Tag Archives: health

call me late for dinner…

20 Monday Dec 2021

Posted by in Life

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What if the most important thing in life is to figure out what we really think, want, feel? What if our biggest problem is the influence others wield over us, be they close acquaintances, family or far away aspirational figures, because we don’t know what we want? This thought occurred to me as I was packing my suitcase. Why did I want to take that particular piece of clothing—for comfort, to please someone else, or maybe just convention—you can’t be seen in anything but a dress if you are a certain age—or something equally ridiculous. And right then my brain exploded with the knowledge that I’ve been doing this all of my life, with e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.

And then the thought, ‘but is this always a bad thing?’

It has taken nearly two years for Covid to finally exert its weight on me enough that I feel like a drowning woman at times. And I know I’m lucky. But still… still there are these constant decisions one must make to protect, nurture and grow oneself, not to mention the responses to nurture, protect and respond to those close to us. If you are an introvert and a ‘Highly Sensitive Person’ (HSP is a thing, researched and published by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D) this is a thick layer of complexity added to our already complex human existence, now compounded by layers of the Covid Effect.

I know some of you are struggling too, I’ve read your emails and blogs and this is effecting all of us in some way. At the time of writing, to go to South Australia and back here to Alice Springs again we have to have an approved border arrival document, a vaccination certificate to show upon arrival, a downloaded and set up G2G app so they can track us, and a negative covid test result within 72 hours of returning. We are triple vaxxed, so it is different for those who cannot be vaccinated or who choose not to be. As we recently experienced traveling to Adelaide to have tests done, the travel restrictions impact access to hospitals (where both tests were performed), causing us to add a week to our time away, and the costs that incurred. There are cancelled flights to rebook as the airlines attempt to get up and running again and are struggling to be viable. These times require great flexibility and knowing one’s inner strengths and sensitivities helps with that.

The first time I had to wear a mask in March 2020, it nearly set off a panic attack for me—sweaty palms and arm pits and shallow breathing on top of jet lag was not a great start. So I have been very grateful not living in a place where, until recently, I had to wear one much at all. During the times we’ve had to wear them we started bantering about the advantages of mask wearing—to ease the discomfort probably. I began to compile a list and thought it might be a bit of fun for you to see it.

If you wear a mask…

  • You don’t have to cover your mouth when yawning (handy)
  • You don’t have to worry that you have food in your teeth (my favourite)
  • You don’t have to worry if your nose is running
  • You don’t have to worry that there are foreign objects in your moustache (not me, personally…)
  • You don’t have to clean behind your ears (the bands do it for you?)
  • You don’t have to trim or wax your moustache (again, I’ve had help from a certain moustached person in my life on this one…)
  • Don’t have to tweeze stray hairs on your chin (yep, me all the way)
  • Don’t have to wear lipstick (me too, not him…)
  • Don’t have to wear makeup on lower half of your face (except if you are going somewhere you can remove the mask and then you have this kind of two-toned look to your face)
  • It helps to stop biting your nails (it’s just too obvious to flip up your mask to nibble a digit, ya know?)
  • You can whisper expletives and no one will know what you said (goodness knows I have to repeat most of what I say anyway!)
  • If anyone asks what you said you can clean it up and lie (ok, I may have done this once…)
  • You don’t have to worry about using breath mints
  • If you have a tongue like a giraffe you can pick your nose with it and no one will see (anonymous contributor–long spotty neck, tho)
  • If you lose a front tooth no one will know
  • It covers your mouth, agape, as you study the daily restaurant specials menu on the wall (c’mon we all do this…)
  • When you fall into that ugly sleep on the plane, you don’t have to worry about the drool out the corner of your mouth (contributed by a friend…)
  • When correctly fitted, a mask seems to hold up the ever drooping folds under my chin (ok, wishful thinking…)

I’m sure you can add a thing or two to this list. Or start another list of things not to do when wearing a mask, my personal favourite is ‘sneeze’. Don’t do it, very messy and gross.

The thing is, life is a very messy journey trying to figure out how one feels about everything, if they feel anything, even. Sometimes, having no response is what I wish for, because being highly sensitive seldom allows for that. I’m hoping you have some time to do whatever makes you feel peaceful and authentic in the coming months. I’ll be wearing my mask until I feel ok to remove it and not transmit covid to anyone, because call me late for dinner, but don’t call me prematurely de-maskulated.

(If you agree or don’t agree with mask wearing is not my purpose here. These are my views and a bit of fun and if you have your own views you can play along nicely or start your own blog.)

fallow…

22 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by in Life

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delicate detail in light and shadow

Anyone who grew up in the country knows the wisdom of letting a field lay fallow. But if you didn’t grow up in the country you might think a fallow field has nothing much happening. The plot just sits. Wasted real estate. Like a quiet person who may not say much, it doesn’t mean nothing is going on under the surface. A field in fallow still receives rain and sun, may even be planted with a crop that is never harvested, but gets plowed under to help replenish the soil with nutrients. It is a time of restoration.

Humans have our fallow periods. If we are wise enough to not flog our impatient selves over the seeming lack of accomplishment, we can reap enormous benefits from a period of allowing our inner selves to replenish. Our life force comes bubbling to the surface again, renewed. In my experience this can happen over a period of weeks, months or even years. Thoughts and feelings weave in and out of our consciousness as an idea or skill develops into something more fully formed and ready to express itself. But it cannot be hurried. And in my case, it would seem, it cannot be directed. It takes as long as a piece of string, and it goes where I have not been before.

