Friday Food - Zucchini Fritters

My mother-in-law makes amazing fritters. Through the years, I have asked for her recipe several times and she faithfully writes it out in her very best handwriting. And then I put it somewhere. Then it is lost. I wanted to make fritters a little while ago and did not want to bother my mother in law again, I googled instead. 


What I found was a recipe for a delicious, light fritter that was almost an omelette kind of thing. Delicious. So this is not the typical pancake batter with vegetables in it variety of fritter. These are a bit different. I don't think these would freeze very well given how incredibly soft they are.


The best thing about these fritters is that my really fussy 3 year old gobbles them up. The bad news is my 6 year old doesn't like them. I just can't win.


Oh, and if you think you would not like it with the cumin - you NEED the cumin.

Zucchini Fritters

Prep Time: 15 mins prep, 20 mins cooking
Serves: 4 (the mixture makes a lot and it depends on how big you make them and how hungry you are. I made a double mixture for us and we ate all but 3!)


Ingredients: 


2 small zucchini
1 small carrot
1 small spanish onion
1/4 cup self raising flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 eggs separated
50 ml olive oil


Method:

1. Coarsely grate vegetables into a large bowl. Add flour and cumin seeds and toss well.
2. Stir through the egg yolks and season with salt and pepper.
3. Beat egg whites until firm peaks form.
4. Spoon 1/4 of the egg whites into the vegetable mixture and fold through gently. Then add the remaining egg whites ensuring you don't mix, but fold through.
5. Heat a little of the oil in the base of a shallow pan. Add globs of mixture (about 2-3 tbsp) into the pan. Turn when the underside is golden.
6. Serve hot (I keep mine warm in the oven while I continue to cook them).
7. 
   

Serving Suggestions:

• I served mine in a stack. Given the oven was already on for keeping the fritters warm, I roasted some roma tomatoes, mushrooms and whole tinned baby beets. So my stack was fritter, baby spinach, roma tomato, fritter, baby spinach, bacon, fritter. Then I secured the stack with a bamboo skewer threaded through a piece of bacon and some more tomatoes. Mr Cool was pretty impressed!
• These would make a great breakfast with bacon and eggs.
• You could make tiny ones and serve them with cream cheese, salmon and dill.
• These also dress up a dinner that calls for sausages (which does happen when you have children *sigh*).

Variations: 

• You could add any grated vegetable you like, potato, pumpkin, or even toss in some frozen peas 
• You could also toss in some left over corned meat, salmon or ham (or serve these on the side)
• You could add cheese - cheese and eggs is a divine combination

I found the original recipe here....

iPPP - Bumps in the Road

I am linking up with the lovely Liz over at a belle, a bean and a chicago dog for some iPhone Photo Phun.



The last ten days have been unprecedented in my life time. Oh my goodness. All of my kids were either sick, injured or in line for an operation. Add to that a planned holiday and 3 trips to a burns unit in the Big Smoke close to 2 hours away - and you have the recipe for some kind of nervous tick development potential. Thankfully, sugar, coffee and saturated fats came along to save the day!


Last week we drove to the Big Smoke to take our baby to a specialist burns clinic. We had to be there at 7:30am - which meant we left home around 5:20am. Don't even let me tell you what time that meant we had to get up.... However, we are all about enjoying the journey...

The sunrise was amazing!

A lot of our state has been either doing some planned burning prior to bushfire season, or on fire before the planned burns. Our sunrises and sunsets have been pretty amazing with all that smoke in the atmosphere.

We hit a section of the highway where the mist rising up from the ground and the smoke in the air from a brush fire mingled to create this eery landscape.

On either side of this little section we had clear blue skies... It was quite amazing.

When we arrived at the hospital I had a quick flick through the photos I had taken. Check out the photo below. This is not doctored or edited in any way.... 

It has a weird kind of Salvidore Dali feel about. Obviously we had hit a bump in the road just as the shutter on my iPhone was open.

It did not escape me that this is a great metaphor for the kind of week we have had. We have had metaphorical blue skies riding into this week, then we hit a bump. A baby was hurt. We didn't get the relaxing holiday we hoped for. A three year old came down with a roaring ear infection. A six year old headed into hospital for 'routine surgery' - that is still scary. Bumps.

But blue skies are coming again. Healing is a wonderful thing. Watching my little boy crawling around happily is so reassuring. Miss Z responding to antibiotics and realising she can actually hear again is a relief. Miss A recovering remarkably from surgery is amazing. Blue skies. 

