Happy End of the Year~

So much has happened since my last post; for starters I've traveled over three and a half thousand kilometers across Australia with my girlfriend to Far North Queensland in search of amazing food (& possibly a place to live). We've tried loads of new fruits & vegetables since coming here, & we've met some of the most wonderful people. The sad news... I killed my phone! :( I went for a swim with it in my pocket, now it won't wake up, & all the photos were on there... I think they are lost forever. :(

Equally sad is that I have accidentally eaten gluten-contaminated food, so that's running a muck with my bod, I'm all chubs, dysfunctional, sleepy, & sulky, CURSE YOU GLUTEN!!! D:

On the subject of food; I did switch to a raw food diet, & I'm still eating raw, although I have had a mouthful or two of some cooked foods, just to try it. I think I'd like to transition to part raw/part cooked, I like the idea of a balance, & still being able to eat some things I love, especially curry, & there's plenty of new things I'd love to try, like this Injera bread. If/how that's going to work remains to be seen.

Candace & I are currently house-sitting, it's crazy beautiful here, & so good to be in a house for a while, rather than our van. We work part-time on a farm harvesting/scrubbing/chopping sugar can,e & then selling the juice at local markets.

Even though I'm working on getting a new phone, & there's nothing I can do about all the pics I've lost, for now at least I can pull some photos I already uploaded to Facebook. There's more I could go on about, but I'm not staying awake till midnight, we have early morning plans.

-

 On the road up.

 Our first tropical fruit score <3

 Super scenic beach in lovely Port Douglas.

 Cand & myself hovering over a jackfruit.

 Lots of pineapple tops we planted. Should have fruit in 12 months.

 An organic garden we're working on at one of the farms :)

 One of our frequent swimming spots.

Our toilet frog got a mate!

Stay Happy & Healthy, be blogging at you in the new year.

Banana porridge - Raw Vegan Recipe

 

I'm working on increasing the amount of raw food in my diet, maybe up to 100%, but not sure yet. I've already learned a few awesome recipes from my raw vegan friend, & here's one of my favorites so far -

Raw Vegan Banana Porridge!
*This recipe requires a good blender, such as a Vitamix.

Ingredients:
- 1.5 Frozen Banana
- 2 fresh medium sized Ripe Bananas
- 2 medium sized ripe Figs
- 1/2 cup Dried Mulberries
- 1/2 cup filtered Water

Method:
1. Dice up one of the fresh bananas & add it to a large bowl. Roughly mash the 2nd ripe banana & add it to the bowl.
2. Add the dried mulberries to the blender, & whiz briefly to form coarse chunks, put it in a small bowl & set aside.
3. Prepare the figs, slice off a bit of the top until you can see the coloured pulp inside. Cut in half lengthways, then finely slice into half circle shapes & set aside (or prep them however you prefer). It's fine to eat the skin. in fact it's especially delicious around the bottom.
4. Add the 1.5 frozen bananas into the blender along with 1/2 a cup of water & blend until completely smooth (start on low & whiz on high approx 20 seconds)
5. Assemble! Pour the liquid banana mix over the fresh bananas in the bowl, top with sliced figs, & sprinkle with the ground dried mulberries.
Put it in your face!

This is one of the tastiest breakfasts I have ever had. I want to eat it ever day. EVERY DAY.
If you're not familiar with figs, then you ought to get acquainted, they are a spectacular fruit, & one of the healthiest too. Figs are best when they are really soft & squishy.
Dried mulberries are new to me, but I am already properly addicted, they taste like honey & joy, I highly highly recommend getting your mitts on some, I believe they are available from 'Terra Madre' in Northcote, & also various online stores.
As always you can change this up a bit, add some vanilla, or a dried date to the liquid banana mix, or throw some frozen berries on top at the end, but don't over complicate it!

Take it easy everyone, & enjoy plenty of fresh healthy food!

Find awesomeness wherever you go :)

Most people dislike trips to the hospital, it can be kind of a creepy place, & sometimes there are long, looong waits, but hopefully these photos show that you can almost always find something amazing, no matter where you happen to be...

