I use these bath bags to soothe my skin when I am feeling hot or itchy. They are useful if you have eczema or another skin condition. You can add various different herbs depending upon what you prefer. Other than the ones I have used, Calendula or Gotu Kola are also supposed to be soothing and cooling.

If you have dry skin you could also try adding 20mL of almond oil to the bath. Shake the oil with water in a small container so that it emulsifies before you put it in the bath. This stops the oil from sitting on the surface of the bath in a layer.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons of Oatmeal
• 1 tablespoon of lavender heads
• 1 tablespoon of dried chamomile flowers (you can use chamomile tea)
• 1 tablespoon of dried peppermint leaves (you can use peppermint tea)

Method:

Mix all the ingredients, and place into the muslin. Gather the ends of the muslin, and tie into a bag with string or a rubber band. Make the bag loose so that there is room for the contents to expand when they are added to the water in the bath.

Place the bag into your bath while you run it. To assist the ingredients to be released, you can squeeze the bag a few times.

You may be surprised how fragrant and relaxing this bath is. Take care not to fall asleep! Sit in the bath for 10 to 20 minutes and make sure that you splash the bath onto your face and over your head for the full benefits.

The good thing about home made hair gel is that you know the ingredients. This makes it a better choice for people with sensitive skin or eczema. You can add which ever scented oils you prefer, but I have used lavender as it has a pleasant relaxing fragrance.

If you have trouble obtaining the ingredients you may need to order them online. I have purchased them from Auroma, who are based in Australia.

This recipe does not have the extreme hold of some of the commercial products, but it will hold badly behaved hair in place.

Ingredients:

• 5g tragacanth gum powder(from chemist or specialist supplier)
• 15mL glycerine, warmed
• 200mL water, warmed
• few drops of lavender oil

Method:

• Warm the glycerine, and dissolve the tragacanth gum.
• Add the mixture to the water with a few drops of lavender oil and blend until smooth and thick.
• This can be used immediately, and will keep in the refrigerator for some time.

Ingredients:

• 500mL Rice Milk
• 1 each: onion, carrot, celery stalk, chopped into large chunks
• bayleaf
• teaspoon of black peppercorns
• 80g margarine
• 40g cornstarch, sifted
• salt or mustard (optional)

Method:

• Put the milk, vegetables, bayleaf and peppercorns into a saucepan, bring to a gentle simmer then turn off the heat.
• Leave milk for flavours to infuse then strain.
• Melt the margarine then add the cornstarch, stirring until smooth.
• Slowly stir in the milk over a low heat.
• Once all the milk has been added keep stirring until the desired consistency has been reached.
• Taste the sauce, if it is too sweet you can add some mustard or salt to counteract.

Peanut Sauce is a tasty sauce that can be used with meats, salads and vegetables. It is commonly served with Satays and with the salad Gado Gado (recipe soon).

This sauce will keep for a few days in the refrigerator. It makes enough for a meal for 4 people.

Ingredients:

• 1 clove garlic, chopped finely
• 1 small onion, chopped finely
• 1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste
• 1/2 cup peanut paste
• 1 cup water or coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• salt to taste
• water to thin the sauce (if needed)

Method:

• gently cook the onion in oil until soft and  browned.
• add garlic and shrimp paste and fry until fragrant.
• add the peanut paste and stir until softened.
• add the coconut milk and stir until blended, then remove from heat.
• add the remaining ingredients and mix. check the flavour after adding 1/2 lemon juice and add more if needed.
• Add extra water or coconut milk (a small amount at a time) until it is the desired consistency.

Slow cookers have been around for years, and some people refer to them as a crockpot. That name seems to have some connotations of tasteless mush, however the slow food movement advocates cooking food slowly to extract maximum flavour and tenderness.

These shanks were one of the first things I cooked in my cooker after I purchased it. I left the cooker on for 10 hours as an experiment to see how it would work if I left it on while at work. The moisture level hardly changed at all, so I know that I will not have to worry about the cooker drying out and burning down the house! The shanks themselves were melt in the mouth soft, and literally fell off the bone.

This recipe serves four. Don’t worry about the large quantity of garlic, when cooked this way the garlic almost tastes creamy and is far more delicate that when chopped and sauteed.

Ingredients:

4 lamb shanks, sliced in half
2 sticks celery
3 medium carrots
6 to 8 medium button mushrooms
olive oil
3 medium onions, sliced
20 cloves garlic, whole, including skin
rice flour
pepper
cumin, ground
paprika, mild or hot
fish sauce
400g can of tomatoes, chopped
500mL vegetable stock
lemon zest
chopped parsley

Method:

Chop celery, carrots and mushrooms into chunky pieces and place in bottom of slow cooker dish.

Heat a heavy bottom fry pan and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add the sliced onions and cook gently until soft. Then add garlic cloves, and cook together until golden. Remove and set to one side.

