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18 junio, 202012 agosto, 2020

Homemade Organic Wholemeal Spelt Bread

I started to make bread a few years ago, because I wanted to improve the quality of my feeding. After reading lots of blogs and online forums, I failed trying to make many breads and sourdough. Yet, I kept practicing with different recipes, with different organic flours, with white flour and wholemeal flour, and I got it when I discovered organic dried yeast. When you get to know how to make it, then you don´t want to buy bread anymore. I read about this many times, and I thought that it was exaggerated, but it is totally true. Now, when I eat an industrial bread at some restaurants, it hasn´t flavor, and its texture is completely different.

Just notice that you have to spend some time learning and practicing, and you need to pay attention to the process. I also warn you that your family is going to eat the bread you made in half an hour, but don´t worry, the effort is well worth it.

Even though I´m still a beginner in the art of making bread, now I´ll tell you in detail the way to make the type of bread I make well; ingredients, steps, and a video of our YouTube channel.

We need the following INGREDIENTS;

12.70 ounces of wholemeal spelt flour
6.35 ounces of strength spelt flour
0.09 gallons or 0.66 pints of water
0.42 ounces of non salted butter
1 level tea spoon of salt (the World Health Organization recommends not to exceed the daily intake of 0.17 ounces of salt)
1 level tea spoon of raw whole brown cane sugar (the World Health Organization recommends not to exceed the daily intake of 0.88 ounces of sugar of any kind including panela)
1.76 ounces of sunflower seeds
1.59 ounces of raisins
1.59 ounces of small bits of nuts
0.32 ounces of dried yeast to make bread

And if all these are organic products, then better for our health. Watch out for binders included in some brands of salt.

STEP by step;

1- mix only the flour and the water, cover with a cloth, and let it rest 30 min.

2- knead while adding dried yeast , and keep doing that for another 3 min., cover it with a cloth, and let it rest for 1 hour, ideally inside of the oven only with the light on.

3- mix the olive oil or the butter with the brown sugar and the salt, and let it cool to avoid killing the yeast

4- take the dough out of the oven, and we shall see that our first bread fermentation raised the dough´s size. Then knead for another 3 min. while adding oil or butter, with salt and brown sugar. Cover it with a cloth, and let it rest 35-40 min.

5- we shall see that our second bread fermentation raised the dough again. Then knead for another 3 min. while adding the sunflower seeds, raisins and nuts. Or instead, you may just stick the nuts on top of the dough. Cover it with a cloth, and let it rest 30-35 min.

6- we shall see that our third bread fermentation raised the dough once more. Now take a tray out of the oven, and heat the oven up to 392º F

Wholemeal Spelt dough after the third fermentation

7- cover the tray with baking paper and nothing else, and fold the paper to make it fit to the size of the tray

8- fill a baking dish with a full glass of water, in order to evaporate and to prevent the bread crust from hardening

9- with a plastic and flexible pastry shovel, scratch the sides of the dough, while pooring it slowly in the baking paper, trying to avoid the volume from breaking. You can shape it if you want, but you don´t need to make cuts on top of the dough, because it is not a compact dough

Dough on top of the baking paper ready for the oven — Dough on top of the baking paper, with which we cover the baking tray

10- put a piece of foil on top of the dough just like a shield to prevent the dough from burning

Otherwise, we can toast too much the bread crust, as in the picture below. You may open the oven in the middle of cooking, and you can cover the bread with foil, but you´ll loose heat opening the door of the oven.

Homemade wholemeal spelt bread with a too much toasted bread crust — Too much toasted bread crust

11- put the baking dish in the lowest part of the oven, the tray with the dough on top of it, lower the heat at 356º F, and let it bake for 1 hour

12- take it out of the oven, and put the bread on top of a sieve or a strainer, to let humidity evaporate from the bread during 30 min.

Homemade Organic Wholemeal Spelt Bread fresh from the oven — Organic bread fresh from the oven

After half an hour it will still be warm. We can cut it to see how it looks inside. Ideally we should see small uniform gaps between the crumbs. This means that the whole bread has been cooked well, and to the touch it will be spongy when pressed.

Homemade Wholemeal Spelt Organic Bread fresh from the oven, and put on top of a strainer or sieve — Organic Bread after half an hour on top of a strainer

If we have large gaps under the bread crust, as in the following picture, then the bottom part will be more pressed and not so cooked.

Homemade Wholemeal Spelt Bread with gaps under the bread crust by ShopCanarias.es — Bread with gaps under the bread crust

Enjoy it! , and afterwards cover it with a cloth.

And try this bread with Canary Islands different tasty cheeses.

Watch VIDEO and RECIPE for SWEET KNEADED GOFIO

Thank you very much for the visit, and see you soon!

