Recipe South African Buttermilk Rusks

Rusks in South Africa are part of the cultural identity ? one of the things that exiles in a foreign land long for. Children are brought up on Rooibos tea (a herbal bush tea) and rusks. These aren?t the pallid soggy affairs that pass for rusks in the UK - Farleys rusks given to teething infants and guaranteed to coat your entire house with a paste of gooey gloop. South African rusks are of a texture somewhere between bread and cake, with extra bits of raisin or nuts, baked hard so that they must be dunked in tea or else gnawed slowly. They last a long time in an airtight tin, so are baked in big batches but even so they don?t last long in our house.

As an Englishwoman married to a South African living in London, I came across rusks on our visits to his family and was instantly converted. ?Ouma?s Rusks? are the famous ones that come in several varieties and we always came home with a few packs in our suitcase. On a longer visit in a cottage in Philadelphia, near Cape Town, I found a recipe to bake my own rusks, tried it and have been baking them every two weeks pretty much ever since.

When our son was a toddler waking at 5.30 every morning, the only thing that made the morning bearable was the thought of tea and rusks. Our son started off on them early and our sofa became a nest of cushions and crumbs. The first thing he ever helped bake was rusks and I always had my patience tried, as the mix became the scene of excavations with diggers or a castle with a moat. The girls also joined in when they were old enough, so for a time I had three children all wrestling to get their hands in the dough. Now the youngest is adept at making balls the right size and I have a band of useful helpers. So rusks have become part of our family culture too, my children may have missed out on the rooibos tea tradition ? (I love it, they hate it) but at least they were brought up properly as regards rusks!

Several friends in London were smitten, asked for the recipe and started baking and it has since been dispersed as far afield as Pakistan and the USA.

The recipe:

South African Buttermilk Rusks

1.240kg / 2lb12oz flour (I use 1kg wholemeal and the rest white)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 teaspoons of salt
250g / 9oz butter
? cup raisins (optional)
2 eggs
1 ? cups brown sugar
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup oil

(1 cup=250ml)
Preheat the oven to 190C/380F
Grease three loaf tins of base measurement 20cmx10cm / 8?x 4? approx or any combination of deep baking dish that adds up to about the same.

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes and rub into the flour. Add the raisins if you are using them. You can experiment with various nuts and seeds as well, though the rusks are equally good plain.

In another bowl mix together the buttermilk, sugar, eggs and oil and beat until well combined. Stir liquid into dry ingredients and mix then knead to a firm dough.

Form the dough into balls about the size of a ping-pong ball and pack them tightly in one layer into the loaf tins. I usually get six rows of three into each of my tins. Bake for 45 minutes.

Turn out onto a rack and leave to cool for 30 minutes before breaking up into individual rusks along the joins of the balls. Dry in a low oven 100C/200F for 4-5 hours until the centre is completely dry. These can be kept for ages in an airtight container.

Warning: crumbs guaranteed on the sofa, in the bed, over the carpet and the car seats!

Copyright 2006 Kit Heathcock

About the Author:

Kit Heathcock - worked and travelled in Italy for many years, is passionate about food and loves being a fulltime mother. Co-creator of http://www.aflowergallery.com home of original flower pictures and http://www.food-and-family.com

There Is A Wacoal Bra Just For You

Wacoal Bra

The Wacoal Bra is a trusted name in women's undergarment which boasts of a variety of different kinds and styles of brassieres designed to cover and support women in of every shape and size. It is also available in different countries all around the world, providing maximum support and excellent coverage to women of all size and shape.

The Wacoal Bra is a famous brand name for bra or brassieres, along with the many other brands offering protection for a reasonable price. A bra or brassiere is typically made up of two elastic straps located on both sides of the shoulder, with two cups to support the breasts, a center panel, and a hook to fasten both ends of the bands together. They come in different kinds of material such as lace, spandex, or cotton, and the material and style is determined by the function that the bra is designed to perform. There are some Wacoal Bra that comes with sturdy under wires to give excellent support and improved shape to the female figure.

The Wacoal Bra comes in different wonderful styles - there is a style that closes in the front which makes clasping the bra easier, there is another style that closes in the back, a style that has no straps which look great in tube dresses and dresses that show off the shoulders like halternecks, there is a convertible bra line, a push up Wacoal bra line for fantastic lift and support for women with larger breasts, a sexy half/demi cup line which is perfect for sexy erotic nights, and a full cup bra line for maximum coverage. There is also a tshirt bra line for the women always on the go.