This was just an old (virtually abandoned) section of the hospital. We went wandering around to kill some waiting time, & found some nice areas. :v

How life can change - Coming to terms with... myself

I won't go into much detail about this, I'll just say that a few weeks ago I developed strong feelings for a girl.
I've been confused about my sexuality for most of my life, but it never mattered too much because I was in love with a man. In the past 4 years or so my attraction to women escalated, & I became increasingly confused, frustrated, & quite scared, but I didn't really discuss it with anyone, I figured I would ignore it, & nothing would come of it - (famous last words x_x)

I'm not religious, but I became so distressed that I asked for help & guidance from some higher power, & about a week later I met this girl, life is strange. I went out of my way to spend as much time as possible with her, & after a nasty fall while skating (& a broken wrist later) I was able to stay with her all day every day for a week, by which point I realised I had a serious problem. I couldn't stay away from her, & I was becoming physically ill from the stress.

I decided I had to be honest about the whole thing, so I confessed my feelings to her, & told my current partner the situation.

It's been just about a month since I first met this girl, & my life is so completely different I wonder if my brain has even caught up. It's been a turbulent time to say the least, but things are ok, I think everyone is ok. As difficult as things have been, I feel relieved that I'm finally able to start dealing with this, & I am extremely fortunate because this girl also has feelings for me. I feel like I still have a lot to figure out, I don't know what my sexuality is (& I don't particularly care) I'm just super happy to have found her

End.

It was kinda like -

 What the shit is happening! @_@

Delicious veg stew with garlic parsley cream [vegan]

How long has it been since I shared a recipe, too long I think.

Veggie Stew with Garlic Parsley Cream Recipe!

Ingredients:
- 1 medium Purple Onion - Finely diced
- 4 medium Carrots - Cut in half lengthways & sliced
- 2 large Celery sticks - Cut in half lengthways & sliced
- 1 Tbs Olive oil (Optional)
- 4 Tbs of Mirin (Optional)
- 2 cups Fresh (or canned) Tomato - Finely diced
- 1 Can Organic Chickpeas - Rinsed & drained
- 1 Tbs Ground Fennel
- 2 tsp Cummin
- 1 tsp Tumeric
- 2 Sprigs fresh (or dried) Thyme
- 1 clove of Garlic - Minced
- 1 Massel Vegetable ultra stock cube
- Pinch of salt & pepper
- 4 cups of Water
- 3/4 Cup of Organic Quinoa - Rinsed 2-3 times & drained
...
For the Garlic parsley cream:
*NOTE: For best results use a high power blender such as a Vitamix.
- 1 Cup Raw unsalted Cashews - Soaked for 1 hour
- 2 Tbs Lemon or Orange Juice
- 1 Clove of Garlic - Chopped into quarters
- A handful of Fresh Parsley - Coarsely Chopped
- 2 tsp Salt
- 3/4 Cup Water

Method:
1. Put the cashews in a bowl with water to soak & set aside. Prepare the onion, carrot & celery, & add them to a large pot along with the oil (if using), & a pinch of salt & pepper. Prepare the tomatoes, & set aside. Prep the spices, thyme & garlic & set aside in a small bowl.
2. Saute the onion, carrot, & celery over a medium heat for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables soften slightly, if too dry add a little water or mirin. Add the spices, thyme, & garlic, & cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the tomato, water, stock cube, & mirin, stir well.
3. Add the rinsed chickpeas, cover & bring to the boil, then reduce the heat slightly & allow to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Once the carrots are cooked, prep the quinoa by thoroughly rinsing it in a bowl of water to remove bitter residue, repeat until the quinoa is clean, drain well, & add the quinoa to the veggies. Cover & simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. While the quinoa cooks prepare the garlic parsley cream. Drain the cashews, & add them to the blender, along with the lemon/orange juice, garlic, salt, & 1/2 a cup of water. Start on low speed, increase to high, & blend for 60 seconds until completely smooth. Check the consistency, if too thick add some extra water, aim for the consistency of thick cream, remember it will thicken slightly in the fridge. Finally, add the parsley & blend on low for 5-10 seconds until coarsely chopped, & mixed through. Transfer to a small bowl or small pouring jug, & put in the fridge.
6. After 15 minutes the quinoa should be ready. Turn off the heat, cover, & allow the stew to stand for 5-10 minutes for the quinoa to finish cooking.

