Quickest Curry -recipe-

We love curry, big time! We eat some kind of curry every week, sometimes all week, we just love it that much!
This is the quickest way (so far) that I have found to make a delicious, simple curry.

-Quickest curry recipe-

Ingredients:
- 1 tsp Coconut oil (optional) 
- 3 TBS Mild Curry Powder
- 1 can Organic Coconut cream
- 1/3 can Water (Use the can from the coconut cream ;) 
- 1/2 a Chicken Style Stock Cube (Massel all the way!)
- Mirin (approx 6 TBS)
- 1 large Purple Onion - Finely Diced
- 1-2 cloves of Garlic - Minced
- 2 medium Carrots - Rinsed, cut lengthways, & sliced.
- 2 medium Potatoes - Rinsed, & cut into bite-sized slice.
- 1/4 of a small Jap Pumpkin (approx 1 cup when diced) - Peeled, & cut into bite-sized cubes.
- 1 cup of Green Peas (frozen or fresh)
- Fresh Steamed Rice - To serve
- Fresh Coriander - To Serve

Method:
1. Prep all ingredients, the onion, carrots, & potato can be thrown directly into the skillet. (You'll need a medium skillet with a lid ;)
2. Add the oil, stock, curry powder, & a splash of mirin to the skillet, with the onion, potato, & carrots, & cook on a medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add small splashes of water if needed (Don't worry if stuff sticks to the bottom, it will come off later, but if it's burning, lower the heat a little, & stir more)
3. Add another splash of mirin, then the garlic, cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously. Next, add the coconut cream, water, & pumpkin, cover & simmer for 10 minutes, or until the pumpkin is cooked.
4. Finally, add the peas & cook uncovered for 5 minutes. That's it!

Curries don't come much quicker (or more delicious) than this one.
Serve with fresh steamed rice, & fresh coriander! Serves 3-4 :)

I recommend using the best quality curry powder you can find, Indian grocery stores, or health food shops are usually the best bet.
As always, check, & double-check your ingredients to make sure they are suitable for you. Enjoy! :)

Supa Green; The (enormous) green smoothie post!

  

My pint of green deliciousness.

For anyone who is unfamiliar with green smoothies, they are a simple (but completely amazing) drink, made from fruit, green leafy vegetables, water, ice, & sometimes juice. Green smoothies are quick & easy to make, but for best results a powerful blender, such as a Vitamix is required.
Green smoothies are packed with nutrients, & because the ingredients are liquified, those nutrients are easily absorbed by your body :0 Simply put, I believe this is one of the very best things you can include in your diet!

 Basic Green Smoothie Recipe

Requires:
Powerful blender, such as a Vitamix, or Blendtec

Ingredients:
- 1 medium sized, ripe Banana (or 2 small ones)
- 1 Green Apple - Rinced, & quartered, with seeds removed.
- 1/2 a Grapefruit
- 1 Orange
- 2 handfuls of Kale Leaves
- 2 handfuls of Spinach Leaves
- 1 cup pure, Organic Orange Juice (no cordials, etc!)
- 2 cups Water
- 4-6 Ice cubes

Method:
1. Combine all ingredients, except the ice cubes into your blender.
2. Start the blender on slow, & gradually move up to it's top speed. Blend on highest speed for 25-30 seconds, adding an ice cube every 5 seconds or so.
3. Once ingredients are liquified (this should take no more than 40 seconds, tops!) switch back down to your blenders lowest speed, & turn it off.
4. Now your amazing drink is ready! Pour some into a large glass, & enjoy! : )

This recipes yields approx 3 large glasses of green smoothie, & it's fine to store in the fridge overnight to drink the following day.
There are many green smoothie recipes around, & you can try different combinations of fruit/greens, depending on what's available in your area.
There is a wide variety of greens that you can use, some of my favorites are -
*Spinach
*Kale
*Dandelion Greens
*Silverbeet (aka. Swiss Chard)
*Cos Lettuce
*Bok choi Greens
*Beetroot Greens

Be sure to rotate between greens to get a good variety, & because drinking large quantities of only one green may upset your tummy.
Greens vary greatly in taste, & it can be a good idea to work your way up, starting with something very mild like spinach, which adds little to no taste.
As a basic guide, you can start out with only a small amount of greens (say one handful) & add more each time you make a smoothie. I like my smoothies to be 2/3 fruit, & 1/3 greens, + the liquids. Usually I only use one variety of greens per smoothie, however all greens combine well with spinach because of it's mild flavor ;)
Green smoothies are a bit different from most other drinks, & you may not love them at first, but keep it up, & soon you'll never want to be without them!

