Outfit #77 - Black Spring

Outfit details:

Dress: Jeanswest (op shop).  Shoes: Target.  Earrings: from Jeannie.

I had a couple of necklaces set to wear today as well, which looked fine when everything was on the hanger - but this morning, they looked all weird with the earrings.  The earrings won.  And they even received compliments at lunch!

Another hot day today - and another comfortable clothing choice, thankfully.  However, I got home with 10 minutes before my first student, and the first thing I did was change into more relaxed clothes.  About half-way through his lesson, I realised I was yet to take photos.  D'oh!  So (this is how dedicated I am) I changed back after he'd left as I have a bit of a break now.  I didn't really check the photos much though, just made sure head and feet were present and I wasn't looking too odd.  I hope that explains the disappearing elbow.

Today's photo:

This morning I was watering my plants (an exercise now taking up 11 minutes of every morning) when I noticed the reason something looked a bit different... Something has had a good meal out of 2 of my eggplant seedlings.  And some coriander.  Grr.  I suspect a possum, but the birds are still under suspicion as well.  Any suggestions for deterring such scavengers (not involving sprays or chemicals, of course) welcome.

Protein Balls

In the last 15 months, I have embraced protein in my life.  I never thought I'd be someone who used protein powder, or ate power bars (maybe those 2 words should be in all caps...).  But protein is so essential - and so is convenience.  After receiving a freebie protein bar, which tasted great, I started having them on hand for snack attacks (about 1 a month).  With a slightly altered teaching and training schedule, I found I was having them more and more, especially on Tuesdays.  But then my local supermarkets stopped stocking my favourite variety, and although I adapted and picked a different sort, they were all out of stock today.  And I wasn't particularly happy with this newer lot anyway, not to mention the price! 

Back in February, one of my friends brought some protein balls to a get-together, and they were so yummy!  So today, instead of spending more time than I cared to check labels of different products, I decided to have a go at making my own.  A bit of investigating (thank you, Google), and I came across the same recipe my friend used.  From Teresa Cutter's site, The Healthy Chef, the link is here.

I was really good in following the recipe - mostly.  I used dried apricots instead of dates again; I like cinnamon so didn't measure that; and as my scales are only precise to 25g, I estimated a bit with 330g nuts and 60g protein powder.  After measuring the nuts, I realised there was too much volume for my mini chopper.  So I chopped half the nuts and protein, transferred to a bowl, then chopped the rest.  I continued with the half batches until the mixing into balls bit at the end.

Quite a bit of water was needed to turn the mix from super dry (so dry I checked I hadn't missed anything) into something you could form into a ball and have a hope of it staying that way.

These are super yummy, and guilt-free - I'm thinking one of these with a small apple for morning tea at school.  I can see these becoming a regular part of my week, but next time I'll just do a half batch!

Today's photo:

Not too exciting... and not a great photo... but the spinach is beginning to look more like spinach and less like random green stuff.

New Food - Kale

I first heard of kale in May or June last year.  It was one of the options in the Zone eating plan, but not readily available in the local supermarkets.  Nor was it included in the organic fruit and vegetable delivery box.  Fast forward to last weekend, when I did lots of gardening - including edibles (lettuce and spinach).  Trainer Dan then told me about the kale his mother is growing, and then kale was listed in the specials for the delivery box.  I took a deep breath, and ordered some. 

As it turns out, a bunch of kale is huge.  When I open the fridge, it feels like all I see is kale.  (Well, all right - it takes up more than half a shelf).  So last night I included it - as well as tonight - and it's on the menu for tomorrow night and, most likely, Wednesday night as well.  Good thing it's just about the healthiest green thing out there.

So right now my dinners are consisting of stirfried kale, bok choy, and some protein source.  And herbs from my garden.

Speaking of protein sources - I've finally found a tofu I actually like.  Previously, I've either used firm tofu and reminded myself that it's good for me, it's good for me, it's good for me... or silken tofu, and have it spread itself all over the meal.  Not attractive or suitable for guests.  But now I've found this tofu listed as firm tofu, which is just firm enough to hold its shape when cooked but silken enough that it tastes beautiful. Win.

I actually first bought it 2 weeks ago but didn't think it would be such a win.  Now I have a photo though.

Today's photo:

Needing a bit more in the carbs department, I had half an orange then snacked on blueberries after the tofu-kale stirfry.  Obviously, feeling super healthy right now.  More chocolate required.

