Thursday, October 30, 2014

melbourne - sydney

It's been busy busy week for us. We collected our Elite Caravan & stayed two nights in it in Melbourne before heading back to Sydney.


I have to admit that I was surprised that our favourite meal of the week away (including the food around Fitzroy) was dinner at the Snowy Mountains Historic Bakery in Orbost. These guys opened in Orbost a few months ago from the Mornington Peninsula & I just hope they do well. 

When I hear "Woodfired Pizza" I expect gourmet. The seafood was fresh and local and gorgeous! Can you see the sea veg? 


They don't just make bread and pizza. I picked the winner! This was my fritto misto with flash fried prawns, mussels, scallops & topped with sea veg which is farmed locally in Newmerella. I can't describe how satisfying this meal was!

And before we left town the following day we grabbed coffees (great!) and an organic sourdough loaf! 


Orbost is on the Snowy River Cycling Rail Trail. I'd love to hear from anyone who has been on the trail which includes sections of track along the old rail bridges. It would be a beautiful ride.


We had a quick overnight stay on the family farm in Tanja on the way home and stayed with friends further north. And we ate dinner on the van two nights ago because we can't get enough. Ask us if we feel the same in a year after our big lap!


P.S. I have to add that the Orbost Caravan Park was a great spot to stay. Greg was very welcoming. An added bonus to the clean amenities block was a bath (at waist height) for the kids which our littlest boy loved. 


Friday, October 10, 2014

ricotta: easy peasy

All you need is milk, salt & vinegar. Now you have yourself some creamy, luscious ricotta. I like to eat mine warm with some freshly baked bread.




http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/ricotta


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Thursday, October 9, 2014

post natal wellbeing

I haven't blogged for a while and to be honest I'm not missing it but I know I'll invest more time on my blog once we hit the road for our BIG LAP of Australia in January. I have been enjoying our little boy, who is now 4 months old, too much and the idea of sitting in front of a computer when I could be chatting with him doesn't make sense. When he's sleeping there's the housework to catch up on - a bi-product of a home with three little tornadoes. 

I thought I'd reflect on the experience of having a third child. A few friends who have considered having a third baby have asked if it's hard and those with two have remarked "how do you manage?"

It's Mental Health Week here and World Mental Health Day tomorrow so in the interests of breaking taboos I'm going to share part of my story. Along with the ABC's programming of #mentalas across their networks Life Matters has been encouraging people to participate in the Exercise Challenge for some weeks now. ABC 702 posted this photo this week and the statistics are staggering.

I've just come home from the gym and our baby is sleeping so I have time. Now before you groan about me 'dropping' the G word (gym), read on....

Just to give you some background - I wrote an article for Sydney's Child four months ago detailing my experience with post natal depression which I was diagnosed with after the birth of our second baby. It wasn't surprising given that my husband was sent to work overseas for three months just before our daughter was born. He returned for her birth but was then moved interstate for six months leaving me to manage with a two year old and an eight week old. Along with some pretty ordinary family issues, which I won't go in to detail about here, it was a very trying time for me.

The short version of this story is I managed to regain my mental health with regular visits to my fabulous GP, a psychologist and medication. One of the most fundamental medicines for me, though, was exercise. This was something I didn't write about in the article for Sydney's Child as I was restricted by a word count.

I've never been a gym person. In fact I have to admit that I've never been an exercise person. At school my friends and I tried everything we could to get out of PE. I realise now that those were wasted lessons.

Soon after I was diagnosed with PND I heard something on the radio about exercise being as good for you, if not better, that medication when it came to treating depressions and anxiety.While my PND was acute I did need medication but soon after I joined my local #fitnessfirst. My plan was to attend a few classes - yoga and probably pilates. I had no intention of working out. How does all that equipment even work?

The membership to the gym included two free sessions with a personal trainer so I thought I'd take those, given that they were free, and continue a regular GENTLE exercise class. Those two sessions were assigned to a guy who specialised in pre and postnatal fitness.

