Carrot Cake Muffins

Ingredients

2 medium carrots (grated)

4 Tsp maple syrup

2 Tsp oil

100ml plant milk or apple juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

130g SR flour

1 tsp cinnamon

Glaze

6 Tsp icing sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

Method

Mix together all of the muffin ingredients. Divide into 6 muffin cases and bake at 175C for 15-20 minutes.

Mix the glaze ingredients together until smooth. Whilst the muffins are still warm, brush the over with the glaze.

Notes

Very lightly adapted from a recipe by Fit Green Mind.

They were rather too moist. I've reduced the apple juice a little. It would also be good to include some chopped walnuts into the mix too.

3D Pinwheels

 

At the weekend, I was at a quilting exhibition, and saw a number of blocks and techniques I wanted to experiment with.

This is the 3D Pinwheel. 

Cauliflower, Butter Bean and Spinach Curry

Ingredients

2 Tsp oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

700g cauliflower florettes

3 cloves of garlic

1Tsp ginger, grated

1 lemon, zested

2 Tsp curry powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

400g coconut milk

200ml vegetable stock

400g butter beans

300g spinach

300g cherry tomatoes

Method

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onion.

Break the cauliflower into small florettes, and add to the skillet.

Grate the ginger, and zest the lemon. Add to the skillet, along with the chopped garlic, curry powder and cinnamon. Stir well, then add the coconut milk and  stock. cook for 20 minutes.

Add the butter beans, Cook for 10 minutes, then add the spinach and halved cherry tomatoes.

Serve with rice.

Notes

The original recipe used sweet potatoes, black beans and green beans. I saw a recipe using cauliflower, butter beans and spinach, and thought I'd swap them into my Sweet Potato Curry recipe as I liked the flavours in the sauce. 

Decluttering: Pantry 2024

 

Each January, I like to give the kitchen a systematic declutter, clean and tidy. Yesterday, the mood took me. As I am in the recuperation of Covid, I had to restrict myself, and only do a little bit. The bottom shelf was D, C and T. Only two cans were evicted (tomatoes and pears) - the crime, remaining in the pantry beyond their 'Best Before' date.

Today, it was the turn of the second shelf. It appears we like the idea of spaghetti, and spring rolls, but not the making of them. 

I now know everything that's in these shelves, and it is food that will be used. 

Health: Covid

 

Covid has entered the building, again. We'd all got the bug, again. 

I was first by a day, then the Offspring, and a day later, the Beloved.

Bis Später

 

Way, way back, when I was an incredibly tiny bear, I studied German for two years in school. I've decided to re-learn the language. It's time to take it to a place where I could go on holiday to a German-speaking place, and not be embarrassed.

For the last month, I've been using Duolingo. New vocabulary and phrases are being learned. One is 'Bis später.'. It means 'see you later',  as in a few hours. It's what a person might say when leaving the house. 

Whilst watching Laura Kampf on youtube, I heard someone say 'Bis später'. It brought so much joy that I understood immediately. There was no thought, no translation, It was as normal, and as natural as someone saying 'See you later'.  This feels like a very good sign.

Books: Just One Damned Thing After Another

 

This is the start of the tales of Dr Madeleine Maxwell (Max), and her adventures through time. 

Max has a difficult childhood, of which we learn a more about in subsequent books. There are a few incidents that set Max on the pathway to become a historian at St Mary's Institute of historical Research. It is located in the beautiful St Mary's priory near the charming town of Rushford, and is part of the University of Thirsk.

There are three key events. The first is when young Maddy is hiding in the wardrobe, and finds a book about Troy. Later, in secondary school, Maddy believes she is about to be expelled, but instead the head teacher, Mrs De Winter offers her the chance to make something of her life. This comes in the way of extra tuition, and teaching in how to assimilate material, analyze, condense and report. This training leads Maddy to the University of Thirsk to study history. She  graduates with the PhD in ancient civilisations ('She won't get out of bed for anything later than the Peloponnesian War .' (431–404 BC) . The third event is when Mrs De Winter writes to Maddy suggesting she applies for a job at St Mary's.

