The day has been rather epic, and hot. Looking at the above vine makes me wish I was currently sitting under it's cool shade, daydreaming away. Read on, and you will see that the day has provided little time for rest and lush green ponderings.
I shall start with the bread from the weekend. It had plenty of time to ferment in the heat, and below, this is what it looked like by mid morning...
Well risen dough, ready to knead.
The soft dough was put onto a well dusted board (I used coconut flour). The kneading took all of 5 minutes. Too easy.
The dough was then put in a well greased loaf tin that I had also dusted with polenta. I covered it until the oven heated to 220 degrees celsius.
After baking for approximately 40 mins-turning it down after 30, this is the result. Honestly, the easiest, chemical free bread you will ever make. I have several slices in the freezer individually wrapped.
Now, back to today. Hubby and I had words over his power tool using mess that trashes my tiny courtyard. We negotiated a solution eventually, and I will soon have a green screen separating the 'work side' and my 'sanity' side out back. I am also looking around for an outdoor vac, as hosing, and sweeping away sawdust, especially while living in a middle unit, is basically impossible.I am very happy with the outcome. I get to garden some more with another vertical wall :) The hardest part of the negotiating was working out which plant to use for growth and cost. We both realised a green wall with several plants attached would work best for the budget and instant greenery. I have plenty of pants I can transfer from my garden that will reduce the expense significantly too. I am looking forward to being enclosed by a pretty green space :)
Today was a clean, garden and cook ahead kind of day. I pruned palm leaves, and lopped a small palm tree down. I did a few loads of washing, countless dishes (ok, 3 sink loads) and made lunches- for my teen on loan from Germany, hubby and myself. And bubby of course!
Hubby's lunch prep- tuna bake. Simply boil pasta until just soft. Drain. Add to a drained 425gm tin of tuna in spring water. Stir in some mayo (I used my homemade stuff), a quarter cup of cheese and top with breadcrumbs, olive oil and a little salt. Grill until golden.
This made 3 generous portions for a hard working hubby who has a very big week with an exhibition at Byron Bay on Thursday.
I got right into making a zucchini slice after the pasta bake. Look below for the simple ingredients...
These ingredients made 20 portions of zucchini slice. I personally like to use iodised table salt as unless you are eating lots of iodine rich foods, you likely aren't getting enough for healthy thyroid function. It's questionable if the modern processing of dairy food allows for sufficient iodine. Also, many plants are hydroponically grown (soil free) or grown in soils depleted in iodine. So, unless you are eating a lot of seafood, you probably aren't getting enough.
I started with grating the zucchini with the cheese and quarter of an onion. The olives were a salty addition, just because :) The eggs were whisked with half a cup of olive oil, and then the almond meal was added, with a hint of coconut flour to bind. I baked it in a hot- 200 degree oven- for approximately 40mins.
I needed to show this. Oh, what I would do for a non human dishwasher. This is sink full number 3, all before 11am! Why I wanted to show this is simple: getting healthy requires effort. Simple as that. If I want to tone up and increase my physical strength, I need to exercise. If I want to eat healthy, whole food without added nasties and sugar, I need to prepare it myself. Honestly, I had a baby to feed, change, put to sleep, get again when she woke, yet I managed a huge volume of work before noon today. I also did a supermarket run for a forgotten item. It is possible to set time aside to prepare healthy meals or snacks in advance. Now, I have saved myself a lot of extra effort, and temptation, this week.
This is the zucchini slice, fresh from the oven, and grill. I browned the top under the grill when mostly cooked. I may have inhaled 2 pieces when I was cutting and wrapping it too :) So worth the messy kitchen for this.
The rest of the day was almost break free. I was busy. Hubby was too. So much going on this week. Stress levels are high, just like the temperature. Gotta love living in a place that has 6-7 month long summers. I'm not sure when this happened, but somewhere along the years, I went from being like a frog- someone who would only come out when the temperature hit 27 degrees and above, to the complete opposite. I won't go out now, unless I must. Maybe it's knowing that skin cancer is real and we live in the best place for it? Or maybe, my aging bod just doesn't enjoy the heat anymore? For a gal who loves actual season's, this climate is a challenge. Maybe that's it- I miss real seasons. I'm not sure what it is, but give me a real spring and fresh winters day any day.
I tackled the growing number of palm tree leaves that had fallen these past weeks and were cluttering my little garden. The golden cane palms are easy to chop up, but the large, overgrown, scraggly palm in the corner is a total pain- shedding gigantic leaves that I discovered are near impossible to cut up. It has to go. I lopped it's smaller offshoot in half- too easy. But somehow, tackling a gigantic, several metre high palm on my own seems unwise, especially as it's close to homes. As I think you gather by now how much I dislike summer, having a garden to focus on is a positive thing- I can grow plants in the palm tree gap that I can then water. Water is cool. Summer heat feels better when wet. Problem solved :)
Now, onto dinner. My non teen is back from Japan- I picked her up from the airport yesterday morning. She not only came over for lunch, but also family dinner. Despite the cooking I had already done, and the heat, I made a roast chook.
The chicken and spuds ready to go. I oiled the dish, and coated the spuds and chook in a little olive oil, salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Then I covered it in foil to steam cook for an hour or so.
After that, I cooked it uncovered. As usually happens with my oven, the spuds weren't cooked, and ended up in a fry pan with butter, and the chook was cooked separately.
I honestly didn't have time for greens- too busy this afternoon. This is what the family ate. I had a tired bubby to bath and feed. I managed to enjoy some chicken while I was preparing, and some carcass picking after though :)
I ate well today, but I am choosing to stick to mainly protein for a few days. Carbs heat me up and bloat me. I know this well from Saturday- my cheat day- no sugar, but plenty of carbs. I will try to remember all I ate. I am a bit vague today- nearly but not quite a good night's sleep yet again. But here goes...
Breaky: steamed chicken thighs (2) and a strong coffee with limited milk at 7am.
Morning tea number 1: protein shake with chia at 9am.
Morning tea number 2: boiled egg and a generous lump of cheese left over from grating at 10am.
Lunch: 2 pieces of zucchini slice, 1 with pesto, at 12:30.
Afternoon tea:steamed chicken.
Dinner: chicken, fat, skin and all. Not sure how much, but a satisfying amount.
Supper: a milky decaff.
There you have it, my big Monday. Until tomorrow, thanks for reading :)
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