Papaya, pawpaw we all cry more, more!

When I was asked if I was interested in the taking part in a papaya recipe challenge I was just a little bit excited. When these little babies turned up on my doorstep I was even more excited.

Now I know that from that photo the red pawpaw (the longer of the two) looks a little worse for wear. When I cut it open though that was far from the case.

Even though I live in the tropics and have even had papayas grow in my backyard it is not something that we eat all that often. For some reason the girls are not the hugest fans. Which I think has something to do with the soft squishy texture of them.  And quite possibly the fact that I had never thought of actually making something with them. Up until now I had simply thought of pawpaw as a stand alone fruit you eat by itself.

Oh how little I knew.

Thankfully with the papayas came some wonderful recipe ideas. So wonderful that I set about trying to make them all and promptly declared the following day as pawpaw party day.

Now since then (the middle of May) and now life has been a non stop roller coaster of events which has sadly seen all things blogging take a back seat. Which means I suddenly find myself on the final day to enter without a post. And while I don’t think I came up with the most imaginative or creative recipe I still feel compelled to get something out purely and simply because I said I would.

One of said events that has taken place in the last month has been me packing up the house ready for #ouradventureofalifetime. Which means the recipes I used have been put…who knows where. So I am more than winging it right now.

My favourite one though was a prawn and pawpaw tortilla. Super easy and beyond yummy, though not very popular with the kid lets on account of the prawn factor.

All I did was gently pan fry some prawns, about 3-4 per tortilla. To fry them I just put some butter and crushed up garlic in a pan on a low heat and added the prawns. It only takes a few minutes each side. I then put some thinly sliced papaya and rocket and spinach leaves on a warmed tortilla. Then added the prawns and drizzled over lemon mayonnaise. Which is essentially just ordinary mayonnaise with lemon juice squeezed into it. Yum, yum yum.

 My next favourite dish was a breakfast/dessert. This one was the one the kids most liked as well.

First up I boiled some (1 cup) of raspberries with some sugar and water. And here is where you discover what a terrible food blogger I am because for the life of me I cannot remember how much sugar and water I used and given my terrible lack of internet at the moment I can’t google it to find out. Essentially though I was just making raspberry syrup.

Once the raspberries were liquified and sugar all dissolved I put it aside to cool. Once it was cool I layered it in a cup with granola, diced pawpaw and vanilla yoghurt. Sprinkling some chocolate powder on top. Perfect for a healthy dessert or breakfast which makes it totally winning in my book.

Another of the recipe suggestions was a pancetta and papaya pizza. Which I thought would win the kids over hands down simply because it was pizza. Apparently I was wrong.

Though I must admit that the pizza I made was nothing at all like the recipe on account of me for getting to get the pancetta when I did the shopping. I also excluded the ricotta and rocket leaves because I just knew they would make it a no go zone for the kids I was cooking for.

So my pizza stared papaya slices, bacon and mozzarella with a BBQ sauce. Rather than a traditional pizza base I used the tortillas wraps as I love how they make for a crispy base.

The final recipe I created if you will was a pawpaw and rocket salad.

In this little beauty I just through together my favourite green leaves, (rocket and baby spinach), some diced papaya, fried bacon, pine nuts and some diced chicken. Instead of a dressing I just squeezed some lemon juice over the top. Again all kinds of delicious.

So there you have it. What I came up with for the Aussie Papaya Challenge.

Did someone say pancakes? On a weekday?

Now before I get started I feel that I need to offer a bit of a disclosure. You see I feel that I have already written this post but I just can't seem to find it. Which perhaps means that my feeling is wrong. Maybe I didn't write it I just though really long and hard about it. Stranger things have happened I know.

Of course if the Blogger search box widget was working properly I would be able to have a really good look and know for sure one way or another but sadly that is not the case. In fact the Blogger search is so useless that I have removed it from the side bar. Which is more than just a little frustrating but what can you do? I fear I was the only one that ever really used it anyway so little sleep will be lost.

Apparently the only other time I have mentioned pancakes was here,
which was not the post I thought I had written and was looking for,
it is however a super cute photo.

Pancakes are one of our most loved breakfasts here. But then that is not really surprising. Who doesn't love a good pancake for breakfast?

A better question might be who actually has time to cook pancakes in amongst the weekday morning hustle and bustle?

Well put the mixer down and hold the phone because have I got the best news for you.

Cooked pancakes can be frozen and then simple zapped in the microwave as needed.

AMAZEBALLS huh?

I was totally gobsmacked when I first read about it. In fact I went and whipped up a batch right away, stuck them in the freezer and gave it a go. And then when I discovered that it was true I felt like my life had changed forever. So much so that I was certain I went and blogged about it right away but apparently not.