DONE! Serve with garlic parsley cream & enjoy! :)

Serves 4

This recipe is based on one shared with me from a good friend. I'm totally addicted to it, & I hope you'll all love it too c:
Quinoa (keen-wah) & Mirin are both available in health food shops, & at most Coles stores too.
Please always double-check your ingredients to make sure they are suitable, you'd be surprised where you might find hidden nasties ._____.
Take care & be healthy everyone!

I'll do my best to get another recipe up this month, it'll be choc pudding! :D

Totally awesome cloud formations

I went out to harvest a large zucc, then I noticed the sky...

Pretty sweet I thought.

Spunky kookaburras

These guys hang out around the St Andrews market, we see them every week, & they seem to get more & more brave. You can hand feed them, not that I'd recommend it since they may get sick from eating weird human food, but they will swoop down & steal it right from your hands if you're not careful... The fact that they don't give a damn means I could get pretty close, & get some lovely pics though! :D

 

 

Natural building workshop - Tiny round cob house

I've spent the last week camping in a paddock in a town just outside of Moe, VIC. During my time there I worked with a group of completely awesome people to build a super cool tiny cob structure.

We learned all the basic building skills needed to construct a simple cob home, & made a bunch of new friends & connections.
It's summertime here at the moment, the weather was pretty hot (though thankfully cool at night), & there were fires not far away, but we worked flat out for 6 days, & completed the drainage, foundations & the cob walls.

Brief summary of how we did it -
We started by cleaning up the drainage trench, filling it with gravel, & laying ag pipe for drainage.
Next we layed the lime mortar, blue stone, & clay bricks, this is the foundation that gives you a sturdy base to build on, & separates the cob walls from direct contact with the earth to avoid any problems with rising damp.
At this point we had already mixed lots of cob. We made our cob mixes by stomping clay, sharp sand, straw, & water. We built the walls as high as we could without the walls slumping (cob needs time to dry a little between layers, you can only build so high in a day or it will sink & bulge) We used sticks cut to 300mm to check the width of the walls as we were building.
In the mornings we would check the walls, & used a hand saw to cut off any bulging areas inside & out to make the walls as straight & level as possible. Although cob is low tech, the walls can fall if they are too messy & become overbalanced.
Soon we added the door frame, & some windows, these were all leveled & braced in place. The edges are 'porcupined' with nails so they will lock into the cob wall, lintels & internal braces are used to avoid bowing under the weight of the cob. Anything added into a cob wall must first be wet with a clay slip to help the cob adhere properly.
Some coloured bottles were added into the wall, which later formed the face of an owl, & some simple shelves were build into the walls.
As we got higher some extra windows were added for more light, & we continued mixing & laying cob until we reached the final height. We were also able to hide leftover bricks in the cob wall as we built, this means less cob is needed, & you can get rid of some unused materials.

The paddock we camped in for the week :)

Early stages of the building. Unfortunately my phone was flat on the first couple of days, so I couldn't take photos right from the start :/

Close up of the blue stone foundation, lime mortar, & the cob wall. Below that is the drainage ditch filled with gravel & agricultural pipe ('ag pipe'), which runs down away from the building, & opens out into to paddock.

On the inside you can see regular red bricks, these were used to widen the foundation to accommodate the cob walls. Regular bricks are much cheaper than blue stone, & will be covered once the floor is layed :)

You can also see some of the 300mm sticks we used for checking the width of wall.

A window that has been leveled & braced into place. The nails along the edges will help it lock into the cob, it's known as 'porcupining'

The door frame is braced on the inside to prevent the weight of the cob bowing it, so the door will fit in properly at the end. The frame is porcupined, & some extra pieces of wood are attached to the sides of the frame & porcupined as well for extra stability.

