Guest Post by YM : Pancakes

I made pancakes
and they were yumy
I made them by my self.

Lonan

A Day of Fun and Food

We've all had such a fun day today!
This morning Popeye said to me, "What do you want to do today?' I said, "I want to play games with my kids all day.' And that's what we did.

First Baby wanted to make breakfast pancakes (and she is still learning to cook, read recipes, use the hotplates etc, so that usually means I get to cook!). Instead of doing the trusty pancake recipe that Tweenie and YM make (by themselves) I can't help myself and I have to try a different recipe.

I chose Spiced Apple Pancakes from 100 Vegan Recipes (p. 515) which turned out to be a long process (mostly because Baby was 'making' them, so it always goes slower!).

It was well worth the wait. Very, very nice. The apple topping was good!

Then we decided to have a game of Earthopoly (which is like monopoly but focuses on the earth). The whole game is earth-friendly. The board, money and cards are printed with soy inks. The game pieces are recycled bits and bobs. And you collect Carbon Credits instead of houses. Very cool.
Normally when we play we use the 1 hour game rules to make it fast, but today we played the WHOLE game from start to finish! It was well past 6pm when we actually had a winner (Popeye was declared the overall winner - he kicked our butts!).

We stopped for lunch and I made some burgers with left over bits and pieces in the fridge. After a short break we resumed play.

Just near the end, when I finally got out, I decided to make us all banana icecream with a delicious Fudgy Chocolate Sauce (From 1000 Vegan Recipes, p. 498).

Amazingly good, and so quick and easy to make! I finished making it just as Popeye and Tweenie finished battling it out for the winner's title (it was always going to be Popeye, though!).

After eating the icecream we had a sudden urge to go for a bike ride after being inside all day. Popeye put his bike back together (after dismantling it to get it home from Sydney) and off we went. We stopped at the Velodrome in Brunswick and ended up having fun competing against ourselves in 'time trials'. Popeye's back brakes got stuck on and he had to ride it all the way home like that!

We didn't feel like much for dinner and I wished I had made another batch of Uncheese so we could have toasties (I thought of this because I was flicking through The Uncheese Cookbook by Jo Stepaniak trying to find a G/F recipe to take to the next potluck with a 'cheese' theme for Kristy who has just discovered she is coeliac). I came across Gooey Grilled Cheez (pg.141) which was a really quick recipe to make a gooey filling for toasties. Very cool.

The kids are still all sleeping in the tent (I had told them the tent pulling-down day was today, but after hearing it is going to be 43 degrees (that is, F@*K'N HOT) I left it up just in case I can't sleep in the house tomorrow night). I think they are all stuffed (as are we!!)

Tahn

PS:For Johanna
 Tomato and Peach Relish (from 1000 Vegan Recipes)

1T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1T maple syrup or agave nectar
1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
2-3 sweet peaches, pitted and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/4C dark or golden raisins
2t grated fresh ginger
1/2t ground cinnamon
1/4t crushed red pepper

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat and add onion and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat, covered, for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The tomatoes and peaches should be tender but not mushy.
Taste, adjusting the seasonings if necessary, then simmer, uncovered, over very low heat for another 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature before serving. If not using right away, cover and refrigerate until needed. Properly stored, this relish will keep for 2-3 days.

Oh How I Love Thee, Summer Fruit:Blueberries

Blueberries. I absolutely LOVE blueberries. As does Popeye. Come to think of it, YM has a 'thing' for them too, as he is constantly in and out of the fridge snacking on them.

So recently, when the blueberries were at a reasonable price, we grabbed quite a few punnets. Sunday morning rolled around and I knew EXACTLY what to make!

Banana and Blueberry Pancakes with a Blueberry Sauce.

Both recipes are from 1000 Vegan Recipes. The pancakes had 2 punnets of blueberries in them (I doubled the recipe) while I halved the sauce recipe and I used 1 punnet of blueberries in that. I was concerned that there wasn't going to be enough sauce for 2 lots of pancakes shared between the 5 of us, but we totally had it covered (sorry, I've got 'White Chicks' on the TV in the background and every second word is 'Totally'!).

So, I am technically home alone tonight. Popeye spent the day down in Hastings organising his flat, and didn't get finished so he is staying there tonight. The kids and I put up the tent in the back yard this afternoon, so unless the ghost stories scare the shit out of them, I'm going it alone.

Oh and I cleaned up my back room and lounge room today, so I'm enjoying the minimalist look (I guarantee you it will not last!!).

Tahn

Sunday, aka the last day of the school holidays!

Well not much happens for this family on a Sunday. Don't know how the rest of you feel about it but around here it tends to be a day of laziness (what, and the other days aren't??).

Last night I made some yummy soup with the left over veges and the plan was to have it for lunch today. I asked YM to turn on the stove to heat it up, and he did, although he turned it up REALLY high and before the kids could say 'What's for lunch, Mum?' the bottom of the pan was burnt! Not impressed. So they had to have that or nothing. It was definitely NOT worth photographing!!

By mid afternoon I was feeling a little peckish and thought of the blueberries I had bought yesterday. I found a blueberry pancake recipe here, but I had to do without the baking powder as 'somebody' used up the last of the baking powder WITHOUT letting me know! That has been happening quite a bit lately! Anyway, they tasted just fine without it (I'm sure they would have been even better with it!).

Then I got a bit lazy waiting for the pancakes to cook, as I am really getting into the book I am reading at the moment 'Shantaram' by Gregory David Roberts. I actually bought it when I was in London in January and am only just getting around to reading it know (ahh, the benefits of technology-free week!!). So I put the rest of the mixture into the frying pan to make 'gigantor' the pancake!

My sister and B-I-L came late this afternoon to pick up my nephew. Once they left it was time for the kids to have a shower and off to bed. They have school in the morning.

(A giant cheer from me!)

Tahn