DIY - PIZZA!

Today I'm doing something different.. I'm going to be blogging about food! I probably won't do this often but I have genuinely been asked by a few people to blog about this specific dish.

Have a look at my about me, you'll see there somewhere that I speak about a certain obsession of mine.. Oh yes. It's pizza. I mean we all do like a bit of this Italian cake but in my life I have met some people who are also just that little bit more .. 'interested' in pizza.

I, personally, can't get enough of it and could probably eat it 6/7 days a week, for the rest of my life, no exaggeration. Pizza can be complimented by a number of sides, contributing to a balanced meal, at the same time as being quit a balanced meal in itself.

Pizza has been around for around 200 years now. The term was first recorded in AD 997, in a Latin manuscript from the southern Italian town of Gaeta, in Lazio, Central Italy. The modern pizza was invented in Naples, Italy, and the dish and its variants have since become popular in many areas of the world.

The modern pizza evolved from early flatbread meals created by the Greeks and the Romans. The ancient Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs and cheese. And later, The Romans developed placenta cake, a sheet of dough topped with cheese and honey and flavoured with bay leaves.

Early forms of pizza were actually found in Greece, in an ancient underground cellar, where 1,000,000,000 freshly preserved pizzas were found, 20,000 years old.

Okay, that's not true, I get carried away, if you know me then you know that one of my favourite things to do is telling people something crazy with a straight face, momentarily leaving people shocked, until I gift them with relief. That 2 second look of despair is priceless. 

Anyway, less about my silly ways. Pizza. Yes. Ever since an early age, my family have made pizzas together instead of buying them from stores or take-aways, credit has to be given to my auntie Jennifer who first gave my mum the wonderful recipe and a big thanks is due to the pizza company situated in Viersen, Germany (who gave my auntie there own recipe).

Making pizzas at home saves you a BUCKET load, and nothing taste better than the work of your own hands. "The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands." Deuteronomy 28:12.

For the last 5 years, I have been eating pizzas religiously. Working at Pizza Hut was a main factor, I was addicted to all the different pizzas they sold but working there also made my want for homemade pizza greatly increase. I now consider myself a pro pizza maker and a lot of the pies I have made can be viewed on my Instagram!

Here's what you need..

Ingredients

300g Strong Bread Flour

1tsp Salt

1tsp Instant Yeast

1tbsp Olive Oil

200ml Warm Water

Toppings

Toppings do vary dependant on each person. Here are the toppings I go for, for 1 pizza..

4 Slices of Salami

4 Slices of Pepperoni

3 Mushroom

10 Olives (20 halves)

1 Bacon Rasher

Half a small cup of Sweetcorn

Buffalo Mozzarella

Mixed Herbs (as much as you like)

Thyme (as much as you like)

And here's what you've all been waiting for, instructions..

THE DOUGH

1. PREHEAT THE OVEN AT GASMARK 8

2. Measure up everything that you need, use scales for the flour. tsp = teaspoon, tbsp = tablespoon.

3. Get a big bowl, pour the flour into the bowl with the yeast and salt. When you've done that mix them well and consistently.

4. Make a well in the middle and pour in the olive oil and warm water.

5. Mix it all together.

6. Make sure you kneed the dough very well, it seems like a long process but the more attention you pay to the dough, the better your pizza will turn out, take my word for it.

THE SAUCE

1.Chop up half an onion, preferably a white one.
2. Open your tin of chopped tomatoes with your teeth (or a can opener)
3. Heat up about a tbsp of olive oil.
4. Add the onions and any seasoning, but don't go to mad as you don't want to lose the essentially natural tomato taste.
5. After about 4-7 mins with onions on low heat, add the tomatoes.
6. Add some anything else you like, but again.. DON'T GO OVERBOARD.
7. Leave it to cook for another 10 minutes and then leave the pot on the side to stand and get back to rolling out that perfectly kneeded dough.

THE PIZZA

1. Hopefully your dough isn't too tough, if so.. you may need to add some olive, about half a teaspoon and a dash of water.
2. Flour your surface and proceed to roll out the dough.
3. Flour your pizza pan/oven dish.
4. Do most of the stretching outside of the pan, but you may need to stretch it a lil' bit more if it's not touching the sides and you're a perfectionist, comme moi.
5. Apply your sauce and then your cheese.
6. A tip I picked up from Pizza Hut - PMV (Pepperoni, Meat, Veg), this is the order in which you ideally should be topping your pizza.
7. Put it into your pre-heated oven, for about 20-30 minutes, dependant on how brown you want it. I leave it in for just over 20 minutes, my mum pushes the 30s.
8. VOILA, you've just saved yourself about £13! Enjoy the work of your own hands.

Sit back and enjoooooy.

Now, presenting to you some pictures of the process..

