Roast Beetroot Dip

So just to continue with the cooking theme. I made some roast beetroot dip the other day and it was so yummy. I am not a massive fan of beetroot, but put it in a dip or make some chips and I am in love. I guess it is then canned stuff I am not a fan of. I also love the colour of the dip. It tastes so yummy smothered really thickly on some crackers, or even as part of a spread on a sandwich with turkey and cheese.
So here it is the recipe I used to make roast beetroot dip. (or roast beet dip if you are from the states)

 

Roast Beetroot dip

 

 



 

-Roast about 4 beetroots and 1 head of garlic in oven at about 180 degree Celsius make sure to drizzle with a little olive oil first (the beetroot will take about an hour the garlic half an hour)

- toast about 150-200g nuts ( I used cashews but walnuts, or pine nuts would do just as well.) If you have a nut allergy simple leave out

-once everything it roasted, toasted and cool. Peel beetroot careful not to get any on your skin. I use a knife and fork and carve the skin away. or you could try gloves, and smoosh garlic into a food processer. Obviously you don't want to eat the skin.

-place all ingredients in a food processer with 200g of feta. Blend till you get your desired consistency. You may need to add more oil depending on how wet/oily your nuts and feta are.

-enjoy! 

Easy simple tomato-bean-pasta soup

I never set out for this to be a blog with recipes. However that is the way it is evolving at the moment, so we shall see where it leads. This is a simple soup recipe that I make especially on days like today where the sun seems to be struggling to get out of bed. It makes about four serves

Ingredients
1-2 teaspoons olive oil
1 brown onion
6 rashers bacon
420g can baked beans in tomato sauce
420g can condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup shell pasta (this is guide put in as much pasta as desired, you also don't need to use shell pasta)
large can peas and corn
chopped parsley (again as much as you desire)

method
-heat oil in large pot and cook onion till soft. Add bacon and fry until cooked
- add baked beans, tomato soup, pasta and two cups of water. Bring to boil and cook until pasta is cooked
- add peas, corn, parsley until heated through.
-serve



tomato-bean-pasta soup

Amazing Banana Bread

There seems to be way to much bad news in the press recently (I know it is always bad news) that I thought I would share my recipe for amazing Banana bread (bonus it is lactose free). Why don't you give it try and have a cuppa with someone you care about and forget your troubles for a while.

Amazing Banana Bread

 

Amazing banana bread

 

 

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups self-raising flour (wholemeal can be used)

1 cup flour (wholemeal can be used)

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

1tsp ground cinnamon ( I use a generous teaspoon)

450g mashed bananas

2/3 cup of pureed apple ( jars of baby food are fine)

2 tsp vanilla essence

125g berries (I use frozen raspberries or blueberries. Use as much or as little as you like)

Nuts (I have used hazelnuts, pecans, and walnuts. Again use as many or as little as you like)

Seed mix to garnish (the one i use has sunflower and pumpkin seeds with pine nuts, this is optional)

 

Method

1. preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius and grease loaf tin 7cm deep, 10x20cm base

2. Sift both flours into large bowl. Add sugar, coconut and cinnamon. Then add eggs, banana, pureed apple and vanilla. Stir till combined

3. gently fold in berries and nuts

4. pour into pan and smooth top. Garnish with seed mix. Bake for 1 1/2 hours

5. cool in pan before turning onto wire rack.

 

This amazing banana bread can be eaten warm or cold, with or with out butter. it keeps for about a week in a sealed container in the fridge. This not only makes a great morning/afternoon tea but also a nice dessert if you wish.

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and it gives you a chance to catch up and live in a peaceful moment if only for a little while.



Make love not war!

 

 

 



Work, rest and play

I listened to a comment made today at lunch it went a little like this. "honestly why can't people be happy to go to work, come home have tea and go to bed." The discussion had been about Turkey and all the countries that it is neighbours with which are currently in the middle of civil war or do not have the most stable of governments.
I think at the core of every human is a want for some kind of peace in their lives and also their families. At least I would hope so otherwise this a sad world we are existing in. I also realise life is not as simple as getting up and going to work, and coming home for rest.
I do wonder how worth it, it is, to fight so hard for your beliefs to put your life and family at constant risk.  Also I am at a loss at how people believe so easily in something that has such little fact behind it. I guess that is why it is called faith! Cause it seems to me that, that is all it is. However I have no problem accepting peoples belief systems cause I know at times mine make very little sense. I.e. I absolutely believe in evolution, but I do believe there is more to this world than what I am capable of sensing and understanding. Go figure or not!
Why is it so hard to except that every individual on this planet has a different belief system and that is perfectly ok. Your beliefs do not need to be any one else's'. You just need to respect that what is yours is yours and what is theirs is theirs. We only have this world to physically exist on, as far as we know. No-one has any guaranties about what happens next, so surely we need to love what we have, and be tolerant of others.
Tomorrow I will wake up and go to work, come home and have tea and sleep. It will be wonderful. I am truly thankful that i live in a country where i am free to believe what i choose, and so does everyone else. I am also grateful that our government allows me to have a say. I also have faith that peace is achievable.
Please be kind to each other. That's all that needs to be done.

