It’s arrived…

Source

My very beautiful camera is finally here.  It’s taken me a few weeks to pick out my birthday present I know, but I wanted to get the right one yah know?  I think this one is more perfect for an amateur like myself.  Currently I know how to turn it on, take a picture, use the flash and review my image…er…work in progress me thinks!

I fear that I desperately need a carry case for it, maybe some or lots of bubble wrap, plenty of cotton wool and may be a soft velvet cushion for my camera- If you haven’t gathered by now I’m highly accident prone!  Clutz is my middle name, no kidding!

I haven’t named my camera yet either.  I have a serious bad habit and perhaps weird of naming inanimate objects and plants.  My car is called Smurf.  My first plant was called Humphrey, but he died.  I had a beautiful Orchid plant called Hyacinth.  She died too.

Gertrudeis still in the land of the living though…just! 🙂

I also bought on my Amazon shopping spree…

Source

…and all this sun has made me think about my summer reading so I picked out some books to relax with in the garden on a lovely warm evening.

Source

Source

Source

I cannot wait to play around with my camera and start taking pictures for the blog with it.  I’ve been so inspired lately by food photography and how something as simple as an apple, if taken in the right light, backdrop etc. can look like the most delicious thing in the world.   Some of my food over the past few days has been inspired by one thing or another too.

Deliciousbreakfasts:

Yesterday I ate a heavy dose of my Cookie Dough Chia Pudding topped with chopped strawberries, choccy seeds and vanilla pumpkin seeds.

I love these chia puddings!  They’re so light and creamy and make a great alternative to oats in this warm weather we are having.  I have a few more chia pudding ideas up my sleeves so WATCH THIS SPACE! 

Breakfast this morning wasn’t as exciting but still very tasty.

A huge bowl of Rude Health early bird muesli with Kara coconut milk topped with coconut, pineapple, strawberries and raspberries.  I’m a big muesli and granola fan and there are some amazing brands out there such as Rude Health and Dorset Cereals, both of which I buy regularly.  For a long time now I’ve wanted to make my own breakfast cereal bursting with all of my favourite things with a great nutritional profile. The branded cereal that I buy has really inspired me to play with some ideas that I’m hoping to put together over the holidays. 

Delicious Lunches:

This is the third day running that I’ve had my Pearl Barley and Green Lentil Pilaf and I haven’t been bored once.  A big plus is that it has made lunches quick and easy early on this week, which is great for someone like me who is always rushing around form one thing to the next.

Today I was once again inspired by the Buddha Bowl idea for lunch.    

This one included mixed leaves, purple sprouting broccoli, cherry tomatoes, edamame beans and basil tofu topped with a simply dressing made from canola oil, red wine vinegar and dried mixed herbs. 

Delicious Dinners:

SOCCA!  In pizza form, by far my most favourite use of this chick pea flour wonder so far. 

Now I love pizza and usually use wholemeal pitas or wraps for the base as white bread can bloat me out. Socca offers a completely different alternative to all of these options and I’ve been taking full advantage.  Inspired by the sun and past holidays in the Mediterranean I created a Chargrilled Vegetable Socca Pizza that includes some of my favourite tastes and flavours from the beautiful Med.

*Chargrilled Vegetable Socca Pizza*

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of chickpea flour/gram flour
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 tsps of fennel top leaves (optional)
• 1 tsp of dried mixed herbs (optional)
• seasonings
• fennel
• red pepper
• aubergine
• asparagus
• red onion
• firm goat’s cheese (optional)
• a tomato pasta sauce of your choice (I used the Meridian brand)

Mix the chickpea flour, water, fennel top leaves, seasonings and dried herbs together in a bowl until well combined.  Pour the batter into a hot frying pan and cook until the bottom of the socca moves and slides around the pan, indicating that the underside is cooked.  Flip the socca over to cook the other side. 

Meanwhile griddle or sauté the vegetables until tender and season to taste.  Next warm through the tomato sauce in the microwave and spoon and spread over the cooked socca.  Pile the cooked vegetables on top and sprinkle with the goat’s cheese and more fennel top leaves.

Socca in pizza form = the BEST and inspires me to whip up many more of these lovelies! 😀

Dinner tonight was inspired from my need of a light one pot meal for the warmer months:

Squash, Bean and Tomato Stew! 😀  I took this out of the freezer and it still tastes just as good.

Of course I’ve been exercising too.  I did a one hour interval workout yesterday on the treadmill, cross trainer, adaptive motion trainer and the bike with some ab work  Today’s workout was made up on the spot as my spinning class was cancelled this morning.  Instead I did a 50 minute cross country workout on the treadmill, cross trainer and the bike followed by some ab work.

So my funky new camera needs a name.  Do you have a habit of naming random items too?  Please say YES and that I’m not the only insane-random-object-naming-uber-cool-and-retro foot-spa lover in the world!!

Who or what inspires you food wise? I’m usually inspired by the weather, colours a recipe in a magazine.  Sometimes I think my cooking is mood dependent too.  And of course I’m inspired by you guys- I’ve read so many amazing recipes of late that I cannot wait to try.   My list of things to make is as long as my arm and then some.