Weekly Roundup - Living On Nothing Edition [Survival Today

Did you hear about the guy that lives on nothing? No seriously, he lives on zero dollars a day. Meet Daniel Suelo, who lives in a cave outside Moab, Utah. Suelo has no mortgage, no car payment, no debt of any kind. He also has no home, no car, no television, and absolutely no “creature comforts.” But he does have a lot of creatures, as in the mice and bugs that scurry about the cave floor he’s called home for the last three years.

To us, Suelo probably sounds a little extreme. Actually, he probably sounds very extreme. After all, I suspect most of you reading this are doing so under the protection of some sort of man-made shelter, and with some amount of money on your person, and probably a few needs for money, too. And who doesn’t need money unless they have completely unplugged from the grid? Still, it’s an amusing story about a guy who rejects all forms of consumerism as we know it.

How to Brew Your Own Beer and Maybe Save Some Money. A fantastic introduction to home brewing, something I’ve never done myself, but always been interested in trying. (@Generation X Finance)

Contentment: A Great Financial Principle. If I had to name one required emotion for living a frugal lifestyle it would be contentment. Once you are content with your belongings and your lot in life you can ignore forces attempting to separate you from your money. (@Personal Finance by the Book)

Use Energy Star Appliances to Save On Utility Costs. I enjoyed this post because it included actual numbers, and actual total savings, from someone who upgraded to new, energy star appliances. (@The Digerati Life)

Over-Saving for Retirement? Is it possible to “over-save” for retirement? Yes, I think so. At some point I like the idea of putting some money aside in taxable investments outside of retirement funds, to be accessed prior to traditional retirement age. (@The Simple Dollar)

40 Things to Teach My Kids Before They Leave Home. A great list of both practical and philosophical lessons to teach your kids before they reach the age where they know everything. I think that now happens around 13 years-old. (@My Supercharged Life)

Index Fund Investing Overview. If you are looking for a place to invest with high diversification and relatively low fees (for broader index funds with low turnover), index funds are a great place to start. (@Money Smart Life)

5 Reasons To Line Dry Your Laundry. My wife and I may soon be installing a clothesline in our backyard. In many neighborhoods they are frowned upon - one of the reasons I don’t like living in a neighborhood. I digress. One of our neighbors recently put up a clothesline, and we might just follow his lead. (@Simple Mom)

* 4 Quick Tips for Getting Out of a Rut * Young and Cash Rich * Embracing Simple Style * First Trading Experience With OptionsHouse * The Exponential Power of Delayed Consumption * How Much Emergency Fund is Enough? * 50 Questions that Will Free Your Mind * Save Money On Car Insurance

MFA Newsletter

Abu Ghosh secures Guinness world record for largest dish of hummus

4,000 kilos of hummus were prepared with the help of 400 volunteers, breaking the earlier Lebanese record.
“Fighting over food is much better than fighting over anything else.”

(Communicated by the Ministry of Tourism)

Abu Ghosh secures Guinness world record for largest dish of hummus
Photo: Suzie Levinson

The picturesque Arab-Israeli village of Abu Ghosh, just 15 minutes drive from Jerusalem, is well-known for the annual vocal music festivals held in spring and fall, the near perfect acoustics in the village churches, and some of the finest hummus restaurants in Israel.

Last week (8 January 2010) under perfectly clear blue winter skies, 50 chefs prepared over four tons of hummus, beating the Guinness World Record set in Lebanon just months ago.

Presided over by Guinness adjudicator Jack Brookbank, watched by hundreds of spectators and recorded by dozens of media outlets, the record hummus was dished out into a six-meter (20 foot) satellite dish provided by sponsors, weighing in at 4,087.5 kilos (8992.5 pounds), about twice as much as the previous record.

Jawadat Ibrahim, owner of the Abu Ghosh restaurant, organized the event in the eponymous village that attracts thousands of visitors, mainly at the weekends, who come in search of the perfect hummus - a simple but tasty dish of chickpeas, sesame paste, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic.

