Hi Thin and LJoyce
Thank you for your good wishes for my OH – the Cardiologist said it may be 4 more years before the pacemaker is inserted as he is not yet ‘sick enough’ – apparently has to be falling down to the ground lots more and not taking as long to recover!
So I’ve suggested OH just do what he can on a day to day basis. Just as well he enjoys reading
good books.

Thin: so glad your weekend has been quieter, hope it continues

LJoyce: enjoy getting your pantry all spick and span – the potential new owners will be suitably impressed with all your hard work!

Hope everyone has a successful week either fasting, not fasting or just plodding along – enjoy and bye for now!

Baby sitting a sick grand daughter and her dog for a couple of days. OH is in serious Grandma mode. As soon as it was suggested that GD was coming, a large chocolate cake went into production. It is pretty good – Grand daughter has been here for one meal at which the cake was served as a desert and half of it has already gone. Sickness clearly does not apply to chocolate cake. In the interests of total honesty and transparency, I will admit that I ate my share. I enjoy having my grandchildren here, but on their departure a serious fast is called for.

A quick hello as I have a busy day! (Woohoo!)

I had a nice fast yesterday. A big bowl of vegetable soup in the early afternoon was a good help. My evening miso soup had shiitake, yuba, broccoli and a little carrot. It was delicious.

So glad you had a peaceful weekend Thin, and it sounds like the whole street are aware now and make you much stronger. Fingers crossed there is not too much more fighting to go.

LJoyce, I hope you feel wonderful after cleaning out the panty. I just went through my box of things on the bottom pantry shelf to remember what I had in there. I had to put a list up on the door of what bags of things I had. All excess, most of my pantry things are in easy to access jars.
And yes, if I was looking at a house to buy I would want to check out all the storage places.
Sorry about the biscuits. I am glad you have today for a reset. It may be a hard one, so sending good wishes.

Arelkade, what a big lifestyle change for Mr Arelkade. I hope he can find plenty of interesting things to do that are easy on his heart. Pottering around sorts of things between the books.

Penguin, I hope the little one recovers quickly. Ooh that chocolate cake! Its feast or fast at your house!

It is a beautiful sunny Melbourne morning. Best wishes to everyone for a good day.

Up early to study my bridge notes so I don’t embarrass myself too badly at class.

Interesting about ferreting about in people’s private spaces. How stressful for preparing for an open house – that’s where I’d have been shovelling all the mess. I’d have considered opening cupboard doors reserved for a second or third visit once almost certain that this is the house I want. Our house had only one skinny cupboard (for linen) when we moved in. OH remarked that they hadn’t needed any closets because they’d have been wearing all their clothes, so cold was the house. We soon added bedroom cupboards and ducted central heating. Before that, we had to go outside to warm up in the sun. When we extended, we made sure there was ample storage at every opportunity.

Arel, LJ, thank you, I shall check the rules for renting a single family dwelling.

Arel, the storm completely missed us and it was a humid day with big thunder clouds developing all around us but no rain at all. The storm damage was in Rockingham about half an hour south. Today is forecast for 24C can you believe? I’ll have to get out my coat. This must be the mildest February on record.

Glad you had a good FD Cinque. Enjoy the grandies & the chocolate cake Penguin – oh no choc cake today I have just read. Must go and work on my bidding knowledge. Have a lovely day all.

Good morning,

Oh my goodness, so many posts!!!!

I have had a busy weekend.

Friday rained early morning, so no walk, but sun came out about an hour later!!
Saturday was Chinese New Year celebrations. OH Taiko group was to play 3 performances on the day. One at 11.00am, then at 3.00pm in one of the arcades under cover which was good. I was photographer as usual and taking videos on my other cameras. 18YO was also taking photos. I squatted down to try to get a photo at a different angle and hurt myself trying to get up. Dont know what I did but I had such strong pain in my hip. This is the hip that I injured 6 years ago falling off a horse in Finland. Long story but riding in the snow and horse stepped into a ditch that could not be seen, he tried to save himself by swinging around quickly, I got flung off!!
Sunday, Australia Japan foundation had the free Japanese movies at the cinemas in the city. I had volunteered to help again. Thank goodness I only had to pass out tickets at the door. There are 350 tickets per movie and 3 movies were shown. When we run out of tickets no more can enter. We then get to watch the movies as well. I was there with OH from 9.30am till 3.00pm when the last movie started. We did not stay for the last movie as I had just seen it on a flight 4 weeks ago.

