Cous cous is one of the easiest and quickest things to make and yet it is aso one of the things that many people can't get right.  When you make it yourself it tastes so much better than the pre flavoured packs you can buy that tend to be less than authentic in taste.

Here are some tips:

First decide what you want to use cous cous for.  Is it a salad in it's own right or a backdrop for something else like a tagine for instance?

If it is for a tagine you want the flavour to be pleasant but not too distinct  in a similar way as  rice accompanyies a curry.

So a basic original cous cous would be to soften a little finely chopped onion in oil and add a clove of garlic.  You need oil to keep the cous cous fluffy.  i use coconut oil.  Then add the amount of hot water recommended on the cous cous pack to the onion and garlic and stir in some neutral stock.  Add the cous cous and let it soak into the stock.  When the stock is absorbed check that it is moistened and fluffy when stirred.  You may need to add a little more stock.  Add seasoning to tasste and that's it.  So simple.

For a cous cous that is an item in it's own right you can go to towh a little more.  the secret is to add all the flavouring and ingredients to the water before you add the cous cous.

So you could add  a hot chopped chilli with finely chooped tomato or sun dried tomato  or substitute the chilli for fresh basil leaves if possible or dried basil.

You could add corriander leaves chopped and with a squeeze of lemon and some lemon rind grated in.  Some much more tasty than a dried packet that you add water to.  And when you get a bit of the lemon peel in your mouth your taste buds are truly tantalised.  You can always used dried herbs but fresh taste diffferent (better).

You could also add a selection of finely chopped vegetables or salad items.  Even with these whether pre cooked or raw the ingredients should be added to the water/stock before adding the cous cous.

I think the reaons for this is that when you are soaking the cous cous it is absorbing the flavours of the water whereas if you add things later the taste sits on top of the cous cous rather than integrating into it.

Think of your favourite flavours and use those to flavour your cous cous or for ideas check out some of the fried packets but make your own version. it will taste so much better  and made in minutes.  Also a fraction of the cost.

We would love to know what flavours you try ...... let us know.

Or how to stretch a weekend into a week.

We're off the the wild hills of Burnley today for our latest retreat.  Each time we get a new venue it's always a bit serious for us until we get there and make sure everything is okay.  We always like to bring the unique featrues of the venue to the retreat so tailor the weekend to do that. 

This weekend is very different for us.  We are including into the weekend as much of the outdoors as we can and I think we are going to be lucky enough to have at least one sunny day.  So the field that is part of the centre and the small woods that they also own will be incorporated into our weekend as much as we possibly can.

There is also a projector room with a big drop down screen which we are going to be using to show film/s in the evening (with popcorn hehe)

The biggest difference/challenge for me is the catering which Zen are doing i.e. me with a lot of help from Barry and due to frequent requests that I couldn't keep ignoring I decided to take the opportunity to also offer some mini workshops/demonstrations on vegetarian cookery for small groups as the opportunity for a formal kitchen seemed too good to miss.  Soooo... the pressures on and i don't mean cooking (or maybe I do).

I often feel as though I don't know my left from my right but always seem to get there in the end so i am sure all will go swimmingly well and I nominate Lesley to take over if I loose my ability to speak.

Barry, who can be found looking at the moon quite often, has noted that this Sunday is a new moon which has special meaning 24 hours each side so on Saturday he will be incorporating some new moon posturing and  meditation and we will be holding a workshop on mandalas for the new moon too.

A very different weekend will be had by all

It takes a lot of preparation but the weekend is usually great fun and a fantastic weekend away that feels more like a week, so stretching in more ways than one.

I will tell you more when it is all over.

Identify where this photo was taken from and you could win a bottle of wine or a £7 voucher to spend on classes or therapies.  The closest person will win.  If there are more than one correct answers we will ask further questions to get as specific as possible.

 if you put your best guess in the feedback we will do a warmer, colder, answer to give more clues.  Enter as many times as you want based on the answers.  It's gotta be worth a try as if you put the world and noone else answer you'd win.

Here is your cryptic clue to get going:

You need transport to get to the starting point but be sure to pick the colour of your vehicle carefully.

Good luck

Some comments:

Thank you to both of you for organising it and all your hard work to make it a success (Yvonne)

Ooh my room was perfect...clean warm quiet etc. (Michelle)

Had a great chill out time with lovely  location and food. lots of varied activities that you could dip in and out of. Practi ing yoga/meditation outside in the lovely grounds was such a bonus.... Loved it (Colette)

Everyone was so warm and friendly

As well as pain for up to 72 hours, some people have nausea and increased sensitiviey to light, smell, sound.

Migraines - so much more than just a headache.  intnese throbbing pain often on one side, sufferers are often unable to continue with their everyday lives.