Behind the story - Karin Kloosterman (Israel 21c)

In May 2008, Israeli hummus manufacturer Tzabar set the Guinness Record for the largest plate of hummus ever made. The Lebanese quickly broke the record with their own attempt a year later. Juwdat Ibrahim knows very well that he could be fanning the flames for a new Middle East war. But unlike rockets, Ibrahim’s ammunition comes from a family hummus recipe.

Upping the ante against Lebanon, which retaliated against Israel’s Guinness Record last year by cooking a plate of hummus clocking in at two metric tons - about 4,500 lbs - Ibrahim’s family and friends from the village of Abu Ghosh, Israel, set their sights on cooking the largest plate of hummus in the world.

Ibrahim founded Israel’s most famous hummus restaurant in 1993. Since then, the village’s name Abu Ghosh has been synonymous with great hummus, and also for its tolerant atmosphere, which invites Muslims, Christians and Jews to live together in co-existence.

To make it official, an expert from Guinness World Records flew in from London on Friday to measure the final product: a four-ton (almost 9,000 pound) plate of hummus, prepared by 400 volunteers.

Since announcing his intentions, Ibrahim, an Israeli Arab who also lives in Abu Ghosh, a village situated just off the main road between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the Arab world has been paying close attention, he says. This may be partly due to the fact that different countries in the Middle East are vying to lay claim to the chickpea dip, usually eaten as breakfast with big chunks of pita bread.

In recent years, Israel and Lebanon have been in stiff competition, each country trying to outdo the other with the largest bowl of dip. The Lebanese say that Israelis should keep their hands off the hummus; that it’s Lebanese food. Meanwhile, Israeli Arabs say that hummus is Palestinian food, something that has belonged to their people and culture for generations.

“It’s already news in the Arab world and they’ve been calling me since yesterday,” Ibrahim tells ISRAEL21c. “I am happy that through hummus, we can change the subject of the Middle East conflict. Fighting over food is much better than fighting over anything else.”

Ibrahim, who began organizing his crew of Muslim, Christian and Jewish volunteers two months ago, estimates that about 10,000 pita breads will be needed to consume all the hummus made on Friday. The public has been invited to come and eat.

When the Arab media asks him why such a big plate of hummus and for what, Ibrahim has the perfect answer no-one can refute: “I am saying to people in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt: I know the situation is complicated because there is no peace, but I would love it to happen one day, that we can cook one plate of hummus - about 10,000 tons - to share with the whole Middle East.”

Ibrahim is especially proud that Israeli Arabs and Jews are orchestrating this particular endeavor together. They’ve been working day and night to succeed, he says. “For us as a people, we want a normal life. We want to live in a peaceful way. Through this kind of effort and what you see in Abu Ghosh, we can show the world that we can do it.”

Abu Ghosh, he points out, is not just a village. “It is one big family of 7,000 people. We live a normal life, and accept everybody. A lot of people have moved to live in Abu Ghosh. They are Jewish, Muslim and Christian. We make them part of the family. The way we live our normal and happy lives could be an example for the whole Middle East to follow,” concludes Ibrahim.

14 January 2010

Questions or comments? E-mail us at feedback@mfa.gov.il

You are currently subscribed to israel-beyond-politics

[This is the end of an excellent article on America and her help that is on the way to Haiti, it made me think of all the camps we hear have been built for POW, this article will give an idea of why we have them, even tho it does not say a word about them.

The article made me proud to be an American.

It is a new newsletter to me and I am learning from it, about our Navy and the threats it faces.

There is also a good article about Google and its China problems.......granny]

http://www.informationdissemination.net/2010/01/all-things-maritime-and-haiti.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+InformationDissemination+(Information+Dissemination)&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

[snipped]

Considerations

Half the Haitian coast guard personnel stationed at the port were killed by the earthquake.

