In the Garden - March 2012

With lots of other things on the go right now, the garden has been a bit neglected. I keep losing the girls in the long grass, it's that bad! Fortunately though, the established plants are performing well, so we do still have some lovely things happening in the garden at the moment. Here's a peak.

We have a very established guava tree which was already large when we moved in 7 years ago. It fruits abundantly every year and is tall enough that the parrots help themselves to the fruit we can't reach, still leaving plenty behind. We're not huge guava fans here unfortunately, so don't eat much of the fruit (Poppet being the exception, I am continuously finding her munching away on a ripe guava that has fallen off the tree). Much of the fruit lands in the chicken run, so they get a great feast this time of year, and it provides a beautifully sweet smell to the garden, but I sometimes wish it had been a mulberry tree, or something we actually eat. But beggers can't be choosers and it is a lovely part of the garden.


Remember the baby pumpkin from last month? It's grown! It's just about ready to pick. I'm looking forward to cooking it with a roast one day this week.


Look who else has grown. The baby cochins are now around 11 weeks old and looking and sounding much less like chicks. Their combs and wattles are growing and their quiet little "cheeps" are turning into deeper "clucks". The chicken dynamics at our house have changed completely. The Isa Browns stopped laying the day the chicks arrived (even though they are separated). One keeps escaping her cage and bunking in with the babies, and having a go at both the other hens when they are together. I am sure she thinks she's their mum and she has to protect her babies. I hope they start laying again soon.


The girls and I planted some seeds a few weeks ago. Chicky really wanted to plant something, so I dug through my seed box to find something that was vaguely in season. Our dwarf bean, zucchini and cucumber seedlings are ready to transplant to the vege patch...


....and our carrot seedlings have sprouted as well.


We have two passionfruit vines. For those that have never grown passionfruit, the vines grow prolifically. You can almost SEE them grow. We planted two over a frame at the front of the shed to provide a bit of colour and shade. They have certainly done that, and a few months ago we got some beautiful fruit from one of the vines. I assumed the other vine just wasn't going to fruit this year, but in the last few weeks it has started flowering. Perhaps it's a different variety. Regardless, the flowers are amazing, and I can't wait for a second crop of passionfruit!


Not much else is happening in the garden at the moment, as we gear up to head off on a gypsy adventure soon. I'd love to hear what's happening in your garden this month.

Dad's Caramel Mud Cake

Last week my Dad turned 70. To celebrate, we had a cosy BBQ. Our 3-generation immediate family, including partners, totalled 19 people. My brother was hosting the festivities and his wife was organising the food. I really wanted to make Dad's birthday cake, so put my hand up early. It was perhaps a little risky attempting an un-tried recipe, but research and lots of reviews led me to a fairly conventional Caramel Mud Cake. I followed the recipe to the letter and hoped for the best.

Because I wanted to make Dad's cake in a number "70", I distributed the batter evenly between a square and a round cake tin (square would make the seven and round would become the zero). This reduced the baking time from 2 hours stated in the recipe, down to just under 1 hour. I really had no idea how long it would take so kept looking at it and stabbing it with a skewer once the tops seemed firm. Luckily both cakes rose to the same (or near enough) height!

The result was beautifully moist, not too sickly sweet and perhaps a little less dense than a shop bought mud cake. The taste was good, but not phenomenal (of course I tasted the off cuts), but I planned to ice and decorate it so I was pretty happy with the outcome. Once the cakes had cooled completely, I outlined the numbers with a sharp knife on the tops, and cut. Because the cakes weren't at all crumbly, they cut perfectly, and unlike a shaped sponge or butter cake, I could ice the same day.

I made the caramel icing from the same recipe. I thought I might need to make 2 batches for the two cakes, but the amount specified was spot on for my half-height cakes. The icing was really tasty, and a recipe I'll be keeping, but being brown, didn't make for a very aesthetically exciting cake. Everyone loves chocolate, so I made a thick genache, let it firm a little in the fridge, then piped around the bottom of the cakes and on the top to outline the numbers. I was really happy with the finished product, and most of the cake was eaten on the night so I'll take that as a compliment. Apologies for the poor quality pic, I finished the cake late at night, my house is quite dimly lit and I don't get along well with flash.

Darlington Half Marathon 2012

Warning: this is a running post, if you don't run (or even if you do), you may find it terribly boring. Sorry!