The bottles were added straight into the wall, with slip straw running across the top for strength & protection to avoid the bottles breaking under the weight of the cob. This area was also given extra time to dry so the section above the bottles was more sturdy.

This is the lovely owl sculpture added around the bottles once the wall was higher. It is made of the same cob mix as the rest of the wall, attached by roughing the surface of the wall, adding some clay slip, & attaching sculpted cob.

This is the completed structure on the final day :D

The walls are at full height, all the windows are in, & external bracing has been removed.

The inside of the building standing in the door frame.

A roof with eaves will be built on in a weeks time, & once the earth floor is layed the bricks at the bottom will no longer be visible. The final step will be rendering the walls, which will make them neat, smooth, & more resistant to weather, etc.

 

Simple shelves built into the cob wall, & a little cob kiwi bird struttin'

My favorite window all cobed in :)

Building with cob is very low tech, & very labor intensive. Once you know the basics, you can build a beautiful natural home with family & friends. It's definitely best to have at least one person with lots of experience on the site, but because cob is quite a simple technique anyone can easily pick up the basics & help with building. :)

As you can see this is just a small room, which would be great for woofers, etc, but it has no electrics or plumbing, we are hoping to attend more workshops to learn more about that, & maybe some different building techniques too, I'm particularly interested in 'slip straw', also called 'light clay'.

Hopefully in the few years I'll be working on my own natural home!

Why Vegan? -A summary-

I've wanted to make this post for a while, basically my aim is to make short summaries of the main reasons why I think being vegan is so damn important.

Animal rights: 

Selective breeding - Animals used within industry, whether it's meat, milk, eggs, wool, etc have all been selectively breed to best suit the purpose humans have imposed upon them. They are far removed from their original, natural form, & this often has crippling effects on their health.

Unnatural environment - Most 'industry animals' (dairy cows, pigs, meat & egg chickens, etc), spend their lives in small, uncomfortable surrounds, some to the point that they suffer endlessly, day in & day out. 'Free range' is not a solution, in many cases the animals only have slightly more room than in factory farms. Most animals suffer in filthy, cramped conditions, & exhibit all kinds of distressing behaviors, from attacking one another, to crying, & chewing on the metal bars of there confines.

Slaughter - If you believe in the idea of 'humane slaughter', then I would ask you to imagine your beloved family pet in the same situation as that which a cow, pig, or chicken must face, in that light does it still seem humane? Also consider that virtually all industry animals are only permitted to live a fraction of their natural lives, male chicks, & bobby calves are only babies when they are slaughtered.

Cruel practices - Within animal industries there are many standard practices that are extremely cruel, baby pigs have there teeth & tails cut off, with absolutely no pain relief. Young chickens have the ends of their beaks & toes removed (to stop fighting in crowded conditions), cows are branded with a red-hot iron, & often have large metal rings put in their noses. We do these horrible things to control & subdue these animals, so that we can keep them in unnatural situations.

Natural behavior denied - Virtually all industry animals are forced to live in a way which denies them their basic natural instincts, pigs love to explore, dig, take mud baths, plays, & build a nest when they are pregnant, no such behaviors are possible in the conditions most animals are raised in.

Dairy cows - The dairy industry baffles my mind. The basic cycle is -
We artificially impregnate cows, so that they will produce milk for their baby, when the baby is born, we tear it away from it's mother so that we can harvest the milk for ourselves, some of the babies will enter the dairy industry, but most are slaughtered just days, or weeks after birth, cold, hungry, & afraid without their mothers. The mother cows cry out for their babies for days, as we steal the milk intended for their offspring.
This cycle continues, on average, for 8 years, until the cows body is too depleted to produce high enough quantities of milk, at which point, after a life of service she is sent to slaughter.

A short life - Industry animals are only kept alive for a minimal amount of time. For meat animals, this is until they reach full size (this has been increased, & sped up via selective breeding, hormones, etc), for dairy cows, & egg chickens this is until their bodies tire, & their production drops, or stops. We look at these beings as objects, to be used, & disposed of as we see fit, furthermore we are taught to view industry animals differently from companion animals, this is not fair, & not a healthy mentality.

