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Do you think you’ve carved more pumpkins than you’ve eaten? That would be a crying shame, for while a jack-o’-lantern is a lot of fun to make and display at Halloween, the pumpkin is a hugely underrated vegetable that merits more space to shine at mealtimes.

If you have been underdoing your pumpkin intake, start to remedy the situation with this pumpkin soup recipe from Bettina Campolucci Bordi, author of Happy Food: Fast, Fresh, Simple Vegan (Hardie Grant, £20), a recipe book packed to the bindings with colourful and delicious plant-based meals.

This hearty pumpkin soup undoubtedly lives up to the happy food tag, with coconut milk responsible for the creamy consistency that’s sure to banish any autumnal blues.

Ingredients (serves three to four)

• 2 small pumpkins
• 2 shallots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 500ml vegetable broth
• 375ml coconut milk
• 2tbsp maple syrup (or honey if not vegan)
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Pinch of five spice
• Olive oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Cut the tops off the pumpkins and halve them. Use a spoon to scrape out all the seeds and strings.
3. Brush the flesh with olive oil and place face down on the baking sheet. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces the skin. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for ten minutes, then peel away the skin and set aside.
4. Add 1tbsp olive oil to a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for two to three minutes until lightly browned.
5. Add the remaining ingredients, including the pumpkin, and bring to a simmer.
6. Transfer the mixture to a blender to purée. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
7. Continue cooking over a medium-low heat for five to ten minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve with some crisp oven-roasted kale.

Making delicious marzipan human teeth or molars for a quirky Halloween snack is a fun, rewarding project. In today's post I show you how to make your very own silicon mold to cast your own teeth so they are easy to shape. Then we paint and glaze them to look as realistic as possible!

A friend tagged me on some edible teeth on Instagram and ever since then I had them in my mind to make. But shaping teeth can be hard so I online to try and buy a mold. Unfortunately the tooth mold that I purchased was a giant tooth (I get confused easily with measurements it seems) with a smiling face on it and it was entirely unsuitable for my gruesome purposes. The woman at a cake decorating shop suggested that I try my hand at using Pinkysil, a DIY silicon mold making kit which is easy to use.

It's the time of the year when my parents get inundated with a range of weird requests eg. Could I store my voodoo dolls in your freezer? Or in the case this past week I asked my mother, could you ask your dentist for human molars?

My parents no longer flinch or ask questions-it has happened so much over the last 10 years and to my surprise within a couple of days they gave me a bag of sterilised human teeth. They were perfect. I bought the Pinkysil from Barnes in Newtown and the friendly lady at the store went through it with me. I needed to make a 2 parter silicon mold.

I'm not amazing at arts and crafts, in fact I'm pretty bad at them but I watched a lot of videos on how to cast silicon molds before I started it, so much so that I kept playing through how to make molds in my dreams and while working out. I was amazed at how easy it was (and now I have all sorts of plans to make other silicon molds!).

And then of course came my next request of my parents-a pair of pliers or dental equipment!

So tell me Dear Readers, are you good at arts and crafts? Have you ever tried making your own silicon molds? Would you snack on these little candy molars?

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

To make mold

• 1 set Pinkysil (you'll only need half of the bottles)
• 6 human molars
• Small container to use as a larger mold
• Small disposable shot glasses
• Large clear disposable cups
• Paddle pop sticks/tongue depressors
• Vaseline
• Small brushes

• 100g/3.5ozs. marzipan
• Brown gel food colouring
• Flesh tone edible powder
• 1 teaspoon glucose or corn syrup mixed with 1 teaspoon vodka

Step 1 - Pinkysil is not technically food safe but we are not cooking with it or heating it up or using hot food. I wouldn't recommend using it if you do need to heat it up.

Checking that the silicon is properly mixed

Step 2 - Pinkysil needs to be used in 1:1 quantities so using small, clear shot glasses helps to measure it. Separately measure around half the shot glass in both white and pink and then pour both into the larger cup. Stir well with the stick-make sure to check the corners and get all of the colour mixed up well (otherwise it won't set properly).

Step 3 - Pour into the mold (it's best to pour the Pinkysil in one place to make a thin base. Prick the air bubbles with a toothpick or sharp knife. After 10 minutes or so, place the teeth on the base and do not move them once they're in.

Placing the teeth on the base of silicone

Step 4 - Mix up some more Pinkysil, this time not quite half the shot glass. You will then be filling the mold halfway up the teeth to create the first half of your two part silicon mold. Pour around the teeth making sure to get any crevices until you have reached halfway up the tooth. Allow to set (around 20 minutes).