Sunday 11th March 2012 was the Darlington Half Marathon, hosted by the Western Australian Marathon Club. This is a race that I've been preparing for, for the last couple of months. It was my 3rd half marathon and definitely the toughest course so far, both mentally and physically.

The course starts in Darlington, about 20km east of Perth, which according to Wikipedia "is located upon the escarpment of the Darling Fault... defining what is known as the Perth Hills". This information alone should give away the fact that the course is hilly. I'd only done a little hill training so was quietly apprehensive about how my legs would handle the "undulations" (a polite word in the riding/running world for hills!). The image below shows the elevation from my GPS watch. The field was bigger than I'd expected, 333 in the 21.1km race and 82 running the 8km option, surprising for a day with a forecasted top of 39C. Thankfully the race started at 7am, before things heated up too much.

After 333 runners crammed onto a single track, the first 3kms or so followed the Railway Reserves Heritage Trail which is largely gravel. I quite enjoy trail running, so this was a nice start for me. It was a good opportunity for me to tap into the 5min/kms that I needed to run a PB. We veered back onto the road and up the first decent climb of the course, and what a beauty it was. Not long, but steep, and it certainly separated the men from the boys, or in this case the runners from the walkers. I found a seasoned Darlington runner to pace myself against early in the run and he had told me the hill was a doozie and to step it back a gear. I followed his advice a little, but I always find running on my toes and powering up short inclines the best recipe for me. Maybe it's to do with my physique, but if I knock it back too much I'll come to a stand still!

I tried to make up some time on the way down this hill as I knew we had little other than climb ahead until the 11km turn around. It was clear that while I thought I had made it up the hill ok, my quads disagreed. I was just about to hit my first mental hurdle (why am I doing this??) when my pacer - who I'd left behind up the hill - found me again and spurred me not to slow down. I once again found that 5min/km pace and held it until we started the slow, steady climb to the turn around. I had no choice but to slow down up the hill. The 7th, 8th and 9th kms were the hardest 3kms I've ever run. I was beginning to question whether I'd even finish the race, and threw all hopes of a PB out the window. My immediate goal was just to keep running. I'd take whatever time the course was going to throw at me, but under no circumstances would I walk. I found myself likening the experience to childbirth, questioning my registration for upcoming events, even vowing never to run again, if only I could finish this race! It didn't help that there was no drink station between about 3 and 8kms. It was hot, running uphill, into the sun and with no water. It's amazing what a mouthful of water can do to your efficiency and state of mind when it finally did come. And then finally, the turn around point, it was downhill all the way home (well, not quite, but compared to the first half it would feel that way).

I checked my time, I'd lost a lot getting up that climb. It was ok, I didn't need a PB, I needed to finish in a respectable time (notice the mental state improving already as we headed downhill). I managed to pick up the pace a little; 4:50min/km, 4:45min/km, I was back! I was still feeling terrible, and as the sun was getting higher, the temperature was rising, but I started calculating what time I might finish with. A sub 1:50:00 was looking possible. I didn't have much left, but I was going to get home as fast as I could. A slight uphill at the 18km point set me back a little but once I was back on the Heritage Trail I knew I was nearly there. The last 2kms were the fastest of the course. I was comfortable on gravel and started to think I could come close to my previous PB of 1:46:55. I stopped looking at my watch and just ran. I came around the corner towards the finish line and saw my training partner (who had finished in an amazing 1:35:43!) yelling "Go under 1:46!". I looked up at the clock and with about 15 seconds to spare I sprinted to the finish line and crossed at 1:45:48. The course had knocked me around, physically and mentally, but somehow I managed a PB!

The WAMC put on a great breakfast after the event, but it was all I could do not to throw up so didn't eat a bite. I was so glad it was over and really just wanted to get home to tell my family about it. I could barely walk the next day, which was satisfying as it meant I'd worked hard, but it took me until Wednesday before I could run again. My muscles had healed but I just didn't want to. I was still a little reluctant by Friday and was beginning to think the race had scarred me. Luckily though, I think it was just a post-race slump. This week I want to run again, and I'm starting to get excited about the events I wanted to pull out of mid-race during the Darlington Half. Bring on the Perth 32km!

Quick Chocolate Pudding

I'm always searching for super quick, super simple desserts that I can knock up if afternoon visitors stay for dinner, or if I just have a dessert hankering after the girls have gone to bed. A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a recipe which claimed to provide a 7-minute chocolate fudge cake. I tried it, and while it took a little longer than 7 minutes (maybe 15), it was still quick and pretty tasty. I've adapted it a little since I first tried it and it's become a regular go-to if I need dessert, pronto!

