Chocolate Junkie Bowl

Craaaaaaaazy chocolate cravings tonight.

Apparently, chocolate addiction is a thing. I have it, I'm sure. I've finally narrowed down the moments when the cravings hit. When I'm super tired and stressed (Smallest Offspring refuses to sleep properly for two days); and after the Offspring are all in bed, with the cuppa Mr makes me each evening as we blob on the couch.

I've never smoked, nor been addicted to alcohol or drugs, so I don't have much to go on here by way of comparison, but I'm pretty sure the perpetually running script in my mind could be substituted for what it must be like to try to come off these other addictive substances:  'eat chocolate now, go on, just a little bit, go out and buy some, the service station is open late, you deserve it, just one bit won't hurt, you won't have to eat it again tomorrow, just once today, you could have some and no one will know..... ' and so it goes on.

Having 'given up' sugar, somehow chocolate (delicious, creamy amazing New Zealand Whittakers Chocolate) is really putting up a fight.

It wasn't until about 10pm when I realised I might be able to assuage the cravings in a sugar free (and late-night-outing-avoiding) kind of way.

Chocolate Junkie Bowl

3 large dollops of Greek Yoghurt (probably about 1 cup, if we're measuring)
1 tablespoon raw organic cacao powder
1 tablespoon raw organic cacao nibs
1/2 banana, choppped.

Mixed that lot up, demolished it in short order. Cravings gone.

Now, if we can just work out how to get the Smallest Offspring to fall asleep before midnight...

Picky Plate

Ever since the Eldest Offspring was little, we've had the 'Picky Plate' meal.

A Picky Plate is full of little goodies you can 'pick' at, perfect for wee fingers and just as yummy for the big people too.

Today, as you know, the Smallest Offspring is on a sleeping strike, so in between grumpy outbursts (hers - mine will probably hit when Mr gets home) I managed to put this together for lunch:

In the interests of full disclosure, I should tell you that I went about frying up the entire rest of the block of haloumi after eating this, and ate that too. Mumma's gotta eat.

Sleep is for the Weak

The Smallest Offspring did a couple of eight hour night sleeps over the last few nights. Apart from the expected (ahem) explodey boobs from waiting so long to feed (ouch!) I enjoyed the extra bit of sleep.

But then, because I haven't learned from the last two Offspring, I had to say, out loud, that I was pretty pleased with her sleep.

And don't babies know when you say "Gosh, I liked those long sleeps the Smallest Offspring has been doing", that you really must mean: "Gosh, I like how you're going to be up every two hours tonight, and not have a morning sleep tomorrow so Mummy can't go back and have a power nap".

So this morning, after a rough night's not-sleep, we were up and at 'em at 6.45am. On and off with the baby grumpies until 9am when I decided we'd do our 'town jobs' via pram this morning so at least one of us could have some rest.

The blessing of Small Town is it's flat, and we live close to the centre of town. So with a jauntiness I was faking rather than feeling we headed off in the glorious sunshine and achieved quite a bit. With a small amount of napping from SO, but not nearly enough.

I suspect this afternoon is either going to be one long nap, or one loooonnnnngg afternoon.

See you on the other side.


UPDATE:
2pm: Lots shushing, rocking, feeding, bassinet jiggling, and SO just won't stay asleep. I'm desperate to finish of the Bohemian Dancing River shawl, and get a couple of hats done, as well as pretend to tidy the kitchen. When times are tough, out comes the 'Wrap-Wrap'. 
You can get this magic piece of essential baby-taming gear from Snuggle Bug Wraps.

Babywearing for the WIN!

Homeless Berries

I've spied a tangle of homeless berries.

Well, they're not technically homeless. They're in the neighbour's section. But no one lives in the house right now, and it's on the market for sale. 

So, do I find those berries a good home in my belly?

What ARE the rules? I don't think I can bear watching the birds get every last one. I may have to do a midnight stealth mission and rescue those poor, lonely berries.

