I love this little mongrel more than I can explain. Some of you will recall when I found her, a year or so ago  well, to say she is settled in would be an understatement. Loved by everyone who meets her, Roxy has managed to totally adapt to being a cherished member of the family as opposed to who knows what horrors she knew prior to my snatching her off the road that day

This (below) is what she looked like one day 1 of having her in my world: (note the massively dilated pupils? She was so scared)

.

This was a few weeks later, I love how she now seeks fun and happiness. Possibly for the first time ever in her short life..

A reminder (it has not grown over, so it’s a forever reminder) of her horrible existance before I took her in:

She does so love her bed, and I love that she can totally relax and know she’ s safe here!

Scoffing mascarpone .. cos she can

Hanging with new friends. She is so sweet, everyone just adores here.. except her previous asshole owners of course grrr

And one of my fave pics: How is this for relaxed happy pooch?

Tis fair to say that Roxy has possibly been put on this planet to teach me a few lessons, I’ve never had a damaged dog before. And it is quite different to dealing with a “normal” loved pet. But gosh it’s rewarding!

And a particularly sweet pic  - Roxy and Hootie waiting to go outside.  Hootie was killed a few months later by someone’s dog and for me, whilst the worst thing I’ve witnessed in a long time, it’s made me appreciate what a sweet nature Roxy has.. To still be kind and sweet after the abuse of her early days.. Wow!

And how she loved Hootie ..as did we all

As I write this, Roxy is asleep in front of the fire, cuddled up to Remy the dobermann.

And life is good.
For us all

Some of you may recall I once blogged about attending some cooking classes in Wellington. These were held by a fabulously talented lady called Mindi.. So tis fair to say when I saw the brand name“curious cook”  advertising some well-priced cheese making classes, I leapt at the chance to go there as I knew it was something she was involved in!

And so it was that I found myself up to my wrists in curds (and whey – but no spiders, phew!) over the weekend ..

The venue was a place I’ve been to before, Asiana Cooking school. I don’t know that the classroom set up was ideal for a demonstration (I was doing two things – a demo and then a hands on class) but the tutor tried her best in a sub-optimal setting for such a thing.

If I was to be super critical, I’d say she tried to give us too much and it backfired on her. One pot of milk didn’t do as it was told (hate when that happens!) and it got a little confusing to be taught at high speed about ricotta and yoghurt when the demo was advertised as being about mascarpone and mozarella. Like I said, I think she was trying to be generous but looking around the room, I don’t think I was the only one who got a little confused.

The positive side of it was we all had a hand in the whey and were given a shot and making a mozzarella ball .. that was cool. And we got to taste assorted goodies, such as her home made ricotta (“here’s one I prepared earlier” sort of thing) and some mascarpone, also made the day before. Interestingly – and no criticism of the class / tutor: I didn’t like the mascarpone and wouldn’t use that recipe. So I was a little annoyed at that cos man oh man masc is expensive so I was excited to be able to make my own. That said, I am pretty sure I can adapt the recipe now I’ve seen it made – and see if I can’t get it to taste how I prefer it.

And I’m reasonably confident if I called Alexis, I would be given any tips and hints to help me with this. Who is Alexis? Alexis took over from Mindi and is now “the” curious cook

The afternoon session saw us donning styley bandanas and gloves, armed with alcohol based sanitiser as we walked into the classroom.

Hygiene is critical, that was what I’d always heard and it seems to be the case. Later that day as I plunged my hand into the huge container of curds to break them up and form my haloumi I understood why it would be so important ..

Long story short, we made haloumi and ricotta. And would I make it again? Yes. So that is exciting cos I LOVE haloumi. Ricotta, I’d make again, not only is it super easy, it’s so bloody expensive in the shops so making my own is a no brainer. I even bought a cute little ricotta basket, during the class!

For all I don’t imagine cheese making will become my “go to” fun activity simply because it’s quite a science and between thermometers, chemicals and the whole “it could still go wrong” thing – it won’t be something I’ll find relaxing, it is something I’d do when I am in the mood and if I wanted to save money then it’s definitely something I’d do often!

