Dinner: One Cucumber :-o!

No I'm not depressed and lost my appetite. No I'm not so poor I can only afford one cucumber. No I'm not doing some heroic fast for some niche political cause. No I'm not depressed and have body image issues so I will only let myself eat one cucumber cos I'm on some silly diet...

But I DID just have ONE cucumber for dinner!! You see cos this was not any old cucumber! It was a *magic cucumber* I grew MYSELF! ^^ ^^ ^^

So it was a pretty special cucumber...and I found that out when I ate it...Wowee I was SOooo FULL! (I'm not kidding!!!)

I've actually had this conversation with one of my food grower buddies before...basically anything you grow yourself completely organically...it just is more filling! Why? Not quite sure but we theorized that it had something to do with all that TIME it takes to grow NATURALLY without the use of chemical fertilizers etc...well it has taken in all that sun and air energy from so many days!

But apart from that it also had a lot more flavour than that watered down commercial crap. Anyway now that I harvested my sole cucumber I'm going to have to wait quite a while for the next magic one...lol so lucky I have funds to buy sufficient ingredients for alternative dinners while I wait...That's the trouble with growing things in pots...you can't grow on mass...but eh who wants to eat 10 cucumbers every night anyway?

p.s My conclusions and observations of late...people my age and in my age and vicinity are 90% CRAZY, women ESPECIALLY are CRAZY!
p.p.s I REALLY hate this Tall Poppy Syndrome culture we have here...basically someone is always jealous of you of EVERYTHING and hates you for no better reason than for whatever lame reason they can come up with or wherever their insecurity lies...it's all this projection crap!
p.p.s my final rant is that non old and non young people are all so boring geez all they wanna talk about is relationships, people gossip etc...for an INTJ mentality boy this is tiresome! *yawn*
p.p.p.s I totally buy into that life works in terms of REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY...if you don't want something you get it in DROVES and if you do you DON'T! so yes for whatever you want I think you should probably construe it in your head as "I don't want this"...and voila...see I know ALLLLL the cool magic tricks, lol! Unfortunately however I have still not worked out how to make poorly made CDs know how to play music without skipping...grrrrr! I will hold out on CDs yet...Grandma is not quite ready to make the sacriligeous transition to digitized music :P

Eating one's way through boredom...

LOL, seriously. Thank God finally a good burst of sun today to save my sanity...

So like the title says I've been doing a lot of that lately- well cos most of my waking hours revolves around food...procuring it, growing it or researching how to, harvesting it, preparing it, cooking it or cleaning up after it!

One night this week I DID NOT SLEEP THE ENTIRE NIGHT just cos I was so craving to try a swiss dessert called a beesting. I guess it was not a good idea to just before bed talk about all the different food excursions we needed to do for all the various things we wanted to eat with my birthday twin....the drool turned into ALL NIGHT obsessing- lol very easy for a scorpio gal that loves eating!

So anyway today was a weird dinner possibly reflective of the chaotic state of my restless itchy feet no travel blues mind...within the one meal I had a seemingly dissonant cacophany of ingredients: beetroot, parsnip, turmeric, rice dulse, fried egg, cayenne, salt, bak choy, lettuce, spring onion, garlic, spinach and flaxseed oil. Strangely, it tasted okay...don't even try and puzzle how I worked it all together! I think these days my meals are WEIRDNESS to say the least, okay maybe as I get older I get more eccentric, but apart from that there are several major factors a) organic food doesn't store so well so I need to use what is in the fridge b)I fresh harvest from my garden c) I want maximum supernutrition...so yeah end up with weird-ass meals!!! But somewhat smugly I NEVER get sick or want to throw food away from homecooked food whereas almost every single thing I eat outside makes me sick cos of all the additives, oil, salt and crap toxic ingredients they use and possibly a lack of freshness and hygiene. I met a batty old lady on the bus talking at the top of her lungs about how she ONLY eats organic as well ...lol I could forsee me in old age right there...it was a lil scary...lol

So the interesting thing which I checked up with my bday twin to see if we concur as usual (lol never get sick of this parallel experience feeling-it's too fun!) We both feel BOOOORED as and TIRED. Interestingly enough devoid of inspiration from daily life and the people around us devoid of culture etc grounded in THIS COUNTRY indefinitely...it was interesting that we reacted in the same way unbeknownst to the other...we turned to MUSIC! Specifically the need to create it! The last day or two I had been thinking I SERIOUSLY NEED a piano and to splurge on lessons...anyway she actually ended up buying a GUITAR today to cope with the boredom-had no forewarning it was pretty random!! LOL so interesting...music is obviously a huge muse for us....