This was a interesting take on fantasy time travel. It's most definitely not science fiction time travel. Absolutely no attempt was made to explain how it is possible, it's just presented at a fact. 

The story is good. Max is a presented as an intelligent, out-spoken individual, who is also rather guarded when letting others get too close. 

It's even more interesting coming back to this story, and looking at the same events, but with more information. For example, Max's first meeting with Leon is most definitely not Leon's first meeting with Max. Just as Leon provided help for little Maddy, Max provided help for a younger, heartbroken Leon.

My one question is, "Why did Leon wait almost five years from meeting Max at St Mary's to starting a relationship with her?" Now, of course, the answer is most probably the author was only thinking about the first time Max met Leon. It wasn't until later she realised Leon might have met Max before.  To quote another time traveller, "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a nonlinear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff."

Recipes: BBQ Jackfruit with Coleslaw

Ingredients

BBQ Sauce

2 Tsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

½ tsp ground cumin

1 Tsp curry powder

2 Tsp soy sauce

1 tsp liquid smoke

100ml tomato ketchup

1 Tsp soft dark brown sugar

1 Tsp maple syrup

1 Tsp balsamic vinegar

400g tin cherry tomatoes

Mustard Coleslaw

120g red cabbage, very finely sliced

2 carrots, grated

4 spring onions, finely sliced 

100ml vegan mayonnaise

2 Tsp apple cider vinegar

4Tsp Dijon mustard

Other ingredients

2 Tsp rapeseed or olive oil

2 x 410g tins green jackfruit, drained, washed, and squeezed to release some moisture,

12 small burger buns, halved and toasted

mayonnaise

Method

To make the BBQ sauce, heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat, then fry the onion for a few minutes until it begins to turn translucent. Add the garlic and fry for a minute more. Add all the remaining sauce ingredients and stir to combine. Cover, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 7-10 minutes or until all the tomatoes have burst and the sauce has reduced. Remove from the heat and allow to cool fully before blending in a food processor to a smooth, glossy sauce.

Mix all the ingredients for the coleslaw a pinch of salt and good grind of black pepper in a large bowl.

Heat the oil and fry the prepared jackfruit for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat, and pull apart the jackfruit. Add in half of the BBQ sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.

To assemble, spread a little mayonnaise on the halved burger bun Add a spoonful of the pulled jackfruit, top with BBQ and some coleslaw.

Review

The BBQ sauce was good. It was tasty and not too sweet. Sadly the jackfruit was rather meh. It's not something we would choose to eat again. The coleslaw had far too much mustard in it, and I'd already reduce it by half from the quantities listed above.

In all, I'll use the sauce again, but won't bother with the rest.

Books: The Very First Damned Thing

 

"The Very First Damned Thing" by Jodi Taylor

It centres around Dr Bairstow. He has arrived from the future, just two years after the end of civil war, and he brings with him the secret of time travel. However, for some reason, he despises this term, and insists his unit will not be engaging in time travel. Rather, his team of historians  "will investigate major historical events in contemporary time". 

In Jodi-world, the main novels are sequentially numbered, and the short stories/novellas are slotted in between. This origin story is listed as "0.5", and was published after the first novel, "Just One Damned Thing After Another."

The story is read by Jodi Taylor, and not by Zara Ramm who read the first novel. Zara is a better narrator, and thankfully, Zara narrates almost all of the subsequent novels, novellas and short stories. A good narrator adds so much to the over all performance, bring the book to life.

Books: Legends & Lattes

 

"Legends and Lattes" by Travis Baldree

Viv is an orc adventurer who wants to change the 'is' to a 'was'. Her desire is to escape her current situation, running towards a simpler life, a life filled with stability, and coffee. She's had enough of running, fighting, stab wounds. Instead, she wants lattes and cinnamon rolls.

The story is one of warmth, friendship, stability, and finding things that bring joy and meaning. There's also a very low key budding romance between Viv, and her  assistant, Tandri.

'Feel good fantasy' and 'cosy high fantasy' have been used to describe it. 

