gluten free blogger challenge - day 2

Hello, my name is Philippa and I've been gluten free for two whole days!

Here's today's video!  Hope you enjoy :)

gluten free blogger challenge - day 1

This week I'm living gluten free Monday to Friday as part of the Making Sense of Sensitivity Blogger Challenge.  I'll be doing a video diary each day to talk about how I'm finding it all!  Here's my first video, which has a bit more detail about the challenge and why I was interested in taking part.  Overall I think Day 1 has gone quite smoothly, after the rice cake shortage crisis was averted:

So, food what I ate: the gluten free edition is in full swing this week!  Today's eats in pictures:

Breakfast - Smoothie made with fresh strawberries, blueberries, banana, coconut milk and Spiru-tein strawberry protein powder (which is gluten free).

Lunch:  Giant salad (with strawberries!) with balsamic dressing and three rice cakes with peanut butter hummus.

Snack: (unpictured) Raw broccoli florets with peanut butter hummus.

Dinner:  Artichoke and asparagus spaghetti made with gluten free pasta.

Dessert: Yoo Moo frozen yoghurt in Tropicoolmoo flavour (mango and passionfruit) and 1 nectarine.

Day 1 highlight: Dinner was absolutely delicious.  And I didn't feel bloated afterwards which I sometimes do after a pasta meal in the evenings.  I will be curious to see if this trend continues!

Day 1 challenge: Label reading!  And remembering all the things that have gluten in them - like malt vinegar (no salt and vinegar rice cakes for me) and soy sauce.  Just having to think about things a bit more.

Day 1 sum up: Feel very nourished but not stuffed to the seams.  A good day.  Doesn't seem too hard so far (I may be eating those words later in the week....) :D

Tune in tomorrow for the Day 2 video!

Are you a gluten-free-er? Any tips for me? :) 

who wants peanut butter hummus?

An ingredient I usually always forget to buy, and will remember just as I'm leaving the parking lot, is tahini.  Not good when you are craving hummus at weird hours.  I wanted something as a topping for a baked sweet potato a few days ago and I recalled seeing a recipe for peanut butter hummus in Nigella Lawson's Kitchen and thought it was worth a try.....oh boy, I may never buy tahini again!

Tahini, if you think about it, is a paste made of sesame seeds so why would another seed or nut butter work just as well?  You don't need a lot - as my husband isn't the world's biggest peanut butter fan I only put two heaped teaspoons in, and I don't think he's cottoned on yet.  Well, maybe after this post he will!

It's earthy and unctuous, and I'm regretting not making more.  But there's still another can of chickpeas in the pantry......

Peanut butter hummus
Inspired by Nigella Lawson's similar recipe in Kitchen

Makes about 2 cups

1 x 400g can chickpeas
1 small clove garlic, peeled
1-2 tablespoons rapeseed or olive oil
2 heaped teaspoons smooth peanut butter (I used the kind of teaspoon you use to stir your coffee with)
Juice of half a small lemon
Pinch of sea salt
A shake or two of ground cumin
Water

Drain and rinse the chickpeas.  Place in a food processor with the garlic, oil, peanut butter, lemon juice, salt and cumin.  Blitz until pureed.  It will be very thick so add a small amount of water and continue to blend until it has a smooth and not-too-thick consistency.  Taste for seasoning, add more lemon juice if it needs it.

Enjoy any way you would "normal" hummus!  We enjoyed it as a baked sweet potato topping:

And today I had it on my rice cakes at lunch:

And then I dipped some more raw broccoli into it afterwards.  Having a bit of a rice cake addiction going at the moment, with hummus being my favourite topping, I can imagine I will be making more of this during my gluten free challenge week (more on that next post!).

Enjoy :)

monday mantra

source

I don't like the word "failure" but there have been many times in my life when I've felt like one.  If you've read the skinny latte story, I'm sure you can guess that there have been many dark nights of the soul in my journey.  A lot of them have been in recent history too!  Writing a book will do that to you :)  

But I like to think I'm getting better at handling the falling down moments.  Life is not perfect, it never has been or will be, but dwelling on things I can't change, on moments, conversations and chances that have been and gone, on things I have said and done that have been less than perfect, and outcomes that were not ideal but that were just the way things worked out, does not aid the situation, does not lift my mood, and does not get me anywhere.  It keeps me lying there, flat on the floor.

Making mistakes, taking wrong turns, screwing up royally  - we've all been there.  But where I know I personally have gone wrong over the years is dwelling on it.  Refusing to get up and move the hell on. Sometimes for years on end. What an absolute waste of time, energy and precious, precious life.  Much as I'd like to shake the younger me sometimes, I think the present me needs a shake for still worrying about some of these things and allowing them to hold her back.

Until or unless I somehow perfect my time machine (!), all of it is done and cannot be undone.  The choice is mine to wallow and torture myself, or to get up and focus on what lies ahead which is absolutely within my grasp to shape and design and influence in a positive way.  And, at the end of the day, I keep reminding myself that everything that has happened in my life - royal screw ups, bad decisions and all the rest - has lead me to right here, right now, which I wouldn't change for all the world and for which my gratitude is boundless.

Falling down is a part of life.  But when you fall, don't stay down there.  If you didn't get it wrong sometimes how would you know if you were doing it right?  Remember, where you are right now is not indicative of where you will be in the future.  You do not have to be determined by your past, or by your fears, or by the thoughts that hold you back, or by anyone else's expectations.  Fly free, and live the life you have always wanted.  You have a choice.  Get up and keep going :)

*****

What is Monday Mantra?
I love inspirational quotes and about seven years ago, when I had no motivation, no direction and no idea how to make my life what I wanted it to be, I read something that changed everything. It was a small quote in a magazine, from the Australian marathon runner Pat Farmer. He said “if you really want to do something, in your heart of hearts, you will find a way. But if you don’t really want to do something, you will always find an excuse.”

