Life should be lived and loved!

I have had such a blessed life with a supportive and wonderful family, equally great friends and a husband who is incredibly patient, kind and supportive. What I haven't been blessed with is a simple internal system!
I have spent so many years gazing internally that I am, on some occasions, quite literally, over my body! I become so frustrated with the fact that I work so hard at doing everything right...exercising, eating well, not eating the things that make me ill, taking supplements etc that I cannot believe I am still unwell as often as I am. I do occasionally go into denial and brag about how well I have been; immediately my body retaliates with a bout of pain and my husband reminds me that it wasn't actually that long ago since I was sick ( he has to put up with me complaining and my irrational mood swings!).

What have I learnt that my body reacts to?
Wheat
Milk (not cheese for some reason)
Onion
Garlic
Watermelon
Coffee (decaf okay)
Sugar
HUNGER! I get the worst symptoms when I go too long (ie 3 hours) without food!

What are my symptoms?
It varies from challenge to challenge but generally either one or a combination of many of the following:
Bloating
Reflux
Nausea
Stomach cramps (sometimes so bad that I just have to grab a hottie and head for bed)
General discomfort
Flatulance
Constipation
Grumpiness and Misery
Headache

Generally I am fun to be around!
I think the longest I have gone so far wihtout some kind of an episode of the above symptoms is about 3 weeks (YAY!).

So, what do I do?
I avoid; wheat, red meat, milk (can eat cheese), watermelon, garlic, onion (these are just new discoveries) and sugar
I have acupuncture, generally weekly when I am in town long enough
I take a high nutrition food supplement (Nuferm)
I drink lots of water
I eat 3-5 times a day
I exercise 3-5 times a week

What are my plans?
I plan to have the gene test for coeliac, to rule it out (or not and then get tested properly, which involves going back on wheat products for 6 weeks...which I want to avoid if I can)
I will get tested for fructose malabsorbition
I will keep doing what I am doing and hope that somewhere along the line we can realign whatever is wrong!

The thing is that there could be plenty of things worse, so I am not complaining, I just make adjustments in my life to suit and move on!

Life is too short and should be lived and loved!

The journey thus far

I guess that by this stage you understand my passion for veggie gardening and cooking; and I think I briefly explain in other parts of this blog the fact that I am a long suffering foodie with issues...but I haven't shared a lot of the journey regarding those issues...so I thought I would.

I believe that I have suffered with whatever it is, as yet still undiagnosed, for a long time. I have recollections of severe stomach pain on various occasions;

• age 16 at the Taranaki V Springboks game when I lived in NZ on youth exchange with Rotary - couldn't enjoy the game, I had to lie in the foetal position and breathe
• age 14 + on camping trips to the Warrumbungles in central NSW - mostly climbing the damn hills!
• various ages at home, on horseback, at pony camp....vague memories but poignant when you reflect

I had always noticed, as a teenager, that when I consumed a large amount of milk that I would get a headache not long after, so stopped doing that (although sometimes the nice cold, chocolatey milo milk in the afternoon after a 1hr bus ride home would be too hard to resist and I would suffer!) but I really started noticing and paying attention to other pain and the terrible reflux I was experiencing, about a year after I moved to Lightning Ridge, 11 years ago now, and thought I would start eliminating things myself. 

First to go was the coffee; which I drank alot of, a habit that formed as a result of a 6 month stint as a waitress/barista in an Italian place in Alice Springs - noticeably I ususally drank a milk based coffee (der!)...didn't help.

Over the next few years I gradually excluded dairy (entirely for more than 12 months), wheat (haven't had any - by choice - for at least 7 years), and lastly sugar. 

The irony of this self elimination process is that I still wasn't getting better - AND, the kicker, I was going to doctors pleading for them to help....all I ever got was a new drug to take (by the way, some of them actually made me worse!). I had to ask, just last year, for a gastroscopy to test for coeliac disease, but I had not done enough of my own research and after I went through an anesthetic (which is NOT good for the body or soul) my next GP told me that they wouldn't have found anything because I had eliminated wheat from my diet so many years ago - WHY didn't the doctor know to ask that questions - particularly as we had had a discussion about why I wanted the test?

I forgot to mention that I had prick tests done at the RPA clinic in Sydney (a 10 hour drive for us), simply because I still wasn't feeling well and was in fact getting worse, but they showed nothing...so I thought I could eat wheat and dairy again...BIG Mistake! I do remember how excited I was though to pull up at the White Rose Cafe in Dunedoo and inhale a fresh corn beef and pickle sandwich (an old fave!) on white bread!!!!! Not so good 2 days later!

