EASY PEASY CRUNCHY OATCAKES

For biscuits to have with cheese, jam or honey, these are ideal, taste great and couldn't be quicker or easier to make. Half an hour should do it. You should be able to get about 16 cakes out of this mix.

225g oatmeal (I grind small oatflakes, makes for a good texture)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 pint boiling water

Put first three ingredients into a bowl and add the butter. Stir well in then gradually add water until mixture sticking together nicely but not too moist. Flour a board and your hands and knead until well combined.
*Shape into a ball then flatten and roll out until mixture is between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. Keep pinching the breaking edges together with your fingers.
Using pastry cutter or tumbler, cut into rounds (approx two and half inches diameter) and lay on an ungreased baking tray. Pull the leftover crumbly bits together (add a tiny bit of water if the mix is a little dry) and repeat the process from * twice more until all the mixture is used up.
Bake in a pre-heated moderate oven (say 190˚C) for approx 20 minutes until the cakes are a pale fawn colour. Cool on wire rack.

I love these with a thin coat of marmite and peanut butter on top!
Happy baking. Sue

BASQUE EGGS FROM SUE

Do you make and freeze ratatouille or sometimes buy it readymade? (Leader Price do a reasonable Bio one) then here's a quick and delicious starter or main dish? It's this simple:

Three quarters fill individual ovenproof dishes (approx 5"- 6" diameter) with Ratatouille.
Make a well in the middle of each and break an egg into it.
Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake until egg set and cheese melted.

That's it! Serve with salad and fresh bread. It's great I promise. Of course if you don't mind it taking a bit longer, then make the ratatouille from scratch. BON APPETIT!

ECOPAINTS by Sue

It's widely accepted that household paint is full of dodgy substances, after all there are enough warnings on the tin, but do we really know what's in it? Here's a list of some of the goodies, the comments in red are to give an idea and not exhaustive:

* animal products (the mind boggles)
* heavy metals - lead, cadmium, mercury etc.,
* formaldehyde (classified as a probable human carcinogen, and listed by the US) and acrolein Cigarette smoke and exhaust fumes contain acrolein which causes burning of the nose and throat and can damage the lungs)
* vinyl chloride (a colourless gas that can cause dizziness or worse if breathed in in large quantities)
* phthalates ( observed to correlate with hormonal changes and birth defects, as well as other damage to the liver and reproductive system of rats. Some studies have been done which also indicate harmful effects on humans)
* APEO (a surfactant - has poor biodegradability, is toxic and can act as an endocrine disrupter)
* solvents and white spirit, turpentine, terpenes, ethereal oils, VOC'S glycols,
coalescents
* Acrylic Softeners (damaging to the environment)

Worried? Check out this eco paints site passed on by Caroline.

NESTLE - THE GREENPEACE KIT KAT CAMPAIGN

Further to our palm oil piece, we recently signed the Greenpeace petition against the use of palm oil and destruction of the rain forest involved in the manufacture of Kit Kat, and doubtless, numerous other Nestlé products. If you haven't already signed up and would like to know more, here is the link.
The latest email from Greenpeace includes a request to contact Nestlé direct to ask them to clean up their act. I checked out their chief execs to choose one to write to and have sent a letter to the only woman on their board of directors. To read what I said, click on Letter to Nestlé at the top of the page.

If you wish to contact them too, this is the relevant webpage. And The Ecologist is covering the story too. Sue

VIOLETS AND DANDELIONS

They're both popping up to brighten the new growth of spring, in the fields, on roadside banks and, if we're lucky, in our gardens. The delicate VIOLET, deep purple, pale mauve or white, is helpful for coughs and bronchitis. It can also soothe nerves, headaches and insomnia and act as a mild laxative. Take fresh or dried flowers or dried leaves in an infusion.
As a culinary decoration, sprinkle a few bright flowers on a salad.
DANDELIONS have medicinal properties too. For hypertension - try an infusion of fresh young leaves three times a day. It's also a good diuretic because it contains potassium (usually lost in diuretic action) - make a decoction of a tablespoonful of root in a cup of water and drink three times a day, root decoction can also alleviate rheumatoid arthritis when mixed with celery seed.
Here's a fun idea: Choose some closed dandelion flowers and open them in a pan with some butter. Add two beaten eggs with a tablespoonful of crême fraîche, salt and pepper and cook until set as desired. Voilà - omelette aux pissenlits!
Avoid picking either flower from the roadside - exhaust fumes, and if there's only a tiny patch of violets, then I would leave them in their natural setting. Where we are, they're profuse so I don't feel bad about picking a few.
For how to make infusions and decoctions check out this site.

DID YOU KNOW?

IT CAN TAKE UP TO 1,000 YEARS FOR A PLASTIC WATER BOTTLE TO BREAK DOWN IN A LANDFILL. (keep an eye open for upcoming article on dioxin - the dangers of plastic water bottles)

FOR INTREPID BREAD MAKERS

Our friend Hassanah visited the other day and, as I'd always enjoyed her homemade bread, I asked her how she made it.
'Oh, heavens,' she said. 'Well, I improvise really. It goes something like this.' And she wrote out her recipe (makes a couple of loaves):

1 pint warm water
1 tablespoon honey, malt or molasses
1 pkt dried yeast
Mix above with enough bread flour to make a thick cream consistency and leave to rise. It should double in size.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
Seeds and/or nuts of choice
Keep adding flour and kneading until not sticky.
Put into greased tin/s and leave to rise again. Bake in moderately hot oven until golden brown.

You can use a mix of different flours and sprinkle poppy, sunflower or sesame on top.

BON COURAGE! Let us know how you get on.