It's Raining, It's Pouring

Autumn has well and truly arrived here in Sydney! Not only has daylight savings ended, which means the dark nights are descending earlier, but the weather has that nice chill to it, and right now, it's pouring outside.

I've got to say, I don't mind this time of year - there's none of that exhausting heat, there's not too many bugs around (or hayfever) and there's generally not too much rain.

This time of year also sees me pull out my big lovely pots again and head to the kitchen to make yummy soups, pastas, bakes, risottos and such. Tonight's menu: pumpkin, mushroom & spinach risotto. And anyone that knows me will know that despite living on my own for a while over the past 10 years, and cooking for myself in share houses during that time as well, I struggle to cook for one. Absolutely.

How to cook for 1
Good news? Now that my friends are starting to have babies, I am dropping over ready made, home cooked meals for them : ) So not strictly cooking for 1, but definitely not allowing all that food to go to waste!

I've also tee'd up a deal with a girlfriend at work where one week I'll bring lunch in for both of us on the Monday, the next week it's her turn. That means at least one healthy, homemade meal for lunch each week (and for a take-out loving girl like myself, this is a good deal!). We've been going for a couple weeks and each week there has been at least 4 of us going in this so it's working out well.

Anyway, I'm off now to start the cooking, and look forward to having leftovers tomorrow : )
Happy Easter friends xx

PS - made it (FINALLY) to yoga today, a vinyasa class at Body Mind Life. LOVED IT!

Growling Belly

I am so hungry tonight that my belly is growling and I feel sick. Sweet flatmate is cooking up a yummy dinner so I can smell it wafting through the house and I'm crying for it!

Last night I asked sweet flatmate if she could cook for me all the time. She said yes. Haha how I wish that were true! I need to get out of my cooking funk and start trying to be healthy again. At least this week at work I've made my lunch each day (salads mostly, a plain old tuna sandwich today!) - that's a start.

Oh - and it really helps with the budget! My oh my, does it ever! It's good to have something to save for or something to pay off to inspire you to get the budget under control!

My loan (to consolidate debt) got approved this morning - but then she called back and said they'll have to put it through the process again as they didn't take into consideration that I still have a HECS debt (less than a couple grand.. but still need to note). Ugh. So I'll find out tomorrow morning if it's still all good to go - fingers crossed. It would make life so much easier having just one payment instead of all these ones here and there each pay.

Good news though - savings have increased again this pay day. Hoorah!

Off to dinner now, hugs x

One week - 14 meals - just $50 = POSSIBLE!

Yep - it is! There was a great feature in the Good Living liftout of the Sydney Morning Herald a few weeks ago and I just came across it again, and thought it worth a posting.

A new year means new budgets and new inspiration so here's to home cooked meals and getting frugal! Being frugal is the new black, didn't you know? ;)

(* Click on the images to make them bigger)

Organisation schmorganisation

I've come to believe there is some truth in the idea of being organised. So I'm giving the weekly meal planning thing a go. Small steps.

So far:
- I've got a mushroom, chickpea and tomato risotto on the oven which will last me a good few meals!
- There's pumpkin baking in the oven so I can make the yummy pumpkin, tofu and tomato meal with couscous
- I bought lots of veggies and stock to make up a vegie and lentil soup
- I also bought lots of vegies to make my all time fave dish from my Moosewood cookbook
- Finally, I've also bought some fruit. Comes in handy that.

And when all else fails or I become lazy and don't want to cook, there's frozen salmon fillets in the freezer, along with some frozen single serve vegies. Not ideal, but hey - better than takeaway.

Phew!

The Magical Loaf Studio

I found it! I wasn't sure where I'd come across it but OMG OMG OMG check THIS out!!!

http://www.veganlunchbox.com/loaf_studio.html

enjoy x

Eating Local

I have just finished reading “The 100 Mile Diet” by Alissa Smith & JB MacKinnon, and it was so interesting.

While eating local may not be the answer to everything (yes, it may be closer, but costwise it may not be sensible as just one fact) it raises the point that we really have become so far removed from our food. Not just physically – but on so many levels. I have no idea where my food comes from – whether in Australia or overseas. I have no idea how many pesticides it has been sprayed with, or how old it is!