I know more bumps will come our way. But, when the skies are blue and free of mist and smoke - we will remember these as sweet  days. Days that will get us through the bumps.

Write on Wednesday - Songbird

I am linking up again with inkpaperpen for 'Write on Wednesday'...

Today's exercise (as written below) was to write a fictitious piece about the meaning behind a song. Instead of going through my favourite songs of all time, I thought I would write about the song that was currently playing in our house. Mr Cool was being the DJ and the song 'Little Miss Can't Be Wrong' was playing. 

This song reminds me of driving around with Mr Cool in his newly restored Maroon 1982 Gemini in the 90s. The stereo pumping, wind blowing through my blonde hair and holding my cute boyfriend's hand. They were heady days. This song also reminds me of a flat mate I once had. She was a bit like this... 

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 16:

Hadge says:  Take a favorite (or even random play) song and write the story behind the lyrics, not something inspired by the lyric, but the flesh on the bones of the story. It gives lots of scope for interpretative writing. Use the lyrics or theme of a song  for a piece of flash fiction (50 to 200 words). To clarify, write your version of the story behind the lyrics in a song

Spin Doctors - Little Miss Can't Be Wrong

When the red lights of Tina's ute were gone. When the dust settled back on the dirt road after her lead footed exit. When Red finally raised his head from his hands to see that he was finally alone, he sighed. Their latest argument still rang clear in his ears. Tina just couldn't accept that she had been wrong, again. 

He knew he should have been sad. He knew this was the end of something that had started out so well. He thought it would be forever. But these past months, Tina had been impossible to live with. Walking on egg shells was an understatement. Red's friends could not believe he had stuck it out so long. 

As Red stood to go back into the house, the rain started to fall. Red stepped out from the verandah and welcomed the rain on his face. Heavy drops of water fell, washing the dust from the dry, wind swept land. With arms flung wide, Red began to dance. Feet kicking through the puddles, gleefully spinning circles in the mud. Red was laughing as he danced and danced until the rain ended. Ain't nobody gonna bow no more when she sounded her gong. 

10 Things - 10 Things I Can't Get Enough of Right Now...

10 Things I Cannot Get Enough of Right Now... 

1. Our Holiday Unit

I could have stayed holed up here for at least another week(a month would have been amazing!). But the four days we spent away from home were lovely. Lots of sun, lots of time together, lots of walking. It was a lovely mini break and has made me realise we need more of these in our lives!

2. Kindle

I am loving my new Kindle. I love being able to read three or four books at once, but have them all in one item. I love that I can still breastfeed a baby and read - with a paperback - this was just not happening. I am playing waaaay less Angry Birds now that I have my Kindle. I think this is a good thing....

3. New MacBook Powerchord

Sigh. BabyCool chewed the little connector bit that goes into the computer port. It stopped working. Drats. So, I had to buy a new one. I mean, how can one be a blogger without a fully charged computer?! I didn't want to buy a new one, but am very glad I have it.

4. Strawberries

Oh Springtime, how I love thee. Especially as strawberries are now in season. We went to a market while on holidays and I bought 1.5 kg of farm fresh strawberries for $5. I may have allowed other members of my family to eat some of them. Maybe.

5. Bananas

After a tropical storm wiped out like a thousand acres of banana plantations north of us, I have not bought bananas. Bananas are something that one should be able to buy for $2 a kilogram. There is no way on this sweet earth I am paying $10+ a kilogram for them. I recently bought a hand of bananas for the still ridiculous, but more reasonably priced $6.99 a kilogram. I have missed them so. Poor BabyCool doesn't know what to do with bananas, he has never had them before and he is now 11 months old! 

6. Moroccan Mint Tea

The lovely Anna brought this tea along to our bookclub a few months ago. The book we were discussing (Reading Lolita in Tehran) was set in the Middle East. To to go with the Iranian sweets we had made, Anna picked up a box of this Moroccan Mint tea. It is lovely. Mr Cool and I now enjoy a big steaming mug with a good spoon of honey as our wind down cuppa at night.

7. Bi-carb Soda 

This stuff can be used for anything! I have begun using it to wash my face. I just sprinkle some into my hand, add some water from the shower and rub it onto my face. It has a scrub like feel and leaves my skin looking smoother. I have found my skin to be less oily, which has been great. At $2.19 a box, it is a bit of a bargain too.

