Matins, Raw Brownies, and the Balcony

I can't really claim Matins as a New Thing, even though this was my first experience (that I can remember, anyway).  This morning, the 9:30 eucharist was replaced with Matins in celebration and commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second.  I was not required for anything so it was nice to be 'unrobed' as one friend put it.  Music was fabulous, of course.

The first real New Thing of the day was making raw brownies with my new food processor.  Which is not technically a food processor... chopper and stick thingy.  I was probably a little impatient with the chopping of the base (I had a time limit after all), so there are slightly bigger chunks of nuts than I would like.  Next time.  And I started eating a bit too soon, possibly, as the first row was very crumbly and had to be eaten from a bowl.  With a spoon.  The next row behaved beautifully though (and no, I wasn't eating all these by myself!). 

Whenever my parents visit, things change.  After some unintended (and some intended) changes to my courtyard area, I was tempted to visit a nursery yesterday and buy up big on plants.  I didn't.  I figured some preparation might go a long way.  Especially as I seem to have lost my green thumb status in the last couple of years.  So my balcony went from looking like this:

to this:

Ok, it probably doesn't look that impressive.  But I've ditched the plants given to me by an ex, the vines that were really really dead, and the leftover bits of ... I don't even know what to call it... stuff from the disintegrated tv stand that I threw out last week.  The plants that are left are still living, but need a bit of encouragement in the potting mix and fertilizer departments.  The bonus is that my room looks calmer now.  Next I need to get a bucket and wash the balcony, and ditch the lantern thing - any takers?

The Food Processor

Today, I added a new member to my Breville kitchen family.  I promise I don't set out to buy Breville, but when I was unpacking the newbie, I realised it fits right in. 

I have never owned a food processor - I've managed with a blender and electric beaters without any problems, although sometimes the consistency is not as amazing as intended.  And, as I am not a fan of cleaning the blender, often I just avoid using it and leave soups unblended.  I know some readers are probably recoiling in horror at this point, so I'll move on.

One friend makes really yummy protein balls - all food processor.  The night of Cluedo, Jeannie made raw brownies - also food processor.  I have been wanting them ever since.  So today (no gig!), I bought a food processor.

Shopping for a food processor has always been daunting.  I knew you could buy super duper expensive ones that do everything except actually baking and serving.  I'm not that rich.  However, I wasn't keen on buying a cheap one that would break down in a matter of months.  Today, I looked in Kmart at the super cheap $15 version - tempting as a starter, and to see if I would really use it much - and also the $39 option.  I figured though that I would be racking up Myer One points at Myer, so I checked out their range.  I dismissed everything with 3 figures in the price, and had a few options left.  Still um-ing and ah-ing about what would be best, I then saw this (Breville) variety, and knew this was it. 

It hasn't had a test-drive just yet.  Like a conscientious consumer, I've washed the washable bits and they're still drying.  I was delighted with the environmentally friendly, egg carton-style packaging.  Now I'm just hoping that it does what I want it to do, inspires me to use it in many ways and recipes, and is not too hard to clean...