Anyhow as far a food goes for the weekend. Friday night I cooked the braised lamb with Ras el Hanout as I knew the Saturday would be a full day. After I hurt myself I was in such pain I did not want anything to eat so just had water all day. OH heated the lamb dish up that night, and he had his with fried rice that was left over in the fridge. I just had the lamb dish 339 calories. Very tasty.
Sunday I was able to make a dish out of the 5:2 fasting cookbook, Russian meatballs. Very easy to make and only 154 calories per serve. I served mine with konyaku noodles, 18YO had real spaghetti pasta with hers and OH decided to eat the last of the fried rice as he is not keen on pasta. I would make this again, but the meatballs needed something else added as they were a bit bland.

Weight this morning was 79.1…..a bit more than the 78.1 I had last week, but my scales are now giving me readings all below 80kg rather than the stupid readings that can be 5kg difference in the space of two minutes and slight movements to find a good position.

I think a spring soup is in order for today. I must go buy a leek for it.

loved reading everyone’s posts over the weekend. Chocolate cake sounds yum!!

Joyce – zucchini and mushroom stir fry, often I add some cabbage plus a whisked egg, is my standard breakfast as it appeals to my taste buds – I really have to force myself to change it up. Today is a NFD for me, so I used a little bit of butter as a treat, that’s instead of canola oil, plus I also had a nectarine afterwards.

Julie – Early next week I am off to Bali for 10 days. Cheap airfare, AU$194 return Cairns/Denpasar/Cairns was too good to pass. I’ll get back when you are going to Singapore, which I think I mentioned, is one of the places always I loved to visit when I lived in Indonesia. Hope you are fully mobile again by the time you leave.

I ended up not getting home until nearly 5pm. So a whole day off from reno tasks. I rather enjoyed sitting in the car or in a coffee shop with a pot of tea reading my e-reader while I waited for my aunt between appointments. The weather was mild and pleasant and I even managed to do a couple of walks through the tree covered streets of the eastern suburbs. I was actually a nice day off.

Sybs, that is an amazing airfare. Enjoy your time in Bali.

Cali, I started a freezer clearing craze and now I’ve set off another clearing craze in the pantry. I think it’s just one of those spaces that we use daily and take for granted. We assume that as we are in there everyday we know what’s on the shelves. Like you I sometimes end up with more than one container of something. What has amazed me is just how much more space saving it is to have things in rectangular containers. Most of my pantry containers are decor as they come with little clip-on plastic labels that make it easier to tell the plain flour from the self raising. I also have lock and lock containers but I normally use these in the freezer. My pantry looks a bit unrealistic at the moment. Not only is every thing very clean, it’s all lined up in precise rows – that wouldn’t last long in the real world.

JJulie, I hope you are feeling better and getting excited about your trip.
I have three additions for meatballs or rissoles to stop them being bland, depending on the flavour direction I’m going I’ll use one of these:
– very finely grated parmesan (good with beef);
– middle eastern spice blend with lots of cumin and some cinnamon (good with any meat but especially lamb);
– stock powder, I use Massel salt reduced chicken stock powder (good in both beef or chicken meatballs)
– extra garlic and dried herbs can also help but they usually aren’t enough to get a punchy flavour on their own.
When I make rissoles/meatballs I usually dilute the amount of meat with plenty of grated vegetables. If I add one or more of my flavour enhancers nobody even knows that I’ve done it, as the flavour is still strong.

FD went well. I’ve made and eaten my omelette – very tasty it was too. I also cooked all of the extra mushrooms and zucchini that I bought so that I can use them as a veggie side dish this week.

CalifD, sorry I pressed to post instead of following on with my message.

