Be yourself, and no-one else.

"Be yourself, and no-one else!"
How cute is that? Spawn is obsessed with Anh Do's 'WeirDo' series, and one of the books has that line as a sing-song phrase. Subsequently, Spawn is now singing it, a lot. Not that I mind. It's such a powerful statement that more children need to absorb. So many children try so hard to conform to the interests of those they look up to. The result of this leads to children losing their individuality, their personality, their 'thing'. Everyone needs their 'thing'. The quirky aspect that makes them unique from every other pleb. So go forth and sing that line, Spawn. I will not stop you, not ever.

As an aside, procrastination is the devil. (Devil/Spawn: they're related topics!)
I have an assignment to complete by tomorrow. It isn't a particularly difficult essay, it just requires far more referencing than I like, which requires far more reading than I would prefer for such a topic. It is an interesting topic though. I am enjoying learning more about what I originally considered the 'hippie decades'. So much more complex than that.

I am articulating into my degree of choice next year. That's exciting! I cannot believe I finally made up my mind about teaching. I love how I went into this degree thinking, 'if nothing else, I will learn some fun facts to teach Spawn!' SO much more. Now I have a new career path to pursue, again. And I am passionate about it. I want to make a difference. The world is so complacent nowadays, and I don't want another generation of brats to roam these lands.
So primary teaching. I hope I can remember all the stuff I need to remember. FOUR YEARS. That's how much learning I need to do to become a teacher. At least the degree is becoming more complex now. Less questionable teachers out there to influence my child.

Finished classes for the year. Just need to finish this essay, complete two online quizzes, then study for two exams (only one of which being a hurdle exam). Easy peasy! ... Who am I kidding?! My brain is fried.

Peace out.

- L. x

P.S. Only 87 days until Christmas! And only 45 days or so until this family puts the tree up!! WOOO!!!!! 

Our old tree. We've since gone fairly 'traditional' with a side of crazy.

Croissant Bread Pudding

So this is a not-so-secret secret recipe for something I make every Christmas, for my second Christmas day with my closest friends. (Love you!) 

People have begged for this recipe since I first made it four years ago, but I refuse to share. I love that it is gobbled up and highly anticipated each year. However, some other people have now heard about it, so I thought I'd share the recipe. But do not let aforementioned friends get wind of this! Bless their anti-social media hearts. 

INGREDIENTS:
3 large eggs
8 egg yolks (I usually make egg white omelettes for the healthier folk at the same time....for obvious reasons!)

5 cups half & half** (or see below for directions on how to make, using the following two ingredients:)
     - 3 1/3 cups skim milk
     - 1 2/3 cups thickened cream
1-1.5 cups sugar (less for raw, more for white)
1 1/2 tspn vanilla bean extract
6 croissants (if you have a local bakery that has leftover croissants at the end of the day, grab those, otherwise I get them from the supermarket)
1 cup sultanas

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180℃.

In a bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, half & half, sugar and vanilla. Set aside.

Slice croissants in half, horizontally. Using a 20x30x5cm (approx) baking dish, distribute the bottoms of the croissants, then add sultanas, followed by the tops of the croissants. Ensure sultanas are inbetween halves of croissants, otherwise they dry out during baking. Pour custard mixture over croissants, then set aside to soak for 20 minutes, pressing down gently.

Place the dish into a larger one filled with an inch of hot water. Cover with foil, tenting it to ensure the foil does not touch the pudding. Pierce a couple of holes to allow steam to escape and then bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil, then bake for a further 40-45 minutes, or until it all puffs up and the pudding is set. 

Best served warm.

**METHOD FOR HALF & HALF:

Combine low-fat milk and thickened cream in a jug, then lightly whisk to combine. Set aside until settled, then use as necessary.

Enjoy! :) 

- L. x

Rape is a Dirty Word.

