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today on the meal prep series we're making sweet and sour chicken this is a high protein dish and tastes absolutely incredible starting out we're going to get our rice on I know I do Rice quite often on these meal preps and you can change it up which I'll leave a few details about in the description but we're gonna go with 300 grams of washed basmati rice 600 milliliters of cold water and a bit of sea salt flakes to taste give it a stir to break up any clums and then bring it to a boil place on a lid reduce the heat to low and then just let this simmer away for 14 minutes undisturbed the prep for the sweet and sour chicken is really simple we're going to need three bell peppers or capsicums for my Australian friends these can be sliced in half and then just pick out the seeds and the pith with your fingers give it a bang on the bench to remove any excess seeds as for these just give them a quick slice up rotate them 90 degrees and then dice into large chunks leaving us with all of this and this can just be placed in a bowl and mixed together next is one brown or yellow onion this is about medium size just slice off both ends slice it in half and then just peel off that skin you can save all of these scraps for a stock place it on a half moon position and then just thinly slice the whole way across laying it flat about three quarters of the way through just to continue slicing it safely the onion can also be added to the bowl with the bell peppers or capsicums and then just give this a good mix of your hands just to break up any of the layers of onion moving on we're going to need four cloves of garlic and 15 grams of Ginger both of these can be run along a fine Micro plane to create a paste and you can mix these together which is completely fine and I will also mention that all of the weight conversions are in the description as well now as for the protein I went for chicken breast it was a lot cheaper at the time you can definitely use chicken thigh for this recipe which I'll leave details about in the description this weighs 1.4 kilos and these are quite big breasts and we can just slice these into strips rotate them 90 degrees and then just dice into large even sized Pieces Just making sure that they are the same size that way they'll cook at the same time as for the sweet and sour sauce add 125 milliliters of light or low sodium soy sauce to a mixing bowl for that nice Umami flavor 80 milliliters of store-bought pineapple juice don't use fresh for this recipe the enzymes in the fresh pineapple will break down the corn flour and won't allow it to thicken 80 grams of Honey to add sweetness a lot of recipes use sugar but I'm going with a healthier option instead 40 milliliters of Worcestershire sauce for an increased depth of flavor and a really nice Umami touch to increase the acidity add 40 milliliters of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar if you can't consume alcohol we're then going in with 40 milliliters of tomato sauce this is going to add a really nice Tangy flavor and a nice little subtle sweetness and then finally our thickening agent which is 12 grams of corn flour and you can use cornstarch as well with that all together we can then give this a whisk for those flavors that become friends just ensuring we break up the corn flour or starch and then just pop this aside going back to the rice that was doing its thing whilst we were prepping all the other stuff this can then be turned off the heat but leave the lid on for a final four minutes then we're going to remove the lid and then fluff this up with a fork or spatula just to break up all the individual grains making sure nothing's stuck together and then remove it from the stovetop like always this is the macros or the nutrition for the basmati rice including the portion weights as well moving on we're going to make the sweet and sour chicken place a large pan or pot over a high heat we're going to add in 30 milliliters of grapeseed oil or any neutral flavored oil of your choice add in the onions and bell peppers sprinkle of sea salt flakes to taste and then we're going to a this for about four minutes moving it around regularly during this time we're going to get a nice color onto this the bell peppers are going to add that nice Smoky flavor that they add and the onions will start to caramelize then we can remove this from the stovetop and then just transfer it into a plate placing the same pan or pot back over a high heat added another 20 milliliters of grapeseed oil or any neutral flavored oil add in the chicken when the panel pot is nice and hot along with a nice pinch of sea salt flakes to taste and then spread this out just so the chicken's not sitting all on top of one another if your pounder pot is too small I recommend doing this in batteries as well and this can then just be seared for three minutes to get a nice brown color on the outer edges after three minutes this can be given a good mix around and we're just going to continue cooking for another three minutes the color doesn't matter too much because the sauce will add a really nice color to it also you might get a little bit of water in the bottom of the pan if this does happen I do recommend draining it off otherwise the chicken will Steam and then it will become like rubber like I said you can use chicken thighs which I'll leave all of the details about in the description after six minutes in total add in the garlic and ginger paste and mix this around to cook for 45 seconds all we need to do here is just break up that making sure that it's not clamped up just to get the infusion into the chicken next add in the or stir-fried veggies mixing it again for another 30 to 40 seconds just to get the flavor of those veggies mixed into the chicken or in other words the flavors can become friends with that all done we can then add in the sweet and sour sauce making sure to give it a little whisk before we add it in because the corn flour can sit at the bottom then we're just going to bring this to a boil and cook for two minutes which will make the corn flour or starch react thickening it up really well and getting everything coated in that delicious sauce there's not a whole lot to this it's