My version is nearly always adapted for just hubby and I (with a little left over for breakfast), but double the ingredients and you'd easily serve 6 with a side of vanilla ice cream. The result is what I would call a self-saucing pudding.

For the cake:
55g self raising flour
55g caster sugar (I use raw)
15g cocoa
1 egg
25g butter, melted
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla essence (I use home made)
handful chocolate callets (I use either Callebaut 34% or Callebaut 54% depending on how grown up the customers are)

For the sauce:
50g soft brown sugar
15g cocoa
100ml hot water

1. To make the cake, combine flour, sugar and cocoa in a large-ish microwave-safe bowl (I used Pyrex). This is the bowl the cake will cook in, so it needs room to accommodate rising.
2. Add egg, milk, vanilla and melted butter. Whisk by hand until well combined. Top with chocolate callets.
   
3. In a small bowl combine the sugar and cocoa for the sauce. Mix until well combined with no lumps. Sprinkle over the cake batter.
4. Pour the hot water over the back of a metal spoon, over the batter (this will stop the water causing any craters in your batter). Stab the mix a few times with a fork to let some of the water into the batter.
   
5. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. The surface will be springy to touch when it's ready.

The finished product isn't particularly pretty, but you can dress it up with ice cream if you're entertaining, or eat it straight out of the Pyrex if it's all yours. It definitely hits the spot when I'm craving a chocolatey dessert.

In My Kitchen - March 2012

While I would love to be able to showcase a shiny new food processor this month, I haven't got one yet. Maybe next month. In its absence, here's a peak at what you'll find in my kitchen this month.

My dad is Portuguese, and the Rooster of Barcelos was always present in my home growing up. I particularly remember having a wooden letter holder, and several china ornaments. When I first moved out of home, my brother gave me this Portuguese-made rooster as a housewarming present. It lives on the glassware shelf in my kitchen and reminds me of my heritage.



With my recent interest in raw food and higher protein, lower calorie snacks, I found myself stocking up on a whole host of interesting ingredients over the last few weeks. I bought some quinoa flakes to make a quinoa porridge. Quinoa is a complete protein source, so it contains a whole set of essential amino acids. It's also low GI which is great for sustained energy needed for lots of exercise and chasing my little lovelies.




I am a little ashamed to admit that we eat a lot of Nutella at our house. We all love it. I've read a bit about macadamia nut butter lately, and think that I could make a version of Nutella from macadamia nuts. I still need to get my food processor, but I thought maybe if I bought some macadamia nuts that it might start the ball rolling. If I get it to work, I'll be sure to write a post.




I love cranberries and like to throw them in muesli bars or biscuits, but struggle to buy dried cranberries that haven't been sweetened. I thought I'd try some goji berries as an unsweetened replacement. That and they have a very cool name.




My girls both love dairy and thankfully have no intolerance to cow's milk protein. They eat a lot of yoghurt and about a year ago I bought an Easiyo System for making "our own" yoghurt. I put that in quotations because it's not really our own. I buy the sachets of yoghurt powder and let it do its thing in the big plastic insulated container. It makes beautifully smooth yoghurt. I mostly make natural yoghurt which gets used in baking, cooking and dressings, or flavoured with fruit puree, but occasionally we indulge in the boysenberry flavour sachet which is really quite nice. My Easiyo System is a well loved addition to my kitchen.



Hopefully next month I'll be able to show case a new appliance in my kitchen, then in May my kitchen will change dramatically. Stay posted.

Take a look at what's going on in other people's kitchens around the world. Follow Celia's link at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

10km PB!

This is just a quick post. I have a few kitcheny posts in the making, but I had to brag about my 10km Personal Best this morning. Prior to today, the fastest I had run a 10km was 49:50, and I have been struggling to get under 50mins lately. This morning though, the stars aligned. The massive, orange setting moon was amazing at 5:45am and must have put me in a good mood. Sometimes I wish I could take my camera running because it was a spectacular sight. I felt great, set out strong, and brought it home in 46:26, just before the sun started to pop over the houses. It probably wasn't the wisest idea going out so hard with a half marathon this weekend, but I've been chasing a good time for months and wasn't going to let it escape me. Brag over.