So, to anyone wanting to go on a cheese making class, I’d say go for it. It could even be a fun activity for a group of friends and something a bit different to the usual tupperware party! 

The tutors name and details are here. 

Say Cheese

 

 

 

One of my fave biscuits / cookies – I don’t make these often and yet they really are quite simple. Mind you, the only thing binding all the ingredients is butter, so perhaps it’s just as well they’re a treat not a regular thing

To anyone who has never had one of these? Imagine a chocolate shortbread, with added crunch (thanks to the kornies / cornflakes) topped with a dreamy choc icing – I know, start cooking!

As always, good quality ingredients matter. Best cocoa you can afford, good quality butter and high grade flour do make a difference..

200g soft butter
1/2c white sugar
1&1/4c white flour
1/4c cocoa pdr
2c cornflakes

Beat the butter and sugar until it’s pale in colour and goes kinda fluffy.  Sift in the flour and cocoa and mix well. Add in the cornflakes.

Now comes the fun part – the mixture is very dry and a bit scary looking right now. Get your hands into the mixture and combine it all well. This is important – do not attempt to do this with a spoon, your hands are the best tool for this job.

Spoon mounds (not balls .. you want them to kinda be a little fatter on the base than on the top) of the mixture onto a greased tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 175degs C for around 15 mins.

When cold, ice with a thick chocolate frosting then top each biscuit with a half walnut to be traditional or – if you’re like me and have found a new fave nut (and I don’t mean my supplier heheh) I prefer to use pecans.

Makes around 25 cookies. The mixture doubles fine. Oh and you can make this mixture ahead of time – simply place on trays as though you’re about to bake them ie shaped. Free flow freeze then bag up (once frozen) for quickie cookies any time you want them..

(Thaw before cooking)

Enjoy!

I love serving best quality golden brown snarlers perched high atop a mountain of mashed veges all slathered in a rich brown onion gravy. Makes Winter almost worthwhile!

It’s also really simple and even the most finicketty of eaters goes “oh that was yum” for all they may raise one eye brow at it to start with. I’ve got many converts to this dish so try it and let me know what you think..

To serve 4 hearty meals you will need:

12 sausages. Any “flavour”, tomorrow I am making this with free range pork sausages. I’ve used beef many times too.

A large pot of your fave gravy – mine is brown onion as I find the slow cooking (til they’re almost burnt looking) of the onions just adds so much flavour to the meal. I’d allow 1/3c for each plate of food.

And lucky last: a large pot of your fave mixed mashed up vegetables.

THIS is where it gets down to personal choice but I would recommend 2 parts potatoes, 1 part kumara / pumpkin (either or both), 1 part carrot, 1 part greens (Silverbeet, finely sliced is so cheap and delish) and 1 leek or onion.

Parsnip overpowers the dish, so use it sparingly if you want it. Cauli, Cabbage and Brocolli make the whole thing a bit “smelly” so I don’t tend to go there

If using an onion, just chop it up and chuck it in with the veges then boil all together til tender.  (I saute the leek in a little butter then add it to the mash last)  Drain well and mash with lots of salt, pepper and butter.

Spoon into a mound on warmed plates. Top with the fried sausages and finish with gravy ..

It’s filling, so if you have a small appetite, use less or smaller sized sausages. Oh and for the vegetarians, see below – these are my fave snag substitute for this meal!

I like to serve this with fresh buttered white bread to mop up the gravy.
All class here

Enjoy!

Prepping dinner the other day I found myself pondering whether life is too short to julienne carrots .. You see, when CJ was a little girl she was introduced to this style of carrot-consumption and ever since, has refused to eat them any other way!

Now before you all mutter about spoilt brats, to be fair: it’s the only way I like them too – which is why she was introduced to them in the first place

This line of thought did make me start to ponder (one has the luxury of time when engaging in OCD julienning of carrots for 7!) what else I did that took time but was not worthwhile. Doesn’t hurt to stop and take stock now and then!

Recently, I’ve said to more than one person that I do not believe they will be one day on their death beds proclaiming that they wish they’d done more dusting. And I maintain that!

