Recipe: Piñata Cake Recipe

Imagine cutting open a cake and finding your favourite chocolates or berries tumbling out.....

Cakes:
·         225g (8 oz) self raising flour
·         1 level teaspoon baking powder
·         225g (8 oz) Stork tub
·         225g (8 oz) caster sugar
·         4 medium eggs
·         1 tablespoon cocoa powder, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
·         Red paste colouring and 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
·         Pink gel food colouring
 
Filling:
·         225g (8 oz) icing sugar
·         85g (3 oz) Stork
·         1-2 tablespoons milk
·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 
Decoration:
Sweets of your choice
 
1.       Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl, add the remaining cake ingredients except for last 3 ingredients and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.

2.       Divide mix between 3 bowls and mix in cocoa powder and water to one bowl, red colouring and cocoa to the second and a few drops of pink colouring to the third. Spoon the mixtures into 3 greased and base lined 18cm (7 inch) cake tins.

3.       Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C, 160°C fan oven, Gas 4 for 25-30 minutes or until cooked. Turn out on to a wire tray to cool.

4.       Place all the icing ingredients in a bowl and mix well until smooth. 

5.       To create the cavity for the sweets, carefully cut out a round in the centre cake and if you wish the hole to be bigger, carve out slight hollows on the top of one cake and the base of the cake which will be the top.

6.       Place a little icing on the base cake and add the middle cake. Fill the hole with the sweets and then ice the middle layer and finish with the top cake.

7.       Use remaining icing to cover the cake. If wished, add either some food colouring or cocoa powder to a quarter of the icing and place in a icing bag fitted with a star nozzle. Place the coloured icing on one side of the bag and the plain on the rest so that when you pipe, you achieve a 2 tone look.
source: uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com

20 Unusual Uses for Bananas

1. Shoe Polish : Banana peel works great as a shoe polish. Just rub it on your shoes and buff it with a white cloth.

2.Teeth Whitener :Bananas can be used to whiten teeth. You just have to rub the inside portion of its peel on your teeth. It contains magnesium, potassium and manganese which help to whiten your teeth.

3. Face Mask : Banana can be used as a natural face mask to make your skin smoother and softer. Mash the banana into a paste and apply it on your face. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes, and then rinse off with cold water.

4. Brighten up Houseplants : Wipe the leaves of your plants, which are getting dusty, with the peel of a banana. This will clean the entire gunk on the surface of leaves and make them shinier.

5. Face Scrub : Banana works really well as face scrub. Mix the smashed banana with a tbsp of sugar and make a paste. Then scrub your face with it and feel the difference.

6. Foot care : Pulp of two ripe bananas can repair your cracked heels. Apply the paste and let it dry for few minutes. Then rinse your feet.

7. Hair Loss Therapy : Mix banana with yogurt and apply the paste on your scalp to treat hair loss. Let it dry and rinse it off with cool water.

8. Butterfly Charmer : Instead of throwing away the overripe bananas, make use of them. Place the blackened bananas on the raised platform in your yard to attract the butterflies and birds.

9. Deter Aphids : To deter the aphids, bury the dried or waste banana peels a few inches deep around the base of your aphid-prone plants.

10. Treat Acne : Rub the banana peels on your acne and get rid of them.

11. Stress Relief : Drinking boiled banana peel water helps to de-stress yourself.

12. Wart Cure : You can cure your wart with the help of banana peels in 1-2 weeks.

13. Meat Tenderizer : By adding banana peel to your roast beef, chicken or even veggies, you can avoid your roast from getting dry and it will add an appropriate amount of moisture to it.

14. Itch Soother : Banana peels help to soothe the rashes, bugs bites and poison ivy.

15. Splinter Remover : Banana peels help to ease the splinter out of the skin! You only need to place them on the splinter with an athletic tape for a short time and then try to take the splinter out.

16. Bruise Patrol : By rubbing the banana peels on any bruise you can make it disappear faster.

17. Compost : Banana peels add great nutrients to your soil. Therefore, throw them into your compost and make your plants grow better.