The curious thing is the ingredients that contribute to the end result. It is often very mysterious. It seems to have nothing to do with the final outcome, but contributes to the process the way subtle ingredients contribute to a delicious stew. Have you noticed the difference in flavour of a slow cooked stew that has bubbled on the stove all day long, versus one cooked by faster means?

A slow renewal would describe much of my previous year. Toward the end, only a few weeks ago while we were traveling in the Southwest of the United States, I began to realise the time was not so much a fallow period as a gestation. What has been birthed is a stronger, more energetic self with fresh thoughts, inspiration and appreciation. It feels like the look of drought ridden land, a week or so after a good rain. And  the ‘entrapped nerve’ in my foot is nearly healed. It was taking the long, slower road, of exercise, stretching, rest and shockwave treatments that did the job. I opted to try this less invasive route, rather than the steroid injections. There were moments I doubted I would feel this good again, but I tried not to let this override my thoughts of recovery. An excellent and positive podiatrist and tenacity on my part have won the day. Through the months I finally gave myself over to the process and embraced quieter pursuits with a mind open to various possible outcomes.

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Mud lark frolics in opportune bird bath after the recent rain

You may think I had forgotten you. And writing. Some will have moved on and forgotten this little blog altogether. Understandable. From my end it is often counterproductive to try and confine these changes into some tidy little paragraphs of significance, when they are still busy forming themselves. Of course this process is ongoing, but once in a while it is intensive, as the last 10 months or so have been for me. It seemed better to wait for a time when things felt more fully formed to try and describe what had gone on.

There is no time like one’s birthday to reflect. So, last week on the first day of my 67th year (or is it the last day of my 66th year?) it was the light, the textures and the small everyday things that shone. I missed walking more than I had missed anything in a long time. Just walking. Taking the time to rehabilitate my mobility has not only taught me new things, it has reminded me to appreciate the Now, and the wee, small things.

As Mies van der Rohe said, God is in the detail. A light chaser knows this.

golden grasses wet with
late autumn golden sunset
light and shadow
late autumn garden in the neighbourhood
morning light during my walk

the comfort of food…

25 Sunday Feb 2018

Posted by in Cook's Edit, Food, Health

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IMG_5799Some of us eat to live. Others live to eat. I probably fall somewhere in the middle of that continuum. Influencing personal preferences are things like cultural and family rituals, environment and health. For most adults, it is one of the few things we can do in life that is totally up to us as to when, how and what we consume. But I have found, that my body and mind often disagree about what I should be eating, and that can be a problem.

In July of 2017 I quit eating grains. All of them. Not a fad or weight-loss diet, it was an informed choice—or as informed as is possible with food intolerances, which are quite mysterious. Having a psoriatic rash extending from my upper back to my legs, and periodic eczema, I was desperate to fix the problem, if possible. It had worsened over the year I was eating gluten free so that didn’t seem to be the answer…what to do? Quit grains…and then what?

After only 3 days the itching stopped. After 3 weeks the rash started to fade a bit and I was losing weight that had slowly crept on over a period of five years. It wasn’t a lot of weight, but it was stubborn and seemingly immoveable. And then it left. Not sorry to see you go! Now, some 8 months later, I am still noticing changes for the better. Not wanting to get into the very contested issues around medical versus alternative treatments of things, I will say that tests show that my blood sugar level has decreased from high to normal, cholesterol has adjusted to normal and there is a marked difference in inflammatory symptoms, such as arthritis. And more…

I still have a list of food intolerances, but have noticed that a few things seem to be digesting much better and eczema is no longer a problem. It reminds me of that movie about Benjamin Button, the one where he ages in reverse. It kind of feels like my body is returning to normal, whatever that was. It has been a long time.

I’m not on a bandwagon to tell you to eat any certain way, we are all different. I do what seems right for myself and leave others to make their own choices. My choices are informed. I read and update my knowledge continually. Be your own advocate, I say.

Perhaps the most valuable food and life lesson was told to me over 25 years ago when I began to try and heal myself. A naturopath told me ‘Make a list of all the things you CAN eat and post it on the fridge. That way, when you are hungry you will see all the available options, rather than all the things you need to avoid’. It was a lesson in perspective–food for thought, in every sense.

In recent years I’ve become very dedicated to my morning cup of coffee. Some days it seemed it was the only bright spot in the day, not that my life is horrible, it isn’t. But food and drink consumption has been a lifelong challenge and the bright spots are not always easy to come by. The siren call of morning coffee, however, seemed to take on an elevated need to satisfy. Why? I only have the one cup, and it is half-caf, that is half decaf beans and half normal beans, ground and steeped together for my morning joie-de-vivre. I even enjoy the ritual of making my pour-over coffee. In cold weather I sometimes have a second cup but it is all decaf. Yes, caffein has become something I am also sensitive to. More’s the pity. For me, coffee is a comfort. I have been drinking it since childhood, when Grandma would ask me if I wanted her to make me some of her ‘rat poison’ (instant coffee) and we would both giggle with devilish delight. She would make me a milky cup, sweet with sugar. My parents always had coffee in the mornings and so have I. Morning just doesn’t feel right without it.*

I try to understand these things but sometimes the full picture eludes me, until one day while I’m reading or listening or watching, another piece of the puzzle snaps into place. One such day happened this month, listening to the BBC Food Program about ‘comfort food’. Most people understand what that term means, but few of us would identify the same food(s) to describe it. Usually, comfort food is something that reminds you of childhood, of home, or of a special meal, person or place. Often, all of the above! For me, comfort food was Mom’s homemade stewed chicken and dumplings, pecan pie, pancakes, mashed potatoes with gravy and fried chicken…and also, milky coffee.

