Yes for Breakfast - Biscuits and Granola

A rainbow!We've been wishing for a fluffy tender breakfast biscuit these days, and without margarine, it's been somewhat difficult baking up the perfect biscuit. With coconut oil, however, the results are pretty close! We found an easy baking powder biscuit online and made a few adjustments:Baking Powder Biscuits2 cups spelt flour1 1/2 Tb baking powder3/4 Tb sugar3/4 tsp salt1/4 cup coconut oil, firm (cold or at room temp)1 cup non-dairy milkCombine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In the dry mixture cut in coconut oil as you would margarine. Add milk to the large bowl, and combine until just blended. Flatten the batter out a little or roll out on parchment, then form or cut out 7-10 round biscuits. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10- 12 minutes or until just golden.Of course we like having different kinds of biscuits too, with different textures and flavors. So, out of the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook, we made the Cornmeal Maple Biscuits. We adapted the recipe of course to add in some crushed cornflakes instead of just all cornmeal, which gave the biscuits a nice texture. We did half of the recipe a maple flavor like the recipe states, and then the other half we did an herb version and added dried basil, celery seed, and dried dill. Both were delicious and turned out great! A cross between cornbread and biscuits.Cornmeal Maple Biscuits1/2 cup cornmeal1/2 cup wheat flour1 Tb baking powder>1/8 tsp salt2 Tb coconut oil, firm1/4 cup + 2 Tb non-dairy milk1 Tb maple syrup5 Tb corn flakes, crushed (1/2 cup flakes before crushed)for an herb variation you can add a mixture of herbs (about 1 - 1 1/2 tsp total) and instead of 5 Tb maple, sub in 1 Tb agave.Combine dry ingredients (except corn flakes) in a large bowl. Mix maple syrup and milk in a small bowl. In the dry mixture cut in coconut oil as you would margarine, then add cornflakes. Add wets to the large bowl, and combine until just blended. Flatten the batter out a little or roll out on parchment, then form or cut out 4 round biscuits. Bake at 400 degrees F for 12 - 15 minutes or until just golden.Another favorite breakfast treat is homemade granola! Sooo much cheaper to make your own, and it makes a ton! We love having this with dried fruit or fresh fruit and non-dairy milk, or adding other cereal like flakes or cheerios, or putting it in yogurt or ice cream. A simple base that can be easily adjusted to add different spices and sweeteners.Easy Whole Grain Granola2/3 cup each of spelt flakes, barley flakes, and rye flakes (or try other grain flakes or even just oats!)2/3 cup oat bran or wheat germ1/4 cup agave syrup or maple syrup1/2 - 3/4 tsp vanilla extract (or try maple or almond extract)2 Tb oil2 Tb waterPlace a parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Combine all ingredients, then spread out on the baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes, then stir, then bake another 15 minutes. Makes 2-3 cups.Mmm Breakfast. So satisfying. Miss Emma is sure happy :)May your day start right with breakfast! - LK Sisters