Heads up: this is deep. If the post heading doesn't clue you in, *TRIGGER WARNING: SEXUAL ABUSE, CHILD ABUSE, SAD STUFF ahead*

When I was ...younger, I was sexually abused. On more than one occasion, by more than one person. The first 'incident' happened when I was quite young, naive and well, scared shitless, if I'm being totally honest. I don't remember the specifics, but I remember waking up and noticing 'things'. I never told anyone because I was scared. This person terrified me, and deep down I hoped my parents would question the changes, even if I didn't realise this at the time.
They never did. Question me, that is. As I withdrew from my family, it was blamed on adolescence, the friends I had, or just my attitude in general. I eventually started associating with different people: older people. People who gave off safe vibes, I guess. Never too much older, for those people made me uncomfortable. Just, older. Big brother types. People who wouldn't question my moods, behaviour, or my need to be protected. Eventually, this group of people became some of my closest friends, but never around my family. I kept them apart for fear of them being tainted by the nightmares in my home life. To this day, my family has never met most of these people. They are my safe bubble. My second life, where I can be myself. I find this ironic, considering they know more about what happened than my family does, but that's what happens when your family doesn't really care. I don't have one of those super lovey tv families. Not even remotely. To provide a little context, I have been hit in the face by both parents, and at one stage, my brother aggravated me so extensively that I held a knife to his throat. And I don't regret it. I think that was the moment he realised I didn't care for his bullsh*t games.

Anyway, I digress. A common theme amongst my posts!
I had never told my parents about any of the incidents from my past. I was too scared of the ramifications. Afraid to be held responsible for a family falling apart. Afraid to be called a liar. An attention seeker. A slut. So I kept it to myself for years. It wasn't almost ten years later that I told one of my best friends. She had been diagnosed with brain cancer and finally questioned why I had a fake boyfriend in high school (this is true, I really did make up a boyfriend!!). Of course I told her the truth. I had been waiting for someone to genuinely ask me for years. Mr *insert fake bf's name here* was responsible for my loss of virginity. Back then I didn't know there were other excuses to account for my lack of hymen. Oh God, I wish I knew. Trying to convince some friends a person who didn't exist actually existed was so hard!! I'm such a tragic liar, lol.
So I told her everything. She suspected some things, as she had met the people involved. Then she cried for me. Not full blown crying: she wasn't that kind of girl. But she shed a tear, and that was when I realised that what I had gone through as a child was some serious shit. So I started seeing a psych. Talked about it. Had a great boyfriend. Told him about it. He also suspected, from my behaviour, but patiently waited for me to be ready. He was so amazing. The perfect boyfriend for the broken girl in need of more bandaids than the world could supply. Yet he fixed me, as much as someone as broken as I could be fixed.

The moral of this? After all the drama and emotional problems I have had to overcome these past 20 years, I found out not too long ago that my parents actually knew. Or at least suspected. Yet I was never questioned. Never comforted, or supported, or hugged and reassured that everything will be okay. Never protected from it happening again a couple of years later with someone else. Or again, a few years after that.
And learning this? I don't know how to deal with it. I cannot tell my psych, because I'm so scared I will erupt with such force that I end up admitted to a psych ward. So scared that I will shatter what little family I still associate with, and leave Spawn with nobody but me. I know that he is all I need, but he needs family. He needs more. He deserves more. And so I lie here, as this sh*t once again circulates through my mind, and I ponder what the actual heck I'm going to do about this. And then I wonder if my dad lied about the conversations from the past. Because I don't want to think that my parents could live with me, knowing what happened, and not try to protect me. Not keep me from seeing his face at family events, even to this day. Not apologise for shitty men who make shitty decisions. As a parent, I cannot fathom turning a blind eye to something so horrid. I would do all kinds of unspeakable things to anyone who even thought about hurting my son.
And so goes the bitter circle.

I'm sorry for being so deep. I know some of you don't know this stuff from my past, and it has taken ten years of therapy to get me here. But here I am. Typing to a screen with tears streaming down my face, and a teddy squished next to me.