Anyway I am sharing the news now and that is all that matters. And in case you don't have a fail safe pancake recipe I am going to share mine with you.

The most awesome pancake mix ever*

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 cup almond meal or oats or combination of both or any other similar substance

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1 grated apple

1/4 cup golden syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

Grab a large bowl and throw all the ingredients in

Get the electric mixer and mix it all together until you have a lovely smooth batter.

If you wish you can sift flour, pre beat eggs and milk and then add gradually but experience has taught me that at the end of the day it makes little difference other than mixing for a bit longer.

Heat pan with some butter and oil in the bottom. Tip excess oil and butter into glass jar to be reused between each batch.

Spoon desired amount of batter into pan and cook until little bubble appear. The bubble indicate it is time to turn. Flip and cook until golden brown on both sides. Repeat until batter is all gone.

Serve with your favourite toppings, ours include maple syrup, sugar & lemon, honey (& lemon), fresh fruit, yogurt, nutella and on some days even ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Whatever doesn't get eaten layer between baking paper and whack in the freezer till you next want pancakes. Even on a school day.

Frozen pancakes can be zapped for around 30 seconds each I think (I am fairly confident you will be able to work it out for yourself)

* I feel it would be remiss of me not to say that I rarely actually measure the quantities used I think this is about what I would use. If it is too thick add more milk, too runny add more flour. The apple can be optional as well if you leave it out put in a little more sugar.

Totally pinworthy decorated fish biscuits. Easy. Yum. Fun.

For some reason there is the general expectation that Bloggers are all over Pinterest. Not just in the way they spend hours pouring over pins but also in their ability to create pinnable things. 

Personally I have tried to stay away from the dangers of Pinterest (though I naturally have an account there if you are interested). I am easily distracted and my box of distractions is always overflowing. I most certainly do not need a Pinterest addiction to deal with. 

Of course my ability (or perhaps lack there of) to recreate the images generally found on the likes of Pinterest may also have something to do with my aversion to spending too much time there.

There have of course been a few exceptions. Well one really, my infamous Pigs in Mud Cake. I still get all tingly when I think about how awesome that little beauty turned out. Well worth the effort I must say, though I am not sure I am in a rush to go to that much effort again. 

Thankfully though I recently discovered a new little party winner that, is dead easy and will leave you with a totally pinworthy creation all of your own.

Drum roll please as I proudly present my 

Totally Pinworthy Decorated Fish Biscuits

The most enjoyable and easy to make biscuits delights I have ever come across. These little fish were not only fun to make but pretty tasty too boot!

So where did I come across this brilliant party idea?

While Essentially Jess and I were checking out the super cool entries in this year's Royal Darwin Show. We went along early on the opening day so as to avoid crowds and take advantage of reduced gate entry. Since we were only taking the littlest children so they could see the animals (read so that Jess and I could get our yearly show fix) it all worked quite well.

These ones were not created by me,
I did however take the photo
It was taken at the Royal Darwin Show.
If by chance you made these
(and hey stranger things have happened)
Please get in touch.

 Sadly though the downside to the opening day early entry prices is that not all of the judging is completed and some displays don't have up all their information. Hence why crediting the creator of the inspirational fish is easier said than done. Massive kudos to whoever you are though.

So as I stood there taking my very dodgy photo with my once lovely camera that now only seems to take a decent shot in broad daylight, I mumbled to Jess something about hoping to remember these next time I needed to make cupcakes. Since my kids have all had their birthday this year I could imagine when I would get the chance to try my hand at these.

"Bring on Monday for Ava's birthday, she says with a smile, "then you can blog about it for IBOT and get lots of pins"

Brilliance if ever I saw it!

Little did Jess know, was that even if she hadn't have given me this totally viable excuse, I probably would have made them any way I was so crazily keen.

Now I know I haven't made exactly the same as the photo and that is purely because despite having the joys of modern technology I don't always have the sense to use them. Even though I took the photo I didn't think to look at it until after I had been shopping for supplies.

At which point I of course realised I didn't have any jelly beans or black things (which I suspect might be licorice) for eyes. I temporarily fleeted with the notion of running back to the shops. They are after all literally only five hundred meters down the road. But then I decided I would somehow make do amongst the five packets of lollies I came home with. Not to mention what I may already have had at home.

Anyways as simple as these decorated fish biscuits may be I still have a few tips to share for when you create your own.

Tips for making your own totally pinworthy decorated fish biscuits

Sorting the sweets into colours is not mandatory.
On a side not I would be totally excited to have bowls
to match for all the colours

* Set yourself up before you start. I found having the smarties and sweets sorted into colours made creating the fish much easier.

