Touch Base

This is short and sweet, just to touch base.

Having a fantastic time.  Good food.  Good friends.  Good conversation and good laughs.

Like-minded people with photography AND cooking/nutrition, so what more could I ask for???

I need to be up early for a possible sunrise, but definitely an early morning shoot, so I'm off to get some sleep.

Maybe some photos tomorrow, time permitting.

Nite all.

Busy Busy Busy

Spent most of the day in the laundry and the kitchen today.

Made a batch of Adoring Husband's muesli because he used the last of the last batch this morning and I'm going away tomorrow morning.

I made chocolate brownies and some chocolate truffles, which AH loves and they are healthier than other junk food that he loves.

I also made a delicious meatloaf stack.

Preheat the oven at 180C.

Half a kg of minced beef, mixed with half an onion chopped finely, 3 kale leaves finely shredded, one finely chopped chilli, 3 garlic cloves minced, one egg and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix it all together and divide into two equal parts.

Boil approximately 8 small potatoes in their jackets until tender.  Lightly crush them in a bowl with about 80gms of butter and sprinkle salt and pepper over the top.  Mix until the butter is melted.

Lay half of the mince mixture evenly over the bottom of a loaf tin.  Slice enough tomato thickly to cover the mince layer and then sprinkle salt and black pepper over the top.  Cover that with thick slices of mushrooms.  Over the top of that, lay slices of bacon.

The next layer is the rest of the mince mixture, then slice peeled eggplant to cover that layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  On top of that goes the potato mix.  Grate some parmesan cheese over the top and place in the oven at 180C for 25 minutes, then increase the temp to 220C and continue to cook for a further 15 minutes.

Delicious!!

Anyway, I am off to continue packing for my trip to the Sunny Coast tomorrow morning.

Catch up tomorrow.

Nite all.

Excuse for a Date

We had to put the car in for a service today, so we used it as a good excuse to go on a movie date.

The car dealership provide a taxi service to drop you off anywhere in town, while your car is being serviced, so we got a lift to the cinema.

We watched "Delivery Man" starring Vince Vaughn.

I've never been a big fan of Vince Vaughn, but I really liked him in this movie.  It was a 'feel good' movie with a few giggles and a couple of moving moments.

We had to kill some time before the movie started, so we went browsing in JB Hifi and came out with a handful of dvds.

The latest Dr Who movie, the last series of 'Big Bang Theory' and the movie 'The Lone Ranger' with Johnny Depp.

We watched the movie and with perfect timing, the car dealership sent us a text 10 minutes before the end, to tell us that the car was ready and to contact them with details of where they could pick us up!

We've had some good soaking rain today.  I can hear the garden smiling.

Here is a photo from some time ago.

I'm still editing wedding photos .. I have most of tomorrow to finish them off.  Fingers crossed I can focus long enough to do it!

Nite all.

Making a wish.

I still have 100 photos to edit.

I need more time.

I could have edited some more photos in the time it took me to make this cartoon of myself!

Procrastination is my middle name.

Nite all.

REALLY Scary Stuff!

Remember how yesterday's post title was 'Scary Stuff'?

You ain't seen nothin' yet!!

At the risk of sounding like a bragger ... I won our flickr group challenge for November (2nd month in a row!!  Woot!!  Woot!!) ... the prize is 'a slight boost to your self esteem', which I can always do with, but also you get to choose the theme for the other challenge.

We have two challenges each month.  Our esteemed leader chooses the theme for the main challenge, and then whoever wins that challenge gets to choose a theme for the second challenge.

Last month, I chose a difficult theme, 'One of the seven deadly sins' (pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth) and I was surprised by the number of people who made an effort to submit an entry!

This month I thought something a bit easier, with a Christmas theme would work.

"Self Portrait with a Christmas Theme"

This is my entry ...

Told you it was scary!

So this was my way of procrastinating.

I still haven't finished the wedding pics!!  UGH!!

For the main challenge this month, our esteemed leader has asked us to choose our favourite/best photo taken this year.

This is mine ...

I chose this one because I will ALWAYS remember taking it.

It was just 2 months after the tornado hit our town.  Our house was still in a state of disrepair and I was feeling pretty miserable, sitting in the Lions Park and looking at the bare trees and the devastation still evident in the neighbouring caravan park.

I saw this bird flying toward me from across the river and fully expected that he would veer right and fly toward the mouth of the river - a favourite spot for raptors at low tide - but he just kept flying toward me.

I reluctantly pulled the camera from the bag and took a couple of photos to make sure that my settings were right and then sat there watching and waiting.

He flew straight at me!  As he got to me, he turned and circled and then slowly glided with wings outstretched to within just a few metres.  My heart was pounding so hard and I began talking to him and telling him how beautiful he was and repeating OMG OMG OMG.

I had always wanted to capture, with my camera, a White Bellied Sea Eagle, and here he was, right in front of me - so close that he almost didn't fit 'in frame'.

I couldn't get home fast enough to check the shots on the computer monitor and was so pleased with the results.

This White Bellied Sea Eagle lifted my spirits and chased my blues away that day.

Such a spectacular bird.

Nite all.

Scary Stuff

There are males all over Australia who have in the past scoffed at me for suggesting that Roundup was a dangerous and toxic chemical.

The standard response "Roundup neutralises as soon as it hits the soil!"

