Traditional Scottish Curried Lentil Soup; for Diabetics too!

A healthy choice, but no foo-foo, just a great recipe for traditional Scottish Curried Lentil Soup.
And this is a carbohydrate adjusted soup for diabetics (like me) but leaving out just carbs, not TASTE!

Ingredients; 1lb carrots, 1 lb Rutabaga (turnip/neeps), 1 cauliflower, 4oz RED lentils, 1 Onion, 4 chicken stock cubes (buy Pollo mexican, they're cheaper.... see, told you I was Scottish)
(For Tomato and Lentil soup, just add two tins chopped tomatoes at the start, and reduce water by 1 pint)

Method; Bring to boil 3 pints of water with the stock cubes. Chop Carrots, Rutabaga, WHOLE cauliflower and onion; add to the boiling stock, cover, and boil sharply for an hour. Turn down the heat, and add RED lentils, boil GENTLY for an hour, stirring frequently.

That's the soup ready..... for wimps!
(Or traditionalists; The soup is actually ready to eat at this point, and totally traditional Scottish fare.)
And for diabetics, the cauliflower tastes just like the potatoes that "should" have been added, but the carbs have been almost totally wiped out.
(Yes, I know that lentils, carrots and rutabaga have carbs, but not much.)

Now for the 'special' ingredients;

You can add....... 2 tablespoons curry powder..... for Curried Lentil Soup.
You can add....... 5 tablespoons curry powder..... for REALLY Curried Lentil Soup
You can add....... a huge dollop of A1 sauce, Worcester sauce, (or any other stuff you might think appeals).
Parmesan cheese is good, ginger spice, turmeric, saffron, absinthe, ground mammoth tusks, rhino horn; whatever warms the cockles of your heart.

And whatever you do, DON'T listen to the idiots that think you can make this with any old lentils.... I'm a Manchester United Supporter.... THEY HAVE TO BE RED LENTILS!!!
(Please trust me on this... I don't have shares in the "Red Lentil Co."; crappy green/brown lentils taste like dirt when they're cooked.)
For more recipes, look at the last post, or hit the "Soup Yourself Thinner" book, on the carousel on the right.

Carbohydrate Intolerance; How Diabetics can cope.

Carbohydrate Intolerance is one of the new buzzphrases that seems to catch the ear.
"What's it all about?" I hear you say, right on cue.
Basically, a person suffering from Carbohydrate Intolerance can't process carbs efficiently. Not that a 'normal' person would notice, of course, there's no symptoms, you don't turn green overnight or anything.
Some diabetics notice though.
Some of us have the double whammy; Diabetes AND Carbohydrate Intolerance.
If you have both these conditions, even a small amount of carbs can knock the blood sugar of a diabetic over the 200 mark for as long as 18 hours, thus rendering their whole day a catastrophe.
Your blood numbers stay high, despite your seemingly great efforts.
I found out the hard way; I tracked my carb intake, and set out to make carb-free soups; that soon outlined the problem. My blood numbers fell almost overnight.
So, I didn't waste any time; after three months of great sugar numbers, I'm telling you all the secret.
Inside the book, there's my personal story, then the soup method explained in depth, then a bunch of delicious soup recipes. (And a couple of stews and chili's too)
Click on the book cover to go straight to Amazon.

Scottish Vampire; Braveheart with Fangs!

The Scottish Vampire; is there room in this already littered genre for such a story?

I, personally, think there is.

Scottish mythology is filled with fairies, water sprites and banshees, perhaps this is the vampire myth coming to rest on the heather-covered hills.

The Irish Banshee is transfered to Scottish culture as the Baobhan Sith; the Ba'van-shee.

According to legend, once a year, the Ba'van-shee rises from her grave. In the form of a beautiful woman, clad in a green flowing dress, the creature roams the woods and forests by night to feed on young men.

Sometimes acting alone, they also combine into hunting parties, seducing men into drink and dancing, ultimately drinking their blood.

Sure sounds like a vampire legend to me!

Anyway, I'm currently 40,000 words into the project, and wondered what the cover would look like.

I'm not sure that Mel Gibson would donate his picture, but he does look good with fangs!



Wedding Tiaras and Circlets

Yup; making bridal crowns is actually what I do for a living.
Just thought I'd take a breather from the selfless plugging of books and all things Scottish to give you a glimpse into my "day-job".
I make bridal and renaissance crowns and circlets.
All are made from scratch, made to order, and are customisable into any shape, style or color you can imagine.
You'll find them at www.perncirclets.etsy.com
AND, if that wasn't enough, we're having a 20% off sale on our artfire shop;
www.thyme2dream.artfire.com
Come on into the shop, take a browse around, and even get a bit of bling to take away!

More Balls (Bollocks) than Braveheart!

"More Balls than Braveheart?" I hear you say. But it's true.
"Bollocks!" I hear you say, having seen the newest Newcastle Brown commercial.
(Bollocks is actually a double edged compliment; it can mean good and bad stuff)
So, back to the blog.....
Mel Gibson (The Braveheart part) only took on the meagre English Army.
(And the French were beating them... they were almost relegated to Army Division two!)
Anyway...
Calach (Calgacus), the leader of the Northern Celts (Scottish) fought the might of the Roman Empire...
And won!
A true story, steeped in intrigue, shrouded in mist, covered in blood, and smelling of bulls*#t.
Ok, it's "my" interpretation of what I think could have been the true story.
(But well researched, just the same)
The true story of Scotland's first hero.
Let's face it; something made the Romans build Hadrian's wall; and it wasn't the need to keep the sheep out!
Caledonii. Birth of a Celtic Nation; available on eBooks wherever they're sold.
Parts 1-4 now available.
Part 5 being written as soon as I finish this blog.
Yours
Ian Hall

RE-VAMP the Vampire!

We decided that we'd re-vamp (get it? RE-VAMP) the whole set of covers for the 'New Blood' thing. This is the first; we hope you like them.

A bit more drippy blood, and what vampire doesn't like fresh drippy blood?

Check us out wherever you buy your eBooks.

Apple, Nook, Kindle, Kobo, Sony.

Slake your world-wide blood thirst!  

Beware; Vampire Wars; Now a Trilogy!

Our vampire series; "Vampire High School", becomes a trilogy.

This time the fight escalates into a full blown war.

Two distinct vampire groups, one led by Alan McCartney, one by his mother, are vying for the same real estate.

Enter the Helsing organisation.... eager to exploit the war to the full.

But even they cannot forsee the consequences of such an action.

Vampire Mandy, and Vampire/Helsing Lyman are in the thick of it again.

Vampire High School Book 3: The Rage Wars; available in all eBook stores.

Just click the image to go straight to Amazon for a free look inside the book.