It was so fantastic….and made so much sense. It became my mantra. It still is.

Now, through my various trawls through the internet, I see many things that catch my eye and fire me up, and I want to share these with you. So I put them all together and post one a week. Something that I think is worth sharing, something that I think is good to be reminded of.  Something that might just be for you what that Pat Farmer quote was for me.

two half marathons....in two weeks!

source

Well, my little holiday earlier in the week was much needed because as of this weekend I am back in full training mode for my upcoming autumn half marathons.  And they fall within a fortnight of each other!

The first one is the Helly Hansen Beauty and The Beast Trail Marathon Challenge, which is on September 22nd.  Don't you love the name? :)  The race is described as "the UK's toughest, most rewarding trail marathon challenge".  The "beauty" is the stunning parkland where the race will be held in Henley-on-Thames (one of my favourite places!) and the "beast" is the uphill finish!!  In fact, the course is made up of laps of a large parkland, and each lap finishes with the uphill bit!  6 laps for the marathon, 3 for the half.  I really like races that are laps of an area - it's how I trained for the Big M, by running laps of Battersea Park at 6am most mornings, it means I get to see my support crew (namely Tom!) regularly and it reminds me of my very first half in 2009!  But I have never done a trail race before, nor are hills my friends, so this is going to be a whole new ball game for me!  Luckily I live in the country so I will be able to take advantage of the woods and hills nearby to help me prepare for this challenge.  I'm so stoked to be doing something different, it should push me out of the comfort zone a bit, which I definitely need!

The second half will be two weeks later, in London, and it is the very iconic Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon, which I've been dreaming about getting into since 2009!  I'm really excited about this one, not only because it will be flat (!) and maybe I'll be able to get a PB,  but also because I'll get to run through the four Royal Parks (Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, St James' Park and Green Park) through my favourite city in my favourite season.  London is exquisite in the autumn, especially in the parks.  I hope we get a good day for it!

So, the Almighty Marathon Training Plan from Coach Julia has been pulled out again, and I'm getting ready for the next challenges on the horizon.  I'll be sharing it all with you guys - there'll be more food what I ate posts in the lead up to the races and a new training diaries series!  I hope you'll enjoy it.  It feels great to be "goal itchy" again!  Even though I've not been running as far as often recently I've been feeling very strong.  Must be all the yoga I'm doing....I can do wheel pose again with ease!

Next week, stay tuned for another challenge - food related this time - where I'm going gluten free for 5 days as part of the DS Gluten Free Blogger Challenge.  There will be videos! (gulp!).  Do you reckon I can do it?!  Me, the wannabe baker and champion pasta eater?  I've realised with some dismay that most of my go-to vegetarian foods have gluten in them too so this is going to be a huge challenge!  I hope you'll enjoy seeing the results, it should be entertaining ;)
   
There will also be a podcast for you next week, featuring someone who's a bit of a legend.  We chatted for so long I reckon it might end up being two podcasts!!

Right, running shoes on now.  Happy Olympic weekend to you all!
 
What's your next challenge going to be?

how's the serenity?

I can't believe I packed a polar fleece, jeans and long sleeved tops for our little holiday in Wales.  Summer has finally arrived!  I lived in shorts the whole time.  And got sunburned! Whoops.

Wales reminds me a lot of Tasmania.  It's the perfect place to escape to, to run away and forget your cares, especially if where you're escaping to is literally the middle of nowhere, like the Casa de In-Laws.  And, like Tassie, the Welsh sun is deceptively fierce.  Do not forget your hat! :)

My days were filled with iced green tea, reading, my mother-in-law's wonderful cooking, day trips to the local villages, Pimm's, doing yoga outside, wandering barefoot in the grass.  It was just wonderful to have a stretch of time to unwind like this especially as things are about to get a bit busier here at Latte Towers.  Has anyone checked the race diaries to see what's next on the calendar?! 


I think I'll leave it till tomorrow to unpack......

monday mantra

source

I used to be the sort of person who would be turned off trying to achieve something purely because of the length of time it would take to accomplish.  Back then I was a slave to instant gratification - hence why blocks of chocolate were so comforting and alluring, and why the running track had me breaking out in a sweat....of fear!  And yet I constantly used to bemoan the fact that the days were long, yet the years were short.  My life was passing me by.  It hit me that time was passing anyway, whether or not I was going after my dreams and living the life I wanted to live.

I've learned that not only does the length of time it takes to achieve a goal not really matter in the grand scheme of things, but also that the timing of going after that goal is never going to be exactly right either.  There will always be a reason not to.  If you wait for the circumstances and timing to be perfect you might be waiting a very, very long time.  If you're afraid, don't be.  Taking action is the best antidote to fear I know.

Just start.  Whatever it is you dream of doing, start.  Now.  Today.

And if you stumble or have hit a road block, it doesn't matter.  Keep going.  Don't wait another moment!

What have you been putting off that you might be inspired to get on with today? :) 


*****

What is Monday Mantra?
I love inspirational quotes and about seven years ago, when I had no motivation, no direction and no idea how to make my life what I wanted it to be, I read something that changed everything. It was a small quote in a magazine, from the Australian marathon runner Pat Farmer. He said “if you really want to do something, in your heart of hearts, you will find a way. But if you don’t really want to do something, you will always find an excuse.”

It was so fantastic….and made so much sense. It became my mantra. It still is.

Now, through my various trawls through the internet, I see many things that catch my eye and fire me up, and I want to share these with you. So I put them all together and post one a week. Something that I think is worth sharing, something that I think is good to be reminded of.  Something that might just be for you what that Pat Farmer quote was for me.

fifty shades....

After a few reader requests for me to write about this book, I caved earlier in the week and bought it, seeing the library was well and truly backlogged until Christmas with reservations for it.  I'm not normally one to follow trends - I'm one of those people who discovers and becomes obsessed with something or someone years, maybe even decades, after they were first popular.  I didn't read Harry Potter until 2003, by which time there were 5 books out!  But I digress.

