiple vessels for this stage, when the fermentation is out of its "wild" phase you can mix them together.  When the temperature of the liquid matches the temperature of the rehydrated yeast, pour the yeast in the liquid, add the yeast nutrient.  Close the vessel(s), add waterlock and let the fermentation begin!  When the fermentation slows down you rack the wine off leaving all the rubbish in the first vessel. When there are no more bubbles in the waterlock you weigh the wine again. For a dry wine your hydrometer should read around 990. Higher means more sugar is left, resulting in a sweeter wine. Do this every two months untill the wine is perfectly clear. Make sure you leave no more than 2-3 cm under the rim of the bottle to avoid oxydation. Use any good white wine available to top off when necessary.   Bottle the wine, leave to mature for a few months and enjoy with your friends!


Introduction: Ranch Chicken . <PIC> just curious how it would taste , I remember finding the recipe a while back and the recent cold and rainy weather made me think to try it .  Step 1: Crock Pot Ranch Chicken . <PIC> I cant stress enough how much i love crock pot liners!for this recipe you need 3 chicken breast 1 can cream chicken1 pack ranch dressing1 pack italian seasoning1/2 (4oz) cream cheese Step 2: Prep . <PIC> Prepping takes almost a whole 5 minutes so better be ready for long wait times. ! I cubed the chicken dumped into the pot , Mixed the ingredients in a separate bowl (NOT the Cream cheese that comes in later. ) , then poured over chicken cubes.  Step 3: Cook . <PIC> cook on high for 2-3 hours (low 4-5)Just before you are ready to eat add half a block of cream cheese , Stir it in , let rest . drink a small amount of wine while you wait. I will be adding some white rice to this . (not pictured ) Step 4: Prepare Your Mouth for the Awesomeness . . <PIC> it's a tiny bit salty but all in all not a bad dish . might try adding a little water next time to thin it out ( maybe a 1/4 cup ) but all in all this will be a fine meal tonight .


Introduction: Sharing Is Carrot Cake. <PIC> Here's a rich, warm and comforting cake to have with friends, or save for yourself. The classic recipe gets some fresh updates, but retains that nostalgic taste that all carrot cake fans can appreciate. The recipe takes a bit of love, but it's well worth it in the end. Step 1: Ingredients. <PIC> Gather your ingredients: 3 medium tart apples (like Granny Smith or Pink Lady), peeled and diced (about 3 cups when diced) 3/4 cup dates, diced (about 6 ounces or 170 grams) 1 cup water 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 3/4 cup light brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar 1/2 cup canola oil 1 tablespoon tapioca flour 2 cups cake flour 2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 cups grated carrots (about 6 medium, 13 ounces or 390 grams) 3/4 cups chopped pecansAnd for the Icing: 2 1/2 cups icing sugar 3 tablespoons orange juice 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melt Step 2: Dateable Applesauce. <PIC> Combine apples, dates, water, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a saucepan. Turn to medium heat, cover and simmer for half an hour, or until most of the water is gone. Step 3: Make the Sharing Is Carrot Cake. <PIC> Preheat oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Grease an 8″ x 8″ baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl combine the brown sugar, white sugar, oil and tapioca flour. Whisk vigorously for 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Stir in the applesauce you made in step 2. Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined, and then fold in the carrots and pecans. Step 4: Bake the Sharing Is Carrot Cake. <PIC> Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then gently flip it out onto a cooling rack. Let it cool completely before icing. Step 5: Icing on the Sharing Is Carrot Cake. <PIC> For the icing, whisk together the icing sugar, orange juice, coconut oil and almond extract until smooth and free of lumps. Pour over the cooled cake and spread evenly over top. Step 6: Variation. To mix it up (and cut down on some time), try replacing the apples with 1 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce and add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves to your flour mixture. Mix in the chopped dates with the carrots and pecans.


Introduction: Cherry-Plum Tarts for a Wannabe Fancy Pants. <PIC>
          Do you ever dream about making a fancy little desert for your fancy little friends? I do. Then I wake up and realize I don't have any fancy friends. So instead of crying in a corner I fulfill the other half of my dreams with this recipe.    You will require:     Mini cupcake pan     Blender/food processor     Cherries!     2 Plums     1/4 Cup of Honey     Bourbon or Scotch     Pie Crust  [Edits] I submitted these from iphone and since it's been featured I figured why not spruce it up a bit.
