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Soup Maker Recipe: Soya Bean and Onion Soup

Soya beans tend to have a very pungent taste to me, so making soup from soya is all about changing the flavour.

SOUP MAKER RECIPE: SOYA BEAN & ONION SOUP WITH CARDAMOM

Soup Maker Recipe: Soya Bean and Onion Soup

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 300 g Soya Beans The Green Endamame Beans
  • 300 g Onions Finely Sliced
  • 200 g Potatoes Peeled & Chopped
  • 800 ml Hot Vegetable Stockpinch Salt & Pepper To Taste
  • 1 teaspoon Cardamom Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Olive Oil

Instructions
 

  • Lightly saute the onions and cardamom with a pinch of salt and pepper, in the olive oil.

  • Add all the ingredients to the soup maker and stir very well.Choose the smooth setting for a thick soup.

  • Season with other herbs or spices if you'd like a stronger taste.

 

 

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I have Tinnitus. What is it?

I have what I guess is likely to be a milder form of Tinnitus, but it’s still there all the time.  For every second of every day, it keeps me company through thick and thin.

My tinnitus is like that of 1 minute 44 on the video below, with just a higher pitch.  It used to be combined with the heart pulse noise immediately after that, but after suffering with it for two years, the pulsing tinnitus has eased off a lot.  I suspect that was more down to an inflamed inner ear than actual tinnitus itself as I have a nerve very close to my main vein, according to my ENT specialist who tried to pin it down for me a few years ago.  At about 3 minutes 55, is how highly pitched mine is.

What is Tinnitus?

Simply, it’s a blooming nuisance.  It’s loud, always there and drives me to distraction when I’m trying to sleep.

In acceptable terms, it’s a loud noise we feel in our ears, causing noise in our heads.    The noise can be:

Buzzing, humming, grinding, hissing, whistling, beating, throbbing…. You get the picture?

There are different forms of Tinnitus that are more rare.  The pulsatile kind that I used to also have, has an easier explanation with the real heartbeat to cause the feeling.  Some people even have musical hallucinations, where they hear whole songs.

What causes Tinnitus?

Loud noise probably helps it along, and it’s the one thing everyone seems to think about with Tinnitus, but it’s only one factor.  I’ve had very mild Tinnitus since my late teens.  The worst thing about it, is knowing, that never again in your life, will you experience total silence.  That’s actually quite distressing at times, though I have learned to live with it most of the time.  I dread how bad it must be for those who have severe Tinnitus with extremely loud noise.

I can pin down the worst of my Tinnitus to the time the pulsing started in one ear.  Those two years were horrific.  I couldn’t sleep, my head felt fuzzy, and as if I were hearing through cotton wool.  I went to doctor after doctor, appointment after appointment, always being told there was nothing wrong, then one day, I woke up, the ear popped and the worst of the pulsating disappeared.  What I was left with, was an increased level of Tinnitus in my right ear, with the same level of my high pitched whistling Tinnitus in the left as before.  My Tinnitus is now very lopsided.

I have some degree of hearing loss in my left ear, but it’s not too major.  It’s certainly liveable with.  For me, the worst Tinnitus was caused by inner ear damage.

The NHS says this about inner ear damage:  “If part of the cochlea is damaged, it will stop sending information to parts of your brain. These areas of the brain will then actively ‘seek out’ signals from parts of the cochlea that still work. These signals are over-represented in the brain and cause the sounds of tinnitus.”

There are other things that could cause Tinnitus, such as earwax, infection, a perforated eardrum and yes, those dreadful loud noises as a child / young adult, when we thought we were invinceable.

How to Treat Tinnitus

Sadly, there isn’t really any way to treat it that’s actually helpful.  The only thing I’ve found is distracting myself from it.

Although mine is there all the time, there are some points in the day when I’m more conscious of it than others.

If you’ve blocked ears etc, some medical intervention might help, but for many of us, it’s simply a case of managing the noise in our ears.

I notice the noise most when it’s quiet.  The noise feels all encompassing then.  It’s so loud, that in the absence of other noise, I can’t possibly imagine being able to hear anything else on to of the sound, yet at the drop of a pin, I can hear it through the other noise in my ears.  I’m not quite sure how to describe that, but it’s very deceiving.

I’m getting used to my noise.  Mine is annoying, but not debilitatingly so.  I can blot some of it out.  Bedtime is difficult as I have to sleep on the worst affected ear.  Somehow, it helps to drown the noise out to lay on it.  On really bad nights, especially if I have a cold, I tend to use music under my pillow, making a noise I can hear through the high pitched hissy singing tone.