The whole process may seem a tad time-consuming but I assure you it doesn't take long at all, about an hour in total, as quickly as 40 minutes for me sometimes. And all for a taste that is unbeatable! Go and make yourself a wholesome homemade Italian pizza pie NOW. 

Stay tuned and stay blessed!

"iMoan" - iPhone Chargers!?!

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As in my first ever post, over a year ago now, I am coming to you with yet another 'iMoan'. I promise you, this won't be the last either. If you are also under the thumb of the world's most valuable brand, Apple, you will know all about the problems that surround owning one of their products.

You don't get to the heights Apple have reached without being smart and that is exactly what they are. From accessories to repairs, Apple have their innocent, tech-savvy market forking out near-enough the same amount they paid for their apple treasure yearly. The product that comes with the most problems is undoubtedly the iPhone, obviously, it is the highest grossing product of all time.

There is an endless list of problems that you should expect to encounter, during your time as an Apple slave, I mean customer.... Here are some of them; POOR battery life (typically after about 6 months usage), over-heating, signal failure, cracked screens, cracked hardware, button failures, microphone issues and many more. If do experience any faults, you'll know doubt be advised to get it repaired by either Apple or a 3rd party, Apple repairs costs are exceedingly high and if you dare go to the cheaper option, Apple will disown you, as they know everything, down to your every move (no exaggeration, check my first post).

The issue that we are ALL familiar is the dreaded cracked screen, whether you own an iPhone or not, you would have felt this pain, either personally or you've felt the pain of a close friend/family member. From day 1, when you first touch your brand new iPhone, amazed by it's simplicity, the fear of dropping your phone will kick in almost instantly. I am sure it's all a scam and my view hasn't really changed much but I'm not really going to push that to you guys, I'm just saying BE CAREFUL.


 A colleague, the owner of an iPhone 5S.. She's had her phone since January 2014 (1 year and 2 months) and it is MINT condition. I know, how the hell.. So unfair.. Here's a picture to rub it in..

She's obviously really careful with her phone, charging it only when it's below 50% and hardly ever dropping it, taking all this into account.. She's still dropped it numerous times, after all she is human and so are we all. We drop things. This admittance prompted me to ask the question, 'How is your phone so prestine?!'. She then told me, it's ALL in the case. She bought a shatter proof case that has well and truly lived up to it's name. So my first piece of advice is.. 1) Buy a shatter proof case.

This post however, is not going to be focusing on cracked screens (we're all fully aware of the possibility of cracking it). I am going to be drawing the issue of iPhones Chargers to your attention. With every new iPhone you can expect a new, unexpected, problem. You might realise that the iPhone wires since the 5s have become quite stiff, this is due to a tougher metal being used inside the wire. Don't ask me why, I'll just day it's all a scam. 

Unfortunately Apple's Lightning cables do tend to fray and weaken at the point where the port meets the cable. It seems that the cable just gets twisted here, and over time the plastic coating wears out. This brings me on to my second piece of advice.. 2) Gaffa that - use either isolation or gaffa tape to support the cable, helping it to stay straight.

If it's starting to weaken and wear away then a similar pre-emptive measure may help to ensure that it lasts a bit longer before giving way. But if you've got to the point where the cable stops working, more drastic measures may be required. 

The introduction of this 'upgraded' wire is coupled with Apple's new and improved software that can detect any charger/accessory that isn't an original Apple product. The world's most valuable brand has now altered the inside of it's products, this change means that the use of a Non-Apple product will actually cause harm to your phone, this is a sly yet in-your-face tactic that Apple have used to completely kill off companies such as Mophie, who invented the 2-in-1 case and charger, specialising firstly, in iPhones.

The main way to prevent this happening is by pulling the charger out by it's plastic port at all times and NOT by the wire itself. This should prevent any future malfunctions and should save you £15-25 every few months..


Here are 2 tips on how to treat this delicate piece of equipment, this should add a few more months, maybe even a year to your cable's life expectancy.

1 - Never pull it by the wire.

2 - Always pull it from both plastic ports, even if you are only using the USB.

3 - For your own good, don't bother using a third party charger as this will be detrimental to your phone's performance.



Gone are the days of phone's that could withstand falls from airplanes. You have to realise what you have in your pocket.. £600! You have to treat it like £600 and not like a Nokia 3310.

I must add before I leave you, that I am totally addicted to iPhones, I love everything about them and I know that a lot of you feel the same way, credit to Apple. It is for this reason and this reason alone that I am warning y'all to look after your precious mobile telephone device. The money Apple gets from it's sales clearly isn't enough, they definitely do want to take advantage of your blind love for this product, so open your eyes a little wider.


Stay tuned and stay blessed.

MVSTER OF GOOD DEEDS - MVRK BUSTOS

Hi guys, I trust that you're all making the most of your Monday and feeling absolutely fab. Just in case this isn't true for you, and in fact, you find yourself feeling down on this blessed day, I've prepared this post especially for you.

