Creating

I may not have much talent with the crochet, quilting or knitting like a lot of you gals...but one thing that I do like creating is food. I see something I would like to try and make and then figure out a way of making it.
Because the post children body is no where near what it should look like, I try and cut out the extra sugary baking treats...or try and tweak them to make as great tasting but slightly healthier. Which is why I love the "Healthy Food Guide Magazine and website". Have you ever tried their website? It has a great database of all their recipes with the calories worked out. Best of all it is a NZ website....so you know we have all the ingredients at the local supermarket.  It also has a selection of recipes that are gluten free, low GI, low cost and vegetarian etc.


HFG Chocolate Brownie

Their latest magazine cover had their most favourite recipe of all time...chocolate brownie (recipe). It is made with apple sauce as the base instead of the copious amounts of butter and sugar and eggs that are in the regular recipe. I just happened to have bit of stewed apples that my MIL had prepared for me from her orchard... so bonus!

HFG Chocolate Brownie

While it wasn't as chocolaty as the regular brownie...it was still a nice treat. Unfortunately I didn't have any walnuts, but substituted them with macadamia nuts. The kids were none the wiser and gobbled them up! It was a winner at a dessert night I took them to also. The top had a nice crunch while the centre was super moist.  Will definitely try this one again.

Lemon Slice

I had a bunch of lemons in the fruit bowl and decided to make some lemon slice. I wasnt following a particular recipe...I just had an idea of how I wanted it to look and taste and made it up as I went along.
I went with a shortbread type base...a lemony/condensed milk filling and a sprinkle of coconut over the top.
It didn't quite turn out as gooey as I had hoped...I had used the light version of the condensed milk...and whole eggs..instead of just the yolk. It still tasted great...and again the kids loved it. I'll try this one again...tweaking the the ingredients a little until I get it right.

Lemon and coconut Slice

Cannelloni 

You may remember we bought our selves a pasta maker...and when we have few extra hours(!) up our sleeve for dinner we give it a go. It takes us a while to make our pasta sheets from scratch. 

I had an idea to give cannelloni a try. The filling was made out of spinach, onion, salami, garlic, and ricotta cheese.  Pasta is thinly rolled and is then cut into rectangles, filled and rolled. 

The rolls are placed on top of a tomato pasata (pureed tomato and herb), and then have a bechamel (cheese) sauce over the top. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.  Baked until all golden and cooked.  

Overall it was quite a nice dish...but it lacked seasoning...more salt and more pepper.

 It was a fun dish to make....but next time I'll find a meatier filling with a bit more kick.  

filling

hubby rolling

Place into oven dish with a layer of tomato underneath.
Then a layer of tomato over the top.

delicious cheesy goodness.

My new camera is getting a work out with these lovely food shots. Looking through them makes me want to make them all over again!
Nothing like getting in the kitchen next to a warm oven and making some delicious food.

Family Fun

{SWAG}

We took the kids to their first time ten pin bowling. 

A great time had by all. 

I got the WORST score, which was a little bit embarrassing. 

Even Zak Zak had a great time 

We rounded off the night with Hot dogs and chips...along with funny faces

And just to prove that I was in fact there

Here's me with my eyes shut again!

Sporting a new cut and colour...and extra chin. Chin up Chin up!

like a prisoner in my own home

I feel like a prisoner in my own home.
doors
windows
closed.
Stale air forced through the dehumidifier.
Made fresh with technology instead.

Why?
A feline friend has adopted us
She is not wanted.
Not needed.
Yes she is friendly
But she is not ours.

Okay...so I'm being a little bit melodramatic...but here's the story.