Thanks for your encouragement with my hip injury. I now think it was a twinge of the nerves as it is getting so much better each day. I believe by Wednesday I will be back to normal.
As you probably know from my photos I went to the Chinese new year festivities. I missed the afternoon 3pm performance and also the 5.30 performance (which did not happen in the end due to the torrential rain around that time and the drums can not get wet)
My photos are on Cairns Taiko facebook page if anyone is interested. Our Sensei has posted only a couple at this time but there should be more to come. Next performance is on 10th March.

Catch up with everyone again soon

Good morning. I’ve broken my fast with a pot of tea and a banana.
I’m expecting the electricians back some time today to finish a few things – not sure what time so I was up early just in case. I’ve now moved everything out of the road in the rooms they need to work in.
Today I’m planning to finish moving everything out of kitchen cupboards and off benches that might interfere with the cabinetmakers. I also need to run the dishwasher tonight – my last chance until next week. I’ll be minimising the cooking over the next few days if I have to wash my own dishes!

Cinque, I perfectly understand not having the energy to clean up after a big cooking effort. It’s one of the reasons I don’t do it often. I also think that pastry always multiplies the mess as I seem incapable of not getting flour everywhere – including on me! I also adore raspberries but luckily the sugar in them doesn’t cause me issues.

JJulie, hope your hip has recovered enough to walk on Wednesday.
If the recovery is slow it might be worth considering a physio treatment. I put up with hip pain for months because I was scared that I needed a hip replacement and wasn’t ready to hear that. When I finally asked the physio about it he diagnosed a pinched tendon that was easily fixed.

Not looking forward to today’s weather – very hot and windy. Still, it’s probably better than the weather penguin in facing. I’m watching the BBC news at the moment – they said that some parts of Britain will be colder than the arctic. I hope your power supply survives this Penguin.

Sybs, I’ve fermented my own sauerkraut and love doing that but haven’t tried tempeh. The sauerkraut can be a bit salty, but I like the saltiness. The only tempeh I’ve eaten came from natural grocery stores. It always sounded a bit tricky to make and beans smell so strong if they go bad! I think that kept me from trying. If you do try, with success, let us know how you did it. It is a useful meat substitute. And fermented foods are always good for the gut.

It’s cold here still, down near freezing at night. With the rain and damp air today I’ve felt chilled all day, even with layers of fleece. Even with Cuddl Duds. A tropical climate sounds very good to me today!

Cinque, I love raspberries, especially if they are fresh with nothing on them. I love the tart taste. My Mother in law used to grow them in Tassie and would try to give them to me with icing sugar and cream. I would prefer them natural!!

Sybs, Coles sells Tempeh so I gather Woolworths does too. I dont think it is the same as you are talking about as it is not in banana leaves. I had a lovely dish in Miri and then again in Singapore which was chicken cooked in pampas leaves and then grilled. I had it once in Miri and it was quite spicy, but still delicious. Then also at our hotel in Singapore with the happy hour nibbles which was a slightly different flavour.
I love tofu so I think I would also like tempeh, especially cooked the way you describe.

I am aiming for tomorrow’s walk so here is hoping that I wake up with a pain free hip.

Sybs, I will put the alarm on!!

Well JJulie, rubbing it in! :O
But I too can remember how lovely raspberries are, and that is something. And maybe if I am strict all year I can try them again next summer.

Sybs, good luck with the tempeh! I’ve eaten the supermarket version, and only really like it cut thin and fried so it is savoury and crispy. Nice to think the real deal is a lot better. I have recipes with it steamed and never could come at trying that. I wonder if I can get fresh made in Melbourne. (Google thinks maybe at Coburg Farmers Market).

Have a hot cuppa on me Cali! Hope it warms up soon.
And for you Penguin!

You do understand LJoyce. I made the mess worse by getting by method mixed up so used an extra saucepan, and then started making a big pie, and changed to making four little ones, and the potato pastry meant drying potato on the bench as well as flour everywhere. However, I think if I practiced it would be a one bowl dish, I’d manage the pastry/potato dumpling better and they would be really tasty and warm up excellently in the microwave (unlike normal pies) and be a complete meal on their own. (I’m adding lentils and more greens). Need to check if they freeze well. There are two in the freezer to test next week.
Kitchen has survived!

Good evening everyone!