As I began listening to the podcast I wondered, ‘…am I going to be able to get through this?’…such was the intensity with which people recalled their comfort foods and why. Eating can be a personal pleasure for one, or hold even deeper meaning, going to the heart of family culture and tradition. Nearly all of the foods described are things I can no longer eat. But I persevered. Not one to accept a joyless diet gracefully, I am used to researching cooking methods, foods and recipes that can restore my joie while also feeding my family and friends. Recent efforts have, of course, been focused on foods without grains.

Continuing to listen, I realised my search was not only for nutritional reasons, I had also been searching for a new set of comfort foods. 

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Slow cooked chicken and vegetable soup

Many of the old comfort foods were just not possible to recreate satisfactorily with alternative ingredients that did not include grains, or flour, as we know it. Fried chicken made with almond meal just didn’t make the grade. However, stewed chicken like Mom used to make for eating with dumplings or noodles, made into ‘Zoodle Soup’ is pretty good. It is a slow cooked chicken and vegetable soup made with zucchini ‘noodles’ (‘zoodles’) or in my case, stick shapes cut on the mandolin slicer, because I didn’t want to have another gadget in my kitchen. The zoodles remind me of the way Mom would sometimes break spaghetti into shorter pieces for soups. The soup is savoury and wholesome and what you would want if you had a cold or flu. That’s the comfort test, isn’t it? When you are sad, or sick, what do you want to eat that makes you feel better?

Russian ‘Syrniki’ or ricotta pancakes were soon to be added to my repertoire.

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Russian-style Syrniki, ricotta pancakes with yogurt and berries

And an ersatz English-style Muffin fills the void, when I want a crispy vehicle for butter and jam.

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grain free English-style Muffin with cashew butter and plum jam

My greatest triumph so far has been French-style Apple Cake. It looks and tastes like my distant memory of the real deal, and everyone who has eaten it thinks it is delicious and special, as is its namesake.

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French-style Apple Cake

I realise I will never replicate the exact feeling of those old comfort foods because they are flavours that were established in the beginning of my life. But there is great pleasure, and comfort, in creating new dishes for this phase of my life.

So what do you want to eat that gives you comfort? Go on, I’m tough, hit me with it….

 

*(I have eliminated coffee several times over the years, once for three years, replacing with green, herbal or black tea and not found any health benefits.)

the outer kingdom and inner dominion…

27 Thursday Oct 2016

Posted by in Creativity, Life, photography

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It seems a month or so ago when I wrote there was change in the wind, I was correct. The change in the wind has not altogether been the weather. True, we have had an extended winter/spring, but the changes were also born from inner need, and a rash decision…

Our weather here in Alice has been like no one local can recall. We have been here 25 years and it is certainly different than we have experienced. When I started writing this, a few days ago the morning temperature was 3C. Yesterday at the same time, it was 20C. In anyone’s book that is quite a variance. The miraculous result of our ongoing winter/early spring weather is that both the domestic gardens and the bush have made huge strides in recovering from last summer’s plague of giant grasshoppers and heat, followed by the early winter hail storm that pretty well finished things off. That Mother Nature, you can’t beat her and you can’t figure her out!

today’s same lemon tree bursting with new foliage
unripe lemon on denuded tree five months ago

While the outer kingdom has been busily regenerating, my inner dominion has been a little volcanic. I made a couple of habit decisions a month or so ago. I first decided to start meditating again. To do that I needed to modify my morning routine. For approximately the first three hours I am up, starting at about 4.45am, I am doing self-nurturing things. I begin with meditating for however long the urge moves me, sometimes 30 minutes, sometimes as long as 50 minutes. I then go for a 40 minute walk. I don’t time it, but I have two routes and they both take about that long because that is how much my body will tolerate and still have energy left for other activities as the day progresses.

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Desert Pea near Botanic Garden

During the walk I have begun listening to podcasts. I have immersed myself into a new world and I am learning. What is the saying? When you know better, you do better. And that means change. Listening to people who are able to articulate their inner and outer journey is valuable to me. It has reminded me to trust my inner voice, which is so sweet and persistent, compared to the ‘self talk’, ego voice which is mostly berating and negative. I now realise I hear them as two different voices and it’s important to differentiate. It takes some getting used to. The self talk must change…starting with, the crisis of writing confidence I have also been wrestling with. I have been reminded that all great artists, a category to which I do not, nor do I care to, belong, have confidence issues most of their lives. I know my writing is improving all the time, and I’m satisfied with that. It is the subject matter I have been a bit worried over. What do I possibly have to say? And then…at about the same time I was writing this post, I had one of those shower-epiphanies–you know, when you are showering and allow your mind to wander and suddenly it bestows upon you a revelation.

Cue Hallelujah Chorus.

‘What if I see my writing as snapshots of the ordinary, but light-filled, similar to my photographs?’ I can happily live with that. Time will tell if others can happily read that!