Apart from that had soooo much flower proliferation in my garden I started cutting them and sticking them in containers around the house which is pretty weird and housewifely for me...also been watching lots of DVDs with an overrepresentation of foreign and German as per usual...

and indulging pretty expensive raw organic chocolate at $8/100g...yep that's how I deal with boredom and cooped up with rain! :P

Bug Off!

So anyway Spring has sprung down under (although incredibly temperamental) alternating between wintery chills and drenching showers and a rare treat today...balmy pleasant sun...My body is not appreciating it though, neither are my plants!! For one thing I'm starting to get rampant slug issues!! Possibly cos since my neighbour came back from holidays my resident kookaburra friends are getting too gourmet a meal next door with hand fed ground beef...to desire a palate of slugs! :P

So anyway my organic food production levels have been damaged and hurt significantly enough to warrant attempting to engage flower power warfare...going to try...Nasturtiums!! I'd been doing pretty well so far but I guess as Spring takes off and bugs proliferate (and try and get up my nose), and bite and itch I actually need to get more proactive (and less lazy) in plant management...if I hope to get fresh picked veggies to eat! So yep, some study & research to do...

Apart from that my house is looking like a bit of chaos creative...not cos I haven't been cleaning et cetera but rather a reflective manifestation of the consequences of having virtually nil short term memory and doing too many things simultaneously...half started projects all over the house- then I get distracted and start something else...so the look might be a pile of papers of bills and written but never sent correpondence, cords of electrical appliances trailing, a mop here a vacuum there, ingredients I've forgotten to put back in place after my many cooking sessions/day, not to mention gardening paraphenalia like gloves, masks and protective glasses and sun hat in different corners of the house and bags from different grocery trips half unpacked....enough to cause neat freaks a bit of a heart palpitation!...but ANYWAY hopefully it'll come good tomorrow-what else are weekends good for than to catch up with chores???!

....it's been a bit of a plastered week for me...my productivity levels are highly subject to the weather-when it's cold and rainy I am a cold blooded sloth/hibernating bear on the couch holed up with dvds trying to conserve energy...not to mention as a super introvert kind of a bit exhausted from excess social interaction this week...and finally, I'm still not tapped into the new daylight savings hours still- my sleep patterns are all over the place and I'm definitely 1-2hours behind still eating dinner around 9 or 10pm! What happened to the good old days when I remember there being 4 distinct seasons so my body didn't have to try and sync to four seasons in a day and a week...

At least besides nasturtiums I did manage to put in more radishes and bak choy at dusk relatively unscathed &comfortable for once thanks to my new best friend: natural insect repellant!!!

So this is my garden inventory currently: garlic, onion, spring onion, orange and purple carrot(still no success all twisty and forked!), silverbeet, kale(hopefully no longer slugged up once the nasturtiums flourish), red, green and rocket lettuce, bak choy, tatsoi, italian parsley, dill, strawberry, tomatoes, passionfruit, lemon tree, beetroot, lemongrass, leek, cucumber, zucchini, snow pea, lavender...phew! Also hopes to add celery, capsicum, dandelion, gotu kola, basil, coriander...I sure am a Greedy Gardener :D

This is what you call..."Garden Fresh!" ;)

Okay so I could have titled the post..."Lessons for the Novice Gardener in Growing Edible Plants" however I prefer the positive spin, lol, especially when it's also true! ^^

So yeah it's not obvious from the pic but the big lesson I learnt in growing carrots which are rated as "easy"...well they HATE HATE fertile soil...too much Nitrogen...eg chicken manure makes the carrots go all twisty and forked and sprouts heaps of tops and not enough root...well I think that's what it was... Carrots like sandy crap well drained soil...and you need to water them deeply once a week for the roots to grow straight rather than have downpours of frequent rain for them to sog themselves in...

So anyway I had way too many seedlings and things growing out of control and not enough space so I had to choose some things to harvest even if they aren't mature...So today I picked/cut the baby carrots, baby radishes, spring onion, garlic tops, some english spinach and some dill...all of these grown organically by the way no sprays no NADA...just lots of sun and fresh air, good conversations and loooove :D

Apart from that I am amused that I am so desperate to bowl but so friendless here my next bowlo opportunities are set with people who have to fly in from remote continents! And before you suggest I try writing an AD for bowlo buddies....been there TRIED that! Zero replies, lol...if I get desperate enough I reckon I'll have to hurl it on a dating site...and borrow a hot studio pic of one of my friends to accompany it...might have better luck, lol...the things I'm willing to do for the things I love to do...lol

I am being "Led"! ;)

Some strange things have happened this week- some rather out of the ordinary...lol it's MY life what's new? hehehe

Without revealing too much as it's all too complex and blow-my-mindy some kinda interesting random things.