I could have done the full elimination diet, but the idea of consuming pears for a whole few weeks and not much else did my head in - so I kept paying attention to my body and cutting out things that made me sick!

To be continued!

My day

Yesterday was slightly crazy and just made me realise how complex my life is right now, with so many fingers in pies!

A bit like the seasons, my life is cyclical - it starts with the dormant recouping stage (winter) and leads up to the madness of spring and summer and then a gradual down turn of Autumn (although in my case, I usually skip this season all together and go for a cold SNAP as I crack under all the pressure and throw my hands in the air and take my bat and ball home!).

I have had periods of down time, where I haven't worked at anything in particular, but always, always, during that period I am concocting my next big thing - which then of course I have to bite off and chew!

I'm Not Fussy is one of those projects - a 'chicken and the egg' project and sooo much to do in soooo little time.

I am impatient by nature, my Mum always recounts the story of my first day of school when I threw my bag down in disgust proclaiming that it was a waste of time because they didn't teach me to read and write! I really haven't changed much - although the projects and the risks just get bigger!

So, back to my day....

I am part of this incredible program, the Australian Rural Leadership Program www.rural-leaders.com.au, aimed to create better leaders out of those of us who have a passion for rural and regional Australia (which I really do!) the program does require some work. So after I had blogged and done a bit of work on facebook etc for I'm Not Fussy I set about doing some work for ARLP including my report, project work and stuff for the course council.
Then an email came through about a scholarship to complete the Company Directors course, which I have wanted to do for ever, but couldn't afford...so, I completed my application, hot off the press, because I knew I wouldn't get back to it (and because I was in work avoidance mode too I have to admit!)

Then I set about writing some content for the website www.imnotfussy.com.au.

All the while the glass man was fixing the broken window in my office from a break in 12 months ago, and fixing screens to the windows - as protection...all a little too late as the office was again broken into on Sunday - always a day late! Luckily they only got away with a couple of old phones, which will be no good to them anyway as I have blocked them...HAHA!
But they did make a mess and it has really left me baffled that they ransacked my office, the kitchen and shed of the restaurant in the complex but didn't take anything else, why go to all that trouble and not at least take the computers, or screens or the grog? I am not complaining but just pondering the effort required for a couple of useless mobile phones.
So, now I am all caged in, which I don't like, but do feel much better about leaving the office at night (had considered camping out here!).

Next was lunch, which was a delicious fresh cooked chicken breast tossed through some garden greens, snow peas and radish all sloshed in a zingy vinaigrette..Highlight of the day!

I then spent the afternoon volunteering at the Australian Opal Centre www.australianopalcentre.com - a FANTASTIC place that I love working at because the fossils are incredible (100 million year old fossils, some of which are opalised too!) and it is a super amazing project. I also got to catch up with a friend who I rarely get to see, because of my crazy life!

Then I organised to go and sell some opal, so spent a while doing that...was successful which is always a good feeling!

I then dragged my self to the gym, which is always an effort, but well rewarded afterwards, apart from feeling noble, I always feel a couple of inches taller and a million times less stressed!

I reveled in the next hour as I got to play in the garden, pulling out old plants and replenishing the soil with new mulch and seedlings raised from our own organic seed - what a sensational feeling! Apart from the mozzies which gave me a real hiding, it was pure bliss and such a wonderful feeling after such a crazy day!

Dinner was the next plan, and I decided to go Thai and whipped up a Green Papaya Salad (green papaya very luckily found at the Fullers store at Bellingen on our way home from Coffs Harbour on Sunday) with sticky rice and fried chicken....will show picks and recipes another day, but YUM OH YUM! Transported me back to the busy street of Chiang Mai during Songkran!

So, all in all it was a productive, albeit hectic and slightly chaotic day...and I certainly did sleep well.

No sign of Autumn or a cold snap just yet!

Tarts and all that yummy stuff!

I picked a beautiful bowl full of mulberries off the tree this morning and was slightly disappointed that there are fewer red ones than there have been; we may only get a couple more weeks of the delicious deeply sweet treats!

There is simply nothing better than swanning around in your dressing gown, in the garden first thing in the morning, it is such a refreshing start to the day and one that I really miss when I am away.

I thought I would share my mulberry frangipane tart today; I made it last week, but it was sooo delicious!