So, “Go away negative self-talk, it’s a new day!“

native grass and button daisies
native grasses in early morning
field of button daisies at Olive Pink Botanic Garden
Season for the trees to get their gear off
Jacaranda blossoms fallen after rain

Also part of my new morning routine; I am not writing emails first thing, as I have done previously. I am writing ideas. Some might make it to the blog one day, most won’t. After about an hour of writing I allow myself to check emails and answer them. I have to make exceptions to this practice if there are family things going on with our daughter or with my Mum and close friends/family overseas.

img_2459The new routine was going well, though not easily. But that was to be expected. And then… I tried to fix a ‘little’ computer problem that was a result of upgrading my operating system. As these things often do, the ‘fix’ was waaaaay worse than the original problem. I back up everything, always. I knew I would get it all back together eventually, but did not expect it to take 8 days 22 hours and 42 minutes, but who’s counting? Two days into that process, my left arm developed a strange ‘rash’ that I decided must be eczema. I’ve had problems with this in the past, but nothing as nasty as this one, and I’ve always been able to identify what I had eaten that had caused it so that I could avoid the food in future, or eat in limited quantities. This time my efforts were for naught. Finally after a week with no improvement I went to the doctor. He took one look and said ‘If you hadn’t had the Shingles vaccine three years ago, I would say you have Shingles. It is classic looking for that.‘(That’s why he’s the doctor, ahem.) I had a quick flashback to the nurse who administered the vaccine telling my husband and I, ‘The efficacy of this one is only 80%.’ Whether it is hubris or a case of positive thinking, one does not think they will be in the unfortunate 20%. Still, I consider myself very lucky that my experience was not as bad as that of my Grandmother or my Mother-in-law. I’m sure the vaccine* has helped mitigate the more miserable and serious symptoms. 

I can now go back to eating normally, having eliminated a whole swag of foods from my diet for the passed week, and the rash should be healed in two-four weeks.img_2412

So, my friends, life is never dull. If it is, you aren’t doing it right.

(*If you are over 60, I would recommend getting the Herpes Zoster Vaccine. We had to get a script from our doctor, take it to the chemist who ordered it and then we picked it up and took it to our GP, whose nurse administered it. If you have ever seen anyone with normal to serious Shingles, you would not hesitate to do this. It is a very painful and nasty thing to experience. My own was only minor pain the first few days and lots of itching.)

every trip has a story…

23 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by in Family, Health, Travel

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We have been in the USA visiting and, hopefully, helping my Mother and immediate family for the last two and a half weeks. Our intentions were good, but our execution of the plan left a little to be desired. We had booked the trip 10 months ago when Qantas was having a good sale on Business class seats to the USA (two for 1!!). And at that time we had just returned from a trip there and it seemed like two weeks would be long enough. Erroneous thinking on many levels. We are left wondering what led us to this decision, so that we don’t repeat it.

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Our Qantas 737 plane to Sydney, named Retro Roo, painted with old style livery

Mum was good when we got there, but two of the last three days of our visit she was in hospital with an unexpected urinary tract infection. Did you know that this is a very common ailment in the elderly? The doctor who spoke to us was very nice and further informed us how this effects elderly people, and to some extent why. I thought I would share it since you may have someone in your family that is in a similar situation.

The doctor said that elderly patients, in general, have ‘less reserves’ in their system, so when this infection establishes itself it often appears that the affected person is confused and dizzy. He went on to explain why this happens. When a person has a UTI, they feel as if they need to relieve themselves more often than normal, thus dehydrating them slightly. This dehydration effects the blood pressure, so that when they stand, they are dizzy, and often fall. The dehydration also effects the brain function, and people can seem slightly more confused or less sharp than normal. If this is someone who already has some dementia, it can seem somewhat normal, since people have good days and bad days with that as well.

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Members of Mum’s gardening group at the assisted living home.

In Mum’s case she had not really noticed the burning with the urination that is often the telltale symptom, and so she fell twice in three days while getting up in the night. We had spent all day with her both days, and she had not commented on symptoms, or seemed much out of the ordinary. In fact, we did not know about the first fall, until the second one happened. How this can happen in an assisted living place is a very long and involved story that has to do with patient consent and how the issue is reported etc. Regardless, it is just plain frustrating.

The second time Mum fell she was wearing her medical alert necklace, which has a motion detector on it. When it detects a fall, they try to contact the person. If the person is unresponsive, they send paramedics, which they did. Mum was unconscious so they took her to the hospital. They ran many tests and immediately established that she had the UTI and started antibiotics intravenously.

Through what can only be viewed as a snafu of ridiculous proportions (internet not working properly, phone not working, hotel not having us listed as registered guests, despite the fact we had been there for 10 nights already), no one was able to get word to us until we appeared at her apartment the following morning, to find her gone, but the dog there alone. The assisted living place was able to update us and that is when I learned of her fall three nights previously. None of the rest of the family even knew about that one, since she was not wearing the medical alert necklace that night (they are uncomfortable for sleeping and Mum had removed it)

Mum was very confused that day and the following day. It wasn’t helped by the fact that hospitals are lousy places to get any rest! We took her home on the second day, and after a night of sleep, and two days of antibiotics in her system, she was like a new person on the last day we saw her. We spent most of the day with her and then left for the airport to fly home to Australia.

