If you are thinking about getting a dog, why not consider adopting one? There are many organisations in the UK that provide new homes for crossbred and purebred dogs. These adoption centres would have assessed available dogs based on breed, background and temperament. Their aim, then, is to find the right owner for the right dog. Many centres are open every day of the week while others may require an appointment. Whatever the case, visit the relevant website for more information.

Time and money considerations

When adopting a dog, it is important to consider how much time you will be able to spend with your companion. Although an older dog may be comfortable being left on its own for a few hours a day, a younger dog will need more attention. A puppy will need almost constant attention for the first few months.

A dog can live for 15 years or more and shouldn’t be brought into the home for the children’s sake only. Children may quickly lose interest in their new pet so it’s important to be able to commit for the long term. Behavioural problems may come from not providing a dog with enough exercise and mental stimulation, too, so the provision of that is critical, too.

While all breeds need regular grooming, some dogs may need professional attention on a regular basis. Some dogs may require a special diet or regular trips to the vet, even. As such, a new pet’s potential impact on the budget should be considered beforehand, as well.

Adoption centre’s requirements

The aim of a rehoming centre is to find a kind home environment where a dog will be well taken care of for the remainder of its life. The process normally involves a short interview or questionnaire with prospective pet owners. The centre may also want to check your home environment and will advise on fencing and other practical details to ensure the adopted dog’s safety and well-being.

A good adoption centre will want to make sure that your children and other pets will be compatible with the new dog, too. Should there be a good fit, the rehoming centre may require a contribution for the adoption of your new companion. The cost may include inoculation and an ID chip.

Step foot in Argentina or Bolivia and you may find yourself asking “what are these people drinking?” it’s not unusual to see people holding a bowl filled with hot water that is lined with leaves that is sipped, unusually, through a straw. It’s called Yerba Maté and it’s to some South Americans what tea is to the English. It’s made from a small shrub, while the hollow gourds that this drink is served in are found in marketplaces throughout the continent and makes for a popular trinket for tourists.

More about it

Yerba Maté is made by mixing dry leaves and twigs of the mate plant in hot, rather than boiling, water. Mixing the tea in boiling water can cause a bitter flavour. The flavour of Yerba Maté tastes much like some other herbal or green teas do. It is most often served in a loose form and locals tend to add very little water to a lot of leaves but teabags can be bought as well. Sugar can also be added to the mixture if you want, or simply serve it with some of Argentina’s delicious local pastries.

Variations

Throughout South America you will find that every culture has a different way of preparing their Yerba Maté. On hot days the hot water can be substituted for lemonade for a refreshing drink or served with ice water or iced fruit juice to make a type of iced tea. No matter how it is prepared one thing is common – Yerba Maté is a social drink, one gourd is often shared among friends who sit in a circle, laughing and chatting as they enjoy the drink.

The benefits

South American Yerba Maté has been found to have many health benefits. The tea is said to aid weight-loss as it increases the rate at which fat is burned. It is also said to help relieve certain allergies and the caffeine in the drink helps to stimulate the mind and body, relieving fatigue. It also contains lots of anti-oxidants that help prevent cancer and the theophylline in it helps to stimulate the heart. The drink is also believed to help depression, while acting as an anti-inflammatory that boosts the immune system.

This butternut bake recipe does not require any pastry skills as the crust is made with breadcrumbs making it great for cooks who want to get a simple – if indirect – introduction into what goes into making pastries The breadcrumbs are blended with chopped tomato, sesame seeds, grated cheddar cheese and olive oil. The crust doesn’t require any rolling as it is simply sprinkled over the filling and baked until golden brown. Ingredients for the filling include butternut, onion, garlic, feta cheese, hyme, olive oil, mixed spice and seasoning. Replace the butternut with spinach for a spinach and feta cheese dish. Serve with couscous.

Prepare the breadcrumb topping

Measure out the following ingredients to make the breadcrumb topping: 2 cups of day old wholemeal breadcrumbs, 1 chopped tomato, 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese and 1/2 a cup of sesame seeds. You will also need some olive oil to bind the ingredients.