Symptoms

Some people experience symptoms before an attack called an aura:

• Flashing Lights zigzag patterns or blind spots in your vision
• Stiffness, a tingling sensation or pins and needles in your neck or shoulders
• Feeling disorientated or off balance
• Difficulty speaking
• Poor concentration

As well as pain for up to 72 hours, some people have nausea and an increased sensitiviy to light smells or sound during a migraine.

What causes a migraine?

There are some foods that are said to trigger a migraine. High blood pressure, smoking and even sleeping tablets get the blame as well as weeather conditions for some people.

But what if it isn't any of these commonly blamed elements?

Mechanical Causes

Recent research subbest that neck issues are the major cause of migraine

So migraines should be primarily treated as a “mechanical” problem. As Professor Andrew Charles of Migraine and Headache Science at the University of California Los Angeles explains in this podcast (with transcript), “we had all thought that migraine came in through the trigeminal nerve or was mediated by input from the face. But now there’s really growing recognition that the occipital nerve, the upper cervical nerve routes may actually be playing an equally important role and many, many migraine patients get neck pain either before, during or after their attack they have soreness and stiffness in their neck.” (he goes on to talk about the medication he’s developing as well as physical therapy).

Migraines are caused by nerve irritation.  All nerves run through the neck so any muscle constriction or tension in the neck will place strain on these nerves which,when combined with other triggers caus a migraine.

Resolve the neck problem, reduce the irritation and therefore reduce the likelyhood of migraine.

Up to date analysis methods like MRI scans have shown that the previous view of migraines as a vascular issue (based on description of a thumping pain) is incorrect.

AS this is likely to be a build up of muscular constriction developed over many years it is important to take any remedy very carefully and gently as the massage if too strenuous can bring on a migraine.  You must contact a qualified therapist who can also switch any6 triggered migraine off before sending you home.

So eating chocolate is okay then?

We are talking layers here.  The first layer is the nerve problem, then you add other layers including stress (when the neck would naturally stiffen), poor posture, chocolate or cheese or wine etc. which produce the breaking point but are not the cause.  So yes you can eat cholcolate.

Confessions of a Sociopath by M E Thomas

If you know someone who seems to have no careWho is able to get their own way through manipulation
Who exhibits charm - but is it sincere?
Who is intelligent, imsincere and a convincing liar
Shows lack of remorse or shame

and a whole long list of other possible indicators then you probably know a sociopath or possibly if the description fits then you may also be a sociopath.

This book is a personal account of the writers discovery that she is a sociopath.  It tells of her life from being young until the present, her relationships (mainly unsuccessful) and her career in many powerful and demanding jobs.  She tells of how her sociopathy helped her to cope with the jobs with the least of effort and commitment until her 'bluffing' was discovered when she would successfully move on to something else until that too lost her interest.

She explains that although in certain circumstances childhood experiences can turn one into a bad sociopathic killer for instance, there are also very successful sociopath who toe the line.  She explains throughout the book and stresses that her need to behave within the rules is not because of fear but other needs which sometimes tend to contradict this person who is seeming to say she doesn't care.

Apart from the shocker right at the beginning of the book when she tells of heartlessly killing an animal that most of us would have rescued she seems to be typical of a child that was treated with, not neglect but an uncaring attitude and I couldn't help feeling throughout the book that this is a plucky person who was determined to get through life successfully inspite of her upbringing (which she stresses was the right one for her as a sociopath).Though she does hint of the lack of emotioan from her family.

She is unable to really trust anyone. She tells of studying people to find their achilles heal and then using it to manipulate them in one way or another.

I can't help feeling that all the heartlessness is a way of preventing anything hurting her and causing her emotional pain.  She doesn't stick to a job, she doesn't stick to a fella, she doesn't care about friends unless she needs them.  She's self sufficient and a bit of a rebel.  The only things she does seem to care a little about is not doing anything to upset her family.

The book certainly seems to reflect a little lonliness and saddness, confusion about herself and extreme attempts to 'feel'.

It is said that one in twenty five of us are sociopaths but that is just a label - does it mean it can't be treated?  Maybe the label is another way of saying this is where I want to be - leave me alone I'm safe here.  Take the label away and are there possibilities?

If you are living with or have a relationship with a sociopath there is one thing that seems to be certain.  You will never get the better of them and they will always want to control you, usually by manipulation - you know, encouraging you to believe the worst of yourself.  So if you find yourself with someone like that, don't worry, they won't feel it if you just up and leave. (But they may not like it so look out for the charm onslaught of manipulation to establish the upperhand once again)

If you have or do read this book we would really like to read your thought on it.