This my blog friends..is a stray cat that has decided that she would rather live around my house rather than her own. For months we wondered who she belonged to. She had a collar but just always hung around. Until finally I saw a young lady chase her on to our property. Apparently she has a family, and was very much loved and fed, but wasn't coming home any more. That because she's always here! I told her.
Initially I liked her. She was super friendly...but I hesitated...who knows who she belongs to and how many flees she has I scolded the kids. We fed her the odd thing, but I insisted she "go home", because she didn't live here.
One day I left the laundry window open to let out the dryer moisture. I came home and found she had eaten the chicken thighs, (boneless and skinless no less!) off the counter.She had eaten half of the packet... $8 worth of chicken you horrid cat! I had to biff out the rest of it. I muttered under my breath...I had thought about what I would do with the chicken...what delicious dinner I would create out of it. Now wasted in the bin.

That cat is now no longer my friend.
She sneaks in every time I have my french doors open. Which used to be every sunny day available.
She sneaks in the laundry windows.
She even sneaks in to my car when the doors are open...clawing at the carpet and upholstery of my new car.
One night at 8pm...Joe lets me know that the cat is sitting on my dressing table. He must be kidding...the doors haven't been open for hours...sure enough...there she is. Sitting there...like she owns the place.
Dead mice and pretty coloured birds...all brought for offering right on the foot path. Offerings I don't care for Miss CAT!

ARRGGHH. Flippin cat!
Go home!

You might be thinking perhaps Im not a cat lover...You may be right. Hubby...he very much wants a cat...has been wanting one for years...I say lets wait until I don't have to toilet train a kitten and a toddler at the same time. All the while just putting off the inevitable of eventually having a cat.
Our own cat...one that we actually have de-fleed, de-wormed and de- whatever else they carry around. One that has been taught not to take food off my counter.
Not this stray...who actually belongs to someone else!

Any ideas about how to get rid of it nicely?

Miriam comes to visit

Look who came to visit our hood this week? The lovely Miriam from  Create Hope Inspire. When she sent an email saying she'll be in town and would love to catch up, I thought absolutely! I would describe Miriam as Sunshine Personified. After being such a wonderful hostess while Kristy and I were down in Christchurch  for the bloggers conference, we jumped at the chance to show her some Northland fun. I rallied a few of Whangarei blog crew together and we met at the "Fat Camel" our very own Isreali cafe/resturant. Babaganoosh!

The hide the "waddle" pose. Kristy and Miriam

Kristy, Miriam an Rachel

painting of camel?!

Simone and I discovered that we both have "flash eye"...you know that problem when you close your eyes with the flash. We had to laugh at this shot of us with the exact same eyes!

{Miriam, Stacey, Simone, Me and Becky}

We had a fun night eating humus, pitas, babaganoosh...and baklava.
Thanks for visiting Miriam! Come again :)

Blog links:

Miriam----> http://createhopeinspire.blogspot.co.nz/

Kristy----->http://www.paisleyjade.com/

Simone---->http://simajblog.blogspot.co.nz/

Stacey----->http://dearfuturemeblog.blogspot.co.nz/

Becky----->http://missbeckyboosview.blogspot.co.nz/

Rachel----->http://curiousrunnergirl.blogspot.co.nz/

How to make Chicken Soup

On these cool winter days, what would be more heart warming than a bowl of chicken soup?
I tend to cook bacon hock soup in the winter and since I had already made one of those this winter it was time for a change. Delicious and healthy...what more could be better?!

Ingredient:
3 litres of water
1kg of whole chicken legs (thigh and leg). Skin removed.
1 packet of chicken soup mix or other soup mix (barley, lentils grains etc)
1 chicken stock cube or pot ( I used "Continental")
1 onion (diced small)
5 cloves of garlic crushed and chopped
2 large carrots (diced small)
5 stalks of celery with some of the leaves chopped thin
1 zucchini (courgette)
herbs (Parsley, thyme)
salt and pepper

In a large stock pot, place water, chicken peices, stock and soup mix up to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the Onion, garlic,salt and pepper and continue to simmer for a further 20 minutes. Next add the celery and carrot. Simmer for a further 20minutes. By now the chicken should be about to fall off the bone. Carefully remove the chicken pieces on to a plate or board and start to remove meat off the bone. Careful to remove all the little sharp pieces of bone. Shred or chop the chicken into small pieces and place back into the pot along with the zucchini and herbs. Bring back up to a gentle simmer for 10-20 minutes until all vegetables are tender. Adjust seasoning according to taste. 