The Future

Well, mine isn’t going to get any better.  I really do have to learn to live with it, and be prepared for the time I could get worse.

I deliberately stay away from loud noises, in case it makes the problem even that teensy bit worse.  If you invited me to a disco, I’d probably have ear plugs in, well hidden under my hair.  I might have to ask you to repeat what you’re saying, but at least my ears won’t deteriorate any further from loud music.

If you have Tinnitus, take care of the noise around you.  I suspect it really does matter.

 

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News from the SoupMaker.Club 22nd February 2015

For those of you subscribing here, these are newest recipes on the soup maker club website.

Soup Maker Fruit Cocktail and Pear Smoothie (Tinned Version)

Tinned-Fruit-Smoothie-2-258x300

Soup Maker Version of Cauliflower and Cheese Soup

Soup Maker Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup

Soup Maker Chicken & Mushroom Soup

Soup Maker Version Coconut and Lime Soup

 

 

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A Visit to Hazlehead Park in Aberdeen #BetterPlaces #BritMums

Where do you go when you want a bit of peace and quiet, or simply somewhere calming to help ease the stresses in your life?

Hazlehead Park 2

For me, one of my favourite places is a park that lies not far from us.  Hazlehead Park in Aberdeen, is a nice calming place for me.  I started to go there when my puppy arrived fourteen years ago, and until she died, it stayed one of her favourite places to go.  We’d just have to turn the car into the road leading to the park, and she’d start yelping with excitement.

Granted, it’s not showing its glory on the winter drab day we’ve just had, but imagine this when it’s in full bloom over spring to autumn and you can imagine why I enjoy going there.

Hazlehead Park 3

The park is over 180 hectares in total, and includes a couple of golf courses and a pitch and putt on top of the other things you’d normally find in a City park.  It has a lot of trees, so is great for hide and seek with small children, also letting them see lots of wildlife with the flowers and bushes.

Every year, Hazlehead Park also hosts the Aberdeen Highland Games in June, with the traditional Scottish events such as caber tossing, highland dancing, hammer throwing, piping and tug of war.  There are often upwards of 10-15 thousand visitors that day, so leave the car and take the bus if you’re going.

In the park, there’s also the Piper Alpha Memorial Garden.  Dedicated to the 167 men who lost their lives in the North Sea on the 6th January 1988, as well as to those who lost their lives trying to help the men in trouble.

Hazlehead Park 9

I don’t let my children forget either.  We do visit on occasion, to remind ourselves how men and women put their lives in danger every day, just to give us a better life.  In summer, this garden is beautiful, fully blooming with rich colours.

Hazlehead Park 15

I see this garden as a place to relax and unwind.  In the summer months, I’ve been known to sit there with a flask of coffee and a good book, just to blow the cobwebs out of my hair.  Dotted around the garden are some memorial benches that are perfect for enjoying the garden, and doing nothing more than enjoying the odd nice day that comes our way.

Hazlehead Park

I do go with my kids too, as there’s plenty for them to do at Hazlehead Park.  A nice big maze keeps them busy for at least half an hour a time, while I usually sit outside with my trusty kindle, listening to them shouting for each other as they get lost inside.

Hazlehead Park 12

Sadly, the visit today meant we were too late to visit pets corner, so we went for a late lunch in the cafe instead.

Hazlehead Park 11

Hazlehead Park 14

There’s plenty for kids to do, as there are several open spaces and two huge fields down the back for football or rough ball games.  As well as that, there are climbing frames, swings and even a couple of little diggers that keep middler amused for around an hour.

I think almost everyone that lives in Aberdeen has visited.  There are usually activities and gatherings over the nicer months, and in the afternoons, finding a spot on a sunny day can be challenging, so I have tended to go when I dropped the kids off at school, before the crowds of new mums and toddlers arrive for the day.  There are often dog walkers and joggers out at that time, doing the same thing as I do.

If you’re in Aberdeen on a nice day, make sure you visit.

Hazlehead Park 4

This #BetterPlaces post is in support of the Syndol Headache Relief Find Your Better Place campaign with BritMums. Syndol Headache Relief is now formulated for headaches. Visit www.syndol.co.uk for online resources with information about headaches and how to restore calm in your life.