really really simple just mix and stir until the sauce is thickened up lastly this is completely optional just add in a couple of sesame seeds honestly I didn't even weigh them it's probably about a tablespoon's worth just give these a quick mix through until everything's mixed really well and then we can turn this off the heat and remove it from the stovetop and like always the sweet and sour chicken macros as well as the portion sizes as for serving up you would have seen in the macro cards throughout the video I did actually put the portion weights in there but if you want to make your life easier just portion everything by five if you have a little bit of leftover sauce make sure to top it off between the five and then we can garnish with spring onion or scallion chili or even more sesame seeds it's up to you but we're then left with these absolutely delicious sweet and sour chicken and that soft fluffy basmati rice the macros offer the complete dish you can see the whites and all the calories fats carbs and proteins storage on these they will last up to four days in the fridge and four months in the freezer if you're using the meal prep containers that I have they do come with a vacuum pump and this will actually extract the air reducing oxidization and it will last an extra day in the fridge which is really cool I'm not trying to sell you something but there is a link in the description if you are interested I just want to help you guys out once all of that's done we're then left with the best part and we can then dig in you'll probably never guessed this but it is actually sweet and sour this is a really good recipe tastes really really nice it's super easy to make and it's quite cheap as well and will last you the week or the weeks ahead depending on how you store it once again I just want to thank you all so so much for all of the love and support we hit 500 000 subscribers it is literally a dream come true for me every single day and I can't thank you all enough so thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next one
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AMERICAN
The modern United States is the most powerful country in human history. With over 800 military bases and 37% of global military spending, the United States has become the leader of a vast interconnected global system that has helped usher in an era of unprecedented prosperity and low levels of conflict. To understand America’s position in the world, and why it’s so pivotal for world politics as we know it, you have to go back to the country’s founding — back to when America wasn’t a global power in any sense of the word. During the first 70 years of its existence, the United States expanded in both territory and influence in North America eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean in a wave of expansionism that resulted in the wholesale slaughter of the indigenous people who populated the continent. But early Americans were deeply divided as to whether the country should expand beyond the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This became a major debate after the civil war, when some leaders, like post-war Secretary of State Seward, argued that America should push to become a global power. Seward succeeded in pushing a plan to purchase Alaska from Russia, but his attempts to buy Greenland and Iceland, as well as annex territory in the Caribbean, were all blocked by Congress. That’s because some Americans, including many on Capitol Hill, had a strong anti-imperialist bent. These people worried about America getting more involved in global politics, as well as having to integrate populations from “inferior” races. And this opposition applied major checks on the imperialist urge to expand. But something was happening in the late 1800s that would change the debate about American expansionism. The industrial revolution produced explosive economic growth, and the bigger US economy required a more centralized state and bureaucracy to manage the growing economy. Power became concentrated in the federal government, making it easier for expansionist presidents, like William to unilaterally push United States influence abroad. The key turning point came in 1898, when President McKinley dragged the country into war with Spain over the island of Cuba despite intense opposition. The rising US easily defeated the moribund Spanish empire, acquiring Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines in the process (1898). Over the next two years, the US would annex the Kingdom of Hawaii (1898), Wake Island (1899), and American Samoa (1900). A few years later the US took control of the Panama Canal Zone (1903) and sent troops to occupy the Dominican Republic (1916), it also purchased the American Virgin Islands (1917). This period of rapid acquisition of far flung territories put the US on the map as a truly global power. During this time, America also began using its influence to protect its growing commercial and military interests abroad, installing pro-American regimes in places like Nicaragua and playing a major role in international diplomacy regarding the Western presence in China. World War I showed how just how much America’s influence had grown. Not only was American intervention a decisive factor in the war's end But President Wilson attended the Paris Peace Conference which ended the war and attempted to set the terms of the peace. He spearheaded America’s most ambitious foreign policy initiative yet, an international organization, called the League of Nations, designed to promote peace and cooperation globally. The League, a wholesale effort to remake global politics, showed just how ambitious American foreign policy had become. Yet isolationism was still a major force in the United States. Yet isolationism was still a major force in the United States. Congress blocked the United States from joining the League of Nations, dooming Wilson’s project. During the Great Depression and the rise of Hitler, the US was was much more focused on its own region than on European affairs Ultimately, though, America’s ever-growing entanglements abroad made it impossible for it to stay out of global affairs entirely. In East Asia, the growing Japanese empire posed a the direct threat