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Sometimes trips are good just to break you out of your normal routine

On the long haul flight coming home, heavy fog was predicted for Sydney, so our flight was diverted to Fiji for refuelling in case we had to fly around a bit before landing, or fly to a farther airport. So, 17 hours in the same seat on an airplane was a new record for us, and not one I care to challenge. The fog did not eventuate in Sydney, but farther up the coast.

Yesterday after we arrived home and went to the grocery, unpacked bags and made some dinner, I remarked “I’m sure I have some idea how Mum must feel when she is confused. My brain has the acuity of chocolate pudding.”

Mum is good and we are exchanging emails already. I am deliriously happy, having awakened in my own bed and now enjoying a really good cup of coffee. The brain is less pudding-y and more protoplasm-y this morning.

…connections, the gifts we give to ourselves

22 Sunday May 2016

Posted by in Food, Health, Life

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I have been thinking about connections.  Specifically, connections with people, as well as whatever else sustains us in our lives. These are the true gifts we give to ourselves.

What started my thought processes ticking over was a passage from a book I’m still reading called ‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life’ by Barbara Kingsolver. It is a rather lengthy quote, but has so much to offer.

“…cooking is good citizenship. It’s the only way to get serious about putting locally raised foods into your diet, which keeps farmlands healthy and grocery money in the neighborhood. Cooking and eating with children teaches them civility and practical skills they can use later on to save money and stay healthy, whatever may happen in their lifetimes to the gas-fueled food industry. Family time is at a premium for most of us, and legitimate competing interests can easily crowd out cooking. But if grabbing fast food is the only way to get the kids to their healthy fresh-air soccer practice on time, that’s an interesting call. Arterial-plaque specials that save minutes now can cost years, later on. Households that have lost the soul of cooking from their routines may not know what they’re missing: the song of a stir-fry sizzle, the small talk of clinking measuring spoons, the yeasty scent of rising dough, the painting of flavors onto a pizza before it slides into the oven. The choreography of many people working in one kitchen is, by itself, a certain definition of family, after people have made their separate ways home to be together. The nurturing arts are more than just icing on the cake, insofar as they influence survival. We have dealt to today’s kids the statistical hand of a shorter life expectancy than their parents, which would be us, the ones taking care of them. Our thrown-away food culture is the sole reason.”

Recently, against much hesitation, I took a leap of faith that I was hoping would yield the product of a bread I could eat again. My hesitation was about spending time trying to do something that seemed beyond my technical ability, and for perhaps not particularly brilliant results. After years of retraining myself not to eat bread and pasta, I wasn’t even certain my ‘care factor’ was strong enough to inspire the new efforts. I used to bake wheat bread many years ago, with only moderate success, and so I was not at all certain this was an endeavour to satisfy the rather high standards for my food. But back then I didn’t have the connection with blog friends and the internet to support me!

loaf three

loaf three

loaf one.

loaf one.

After years of not being able to digest wheat options in any form, except the tiniest amounts, bread I can eat is like a little miracle in my life. As the Universe often does, it conspired to support me. The author of a blog I follow has similar problems with similar foods to myself (FODMAPS, google it, it is not as uncommon as you would think). Through her diligence she developed a spelt sourdough starter, tested it, dried it and sent some to me, along with copious notes and instructions. After text messages and a phone call I got through making my first loaf.

It was very dense, not ideal, but it was edible.

The second loaf was more edible, as was the third. More research was required. More practice as well. The fourth loaf was a breakthrough, and the fifth loaf confirmed my skills. But after five weeks of trying, loaf six…was…brilliant (she said modestly).

gorgeous oven spring of loaf SIX!

gorgeous oven spring of loaf SIX!

I think I may be hooked. There is something so satisfying about taking flour, water and salt and making something to nourish one’s body, not to mention is a beautiful thing! It is the connection with our food that our culture has nearly lost. A few brave and dedicated souls, like Barbara Kingsolver and her family, Michael Pollan, the Slow Food Movement, and the entire population of France, are helping us see our way back again.

So, this gift of bread making is more than just a connection to my food. It is the practice of a lifelong source of joy—making something with my hands. And it is the return of another joy, eating, and sharing good bread. This, my friends is how we should give to ourselves. And this, my friends is my gift to you…the recipe 🙂

Perfect texture for sandwiches or toast
mixture of higher hydration dough–very soft and sticky
after proving overnight
the joy of toast and butter

More resources if you wish to make your own connection with sourdough bread making: figjamandlimecordial; pleasepasstherecipe; zebbakes

a few quiet days…the magic fix

04 Wednesday May 2016

Posted by in Food, Health

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As some of you know I have been labouring under the effects of a nasty virus for weeks. In retrospect we think it was the flu, not just a cold. Late in the third week I took a turn for the worse–again, and pushing up against the long weekend I decided to do something desperately different to see if I could recover. I stopped. Well, my version of stopping.

I had just done a major grocery shopping trip and so I had food for the duration of the long weekend. Fortunately it was food that didn’t take loads of prep time and energy. My husband cooked salmon on the barbeque (grill) and we had simple vegetables with it. I made the leftover salmon into a delicious Nicoise style salad the next day. I made chicken breasts in the slow cooker according to my cousin’s recipe and again, it was simple but delicious. An eggplant recipe from my friend Sandra’s blog was deceptively easy and tasty. I slow cooked a pork scotch fillet roast and more simple vegetables. And for a couple of days we had the leftover meats recycled into salads and with more simple vegetables.

carrots and zucchini sauteed with thyme and butter
Salmon Nicoise style salad
Sandra’s eggplant

And I rested in between.