I started with shortcrust pastry, made from Stephanie's Cooks companion- 3:4 ratio of butter to flour(spelt in my case), roughly rubbed through, worked a little and let to rest in the fridge for 1/2 hour. I believe the trick with short pastry is not to overwork it, if you want that nice crisp crumbly and buttery texture.

I cooked the mulberries down with a little honey (ayurvedic honey in our case) and Madeira until they were softening slightly and the sauce had turned a bloody purple.

The cooked mulberries went in the case (which had been blind baked)..already looking delicious!

Mulberry tarts prior to the frangipane epiphany!

I kept looking at the tarts though and thought that they were just not complete...I didn't have any more pastry left so I could not make the pies...what could I do?

Frangipane - of course! I have never made it before but I know it tastes good and would probably go really well with these beauties!

So 830pm and I have the kitchen wizz out blitzing up almonds and eggs!

Thank goodness for Stephanie again; I just LOVE her book! I used a packet of almond meal, 25g of fructose (sugar replacement -you use a 1/3 less and it doesn't upset my stomach!), some butter and an egg.

The frangipane was liberally spread on top of the mulberry mix and baked until golden.

The golden brown tarts!

They were a super sweet treat that we just devoured and oohed and aahed over!

Who could ask for more - a warming treat from the oven made with love and produce from the garden!

Pizza Dough - recipe by request

Makes 2 pizza bases (enough to feed one hungry person or one not so hungry and have left overs  for after!)

Combine 1 cup of warm water and 7g of yeast in a large mixing bowl then stir to combine and dissolve yeast. Set aside until foamy(about 5-10min). Put 2 cups of plain flour (I use organic spelt flour) in a bowl with 1.5tsp of salt, make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast and water mix. Stir with a wooden spoon, make sure you pull flour from the sides until the dough comes together. If the dough is too stick, add another 1/2 cup of flour. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead in an additional 1/2 - 1 cup of flour until the dough is smooth. Once it is smooth and elastic to feel, shape into a ball and place in a bowl (which you have oiled). Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm area to double in size (could take up to 2 hours...depending on how warm your area is!). Punch down the dough, divide into two equal portions and use!

Split the dough into two even balls and roll out the dough on a floured surface (if you are using a stone pizza base you will need to heat it up in the oven)

Spread your choice of base (tomato paste, pesto etc) and top with your choice of flavours and cheese!

Place the pizza on your chosen cooking implement (pizza maker, stone base etc) and cook - in a HOT oven will take between 5-10 minutes.

The base will rise and bubble, don't be alarmed - these are the BEST bits!

Paella

I love Paella; not only because of the way the actually word sounds (when said correctly!) but the memories it conjures of a holiday in Europe, a fleeting visit to Spain (one night!) and an evening in the town square; a sangria induced bliss coupled with paella, creme catalan and some ruccous football fans! But that is for another day!

I was given a Paella pan for Christmas last year, so, along with my two chefs in the kitchen (the kids!) we prepared a banquet for the family! Despite the heat, it was Lightning Ridge in January, we managed to prepare a super special paella, complete with yellow belly and yabbies (as well as sea fish, chicken and prawns!), broad beans and all the other delights including chorizo!

The paella had all the requirements I have read are important - moist and supple rice, a crunchy and delicious crust on the base and just the right combination of freshness (from the peas) and flavours! It smelled amazing whilst cooking and, I have to say, even tasted fantastic the next day!

We coupled the Spanish triumph with a non alcoholic version of Sangria, which I made using the aerated non alcoholic wine you can buy from the supermarket and orange juice - it was a HIT!

There is a lot of anxiety around about making paella, and I have to say it is warranted! With so many wonderful ingredients the fear of failure could be costly...but I say, just trust the recipe and DON'T be tempted to stir!!!!

A HOT day in Lightning Ridge, the flavours and the scents of this divine dish and I was transported back to my summer memory of beautiful Spain in July x

Carrots

I picked what I thought was one carrot last night and ended up with a pair - a very friendly pair!

A Friendly pair of carrots!

We were thrilled with the length of the beauties - normally our carrots end up short and squat and a bit gnarly because we over water and the soil is too solid - but we have the mix right on this one!
When I chopped the stalks off I got that great smell of brightness and true carroty scent; you just don't get that when you buy them from the shops!
They tasted delightful and added a real sweetness to my simple stirfry of XO garden veg and tofu (with a good slug of Shaoxing wine!) This pair of lovers met a happy end!

XO tofu and garden veg stirfry featuring the LOVER carrots!