For more info check out, Green For Life! this is where I learned about green smoothies.
Here's a short video to help get you started -

 

Go chug some green everyone!

Oh snap, another one!

'Let's do it!'

For all my Pokemon bros.

More drawings - OC's

After another long dry spell, I'm back into drawing. I really dislike the irregular patterns I have when it comes to digital art, & as I get older I seem to draw less & less, which makes me so sad.

Recently though, it's just pouring out, I doubt it will last long, but I'll keep it up as long as I can -

'Gonna be late...'

'Hands off'

More to come.

Just because; Japanese mochi (Daifuku) & Finn the human

This is a 'just because' post, encompassing two things I love, but really have nothing to do with one another c:
First up, Japan! I have been interested in Japanese culture, language, food, etc for over a decade (:0) I've studied Japanese, & in 2005 I was lucky enough to travel to Japan whilst studying the language. Much of my Japanese language skills have dissolved over the years, however I still draw a lot of inspiration from Japan, & regularly investigate recipes, movies, etc for ideas :)
Recently, along with a couple of friends, we experimented with making mochi.
Mochi is essentially a soft, (often slightly sweetened) dough, made from glutinous rice flour. It's not overly complicated to make, however, it's quite different from any western cooking that I had encountered, & it can be a bit intimidating. More info >>> Mochi
Many recipes use a microwave, but I shun electrical appliances, so I found a more traditional technique, where the dough is steamed instead.
When the dough is ready, you then wrap it around a filling of choice, in this case we used fresh strawberries + chocolate, it was amazing o_o Prepared in this way, they are known as Daifuku, & are very popular around the world :) More info >>> Daifuku.
Another popular filling for daifuku (which I really love) is sweet red bean paste, commonly known in Japan as 'Anko'
...
These are our daifuku -
...

 

...
They were a little rough, but they tasted really good, they were by far the best batch we have made so far :)
The process of wrapping the mochi dough around the filling is a little tricky, & takes practice, but it's fun too.
Here's a great recipe for making daifuku, it's a little different to how we did it, but it gives you a good starting point to work from :)
...

...
I'll post the recipe I use soon, after I make some more!
...
...
Secondly, & completely unrelated to mochi, or Japan, is my Finn figurine!
...

 
LOOK AT HIMMM!!!

...
He valiantly stands guard beside our TV, I feel happy very morning when I see him :) Now I just need a Jake to go by his side...

Day out at Hurstbridge Wattle Festival

Yesterday was the annual wattle festival in Hurstbridge. The festival started 10 years ago, & has since grown into quite an enormous event, with live music, art, activities, market stalls, & even rides. I found it all a little overwhelming, & I have to admit that it seems to be becoming more commercial, instead of celebrating beautiful local produce :/
All the commercial junk aside, there were some awesome things to see, the best of which, in my opinion, was the beautiful art, ranging from painting to woodwork, to sculptures. Another very interesting & quite unique attraction is the steam train, we didn't ride it, but just watching it roar along the tracks was quite a thing to see.
It was a great day out, & if you've never been I would highly recommend getting there next year if you can :)
...

 Beautiful bright pink blossoms.

 ...

An incredible wood sculpture, by a local artist.

 ...

My favorite sculpture; a metal bonsai.

Coincidentally this was made by an old friend :)

...

Rainwater harvesting, so much enthusiasm

Came across this video via permaculturenews.org, it's packed with amazing ideas for capturing, using, & reusing water, & quite honestly, I don't think I've ever seen someone more energetically enthused about what they're doing.
There is also a great video about sun & shade harvesting, which I also highly recommend, & you can find it at Brad Lancasters Youtube Channel.
Check out his website for more info - www.HarvestingRainwater.com.
...
Rain water harvesting strategies, by Brad Lancaster:
...
...

Recent activities...

Re-homing snails (away from my veggies)

...

Walking/observing. Super green swamp FTW.

...

 Building new compost area + hugelkultur bed.

...

 Washing...

...

 ^ Gathering firewood v

 Staring at the morning sky (I love sunrise & sunset)

...

Making/eating pudding.

...

Checking out these amazing blossoms!

...

Among other things...