Pouring silicone halfway up teeth

Brushing with vaseline

Step 5 - Brush all silicon surfaces with Vaseline (silicon sticks to itself) making sure to get all the crevices and to the edge/corners but don't leave any blobs of Vaseline as the silicon will mold around that. Mix up a larger batch of Pinkysil (around the whole shot glass) and mix and then pour over the Vaseline layer. Allow to set completely. Remove it from the container and gently prise the mold apart. You may need to trim some of it with a knife or scissors. You now have your mold! Wash it well with warm, soapy water.

Prising mold apart

The mold!

Step 6 - Warm up a walnut sized ball of marzipan up in your hands. I'd recommend using a good rolling marzipan (I used a brand called Blackwood Lane and it was quite dry and not great for this). Pinch off a very small amount and press it into the mold. Use a sharp paring knife to cut off any excess. By the time you've done a few you will know how much to pinch off so you press in the right amount of marzipan.

Pressing the marzipan into the mold

Then trimming to make neater

Step 7 - Join the two halves together-if your marzipan is moist then they will stick together with gentle pressure. Otherwise you can stick them together with the glucose/vodka mixture above. Repeat until you have as many teeth as you need. Allow to dry for a few hours or overnight.

Step 8 - Using a fine paintbrush, brush in some of the brown food gel in the top of the molars to look like plaque. Then take another brush and shade in some of the roots of the teeth near where they would sit in the gums.

Painting tooth decay

Step 9 - Then for the final touch, brush with the glucose/vodka solution to make them shiny. You may need to do 2 coats of this to get it to become shiny!

Painting discoloration

Samantha Osteraas was found guilty by a jury in Tucson Arizona for child abuse. Image source.

by Health Impact News/MedicalKidnap.com Staff

The Arizona woman accused of scalding her adoptive child causing third degree burns to 80% of her body resulting in the amputation of all 10 toes has been found guilty of 2 of the 3 charges brought against her.

Samantha Osteraas of Tucson, Arizona, faces between 10 and 24 years in prison for hurting Devani, the little girl that the Arizona Department of Child Services placed into her care after removing her from a foster home where she was being abused in a pedophilia pornography ring.

A Pima County jury of 9 women and 3 men deliberated for 8 hours before reaching their verdict on Friday afternoon, October 19, 2018. According to News 4 Tucson, Osteraas:

…was found not guilty for the first count of child abuse. However, the jury did find her guilty for the lesser charge of reckless child abuse.

For the second child abuse count, she was found guilty.

One of the court watchers who was present for the emotional trial said that the jury decided that she was not guilty of “negligent child abuse,” which was the first count of abuse. They stopped short of saying that she burned Devani intentionally.

They did, however, find that Samantha Osteraas was guilty of delaying treatment after the burns occurred.

Samantha Osteraas during her trial for scalding the child she adopted. Source – KOLD 13 News.

See Devani’s heartbreaking story of being taken from innocent parents who had never harmed her, then placed into one abusive situation after another:

Arizona Child Removed from Loving Family and Placed into Foster Care Where She was Repeatedly Raped – then 80% of Body Burned

Arizona Places 2 Year Old Child in Foster Pornographic Pedophile Ring – Foster Mom Burns 80% of Her Body

Advocates – Devani Is Beautiful!

Seven-year-old Devani appeared in court on Friday, October 12, to tell the judge and jury what happened to her. Court watchers told Health Impact News that they didn’t know what to expect when they saw her. None of them had seen her since before the incident.

They knew that she had suffered severe burns to most of her body and had undergone numerous surgeries and skin grafts. She had been placed into a medically-induced coma at one point, and her organs had been shutting down.

Devani has undergone 29 surgeries since being burned just after Christmas of 2016.  All 10 of her toes had to be amputated. Advocates had no idea if the little girl would be able to walk again.

They were happy to see her walk into court on her own:

She looked so beautiful! She is so strong.

Two different advocates told us that it was clear from Devani’s demeanor that she refused to wear the label of “victim,” even though she has suffered more abuse than most people can imagine.

Devani has a different legal name after being adopted by Samantha and Justin Osteraas, but her advocates say that they will always call her by her real name, Devani Rose.

Devani, before the abuse that left her with a lifetime of physical scars and pain. Source – Justice for Devani Rose Facebook page.