Crayfish and Courgette

My cousin just got married this weekend, and her wonderful husband provided some of the catering - with enough left over to send a care package back for us.  Two beautiful crayfish! So perfect that I served them simply with butter for dipping, and lemons from Mum and Dad's garden for squeezing.

Also gifted from neighbours was a courgette gone marrow-like, so I recreated a zhuzshed-up version of Mum's way of stuffing them.

Bacon and Onion Stuffed Marrow

Slice marrow/courgette/zucchini in half longways, then scrape out the seeds. Sprinkle the cut sides well with salt and leave to leach out some of the juices of the courgette while preparing the stuffing.
In olive oil, slowly fry up a couple of chopped onions, some beautiful local Pirongia Bacon pieces chopped into little chunks, and three handfuls of teensy wee cherry tomatoes from our giganto tomato plants. I left this cooking away on low for a while (about the time it took to gulp down a nice glass of Gewurtz) 'til it was soft and juicy and sticky. Throw in a handful or two of breadcrumbs, and a bit more olive oil if needed, and mix.

Now grab a paper towel or four, and wipe away the juice that will have oozed from your marrow pieces. I had to tip some off before wiping, as there was a fair bit already leached out. Then fill both halves with the bacon and onion mix. On top, crumble some homemade labneh and grated cheese of your choosing.

Bake in the oven at around 180ºC until you feel like the marrow is soft enough to eat, but not so soft it will fall apart when you slice it. I think I had mine in for about 20-30 minutes. Blast under the grill to finish.

Slice in big chunks and scarf it down with a fork, whilst oozy-buttery-crayfishy juices run down your other hand.

Best last minute dinner ever - we just plonked it down on a towel on the lounge floor and demolished it. I LOVE the food I eat being local, or homegrown, or gifted. Always tastes better, and just feels more nourishing than store bought.

Girls Day Out!

Took MO and SO out whilst the Big Brother was off doing boy things. The request was a cafe lunch, so off we go to the usual haunt.

MO devoured a chocolate brownie, having just had actual lunch about half an hour before we went out. I prevaricated over my coffee order. Giving up the mocha in favour of the flat white has not been easy, especially when the Mr isn't around to be my sugar conscience. But flat white it was, along with this delicious salad number. I spied all sorts of ingredients in there, but I'm not so great with dressing identification. It was lightly creamy, and tasty, but I think could have been improved. Any suggestions on what would go well with these flavours?

Chicken, kale, brocolli, green beans, pomegranate seeds, strawberries, cucumber, capsicum, cherry tomatoes and baby spinach.

Who says you can't get great fresh food at the cafe's in small towns?

Thursday Breakfast Snapshot

Breakfast snapshot

Coco-nutty Granola Clusters with Greek Yoghurt and Banana.

Quick and easy to prepare, but took me nearly an hour to eat it in between dealing with the offspring and their morning of crazy. 

I'm pretty sure sugar free purists have a whole not eating bananas thing, but I needed a bit more ooomph this morning after a big day and night of breastfeeding, and I really didn't have the time and mental space to scramble eggs this morning. Although, as I sit now and write this instead, maybe I should be eating eggs instead of telling you about NOT eating eggs?

Breakfast Breakthrough

Small victory in the breakfast department with regard to the eldest offspring this morning. Lately, as 10 year old boys do, he's been bingeing on bread. LOADS of toast with only Olivani spread, no topping of any description, followed by a massive bowl of cornflakes or weetbix. I'd taken to calling it his 'beige breakfast' and added boiled eggs to it when I could get the energy (or inclination, depending on the mood of smallest offspring) to boil them for him.  It was empty carbs, and I noticed his mood was often even more pre-teen than usual when he had his beige breakfast.

This morning he calls from the kitchen "Hey Mum, can I make a smoothie? Think I might have it with avocado toast!"

Cue me fainting dead away on the floor in the next room.