I've not had a chance to dive right in yet, but I shall and will report back soon!

Have you read it?  Any preliminary thoughts (or warnings, I understand opinions are very strong and divided on this one!) for me? 

some not-so-naughty tea time treats

I don't think it's any secret on this blog that I love cake!  It started very early on.  On my first birthday, my mother asked my grandmother to watch me while she got the matches to light the birthday candle on my 1-shaped cake iced with yellow icing and dotted with Smarties.  Unfortunately Nan's back did turn for a split second and I took that opportunity to dive in.  In the photos I can see where they did a repair job, my grabby baby hand imprints still visible in the icing, the corner of the cake still slightly crumbling!

Fortunately I have a bit more self control these days! I hope by seeing me enjoy my sweet treats in moderation on here I'm showing you that it is possible to be healthy and still enjoy the things you love.  These are my oft-repeated guidelines that help me not go crazy on all the freshly baked fumes:

1.  Enjoy a slice or two fresh on the day you make it.
2.  Freeze the rest in individual slices to enjoy another time OR take to work or round to friends/family/neighbours to share.

I don’t know about you but a whole cake used to be a ticking time bomb in my old life.  I would make a chocolate cake – in an emergency I used to make Annette Sym’s microwave chocolate cake – barely wait for it to cool, wouldn’t even dust it with icing sugar, and then tuck in.  I would eat the entire thing within the space of a few hours, maybe not even that.  If anyone else was in the house they might get a piece if they were lucky.  I’ve written a bit about how I couldn’t have something “naughty” or “forbidden” in the house without feeling this hideous compulsion to eat it all, at once, in one sitting.  Once it was gone, I would be safe, or so I thought.

It took a lot of re-educating and work on my issues to realise why I did this and it took a few months into my new way of life to actually trust myself to make a batch of scones, or a cake, and not scoff the whole lot.  “Old Phil never froze cake,” I remember writing.

Over the years, oscillating between denying myself everything and then denying myself nothing, as I've struggled to feel comfortable in my own skin and have a healthier relationship with food, I've come to the conclusion having a treat, especially a home-made one, is an essential part of a healthy life.  It can’t all be brown rice, tofu and green things all the time.  Balance is the key.

These are some of my favourite healthy baked goods if you’re in the mood for something delicious for morning or afternoon tea:

Skinny rhubarb and strawberry scones (even Tom likes these!)

Carrot and apple cake 

Janelle’s mum’s Ovaltine bun

Sultana coconut tea bread

Black bean brownies

All of these freeze well!

And of course, tea is another one of my great loves and an indulgence you can have without “blowing it”, as it were.  Sometimes all I need is a cup of really nice tea to sate an afternoon tea craving.  If I listen hard enough sometimes it’s just something warm and sweet that I want.  I’ve learned that I don’t have to give in every time.  On these grey, rainy days we've been having I've been drinking lots of refreshing green tea:

I've only recently got on the green tea bandwagon - for years I thought it tasted a bit like seaweed!  I'm converted now!  The peach and cherry blossom tea in the picture is quite lovely!  I’m quite adventurous when it comes to tea but there are loads I’ve heard about but never tried.  White tea, yellow tea, pu-erh…has anyone tried them?

If it were warmer I'd probably be going down the iced tea route.  A few of your favourite fruity tea bags steeped for half an hour, served with ice and maybe with some still lemonade mixed in...heavenly!

Another nice thing to do, if you want to distribute your lovely freshly baked goods to good homes, is put together some tea gifts.  A little hamper of a homemade cake or batch of scones or brownies with a nice box of tea makes a lovely hostess gift!  All the nicer if you've made your friend their favourite treat :)

What's your favourite tea time treat?  Do you like baking too?  I think next time there’s a blogging bake swap I might have to join in!

This post contains some sponsored links.

janelle's mum's ovaltine bun

Meeting Janelle Bloom at the Good Food & Wine Show in Melbourne, June 2006

I got this recipe many years ago, when I lived in Melbourne and went along to the Good Food and Wine Show one wintry weekend.  Janelle Bloom was doing a cooking demo and this was one of the recipes.  I absolutely loved it!  I think I made it for most blogger gatherings afterwards and it always went down a treat, at only 2.5 WW points (in the old system, I'm not sure what it would be now) for two small pieces.  It has a gorgeous fudgy texture, and tastes gloriously old-fashioned and homely.  I'm kind of craving a piece right now.....(and I can get Ovaltine in the UK, I've checked!)

And does anyone remember Ovalteenies, the mainstay of recess around 1991?! ;) [actually having just done a search, I think they might still be around!]

Janelle's mum's Ovaltine bun
Original recipe from Janelle Bloom, circa 2006!


3/4 cup caster sugar
2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup Ovaltine Energy Drink powder
1 cup sultanas
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon boiling water
 
Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease a 7cm-deep, 10.5cm x 21cm (base) loaf pan. Line with baking paper, allowing some overhang.

Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, Ovaltine and sultanas in a bowl. Combine milk and golden syrup in a microwave-safe jug. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH (100%) for 1 minute. (Phil: I don't have a microwave any more so would do this on the stove, obviously!)

Combine bicarbonate of soda and boiling water. Stir into milk mixture.

Pour warm milk mixture into dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine. Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes in pan. Lift onto a wire rack to cool completely.

sultana and coconut tea bread

I got this recipe from my friend Amelia.  I had most of a bag of sultanas I wanted to use up and as tempting as it was to put them in a jar and macerate them in whisky (!), I saw this lovely cake (or tea bread as it might be called) and couldn't resist!

It's a lovely simple recipe that you can add pretty much any extra ingredients you like to - in this case I added coconut - and you could use different tea bags (chai maybe?).  I love the traditional, myrrh-like depths of Earl Grey myself.

And, as with all the things I like to bake, it freezes brilliantly.

