Korean Rice Breakfast

Thanks to Steph D from Canada .. a member of the Yahoo FM Group ... for the heads up about this easy-to-make egg dish.

Ingredients

¾ cup cooked rice

¼ cup bean sprouts blanched in 2 cups boiling water for 5 minutes

1 cup hot water reserved from blanching the bean sprouts

¼ teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

½ teaspoon hot red chili powder - (to 1 tspn)

1 scallion (spring onion, green part only!) sliced

1 pinch freshly-ground black pepper

Directions

Put the rice, bean sprouts, hot water and salt in a pan or in your own tukbaege.

Break an egg over all, sprinkle with the sesame seeds, chili powder to taste, the scallion and pepper.

Put the pan (or tukbaege) on the gas flame and bring to a boil over moderate heat.

Cook for 2 minutes but do not stir.

Serve hot in bowls.

Just before eating, break the egg yolk and mix everything in the pan into a gruel.

Adjust to suit your own tolerance/s and taste.

For eg, there is no way I would use chili powder!!!

This recipe would also make a quick lunch or dinner.

Helping me to stay sane

This is the near-side eye of my beautiful 25 y.o. 75% Arabian Palomino horse.

His registered name is Lanark Park Scots Dragoon, but I call him Diego.

This eye was very sore a few months ago and the vet thought he had a Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) on it. The treatment was going to be costly & painful. While we waited for the hard-to-access medication, I thought the eye was looking better ... albeit just a teensy bit. So I told the vet I'd like to hold off for a bit and adopt a 'wait & see' approach. I stopped putting any medication in it because I had to either fight with him to do it; or sedate him. After 3 weeks or so, I could see a definite improvement in the eye. The vet was checking on his progress and agreed it was slowly getting better. The swelling went down. Then the weeping stopped. He was no longer reacting painfully to light. After 4 weeks, there was just a small gobbet of pus in the lower corner of the eye. By now I was bathing it gently 4-5 times a day with warm saline solution. By the time 6 weeks had passed, the eye was looking normal. The vet could not find anything wrong with it. Its onset was acute (very quick), so I think he either hit the eye on something; or he scratched the cornea. So why does he help keep me sane? I ride him 3-4 times a week. We go into the bush near the property. He enjoys being out & about. He is kind and gentle, very affectionate & trustworthy.

I feel safe on him.

He saved my heart after the very emotional loss of a beloved pet.

I love this horse to bits!

Digest Spectrum update

In the week leading up to Christmas, 2011, I lost my will power. I ate some things I knew I shouldn't have and I paid big time! I was sick for about 4 weeks ... all for the sake of one small Vanilla Slice! Around the same time, I also became less diligent about taking one DS with every meal. As a result, a few of my most difficult symptoms returned. These were severe reflux during the night, burning mouth & gut .. as well as loose BMs and urgency. Now that I am back on track and remembering to take one DS capsule with every meal, those symptoms have again been resolved. I feel reasonably OK again, thanks to Digest Spectrum.

I've had some further communication with Enzymedica in the U.S. about Digest Spectrum being available in Australia. I was told a supplier has still not been sourced, but that DS is now available in New Zealand. The supplier is:

http://naturalmeds.co.nz/

They don't appear on the website yet. Contact naturalmeds direct.

The cost of a bottle of 30 capsules is $NZ25.40 ... which is $AUD19.75

Direct from Enzymedica, 30s bottle costs $USD14.98 ... which is $AUD13.90

Please note: these conversions are correct on 29 Feb 2012

SCD Yoghurt

The right yoghurt helps to control SIBO and since I've been making and eating Elaine Gottschall's magic potion, my SIBO is mostly a thing of the past. I use UHT lactose free milk...because I'm lazy! LOL The great thing about this yoghurt is that the curds & whey separate. The casein is found in the whey which you simply pour off. Voila! Now the yoghurt is both lactose and casein free.

Here's a link to Elaine's BVC website where you'll find instructions:

http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/beginners_guide/yoghurt/yoghurt.htm

I eat the recco'd 'cup' a day and usually add some FM safe berries - just a few.