Today I was asked to be a penpal to a born again Christian prisoner...being so new myself I haven't decided yet...mainly I feel hopelessly underqualified- surely there is some seasoned oldie of faith that would be more up to the task? But then again it would be a great exercise in being accepting and non-judgemental, although to be perfectly honest I am more compassionate and tolerant towards the downtrodden of society than the self sufficient that have had very smooth paths...

I was approached by a psychologist who is into personality disorders, lol, it was interesting to read about the broader spectrum of these past depression and bipolar which is all I really have encountered in common society personally and professionally. I was kinda amused to identify with the "schizoid" type...note NOT schizophrenia...so then I was thinking "hey cool maybe I finally get a "label"? (not!) But then I read further and just realised that this "disorder" typically resonates with INTJ and INTP personality types....I'm sure I could find something else to fit into but then again so could everyone else...after my experience treating people with ill health I am not particularly into the "labels" cos I realised that EVERYBODY has different psychological issues at different times in their life and different circumstances and it's all across a severity spectrum...I also noticed that the modern world has a term for every single possible conceivable illness...my latest interesting discovery is the "lightning strike" one which is Wolff Parkinsons White syndrome...very very interesting...in an exciting inadvertent comedy of errors I had approximately 30-60 mini "electrocutions" during the severe electrical storm the other night...my nervous system was so overstimulated I could not sleep a wink! Yikes...never again, lol...

Anyway so many interesting weird things happened in a mere two days or so so far...such is my life...I can't even begin to document or hope to explain it all unless someone has a very open ear and at least a couple of HOURS, lol...

But because it's always so complex and cumulative I just have my one person that I earbash so I don't have to catch them up on the prior day's episode. My current "bestie" is a farmer, between watching the farmers on THE AMAZING RACE and talking to this one, I start to realise they are actually an INCREDIBLY SMART BUNCH especially when it comes to having to deal with REAL LIFE. I don't understand why the general perception in this society is that they are like the not so mentally quick animals they are often associated with...I have found nothing to be further than the truth...I guess that is ONE office worker city slicker MYTH debunked!!

Hm I feel chatty today- so a heads up on the state of my food production- I have heaps of lettuce beet and radish seedlings sprouting up to the extent I have no idea where I will be able to plant them all!!! I am actually very interested in PERMACULTURE and am wondering if it is feasible if I can take a course...I'm particularly envious of people who have egg laying chickens...then I saw some cute little quails who also produce eggs...actually I also saw a baby goat and it was SERIOUSLY CUTIE PIE...so the farmer quipped "SEE, you do want *KIDS* after all!" LOL

Have to admit that was a good one, lol.

p.s I am getting very fond of "the plumber" and "the handyman" too...heck all men in their forties and up are my natural best friends hehehe...but anyway I think it's funny that nobody ever has a name with this INTJ, everyone just has a profession or a character...I am still wondering what I can call JJ ;) I was thinking something beginning with D and ending with K but I don't think that's very nice!!! Maybe "the limerick guy" ;) Or how about "the old boy" lol

as for my other buddies "the animal rights vegan" "the happy organist" "the mexican poetic artist" "the swede-o-phile", lol...oh how can i forget "the beer gut" "the starry eyed surfer" "the shy mute"...yes I have a colourful range of buddies...the one thing none of my buddies can ever be are...BORING!!!! Hope I didn't miss anyone...but my head is starting to thump :P

Lounge Lizard

The sun is finally spreading its warm rays out and about more frequently and with much greater intensity...Thus I have turned into a bit of a lounge lizard...baking in the sun trying to recuperate enough energy lost during the cold of night to move.

I'm not sure if a lizard or a slug is more appropriate...I guess before the sun came out I've felt like a SLUG for the most of winter...or even a worm...it's been so cold dark and damp!

Today I felt great satisfaction with being able to HARVEST the fresh fruits of my labours!!! Who can ever eat second rate produce from supermarkets ever again...

Apart from that I REALLY like OLD people. They are just so understanding, wise, calm, stable, reliable...only downside is they wake up WAAAAY too early.

I got a really exciting idea yesterday...but couldn't keep it to myself so blabbed it to my birthday twin...She gave me the A-okay. Actually surprisingly, my mother actually approves too...if it happens you will slowly see it creep into the blog...it's really very DRASTIC especially knowing me...