To make the breadcrumb topping, simply blend your bread in a food processor. Mix all the ingredients with some olive oil. Press the blended mixture into a ball. It should crumble easily and shouldn’t be too oily.

Prepare the butternut bake

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius and prepare the following ingredients for the butternut bake: 1 1/2 kilograms of butternut (peeled and cut into cubes), 1 red onion (chopped), 2 cloves of garlic (chopped), 400 grams of feta cheese (cut into cubes), 4 sprigs of fresh thyme (chopped), 1/4 cup of olive oil, mixed spice and seasoning to taste.

Place the chopped butternut squash, onion, garlic, feta cheese and thyme into an ovenproof dish. Now season with mixed spice, salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle some olive oil over the ingredients and gently mix everything together until the butternut is well coated. Place the crust mixture over the top of the mixture and sprinkle with some more sesame seeds if you wish.

Bake the dish for three quarters of an hour or until the breadcrumb topping or crust is golden.

Follow this up with the best part of the whole process – eat!

Amanda Hocking is a writer of paranormal fiction. She published a novel as an ebook in an attempt to raise some urgently needed extra cash. Her previously unpublished book has since sold over 1.5m books. Not only has it made the author a fortune but it has changed the publishing game as we know it. Ed Pilkington points out in his article for The Guardian that Hocking ‘has emerged from obscurity to bestselling status entirely under her own self-published steam.’

How it all began

Amanda Hocking was in need of $300 or £195 to get to see a Muppets exhibition. She had six months to go before the opening and decided to sell her unpublished books as ebooks to raise the cash. Surprisingly enough, Hocking not only made the money she required, but she received an extra $20,000 during that time — by selling 150,000 copies of her books.

Who is Amanda Hocking?

Amanda Hocking is a 27 year old with a passion for books that began at an early age. She was telling stories and inventing her own worlds when other children her age were still learning to walk. By the age of 12 she was calling herself a writer. She estimates that she had written 50 short stories by the end of high school.

Brought up in the Minnesota countryside in the US, she came to love reading since after her parents were divorced, there was no cable TV and money was tight. She bought books from bargain sales and became a regular visitor at the library.

Amanda Hocking had read Jaws by Peter Benchley by the age of seven and went on to read books by Shakespeare, Stephen King, Jane Austin, Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain and Jack Kerouac, to name but a few.

Speed

Hocking’s reading speed increased dramatically, to the extent that she began reading adult books because they took longer to read. Besides, reading helped her cope with depression. As much as she read a lot, she wrote a lot and cried a lot.

She completed her first book at the age of 17. All the publishers she sent the book, Dreams I Can’t Remember, rejected her. She didn’t give up and began to write in earnest in 2009. She wanted to be published by the age of 26 — the age Stephen King had been when he was first published.

Hocking wrote from 8pm in the evenings into the early hours of the morning. Since she was able to write a novel in three weeks or less, she had 17 novels by the beginning of 2010.

Success

Amanda Hocking read JA Konrath’s blog to find out how to go about self-publishing. She then uploaded her work to Smashwords in order to access Sony eReader, Nook and internet book markets.

It took Hocking a few hours to format her first ebook before she self-published it. She has since made $2.5m by selling a total of 1.5m books.

Waffles can be served in the traditional way with ice-cream and syrup or they can be served as a more sophisticated dessert with strawberries and Creme Chantilly. To make 12 single waffles or six double waffles, you will need regular flour, sugar, butter, eggs and milk. A waffle iron is essential, as is a bowl and an electric mixer. Preparation and resting time shouldn’t take much longer than half an hour. Allow for a few minutes extra for cooking time.

Prepare the ingredients

Measure out the following ingredients to make waffles for six: 250 grams of flour (sifted), 25 grams of sugar, 75 grams of butter, 3 eggs (separated), 400 ml of milk and a pinch of salt. Melt the butter and allow it to cool.

Place the flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the sugar, melted butter, salt and egg yolks. Slowly add the milk while beating continuously. Cover the bowl when the mixture is smooth and allow it to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or more.

Allow the waffle iron to heat up while you beat the egg whites until they are stiff. Add a pinch of sugar and beat well before folding the egg whites into the waffle mixture. Fold gently in order to prevent overworking the batter.