Night, crazies.

- L. x

Job well done.

I have been busy. So busy. Still am, if I'm being honest. But I thought I would take some time to update those who care about the life of L.

So I have just started second semester of uni. A fire has been lit under my toosh, and I am more determined than ever to do well! I got my results for last semester and did so much better than I thought I would! Like, I wanted to get high distinctions, and I worked hard for those marks. However, that alone does not always equate to great marks: especially in the academic world. YET I SUCCEEDED! I got HDs in all bar one unit - however I did manage to get 78, so got super close. I'll take that as a win.

This semester I have Australian history. History has never really interested me a whole lot, yet I find myself being more intrigued in this unit after the first lecture this morning. Fancy that! Similar thing happened last semester; I initially dreaded children's literature, yet by the end I was so excited and couldn't wait to enrol in more literature units!! It appears my intellect is also changing as I get older. Exciting! I wonder if I'm still any good at math?!

School holidays flew by this time! Like, damn. I was kind of hoping they would drag a little. We didn't have time to do all the things I wanted to. If I'm being honest, we didn't even get close! We did have lots of fun though, and I finally have a dining table again! It had only been four and a half years. Crikey. Family dinners are amazing. Don't know how I went so long without them! I feel like Spawn was unknowingly deprived. Like when you grow up and discover some amazing product that existed when you were a child, yet you never knew it existed as a child. Depressing. I will make up for it! I always do go over the top to make up for our family's deprivations. Call it guilt, I guess.

Anyway, I have started watching the Blacklist, from the beginning, and I am addicted. Need more Red and Lizzy before bed.

Peace out!

L. x

P.S. Find below a sub-par photo of our new dining table! Thankyou Ikea! You're amazing. ;)

Mexican Chicken Soup [Slow Cooker]

Wow. I have almost posted more today than I have in the past two months combined!

Anyway, earlier in the year I found a bunch of recipes and prepped, then freezed, a bunch of meals. One of those was a Mexican chicken soup. I finally cooked it up about a month ago, and no word of a lie, it was the best thing I have ever had! I was on the cusp of getting sick, in the middle of submitting like, four assignments, that were all due within five days of each other, and just wanted something easy. Ended up with SO MUCH MORE!!!

Ever since, I have been trawling the internet, trying to find the recipe... Well, today, I did it. I stumbled across an old bookmark that I had copy/pasted into a document after prepping all those meals, but then forgot about. It is quite the occasion!!!! I'm going to make it again, because it's amazing. But I'm also going to put it here so I can easily share it with everyone I know, and also so I never lose the recipe again. ;)

The recipe can be found here.

Enjoy!

- L. x

Single parent, uni student, special needs child... I'm tired of labels.

I have noticed something these past couple of months. Older people seem to thoroughly enjoy labeling every aspect of their lives. Especially older people at university.
Being a mature student, I tended to gravitate toward a couple of older students, which is to be expected. I probably would have dropped out of uni if I'd been surrounded entirely by kids fresh out of high school. They can be a little .......distracting.
One thing I was not expecting, was to be more irritated by older students than younger students! I know mature students tend to get a bit of a reputation from the younger kids, but I thought it was just kids being, well, kids. I didn't put a lot of credibility into it. Until I started university, this time around. Sure, older students tend to be more open to expressing themselves during tutorials, etc., but that is something that comes with age, and isn't necessarily a bad thing. Well, I don't think it is. I was prone to voicing my thoughts during many tutorials, although I did often wait to see if anyone else was going to say something before I opened my mouth. I even encouraged younger students, on more than one occasion! However, what I found, that may tie in with this observation, along with the 'reputation' of mature age students, is that older people go on tangents! They take things off topic, and then go on and on AND ON about it, thus wasting perfectly good tutorial time!! This time is precious, and I seriously do not appreciate it being wasted by pretentious older people who think they are better than everyone else!