Sultana and coconut tea bread
Based on Amelia's recipe at Weddings, Babies, Everything
Makes 1 large loaf

2 cups strong cold black tea (about 3 teabags should do it)
2 cups sultanas
2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup coconut
2 eggs, beaten

Mix the tea and sultanas together in a bowl or large jug and allow to steep for 2-3 hours, or overnight is even better.


Add the flour, coconut and beaten eggs.  Pour into a greased and lined loaf tin.  Bake in a preheated 200 C oven for 45 minutes or until browned on top and a skewer comes out clean.


Serve unadorned, or with butter or cream cheese, and a cup of tea :) 

walking for its own sake

source

You all know I run.  

But I also love to walk.  Last week I had yet another novel crisis/breakthrough (but at least this time finally seem to have got somewhere!) and the temptation to become a hermit and chain myself to the computer was so strong.  All my life I have lived in extremes but I'm not 25 any more and it's exhausting me!

So since last week I've focused on establishing a routine where I simply get outside first thing in the morning, into the fresh air and get the blood pumping, the body moving and just do something.  Luckily this has always been just before the rain has hit :)

On two mornings last week I chose to run but on the other mornings I've walked, simply because it was what I felt like.  I took my iPod once, the other times I just went with only my keys in hand.  It wasn't an endorphin orgy like running is but I still felt strong, the heart rate got raised a bit and it cleared my head.  Just 20 minutes.  Fresh air.  Space.  Perspective.  I returned hungry and with renewed enthusiasm.

When we lived in the city and didn't have a car, we walked everywhere and I took it a little for granted.  Walking was a practical way to get me where I needed to be but at times it could be a huge drag, especially in the colder weather.  Now we have a car and drive to most places, but what it's done is help me fall in love with walking again, to look forward to walking somewhere instead of driving.  

And getting outside first thing every morning.....it's such a tonic and sets me right up for the day!  Whether I plan a run for later that day, or end up walking somewhere else, it's great to get the day started with some fresh air, a jolt to the senses.

Do you ever choose to walk instead of drive?  When was the last time you did something purely for its own sake?

“Happy is the [wo]man who has acquired the love of walking for its own sake!”
- W.J. Holland  (1848-1942), “Walking as a Fine Art,” in The Moth Book: A Guide to the Moths of North America. 1903.

monday mantra

source

Sometimes I don't remember what I've picked for the upcoming Monday Mantra, and then it will publish and I'll take a look and think.....wow, I really needed to hear that today!

Today's mantra really hit a nerve, given everything I've been thinking about lately.

My book is pretty much finished.  There's still a bit of polishing to do.....but I'm standing in my own way.  I am the reason it isn't with the people I hope will publish it yet.  I don't have a full time job to blame any more.  I am the reason.  I am the one in my own way.

It's funny once all the old excuses you used to fall back on are gone and the only thing left that is obstructing your goals and what you want to do is you (and your fears), it's a huge wake up call.

But I've learned over the years that nine times out of ten it is just us that's standing in the way.  Everyone and everything else is just a convenient excuse, a way to pass the buck.  Well, that's how it was (and still is) for me anyway.  The only person who can make your dreams come true is you.

So today, I'm getting out of my own way!  I'm going to practice what I preach, dammit! :)

How about you?  Are you standing in your own way too?  How can you try and get out of your own way and start achieving the things your heart truly wants?


*****

What is Monday Mantra?
I love inspirational quotes and about seven years ago, when I had no motivation, no direction and no idea how to make my life what I wanted it to be, I read something that changed my life. It was a small quote in a magazine, from the Australian marathon runner Pat Farmer. He said “if you really want to do something, in your heart of hearts, you will find a way. But if you don’t really want to do something, you will always find an excuse.” 

 It was so fantastic….and made so much sense. It became my mantra. It still is.

Now, through my various trawls through the internet, I see many things that catch my eye and fire me up, and I want to share these with you. So I put them all together and post one a week. Something that I think is worth sharing, something that I think is good to be reminded of.  Something that might just be for you what that Pat Farmer quote was for me.

i is for instagram

One of the first apps I downloaded, on Sas's recommendation, when I bought my iPod touch last January, was instagram.  It's been 18 months now and I've uploaded over 1000 pictures.  That's right!  On Friday I saw the number of photos I had uploaded clock over to 1000!  Who knew I had it in me to ramble on in pictures as well as words?  :) 

I really love instagram.  Not only is it fun to manipulate your photos and make them look arty and vintage, but I love to shuffle back through my pictures too.  It's made a rather lovely visual record of life since January 2011 for me - the milestones, the places I've been, the people whose company I've savoured and enjoyed.  And, naturally, lots of "what I had for breakfast" and pretty coffee shots too (but what did you expect, I am a blogger after all!).  

My iPod doesn't take great pictures, the camera is way better on my phone (a Blackberry) so I tend to take pictures on that and then email them to the iPod to manipulate.  A bit of faffing around maybe but I think my resulting photos are much nicer! 

I am constantly inspired by the beautiful, some downright exquisite, images I encounter from other Instagram users too.  There are such talented people out there.  I get ideas for home decorating, books to read, meals to cook....it's a goldmine!  

Some of my recent "likes"

This is my instagram feed if you'd like to follow me.....I promise I'll only lead you to nice places :) 

Do you use instagram too?  Are you a fan?

apple and blueberry porridge

I am declaring this to be the Summer of Porridge.  Only for a few scant weeks at the end of May was it icy thick fruit smoothie weather...now the skies are grey, the pavements littered with puddles and porridge is really hitting the spot.

This is a super delicious and comforting combination.  The apple makes it gloriously sweet without being cloying and the almond milk, which I tried for something different as it was on special (!), gives a really nice marzipan-evocative tang.  And blueberries for their superfood properties, of course!  You could use any berries you wish - I am particularly partial to frozen raspberries in porridge, I love how they bleed into the oats.