Yes for Breakfast - Biscuits and Granola

A rainbow!We've been wishing for a fluffy tender breakfast biscuit these days, and without margarine, it's been somewhat difficult baking up the perfect biscuit. With coconut oil, however, the results are pretty close! We found an easy baking powder biscuit online and made a few adjustments:Baking Powder Biscuits2 cups spelt flour1 1/2 Tb baking powder3/4 Tb sugar3/4 tsp salt1/4 cup coconut oil, firm (cold or at room temp)1 cup non-dairy milkCombine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In the dry mixture cut in coconut oil as you would margarine. Add milk to the large bowl, and combine until just blended. Flatten the batter out a little or roll out on parchment, then form or cut out 7-10 round biscuits. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10- 12 minutes or until just golden.Of course we like having different kinds of biscuits too, with different textures and flavors. So, out of the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook, we made the Cornmeal Maple Biscuits. We adapted the recipe of course to add in some crushed cornflakes instead of just all cornmeal, which gave the biscuits a nice texture. We did half of the recipe a maple flavor like the recipe states, and then the other half we did an herb version and added dried basil, celery seed, and dried dill. Both were delicious and turned out great! A cross between cornbread and biscuits.Cornmeal Maple Biscuits1/2 cup cornmeal1/2 cup wheat flour1 Tb baking powder>1/8 tsp salt2 Tb coconut oil, firm1/4 cup + 2 Tb non-dairy milk1 Tb maple syrup5 Tb corn flakes, crushed (1/2 cup flakes before crushed)for an herb variation you can add a mixture of herbs (about 1 - 1 1/2 tsp total) and instead of 5 Tb maple, sub in 1 Tb agave.Combine dry ingredients (except corn flakes) in a large bowl. Mix maple syrup and milk in a small bowl. In the dry mixture cut in coconut oil as you would margarine, then add cornflakes. Add wets to the large bowl, and combine until just blended. Flatten the batter out a little or roll out on parchment, then form or cut out 4 round biscuits. Bake at 400 degrees F for 12 - 15 minutes or until just golden.Another favorite breakfast treat is homemade granola! Sooo much cheaper to make your own, and it makes a ton! We love having this with dried fruit or fresh fruit and non-dairy milk, or adding other cereal like flakes or cheerios, or putting it in yogurt or ice cream. A simple base that can be easily adjusted to add different spices and sweeteners.Easy Whole Grain Granola2/3 cup each of spelt flakes, barley flakes, and rye flakes (or try other grain flakes or even just oats!)2/3 cup oat bran or wheat germ1/4 cup agave syrup or maple syrup1/2 - 3/4 tsp vanilla extract (or try maple or almond extract)2 Tb oil2 Tb waterPlace a parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Combine all ingredients, then spread out on the baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes, then stir, then bake another 15 minutes. Makes 2-3 cups.Mmm Breakfast. So satisfying. Miss Emma is sure happy :)May your day start right with breakfast! - LK Sisters

Chenrezig, May you stay until samsara ends…

Our bus arrives at midday in the hill station of Dharamsala. Im on my way to McLeod Ganj, the famous Tibetan settlement, and home of the His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Our bus wheezes its way up the steep Dhauladhar mountains, watched meaningfully by monkeys. The road grows steeper and starts to zigzag up the mountainside, forcing our driver to make wobbly hairpin turns at each corner. Oncoming traffic, mostly Tibetans on motorbikes, stops to watch our bus driver adeptly navigate the serpentine roads. The spectacle of the bus lurching forward, rolling back a little, bumping into a tree, spinning the tires, delights all of us; the crowd gapes and laughs with a mix of astonishment and horror, like theyd stopped at the side of the road to watch a doe give birth. We are even treated, after one perilous corner, to joyful applause.
The bus lets us off at the Dharamsala bus station, where we transfer to a more nimble jeep, which takes us up to McLeod Ganj for the almost-free price of seven rupees. I untie my pack from the roof and walk with the British girl Id met on the bus in search of guest houses.
After two hard weeks in India, Id decided to come here to boost my spirits a little bit. The place came highly recommended. McLeod Ganj is a little city sitting on the cap of a mountain, overlooking the stunning Kangra valley. It is a major centre for Buddhism, as well as yoga, meditation, etc. It is also the home of the Tibetan government-in-exile, presided over by that lovable simple monk, Tenzin Gyatso, aka the Dalai Lama (or HHDL, as hes called). Monks in maroon and saffron robes walk the streets and bow politely to me as I pass. There are elegant Western ladies in saris, and men wearing skirts. People talk and hold hands and smile and hug. Steam rises from the pots of a small Tibetan ladys roadside food stand. The air crackles with potential; there is vivacity and excitement, unlike the profoundly Indian cities Id visited so far. Except for the cows prowling the streets, and the odd rickshaw, it looks like another country. I feel like I have entered the mythical city of Shangri-La, and its full of dreadlocked backpackers.
In any case, Im thrilled to be here. I find a dirt-cheap, clean guest house that has a balcony with a view. On the balcony below, a ponytailed Columbian guy gives a Tai Chi lesson to a group of tourists. Across from me is the Kangra Valley, and to my left, a snow-tipped mountain with a crisp treeline.
I have lunch with the British girl on the balcony of the Kunga Guest House; we agree that it will be tough to leave this place and go back out into India again. I eat Tibetan momos, steamed dumplings stuffed with cheese and vegetables, and they are delicious. The customers passing through the restaurant are a varied and eclectic group indeed: a strange German wearing a rainbow vest covered in embroidered peace-and-love platitudes (and his email address), aristocratic English ladies, groups of Indian businessmen, a New Age Chuck Norris, Tibetan monks who order nothing but tea, various French people dressed like Indians.
I take a walk down to the temple, where monks debate in the courtyard, finishing off each point with a clap of the hands and stomp of the right foot, as if to cast it off to the higher realms. Around the temple are Buddhist bookshops, Tibetan medicine clinics, Indian touts, Western-style bars that serve pizza and beer. Dharamsala is a strange blend of the exotic, the spiritual, and the banal. A tourist town, it gives Westerners what they want, or more specifically, what Indians and Tibetans think Westerners want (pizza is less popular than thentuk; a nightclub on Jogiwara Rd, X-Cite, seems always to be empty). Under the neon signs and shouting matches, the local culture hums along, oblivious to the din of motorbikes and dance music, monks walking in silence to their evening discourses and elderly Tibetan ladies spinning prayer wheels and chanting: om mani padme hung. Both worlds are accessible to everyone. To be a tourist in Dharamsala is to be simultaneously a guest in the home of an ancient civilization of mystics, monastics, and seekers-of-truth, and, a place where you can buy bootleg Led Zeppelin concert DVDs and drink (terrible, Indian) beer under a mountain moon and a blinding canopy of stars. It is absolutely perfect. Ill stay here for a while.

