*e*

click away if you are hungry...you may not want to see this!

 




sigh...so much food, so many decisions! not enough time! 5 extra kilos, here i come...

find yourself (in thailand. with me and tara)

a little something that we are excited to share with you.

tara and i are very excited to announce find yourself. our brainchild, our baby, our dream. we have been dreaming and scheming and planning this for a very long time. we want to reach out to people with similar feelings and emotions as us...and give them a week that they will never ever forget. 

so here it is, FIND YOURSELF: 

edited: friday afternoon.

from tara:

we have been getting a lot of emails of interest and questions. since emily is in italy, we will gather all of your emails and information and get back to everyone to answer questions and collect deposits once she is home, or has some more time online.

no spots have been given away just yet! if interested, please email either of us. emails in the link. we are SO excited.

italy so far...

we have:
driven with the best of them in naples (crazier than thailand i tell ya!)
tasted many gelatos
swam in the Mediterranean sea
walked, walked, walked!
parked our car in the teeniest places
devoured many delicacies
made some wonderful new friends
laughed lots
slept very little
been to sorrento and positano (beautiful place in pics above)

we LOVE IT HERE!!! every day as we are whizzing around the place, i keep thinking - we're in ITALY! ITALY!!! what an amazing experience, one we will cherish forever - we are making a family travel journal as we go, i know it will be one of our most prized possessions. i'm so grateful for this time here with my family.

our luggage just arrived - warning: many photos to come ;)

ciao, ciao!

...and stay tuned for an exciting announcement from me and tw (no, we are not running away together. well sort of! just for a little bit. but maybe you can come too?!)

Io sono in Italia!!!

we made it! 2 of our bags did not (class kits are here, but poor mick has no clothes). we went to bed last last night stuffed full of pizza and gelato and warm hospitality from our lovely hosts, simona and lory. woke up this morning thinking it was 9am (the clock on the fridge said so) only to discover shortly after, that is was actually 5pm!!! oops. so tonight will be fun...

simona has put us up in her holiday house - the top floor of an amazing 160 year old building, quaint and italian as you can imagine, set in the hillside overlooking the amalfi coast. i opened the bathroom window to see sheep grazing in the grass below, and we walked up a pathway to see some cows, and locals doing their thing! we are blown away by how beautiful it all is!

of course, after always, always travelling with my camera in my hand luggage - i decided to lock it in the suitcase that got lost! :O they assure me it will arrive on tuesday. lets hope so, i can't wait to take some photos of this place!

lentil burgers and my broccoli baby

 
mmm, i love a good lentil burger! i made a LOT of these while i was in australia this january to chuck on the barbie alongside everyones meat (don't you love my mum's spotty pink plate?). lentils cook nice and fast - you can find some great recipes for different burgers/patties online and in books, i usually make them up as i go, something like this:

LENTIL BURGERS:
1. Wash 1 cup red lentils, cover with water and cook for about 20 mins, drain.
2. While lentils cook, fry a finley chopped onion and 3 cloves crushed garlic in some olive oil.
3. Once lentils have cooled, mix in a bowl with the onion/garlic mix, along with 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1 egg (or you can use ground flax seed mixed with water for a vegan alternative), fresh chopped herbs (parsley, oregano, chives etc), any or all of the following: 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp dried coriandor/cilantro, curry powder, salt and freshly ground pepper.
4. Shape into patties and bbq/fry!

I also experimented after trying one at a yummy organic cafe and made chickpea and potato patties too - basically cooking chickpeas (you could also use canned), making some mashed potato , then putting the 2 together in the blender. Afterwards i added a ton of fresh mint along with the breadcrumbs, egg, salt and pepper. they weren't exactly the same as the cafe, but still yummy!

i made an extra batch to wrap individually and stick in my dad's freezer...it's a nice easy dinner  for him to grab out a few burgers, re-heat and have with a salad. he misses my cooking ;) so he says, anyway.

and...this will be my last post before heading off to italy to gorge on many things not green, or vegan, or fat-free - but cheesy, sugary and very delicious!! so i'll leave you with a parting shot of my broccoli babe - i'm very lucky that both my girls consider a bowl of broccoli to be a treat from the gods - i serve it up to them steamed for lunch many times a week, and they couldn't be happier. ciao!
 

