Back in the kitchen, and a winner...

Something Mr E and I agree on is that good health and a strong immune system reflect what is served in your kitchen.

Even though we both got 'taken down' with this nasty flu, we actually handled it better than we would have a couple of years ago. Living a healthier life and being very conscious of what we 'feed' our bodies got us through this illness with no medication at all, apart from a few ibuprofen when I had a migraine.

He bounced back quicker than me because he rested his body more than I did, but as any housewife/mother will tell you, that's fairly normal. I run on adrenalin - big time! That's why I came crashing down so hard in March after my trip to Melbourne, and I still hadn't slowed down enough to fully recover when I succumbed to the flu a couple of weeks ago.

Big lesson for me to learn - and also a reminder that I'm 55 now, and not 35, and therefore need to take that little extra care with any form of recovery and rest.

So I truly rested yesterday. I listened to all your advice and put my feet up and watched movies while I stitched. 

I never tire of "How To Make An American Quilt" and as the credits rolled at the end of the DVD I felt so inspired to design a certain quilt that has been roaming along like a gathering tumbleweed in my mind for years, but has never seen the light of day in my sketchbook. It was nice to not have anything to distract me from bringing this idea to paper, and it may take years to stitch, but at least it's an idea on paper now and one step closer to life.

Today I have been back in my kitchen - yay!!

Mr E has been away for three days and will be home again tomorrow night, so I wanted to return to my daily routine of nourishing food preparation before he gets back. After giving the kitchen and fridge a good scrub out, I went shopping for fresh produce, and then set to work.

First on my menu plan was to make some rhubarb and strawberries for pouring over chai pudding...

Just chop a large bunch of rhubarb and two cups of strawberries...

...and add them to a saucepan with a tablespoon of water, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, and 2 tablespoons of rice malt syrup (you might choose sugar, honey or agave)

Simmer for 30 minutes. Yum.

Serve with Chia Pudding.

In a jar, shake together - 1 cup of coconut milk / 1/4 cup chia seeds / 2 teaspoons of raw honey.

Leave the pudding in the jar on your bench for about 30 minutes, giving it a good shake every 5-10 minutes. This prevents the chia from clumping as it absorbs the coconut milk. Pour into a bowl...

...and pop it in the fridge until you're ready to serve. This makes a beautiful dessert, but can also be served with fresh fruit for breakfast.

Next, I needed to make my adrenalin booster, the Singing Canary!
(adapted from Trim Healthy Mama)

In a high speed blender add two diced lemons (skin included), and 3 cups of filtered water. Blend for about 3-4 minutes. Strain the lemon water through a piece of muslin, squeezing out as much of the juice as you can from the pulp. 

Return the lemon water to the blender, and add:

/ a good pinch of celtic sea salt / stevia sweetener (according to taste) / 2 teaspoons organic coconut oil / 1 teaspoon non-irradiated tumeric powder / 4g vitamin C powder / 3 splashes vanilla extract (not vanilla essence) / 2 teaspoons whey protein powder (non-sweetened) /

Blend the lot. Fill a jug half way with ice cubes, and pour the Singing Canary over the top. Drink throughout the day. 

Do you like my glass? I call it the Pride & Prejudice glass because I always imagine it's Mr Darcey and Mr Bingley out shooting with their hounds.

Next on my menu plan was Cashew & Orange Cream. I will have this served over fruit and oats for breakfast tomorrow.

Zest the rind of one orange, and combine it with one cup of raw cashews in a high speed blender ( we use the Nutribullet)...

Blend until the nuts and orange zest start to clump like butter. Add the juice of 3 oranges...

Blend again until you have the consistency of thickened cream...

Stir through 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract...and lick the spoon, You won't want to waste a single bit.

My final job today was to prepare the Kale for tomorrow's green smoothie. I love Kale, and it's an amazing super-food!

One thing I have recently learned through both Mr E and I having the auto-immune disease Hashimoto's  is that even though many experts warn against eating goitrogens (cabbage, broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts etc) because they can depress the thyroid function even more than it already is with these conditions, it is only for those whose under-active thyroid condition or Hashimoto's Disease is caused by iodine deficiency, as goitrogens interfere with iodine absorption in the body.

This is not the case with Mr E and I so we can enjoy Kale in our green smoothies each day.

I'll add these recipes to my Recipes Page (here) in case you ever want to source them for your own use. 

Give them a go...honest, they are all yummy.

WINNER!

The winner of Dawn Hay's PRESTON BAG pattern is Diann from New Jersey!

Congratulations Diann, I'll be emailing you soon for your home address and then this gorgeous bag pattern will be winging it's way from Australia to you.

If you would like to make Dawn's bag, just pop over here to her shop. It's available as an instant pdf download, or you can email her via her blog here for a paper pattern.