I also found a great Australian site where you can buy supplies for making SCD (and other) yoghurts. There are detailed instructions for making all sorts of yoghurts:

http://www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au/yoghurt_culture.html#probiotic

http://www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au/yoghurt.html

Valerie's Blog is also an excellent read and she keeps it up-dated:

http://greenlivingaustralia.blogspot.com.au/

Savoury Impossible Pie

I love Swiss Chard. I love everything about it. I love its colour. I love growing it and I love eating what I've grown.
I also love making Impossible Pies. They are soooooooo easy.

2 cups lactose-free milk
4 free range eggs
30g butter, melted
1/2 cup unbleached, organic plain flour (use spelt or other if required)
1 cup grated tasty cheese (hard yellow cheeses have negligible lactose)
3/4 cup pre-cooked Swiss Chard (or silverbeet)
1/2 cup drained & chopped char-grilled capsicum
130g creamed corn
the green part ONLY of 2 spring onions, chopped

Preheat oven to Moderate, 180C. Lightly grease a deep, 25cm pie plate
In a large jug, whisk together milk, eggs & butter. Season to taste
Sift flour into a large bowl. Make a well in centre, gradually mix in milk mixture
Add half the cheese, plus Swiss Chard, capsicum, corn & spring onion
Pour mixture into pie plate
Sprinkle with remaining cheese
Bake 45-50 mins until firm
Serve in wedges with salad of choice

Vegie Patties

As ever, please make sure you know your own tolerance threshold :)

400g white skinned potatoes
1 large zucchini (gourgette) coarsely grated
250g orange sweet potato, peeled & coarsely grated
1 carrot, coarsely grated

1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
3/4 cup flatleaf parsley or coriander or similar herb of choice
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
120g spelt flour (or other flour of choice)
Crisco Sunflower oil (no anti oxidants), for cooking

Preheat oven to 200C
Line baking tray with baking paper
Place the potato & zucchini in a colander, using hands to squeeze out as much moisture as possible
Put into a large bowl, add the carrot, sweet potato, ginger, parsley, salt, eggs and 80g of the flour
Stir well until well combined
Cover & set aside for 15 mins
Take 1/4 cup of mixture at a time and form into patties
Roll in the remaining flour to coat both sides
Heat a small amount of the oil in a large fry pan over medium heat
Cook the patties in small batches for 3-4 minutes on each side
Transfer to the prepared tray and bake for approx 20 minutes
Serve with a small salad or favourite side

Sputnik

And so it continues! Thankfully, this story has a much happier outcome. Our youngest animal is a cat, aged 9 years ... and here he is. My DH is totally in love with this cat and when Sputnik got very sick 2 weeks ago, we feared the worst.
Sputnik is a Scottish Longhair and he is a very big cat. His coat went off first. It became lank, thin and 'stary'. He started to lose weight, couldn't miaow and one morning he was drooling with obvious breathing difficulty. Straight to the vet! Within two minutes she told us he had some obstruction in his throat and she would operate immediately. Of course, we were terrified about leaving him there and of what the outcome might be. By mid-afternoon we had a call to say that Sputnik had some sort of cyst in his throat which was filling with fluid and it was pressing on his windpipe, hence the breathing prob. The vet said she had only just been able to pop it with the tip of a scalpel. The area was close to the main arteries and facial nerves, so she'd been loathe to 'dig around too much'. She had no idea of what had caused it and she wasn't sure what his prognosis was. We went to pick him up and paid just over $500 for the treatment ... I think DH might have paid $5000 by this time ... he was overwrought. For the first 36 hours, Sputnik was very sore and quiet, but he was happy to sleep on his Daddy's bed and just be left alone. Then his miaow came back, followed by a voracious appetite! How he managed to scoff down the beef mince we were feeding him, with such a huge wound and painful neck/throat amazed me. He is now recovering very well. His coat is silky, thick & lustrous. Looks like he might have used up all his 9 cat lives on this one! We are delighted he is well again; and getting better every day.

