A serve of stubbornness with a side of veggies

I have a stubborn streak. A real stubborn streak. In fact my stubborn streak can get so bad I can refuse to do the simple things, like brush my teeth everyday or brush my hair, just because I’ve been told self-grooming (which goes out the window during a depressive stage) is important for my recovery. Phffft to self-grooming. Phffft to recovery. 

I know, childish, right?

My stubborn streak’s always been around, it’s just I didn’t realise how bad it was until I was chatting with my psychologist a few weeks ago. For example, I’ve never been one to go for anything mainstream: popular fiction, phffft; popular band, absolutely no way; popular television show, get real. In fact, if I do find myself loving something popular, like Game of Thrones, I’m shocked when I can understand all the references made about it. I’m so used to being one of those people that says, ‘what’s that?’, ‘who’s that?’, ‘never heard of them’. Stubborn? Slightly.

Then there’s the stubbornness I have when I’m given advice on getting ‘over’ my depression. I simply try to shut people down or tell them I’m already aware of whatever it is they’re telling me. Totally stubborn.

Or when a conversation turns to health and I take everything as a personal affront and so, first, get mad, and then ignore the conversation that’s taking place around me. Ignorance is, after all, bliss, right?

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not that much of a stubborn git to not abide by the law. Good girl, Fiona. I also follow the social conventions of friendship (I’ve watched too much Big Bang Theory with that statement. HA, which is popular…but had become too popular so I stopped watching it. Damn it!), which is partly why I have such wonderful friends around me (the other part is because I’m secretly slipping them illicit drugs to keep them thinking I’m a joy to be around).

However, finding more and more examples of being stubborn doesn’t shed any light on WHY I’m stubborn. So this week my psychologist and I did a little more digging into the life and times of Fiona Tristram. We spoke a bit more about stubbornness itself, and then touched on being compassionate to oneself, the feeling of empowerment and what happens when you lack control over your own life. She then steered me to two TED talks by Brené Brown, one on vulnerability the other on shame. (Btw both are fabulous talks.)

Mixing what I’ve learnt all together this is what I’ve come away with: Stubbornness can come from fear, which is simply a cover for shame – shame of failure, shame of rejection, shame of vulnerability. What I really need is to accept my vulnerabilities because it’s in these vulnerabilities that I’ll find honesty within and about myself.

Simply put, it’s about being kinder to myself and accepting who I am, imperfections and all.

Of course we’ve all heard this before. I need to love me for me…blah blah blah. But who really LISTENS to it? Who really BELIEVES they are okay EXACTLY AS THEY ARE? Not bigger, smaller, smarter, funnier, wiser, faster, prettier, more masculine, stronger, fitter, BETTER. Who?

Ladies and Gentlemen, we ALL have vulnerabilities. One of mine is my weight, but every time someone talks about their health around me doesn’t mean they’re trying to send me a coded message to lose weight. It’s not all about me, after all.

Maybe to release me of my stubbornness, which only holds me back, I need to understand my vulnerabilities more. I need to understand what scares the bejesus out of me and then, compassionately, I need to accept that fear. I have a feeling that by accepting it, it will no longer have such a strong hold on me.

In order to start being compassionate to my body I’ve made this easy vegetable soup recipe. It’s good for my health, good for my taste buds and good for my soul. I hope you enjoy it.

Are you stubborn? Do you think you know why? 

Vegetable soup with crumbled feta

Vegetable soup with crumbled feta
By The Self-Raising Kitchen

Serves 6

Ingredients
50g butter
2 leeks, finely sliced
1 carrot, diced
300g cauliflower, roughly chopped
600g sweet potato, roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, diced
6 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
750ml chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and pepper

Method
In a saucepan melt the butter on a medium heat. Then add leeks, carrot, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook for 5 minutes or until the leeks turn translucent.

Add cauliflower, sweet potato and stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer until vegetables are really soft. Take saucepan off the stove. With a stick blender puree the soup until a smooth consistency. Season to taste.

Serve in bowls topped with some crumbled feta and a small dash of extra virgin olive oil.

Beating the chill with homemade baked beans

A delicious old favourite that comes from a pot and not just a can.

Warming, comforting and tasty homemade backed beans

While the northern hemisphere is enjoying their time in the sun, the southern hemisphere is suffering through the cold. Granted, I live in Brisbane, therefore our winter is really quite pathetic. If we have a day where the temperature is below 20 degrees, we think we're about to hit another ice age and hibernation is the only way we'll survive.

Although I do defend our winters by saying that our evenings can get rather chilly, thus making the mornings ridiculously unwelcoming; especially when you are living in an old wooden Queenslander cottage breathing steam from your mouth while you are still inside the house. Brrrrrr!

I can think of nothing better during these cold winter evenings than a glass of red wine - oh who am I kidding, I mean a bottle - and something comforting in my belly to warm me up while living in my ice box.