In choosing the size of the Wacoal bra, one should always determine the correct band size by measuring the circumference around her body and not including the breast area. Correct cup size is also very important - one should make sure she knows her correct cup size because a too loose cup will not look good and a too tight fitting cup will feel very uncomfortable. Cup sizes are indicated by letters like A, B, among others anywhere.

In the United Kingdom, surveys reveal that around 70% of women wear ill-fitting brassieres. This is mainly because of inadequate knowledge regarding brassieres Wacoal bra always makes certain that the woman finds a bra that fits her just right. Flattering shape and maximum support go hand in hand with the Wacoal bra line!

To get the right Wacoal bra, make sure that you get the right cup size as well as the right band size. The only fool-proof way for this is to try the bra on before purchasing. In Europe, bra comes in increasing size, such as AAA-AA-A-B-C-D-DD-E-F-FF-G-GG-H-J. The band size can be determined by measuring the circumference under the breasts and add a certain amount to give allowance to the wider circumference of the ribcage around the breasts. In America, around 4 inches to 6 inches are added to the measured circumference to get the correct size. Bra size also changes and fluctuates depending on the amount of weight gained or loss. Menstrual cycle also affects the bra size of the woman.

There are also Wacoal bra that are designed to maximize the appearance of small breasts. Some also are called minimizers, which are perfect for woman with very large breasts and who wishes to downplay the breast size a bit. Some Wacoal bra are made of very thin materials, usually lace, which are designed to show off and to be used when attempting seduction.

No matter what your size and shape, there is a Wacoal bra for you

About the Author

None
http://www.your-bra-store.com/Wacoal.html

A Guide to Real Estate Investing: Know Your Strategy

Investing in real estate can be scary and challenging. There are all kinds of questions - How do you know if and when it is the right time to purchase? What should you purchase? How should you finance it? What type of investment is right for your overall goals and strategy? As a real estate investor in Atlanta, I have found that although there are a lot of questions, the answers are fairly easy when you use common sense, evaluate your strengths, and know what you want.

The first question you should ask yourself is ? why do you want to invest? For some it is to replace their income from a job. For others it is for retirement. Some just like to have a project and make a little money.

We have found that when helping other real estate investors, our first goal is to help them figure out the why and then help them determine the what. For example, if you need money today to replace the income you get from a job, then you need to produce income today through Quick Turning a property.

Quick Turning is purchasing a property at a depressed value, adding value to the property and then selling it at a profit. This is a great strategy and requires knowledge of the market to make sure that you are purchasing it correctly and then also some skill in determining how to maximize the return by strategically adding the value to your investment.

If having money for your future retirement is more what you are looking for ? a Buy & Hold strategy might work best for you. With this type of investment, you are looking for results in the future, so you want to find an investment that you can rent out for more than the mortgage payment so that you have some cash flow. Over time, you will pay down the mortgage and the cash flow will increase giving you greater income in the future.

Both strategies have merit and typically we recommend that every investor have some of both types to round out their real estate portfolio. Once you determine what type of investment you need, then evaluating a property against your overall strategy will help you determine which property is a good purchase for you.

Anne Lackey is a real estate investor in Atlanta and works with The REI Team at Solid Source Realty, Inc. http://www.theREIteam.com. She frequently helps other investors in their pursuit of financial freedom. In addition, she is the President of Solid Source Property Management, Inc. and helps investors manage their investments so that they can focus on acquiring wealth and not on the day to day management. She can be contacted at anne@solidsourcepm.com.

Home Sellers Now is the Time to Make a Change

The mechanics of selling a house is on the road to change. In Southern California, specifically the Inland Empire of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, where I have practiced for many years, Sellers are beginning to feel the change in buyers attitudes.

Buyers are now expecting to pay a little less for a home then they did about a year ago. Todays prospective buyer is spending a lot more time looking on the internet even before they contact a real estate agent to see what housing prices are like and what interest rates to buy those homes are doing.

I am a Real Estate Agent and a Loan Specialist, and have been watching the real estate market and the interest rates change for the past several months.

Today, for a Seller to sell their home in a timely manner, the price must now be within the actual market prices or below. The days of putting your house on the market and have it sell almost immediately are gone. There is a lot more to it now.