See our coverage of Devani’s testimony here:

Trial Begins for Little Arizona Girl Placed with Pedophiles in Foster Care and Burned by Adoptive Mom

Real Parents Not Allowed to See Devani in Court

Devani’s parents and grandmother, who are still fighting and praying that, somehow, their little girl will be returned to her family, were not allowed to see her testify.

They simply wanted to see her with their own eyes, something they have not been allowed to do since she was so brutally injured under state supervision. A simple request to be permitted to see her through a crack in the door or from behind a 1-way glass window was denied.

According to one witness, Guardian ad Litem Thea Gilbert brought in a psychologist to court to argue that seeing her birth parents would be “traumatizing” to the child. However, no mention was made of the potential trauma of seeing the woman who has scarred her for life.

Devani testified that Samantha Osteraas held her down in the bathtub with a pink towel. She named Osteraas and pointed her out to the jury.

Court watchers told us that they saw the trauma on the child’s face when she looked at Osteraas and their eyes met. They reported that their hearts broke as Devani “froze up” for about a half a minute.

Abuser – She Did This to Herself

Tucson.com reports that Osteraas denied holding her down. Her version of the story was that the 5-year-old child did this to herself:

Osteraas testified the child got into the hot water on her own and then stayed there until Osteraas found her in a dazed state.

There were “so many inconsistencies in Samantha’s story,” according to one of the court watchers we talked to.

The prosecuting attorney did not buy her story, either. Tucson.com reports:

Deputy Pima County Attorney Alan Goodwin had urged jurors to use common sense in deciding whether a child would sit in scalding water as the burns deepened, and whether a mother who claimed to care would wait hours to get help. The girl was “on death’s door” before Osteraas sought help, he said.

Devani – before she was burned over 80% of her body by Samantha Osteraas, the woman permitted to adopt her by DCS. Source – Justice for Devani Rose Facebook page.

17 Calls Made Over 5-Hour Period Before 911 Called

He pointed out that the burns were so severe that she lost her toes. Yet, the accused waited for possibly 5 hours before making the phone call that should have been her first response. Phone records cited in court showed that Osteraas made 17 phone calls to various people before calling 911.

Defense attorney Jeff Rogers suggested to jurors in closing arguments Thursday that the child may have been in such a confused state that she mistook her mother helping her out of the bath for holding her down. (Source).

He argued that the delay in calling for help was not intentional. Rogers was reportedly disappointed that the jury did not agree, and he says they plan to file an appeal. This is standard in criminal cases.

Sentencing – Aggravating Circumstances or Leniency Due to Abuser’s Own History in Foster Care?

Tucson.com reports that Samantha Osteraas will be sentenced on December 3. There are several factors involved in determining the length of her prison sentence, which could range from a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years up to a maximum of 24 years.

The jury believes that there were factors present that increase the severity of the crimes committed against Devani:

After the verdicts were read, the jurors returned to the deliberation room to decide whether prosecutors had proven three so-called aggravating factors in the case:

• that the child had suffered emotionally,
• that she was 5 years old when the crime occurred, and
• that she was harmed by someone in a position of trust.

The jury found all of these factors were proven, which will allow the judge to consider them when determining Osteraas’ sentence.

Samantha Osteraas during her trial for abusing Devani. Photo source: Tucson 4 News.

Samantha Osteraas herself was adopted as a child. Her defense attorney pointed to her “very rough childhood,” which included abuse and foster care. Based on those factors, Jeff Rogers intends to request leniency in her sentencing.

The irony is that these same factors – being a victim of childhood abuse (or domestic violence as an adult), and growing up in foster care or being adopted – are frequently used by Child Protective Services agencies and social workers all across the United States to argue against leniency on birth parents.

Many loving parents who are falsely accused in the system hear in court that, because they have a history of being in foster care themselves, they cannot possibly know how to adequately parent.

These criteria do not actually determine the ability or suitability of anyone to parent, but social workers and attorneys pick and choose how to use facts such as these to twist to fit whatever agenda suits them in the moment.

The reality is that some children who grow up in the system, or who face any other challenge, are able to work through their pain and overcome the difficulties, while some grow up to repeat the patterns of abuse they experienced.

There was no leniency on Devani’s mother Michelle Tremor-Calderon when the state of Arizona terminated her parental rights and placed her child into horrific situations that she never would have faced in her mother’s care.

Now that the trial is over, Devani is still not with any of her family. Her legal name remains one assigned to her by her adopters, Samantha and Justin Osteraas. As far as we can determine, Devani is in yet another foster home.

Why Is GAL Thea Gilbert Still Allowed on the Case?

