All Good Things Issue 14
Turning 44 + Vegan Coconut Chai Cookies + Sun Stretches & Self-Massage + Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique + Citrus Pepper Smash Cocktail
ISSUE 14 / AUG 22, 2021Â Â
Good Morning ...
Today is my 44th birthday and I wrote this newsletter yesterday because I really really wanted a day off. I don't know what my lovely family has planned for today but I do know something has been brewing because none of them have poker faces and there has been increased whispering and closed-door meetings in the past week. I do know that my birthday cake has been ordered from Koi Dessert Bar and my birthday dinner and cocktails are arriving from Chat Thai in Sydney. Super excited!! On Friday night my gorgeous friends surprised me with a cake, a mini bottle of bubbly and boxes of presents left at my doorstep ahead of our bi-weekly lockdown zoom call. It was such a delightful surprise, we all had the same cake and bubbly on Zoom and it totally made up for not being able to go out to celebrate. So grateful!Â
Some ordinary but really special last week included spotting an Eastern Rosella (a stunning parrot with white cheeks and an explosion of colour) sitting on the arches above my dying veggie patches. And then spotting Crimson Rosella waddling around in the tall grass that desperately needs to be mowed. My younger son had to create living art that would die/decay but still be beautiful. He chose to pick the fallen flowers and petals off our Camellia trees to make an art arrangement in our lawn. Every day we watch its slow demise but there is still so much beauty in the browning petals and spent flowers. Our mulberry trees are full of hundreds of mulberries slowly forming and waiting for the weather to turn warm. I am gleefully counting down to the day I can harvest them by the bucket load to make a nice shrub, a cordial for my mocktails, lots of jam and a summer cake. I am sure there will be plenty left over to pack away in cardboard punnets for my friends who live down the street.
A weekly sun-stretch-and-massage // The lone lavender bush next to our sunny reading spot is covered in lavender blooms. This is also where I sneak away mid-morning during the week. I enjoy smooshing a lavender head or two between my fingers, breathing in deeply as I close my eyes and let the sun bathe my face for 5-8 minutes. With my fingers utterly fragrant with lavender, I look up and let the natural curve of my neck stretch the muscles. Keeping my head straight and my gaze looking straight on, I stretch both my hands up to the sky. I then lower one hand to my side and bend the other reaching for the base of my neck between my shoulder blades at the back. I drag my fingertips with force over the base of my neck upwards towards my head and scalp, gently massaging this stretch base of neck to halfway up my head. I then repeat this with my other hand, letting the tingling relief wash over me. (If you are anything like me, hours of sitting at the computer or hunched over, cooking and photographing makes the back of my neck and shoulders really tight and knotted, this simple fingertip neck and scalp massage feels like heaven and gives me something to do while I stand and get my 10 minutes of obligatory sunshine!)
In just over a week, we are going to be well and truly into Spring. I have boxes full of beautiful citrus that I am juicing regularly. A task I am actually relegating to one of the boys while I whip up breakfast. A glass of freshly squeezed citrus juice every morning is soooo good! We have Navel oranges, blood oranges, Carra Carra oranges (my favourite), grapefruits, bergamot lemons and Sumo mandarins. I have also managed to get fresh garden pea pods and a whole heap of spring produce like Zucchini flowers, snow pea shoots, artichokes, papaya and mangoes! In September, I will be taking a month-long break from my meal prep newsletters to create and shoot delicious recipes for the warmer months. Don't worry, I will still be sending out newsletters with recipe updates and the All Good Things newsletter .. just not the meal prep part. But I have some fun things planned for September, so do keep an eye out!
It is amazing how we need to be reminded of small things to do for our physical and mental health. There aren't hard to do, but because we are bogged down by so much stuff (both tangible and conceptual) that we often forget to do them. This is something new I have started doing and it has added immense value to my life, so I thought I will share. When I find a piece of information that is profound and valuable, I file it in one place so I can access it whenever I need to. I also have a daily Manifesto, a mantra that I repeat to myself. It could be as simple as remembering to drink water throughout the day or to have a hot shower. But by telling myself that and being mindful of it, I remember to do it and it becomes a slow, steady, daily habit. This in turn has started making really positive changes in my physical and mental health. Here is today's thought and manifesto >>
Food For Thought »
" Mouth breathing is a survival mechanism. When you use it more often than not or during sleep, it causes harm to the body. It decreases respiratory immunity, increases dental disease, starves your mitochondria and ultimately shrinks the brain. It is important to learn to breathe from the belly and not the chest. Keeping your mouth closed, inhaling via the nose and engaging your diaphragm to fill your body with that vital oxygen benefits every single organ while reducing anxiety, cortisol production, blood pressure and heart rate. It also improves lung function and core muscle stability"
Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique - Place one hand on your upper chest and the other just below your rib cage. This will allow you to feel your diaphragm move as you breathe. Breathe in slowly through your nose so that your stomach moves out against your hand. The hand on your chest should remain as still as possible. Tighten your abdominal muscles and let them fall inward as you exhale through pursed lips. The hand on your belly should move down to its original position.Â
Today » I will remember to breathe deeply through my nose and from my belly. I will take my secateurs on my walk, snipping a small branch of something beautiful on the nature strip/or my own garden and put it in a glass/vase of water for everyone to enjoy.