         Step 1: Pit and Puree Cherries. <PIC> Use your deft skills to remove pits from cherries till you fill a cup. Step 2: Pit and Puree Plums. <PIC> Pit and puree plums then add both cherry and plum puree to saucepan. Also add in 1/4 cup of honey, for sweetness and honesty. Step 3: Begin Simmer. <PIC> 30 minutes! Step 4: Interrupt Dat Simmer. <PIC> I interrupted at the 15 minute mark to add halved and pitted cherries. The again at the 5 to add a Tbsp of scotch. Step 5: Halve More Cherries for Aesthetics. <PIC> Halve the hardest and least ripe cherries you got! You want them to stand up to the heat! Then coat them with a layer of sugar, because you're worth it. Step 6: Make and Fill Shell. <PIC> Do your mother proud and make them little shells to fill your mini cupcake sheet. Fill them with the joyous cherry plum sauce you just concocted.  Step 7: Bake! Finish!. <PIC>
          Bake for 13 minutes at 450 degrees F. Let em cool. Refrigerate before serving.    Closing thoughts/ ideas     A tsp of cornstarch would do well to even further solidify the filling     If you use less filling you could add a bit of yellow cake mix on top for a lid     Allowing the filling to boil for 10 minutes or so may allow for a thicker filling as well.     ...more scotch!     Assuming you have leftover filling, you can boil that down into a really fine tasting jam.


Introduction: How to Make Coconut Milk Ice Cream. <PIC> Cream extracted from cow's milk is normally used for making ice cream. Here I have used milk extracted from coconut to make Ice Cream.Please go through the instructable on how to make Coconut Milk Ice Cream at home Step 1: Ingredients. <PIC> One Coconut50 grams of Cashew Nuts5 to 6 Cardamom podsOne cup of Sugar Step 2: Grind Coconut to a Paste. <PIC> Break open the coconut and remove the meatAdd the coconut meat in a mixer grinder along with the Cardamom podsLightly grind without adding any water. This will crush all big chunks of coconut into small piecesAdd about 2 cups of water and grind to make a fine paste Step 3: Extract Coconut Milk. <PIC> Using a clean cotton cloth or cheesecloth, filter out the coconut milkTransfer the remains once again to the grinder jar, add 2 cups of water and grind againFilter out the milk from the second grinding also.You can extract milk from coconut meat 2 to 3 times. For better results extract milk twice only, otherwise the milk will have more water in it Step 4: Make Cashew Nut Powder. <PIC> Transfer the Cashew nuts to a mixer grinder jar and grind it to a fine powder Step 5: Boil the Coconut Milk. <PIC> Keep a clean pan over medium heat and add the extracted coconut milk in itAdd one cup of sugar and cashew nut powder to the milk and mix wellYou can taste a sample coconut milk at this time and add sugar to your own taste Step 6: Allow to Cool. <PIC> Once the milk starts to boil and all ingredients are mixed well together, remove from the stoveCover the pan with a lid and allow the mixture to cool Step 7: Deep Freeze the Mix. <PIC> Once the mixture has been cooled off, place the pan in the deep freezerFirst I tried to place the pan in which the coconut milk was boiled. It fitted inside the freezer, but could not close the door. So I have transferred the mixer to another small container and kept in the freezer Step 8: Scoop Out and Serve Coconut Milk Ice Cream. <PIC> Once the coconut milk mixture is frozen, you can take it out from the freezerScoop out layers of frozen Coconut Milk Ice cream into cups and serveWithout adding any chemical additives, this ice cream tastes so wonderful you will all love it.Have fun and beat the heat with the home-made Coconut Milk Ice Cream


Introduction: Turkey Chili and Meditation . <PIC> This Instructable project will show you how to make a great turkey chili while exploring the similarities between cooking and meditation. For this project, you will need to have a basic understanding of cooking techniques along with common cooking items and spices. A curiosity about meditation or an open mind would also help but isn’t completely necessary to complete the project.When I was younger I would meditate daily but I haven't practiced it in any meaningful way for some time. Just recently I have started to explore meditation again and realized that the art of cooking and meditation share some similarities. Therefore, I thought it would be interesting to examine the practice of meditation and how you might incorporate it into your cooking. The act of cooking itself can be a form of meditation. I find that while I am preparing the ingredients for a dish or while I'm cooking it, my mind turns inwardly to self-reflection. This exercise in cooking and meditation can be a form of what is called walking meditation. Walking meditation involves being aware of your body's movements by redirecting any thoughts that may come up back to the movements of your body you are refocusing your mind and staying in the present. I discovered this recipe online one night while trying to find something I could throw together with the ingredients I currently had in my kitchen. I find that using turkey adds a richer flavor to the chili versus using beef. After making the original recipe several times I have added some ingredients while adjusting others to make it my own. It's a family favorite that I'm sure you'll love!A brief introduction to meditation On a basic level, meditation helps to bring awareness to the how we think, how our thoughts are formed, and how to take control of them. After you read this sentence, take 30 seconds and close your eyes and listen to your breathing. Try to listen to the air coming into and out of your body. Go ahead, I'll wait....... Done? Did you notice all the other thoughts going on as you were trying to listen to yourself breathe? Crazy, right?! It was a never-ending monologue of thoughts. By practicing meditation, you can learn to recognize these thoughts, gain some control of over them, and still your mind. Cooking helps us keep our thoughts in the present and focus on the single current task. Keep this idea of meditation and cooking as you continue this Instructable.