Zara

The past few months have been very difficult in our house. After Jethro left us on Oct 5th, 2011 our Red Heeler X Kelpie dog, Zara, went into a complete funk. She was really depressed for several weeks and when she came out of it, she was crazier than ever. She was always a neurotic dog, but she missed Jethro and her behaviour was crazy. It didn't matter how many times I threw the ball for her, or how much time I spent with her - she had lost the plot. She invented a new game to keep herself occupied and it involved stalking the horses!!! Over a couple of weeks, she went from stalking them to make them run away from her - when she would give chase - to actually hunting them. I was aware she was doing this, so kept her inside with me or chained up when I wasn't outside. One w/end DH had been away and I was distracted when he got home. I heard Zara's tell-tale lunatic barking which told me she was stirring the horses up. I yelled at her, it went quiet & I thought nothing more about it ... completely distracted by DH describing the vintage cars he'd seen over the w/end. I went out to feed the horses about 45 mins later. Diego had a very nasty bite mark high up on one hind leg, with a second not so bad one on the other leg. As soon as I saw it I knew that Zara had got him. It was still bleeding freely so I cleaned it up, treated it & went looking for the dog. DH found her lying beside her kennel and she was also bleeding. I examined her gently and saw that her bottom jaw was broken, some teeth were missing and she appeared to have a head injury as well. I have no doubt that she had 'got' the horse with her first bite, but then he 'got' her when she went back for a second bite ... and he has shoes on. She'd taken a hard kick to her head and face. By now it was around 9.30pm on Sunday night. Luckily I had some Ketamine (a strong sedation) which I had been using when treating one of the horses for a serious eye infection. The horse dosage was 3 mls, so I gave Zara 2 mls. If that was too much for her, did it really matter? She was out of it within 30 minutes and was not in any discomfort throughout the night when I checked her several times. We took her to the vet first thing on Monday morning. The date was 5th December ~ only two months after Jethro left us. She was 12 years and 2 months old. She was a crazy, neurotic dog but we miss her.
R.I.P. Zara.

Lanark Park Scots Dragoon

After Jethro left my life, I was devastated. I knew I would be upset, what I wasn't prepared for was the on-going raw grief and how much I still miss him. My DH was worried about me as I literally cried for days. I couldn't sleep. I needed something to keep my mind occupied; as well as keeping me actively engaged. My retired old (26 yo) Pinto, Diablo, keeps me fairly busy but I decided I might like to start riding again. To make sure this wasn't a whim I went on a few rides at Ironbark Trail Rides and decided I would start looking for another riding horse. DH & I spent days, weeks, driving to look at horses for sale. What a wasted and very frustrating exercise!! There were quite a few false starts and mistakes made on my part. Then finally, after about six weeks, I went to see the boy in the above pics. He was in very poor condition, he hadn't dropped his winter coat yet, his pot belly told me he had a heavy worm burden, his feet & teeth were in dreadful condition ... but I bought him anway! After I rode him and spent an hour or so with him I knew I could not leave him the 'care' of the mongrel who was selling him. The first photo was taken the day after he arrived at our property. The next one, where he's gleaming like a gold ingot, was taken 5 weeks later. He didn't have a name when I got him. 'Palomino' is a Spanish word and we already have Diablo (The Devil). I decided to name the new horse Diego .. so now we have God and The Devil in the back paddock. LOL

I tracked down Diego's background, age and registered name (using his brands and markings) through the Arabian Horse Society. Finding out how old he really is was a bit of a shock, but he is a very young 25 yo. He has put on even more condition since the second pic above and he is looking fan.tas.tic. I ride him 3-4 times a week, but he doesn't cope with the hot days too well so on those days we both have a rest. He is quiet & sensible to ride. His 75% Arabian blood gives him a bit of fiestiness which he hasn't lost. He is good in traffic and nothing much really fazes him. I always feel good when I get back from a ride in the bush and the old boy enjoys it too.