Over the last 2 months my flatmate and I have been getting an Organic Fruit & Veg box deliverd (by The Organic Grocer) and the quality is amazing. See? Fruit really isn’t meant to go off and soggy within 2 days of purchase!! haha..

So I'm making a promise to myself to eat more local foods - and while I am not sure how things will go with this goal, I am interested in just finding out where my food comes from. How far it travels. Where it originates from.

It will be interesting : )

Has anyone else got any tips or does anyone know about this stuff? If so, please help this city gal out!!!

Fun posts:
Organic news and small family farms

ABC Local Challenge

The 100-Mile Diet – the book & site

Slow Food

All that talk of food...

...got me searching & wandering around the net..... and so I eventually came across Wednesday Chef and TA DA this gorgeous recipe. All I can say is YUM!

So I haven't tried this YET but as I'm always on the lookout for yummy new recipes, I'm sure as heck gonna give this one a whirl. Hopefully you do too : )

Giant Lima Beans with Roasted Peppers
Serves 2 amply as a main course
1/2 pound giant white lima beans
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
2 roasted red bell peppers
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 bay leaf2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, to taste


1. Put the beans in a pot with ample water to cover (enough to come about 3 inches above the beans). Let sit for half an hour. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the flame to low and simmer the beans for approximately 1 hour, or until al dente. About 15 minutes before removing the beans from the heat, season with salt. Drain and reserve the boiling liquid.

2. As the beans simmer, heat the 3 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet over medium heat, and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove the peppers from their oil and finely chop. Add them to the onions and garlic, and stir over medium heat for about 3 minutes to meld the flavors a little. Remove from the heat and add the beans to the pepper mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir gently to combine.

3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Scrape the bean mixture in an ovenproof glass or ceramic baking dish. Add about 1/2 cup of the reserved bean cooking liquid. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over the beans. Tuck a bay leaf into the center of the dish, covering the leaf well with the beans. Cover the dish and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the beans are very tender and their centers creamy.

4. Five minutes before the beans come out of the oven, pour in the vinegar. Remove from the oven and serve. You can let the beans cool to room temperature as well and serve the next day.

Home Sweet Home

Well the move is done, I'm here! I still have a couple of random boxes to unpack (one which contains my laptop!) but mostly I'm settled into my gorgeous new home. I moved a few suburbs out and couldn't be happier.

I am loving living in a house now (as opposed to a studio!) and my flatmate is just fantastic. Oh, and we have a bath! For those of you with baths in your homes, this might not be as exciting as it is for me.. but having lived in little studios where you can barely turn around in your own shower, a bath is certainly a luxurious treat!

I have a persistent cold that I've had for a good 3 weeks now that I know is just a symptom of being run down and in between seasons, so thank goodness I have central heating in the new home to stay rugged up and cosy in : ) And a tough but satisfying decision I've come to is that I've given up permanant teaching on weekends. Covers here and there are fine, but with my M-F day being so hectic, I realised (well, my body did first, then all my friends told me, then I finally listened) that being run down is no way to live. So this weekend is my first of total slobbing about the house, going to bed at 9pm and loving every moment of it!

Art of Yoga is around the corner from my house so I got up to a yoga class today (focussing on Dharana and knees) and it was gorgeous! Beautiful stretch to start the day. And last night I spent a bit of time looking up some recipes to start cooking in my new kitchen as I've become very happily all homely! So these vegan stuffed capsicums and this yummy sounding butternut pumpkin risotto with greens are both on the menu this week.

I have some lovely pics of my backyard (again - see the bath story above. I have, for the first time in a long time, a backyard!) and my new red corduroy skirt to post up soon (what better way to chase away the winter blues than with a splash of red?!)... but first my email needs to deliver them. I think it is also hibernating.

So stay tuned and keep warm and enjoy a cute piece on how to be a woman. It'll bring a smile to your face, I promise.