Hi Cinque – I have just been reading the wonderful recipes posted in the legumes & beans thread. I’ll need to save quite a few of them. What a great idea of yours to start it.

Hi Quacka, good to see you again! I like tofu a lot but tempeh is just ok. After reading Sybs’ posts it’s probably because the only kind I’ve found around here is the local grocery store version. I’ll have to try one of the Asian markets.

Penguin, we’ve had cold weather here too. It was a little below 0 C here this morning. We had a morning last week that was -4 C. My sister has to scrape ice off of her windshield. It gets warmer as the day goes on but today’s high is only about 14 C. Cinque, it looks like we can expect these kinds of temperatures through Saturday. So I will have that cups on you! So much for balmy California breezes!

Yesterday’s FD went pretty well. Back down to 58.7 from the 59’s in the days before. I need to do better on NFDs. I’m also going to try and get more legumes into my diet. They help so much with fullness and keep things moving.

good morning

just a quick post about tempeh vs tofuh

tempeh has the whole soybean in the end product and is very firm (there is no give when you press on it), whereas tofuh is smooth, either soft or “firmish”

tempeh is usually fried (either deep or shallow) which makes it nice and crunchy. I never deep fry anything, and when my first batch of home made tempeh is ready, I’ll actually try slicing and baking it, to cut down on oil

tofuh is usually added to soups or stews, whereas tempeh is traditionally served as a side dish. However, I turn it into a main dish and pan fry the sliced tempeh with mushrooms and some greens (plus garlic and chilli, of course), and a tiny drizzle of sweet soya sauce.

Hi Quacka – just be aware that I have not found any non-flavoured tempeh in Australia. What you get here at supermarkets is brownish in colour (it should be completely white) and I really don’t like the (added) flavour. Also, the texture is affected if it has been frozen, which the Asian grocery stores here in Cairns do. I guess I am picky because I lived in Indonesia for almost 10 yeas, that’s why I have decided to make my own. Just waiting for the starter culture to arrive.

Hi Joyce – happy birthday! enjoying your day and thinking about fasting tomorrow sounds like a solid plan :-))

Hi everyone
Been a busy week here, still have to catch up with all your posts!
So, very happy birthday to LJoyce and enjoy lunch with work mates: enjoy the noodles 🎂🎉🎁

Thin, so sorry to hear the latest council debacle! They should put themselves as living in your home, next door to the ruckus, and I bet the zoning would be corrected then! Best wishes for a better outcome after your meeting.

Will try to read other posts later on.

Been to yoga then Garden Club this morning, now off to visit Dad in NH.

To all those reading and not posting – hi! To all those fasting, non fasting or maintaining: enjoy whatever you are doing and bye for now!

Firstly,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LJoyce. Hope today has be wonderful for you.

Thin, I hope your meeting with the councillor was fruitful.

Cinque, sorry did not mean to rub it in. Just was remembering that wonderful taste. They are so expensive in Cairns. A friend who lives near Melbourne grows them and on just two plants she posted buckets and buckets of this a few weeks ago. I was so wanting to have a bucket of them.

This mornings walk did not happen for me. I had a bad night and did not get much sleep. Hence when the alarm went off for me to get up I was already awake and sleepy.

I have Taiko practice this evening and am thinking not to go, or to go and do the arm movements without the leg movements.

Thunder happening here at the moment. It’s going to be a wild night!!!

I have fasted all day and only had one cup of coffee, not even any soup. I have just not wanted it. OH is away again, so easy not having to cook for anyone.

I have been busy cleaning out the linen press with the help of my daughter. She is doing all the lifting etc and I am doing the sorting. Then we took some old towels to the vet and sheets and dona covers to the Salvos.

catch up again soon

LJ, pleased you had an indulgent, guilt-free lunch.

Cinque, glad you had a productive meeting and hope to hear more about Yam Daisy’s revival.

I’ve eaten Tempeh but I believe, as Sybs mentioned, we can only get it flavoured in the main grocery stores, not sure about Asian stores.