Steamed Chicken With Rice or Noodles

This is an economical recipe. I usually get three meals from it. It's an excellent 'go to' when I am feeling sick and/or have symptoms.

Take a tray of organic chicken "Lovely Legs" which are the thigh either on, or off, the bone. I prefer the ones on the bone as they have more flavour and produce more gelatin.
Simmer the chicken in enough Campbell's Chicken Stock, to cover the meat. Make sure you use Campbell's as there is no onion or garlic in this stock, so it shouldn't cause symptoms. If you are really sensitive, just use water. Simmer on low heat until chicken is tender .. I usually give it 45 mins to an hour. If you are hungry when they are cooked, eat some and put the rest (pot and all) in the fridge. When they are completely cold (overnight), scrape any fat from the top and eat some more. By now they will be gooey, soft and gelatinous. This gelatine is a real tummy soother.
There should still be enough left for a third meal.
I steam some plain white medium grain rice as a side; or sometimes I add rice vermicelli directly to the pot as the chicken is re-heating on the stove top. Slice the green part of a spring onion and some coriander for a very tasty, easy-to-prepare meal.

My veggie garden is going ballistic!

All that hard work I did months ago setting up the raised beds is now paying off. Everything has gone ballistic with the warmer weather we've been having recently. The dark grey container has 3 diff types of tomatoes growing in it. I had them wrapped in clear plastic tents until about 10 days ago and they are growing very strongly now ~ way ahead of the old advice of never planting your tomatoes until after the Melbourne Cup! The big silver container has butter beans, button squash (those little yellow ones) and 2 diff types of zucchini. The Kipfler potatoes are going great guns in their funky special growing bags. The cut-off 44's have silver beet, Gold Nugget Bush pumpkins, herbs, cucumbers and strawberries in them. The strawberries have loads of fruit & the bird netting is there so I get to eat them - not the birds (or the chooks!) The green plastic chair is where I often sit on gorgeous days to relax, read, have a cuppa and soak up some extra Vit D in the hope of getting my level closer to normal - which reminds me, it's almost time to have the next blood test to check and see how I'm doing with the Ostelin D3 supplement. That green chair is where I was sitting when the brown snake slithered beneath me 3 weeks ago yesterday. That snake had been terrorising me for 4 summers and I am pleased to say its days of terrorism are over!! *wink* There are also peas, Queensland Blue pumpkins, Butternuts, Purple King beans and lots of Marigolds growing in various other containers. We have already been eating silver beet & bok choy; some of the peas are almost ready to harvest. I am feeling a lot of satisfaction that it's worked out so well after the weeks of getting it all together from scratch. I even managed to grow it all from seed!

Rabbit Stew with Dumplings

Sorry about the cute little baby to the left ~ considering what I am about to post. I've been hankering for rabbit stew for ages, but couldn't find rabbit meat anywhere. Then, saw some in a local supermarket - at $17.80 for one bunny! ZOMG!! Oh well, grabbed one anyway. I cut it into pieces and put it into the slow cooker with 500mls of chicken stock, some chunks of carrot and a few frozen peas; with some chives and a few leaves of curry plant (not curry leaves! Curry plant is a herb with small, soft leaves). It cooked for 6 hours on Low. Then I transferred it all into a large saucepan, made a basic dumpling dough and cooked it (with the lid on) on medium heat for a further 15 minutes, until the dumplings were done. That bunny stew with dumplings sure tasted gooooooood! I'll def make it again.

Meatball & Noodle Soup

I've been making this recipe quite a lot recently, using different variations on a theme. It's pretty safe for most people with FM and/or food chemical issues; and is very tasty. As ever, please be aware of your tolerance/s.

