GLUTEN-FREE GINGER-LEMON BARS

for the crust
280 grams all-purpose flour mix
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon guar gum
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces (1 1/2 US sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg, at room temperature
1 to 2 tablespoons ice cold water

for the topping
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
46 grams all-purpose flour mix
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preparing to bake.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Find a 9 x 13 baking pan in your cupboard. Grease it with the oil or butter of your choice. Lay down a large piece of parchment paper, large enough to leave 1 inch of paper hanging over the two long sides.

Making the crust.
Pull out the food processor and attach the blade. Combine the flour, xanthan gum, guar gum, brown sugar, powdered sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of the food processor. Pulse them together to aerate the flour. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal.
Whisk together the egg and water. With the food processor running, pour the eggy water into the bowl. Pulse only until the mixture begins to hold together. Stop the food processor and pinch the dough between your fingers. If it holds together, you are done. Err on the side of the dough being a bit too dry than too wet.

Baking the crust.
Dump the dough into the prepared pan and press it down evenly. (You can do this with a piece of plastic wrap between you and top, if you wish.) Bake until the top is slightly golden and starting to set, about 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 300°.

Making the topping.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until they are light and fluffy. Stir in the lemon juice, flour, sugar, and lemon zest, then whisk them all together. Pour the topping over the crust. Put the pan back in the oven and bake until the top has set firm, about 30 minutes.

Take the pan out of the oven and put it on a wire rack to cool completely. When there is not a hint of warmth to the lemon bars, lift the parchment paper from the pan by grabbing all four corners. The lemon bars will come with you. Put the parchment paper onto a cutting board and cut the delightful dessert into bars.
Dust the lemon bars with powdered sugar before you serve.

(These will keep for 3 days. Yeah right. Like they are going to last that long!)


sumber dari: glutenfreegirl.com

reduce the chances of developing bowel cancer

A daily dose of ginger could reduce the chances of developing bowel cancer, a new study has found.
Researchers from the University of Michigan Medical School in the US gave 15 volunteers two grams of ginger root supplement daily for 28 days and another 15 volunteers placebo tablets for the same period.
Those who took the ginger compound showed reduced signs of colon inflammation - a condition linked to bowel cancer - compared to the 15 given the placebo.

Suzanna Rick, a naturopathic doctor, said: “Interest in this is only going to increase as people look for ways to prevent cancer that are nontoxic, and improve their quality of life in a cost-effective."
The findings, published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggest that ginger could be used as a bowel cancer prevention agent.

6 more health benefits of ginger

Ovarian cancer
A study conducted at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Centre found that ginger powder induces cell death in ovarian cancer cells.

Morning sickness
Ginger root was found to significantly reduce the severity of nausea and number of vomiting attacks in 19 out of 27 women in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, in a study published in the journal, Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Travel sickness
With its nausea-reducing properties, ginger has been shown to be an effective remedy for motion sickness.

Heartburn
Ginger is an age-old remedy dating back to the ancient Chinese that has been used to treat and prevent digestive conditions such as heartburn.

Colds and flu
Ginger root acts as both an antihistamine and a decongestant. Try grating some fresh ginger into a cup of boiling water with a slice of lemon.

Menstrual cramps
In a 2009 study, women who took 250mg capsules of ginger four times a day for three days from the start of their menstrual period experienced the same level of pain relief as those who treated their menstrual cramps with ibuprofen.


sumber dari: huffingtonpost.co.uk

stress relief to improved digestion

Ginger has been revered for thousands of years in traditional Asian and Arabic medicine and today, scientific studies continue to find health benefits ranging from stress relief to improved digestion.

The fiery root contains essential oils - such as gingerols and shogaols - is a good source of magnesium, potassium, vitamin B6, copper and manganese, and is rich in antioxidants.
We bring you ten health benefits linked to the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officiale, which was praised by Confucius and became a trending food fad of the Roman Empire:

Combats nausea:

Researchers have found that ginger eases nausea and vomiting caused by motion sickness, morning sickness, surgery and chemotherapy.

In one study of 80 new sailors who were prone to motion sickness, those who took powdered ginger had less vomiting and cold sweats than those who took a placebo, said the University of Maryland’s Center for Integrative Medicine.

Natural pain relief: 
Ginger can reduce symptoms of menstrual pain, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. One study showed that taking a ginger extract at the beginning of the menstrual period reduced pain symptoms in 62 per cent of women.
A study at the University of Sydney found that the active ingredients in ginger directly affected pain pathways and recduced inflammation.

Natural arthritis relief:
Taking ginger can reduce pain in people suffering from osteoarthritis.  One study found that taking a ginger extract reduced arthritic pain in the knee after three months of treatment.
Research also showed that a ginger extract could reduce pain and stiffness upon standing and after walking.

Stress reducer:
“Ginger contains potent gingerol, which helps cleanse the harmful chemicals that our bodies produce when we’re worried, so ginger can help psychological stress,” Dietician Alice Mackintosh told the Daily Mail.
Ginger extract showed “significant antidepressant activity” in a study that was published in the International Research Journal of Pharmacy.


sumber dari: smh.com.au

menyembuhkan bisul

Bagi tujuan menyembuhkan bisul dan mengubati luka, anda ambil beberapa helai daun dan tumbuk sampai lumat. Kemudian, tampalkan daun tersebut pada tempat bisul atau luka.
Sekiranya ada yang rasa sengal-sengal otot, sakit sendi ataupun mengalami bengkak; layurkan daun pokok cili padi dan tampal pada tempat yang sakit.
Ulangi langkah tersebut sehingga ia beransur pulih ya.

Akarnya dikatakan mampu mengurangkan tekanan darah tinggi serta menghilangkan cirit-birit.
Petuanya – anda ambil dan bersihkan akar pokok cili padi. Kemudian, rebuskan akar tersebut hingga mendidih. Seterusnya, tapiskan air rebusan ke dalam cawan atau gelas. Tunggu ia suam dan minum.


sumber dari: zainabsgarden.com

Bird’s eye chilli

We brought a few of this tiny chillies to the last swap.  Don’t be fooled by its size, it’s small but hot.  According to wikipedia, it measures 50,000 – 100,000 Scoville units.  That sure sounds very hot but I don’t need the numbers to tell me it’s hot!

We call this ‘cili padi’ in Malay but its name in Chinese is translated to “chilli that points to the sky”.  You can see why from this picture of my plant.  The chillies actually point upwards.



So for those of you who like it hot, this is a great chilli to plant as the chillies being small, will save you space while giving you the hotness in a small fruit  Come to the next swap to get a sample!  Don’t take my word for it as I don’t quite like hot chillies; taste it for yourself and maybe get a sore throat for a day like my son did when he and his adventurous friends decided to see how hot a small chilli can be…


sumber dari: croydonfoodswap.wordpress.com