Not only is the EO planning on eating real, nutritious food - he's planning on actually using the blender - a kitchen appliance other than the toaster. He has to go OUTSIDE (gasp) to pick a lemon from the tree for his avocado toast. He even grabs a spoonful of protein powder to add oomph to the banana, yoghurt (ok, it WAS chocolate yoghurt) and milk smoothie.

It's these moments that you want to watch, record for posterity and fuss over for hours. Equally frustrating with pre-teens, it's these moments they want you nowhere near you, much less photographing and fussing. So I play it cool, doing a silent mummy dance on the inside.

And try not to die a little at lunchtime when he tells me he wants a chocolate sauce pancake.

Nannie to the Rescue

I have that over tired, new mummy thing going on today.

SO (smallest offspring) is 8 weeks old tomorrow. She has decided to have an opinion about settling to sleep. Fair enough, we're an opinionated lot around here, so it's inevitable. However, over the first few weeks of her life, she's had it pretty good in the cuddling to sleep department. Daddy has been on holidays for four weeks, and has mastered the art of the 'walk with baby on shoulder at midnight' technique, and SO has rather liked this.

However, now (as you do when you are small and adorable) SO has decided that she must be walked and 'shushed' and rocked (and, thank you very much) just a bit more booby feed please, before she'll head off to the land of nod at ANY time of the day.

So I am now trying to break this habit by using the good old 'Feed, Play, Sleep' technique. Nothing complicated, just trying not to breastfeed her immediately before her sleeps (except the night one). But the SO is less than impressed. So we brought in the big guns - the dummy (binky/pacifier, choose your moniker), which up until now she has roundly rejected. Not having it. So we upped the game.

We sent in Nannie to settle her for her morning nap.

Now Nannie has a particular set of skills. A set of skills acquired over a very long career (of being a Mummy, Aunty and a Nana). Skills that make her a nightmare for SO like mine.

So armed with the dummy, some industrial grade bassinet rocking, and aircraft level 'shushing' Nannie triumphed.

The dummy is in and staying. The SO is asleep (for now). And me? Well, I'm too tired to waste the time sleeping. I'm going to go and crochet something.

Midnight Pumpkin Mud

My new favourite breakfast also doubles as a handy late night snack. Yummy 'Snickery Pumpkin Mud Smoothie' from Sarah Wilson's 'I Quit Sugar'.

It's now just after 11.40 pm. The smallest offspring (SO) has been cluster feeding on and off since around 8pm. She's taken to a new habit of being relatively settled during the day, then partying late into the night - much like her parents' hazily distant youth. But after a couple of nights of this, combined with some busy days, my energy levels (and sense of humour) are depleting as midnight approaches.

Of course it's also super hot and humid, so no one is having any fun, and usually my go-to energy boost right about now would be chocolate - and lots of it. But I've discovered on my sugar free recovery that I can't really stop at a couple of bits of chocolate just yet, so it's off the menu for now.

Ransacking the fridge uncovered the leftover cup from yesterday's breakfast, so in between 'shushing' and rocking the SO, I've scoffed it. For me Pumpkin Mud covers all the bases for chocolate, cold, pudding, protein and veges.  The middle offspring loves this too, and shares a small cup with me in the morning.

Snickery Pumpkin Mud Smoothie (makes two serves)

Blend the following, add a small handful of ice to blender if you like it runnier or need it colder.

*    small handful of spinach leaves
*   1 1/2 tablespoons raw cacao powder (I use LifeFoods brand)
*    1/2 cup Greek yoghurt (or almond/coconut/any milk you like)
*   1 tablespoon vanilla protein powder
*   1 tablespoon peanut butter
*   3 wedges cold roasted pumpkin (organised types will have premashed and frozen this in portions)

It blends up to be a seriously unappetising colour, but that just means that no one round here wants to steal it. Apart from my middle offspring food adventurer, she's discovered it's yummier than it looks.

Quinoa - it's SO good!!!

I'm never one to shy away from trying new food, and I remember vividly trying quinoa in a past life a long time ago in Sydney, at one of those shiny fabulous lower North Shore vegetarian cafes. The salad was delicious, but on moving back to NZ quinoa wasn't quite such a thing, and I hadn't had it again until quite recently.