Other more talented orators have said how much they regret some of their life choices as their lives neared an end. Generally, these are mothers who tried to be perfect housewives, Mums and wives. Recipe for stress if ever there were one?

Regret is a terrible thing to feel. Of course, we all have some, for all we can try and turn them into experiences and lessons etc, regret is linked to living, it seems.

I do know there are a few things I will not regret when I die:

Running out of time to vaccuum this evening.. meh – running out of time to vaccuum on any evening! Sure I love it when the floor is spotlessly clean. But I also love it when my dogs run in from outside and play with their toys. I am happy to concede in this case I cannot have it all. The floor cleaning can wait ..

Having manky bits of chewed up god-knows-what (courtesy of the dogs, birds, pigs, rats and cats) on my lounge floor when I had unexpected visitors - If you wanted perfection, you should have given me 3 weeks notice by golly!

Finding unexplained decaying ‘objects’ in the depths of my fridge. I have a large fridge because I love to cook and feed people, so the fridge is always groaning with food. If occasionally a slice of pie or who-knows-what happens to loiter for a few months til I move a chutney and there it is in all its gory – so what!

Forgetting to go to the gym every day, instead going to the cafe next door and having a yummy coffee!

Laughing ‘a little too often’* at the office. I know that my approach to work vexes some people but you know what? I take my job seriously, not myself. Don’t think just because I enjoy a laugh, have a water pistol on my desk and can always be relied upon to go for a coffee when someone needs a vent, that I am not dead serious about what I’m tasked with doing.

I will most certainly not regret being unable to multi task well. This has to be the stupidest thing to be proud of. Well done you, you’ve just doubled your work load .. duh!

Another thing I doubt I will find myself wishing I’d done more of is cleaning my car. It’s a dog kennel / shopping basket on wheels. I drive hundreds of miles in any given week, to and from work. And on my way to work I buy coffees and sometimes Mac-attacks and yes: the wrappers are often to be found lurking in the backseat. Car still goes though!

Many many years ago now I read “don’t sweat the small stuff” and it completely changed my life. I realised that a lot of the stuff I stressed over, thought was important and allowed to rule (and ruin, at times!) my life really did not matter..

And that is when I started to live my life the way I wanted, with the goal of being happy very high on my list of ‘important stuff’ to experience / be. If you haven’t read it, I really recommend it ..

Meantime, I better go back to doing the vacuuming .. or maybe I will go walk the dogs

*by other people’s definition, not mine!

An all time fave ‘fall back’ pudding recipe for me is Apple Crumble. Not many seem to dislike it, it’s quick and easy to make. And you can tart it up with all sorts of simple additions be it rhubarb, feijoas, pears, blackberries, spices, oats – you’re limited only by your imagination! In this case I’ve gone with Feijoa since they’re in season..

And you can make it ahead of time and reheat to impress your guests with the minimum stress!

For a dessert to feed 4 people, all you need is:

4c granny smith (or any cooking) apples. (Measured raw) Ideally you want tree ripened so they’re sweet. If not ripe or sweet apples, add in 1T sugar* for each apple after you’ve cooked them.

Peel the grannies, cut into chunks and cook ’til tender in 2T apple juice (or water if you don’t have juice). You do not want pulp, you want a mix of soft apple and chunky bits at this point. Should take all of 5 mins max. on high.

Add 1t cinnamon (and sugar if ness, as per above*) and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together:

1/2 c white plain flour
1/2c white sugar
1/2c soft butter – ideally unsalted

DO NOT SKIMP ON THE BUTTER - it’s not as nice, trust me. You do the math: you get all of 2T of butter per person and this IS a pudding after all! Hardly extravagant

Use a knife and cut the butter thru’ the flour and sugar til it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Personally, I like to leave a few large bits of crumble and some smaller bits – for a nice “textural experience”. If you love cinnamon, you could add 1/2t to the flour mix before adding the butter.

Put the apple mix into an oven proof dish. This is when you’d also add your feijoas (lightly stewed –  if unsure how to do this bit message me k)

Scatter the topping over the fruit mix and bake in a med (180 deg) oven ’til golden and bubbling.

This will go from golden to burnt in a heart beat so don’t get distracted.