There is a legitimate National Security Risk Assessment that has yet to be discussed anywhere in the media, at least that I have seen. The annual immigration season from Haiti to Florida by sea usually begins in February every year. If it has historically been easy for Haitians to choose the risks of sea immigration when they have a home and family, how much easier is it for a Haitian to risk the dangerous journey when their home is destroyed or family is dead? This is a critical point, because the US is in big trouble if 100,000 people, or potentially a lot more, attempt a massive migration at sea following this catastrophe. The Obama administration is going to have to spend money - potentially many billion dollars - to keep three million homeless people in Haiti. This a serious problem that will directly impact you and me unless you are somehow stupid enough to believe the US is ready to absorb the cost of a mass immigration of a population with a high illiteracy rate at the same time the government intends to pass National Health Care to protect the poorest in our country.

Do the math. How many soldiers does your COIN manual say it takes to control a population of 3 million homeless, hungry people? Haiti has no military, and the Haitian National Police numbers 8500 - for the entire country. Even if we count the 2nd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division and 2 Marine battalions, we come up well short of what will be necessary based on the doctrine for population security adopted by our lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The US will lead in Haiti, even ahead of the now destroyed Haitian government and until we decide it is time for the UN to step in. In the 2004 Tsumani, the US had this amazing partner that did a tremendous job - India. Who will play the role of India in Haiti? It matters a lot if Haiti is as bad as some have estimated, because this has the potential of being the largest military effort in the western hemisphere in at least a century.

Posted by: “marcus19992”

Small engine maintenance
for women

By Michelle Richards

How many small engines do you have on your homestead? I counted mine the other day and came up with eight. These engines help me live a simple life out in the boonies. They do jobs for me that make my life easier and save me lots of energy, which is very important as I am disabled and over the hill in age.

These tools make it possible to continue to live the lifestyle I have chosen. Seven of the eight engines are five horsepower, or under, and pump water, blow snow, generate electricity, till the garden, cut brush, cut firewood, and propel a small boat.

All these engines must run, and do the jobs they were designed to do, or my survival is in question. For those of you who also have small engines around the homestead, who rely on them as I do, this article is written to help you keep them maintained and to help you diagnose a problem if it does occur. There’s nothing more frustrating to me than to be out fishing and the engine won’t start or going to the woodlot only to find the chainsaw starts, but runs roughly or sputters and dies. Instead of getting your chores done, you end up driving into town to your local repair shop.

Today’s small engines are rugged little critters, and I’ve found that because of that fact, most people neglect them. Where they change the oil religiously in their automobile, they don’t on their lawnmower. They take their car in for a tuneup, but don’t remember the tiller. This neglect is the main reason their engines fail, or do not run for their rated life expectancy. Recently a friend brought me her tiller and asked me to look it over to see if it could be repaired. My diagnosis? It was a disaster. Why did it fail? It failed because the air cleaner had never been changed. This five hp Tecumseh engine literally ground its innards to death because of dirt that got into the combustion chamber. On top of that, the oil in the crankcase had never been changed. Just topped off when it was low. The oil lost its ability to lubricate, and was full of grit particles and dirt. That’s death to engines.

Two types of engines

I asked her why the engine was allowed to get in this condition and she replied that her husband was in charge of engines and she had no working knowledge other than using the tiller in her garden. I gave her some small tips on maintenance procedures and showed her the engine and why it failed. She apparently went home and advised her husband that a $3 filter and a dollar in oil on a regular basis would have saved their $750 tiller from the junkyard. About two weeks later I saw her in the grocery store and she proudly told me the chainsaw wouldn’t start the week before, and she fixed it herself.

So ladies, you can learn a camshaft from a crankshaft, and how to maintain your engines. It is not beyond your comprehension. So this is especially written for you. Small engines are of two types. Two stroke or four stroke. At this point, the only reason this is important to you is the lubrication methods are different. The two stroke requires you mix the oil with the gas. The four stroke is like your auto engine. There is a separate compartment for the oil and a separate fuel tank.

To identify them, two stroke engines are generally used on chainsaws, weedwhackers, and other tools that are used at many angles. Chainsaws are a great example of this. Think about all the various angles in which a chain saw is required to run when cutting down a tree. Upside down or 90 degree angles aren’t uncommon. So having the oil mixed with the gas keeps the engine lubricated no matter how it’s tilted or angled.

