5am Sunday Gardening

I was out in the garden at 5am this morning and spent a good two hours just trying to tame what had become a wilderness in only a short amount of time.   It's very very humid here and we are getting sunny days and some rain at nights which means everything is growing.  Unfortunately it's also bringing in all the pests and I've given up on growing Kale and Mustard Greens for now (among other things). 

I really enjoyed the garden last Winter, we were virtually pest free and keeping it tidy was a lot more enjoyable in our beautiful Brisbane Winter. 

Anyway no complaints we are still getting plenty to eat out of the garden and providing I'm out there at 5am all is good.
I can see I'm going to be making some Pesto in the next few weeks with all the basil I have.

I had a great little helper this morning. Except for the time she dug up a hole heap of dirt looking for a lizard.

Paleo Bread (Gluten Free and Dairy Free)

Due to some Thyroid issues my diet is now supposed to be Gluten Free and Dairy Free.  I have good days and bad days with this but finding a good bread recipe will make it easier.

Today I used this recipe from the Thermomix Community but it was adapted from a non-Thermomix recipe and they provide the link if you don't have a Thermomix. It was super easy and tastes really good. The recipe has honey in but I don't like sweet bread so inside of 35 grams I just used 15 grams.  I haven't tried toasting it yet but it's not crumbly so should be fine.

No Such Thing as a Standard Egg??

When it comes to our chooks it seems like there is no such thing as a standard size egg.

Our baby chicks are laying little eggs and our big chooks have the whole size range covered.

That big one is 127grams!!!  Some poor chook must be a little sore tonight.  The one on the left (as you look at the pic) is a standard 60gram egg.

It's lucky we aren't a professional egg farm, our sorters would be having all kinds of problems.

Can't wait to see how many yokes are in that big one.  We often get 2 but I'm sure this will be more.  Stay tuned.

Rosemary Focaccia

The finished product. - simple ingredients, water, yeast, flour, salt and oil

 It helps when you have a Thermomix to need the dough

Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with Rosemary before putting in the oven

Yoghurt Cheese

Some people call this Quark and some call it Labna - I call it yoghurt cheese.  Super simple to make and a great replacement for cheese and dips.  These photos show you how to make it rather than how to eat it.  There are many ways to enjoy yoghurt cheese.   Add herbs or chilli or honey just depends on whether you want a sweet or savoury flavour.  Sometimes I don't add anything and just spread some on a rice cake for a really quick snack. 

 
I use a plastic strainer that fits nicely into a plastic jug.








I place a piece of muslin inside the strainer and then pour in a whole container of my favourite five:am plain yoghurt.




It then needs something on the top to weigh it down.  This pushed all of the liquid out. The liquid is full of pro-biotic so good to put into food or a drink.

This one I left in the fridge for a few days but usually 24 hours is enough.

The strainer I use gives it a great pattern but I don't have a dish big enough to keep it in like this so I've squashed it into the glass container below.

Bliss Balls

I've been making a version of this for about the last 20 years.   For many many years it was a staple treat for the kids and a lot healthier for them than I ever led them to believe.
 
I don't follow a recipe so they are a bit different every time.

This is today's recipe.  I didn't actually measure anything so I'm going have a stab at the quantity.  Basically use just whizz it up till it all starts to stick together.  If it's too dry to stick together, just add more dates.

15 Medjool Dates (seed removed)
1 Cup Almonds
1/4 Cup Chia Seeds
1/2 Cup Shredded Coconut
1 teaspoon of vanilla paste
2 tablespoons Cacao Powder

I used the turbo button on the Thermomix until it's combined and sticking together. Then form into balls and rolled in Sesame Seeds.

I like to take a couple of these to work to have mid afternoon rather than visiting the chocolate box or the vending machine.  Two is plenty to cure a sweet craving.   

This is what I take if I haven't made bliss balls.  Ha Ha the lazy woman's bliss ball.   Still bliss to eat though!

Magnolia - A Hint of Spring

I've been in bed for a couple of days with a winter bug and outside my window I've been watching the Magnolia tree start to bloom. They are beautiful flowers and I love how they fill up the tree without a leaf in sight.  I don't know much about trees but apparently Magnolia's are the early bloomers and I'll take that as a sign that spring is nearly here.