sleepless in st kilda...

sleep – a casualty of living in st kilda at the moment…they’re raising the tram lines in fitzroy street between canterbury road and the esplanade and working through the night - i can’t imagine what the noise must be like closer to the heavy machinery – the noise reaching my place is constant and annoying – that pesky beeping of trucks and the rumbling and crash banging of the earthmovers and jackhammers (even shadow isn't venturing very far from home - he sits in his courtyard with his ears twitching and his eyes enormous orbs) – and this is going to be happening for the next week… which means no public transport running to balaclava or the st kilda shopping precinct… what a bummer – it’s going to be very hard psyching myself up for work this week – i’ll be walking – hope it’s not too ‘brrrrr’ chilly… but i’m not as bad off as the elderly people in me mother’s block of flats who have mobility problems due to age - there's no transport to get them to their various hospital and doctors appointments, let alone to the shops…

my weekend has been tinged with a bit of concern for me mum though - she isn’t well at the moment – she had a malignant growth removed from her face a few weeks ago that she's only just 'coming good' from, but then on thursday she had to have her cornea reattached (a quite common outcome apparently months after a cataract operation amongst the aged) - since then she's been really unwell – seems the eye drops they use affect her kidneys badly – she suffers constant nausea and fatigue – all she can do is stay in bed (which she hates) – she was almost at the point of ringing an ambulance saturday night but persevered with her pain instead… she has a fear that if she goes to hospital she may never get back home - at 82 and suffering chronic kidney failure (and her hospital experiences over the last couple of years) it’s an understandable fear…

apart from that it’s been a lovely weekend… i had dinner cooked for me last night – an array of vegies baked in a delicious garlicky tomato sauce… good, hearty winter fare – made even tastier i’m sure by the fact that I didn’t have to cook it - i did make some garlic bread to go with it though…  (nah, this isn't a photo of what we had but it does look similar - just add beans and carrots too)...

to top that off I came across a new recipe for a lemon tart I just had to try – and it was sooo lemony delicious – and so very easy to make (and yes, this is a photo of my version!)…  it comes from the sweet treats section of veggie.wedgie  but i cheated with the base... i just made a crushed biscuit base because i didn't have the recommended oats and spelt flour - but the filling was 'by the recipe' and deeeelicious, so here's how to make the lemony yumminess...

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 400ml light coconut milk
• 2tbsp lemon zest
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/2 cup agave syrup
• in a pot combine agave, coconut milk and cornflour. whisk until the cornflour is completely dissolved. add lemon zest. bring to boil whisking continuously and once it starts to thicken remove from heat. add lemon juice and continue stirring for 3 minutes. Let the mixture cool completely and pour over the crust. chill until set. enjoy!!

i'm sure this recipe can be adapted with many variations - any other citrus (tangello, grapefruit, lime, orange), chocolate,  vanilla bean, caramel.... yummm, the list goes on - a definite must to repeat in the very near future...

and now it's to the kitchen and a sink of dishes... and then maybe i'll read some more of denise scott's memoir 'all that happened at number 26' - or perhaps listen to a few chapters of ruth park's 'swords and crowns and rings', centred around two young people growing up in an australian country town between 1907 and 1931 and read by deidre rubenstein, a narrator i really enjoy - it also won the miles franklin award in 1977...

food, glorious food...

far out - two posts in as many days - it's been a while since i had the time, energy or incentive!!!!!

i've been checking out a lot of vegan ‘foodie’ blogs and sites lately looking for inspiration – there are so many out there - sweet, savoury and downright weird - from the ‘far out that looks incredible but who could be bothered going to all that trouble’ to the ‘wow, that’s so easy and looks so yummy', and then the 'what the fuck... you've gotta be kidding'!!!!

i’m learning about replacement ingredients for old favourites – i've just discovered that nutritional yeast is supposed to add a cheese flavour to sauces – I’ll find out what it tastes like tonight because I’m making that good old comfort food for dinner - baked macaroni and cheese - just right for this almost wintry Sunday!!!

i got the recipe from a book called 'vegan yum yum' - a new book from work (but it just might be worth buying) - a vegan cookbook with photos - that's rare... there's also a vegan yum yum website - created by lauren ulm, a very talented and 'crafty' young womon...

if you're at all into cupcakes and decoration, check out her knit night cupcakes or her  hand-dipped ice-cream cone cupcakes - amazing (but yeah, who could be bothered -obviously for some it's a very therapeutic activity - i'm happy to just look and wonder "do they taste good???") or maybe you'd rather check out the YouTube video...

 

or have a look at cupcake kitteh's decorating style....

you wouldn't think it after all of that but i'm not even a big cupcake eater!!! the creativity of some people never ceases to amaze me though - it's certainly worth sharing...

