The Owl and the Pussycat

A watercolour illustration that I made for a dear friend for her baby shower. A3 size, and brighter than in the photo.

Flock

A group of crows is called a flock. Or, more poetically, a murder.  I prefer flock I think...

Pouring

An odd day: Overly emotional.  Feeling wiped out. Unenthusiastic. Pouring rain.
And then, that evening...an absolute outpouring of overdue creativity. Collage, pencil drawings, colour, characters. Then this morning I drew the crow.
What a funny 24 hours.

Critters

Have you ever seen such amazing pretty little critters? The rain bought the froggy and the cricket rode on the bonnet of my car until l got to the lake.

Inside

What's inside your sketchbook?  This is some of what's in mine.

I would, in the past, be too scared to show you. I don't know what's changed.  I guess I'm not seeking perfection, am enjoying the process, and am not looking towards an endpoint.

I've never been good at keeping a journal or sketchbook. Maybe not seeing an endpoint and having fun with colour and materials has helped me value this book.

X

Pink ceviche

In Australia we eat fish and chips on the beach. In fact, I joined some friends today at the beach and they bought fish and chips and beer! Since I had eaten 4 bowls of cereal before leaving, and am a non-drinker, I just had a swim and a chat. My friend is visiting from Mexico where she has been for one year now. She says that in Mexico you eat ceviche on the beach. Oh how deliciously fabulous that sounds.

I eat fish when my partner catches it, and I sometimes eat muscles when they are on the menu at a restaurant. I'm concerned about sustainability. Besides, there is nothing quite like eating the freshest fish caught by a proud weekend fisherman. My partner catches dolphin fish or mahi mahi, and bonito, and both are sustainable options. Bonito is delicious with soy and wasabi, and is also perfect for ceviche.

Chill the bonito then slice it as thinly as possible, placing the fish in a single layer on a pretty plate. Sprinkle over the top some very very thinly sliced red radishes, some dill, some watercress leaves, some pink salt, pepper, a little olive oil and the juice of one lime. The bonito will 'cook' in the lime juice. The result is an amazingly refreshing and light dish that will make your guests say 'wow'.

Xxx

Round the blend

Bought a blender.
Can't. Stop. Blending

Breakfast today: Chocolate icing superfood smoothie. Yea, I made this title up. So named because I licked the chocolaty mixture off the blender's lid. Sorry, no photos - maybe when I make it again tomorrow!

Recipe for chocolate icing superfood smoothie:

1 cup soy milk (Bonsoy is my favourite)
1 tablespoon raw organic cocoa
1 tablespoon chlorella
1 banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon raw honey (Lick the spoon after adding
1 small handful goji berries.
Blend in the blender.

And lunch...lunch was a fruit and vege gorge. Add enough water to the following ingredients to make a balance between a juice and a smoothie. This may be too many ingredients for some but for me, well, I feel like superwoman. This made heaps so I put some into a large jug and put it in the fridge for tomorrow morning:

Recipe for fruit and vege red smoothie:

1 small handful of raw organic goji berries
2 heaped tablespoons of raw honey (Lick the spoon after adding).
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon LSA mix
1 tablespoon chlorella
1 banana
1 beetroot
1 carrot
1 grapefruit
1 orange
1/2 pomegranate
Mint leaves
A couple of chard or spinach leaves
Lots of filtered water so you get the consistency you want.

Yum.

Making christmas cards

Small Lino prints and paper cut-out red noses.

Want want

I'm pinching this idea for serving chai. The cutest little glass teapot, gorgeous glass that fits in the hand, a little milk jug for my Bonsoy and two sweet wooden plates.

Polaroid play #2

Warning: Polaroid habits are deadly. The film is highly expensive and very unpredictable, yet I just keep wanting to try to get a descent shot.

Instagramming some of my better shots helps me to get something close to descent, so I have some impetus to keep going...

Polaroid play #1

1 Polaroid photo, 1 Instagram app and one phone to shoot it. Let's play...

Poached spiced cocoa pears with vanilla and golden syrup yoghurt

A light and yummy desert for two and perfect for winter.

I poached segments of a brown pear with a little water, about 1/2 cup brown sugar, some cinnamon, a small amount of cardamon, a piece of orange peal, and about a tablespoon of cocoa.

It was a risk! I've never poached with cocoa before but it was very good. Not as good of course as if I had drizzled huge amounts of dark chocolate over the dish but hey, I'm trying to watch my weight.

I mixed some thick Greek style low fat yoghurt with some vanilla extract and about a teaspoon of golden syrup. You don't want it too sweet so it takes away from the pears.

Once the pears were soft I served them on a plate with some of the yoghurt and two tiny squares of 75% cocoa dark chocolate.

I ate the dish with a friend and it was gobbled up. Yep, I'll make this again.

Miso hungry

I find it difficult to eat breakfast when I first wake up. Usually all I can stomach is coffee and water, and, if I'm actually hungry, a banana. I usually feel ready for breakfast around 10am and by that stage I am ready to really get my nutrients.

I can't stand most cereals - having not eaten them for a while, I find most are sickly sweet. Weet Bix are ok but I tend to prefer them for afternoon tea! Oats are ok, but miso is where is is at for me. Although this may change once I grow tired of it which I so often do with food!