Polish

I have recently become quite interested in nail polish. So I thought I would show you some of my creations. Please keep in mind I am very mush an amateur! More photos will probably come as I continue with this interest


Butter London Disco biscuit



Butter London Slapper with Zoya Opal



O.P.I Eurso Euro and O.P.I polka.com



I have to say I really loved the OPI eurso euro with polka.com

More polish

Well here they are more polish picks from the new hoppy of nail polish. Enjoy!

Orly liquid vinyl and Zoya Opal

 

 

Orly liquid vinyl and Zoya Twila

 

 

OPI number one nemesis

 

 

Zoya storm from the ornate collection

 

 

There are no friends like you had in high school

I went out for dinner last night with some old friends from high school. I would like to think we are just like the sex and the city girls, but we are not. We are who we are and that is so much better! We all met in our first year of high school and we have remained friends ever since. We are all nearly 30 now. We have all taken different directions in life, some have married and have had children. Some like me just love to travel, some both. We don't see each other often even though we all live in the same area. Although when we do catch up, it's like there is no time distance between us. I felt a little sorry for the restaurant that was waiting for us to finish up last night so they could close up, also for the dinners who had to put up with a quartet of giggling women who sound like high school girls. I guess in some ways we always will be. There is such an amount of love and respect for each other, I can honestly call them my sisters. Which seeing I don't have any biological ones, these relationships I truly treasure.
Friendship is a wonderful gift, and must be treasured.
When was the last time you caught up with an old friend or two? Maybe today should be the day.

lessons my cat has taught me

I wrote on an earlier post about adopting my cat Missy, and how wonderful she is. When I figure out how to create a link to that post I will put one in. In the mean time you can look at the previous post titled Missy.
Anyway here is a list of the things so far that little Missy has taught me
1. Find some simple pleasures in life. Yesterday she was laying in my bed soaking up the sunshine. It reminded my of taking time out to just be. Here was my little cat in big bed simply enjoying the sun. There is defiantly something therapeutic about soaking up some rays.

2. Sometime you have to make your own fun. Missy is an inside cat, so she doesn't have the luxury of exploring the street as some other cats do. that being said she wont end up like the cat that use to live next door, with a tyre print on it's back. Quite often I get home and consider the possibility that maybe I have broken into. Alas Missy has just been playing. Her toys are spread all over the house. Cushions are everywhere, and her scratching post is tipped over and preventing me from opening the door properly. I love watching her create her own little games with her toys. So lesson, if you can't get to the fun, create your own

3. Sometimes when you want something you have to get a little pushy. There are many times when I am reading a paper or a book on the couch, and Missy decides that is cuddle time. She simply just negotiates herself between me and whatever I am reading and demands the attention. If you want something bad enough sometimes you just need to remove the obstacles, or at least find a way around them.

Little miss demanding attention!

I have given serious thought to starting a blog about the life lessons Missy has taught me. Let me know what you think

happiness is....

an oversized bed in the sunshine.......
stay cool and happy.

Miss you Nero

Nero

This is Nero. Or perhaps now I should be saying this was Nero. Nero was a family cat that has simply disappeared. We went out for dinner a couple of weeks ago and he has never been seen since. He had not been part of the family long, however he had made a huge impact. Every time I looked at him, I couldn't get over how long his tail was. It seemed out of proportion to the rest of him. He was very talkative so you were never lonely when he was around. He loved chasing butterflies and moths, and was usually had a bug or two to keep him busy. Like all pets he had a very distinctive personality and has left a hole in the family dynamic.
I have been to the pound a couple of times thinking I have seen him there. Always aware that this is wishful thinking. If in fact Nero was there he would be easily identified because he was micro chipped. I have called all local vets, put shout-outs on facebook, and even had the local adoption group that we adopted him from put up a missing post as well.
Nero you are very much missed and I hope that wherever you are now, that you are ok.
The death of a pet is always a time for grief, a lost pet is always worse because there is no conclusion. Just a half read book.
Love ya Nero!

how big is the world?