Shockingly, her Guardian ad Litem, Thea Gilbert, remains on her case. The attorney who is supposed to represent the child’s best interest has been with Devani’s case since the beginning.

Thea Gilbert – court-appointed attorney for Devani. Photo source.

Gilbert approved her placement with the now-imprisoned David Frodsham. Even after Devani’s mother Michelle Tremor-Calderon and transporter Beth Breen told Thea Gilbert that the child was terrified and showed clear signs of being sexually molested, Gilbert ignored them.

She and other Pima County social workers ignored the stories of other foster and adopted children in the home telling that they were being repeatedly raped and trafficked. One of the children has now aged out and is suing the state for millions of dollars for placing him and his brothers in such harm.

See:

Arizona Foster Care System Revealed as Pedophile Ring: Former Foster Child Tortured for Years Sues for $15 Million

Published on October 25, 2018

The shape of growth matters

Mains Paper 2: Governance
Prelims level: Niti Aayog
Mains level: Strategy for New India @ 75

Context

•  There are many refreshing improvements in NITI Aayog’s ‘Strategy for New India @ 75’ from the erstwhile Planning Commission’s plans, there are also concerns about some of the strategies recommended.
•  The intent to change the approach to planning from preparations of plans and budgets to the creation of a mass movement for development in which “every Indian recognises her role and experiences the tangible benefits” is laudable.
•  The strategy affirms that “policymaking will have to be rooted in ground realities” rather than economic abstractions.
•  It says that stakeholders have been consulted widely in preparing the strategy, which is also something that the erstwhile Planning Commission said.
•  However, what matters is the quality of consultations.
•  It will be worthwhile for NITI Aayog to get feedback from stakeholders on whether it has improved the process of consultation substantially or not.

A solution in search of a problem

•  The strategy emphasises the need to improve implementation of policies and service delivery on the ground, which is what matters to citizens.
•  Its resurrection of the 15 reports of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission and recommendation that they must be implemented vigorously are welcome.
•  The previous government had taken its eye off the ball.
•  It did not put its weight behind the implementation of these well-thought-out recommendations, which had the endorsement of all political parties, by a Commission it had supported.

The meaning of growth

•  Employment and labour reforms, the second chapter in the strategy, have rightly been given the highest priority, which was not the case in the previous plans.
•  Overall growth is also emphasised by NITI Aayog: “Besides having rapid growth, which reaches 9-10 per cent by 2022-23.
•  It is also necessary to ensure that growth is inclusive, sustained, clean and formalised.” However, it is the shape of growth that matters more than size.
•  The employment-generating capacity of the economy is what matters more to citizens than the overall GDP growth rate.
•  There is no joy for citizens if India is the fastest-growing economy and yet does not provide jobs and incomes.

Key highlights and its limitations

•  The growth of industry and manufacturing is essential to create more employment, and to provide bigger opportunities to Indians who have been too dependent on agriculture so far.
•  It is not the size of the manufacturing sector that matters but its shape.
•  Labour-intensive industries are required for job creation.
•  If the manufacturing sector is to grow from 16% to 25% of the GDP, which the strategy states as the goal, with more capital-intensive industries, it will not solve the employment problem.
•  The strategy does say that labour-intensive industries must be promoted, but the overall goal remains the size of the sector.
•  Therefore, the goal must be clearly set in terms of employment, and policies and measurements of progress set accordingly.
•  Indian statistical systems must be improved quickly to measure employment in various forms, formal as well as informal.
•  The strategy highlights the urgency of increasing the tax base to provide more resources for human development.
•  It also says financial investments must be increased to strengthen India’s production base. Managing this trade-off will not be easy.
•  If tax incentives must be given, they should favour employment creation, not more capital investment.
•  A big weakness in the Indian economy’s industrial infrastructure is that middle-level institutions are missing.
•  Rather than formalising small enterprises excessively, clusters and associations of small enterprises should be formalised.
•  Small enterprises cannot bear the burden of excessive formalisation — which the state and the banking system need to make the informal sector ‘legible’ to them.
•  Professionally managed formal clusters will connect the informal side of the economy with its formal side, i.e. government and large enterprises’ supply chains.
•  NITI Aayog’s plan for industrial growth has very rightly highlighted the need for strong clusters of small enterprises as a principal strategy for the growth of a more competitive industrial sector.