I’m not good at doing nothing. Everyone who knows me understands that about me. So let me explain what I did not do, so you will appreciate that what I did do was quiet time. I didn’t sweep or mop the floors. I didn’t sweep the outside areas, or work in the garden as I had planned. I didn’t go for my daily walks or do anything but a few stretches on a couple of mornings, when I felt like it. The other mornings I did nothing.

And rested in between.

Quiet activities included, reading, minimal cooking, a bit of washing and ironing in a very leisurely manner, and folding. I discovered a new book by Marie Kondo called Sparking Joy: An Illustrated Masterclass on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up . She teaches you how to fold things for more efficient use of space and care of garments. So at several intervals, with rests in between, I dragged things from shelves and folded. I had already done the onerous task of discarding, so the folding and stacking was a finishing stage. Minimal effort for maximum satisfaction.

And rest.

For ten minutes one morning I trimmed the bay tree of this year’s supply of beautiful leaves, so that I could dry them for the coming year of cooking.IMG_8100

And then rested.

Not surprisingly, I improved each day. The head finally cleared, the chest congestion began to go, and the ache in my back began to subside. I am nearly well again. The final bit of therapy was the making of Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Buckwheat cookies. If only I’d known that was the magic fix I would have tried that first 🙂

Chewy, gooey goodness, with Grandma's ice cream scoop in background

Chewy, gooey goodness, with Grandma’s ice cream scoop in background

my experience with a personal trainer

11 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by in Health

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I’ve cleaned our house for years, not because I love cleaning, but because I love a clean and orderly place in which to live. And when it comes to exercise, it is not much different. I don’t love exercise, but I love an orderly and responsive working body!

Back in September of 2015, I started working with a personal trainer. We hit it off right away. The reason I sought her out is because I have Fibromyalgia* (since 1999) and a 62 year old body, which is not improving in condition. Despite my frequent walks and more or less consistent sit-ups, yoga and stretches, I could tell things were going in a negative direction strength-wise. I’m not ready to deal with an increasing number of preventable aches and pains or sit in a chair and wait to die.

I thought perhaps if I shared a bit about this experience with you it might be of some value. We all have weaknesses in our bodies. I don’t dwell on mine, just accept they are there and try to work with what I’ve got. I knew when I needed help, and that I had reached the end of my limited knowledge of yoga, aerobic exercise, and physical therapy exercises, all of which have actually helped me maintain a reasonable level of flexibility…but not strength. I just didn’t know where to go to get the help.

Gym ball doubles as office chair, floor doubles as exercise studio

Gym ball doubles as office chair, floor doubles as exercise studio

The fact that the nerve cells get overly excited with any kind of unusual movement means that most exercise classes and trainers who believe you have to ‘push through the pain’ are completely inappropriate for me. An added difficulty is, when supplementing new movements to my exercise regime I need to do them very nearly every single day for months before the muscles finally ‘remember’ the movement and don’t get sore when I skip a couple of days and then start up again, which is inevitable in life. I needed a trainer who understood all of this and could help me work with the abilities I have. As seems to be my current, very good relationship with the Universal Energies, Alexandra appeared in my life! She is a qualified ‘C.H.E.K.’(Corrective, Holistic, Exercise, Kinesiology) trainer, which is a particular protocol that tries to balance one’s movement with diet, sleep and chi, appropriately tailored to individual needs and goals. I filled out several hours’ of paperwork, and a 10 day diet diary at the beginning, so that she could evaluate my needs. Also I read a couple of books she suggested so that I could better understand her approach, but she tells me not everyone is amenable to the books, and that is okay too. 

Having worked on diet, sleep hygiene and some moderate physical movement for years, most areas of concern are in pretty good shape. We reviewed them and made minor changes. For the physical movement, however, we started with a whole new program of stretches and strength training. The stretches were specifically targeted to correct certain problems with back and groin pain, and began to help immediately. We are talking very targeted movements here. She started me with very low level core strength training and we began building. I was going great until November when my right knee didn’t like a particular move we tried and swelled up, and then in December my left foot had a problem and again recently the groin and back pain tried a resurgence. So we backed things up and did some remedial work. Such was the benefit I experienced with the core strength exercises and stretches, I pushed myself to continue doing what I could even while finishing the photo challenge—all very challenging indeed.

We are into 6 months of training now and I am pleased with the areas already improved. I can’t say enough good things about the process, even though I still don’t like exercise! I do stretches and strength building for about 25 minutes each day, and I take a walk. All up, the time invested is about 1hr to 1 1/4 hours a day. And now I am able to take one day a week off without the muscles reacting too badly. In fact a day of rest about once a week has proved to be very helpful…and normal.

2 kg free weights resting on yoga mat

2 kg free weights resting on my yoga mat

The cost and time investment are things most people, including me, think about when considering a ‘personal trainer’. It sounds so exclusive and, one assumes, expensive. Alexandra and I have only had about 6 one hour sessions (in addition to the initial consult) in the six month period. Partly, that is because I do the work. If I have questions she answers me via email, but would come if I needed her to. She visits me at home, tests my levels of accomplishment with the recent program, and supervises the new moves to replace ones I have mastered. A couple of days later she follows up with a pictorial summary of the updated program. All for $80 a session. The initial consult which took two hours, and for her, even more time afterward, cost $120. I have invested $100 in a gym ball, which now doubles as my computer ‘chair’, and is great for my back, and some graduated free weights which cost less than $60. It is very affordable, especially when considering the costs of going to the physical therapist and chiropractor which I haven’t needed since we started. In addition, my posture is improved, I feel stronger and, in the occasional instance where my old problems recur, the experience is brief and less intense than previous episodes. Usually I only miss one day of training and am back into it the next day with no pain.