Serve with runny custard and cream or vanilla ice cream..

Enjoy!

I called this sorbet to help with searches but it’s not a sorbet in the usual sense of the word. Some years ago, a friend made me try what I was convinced would be a ghastly dessert of blended frozen bananas. It was delicious (damnit, so wanted to be hating on the bananas!) Well the other day I had a brain wave and decided to try it with other fruits..

Below is the result:

I chopped up then froze 1 mango, 1 banana and a half a can of crushed pineapple – blitzed it up adding milk to the desired texture and served it topped with passionfruit from my garden. This made a delightfully summery treat. Silky smooth and just delicious!

Only thing we did notice is that it’s probably best eaten immediately, freezing it again makes it extremely hard lol Next to try is berries! Unsure if strawbs will be too “pippy’?

Enjoy!

Goat cheese is a much-maligned cheese. People have obviously had nasty ones but let me assure you – the good ones are gorgeous! Soft, melt in the mouth, tangy but not sour / tart – it is quite delicious.

Combined with the right things it is better than delicious, as I discovered with these nommy tarts I made yesterday.

All you need is sufficient flaky pastry to line greased tart tins (of whatever size, in my case individual serves) chuck in a few crumbled (ie small) chunks of the cheese.

Add shredded basil leaves.

Diced tomatoes, (seeds removed) and lots of black pepper, no salt needed.

Combine free range eggs (basic ratio: 1 egg, 1T cream to one single serve tart shell) with cream and seasonings.

Pour into pastry cases.

Bake til set. Which is some 30 mins for single serves, at 200 degs C. If unsure, bake til they wobble slightly but are not hard. They will firm up as they cool.

These are good hot or cold and I would serve with a nice green salad on top – Nom!

Most of you will know that CJ was not a planned baby .. how well I recall the day I was told ‘officially’ (I already knew – but the Doc insisted on tests) that I was “with child”. This lovely med-lab person says to me (all excited) “ooooh well done you’re pregnant!” beaming from ear to ear ..

I promptly burst into tears and that poor man is probably still in therapy wondering what he did wrong

The shock of being told I was pregnant was something I well recall, even all these years later. Deep down I knew I’d be a single Mother at some stage, for all it was some years before I ended my marriage. That was a pretty daunting idea. Raising a child alone.

As well, I’d been told not to have babies, (for many a year – by doctors) since I’d been on death’s door during the my teens and they felt I’d have a sickly child.

That said, knowing I was growing a whole new human, I set to spending the next 9-months of my life being the best incubator that I could.

I drank herb teas (gag) and didn’t drink a drop of alcohol or coffee (I KNOW!) I did positive affirmations (Make this baby “healthy, wealthy, beautiful and wise” .. I was young, I MAY have changed them were I tad more wise myself but it’s where I was then!) daily.

I took all the right supplements and assorted potions to assist in the creation of something healthy, wise, beautiful and .. CJ.

All through the pregnancy I was assured it was a boy. The scan (technology was a little less accurate 24yrs ago, it would seem!) even said “Boy“. And so I carried this boy baby to full term, for all I never once called “it” a boy, instead calling it a baby.

A healthy, wealthy and beautifully wise baby  

And 24yrs on, I can still recall the moment the doctor handed “him” to me .. I lay there, exhausted .. looking at this baby with a slightly confused “there’s something missing” thing going on. Then it dawned on me.

I’d had me a baby girl!

And may we all say YAY for that baby girl .. for there is no doubt that CJ has proved to be something beyond special in my world. I won’t go into more detail for now, suffice to say, it’s the eve of her arrival into my world, as I type this.

One day I will blog about how horrid, scary and painful and plain weird her birth was but for now I hope you enjoy these two pics.

One of my Mother holding CJ SO protectively (nothing ever changed there lol) in the hospital..

And me a week or so later holding CJ as she (apparently had gas but shhh humour me) smiled JUST as Dad happened to be hovering with his camera..

Happy 24th birthday CJ

Thank you for choosing  me of all people, to be your Mother. It’s an honour. And I love you more than I can ever ever express. You are, quite simply: the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.