Four stroke engines are usually found on tools such as lawnmowers which stay horizontal most of the time they are in service. Thus the oil stays in the bottom of the crankcase where slingers or other mechanical parts distribute the oil to the areas of the engine that require it. Another easy way to know is, generally, two stroke engines are on tools you must lift and carry, i.e., chainsaws and weedwhackers. They have many fewer parts than a four stroke engine so they are lighter. Four stroke engines are on tillers and most lawnmowers.

The oil is not only a lubricator, it also helps with heat transfer. Small engines run very hot and are generally air cooled, so it’s imperative the oil is mixed in the proper proportions in the gasoline (two stroke engines), or kept clean and up to the required level in the crankcase.

Engine cooling vital
Inadequate cooling is the second most prevalent reason for engine failure. First, keep the engine clean. It’s a simple procedure. After using the engine in the garden or mowing the lawn, let it idle under no load for a few minutes to let it cool down for a while before you turn it off. This is very important. As I said before, these critters run very hot, especially if they’ve just tilled heavy soil or cut high grass. Letting them cool down to normal operating temperatures before turning them off will allow the metals to cool down slowly. It will add many hours to the life expectancy of your engine.

After turning it off, let it cool and then clean all the dirt, twigs, and grass off the cooling fins and the engine block. These engines “cool themselves” by radiating heat into the surrounding air. If they’re covered with matted grass clippings, dirt and oil, they can’t cool.

Second, never remove the engine shrouds. They aren’t put there for looks. They are designed to channel air around your engine to help it cool. I can’t tell you how many people take these sheet metal shrouds off the engine because grass clippings get caught in them, and think they are helping their engine to cool.

Think of the system on your small engine like the air conditioning ducts or heat ducts from your furnace or air conditioning system. The ducts provide passageways to move hot or cold air where it’s needed. The engine has the same kind of system. The flywheel acts as a fan and forces air into the shrouded area around the engine, thus carrying off the heat as the cooler air races by. By removing the shroud or not repairing dents to it, you are defeating the cooling system.

Fuel mix
Now let’s get to fuel and fuel mix. As we learned earlier, the two stroke requires you mix oil with the gas. This really can be confusing, especially if you have three or four engines that require different ratios in the mix. You will find the ratio mix in your manual that came with the engine, or many times it’s printed right on the gas/oil tank cap.

There are two firm rules on this. Use only two stroke engine oil in two stroke engines. Do not use car engine oil like SAE 10W-30W, or the like. Two stroke engines burn oil and are designed to do this, and require the proper oil in the gasoline. Mix the gasoline and oil thoroughly, and I mean thoroughly. One great method is to take your gas and oil can to the gas station and make the mix right there at the pump. Fill the gas can about 1/3 full and then add the proper amount of oil, then fill the container. The gasoline pumping quite rapidly out of the nozzle mixes the oil and gas together quite well. Later when you go to fill your tiller or generator, shake the gas can vigorously before filling the tank.

The oil must be in very small particles and suspended evenly in the mix, so the engine gets lubricated evenly. If the oil is not mixed thoroughly, the engine starves for lubrication, and the spark plug gets big “globs” of oil stuck on it so it can’t fire. You’ll spend wasted time taking out the plug, cleaning and drying it to keep your engine running.

Gasoline is also important. Head for your manual for types of gasoline and octane rating your engine requires. Some older engines require leaded gasoline. Most of the newer engines run on leaded or unleaded.

Once gasoline is on hand, use it. Don’t buy 10 gallons of gasoline and use five gallons per year to mow your lawn for two years. Gasoline allowed to sit gets stale and gummy. This gummy stuff sticks especially to carburetor parts and air passages which eventually will restrict air flow, thus changing the air-gasoline mixture that’s required for good engine operation. This simple precaution will save you a lot of downtime and lots of money. A replacement carburetor or a carburetor rebuild will cost you $25 to $50. Using gasoline within 30 days, as you can see, is very cost effective.

Benefits of simple care
This article has been very simplistic in nature and gives you very basic information on small engines. If followed, it will save you lots of downtime and lots of expense. On one hand, I appreciate people who don’t maintain their equipment, as it is a means of income to me. But on the other hand, I hate waste. As an ad for oil filters says on TV: “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.” You can do simple maintenance like cooling slowly, changing oil, proper fuel mixing, changing air filters, all for little or no cost.

