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How to Cook Parsnips

Food & Drink, Home & Garden

How To Cook Parsnips

Cooking Parsnips

Parsnips are one of those vegetables that, in the UK, only get eaten once a year in some households, and that is at Christmas! However, there is no reason why they can’t be eaten year round and give a bit more variety to your vegetable selection.

As far as I am concerned, the most tasty way that you can cook parsnips is by roasting them. Ideally you can do this as part of a roast dinner so that you can combine their cooking with that of the roast potatoes and other roast vegetables that you might have.

However, you can also just boil or steam parsnips along with other vegetables or mash them on their own or with another vegetable.

Add parsnips to your usual vegetables to get some variety.
Add parsnips to your usual vegetables to get some variety.

Boiling or Steaming Parsnips

Firstly, you will need to clean and peel the parsnips. Put on a large pan of water to boil so that the vegetables will all be covered by the water. Add salt if you wish.

Cut the parsnips into similar shapes as you might with carrots for example into rounds or else you can cut into quarters lengthwise or into strips. The smaller that you cut the parsnips the shorter amount of time they will take to cook. Parsnips take a similar amount of time to cook as carrots.

Now how long you cook your vegetables for does depend to a certain extent to how crispy or not you like your vegetables to be. If you like them to be reasonably hard (al dente) then only simmer them for 8-10 minutes. If you prefer them to be softer then cook for 12-15 minutes. Check with a sharp knife to see if the parsnips are cooked to your liking.

Mashed Parsnips

Another option is to have mashed parsnips. You can have them on their own or also mash them up with swede or something similar.

Once you have chopped the parsnips up into similar sized chunks, bring the water to the boil and simmer the parsnips for around 15-20 minutes. once they are well cooked, drain them and mash the parsnips with a potato masher whilst adding some butter (and possibly a little cream if you are feeling indulgent). You could also add a small amount of a spice like nutmeg to give it a twist.

Roast Parsnips

Roast parsnips may take longer than you think to cook, so make sure you plan in advance. Firstly peel the parsnips, then chop them in half and then cut them into quarters lengthways. If they are quite small they may just need chopping in half.

Parboil your parsnips for a short period of time. Basically this means simmering them in boiling water for only around 3-5 minutes. Drain the parsnips and dry them on some kitchen towel. put the parsnips onto a plate or into a bowl and add salt. Toss the parsnips around in the salt so that they have a light coating. If you want an extra flavour you can also add honey to the parsnips.

Heat up some vegetable oil in a roasting tin or pyrex dish. The oil should just cover the bottom of the tin although the more oil you add the more of a ‘deep-fried’ effect you will give the parsnips. The oven should be at around 220 degrees C but if you are cooking other things in the oven at the same time then you can use a lower heat but just extend the cooking time.

Once the oil has heated up, add the parsnips to the pan and turn them over so that they are completely coated in the oil then put the dish back in the oven. Cook the parsnips for around 30 minutes ensuring that you turn them over during cooking so all sides are evenly browned.

Bird Carrying a Turtle

Animals, Photo & Video, ,

Ever seen a bird carrying a turtle?

So I was on my way to a quite remote island off the coast of Abu Dhabi a few years ago – it was a beautiful spot on a lovely sunny day (as most days are in the United Arab Emirates), when I saw a large bird flying across in front of me which appeared to be carrying something in his talons.

As I was not driving and I had my camera at the ready I just managed to get a shot of the bird as it was swooping past – it was going reasonably fast so I only just caught it as it flew away but I just managed to get it in the frame.

Unfortunately I didn’t have a long lens on the camera at the time so this was the picture that I got:

Bird carrying turtle

At this point I still obviously couldn’t really tell what the bird was carrying (and in fact what type of bird it was) so let’s zoom in a bit closer:

Bird carrying turtle

So now you can really see that it is a bird carrying a turtle in its talons. I have to say I am not a bird expert so I don’t know what kind of bird it is except that I assume it is some kind of bird of prey! I know that falcons are very popular in the Middle East so maybe it is some kind of falcon? If anyone knows please enlighten me!

To get a slightly better look I have zoomed right in although by this point the picture loses some sharpness even though it was a reasonable SLR that I was using:

bird carrying turtle

I guess that the bird has picked up the turtle for a spot of dinner although I would say it’s got to be hard to get it out of its shell.

If anyone has any info to share about the bird or the turtle please leave a comment below.

Where to Buy a Home Drugs Test

Beauty & Personal Care, Health, Home & Garden, Lifestyles, Shopping, ,

Buying Home Drug Testing Kits

Are you looking to buy a cheap but effective home drugs test? Is the easiest way to get hold of one for you to order it online and get it delivered to your home rather than having to go to a pharmacy?

There are many reasons why you might want to buy a home drug test, perhaps you want to test that your system is clear of drugs after stopping or perhaps you are worried about a family member.

Whatever your reason, if you are looking to buy one that has accurate results and is very simple to perform, then it is very easy to buy a home drug test kit on the internet and perform the test in the comfort of your own home.

These home drug tests can test for a variety of drugs and most of them use a urine test strip that you need to dip into a sample of urine and it will bring up two lines if any of the tests are positive. There are some tests that are combination tests and will test for Illicit drugs such as marijuana or cocaine and there are also tests that check for prescription drugs such as anti-depressants.

These drug tests vary in price but generally you can get a simple home drug test for around $10 or less. You can buy home drug tests in greater quantities if you want to test on an ongoing or regular basis.

