One last year in the stars...

You're six now.

Your little mind and body are slowly becoming your own.

Bit by bit you are finding your place on Mother Earth, and learning what it is that makes you who you are - what makes you different, and what makes you perfect.

The silvery ribbon that binds our souls together will soon loosen, but I will always be there to guide you and, of course, to love you.

Soon it will be time to make your own discoveries, your own plans and have your own adventures. But right now, you still have one last year in the stars.

Enjoy it, my darling, and I wish you the happiest of birthdays.

Love Mummy x

Yum cha!

There's not much we love more than a massive yum cha feast!

Especially when it is shared with family.

There are always some unusual delicacies for us to taste, and we get so much enjoyment watching the kids tuck into things that most people would just gape at. Our middle son is incredibly game when it comes to trying new things - his Asian genes must be in his stomach! He was so excited to be having yum cha, that he piled his plate up with at least one of everything. He then looked at me and with such sincerity, declared, "Mum, I have NO idea where to start!" But start he did, and he didn't stop until his plate was clean!

Our oldest son is not quite so keen, but won't say no to some siu mai or ma lai goh. Translated, these are pork dumplings and steamed cake, and they are divine! Little Miss loves her dumplings too, but is also a bit partial to her Daddy's childhood favourite,
char siu bao, or steamed pork buns.

I dare say we could quite easily eat yum cha everyday of the week!

Enjoy the photos!

His anticipation was palpable!

Daddy and daughter's favourite, steamed pork buns.

Yep, it's a chicken's foot! There was nothing left of this one bar a couple of knuckle bones!

Aunty proudly watching the chopstick action!

Siu mai, or steamed pork dumplings.

Ma lai goh. A delicious steamed cake that is supposed to be dessert.
It never lasts that long on our table!

The feast!

Lentil & brown rice chicken soup

Thanks for sharing this recipe, Kel!

I made this delicious soup on one of the last days of winter - a perfect soup day! It was absolutely divine, and made so much that we have enough for another two meals. It's tasty and extremely healthy. Could there be a better combination?

Enjoy...

6 chicken drumsticks (skin on or off - I don't think it really matters)
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (I'd use less if cooking for children, as mine found it a little too spicy)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (I think this is my favourite ingredient of all time - so fresh and zingy!)
4 cups of chicken stock
800 g can diced tomatoes
1 cup dried red lentils, rinsed
1 can borlotti beans, drained
1/3 cup brown rice
Juice of one lemon
fresh coriander leaves to serve

Add all ingredients except borlotti beans, lemon juice and coriander leaves into the slow cooker. Cook on low about 7 - 9 hours. Add the drained borlotti beans about an hour before serving to allow them to heat through. Remove the chicken skin (if you used skin-on chicken pieces) and bones. Shred the chicken into the soup, stir through the lemon juice and serve sprinkled with coriander leaves.

Your body will thank you!

Name this blossom!

This pretty little white flower is currently filling my home with it's heady scent.

Do you know what it is?

It's on a large bush that would probably be 5 metres high,
and about the same size in width.

Could it be a Murraya?

Don't hold back

My friend lost her husband a couple of days ago. Tragic and unexpected. They have three children, including a new born baby girl. I cannot begin to understand what she may be experiencing, but I can offer her my prayers, and hope that they may be surrounded by a cocoon of love and support for as long as it takes to ease the pain.

I haven't been able to stop thinking about them all, and it has made me realise just how transient this life is. We often forget that someone can be taken away from us at any moment, and quite often we put off doing or saying things because we think the time isn't right, or we are afraid of the reactions or the consequences.

But if you have something to tell someone, say it ...

If you have argued with someone, apologise ...

If you have something to give someone - a hug, a gift, a phone call, a smile - give it to them ...

If you have somewhere you want to visit, plan that trip ...

If you have always wanted to study something, enrol and start now ...

If you have always wanted to change something about yourself, begin your metamorphosis ...

If you're passionate about a cause, start a revolution ...

There's no time like the present, and none of us know what tomorrow will bring. Please don't hold back .

Slow Cooked Creamy Lentil & Tomato Soup

This is possibly one of the most delicious soups you will ever eat! It's rich, creamy, a little (or a lot!!) spicy, and is the best winter warmer I know of. My Mum introduced us to this one, and we eat it every winter without fail.

This recipe is perfect for a big 5.5L slow cooker, but you could easily halve it if you have a smaller one, or don't want to make so much. It's perfect to freeze too, so is a great meal for busy mothers like me.

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

2tbls olive oil
2 medium onions
4 cloves garlic crushed
chilli powder or fresh chilli to taste
6 cups beef or chicken stock (I use chicken)
6 cups tomato passata
5 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 cups red lentils
1 1/2 cups cream
salt and pepper if desired

Fry onions in olive oil until golden brown, add garlic and chilli and cook for a minute.

Put them in the slow cooker and add all other ingredients.

Cover and cook for 6-7 hours on low.

About 30 minutes, to one hour before serving, stir in cream and replace cover.

Allow it to heat through and serve with crusty bread!

Taking a risk

Some of you may remember that we had our house on the market a little while ago. It was for sale for 60 days and we had a total of 7 people come through! The real estate market in our area is DEAD! So we took it off and decided that we would make do here for a little while longer. That decision lasted about six weeks, and we now have itchy feet again. Really itchy feet!

Maybe it's the gypsy blood, or maybe it's just this niggling little dream that we've both had forever. You see, we see ourselves in the mountains living as self-sustainably as possible. We've tried many times to get up there, but the timing just hasn't been right, and there's always been something that's gotten in our way. Yesterday though we decided that we are way too conservative, and that it's time to take a few risks. Safe risks, but nevertheless, out of our usual comfort zone. We talked all afternoon about ways we could make our dream attainable without having to rely on the sale of the home we are in.

Then last night, this aired on tv, and it sealed the deal for us.

How cool is that!?!? So we are now going to investigate the possibility of renting out our house, and we are going to search for our perfect block of land. We will build a yurt! We love them! They are quirky and a little eccentric. A bit like us really! And the design options they present are endless! It's not something we plan on rushing into though. We still have a bit of renovating to do on our house to get it rentable, and then there is the exciting prospect of researching how to actually build the house!


The dream is to start with a central yurt and gradually add more on to create enough space for everyone and everything. My ultimate dream is to be completely self sufficient in the way we power the home - complete solar for electricity, gas for hot water and cooking, and of course big tanks of gorgeous rain water! How amazing would it be to never receive an electricity bill!

This is a dream that is entirely 'do-able' for us. It is going to take some dedication, some huge leaps of faith and a lot of hard work. But I think we may have finally found a way to have our cake and eat it too.

NB. Edited to add - Sorry about the way the video doesn't quite fit on the page! I can't work out how to fix it!