Why pay me, or another technician, lots of money for a valve job, carburetor rebuild, or engine overhaul that’s needed because of neglect? Today’s small engines are rated for approximately 1000 hours of life expectancy before complete rebuilding or replacement is necessary. That doesn’t sound like a lot, does it? But figure how you use your lawnmower. Two hours a week for a six-month season would be about average, or 48 hours a year. At this rate your engine could last 20 years.

Simple home maintenance coupled with a couple of trips to a small engine technician for tune-ups and inspection over that 20-year life can save you lots of money and your engine will roar to life and do its job consistently.

If you have no manual for your engine, either go to a small engine sales shop and request one or write the engine manufacturer directly. If you have an old engine, when writing the manufacturer, tell them the information that’s on the engine specification plate. If you can find no plate, tell the manufacturer what machinery the engine powers and the approximate age. This will help them get an appropriate manual to you.

To visit group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/howtosurvivalistclub/

http://detroit.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/de011410.htm

Department of Justice Press Release
white spacer
For Immediate Release
January 14, 2010 U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 514-2007/TDD (202) 514-1888

Thirteen Detroit-Area Individuals Arrested and Charged for $14.5 Million Medicare Fraud

WASHINGTON—Thirteen Detroit-area residents were arrested today by federal agents from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and FBI in connection with an alleged home health care scheme to defraud the Medicare program of more than $14.5 million, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan; Special-Agent-in-Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office; and Special-Agent-in-Charge Lamont Pugh of the Chicago Regional Office.

In a six-count indictment returned on Jan. 12, 2009, and unsealed today, the 13 individuals are alleged to have participated in a Medicare fraud scheme operated out of Patient Choice Home Healthcare (Patient Choice) and All American Home Care (All American), two Oakland County, Mich., home health agencies that purported to provide in-home health services. Muhammad Shahab, 50; Christopher Collins, 38; Hassan Akhtar, 26; Curtis Mallory, 35; Mohammed El-Fallal, 55; Jessica Vigil, 34; Tariq Chaudhary, 36; Faisal Chaudray, 31; and Visnhu Meda, 29, were all indicted for conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition, Shahab; Pramod Raval, M.D., 56; Guy Ross, 48; Lura Barrett, 61; and Stephen Cartier, 50, were charged with conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. Shahab and Akhtar were also each charged with two counts of money laundering. The indictment seeks the forfeiture of assets from all the defendants.

According to the indictment, Shahab, Akhtar and Collins owned and operated Patient Choice and All American. The home health agencies purported to provide home health therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries. The indictment alleges that Patient Choice and All American billed for home health therapy services that were unnecessary and were never performed. In addition, it alleges that Collins and Mallory recruited patients and paid them kickbacks for their Medicare information and signatures on documents. These false documents were then used to bill Medicare for home health services that were not rendered. The indictment also alleges that El-Fallal used the identity of a licensed physician to sign physician referrals for home health therapy services that were medically unnecessary and not performed. The indictment charges Vigil, Chaudhary, Chaudary and Meda with falsifying medical records to make it appear that home health therapy services were provided.

In addition, the indictment alleges that Shahab, Dr. Raval, Ross, Barrett and Cartier engaged in a conspiracy where Shahab would pay kickbacks to the others in exchange for patient referrals and access to Medicare beneficiaries under Dr. Raval, Ross, Barrett and Cartier’s care.