*There a video at the end that illustrates the cooking steps.  Step 1: What You'll Need. <PIC> What you'll need for this recipe:1 pound of ground turkey   1 yellow onion   2 can of 10oz tomatoes   2 can of tomato sauce   4 tsp of chili powder   1 can of kidney beans   1 tsp of minced garlic   1/4 tb of pepper   1/4 tb of salt   1/4 tb of cumin   1/4 tb paprika   2 russet potatoes (optional)  a small amount of vegetable oil, or other fatty liquid (for the potatoes)  1 large pot to cook the chili   1 medium sized cutting board   several small dishes (These will be used to hold your potatoes and other ingredients optional)   a tea and table spoon   stove or other heating element   a knife to cut with   a fork or spoon to taste your chiliHow does meditation relate to cooking? Good question! Lets take a look at the different components. This  recipe will represent meditation. The ingredients and other odds and  ends we will be using will represent our thoughts.The final outcome,  the turkey chili, will represent our mind that we are working to making  more at peace, in better control, and aware of itself.So, you'll  read this recipe (meditation), you'll gather the ingredients  (thoughts), look at them, understand them, and shape them to create a  delicious turkey chili! (a peaceful mind) Step 2: Prep the Ingredients . <PIC> I like to have all the ingredients prepped ahead of time. By having all your ingredients prepped and ready to go you end up saving yourself a lot of time and stress while you cook. You won’t be scrambling around the kitchen trying to find the can opener while your chili continues to cook. Measure out all your dry elements, salt, pepper, chili powder, etc., and put them all into a small dish. This way, when it’s time to add them, you can just dump them all in at once. Dice the onion into small pieces. If you don’t know the best way to do this here is a great video by one of my favorite chefs on how to dice an onion. Just watch your fingers! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCGS067s0zo Cut the potatoes into small pieces. The potatoes aren't part of the original recipe, it’s something I added because I like a chunkier chili, so the potatoes are strictly optional. I like to cut them into cubes using this technique but you can choose to cut them differently depending how think you want them.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjRVSIWE04M&featu...Open the cans of beans and tomatoes so they are ready to go as well. Drain the liquid out of the can of bean as you won’t be using that. While you are prepping these ingredients try and keep your thoughts on the food itself. As you do this you will notice that random thoughts will arise in your mind. They could be anything from what the next step in the process is to what you need to do at work tomorrow. As these thoughts arise remember to focus your mind on the cutting and measuring of ingredients. Keep yourself in the present, focus on where you are and what you are current doing, let these thoughts go. Step 3: Start the Cooking!. <PIC> This is where the all the fun begins!Put your pot on the stove and turn the heat to medium-high.  Once the pot has had a chance to heat up, add a small amount of vegetable oil, 1-2 tb, and place the potatoes into the pot.  Cook the potatoes until they are a slightly soft. The best way to tell if your potatoes are ready is to taste one! You want the potato to be at the point where it’s just past raw but not cooked yet. This usually takes fifteen to twenty minutes depending on the thickness of the potatoes. Don't let the potatoes cook too much, you will be taking them out and adding them later and they will finish cooking with the rest of the ingredients. These potatoes are like an idea or something you’re trying to remember that's at the tip of your tongue. Sometimes you should take that thought and put it aside and come back to it later. Step 4: Add the Turkey and Onion. <PIC> Once the potatoes are done take them out of the pot and place them into a bowl. This will prevent them from continuing to cook. As I mentioned before, you will add the potatoes later to finish cooking with the rest of the chili. Now it’s time for the star of the show, the turkey! I will usually try and buy fresh ground turkey when doing this recipe. You can usually find it in your local grocery store or at Sams. Otherwise you should be able to find something frozen.Add the turkey, minced garlic and onions to the pot.  Cook until both ingredients are done. How do you know when they’re done you ask? Easy, both the turkey and onions should be a light brown color.  If there is a lot of fat from the turkey you can drain it into one of your tin cans or a porcelain cup, DO NOT pour it down the sink! Pouring it down the sink can cause your sink to clog since fat hardens after it cools off. However, if there is less than a quarter cup of liquid fat I wouldn't worry about getting rid of it. It will cook off during the rest of the process. Step 5: Add the Other Ingredients. <PIC> Once the turkey, garlic, and onion are done, stir in the can of diced tomatoes, the can of tomato sauce, the beans, add the potatoes from earlier, and the spices. Let these ingredients cook until the liquid is boiling. When the mixture starts to boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 30 - 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. As you occasionally stir your chili, take the time to taste it. If you like more heat to your chili you can add more chili powder or other ingredients as you see fit.Much like our thoughts, these ingredients are all separate pieces that make up the turkey chili. (our mind) We are the owners of these ingredients and we can control and shape them into something else, we just need the recipe (meditation) to tell us how.Like other aspects of our life, the more you do something, the