18. Beauty Sleep : Eating bananas few hours before you go to your bed will help you get the required beauty sleep and make your skin healthy.

19. Ointment : Rubbing banana peel from inside on the scrapped knees will help them heal sooner.

20. Banana Peel Message : Leave a message for your kids on their banana peel by pricking out letters with a toothpick, the skin will bruise and there will be a dark brown message by lunchtime.

Prayer for new week

Your life will be defined by God's grace. Where many struggle, you will have ease. The blessings of Abraham are continuously manifested in you. Go out and do exploits in Jesus name. God will give you unusual wisdom. It will distinguish you among your contemporaries. It will bring wealth, favour and direction for your divine assignment in Jesus.J

Happy New Week from us ASB-World. 

 

Relationship & Health: How to talk to your daughter about her body

How to talk to your daughter about her body, step one: Don't talk to your daughter about her body, except to teach her how it works.

Don't say anything if she's lost weight. Don't say anything if she's gained weight.

If you think your daughter's body looks amazing, don't say that. Here are some things you can say instead:

"You look so healthy!" is a great one.

Or how about, "You're looking so strong."

"I can see how happy you are -- you're glowing."

Better yet, compliment her on something that has nothing to do with her body.

Don't comment on other women's bodies either. Nope. Not a single comment, not a nice one or a mean one.

Teach her about kindness towards others, but also kindness towards yourself.

Don't you dare talk about how much you hate your body in front of your daughter, or talk about your new diet. In fact, don't go on a diet in front of your daughter. Buy healthy food. Cook healthy meals. But don't say, "I'm not eating carbs right now." Your daughter should never think that carbs are evil, because shame over what you eat only leads to shame about yourself.

Encourage your daughter to run because it makes her feel less stressed. Encourage your daughter to climb mountains because there is nowhere better to explore your spirituality than the peak of the universe. Encourage your daughter to surf, or rock climb, or mountain bike because it scares her and that's a good thing sometimes.

Help your daughter love soccer or rowing or hockey because sports make her a better leader and a more confident woman. Explain that no matter how old you get, you'll never stop needing good teamwork. Never make her play a sport she isn't absolutely in love with.

Prove to your daughter that women don't need men to move their furniture.

Teach your daughter how to cook kale.

Teach your daughter how to bake chocolate cake made with six sticks of butter.

Pass on your own mom's recipe for Christmas morning coffee cake. Pass on your love of being outside.

Maybe you and your daughter both have thick thighs or wide ribcages. It's easy to hate these non-size zero body parts. Don't. Tell your daughter that with her legs she can run a marathon if she wants to, and her ribcage is nothing but a carrying case for strong lungs. She can scream and she can sing and she can lift up the world, if she wants.

Remind your daughter that the best thing she can do with her body is to use it to mobilize her beautiful soul.

source:huffingtonpost.com

INSPIRATIONAL WORD: Blessings Come In Disguise

The only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions.

But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stung with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried.

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.

"How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw
your smoke signal," they replied.

Reflection:

Remember, blessings do come in disguise!!

SHARE YOUR TESTIMONY

"Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you." And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marvelled. 

Mark: 5:19-20

What a wonderful Lord we have. He takes lives that have been rendered useless by abuse and neglect and turns them into instruments of His grace.

• He frees us from the stigma of our past

• He makes us a witness of His grace

• He makes our lives useful and profitable.

He took a raving, self-destructive mad man who hid in tombs and turned him into a disciple and an ambassador. That is something to talk and shout about.

When we experience God's compassion and grace, we inherit a responsibility to tell others about what the Lord has done for us.

Sometimes we may be tempted to think that because of our past, those who know us will never take our testimony seriously.

The truth, however, is that there is no story as powerful as a 'before and after' story. It can be a simple statement such as, 'once I was blind but now I see' or 'I used to be depressed but now I'm joyful'.

What is your story? What has the Lord done in your life? If you have experienced Him, don't be silent with your testimony. Why don't you tell someone today about what the Lord has done for you?

