Run.

Today is exactly one month until the Burnie Ten - a local 10km fun run. This will be my second 10km race for the year... a fact I still find hard to wrap my head around. You see over the past year I have, somehow or other, become a runner.

It crept up on me.

I was walking a lot pushing the kids in the pram to lose weight. I started walking on the weekends with my mum (minus kids). One morning, after a walk with mum I was feeling really good, so I decided to try running around the block near my house. I wasn't expecting much... then I ran the entire thing and didn't die! The following morning, mum and I ran a 4km loop. Again, I surprised myself. I ran most of it, and I felt good doing it.

And now, I am a runner.

Even those mornings when I have to drag myself out of bed and force myself out the door, I know that once I get going it will be more than worth it. There is so much satisfaction in pushing yourself, getting past that voice in your head telling you to stop, and riding the endorphin high that follows a good run.

I love the peace running gives me - a quiet escape to be me, not 'mummy'.

I love how I feel after a run - strong, fit, healthy.

"I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs." (Jesse Owens)

The weird and wonderful world of Sourdough (Part Two)

Following on from The weird and wonderful world of Sourdough (Part One).

For my first loaf of sourdough bread, I wanted something simple with basic, step-by-step instructions, and one where I could use my thermomix. After a quick google search, I found this recipe: Sourdough Bread. The dough needs to rise for about nine hours, so I decided to make the dough last night for it to be ready to bake this morning.

It really is a simple recipe - perfect for a sourdough 'noob' such as myself. The only change I made was using wholemeal flour instead of white bakers flour. I put all the ingredients in the thermomix, mixed briefly, then put it to knead for a few minutes. I then got the dough out into my prepared bread tin.

That was it for last night. Easy! I then put the pan in the oven to prove overnight. I think it was around 9.30pm, meaning it should have been ready by 6.30am the next morning - which was perfect, as that's about the time the kids wake us up.

This morning I checked on the dough...

Whoa! How amazing is that?! There is absolutely no added yeast to this dough, so all that rising is purely from the wild yeast in my sourdough starter!

I had a poor attempt at slashing some lines in the top for decoration, and then baked in the oven for 45 minutes. In that time I went out for a run and when I came home I was greeted my the smell of fresh bread - heaven!

Here is the cooked loaf fresh out of the oven.

And here it is on the inside.

It got the big thumbs up from the husband. Mr O wouldn't touch it, but Miss A had a little nibble. And me? Well, it was a little dense, but other than that I'm really impressed - especially considering this is my first ever attempt. The sourdough flavour was subtle, but definitely there. The spelt flavour came through too. Overall, it was a really nice loaf. I had mine with some homemade butter and Tasmanian leatherwood honey.

Mmm, yum! We have gone through about half the loaf today, so I am very much looking forward to some sourdough toast for breakfast tomorrow morning.

The weird and wonderful world of Sourdough (Part One)

(Part One)

As I have mentioned, I have had a sourdough starter in the works. Well, this morning I baked my first loaf and it didn't suck! We'll get to that, but firstly I'd like to backtrack and go through the process it took to get here... over a week in the making. Not sure if this will make for an interesting read, so just skip ahead and look at the pictures if it doesn't interest you.

To get my starter going, I essentially followed this site, with some adjustments here and there along the way.

It all started eight days ago...

On day one I mixed 25g spelt flour and 25ml of warm water together in a container. It was more like a stiff dough at first, so I added another 25-30ml of warm water until it formed a sloppy paste. Apparently wholemeal flours generally need more liquid. That was it for day one - I then left the container on the kitchen bench with the lid loosely on.

Day One

On day two I noticed a slight separation had occurred with a watery liquid on top of the starter. Not to worry though - I added a paste of 25g spelt flour and 50ml of warm water to the starter and mixed it through. Again, I simply left the container on the kitchen bench with the lid loosely on.