Cook the waffles

When the waffle iron is hot, brush the inside with butter lightly. Use a ladle to spoon in enough batter to cover the grid. Close the waffle iron and cook for four minutes. Cook for longer if you prefer a crunchy texture or for less time if you like soft and pale waffles.

If you’re using a non-electric waffle iron, your timings will be different. Turn the iron over after a couple of minutes so that both sides are well cooked. Place the cooked waffles onto a wire rack to cool as soon as they’re cooked.

Continue to make more waffles in this way until you have used up all the batter. You should have 12 single waffles or six double-sized waffles.

Serve

The waffles can be served in a pile on a large plate or they can be served individually with lashings of syrup and ice-cream or cream. Alternatively, sprinkle caster sugar and cinnamon over them or serve them with redcurrant jelly. For an old-fashioned approach, wrap each waffle in a linen napkin and serve with the topping of your choice.

If you’d like to serve waffles with strawberries and Creme Chantilly as a dessert, allow for 500 grams of fresh strawberries and 300 ml of Creme Chantilly for six people. Creme Chantilly is made with whipped cream, icing sugar or sorbet syrup and optional vanilla extract to taste. It can be flavoured with chocolate cream or coffee cream.

When mixing Creme Chantilly for waffles, whip it up to the soft peak stage

before serving. Use any leftovers to complement fruits or other desserts.

Working creatively not only brings fulfilment but it helps one stay on top of their game. But for many people, the creative muse is a mysterious creature: here one day and gone the next. So how do professional creatives remain inspired? The Guardian recently interviewed a handful of top artists to find out where and how they find their inspiration. Do they have to keep on coaxing themselves like the majority of us do or are they blessed with an endless creative flow?

Susan Philipsz

Artist Susan Philipsz finds inspiration in books, movies, train journeys and daydreaming. She advises one to be open to one’s surroundings and to give oneself lots of time to do nothing.

‘If you have a good idea, stick to it. Especially if realising the project is a long and demanding process, try to keep true to the spirit of the initial idea,’ she recommends. It doesn’t have to make sense.

Because she feels she needs a pen in her hand in order to think better, she recommends always having something to write with.

Martin Parr

Martin Parr is a photographer who works with subjects that somehow reveal the interaction he has with the world. ‘The knack is to find your own inspiration, and take it on a journey to create work that is personal and revealing,’ he says.

Parr explains that his inspiration often comes once a connection has been made with his subject: ‘It may range from getting into a small community and winning the trust of the subjects over a number of visits; but it could also come from walking in the mountains and feeling a certain affinity with the landscape.’

Mark-Anthony Turnage

Composer, Mark-Anthony Turnage believes that hard work and routine are important: ‘However late you went to bed the night before, or however much you had to drink, get up at the same time each day and get on with it.’

He says that when he was composing the opera Anna Nicole, he was up as early as five in the morning. He would then work until lunch time. ‘The afternoon is the worst time for creativity,’ he warns.

As for inspiration, he advises to forget about the idea that inspiration will come like a flash of lightning. ‘It’s much more about hard graft.’

Rupert Goold

Director Rupert Goold says that shallow-sleep dreams have been a source of his best ideas. That’s why he advises others to get an alarm clock with a long snooze function. Like Mark-Anthony Turnage, he recommends setting it early.

In order to keep going in times of doubt, he advises one to make sure that one is asking a question that addresses not only one’s own inner world but the world around one too.

As far as ideas go, Goold says that an idea is like a map: ‘The ultimate landscape is only discovered when it’s under foot, so don’t get too bogged down in its validity.’

The word permaculture combines the words permanent and agriculture, suggesting a sustainable method of farming. Permaculture works with nature while incorporating organic, agro-forestry and other useful techniques. Poor soil, for example, can be given a boost in the beginning by introducing artificial fertilisers or by planting a green manure crop. Once the soil has been given a kick-start, there need be no further dependence on chemical supplies. A steady release of nutrients can then be supplied by compost. Read on for more permaculture principles.