You Ask, I Answer: Depression & Vitamin D

I just got my blood labs done to test for vitamin D deficiency.My doctor said that my recent depression symptoms and joint pain could be resulting from that. I knew about rickets and vitamin D deficiency in children, but what is this chronic pain/fatigue/depression stuff in adults? How does vitamin D deficiency play a role in that? -- Christine (last name unknown) Via the blogThanks to more funding -- which means more research -- we are finally getting a glimpse at all of Vitamin D's important functions.Many people don't realize that the term "vitamin" isn't even 100 years old (that anniversary will occur in 2012).Vitamin D, meanwhile, wasn't discovered until 1922.In any case, recent research on vitamin D status, depression, and joint pain appears promising (more studies are needed before any of this can be established as fact, though).As far as depression is concerned, this is the reasoning:* Blood samples of individuals experiencing clinical depression show lower levels of25-hydroxyvitamin D (the active form of vitamin D measured in blood).* The brain contains vitamin D receptors, which vitamin D uses in the synthesis of vital peptides and compounds.* Recent studies on individuals suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) concluded that those who supplemented 600 International Units of vitamin D reported feeling better more quickly than those who did not supplement. It is worth noting that neither group used special UV lamps for the study.This is not to say that vitamin D "cures" depression. The current line of thinking is that low vitamin D status can exacerbate some types of depression, and that correcting this inadequacy may be one factor than can help speed up recovery.As for the second half of your question -- since Vitamin D is tightly linked with calcium and phosphorus in bone metabolism, it only makes sense that inadequate levels could have an effect on joints.The latest studies theorize that deficiencies of vitamin D make it more difficult for the body to repair cartilage and joint damage from arthritis.I completely side with scientists and researchers who recommend daily supplementation of 2,000 International Units of vitamin D for the following groups of people:* Dark-skinned individuals* Adults over the age of 65* Anyone living north of Atlanta (from October to April)* Anyone with limited sun exposure

Motivating!