Let's just say I didn't make it to the end of either session because I was too busy throwing up in the toilet. Now - I'd always thought of myself as a fit person. I'm relatively slim. It was a shock to learn that I wasn't fit at all and I've since learned more about the #obesitymyth - essentially that a person who is bigger than me, carrying more weight, could be fitter than me, and bounce back much quicker after a serious health scare.

After those two sessions I decided that I'd reclaim my body and well being by training. I gave the classes the flick. I wanted tailored fitness training and I believe that it was instrumental in improving my outlook on life. Personal Training isn't cheap so I understand that not everyone can afford it but when I weighed up the cost of medication - the long-term affects and the financial cost it was a no-brainer for me.

My regular sessions at the gym helped me to get in to shape, increase my fitness substantially, allowed me to have productive 'me time' and get off my medication. While we didn't eat a lot of rubbish I made a decision to choose even healthier options. I was also buoyed on by the powerful endorphin kick after each session. I continued to train (carefully) throughout my third pregnancy and I have set since some goals about what I'd like to achieve for myself in the coming months.

As much as possible I want to make sure I walk a few times a week - to and from school to collect my kids, watch my portion sizes and continue to train. A breastfeeding person can consume much more than a pregnant person and maintain an even weight but I have to ensure that I don't overfill my plate or have dessert out of habit.

Thankfully I'm feeling as good, if not better than I ever have. Mothering three kids isn't easy all the time but it can be a real joy a lot of the time. Managing all their needs takes commitment and I don't always get it right but, more than ever, I believe in myself. I know my limits and I know my strengths. 

You might be reading this and thinking, like I once would have, that exercise isn't for you. In my opinion - exercise is for everyone. If we want to live longer, healthier lives we need to treat our bodies respectfully and one way is to keep active. I'm certainly not saying that all mental illnesses can be cured with exercise but it can't hurt, can it?

I'm wondering if there are people out there, reading this, who have been able to improve their mental health with exercise. The gist of the Exercise Challenge was what I'm trying to get across here - you don't have to make a big change to make a difference but once you do, you might just be surprised because your body will ask for more!


If you are struggling with post natal depression or any other form of depression can I suggest you seek help from your GP or contact Panda?

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Sunday, October 5, 2014

poached chicken brown rice salad with black tahini dressing

This salad is tasty and good for you and a great one for spring or autumn where you don't need a heavy hearty meal and a light summery salad just won't fill everyone up enough for dinner.

I discovered black tahini recently. It has a runnier consistency which makes it great for salad dressings though it does look a bit like an oil slick! I do love black sesame seeds, which I buy in bulk and spread on salads, crumbed chicken and soy, ginger, garlic fish too.

6 chicken thighs
1 head of broccoli, separated into florets and stem sliced in 2cm chunks.
Half bunch parsley, finely chopped
Half bunch coriander, finely chopped
Half bunch mint, finely chopped
1 carrot, grated
Olive oil (EVOO)
1 zucchini grated, (optional)

4 tablespoons black tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed (or less, to taste)
juice from one lemon

Sunflower seeds and sesame seeds (black or white) (optional)

Cook 400g of brown rice using your preferred method. If you are using a Thermomix cook the brown rice - 35 min/ sp2/Varoma and place the broccoli in the Varoma for the last ten minutes. Rinse the broccoli under cool water and place both in the fridge.

If you aren't using a Thermomix steam the broccoli and rinse under cool water.

Take 6 chicken thighs and poach in boiling water for 10 minutes. Ensure they are cooked by slicing open the thickest thigh. Return them to the boiling water for 2 minute intervals if they need more time. Drain water and place in fridge to cool while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a jar place your tahini, garlic and lemon juice and shake for about 10 seconds until well combined.

Slice the chicken when cooled.

Scatter the cooled rice, broccoli and chicken across a large platter.Add the finely chopped herbs and carrot and drizzle with EVOO. You can add the zucchini at this stage too.