I always feel good if I have a bowl of miso for breakfast. I sometimes have it with mung beans or alfalfa, seaweed, bean noodles, ginger, garlic, silken tofu, chili, sesame oil, watercress, the combinations I think are endless. I like to experiment too. One of my fave additions is the alfalfa sprouts. I only worked that out after a work friend was throwing out her alfalfa sprouts as she wouldn't be at work for the next few days and didn't want to take them home. Yup, I mixed 'em with my miso.

What miso combinations do you know of or have heard of? I'm always looking for new suggestions.

X

All mine

I'm eating alone tonight and I feel like noodles. Delicious, fresh, healthy, nourishing noodles. Not takeaway shop noodles. Noodles that I can make myself. The 'ramen' recipe below is straightforward. Very straightforward.

Being vegetarian, I find it really fun to make meals that surprise! I think this one surprises with the different textures and flavours - the meatiness of the mushrooms, the crispness of the corn and watercress, the slippery soft wakame and noodles.



Ingredients I used (mix and match whatever you like, it's a surprise soup after all):

Mixed mushrooms (inoke, shitake, etc)
Dry udon noodles
Fresh corn (kernals sliced off the cobb with a knife - please don't use canned, it's so not the same!!!)
Watercress
Broccoli
Dried wakame or other seaweed
Shiro miso paste
Soy sauce or tamari
Mirren
Fresh chilli and/or dried chilli flakes
Fresh ginger grated finely
Fresh garlic grated finely
Salt and pepper

Using two bowls rather than one is so much easier. It means you can load in lots of things and nothing overflows :-) Put all the ingredients and soup in one bowl, and the noodles in another.

Method:
Boil water in a medium saucepan and cook the noodles according to the packet. I drop in my broccoli in the last couple of minutes of cooking so that I don't have too cook it separately.

In one bowl, place the watercress, mushrooms, corn, dried wakame, chilli, garlic and ginger. Boil the kettle and pour enough water in the food to make a soup. The ingredients will cook slightly to make your ramen fresh and nourishing and not overcooked. Add your soy and mirren.

In a separate cup, place a couple of big spoonfuls of miso paste. Pour some of the hot water from the kettle on the miso to dilute it. I've heard it's not good to pour boiling water on miso so wait a few moments after the kettle has boiled. Pour the miso dilution into your bowl.
Add the broccoli.
Place the noodles in the separate bowl.
Done!



Easy isn't it? YUM.
No doggies, you can't have any. ITS ALL MINE (insert evil laugh here).

x

Joining my pics

Playing with apps - Pic Joiner...


Some beautiful still life set-ups from a friend's engagement...


From the most amazing fish tank in the local RSL would you believe...


Some bird ornaments...

Dogs and Lentils...

I'm house-sitting again and I am in heaven...

The dogs are small and cute...

And big and boisterous...

After a LONG time cramped in a small granny flat, and a LONG LONG time since my last holiday, house-sitting is a real treat. The heating, the second story, the bath tub, the large TV, the massive kitchen...Oh happy days.

To celebrate my first day here, I made the most delicious mushroom, lentil and barley soup with rye Mountain Bread garlicky olive oil crisps. 

The recipe came from the blog 'Lisa's Kitchen: Healthy Vegetarian Recipes & Cooking Hints'

I made a few amendments by using sweet potato instead of potato, adding fennel and fresh ginger and upping the spices a lot by including garam marsala, clove spice, paprika and cumin. The fresh ginger definitely took it to another level (excuse the Masterchef speak please), so I highly recommend you use a good dose of it. I'm not really a recipe kind of gal. I throw in what spices I want and taste until I get it perfect.

The rye bread crisps were my own addition - easy to do. I lightly coated some rye Mountain Bread wraps with garlic and olive oil and cooked them under a grill until brown and crispy. 

I ate two bowls full, and I stole by boyfriends crisps. Yum.

x

Cheesy stuffed field mushrooms

I bought two huge field mushroom tonight with the intention of stuffing them.

Stuffing food with food is just so awesome. Let's just stuff everything. Always.

I bought a slab of low fat ricotta.

I ripped out the stalks of the mushies, keeping them of course. I microwaved the mushies with a little water and some cling wrap till they were tender - a steamer would do the same.

I chopped then mixed the mushie stalks with the ricotta, some overripe chopped cherry tomatoes, some parsley from the garden, some pepper and some Tracomare salt. And I stuffed those darn mushies.

I then topped them with a little low fat grated cheese then grilled them.

Served on a bed of lettuce, they were a yummy healthy vego dinner.

X

Cooking for a time poor bad cook

I haven't cooked for a long long time. I've just started again.

Two nights ago: whole meal vege pasta. Last night it was long yearned for zucchini fritters and caprese salad (even though I called it calabrese on twitter - doh).

The fritters were delicious - even the carnivore boy loved them.

Recipe from taste.com.

Ingredients (serves 4)
3 (about 400g) medium zucchini
75g (1/2 cup) self-raising flour
40g (1/2 cup) parmesan, finely grated
3 shallots, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
1 egg, whisked
1/4 cup fresh continental parsley, chopped
2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 tsp olive oil

Method
Trim the ends from zucchini. Coarsely grate the zucchini. Place in a colander and squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in self-raising flour, parmesan, shallots, egg, parsley, oregano, salt and nutmeg.
Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Drop four 2-tablespoonful measures of zucchini mixture into pan. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes each side or until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat with 2 tsp olive oil and remaining zucchini mixture.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/23154/zucchini+fritters

Treasure in photos

I used to love looking through the old family photos. I dragged them out again this weekend and thought I'd make this post a mini ode to my parents.