 

okay, i think that's enough about food - for now... there'll be plenty more later... now that i've decided it's going to be a curling up and relaxing day, i might do some reading...

 

i've just finished 'pretty little things' by jilliane hoffman - working as an assistant state attorney must have been harrowing at times, but certainly adds a chilling reality to her novels – and no doubt her latest title has its basis in sexually abhorrent crimes she’s had to prosecute... internet chat rooms, unhappy and malleable  teenagers, false identities, sexual predation – a problem becoming more widespread in this technological age – a frightening reality woven into a wonderful example of the suspense genre – I couldn’t put this one down... I’d have to say it’s her best to date!!!

so now it's just a matter of deciding what to read next... i've picked out two books - all i have to do is make a choice...

'resurrection' by tucker malarkey - "the author .. weaves the discovery of the Gnostic gospels into an elegantly written thriller..."

or 'ordeal' - a memoir by linda lovelace, who died at the age of 53 in 2002 - "Linda Boreman starred as Linda Lovelace in Deep Throat ... She later wrote a book, Ordeal, about her experiences, and became an outspoken opponent of the porn industry."

or maybe i'll watch a movie... decisions, decisions... guess i'll just have to go and have a bong and mull it over...

this'n'that...

had a very pleasant afternoon visit from larry the librarian on monday - we shared a bottle, some food, had a smoke together and caught up on each other's lives (i'd have more regular updates if you went back to your blog you 'turncoat' twitterer and facebooker!!!)

it was me mother's birthday on tuesday so it was a trip around to spend a bit of time with her... 'armed' with flowers, gifts and a bag of books from a friend (there's a library in the community room so once she's read them they go downstairs for the rest of the residents - all donations gratefully accepted!!) - it was only a short stay though because she get's really tired... she did ring the next evening to say what a thoroughly enjoyable time she had - doesn't take much these days - kidney disease is giving her a 'rough ride'... here's a few more early pics of her...

at a work ball with a friend approx. 1947

she can't remember the year this one was taken but the fashion was very WAAAF inspired...

taken around 1949...

i received an email from a friend on wednesday evening that led me to an article about smoking 'tailor-made' cigarettes that every vegan and vegetarian should know about...

"Cigs contain pig's blood, academic says. 

Cigarettes may contain traces of pig's blood, an Australian academic says with a warning that religious groups could find its undisclosed presence "very offensive"

University of Sydney Professor Simon Chapman points to recent Dutch research which identified 185 different industrial uses of a pig - including the use of its haemoglobin in cigarette filters." ... read more here

i was horrified... guess i'll have to think about a return to rolling my own ... i used to smoke rollies - champion ruby or drum menthol depending on how the mood took me... is there no end to the heinous uses humans will put anything animal to??

i came across a really good vegan recipe site yesterday - the post punk kitchen - i'll definitely be trying out some of the recipes from here...

i 'lashed out' and bought an ebook the other day - after seeing the beautiful pictures of the 71 recipes contained in the book (yeah, pics only on this site - you have to pay for the book before you get the recipes!!) - i just had to have it - they look mouth-watering...

"Gunter took up a Pastry Chef apprenticeship in 1971 and when he immigrated to Australia in 1987, he started his catering business “Gunter’s Gourmet Gateau” and later, “Gunter’s Cafe and Continental Cake Shop” on the South Coast of NSW.

In 1999 his dedication to a vegan diet inspired him to continue his passion for baking and adapting traditional recipes to his vegan lifestyle."

guess i might have to make something to take into work one day.... yeah, one day... until then i'll just drool over the pictures!!!!

i had a bit of a 'meltdown' at work on wednesday - allie had a wee regress - back to weeing in her sleep (that'll teach me for changing the lounge and bedroom around and don't i feel bad!!!!) - worry about her, judy and life in general got me really down, totally depressed and unable to cope with work on thursday (i had a wee regress too)...

but then Sailor Lily called in yesterday afternoon bearing some lovely treats to cheer me up - such a lovely thought... thanks Lil, the loving earth chocolate is quite delish and part of their philosophy is - "Conscious Consumerism : healthy - sustainable - fair - the 3 fundamental principles of Loving Earth and define the strict criteria, which we use to source and develop all of our products" - everything is vegan, gluten free and low GI... they're a melbourne based company that believes in fair trade and they work with indigenous communities here in australia and around the world... you can read more about them here...

okay, now i've spent some time blogging i might start reading jilliane hoffman's newest novel 'pretty little things' ... so enjoy one of the only things worthwhile from this christian (but once pagan Eostre) celebratory time... a 4-day long weekend!!!!!