Animals deserve respect, & they have the right to live happily, & carry out their natural instincts. There is nothing natural about what we put these animals through, their lives are short & miserable, & we can help put a stop to it by simply choosing a vegan lifestyle.

Environmental impact:

We raise millions of animals every year, & it requires a massive amount of resources, including land, feed, fresh water, medications, etc. We clear vast habitats & eradicate native species to make room for domesticated animals, to grow their feed, & we dedicate tons of fresh water to raise them, if we redirected all these efforts & resources, no one in the world would be without food & water!
Animals must also be moved around a lot, to & from farms, then to the slaughterhouse, then onward to be processed, packaged, & yet again to reach the shop. Huge trucks are needed, moving is stressful for the animals, & very polluting. The huge quantities of blood, & offal from processing often ends up contaminating soil, nearby waterways, & the ocean.
Animals of course produce lots of waste themselves, including excrement, & gas, in such unnaturally high concentration it causes massive problems for the environment, it results in poor air quality, polluted soil & water, & many other serious problems.

Personal health:

Human beings gain nothing by eating animal products. This has been well documented for decades, & there are thousands of fit, healthy vegans that stand as testament to this fact.
Animals products are riddled with fats, cholesterol, harmful hormones, & dangerous proteins.
There is nothing provided by animal products that is not available in a healthier form from plant foods.
Fruits, vegetables, salad greens, & nuts are the ideal foods for our bodies, eating simple whole foods, & more fresh raw food (especially fruit) will result in a slimmer, healthier body, with a greatly reduced risk of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, etc.

A very simple way to know if a food is good for your body is if it is acid-forming when digested, or alkaline-forming when digested. The human body is alkaline (except the stomach when digesting certain foods), & alkaline-forming foods support us best.
*Alkaline-forming foods: all vegetables (except asparagus, which is mildly acid-forming), All fruit (except blueberries, & olives), all sprouts, & some nuts - almonds, chestnuts, coconuts, etc.
*Acid-forming foods: all dairy products (except butter, which is neutral), all animal products (except blood & bone), & all grains & grain products (except millet, which is mildly alkaline-forming)
Acid forming-foods must be neutralised by our body, this is achieved using alkaline minerals, primarily calcium & iron, which is sourced from our bones, blood, etc. This is why, contrary to what we are told, dairy is not good for our bones!

We are taught to eat those foods which can be most easily monopolised, & mass produced, because they achieve the greatest profits. Animal welfare, & human health are not priority, profit is. Most people simply do not know any better, & never understand why they become ill. I felt this way when I was diagnosed with multiple diseases at the age of 19, but as I learned, & adjusted my diet my health is improving :)

We all have the ability to help end animal suffering, reduce damage to the environment, & improve our health. Changing to a vegan lifestyle is a powerful start, knowledge is key, so read as much as you can, watch all the documentaries you can, also observe the world around you to help you make the right decisions. The truth can be tricky to find, but it is there.

Resources:

Two of the best documentaries I have seen, I highly recommend checking out both!

'Forks over knives' (watch trailer), &
'Peaceable kingdom: the journey home' (watch trailer).

Buy Peaceable Kingdom DVD  - HERE
Buy Forks over Knives DVD - HERE or HERE

Websites:
vegankit.com
lunchboxbunch.com
WorldVeganDay
veganonline.com.au
crueltyfreeshop.com.au
TheVeganZombie
squidmaster.net
ThugKitchen.com - (Warning! Coarse language)
VeganMenu
VeganCheatSheet

Handy tools - Garden sickle/scythe

We have a few scythes now, & they're really handy, if you're into veggie gardening I highly recommend them.

We bought ours >>> HERE <<<

They're affordable, & have lasted us really well so far, even after some rough treatment. :0
The 2 we use the most are the 'Narrow Serrated Sickle' & the 'Large Serrated Sickle'. The narrow sickle is great for harvesting, & the large sickle is really good for cutting plants back/light chop & drop, etc.