So last night when I was letting my mind wonder I was struck by the question How big is the world? I have done a bit of travel so I have to say that to get to places can indeed take along time. I am in no rush to spend 24hrs plus on a plane again. However I recognise that the advances in plane travel has meant that the world has gotten smaller. Long gone are the days where you have to spend weeks on a boat to travel somewhere.
I also remember being homesick, once while I was away and I received a SMS from a loved one at home. And the realisation that, that message only took seconds to get to me, and it would take longer then a day for me to return home. Some times technology  has a way of rubbing your nose in it!
As for technology, news from round the world travels very quickly. the old adage that bad news travels fast takes on a whole new meaning.
Anyway back to wear I was going originally. I was thinking of all the photos that get posted every moment on the internet and where exactly do they go, who sees them, and who actually owns them, indeed it is another world in the great spider web of the interne. It let me down the path that not only are we creatures inhabiting this amazing planet. We are global citizens! It might take us a day or more to travel from one end of the globe to the other, but we are indeed living on the entire planet. Both physically and digitally. Anyone in the world can read this post if the have access to an internet connection. The world is getting smaller, as we expand our horizons. With that comes great responsibilities. To add a few more sayings to this blog with great power comes great responsibilities. However I must think the old saying of think global act local is becoming less relevant by the moment.
Be kind, we all share this ever smaller world together. It is all we have.
Peace!

Mirgraines

I have been suffering from migraines all my life. I can't remember not having them. Let me assure you that the word suffering is an understatement. Although I do have to say that I think I get off lightly compered to some people who also endure them. As I have gotten older I have learnt to cope and prevent them much better. I partially think this is because as I have gotten older I also have been able to have better control of my environment and lifestyle.
My big triggers are stress and tiredness, yes they are hard to avoid in today's busy over stimulated world, and that fact that I am a shift worker. I am sensitive to smells as well. In particular Asian furniture stores. They seem to have an aroma that only I can detect. I can't stay long in these stores. On occasion the weather will also trigger them. I am yet to find any dietary triggers. I have though at one stage or anther thought that red food colouring and UHT milk were triggers. However after some scientific experimentation on my self this have proved to be false
I always remember as a kid getting migraines on school camps. Not only was I out of my comfort zones but also having to endure late nights and early starts. It never took long for the spews to start, having this feeling like I wanted to snap my neck to release some pressure, and feeling like my eyes were about to shoot out of there sockets. If I couldn't get a handle on it my digestive system would go into shut own until any water that I was trying to ingest to replace from throwing up would not stay down. Needles to stay I have been hooked up to I.V's on a couple of occasions. I also had a very narrow minded principle who would only believe that these "headaches" as he called them were always caused by dehydration. He would not accept that there were other triggers. Anyway as I am an adult now I have a lot more say over my lifestyle and thus in a lot more control of my triggers. I have also found some great medicine (although dealing with side effects is another story) to help prevent and also treat migraines. One thing that I have found that works for me to aid in prevention is a regular Berocca. Vitamin B must play apart I assume.
I recently found a bioglhttp://www.migrainemonologues.com/ and it was so good to read about other people who suffer from this condition. I have found over the years that if I don't keep my blood sugar levels even over time this also to be a trigger. I was so relieved when I found on this blog that people could relate to this. I have often received funny looks from people when I insist on carrying muesli bars on me all the time. Not only to boost sugar levels when necessary, but also if a migraine strikes I have some food to take with pain killers.
Every migraine sufferer out there will have a million different triggers, and equally as many different treatments.
I hope this helps you appreciate what some migraine sufferers have to deal with. I count myself lucky that mine usually only last a day or two, and that I don't get auroras as some do. Please remain open minded when you next meet your next migraine sufferer.

Lovely singapore

I have recently returned from a one week holiday in Singapore. I have to say it was lovely. One of the most lovely holidays i have been on. I think Singapore is usually treated as a quick stopover between destinations. However i must say that i was never without anything to do the whole trip. The magical gardens by the bay was defiantly a favourite. I felt like I had walked into something of the scale of willy wonker's chocolate factory when i entered the flower dome. It definitely had a wow factor!!!! Universal studios on santosa islands was great. I also gave a fish foot spa a turn. Very ticklish to start off with, but very relaxing from then on. The shopping was good to, and with cosmetics being cheaper i can say that my nail polish collection has expanded rapidly. With so many food choices available one is never hungry. The zoo and night safari provided some amazing photo opportunities. I was also able to visit the Changi war museum. An episode in history that should never be forgotten. The week was finished off with a lovely high tea at Raffles Hotel. A lovely old British colonial experience.
I think for me one of the biggest positive experiences was how completely safe i felt in this pretty city. Not once did i feel unsafe in a taxi (which i must add are very cheap and a great way to get around), also walking around late at night there was not once were i felt nervous.  A pity more places don't feel the same. Also the people are amazingly friendly. Another aspect i truely loved is that no one is in a rush. It is simply to hot to be running around like a headless chock.
Anyway it is Easter, so i must be off. However if you are trying to find a holiday destination consider Singapore.
Have a great Easter