easier it becomes. You will find that once you make this chili over and over again you will be able to make this dish almost effortlessly. You will be able to gather the ingredients and mix them without paying too much attention to them. You will become a turkey chili master! Meditation can also become something that comes as second nature to you. By practicing meditation, you will eventually become better at it, and just like cooking, you can pursue other aspects of it, or stick to the basics. Step 6: Time to Eat!. <PIC> Now that your chili is done, turn the heat off and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. This will let the ingredients meld together and bring out even more flavor. I like to serve my chili with some cheese on top and some Jiffy cornbread as a side, but feel free to add your own toppings. I hope your chili turns out great and that this Instructable gave you some insight to meditation and that meditation doesn't need to be sitting silently with your eyes closed. You can incorporate it into different aspects of your life and can help you gain some insights into your thoughts and where they come from. There are many articles about cooking and meditation or mindfulness and the health benefits that go along with it. If you interested in learning more about these subjects you can visit this website.http://how-to-meditate.org/ Below is a video that illustrates the cooking steps.Thanks for reading!


Introduction: Chocolate Tray. <PIC> Most of the chocolates are soft-centered chocolates. Step 1: Little Beads Buttons. <PIC> These are the only non soft-centered chocolates on the tray :) Super easy and super quick to make. All you need, to make at least 5 buttons50 gram milk chocolateLittle BeadsRound bottom chocolate moldMelt chocolate in microwave, at 30 seconds intervals, stirring each timePlace little beads on mold's cavities and pour melted chocolate covering the beadsChill until harden and unmold Step 2: Nutella Cream Chocolates. <PIC> 100 g dark chocolate (or semisweet or bittersweet)Filling (this is a base creamy filling that you can flavor as you wish either with food flavoring or homemade jam/custard/preserves):700 g soft curd cottage cheese, either homemade or store bought 1 envelope vanilla sugar (at No Frills or Safeway)  a couple drops of lemon oil 10 g gelatin bloomed in 50 g water, heat in microwave for 10 seconds  5 tbsp icing sugar  Beat everything in a mixer until creamy then chill in the fridge for half hour before usingMix 2-3 tbsp of filling (reserve the rest for other pastries/cakes/chocolates/breads/sweets) with generous 1-2 tbsp Nutella until combinedMelt dark chocolate and fill up mold, tap upside down, chill in freezer for 5 minutesFill up cavities with Nutella mixture and pour melted chocolate Chill until harden. Step 3: Double Chocolate Cranberry. <PIC> Dried cranberries, as many as you'd like to make100 g dark chocolate or milk chocolate100 g white chocolate chipsMelt dark chocolate and dip dried cranberries. Place on parchment paper and chill to harden (or room temperature is fine as well)Melt chocolate chips and fill mold cavities, turn upside down and tap, chill in freezer for 5 minutesDrop a cranberry into each cavity and pour chocolate chips covering itChill in freezer for 15 minutes Step 4: Dark Chocolate With Lemon Creme. <PIC> 100 g dark chocolateFrom the previous creamy filling base, take about 1-2 tbsp and add a pinch or two grated lemon rind and mixMelt dark chocolate, fill up mold, tap upside down and chill in the freezer for 5 minutesFill up cavities with filling and pour more chocolate on topChill in the freezer for 15 minutes Step 5: Chestnut Filled. <PIC> 100 g white chocolate chips Enough of chestnut puree Melt chocolate chips and fill up mold, tap upside down and freeze for 5 minutesFill up cavities with chestnut puree and pour melted chocolate on top, freeze for 15 minutes


Introduction: Rich Chocolate Cupcakes With Whipped Buttercream Frosting and a Strawberry on Top. <PIC> These cupcakes are never fail and completely delicious whether you choose to go the store bought or homemade route. Keep reading to find out how to make them homemade!Ingredients:  FOR CAKE; 3/4 cup of sugar,1/2 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 2 large egg yolks, 1/2 cup of cake flour, 1/3 of unsweetened cocoa, pinch of salt, 3 large egg whites, 1 teaspoon of baking powderFOR FROSTING; 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar, 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/2 teaspoon of vanillaFOR TOPPING: Strawberries cut across or you're preferred topping Step 1: The Cupcakes. To make the cupcakes is super easy you want to start by setting the oven to 350 degrees and place all your cupcake liners into the muffin tin. Next you want to start by whisking together all your wet ingredients (egg yolks, egg whites, butter, and water) in one bowl and mixing all the dry ingredients (cocoa powder, sugar, cake flour, baking powder, and salt) in another. Gradually add your wet ingredients to the dry and stir in completely. Pour the mix into the cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 full. Pop them in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Step 2: The Frosting. While your cupcake are cookie you'll want to get started on your frosting. To make the frosting use either a standing mixer or a hand mixer. Pour all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until it thickens up. store in the refrigerator until use. Step 3: Frosting and Topping. Now that the cupcakes have come out you're going to want to let them cool completely before frosting. Once cooled take a knife and cut out a circular hole in the center of the cupcake that goes about halfway through the cupcake. Then take your frosting and transfer it to a Ziploc bag and cut of the tip of the bag to create an icing bag. Fill the holes with frosting and then frost the cupcakes as you normally would do. Top with a strawberry or whatever you want and enjoy!