8 junio, 202017 febrero, 2021

Organic pepper in your urban garden

Ecological Peppers in Urban Garden ShopCanarias.es — Organic peppers in an Urban Garden

Reasons to have an urban garden

I bought two urban gardens six years ago, because I started reading studies on the possible effects of GMOs, herbicides, insecticides, pesticides, etc. We start by planting herbs such as parsley, mint, basil, etc. When the caterpillars ate everything, we continued to plant something «useful» like carrots (which came out tiny), beans with which I made a few tortillas (but was invaded by a white bug), etc. We continued to plant strawberries, raspberries, cherries, etc., and grew beautiful, but it hardly bore fruit. And we also tried Cherry tomatoes, but although I got to collect twenty Cherry tomatoes at once, they come out small and not enough to make a salad.

So we opted to plant peppers over a year ago, and they have lasted without using anything except water, and remnants of organic soy drink and organic whole milk (mixing the liquid left at the bottom of the tetra brik with water). We’ve collected a lot of green peppers, and some red peppers. We gather them green because they start to show black areas at the top, but some of them mature well until they turn red. Its size is medium, larger than a fist, so it serves as an ingredient for a recipe.

Now I tell you how to do it, but the great trick is to replant the seeds of the peppers we eat, so that production does not stop. This time we have done it by germinating the seed first, and using natural guano before planting (it is suitable for organic farming, and we will use it only once more within a month as dictated by the instructions).

Steps

Step 3 germinating pepper seeds with ShopCanarias.es — Step 1 Germinate organic pepper seeds

Step 1

Extract the seeds from an organic pepper, and put them to germinate as when we did in school. A container with kitchen roll paper in the bottom, moistened with water, with the seeds on top, and covered. One trick one neighbor told me is to put them on top of the internet router, to get heat for 5 days (leaving the ventilation gaps free of course).

Step 2

Remove the soil where you will plant the seeds to oxygenate the soil (I did it 1 day before planting). If you want, pour and spread evenly the amount of natural guano indicated by the package. And water a little.

The brand we use from natural guano shows an amount for «before planting», and another amount for the following month, in the case of peppers. For other vegetables, it recommends a third dose two months later.

I recognize that the first few times we did it, we did neither germinate the seeds nor add guano or anything, but consequently, the production was low. We started to see results after planting seeds, and more seeds.

Step 3

If we see the seeds germinated, then we can plant them. . We must see some green tails coming out of the seed, as shown below. We sink the finger a little into the ground, and we make a bunch of holes separated from each other, like when you draw a 3-striped board. Then add in each hollow 1 germinated seed, cover it with soil or substrate, and water well.

Organic Pepper Seeds Germinated by ShopCanarias.es — Germinated organic pepper seeds

Step 4

Water (with rainwater when possible), observe, and remove weeds. We have to water in the early morning, or in the afternoon when the sun starts to set, and the soil is not hot. And watch out for watering a lot, because in our case the urban garden have underneath a water outlet hole, and all the nutrients of the soil go out there. Put a container under the urban garden just in case, and if the water comes out, then you can use it to water the next afternoon.

Water collected from the rain with ShopCanarias.es

Since we don’t have gutters, we put a bucket under the awning, and wait. We already have water, better than the tap one.

Organic pepper starting to grow in urban orchard ShopCanarias.es

First the stem will come out, then the flower, and then the green pepper. If it matures and starts to turn red, then great.

Organic Pepper Flower in Urban Garden ShopCanarias.es

Green organic pepper in urban ShopCanarias.es

But it’s also good for eating if it starts to turn black on top. From green it passes to black, and then to red. Below you can see that the pepper on the left is not yet completely red, when the one on the right is still green.

Organic pepper maturing in Urban Garden ShopCanarias.es

And if a bird comes to eat the worms and bugs on the ground, ask the children to make scarecrows with recycled products (1 stick, aluminum foil you’ve used, 1 sack, 1 bag of colors, markers, and imagination).

Peppers in Urban Orchards of ShopCanarias.es with Recycled Scarecrow with Sack — Recycled Scarecrow with a sack

Peppers in Urban Orchards of ShopCanarias.es with Colorful Recycled Scarecrow — Recycled Scarecrow with a sack

Thank you very much for the visit, and see you soon!

IDEAS FOR RECYCLING AND REDUCING EMISSIONS

5 junio, 202028 octubre, 2020

Lockdown

Stopping for a moment when working at home, to do something with the family, especially with children, is fun and also improves your productivity when you get back to work. If working at home already had multiple advantages, being with the family makes it even better. It is the positive part of lockdown, even if this type of coexistence is more difficult (sharing resources, respecting the little space and time of each, etc.).

So how do we work from home in ShopCanarias.es? , well, making work more flexible and interspersing work with attention to the family, and with household chores.

Crafts are a good option to feed the imagination, and if we recycle, then great!. Enjoy creating the characters you want.