But anyway I like to keep some things *secret* cos everyone else keeps them from me! :P That was for you...V-Z! :p

City Hectic

I was in the city three times in almost as many days...I ended up seeing pretty much ALL my friends, not even by plan...

I am still recuperating....tiiiiiired. (Okay okay, part of the reason was cos I overindulged in all the amazing food especially SWEET TREATS available in the city....)

I think maybe I am so used to the slow life now that is all I am good for? Good thing I'm in a retirement village, I guess! LOL

p.s i finally harvested my all of 3 organic radishes lol...very unimpressive small looking bulbs but WOW WHAT FLAVOUR. CRISPY CRUNCHY....I'm a total "Grow your own" convert!!!!

I miss my Fruit and Veggie Boy ;)

Suddenly it hit me...I don't ever know why I even dumped him! I think I'm going to start getting my organic delivery service again...it's actually...more practical! (I mean, do you KNOW how expensive it is to live in the city?!!)

Synchronicity and Italian Chocolate...

LOOOVE Italian leather, Italian shoes...but most of all, Italian...CHOCOLATE!! (the only one I feel comfortable splurging on too LOL)

Anyhow it was funny, was discussing favourite chocolate with a fellow gourmand and I was telling her about this Italian (can get from Rome airport) chocolate called NOVI which I really like...

Fast forward...I was bad and just opened a new bar of reasonably pricey but still-from-supermarket chocolate I got on sale...Green & Blacks(organic)...

With that first mouthful.....Yuuuuuum...instant recognition! I flipped the bar over and sure enough...in fine print..."Made in Italy"! I don't know what it is but I just like the way they make chocolate...I'd have to say the worst, worst chocolate award has to go to the Americans...I think I tried some of their "best" stuff in some wanky department store in NYC...and...honestly, it was pretty bad. I don't rate their every day stuff like HERSHEY's either but to each her own- I know lots of people that love Peanut Butter Cups!?

Another supermarket chocolate I like is Whittaker's of New Zealand....specifically their milk and macadamia is really, really good! Unfortunately this is the only flavour they don't export here...*sigh*

As for Aussie stuff, Haighs plain chocolate which started in Adelaide is not bad either. I've found some really great little handmade chocolate stores in regional areas the best and most memorable so far due to the freshness was the handmade Belgian treats at the Chocolate Mill near Daylesford in Victoria....one of my favourite regions in this big brown land...I'd love to live there one day :-)!

Anycase I really shouldn't be eating chocolate so I figure I'll just eat tiny amounts and only get really good quality stuff...

Anyway I can't believe I got through an arts degree and intro to psychology without being aware of the Jungian term of Synchronicity until recently- this is so, so me- wow I had no idea it had a name!

Procrastination...Big Time!

Master of Disguise...apparently I look completely different in every single photo hehe.

OBVIOUSLY I'm really struggling to get back into study mode...

Here are some random pics...

Dinner...I had nothing in the fridge and didn't want to grocery shop too much cos I'm waiting for my big organic order to arrive...in any case I like it when I really feel like eating because I then *imagine* a recipe for something new to eat- usually it always turns out really tasty- never pretty but very tasty and very quick& simple :)

I fried off some good quality chorizo in very good quality extra virgin olive oil, then fried some carrots - I then added risoni, water, a little chicken stock, white wine, simmered and then added some peas...voila! YUM I love home food! this is a little kid friendly dinner too :)

* * *

I really think I feel global warming in action when suddenly you can get locally grown summer berries in winter :P - these berries are 1) currently not available organic and 2) are prohibitively expensive organic even if they were available so these are non organic berries soaking in a watery apple cidar vinegar mixture to remove the spray from them before eating...

I stumbled into a really cool toy store by accident on my way home so I managed to pick up a little something for my niece who turns 2 next weekend! Unfortunately I forgot how old she was turning so I bought her things only appropriate for a 3 year old and then I had to call my mum to check how old she was turning and the date of her b'day - I'm losing track with all the baby booming that's been happening in the last few years! Someone's going senile...

Time just Flies!


I love how French people have such curly ornate writing...

LOL I love the doodle mate! Incidentally he aced the exam and finished it with heaps of time to spare...some people failed! wow really thought you had surrendered all your last brain cells to alcohol-obviously not- Congrats! :)

I like cool stamps like this super long one...

I love the three colours film trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski- I also think Juliette Binoche is awesome...this postcard also reminds me how other countries seem so cultured compared to Oz...p.s out of all 3 films red is my favourite but all are great!