I doubt I will ever love exercise. I have come to that realisation. I know it would be good for me to do more, like I know it would be good for me to never eat sugar again. But there’s a limit to these things.

(*Fibromyalgia is a muscle condition where the nerve cells become overstimulated very easily and cause a variety of symptoms. In my case if I overdo it, I ache all over and feel as if I’m coming down with the flu. There is an element of depression, too, which, thankfully I’ve only had to deal with a few times, but the symptoms vary with the individual. Also, most people who have Fibromyalgia also have food sensitivities, as do I)

what I read in 2014

31 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Books

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When visiting with a friend recently, I realised during our conversation I was mentioning quite a few books I had read. It started me thinking about how much what I read effects my life, so I’ve done a quick flick back through this year of reading. I’m not a fast reader, and alas, neither do I have high retention, but I enjoy reading and persevere, regardless.

The advent of e-readers has been a boon to my reading. Books are now cheaper, and for me, living where I do, more readily accessible. Also, there is not the problem of what to do with the physical book after I’ve read it. Do I keep it, or do I move it along?? That is not to say that holding the e-reader and turning virtual pages has quite the satisfaction of a real book, but to me, it is a trade-off I’m willing to make with most books (not all). I have noticed that the iPad mini (gift to myself) is much easier (than the old iPad) to hold, and enhances my reading process.

But I digress.

Here’s the list from this year, though I’m not sure they sound very interesting. I’m mostly a reader of non-fiction. I’ve listed the books in the order I read them, starting in January up until now. This is not necessarily the order in which I enjoyed them!

Almond Cake from Elana Amsterdam book

Almond Cake from Elana Amsterdam book

The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam. As some of you know I can’t eat wheat or any grains very well, so this was a help for some all-important comfort food. I also subscribe to her blog.

Protein, veggies, and whole food fats is the way to go!

Protein, veggies, and whole food fats is the way to go!

The Calorie Myth by Jonathan Bailor. It helped me understand the science of how our body uses food, and it reinterprets old research, as well as reveals new research with regard to healthy foods and eating styles. I do not advocate slavish dedication to ‘diets’, I just found this book gave me a new understanding of how my body uses food. I have been using most of its guidelines for nearly a year now, since January, and can honestly say I have not felt as well for many years.

 

 

In the same spirit of inquiry I read:

Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox by Kate Rheaume-Bleue, BSc, N.D. – pretty informative but not light reading, found it after hearing Kate in a radio interview, not recommended except for those health geeks among us, or those with calcium absorption issues.

The Wahls Protocol by Terry Wahls, M.D. This is a book about Paleo principals and functional medicine and how she cured her own MS. I also found this through a radio interview. Kind of interesting, probably more so if you have been diagnosed with MS, which, thankfully, I have not.

Magnesium Trace Mineral (am sure this was some 6th grader’s science project—awful book)

Magnificent Magnesium by Dennis Goodman MD. It sounds awful and corny, but was actually pretty informative, proving once again you cannot judge a book by its cover. Magnesium is a really wonderful mineral for our bodies. Since starting to take supplements in May of this year, I’ve seen improvement, if not elimination, of leg cramps and heart palpitations. It has also been good as Mother Nature’s little helper to ‘move things along’, if you know what I mean. Dr Goodman is a heart specialist, and much of the first part of the book focuses on the function of the cardiopulmonary system, but it does go on to include the multitude of benefits the right amounts of magnesium can bring to our bodies. The ‘right’ amount is key here, and, much to my surprise, was more than I am able to consume in my day to day diet. Any mineral that is contained in chocolate can’t be all bad.

Stitches by Anne Lamott. Loved this book and highly recommend it, short and entertaining as well as thought provoking.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The one piece of fiction that sneaked into my list this year! You would have to be sleeping under a rock to have not heard of this one. Loved the book, thought the movie was average.

Your Personal Paleo Diet, by Chris Kresser. I read this to educate myself on this new trend in eating. Some very useful information, much of which was in The Calorie Myth, but enough of a different interpretation of the information to make it worthwhile. He also has a very good website and I like his relaxed approach to the Paleo lifestyle. A key thing I learned was to soak pulses before cooking and eating them. Has saved my digestion no end of distress!

Next came my melancholic phase of dealing with my Dad’s passing 18 months previously…

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast. I’d read a review of this book and thought it might be interesting. It is written in a very unusual format, that of a comic strip. The content somewhat reflected my own experience, and was a bit of confirmation, but I found the format somewhat distracting, and I’m not sure I can recommend it.

Dad and Me, circa 1997

Dad and Me, circa 1997

The Long Goodbye, a memoir by Meghan O’Rourke. This was my breakthrough book in the mourning of my Father. She writes of the loss of her Mother with such raw intimacy I found it extremely helpful. I cried more than once while reading it, but it was very productive for me.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. This should be on everyone’s ‘must read’ list. And the reason we should all read it is so we can have the discussions about dying and illness and infirmity before it happens to us or someone we love. The first part of the book does not paint a pretty picture, I nearly put it down, following so close on the heals of starting to recover from Dad’s passing. But then it got interesting. He describes many case studies and scenarios both from a medical point of view, and from that of a son with aging parents. Very worthwhile, if not easy to get through, at times.