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Review: Tassimo Coffee Maker

We’ve recently been using a Tassimo Coffee Machine.  It’s not the top of range one, as we had to go with one that had a large tank on it.  Ours is the Fidelia T40 Tassimo by Bosch machine.   I was half the price on Argos website in their sale, so I’m surprised to see how expensive they just a week or two on, but also grateful for getting ours so cheaply.  It pays to watch out for bargains it seems.

With six people in the house, of whom, 2 are die-hard coffee addicts and 1 child is a right tea johnny, a machine that only spits out a couple of cups at a time would have been harder to live with, but saying that, I have nothing to compare it with as yet, so can’t express my approval at our machine highly enough.

Tassimo

The driving force in buying one, was simply due to my mother and her shaking hands.

She can no longer manage the kettle well, and I didn’t want to take away the pleasure of making her own coffee, so a pod machine it was.

In the end, I went for the one on offer in Argos at the time and bought the cheapest they had with the largest tank.

I did spend a fair while trying to decide on a Nespresso machine v a Tassimo.

The Tassimo won due to the availability of tea and hot chocolate pods.  The advert for £20 off t discs on the box  helped to cement that decision a little too.

Tassimo Bosch

We’ve had our first pods, and we’ve got our first delivery of coffee pods.  I did manage to be a tad disappointed that there don’t seem to be any compatible pods, or t-discs as they’re called for the Tassimo, but I’ve learned to live with that for the moment as these machines do so much more than just make coffee from the discs.

Tassimo T Discs

I’ve been offered pods/discs in the past to review, but never had a machine to use them with, so perhaps you’ll now see reviews of those going online.

I suspect Tassimo Recipes will be going up here soon too.  Tiramisu and Chocolate Mousse seem like a good place to start for me in the next couple of months.

Tassimo Costa Americano

My biggest relief was finding out that it dispensed hot water as well as making coffee.  When we first got our machine, we ran out of discs quickly.

That was no problem, as it just needed the cleaning disc inserted, a spoon of coffee in the bottom of the mug, and off it went making instant coffee too, all while only boiling enough for each mug of coffee.

It’s also been used to fill one of the pot noodles that the middle one is partial to for a snack, meaning that he does not have to manipulate the kettle either.

Each t-disc has a barcode on it.  The machine reads that barcode and it tells the machine how much water to dispense with the beverage of choice.  Some drinks are enough for Expresso type small cups and others need larger cups for the latte style drinks.  If we want a weaker coffee, we can simply choose to press the button at the right time to dispense extra hot water into the cup.

Tassimo T Discs2

Most of us love it, that is, apart from the one person who it was bought for in the first place.  Sadly, it seems that dementia and learning how to use a new machine, don’t go hand in hand, so the machine is now fully the preserve of the rest of the family, but with one difference.

The kids are all comfortable with making her a cup of coffee with it, where they were more wary of pouring boiling water from the kettle, so I have helpers to give the elder her caffeine fix.  And for days she’s on coffee overdose, we switch to decaff after she’s had a couple of steaming mugs.  She can never tell the difference.

 

 

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Frozen Veg Versus Fresh Veg – Would you use frozen fruit and vegetables?

If you believe the Daily Mail, the consensus is that frozen food is better than fresh food – and that includes frozen vegetables and fruit.

Using frozen ingredients in recipes isn’t always popular though, and I do often wonder how many of us actually use them.

Von Chef Frozen Strawberries

Coming from a family who always ate from fresh, I found the transition to using frozen food a bit difficult.  It had always been drummed into my head that fresh was the way to go, no matter what.  We grow a lot of our own in summer, so it’s always the winter months where we are lacking in much of the fresh stuff.

Apparently a couple of studies have found that frozen fruit and veg could actually be healthier with the higher levels of vitamins preserved in them, especially the antioxidant leafy veg

The antioxidants fared best, which included Vitamin C, polyphenols, anthocyanins, lutein and beta-carotene.

Frozen Vegetables

Personally, I’m not 100% convinced they’re better for us, but I can understand how they would be just as good for us if they were picked and frozen quickly.  I’ve seen the evidence, but I can’t get my head around how they could possibly be an improvement.

There’s always the benefit of not being in transit for days before they get to us, which can’t be bad though, and the frozen version will keep the freshness they seem to have.

I don’t like frozen fruit and veg when it’s thawed from the packet.  That’s just me, so I rarely use them for just serving up the veg on its own, but I do use them for cooking in other food.  The slightly limp results I seem to get on defrosting tends to put them off my list for just adding veg to the plate as a side dish to a main course.