Introduction: Life of Pumpkin Pie (aka Tiger Pumpkin Pie). <PIC> To celebrate Pi Day this year I opted for a pumpkin variety of pie, but took it one step further: tiger stripes. Yes, I'm referring to Yann Martel's book-cum-movie, "Life of Pi". I don't have a pastry chef's flair for presentation, unfortunately. I'd love to see if this can actually look like tiger stripes. If you try it, please share pictures of your attempt! Step 1: Ingredients. <PIC> Gather the ingredients:1 9" pie crust (see Step 2 for a recipe... or get one from the store)Filling:1 can (18 ounces or 540 ml) pumpkin pie filling*1/3 cup evaporated milk2 eggs1/2 tsp cinnamon1/4 tsp salt1/4 tsp ginger1/8 tsp allspice* your can of pumpkin may have a different recipe, feel free to use that... I won't judge.Topping/Tiger Stripes:7 tablespoons all purpose flour, plus more for rolling 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 2 tablespoons white sugar 1/8 teaspoon baking powder2 teaspoons vegetable oil 1 medium egg 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1 tablespoon icing sugar, for dusting Step 2: Pie Crust (optional). <PIC> (Skip this step if you already have a pie crust)Sift together 6 cups all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon white sugar and 2 teaspoons salt. Cut in 1 pound Tenderflake lard (cubed and chilled) and 1/2 cup butter (also cubed and chilled) with a pastry cutter or a pair of butter knives. Once the mixture is crumbly, slowly mix in 1 cup of cold water and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice until the mixture forms a ball. Be careful not to over mix. Divide into four portions. Roll each into a ball, wrap with saran wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Store the unused dough in the freezer for up to 2 months.When ready to make pie, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it's slightly larger than the pie tin. Carefully lift it into the tin. Lift the edges so that the dough fills the corners. With a sharp and damp knife, cut off the excess dough. Pinch the edges as you'd like for decorative effect. Step 3: Blind Bake the Pie Crust. Preheat oven to 425˚F.Put aluminum foil over the pie crust, ensuring to cover the edges. Fill to the brim with pie weights, dry beans or pennies. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the crust looks just golden. Carefully remove the pie weights. Return the crust to the oven for 5 minutes so that the bottom can cook a bit more.Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.Lower the oven's heat to 350˚F. Step 4: Pie Filling. <PIC> In a medium bowl, stir together the pumpkin pie filling, evaporated milk, eggs, cinnamon, salt, ginger and allspice. Mix until smooth. Pour into the prepared pie crust. Step 5: Topping. <PIC> In a medium bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, cocoa powder, sugar and baking powder. In a separate bowl mix the vegetable oil, egg and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir together. The mixture might be a bit moist, but should still form into a ball. Roll out onto a lightly floured surface to about 1/8" thick. Using a very sharp knife, cut tiger-like stripes. Place the stripes on top of the pumpkin filling.Bake for 25-30 minutes in the 350˚F oven. When done, allow to cool completely, then sprinkle the part not covered by stripes with icing sugar to look like a tiger's tummy. Serve and enjoy.