Finnish people are big on snail mail- their nice stamps reflect this- note the little embossed dots- I love the care and attention to detail in their stamp design...

American stamps are not bad either- however they tend to be quite generic in design.

I like the postcard scribble detail with the buildings I thought I better document this since this is the only super luxury postcard M is ever likely to send LOL.


I am also surprised that Chicago is actually such a nice city- I always had this impression that it was a dirty smoky kinda gangster town- not sure why...I was pleasantly surprised that it is a very nice metropolis with modern skyscrapers second to none, great culture, great food scene- highly liveable...only criticism - it's "beach" is hopelessly pitiful! p.s if I ever end up going there, first stop is to try Grant Achatz's molecular gastronomy restaurant Alinea where food meets design - check out the official site for some fantastic food photography!

Organic Decaf

I'm not really supposed to drink coffee but with all the necessary late nights this year I sort of delved back into it after a 6 or 7 year hiatus.

In any case I do fairtrade organic decaf. The package says on it "swiss water method". It tastes surprisingly good. I happened across the way caffeine is extracted by water and thought it was kinda interesting so in true blogaholic fashion I add it here...

Coffee beans are soaked in water. The water, which contains not only caffeine but also many other compounds which contribute to the flavor of coffee, is then passed through activated charcoal, which removes the caffeine. The water can then be put back with the beans and evaporated dry, leaving decaffeinated coffee with a good flavor.[96] Coffee manufacturers recover the caffeine and resell it for use in soft drinks and over-the-counter caffeine tablets.

(Source: Wikipedia- I LOVE this- how can anybody ever get bored?!!)

And so, the day was a total write off...

Oops. Inadvertent as usual...

I accidentally got a bit...Doped! Last night....except that...

unfortunately the dopey-ness lasted ALL DAY as well and I was so sleepy it was a struggle to keep my eyes open!!

Cos I'm still old school and only just now learning the transition to powder granules from raw herbs, I didn't realise how strong these practitioner-only herb granules are...and they were a bit too much for all of my forty something kilos...

So it was a write off of a day. I think I'm like The Energiser bunny and the only time I know when to STOP is when I end up overdoing myself and then end up getting sick and/or crashing...or maybe it was also partially my body clock knowing it was my "day off" and just letting me crash.

It's all a bit blurry but I recall it a rather health-focused day...I restarted with the organic delivery service which seemed a little silly being right in the city but what I found is you really can't get organics unless you're in the 'burbs! Anyway, I think it's good: saving me time, energy, money and best of all preventing me from being tempted to buy unhealthy heavily processed and refined packaged junk foods at the supermarket...and it motivates me to eat more fresh veggies! Organics ARE expensive but really, for highly sprayed fresh foods like spinach, grapes, capsicum, tomatoes etc it REALLY is worth it cos the non-organic stuff just tastes like pure...Ew.

It was so funny when the courier set eyes on me for the first time today, cos I was sort of in the middle of...cleaning lady/cooking lady/washing lady/straight out of bed half asleep lady/yoga lady and I think in that moment he didn't utter words he must have been thinking..."Sheesh, she really has SOME NERVE being seen in public like that!" LOL

I guess that is part of the subversive rebel in me...my girlfriends and actually guy friends too have more than once expressed some reservation/disapproval with my daring sloppy presentation from time to time LOL...no shame, no shame ;) or maybe, it's just sheer cannot-be-bothered laziness ;) It's nice being a COMPLETE SLOB from time to time :)

I also finally received my mail order Chia Seeds(Salvia Hispanica) which are pretty cool. I must admit I'm being sucked into all this latest hype with Functional Superfoods! But I have to say (with some authority) being a Chinese herbalist-to-be, the other FAD superfood right now The Goji Berry(Lycium Barbarum)...DO BELIEVE THE HYPE! It is hypolipidaemic, hypoglycaemic, anti-oxidant, anti-fatigue, immuno-modulating, male fertility facilitating...and in particular, which is exactly why I consumed a quarter of a packet yesterday, it is REALLY GOOD FOR THE EYES: blurry vision, dry eyes, itchy eyes etc etc. However one piece of advice...don't bother with all that marketing propaganda with the expensive juice etc etc...just eat the damn berries- at least you can be sure all the nutrients are still in tact!

And finally, I really enjoyed this post- it's a very enlightening insight into introverts :) And I must say although I probably come across more like a carebear walking under a sky of rainbows lately, I haven't lost that appreciation for dark humour, or people who tell it like it is ;) LOL