Day Two

I lost track in the middle of where I was up to, but on day three/four, I started to notice some changes taking place in my starter. Bubbles started forming and the smell began to change from simply smelling of the spelt flour, to something different - a little sweet. I gave the starter a 'feed' of 50g spelt flour and 60+ml of warm water.

Day Three/Four

On day five, the site I followed said to have a rest day - basically don't feed the starter, just leave it to do it's thing (ferment). There were lots and lots of lovely bubbles by now.

Day Five

By day six there was definitely something going on. Heaps of bubbles and a fruity, slightly tangy smell had developed. I gave the starter a feed of 100g spelt flour and 100ml of warm water.

Day Six

According to the site I was following, by day seven my starter should have been ready to use. It smelt how it should, but it wasn't 'spongy'. So, I added 100g spelt flour and a little warm water and left if for another half a day or so. When I checked later, it was most definitely spongy - all that was left to do now was find a recipe and get baking!

Stay tuned for part two.

Speltacular!

In my ongoing aim to eat healthier, less processed foods, I have been experimenting with new grains and flours (instead of plain, bleached white flour). My first dabble started when I bought a bag of organic spelt flour (locally grown too I might add).

My first attempt baking with spelt wasn't exactly a roaring success. Not a complete flop either, but it definitely needed some improvements. I wasn't going to share this initially, but why not share my mistakes? It is a learning process after all.

I found a spelt bread recipe online here, and adapted it slightly replacing the honey with agave syrup and doing the mixing and kneading in my thermomix. It was a long process, mainly because of the time needed to allow the dough to rise: two hours, then another hour in the bread tin, followed by 40 minutes baking in the oven. My dough seemed to be stickier than was described in the recipe, and as a result my bread stuck to the tin and kind of just fell apart.

It was lovely and crispy on the outside, but the inside was heavier than I think it was supposed to be. I'm thinking that I probably over-kneaded it - very, very easy to do in the thermomix!

However, despite it not being the light, fluffy loaf of bread I was hoping for, once it was covered in homemade butter and strawberry fruit spread it was delicious! Very filling too, though that may just be because I ate more than I should have...

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My other experimentation with spelt has been an ongoing one with my first ever sourdough. I've used spelt flour in my starter which was somewhat adventurous, as the only sourdough starters I've seen/read about have been made with wheat or rye flours. I'm still in the middle of getting my sourdough starter established - today is day six, which means in a day or two I should (hopefully) be able to make my first sourdough loaf.
These photos were taken yesterday (day five):

As you can see, there are lots of lovely bubbles beginning to form, and the smell has developed a slight tang, so we're well on the way.

Once I've made my first sourdough loaf, I'll write a post with all the gory details. I find sourdough fascinating - this living thing that you 'feed' and can 'put to sleep'. Fingers crossed I have a little more success with my spelt sourdough bread!

First steps and pikelets

This morning I took the first steps to establishing our garden - I got out in our backyard and started pulling weeds. Twenty minutes later I had filled our wheelie bin and had barely made a dent in the garden bed!

Later, when Miss A had gone down for her day sleep and Mr O was happily watching Peter Pan (again), I went out with two big cardboard boxes I found. Those two boxes quickly filled with more weeds and grass, but the majority of the weeds are now gone.

Such a difference already! There's only a few weeds left, but the ground needs some work and there is still the small matter of actually disposing of all our garden rubbish. I think we might be making a trip to the dump this weekend. The fun part is quickly approaching though - I can't wait to get some seedlings in! I have a few other plans for the garden too, including planting a lemon tree. I use lemons a lot in cooking, so it's something that would definitely come in handy.

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After a busy morning in the garden I was feeling a bit peckish, so I made some pikelets for afternoon tea. They're such a simple, easy and quick snack to make, and are oh-so-yummy with fruit spread! Mmm. I replaced sugar with coconut palm sugar which not only adds a lovely flavour, but turns the pikelets a lovely caramel colour.

Sizzling away in the pan.