Introduction: How to Grow a Kombucha Scoby (mother). <PIC> I've been drinking kombucha for about a year now and have gotten a little obsessed. I found some articles on The Kitchn about brewing your own kombucha and growing a scoby (sometimes referred to as the "mother" or a "kombucha mushroom") and decided to go for it! A SCOBY is a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast that is used to brew kombucha. If you've ever had store bought kombucha and found little blobs it in, those are scoby fragments! We can utilize those tiny pieces of scoby to grow our own kombucha mother.If you're a kombucha fan (or honestly, even if you're not!) I completely recommend giving this a try. It is an absolutely amazing experience to grow your own scoby! I am incredibly proud of it and it's so interesting to watch it grow. It could even be a great science experiment for kids. :DThis process does take a while - I've been doing this for about two months, and I've just now got my first batch of kombucha bottled and carbonating. It sounds time consuming, but it's really not! Most of the time, you've got got to check your kombucha/scoby once a day ad then go back to whatever else you're doing. :) P.S. Once you've grown a scoby, check out my instructable over how to brew kombucha with it! Step 1: Supplies + Basic Information . <PIC> ingredients needed for the scoby building tea:7 cups water1/2 cup plain white sugar OR raw cane sugar4 tea bags OR 1 tablespoon loose leaf black tea (nothing flavored, nothing herbal)1 cup unflavored unpasteurized kombucha (I used GT's Kombucha!)Honey, stevia, agave, and other sugar substitutes do not work as well based on everything I've seen. The sugar is the food for the growing scoby, so it's important to give it something it can break down easily. Use the regular stuff first to get used to the process, and then you can start doing crazy experiments. ;)For this, I just used standard Lipton black tea bags. We really don't need anything fancy - the liquid produced by building this scoby will not be drinkable. We're gonna make kombucha vinegar! YAYAs far as choosing your store bought kombucha, it is REALLY important it is unflavored and unpasteurized. Try to grab a bottle with some little baby scoby blobs floating around. supplies:2 quart canning jar (64 oz)large saucepancoffee filtersrubber bandinstant read thermometerMake sure your jar is rated for canning and also nice and clean - pour boiling water into it to ensure there's nothing funky living on the inside! However, it's important to not use any antibacterial soaps in the cleaning as it can hinder the scoby growth or stop it completely.  Step 2: Brew the Tea and Let It Come to Room Temperature. <PIC> Step one! Make sure your sauce pan is large enough to hold 7 cups of water and VERY clean. Put the saucepan on the stove over high heat and add the water. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat and move it to another burner. Add in 1/2 cup of sugar. Stir to dissolve.Now you'll want to place the tea bags in. Give it a good stir and then let it sit. These tea bags will stay in the water until it's cool.We need this tea to come down to room temperature - in a range of 68-75 F / 20-23 C. I use a instant read thermometer to check this. If the tea is too hot, it will kill everything in the GT's kombucha when we add that in. What I like to do is let the tea cool for an hour or so on the stove, and then pour it into the canning jar and pop it in the fridge. This lets it cool down a wee bit faster - otherwise you can be waiting for six hours or more! Just make sure to check it every 45 minutes or so - you don't want it to cool down to below room temp. Step 3: Add in the Store Bought Kombucha. <PIC> Once the tea has hit room temperature, we will remove the tea bags. If you used loose leaf tea or one of the bags busted, strain the mixture. Now you'll need to measure out one cup of your unflavored and unpasteurized kombucha. As I've said before, it's best to get the tiny scoby blobs from that bottle into your tea mixture! These will help the scoby growing process go a little easier. :)Pour the cup of kombucha in and give the mix a gentle stir.  Step 4: Cover the Canning Jar and Place It in a Dark Warm Location. <PIC> Once the sweet tea and kombucha have become friends, you'll need to cover the jar and move it to a safe dark location where it won't be jostled. It's best if this is in a warm place (around 70 F / 21 C) - the colder it is the longer this process will take! I placed mine in a kitchen cabinet. Place a coffee filter over the mouth of the jar and secure it with a rubber band or a rogue hair tie if you have them all over the house like I do. :P Step 5: The Waiting Game + What to Expect. <PIC> At this point, the sweet tea just needs to hang out for a bit. It can take anywhere from 1 week to a month, depending on the kombucha you used and the temperature you're storing it at. I wrote my progress down on the calendar so I could share it with you guys, so here is what I saw happen chronologically:Bubbles. The first thing that will happen is tiny bubbles appearing all around the top edge of the sweet tea. These started at day 4 for me. A shiny/slimy looking film. The bubbles will eventually get an upgrade to a film that covers the top of the sweet tea. This occurred around day 7 for me. This film will begin to look more like a clear jelly as time goes on.A kombucha-like smell. Another sign that things are going well! This started to get really strong around day 7 for me. An opaque and very thin scoby. Around day 11, the film over the top of the sweet tea had formed into something slightly opaque and paper thin! Woohoo!The scoby will continue to grow to 1/4 inch thick. From day 11 on, I just let my scoby grow. You want the scoby to be 1/4 inch thick. At day 20, it had reached that thickness, but I let it hang out until day 25 until I had enough time to make the next batch of sweet tea to brew the actual kombucha. At that point it was almost a 1/2 inch thick! :) Step 6: How to Tell When the Scoby Is Ready + Other Issues. <PIC> Pictured above: the original scoby I grew is on the left, the scoby on the right grew on top of the first scoby during my first kombucha brewing! Both are healthy even though they look totally different!As stated on the previous step, you want the scoby to be 1/4 inch thick and very opaque. You may have a few places that are a little bit transparent, but overall it should be cloudy and thick!Things that are normal in scoby growth:lot of bubblesshimmery films on the top of the sweet teabubbles forming in the opaque scoby (it will be very ugly and bumpy until you use it a few times!)strings and particulate coming from the bottom of the scoby in various colorsa strong vinegar smellscoby growing in thin layers Things that are not normal:black or green mold forming on the scoby. Toss it and try again!a cheese-like smell, or a smell like rotting meat. Now that you have a scoby, go brew some kombucha with it! Click here for my full tutorial.