And below, is the link to a song that always makes me think of CJ whenever I hear it.
Enjoy!

xo Mum

I was going through some old photos and got to thinking about how Mum would have been feeling right now – on her wedding day. A mixture of excitement, nerves and who knows what else! 

Today would be their 48th wedding anniversary.  And for all I struggle with recent events following Mum’s death, I know Mum and Dad were happy and that’s more than a lot of people can say.

In this pic, left to right is Mum’s oldest brother Clem and his wife (I think Ria?) Dad, Mum, Uncle Pete and his wife Val. And the pic is taken in the Napier botanical gardens circa the mid 1960′s.

Miss you, Mum xo

I’d have a perfect home!

If I didn’t have cats, I wouldn’t have dirty paw prints the length of my hallway. On my loo lid. On the shelf in the bathroom, where they sit keeping me company while I shower etc

I’d sleep soundly without having to lift the covers to let one in (Inky, when she gets cold and comes-a-burrowing) or one out (Hootie, when he gets too hot).

I wouldn’t have claw marks on my new leather couches. Odds are my dining table would not have a cat bed on it (so the timid girl cat can escape the dog and rest) Nor would I have fur all over my office chair, where Hootie likes to occasionally nap.

I’d probably not have mats that are regularly in the wash,  after Inky’s decided to drag some meat off the plate, all the way across the kitchen and over onto the mat to eat it (WHY does she do this?!)

If I didn’t have a pigeon, other than knowing that pigeons really do nothing but poop. And lay eggs. And poop, always the poop. I’d also not have to sweep quinoa and chia seeds (yes, she’s indulged, I know) off my bench, out of my shoes, off the floor – every single day cos she has some annoying requirement to flick the seeds from side to side in her bowl and anywhere else she can!

I’d not have to shred paper every morning and scrape pigeon crap off my floor, off the side of my house and occasionally: off myself.

If I didn’t have a dog, I wouldn’t have ginga fur and paw prints all through my nice new car. I wouldn’t have manky bits of bone deposited around my house, behind curtains, under the bed – everywhere. My nights would  be peaceful, as opposed to occasionally being woken as Roxy decides to tell someone off who’s walked nearby in the dead of the night.

I probably wouldn’t have a dog bed in every room (i.e.: my house wouldn’t look like the local SPCA!)

There’s no doubt I wouldn’t have a scar on my right hand from where Percy bit me when he had a cold and was cuddled in my arms but super cranky. Piglet teeth are extremely sharp, who knew?

But if I didn’t have the cats,  I wouldn’t have someone ready for a cuddle any time I wanted one. I wouldn’t have company in the yard when I go outside to pick lemons or herbs. I’d not have at least one black cat sitting on the sill in the kitchen purring contentedly watching me as I cook dinner.

If I didn’t have a dog, I’d not know the deal with pure unconditional love. There really is something quite soothing about a dog cuddled into you when you’re sick and laying on a couch trying to get well as fast as you can.

And if I didn’t have a pigeon.. um .. well .. yeah I’m struggling with that one lmao

I sometimes look around my house at the chaos, debris, paw prints, shredded duvet covers where Hootie drags himself up (cos he’s too old to jump now) and I do think “wouldn’t it be nice to have a perfect home with perfect things that stay clean and tidy for more than 5 mins after they’re done”.

But then a cat walks past and rubs gently against my shins to say hi. The dog sighs contentedly in her basket and the pigeon makes soft crooning noises from her cage in the kitchen and I realise:

I do have the perfect home  :)

When I was a kid I used to make this but we called it poor man’s shortbread. Not sure why as the stuff is probably more expensive to make but oh well.. The recipe I use was given to me by a family friend and over the years I’ve modified it to my own tastes (and ingredients in the pantry!) it is fairly forgiving so you can play about with it a little.

If I had to describe the taste, I’d say it’s like an anzac biscuit (cookie) in slice form. Add diced apricots, dark choc chunks, any fried fruit really and it is a muesli bar on steroids!

It’s really easy so a fun thing to let the kids loose on but watch when it’s almost cooked as it burns in a heartbeat.