But, like many new foodie things, I somehow couldn't make the transition from ordering it at a restaurant, to buying it and cooking it myself. Which, if you've ever cooked quinoa, is quite hilarious, given that it's no more complicated than steaming rice.

Luckily Small Town has an excellent supermarket with brilliantly stocked bulk bins, so I got some quinoa (in experimental quantity only) and whipped it up for lunch.

How to Cook Quinoa

First, rinse the seeds (yep, it's a seed, but you can call it a grain - everyone does) to get rid of the bitter, soapy coating. Don't make a production out of this, just grab a sieve/colander/strainer (pick your nomenclature) and zhush those babies about under running water.

Then plonk them in a pot of water, 2 cups of water to every 1 cup of quinoa. Add salt if you like, cover, then bring to the boil. I have elements that retain the heat pretty well, so at this point I turn it off to steam, alternatively just drop the heat down to the lowest setting and steam until you can see holes appear in the top of the quinoa - about 15-20 minutes. Then just fluff it up with a fork and it's done.

I ate the first lot I cooked for lunch, making my favourite kind of salad-ey explosion - adding things to the bowl until I was satisfied with the look.  Tuna (in olive oil), feta, baby spinach leaves, capsicum, olives, a handful of roughly chopped mint and chives from the garden, lemon juice (remind me to do a post on our rugged lemon tree one day), olive oil, and a sprinkling of chopped almonds and cashews.

Last night I made a second batch for another salad explosion - this time using leftover slow-cooked rolled roast beef, spinach leaves, super slow cooked zucchini and onion (done in cast iron pan with loads of olive oil), roast pumpkin, feta and haloumi. Add some giant squeezes of lemon juice, salt and pepper, and it was good to go.

I'm keen to hear of more yummy ways with quinoa, so if you have a favourite, let me know.

Kitchen Time

Although this is 'the first post', I'm saving all that 'first post' blah blah for later. When I can write for a while knowing the smallest offspring is down for a proper nap, not her current sort, which is 'might be asleep, might not be'.

Yesterday was the first day of doing some industrial level (for me) sugar free cooking.  I've got myself a copy of 'I Quit Sugar: For Life' by Sarah Wilson, and read it in one hit cover to cover a couple of weeks ago, to help me revitalise my sugar free life, which has fallen by the wayside since the smallest offspring's birth at the end of November.  Inside the book I fell in love with SO many of the recipes, tips and ideas that I knew I'd done the right thing blowing the Christmas gift budget on myself.

Yesterday's makings included:

Homemade Cream Cheese

Had to sacrifice one of the Seahorse's muslin wraps for this, but SO worth it to see the creamy cheese forming. I'm sure you could use any old cloth really - even a clean tea towel would work. This is basically just labneh - same exact technique. I'm looking forward to experimenting with flavours - adding spices and herbs to jazz it up. But for now it's waiting in the fridge, along with the lovely whey that was strained off.

Berry Banana Ice Blocks

I modified these from the original which uses Mango - even though mango is one of my top five favourite fruits - as we had frozen berries and bananas already. Added the rice malt syrup as it's the first time making them, so I wasn't sure on the sweetness for the troops who are still keen on sugary treats. Be warned: you have GOT to love coconut cream if you make these! Additional note for any food styling types - plastic bear-face tops on ice blocks is very 'now'. Just saying.

Chocolate Co-Co Nutty Granola Clusters

Somehow I decided not (completely forgot) to roughly chop the nuts before toasting them in the oven, but nothing that can't be fixed by a large knife when I head back to the kitchen. I'm looking forward to eating this with thick Greek yoghurt, or grabbing handfuls when I get the chocolate munchies.

If anyone knows where to get 85% Cocoa chocolate in New Zealand can you let me know? I'd love to try some of the choc recipes in the book, but really, it's a bit like cheating if I use regular chocolate.