2 packs yogurt

1 carton (inside)

1 cord

1 pom-pom

And paint!

You can also have fun changing the use of other elements to make crafts, such as making fun shapes with these balls with spikes to adhere to each other. Do you want to decorate your shoes?.

Another alternative is to invent characters and games with the toys you already have.

You can have fun and disconnect with building games, which motivate and incentivize imagination, creativity, and teamwork, as in the following video from our YouTube channel;

And if you want to do other things as a family, then try making recipes, and try planting seeds for you to eat healthier foods;

WATCH VIDEO AND RECIPE FOR SWEET KNEADED GOFIO

WATCH VIDEO AND RECIPE FOR WHOLE-GRAIN ESPELTA HOMEMADE BREAD

SEE HOW TO PLANT PEPPERS IN YOUR URBAN GARDEN

Thank you very much for the visit, and see you soon!

2 junio, 202010 septiembre, 2020

Canary Islands Gofio

What is Gofio

Gofio are ground and roasted cereals; wheat, corn (millo), and these ones mixed also with chickpeas, barley, oats, rye, etc. More than 6 million pounds of Gofio are produced every year, and it is consumed in more than 80% of Canary Islands´s homes. As a matter of fact, its consumption dates back centuries, to the Canarian aborigines. But it is also consumed in countries such as; Germany, Japan, Venezuela, Cuba, Argentina, Chile, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Uruguay. And in other areas such as; Miami, Cape Verde, and Occidental Sahara.

By default salt is added to Gofio, but it is also sold without salt, and special for diets, what makes it a product for all audiences. You can mix it with whatever you want (usually with milk, bananas, water, etc.). Even formerly it was mixed with wine (ralera). And it is sold in various weight formats; 17 ounces, 8.8 ounces, monodose packs, etc.

Here in the Canary Islands we consume it on a daily basis. At breakfast; with milk, or as a slice of a sweet kneaded Gofio. At lunch; with a vegetable potage, «escaldón» (adding lots of Gofio to a vegetable soup until it gets too dense), or as a slice of kneaded Gofio with water and salt. At snack time with bananas, or with figs. And at dinner or supper, I at least sprinkle a little bit of Gofio on the yogurt or on the vegetable potage, specially when I´m hungry. «Para gustos hay colores» (a Spanish saying which means that there are as many personal preferences as colors exists).

If you want to read and watch a video of how to make a sweet kneaded Gofio recipe, then click on the link at the end of this post.

It is usually a complement to typical Canarian foods, for example with «papas arrugadas» («wrinkled» potatoes stewed with water and coarse salt), with «mojo verde» (green sauce with coriander), with «mojo rojo picón» (red hot sauce with hot peppers), and with «pescado salado» (it is made with fish preserved in salt, which is desalted for days, before being stewed with other ingredients).

Still life made by ShopCanarias.es with Gofio, Papas, pineapple, dehydrated figs, and Mojo Verde — Still life made by ShopCanarias.es with; Gofio, «Papas», Canary Islands´s tropical pineapple, dehydrated figs, and «Mojo Verde»

Advantages of the Canary Islands´s Gofio

Canary Islands´s Gofio got on year 2014 the official record as a designation of origin of Europe (also named IGP or Protected Geographical Indication).

Furthermore, Gofio is a very nutritious food;

• It´s healthy because it only contains cereals (and salt, if it is preferred that way)
• It has high nutritional value, because it contains all the grain´s parts (endoesperm, germ and bran)
• It has high mineral content
• It hasn´t more than 370 Kcal / 3.5 ounces
• It has low fat content (5% max.)
• It has low saccharose content (usually lower than 1%)
• It has high quality energy (frequently it has a 79% of starch)
• It has proteins (min. 7%)
• It has vegetable fiber content (min. 1,5%)
• And it has 50% of the recommended daily intake of vitamins; B3, and D.

Next you will see a couple of links to some of the studies carried out on Gofio;

https://www.internationaljournalofcardiology.com/article/S0167-5273(15)00605-1/abstract
http://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/nh/v29n3/31originalotros02.pdf

So, What are you waiting to eat some Gofio?

SWEET GOFIO RECIPE and VIDEO

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28 mayo, 202010 septiembre, 2020

Canary Islands Sweet Gofio´s Recipe

Steps and video of how to make sweet Gofio ball or lump

Sweet Gofio ball or lump made by ShopCanarias.es

I summarize in another article the advantages of Canary Islands´s Gofio, which is made with toasted and ground cereals (if you want to know more then click on the link at the end of this post). But now I will share with you how I like to make kneaded Gofio, also named Gofio ball o Gofio lump. Below you can see the ingredients which you need, and the steps to follow. And you may also see the following video of our YouTube channel.

video of how to make sweet Gofio ball or lump

We need the following INGREDIENTS ;

2 table spoons of organic raisins,
Enough organic milk to cover the raisins, which I usually let soak in milk overnight,
2 table spoons of organic peeled almonds cut in pieces,
3 organic bananas from the Canary Islands, which we are going to smash,
2 table spoons of organic honey,
and organic gofio from the Canary Islands, made with corn and wheat in this case.

