Bumps in the road are an inevitable part of life that sometimes soften us or give us an opportunity for growth, and bestow upon us the virtue of compassion.
So often we wonder about why things happen?
Why now?
Often it is only with the passing of time that it becomes clear that the cloud really did have a silver lining, and now we have wisdom, strength and hope to share.
If the adage, “everything really happens for a reason,” doesn’t provide enough rationalisation for you, look for other ways to overcome adversity.
There are some many benefits to eating magnesium-rich foods, and broccoli and spinach are good dietary sources.
If you have members of the family that aren’t keen on munching down on a large chunk of “little trees,” or broccoli, then this soup might tempt them to eat more than they would as a humble steamed vegetable.
Broccoli Soup Recipe
500 g broccoli (diced stalks and sprigs)
1 small potato, finely diced
Several large spinach leaves, chopped roughly (or silverbeet or rainbow chard)
1 onion, diced
Several celery stalks, sliced
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup cream, (for cream of broccoli soup)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup frozen or fresh peas
pepper and salt to taste
Lemon slices as garnish
Variation: 1 small chicken breast, cooked and finely sliced
Saute the onion and celery in a pan until the onion turns transparent.
Add potato and stir
Wash broccoli and cut into sprigs and add broccoli, chopped spinach, chicken stock and onion/ celery mix to a large saucepan.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Add fresh or frozen peas and simmer til broccoli and peas are cooked.
If wanting to make cream of broccoli soup, mash or process using a hand blender or victimizer-blender till smooth. Add cream and return to saucepan heating through whilst adding seasoning and lemon juice.
Or/ gently blend or stir til broccoli breaks up into small sprigs then add seasonings and lemon juice.
Garnish and serve.
Variation:
Adding cooked slivers of chicken breast cooked bolster the protein content of this dish and turn it into a meal.
A nice accompaniment to Broccoli and Spinach soup would be almond or walnut bread.
Chocolate and raspberries are a match made in heaven.
There is nothing more satisfying, more of a comfort food than a moist chocolate cake.
But perfection is never perfection and can handle change. That is why I added raspberries to this recipe and I am more than happy with the result.
This is really light cake, moist and with a healthy dose of antioxidants from the raspberries. Adding raspberries has many health benefits for us.
Health benefits of Raspberries
Raspberries are low in calories but high in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They may protect against diabetes, cancer, obesity, arthritis and other conditions and may even provide anti-aging effects. Raspberries are easy to add to your diet and make a tasty addition to breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert.
180 g (around 3/4 American cup) of softened butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
200g sour cream (around 1 American cup)
1/2 cup or so of frozen organic raspberries
Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. (160 fan forced), 350 degrees F.
Grease and line sides and base of small loaf tin/s that you wish to use.
Combine cocoa and boiling water in a heatproof jug stirring until a thick sauce forms. Set this aside to cool.
Place butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and beat on medium for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs, one at a time until well combined.
Sift flour and bicarbonate of soda together and add to the butter mix.
Add cocoa mix and sour-cream and using a large spoon, gently fold together until well combined.
Spoon mix into prepared cake pans. Smooth the top.
Place the raspberries, one by one, evenly around onto the top layer and press down lightly. As the cake rises, the mix will envelope them. * Tip: Placing them rather than mixing them in, will mean that the raspberries will keep their shape nicely .
Bake for 30- 40 minutes or until skewer inserted comes out clean, depending on the size of pan you are using.
To Serve: Simply dust with icing sugar – the raspberries add to the choolately sweetness.
N.B. I don’t usually ice my cakes as I feel that they are sweet enough, and we all want to cut down on sugar, but you can add your own desired frosting for more decadence.
A useful conversion table, for American measurements, is included here.
When the sun set on another Mother’s Day, I thought more about what is important to me and what I am grateful for. My kids are now all adults so gifts are unimportant and somewhat redundant.
Is Mothering itself a gift?
Why do we give gifts on Mother’s day?