Mix together about 1/2 cup rice flour with a teaspoon cumin, a teaspoon paprika and plenty of fresh ground black pepper. Coat the shanks evenly in the spiced flour, and fry in oil until nicely browned on all sides. Near the end of cooking, splash some fish sauce over the shanks. This helps to add flavour and salt, as well as assisting the browning process. It will not add any fishy flavour to the final dish. (trust me)

Place the shanks into the crockpot on top of the vegetables, then add the garlic and onion evenly over the top. Pour the stock and tomatoes over the top.

Turn the cooker to auto or low, and leave the cooker for at least 6 hours (I left it for 10) before checking the meat to see if it is ready.

To serve, mix through the zest of one lemon and some chopped parsley. I served this with qinoa, however rice, buttered noodles and mashed potato would all be nice.

Ingredients:
1 can fava beans, drained
2 to 4 cloves garlic, smashed in a mortar and pestle
3 tablespoons tahini
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
parsley

Method:
Cook the beans for a few minutes, until hot. Drain, then add garlic, and mash until a thoroughly mixed paste. It doesn’t matter if you can still see the fava bean skins. Add lemon juice and tahini and mix thoroughly. Gradually mix in water until a soft dip like consistency is achieved. Season to taste, and garnish with olive oil and parsley.

Serve this with pita bread, or chopped vegetables to be used as a dip. Delicious and healthy.

Tahini Dressing is an easy to make, tasty and healthy dressing that will keep for a few days in the refrigerator. It has a slightly bitter taste, due to the tahini, and it is nice on salads as a dip for sliced vegetables, or in sandwiches.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup tahini
juice of a lemon
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste.

Method:
Chop the garlic and place all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. Serve as suggested above.

This is my version of the Persian ice cream called Bastani Akbar-Mashti. The authentic version contains cream and milk which I cannot eat, so this one only contains rice or almond milk. It is also low in fat, though not low in sugar. It is also delicious! The recipe follows.

Ingredients:
2 egg yolks and 1 egg
100g caster sugar
15g corn starch
500mL almond or rice milk (seive through fine muslin to remove any solids)
1 teaspoon rose water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
40g chopped pistachio nuts (unsalted)
40g chopped turkish delight

Method:
Warm the milk gently on the stove, without boiling.

Beat the egg yolks, egg, caster sugar and corn starch until it thickens and becomes almost white (see below). If you are not sure whether you have achieved the desired result, keep beating for a few more minutes.

Gradually add the warm milk to the whipped mixture, then return to the stove and heat for another minute or two. Cool, then place into a container in the fridge until cold. Place the nuts and turkish delight into the fridge as well.

Ice Cream Machine Method:
Place the cold mixture into your machine on the icecream setting until the desired consistency is reached, then add nuts and turkish delight to machine until mixed. Freeze.

Hand Mix Method:
This will not result in as smooth a result, but it is still quite nice if a little more crystalline. Place the mixture into the freezer, and every hour or so beat the mixture to break up the crystals. Once the mixture is fairly frozen, mix in the nuts and turkish delight.

Serving:
The icecream is quite strongly flavoured, so small servings are best. Allow a little time for the icecream to soften before eating, as it can be a bit firm due to the lack of fat content. It is very nice with fruit such as fresh banana, mango or peach.

Quinoa is easy to cook, tastes good, and is good for you, being high in protein. On the other hand, it is not cheap, and you may not be able to get it in your supermarket. I have bought quinoa at one popular grains shop for about $16 (Australian) per kg, and at another organic supermarket for $8 per kg, so it pays to shop around. There was no notable difference in quality.

Quinoa is a good substitute for rice, and can be used to accompany other dishes and in salads, mains and desserts. I will explain two different methods you can use to cook it.

Preparation:
Quinoa can contain saponins which are toxic, and will upset your digestion. For this reason, place the desired quantity of quinoa into a container, add water, and swish the grains around with your hand for a minute or two. If the water stays clear the grains are clean, if it goes cloudy, drain it off, add more water and repeat until the water stays clear. Drain the quinoa in a strainer thoroughly.

Some recipes advise adding twice the volume of water to the quinoa when cooking, but I find this makes the quinoa very soft. 1 1/2 times the volume of water works well for me.

Saucepan Method:
Place the quinoa in a saucepan with 1 1/2 times the volume of water, and bring to the boil. Simmer over the lowest heat until almost all of the water has been absorbed, then turn off the heat and leave for 5 or 10 minutes. Lift the lid and fluff the grains with a fork or spoon, the leave for a few more minutes before serving.

Rice Cooker Method:

Place quinoa in cooker with 1 1/2 times the volume of water and leave until the cooker switches to warming mode. Stir the quinoa, fluffing up the grains, then replace the lid and leave for 10 minutes before serving.