Reorienting labour laws

•  The strategy on labour laws appears pedestrian compared with the ambitious strategy of uplifting the lives of millions of Indians so that they share the fruits of economic growth.
•  It recommends complete codification of central labour laws into four codes by 2019.
•  While this will enable easier navigation for investors and employers through the Indian regulatory maze, what is required is a fundamental reorientation of the laws and regulations they must fit emerging social and economic realities.
•  The nature of work and employment is changing, even in more developed economies. It is moving towards more informal employment, through contract work and self-employment, even in formal enterprises.
•  In such a scenario, social security systems must provide for all citizens, not only those in formal employment.
•  Indeed, if employers want more flexibility to improve competitiveness of their enterprises, the state will have to provide citizens the fairness they expect from the economy.

The NITI Aayog strategy

•  The NITI Aayog strategy suggests some contours of a universal social security system. These must be sharpened.
•  In a world where workers are atomised as individuals, they must have associations to aggregate themselves to have more weight in the economic debate with owners of capital.
•  Rather than weakening unions to give employers more flexibility, laws must strengthen unions to ensure more fairness.
•  Indeed, many international studies point out that one of the principal causes of the vulgar inequalities that have emerged around the world is the weakening of unions.
•  The NITI Aayog strategy mentions the need for social security for domestic workers too.
•  This will not be enforceable unless domestic workers, scattered across millions of homes, have the means to collectively assert their rights.
•  All employers in India should realise that workers must be their source of competitive advantage. India has an abundance of labour as a resource, whereas capital is relatively scarce.
•  Human beings can learn new skills and be productive if employers invest in them.
•  Employers must treat their workers — whether on their rolls or on contract as assets and sources of competitive advantage, not as costs.

Way forward

•  The shape of the development process matters more to people than the size of the GDP.
•  Development must be by the people (more participative), of the people (health, education, skills), and for the people (growth of their incomes, well-being, and happiness).
•  How well India is doing at 75 must be measured by the qualities of development, as experienced by its citizens, along these three dimensions. GDP growth will not be enough.

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan, consider the following statements:
1. It aims to make rural households digitally literate by providing each BPL household with computers at subsidized
prices.
2. It will be implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: D

Mains Questions:
Q.1) What are the recommendations suggested by NITI Aayog’s ‘Strategy for New India @ 75’? What are the limitations of it?
 

Whole Foods was Instacart’s first major partner, but now that Amazon Inc. has invested in Whole Foods’ own delivery service, the two companies are officially parting ways. The split will likely “take months to finalize, largely because of how closely intertwined the two companies were.” Read more at Bloomberg …

Swedish scientists have revealed that the increased land needed to farm organically may be doing the planet more harm than good—contrary to popular belief. Lead researcher Stefan Wirsenius has emphasized that the amount of land used needs to be a factor when assessing climate impact, although this is currently uncommon. Read more at Silicon Republic …

The first-of-its kind store is expected to be ultra-convenient for the busy consumer. The Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh will include a miniature grocery store, gas station and drive thru Starbucks, or “almost everything the consumer needs,” in the smallest possible parcel. Read more at QC Online  …

China is set to change the levels of global glyphosate use as a dessicant (when crops are sprayed with the pesticide right before harvest) and will likely to Russia for its imported grains, where this practice is less common. They are not calling for an outright ban of the herbicide, as some countries have done, because global glyphosate production is highly concentrated within China, which complicates the situation for leaders within the country.  Read more at Sustainable Pulse  ...

Retailers can now offer health-focused incentive programs to their SNAP customers and cultivate workforce partnerships. There is also a ban of EBT processing fees included in the bill. Read this article to learn what else in the bill will affect the grocery business. Read more at Winsight Grocery  …

I decided to produce this stuff a few years back, because, well, it made sense to. The good quality gelatin – for making panacottas, gummies, etc and that comes with amazing gut healing and digestive-aiding properties – came from South America (via the USA). Why couldn’t we produce a version here using pasture-raised bones (that get chucked otherwise)? Yeah, so I made some. As many of you know.

When I Quit Sugar shut down it took a while for me to sort myself out, including finding a way to sell my gelatin again. Many of you asked about it. Anyway. We have a solution. The I Quit Sugar Gut Lovin’ Gelatin is now available at Nourished Life where the lovely Irene doesn’t charge for postage.

While you’re over there you might also want to check out my toxin-free beauty kit that I put together with them.

And if you’re looking for gelatin recipes (for the marshmallow cups at the top and these treats above) there’s a cookbook of pannacottas, cheesecakes, gummies (like the “watermelon” ones above), cakes, biscuits here. Oh, and I have a bunch of cakes and things in Simplicious Flow featuring gelatin. So you know.

Favourite gelatin recipe you’d like to point other people reading this to?