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A carrot cake is not quite a carrot cake if it doesn’t have a cream cheese icing. It does make the cake seem a little less healthy when you have a closer look at the ingredients: besides cream cheese, vanilla extract and lemon juice, you’ll also need some good old fashioned butter and icing sugar. But it also makes the cake that much more delicious. The trick is to give the cake a thin layer of icing and place the extra icing in a bowl in case you want more. (more…)

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This is a carrot cake recipe but, since apple puree goes into the mix, it could also be called a carrot and apple cake. The recipe is good for 8 servings and will take 20 minutes to prepare and just less than an hour to bake. To remove air bubbles before baking, give the tin a gentle tap or two. Once cooked, the cake should have a dark red-brown colour and a spatula inserted into the centre should come out clean. (more…)

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The capital market consists of many different financial institutions or intermediaries offering capital market instruments, each of which has different risk and return features. There are opportunities in ordinary shares, preference shares, fixed interest bearing securities, unit trusts, derivatives and property trusts. Investing your savings in the capital market via ordinary shares means buying shares with a limited liability. This means that you will have a limited liability as an investor, should the company be liquidated at any stage. (more…)

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Bank acceptances are one of the oldest forms of credit. They can be traced back to the 4^th century BC. They serve as a bill of exchange by a business that has borrowed money, whereby the business promises to pay out a given sum after a given period. This bill of exchange is then accepted by the bank which then guarantees the payment upon maturation. To date, bank acceptances are one of the most traded securities on the money market. (more…)

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Avgolemono is a very old dish that originated in Greece centuries ago, possibly from as far back as the time that lemons were taken there from Byzantium 1,000 years ago. The word literally means ‘egg lemon’ when translated from the Greek. It is eaten as a soup and used for flavouring other soups too. Avgolemono is also good as a sauce to be used with vegetables. The recipe requires rice, chicken stock and chicken meat besides lemon and eggs. Read on for the ingredients and method. (more…)

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This recipe for baked tuna with anchovies is a rather unusual one that dates back to 19^th century France. It has been adapted over time but retains its original appeal. The dish will take about three-quarters of an hour to prepare and then requires an hour of cooking time. To serve four portions, you will need a kilogram of tuna steaks, as well as young spinach, tomatoes, onions, garlic, dry white wine and a lemon. You can use fresh or frozen tuna. (more…)

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If you’re having a large dinner party and you want to cater for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, you can’t go wrong with offering a vegetarian starter. This vegetarian soup takes half an hour to prepare and requires a cooking time of three quarters of an hour. Since it is a healthy option (the ingredients include celery, garlic, carrot, beans and cabbage or whatever is in season), you could consider making it as a meal on its own for your family. (more…)

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The flesh of fish is delicate and should never be overcooked as this will ruin the flavour and texture. That said, fish should be eaten on the day that you buy it whether you fry it, grill it, bake it or steam it. Always buy sustainable fish and get to know your local fishmonger for more information on the best fish to buy at any given time. Here are some tips on how to go about preparing fresh fish. (more…)

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When you pick up a piece of old furniture at a garage sale or an auction, ask yourself how you would use it. Look for signs of normal ware in those areas and then check the hardware. Handles should show signs of use and softer woods will probably show gouges to the right side of knobs. Handles may have been replaced several times. Joinings can also tell a lot about the age of a piece, whether in drawers or chairs. (more…)

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These almond biscuits are a crunchy treat to be had with tea any time of the day. The recipe makes 40 biscuits for which you will require chopped almonds, caster sugar, eggs, butter, flour and some almond essence. It will take 20 minutes to prepare the almond biscuit batter and shouldn’t take longer than 25 minutes to bake. You should also allow for a chilling time of four hours, as the biscuit mixture must be well rested and cold before it is rolled. (more…)