Prayer: Lord, help me to make Your grace known through my testimony.

Scriptural Reading: Mark 5:1-20

Are You Struggling to Receive From God? Hmmm

There can be times in our daily workplace that take away our breath. I had such an encounter a few years ago.

 

I had been working the burn unit as a travel nurse when I was assigned to care for Doug, a 53-year-old man who looked 80. He suffered from a fatal bacterial flesh-eating disease called necrotizing fasciitis. Doug's condition had started as a painful pimple on his right inner thigh and progressed to his entire pubic area and left inner thigh. 

 I learned from veteran nurses that a patient diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis was not contagious but rarely survived this severe of an infection. Doug's unbearable discomfort caused him to tense up, scream in pain and speak harshly with whoever was trying to care for him. Morphine administered intravenously seemed to do little to ease his pain. Three times a day we performed extensive dressing changes. When I changed his dressing the first time, I felt as if I had stepped into an autopsy. I could see entire muscle groups, tendons, fascia and more. 

 

Doug tended to be a difficult patient, lashing out at nursing staff because of his pain. Despite his situation, however, Doug and I hit it off. Other unit staff noticed, so whenever I worked, I was assigned to care for Doug.

 

Doug and I had plenty of time to get to know each other. Throughout my 12-hour shifts, I checked on him often. During those visits, he talked about how he started using drugs when he was a young teen. He had joined a circle of friends in the drug world and began dealing on the streets. His prior drug use and poor self-care exacerbated his condition, making it even harder to fight off his severe infection. 

 

During those long dressing changes, we also talked about Doug's spiritual beliefs. He confided that it just didn't seem important to go to church, although he believed there was a God and that Jesus was real. 

 

Daily I would offer to pray for Doug. He always politely said, "No." 

 

Finally, one day I respectfully asked, "Doug, why do you resist prayer?"

 

"There's this man who bought drugs from me and never paid me my money. I want to settle the score before I think about church and God," he replied with a scowl.

 

I gently reminded him vengeance wasn't a worthy trade for his soul. Doug didn't seem to understand that he wasn't likely to survive. 

 

One day we received word that a severe burn patient was being flown in by helicopter. Because burn patients have priority, we moved Doug to a step-down unit to provide a critical care bed for the incoming patient. 

 

Before drifting off to sleep one night about a week after Doug was transferred from the burn unit, I silently prayed for Doug. Around 2:00 a.m., I was awakened from a disturbing dream. In it, I saw a barefooted Doug wearing his pale blue hospital gown. As he looked at me, I could hear his thoughts: "My pride kept me from letting you pray with me." 

 

I analyzed the dream and wondered if God had given me a message for Doug. I felt I should go to Doug and gently talk to him about pride. 

 

Two days later, when I returned to work, I headed for Doug's room. I walked in hoping that maybe now Doug would accept God's free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. To my surprise, his room was empty. My heart sank.

 

On the way back to my unit, I hopefully thought maybe Doug had been released, although that seemed impossible because of the extensive care he needed. But I also knew Doug didn't have insurance and might have been released if care could be provided at home.

 

I walked to our unit break room and sat down. Tina, a certified nurse assistant, was on break. Though we chatted a bit, I couldn't get Doug off my mind. I asked Tina if she knew what might have happened to him. 

 

Tina replied, "A couple of nights ago, Doug's condition got worse. They brought him back to the burn unit. Doug asked me to call the hospital chaplain. He wanted to make things right with God."

 

With compassion in her eyes, Tina said, "He died later that night." 

 

I was thrilled! God broke through Doug's pride and defenses. It would seem Doug made peace with God before he died.  

 

As Christians, we have the unique opportunity to listen to others' circumstances past and present. Doug was a difficult person whose intense physical care was complicated by his anger and challenging personality. Based on his past drug history, it would have been easy to avoid Doug or think he was reaping what he had sown. But Jesus tells us to be careful with our attitudes toward others, to not be scornful or think less of anyone, remembering He shows mercy to all people. 

 

By Liz Gwyn