Chicken Rendang

In 1890 the first Javanese immigrants came to Suriname (It is about one-tenth larger than Michigan) to work on plantations. Suriname is also one of the most ethnically and culturally mixed countries in the world. The immigrants came from different parts of Indonesia. Over the years about 32,000 people came to Suriname with there own languages, traditions and typical Javanese food. They have to adjust the spices and ingredients using what are available. So this is a Javanese Suriname recipe.

Ingredients

1 chicken, weighing about 1.5kg, clean and cut into 12 pieces


2-3 cans of coconut milk


1/2 cup of grated coconut


5-10 dried chillies (soaked)


1-2 fresh chillies


8 shallots


10 cloves garlic, peeled


2 cm galangal (laos) it resembles the flavor of ginger but is more aromatic


1 tablespoon sugar


4-5cm piece ginger


2 cm turmeric root (Although best known as a spice that gives a distinctive flavor and yellow color to curry powder and mustard)


1 piece of fresh ginger, 1-inches (2 centimeters) long, peeled


4 stalks fresh lemongrass tied into a knot (Lemon grass has an intriguing, lemony perfume without the bite that lemons can add to a dish.)


1 tablespoon of tamarind liquid


3 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt to taste


1 teaspoon freshly ground fine black pepper

Directions

1. Put every thing, except the grated coconut, lemon grass, the oil, the sugar and the coconut milk into the blender for about 40 seconds.

2. Heat the oil in a large wok and add in the paste and fry over medium heat for 5 minutes. Keep adding a little oil a bit at a time if the paste becomes too dry.

3. Add the chicken to the pan, cook for 5 minutes, stirring and turning to coat with the spices. Stir in the dry spices (lemon grass), then stir in the coconut milk and add salt and black pepper to taste. Bring to boil then simmer gently for 15 minutes.

4. Put 1/2 cup of grated coconut into a dry frying pan and fry till brown.

5. After the 15minutes add the second can coconut milk, the fry grated coconut, sugar and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve hot with white rice or yellow rice and green vegetables

The Smart Apporach- The Future of Aged Care

The Aged Care industry is facing major changes over the coming years that need to be understood and embraced by Aged Care providers if they are to survive.

The combination of the changing demographics of the resident base and their support families combined with information and infrastructure technological changes are going to work hand in hand with the current serious environmental issues in reforming Aged Care design and operations.
The future of Aged Care will move very soon to a format more like a resort type of living .This format is inevitable as we face the next 20-30 years in aged care. The availability of increased resident's funds, social, family, legislative and market demands for less institutional styles of accommodation will ensure that information technology systems and sustainable outcomes are rapidly integrated into an important criteria for the Aged Care centre of the future.

Design and operational procedures will change significantly in this period and this will provide great opportunities for IT and Change Management to step up and be noticed.
Competition in Aged Care due to this noticeably increased demand will ensure the provider who is looking ahead and who is prepared to think outside the circle will gain the competitive advantage.

There is a very important link in this process between sustainability and Information Technology.
Sustainability is about doing 'more for less" .It is a win/win situation.
Sustainable design combined with sustainable operations and the smooth integration of Information Technology work hand in hand. It is only natural that they are connected. The benefits to an Aged Care centre of Information Technology are only limited by our understanding of its capabilities and as the technology becomes more accepted and more widely used it will only improve while the numerous advantages to residents and operators alike will become more noticeable.

There are many advantages in designing and operating a sustainable facility. Complying with current energy efficiency building legislation (Section J, Building Code of Australia, BCA), which is only going to get tougher in the ensuing years will provide a competitive advantage. Even though it is a necessary requirement and may appear costly at first, the benefits of undertaking Section J compliance will be repaid in a short period of time (usually around 5 years) due to reduced energy running costs.

Through sustainable design we can also greatly improve resident's comfortability and the internal environment quality. Surely a great benefit to all stakeholders!
This sustainable approach is greatly benefited by the adoption of integrated information technology. Modern nurse call systems, for instance, can be linked to the building mainframe system, providing a complete analysis of a resident's lifestyle. This of course can then be used to design efficient and appropriate care programmes for individual residents which can be monitored and adapted as required.

What this does is greatly improve staff and operational efficiencies, ensuring staff are better utilised by spending more caring time with residents, less wasted time and removing their focus from resident attendance to actually caring for residents.
This will in turn result in improved staff productivity, reduced absenteeism and improved attitude.
Another win/win situation.

This integrated IT system concept blends perfectly with our sustainable approach to design which provides us with major reductions in environmental loads. With current energy, water and labour costs rising significantly over the next few years the smart operator will reap great cost, marketing, amenity and operational benefits.
Information Technology plays a major part in improving these technological environmental issues by assisting with environmental monitoring while improving the design and operations of sustainable practice and equipment.