The indictment alleges that Medicare paid Patient Choice and All American more than $14.5 million for services that were medically unnecessary and not provided between August 2007 and September 2009. The charge of health care fraud conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute carries a maximum prison sentence of five years and a fine of up to $25,000. Each violation of 18 USC 1956 (money laundering) carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a maximum fine of $500,000. Each violation of 18 USC 1957 (money laundering) carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

An indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Kirk Ogrosky, Senior Trial Attorney John Neal and Trial Attorney Gejaa Gobena of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG. This prosecution is the latest in the Medicare Fraud Strike Force’s efforts in the Detroit area. The Strike Force is supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Since the inception of Strike Force operations in March 2007—Miami (Phase One), Los Angeles (Phase Two), Detroit (Phase Three), Houston (Phase Four), Brooklyn (Phase Five), Tampa (Phase Six), and Baton Rouge (Phase Seven)—the Strike Force has obtained indictments of more than 475 individuals and organizations that collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $1 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

Biking across America - Urban agriculture videos by FollowNathan

A Closer Look at Community Growers an Urban and Rooftop Garden in Milwaukee, WI

Gretchen Mead of The Victory Garden Initiative Talks About Urban Gardening and Sustainability
in Milwaukee

Lots To Gardens Ari Rosenberg Speaks About Sustainability and Agriculture

Meagan of Gather ‘Round Farm in Cleveland Ohio Talks About Urban Farming, Using
Waste and the Local Food Chain

Calling for the Urban Farm Czar

As urban and suburban agriculture gains momentum, it will need oversite. One possible
solution would be to establish “Municipal Farmers’ or Urban Farm Czars in every
community just like there are city planners or police commissioners. These officials
would rank high in local government, reporting straight to the mayor or city manager,
and have direct access to all key municipal departments.

Badger School for Urban Agriculture and Community

A project that will transform a vacant school building on Madison’s Southside into
a state-of-the art urban agriculture and community center campus.

The exterior areas of the site will include the following components:

Community Gardens serving the local neighborhood
Education Gardens serving as an outdoor classroom for students from around Dane
County.

Landgrab City - farm in urban square in Shenzhen, China

Landgrab City is an installation commissioned by the Shenzhen/Hong Kong Biennale
of Architecture/Urbanism and located on Shenzhenwan Avenue (Nanshan), a busy shopping
district in the city of Shenzhen. Conceived as an experimental investigation into
the full extent of Shenzhen’s spatial footprint, the installation is comprised of
two parts: an aerial photograph of one of the city’s densest areas, home to approximately
4.5m people, and a plot of cultivated land divided into small lots. This land is
a representation, at the same scale as the city itself, of the amount of territory
necessary to provide the food consumed by the inhabitants of the portion of city
sampled in the map, projected to 2027 (the year China is expected to overtake the
US as the world’s leading economy). Each lot represents the extent of a single food

group’s footprint: vegetables, cereals, fruit, pasture (for livestock), and so on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More on these stories here:
City Farmer News [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102942114593&s=1304&e=001v2v0RFGGjF1HpcqODUGLOxVATmAin_tn7LZmQtkiSwFhRZMr2g0zlQsObmdMdJ4pIRrwzeJGAXv1Srxehcm89ezPers0b2O8fTqALl5xMyW28KL1f_rgWg==]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael Levenston
City Farmer - Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture
32 Years! 1978-2010

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2010/01/sweet-mustard-roast-beef-or-pork-slow.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AYearOfCrockPotting+(A+Year+of+Slow+Cooking)&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

Sweet Mustard Roast (beef or pork) Slow Cooker Recipe

Posted: 13 Jan 2010 06:04 PM PST

I made this roast over a month ago, but I’m just now posting it. AGH!

I used a frozen beef roast for the meat, but when I shared the recipe over the phone with a friend, she made it a few days later and loved how it turned out. We really liked the beef version, so this is a double-decker recipe.

or something like that which makes better sense.

I think the baby might be sucking out all my brain cells.

The Ingredients.
serves 4

3 pounds beef or pork roast (mine was still frozen when I put it in)
1/3 cup molasses (this looks so much like melted ear wax to me) (that was kind of gross.) (sorry.)
1/3 cup dijon mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons white vinegar (apple cider vinegar would work well, too)

The Directions.

Use a 4 quart slow cooker. If you have a larger model, that’s fine, but you won’t need to cook it as long-—I’d check after 5 hours on low.

Dump meat into cooker. Top with molasses, dijon, and vinegar. Toss in the garlic powder. Using tongs, flip the meat over a few times to coat it nicely with the sauce. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for about 4.
The meat will be more tender if you cook it on low for a longish time.