I had to question hard the motivation behind this tradition and ask why we continue to give gifts as a social convention, in an affluent society.
Traditions of Mothers Day
A visit to or from family is more and more a tradition on Mothers day.
It has become even more of a social event this year as the lifting of Covid restrictions coincided with weekend of Mother’s Day.
Is the spirit of Mother’s Day encapsulated in a friendly smile or gesture from a family member, friend or neighbour?
It might be one or all of those things, but the most important thing is to feel healthy and content on mind and spirit.
Gifts then, do seem redundant and more of a symbol than a necessary purchase.
Gratitude in 2020
I am blessed that I have had a comfortable life. This is not to say I have not been without quite a bit of heartache, bad luck or troubles in my life and despite these matters, I cannot say that I have not been comfortable, for the most part.
In hindsight, many of my problems are just inconveniences or issues that must be solved, or persevered with, until they sort. I have been lucky, and pushed through until the sadness passed to find resilience and maintain hope.
I have hope.
I have freedom.
I have achieved certain goals and have new challenges ahead that I am enthusiastic about.
I have job satisfaction. I have a job and income, although for how long is never guaranteed, anymore, especially at my age. For that, I am grateful. Work can be a privilege we might take for granted.
I have the bountiful emotional returns of raising children, with all its fatigue, responsibilities and worries, but moreover, the joys and pride of raising three little people on this planet.
I got to travel to some pretty special places and spend times with many different people from all over the world.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to learn a language other than English.
I was lucky enough to be in a postiion to design a beautiful home and live by the sea.
This was my morning view.
How can one not feel in awe of nature’s magnificence?
I have a home and family.
And this is the place where I chose to spend this year’s Mother’s Day and the rest of my life.
My kids have moved home due to job loss/constraints and we speak to most of my friends via phone, messaging or if they are locals, in person, but at a social distance.
The air is cleaner and the traffic calmer.
Life has slowed down.
I like that.
People are educating their kids at home, spending quality time with then that will become treasured memories in later life.
Time with your children can never be traded back later.
It is a once-only ticket to a perpetual show that changes EVERY DAY and never has an encore.
The Mountains known as Glass House on the horizon near my home
I feel pretty lucky to be living where I do – a great mix of city and coastal life, without the frenetic pace. But there are two things I do miss, Sandy.
Forget the Banana Bread, that is so yesterday! The new kid on the block at the Home by the Sea, is a breakfast Fig and Walnut Loaf.
Never having with Figs before, I was convinced to give it a go when my local cafe shut down. One of their signature breakfast dishes was a delicious Fig and Walnut Loaf. Not to be defeated, I decided to replicate this delight on my own.
The recipe was simple and straightforward, however I recommend exercising restraint with the quantity of figs. 250 grams of Figs constitutes a a whole packet and I only added half of that amount to this mix. That was more than enough and still leaves you with a very figgy loaf, which is fine, but I would suggest reducing the figs to 100 grams and adding a tad more walnuts.
But that is just my personal taste.
Suggested Variations
A nice variation would be to substitute a blend of Dried Apricots and Figs, or a mix of nuts. I suggest hazelnuts or pecans as well as walnuts.
I am sure you will absolutely love this dish for breakfast. As it takes 90 minutes to cook a deep loaf, I used two small loaf tins and a long 20 x 10 cm pan. The smaller pans were done in 30 minutes, whilst the larger took 75 minutes at the recommended temperature.
Fig and Walnut Loaf Recipe
Ingredients
125 grams or 1/2 cup unsalted Butter, chopped
1 1/2 cups Water
1/2 cup Buttermilk or Kefir
250 grams or 1 cup Dried Figs**
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups Brown Sugar
2 cups Wholemeal Spelt Flour, sifted
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Mixed Spice
1 cup Walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup Dessicated Coconut
Method
Grease and line a large Non-stick Loaf Tin
Place butter and water in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat.
When butter is melted, add figs. Bring to the boil and remove from heat.