Hope your hip mends soon JJulie, sorry I kept forgetting to mention it. I’ve had some cauliflower soup. I’ve been quite hungry today but also quite well distracted. As I have so much tea stored, I decided not to buy any more so I don’t have my special Madame Flavour FD tea treats right now. Moving closer to water fasts – yet I find I am not really all that keen when confronted with the prospect!

JJulie, I bought some kangaroo meat today thinking of you at the time. I hope I don’t stuff it up (tomorrow as today’s a FD).

Arel, what do you do at garden club? I hope you had some quality time with your dad.

Thank you for your well-wishes and to everyone else for your kind comments throughout this ordeal. It is great to feel the support of my wonderful cyber friends. We have received an email from the City advising that the applicants have withdrawn their application. They got away with it all summer. Not quite sure what to make of this but for now we will hope for the best and that a re-application will not be forthcoming in spring! Other neighbours all seem very pleased. Happy dance!

Happy Birthday, LJ! https://flirtyfleurs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/empty-vase.jpg So glad to hear that you indulged a little on your lunch today. That’s what birthdays are for!

Thin, glad to hear that the owners of the house next door have withdrawn their application. Maybe they’ve decided to put the house up for sale. They may have decided that it was more trouble than it was worth, now with the animosity of all the neighbors. One can only hope! That town council is worthless! Too bad we aren’t all nearby to go march in there with you to protest. 😠 The whole thing is so infuriating!

Julie, I hope your hip feels better. Was that what kept you awake, or was it a storm?

Cinque, I hope your internet and HD are sorted out now. Computer problems can ruin your whole day. Cinque and Sybs, I’ve never seen tempeh in the stores here that was as white as the product in those photos. I’ll have to see if I can find something like that here.

Arel, the Garden Club sounds interesting, especially with all the tropical plants that grow in your area. It would be so nice to plant flowers are have them last all year, especially ones like bougainvilleas. We can only grow them as an annual here, but down in Southern California they grow everywhere, given on freeway dividers.

Good morning SHs,

Cali, thank you for the birthday flowers, such a pretty arrangement.

Cinque, I’m always happy at the start of autumn – it means I have 9 months before I have to deal with another hot summer. In case you weren’t aware I don’t much care for hot weather. The mild weather of autumn and spring are just perfect.

The cabinet makers arrived bright and early and have already removed the section of old kitchen that’s going out. At present the new cabinetry is just being hauled in. It will be nice to have this job done – updating the kitchen was by far the most expensive job I had to do to get the house ready for sale. From now on there shouldn’t be any really expensive jobs.

Morning all,

Had a good night sleep and was up before the birds this morning.

Then a lovely walk with Sybs. Great talking to her about living and eating in Indonesia. We seem to have a few things in common. Photography is one. Asian food is another. And not to forget our love of travel. We have been to many of the same contries so it was nice to talk about them again. I am going to try to find Tempeh in Singapore. Sybs said to look for an Indonesian food stall in the Hawkers market. Walking again tomorrow I hope. I have to fit it in with OHs work. He rang to say he can not get home from Townsville due to road closures from flooding, but we have a big job on for Friday that can not be delayed. So now he is leaving his car in Townsville airport and catching a plane home. Hopefully the roads will reopen on the weekend and he will have to fly back to pick up the car.

My hip was fine even after last night’s Taiko lesson. I did not have to do too many movements and all went well.

This morning I could feel my clothes were a little looser than before. Isn’t it amazing how things can change just overnight?

I have stopped the 5 day fasting due to wanting a change, so I am now fasting during the day and having a nice calorie counted meal for dinner. I am still only eating about 500 calories or less per day.

Daughter coming over again today for another room clean out.

catch everyone later.

thin – congrats – I can’t even remember the last time I was under 60kg – probably 40 years ago or so. I am actually just aiming to get down to around 65kg, but even that means a huge drop.

walking with Julie is good fun, and time just flies.. I think we’ll need to do longer walks soon, an hour just doesn’t seem to do it :-))

Yesterday I had a kanga burger at lunch time, and within 5 minutes my head just about hit the keyboard, barely managing to stay awake. Maybe some reaction to animal proteins. So I am going to stay away from any kind of meat for a while – looking forward to re-arranging my menus, as I love cooking.