All cooked and spread with strawberry fruit spread.

The kidlets loved them, as did I. I ate more than I should have... oops! Miss A had a good go at hers, and Mr O who is generally pretty fussy with food gave them a big thumbs up!

How does your garden grow?

I have always loved the idea of gardens and gardening, but have never considered myself much of a green thumb. I appreciate the beauty of a well kept garden, and I have always liked the idea of growing my own herbs and fruit and vegetables, but it all just seemed like too overwhelming a task to start a garden from scratch.

Now that the kids are older, and now that wholesome, healthy eating has taken a priority in my life, I'm making time to finally get a garden started.

I'm starting small... Keep in mind I am completely new to this, and will probably make plenty of mistakes along the way!

My first garden project was to get some herbs established in pots. I already had some curly leaf and italian parsley growing, as well as some garlic chives and regular chives. On the weekend I bought some more herbs that I think I'll be likely to use regularly, and yesterday I planted them (and did some weeding in and around the pots they were in).

In my first pot I have some oregano, rosemary and thyme. I can smell the rosemary and thyme lamb roast already...

In the second pot I have italian (flat leaf) parsley, curly leaf parsley and chives. The italian parsley and chives I've had here for a while - the parsley gets a lot of use. I thought the chives had died, but they re-emerged, hurrah!

In a smaller pot I have mint chocolate. Not sure what the chocolate part is supposed to mean, but it smells divine!

That's all I have so far (apart from the garlic chives I didn't take a photo of). I'd really like to get some basil growing too, and maybe some coriander. I'm sure I'll keep adding to it as time goes on.

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Now, I said I was starting small, and there's good reason for that... 

This is our backyard. See that big bushy area over near the fence? Weeds. All weeds. That is where the main garden bed is supposed to be and where I'm planning on starting my vegetable garden.

I have some work ahead of me.

Even once the weeds are pulled I'll need to prepare the soil, as it is currently full of sticks, bones (the previous owners had dogs), rocks and random rubbish. In the past this has been what has stopped me from starting a garden, but now I'm kind of excited about the work that lies ahead of me. How satisfying it will be to go from this to a working, edible garden!

Introduction and Chocolate Making

Hello hello! My name is Selina and I am a stay at home mum (SAHM) to my two beautiful children, Mr O (3.5) and Miss A (16 months). I love being a mum, and I feel very lucky that I am able stay at home with them in these precious early years.

As well as looking after the kidlets and doing all the usual day-to-day jobs to keep the house running, I like dabbling in various projects - generally aiming to make our home (my little nest) a happy, healthy and beautiful place to be.

That is where this blog comes in. This will be a place for me to record all my little projects, as well other random musings from my simple but busy, mostly content life.

So, starting us off today, we have chocolate making!

Let's not beat around the bush... I love chocolate. But over the past year as I've been making an effort to eat healthier and lose weight, chocolate has had to go. However, one of my favourite food blogs had a recipe for homemade 'almost raw' chocolate, so today I had my first attempt at chocolate making. The great thing about this chocolate is that it is actually pretty healthy. All I used today was raw cacao powder, raw cacao butter, coconut palm sugar, agave syrup, vanilla essence and a pinch of himalayan rock salt. I made it in my thermomix too, so it was very easy. The sweeteners I used (coconut palm sugar and agave syrup) are both unrefined and low GI, so are much healthier than plain sugar, and the cacao is full of lovely antioxidants. I can eat this chocolate without feeling too guilty... provided I don't eat it all!

I'm pretty happy with how my chocolate turned out, especially for a first attempt.

Looks good, doesn't it? I put some raw cashew pieces down on a baking paper lined tray, poured the chocolate over the top and put it in the freezer to set. Not that I managed to wait long enough to let it set! I'll definitely be trying this again, and there are a lot of variations I'd love to try: adding orange rind or cinnamon, peppermint essence, berries, coconut, other nuts... so many decadent possibilities. Stay tuned.