Apple and blueberry porridge
For 1

1 cup porridge oats (I use these ones)
200ml almond milk, plus extra to serve
Water, as much as you need
Cinnamon, as much as you like
1 large eating apple, grated (I used a Pink Lady)
1/2 cup blueberries, plus extra to serve
3 tablespoons yoghurt, to serve (optional)
Small handful of pistachios or other nuts, to serve (optional)

Place the oats and almond milk in a small saucepan.  Combine with a wooden spoon and set aside for 10-15 minutes.  If you do this, the porridge will be super creamy!  This is an ideal time to go and have a shower, iron your shirt or make the bed.

After 10-15 minutes resting, you might find the oats have absorbed most of the milk.  If so, add water to make it liquid again (or more milk, I like a combination of milk and water though), about half a cup or just a bit more, depending on how thick you like it.

Place the pan on a medium heat.  Stir occasionally while it heats up and then, once it starts getting thicker and warm, stir constantly to get a lovely creamy texture.  When there is still a little liquid left, add the cinnamon, grated apple and blueberries and stir to combine.  Once the porridge is thick and cooked to your liking (you can always add more milk or water as you go if it needs it) and piping hot, transfer to a bowl.

Top with a splash of almond milk, a dollop of yoghurt and scatter more blueberries and any other toppings you fancy over the top.

It's so good, it (almost) lessens the longing to be on a beach in Greece eating feta for breakfast, like some of my Instagram friends :)

Do you like porridge?  What's your favourite way to eat it?

a finer grind

My clever coffee expert friend Nic observed from my little instagram shot there that perhaps I need a finer grind for my coffee machine.  I'm currently using up the last dregs of a bag of beans that I had ground for my much battered-about plunger (french press) and to be honest it hadn't even crossed my mind that my machine would need a different, finer grind.  It already looked pretty fine to me!

Luckily every coffee I've produced in my new friend so far has been delicious and all I've minded about is that tiny grains don't end up in my cup like floating dead ants (like they sometimes did with the plunger!).  I know it sounds dense but I didn't appreciate that the right grind for the brewing method might affect the end result, the flavour, the crema, the pleasure in the whole experience.  But like everything in life, if you have the right materials, the right building blocks, you'll get a better result.  It will flow, it will feel right.  I can only imagine how good my coffees will taste once I get the right grind! 

It got me thinking.  (This blog does have latte in its title so a few coffee/life metaphors have to be thrown in every now and then!)  How many times have we all had something in our lives that wasn't quite the perfect fit, the right grind?  If you've ever bought a pair of shoes or an item of clothing that was just a bit too small, or put up with a few coarse remarks from so-called friends, or forced yourself to go running or do yoga or pilates because it's what "fit people" do even though you don't really love it, then you'll know the sheer joy of finding an amazing dress that highlights the curve of your hips and the daintiness of your waist perfectly, no adjustments (to it or you) necessary; or finding a friend whose company you adore and seeing their name pop up in your email inbox always makes you smile; or the satisfaction of scaling a beach or mountain from top to bottom, or jiving away in a Lindy Hop class. It feels different compared to what you've been doing. It feels right. You could never go back.

When the things in your life are the right grind for you, you radiate, you sparkle and you soar.  

At some points in your journey you might be a plunger and need a coarse grind, then you might be an espresso machine and need a different, finer grind.  That's cool.  Go and find your grind.  Make your coffee your way.

And don't be afraid to ask advice from friends who really know their coffee either :)

look!

SLSB gets a lovely mention in this week's LOOK magazine!  You can grab a copy until Monday!

1000 ways to love your TOTAL

I've been lucky enough to work with TOTAL Greek Yoghurt on a number of occasions this past year and the most recent one was a cooking masterclass which I logged in great detail in the post Phil's Day Out.  What a treat!

To help celebrate their launch of 1000 ways to love your TOTAL online recipe collection I thought I would share my favourite dish we cooked that day, which was the spicy butternut squash tagine with toasted fennel seed yoghurt and cauliflower couscous:

Thank you to the oh-so-charming Paul Merrett for the recipe!

Spicy butternut squash tagine with toasted fennel seed yoghurt and cauliflower couscous

For the Spice Mix
½ tbsp of fennel seeds
2 pinches of chilli flakes
½ tbsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of coriander seeds
1 inch of cinnamon
1 tsp of ground ginger
½ tbsp of paprika

For the Tagine
1 butternut squash, peeled and roughly cut into 3cm cubes
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red onion diced
1 yellow pepper, diced into 3 cm squares
1 red pepper, diced into 3cm squares
1¾ tin of chopped tomatoes
100g of dried apricots, halved
Approx 20 green olives
1 tin of chick peas
Olive oil (for frying) [Phil NB: cooking spray could be used]

For the Fennel Seed Yoghurt
200g of TOTAL Greek yoghurt
2 tsp of fennel seeds
½ tsp of smoked paprika
1 tbsp of coriander, chopped
1 tsp mint, chopped

For the Cauliflower Couscous
1 head of cauliflower
20 inch square of muslin

Dry fry, cool and grind all spices for the spice mix in the pestle and mortar. (Phil: this is a wonderful upper body workout!)

Dust the cubed butternut squash with a third of the spice mix and fry in batches until brown all over. At this point you are just ‘colouring’ your squash. Set aside. 


(Phil: I accidentally put the whole spice mix in with the squash.  It was awesome.  We added more chilli and more paprika to the tagine when needed)

Heat a casserole and fry the garlic and red onion.  Add the peppers.  Add the tomatoes and bring the pot to a simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the dried apricots, olives and chickpeas.  Add a little water at this point if required.

Add the pre roasted butternut and another third of the spice mix.  Cook on until the butternut is just cooked (about 5 min).  Check the seasoning and add a little salt and some more spice mix if required.

Toast the fennel seeds in a frying pan, cool and grind.  Mix the yoghurt with the fennel seeds, paprika, mint and coriander and set aside.