Wednesday, October 1, 2014

lamingtons

It was 8:30pm. A friend emailed to confirm she was coming to visit the following day. Between us we have 6 kids (including one baby). I'm not sure why I thought of making lamingtons but they suddenly came to mind and I just couldn't shake the idea that I needed to make them. I remember someone once telling me they were a hassle to make but by 9:30pm I had a plateful of lamingtons!

I have a faint memory of eating a lamington with my grandmother when I was young. I suspect I probably just licked the icing off! Let's see if these beauties are good enough for the kids to eat the whole thing! 

I used a Thermomix recipe but I've found a Margaret Fulton recipe for lamingtons from my favourite baking cookbook.

Margaret notes that you can bake the butter cake the day before you ice the lamingtons and this will prevent the cake from crumbling. You can also freeze the cake but you'll need to thaw it for 24 hours before using. 

Lamington will keep fresh for a few days.

According to Margaret Fulton lamingtons are "thought to have first been made for a tea party for Lord Lamington, who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901."

thermomix lamington recipe (can be found here)

ingredients
lamingtons
  • 120 g sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
  • 50 g unsalted butter, , melted
  • 120 g Self Raising Flour
lamington icing
  • 25 g unsalted butter
  • 160 g milk
  • 500 g icing sugar
  • 50 g Dutch processed cocoa
  • Shredded coconut to coat
method
lamingtons
1.Preheat oven to 190C. Butter and line a 20cm square cake tin and set aside.

2. Place sugar into mixing bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

3. Add eggs and insert Butterfly. Whip eggs for 7 min/50C/speed 3.

4. Add butter and vanilla paste and stir through 5 sec/speed 4.

5. Remove Butterfly. Add flour and with dial set to Closed lid 'Closed Lid Position' mix for 10 sec/dough mode Interval speed. Finish mixing with spatula by hand if necessary.

6. Pour into prepared tin, spin to level and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden and springy to touch. Cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto rack to cool completely.
Freeze for 30 minutes before cutting.

icing
7. Place butter and milk into mixing bowl and cook 2 min/80 C/speed 2.

8. Add sugar and cocoa and blend for 20 - 25 sec/speed 4.

9.Trim sides of sponge and cut cake into 16 equal sized cubes.
Scatter coconut over a tray.

10. Pour icing into deep bowl. Using tongs, put each piece of cake into icing and coat liberally. Place onto coconut, push coconut up onto sides and on top to finish. Transfer to flat tray lined with baking paper. Repeat until all are covered, refreshing cocnut if necessary.

11. Allow icing to set before serving.


Margaret Fulton's lamington recipe

Basic butter cake

ingredients

* 160g butter, softened
* 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
* 3 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 2/3 cups (250g) self-raising flour
* a pinch of salt
* 1/2 cup milk

method

1. Preheat the oven to 180Âșc. Grease a 30cm x 20 cm lamington tin and line the base with baking paper.

2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and gradually beat in the sugar with the vanilla, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the beaten eggs. If using an electric mixer, add the eggs one and a time and beat well after each.

3. Sift the flour and salt (some cooks do this three times), and then fold into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk beginning and ending with flour (it is important not to overwork the mixture). Add a little more milk if necessary so that the mixture drops easily from the spoon. Spoon the mixture into the prepared the tins and lightly smooth the top.

4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Turn out onto wire racks to cool, then cut in to small oblong shapes or cubes.

lamington icing

ingredients
* 3 cups (480g) icing sugar
* 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
* 4-6 tablespoons boiling water
* 1/2 teaspoon butter
* a few drops of vanilla essence
* dessicated coconut

method

1. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl. Add the boiling water, butter and vanilla then stir until smooth and shiny.

2. Spread some of the dessicated coconut on a large plate. Dip the cake shapes in the chocolate icing then immediately roll in the coconut. Leave on a wire rack to set.
 
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