Von Chef Frozen Bananas

I did find great ways to use fruit I froze myself, with the frozen dessert maker that Von Shef sent to me, but that’s not what I’m talking about.  Strangely, the fruit I froze in my freezer did not have the wetter consistency that the shop bought kind seems to have.

I do buy a lot of frozen veg though.  I love it for last-minute soups, for onions and for garlic and ginger.  I’ve been using more and more frozen carrots too, as they just last so long.  As much as I love fresh carrots, there are times when they’re wasted in the veg drawer and end up in the bin, which I find very wasteful.  Unless I’m buying those for specific meal planning, I keep reserves in the freezer for days we fancy carrots or I’m putting a casserole on and fancy throwing some in without having to visit the local shop.

At the end of the day, unlike a lot of home cooks, I’m very pro the use of frozen veg in recipes.  I’ll use fresh where I can, but frozen is not off my radar.

What about you?

 

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What to do with kids in the school holidays!

It sounds a little ominous doesn’t it?  Christmas has just left the building and we’re half way to Easter already, with a wee break in between.  We don’t get the lovely long break that kids in England get at this time of year, but we make up for it with other holidays.

Mid term isn’t a name that’s really been used up here in the North East of Scotland.  We do have a break next week for a few days, but two of those are in service days rather than holidays, so teachers are still in working, though our kids are at home under our feet, and we all know how bored kids get when they’ve been cooped up for too long.

Attractiontix asked a few of us to send a suggestion of what to do with the kids over the holidays as they were compiling a list for their own blog.  I thought it was a great idea, especially for those who’ve just got to the age where their children need to get out and about more, but aren’t quite sure what to do with them.  You can read their post and all the tips by visiting their website.

I was pretty interested in Charlotte’s recommendation from themummyblogger.co.uk. Her suggestion was to try the FA website as they offer free coaching for 5-11 year olds.  I wish I’d known that when my kids were younger, but then again, it possibly doesn’t happen up here with the good old SFA

My suggest was easy, as my kids are the outdoor types.  For the past decade, I’ve often to be found out in the rain and freezing weather with a blue nose and rosy cheeks with the cold, while the kids were toasty warm in their salopettes and thick jackets.  It did help that we had a dog, and had to get out in all weathers anyway.

Go outside, chase rainbows, dig holes or just splash in the rain to get some fresh air into your lungs. Don’t worry about the housework till the kids are asleep; memories aren’t made washing dishes and cleaning floors.

 

What else could we all do?

Join The National Trust or the National Trust for Scotland

The National Trust and the Scottish National Trust have low membership fees for families and plenty of places to go, from having a picnic on the lawn of a stately home or a castle,to rooting around in the bedrooms of royalty gone past, there are lots to do.  If you join one, you also get to use the other, so up and down the UK, there will always be plenty of places to go.

Take A Train

Stonehaven isn’t far from us, but it’s a great day out for the kids.  We often used to take the train, and then have a picnic on the beach at Stonehaven, where there’s a nice big kids play park and the beach within a stone’s throw.  It’s a bit of a hike back up to the station from the beach front, but we have been known to take a wee taxi to get back up there if we’re all tuckered out from digging in the sand.

 Have The Kids Cook a Meal For Everyone

We’ve done this a few times.  The kids have been left to take over the kitchen and we all depend on what they throw together for supper, and how old your children are made the decision on how adventurous they can be.   We try to plan it in advance and they need a little help with the hot stuff, but mixing juices and making sandwiches keeps them busy for ages.  We always end up with too much.

I have not been paid for this post, but Attractiontix are sending a wee basket of goodies as a thank you for joining in with their tips from parents.  I’m looking forward to it arriving already!

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Safer Internet Day 2015 #SID2015

If we’ve been on the internet for any length of time, we’ve all done it.  Either we’ve said something we did not really mean, or someone has been mean to us, or called us names, or been downright nasty.  We could have seen things we wished we’d never known existed and it can seriously put a damper on a day if something upsetting catches our eye.  And that’s for us as adults.  How much worse is it for children to be exposed to the same things, with their immature emotional state?

Today is safer internet day for 2015.

I know, I know, you’re all probably sighing and reaching for the big back button at the top of the screen, but being safer online is a responsibility of us all.

The Safer Internet Centre in the UK is co-ordinating help to promote the safe, responsible and positive use of technology for our children and young people.

The theme is: Let’s Create a Better Internet Together.

It’s celebrated by over a hundred countries, and supported by the European Commission, but what is it?