500g minced lean meat
[I've used beef, pork, veal, turkey, chicken; or a combo of them]
3/4 cup bread crumbs or corn crumbs
1 teaspoon ground Cardamom
1 teaspoon ground Cumin
1 large egg
1/3 cup Sunflower oil
Chopped chives or the green part of a spring onion, to taste
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well with a fork or spoon. Wet your hands and mix really thoroughly, then shape into bite size balls. Brown in batches and set aside.
Place 500mls Campbell's Chicken Stock in a large saucepan. Add the meatballs and 150g noodles of choice.
(Vermicelli, Singapore, Hokkein, etc)
Add some grated carrot and allow to simmer gently for approx. 30 minutes, stirring gently occasionally.
Turn heat off & add some Bok Choy, just allowing it to steam/wilt before serving.

Banana and Yoghurt Muffins

While bananas are no longer as horrendously expensive as they were in Oz, I still couldn't bring myself to throw three VERY over-ripe ones in the bin ... despite the fact that they were now loaded with amines! I went searching for a recipe I could adapt and found this one. It's a ripper! Having yoghurt as an ingredient only increased its appeal for me because I make my own. I have no reaction to one or two of these muffins ~ spaced well apart throughout the day ~ but please make sure you are aware of YOUR tolerance to them.
INGREDIENTS:
1 and 3/4 cups unbleached organic self raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar (or substitute with stevia, etc)
1 cup plain yoghurt (I use my own lactose free low-fat homemade yoghurt)
1 large egg (mine are homegrown free-range ... lucky me!)
2/3 cup oil (I use Crisco 100% Sunflower oil. No additives at all)
2 large bananas, mashed with chunks
1 teaspoon mixed spice
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin pan. Sift flour, sugar and mixed spice into a bowl. Combine yoghurt, egg, oil and banana in a second, larger bowl. Gradually add dry ingredients, stirring until JUST combined. [If you overmix, the muffins will be tough and won't rise]. Spoon mixture into muffin holes. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Stand muffins in pan for 5 minutes, turn out onto wire rack to cool. They are very moist and stay that way for 2-3 days. If any are left on day #4, nuke them for 15 seconds & spread with butter.

Jethro

Wednesday, 5th October, was a hard hard day. My magnificent Rottweiler, Jethro, was 12 years and 4 months old. He had osteosarcoma which presented on his left hind leg just above his foot. When I first noticed it about 7 weeks ago it was the size of a small hen's egg. By the time I got him to the vet two days later, it was as big as a large hen's egg. This is a very aggressive disease. The only treatment is amputation, followed by chemo & radiotherapy; and there was no way I would put him through such suffering. So, I brought him home and hoped we'd have some more time together. He mooched along OK, spending most of his time inside with me. He'd go out for a pee around 11pm, then settle down for the night. I'd get up and let him out at daylight and then he'd get into his Hilton Hotel kennel for a few hours and wait for me to get up. He always got out of his kennel to greet me and help feed the chooks and horse. He still liked to get around the property a bit, bark at anyone who dared to get to close to our boundary fences and just let the world in general know he was still on active duty. Whenever I reached my left hand down, there was his head pressed hard against my left knee. On Wednesday morning, he didn't get out of his kennel - even when I called him. He didn't come with me to feed the chooks. I knew he was feeling miserable. The tumour on his leg was now grotesque and, for the first time, he couldn't take any weight on that leg. I rang the vet, organised to pick up some sedation and we took him for his last ride in the car.

Not long after I first got Jethro, I started working with Juvenile Offenders. One of them thought I'd written a negative report about him to the sentencing Magistrate and he threatened to blow up our house [they all knew where I lived, of course!]. We took this threat seriously as that young man had burned down two schools in the area; and he was violent. So, I trained Jethro to the max of his awesome guarding ability. Most people who met him, hated him ... because they were afraid of him. There were only four people on this earth whom he would allow to touch him. Everyone else was seen as a threat and Jethro really was a force to be reckoned with. I always felt safe. Our property and belongings were safe.

Jethro was the seventh Rottweiler I have had in my life and he will be the last. He & I were fiercely devoted to each other. He was gentle with us; loving, funny and playful. He was 100% obedient for me. He did not disobey me ~ not even once.

My heart is aching. I keep thinking I hear him in the house. Why isn't his head there, pressed against my leg? His soft, velvety ears? I miss him dreadfully. My protector, my companion, my loving friend ...