Till next time,

xxx

PS - Perhaps it's because I feel like I'm living in the movie 'Mean Girls' every time I am at work. Perhaps it's because people just aren't as polite as they could be in traffic, at the shops, or on the street. Perhaps it's because I'm a little run down and hence a bit more emotional of late (hehe), but whatever the reason, I really felt the following few words I received in an email from one of my yoga students just really touched me. I hope you enjoy them too:

Watch your thoughts, they become words.>> Watch your words, they become actions.>> Watch your actions, they become habits.>> Watch your habits, they become character.>> Watch your character, for it becomes...your destiny.>>>> 'Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle'. x

Peace, Love + Brown Rice

I need a little more of all of these in my life.

Lately - for the whole last month, really - work has been intense. Intensely intense. For an example, my last week has been as follows:

Sunday worked all day at an outdoor festival (12noon to 11pm)

Monday had band in town, had work dinner at night

Tuesday has band in town, had work gig at night

Wednesday had band in town, had work gig at night

Thursday had band in another town so caught up on all my office work! Work gig at night

Friday.... sick at home

It's no surprise really that my throat is killing me today. My last week has been massively crazy and busy but I actually have enjoyed it - but the whole month has been full on. I'm actually feeling really on top of everything at work as well but yeh, rest sometimes is good.

I had a plan in February to deepen my yoga practice, but I've actually worked so much that yoga has taken a back seat.

pEaCe

So I definitely need some more yoga in my life. I need some more inner peace. When things are busy self-care flies out the window and it's a habit I need to break. So this month I'm going to go to a meditation class and up the yoga practice. Also going to jump on the treadmill so I can do some self-meditation.

lOvE

Self love, any love! Whatever falls under that banner, I need some of it. I need to do something this month, something to look forward to. Similar to an artist date, but just a date with myself. I am going to go to an art gallery, I am going to going to figure out some more things too. Stay tuned.

bRoWn RiCe

Food glorious food! I am going to eat proper meals this month. I'm gonna back off on takeaway. I'm going to cook with kate and quinoa and post foto evidence on here : )

x

Ginger rocks in winter

I have been loving my Sunday night cook up – cook once, eat all week. It really works too, as I eat well that following week. But this Sunday, it didn’t happen. So today I was completely craving some vegies and with the rain and all, home cooking. Enter:

Ginger, Butternut & Lentil Soup
From La Dolce Vegan: Vegan Livin' Made Easy

1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 inches fresh ginger, grated
2 cups butternut pumpkin, cubed
2 cups vegie stock
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup red lentils (I used one whole can of savoury lentils)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
*I also added fresh coriander, basil, garlic & chili

In a medium soup pot on medium heat, sauté the onion in oil until translucent. Add the ginger and pumpkin and sauté for 5 mins. Then add the stock, tomatoes, lentils, salt & pepper.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer for 15-20 mins or until pumpkin is cooked.

With a hand blender or food processor, blend half or all of the soup until smooth. Return to pot, reheat and serve.

Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.

Looks tasty in the book, tastes even better in the belly!

ps - i have a great pic to post with this, as proof of my home cookin', but blogger is being difficult. oh well, it still rocks!

Ginger rocks in winter

I have been loving my Sunday night cook up – cook once, eat all week. It really works too, as I eat well that following week. But this Sunday, it didn’t happen. So today I was completely craving some vegies and with the rain and all, home cooking. Enter:

Ginger, Butternut & Lentil Soup
From La Dolce Vegan: Vegan Livin' Made Easy

1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 inches fresh ginger, grated
2 cups butternut pumpkin, cubed
2 cups vegie stock
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup red lentils (I used one whole can of savoury lentils)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
*I also added fresh coriander, basil, garlic & chili

In a medium soup pot on medium heat, sauté the onion in oil until translucent. Add the ginger and pumpkin and sauté for 5 mins. Then add the stock, tomatoes, lentils, salt & pepper.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer for 15-20 mins or until pumpkin is cooked.

With a hand blender or food processor, blend half or all of the soup until smooth. Return to pot, reheat and serve.

Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.

Looks tasty in the book, tastes even better in the belly!

ps - i have a great pic to post with this, as proof of my home cookin', but blogger is being difficult. oh well, it still rocks!