Narrow sickle.

Large sickle.

It's actually the same size...

These are great for general use around the veggie patch. :)
Take care when using them, they can leave you with quite a nasty cut.

Happy gardening~

Hello? Yes, this is zucchini...

We left this particular zucc a little longer than intended...

It grew bigger than my face, & makes a remarkably effective communication device (If the people communicating are in the same room)

Playing with food is actually awesome.

Later tonight, this beast will become dinner! :V

Awesome walk

We're having some pretty perfect weather today, an ideal opportunity for a stroll with our voodle friend.

Some pretty typical looking Australian bush. It gets really dry during summer, & you always have to be on the look out for snakes, cause most of them are horribly poisonous...

Oak tree. Acorns are so cute :3

Walking under the pigeon bridge.

This guy :p

We went down by the creek so Addi could cool off, & she ended up trotting off the end of a ramp coming out from a drain & face-planted into the water, I almost fell over laughing as she entered 'emergency swim mode' & frantically paddled her way back to shore.

Random fig tree \[:D/ Discovering fruit trees always makes me happy, & there are quite a few around the area :)

 

A lovely tree I noticed on the way home, we thought it might be some kind of redwood? I really like the foliage.

Heading back, admiring the views :)

Addi is damp, & smells like adventure, good walk!

How I make a compost pile (post number 300) [:0-Woh!

Garden bed with compost added.

This is one of those things you can probably do in endless combinations, using everything from animal bits to poop, but being vegan, we avoid all animal products, & I like to take it easy (ok, I'm lazy), so I wanted to make a 'low risk' compost pile, where little could go wrong, & last year I successfully made a pile that required almost no effort ':D<boom.
All I did was layer a fine mulch with food scraps (all plant-based, no animal products). Once it was full I left the pile to sit & compost itself, I didn't turn it, or touch it at all, & it worked out really well :) As the pile breaks down it will reduce in size, & you can add more to the top as it shrinks if you want to.
I probably could have/should have left my pile to sit longer to break down more, but I wanted to add it this spring, it was well broken down, & smelled fine, so I used it.

I highly recommend composting your food scraps, it's ridiculously easy, & assuming nothing goes horribly wrong, you'll be left with a lovely material to add to your garden.
In my mind there are only two things that can really go wrong with a compost pile -
1. It's too wet - it'll go mushy & gross., & maybe smell a bit.
2. It's too dry - it won't break down, nothing much will happen.

These problems are pretty easy to avoid, & largely come down to where you make your pile. In a cool damp climate, a spot with good drainage, & a little sunlight would be a good choice, also use more mulch between layers. In a warm dry climate, make your pile in a shaded spot, & you can get away with using less mulch.
Piles can also be adjusted; turn + add mulch if too wet, shade + add a little water if too dry. 
The mulch you use to compost must be dry (ie. not green) Using a finer mulch helps the pile break down more quickly. Mulch takes the longest time to break down, so keep that in mind when selecting the type you're going to use.

You can build a compost pile in just about anything. Our first one is inside a simple oval frame made from scrap chicken wire, & our second pile is in a frame made from re-claimed wooden fence. As long as it has ample drainage at the bottom, just about anything will do.
You may have other things to consider, such as keeping pets or wild animals out, in that case you may need something more sturdy, with some kind of cover on top.
Many people worry about rodents, our pile was visited several times by mice & rats, but they just dig a little then move on, so no harm done!

Here's the super simple process -

Lay a decent layer of mulch.

Add your veggie scraps & spread them out a little.

Cover the scraps with more mulch.

Then add more scraps, cover with mulch, & repeat.

Once your pile is full, leave it to sit & break down.
After that last addition of scraps & mulch, it's a good idea to let to pile compost for about 6 months or more, a whole year is a good idea. Larger material takes longer to break down, so times can vary, & things break down more quickly during the wet season.

A good finished compost will look & smell like lovely soil, it will be crumbly & damp, but neither wet or dry. As mentioned above, my pile could have used another 6 months, but I needed it, & it will break down more on the garden beds.