Pumpkin soup with some spice and a coconut twist

I've been feeling exceptionally shit lately. My anxiety is dreadful at the moment, and I am struggling.

I am recognising that I am eating my emotions and have stacked on the weight. The last few days I have made a pact with myself to move more, and stop binging on crap. I need to drink more water too.

In February I started #flourishinfebruary. For the month I posted three things that went well every day. When February was over I stopped. I shouldn't have stopped, although it's been in the back of my mind ever since. 

In an anxious mind, it's easy to let the trivial shit take over. It takes a lot of mental energy to keep an even keel. Especially when I don't have a lot of understanding, emotional support. So I am going to start doing that again. I found the feedback very supportive.

One way I like to keep busy is cooking stuff. I did that yesterday. Izzy actually did me a huge favour, she put the radio on. I made pumpkin soup, potato bake and a chocolate cake. I really enjoyed doing it with some music. Why don't I do that more?

I've gotten out in the garden the last couple of days too and have realised just how unfit I am. I need to look after me a bit better. I am worthy. My kids are worthy, of a healthy, happy mum. At the moment I am not happy and not healthy. I am not being the best me.

My future if I don't look after myself, is certain diabetes. It would not surprise me if I am knocking on it's door to tell the truth.

I made this for lunch yesterday. It turned out great so I'm sharing the recipe.

This makes heaps. Feel free to halve the recipe.

I served it with a dollop of plain yogurt, some chilli oil and fresh coriander. It's very tasty.

If you don't have chilli oil, add a little with the other spices at the start. 

1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons of chopped coriander stalks*
1 x 165 ml tin of coconut milk (I used Pandaroo Lite)
1 kilo of peeled and chopped pumpkin
4-5 cups of water or stock, to cover pumpkin

Heat oil in a large saucepan, add onion and celery. Fry until softened.

Add garlic, ginger, coriander stalks, turmeric and garam masala, and stir for a minute. Pour in coconut milk, stir and add water.

Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes.

Take off the heat and blitz with a stick blender.

Serve.

*When I buy fresh coriander from the supermarket, I freeze the leftover stalks and roots. You could plant some in the garden. Right now is a good time.

An InLinkz Link-up

Listening to Wanda

The other day I arrived at Mum's house. She had just gotten back from the day out at the football, she had taken Gran to watch my nephews play.

Gran was sitting in the car while Mum ran inside before dropping her back at the old folks home. The girls ran ahead of me into the house, and I almost did too. I noticed that old Wandy was still sitting in the car, and I couldn't walk straight past without thinking of her having to sit in the car by herself, alone. 

I felt guilty for almost walking straight past her and going inside. I didn't want her to think I had ignored her, and as oldies age I guess it must feel like the younger ones are forgetting about them. Her days above ground on this earth are numbered. She recently had shingles and I can see the toll it took on her. She is looking much paler and much more weathered. 

If she does go soon, I would have never forgiven myself for almost walking past that day. Now is the time to cherish her the most. 

My Gran still has a mind like a steel trap. She can recall stories of things that happened years ago, with so much clarity. Here I am, having listened to those stories and can't remember a word of them. 

What I do know is no matter how much she rambles on, I really do enjoy listening to her.

I visited her over the ANZAC day weekend with the girls, to see her. She was so glad to see us and didn't shut up. I guess it gets a bit lonely in there. She marvelled over how lovely the girls are. "Dear little things", she called them, and gave them most of her lollies. "But not the snakes", she piped up. "I like the snakes!".

She told me stories about the dementia patients, and how sorry she felt for them. Even though their antics were sometimes very entertaining. There is one old duck there that has dementia/alzheimer's and Gran says, she never stops walking, always going somewhere, (but nowhere really). She says she wished she could walk like that. Grans body is giving up on her. She can't even support her own weight on her pins. It seems it doesn't matter when you get old, either your body packs in first, or your mind.