The thing that made this worse was that I apparently don't look even remotely close to my age. As such, I had more than one older student talk down to me, like I was a piece of unwanted gum on the bottom of her shoe. EXCUSE ME, LADY. Why are you better than me, or any other student at this university? We all went through the same application process, have to endure the same grueling readings and assignments, and all qualify with the same degree - if you happen to be studying the same course, anyway. Like seriously, you're too old to be this immature. Stop it now, before you further ruin the reputation of mature age students worldwide.
And to the younger university students: I apologise. I swear, we are not all that bad! Some of us are helpful, friendly, and maybe even awesome individuals. We just have the added advantage of living away from home, having a fridge full of food, and most of us have money in the bank. That doesn't mean you can monopolise us, but it also doesn't mean we cannot be friends with each other. Who knows? We may come in handy one day. ;)

Okay, that will do. This is so much longer, and rantier, than I expected it to be, and I digressed more than a little! :P

Peace out.

- L. x

Lamb Casserole

So in winter, I love lamb. I also love my slow cooker. And casseroles. Hearty casseroles, full of root vegetables and tasty meat. YUM.

Who am I kidding?? I love most of those things year round!

Anyway, I finally put together a lamb slow cooker dish that didn't leave an icky taste in my mouth! It is a culmination of several recipes, with the best bits from each pulled out and stuck to something new. It's fantastic. Much like myself. :)

Without further adieu, I give you this recipe! Ta-daaaaaaa!
(Gee, I'm so intelligent. Look how many big words I can use now. LOL.)

INGREDIENTS:
1kg (approx) lamb, diced. I used forequarter chops, because they're cheap, and cheap is best in slow cooked meals. But whatever. I'm not your boss.
2 brown onions, diced
3-4 cloves garlic (it's winter, and garlic is great for the immune system!)
4 large potatoes, or 7-8 baby potatoes, diced
1 gold sweet potato, diced (aim for 2cm cubes with the potatoes)
3/4 cup green lentils, rinsed and drained
1 cup salt-reduced chicken stock
1 cup red wine (I use cab sav, but mostly because I like it on its own)
2 tbspn tomato paste
1 tspn rosemary
1 tspn oregano
2 bay leaves
Salt & pepper, to taste

METHOD:
Spray inner bowl of slow cooker with oil. In a frying pan over medium heat, soften onion and garlic with a little olive oil, then throw in oregano and rosemary until fragrant. Place in slow cooker, then throw in lamb until lightly browned, and place that in the slow cooker, along with remaining ingredients. Stir to combine, then cook on high for one hour, before turning to low for six hours (approximately - can go over if needed).
If you are a scentsy fanatic like myself, turn it off for the day and allow yourself to be surrounded by the glorious aromas coming from your slow cooker!
Serve with fresh, buttered bread, steamed greens and leftover wine, or however you prefer. ;)

Enjoy!

- L. x

Silverside.... Mmmm.

So prior to like, February this year, I had NEVER cooked silverside before! It was a task I left to my dad and grandma, as they do it well.
Then I decided it was a yummy, cheap meat option, and Spawn needed to experience it. So I asked my dad how to make it, then tweaked his recipe, because tweaking is what I do, LOL.

Anyway, it took a few attempts, but I finally nailed it! YAY! I put my recipes here not just as a service to whomever may read this, but also so I can easily find my recipes at a later date.

INGREDIENTS:
1 corned beef/silverside (I usually get one around 1kg as there's just two of us, but whatever size works. You don't need to change the recipe for a bigger cut)
1 brown onion, studded with 6 cloves
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped in half
2 bay leaves
1 tspn peppercorns
1 tbspn apple cider vinegar
Optional: cabbage

METHOD:
Put beef into a large saucepan and cover with hot water. Bring to the boil, then drain and wipe out pan before putting beef back into pan, along with enough water to cover the meat plus 5cm, and all other ingredients. Simmer, partially covered, for two hours or until meat is tender (this is where size will come into play).
Once cooked, strain 2 cups of the water into a jug for the sauce, and if cooking cabbage, keep the rest of the water to cook cabbage in. Allow beef to rest while making the white sauce, then slice and serve. Leftovers are great in sandwiches! 



White Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
30g butter
45g plain flour
2 cups of beef cooking liquid
1/4 cup cream
1 tbspn dijon mustard

METHOD:
Combine the butter and flour in a small-medium pan to make a roux, then slowly whisk in the water and stir until it begins to thicken (to desired consistency) and boil. Stir in the cream and mustard then remove from heat. Wella!

As an aside, this dish goes well with cauliflower cheese along with steamed green vegetables and cabbage.

Enjoy!

- L. x

Studying is SO HARD.

For real. I know why kids are pushed to go straight to university from high school: who wants to go back to this torture after experiencing the freedom of the real world??? Well, aside from those wishing to further their knowledge, or pursue their dream career, like me. Except, the degree I'm undertaking will not result in accomplishing my dreams! We all know law is my thing. Or aviation. However, due to Spawn's diagnoses last year, I decided to take a cruisier path. Yes, I know teaching is anything BUT cruisy, but it's a lot less demanding than corporate law, most of the time. (I dread report writing already, and I'm only one semester in on a four year degree!!)

Anyway, teaching is hard! You have to cover such a variety of areas, all with their own way of teaching and terminology. Take this semester for example: I have the basic subjects, but then I have ecology *yawn* and children's literature! Such different styles, with so much fuzziness. I think that's one of the things I like most about law: it's so factual. Sure, legislation is open to interpretation, but it's easy. There's a lot less fuzzy business, and a lot more, 'this is how we're doing this!' Wah. What am I doing?!!! WHY AM I DOING TEACHING?!!!

I have three assessments due on Friday. I already submitted one, because it was easy. The other two, however, are a lot more complex, and of course, Spawn had to go and get sick! So now today is a write-off, hence me getting super stressed. I do not like leaving things to the last minute, yet that is what I seem to be doing this semester. Please, let me find the strength to get on top of this business for the rest of the degree! My sanity cannot take it! LOL.

Anyway, I just had to have a quick vent. Now I'm off to prep dinner. Perks of sick child, I guess. More time to make yummy meals, that will hopefully aide in ridding him of this illness (and prevent me from getting it).

Peace out!

L. xx

Roast Pumpkin Soup

SOUP SEASON IS UPON US!

I love soup.

Spawn is sick, and I'm busy with homework, so what's better than making a big pot of pumpkin soup? Extra garlic and ginger for their illness curing abilities.

Behold, my roast pumpkin soup recipe!

INGREDIENTS:
1 butternut pumpkin, halved with seeds removed
1 brown onion, peeled and halved
2-4 cloves garlic, peeled
Olive oil and salt, for seasoning
3-4 cups chicken stock
1cm ginger, finely grated (optional)
1 cup cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 220C and line a baking tray. Place pumpkin on tray and drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with salt. Cook for 30 minutes, then add onion and garlic, and cook for a further 30 minutes, or until pumpkin is lightly golden and slightly soft to touch. Allow to cool.
Scoop pumpkin away from skin and place in large saucepan (if using a barmix) or blender, along with onion, garlic, 1 cup or so of stock, and ginger. Blend until smooth [pour into saucepan if blended] then add 2 cups of chicken stock and 3/4-1 cup cream (to taste/until desired consistency) and heat on medium-low until hot. Serve as is, or with sour cream.

Enjoy!

L. xx

A Letter To Someone Who Will (Probably) Never See This.