Introduction: Summer Coolant Salad . <PIC> Fresh Mint Leaves. Cucumber. Curd. being the main ingredients of this recipe led me to name it Summer Coolant  Salad. Pasta gives body to the salad, peanuts give the salad a nice  crunch; whereas, the rest of the ingredients enhance the taste of the  dish. It is refreshing and at the same time very nutritious. Step 1: Collect Your Ingredients. <PIC> 2 cups cold cooked durum wheat pasta (I’ve used Chifferi Rigati), 1 cup sweet corn kernels, A handful of fresh mint leaves, ½ cup finely diced cucumber, 1 finely chopped de-seeded green chili, 2 tbsp crushed peanuts (add more if you like), ½ cup curd, chili flakes, freshly ground black pepper, salt for seasoning, juice of 1 lemon Step 2: Prepare the Dressing. <PIC> Add curd and mint leaves in a mixer grinder and blitz. Add in a little seasoning too at this time along with lemon juice and 1 tsp olive oil.  Step 3: Combine Well. <PIC> Pour the mint dressing over the salad and sprinkle the leftover seasoning. Toss well. Enjoy!


Introduction: Easy Peasy Chilli (can Be Vegetarian or Not). <PIC> This is a one pot wonder, so nice on an autumnal or wintery evening, it is a staple in our family and so very very easy.I make this with minced Quorn but you can replace it with minced meat, chunks of meat, or extra beans, or whatever you can think of really.This serves 4 greedy adults. Step 1: Ingredients. <PIC> 300g bag of minced Quorn (or substitute),1 large onion, 1 large garlic clove, 1 large/2 small peppers (any colour, I like to go for green or yellow),800g chopped tomatoes (two tins),4 teaspoons of tomato puree,1 teaspoon sugar, 1 square of dark chocolate (or half a teaspoon of cocoa powder),1 tin of kidney beans,1 tin of chick peas, 1 teaspoon of marmite (or an stock cube),1 chilli (can use chilli powder, or chilli sauce, either way use as much as you want dependent on your taste, I have included some information about how to use fresh chillies in the next step).4 teaspoons of cumin, 3 teaspoons of paprika,  2 teaspoons of mixed herbs,  0.5 (half) a teaspoon of coriander, Step 2: Starter for 10. <PIC> It is best to prepare everything first, chop the onion, the garlic cloves, and the peppers and the chillies. For those of you who haven't used fresh chillies before, make sure when you cut them up you are using gloves or put clean plastic bags over your hands like I do. If you like you chilli hot pop the whole thing in, if you don't I would avoid adding the seeds as they are the hottest part of the chilli. Also make sure you have checked how hot the chillies are, I have homegrown ones and I can't remember the type, but my red ones are very hot but sweet and give a great flavour, whereas the green are not as hot. Just choose the quantity and type of chillies based on your own taste.Put a little oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion, making sure not to burn it. Add the garlic, peppers and all of the herbs and spices (if you are using green peppers as I have you will need to give them a little extra time just so that they soften). Add the Quorn and cook a little (if you are using meat then cook until brown).Add the tomatoes and tomato puree and stir. Step 3: Kooky Cook. <PIC> Now we want to add the sugar and the chocolate or cocoa powder.Lastly,  add the kidney beans, chick peas (or ay kind of beans you would like), marmite and chilli, and roughly a mug  of water (if you add too much you can just boil it off and if you add  too little you can always add more).  Let this cook for  approximately half an hour, but if you are in a hurry you can cook it a lot quicker, the meat should already be cooked at this point so you can just heat it up. Personally, however, I prefer to leave  the saucepan on simmer for between 30 minutes and 45 minutes. Then give  it a taste and add seasoning to your taste. Step 4: Eatsies. <PIC> Now it is ready to eat. We like to add a little plain yogurt and some thinly sliced or grated cheddar cheese. Mmmmm. If you have leftovers this can sit in the fridge for a few days, or just put it in some Tupperware and when it is cooled pop it in the freezer, this chilli is great double cooked. Enjoy.