In time, building management systems will be incorporated into the nurse call system which is currently also linked to security and phone systems.
This will allow a smart provider to monitor all building design and operational systems, staff and patient management and maintenance programmes through one integrated IT system. This in itself is a great sustainable outcome.

If we take this concept further, the information gleaned from operational reviews, building management and resident care programmes (all held in the building management system) can be downloaded into the design parameters and form a smart basis for providing future design outcomes that are sustainable and intelligent. "Lesson learned" are not lost.
This approach will result in the following benefits for your Aged Care project.

• Greatly improved operational efficiencies


• Significantly improved resident comfortability


• Reduced environmental loads


• Significantly reduced running and lifecycle costs


• Improved quality of design


• Improved construction techniques


• Improved quality outcomes


• Less maintenance and rework costs


• Improved marketability


• Reduced staff absenteeism.


• Improved staff productivity


• Improved overall efficiencies


• Significantly improved profit

The future of Aged Care is about to change in many ways .It is important to embrace what technology has to offer or we run the risk of being left behind.
The more we involve ourself in smart practices, the more efficient we become and the less we waste. No business can survive if it wastes money. And no business can survive with its head in the sand.
Not even Luddites!

Ingredients (in food) to Avoid : Hydrogenated Oils

I wanted to make this post yesterday, but things came up.

First and foremost, an easy way to tell how bad these oils are for you...google the name. You will find that the first 'x' amount of pages are just about how bad hydrogenated oils are for you.

Here are some links that provide information about hydrogenated oils:
Silent Killers
Proven Effects
What's Wrong With...
Ban Trans Fat

Basically, the hydrogenation of oils, with removal of essential fatty acids, is used in the food industry for the sole purpose of prolonging the shelf life of processed foods (to maximize profits). Trans fats have been proven lethal in many studies, some of these studies can be found in the second link I provided. The second link also includes a list of foods that may contain these oils. Such as...

• Fast food restaurants and chains use a lot of pre-prepared foods. These are usually loaded with hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats.
• Restaurants that prepare your food from scratch are much less likely to have foods containing hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils.
• Asian restaurants are generally goo - they may not be low-fat, but they use oils, not partially-hydrogenated containing margarine or shortening.
• Most French or continental restaurants may use large amounts of butter, better than trans fats, but not very good if you're trying to lose weight.
• Italian, Greek, Spanish and other Mediterranean restaurants tend to use health-promoting olive oil.

The following are from the second link provided.

Foods Almost Always Made With Partially Hydrogenated Oils

• Cake mixes, biscuit, pancake and cornbread mixes, frostings
• Cakes, cookies, muffins, pies, donuts
• Crackers
• Peanut butter (except fresh-ground)
• Frozen entrees and meals
• Frozen bakery products, toaster pastries, waffles, pancakes
• Most prepared frozen meats and fish (such as fish sticks)
• French fries
• Whipped toppings
• Margarines, shortening
• Instant mashed potatoes
• Taco shells
• Cocoa mix
• Microwave popcorn

Many Brands of these Foods are Made with Partially Hydrogenated Oils (Check the list of ingredients!)

• Breakfast cereals
• Corn chips, potato chips
• Frozen pizza, frozen burritos, most frozen snack foods
• Low-fat ice creams
• Noodle soup cups
• Bread
• Pasta mixes
• Sauce mixes

Foods that usually do not contain Partially Hydrogenated Oils
(This is not a list of "good" or recommended foods – some are full of sugar, white flour, or saturated fats. It's just a list of types of foods that usually are not made with Partially Hydrogenated Oils.)

• All fruits and vegetables
• Dairy products (milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt)
• Meat, poultry, fish
• Sugar, flour
• Spices, condiments, pickles, salad dressings and mayonnaise
• Jams and jellies
• Beans, grains, nuts and seeds
• Plain popcorn (not microwave)
• Pretzels, rice crackers
• Candies and chocolate (except cocoa mixes)
• Cooking oils
• Most soups and instant soups (except noodle soup cups)
• Coffee, tea, soft drinks, juices
• Frozen fruits & vegetables
• Canned fruits & vegetables

http://www.bantransfats.com provides a picture where a woman went through her cabinets, fridge, freezer, etc and took all things containing this ingredient and took a picture of them together. I think this is a great idea to show others just how many foods (convenience foods) have these lethal oils in them:



I hope that picture can put this into perspective for some people.
I suggest checking out the sites I listed to learn more about this :)