*Make up one big batch of white icing. Add the various colours as you need them.

*To make the icing mix 2 cups of icing mixture with 2 tablespoons of milk. The easiest way to get rid of lumps is use an electric mixer.

*To make super yummy tasting icing add a splash of vanilla essence

*Make the lightest colours first. In our case we started with yellow icing, which we then turned to orange by adding a drop of red. After orange we added more red to get a pinkish of sorts kinda colour. After this we were out of icing and started again with blue, then green and finally purple.

*I found it best to do the eye and mouth, then the tail and fill the gap up with smarties. It could be just me but I never seemed to leave enough room if I left the mouth or tail till last.

*In case you want to use the same as me I had milk arrowroot biscuits, smarties, fruit flavoured soft jubes (tails) and starburst fruit jellies (mouth). Mind you I think the jelly beans in the orginal may actually be the way to go.

*You don't have to keep the colours all matchy matchy if you don't want to. Though just between you and me if you are going for the whole pinworthy thing then colour matching is a must, as demonstrated below.

While these fish are certainly still very cool looking I am just not sure if it is
quite worthy of a Pinterest board, of course feel free to prove me wrong

These ones however...well I am sure it would be crime not to pin them

So what about it, are you a pinner? Did you pin me?

Can you recreate pins with the simplest of ease?

Do you like fish biscuits?

Have you joined in the fun of IBOT like I did?

AntiOx Fruit Bars and Chocolate. {Giveaway}

Product Talk by Nuffnang

There is no denying that I am a chocolate fan. In fact I can't understand why anyone wouldn't love chocolate. So you can imagine my excitement when a little box AntiOx chocolates and snack bars arrived on my doorstep. Not only was I receiving some free stuff but the free stuff just happened to be chocolate and to top it of chocolate that was deemed good for me.

Total win win situation in my book.

AntiOx snack bars and chocolate are high in antioxidants which makes them the perfect boost to your immunity levels as winter coughs and colds try to take hold.

Oh and did I mention that on top of that they are actually quite yummy?

The snack bars are chock full of wholegrains and come in three delicious flavours, Acai, Goji berry and Chia & Quinoa. All are coated with dark chocolate which, by the way just happens to be sugar free and 70% cocoa.

Yep that's right sugar free.

The chocolate is sweetened with Stevia which is a natural plant based sweetener. This part made me pretty excited because the whole I Quit Sugar thing is pretty popular at the moment so I thought it awesome that the AntiOx snack bars and chocolate were free from sugar as well as artificial colours and flavours.

For those interested all the nutritional information about AntiOx snack bars and chocolates can be found here

Perhaps proof that food photography is not exactly my calling?
The idea was to show you all the goji and forest berries that are packed into these bars of goodness

The AntiOx snack bars were a massive winner here. Especially the goji berry and acai ones. The amount of berries packed into each bar is super generous and made for gooey mouthful goodness with every bite. I found the chia & quinoa a little drier and not as yummy to my taste buds but certainly still edible and worth trying if you are a chia or quinoa fan.

For me the chocolate block was not quite sweet enough and tasted more like dark chocolate than acai or goji berries. As much as I love chocolate I generally have that milky sweet stuff that is anything but good for you. Dark chocolate like this is a bit of an acquired taste I think, one that I am still in the process of acquiring. The upside to this of course meant that I could only have two or three squares at a time making the bar last longer and me not so much of a piggy eating it all in one sitting as I would with an ordinary chocolate block.

But wait, the best bit is still to come.

I have not one, but two prize packs to giveaway. 

Each pack (valued at over $30) contains

6 x AntiOx Snack Bars
4 x AntiOx Chocolates

All you need to do is leave a comment telling me

Why do you want to try the new AntiOx snack bars and chocolate?

The winners will be chosen based on creativity and chance plays no part in the judges decision. Full terms and conditions can be found here. Entries open till Friday 28 June 5.00pm AEST

AntixOx Snack Bars (RRP $2.49 for 40 gram bar) and AntiOx Chocolates (RRP $4.65 for 80 gram) are available in the health section of Woolworths, health food stores, pharmacies and convenience stores. You can also by online via the Vitality website.

Oh and just so we are clear, this post is part of a Nuffnang Product Talk promotion, I received 3 x AntiOx Snack bars and 2 x AntiOx Chocolate blocks. I received no cash and all thoughts and opinions are my own as per my disclosure page

Oh and if you are super keen to try the AntiOx Snack bars there is another giveaway over at the

AntiOx Facebook page

Joining in all the fun that is IBOT

Healing Foods - Cabbage & Broccoli

This is the first instalment in my healing food series based on information that I have sourced from Miriam Polunin's rather awesome book Healing Foods, A Dorling Kindsersley Book first published way back in 1997. In this amazing concise yet information packed book Polunin shares 50 foods that do amazing things for your body. She also explains how some foods lend themselves to aiding various conditions and areas of health.