8. Fav Perfume - Elizabeth Arden - Mediterranean 

This is the perfume Mr Cool bought for me and has been replacing the bottle ever since. It reminds me of the sea. This is my Spring/Summer perfume. I have only just started wearing perfume again, now that I am not feeding BabyCool quite as much (supposedly).

9. Vitamins

If I don't take my vitamins and special hormone stabilising stuff that my natropath has put me on, I am a cranky cow by lunch time. I feel healthier, more alert and more balanced since I have been taking these things. I take vitamin B in various forms, vitamin D, phosphate and a little gold capsule that sorts out the whoopy girlie hormones. I also take a multi-vitamin, you know, because you can never be too sure of the quality of the fruits and vegetables in Australia. Did you know that we have really depleted  soils?

10. Natural Instinct Sunscreen

What a find this has been! I bought this product from the natural therapy side of a Terry White Chemist, but they now sell this brand in lots of places. I like that there are not too many nasties in it, certainly no parabens. It has taken a while to get used to using it, it is kind of like a zinc. I mix it with a tiny dob of moisturiser and then really rub it into my face and neck. It stays white for a while, but it does soak in after a couple of minutes. I really think that sunscreen is the key to looking younger.

What kinds of things can't you get enough of right now?

Jittering...

Today is the day. The day when my beautiful Miss A goes into hospital to have her tonsils and adenoids taken out and grommets put in.

I am trying to keep myself busy. As I write this, she is in theatre. *Deep breath. Deep breath.* I have read every blog I follow, too jittery to write comments. I have hung out all the washing. I am not nervous enough to do the dishes or folding yet. 

I know she will be fine. I know that this is pretty routine surgery. I know that she is receiving the best possible care. I know this. I do. 

But, she is my baby girl. She came into this world as a squeaky, screaming, purple thing. I didn't have a clue what to do with her. She had a tongue tie and we had a world of misery in regards to feeding her. We have worked through a lot she and I. And now, I know her better than anyone else in the whole wide world.

Things like: her favourite colour is yellow. She loves to read. Her favourite foods are gnocchi, olives, feta cheese and chocolate. She starts every day with a cup of tea. She is scared when the plug is taken out of the bath. She loves to run. She loves animals. Her biggest fear is to be lost or alone for too long. She cries during most movies. When she grows up, she wants to be an artist. She is scary smart. She has a big mouth and can't help but give her opinion on everything. She has the sweetest heart. She also does everything with a great big smile.

I am keen to see her. But being a mum of three means I have to spread myself out amongst two other children who need me too. Miss Z cannot hear a thing, she is currently watching telly so loud that I am sure the neighbours can hear Jess the Cat's bell tinkering from Postman Pat. She used to say, 'What did you say?' when she didn't hear properly. To save time over the last few days she now just says, 'Say?' It is annoying concerning. We are off the doctor shortly. BabyCool is still recovering from his burns last weekend, has it only been a week? So that is still on our plate, I have to take him back to the big smoke hospital for another dressing change tomorrow. 

On a bit of a tangent..... All of this has made me realise that I am much better in regards to my recently loopiness (aka PND)... Remember my elephant? So, although all of this is a lot of stress, it has been good to be able to sit back and reflect on how far I have come in recent weeks. Silver linings are always welcome at times like this.

I better get going. Turning up to the doctor's in my Oscar the Grouch pyjamas would not be cool. I feel a whole lot better after writing some stuff down. 

How is your week looking? Busy? Stressful? Slow? Empty? I would love to know, you know, keep my mind off my own stuff....

Holidays....

For the next little while I will be somewhere like this....

Hopefully re-equainting myself with one of these.....

Eating lots of these.....

Building lots of these.....

I look forward to returning full of inspiration and ideas, with a great tan. 

Mwah!

B

Anna Says - The Coolest... I Have Ever Seen

The Coolest .... I have ever seen

This hand knitted bear is the coolest thing I have seen in a really long time. Let me tell you why.

Last night I had to call an ambulance. BabyCool burnt his hands and feet with some really hot water. I had decided that the mopping just HAD to be done at 6pm at night. I used really really hot, close to boiling water {so it would dry really quickly}. BabyCool was being entertained by his sisters in another room. I had shut the door - or so I thought. BabyCool pushed the door open, crawled in, saw the bucket and decided to use it to help him stand up.  Accident. 

I am realising, that the details just don't matter. It was an accident. These things happen.

I am having an almost anti-adrenaline rush today which has left me tired, emotional and feeling so stoooopid. But I am so so grateful. 