PFFT!!

Monsanto and all the big chemical companies have been sucking us into their web of lies for years and we, along with our loved ones, are suffering the consequences of those lies now.

There are elderly men all over the world, who are taking medications for all sorts of diseases like Parkinsons, Diabetes, Dementia, bowel problems and cancers (including the prevalent prostate cancer), who have happily been using Roundup in the garden, without protection, for many many years, believing that it was totally safe to do so.

Well, I'm here to tell you that there is more and more evidence to show that Roundup is not safe and they are now comparing it to Agent Orange and DDT.

Follow this link for more information, including the results of a recent study.

Why Monsanto's Roundup is the most toxic chemical in the environment

This is of special interest to me because my granddaughter has recently been diagnosed on the Autism spectrum and my husband has Parkinson's Disease.

Here are some more links to follow - especially to those women who I know read this blog and who might be concerned about the use of this chemical in their own gardens.

Heavy use of Roundup herbicide linked to health dangers - US Study

Lethality of Roundup weed killer extends beyond plants to humans.

Weed Killer kills human cells

Dutch city of Rotterdam bans Roundup

Roundup Herbicide causes smorgasboard of fatal diseases

There are so many more links that I could add here, but I'm sure that if you are as concerned as I am, you will find plenty of information on the web.

... and now for less serious matters

A couple of photos from the wedding .. yes I am still working my way through them and hope to have them finished by the weekend.

I think that I've recovered from last weekend's celebrations and my body should be back to normal, ready for this coming weekend's celebrations!  I will definitely NOT be over indulging!

Time for bed - hopefully for a sound night's sleep.

Nite all.

Microwave-free Household

We don't own a microwave oven.

I can't even remember when our house became microwave-free.

I'm pretty sure it's been around 4 years.

If my memory serves me well, the microwave oven that we brought with us from Sydney, died some time after we arrived here and when Adoring Husband began to search for a replacement, I announced my dislike of them and we decided that since the only reason we used them, was to reheat leftover food, it was an unnecessary expense that we could do without.

There are many reasons why I dislike microwave ovens.  If you're interested in any of my reasons, here are some links that you might like to check out ...

11 Surprising Facts and Myths About Microwave Ovens

Are Microwave Ovens Safe?

The Proven Dangers of Microwaves

Studies Show Microwaves Drastically Reduce Nutrients in Food

There are many things in this life, the safety of which, is questionable.  I have never felt comfortable using a microwave oven.  I have never liked food cooked in or reheated in a microwave .  I figure I should always listen to my inner voice or my instincts.

I try to avoid eating in restaurants where I know food is reheated or cooked in a microwave (yes I know that the majority of restaurants use microwave ovens in their kitchens).

I know that our local pub has 6 microwave ovens in their kitchen and that most of their food is pre-prepared and then reheated in a microwave.  I ate there, for the first time in over a year, just last week.  I didn't enjoy it.

I use our conventional oven ALL THE TIME.

I'm a lazy cook and don't like having to stand in the kitchen watching over what I'm cooking.

I'm happiest when I can prepare the food, put it in the oven, and walk away.

All of our reheating happens on the stove top or in the oven.

I'm sure Adoring Husband would love to have a microwave oven again.  He is also a lazy cook and would prefer to eat leftovers cold out of the fridge, than spend the time reheating on the stove top or in the oven.

Our out-of-town visitors are always shocked to discover no microwave oven and are then stumped as to how they are going to cook whatever food they've brought/bought.

I know that while the decision is mine to make, I will never have a microwave oven in my house.

******

Something that I found today, that I am definitely going to try this week, is home made Vitamin C!

Apparently, the Vitamin C manufacturers are now making these supplements from genetically engineered corn.  I've read enough to know that I will always attempt to avoid genetically engineered food.

So I found this recipe to make your own Vitamin C, that is even better for you than the supplements that you buy (I'm not a fan of synthetic supplements either - but I'll save that story for another day).

It's important that you only use 'organic' fruit for this recipe, because there are too many chemicals/pesticides/herbicides/insecticides etc sprayed on non organic produce, and the skin is where all of this yukkiness is absorbed.

What homemade vitamin C DOES have, that bought supplements DON'T have, is live enzymes that allow the vitamin C to be 100% assimilated into your body. It has its own natural source of rutin, hesperidin, and bioflavonoids.

It’s easy to get, easy to make, and even tastes good, too. It’s just orange & lemon peels.

Any organic orange or lemon peels left over from the fruit you buy will do the trick.

Save all of your peels after you eat the fruit and cut them into thin strips.

Place them on a plate on your dining room table and let them dry at room temperature for a couple of days until dry and crisp OR you can also dehydrate the peels with a food dehydrator and then store them for about a year in a dry container.

For consumption, one idea is to break up peels into smaller pieces and mix them with your favourite tea. This makes the tea taste great, but the downside to this approach is that heat destroys the enzymes.

A better option is to place the peel strips into your coffee grinder and grind them into a powder (which won’t hurt the enzymes) and use to mix with your early morning smoothie. One rounded teaspoon will supply you with more organic vitamin C complex, rutin, hesperidin, and bioflavonoids than your body needs for the day, regardless of your size.

Apparently, this homemade citrus peel powder mixed in your blender with some fresh organic apple juice tastes good too.

Sounds bloody good to me!

Nite all.