She recalled one lady walked in to the common room with an armful of clothes. She immediately thought, hello, she's been in someones room and taken their clothes. Only to recognize a pair of her pants and realise it was her room she'd been into! 

While I was at the Mount Gambier hospital on Wednesday, visiting a fellow Mothers grouper who'd just had a baby, I overheard a telephone conversation at a nurses station. I heard my Grans name, and that she was being transferred from Millicent.

After I spent time with my friend and her new, gorgeous little girl, I dropped in on Gran. She's in the high dependency ward. She looked weak, and was having trouble talking, and catching her breath.

She was overjoyed to see me. I was as thankful as all hell, I overheard that phone conversation. I was so glad, not long after arriving, she had a familiar face. I lifted her hand and kissed it. I felt like crying, but didn't. She reassured me that it's not her time. But I can see that time is near.

I'm heading back to the Mount tomorrow, after I go to Pelican Point to vacuum all the bugs after the great surface spray of last week. We actually have a paid customer staying friday and saturday night! Woo hoo :) 

I'd better take old Wandy some lolly snakes. It's her 86th birthday next week. It's always around Mother's Day. My sister is coming over from Gippsland, I hope she gets to say goodbye.

Linking with Rhianna.
Thankful for overhearing a phone conversation

Just call the me the exterminator

The Mortein pest control products you see in this post, were gifted for the purpose of this post.

Ever since we've had our holiday house, Summer has been shit scared there might be spiders in the toilet. She's fine at home, but any toilet she doesn't know well is terrifying territory. Public toilets are heralded with screeching if she sees an inkling of cobweb, and she won't go in the cubicle unless I am there holding her hand.

Before we bought the Pelican Point house, there had been no one living in the house for at least two years. The bugs, spiders and every other creepy crawly insect had moved in and taken over.

When I cleaned the house for the first time, I filled a vacuum bag of cobwebs, dead millipedes, dead flies, spiders, dust and dirt, and what looked like to me spider or bug egg cacoons! Gross!

I sprayed the place with fly spray, but every time we go back there, there seems to be more millipedes, and daddy long legs lingering in the corners of the ceiling.

Over the weekend I went armed with surface spray. I sprayed every cornice, doorway, window and skirting board. I am five foot and a skerrick, and the flip out spray nozzle helped me reach and direct the spray to the ceiling cornices and in between tight spaces, like beside the fridge and stove.

The Mortein surface spray will keep killing them, even when I'm not there, for six months. Our hot water service is under cover in the car port, so I gave that a spray all around too, because bugs, ants and spiders like to nestle in around it's warmth.

After only five minutes, the surface spray had millipedes appearing all over the carpet, escaping there hidey holes. I honestly DO NOT know where they were hiding! I couldn't see them before, but the spray brought them out. I ran around with the dust pan, and a minute later there were more!

I know I am going to have to go back before anyone stays there to clean up the dead bugs. I am expecting to see loads of dead creepy crawlies when I do! I'll be glad to have them under control.

We did have a booking last week, but they decided to stay in a neighbouring seaside town instead. We still kept the deposit, so we made something!

We've still yet to have a paying overnight guest.

I really should have bought the surface spray home with me, because there is this one cockroach that scurries out of it's hiding spot every few months. They are quick little buggers, and as soon as I have seen him, he disappears, and out of my memory. I'd like to think he is the only one, but there must be more cockroaches around. Not to mention the ants, and spiders as well.

I had a spider dangle down from the ventilation fan yesterday. Right above the pasta I had just finished cooking on the stove. Imagine if he fell in and I had no clue. Eeeew, right?!

When is the last time you surface sprayed? Do you have kids that freak at the sight of bugs? What creepy crawlies have started squatting in your home?

An InLinkz Link-up

A free autumn harvest and some soup.

With the early rain in autumn and days, that are slightly warmed by the suns rays, mushroom spores are brought to life in the soil.

Mushrooms are springing up from the ground, in our favourite foraging grounds.

I like to think they are secret, but there is no doubt, other people know about them too.