Nothing like a bottle of red to keep you warm during a
cold winter evening

Homemade Baked Beans
Adapted from Delicous. magazine, July 2012 edition

Ingredients
2 x 400g can cannellini beans
1 onion, olive oil
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp thyme leaves
1 tbs wholegrain mustard
1 tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1 tbs cumin powder
2 tsp coriander powder
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tbs tomato paste
600ml vegetable (or chicken) stock
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Parsley, chopped, toast/bread and butter for serving

Method
Heat olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Cook onion, garlic and thyme, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add in spices (cumin and coriander), cook for 1 minute.

Onion, garlic, thyme, cumin and coriander cooking.
The smell is heavenly.

Drain beans and add to pan with mustard, sugar, worcestershire sauce, tomatoes, tomato paste, stock and a little salt and pepper.

Not terribly enticing at this stage but be patient, it is worth it.

Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook for about 45 minutes or until most of the liquid has gone. Check the flavour and add more salt and pepper if needed.

I will include a note here for the carnivorous folk here, i.e. me, I also chop and add two Kransky sausages to the beans. What can I say, it's the German coming out in me.

This is what your beans will look like after about
45 minutes of cooking (with sausages for the non-vegetarians among us)

Prepare your fresh bread or get your toast toasting. Ensure you have your wine topped and get ready to tuck into the tastiest and most warming homemade baked beans recipe you will find. I think it's my beloved's new favourite meal, closely followed by chilli con carne.

Enjoy!

Dreams, cheesecake filled strawberries and ricotta zucchini rolls

When a dream becomes reality, these tasty finger delights are a must to help you celebrate.

Cheesecake filled strawberries

We've all had dreams, and I'm sure many of you have even had some of them come true. Often the bigger the dream the harder we have to work to see them grace the light of day.

Recently I was very proud to witness a dream become a reality for my dear friend Sonia and her husband Ian. And it was fantastic!

First, let's turn the clock back to 2003. Sonia and Ian purchased an old (and I mean old) Queensland cottage in Paddington, Brisbane, to turn it into their dream home. Now I remember this 'old' house. I would happily liken it to a block of swiss cheese; especially when I had the pleasure of sleeping in it one winter thinking I was going to wake up in the morning with hypothermia. You think I'm being dramatic...but I tell you the truth.

Over the years I have watched Sonia and Ian slowly, patiently - and sometimes not so patiently -renovate this house into a beautiful, cosy, blissfully warm home.

All those that have renovated, or those that have had the pleasure of hiring trades people, will understand the stress, frustration and expense you are confronted with when dealing with people you do not know, about a subject matter that you do not know, and about things, that frankly, you also do not know. Or is that just me?

Here enters reviewatradie.com.au. This brain child has been 12 months in the making and will benefit all of us in Australia to provide us access to reviews about tradies and also allow us to write those reviews ourselves.

Looking for a plumber? Check out reviewatradie.com.au

Looking for a carpenter? Check out reviewatradie.com.au

Now please remember this is in early stages so Sonia and Ian need your help. If you have a tradie that you think is fantastic and would like everyone in your area to know about them then jump on to the site and write a review. The more people who do this, the more we give those good people some work.

So where's the food in all of this? Well, I got to make a couple of tasty treats for Sonia and Ian's big launch afternoon tea that I have just had to share with you. They are simple, delightful and positively scrump-diddly-umptious. I made cheesecake filled strawberries and ricotta zucchini rolls. Both were thanks to my new found addiction to pinterest.

Ricotta zucchini rolls
Adapted from Apple pie, patis and pates blog

makes approximately 24 zucchini rolls

Ricotta zucchini rolls

Ingredients

4 small zucchinis

salt and pepper

extra virgin olive oil

For the ricotta filling:

ricotta cheese, about a cup

juice from about half a lemon

mint leaves, about a handful (the original recipe uses basil)

roasted slivered almonds, about a handful

Method

This is one of those recipes where exact measurements do not matter. Add more or less of anything that is to your liking.

Cut off the stem end of the zucchini. Using a mandolin or a vegetable peeler, slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin strips.

Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. The zucchini strips will be more translucent and pliable after resting.

Zucchini strips marinating in extra virgin olive oil.

Mix the ricotta cheese with the lemon juice. Season with salt and mix vigorously until thoroughly incorporated.

Finely chop the mint leaves. Add the mint and almonds to the ricotta mixture and mix until evenly distributed.

Fresh ricotta mixture

Place about 1 tablespoon of the ricotta filling on the cut end of the zucchini strips.

Roll the zucchini strip over the filling and plate.

So easy and healthy: Ricotta zucchini rolls.

Cheesecake filled strawberries
Adapted from The Sweets Life blog

Tasty little morsels of cheesecake filled strawberries

Ingredients

4 punnets of strawberries, washed and top cut

125g cream cheese, softened (or spreadable)

1 tbsp caster sugar (to taste. Add more if you want a sweeter mixture)

½ tsp vanilla extract

zest of one small lemon

about 5 crushed biscuits of any sort. I just used a honey oat biscuit.

Method

Prep all strawberries and set aside.

In a food processor, blend cream cheese, caster sugar, vanilla and lemon zest until creamy. Add a little cream or milk, as I had to, to get a smooth enough consistency to get through a piping bag.