At the end, I was satisfied. Girl gets girl, business is restored, the importance of friendship is underlined, and the bad guy meets a sticky end. I wasn't left desperately wanting more, but it was an elegant sufficiency. At some point, I'll probably get the second book.  Actually, I'll add the second book to my wishlist ready and waiting.

Another Rotation Around the Sun

A while back, I decided to write every day for 100 days. This worked, but it was such a bind I very quickly fell out of love with blogging and writing.

This year, I'd like to do more blogging, but I shan't be putting pressure on myself to write every day, nor about any particular subject. If it happens, it happens. When it happens, it happens.

As for New Year Resolutions, I have none. However, there are a few goals:

• Duolingo -  I'd like to continue, and learn more
• Crafting - the last 6 items made were for other people. I plan to make more items for myself
• Food - in 2021, I started learning to cook vegan food. A number of those recipes have made it into our meal rotations. This year, I want to learn to cook more vegan dishes
• Street Walkers - the Beloved and I are going to walk all of the streets of our home town. It might not all be accomplished this year, but we're making a good start.
• Cycling - my back loves it when I cycle regularly. It keeps it nice and loose, free of grumbles and pain. This year, I shall cycle on a more regular basis

Made by Me, August

Initially, I was going to post a weekly round up of the 'made by me' clothes. This proved to be rather boring. The weather is such I have been wearing summer skirts, sun hats, and a headband. Therefore, it has switched to a monthly one instead.

• Paris wrap skirt and navy headband
• Kid-silk shawl
• Blue batik wrap skirt
• Red batik wrap skirt
• Crocheted blanket
• Aquas crocheted sun hat
• Navy crocheted sun hat
• Blue headband

The crocheted blanket was 'worn' on a pyjama day. It spent a great deal of time draped over my knees, keeping me lovely and toasty.

Quorn and Butternut Squash Lasagne

Ingredients
1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and thinly sliced
3 tsp ground cumin
olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 courgette
1 tsp ground cinnamon
500g Quorn mince
400g can diced tomatoes
bunch parsley, chopped
500ml béchamel sauce (gluten-free)
Parmesan cheese
cherry tomatoes

Method

Preheat oven to 200C. Line 2 baking trays.

Place the butternut squash slices in the trays, brush lightly with oil, and sprinkle over the cumin. Bake for around 25 minutes, until golden and tender.

Add oil to a skillet, and then sauté the onion. Add the garlic and courgette, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Add the cinnamon, Quorn, diced tomatoes, and chickpeas, and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, and add the chopped parsely.

Layer up the tomato sauce, the butternut squash slices and béchamel sauce. Add a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, and top with a few cherry tomatoes.

Bake for 15 minutes, and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes
Serve with a green salad.

Chicken Burgers

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts

1/4 cup of gluten-free oats

1/4tsp curry powder

1/4tsp Italian herbs

1/2 tsp diced garlic

salt & pepper

oil

Method

Add oil to a skillet. Bring to a medium hot temperature. Place all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. 

Spoon out the chicken mixture into the oil, making three patties. Smooth over the tops with the back of a spoon.

Take the heat down to low, and cook for 10 minutes. Flip over to the other side and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Serve with burger bun, coleslaw and onion rings.

Salmon Burgers

Adapted from Healthy Living James' Salmon Burgers

Ingredients
500 g salmon fillet skinned
½ cup gluten-free oats 
juice of ½ lemon
¼ tsp curry powder
¼ teaspoon garlic granules
small handful of parsley or chives
freshly ground black pepper
oil for brushing

Method
Chop the salmon into cubes. Place all of the ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until the mixture starts to hold together.

Shape into burgers. Brush one side with oil, and fry for 5 minutes. Brush the other side, and fill. Again cook for 5 minutes.

Notes

Serve on a brioche burger, or with potato salad and a green salad. 

I need to see a doctor!

Many years ago, Little Miss fell and grazed her knee. I cleaned her up, put cream on the graze, and added a magical plaster. This stopped it all from hurting. 

The following day, on the way to church, the plaster fell off. Little Miss was not impressed, and declared, "I need to see a doctor!" Obviously she didn't, but she was insistent.