Cardamom-Scented Chicken Curry

Step 1.  Find a friend with a beautiful, mouth-watering food blog.  In my case, eat, little bird.  See her post on Cardamom-Scented Chicken Curry, drool a little, and determine to cook it on the weekend.  On the Saturday morning, prepare to go to the shops to buy those couple of ingredients you think you'll need, then do a little skip when you discover you're fully stocked.  Do some practice instead.

Step 2.  On the Sunday, do some gardening, bake some fruit bread, and eat some fruit bread at about 2pm.  Go for a 13 km run, starting at about 5:30.  Start feeling hungry at about the 8 km mark.  Once returned, have a shower.

Step 3.  Gather ingredients.  1 large tomato (or, you know, 2 tomatoes if they're smallish and you really like tomato), 5-6 cardamom pods (squished a bit in the mortar and pestle), 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 400g chicken breast, 1 onion (chopped), 2 cm ginger (peeled and grated), 4 cloves grated garlic (although, unable to find the garlic, substitute shallots and chop finely), 1 tablespoon cornflour.  Forget how long it takes to prepare all these ingredients.  By 7:30, everything is only just prepared and you're quite hungry.  You apologise to your brother who walks in about now, thinking dinner will be at the almost-cooked stage instead of the about-to-start-cooking stage.

Step 4.  Heat about 4 tablespoons oil in a non-stick pan (or, just estimate).  Add the chopped onion, shallots and ginger, and fry until everything is softened.  Finely dice the tomatoes, and wonder how this was all meant to be done while things were heating.  Employ your brother to stir the contents of the pan while you chop.  He sees the 'few good lugs of oil' and thinks it must be a Jamie Oliver recipe.  Add the tomatoes and spices, and wish you had chillies growing already.  Add some chilli flakes instead.  Have brother keep stirring.

Step 5.  Add a splash of water and cook on high heat until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Add the chicken and saute until it's cooked.  Add 400 mL water and simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes.  Well, that's the intention.  Put on an episode of NCIS to watch while waiting, and stir the curry occasionally. 

Step 6.  When it's all curry-like, about 20 minutes into the cooking time, you will be so hungry (and tempted - it smells delicious) that enough is enough, and you serve.  Add a bit of chopped parsley from the garden (in the absence of coriander) to the top.  Even though it's meant to serve 4, both of you are so hungry you serve the whole curry.  And it's still not enough.  Some dried apricots and chocolate help fill you up while watching the new episode of NCIS that is finally shown.  Contemplate possible additions to the curry for next time - surprisingly, cabbage springs to mind.  Or the lentil dahl used in the inspiring blog post.

Step 7.  Cleaning up, you find the cornflour that was meant to be added to thicken things up... oops...  Next time, if needed.  Start thinking about the next couple of weeks, and when you might give this another go.  Put chicken on the shopping list, and go to bed.

Today's photo:

The seedlings have sprouted.  I noticed 2 lettuce seedlings yesterday, but this morning there was a very small sprinkling of green in the spinach area.  So exciting!!!  I feel I have my gardening mojo back.

Ordering Plants Online

Monday morning, and I wanted to buy a small tree.  After recent gardening endeavours, I've been left with a much nicer and neater courtyard.  Much more sunlight is encouraging me to plant edibles.  No privacy, though, is rather disconcerting.  I can see right into my neighbour's rooms.  Obviously, they can see right into my living room, too.  Hence the desire for a small tree.

Instead of wandering into local nurseries and finding out what they have (or not), I went online to find nearby nurseries, intending to phone them and find out their small tree stocks.  I found, however, online nurseries that deliver.  Perfect!

I spent quite some time checking out different providers, and different plants.  There were quite a few from interstate - not so keen on that, despite their assurance of quality.  When I found nursery direct online (find them here), I was much happier.  They service South East Queensland only, and include free delivery.

Eventually, I decided on a Lilly Pilly - fast growing, screen plant, native, full or part shade, suitable for pots - yay!  They require a minimum order amount so they can keep the delivery free, so I kept looking.  One bit that is bare but gets lots of sun is against the fence which has the clothes line, and I picked some kangaroo paws for there (although they won't stay there, I didn't think that through); I also bought a 12-pack of herbs.

The Lilly Pilly

They arrived today.  So exciting!  I had a call earlier in the week to check something, and the driver this morning was lovely too.  And I had forgotten how beautiful kangaroo paws are.  My grandparents had some in their front garden so this made me all nostalgic.