Cheesecake mixture piped on to strawberries

 Add cream cheese mix to a piping bag or a freezer bag with the corner snipped off. Pipe mixture onto strawberries. Dip the top in your biscuit crumbs. If not serving immediately, refrigerate until serving.

Dipping the cheesecake filled strawberries into the cookie crumbs

Cheesecake filled strawberries - they look good enough to eat!

Wishing you all happy cooking adventures!

Spiced lentil & pumpkin tagine followed by spiced yoghurt & fruit

There is something very special about old friends. You know those friends who have known you since before 'things' started to change with your body and you were still considered cute and adorable by your parents. Those friends who stood by you while you fell in love for the first time with the cutest boy in your grade and they would go and ask him if he would go 'out' with you; and most importantly, they would tell him he was 'dropped' for you one week later. Those friends who have seen you laugh, fail, succeed, win, lose, cry, break-down, love, hate, and yet, they still remain your friend and love you.

I have one of those old, dear friends, who unfortunately lives in Germany - and has for the last 14 years - but who remains a true and loyal friend despite the distance. I am lucky she visits often and is here at the moment - haven't we put the weather on for her with flooding everywhere in Queensland - and what a treat it is to give her a real hug and not just one over the telephone or via the virtual world.

It would be remiss of me to not treat her to a hearty meal at my place during her stay given I've started a blog about my cooking experiments and adventures. So, the other night, I managed to drag her away from her twin sister and family to spend a night with me and my beloved. As she is a vegetarian I decided to visit Morocco, again - to follow on from the ras el hanout in the Christmas hampers - and cook her a spiced lentil and pumpkin tagine.

First, I must share that one of the most exciting things for me and therefore for, you, who has to deal with my special photographic skills, is Mel is studying photography in Deutschland. So for this blog, and for a few upcoming ones, you will be treated to her fine work. Thank you, Mel!

Spiced lentil and pumpkin tagine
From a little taste of morocco

Spiced lentil and pumpkin tagine with
home made flat bread (photo by Mel)

275 g brown lentils (or use a tin and you can miss the first step in the cooking directions)
2 tomatoes (you could substitute for a tin of diced tomatoes for a wetter dish)
600 g pumpkin (or butternut squash for our European friends)
3 tbls olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or 1 tsp harissa (I used the harissa as it has an incredible flavour to spice up this dish)
1 tsp paprika
3 tsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbls finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tbls chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves

Method
Pick over the lentils and discard any damaged lentils and any stones. Put the lentils in a sieve and rinse under cold running water. Tip into a saucepan and add 1 litre cold water. Bring to the boil, skim the surface if necessary, then cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, halve the tomatoes crossways and squeeze out the seeds. Coarsely grate the tomatoes into a bowl down to the skin, discarding the skin. Set the grated tomato aside. Peel and seed the pumpkin and cut into 3 cm dice. Set aside.

Heath the oil in a large saucepan over low heat, add the onion and cook until softened. Add the garlic, cook for a few seconds, then stir in the cumin turmeric and cayenne pepper or harissa. Cook for 30 seconds, then add the paprika, grated tomato, tomato paste, sugar, half of the parsley and coriander. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add lentils and the prepared pumpkin, stir well then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the pumkin and lentils are tender. Adjust the seasoning and transfer to serving bowls. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and coriander leave. I served this with fresh flat breads that I baked while making the tagine.


Spiced yoghurt with a middle eastern fruit salad
From the Marie Claire Zest cookbook.

I think this is a winning dessert, especially if you would like something a little lighter for your guests but still something to amaze them. I've also used fresh fruit instead of the middle easter fruit salad with the spiced yoghurt. Both work equally well.

Spiced Yoghurt
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
2 cloves
2 vanilla beans, split lengthways
2 cardamom pods, split lengthways (I added 4 because I love cardamom)
250 ml cream
1 tbls sugar
300 g Greek-style yoghurt

Put the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, vanilla beans, cardamom pods and cream into a small saucepan over a low heat. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain, then str in the sugar before allowing to cool. Fold the spiced cream through the yoghurt and serve over a fruit salad.

The spices in the cream ready for cooking.
Mel said it smelt like Christmas. (Photo by Mel)

Middle Eastern fruit salad
70 g dried figs
70 g dried apricots
70 g pitted prunes
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp rose-water
(I also added some dried cranberries I had left over in the cupboard)

Cut the dried fruit into bite-sized pieces and place in a small bowl. Place the sugar, 250 ml (1 cup) of water and the orange juice in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium hear, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Remove from the heat and stir in the rose-water. Pour the liquid over the dried fruit and allow to soak for several hours.

Place fruit salad in glasses, top with the spiced yogurt. I like to grate fresh nutmeg over the yoghurt to add another delightful fragrance and look to the mix.

Spiced yogurt with middle eastern fruit salad
(Photo by Mel)

The one thing I did learn during this cooking experience is I am pathetic at talking and cooking at the same time. I think we ended up eating by about 8.30pm. Prior to this I had to kick Mel out of the kitchen so I could finish the meal in order to prevent us from eating by the year 2012.