Digest Spectrum ~ The Wonder Pill!!

I've known about this product for many months and even bought a bottle of 30 caps about 4 months ago, but was too much of a scaredy cat to try them. After reading about all the success others with the same issues as me were having with them, about 4 weeks ago, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and try the ones I had. I started off by taking one with lunch each day for 4 days, just to see what would happen. Then one with breakfast (as well as lunch) for another 3 days. By the end of the first week I was taking one with each meal. Do they help? Oh, yes, indeed they do! The biggest improvement I've noticed is that I don't get the severe nightime reflux which could mean I'd be woken with a mouthful of stomach acid at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. Yuck! It hasn't gone completely, but it doesn't happen every night & it's nowhere near as severe. I take Nexium (a PPI) but it didn't help with the reflux during the night. This might be TMI, but I am also having normal BMs - something which hasn't happened for a long time! If you decide to give these a try, you might notice that you will fart a bit more than usual and your BMs could be really, really rank. LOL To me this means that the digestive enzymes are doing their thing. They don't necessarily mean that you can eat whatever you want in large quantities. You still need to be careful with your diet. Some people have reported that they can eat whatever they like, but I'm not one of them. However, I haven't had any 'episodes' and I feel well. The best way to use DS is to have a few bites of your meal, then take the capsule. People who eat more than one course should take another DS prior to the last course [apparently]. There are absolutely no fillers or other nasties in this formula, but check it out for yourself.
You can read about Digest Spectrum and buy it from here:
http://www.enzymedica.com/products/Digest_Spectrum
and here:
http://www.iherb.com/Enzymedica-Digest-Spectrum-90-Capsules/24289?at=0
Amazon sells DS but they won't ship to Australia, unfortunately. There are also sellers on American eBay who seem reliable. It's not available in Australia and there is nothing exactly the same here. I now have my own drug store supply!! Here's hoping it continues to work as well.

More brick walls

I guess I should have known that taking the Vit D supplement capsules would cause me grief. I drove to Melbourne the day before my appt with a dietician at SW. As I was preparing to leave the motel the next morning, to drive the short distance to the appt, I had a major D episode - the first since February. I know I hadn't eaten anything which might cause this and I was extremely upset about it. By the time I got to SW, I was very emotional and I am sure the dietician thought I am a head case. She suggested that I would benefit from seeking counselling and told me that SW was not able to help me any further. I was pretty disappointed with this outcome ... as well as embarrassed ... but there's no doubt that she was not seeing me at my best. Both experiences were humiliating.
I have decided to try again with the Vit D supplement but am only taking one every second day. Let's see what happens! I also have some Digest Spectrum, which I believe I will try during the coming weekend. I have regressed in the past 2 weeks, which is very disappointing.
Thankfully I have had some success in changing the appointment I made 5 weeks ago to see an allergist. I will now be seeing him on September 6th. My original appt was not until 14 November!! Today I had a light bulb moment - I thought I could eat a limited range of dry biscuits, but realised that one type has a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top ... maybe I am a head case after all. Any hoo, I've just eaten 2 ... I wonder what reaction I might have, if any?
I'd been away from home for almost a week & my veggie garden has grown significantly in that time due to the very unseasonal warm weather we had, followed by lovely heavy rain. Some of the Bok Choy is almost ready and the Swiss Chard is growing fast. The potatoes had also pushed their leaves up through the second layer of compost, so they have now been covered with a final layer. The worms are about six times bigger - they are fat and very healthy looking. What a great feeling of satisfaction. At least some things are successful .......