Kangaroo Paws

I'm going with pots for a couple of reasons: I want to keep them when I move; and the soil in the borders is fairly poor.  These photos were taken immediately after they arrived, I've been stocking up on pots and soil over the last few days.  My local gardening supplies place is probably getting suspicious.

Herbs!

The herbs looked so bright and enthusiastic in the morning sun - they reminded me of kindergarten kids.  I'm not going to the extent of naming them though.

Today's photo:

From the garden, of course.  I removed some excess garden stuff, some weeds and some - I don't even know what it was.  It was covering a stump, and (I discovered) a big fat worm and some new aloe growth.  Which looked like some sort of alien growth.

Gardening, Part 3

Yes, I did more gardening today.  It made me feel better.

I planted mixed lettuce seeds (I don't really like lettuce, so I'm hoping the 'I grew this myself' factor improves my appreciation).  I also planted spinach seeds.  After buying the seeds a few weeks ago, I then read they need to have cool sowing conditions.  I thought I'd have to wait until next year.  However, it's not warm enough to plant the rosemary yet, and we're still having winter temperatures (mainly), so I took a gamble.  More seeds and plants to come!

I also staked my tomato plant.  This is the first time I've taken so much care about a tomato plant.  The plants themselves seem to just appear, produce flowers and occasionally green tomatoes...  I thought keeping them up, off the ground, in the sun more, might improve the chances of producing and maintaining growth.  I'd had some thoughts about what to use for a stake - I really didn't want to go to a store to buy one, that seems ridiculous.  After a few trials, I realised there was a perfect supply in the garage.  A previous gardening experience, still waiting to be removed... I'll leave it there, but  I took one of the branches, chopped off the little twigs and chopped it to about a metre (although I'm really bad at estimating distance and length, so it could be a whole lot more...).

I also took a photo of the back of the lettuce and spinach seed packets so I can remember instructions and keep track of how many days til germination and things.  I don't think I've ever been that organised.  And I watered everything with fertilizer.

Today's photo:

From the garden, of course.  I found a tomato today!  First for this actual plant, and on a bit of plant that looks rather dead.  Maybe it is...

Gardening, Part 2

A couple of weeks ago, I got stuck into the garden.  I needed help, and this resulted in a much-reduced hedge.  Although this has had some negative repercussions, I'm dealing with it as best I can.  More developments are planned, but in the meantime I needed some privacy again.  Stat.

More mock oranges were planned, but as they were the source of the disagreeable red berries, I wasn't totally keen.  Plus, my local plants supplier didn't have any.  They did have crotons, though, so I bought a couple of them.  The problem of course was sunlight.  The above photo was taken mid-morning, and sunlight is strong there for about 3 hours (depending on the time of year) and then non-existent.  Fertilizer and perhaps some added hanging plants, at least for now, will I hope keep things a bit more private.  It does feel rather exposed out there right now.

The above photo was taken maybe an hour later than the top one, and you can tell the difference in sunlight.  I also potted a camellia, hoping it will cope better than the last one.  Since planting the parsley recently, I've taken greater care with the garden so I'm hoping my green thumb is returning.

Today's photo:

The gig today was so cold.  Although it was a sunny day, the temperature was not terribly high (low 20s), and we were playing on the shady side of the hotel, right next to the river.  And it was windy.  Before long, I had donned my post-gig warm top and scarf, and I was still cold.  Viola Man even borrowed a jacket from another violinist playing inside!  Thankfully, the mother of the bride was wonderful, told us to stop playing early because we must be so cold, got us drinks and food, and talked music and musicians.  Just before we played our last piece, the river and sunset were stunning - a silvery river and a sky of solid pastels.  By the time we'd finished, the sky colours had faded somewhat, but the effect was still present.  The whole time we were playing, I was wanting to be running - my 15+km runs take me past this point, and it's been a while, not to mention the cold factor!

Gardening

...or, Going Berserk.

...or, Dealing with Plants as if They are My Hair.

...or, Getting a Gym Workout in the Backyard.

...or, Turning Into My Mother (part 347).

For those of you who like me to cut to the chase, the end of this story is this:  I started to trim the hedge.  Realised my limitations.  Called a gardening service for help.

For the rest of you...
Part 1 of the story goes like this.  I like shade.  I like green.  Whenever someone would 'help out' with the garden and end up demolishing it, I'd get a bit upset.  Well, a lot upset, but I would console myself with the knowledge that it will grow back.  I do remember years ago thinking I should trim the top of these hedge plants, but they were too tall, and I never asked anyone for help.  Eventually, of course, they grew way too tall, and I gave up even thinking about it and just enjoyed the shade and the green.

