Photo dump catch up...

My Vegepod is on it’s last legs.  The strawberry plants in the front have failed to produce anything and that one tomato plant is hanging on, it still has green cherry toms on the vine but our temps are just too cold to ripen them now...

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Time to rip it all out and maybe plant some broccoli ....

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Winter has come to us with a vengeance - lots of rain last week and this week, just plain cold, still days.  Porridge is keeping me warm...

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I’ve been making biscuits to sell at our community Hub, but I find it very time consuming for the return...

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Last Friday night’s dinner - simple bolognese...

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More baking on Saturday morning for the Hub...

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All packed up ready to deliver!

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I was given some apples and rhubarb so I stewed them up to pop into the freezer for a cheeky crumble or two!

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Good grief!  I took this pic on Saturday at 2pm! Only 7C!

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I thought a Mulberry gin and ginger beer might warm the cockles...and it did! 

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I made spelt bread rolls to pop into the freezer...

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Gus made this WW meal which turned out lovely.

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Sunday morning I made those 2-ingredient bagels, doubling the recipe to make 4.

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Very nice with scrambled eggs!

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Mmmm, apple and mulberry crumble! 

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Made even better with a scoop of vanilla icecream!

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My Monday weigh in this week 18/06/18 - 77.8kg (which is the same as Tuesday last week.  No loss or gain but I’m okay with that (8.2 kg lost so far).  Winter is a time for eating foods to sustain you and I must admit, eating a nice salad plate when it’s 7C outside, really isn’t that appealing! I’ll keep plugging away, being mindful of what goes in my mouth.

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Cheers - Joolz xx

Busy week...

Ugh, we’re in for a sticky day here...it’s hot and windy outside already and I think there’s rain coming.

I was given some rhubarb by a client so I shared half with a staff member and stewed the rest.  

It stewed up beautifully, a lovely bright red colour.  I sweetened it just a bit with sugar. I have frozen it to make apple and rhubarb crumble or pies later.

Corn on the cob was out for .99c a cob so I grabbed 4 to pop in the freezer.  Much better than corn which has been canned overseas. 

I have discovered these little cans of sparkling water which taste like sparkling water but have a hint of lime. Very refreshing!

This morning, I made a banana, frozen blueberry (I froze several punnets that I got for $1.99 on special - they’re normally $3-5/punnet), medjool date, organic cacao, skim milk smoothie. Delicious!

That has got to be good for you!

Ominous clouds heralding a windy, dusty, muggy, messy day.  There’ll be lots of sweeping to do later!  Our lawns are looking lush - it’s amazing what working pop up sprinklers will do!  We had several that were broken and the grass was dead in patches.  We paid for a guy to come and repair them and hey presto! Green grass!  If you stand there long enough, you can watch it growing!

I hope you are able to stay cool today, wherever you are.  I can’t wait for the weekend - to set up that Vegepod!  I have bought beetroot, strawberries,  green peas and lebanese cucumbers.  I realise the peas and cukes may take over but it’s all about learning what’s good and how long it takes from planting to harvest.  I will also sow carrot seeds...

Cheers - Joolz xx

Thai Green curry...

We had such a muggy day here yesterday...36C and afternoon thunderstorms...

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For dinner, I tried one of Marion Grasby’s cooking kits - Thai gree curry.  All I need to add is...

...a cup of fresh veggies...

... 500gms meat - I like chicken but you could do beef, duck, pork....

This is the dried flavour mix of basil, kaffir lime and chillies.  I took out half the chillies.

I fried off the curry paste...

...added in the coconut milk, water and dried goods...

The veggies and chicken go in to poach away until tender.  After a taste, I decided to add 2 tspns brown sugar to sweeten it off plus zest of a lime and a squeeze of juice...

It was a very nice curry but on a warm, muggy night, it certainly had us sweating!   I think I’d use a but less curry paste next time (Marion does suggest this if you don’t like it hot).  I think these kits would be great for when we go camping - you can also get many other flavour kits in the range - just add fresh veg and a protein.

This is not a sponsored post, I just saw the kits in the supermarket and though I’d give it a go and I’m glad I did. 

Cheers - Joolz xx

Eating yummy food...

Rhonda at Down To Earth shared a recipe for Salmon Rissole so I gave them a go...

http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/salmon-rissoles.html

You can add in whatever you like and I added fresh corn kernels. These were very tasty and a good way to get some fish into our diet.

On Thursday night, we had visitors so we took them to The Tasting Room at Mayura to try some Wagyu beef...

Carpaccio beef, melt in your mouth....

You get to sit and watch the meal be constructed...

Steak kebabs...

Roast rump steak, peach, compressed watermelon, mushroms...

Wobbly vanilla bean panna cotta to finish...

I picked more rosebuds to dry...

The lovely Clare at The Life of Clare made a great frittata using her fresh garden veggies and some leftover veg. I made this last night and we had it with loin lamb chops. Very bloody good!

http://thelifeofclare.com.au/lazy-ladys-fritata/

This could be eaten hot or cold (at a picnic). It was delicious!

What are you up to for the weekend? I'm home all weekend so I hope to get into the garden and do some weeding. We have visitors coming tomorrow night for dinner then we have our friends (two couples) coming for Australia Day and the weekend so I need to do out the two bedrooms, dust and make up beds etc.

Cheers - Joolz xx