Some people out there say I'm not into Streaming as much anymore.... since I've bought the farm and have sold all but our pride and joy - the SOTR.. so, I've been out mowing the spot out back that will be our own little slice of Airstream heaven alot this summer. Now it only has to get green! So, here are my motivating photo shots for those out there that can not come close to being "Into Streaming" as much as I.... so - what's the formula for AirstreamIntoItNess? I know it has the following variables in it that cover 1 Jan - 31 Dec... (# of rallies attended, # of miles towing your OWN Airstream, # of thumbs ups or walk ups at gas stations, # of years in the WBCCI, year of Airstream (bonus if it's in the 50s) (minus points if it's a 70s), # of nights spent in the trailer, # of Caravans particpated in, a visit to the factory, WBCCI member, VAC member, TCT member - what other variables are there and then what's the formula??) - enjoy the photos! Thanks for the motivating shot Paul!Thanks for the motivating shot Marc! These guys are motivating!This advertisement is SO Motivating!This guy motivated me so much I rallied in Michigan last year!Of course, any SOTR and Torpedo in the same shot is M-O-T-I-V-A-T-I-N-G!Our 59 Buick towing WILL be motivating!Getting stuck on a hill is Motivating too! Go Dick, Go! If Dick only knew what was ahead - the last motivating photo!! Anyone coming to a rally motivates me! Of course, flying flags are MOTIVATING! Vintage Water Decals drive the motivation!An Airstream returning 50 years later to its birthplace is VERY motivating! I wonder if Fleetwood gets pictures like this? Off to the races - of course the SOTR is in the lead! By four Globetrotters at least. Racing Caravanners motivate me. Polished aluminum - nothing motivates me more! The fabulous 50s motivate some... what were the 60s and 70s... not so motivating, right? My 400th Blog post - can you say M O T I V A T I O N ?

EA Mobile releases two more franchises on Apple App Store

EA Mobile has announced that it will bring a couple of its biggest global franchises to the Apple App Store, and they are the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR and Need for Speed Undercover. Both titles were specially developed to cater to the special capabilities of the iPhone and iPod touch, where both graphic quality and simulation experience are emphasized. Touch capability will be used by players in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR before they can draw back a golf club to tee off for a round at Pebble Beach. As for Need for Speed Undercover, players will need to learn to outrun the police while using the accelerometer feature when navigating roads. Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Tiger Woods PGA TOUR makes its debut on iPhone/iPod touch offering 120+ holes across seven of the most famous golf courses in the world including Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, and TPC Sawgrass. EA Mobile introduces the one-of-a-kind, touch-n-drag Swing Meter providing subtle visual feedback to achieve the perfect swing. In addition, players can swipe the screen to manipulate the direction of the ball spin. This is the only game on the market that allows players to play as or against Tiger Woods and other pro golfers such as Annika Sorenstam, Vijay Singh, Natalie Gulbis and Retief Goosen. Players are pulled into a virtual round of golf as they are surrounded by stunning 3D graphics, dynamic camera angles and true-to-life sounds as well as play-by-play commentary throughout the game. With Tiger Woods PGA TOUR, players can escape and play a round of golf anytime, anywhere. Need for Speed Undercover The highly anticipated, #1 racing franchise Need for Speed Undercover comes to iPhone/iPod touch. This action-packed, intense racing experience features 20 of the world’s hottest cars including the Porsche Carrera GT, and Lamborghini Gallardo – all of which you can make your own with aftermarket spoilers, multiple wheel options, body kits and a variety of paint schemes. It is no surprise that EA Mobile took full advantage of the unique features these devices offer, allowing users to corner and drift at 150mph+ with precisely-tuned tilt control steering and Nitrous Boost and Speedbreaker activation with the swipe of a finger. Unique to racing games, players are drawn into a storyline as they accomplish over 20 covert missions lead by Maggie Q via full motion cinematics offering hours of gameplay. The attention to detail in this game provides an immersive experience including sweeping camera angles, realistic 3D cars and environments, intense impact-crash sound effects, ambient street noise, and destructible objects. This is one of the must-have games of the summer. Guess gaming life on both the iPhone and iPod touch will be different with these two titles being released. Check out their pricing on the Apple App Store and get your game on while you wait for your girlfriend to get her hair done at the hairdressers. Press Release

Month fruit and vegetable

Harvest of the month

1.grapefruit ,lemon ,potatoes,mandarins,cumquats

2.broccoli,cabbage,beets ,beans

3.carrots,peas,leeks,green onions

4.strawberries,turlips,raddishes,pear

5.spinach,cucumber,avocados

6.melons,peaches,plums

7.peppers,garlic

8.celery,fennel

9.apples ,corn,kiwi

10.pumpkins

11.potatoes,chives

12.oranges,mushrooms