3c rolled oats (I use a mix of 50/50 quick cook and wholemeal for a nicer texture)
1.5c dessicated coconut
1c sugar (I use white as I find brown over-sweetens it)
200g butter (I use salted in this recipe)
1T vanilla extract
1 large T golden syrup (optional)

Melt butter and G/syrup. Add vanilla and set aside.

Mix dry ingreds in a large bowl. Pour in the butter mixture, take the phone off the hook* and mix the lot together using your hands.

I say use your hands because you need to really mix the butter into every crumb. Stirring it around just doesn’t work.

Tip the mixture into a greased (I use that canned rice bran oil but anything will do) roasting pan, and press it down firmly using a spatula or fish slice. It won’t rise, so whatever size you put in the tray is what you get, once cooked.

See pic for the optimal size (any thicker and it may burn on the outside and be stodgy in the centre) ..

Bake in a pre-heated 170 deg C oven for 10-12 minutes then turn the oven down to 160 and bake a further 10 mins. 

Remove from the oven and slice while warm, using a very sharp knife. I tend to let it sit for about 10 mins then do this. Don’t wait til it’s cold to slice! Let it cool completely in the tin and you’re good to go!

Oh and be careful – the mixture goes super runny when cooking so testing it is very much for grown ups only!

In the event that something goes wrong and it doesn’t set or is underdone it can be rebaked. Pull the slices apart that are a little stodgy, place in a greased tray and bake for 10 mins at 150 degs.

Or crumble it up and eat over yoghurt and fruit pretending it was meant to be that way

*This step cannot be omitted. I guarantee you: the phone will ring within seconds of you plunging your hands into the mixture!!

Today I found myself thinking about life as I made my coffee. Perhaps in response to the death in our family earlier this week.

But also because I’d been lazy the day before and not cleaned my milk steaming wand thingiemajig and had to do it before I made today’s coffee.

Which got me to thinking about how life really can be likened to a cup of coffee. Way more than it can a box of chocolates!

Now before you all tell me I’ve finally lost it, let me explain..

You cannot make a good coffee without the right equipment. Same goes for being equipped to handle life when you think about it.

Even if you are fortunate enough to have the best beans, an expensive / fantastic machine and other necessary coffee making paraphernalia but you don’t know how to use it – you will still not be able to make a good coffee. Education, understanding and / or learning how to do things (then applying those learnings!) .. life isn’t likely to go well if you don’t get a handle on the important things.

Well done you, so you’ve mastered how to use all the equipment, you’ve found the perfect beans after many trials of the myriad brands out there. But you don’t bother to maintain the coffee machine. This will result in a poor quality coffee, eventually. Oh sure, you may get away with it for some time.. but eventually that lack of care will come back to bite you. And generally it’ll be when you’re in most need of your fix, that’s just the rules!

Just like our bodies, the equipment required to enable us to live. Let it fall into a state of disrepair and see how UN-fun life can become. And oftentimes life will seem to get us while we’re down, making that lack of health even more difficult to deal with.

Every morning when I make my coffee there are a couple of things I do, they’re kinda silly but I do ‘em none-the-less!

1. I gaze contentedly into the mug as I wait for the extraction to take place. In just under 30 seconds I can tell if my coffee is perfect or not. And when it is perfect, that moment is something tragically cool. Yes. I’m an addict

2. When I’ve heated the milk and stretched the proteins JUST so, pouring the silky-smooth bubble-free liquid into the coffee, I always take a second to stare at it as I anticipate how good it will be to sit down and drink it!

My morning coffee isn’t just about having a coffee. It’s a ritual, no two ways about it!

However, if you were to be too fixated on admiring your lovely coffee every day such that you don’t dive into it while it’s in optimal condition (ie perfect for consumption!) then you will find you’ve left it too late and the coffee will not be as good as it was. At the same time, you do want to be sure to savour the coffee and get the most out of it having put all that effort into making your coffee just the way you like it.

Knowing when to act, when to admire your handiwork and when to dive on in and keep going – all handy skills in life.

And sometimes - for no particular reason – I make a bad coffee. I’ve had this coffee machine for 7 or so years now and in that time I’ve made a minimum of one coffee a day. Which works out to around 3000 cups of coffee. Allowing a few extras for visitors .. And I can totally tell at a glance if the coffee is any good.