Transfer figs and butter mixture to a large bowl and allow to cool.
Add buttermilk, eggs, brown sugar, flour, baking powder and mixed spice to bowl and stir to combine.
Add walnuts and coconut and stir one last time.
Pour into prepared tin.
Bake in 160c oven for 90 minutes.
Slice and serve with butter, and Garnish with mint, strawberries and dusting of icing sugar.
The weather is getting cooler at the Home by the Sea. Could this affect the number of bubbles I see in the starter?
Sourdough Problems or Not?
Since I attended one of those slightly cringeworthy Tupperware parties of the 80’s, I always store my white flour in the fridge. I never get weevils or pantry moths in my flour due to this storage method. However, I got to thinking that this might make the sourdough more sterile, due to a lesser number of bugs. So I ask the bread-making veterans: Would this make a difference?
Day 6
The Starter seems to have run out of steam, a little and I am looking for explanations. I do have a confession to make:
I added the morning feed quantity at the evening feeding and the following morning it was very liquidy on the top.
I may have overfed it!
I may have killed it?
I continued feeding the batch I was intending to keep and use, and left aside this ‘to be discarded if it doesn’t do anything’ batch, for a day but it didn’t seem to improve.
Not many bubbles, compared to day 2, which is seen below.
I have no idea as to whether it is still alive, or if I am flogging a dead sourdough mother.
Over at StPA, I spoke of the Anzac Day spirit living on throughout Australia, as it does here at the Home by the Sea. Today, April 25, is Anzac Day. This morning we experienced an Anzac Day, like no other.
Due to the risks associated with Covid-19, Australians were unable to hold communal memorial ceremonies, at the shrines in each and every suburb, as is the norm.
Our first Anzac Day at the Home by the Sea, was always going to be unique.
In our street and across every residential streets of Australia, people turned out to stand on their driveways, at 5.55 am in order to hold a candlelight line of honour in memory of the Anzacs and sacrifice of servicemen and women.
Thanks to a bugler two streets away, the Last Post wafted quietly over the rooftops and the suburban streets, which had fallen into a 5-minute silent vigil, as a mark of respect. Hearing this tune chokes up the hardiest person, once you know what it represents.
The haunting tune, made eerily more real as humanity battles the Corona virus.
Flags hung from balconies, garage doors and windows. Later, street barbeques with appropriate social distancing were held at lunch. The R.S.L. branches held ‘Two-up,’ online! A first.
Me, I made Anzac Biscuit from my own recipes and shared them (observing appropriate Hand Hygiene practices), with the local community. Rick, our self-appointed neighbourhood watch trooper who scoots about on his Power Wheelchair, was a grateful recipient, scooting off to share the still warm biscuits or cookies, with his “Mrs.”
After being late with the P.M. feeding of my starter last night, I was a little concerned that it may not be fermented enough by the time the morning feed was due, but comments from supportive fellow bloggers and my Sourdough mentors, Peggy,Sandy and Chris, relaxed me about the process.
A Forgiving Dough
Mary from Mary’s Nest Sourdough website, states that you can change/swap or alter your sourdough starter as you go along, from white to rye, or wholewheat. What flexibility! [Happy Dance]
I started this process using a mix with half whole wheat flour and half white flour, as this is the mix most of my family and me, prefer. This excludes the fastidious Moth, of course. He is a committed, refined-bleached- white flour man, who likes his bread ultra-fresh and soft as a baby’s bottom. That is a bad comparative metaphor for bread, but you get my drift.
So Day 4 Dawns, and I feed this mother of all sourdough mixes.
Some exponents, including Sandy, prefer using equal parts flour and water, by weight in their starter mix, and I might still do that. I guess I can change it up as I go along, with this ultra-flexible sourdough mix.
After all, as Chris pointed out in a previous comment, people have been making bread this way for millennia, and most likely didn’t have clocks, timers or accurate scales to measure ingredients.
A Home by the Sea 
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