Dear ***

I know this is super random, but I am going through a phase at the moment (I'd call it growing up, but I did so much of that last year that if I grew up anymore, I'd need to check-in to a retirement centre). Thanks to timehop and Facebook's 'on this day', I'm seeing posts from around the time I found out I was pregnant with Spawn. With this, I'm realising that I never said thankyou. Thank you for being there when I found out I was pregnant. Thank you for reassuring me that everything will be fine. Thank you for helping me deal with sperm donor fallout, even though his pointless drama ended up being one of the reasons our friendship came to an end. Thank you for being there during those scary times, even though you had your own life to deal with.
I guess I just wanted to say thank you. Looking back, I feel like I may have taken your friendship for granted, but I just wanted to say that I didn't. That even now, seven years later, I still cherish it, along with all the crazy memories. You helped me get through some of the toughest times, and I will never forget that.

Sincerely

L. xx

P.S. all that drama at the end? I don't even know where to start with that. I feel like a certain two-faced person took advantage of what I now know to be pregnancy hormones and manipulated things to her advantage. Who even knows?! In the end, i just wanted all of it to stop. I'm sorry.

Chocolate mousse cheesecake

Making cheesecake is a new thing for me. This is only the third one I have ever made! But I'm fairly certain it's a success! The bits I've tasted have sure been yummy! I decorated it with an Easter theme, seeing as I have made it for Easter lunch tomorrow.

Without further adieu, I give you the recipe, which I pulled from the Cadbury website and then tweaked - mostly to ditch Cadbury chocolate, which is ...well, bleh.

INGREDIENTS:
1 packet chocolate ripple biscuits, crushed
80gm butter, melted
500g cream cheese
1/3 cup caster sugar
225gm nestle plaistowe milk (or dark) chocolate, melted then cooled slightly
2 tspn gelatine, dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water
310ml thickened cream, lightly whipped
1/4 tspn sea salt
2 egg whites, beaten to soft peaks

METHOD:
Combine biscuit crumb and butter, then press into a greased and lined 20cm springform tin and refrigerate until firm.
Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth, then add melted chocolate and gelatine mix. Fold in cream and salt, then stir in 1/3 of the egg whites before gently folding in remaining egg whites.
Pour mixture into tin and refrigerate for two hours or overnight.
Decorate as desired and serve!

Lamb Sausage Rolls

Gluten free Peach Pie

So this one is a work in progress! The flavours are amazing, but the pastry needs a little work. Was a tad too crumbly for my liking.

When I moved into my new place, I became carer to a peach tree. A peach tree full of fruit! Had over 20kg, and that was after binning over half of the fruit due to a main branch snapping. They are such juicy peaches and I have had a lot of fun making new things with them!

I found this recipe online  (will link) and it looked good so I tried it and just adapted it for our tastes and metric system.

INGREDIENTS:
peaches

METHOD:

How to blanch peaches:

Yeah! School's Back!

I AM SO EXCITED SCHOOL IS BACK FOR ANOTHER YEAR!
And I am so glad that Spawn is also excited to go back to school - in Grade 1!!! ..crikey.

As you probably know, I spent a chunk of time making snacks to fill Spawn's lunchbox, and I love that I was even more prepared this year than I was last year! There is so much variety in the freezer that I have no problem asking Spawn what he wants for lunch tomorrow, then pulling something that meets his requirements out of the freezer, ready to go the next day! Sooooo good. (Last year I only really made treats, so still had to make savoury things for lunch time.)

Anyway, who cares about food?! School is back! I have freedom! I can do grocery shopping without Spawn! Probably one of my favourite things, as supermarkets are one of the few places that still send him super troppo - I think it's a combination of the light, noise, and whatever else over-stimulates him.

His new teacher is getting all the praises, too. (Let's call him "Mr M" to maintain my "anonymity" lol.) "Mummy! Mr M loves animals too!" "Mummy, Mr M tells me I have to do this *puts hands behind back and sits quietly* when he rings his bell." ...I think I need to ask Mr M where he got his bell, LOL. 
This is obviously a good thing - not going to lie when I say I was a tad scared that Spawn wouldn't take to his new teacher. He loved his old teacher - maybe more than me, some days! Then again, Mrs F was amazing. I loved her, too. Sad that she isn't at the school this year, yet excited for what she is spending the year doing.