VEGAN COCONUT CHAI COOKIES
Deliciously moreish Vegan Coconut Chai Cookies, crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. These healthy, protein-packed cookies make a yummy guilt-free snack and are infused with the warmth of a custom chai-spice mix.Â
Warm Vegan Chai Cookies For A Healthy Afternoon Snack
These delightfully crispy and chewy cookies have become a personal favourite of mine. Vegan cookies are notorious for how easy and foolproof they are to mix and bake. 9 out of 10 times, a vegan cookie can be also eaten raw. You can definitely eat this cookie dough raw as there is no egg in it. I use a flax egg which is a brilliant vegan invention for keeping recipes egg-free yet providing the perfect binding agent. It is basically flax meal (ground flaxseed) mixed with water. It is wholesome, full of fiber and works a treat!
My Vegan Coconut Chai Cookies are inspired by a recipe from the now-defunct Donna Hay magazine. Donna’s recipe used butter and a liquid chai syrup. I wanted my cookies to be lighter and less fiddly. I was also never going to tediously make a chai syrup only to have most of it sitting in my fridge for months and then chucking it out. So, I created a dairy-free, egg-free version with my own warming chai spice mix. The quantity you .....
On my Cooking Wishlist this week
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Leek Risotto With Lemon Crumb.
Saucy Crispy Tofu With Maple Soy Glaze. Easy!
Roasted Cauliflower Burrito Bowls! Yum!
Vegan BBQ Black bean Meatballs!
Farro With Mushrooms!
This easy Bistro Cheesecake!
If you aren't already following Sadia of Pick Up Limes on Youtube, you must! This lovely girl who was working as a dietician in a Vancouver hospital started Pick Up Limes to share great plant-based recipes and lots of feel-good, practical, wellness advice. Her lovely calming manner along with all the great content she shares with millions of her followers is just what some of you might need right now!
We are continuing to watch Trying on Apple TV, a show based in London and starring Rafe Spall (Timothy Spall's son) and Esther Smith. It is a sweet, heartwarming story of a couple who are trying to have a baby/adopt. And we are absolutely loving it, each episode gets better. It is amazing how they have weaved a story of life and living it and fulfilling it against a backdrop of a couple trying to have a child. If you are a fan of Ted Lasso, you will love this show!
Have you read Isaac Asimov's Foundation series of books? They have now made a TV series based on the books and it looks epic. Again an AppleTV show.
And finally, in television show recommendations; we really enjoyed Defending Jacob (starring Chris Evans and Michelle Dockery) and Your Honour (starring Bryan Cranston)
Are you into embroidery? I thought I'll share this beautiful thread painting needlework by @megembroiders .. she embroiders water animals, water and tiny bubbles. Just gorgeous! And crochet delights by @Knotmonster
And with that, I sign off and wish you a good one! Until Next Weekend :)
Citrus Pepper Smash
Makes – 1
*
150ml freshly pressed mixed citrus juice (orange, blood orange)
15ml fresh lime juice
pinch of crushed black pepper
1/2 cup ice
blood orange wedge and mint leaf, to serve
*Â
Place ice cubes in 200ml tumbler.
Pour citrus juice and lime juice over the ice. Mix well.
Sprinkle with black pepper, garnish with mint leaf and blood orange wedge. Enjoy!
(Add 2oz (30ml) tequila for a cocktail version)Â
I have limited copies of my cookbook Tasty Express - a labour of love filled with over 100 of our family's most tried and tested and exciting 30-minute recipes inspired by street foods of the world. Mostly Vegetarian recipes that go from breakfast to quick dinners in a heartbeat. They make great gifts for you or a friend!