I can also tell by the smell, it’s over extracted and also – hard to explain but it’s kinda.. watery. The crema is all wrong and at this point I have to man up and throw it out – even tho it seems wasteful to do so.  Even though I may be down to the last few beans. Even though I may be desperately wanting a coffee. Or in a hurry.

I have to choose. Throw it out / dispose of it. Or have a bad coffee experience?

Just like life. Sometimes we have to choose to stop something, because we aren’t going to enjoy it or it’s going wrong. That is one of the hardest things to do, I know!

So now can you see why I think life is MUCH more like a cup of coffee than it is a box of chocolates?

Some may say it’s a blessing, since he had major heart problems. But all I can think of right now is his wife, my aunt: sitting alone in hospital in Auckland.

Scared, lonely, sad. Hating that her husband has been taken away from her .. And will never come back.

I think that’s the thing about death really. Irrespective of your beliefs, regardless if you think they’ve gone to a better place and you’ll catch up one day when you also snuff this mortal coil – for that time you’re alive and they’re not: it bites. 100%.

I think Michael’s death perhaps takes me back to when Mum died .. as I sat there holding her, wrapped in a blanket – funny how we need to do that, she was dead after all. But I insisted on a blanket to “keep her warm” as we sat in the drive way and everyone talked to police and whatnot.

Then of course, was the time spent with Dad worrying and trying to help him .. As he grappled with the loss of a long term spouse.

The whole death thing really gets you to thinking about “what’s the point” and “if I die tomorrow, will it matter” (to someone).

Worse, it makes you worry about loved ones who are busy living their lives to the full, without thinking of such things as death.

Talking to CJ today, she’s leaving for an AMAZING trip to Europe with her lovely boyfriend Tim, on Monday. And she joked about the fact that she has HUGE insurance cover so if she died while away I’d instantly become a millionaire.

Originally, when we set the insurance up, I was the one joking but today, I was the one dying a little thinking “omg I’d do anything to guarantee she won’t die”.

But of course we can’t. And therein lies the rub. Life is so fragile for all we often live it like we’re bullet proof!

That said, I’m fully in support of people living life like they’re bullet proof. At least they’ve done stuff and for all they may die whilst doing said stuff, it sure as heck beats dying day by day whilst sitting safely in an arm chair worrying about the last phone account or your own shadow.

And so this post is dedicated to my aunt, who has tragically missed out on an awful lot in life thanks to what can only be called some poor choices – but who made up for it with speed and enthusiasm, once she woke up and got her life back!

I’m thinking of you today, Rhonda. And I am so so sorry to see you lose the love of your life. FWIW, at least cherish the fact you had him, eventually! That in itself is pretty special and sadly, more than many can say they’ve done.

With love,

Joan

So I was greedy the other day, finding kumara (sweet potato) on special, I bought 2kg. That is a LOT of kumara and I was struggling to get thru it all. What do you do when you have too much stuff in the fridge? Stew it or soup it!

Slicing the peeled kumara (approx 500g / 1lb – so not a lot) thinly, I slow roasted it in rice bran oil, in a cast iron pan with some salt and pepper. Nothing fancy. But I let them cook til melting with a touch of caramelisation going on!

Next I added an onion (in the last 15 mins, so it cooked down into the mix) as well, also near the end, I added a little (English) curry powder. Of course I also seasoned appropriately with more salt and pepper.

If I had to guess, the lot cooked for 45 mins.

Once it was cooked, I added 2c of vege stock and simmered it awhile then poured the lot into a blender. (A stick whizz would do the job but I’d made french onion soup so the blender was already out!)

To this mix, I added some warmed milk (to your preferred consistency, I used about a cup) before putting it back in a pot and allowing it to simmer some more .. maybe 10 mins, tops.

Now this would be delicious on it’s own but I had to faff with it

I kept some thinly sliced kumara aside and deep fried it in rice bran oil, twice .. they were my garnish .. along with a dollop of sour cream and some chopped parsley.

CJ assures me it was delish. Let me know what you think!