to American possessions and troops bringing the United States and Japan into conflict. This culminated in the Pearl Harbor attack bringing the United States into World War II. World War Two would transform America’s global presence forever. The United States was the only major power to avoid economic ruin during the war, and it was the sole country equipped with atomic weapons. As such, it was in unique position to set the terms of the peace — and, with the aim of preventing another war in mind, it took advantage. The most famous example of this is the creation of the United Nations. The UN charter set up a system of international law prohibiting wars of conquest, like the ones waged by the Nazis and the Japanese. It also served as a forum in which the international community could weigh in on disputes, and help resolve them. This way, the Americans hoped, great powers could resolve their differences through compromise and law rather than war. But while the UN is the most famous of the post-war institutions, it isn’t the only one. 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations came together in a small vacation haven in New Hampshire. Their goal? To establish a global financial system that would prevent another Great Depression and World War. The resulting agreement, called the Bretton Woods Agreement ultimately became backbone of the global financial system. Resulting in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. By creating these institutions the United States committed itself to being deeply involved in the world’s problems. The issue, though, is that the world’s second-largest power — The Soviet Union — saw things differently. World War II had made allies out of the democratic West and communist East in the fight against Hitler, but that couldn’t last. The United States saw Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe and elsewhere as a direct threat to its vision of a free-trading world. "To a substantial degree, in one form or another" Socialism has spread the shadow of human regimentation Over most of the nations of the earth And... the shadow is encroaching on our own liberty. Fearful of Soviet intentions towards Western Europe, the US and other European nations created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance meant to stop Russia from invading other countries in Europe. Globally, the US committed to a strategy called “containment” — so called because it was aimed at containing the spread of Communism everywhere on the globe. This new global struggle meant that the US had to exert influence everywhere, all the time. Instead of disbanding the massive military machine created for World War II, its wheels mostly kept turning. This had two main results: first, the US was pulled into unlikely alliances with countries like Saudi Arabia, Israel, and South Korea, seeing each of them as bulwarks against communist influence in their region. Secondly, the US began intervening, often secretly, in dozens of countries to contain Soviet influence. Sometimes this meant propping up sympathetic dictators like in Iran, other times supplying rebels with arms and money like in Afghanistan in 1979 and Nicaragua in 1985. Over the course of the Cold War, the US intervened in hundreds of disputes around the globe, ending up with a complicated set of alliances, tensions, and relationships in basically every corner of the earth. After the Berlin wall fell, the US could have withdrawn from this system, severing ties with its allies and drawing down the size of its military. And while the US did military spending, much of the military infrastructure and alliances from the Cold War war remained. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton decided that it was in both America and the world’s interests for the United States, now the sole superpower on earth, to continue actively managing global affairs. " We should be and we must be Peacemakers" NATO, created solely as a tool for countering the Soviets, stayed together and even expanded, a way of keeping European nations united in the absence of the Soviet threat. Washington’s support for countries like Israel and Japan stayed intact, ostensibly as a means of preventing war in those regions. The global system of alliances and institutions created to keep the peace during the Cold War became permanent — as did the American military and political commitments needed to keep them running . This system remains in operation today, and no leading American politician since the Cold War has seriously called for dismantling them — except, perhaps for Donald Trump. Trump has said contradictory things about these commitments. But he’s consistently argued that American allies are not paying America enough for its protection, and questioned the value of free trade. That calls NATO and even the World Trade Organization into question. At some point, we have to say, you know what, we're better off if Japan protects itself against this maniac in North Korea. We're better off if South Korea is going to start to protect itself -- and Saudi Arabia?-- Saudi Arabia? Absolutely. This is a sharp divergence from the consensus that has dominated US foreign policy since 1945, and something closer to the isolationism that came before it. So will President Trump act on some of candidate Trump's ideas, and reverse decades worth of institution building and alliances? We'll find out, soon enough.
By Timothy Mwiti4 days ago in History
The Magic of our DNA
Hendrick Poyner, an evolutionary biologist, is leading an international team in an effort to unravel the ancient mystery of the black death. His expertise in Ancient DNA and research on extinct animals like woolly mammoths has positioned him as a world-renowned expert in the field. Poyner's quest takes him to Italy, the epicenter of the 14th-century plague, where he seeks to uncover the secrets of the deadly disease. Through archaeological excavation and the oversight of Curator Yelena, the team aims to analyze the remains of Black Death victims to gain valuable insights into the nature of the devastating epidemic as it happens. When it happens, it kills within two to seven days.
By Isaac Ekow Anyidohoabout 15 hours ago in Earth
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