Trim cauliflower florets from the stalk.  Whizz up the florets to a crumb in a food processor.
Wrap the cauliflower couscous in the muslin and place in a colander over a pan of boiling water for approximately 5 minutes.

Serve the couscous and tagine with a dollop of fennel seed yoghurt on the side.  It's so delicious, with so many different complementary flavours - sweet butternut, fiery heat from the chilli and smoked paprika, earthy cumin and cinnamon, richness and acidity from the tomatoes, soft apricots and olives that plump up in the sauce....divine, I'm telling you.

Photo courtesy of TOTAL/UrbanVox.net

If you'd like any more of Paul's fantastic TOTAL recipes - there are heaps of veggie ones too - check out their website which has 1000 different recipes and ideas :)

What's your favourite way to enjoy TOTAL?

you might be wondering...(#3)

Another of my lovely July sponsors is Montagne Jeunesse, the UK's leading face masque brand.  Based in Wales, Montagne Jeunesse was developed 27 years ago in Greg Butcher's kitchen.  Greg, a vegetarian, wanted to make a fun and ethical beauty range that had minimal impact on animals and the environment.  Today, the brand is available worldwide in 83 countries and carries over 55 different products (so you could try a different one every week for over a year!).  All the products are approved by the Vegetarian Society, British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection and Cruelty Free International.

Montagne Jeunesse are also pioneers in terms of energy efficient, carbon-neutral workplaces; they opened their first "Eco Factory" in 1994 (which had solar panels and a soil covered "living roof"!) and started using wind turbines to power their factories in 2001.  The MJ Headquarters is called The Green Barn, a super energy efficient office in Wales with plenty of outdoor space which the team are cultivating to encourage biodiversity.

Having had a go at making one of their masques myself, I was surprised at how simple the formula was and that the berry masque I made actually had real berry purees in it!  It did look like something you'd plop on top of porridge or yoghurt.  There were no nasty chemicals!  All Montagne Jeunesse products are made from natural ingredients and are paraben free.

As I've written before, I go through phases of being a real girly girl and then others when I don't make much of an effort (in my opinion anyway!) but I'm really getting into the habit of doing a face masque once a week.  Since turning 30 I've realised my old "falling into bed with make up still on" routine's days are numbered (!) and so I have made taking good care of my skin a priority.  And I do love face masques.  I think giving my skin a weekly deep cleanse and boost is definitely paying off!  My sister  remarked I had a bit of a glow on Skype the other day ;)

Montagne Jeunesse are so readily available - most supermarkets in the UK carry them - and they are so affordable too, with most masque sachets priced at £1.09.  So, they're good for your skin, the planet and your wallet!

These are my MJ favourites (so far!):

Apricot Scrub - I used to get this one from good old Priceline in Oz :)

Very Berry - I even had a go at making my own version!

The new Clay Spas were next on my list to try but now I've seen they have a white chocolate masque.....you can bet I'll be sniffing that one out sometime soon too!

Have you tried any Montagne Jeunesse masques?  What's your favourite?

Thank you Montagne Jeunesse for showing the world that you can be a big brand AND ethical at the same time, and for being a part of SLSB this month!

monday mantra

source

you might be wondering....(#2)

....who Nigel Marsh is!

I first "met" Nigel at the beginning of the year when he very kindly sent me a copy of his first book Fat, Forty and Fired after he saw my article in The Mercury.  Little did he know how very timely his gift was, as I was facing a similar situation myself.  I discovered that not only is Nigel a very entertaining and compelling writer, but he's also a performance coach, one of the founders of the environmental initiative Earth Hour, and he's even spoken at TED:

I've taken a great deal away from Nigel's work and I could sum it up with the line from his video that I quoted in my post yes:  if you don't design your life, someone else will design it for you.

At the beginning of the year - and on a handful of days and weeks since (!) - I was rather scared about this new life of mine.  Excited, yes, but definitely scared.  Reading Fat, Forty and Fired was incredibly fortuitous, not to mention reassuring and inspiring.  The book opens with Nigel, a successful and renowned CEO having recently moved with his wife and children from Britain to Australia, struggling to balance the pressures of his career and family life.  To top it all off, he's not in the best shape physically either!  Then, the unthinkable happens and he loses his job.  The book tells the story of what happened after Nigel decided to use it as an opportunity for a year out to take stock and rebalance his life.

If you can imagine Eat Pray Love for guys, this is pretty close to it.  Someone falling off the treadmill and taking time out to rediscover (or indeed, find out for the first time) who they really are, what really matters to them and what sort of life they want to live going forward.  In Nigel's case it's all of those but also about realising what was in his life all along.  In the course of the book he spends more time with his family, particularly his young children, and becomes a more hands-on dad while also training for the Bondi to Bronte ocean swim and conquering some of his personal demons (such as alcoholism).  There are so many hilarious stories (I don't often laugh out loud while reading but I did with this book - the chapter "Kindi Gym" in particular!) and fantastic nuggets of wisdom dotted throughout the book as Nigel has epiphanies about life, happiness and balance.  I wrote many of them down :) 

But that is not to say that Nigel's book has a Hollywood ending.  Far from it.  That was one of the things I liked the most - the book as a whole was very easy to read and relate to but I liked that it didn't have a neat ending.  Life isn't black and white and the end of the book did not have Nigel magically arriving at some final destination.  In the same way that me reaching my goal weight was not the end of my journey (it was the beginning, I would argue!), the more balanced life Nigel has at the end of the book is not a sign that everything is now perfect.  He writes, "life is hard, and as far as I can see it will always be hard....(so) I started to put my focus on trying to enjoy the struggle rather than attempting to create a mythical stress-free nirvana."  As I turned the final page, I definitely got the sense that his year out was the beginning of the journey and that it is still continuing.  

And indeed it is, with Nigel's next book Fit, Fifty and Fired Up ready for release in August!  I'm really looking forward to finding out what happened next!