Did I mention Spawn was approved for school funding?! I cannot remember if I mentioned it in a previous blog or not??!
Anyway, he was. I'm not sure how many hours he will have with the aide (what the funding covers), but I'm so excited that he's going to have SOME time with an aide, that I'm not particularly fussed over how long it is!!! Hopefully it's enough to really help Spawn though. Lord knows he needs the help at school, so he can learn to manage his behaviour.

I applied to go back to university..........again. I think I might spend my life studying. Every time I think I have my career sorted out, a spanner is thrown into the works that rules it out! It's beyond frustrating!!! Law is definitely out though, so I know I need to do something to help me with a new career path. I think what I have chosen will work. It has its perks, and works with my personality, most days. We'll see though. Depends on whether or not the university accepts me! No pressure, lol.

Eh. I think I have rambled enough, and I need to make a start on dinner. Until next time......

Peace out.

- L. x

Gluten Free Banana Bread

So I LOVE banana bread. At the same time, I am also super fussy when it comes to the flavour combination, texture, etc., and between Spawn and myself, we have several dietary requirements. (TL;DR: this banana bread recipe is gluten free, nut free, dairy free, contains no refined sugars and is bloody amazing!)

Anyway, I have been hunting (without success!) for a banana bread recipe FOREVER. Until now.
I am in a few facebook groups with this amazing goddess, Angie. She is like the dietary requirement queen. I bow down to her, in my head. Probably would bow down to her in person, if I ever saw her walking down the street, LOL.
She shared this recipe, and I tweaked it minutely, purely because her recipe contained white sugar *hiss* and that stuff is satanic when ingested by Spawn! I also made the second batch dairy free, by substituting the milk with coconut milk, so my friend's little girl could have some. Fairly certain I'm her favourite now! ;)

Soooo.... Without further adieu, I give you this glorious banana bread recipe! Even if you don't have a tonne of dietary requirements, you'll probably love this bread, and would never guess it contains nothing unhealthy!

INGREDIENTS:
3 overripe bananas, mashed
130g unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
2 tspn vanilla extract
1 tspn ground cinnamon
2/3 cup coconut sugar (or raw sugar if you don't have coconut - I hear they're similar!)
2 tbspn milk of choice (I have only used light and coconut milk, but am fairly certain any milk would work!)
1 1/2 cups GF self-raising flour (you could easily just use regular SR flour if you don't need it to be GF)

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 170 degrees, then grease and line a loaf tin.
In a large bowl combine the mashed banana and butter, mix to combine, then add the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar and milk, and mix until well combined. Add the flour (I do it in two lots, as GF flour is awfully messy) and try not to over-mix.

Pour the mix, which should vaguely resemble pancake batter, into the loaf tin, then put into oven for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean.

OMG, you smell so good!

Allow to cool slightly before placing on cooling rack to cool further, then slice and enjoy!
Apparently the bread lasts in an airtight container in the fridge for five days, but I haven't had a chance to test that out yet. :)


Enjoy!

- L. x

mmm, tasty. Want some? ;)

Mango Loaf

So while this amazing smelling loaf bakes away in the oven, (yes, I bake on 37 degree days! Hello, aircon!) I decided I would share the little back story that led to this tasty little loaf! 

First, do you know what I love most about January? Mango season. The juicy little morsels are by far one of my favourite fruits, and I can never resist stocking up when I see them at a good price! Unfortunately, this isn't as common down here in Victoria. Not like the sunshine coast, where amazing ripe mangoes can be purchased just about everywhere, at prices that have the potential to turn anyone into a person who lives solely on mangoes!
Ahh, Sunshine Coast. Take me back!!! Your glorious beaches, weather, and cheap fruit are the things dreams are made of!

