This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hi Ally,

Thanks for the tracking number. I just checked and the package is still in transit. Our postal system is not the greatest either but I'm sure the package will get here before long. Thanks again for sending it.

I'm jealous of the avocado tree. And the mango, that's one of my favorite fruits, along with kiwi, strawberries, cherries, blueberries... OK, I never met a fruit I didn't like. Nothing is growing here to well right now as we are in the midst of a year long drought.

Your summers sound about like ours are typically, hot and humid. Right now though we have been running around 2C for lows and around 18C for highs.

I'm looking forward to trying the rusk recipe. It sounds like a pretty good snack.

I'm doing ok. I saw my neuro last week. She wants me to go ahead and have another MRI since I am having weakness in my left leg and have begun dragging it a little. This MRI will be both brain and spine, which I haven't done before. She thinks my symptoms are more typical of spinal lesions and she wants to know if I still have any active ones. I shouldn't since I've been on Rebif since February, so this will be a good check of its efficacy for me. The MRI is scheduled for tommorrow morning.

I finally got around to getting a CD of my first MRI. It's way cool! I still think some of the images will make a neat T-shirt.

I hope things are well with you and yours. Talk at ya soon.

Jack

Howzit Jack

I hope none of the postal workers decide they want to try our tea!

It sounds like a good plan to do a scan of your c-spine too this time - at least you will know ifthe Rebif is the right drug for you - there are others you can try if it is not, and if it is, you can chill a little, knowing you are doing the best you can.
I have always had MRI's of both c-spine and brain together, never just one area, as I have lesions in both areas, but primarily c-spine. Spinal lesions tend to give you more motor and sensory deficit in the limbs as they block the nerve conduction from the brain through the spinal cord.

You may just have an old spinal lesion and the symptoms are just a bit more pronounced as the de-mylenation becomes obvious, or if you have a new lesion in the spine, it might not mean that the Rebif is not working, but rather just slowing the rate of relapses...You will know soon and make an informed decision with your Neuro - I am sure you will do well - your attitude is so good and it seems that you have a good relationship with your doc! It is tough when your mobility is affected - it seems we are both dealing with cane use too (from another thread), which in itself is a challenge.

I have placed some recipes for rusks here in this post (some other cooks may enjoy them too!) - just remember that once cooked, they have to dry out at a low heat for a long time. Apologies for metric measurements, but I am sure, if something catches your eye, you can get the quantities in lbs or ozs (roughly, 1 kilogram = 2.2lbs). The breakfast and the health rusks are great, as are the buttermilk - you can eat them crunchy, or dunk them in your rooibos tea (if you get it).

Take care & let me know how the scan goes - hope you keep well.


South African Rusks

Aniseed rusks

1 kg cake flour
7 g salt
250 g butter
30 ml whole anise seeds
20 g instant yeast
300 g sugar
1 egg
850 ml water

1. Sift flour and salt together. Rub butter into flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the anise seeds, yeast and sugar. 2. Stir the egg into the water and mix into the flour mixture. Stir to combine. Knead until elastic. 3. Cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place until double in size. Don't knock back. 4. Shape into balls and place in a deep bread tin sprayed with nonstick baking spray. Leave to rise until even with the edge of the tin. 5. Place rusks in the oven, preheated to 200 °C, immediately reduce temperature to 180 °C, and bake for 45 minutes. 6. Remove from tin. Leave rusks to cool completely before breaking them apart (do not cut with a knife). 7. Dry out in the oven at 100 °C.
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Buttermilk rusks

1 kg cake flour
8 g bicarbonate of soda
8 g cream of tartar
8 g baking powder
10 g salt
200 g sugar
250 g butter or margarine
450 ml buttermilk

1. Spray two 30 x 36 x 7 cm baking trays with nonstick baking spray. 2. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Cut in the butter or margarine. Rub in until it resembles breadcrumbs. 3. Mix in buttermilk to form a firm dough. 4. Break off small pieces of dough and shape them into balls. 5. Place close together in sprayed baking trays. 6. Brush the side of each row with melted butter before putting in the next row so that the rusks can be broken apart easily later. 7. Bake in a preheated oven at 240 °C for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 190 °C and bake for a further 35-50 minutes, then brush with diluted milk. 8. Turn out on to a cooling rack and break in three so that rusks will cool more quickly. 9. When cool, break into neat portions and allow to dry out in the oven set at 100 °C.
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All bran rusks

500 g margarine
600 g sugar
3 extra-large eggs
1 kg self-raising flour
5 ml salt
15 ml baking powder
300 ml milk
180 g bran flakes

