Strawberry Picking & Super Fast Salad

A long time ago I snapped up some very cheap strawberry plant bulbs from our supermarket.
Three in the pack, two died in a heatwave but one grew and grew.
It has taken over the pot and is now providing us with delicious, sweet berries every few days.



Eve spotted this one straight away, and lunged down to pinch it off.



Straight in the mouth, no need to wash, we don't use any chemicals here.



"You try?"



The rest of my little garden is going well.



I have one empty pot that I cannot decide what to put in, and I need to get some coriander seedlings since mine keep getting killed by the heat as soon as they begin to get leaves.



The crystal apple cucumber plant is dripping in tiny fruit, slowly swelling up.
I can't wait til we get to pick these!
Sliced in thick chunks with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and chilled to icy perfection, they are the best Summer snack!

Lunch today has been super healthy and super delicious.
I had some brown lentils (canned) left from dinner preparations and wanted to use them somehow with the brown rice sitting in my fridge.
This is what I ended up with...



It was very tasty but so filling, I served myself up half and couldn't even finish it!



It was so quick and easy to make, and much better for you than convenience foods!
I have no idea what to name my creation so feel free to call it whatever you want!

{insert creative salad name here}
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 carrot, grated
1 Roma tomato, finely chopped
1/2 Lebanese cucumber, chopped
1/2 red capsicum, chopped
1 can flavoured tuna, I used herb and garlic
1/2 cup cooked and cooled brown rice
1/4 cup brown lentils (canned)
Sprinkling of chopped parsley

Method:

Mix it all together!

Add some grated cheese if you like...



And EAT!!

Fill up your tummy with yummy salad and green tea and try to resist the freshly baked biscuits lurking in the pantry...



I made these using wholemeal flour yesterday with a few variations, recipe coming soon!

Soak Up The Sunshine

Remember this way back here?

Well, a part of the challenge we have undertaken is to be more active.
I go to the gym every day but I still need to teach my kids about being active themselves.
So we go and do things as a family.

Like explore new parks...



We found the perfect tree house tree...



And Eve discovered some beautiful blossoms...



We ran, we played, we walked.
We had fun.

The sun was shining again so we went to the beach...





While the big kids went to dip their toes in, myself and the little one dipped our toes in the warm sand...



The water was icy cold so we spotted the pools in the distance and went for a wander.
We collected shells along the way...



The water was still cold but we went in, splashing and playing in the children's pool.
After a while the little one got tired and cranky, so we headed back to the playground just off the beach.
The big girl played, made new friends.
It started to get cool, and late, so we packed ourselves up into the car and headed home for a delicious dinner of grilled fish and veges with couscous...



So all in all, a good day!

Food & Fun

A while ago I wrote in to my favourite magazine and won an amazing prize pack...



Well I finally used one of them!
It was a tough choice.
But my gorgeous girl helped to decide.
It came down to the bunny rabbit of the butterfly...



She chose the butterfly of course!



I followed the basic chocolate cake recipe on the packaging.



It was quite nice. Not the most amazing flavour, but it was still good. Even better when warm with a little butter spread on top.
The recipe was simple, great to do with a little one and the perfect amount for the mold. I was worried I would have excess batter, but it was perfect!

I whipped up this yummy crustless spinach quiche for lunch last week...



I'm doing a boot camp at my gym, so my food has been very healthy lately!!
I made this yummy vegetable and polenta pie (from my favourite vegetarian cookbook)...



I had fun with my girl making a big mess of ourselves...



We did some splatter paintings with food dye...



And then some painting...


(PLEASE, Blogger, WHY do you rotate my photos, no matter how many times I delet and upload again!!!)

And in other news......



We rescued this gorgeous, fat fluffball from our local animal shelter...



His name is Cedric, he is 5 years old, and a very fat cat who LOVES his food. (Fits right in here!)
He is getting over his shyness but still gets a bit scared around Eve. He has given her a few little scratches but I'm sure he will get used to her with time.

Peace Park Play

There is a lovely little park on our street called "Peace Park"

It is to commemorate our friendship between our shire and Japan.

It is lovely.

There are glistening white pebbles and large stepping stones, well tended shrubs and grass, and dividing it is a wooden bridge, full of character.

The park continues up with lush grass and cascading water features.

Kids love it.

Getting used to the stepping stones with daddy to help...

Can't stop me now!

Our little spectator...

Up and onwards to the water feature...

Of course she has a little splash...

Onward!

Family fun :)

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY!

Baked Tuna Casserole

Remember this?



Well, I have had this on my "to do" list for a long time.
Finally, I decided I would actually cook it.