It is easy to buy home drug tests online and they are sold by Amazon, among other retailers. There is a good selection of FDA approved products by various manufacturers.

Check out some of the tests shown below that may be suitable for your needs or else click through to be offered a greater selection of tests.

What Are the Chances of Winning the Lottery?

Entertainment, Finance & Insurance, Fun Stuff, Games, General, Lifestyles, Money, Recreation, Society

What are the chances of winning the lottery with 59 balls?

In October 2015 the national lottery in the UK increased the number of balls in the draw from 49 to 59, thus making it much harder to actually win the jackpot.

Previously, choosing 6 numbers from 49 would give you a 1 in 14 million chance of winning the lottery but now with the extra 10 numbers to pick your 6 numbers from, the chances have massively decreased to 1 in 45 million.

This increase in the number of balls and decrease in the chance of winning have been proven with the fact that the jackpot has continued to be an elusive prize that has not been won since the changes were made, contributing to a massive jackpot of £50 million + which could go on for a couple of weeks.

Tonight’s draw (6th January 2016) will be the 14th rollover jackpot – continuous rollovers since the new rules were introduced. This could trigger more people to buy tickets just because of the size of the jackpot which could then mean that more of the number combinations are covered.

The national lottery website says the following about the limit on the size of any rollover jackpot:

The jackpot can only stand at £50 million for two draws. If no one wins in the second draw, the full amount rolls down and is shared between the players in the next winning prize tier.

So it might be worth waiting to see if anyone wins the jackpot this time and if they don’t then there might be a great chance of winning more money with lower odds in the draw where the jackpot will be filtered down if no-one wins. This would be next Saturday 9th January 2016.

If no-one wins the jackpot on Saturday then the chances of winning with 5 numbers and the bonus ball are around 1 in 7.5 million which is almost twice the odds as winning the jackpot before the numbers were expanded to 59!

So if you want to know what are the chances of winning the lottery with 59 balls then I would say much better if you wait until the jackpot has to filter down!

The Dangers of Fad Diets

Food & Drink, Health

Dangers of Fad Diets
Dubai-UAE: 30 December, 2015 –

Dr Ganesh BhatThe New Year brings with it the hope of a fresh start and resolution lists. Many will have losing the excess holiday weight on top of their goals for the New Year. Playing to these weight loss sentiments are a series of fad diets – the high protein diet, the liquid diet, the zero fat diet – all claiming to leave those who try them out slim and trim.

However, these fad diets can wreak havoc with the digestive system and other body processes. “People resort to a quick fix to lose weight without realising the strain they put on their body and organs. Our body requires food from the three main food groups namely carbohydrates, proteins and fats which are complemented by vitamins, minerals and fibre,” said Dr. Ganesh Bhat, Consultant Gastroenterologist at Medeor 24×7 Hospital, Dubai. “Omitting a certain food group from the diet or going on an all liquid diet can hamper bodily functions and make a person undernourished.”

Liquid only juice cleanse diets, that promise to rid the body of toxins and result in weight loss, are fast gathering popularity across the world. One such diet involves the drinking of 6 to 12 glasses of a concoction of lemon juice, cayenne pepper, maple syrup and water during the day and a laxative tea in the night.

“One of the main functions of the liver and kidneys is to rid the body of toxins and hence we do not need to do so through these detox cleanses. Liquid only diets are low in protein which will hamper the building of cells and muscle regeneration,” Dr. Bhat said. “Rather than lifting one’s mood like detoxes promise they result in mood swings, fatigue and irritability. It also affects the digestive system causing stomach pain, irritable bowel syndrome and acidity and in the long run stomach ulcers. With no food to digest, the stomach acids can begin to digest the walls of the stomach.”

Another popular fad diet is the one that encourages dieters to consume up to 50% of their daily calorie intake in protein with little or no carbohydrate. “Consuming a diet high in protein can be detrimental to one’s health. Sure, it helps you feel fuller and hence you consume fewer calories in the short run. In the long run, the lack of carbohydrates equates to less fibre consumption bringing with it constipation,” the Doctor continued. “It can also hamper kidney function in the long run as our body may have trouble eliminating the large quantity of by-products of protein metabolism.”

The word fat has many bad connotations especially in a world where size 0 models continue to walk the runways. However, cutting out fat or consuming very little fats puts your health at risk.

“Our bodies use fats to help in the absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K, which are essential for growth, immunity, cell repair and blood clotting. When fats are cut from a diet, these vitamins are not utilized and are stored in the liver tissue and eventually excreted resulting in vitamin deficiency,” Dr. Bhat said. “Another risk of low fat diets is that it brings down the level of HDL or the good cholesterol level in our body. It is important to maintain optimum levels of HDL as it transports LDL or bad cholesterol from the blood to the liver so it can be excreted from our body. When the balance is thrown, our LDL levels are heightened putting us at risk for heart disease.”

Dr. Bhat advocates a balanced diet of proteins, carbohydrates and good fats coupled with vitamins, minerals and fibre along with an active lifestyle to achieve weight loss.
“Cutting out foods high in refined sugar, processed foods and fast food can result in weight loss over a sustained period of time,” he said. “Make sure you get at least 30 minutes of exercise daily too.”

“At Medeor 24×7 Hospital, we are committed to the health of the UAE population and believe in a holistic lifestyle that promotes a balanced diet and an active lifestyle which will not only help an individual lose weight but also cuts down their risk of lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes,” said Dr. Mohammed Berer, Medical Director at Medeor 24×7 Hospital, Dubai.