When we arrived, I saw a friend. "Hi, Phil. You're a doctor aren't you?"  Phil nodded, and replied 'Yes, but my wife is...' I knew what the end of the sentence and I  did not want Little Miss to hear it, so I stopped him mid-sentence. "Are you a doctor?" Of course, 'Yes' was the answer. "Could you please have a look at Little Miss's leg? She hurt it yesterday, and is a little worried." 

Phil examined the proffered leg. "Ah, yes. This must have been rather sore. However, it looks like it is healing nicely. My prescription is ice cream. Have some ice cream, either after lunch or dinner, and that will help."  Little Miss's eyes grew wide, "Okay!" and she ran off to find her friends.

Phil turned to me and said, "You do realise it's my wife that's a medical doctor. I have PhD in agriculture." Grinning, I replied, "If I had any concerns, I would have taken Little Miss  to see a medical doctor. But, she asked to see a doctor, and  did not specify the type of doctor."

Squat-tastic!

I can't believe the difference a few days has made!  

It started off with five very shallow, supported squats. This was painful, and I definitely needed to hang on to the banister for balance. 

Now, on the fifth day of squatting, I am able to do squats like the ones in the image, 10 in the morning, and 10 in the evening. There's no pain, and there's no stability problems. The difference is huge, and it's rather nice to have no pain. 

Exercising Whilst Under the Weather

Yesterday started with a nasty migraine, most likely weather induced. I was about to say, "All I was able to do was 10 medium-ish squats." Let's re-phrase, despite the migraine, I was able to accomplish 10 standard squats. These were done whilst holding onto the bannister for stability. This morning, I managed another 10 squats whilst using a stabiliser.

I dislocated my knee two years ago, and for 6 months it was partially subluxed. This is not a good thing (TM) for knees. There were lots of problems kneeling, and rising from the floor. With the exercise challenge, I decide it would be the perfect time to work on my knees, and get them back in working order.

My plan is to do 10 medium squats a day this week, and then increase to 10 in the morning, and 10 in the evening. When this become comfortable, I'll move on to the exercises in the 28 Squat Challenge. When the pause squat is easy, I'll start doing the single leg squats off a box, and the lateral squat. By that stage, I hope I will be able to work on really deep squats. 

However, I must, must, must not allow myself to try to do too much too soon. This is about improving my long term health and flexibility, not achieving milestones as quickly as possible.

Made by Me Challenge

It has been a lovely change not to 'have' to write a blog post each day. A week off has been good, but tomorrow sees the beginning of a new challenge, 'Made by Me'.  

For the next 100 days, I shall be wearing items I have made, or adapted. I think I shall post a summary at the weekend of the items worn that week. 

When I started thinking of this challenge I thought it would be hard work, but over the last little while I have been making more items, and now think it's going to be pretty easy. To try to make the next 100 days a little more challenging, I'm also going to do an exercise challenge - some form of exercise for the next 100 days. My goal is to cycle for 5 minutes every day, and throw in some other specific exercises for my knees and shoulders.

Over the weekend, we walked along Marine Drive, and I've been cycling. This has done wonders for a sore back.

100 Days of Writing

Reflecting on 100 Days of Writing

It has been very hard to consistently write each and every day. There is a myth that goes around, do a task for 1 month, 2 months, or even 3 months, and it will become a habit. This might be true for neurotypical people, but for this neurospicy individual, it's has not become a habit. It is something I need to remind myself of every day, and it's always a conscious choice.

Most of the time it's been quite easy to find something to write about, whether it's a silly story I've made up, a family story, a new recipe, or new project. It's been easy to write the little nuggets, but much harder to write larger stories, ones that require lots of thought and planning. And, I'm fine with being a writer of nuggets, and mirthful moments. However, I would like at some point to write a book, and some longer stories.

There was one day I was unable to write due to illness. My perfectionism kicked in, and I thought the whole project was in tatters. Thankfully, I listened when I gave myself a stern talking to, and I extended myself the same grace as I would to someone who had missed a day on a project.

There have been other periods when I have missed a day or so, and have later gone back and filled in the missing days. 

I've learned I am not a habit former. I have also learned creativity comes in clumps, and it is highly influenced by my health, tiredness and stress.