Preheat the oven to 180 ºC (350 ºF). Grease two 23 x 13 x 7 cm loaf tins with margarine. Cream the margarine and sugar together. Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition. Sift all the dry ingredients, except for bran flakes, together and add to the margarine mixture, alternating with the milk. Finally add the bran flakes and mix well. Turn the mixture into the prepared loaf tins. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a testing skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the rusk mixture. Cool, slice into fingers and dry at 100 ºC (200 ºF).
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Brown bread rusks

1 loaf brown bread (day old)
300 ml water
160 g soft brown sugar
125 g butter or margarine
15 ml aniseed
2 ml salt

Cut the bread into 2,5 cm slices. Cut each slice into 5 equal lengths. Bring the water, brown sugar, butter or margarine, aniseed and salt to the boil. Pour a little of this syrup into a deep plate. Roll the bread lengths in the syrup one by one until completely covered. Stir the syrup occasionally. Put the bread lengths carefully on a wire rack. Dry for an hour at 100 ºC and after that overnight at 60 ºC until bone dry. Keep in an airtight container.
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Breakfast rusks

230 g margarine
400 g sugar
3 extra-large eggs
50 ml peanut butter
5 ml vanilla essence
10 ml bicarbonate of soda
250 ml milk
240 g cake flour
10 ml baking powder
pinch of salt
160 g coconut
160 g oats
120 g breakfast cereal flakes
50 g peanuts, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180 ºC (350 ºF). Grease one 37 x 13 x 10 cm loaf tin with margarine. Cream the margarine and sugar together. Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition. Add the peanut butter and vanilla essence and mix well. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the milk and add Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the remaining ingredients, mix and add to the margarine mixture. Blend. (Add a little more milk if the dough is too dry.) Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about one hour or until a testing skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the rusk mixture. Cool, slice into fingers and dry at 100 ºC (200 ºF). Makes about 40 rusks.
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Health rusks

1 kg wholewheat flour
125 g sunflower seeds
20 g aniseed
5 ml salt
500 g margarine
500 g brown sugar
250 g molasses
20 ml bicarbonate of soda
1 l buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 180 ºC (350 ºF). Spray three 23 x 13 x 7 cm loaf tins with non-stick spray. Mix the wholewheat flour, sunflower seeds, aniseed and salt in a large mixing bowl. Melt the margarine and add the brown sugar. Stir well. Add the molasses and mix well. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the buttermilk and mix well. Add to the margarine mixture and mix. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly to distribute the liquid evenly. Turn into the prepared loaf tins, spreading the mixture evenly. Bake for about 1 hour or till done: a testing skewer will come out clean when the bread is done. Cool slightly and turn out onto a wire rack. Cool completely and cut into fingers. Place on baking sheets and dry at 100 ºC (200 ºF). Makes about 70 rusks
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Kalahari rusks

1 litre milk
500 ml sugar
500 g margarine or butter
3 extra large eggs
2.50 kg self-raising flour
salt
5 ml cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 140 °C and grease 3 loaf tins with butter or non-stick spray.
Heat the milk and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved.
Bring to the boil and pour the boiling mixture over the margarine or butter.
Mix well and leave to cool.
Beat in the eggs one by one.
Add the self-raising flour, salt and cream of tartar.
Knead together to form a dough.
Shape into balls and arrange in the prepared tins.
Bake for 1 hour or until done and a testing skewer inserted comes out clean.
Turn out, cut into fingers and bake at 80 °C until completely dry.
Store in an airtight container
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Fibre-rich rusks

500 g butter or margarine, melted
500 ml buttermilk
2 eggs, whisked
1 kg ordinary or bran-enriched self-raising flour
15 ml baking powder
375 ml soft brown sugar
375 ml muesli
250 ml oats
250 ml coconut
125 ml sunflower seeds
pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 180 ºC and spray two oven pans with non-stick spray. Cool the melted butter slightly before beating in the buttermilk and eggs. Combine all the dry ingredients and add to the butter mixture. Stir to mix and turn the mixture into the oven pans, spreading evenly (the batter fills 1 1/2 oven pans). Mark into fingers. Bake for about 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and done. Loosen the edges, turn out onto a wire rack and cool. Cut or break the rusks into smaller pieces and dry out at 180 ºC. Store in airtight containers. Makes about 90 pieces.

Ally,

The tea has arrived. It is really good - slightly sweet, with earthy undertones. The Wedgewood nougats are really sweet, a little of that goes a long way. Thanks for all of it, it is really very kind and caring of you to send it.

And thanks for the Rusk recipies. I love anise so I am definately going to try one of those this weekend. Metric measures are not a problem - my kitchen scale converts and one of my measuring cups is marked in both English and metric.

Thanks again, I'll let you know who the Rusks turn out.


Jack.

Cool!