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday!

hugs

Colour my food...

It's not just colours in fabric, thread, crockery and trinkets that raise my 'wow' register. 

Food can do it too!

Like Saturday's 'Prawn & Avocado" salad...

Mr E peeled the local prawns, and I invented a new mango and lime salad dressing...

 Very simple, and very fresh.

Want the recipe?

In a blender add:

* the fruit of one peeled mango 

* 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

* the juice of one lime

* 1 1/2 tablespoons macadamia oil (cold pressed organic)

YUM!!

Yesterday for lunch I used the remainder of the mango & lime dressing as a dip for a platter of raw vegetables, some water crackers, and crumbly Mersey Valley cheese.

I also mashed together an avocado, sweet chilli sauce, and the juice of 1/2 a lime as an extra dip for our lunch...

It looked so lovely and rustic served on my old wooden bread board.

As well as the cheese and water crackers we had raw carrots, raw sweet potato slices, cucumber sticks and cherry tomatoes...

Not much left afterwards...

...but just enough for Blossom's afternoon tea. 

Like I said. Colour is wonderful, no matter where you find it!

hugs

Lots of food prep for the weekend...

I've been re-ignited in my love for healthy cooking again, so the past week over HERE I have been sharing day to day what I prepare, cook and eat for each meal.

I seem to be busy with prep one day, and things are easy the next. Works perfect for my designing/writing life!

Yesterday (Friday in Australia), I spent most of the day in my kitchen and had a ball!!

Would you like to see what I made?

My rye flour sour dough starter was ready for bread making so that was the first job of the day. I took the photo below on Thursday morning, and by Thursday afternoon it was bubbling near the brim. I popped it in the fridge overnight and began my mixing the next morning...

I mix it by hand until I get the right consistency, then throw it in the breadmaker for kneading and the first rise. I work by feel and not by recipe for sour dough. For many years I hand-kneaded all my breads, but after an operation on my hand in 2010 I've never had the same strength in my fingers...

After the first rise I take it out, knead it by hand for a couple of minutes, then shape it.

I cut a few slits across the top and leave it to rise again. 

Here in the tropics that takes just 30 minutes!

 I baked my bread on the hot stone, and it was glorious when it came out of the oven...

The other day I made Labne, which is a cream cheese you make from yoghurt (I made the yoghurt myself too, from a wonderful recipe my friend Ruth shared with me), so Mr E and I had that slathered on our sour dough for lunch...it was delicious!

While the bread was proving and baking I also made some fresh strawberry and apple jam...

...which we enjoyed on fresh pikelets for afternoon tea! I made the pikelets with unbleached wholewheat flour, rapadura sugar, and buttermilk.

I only added a third of the normal amount of sugar used in regular jam recipes for my jam, as we are cutting right back on our sugar here at home. My strawberry and apple jam was so much nicer, and had a lovely tang to the mild sweetness. Mr E has been pretty happy with the kitchen fare!

I also made a simple orange and passionfruit jelly for dessert - again, no sugar involved, just the juice of the fruits, a little water, and gelatine...

Blossom loves fresh hommus, so my next recipe was THIS one I found the other day - "5 minute chilli and lime hommus"

It's *delicious*!!

 There was also a fair bit of prep done in the kitchen on Friday...

I soaked dried fruit in Prince of Wales tea to make an Irish Tea Cake on Saturday (again, I cut back the sugar and used just 1/2 the amount in the recipe)...

....and made a nice marinade of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, and oregano for Friday night's kebab & salad dinner.

I soaked raw buckwheat for an hour, then drained it to let it sprout so I can make my favourite Sprouted Buckwheat Granola breakfast in the dehydrator on Sunday, and I soaked the rice to make Nana's Rice Pudding on Saturday...

This is all that is left of my current batch of Buckwheat Granola. I sent 2 kilos to Kezzie at the beginning of the month and we both eat through it like there's no tomorrow!

 

I don't know about you, but I get such a lot of satisfaction making food from scratch; knowing exactly what is going into the meals we enjoy, and feeling the benefits in our bodies.

But more importantly to me, is the food that goes into my soul and spirit.

That's why I've signed up for the new study with the Good Morning Girls which begins on September 2nd.

I passed my 'comb binding' initiation with only a few terse words before Mr E stepped in to show me the proper way to comb bind the pages I've printed for the 8-week study of Luke...

It's all free, and there are groups you can join online or just go solo. 

If you need to get back into the habit of daily Bible study, why not head over HERE to the Good Morning Girls and join in?

The study is ready for you to download and print, and you'll receive emails 3 days a week to encourage you along the way. And bless them, its all free.

Or maybe you're already signed on to do the study? We'll be study buddies!

Enjoy the weekend my friends,

hugs

Jenny

xx