1. There are many listing agents making sure that the commission offered to a selling agent is either at the old normal rates or above, so that an agent who is looking for a property for a client will show and sell that particular home. I have seen several offering 3.5% and 4% to the selling agent with bonuses, plus sellers are willing to help with buyer closing costs.

2. The next obstacle to overcome is how the home shows to prospective buyers. You need to remember that now there are more homes on the market, giving buyers a lot more choices. You, the seller, want your home to show at its best.

3. This leads us to the ?Staging? of a home. Less is always better. If your home needs painting, paint it. If your carpets need to be cleaned, clean them. Set your dining room table with nice tablecloths and nice dinner ware. Take most everything on your kitchen counter tops off. If your living room or family room looks like there is too much furniture, make it disappear. Rent a storage space if necessary. Even closets and pantries need to be neat and tidy. Buyers tend to look everywhere. There are still many new homes being built, go and check them out. See how a professional stages a model home.

4. A First Impression is Everything. Your agent will normally take photos of your home and the one that goes on the Multiple Listing Service, Realtor.com, etc., is the front of your house. Water the lawn, clean up by the front door, put potted plants if you can, and make sure when your agent takes pictures that no cars are in the way. This first photo will also have a bearing on what the agent thinks. Will that agent even tell a prospective buyer that your house is for sale?

5. Landscaping I have seen some properties offered that because the seller has no landscaping in the back yard that the buyer will get an allowance at the close of escrow. If you can, and have the time, put down some fertilizer and grass seed and put in your own back yard. This can really make a difference. Always keep in the back of your mind, you?re the seller who wants their house sold. A Buyer has lots more choices today and would probably go on to the next house if they felt they had to put several thousand dollars into a back yard that they wouldn?t have to spend with another house.

First and foremost, buyers are just as conscious of money and how much they spend as you are on how much you can actually get for your house and move on to the next one.

My views and comments are based on my personal research and should not be consrued as anything else.

Patti Schopper

Contact Patti with any questions you may have regarding selling your property or purchasing a new property at: http://www.realestateandloans4you.com

Patti Schopper has been in the real estate industry over 36 years. Her goal has always been to put her clients first.

Site Owners with SEO: DOs and DON'Ts

As a search engine optimizer, I've had a great opportunity to work with many site owners for website submission and optimization services and had some working experiences to share with you in this article. Site owners come from different categories: e-commerce sites, services or personal pages. Some of them have the expertise in Computers and Internet but most of them are the neophytes in the search engine optimization (SEO) religion. So, the purpose of this article is providing novice site owners with some useful rules of behaviors (DOs and DON'Ts) to come along with their SEO campaigns.

* SEO firms DON'T help you out. DO help yourself - Search Engine Optimization process is more and more manipulated and it is becoming the big market nowadays. Many websites are offering SEO service with different costs. They promise that customers' sites will be on top of search engines. If so, who will be kicked out of the list? No one? So if you are a site owner with a small budget and modest knowledge of SEO, lean on SEO firm as just an advisor. They cannot do all the things for you. To help you out in SEO, do it yourself. In most cases, the site owners will play an important role in the success of SEO campaigns.

* DON'T submit your sites to thousands of search engines and directories - Simply, in reality, there are not even thousands of "engines" to submit to. There are, however, hundreds of search directories, hybrid search engines, free-for-all (FFA) pages and classified ad sites. They are simply a list of unorganized links to the last fifty or so URLs that were submitted to the service. The primary purpose of these sites is to gather email addresses from Web marketers so they can be sent offers for other products and services. By submitting, you are unknowingly giving your consent for them to email you. Some major search engines (e.g.: Google) are not fond of such link farms and may actively ban this type of site.

* Repetitive submissions DON'T improve your rankings in search engines - Many site owners misunderstand between search engine submission and search engine optimization. So they just dig in finding as many as possible free submission services on the Internet and hope that someday their site will be on the top. Search engine submission is just the first step to quickly notify the search engines about the nascence of your site on the Internet. How your site grows or how your site is optimized is more important to search engines to place your site at the top of the search index. So repetitive submissions don't work in these cases. Take time to pay more attention to your site's content and link building.

