This was a marvelous cake!!! I loved watching mum making it. I don’t think she was all that happy with me taking photos though because later in the week she told me that I couldn’t take photos of her preparing her banoffee pie. Oh mum- I miss your cooking already!
This cake was made for Poppy Rog’s birthday. We had the most awesome picnic in the park.
Ah, food, glorious food. And there’s nothing better than watching my mum cook. Or cooking with my sister.
A special dinner was created last night, albeit with a very “helpful” toddler underfoot.
Said toddler helped make this cake (read: he licked the bowl clean). It was a double choc marble cake. Yum yum yum.
Infamous double choc marble cake
The menu also included:
pre-dinner drinks and nibbles (or rather, Kettle chips dumped in a crystal bowl- voila!)
& satay beef kebabs, with sides of corn & rice. The cashew satay was especially delightful & received overwhelming positive feedback from Mister P.
Radioactive satay!
Ash is two!
This was the yummiest chocolate cake I have ever made. Unfortunately, I didn’t take it out of the fridge soon enough so it didn’t actually taste as good as it could have for Ashie’s party. But, Paul, Tanya, Ash & I have certainly enjoyed the leftovers!
Today’s accomplishments include a fresh loaf of bread. Well, ok, it’s not really an accomplishment as such- I just let the breadmaker do its thing!
We also have yummy freshly made yoghurt; my main involvement in that process was boiling a kettle.
In any case, little things like this make me feel quite content.
I know that January is already over, but thought I’d recap on what’s been going on.
We have been very busy but not much has actually been accomplished on the house yet! So far, we have- painted, polished floorboards, replaced window glass in entry way, installed window locks, installed airconditioner, installed ceiling fans & lights, installed fire alarm, erected garden shed, picked tiles out for our bathroom, termite system installed around house, some trees have been cut down, & we’ve received development approval from the council for our extension. The things that are currently in progress are: arborist coming tomorrow for advice regarding significant willow tree, green home assessment happening Wednesday, waiting back to hear on price for a new roof, & Paul is finishing building drawings to send to our engineer. Phew. Actually, now that I’ve written it down, it seems that we have accomplished some things!
Some friends visited last weekend, & luckily they know a lot more about the plants & trees growing in our garden than we do! We discovered that we have lilac, jasmine, and pomegranate & heaps of other stuff that I now forget! We were also shocked to find out that there was an oleander tree by the side of the house. I’ve been told a story about army reservists who were camping in the bush & used a branch from an oleander tree to stir their baked beans. They all died. You can imagine how sick to the stomach I felt knowing that an oleander was growing so close to where we live. Paul has now cut it down. I am so grateful that our friends could pass on their knowledge on this!
We also have fabulous grapes! We’ve been informed they are probably muscat. They are lovely to eat on the inside, but the skins are really tough & chewy. Needless to say- Ash is loving them!
We have also been going for lots of bike rides since moving- it is much easier to ride on the flat! Last weekend, we rode out to Glenelg for a morning tea picnic of popcorn and apples. Today, we rode our bikes to the Farmer’s Market. I think we might try to go to the market most weekends- the fruit & veg is delicious & so cheap!
Speaking of food, this is the first time that I’ve had an electric oven, & not a gas one. I was actually really worried about cooking with electricity. Also, it took me a while to work up the courage to use the oven, as our kitchen is really pretty gross. However, I am pleased to share that the electric oven rocks! I have made some really great dishes in it, & in fact, I think it works a lot better than my old oven, which was a brand new gas one! Things seem to cook in the exact time that recipes say they should! So far, my successes have included- a tunisian honey cake, Paul’s bday cake (butter cake with a few spoons of milo) & a gorgeous banana tart. And tonight, I did a superb roast beef, complete with yorkshire pudding. Nom nom nom.
Ash & I ate a whole pizza bar one slice… & I am embarrassed to admit that I had a slice of Paul’s pizza.
Gross.
In my defence, all I had eaten all day was a salami panini and a coffee.
Truly, I’m in shock!
Trying to get organised.
Have made a meal plan for the next 4 weeks. Day 2 down and it’s gone well so far- ha ha ha.
Also made it to the gym today.
What a productive day.
Ok, well I lasted on the crazy elimination challenge for 5 days. Then I went to work & was so busy that I decided it was too hard & I was absolutely starving & so I had pizza, chocolate, coke and bacardi on Friday night. They did say that you can introduce high chemical foods all at once to see what kind of reaction you might have, although I had thought I would do it gradually….
Well, I did have a reaction which was a pretty big surprise- but not so surprising in other ways.
My reaction:
Headache
Grumpiness- Very quick to get angry & hard to control these angry feelings
Irritability- Easily annoyed- like everything & everyone got under my skin
Depressed- felt down with limited energy & motivation
Just felt plain yuck- felt heavy.
Whilst I was on the elimination challenge I felt really really well. The only way to describe it was that I felt clear & light.
So I am now a believer in the impact of food on your emotions. It was a really good challenge as even though you know these might occur when you eat crap food, you give in for some momentary pleasure…..which I’ve now discovered is definitely not worth it.
Anyway, lessons learnt!
I have perfected the art of clumsiness. Some would argue it’s not an art but I disagree- it’s not every woman who can manage to cut 4 different fingers 6 times on 4 separate occasions over the past 3 days. There was blood. But don’t worry- not much! The blame lies squarely upon operating in an untidy kitchen, buying lovely brand new SHARP knives, & a new appliance, which has fast become my best friend.
How on earth did I ever live without a food processor before????????? I am in love with my Breville Ikon food processor. I have been cooking non stop ever since we got it & I’m happy to say that all dishes have been successful- which is a real surprise as I’m generally not much use in the kitchen.
Part of the reason for all the cooking is that Paul & I are currently on a food intolerance challenge (www.fedup.com.au). I’m in shock that I convinced Paul to do it with me. What the challenge means is that you eliminate the major food intolerance culprits (preservatives, artificial flavours, colours, salycilates (a natural chemical found in nearly all fruits & some vegetables) & amines (a natural chemical found in meat, fish, some fruits & cheeses) for a short period of time….then you reintroduce them to see if you get a reaction. It will be interesting to see what happens! It’s a real challenge in the beginning though as the only fruit you are allowed to eat is pears, & most vegetables are also banned. We’ve been dosing up on potatoes, swedes, leeks, shallots, celery, sprouts, lentils & beans. But all the good stuff like corn & pumpkin are not allowed until later.
What made me think about doing this was that it was a real shock to discover the amount of chemicals that we were consuming. Anyway, it’s worth a try & I’m thrilled that Paul is in on it with me : )