Vitamin D (3) Deficiency

One of the most common problems related to food intolerances with malabsorption is a lack of Vitamin D. I had a blood test done in May, when my Vit D was measured at 52. Considering that the normal level is 150+ that was a bit of a shock. I'm going to see a senior dietician at Shepherd Works in a few days, so wanted to have very recent blood work to show her. Imagine my horror when my Vit D had dropped even lower ~ to 38 in just two months!! It explains the dreadful muscle weakness, fatigue and joint pain I've been experiencing recently. I have now started a therapeutic regime of Ostelin brand Vitamin D (3) - scientific name is cholecalciferol. It's necessary to start off with 2-3 capsules per day, best taken with breakfast, for a month. This is followed up with a blood test and then adjusted as required. Ostelin has no added anything. I'm beginning to wonder if my reduced muscle strength is the reason for a very heavy fall I had a couple of weeks ago.

Of course, the laughing GP just told me I need to spend more time in the sun - to get outside more. Hellloooooo, Albert ... I already spend a minimum of 2 hours most days outside, which I told you in May but because you are so cynical about food intolerances you dissed me when I told you this. Don't you know that many Australians are already deficient in Vit D?? The food intolerances just make the situation worse.

My thyroid levels were also really out of whack - connected to the Vit D deficiency which is required for proper absorption of calcium. It's a minefield trying to manage all the issues I have :(

Homemade Ice Cream

I recently bought a Cuisinart 2L ice cream maker ~ model #ICE-30BCA. It was a bargain on eBay, BNIB from an honest seller. It is a fantastic machine. Some of the reviews I read stated this model is a bit noisy, but I don't think it's as annoying as a food processor or electric mixer; and it makes fantastic ice cream and frozen yoghurt. This machine does not have a compressor, but a bowl which is placed in the freezer for 24 hours before you want to use it. Sounds like a PITA but it's not. Just leave it in the freezer between batches. I've tried several recipes, but this is my 'go to' preference ... even though it's very rich. One small scoop at a time can't hurt though, can it?? I add a large mixing spoonful to individual containers with screw top lids. Here's the recipe:

600mls whipping cream (min 35% butter fat)
395g tin condensed milk
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
Whip cream until soft peaks form. Add vanilla bean paste, then condensed milk. Mix until it looks like custard. Pour into ice cream maker & churn for 25-30 mins.
It will be like soft serve ice cream at the end of that time.
You'll need to put it in the freezer to harden up & ripen in flavour. It's delicious.
I've done a couple of variations:
Instead of vanilla bean, add 1/4 tin of drinking chocolate to the cream & fold it in carefully before mixing or the choc powder will fly all over your kitchen!
Instead of the condensed milk, use a 385g tin of Coffee & Milk and add 1 tablespoon of good quality instant coffee granules - I used Moccona 'Indulgence'.

Traditional-style baked rice custard

This is bascially what I've been living on for the past several days. Don't add the sultanas if you are super sensitive - I only used about 10 of those 'nasty' little yummy brown super sweet fruit. It's a bit of fiddling about, but well worth the effort IMO. I have had no bad reaction/s to this recipe, but as usual, please assess your individual tolerance and daily load when you eat it. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
75g (1/3 cup) medium grain white rice
750 mls (3 cups) Lactose Free milk
70g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
4 eggs
(I used my own chookies' eggs, but you can buy free range at most s/markets)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (don't use the synthetic chemical crap!)
10-15 sultanas
pinch of ground nutmeg (don't use if super sensitive)
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 C. Cook the rice until tender, drain & set aside. Use a fork to whisk together the milk, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in the rice and sultanas.
Line the base of a roasting pan with a tea towel folded to fit and place a 1.5L (6-cup) capacity ovenproof dish in the pan. Pour the custard mixture into the dish. Sprinkle evenly with nutmeg. Pour enough boiling water into the pan to reach halfway up the side of the dish. Bake in oven for 40-45 mins, until the tip of a knife comes out cleanly. Remove dish & set aside to cool for an hour.
TIPS:
Make sure you use a baking dish of the size specified. If the dish is too large the custard may cook too quickly, becoming dry & rubbery.
For a smooth result, use a fork to whisk the egg mixture. A balloon whisk causes bubbles to form in the custard as it bakes, creating an unpleasant mouth feel.
Be very careful not to overcook the baked custard or it will separate. If you see tiny bubbles throughout the custard, it's overcooked.