* DON'T try to trick the search engines in any way - The search engines today are smarter than you have ever imagined. The techniques like most times keyword repeated in a row (keyword stuffing), same color text used as the background (hidden text), doorway pages.. are obsolete and they may be against you. Search engines don't like to get fooled and they may penalize your site for that. Moreover, be careful with the services like automatic link exchange or buying text links. You can use them on your own but take precautions.

* Your websites' exposures on search engines DON'T mean top rankings and web conversions - Some SEO firms guarantee that your sites will be included in search engines. It is so easy because when your site is indexed, it is included in search engines right away and you can see it there by some simple but useless keywords. No one will find you with that keywords or syntaxes. In addition, pay attention to for which search engines the SEO firms will be optimizing your site. It will be easier to get listed on some less-reputed search engines comparing to Google or Yahoo. On the other hand, distinguish between standard and sponsor listing. You must pay for sponsor listing but get less visitors and sales. So make sure you understand clearly what SEO firms are offering. A successful SEO campaign requires the acumen of site owners as well as a tight cooperation between site owners and optimizers. Before the campaign starts, they should discuss the price, the time for the campaign, keyword selection and the specific search engines for optimization....

* DO get familiar with SEO tools such as search engines, HTML, PageRank - Some site owners lean on the webmasters on every task related to their sites (e.g.: add a text link, change page title). In most cases, the site owners will play an important role in the success of SEO campaign by getting familiar with SEO tools like search engines, HTML, PageRank. Search engines and PageRank evaluation will help you search for competitors' sites, evaluate the keywords, check sites' link popularity (number of links to your sites) and link saturation (number of pages on your sites have been indexed). Besides, with HTML basic syntax, you can easily exchange links with other sites on your own and stop calling the webmasters all the time for modifying pages with links.

* DO start writing today - Site owners may be beginners in SEO but experts in their industries. And today, writing is a significant skill to do SEO. Start writing some articles about your business now and submit them with your backlinks (links to your website) to article directories to increase the popularity of your site. For instance, suppose you were a mother at home and managed an ecommerce site selling some strollers and baby accessories. That will be wonderful if your share your experiences in choosing and using the strollers with other mummies-to-be on some women forum and article directories. Not only are search engines notified but also some potential customers will be attracted to your site.

In this article, I've provided the site owners with some basic rules of behaviors to do SEO. They include but not limit to myths about Search Engines, SEO firms, importance of SEO tools and article writing skill. Learning them today to make friends with search engines and shove your competitors aside.

Stellenbosch Is The SecondOldest City In South Africa

With its temperate Mediterranean climate, beautiful surroundings, magnificent backdrop of mountain ranges, modern facilities and close proximity to all major places of interest in the Cape Peninsula, Stellenbosch is the ideal get-away holiday destination.

Soon after the Cape of Good Hope had been established, the newly-appointed Governor of the Cape, Simon van der Stel, set out on a discovery journey east to explore the wild and untouched land beyond the Cape Peninsula. On 6 November 1679 he came across a river running through a beautifully green, fertile valley. He named the river Eerste Rivier (First River) and the surrounding area Van der Stel Bosch (Van der Stel's bush).

Before long, news of the finding of this fertile valley spread and the first families settled there in 1680. The settlement later became known as Stellenbosch, and is the second-oldest city in South Africa. The warm summers and winter rainfall provided an ideal farming environment, and by 1682 the settlement had become an established town. In 1685 it became the seat of a magistrate, whose authority extended over 25 000 square kilometers. The first school was built in 1686, followed soon afterwards by the first church.

A yearly celebration on Simon van der Stel's birthday was held in honor of the founder. This tradition was started in 1686 and included games, parades, festivities and dances. As the celebration took place on October 14th, it was a celebration of spring at the same time. The highlight of the celebration was when marksmen shot at a wooden parrot to win the main prize, and to this day the hill where this event took place is still known as Papegaaiberg (parrot hill).

Simon van der Stel launched a project to plant oak trees and the mighty trees still line the streets of Stellenbosch. The town is appropriately known as Eikestad, or the Town of Oaks. Unfortunately a recent disease has affected the trees, and the towering oaks are slowly dying. Fortunately, since the oak trees are a symbol of Stellenbosch, the town council started planting new trees soon after the discovery of the disease.