Serve with crusty bread and enjoy.

Place left overs in containers of single serves ready to pull out of the freezer for a yummy lunch on the go.

Notes: 

• Using the thigh/leg cut of meat ensures it remains deliciously moist and adding the vegetables in this kind of order  ensures all of the goodness is not boiled out of it. 
• The cooking liquid can be adjusted to how you like it. Add more water if you prefer a thinner broth. 
• This soup is a great low Carb meal too.

June catch up

Well I had better catch you up on the highlights of June since I missed ya'll.

Zak Zak celebrated his 3rd birthday. Yuss! We are officially out of the terrible twos range. I said this to someone and said they can go on to the troublesome threes?! Well I'm rejecting that notion. I'm hoping for less tantys and more cuteness thanks. 

This birthday was especially cute. He was actually aware of what a birthday was and was really looking forward to it, singing himself happy birthday for days.  He's a bit Mickey Mouse mad so I baked a cake that he would love. It was my second fondant attempt..and it went a lot smoother that the last one. Using a bit of icing sugar to help with the rolling helped a lot. It was a layered chocolate cake with chocolate butter icing. Quite tasty. 

The sequels of excited delight were so cute as he opened his presents from his grandparents and us. A nice little family party.

Mickey Mouse cake. Chocolate layer cake with Red and black fondant icing

In other news we bought a new car. Finally. We have had the same car for 9 years. While it was fairly reliable it was time for an upgrade.
While we were in Auckland buying our car we decided to take the kids to Motat. I had never been, usually choosing the Zoo instead since they live down the same street. We were lucky enough to be there on the last day of special exhibit in the main exhibition area. It was a hands on motion and movement type thing.
After exploring Motat for a while we hopped on the tram (included in the price of the ticket) and it took us all the way past the Zoo and to the Aviation Display Hall. We had no idea this was included in the pass. What a cool place. Generally we all had a good day and would recommend it.
I'm loving the age that the older two are at when it comes to taking them to new places to learn and explore.

motat

olden day class rooms

Walk way of mirrors

Zak Zak holding on to his ticket on the tram. 

One of the giant plane at the Aviation Museum 

Me and my love.

Also in June we celebrated our wedding anniversary. 12 years we have now been married. Yay us! Our wedding day seems like such a loooong time ago!
 I would have loved a weekend away but getting three kids taken care of is a mission so we settled for an afternoon of golf and a fancy dinner out at one of our favourite restaurants and then a movie.

We were both really out of practice and lost a few balls.  I managed to score one par...the rest were bogeys! But it was nice to get out in the fresh air. 

This meal here is actually a dessert! Its called a "kiwi fish n chip". The "fish" is actually a pineapple fritter. The "chips" are shortbread. It has a little banana milkshake and a caramel Sundae. Super fun dessert to eat!

Other things:

• I did about half the things on my  to do list. Perhaps Im better at having a "TO DON'T" list since it was fairly easy to abstain from FB. 
• I read the "Great Gatsby"...I know!...me...reading a novel! Its been a few years!
• I bought us both an older model iphone that was on special at Vodafone. 
• I knitted a scarf.
• I hired a treadmill for a couple of months to get back into running. I am thinking of signing up for a race...just a short one. But I'm scared my knees are going to play up. I should just harden up and do it. 
• Miss Joy and Joe both did really well in their cross country, both coming first in their years. I was such a proud mumma. Maybe I should go running with them! 
• I finally got around to putting their school certificates and class photos in some sort of scrapbook. They spent ages looking through it.
• Zak zak has increased his hours at Playschool to three mornings a week since turning three. So far my dreams of having the house all to myself have not happened as at least one kid has been home sick  instead. 
• While I was on my break I thought I would try an organize my time a bit better like a little time table of sorts...I do it at work, why cant I do it at home? I'll let you know how that goes. 