And now I’m back to regaining some balance in life…

Eat to Cheat Ageing by Ngaire Hobbins. Excellent, practical book for over 60’s, but also for younger people who plan to get old! Hobbins is an Australian dietician and writes from her experience of working with older adults and their difficulties with maintaining healthy weight and eating patterns. You may be surprised at how important it is to maintain your muscle mass, and even a few extra pounds, in later life. This should also be required reading for us all.

Thrive by Arianna Huffington. I’m actually cheating just a little bit here, I still have just a few pages left in this book, but I’ve read most of it and thoroughly enjoyed it. I started it because I wanted to know if I should recommend it to our daughter when she had a bad patch a couple of months ago. Her life seemed a bit unbalanced and took a physical toll on her. What I found was a book that I could relate to! You may know Arianna Huffington as the editor/founder of the Huffington Post. I thought she would write something for the high powered, achievement-oriented, career woman. However, she writes with great dexterity about how to live well in all areas of our lives. I especially love the quotations she uses often throughout the book. I am not familiar with her other books but I think I may go have a look… as soon as I finish the next two books awaiting me on my iPad!

Liquidz cafe, 'famous' bananas, appear on their Facebook page!

Liquidz cafe, ‘famous’ bananas, appear on their Facebook page!

Happy 2015 to you all.

xx Ardys

 

 

 

 

 

In My Kitchen – September 2014

01 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by in Alice Springs, Food, In My Kitchen

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I’m an experimenter; a tweaker. I find it difficult to follow a recipe exactly, unless it is for baked goods, which often don’t lend themselves to much tinkering. But my tweaks in early August were a pleasure free zone. I won’t waste your time.

beef-cheeks-ragu-eggplant

Beef Cheeks Ragu over eggplant shards

slow-cooker-beef-cheeks

Beef cheeks in slow cooker with stock

beef-cheeks-cooked

Shredding the meat

By the third week, however, I was number 1 with a bullet (read: top of the charts and ascending!). I decided to experiment by cooking beef cheeks. I’ve tasted them a couple of times and thought they were slightly stronger tasting than a normal roast. I decided the flavours would work well in pasta sauce. I slow cooked the cheeks first, and shredded them, then added to a very simple passata sauce. My husband had pasta, I had the sauce over eggplant that I had roasted in shards in the oven. Heaven on a shard! Two thumbs up from my husband. Four grass fed beef cheeks ($13.52) made enough sauce to feed 6.

IMG_2049The weather has a hint of spring in it here so I’m starting to get urges toward salad-y things. I thought I’d ‘lean into’ them a bit with a recipe I saw for Brussels Sprouts and Potato salad. Very nice ‘transitional salad.’

cucumber-salad-bacon

Cucumber and Corn salad with coconut bacon

‘Coconut Bacon‘ should just about offend everyone equally, I’m guessing. I’m not a vegetarian (see beef cheek paragraph above) but I used to be, for two years, and I still get curious to try things intended for vegetarians. Good food is good food. My curiosity was whether the crispy texture and savoury flavour would be nice in salads this summer. It is. Then I tried Cucumber, Corn and Coconut salad from a favourite blog I’ve been following for a while http://www.remedialeating.com/2014/08/in-the-weeds.html  Except I tweaked. My version was to use a bit of dill and some chives instead of the herbs called for in the recipe, and because I couldn’t find dry roasted peanuts anywhere in Alice, I used straight toasted peanuts, and the Maple Coconut Bacon to add the savoury element. It did work perfectly. Two thumbs up from hubby again. That’s twice in space of a week, if anyone is keeping track!

lemons-home-grown

basket of lemons

We have been picking lemons by the box and basketful! It’s such a shame to not be able to use more of them, but we give them away, so nothing is wasted. I have frozen some zest and juice in ice cube trays (zest and juice of 1 lemon per cube) for use later in the year. I wish you all were here so I could give some to you!

Also I have been soaking legumes and nuts before eating them, in order for the phytase to develop which lowers the phytates, which effects nutrient absorbtion. Because I drink almond milk much of the time, instead of dairy, I consume quite a few almonds. I soak them before whizzing them, the resulting milk tastes noticeably better, and hopefully, I’m getting more nutrients from them. I can now eat chick peas again, simply by soaking them for 24 hours before eating! Who knew? According to a Paleo site, ancient people used to soak most grains and legumes before eating them, but we got out of that practice somewhere along the way.

grilled-salmon-eggplant

Grilled salmon, eggplant strips and cucumber/corn salad

Finally, Don cooked most of dinner on the grill the other night and it was amazing! He cooked the salmon filets simply, with olive oil and salt, and the eggplant strips I had simply drizzled with olive oil as well. You can also roast the eggplant in the oven, but it’s the dressing for the eggplant that made it special. As per usual, I did have to make a change in the recipe, omitting the garlic, but it was still a new favourite.

Will send him to your place for weddings, parties, whatever…

Have a delicious month!

–Ardys

Please check out the other IMK posts at figjamandlimecordial.com  Thank you to Celia for hosting this monthly tour through kitchens around the world! Pop on over there and see what other interesting things are happening.