I never forget the time, as we drove home from Brett's brothers house, on Mayurra Road. He was driving and I was just gazing out the window, probably mesmerized by the wind towers in the distance. A lot of white patches caught my eye, before I could utter the words, Brett asks, "Did you see what I just saw?". Immediately the car wa pulled over on the white metal road, and we pile out, the girls too, and walk over to the biggest ring of mushies I have ever seen. That was two years ago, probably around the same time of year too.

I can vaguely remember a pile of rubble sitting in the same spot in years past. Where a farmer has scoured the paddock and deposited the rocks by the roadside. I can only guess, thousands of mushroom spores were dumped along with it. When the rocks were finally taken away the spores remained, creating a huge ring of future mushroom harvests.

We aren't complaining.

One mushroom I haven't cooked for myself, is the Slippery Jack. They are found growing around pine trees. I do have vague memories collecting them with my parents with their Italian friends, around the pine plantations around Kalangadoo, where I grew up. Very vague memories of eating them too.

Mum tells me they cook them up with garlic and some vinegar. This is how I remember eating them. From memory, I didn't mind them. I think I just liked eating all the Italian food, and generally liked the Italian ladies. I went missing one day, and Mum found me sitting on one of the Italian ladies' toilet, just down the street.

Mum had already told me to look for them down the road from her place in town. There are pine trees that line the drain, running down beside Belt Road and Fifth Street. The community garden is on Fifth Street, along one side, is flanked by the pine trees. There are Slippery Jacks everywhere! Mum has told me several times before to not take the ones growing on wood, only ones growing in the dirt.
I did take the ones I picked, to show her before I ate them. I would strongly advise you not to eat any mushroom you are in doubt about. EVER!

Slippery Jacks are named for the slippery skins after the rain. Once I'd peeled the top (apparently the skin can give you the runs, I guess the sliminess just goes straight through!), I washed the dirt off the underneath.  They were a bit dirty and when washed the spongy underneath, became quite soggy and had absorbed a lot of water, so I removed the spongy bit. It came away easily.

What you are left with is perfect mushroom goodness.

I have to be in the mood to eat cooked foraged mushrooms. The smaller, younger mushies aren't too bad, but the bigger ones really have an acquired taste. I was so glad this soup turned out great. There have been times I have made it and not been overjoyed by it. The Slippery Jacks don't really have a heap of flavour, so I guess it evened out the strong taste of the foraged field mushies.

I am going back to pick more mushies when I get the chance. I have a hankering for some creamy mushroom pasta. But in the meantime I made soup.

If you are not feeding an army, or want to be eating mushroom soup, til the cows come home, feel free to halve the recipe. You could always freeze the soup for Ron (later on).

You will need:
1 kg of mushrooms, sliced (I used half field and half slipperies. You could use ones from the non- nature supermarket. All good)
25 grams of butter
1 tablespoon oil
3 cloves garlic  (use less if you are not me, or not)
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon thyme, or 1 teaspoon of mixed dry herbs*
1 litre of water or stock**
1/2 cup cream

Place butter, oil and garlic over medium heat in a large saucepan.

Add mushrooms and stir well. Saute for about 10 minutes, until the juices have evaporated.

Stir through flour for 1 minute.

Add stock, thyme and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add cream, turn off the heat and serve.

I loved this with some garlicky toast and a sprinkling of chopped chives. You could use garlic bread.



* I dry my own fresh herbs from the garden in a little posie. When dry, chop up the leaves and keep in a sealed jar in the pantry. Good for sprinkling in and on everything, from roasts,  baked spuds or adding to casseroles.

** I just use water if I don't have stock. A good way to make easy stock, is to add water to the pan after a roast and let it sit. Scoop off the fat, when it is cold, and keep the water. Easy, freezable, flavoursome, stock. Not gourmet, but better than nothin'.
On this same double star thingy. If you get impatient after ten minutes, and there is a bit of water to be evaporated, bung in the flour and use three quarters of a cup of stock.



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