STEP by step ;

1º- mix all the ingredients except the gofio, afterwards add the gofio slowly,

2º- keep adding gofio and mixing until it is too dense, then knead while adding gofio,

3º- and finally use your fists to knead until the dough doesn´t stick neither to your hands nor to the bowl.

4º- Give it the shape desired, round or like a bread loaf, and sprinkle more gofio around it.

Ready to eat for breakfast, o for lunch with a cup of Canary Islands wine, Enjoy it!

WHAT IS GOFIO?

Thank you for visiting, and see you soon !

25 mayo, 202010 septiembre, 2020

Carnival Canary Islands

Carnival Costume — Photo taken by ShopCanarias.es, with permission and courtesy of this Carnivalero from Los Realejos, Tenerife, Canary Islands, from an original costume made of recycled materials

Nothing better to recycle than making a costume with recycled materials. But it is also worth it to wear the usual costumes, or dressing up with what we have at hand; a pajamas, an apron, a sheet, or whatever you can think of, with accessories you have at home; a bottle, a roller, chains, etc.

Carnivalrs of Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands — *Photo taken by ShopCanarias.es, with permission and courtesy of these Carnivals from Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands*

Carnival is a Christian tradition, to have fun before Lent. People dress up, and some of us make the costumes ourselves. People sing, dance to the sound of orchestras, walk in and out of the «coso» (parade), and some are part of «comparsas» (percussion and dance groups), and «murgas» (choral groups that make funny and critical songs).

At the end of the Carnivals, which always end on Sunday, there are different celebrations, although in all carnivalers they disguise themselves as black (mourning), and mourn the end of the Carnivals. In Tenerife, for example, in Santa Cruz you may see the burial of a sardine, where a giant cardboard sardine is burned. However, in Los Realejos, «Rascayú» is burned, who disguise him as the theme of that year’s Carnival.

Rascayú at the Los Realejos Carnivals in 2020

If you want to see some of the tourist attractions of the Canary Islands, here you can see the information of the Government of the Canary Islands;

http://www.gobiernodecanarias.org/turismo/fiestas/index.html

Thank you very much for the visit, and see you soon!

22 mayo, 202010 septiembre, 2020

Calima

Calima (haze) are very small particles of suspended dust, and in the Canary Islands, it is sometimes caused once or twice a year (during spring and/or summer time), due to alms and clays that come with winds coming from Africa towards the south and southeast.

But don’t worry, it only lasts a couple of days, or disappears sooner if it rains. But if you have asthma, then you should be alert to your symptoms.

The Teide as the calima disappears — Photo taken by ShopCanarias.es. *View of the Teide, from the north of Tenerife, when the calima disappears.*

Don’t forget to hydrate frequently, wear a hat and sunglasses, and put on sunscreen from time to time. And try to avoid full sun exposure between noon and 6pm, especially if you’re traveling with children. It would also be helpful to bring an umbrella in the car.

Photo taken by ShopCanarias.es. Views of El Teide.

And sometimes, when the calima disappears, the sky of the Canary Islands gets clear, and you can see the silhouettes of the rest of the islands.

Photo taken by ShopCanarias.es. Silhouette of the island of La Palma seen from Tenerife

For more information on the weather that we have right now in the Canary Islands, then click the following link, and hover over an area of an island to know; temperature, wind, humidity, etc.;

TIME in the Canary Islands TODAY

And to know the weather´s prediction in the Canary Islands up to six days ahead, then click the following link, and select the parameter which you want in the blue selectors on the left of the map;

TIME PREDICTION in the Canary Islands

Thank you very much for the visit, and see you soon!

21 mayo, 20209 septiembre, 2020

El Teide announces winter

The first snowfall in El Teide, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, announces winter on December 11, 2019, just for the Christmas and New Year season.

The Teide for ShopCanarias.es — The snowy Teide for ShopCanarias.es

El Teide is a volcano of 3,718 meters high, and it is the highest peak in Spain. It is a National Park, and it was declared a World Heritage Site. Even on the winter season, it only snows in El Teide at times, and that is why we celebrate when we see El Teide completely snowy.

You can take a walk through El Teide, go to the visitor´s centre, ascend inside of the cable car, and then climb about 163 meters to reach the crater.

We also go up to El Teide to spend a great day with the family, and play with the snow, even on March.

Snow in El Teide in March 2016, in Tenerife, Canary Islands — Photo taken by ShopCanarias.es of snow in El Teide, in March 2016, in Tenerife, Canary Islands

Thank you very much for the visit, and see you soon!