Raising Awareness

The day is mean to highlight positive uses of technology, to create a safer online community.  The responsibility falls on us as parents, carers, teachers, social workers, and everyone else, to make the internet a safer place for our children.

Youth Leading The Way

According to Safer Internet, around 30% of 11-16 year olds have experienced some forms of unpleasant behaviour online in the last year, and also explains what they love about going on the internet.

A new film #Up2Us, created by schoolchildren tells us about their own experiences online and inspires young people to do something kind today.

Social Internet Day TV Today

Visit the online channel today at 11am to see Molly and Harvey from CBBC’s Friday Download Show.  I’m hoping to get my kids to watch it on catchup after school.

Social Media

At 8am today, there was a mass tweet, using the hashtag #SID2015, with over 800 organisations agreeing to take part.  That’s an awesome target.  As a parent, I’ve watched my children talking to friends online who acted very unfriendly, even making fake accounts and using those to be nasty to classmates, anonymously of course.  The upset it causes to the people they target is unnecessary and distressing for the children involved.  It’s easy for us to say, ignore the haters and delete those accounts, but for children, that’s a very difficult thing to do.

I have to admit to being a little disappointed that none of my local schools seemed to take this on board.  I think these are great ways to interact with our kids and share important learning, but as parents, we can bridge that gap where we can.

The internet is a wonderful and scary place to be.  Let’s try and make it safer for our kids, by teaching them to be kind to each other online.

AT 8pm, Bars & Melody are taking over the Safer Internet Day Twitter Account for a question and answer session about why the safer internet day is important to them and what their views are on being kind and safe online.  Join in the chat by using the hashtag #SIDTV.

Here’s the Safer Internet Day Programme for today.

Safer Internet DAy

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How to make stock in a Soup Maker

We’re all put off making stock on occasion, by the sheer need to be around as the pot simmers those old bones and bits left over from any roast we’ve had for dinner, but there is another way.

Chicken Stock 2

Determined to use my Soup Maker to its full extent, I tried making stock as a test, to see if it was really possible to do.  Any soups always taste fabulous with fresh stock, so it’s a no brainer for me.  I put the carcass or bones into a pot as soon as it’s cooked, so that I can freeze any leftovers for another day.  I don’t let it cool, as I’ve always lived by the rule of only one reheat after meat is cooked.

It’s fairly simple.  I add nothing as I prefer to add my extra ingredients at the cooking stage, but you could add different options.

Ingredients:  Carcass, Bones or Leftover Meat

Optional:  

– Salt & Pepper

– Stock Pot

– Garlic

– Onions etc

Add any bones, or chopped up pieces of leftover meat to your soup maker.  You do need to ensure there is enough room to put on your lid if you use a kettle version.

Method:

Step 1

Add your ingredients to the soup maker, choose the chunky option and run through the cycle.

Step 2

Chicken Stock 1

If you like your stock to be stronger, run it through a second cycle.

Step 3

Sieve your liquid, to separate the bones & meat from the liquid stock, and now it’s ready for use.  You can freeze the stock if it’s freshly made, but if you’ve let the meat or the carcass cool, I’d use it straight away.

IMG_8817

 

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Wear It, Beat It. British Heart Foundation – Heart Month

Did you know our hearts beat around 100,000 times a day?  That’s a lot of work for one muscle to do.  It pumps around 23,000 litres of blood around our bodies in a day and just keeps on working away in the background.  We’re rarely even aware that it’s doing anything at all.

Red Heart

Today’s the day to raise awareness.  Wear as much red as you can and support the British Heart Foundation.  If anyone asks why you’re wearing red, tell them it’s to raise awareness of looking after your heart.

February is heart month.  It’s not surprising with Valentine’s Day in the wings, but how many of us take our hearts for granted?  I know I do.

This month, show your heart some love.   Sign up to the British Heat Foundation 10 Minute Challenge and celebrate by wearing something red, or discover how to keep your own heart happy and healthy.

There will be one simple challenge sent to your inbox each day for ten days.  Each challenge takes a maximum of ten minutes to complete.

Take The British Heart Foundation Ten Minute Challenge

or

Take The British Heart Foundation Wordplace Ten Minute Challenge

On the website, are booklets and guides to help you improve the health of your heart, covering topics like moving, eating, quitting smoking, lowering stress, lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as managing diabetes.

What are you waiting for?

If you’d like to donate to the British Heart Foundation, you can Text ‘RED’ to 70060 to donate £3 to help fund research.