I, myself, had a wonderful weekend spent in the company of my amazing friends. Some of whom, passionate as moi, have started a media channel promoting healthy ideals of living, called Collective Truths. I was honoured when I was invited to join the movement and will be blogging more about them/giving you links and updates in the near future.

We are currently in the process of organising a day out, where will be looking to give a voice to the homeless community of our beloved capital. The plan is to spend a day interviewing homeless men and women on the streets of London, shedding light on what homeless life truly entails. The day will be documented by the fabulous Benjamin Bishop as we aim to uncover some of the secrets of the streets and to see what exactly, if anything, is being done for our fellow brothers and sisters. Over the next week will be looking extensively into the history of homelessness, gathering information and knowledge before embarking on a potentially gruelling, yet rewarding day.

My inspiration originally came from the time I spent living in London. During this stint, I met a countless amount of homeless ladies and gentlemen all over the capital, I even had a friend who chose to live with the homeless, in a shelter, situated in Euston. I found that every single person I spoke to, had never received any form of help once they found themselves in that dreaded down-ward spiral of life. It's a growing concern of mine that the country we live in seems to, as the talented Tupac Shakur once said about his own nation, 'eat it's own babies', not caring about those who fall to the bottom of the pile. I would be naïve, however, to think that this is just a national problem.

Today a news story broke of an incident on Skid Row, Los Angeles, where 4 LAPD officers were filmed shooting a homeless man dead. This blatant disregard of life is something that needs to be addressed right away, already this year we have seen 100,000s of people taking to the streets over the abuse of power demonstrated by police officers, especially in the U.S., in the past few months.

Click here for the Daily Mail article.

Thankfully, this is a rare incident, but.. sadly, this isn't the only way the homeless are being mistreated. As stewards of the Earth, it is our God-given duty to look after each other and the planet, two things that we seem to be failing miserably at doing. Maybe there won't ever be a mass pro-homeless movement, this however, isn't an excuse to do absolutely nothing. We can ALL, individually or collectively, make a change. Try and give someone a moment of your time, have a chat with someone who looks like they have no one to talk to.

One man (another huge inspiration), Mark Bustos, has set an great example for us to follow, Mark, who may work in a high-end hair salon in New York but once a week he takes to the streets to give homeless people free haircuts. Bustos has been offering free haircuts every Sunday since May 2012. His girlfriend often joins him and brings the 'clients' food. 

This is a truly beautiful story, where one man, simply lowers himself to recognise what another men and women truly needed and he gives it to them, no questions answered, expecting NOTHING in return.

When cheekily asked if taking photos was a publicity stunt, Mark replied "I didn't take photos of the haircuts, but now he does because he wants to inspire others to do great things for fellow human beings."

Here are some examples of the amazing work that Mark has done for the streets of New York..

His gratitude isn't only exercised in the Big Apple, Mr. Bustos has taken his heavenly hands to Los Angeles where he has performed over 100 haircuts on the ever-receptive, ever-grateful homeless population. Absolutely everyone needs to feel loved.

For constant updates on this man's tremendous work, follow him on Instagram, click here.

But wait I have more for you..

FROM NEW YORK TO HACKNEY

Another story, that pulled on my heartstrings, involving yet another homeless man, broke early last year of a young girl who was out, partying, in the hip area of Dalston, Hackney, when she came across a 'genuine, unassuming man'. The man was a 64 year old, native Jamaican and had one thing he craved. No, not crack-cocaine, not heroin or any strain of opiate, all this man wanted was to go back to Jamaica where he knew he would live a happy life, reunited with his family, free of stress.

Ms Baker said: “He didn’t want money or booze, he just said he loved a ginger beer, so I went and got him a ginger beer and a sandwich. He was a genuinely lovely, unassuming man.

“He told me that all he wants more than anything in the world is to go back to Jamaica where he says he will be fine and happy again.”

Check out the fully story, published by the Hackney Gazette.

The next day she put out a plea on the internet site Go Fund Me, and within 24 hours the target of £800 for a flight to Jamaica had been met 10 times over, with donations coming from as far away as Canada, Cape Town and Dubai.

The plan now is to use the money to help set up Michael in Jamaica and hopefully get him off the streets.

On Monday, Ms Baker set out to track him down to relay the good news, and was delighted to find him in the same spot where she met him.

She said: “He was so grateful, if not totally in shock. I am not sure if he is convinced it’s happening yet. The good news is he has a passport and family that he can go back to, so it should be easier and quicker to get him home than it could have been otherwise. I have a lot to sort out but I am determined it will happen.”

I hope these stories touch you as much as they have me and gives you hope that every single person has the ability to change the world for better. Realise that one of the best feelings you can.. feel, is from making someone's day. Divert some of the attention away from yourself and your iPhone 10 and make someone's day!

Stay tuned and stay blessed all, have the best week!