That about sums up my June.
I have caught up on my favourite bloggers and its good to back in Blogland with you gals.
I missed you!

Im back!

So I did it.
A whole month without Facebook. I did no blogging as well but find essentially its Facebooking that is the major addiction. I don't Instagram and I am not a "Twit". But Facebooking and Blogging had started to constantly consume my mind and fill in my boredom...So I did a whole month without it. Not even a peek over my husbands shoulder.
I did Email..and I did peruse through Pintrest...but I'm not a "pinner" I look...I laugh...and then I stop. I honestly haven't figured out why people have to follow each other on that one?

I read  a study about peoples habits in regard to social media and Facebooking and them suffering withdrawal symptoms which lead to a link about the twelve kinds of social media users....turns out I'm an "Ultra". The high user. It was going to be a hard month.

So what did I do instead? I went into hibernation. I took a step back from my norm and looked from the outside in.
There were days when  it was refreshing and  I could hear myself think again. My mind felt clearer. I wasn't thinking about who had what for breakfast or even needing to think about the sadness/ madness/ gladness that other people were expressing online. I selfishly solely  focused on me and my family.
On those days I reflected on my life, and what and who I had become. I wrote new plans, new goals.

Then there were days when I felt completely depressed and missed the social contact...lonely even. I waited for people to text and phone for coffee or even drop in...but there were none. Busy people getting on with busy lives.

I have discovered that I essentially am a people person. I like knowing what people are up to. I like being a friendly person. I like being an encourager.  And blogging and Facebook is a tool for me to have an outlet for this. The problem for me is when it becomes my sole way of communicating with people.

It is superficial.

What did we do before Facebook. I'm sure I met with people more in real life. Is it just my season in life...where meeting with people socially,  is hindered by having three kids to look after? Or have I genuinely and lazily put all my friendships in the too hard basket?

The plus side of social media is that you can make new friends with common interests that you may not have otherwise gotten to know from other parts of the world or country. The negative side is that I communicate with people in my own home town...my own family...my own friendship circles....like they are in the same category of people who are overseas. I communicate with them using  Facebook  instead of picking up a phone and having the decency to visit...relate in real life....face to face.

I'd love to know where society is heading once we all start communicating like this. It's one of those things that you can't really avoid...more of everyone and everything is being attached to social media, and in reality you may get left behind in the technology steaks if you don't keep up. But what will our relationships look like in 10 years...or even 20 years?

I realized that it was exhausting having to screen my "online persona". Constantly having to make sure what and how I wrote things were not misconstrued or offensive to any one in particular, hiding my true feelings or opinions. Then there are some people who don't care what they write...the more offensive the better. And reading stuff like that really created negative space in my brain. Reading other people, mainly strangers, rip into product and service pages that they "Liked" voicing their opinion because they can. It's quite disgusting what grown ups say to some people sometimes...really?...would you say that to their face?

Honestly sometimes I worry about the human race.

The good things about Facebook are on your birthday...you can get a hundred birthday greetings. And it can be great (but impersonal way) to set up events such as BBQs and get togethers on a large scale.

The negative aspects are the endless game suggestions and suggested pages and ads. And a biggie is the  privacy matter. I heard recently of a persons entire Facebook identity being copied and remade by another person...adding her friends and becoming her. Scary.  People can essentially just copy your photos and make them their own. Weird.

So the lessons I will take away from my month offline are essentially these.

• Set time limits to curb the time wasting. I have also decided not to have facebook on my phone until I know I can be in control of my addiction to it. 
• Turn up all the privacy settings to the highest they can go.
• Use it as a tool to facilitate real life relationship....not replace them 
• Don't "like" random pages...it just clogs up the news feed with their crap. 
• Fill my day with other things to curb my boredom and get stuff that needs getting done..DONE. 
• Get out of the house and meet up with people in real life

So here I am....hoping for a new a way of living... a new normal....a new improved me.  Hopefully. I'll give it a month...

Coffee anyone...In real life ??

How do you manage your online self? are you addicted or can you take it or leave it. Let me know how!?