BRRRRRRRRR!!!

Holy moly it was COLD this morning!!

My alarm went off at 6am (boooooooo!) and I got up, readied myself for a run along the beach before going to work, having a shower and feeling ready to tackle the day the best I can.

I jumped in my car (it was 3°c), picked up L-whack and drove through ‘peak hour’ even though it was only 6.30am (it is ridiculous how much traffic is on the roads at that time. I once attempted Hoddle Street thinking it would be a decent run as it was so freaking early – never again). We arrived at L-whacks place so he could change into exercise clothes before our walk.

At that point, the plan went pear shaped……. Next thing I knew, we were curled up in bed, having a bit more of a snooze before my alarm went off, and I begrudgingly rolled out of bed and went to work. Boo.

Silver lining?? Vegie Head’s ebook is up and running, and available at the ridiculously cheap price of $7!! (even cheaper if you’re not in Australia – our dollar has dived in value)

I am SO excited that it is finally here, ready for our eyes (and tummies!). I’ve been reading through it, and I cannot wait to start cooking up a storm!

You can get your copy here, and I truly mean it when I say it is a fantastic resource and the recipes are super easy to follow, even for the cooking challenged…

Just a couple of examples of what’s in the e-book

Mexican black bean Posole

Better than Reeses Peanut Butter 'Cheesecake'

Vegan Pho

I for one cannot wait to get cooking.

In other news, my nieces came over and Saturday afternoon and as they were coming inside, Z-monster started shrieking with excitement. Once she finally calmed down, she showed us what got her so excited.

“There might be fairies Nana – the fairies!!”

It is so wonderful to see such joy. Brings the biggest smile to your heart. 

Although the toadstool itself gives me the creeps. No idea why, but it just did!! (Perhaps it has something to do with my irrational fear of uncooked pumpkin - that's a story for another day)...

I also had another visitor yesterday. I went to the local organic fruit shop and bought some rainbow chard to make some soup. I haven’t taken a photo of it yet, but as I was soaking the chard to get rid of the dirt, a little tiny visitor came out of the bunch and paid a visit!!

Little snail (Rex) is now safely roaming the garden

I also made some lemon blueberry muffins yesterday. I used this recipe as a base, however added some fresh lemon juice to make it more lemony. I’m pretty pleased with the outcome.

LEMON & BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I used 1 ½ cups SR wholemeal, ½ cup white SR flour)

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 lemons (use zest of both, and juice of just 1)

1 cup sugar (I used ¾ brown sugar, ¼ castor sugar)

1 cup milk (you can use non-dairy milk, I used soy)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 ½ cups fresh OR frozen blueberries (I used frozen)

Method:

·         Preheat the oven to 180°c (375F). Place patty pans in muffin tray.

·         In a medium bowl, combine together flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.

·         In a large bowl, combine the sugar, milk, oil, juice, and vinegar. Mix well.

·         Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stir until just combined. Don’t over stir.

·         Gently fold in the berries.

·         Fill the muffin tins about 2/3rds full.

·         Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 24 minutes.

·         Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. After that remove the muffins from the tins and cool on a wire rack.

nom nom nom