The Verdict.

I served this meat the night we got our Christmas tree. I have video of the kids eating the meat and making yummy noises while we were trying to untangle the lights. It was a fun night, and the meal was successful. I served mashed potatoes and green beans for sides, and they were a nice compliment.

http://thespicedlife.blogspot.com/2010/01/refrigerator-salty-sweet-peanut-butter.html

snipped....

Which has nothing to do with granola, but I wanted to share my excitement, and I don’t have a lot to say about this granola other than it is fantastic. Make some today. You won’t be sorry. Seriously.

Salty Sweet Peanut Butter Granola With Chocolate Chips
Recipe by The Spiced Life

Peanut Butter Sauce:
Inspired by Salty Sweets, Christie Matheson

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 cup creamy peanut butter, not natural
3/4 cup water
1 T vanilla
1/4 t fine sea salt (to taste)

Granola:
1/2 cup walnut
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup sunflower seeds (if I’d had pumpkin seeds I would have used 1/2 cup of each)
1 cup barley flakes
4 cups rolled oats (old fashioned)
2 cups puffed brown rice
coarse sea salt to taste
brown sugar for sprinkling
10 oz chocolate chips

First make the sauce by combining the peanut butter, honey, brown sugar, salt and water in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the mixture is smooth and add the vanilla. Stir smooth yet again and then turn off the heat and let the mixture cool while you assemble the granola. Preheat the oven to 325 F or 300 F convection and place the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line 2 cookie sheets with rims with foil.

Make the granola by tossing all of the ingredients except the sugar, salt and chocolate chips in a large bowl. Other ingredients—like shredded coconut, wheat germ, other nuts, can be subbed in of course. Pour the peanut butter sauce over the ingredients and toss, using a large spatula. Stir until the granola is evenly moistened by the sauce. Spread it out onto the prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle some salt and brown sugar over the granola and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, toss the granola and sprinkle again with salt and brown sugar. Reverse the cookie sheets tops to bottom in the oven. Bake another 15 minutes—at this point watch for it to be done. It should darken and be fragrant. Do not let it burn.

When you pull the granola out, sprinkle with brown sugar and salt, toss, and sprinkle again. Let it cool. Add the chocolate chips and store in an airtight container.

1. Strawberry Pound Cake
Posted by: “*~Tamara~*

Strawberry Pound Cake

Active Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 20 Minutes
Yield: Serves 10-12

For the Cake:
8 ounces strawberries, hulled and quartered
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
Grated zest (rind) of 1 orange
1 teaspoon baking powder

For the Icing:
4 ounces hulled strawberries
1 1/2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 1/4 cups heavy cream, whipped
5-6 extra strawberries, for decoration

FOR THE CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line the base with parchment or waxed (greaseproof) paper.

Toss the strawberries in a little of the flour, to coat. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the orange zest (rind), flour, baking powder, and strawberries in 3 batches. Stir to combine after each addition.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

FOR THE ICING:
Place the strawberries and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process to a puree. Fold into the whipped cream. Ice the cake and decorate with the strawberries and serve.

Place the strawberries and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process to a puree. Fold into the whipped cream. Ice the cake and decorate with the strawberries and serve.

Source: Cooking.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tamaras_sweet_treats/
For all your sweet treat needs, come see us!

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Chocolate-Orange Espresso Thins
Posted by: “*~Tamara~*”

Chocolate-Orange Espresso Thins
Makes about 4 dozen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Coarse sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.
Put butter, confectioners’ sugar, orange zest, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low, and gradually add flour mixture until just combined.

Transfer dough to a 12-by-16-inch piece of parchment; shape into a log. Roll in parchment to 1 1/2 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of paper at each turn to narrow the log and force out air. Transfer in parchment to a paper towel tube; chill at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut log into 1/4-inch-thick slices; transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Brush tops with water; sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until set, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on sheets on wire racks. Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.

From Holiday Cookies 2005, Special Issue 2005

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Martha-Stewart-Recipes-n-More/

This is another great group owned by *Beth*

To visit group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/all-simple-recipes/

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.