The first healing foods we are going to look at are cabbage and broccoli. These belong to the cruciferous family of vegetables. Other members of this family include cauliflower, brussel sprouts, curly kale, kohlrabi, and mustard greens. The family is named after the cross shape of their four petalled flowers. Many all round nutrient boosters are found in cruciferous vegetables.

Image from here

Often overlooked as bland and tasteless, raw green cabbage is actually a rich source of folate. Making it ideal for women planning pregnancy as ample folate levels lessen the risk of spina bifida in baby.

Raw cabbage juice is believed to be a traditional remedy for helping peptic ulcer sufferers. Sauerkraut, which is fermented cabbage, has been used to improve digestion and gut health.

Studies now suggest that even a single serve of cabbage, be it cooked, raw or otherwise, can reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Broccoli has always been one of my staple greens because while I didn't know why it was good, I just knew it was. After reading this book however I now know what is so awesome about these beautiful green trees and will be eating even more of them.

Image from here

This green wonder food is high in antioxidants, beta carotene and vitamins C and E. Broccoli is an all round super food jam packed with folate, calcium, iron and zinc, to name but a few.

Both cabbage and broccoli can have the following health benefits

• reducing the risk of cancer
• help lower risk of heart disease and stroke
• lessen the risk of spina bifida
• may cut risk of cataracts

Cabbage may also have the added benefits of speeding up the healing of ulcers and helping improve digestive system. While broccoli is believed to help combat anaemia due to the high levels of folate and iron.

However it should be noted that both cabbage and broccoli can reduce iodine absorption. Therefore those that consume more than three serves a week should ensure that they are eating iodine rich foods. Seafood, especially shellfish and seaweed are quite high in iodine levels.

Both vegetables also contain 'goitrogens' which may cause swelling of the thyroid and as such those with a thyroid dysfunction need to eat with caution or avoided. Apart from that though both these healing foods should be eaten liberally.

For those concerned about the flatulence that is sometimes associated with cabbage cooking with carminative spices, such as dill and fennel will help.

Please remember I am not a professional, this is not advice,
just some stuff I have read and wanted to share.
The best medical advice always comes from a professional,
so make sure you double check with yours.

If you want to share there are buttons below

Healing Foods

It is no secret that food and diet impact our health and well being. It also doesn't take a rocket scientist to at least vaguely know a good and bad difference. However, how do you know what food is more beneficial for a particular problem?

Well unless you are some dietician and nutritional expert you probably won't. Unless of course you like to keep  your finger on the pulse and do a bit of light reading on a range of topics. Like my real life Bestie who reads all kinds of amazing books just because she wants to learn more and look after her body as much as she can.

Thankfully for me I have her and she is only too happy to pass on any important tidbits that she thinks I might be interested in. Which is great because unlike her there is no way I can find the time to read and raise three children and keep house. Mind you she does not have distractions like a blog or Facebook to rudely chew into her precious time.

Back to the point though.

One of the books that she raves on about most is this one

Healing Foods by Miriam Polunin can be found here
No that is not an affiliate link
I just thought I would be helpful to those interested in more info

While it is only listed on Amazon for a couple of bucks it is more than I am prepared to fork out in this super tight economic situation, only a few short weeks away from the highly anticipated #DPCON13.

Plus why buy it when I can just ask Bestie to check it out for me?

Inside this wondrous little book is information on fifty foods and the fantastic things that they can do for your health. There are also a bunch of yummy recipes to help inspire some new dishes to your table.

Sick of me always asking her to look something up Bestie has left her book with me for a few days so I can absorb some of the information within it's covers for myself. Being the kind and sharing gal that I am I thought I would also share that info with my lovely readers. Plus it means when I give the book back I will still have something to reference.

Mind you working out which bits were the most important to remember and write about was no easy feat. Even though there are only 160 pages in the book, there is a lot on each page. As such I have decided that I will do a bit of a series about it all. I can hear you all cheering from here.

The whole series thing will also give me a chance to schedule posts for while I am kicking my heals up at the afore mentioned #DPCON13. Have I mentioned how excited I am about it?

Make sure you pop back soon for the first instalment, around Thursday. Better yet head over to the side bar whip in your email address and then have each of my awesome posts sent straight to your in box.

Could life get any better or easier?

Joining Jess and the gang for IBOT

And of course feel free to share all over the place. Plenty of buttons below to help you out there