Anyway, basically the only way to get cheap mangoes down here is when they're all borderline overripe. Which is fine if you want to gorge on mangoes that day, but sucks when you already have a few in the fridge ready to eat!! 

I had this genius idea to combine my need to use the overripe mangoes with my need to prep snacks for Spawn to take to school! This of course, led to serious googling and a trip down the rabbit hole......but after a few hours, I resurfaced with ideas! Mango loaf! YES.
However, the recipes I found contained ingredients I don't own (all that sugar?! No thank you!), so I found the tastiest looking recipe and tweaked it until it could be consumed by my naturally hyperactive child without inducing a sugar rush! Said original recipe can be found here. 

Fresh out of the oven... Mmm, delicious.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups (150g) plain flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup (190ml) coconut oil
3-4 mangoes; 2 pureed, 1-2 chopped (small)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup (30g) sultanas or raisins (optional)

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees, then grease and line a loaf tin. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, beat eggs and oil together then add to flour mixture along with the mango puree and lemon juice. Add chopped mangoes and raisins(if using). Pour into loaf tin and cook for about 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

I am also making a mango butter to go with this loaf, that I will put on each slice before freezing, to make it easier when putting in Spawn's lunchbox. 

Enjoy!

- L. x

I would chop two mangoes to add next time! It's yummy, but needs more mango for me!

Hello, 2016.

Wow. Finally, 2015 bit the dust. Cannot say I'm sad to see it go! Quite the contrary, really.

Let's recap.
The start of 2015 saw me a recent RMIT graduate, pumped to get a job at a corporate law firm where I could work my arse off and fulfil my career goals. It also saw me anxious to become mum to a school boy! (Although, I was more excited than anxious by this!) Things were shaping up to be great.
Then came the dramatic downward spiral of 2015. Once Spawn started school, it did not take long for his teacher to notice his behaviour was a little more erratic than your typical 5 year old. So she gently approached me and suggested I see a pediatrician and see if there could be an underlying issue causing his behaviour. Unbeknownst to me, this issue had also come up the year before whilst Spawn was in kinder, however the issue was never mentioned to me. 2015 could have been so much easier if Spawn's kinder teacher had told me about his behaviour!!!

Anyway, I'm digressing...like usual!
So we got the necessary referrals and saw a behavioural specialist, which led to the events I blogged about last year, and subsequent diagnoses shopping list.
The diagnoses led to more testing through the department of education, as we needed a LOT of documentation to support the specialists reports in order to apply for school funding. Such a long process, by the way! We started in July, and all the documentation was finalised and sent off in early December! Kind of gives you an idea of how intense it is to try and get funding!
While all this was going on, I obviously had a lot to accept, learn and embrace. I had to realise my life would never be as easy as I imagined it would be. I would never work my arse off in a top tier corporate law firm. I would never be the shark I knew I could be. I would be me; mum to an amazing little boy with autism. As I had a lot of support from various parent groups on Facebook, I was able to embrace Spawn's diagnoses a little easier than many would, but it still cut me deep. Naturally, to learn your child is different and is in for a hard road, breaks your heart. I have cried, many times. I have stuck my head in the sand more times than I will ever admit, and I have come out the other side a better person because of it.
It is for this reason that I know 2016 will be a better year! Spawn has an amazing team of specialists on his side, helping him in every was possible, whilst helping me better understand him at the same time. I have become more accepting, tolerable and patient because of 2015, and for that, I will also be fond of last year, but I will not miss it.

I look forward to helping Spawn on his path to success, and working with his new teacher to ensure his mind is adequately stimulated in the areas he excels in. I look forward to many years of trying to fully understand the complexities of raising a 2e child in a way that sees him able to live a happy, successful life.

I also look forward to the laughter, adventures and memories 2016 will bring, both with family and my amazing friends.

Much love.

- L. x