• I am grateful that I live in a country where we have fresh running water in our house with which to bathe burns
• I am so thankful to have an ambulance service with staff so thoughtful and kind and who work quickly and efficiently and who then stay with an upset baby and mum those few moments longer than they are required to 
• I am thankful for understanding, kind nurses and doctors who see a need and work fast to ensure that a little baby with burns is comfortable and not in pain
• I am blessed to be in a country where nurses are trained to care and to be personable and who give comfort to a mum who is feeling awful that her dear boy has been hurt
• I am in awe of technology that allows a doctor in my town to take a photo of red blistered feet, email them to a burns specialist in a bigger town and get advice on the best care for our baby boy
• I am so amazed by friends and family who are so willing to help in any way they can, from lending cars, minding sleeping children, to prayer, to delivering of Kindles and dry clothes, to offers of food and company 
• I am so thankful for medical technology that allows big burns to little feet to be covered up and protected by no less than silver embedded dressings

What I am most grateful for today is my dear baby boy who has woken up happy and full of life, despite having bandaged hands and feet. His smile, his cuddles and his giggles are the best thing he could have done for his mum who has a sore heavy heart today.

And the bear? Somewhere out there is someone who has sat down to knit a bear. A bear that they donated to the Red Cross. That bear was then given to the Ambulance Service. Then it was given to my very scared and struggling baby boy in the back of an Ambulance. The Ambulance officer tried to cheer up BabyCool with the bear, but he was just too distressed to appreciate the toy. 

This morning however, there were special cuddles and special giggles for the Red Cross Bear. I am grateful for the lovely person who knew that at a time when a child is most scared, that they might need a cuddly toy.

Life is Cool. Love it. Live it. Share it.

Friday Food - Picnics

Spring = Picnics

Don't you just love Spring!? The buds on the trees are beginning to appear, the sky is that amazing bright blue, the sun is warm, you can almost smell earth warming. It means summer is just around the bend too, so lots of barbecues and parties with friends. It has been a long and dreary winter this year. Spring/summer is going to be great!

Last week one of my gal pals asked for some tips on what to pack for a picnic. I amazed myself at the list of things I was able to put together for her... So, I thought I would share some with all of you.  Let's go by country...

English

Sweet: Strawberries, apples, jam tarts, Victoria Sponge

Savoury: bread, sharp cheese, chutney, pickled onions

Drink: Pimms, elderflower cordial, tea

Think: hillside, long green grass, trees, kites, croquet

Italian

Sweet: watermelon, oranges, tiny tiramisu

Savoury: focaccia, feta cheese, a variety of Olives, proscuioto, cherry tomatoes, basil leaves

Drink: heady red wine, chinnotto

Think: lush forest edge, over looking water, bocce

French

Sweet: strawberries, grapes, apple tarts, macaroons

Savoury: baguette, brie, pate, quince paste

Drink: champagne, flavoured mineral waters

Think: inner city park, people watching, French cricket

Australian

Sweet: watermelon, strawberries, lamingtons, scones

Savoury: mini quiches, mini hamburgers, crisps

Drink: beer, coca-cola, lemonade

Don't forget to pack:

a rug

sunscreen

napkins

bags to bring your dirty dishes home in

a bottle opener

Enjoy the sunshine! I am off to plan as many picnics as I can...

150

150
 

This is my 150th post. Amazing huh!? I sure have written a lot over the past few years.


Thanks for sharing the journey with me. 


I hope that I have another 150 posts in me yet.


I just had to mark the occasion... Thanks for indulging me.

Website Review: Birdsnest

Some of my gal pals have been talking about a website. I decided to have a peek into it today and was amazed. You have got to check it out. It is called Birdsnest. Very cool. 

The birdsnest girls believe that the way you look can change the way you feel, and that can change your life! 

What do I like about it?

Well, it is clean and white and really easy to manouvre around in. There are lots of great brands to look at and lots of things to see and do with each brand of clothing. It is also Australian, which is so cool!

I love the 'Styled Outfits' tab. This is where you can select your body shape, occasion and personality, a selection of outfits will be compiled. Very cool.

Let me show you some of the outfits that I like... because I can... because it is my blog...