Work with nature

The permaculture method of working with nature means seeing pest-eating insects as friends. It also means seeing butterflies and bees as fertilisers and earthworms as diggers of the soil. Wild areas also have value as they attract useful birds and animals. Stones have a role to play as they bring in lizards.

Inter-connectedness

Everything is connected to everything else. Take aphids, for example, which are generally seen as pests: aphids eat vegetables, ladybirds eat the aphids and birds eat the ladybirds. If the aphids are poisoned, the ladybirds and birds will be poisoned too. Without any predators, the aphids will become a more serious problem.

Companion planting requires planting groups of plants together that grow well together and protect each other. Tomatoes, for example, grow well with asparagus, celery, onions and cabbage but do not grow well with potatoes or apricot trees.

Everything is useful

Building up biological resources is the key to sustainability. Once such resources have been built up, systems can be designed to recycle all resources. Nothing should be thrown away. Rainwater can be collected and used to water plants. Garden and kitchen waste can be used to feed the soil. A fruit tree can provide fruit, control erosion, condition the soil and act as a windbreaker, and so on.

Right time and place

Permaculture encourages organising resources effectively and efficiently so that more resources can be created. A deep and well-mulched trench garden can provide a variety of vegetables throughout the year but it won’t help if the vegetable garden is not ideally placed or the incorrect vegetables are planted for the soil, season or climate in question.

How often does one bite into a gorgeous-looking celebration cake, only to find that it is tasteless or rubbery? Planet Cake offers several recipes which actually taste as good as they look. There are offers of vanilla cupcakes, chocolate mud cake, white chocolate mud cake, carrot cake and coconut cake. There’s also a flour-less orange and almond cake recipe for those who require a dairy-free and gluten-free cake. These recipes can be prepared in advance, allowing for plenty of decoration time.

Vanilla cupcakes

Measure out the following ingredients for 12 vanilla cupcakes: 175 grams of softened butter, 16 grams of superfine caster sugar, 1 teaspoon each of vanilla extract and grated lemon zest, 2 eggs, 160 grams of self-raising flour, 100 grams of plain cake flour and 200 ml of milk.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius, place 12 paper cupcake cases into a muffin or cupcake tray and sift the flours together. Beat the butter, vanilla extract, sugar and lemon zest until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add a pinch of salt (if you’re using unsalted butter) and then beat in the eggs, one at a time.

‘Alternatively fold’ the flour and milk into the mixture and finally spoon into the cases. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Turn out onto a cooling rack once the tray has been left to rest for five minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to two days in the fridge. Otherwise freeze for up to a month.

Chocolate mud cake

The following ingredients will yield a 22 cm round cake or a 20 cm square cake: 220 grams of butter, 220 grams of chopped dark chocolate, 25 grams of coffee granules, 125 grams each of self-raising flour and plain cake flour, 50 grams of plain cocoa powder (unsweetened), 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, 480 grams of superfine caster sugar, 4 lightly beaten eggs, 7 teaspoons of vegetable oil and 100 ml of buttermilk.

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius, grease your tin and line it (the collar should extend 2 cm above the top of the tin). Pop the chocolate, coffee and butter into a pan. Add 160 ml of water and stir the ingredients on a low heat until melted and combined. Take the pan off the stove.

Now sift the flours, bicarb, sugar and cocoa into a bowl. Make a well in the middle and gently stir in all the remaining ingredients, including the chocolate mixture. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for an hour and 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out slightly sticky. Let the cake cool in the tin.

Tip: This cake allows plenty of preparation time as you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three weeks. You can also freeze it for up to two months but then be sure to defrost correctly.

If you believe you can’t cook or that you need to study cooking to improve, consider this: ‘The truth is you’re already a cook.’ These are the words of celebrated cookbook author and chef, Edward Brown – who also happens to be a Zen priest. As a cooking teacher, he wants his students to taste not only the food but ‘the unique flavour of reality.’ Instead of relying on outside cookbooks, he encourages looking around and asking yourself: ‘What have we here?’

On learning to cook

Brown believes that learning to cook begins with a willingness to be in the kitchen: ‘Zen Master Dogen stresses that your wish, your choosing to cook, and your interest and curiosity along with your passion sparks the process of learning.’