In 1866, the Stellenbosch Gymnasium was founded. In 1880 it changed its name to Stellenbosch College, but was renamed in 1887 to Victoria College in honor of Queen Victoria. In 1918 the college officially became the University of Stellenbosch, known affectionately as Maties. The University has over the years become the heart of Stellenbosch and is regarded as one of the best in the world.

During the year, the estimated 17 000 students fill the town with a cheerful vibe and bustling activity in the hostels, lecture halls, restaurants, coffee shops, bars and discos. Holidays are the times when the tranquillity of the natural surroundings and the comparative quiet in the streets allows Stellenbosch a chance to breathe and prepare for the influx of young people that is sure to follow with the next semester.

Stellenbosch is a treasure of beautifully restored buildings - elegant Cape Dutch, Victorian and Georgian architecture can be seen particularly in historic Dorp Street, which is reminiscent of the rich and colorful past. Several international businesses have their headquarters in this historical university town. Just outside Stellenbosch, nestled between the majestic Simonsberg, Stellenbosch, Jonkershoek, Twin Peaks and Helderberg mountains, a clean industry settlement has been established at Techno Park.

Once a quiet little village, Techno Park has become a centre for industry, business and education, as well as the heart of the wine industry.

Wine and the are of winemaking are woven into the history of Stellenbosch. From its humble beginnings with Simon van der Stel and the Huguenots, the valley has evolved to becoming the centre of the Cape's wine industry, and produces some of the finest wines in the country. The famous Stellenbosch Wine Route, established in 1971, allows you to enjoy our fabulous local wines while undertaking entertaining and fun expeditions into the countryside. Stellenbosch is an amazing place to be.

Events and activities take place throughout the year - music, street, wine and art festivals delight both young and old. Outdoors enthusiasts can partake in hiking, mountain climbing, horse riding and cycling, while sports fans can attend international sporting events.

Stellenbosch has a bustling sidewalk caf? scene in the French tradition, excellent restaurants and coffee shops, modern shopping facilities and a vibrant Nightlife. A peaceful, cheerful town and its friendly people, a never-ending choice of entertainment and activities and a breathtaking valley with majestic mountains embracing it - this is what makes Stellenbosch such a special tourist and conference destination.

Gerald Crawford was born in South Africa, studied electronics, telecommunication, eco-travel and african travel concepts. He taught responsible tourism in South Africa. If you have any questions or comments please e-mail me on. E-mail Address: southafricantravelarticles@12234455.co.za Website Address: www.12234455.co.za

Electronic Backgammon

In some games, the winner is the person with the most game pieces left on the board. In backgammon, however, your goal is to be the first player with no pieces on the board.

In its original form, backgammon is a board game played by two people. In electronic backgammon, one person can play against computer software. The added benefit of playing electronic backgammon is that you can incorporate extra levels of excitement. Playing against the computer, you can choose an easy game, or play on a more challenging difficult level.

The nice thing about electronic backgammon is that you can play it anywhere. It's fun to play in the car or on the bus, at school or at home. There are no loose pieces to drop and misplace, and everything you need is always there when you're ready to play.

You can play electronic backgammon anytime you want, without searching for a partner to give you a challenging game.

There are a lot of basic similarities between electronic backgammon and the classic board game. Game play, rules and strategies remain the same. However there are some benefits with electronic backgammon that the original version just can't offer. With electronic backgammon, you can start a new game whenever you want, and turn the game off any time you need to. You can save a game to finish later on. There are also a few rule variations with the electronic game. You can decline, accept and even take back a move. You can ask the computer for a hint, double a move and choose the difficulty level you want to play at. Electronic backgammon allows you to make multiple moves at one time, something that your real-life partner would never agree to. Some electronic software allows you to verify whether a move is playable. These benefits make electronic backgammon a great way for new players to learn the strategies and rules of the game.

Backgammon has been enjoyed by generations, and electronic versions have introduced backgammon to a new generation of gamers. Onscreen, backgammon looks a lot like other favorite games; with pieces that look like checkers, stones or coloured dots. You will see dice that are used to generate random moves, and to help you when you just don't know what move to make.

If you have never played a game of backgammon, the electronic version is a great place to start. With easy beginner mode you'll learn the rules quickly, and the software will offer hints when you need them. Try electronic backgammon, the classic board game, or search for fun multiplayer backgammon games online. Fun to play, good for your brain, backgammon is a real winner.

About the Author:

Barbara Moore is an author for several well-known web sites, on hobbies and recreation topics.