Monday was hot and steamy and very busy for us. We were all tired, and desperately needed something very easy, but delicious for dinner. I had a heap of broccoli and some mushrooms to use up, so when I found Nava Atlas’s recipe for Quesadillas with black beans, broccoli and portabellas I thought I’d hit the jackpot, because I also had tortillas and two cans of black beans in the pantry. This was going to be a breeze!
Oh, this Christmas post is late! I’m always a bit slow to get back into action after the big day. It also took me a while to get all the pictures from everyone’s devices and cameras. But here they are – finally! And here’s my report on our 2 lovely Christmas celebrations, plus the inevitable leftovers.
What a horrible week it’s been, with the awful news about the seige in Sydney. It’s really knocked everyone around – even as far away as here in Melbourne. It’s been hard to feel merry and bright for Christmas, but we’re trying!
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Sunday. Early 70s. Dad, Mr Jackson and Mr Browne are sitting in our lounge room (or perhaps in one of theirs – they took it in turns each week), drinking Courage Draft beer and talking all morning. Mr Jackson and Mr Browne smoke constantly, and all the doors are closed, so that by lunchtime it’s hard to see any of them through the haze.
Well, that was a bigger blogging break than I was expecting to take! After Mum went into hospital, our time was totally absorbed with organising care and support for her – and in the midst of all that were my daughter’s year 12 formal and exams.
Well, exams are over now, and we finally took Mum home last week, so I think I might be safe to poke my nose out and see what’s happening in the real world!
Yesterday the sun was shining again. We walked the dog, and then I felt all inspired to do homey things. I started by sweeping leaves and then planted some new lettuces. That was enough outdoorsy stuff for me! I retreated to the kitchen to find something delicious to make for dinner.
I had no ideas for dinner. The family all suggested pasta, but I couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for our usual pasta sauces. Then Vegan MOFO saved the day… I opened up my Feedly RSS feed and the first post to pop up was Veganopoulous’s post on Lentil-a-roni from Isa Does It. Bingo!
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Another busy after work evening, requiring another quick dinner…and this time I vowed to use up that asparagus from last night. I decided on another family favourite – risotto from the pressure cooker. Continue reading
Well the spring-time party is well and truly over in Melbourne! After all those blue skies and daffodils, today we had gale-force winds, rain and hail.
While I was sitting on the tram quietly congratulating myself on wearing my raincoat to work today, the tram came to a stop and the lights went out. This wasn’t the usual minor blip in our journey, the tram had lost all power, and the driver announced that we’d have to walk through from Smith Street to Brunswick Street (which ended up being 15 minutes in the bucketing rain) to catch a re-routed tram.
As you would know if you’ve seen my last few posts, I’ve been eating WAY TOO MUCH over the last few days. It’s time to get back to normal before I put on all my recently-lost weight again!
So today I’m going to try going back to eating smaller (normal) portions, make sure I eat a good amount of fruit and/or vegies every time I eat, and not drink wine or beer every night! That’s basically how I lost the weight in the first place.
The Lentil Institution 