He says a teacher isn’t necessary but ‘can help you to be more conscious of yourself and to inspire you in opening your heart and soul to the world.’ While learning one then becomes ‘the embodiment of a cook: seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, meeting, greeting.’

You soon find that cooking is simple, fun, nourishing, tasty, direct and aesthetically pleasing. And then you want to cook and learn more.

Composing new dishes

Brown is an intuitive cook but he does point out that his intuition is ‘based on careful observation, on carefully sensing the flavours of numerous different foods, spices, and herbs.’ He believes it’s important to ‘catalogue’ the taste of what you’re eating if you want to become a better cook.

When you have a taste library at hand, you can more easily compose new dishes. ‘It is your thorough study and examination of different foods and flavours re-appearing’ that allows one to cook intuitively. A feeling of delight ensues, driving the process in turn.

Making food delicious

Delicious food requires more than a good recipe or a well developed taste library. It also requires a special mindset: ‘Careful attention, sincere and wholehearted effort go a long way to making delicious food.’ Cooking with love and care are the secret ingredients.

Making food delicious comes from appreciating the ingredients and treating them accordingly. How food is prepared ‘shows the heart of the person who handled it.’

Happiness and cooking

Edward Brown says that people are confused about happiness, thinking that happiness comes from not having to relate to anything: ‘Everything would just be there for you. You would not have to feel, sense, think, decide, respond, confront. You’re privileged.’

He explains that when people are not relating to what’s in front of them, there is disconnection and the result is an uprooted and lonely society. When you cook for friends or family you ‘can overcome this separateness and nourish yourself and others.’

Rather than just plodding along at a boring job and obsessing about money, he challenges people to consider down to earth activities like cooking or gardening. This gives a feeling of connection and gets one out of one’s head to ‘work with the things of this world.’

‘There are a million and one ways to make a million dollars,’ says Tim Ferriss in his book The 4-Hour Work Week. ‘From franchising to freelance consulting, the list is endless. Ferriss’ tips on how to achieve this are aimed at those who want to own businesses and not spend any time on them. They’re not aimed at people who want to actually run businesses. He admits that the response he gets when he introduces the concept is ‘more or less universal: huh?’

A simple goal?

Ferriss puts the goal forward as such: ‘create an automated vehicle for generating cash without consuming time. That’s it.’ Of course, cash flow and time are considerations. ‘Here’s how to go about it in the fewest number of steps,’ says Ferriss.

A summary of steps

The first step is to choose an affordably reachable niche market. ‘Don’t create a product, then seek someone to sell it to. Find a market – define your customers – then develop a product for them.’ Identify what groups or markets you belong to or understand. Identify which of these groups have their own magazines.

Step two is to brainstorm products: ‘Pick the two markets you are most familiar with that have their own magazines with full-page advertising that costs less than $5000. There should be no fewer than 15 000 readers.’ Now brainstorm product ideas where you don’t have to spend anything.

Step three involves creating advertising for the chosen groups or markets. You then ‘test responses from real customers before investing in manufacturing. There are several criteria that ensure the end product will fit into an automated architecture,’ adds Ferriss.

Criteria

The criteria Ferriss expounds on are that the main benefit should be captured in a single sentence, that it should cost the customer $50 to $200, that it should take no more than a month to manufacture and that it should be ‘fully explainable in a good online FAQ’.

‘Understanding these criteria, a question remains,’ continues Ferriss. ‘How does one obtain a product that satisfies them?’ He answer by offering three options. You can resell a product, license a product or create a product.

Creating an information product, for example is not difficult. ‘Information products are low-cost, fast to manufacture, and time-consuming for competitors to duplicate.’

Expertise required

Ferriss encourages non-experts not to sweat it. He believes that you don’t have to know anything more about the topic than the purchaser when it comes to selling product. You don’t have to be the best, just better than a small target of prospective customers.

He adds that there are three main options for obtaining your content. You can create it yourself, re-purpose the content that’s out there in the public domain (and which isn’t subject to copyright) or you can license content or ‘compensate an expert to help create content.’ If you choose the first two options you’ll need expert status in a limited market.