green smoothies

i scurried off to buy us a blender the day i read about sara's green smoothie challenge on her happy foody blog. we make these every day almost - it's the best way i have found to shove a bunch of leafy greens into your kid! i water it down and put in a bottle for yindi too :)
today we made apple-raspberry-spinach smoothie - yum! check sara's links for some other yummy combinations. i have definitely found that having a big glass of fruity-leafy goodness helps fend off cravings for bad foods - they make delicious icypoles/popsicles as well. yay for green! (or sometimes, brown!)

new summery camera straps!

in my etsy shop - i found some bright and funky new ribbons last weekend that are making these camera straps very happy :)
 

fast food

i am all for short amounts of time cooking in the kitchen. and one pot meals. so i have to share with you something very fast, easy and delish that we make ALL THE TIME since getting the recipe from my lovely friend vicky :) i like to double it to have leftovers for lunches, if i'm feeling extra goddess-housewifey i'll make dahl or some yummy vegies to go along with it.
this one loves it. so does the littler one (i take out the nuts for her)...do yourself a favour and MAKE THIS AT ONCE!!!!

QUICK BASMATI AND NUT PILAF
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
225g/8oz/1 1/4 cups basmati rice
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 large carrott, grated
15-30 ml/1-2 tbsp sunflower oil
5 ml/1 tsp cumin seeds
10 ml/2tsp ground coriander/cilantro
10ml/2tsp black mustard seeds (optional)
4 cardamon pods
450 ml/ 3/4 pint/2cups vegie stock or water
1 bay leaf
salt and ground pepper
75g/3oz/ 1/2 cup unsalted nuts (cashews are my fave)
fresh chopped parsley or coriandor/cilantro to garnish

Directions:
1. Wash the rice and (if there is time) soak for 30 minutes, then drain well in a sieve.
2. In a large shallow pan, fry the onion, garlic and carrot in the oil for a few mins.
3. Stir in the rice and spices and cook for a further 1-2 mins so that the grains are coated in oil.
4. Pour the stock or water in, add the bay leaf and season well. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently for about 10 mins.
5. Remove from the heat without lifting the lid - this helps the rice to firm up and cook further. Leave for 5 mins.
6. If the rice is cooked, there will be small steam holes in the centre. Remove the bay leaf and cardamon pods.
7. Stir in the nuts and check the seasoning. Scatter the mixture with the chopped parsley/coriandor/cilantro. YUM!

tomorrow...how to get a ton of raw spinach into your (and your kids!) bellies!

food goodness

good food makes me feel inspired! we eat really simply, i buy as much organic and locally grown produce as i can (i try to spend about 70% of my food budget on fresh fruit and vegies) - both my girls are really good eaters and chow down on every vegetable i plop in front of them as well as tofu, lentils, beans and other 'weird stuff'. this week, i want to share with you a few really easy things i make/give my family on a regular basis, as i LOVE to try new stuff myself and see what others are eating! if you want to join me this week and post meal/snack ideas on your blog - please link in the comments so we can all click around and get some tasty ideas :)

"what can i have to eeeeeeeeAT?" can be heard from my big little one at least once every hour. i like to have lots of things she can get herself like baby carrot sticks, snow peas, strawberries, nuts, corn chips etc. if i think about it while i'm cooking, i'll cut up some cheese or fruit and put in little containers in the fridge for her to get the next day (stuff cut up all cute is way more fun to eat!).

hummos is also a daily favourite for us all - i have made my own in the past but cannot beat trader joe's! a snack or lunch...or both (with tandoori naan is my fave)!

tune in tomorrow for my new rice obsession :)

breathe

(word for the art journal group this week, journalling will be added to the stitched lines)

breathing is what i will be trying to do all week as i get ready for our trip to italy next weekend! eeeek! i'm packing kits and clothes and dreaming of cheesy delicious pizzas! i can't wait to meet those of you who will be there, and am especially excited to hang out with my lovely norwegian friends lene and gudrun!!

incase you haven't noticed - organisation is not one of my talents and i have therefore left planning our 'extra days in italy' to the very last minute. anyone want to tell me about some amazing little village in the picturesque countryside where we might sit and eat fresh crusty bread and frolic in the fields and cobblestone streets? i want to find somewhere simple and lovely to just be together as a little family for a few days - away from the cities! we will be heading off from naples after i teach for a little adventure! oh, and it needs to be cheap ;) grazie!