Part 2.  I saw a blog post recently about a friend's kitchen garden.  It is stunning.  Gorgeous photos help, but the amount of produce growing on a balcony in Switzerland is inspiring.  I felt a little ashamed of my meagre selection of basil, mint and occasionally tomatoes (parsley is still going strong too!), especially as I live in subtropical Australia with a decent-sized courtyard.  Shade is a problem, as well as the fact that it is east-facing so only gets morning sun, sometimes only for 3 hours if that. 

Part 3.  I popped into a bookshop while I had 10 minutes to wait last week and checked out their gardening selection.  I didn't buy any (nor any of the cookbooks tempting me), but had a bit of a browse.  Some brought back memories of primary school science experiements - anyone else remember growing sprouts in a plastic cup?  And I thought, if I was nearly anywhere else in the world, what I have to work with is luxury.  Better find a way.  In one of my extended nap/doze sessions later last week, I had a brainwave.  That brainwave will be dealt with later.

Part 4.  On Wednesday, it was a public holiday in Brisbane and we had beautiful spring weather, so I pulled out some weeds.  I also noticed that an animal (or maybe more) has eaten the berries on the bushes and it hasn't been a good mix.  Evidence of this can be found all over the courtyard.  Then I had this urge, which reminded me of how I often feel on the way to the hairdresser (which is usually when I start thinking about what I want done to my hair):  I felt like trimming these hedge plants - but knew I didn't have the right tools. 

Part 5.  Today I went to Kmart and bought a lopper.  I came home, and I lopped.  This was harder work than I anticipated (hence the gym reference above).  I lopped anything I could reach that was about 2cm wide or less.  This turned it from overgrown and bushy to sparse and ugly.  With half a hedge in the middle of the courtyard.  Some of those bits were really heavy! 

Part 6.  I thought about it for a couple of hours - how should I deal with the hedge debris?  Should I leave the remainder looking horrible until bits grow back?  I needed help.  Hello Google.  After looking through a few options (how do you choose, really?!) I went to the company I see around here all the time.  Option for a free quote - yay!  He could swing by within half an hour, and he talked me through what he saw needed to be done.  By the time he arrived I was at the 'just rip them out' stage but he thought that was crazy.  A decent trim to a manageable height, and then dealing with the ornamental vine that didn't originate on this property, and removal of the randoms that have sprung up as well as all the stuff I lopped today.  Knowing what I'm like, I figured if the quote was reasonable (not that I had much idea, but within my immediate means) I would book the job - and it was.  So much cheaper!  He comes back early next week, so I have a courtyard looking like it's been hit by a cyclone for the weekend.  I think I can deal with it though.

Lopping time:  about 45 minutes.
Booking of quote until departure of gardener:  about 1 hour and 45 minutes. 
I'm pretty happy with both these times.

Today's photo:

In the shade of the overgrown hedge, the troublesome berries, still unripe here, looked so tropical and slightly tempting.

Planting Parsley

Parsley is not one of my favourite herbs.  Not as aromatic as some other herbs, and not as tasty as some other herbs, and tends to make me choke if I have bits too big.  I was diligent in buying some for a recipe recently, and I was even more diligent in watering it until I could plant it.  Before I planted it, I noticed the nutritional benefits printed on the side of the pot - I had no idea how wonderful it was!  So I'm making more of an effort to include it in my cooking and salads. 

Now, I used to be a fine gardener.  My plants grew, I weeded - that's pretty much it, right?  But then I stopped being so great about watering, and stuff started dying.  Last year, I bought parsley for something, and eventually I planted it in the bit of earth by the fence underneath the clothes line.  It died.  Earlier this year, I bought parsley for something, and I thought about planting it, but I didn't and it died.  No real surprise...  So I was hoping to get this lot into some earth and, fingers crossed, keep it growing.  Step one complete today. 

The basil has been looking a little straggly, but still producing some lovely leaves.  I thought it could do with a companion.  After various doggy visits, the soil in this pot has started to look a little ... ummm... you know.  Dogged.  But I discovered the bit of plastic was in fact not buried, and an actual plastic bag.  I also removed most of the weeds.  So now I have 2 herbs in the pot, with fingers crossed for keeping them alive.  This pot gets watered daily, and has the best position for catching sun, so the odds are good.

Today's photo:

Not much happened today.  But the lilies have opened recently and are so bright and cheerful I couldn't resist.

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?