Of course, as with everything, I strayed from the recipe.
It looked like it needed a little oomph in flavour.
So I decided to add in a can of this...



I used spinach fresh from my container garden...



As well as fresh parsley from a neighbouring tub.
I omitted the peas.
I hate peas.
I added some wholemeal pasta, to bulk it up a bit.
But it still looked good...



Fresh from the oven and the smell was divine...



I scooped out a big serving...



And had a tasty and terribly healthy lunch...



It keeps well in the fridge, and has been another dinner and lunch after that as well.



So here is the recipe, tweaked a little from the original found here.

FILLING

1 leek, finely sliced
3 large zucchini (courgettes), diced
200 g spinach leaves
400 g tin tuna in spring water, well drained
2 tablespoons chopped oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Cracked pepper

400g tin diced tomatoes

1 Cup Wholemeal pasta

WHITE SAUCE
500 g ricotta
pinch of nutmeg to taste
cracked white pepper
50 g grated parmesan cheese

Combine all the ingredients, except parmesan, in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:

Preheat the oven to 180°C .
Sauté the Leek in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon olive oil over a low – medium heat until soft.
Add the zucchini and spinach.
Cook for 5 minutes, or until the spinach is wilted and zucchini has slightly softened.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and fold thorough the tuna, tinned tomatoes and herbs.
Season with pepper.
Spoon the tuna mixture into individual ovenproof dishes or one large baking dish.
Spread over the white sauce.
Grate over the Parmesan cheese.
Bake the casserole for 30 – 40 minutes until golden on top and heated though.
Serve and enjoy.

What An Eventful Weekend

This past weekend has flown by for us.
On Friday our main computer broke.
It broke bad.
We had a lot of fixing to do so I was using my back up.
My back up is a very old, and very unreliable laptop.
But it got us through and helped us fix the big one.
That night my husband was called in to help out at work for an hour or two.
Then he was asked to work the next day, Saturday, our big food shopping day.

Saturday morning came and my dear husband woke to his phone being broken, something we couldn't fix.
He went off to work, no phone, no way to contact him.
He was supposed to finish at 1pm.
He finished at 330pm.
By the time he got home it was a mad rush out the door to squeeze in the necessary shopping.
It was hectic.

Sunday I had big plans.
I decided that my girl and I needed a fun mummy-daughter day. I planned a big trip on the train into the city to visit Sydney Aquarium.
Sunday morning we got up, dressed, organized.
I checked the train timetables.
Then I noticed a little announcement...
Track work all weekend.
Buses replace trains.
Please allow for extra travel time.
*Groan*
I hate buses.
I haven't been on a bus for years.
I dreaded the thought of hauling my girl and a heavy laden pram full of supplies for the day onto a bus.
I checked for wheelchair accessible bus times.
I thought, "What the heck, I won't let this ruin our day! Let's go!"
So we did.
It was an adventure.
But when we got to the aquarium, it was well worth it to see the look on her face.
The excitement with every turn.
She loved every minute of it.
She was so well behaved.
Even when I decided to walk 30mins there and back instead of getting on another bus for one stop.
Even I got excited when I walked in the door and saw they had the LEGO sculptures still on display from last school holidays.



Oh yes, I love LEGO.



So many beautiful fish...



Eve got excited when she found "Nemo" and was showing all the other children.



The big tank towards the end was amazing.



So many fish as well as sharks zooming right by us...



I had an amazing time out with my girl.
We headed home quite early. She was tired, and so was I.
The day wasn't over for me though.
I had a dinner planned with an old friend.
We went to the local pub which had renovated their bistro.
The food was delicious.
The dessert was AMAZING!



I figured after such a long day of walking, and carrying Eve through half of the aquarium, I deserved a little treat.
It was a delectable sticky date pudding.
The texture was light and fluffy and rich and moist.
The sauce was divine.
I must go there for date night with my hubby!

Since our weekend was so busy, I am now catching up.
Dishes.
Washing.
All those terribly exciting things we wish didn't exist.

This week on our meal plan (yes, I do it, it saves us a bundle) I am making some of my favourites from my vegetarian cookbook.
Oh yes, I am giving away a copy of the awesomely delicious book!

Please enter the competition. It is easy, and trust me, this isn't the boring kind of book which relies of lentils and no flavour for meals. It has the best cheese souffle recipe I have ever found in there. It is one of our favourite "treat" meals. Not so healthy, but we serve it with steamed veges to lighten it up a bit.

Mmm.... Now I want some cheese souffle!

Anyway, check it out over here. There are also links to the yummy recipes I have shared on this blog from the book.

:)