Hope to see you on SLSB again soon Nigel! :)

you might be wondering.... (#1)

....who my lovely July sponsors in the sidebar are!  I thought I'd write a short post introducing each of them and why I think they ROCK :)

First of all, yogAttitude, a range of wonderful yoga-themed offerings from Nadine Fawell, yoga teacher extraordinaire.  Nadine teaches yoga classes in Melbourne, cultivates a lovely online space in the form of her inspiring blog, and she has a yoga DVD and also a beautiful set of yoga practice cards that I use often.  I think of them as tarot cards for yoga, as I always draw them at random and am always astonished that what I've picked is usually just want I need to hear:

The cards are a wonderful tool for a home yoga practice, I really recommend them!

I read a lot of blogs (as you might imagine!) and Nadine's is one that I check in with most regularly because there's always some wonderful wisdom there waiting to be shared.  I love reading about yoga.  It's become my thing lately, having finished Desikachar's The Heart of Yoga.    If you love yoga, whether you're a beginner or have been doing it for years and can do lolasana with the best of them (!), check out Nadine's blog!  It's a goldmine!  These are a few of my favourite posts of hers:

• Beginners' Yoga: Warrior Pose
• The Splits.  Or, Where Is The Line Between Yoga & Porn?
• How Do You Cure Fear?
• Sore Back Yoga
• Surrender.  Let. Go.
• The Skinny on Yoga

Recently Nadine did a post (and I can't remember which post it was, sorry Nadine!) that talked a little about the yoga postures we find difficult.  The temptation when doing a home practice, like I do, is to just do the poses we like! Nadine's post said, from memory (!), that sometimes the reason we find some poses difficult is because we don't practice them.  How can you expect to be able to play the piano, for example, if you don't practice?  Sounds obvious but all of a sudden it made sense to me!  I bit the bullet and have started doing the "Fire" sequence of my favourite Shiva Rea DVD and have managed to improve both crow pose and wheel pose!  I'd forgotten that sometimes to get into a good flow there needs to be an element of challenge "and learning to do poses that you can't yet do provides that challenge."  

Thank you for your constant wisdom Nadine, and for being a part of SLSB this month! :) 

fighting tofu

This is a dish I concocted for myself on my girls night in last night and at the risk of sounding over-dramatic (but why break the habit of a lifetime?) it was so spectacular, the best thing I've made for ages and ages.  I fall back on the old favourites quite a bit, and some recent experiments (with the exception of vegemite spaghetti) have gone very, very wrong indeed.

This magical plate of tofu and greens, on the other hand, was superb.  It is so nice to have a cooking success to bolster your spirits after one too many lumpy gravies, burnt crumpets and a rather terrible (possibly gin induced) salad of beetroot with mint jelly.  I think I deserve investigation by a mental health team for that one.  Even writing the words together is making me shudder!

Regular readers will know how much I love girls nights in; an opportunity to lounge around, make something utterly indulgent or purely whimsical for dinner at an ungodly hour, watch girly movies my husband hates, do yoga, put on face masques....not that I can't do any of this when Tom is around, of course.  It's just nice having only your own timetable and whims to satisfy.  And being able to look like The Joker without an audience.  Which of course I will now negate by publishing this photograph of myself on the Internet:

I'm wearing the masque I made at the Montagne Jeunesse SPArty in London last Thursday.  I kept it in the fridge and it felt so cool and refreshing on the face!  Colin recommended washing the masque off while it was still a little moist.  If you allow the masque to completely dry, the oil and grease the masque has absorbed from your skin will kind of sit there and dry, and probably soak back in!

A gin and tonic is an essential part of any girls (or boys) night in, I'm sure you'll agree.

I also did yoga (prior to the face masque!) and watched a favourite film:

"So many sexy people!" as my friend Kenz put it :)  If you've never seen it, I do recommend it.  I discovered it one evening - on another girls night in - and it's been a favourite summer film ever since. I am yet to make it to Barcelona and I don't know much about "Catalan identity" (if you've seen the film, you'll get my little joke!).  But there are scenes in the film which remind me a lot of my own summer spent in North America five years ago, where I met so many interesting people often purely by chance, and I do own a Spanish guitar CD, which is exquisite.  And the acting and storytelling in this film is really fantastic, I think it's one of Woody Allen's best.

And finally, the tofu.  Oh my.  If you like tofu, you'll love this.  And if you think you don't like tofu, maybe trust me and give it a try.  Imagine Singaporean black pepper crab, but for veggies.

I do sometimes have to smile at how my idea of "spoiling myself" has changed over the years.  I never expected tofu to be on that list!

Chilli, garlic and black sesame tofu with greens
Serves 2 generously

1 x 396g block firm tofu

Marinade:
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
1-2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika
2 teaspoons dried crushed chilli (reduce to 1 teaspoon if you don't want it too hot)
4 teaspoons black sesame seeds (from Japanese food stores)

Greens:
You can use any greens you like, a combination of lightly cooked and raw is great.  I used:

Baby spinach
Green beans
Green pepper (capsicum)
Cucumber
Sesame oil, to dress the greens
Lemon juice, to dress the greens

Fresh coriander, to serve
Hot chilli sauce, to serve


First of all, remove your tofu from the package, wrap in a clean tea towel and press with a heavy object to remove excess liquid.  Here is an excellent tutorial on how to do this.

Cut the tofu into 6-8 thick slices.  Lay out on a large piece of cooking foil.  Bring the sides up so that the marinade ingredients don't go everywhere :)

You can combine the ingredients in a jug and pour over the tofu slices, or just distribute them evenly one by one over the slices and turn the package to coat.  The idea is to get a bit of a crust with the paprika, chilli and black sesame seeds on the top of the slices, so I like to just add the marinade ingredients one by one to the foil package.

Fold up the sides and seal the foil package.  Leave to marinate in the fridge for as long as possible - about 4-5 hours is ideal.  At a push I reckon you could leave it for 30 minutes and it would still be delicious!