Above: These are a selection of outfits for a Yummy Mummy with a Tummy. I like that I already have some of these items in my wardrobe. Other personalities I could select: Study Styled, Party Mood and Classic Woman. Very handy indeed. You can also select your different body shapes from Tall to Big Hips and Cankles {I really love that word!}

Above: These are outfits that would suit a petite 'Yummy Mummy'. I have short legs and a short torso, so in some cases I am considered 'petite', which is nice. If I can find petite jeans or trousers, I don't need to get them taken up which is refreshing.

It is handy to have this little reference guide to have a look at before hitting the shops and wondering what the heck to look for first (if you were not going to buy the clothes from Birdsnest of course). Great selection of colours and looks too. I love the names given to each look, very cute touch.

You can also shop by colour, size, and occasion. They have things for men, women, kids and even maternity. It is an amazing source of fashion brands in one spot. How cool to be able to look at so many of my favourite brands and not need to rest my sore feet!

This site is well worth a peek. Don't be put off by some of the prices though. Firstly, they have a sale tab and secondly, we all know that shopping is about getting ideas and finding the best item of clothing to suit us. So, even for a bit of a poke around to see which shade of orange is in for the season, Birdsnest is a great fashion tool.

So, which Birdsnest personality are you?

Are you a:

Yummy Mummy

Corporate Girl

Classic Woman

Playful Style

Study Girl

Party Mood

Designer Attitude

Naturally Active - or -

Yummy Granny?

Write on Wednesday - The Mighty Mighty Re-Write

Okay, firstly, if you get these blog posts as emails, I apologise. I am sorry that you will get yet ANOTHER email about this topic. You see, I thought the task was so simple pimple, I completed it in minutes. But really, it was not as easy as I thought. I didn't get it. So throughout the day I have tried to salvage what I had done. I read some other people's pieces and realised mine was rubbish. So I deleted the post and took myself off the link-a-doo thingamagig. I will try again though. 


I have been trying to push myself a bit lately. I want to write better. So I have joined a few link parties - which is how bloggers have fun I think. I has been fun. And challenging. Today I have linked up {for the second time} with inkpaperpen...




Here is the exercise...

Write on Wednesday Exercise 14 - The Mighty Mighty Rewrite...

Zanni: I did a workshop with literary author Mj Hyland, who teachers Masters in Creative Writing at Manchester University. She asked us to choose our favourite book, take the first paragraph and then write our own content into the paragraph, keeping the structure, tone, language etc. It's really helpful!

Here is the text I have chosen....

Picnic at Hanging Rock

by Joan Lindsay

Everyone agreed that the day was just right for the picnic to Hanging Rock - a shimmering summer morning warm and still, with cicadas shrilling all through breakfast from the loquat treess outside the dining room windows and bees murmuring above the pansies bordering the drive. Heavy-headed dahlias flamed and drooped in the immaculate flowerbeds, teh well-trimmed lawns steamed under the mounting sun. Already the gardener was watering the hydrangeas still shaded by the kitchen wing at the rear of the College. The boarders at Mrs Appleyard's College for Young Ladies had been up and scanning the bright unclouded sky since six o'clock and were now fluttering about in their holiday muslins  like a flock of excited butterflies. Not only was it Saturday and the long awaited occasion of the annual picnic, but Saint Valentine's Day, traditionally celebrated on the fourteenth of February by the interchange of elaborate cards and favours. All were madly romantic and strictly anonymous - supposedly the silent tributes of lovesick admirers; although Mr Whitehead the elderly English gardener and Tom the Irish groom were almost the only two makes to be so much as smiled at during term.

Here is my piece...

Everyone agreed that the day was just right for a bus trip - a stunning spring day of soft cool breezes and azure skies, the lorikeets and rosellas chatting noisily as they feasted from the fresh blooms of grevillias outside the dining room and chickens pecked at the geraniums that lined the walkways. Blue rinsed agapanthus waving at the passing breeze and the pristine grass gleaming with beads of sunshine reflecting the early morning dew. Already the cook was watering the impatiens as they were still in morning shade protected by the nursing home's new administration building. The old ladies of Mrs Orangeblossom's Home for the Aged had been up bright and early adorned in greys, pinks and whites chatting like a noisy flock of excited galahs. Not only was it Saturday and the long awaited occasion of the Carnival of Flowers, the most important day in the gardening calendar, but also the day to sit and watch the parade meandering down the main street of their beautiful mountain city. All the old dears were frantically snipping articles and programs of events from the local paper, desperate not to miss a single stunning bloom, wondrous display or fanciful pot of colour; even though their beloved Home for the Aged had won first prize in many of the competition categories.

I hope I have now done this piece justice!