Introduction: Eggs Hemingway. <PIC> )) Eggs Hemingway or Eggs Atlantic, or Eggs Copenhagen (also known as Eggs Royale and Eggs Montreal in New Zealand) are a variation upon the classic breakfast dish of eggs Benedict, all of which substitute the traditional cold thick ham for fresh smoked salmon. most popular in New Zealand Canada and Australia, this dish finished with a squeeze of lemon, would make an absolutely wonderful mothers day gift/ breakfast in bed scenario, (Which, by the way is rapidly approaching march 30th U.K (11th May U.S.A, Canada Australia and New Zealand)) Eggs Benedict's has many variations if this particular one doesn't tickle your taste buds, click on my page for some of them :)  Step 1: Hollandaise Sauce. <PIC> To make a Hollandaise sauce you will need : 1 egg yolk 60 g butter pinch of salt 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon vinegar white place Large bowl over a simmering pan of water and turn off the heat. Melt butter in a pan. Picture 2 whisk eggs in large bowl. Picture 3-4 The eggs yolks should start to thicken. Step 2: Whisking the Hollandaise Sauce. <PIC> once the egg yolks have thickened its time to add the the melted butter,  this should be done slowly and whilst constantly whisking. This is potentially one of the more easy points to mess up, for example if the eggs get too hot they will begin to cook and you will need to very quickly take them off the heat and somewhere cold. once you have used all the of the butter you and have whisking the Hollandaise Sauce will start to form ribbons as you move the whisk through this indicates that you are done. Add pinch of salt add 1/2 teaspoon lemon add 1/2 teaspoon vinegar Step 3: Poaching the Egg.. <PIC> Add salt and a good gulp of white vinegar to the water. once the water has just started simmering your ready to start, you will need to swirl the water around gently. now crack the egg in to a mug and pour with one fluid motion the egg into the the center of the vortex, as it slows down it will bring all the strands back to center and clump it all together. Your egg is ready  to be taken out and served, once its started to rise, a little before and a little after that if you prefer your eggs under or overdone. Step 4: Preparing the Eggs Hemingway. <PIC> Ingredients: 1/2 English Muffin 1 Serving of fresh salmon 1 Egg 1 Serving of Hollandaise sauce  Salt and Lemon juice to season Vinegar for poaching Paprika for garnish Fry the half of English muffin in oil. Picture 1 Place the smoked salmon slices on top. Picture 2 Next place the Poached egg on top. Picture 3 and a ladle full of Hollandaise sauce. Picture 4 Followed by paprika salt and lemon juice to garnish. Picture 5 Step 5: . <PIC>


Introduction: The Bananarama. <PIC> The Simple yet awesome, Bananarama!
A quick and easy dessert, afternoon tea or even breakfast
Ingredients: (for a single serve)
- 1 Banana
- 2 slices of bread (I prefer white)
- Butter
- Caster sugar [Cheeky Extra]
- Cinnamon [Cheeky Extra]
- Maple Syrup (The real shit is best)
- Ice cream Step 1: Step 1 - Playing With Our Bananas. <PIC> Break the banana up into pieces in a bowl
Then proceed to mash banana with a fork Step 2: Step 2 - Your Sweet Like Sugar. <PIC> Spread the mashed banana on a slice of breadCHEEKY EXTRA OPTIONS
Here's your chance to sate that sweet tooth of yours by adding a little extra sweetness - caster sugar
Some of us enjoy the sensual taste of a little dusting of cinnamon on our desserts. If so, Whack it on! Step 3: Step 3 - Butter My Bread, Baby. <PIC> Place the other slice of bread on top of your wonderful creation, then butter that puppy up Step 4: Step 4 - Turnin' the Heat Up. <PIC> Crank the stove up and pop that beauty in the fry pan to get her going.
[Note: a sandwich toaster may also be used for this step (which I prefer), alas my home is currently lacking in that department.]
Toast till each side is golden brown Step 5: Step 5 - Treat Me Nice. <PIC> Serve the masterpiece up.
Garnish that tasty, tasty sandwich with tasty, tasty vanilla ice cream.
Drown it in Syrup Step 6: Voila!. <PIC> ...Isn't she beautiful... Step 7: Step 6 - Get Ravenous. <PIC>