Retrieve the foil package from the fridge, turn the slices to get them evenly coated.  Preheat the oven to  200 C.  When ready, place the foil package on a baking tray and open it to ensure the slices will get nice and crispy.  Place in the oven for about 45 minutes, turning the tofu once.  I like the outside of the tofu to be crispy so I find I need to bake it for this long.  You could check it after 30 minutes and may find it's done to your liking.

In the meantime, prepare your greens.  Cook any that need cooking, but only lightly.  Cook spinach until just wilted, beans or broccoli until they are tender but still have some crunch.  Chop all raw ingredients.  Mix everything together with a splash of lemon juice and a drop or two of sesame oil.  Divide among bowls.

Once the tofu is cooked allow to cool slightly and then chop the slices into chunks and scatter over the greens.  Include the whole cloves of roasted garlic - they will be delicious!  Dress with roughly chopped fresh coriander, a drizzle of hot chilli sauce if you want more heat (!) and then serve.

You could serve the tofu and greens with rice or noodles too if you wanted some more fill factor, or stretch it to feed more people, but as I only wanted something light the tofu and greens were more than enough for me.

I do not have the words for how delicious this was.  You will not be fighting tofu*, you will be picking up your fork gladly!  Enjoy!

* The title of this post, "fighting tofu", comes from the title of a chapter in one of my most favourite books in the world, Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg.  Essential reading for any writer and highly recommended.

i'll make you banana pancakes, pretend like it's the weekend

Yesterday morning, it was raining.  To take another line from the Jack Johnson song I so blatantly got my post title from, "ain't no need to go outside."

So rather than moan about the very non-summer weather we've been having, I made banana pancakes and pretended it was the weekend.

I very rarely make pancakes, maybe once a year, which surprises me because I love them and they are actually very easy to make.  You can even do the whole lot in one bowl if the thought of having to wash up more than two things makes you feel like just forgetting the whole thing and making toast.

I normally dismiss any breakfast recipe that calls for the separation of eggs - it's best to keep things simple in the morning for a non-morning person!! - but I promise it really isn't much extra work, just one more bowl.  And it really does turn these little pancakes, which taste a little bit like the banana fritters you could get for dessert in the Chinese restaurants I went to as a kid, into little fluffy clouds.  It's really worth it!

You don't need to limit yourself to bananas either - you can add berries, apple slices, flax seeds, chia seeds or anything else you think might work.

Banana pancakes
for 1 or 2

1 cup self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
170g yoghurt (I used a TOTAL 0% pot which had a strawberry puree on the side, which I poured over the top when serving)
1/2-1 cup milk (I used oat milk)
Dash of cinnamon
1 egg, separated
1 banana
Cooking spray
Yoghurt, fruit, maple syrup, to serve

Mix flour, baking powder, yoghurt, cinnamon and egg yolk in a bowl, add milk to get to a cake-batter like consistency.  If you want to stretch the batter a bit more than pancakes for 1 or 2 people, add more milk.  Otherwise, it should be a fairly thick batter.

Whisk the egg white until soft peaks form.  Fold it through the batter, being careful not to over-mix.

Heat a large frying pan and spray lightly with cooking spray.  Pour the batter in to desired size.  Place banana slices on top, like so:

Cook until bubbles appear then flip and cook on the other side.  The banana slices will go all soft and crusty and caramelised, absolutely delicious! They might go a little dark but don't worry, they will still be nice.  Just keep an eye on it - the second side of the pancake always cooks faster than the first for some reason anyway!

Keep the cooked pancakes warm until all the batter is used.  This made 4 decent sized pancakes - I had two for breakfast and wrapped the rest in foil and put them in the fridge, either for afternoon tea or another breakfast!

Serve on warm plates with yoghurt, fruit and syrup.  Preferably with coffee and papers alongside, if you're pretending it's the weekend.

my new friend

It's rather amusing to think that I've had a blog with the words Skinny Latte in it since 2005 and I've never owned a coffee machine.  Until Sunday!

After my most enlightening tutorial with my mate Bill on how to make a skinny latte back in January, I'd not had much of a chance to put those new skills into practice.  When we returned to the UK, Tom thought it might be a nice idea to get a coffee machine, seeing we both like it and, having curtailed nearly every other luxury in our lives so I could knuckle down and get on with The Book, it seemed like a small concession that would bring much joy.  But I said no, we couldn't afford it.  We would make do with our IKEA plunger with the tiny hole in it.

For most of this year I've been in self-flagellating mode, working myself to the bone and then beating myself up over every rejection, every investment of time and energy that hasn't paid off, every missed run, and every tasteless cup of coffee.  I was under no illusion that this new life would be easy but I've certainly not done a great deal to help myself make the hard days a bit easier. 

But then I read something wonderful on Friday.  I took a lot away from it but overwhelmingly the message was clear. In any business, but particularly a creative enterprise where you have to give so much of yourself, you need to feel comfortable, you need to be getting something in return even if it's something very small.  What's wrong with a few comforts?  It can't all be sacrifice, beans-on-toast by candlelight kind of stuff.  Not all gratification needs to be deferred.

By the time I got to the line about buying yourself some flowers just because you want them, I was sniffling.

A lot of bloggers have written about self care being more than just taking a bubble bath and I agree, wholeheartedly.  I even think it's more than just placating yourself with material things too...but, on the odd occasion, what the hell is wrong with getting something that perhaps you don't need but that you just want?  When you have been counting your pennies until they are shiny with wear, when you've been buying all your books and CDs second-hand, patched up holes in your jeans instead of buying new ones and been so damn careful about turning off lights and only doing your laundry at night but the electric bill has gone up anyway (grr).....just having something that is new, that is exciting, and that is there in your home purely because you just wanted it, is such a boost.  I had completely underestimated what a difference allowing yourself a bit of pleasure makes.  My mindset has been very different since.

And that first cup of coffee was the best coffee I've ever had.