Amanda Brooke

Hello 2013

Hello everyone! Yes, I am really back! Over the past few weeks I have been contemplating what my first post for 2013 should be. Although I have a few themed posts to share, I think the best way to start off 2013, is to share what I have been up to since September 2012.

Studies are going well for me and I have managed to gain high results thus far, boosting my confidence and confirming my passion for the content. I know that I have chosen the right path to take and I am really looking forward to my first placements mid way through the year. At the moment I am studying with Curtin University, but switch to UTAS next month. I have accepted a job offer to work in a local kindergarten as the 3yo assistant and I am working back at Candleberry Country, where I used to work for dear friend Natalie, many years ago. Little Eco continues and I am eager to continue building the range and sharing my passion for natural and eco friendly products for families in 2013.

In the lead up to Christmas there was much baking, decorating and creating. I made what I thought was my Pop's tomato sauce (but it turns out it is my uncles late Aunties recipe) for gift giving and made an eco-friendly wreath, inspired by Eco Empire. We shared the day with family and our gifts were plastic free and simple.

With my passion for blogging returning, so too has my passion for crafting. I am working on several projects at the moment and one project that has me very inspired, is the Scrappy Trip Along quilt! Mine is made from two jelly rolls that I have had in my stash for several years. I never had a project in mind for them so it feels great to be using up what I already have on hand. I will share more about this quilt in a future post or you can track my progress on my Live Life Simply facebook page.

In our garden there hasn't been a great deal of food growing, but we do have some fruit on the way; nectarines, apples, our first passionfruit and the last of the strawberries. There are plans for more vegetable beds going in over Autumn and I have a kumquat and persimmon tree to plant in the cooler months. Our meals have recently included homegrown silverbeet, lettuce and raspberries.

I don't have any New year resolutions to share with you as I didn't make any. I just have that fire in my belly again and it feels good! I hope that my readers had a wonderful Christmas and I look forward to sharing here again!

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x

 

I'm back!

Watch this space!

X

Uncertain

I have been putting off writing this post for several weeks as I wasn't absolutely certain about what I wanted to say. I wanted to get it 'right'. But the right decision and the right words just haven't arrived. If you have read my blog over the years you would know that every now and then I disappear for a while, but always return fresh and excited about blogging. But there has been a shift in my life and I have had no desire to blog at all in recent weeks.

I have been enveloped in uni study (which I am thoroughly enjoying) and thinking that I should be sharing what I am up to at least once a week, but it would feel false for me to post if my heart wasn't in it. I haven't even made time to stop by to visit my favourite blogs on my regular Sunday evening. So I have come to the conclusion that I am to step away from here and I really don't know how long that will be. Weeks, months, I really don't know? I hope in my heart that I will be back sooner rather than later, and in the meantime I do plan to write on my Facebook page to share what I am up to.

I don't believe this is a permanent goodbye, but there have been some things in my life that I have lost complete enjoyment in, walked away from, and never returned to. I hope that blogging isn't one of these things and I can find my spark again.

Thanks for your support and kindly stopping by,

Amanda x

Meat Free Meals- Veggie Crepes

I was seeking some cooking inspiration today with a handful of vegetables and I asked my followers on Instagram for their input. One of the suggestions was 'Ratatouille' which surprisingly I have never knowingly made. I looked up my cookbooks for some ratatouille inspiration and I found a recipe for Ratatouille Crepes (Women's Weekly, Fruit and Vegetable cookbook) but I decided to adapt it using what I had on hand. I didn't end up using the carrot (as pictured) but I think you could use most veggies in this recipe using up what you have in the garden or the kitchen. The key is to cut/grate them small enough that they will cook through in around 25 minutes.

 

VEGGIE CREPES

(Serves 4 adults)

CREPES

1 cup of plain flour

Four eggs (beaten)

1 1/2 cups of milk

2 tb of olive oil

1. Place flour into a bowl, make a 'well' and add 1/4 cup of milk and remaining ingredients. Beat until smooth and then add the remaining milk slowly until you have a thin batter.

2. Pop batter in the fridge for 30 minutes. While you are waiting for the batter to settle we'll start on the vegetable filling.

THE FILLING

1 x onion sliced thinly

1 clove of garlic - crushed

1 tb oil (I used rice bran oil but olive oil is fine)

1 x zucchini chopped roughly into small pieces

1 x red capsicum sliced

2 x yellow squash chopped roughly into small pieces

4 x button mushrooms sliced

1/2 tsp mixed herbs

1/2 bottle of Passata sauce or a tin of crushed tomatoes

1. Heat oil in a heavy based saucepan and add onion and crushed garlic. Cook until the onion has softened.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for around 20 minutes or until the veggies you have used are cooked through.

MAKE CREPES

1. Remove batter from fridge. Heat a frying pan with a little butter and pour in enough batter to make a small dinner plate size crepe. Allow the crepe to brown then flip to other side. Stack cooked crepes on a plate.

EAT

2. To serve spoon enough mixture on each crepe to cover 1/4 of the crepe and fold in half then half again. Stack two filled crepes on each plate. OPTIONAL: Sprinkle with a little cheese and some herbs to garnish.

3. Serve and enjoy!

These are truly a fresh and delicious way to serve some veggies that need using up and it would make a filling lunchtime meal also.These are definately going onto my meat free recipe list!

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda x

P.S If you are wondering why the crepes are yellow looking it's because I have used our chookies eggs!

Living and Dreaming about a teaching career

The weeks are hurtling by here and I have been going about my usual days cleaning, sorting, baking, making and a little gardening in some sunshine. The house is slowly becoming less cluttered but I still have a long way to go. I have never wanted to pare back so much in my life. There is just no need for most of the 'things' in my home and I want more space for living and clear space for thinking and creating. This longing for change has seen me lost in a little dreaming as well....

Several years ago I pondered on the thought of studying towards a career in Primary teaching, but I decided that the timing wasn't right and so came along little Benjamin. The thought started niggling at me again recently and I committed myself to many late nights researching every university across Australia offering a degree in education. I got confused several times, doubted my capabilities, doubted the 'system' and at times I think my family thought I was nuts.

BUT I persisted and in the end I bravely enrolled! I am now a uni student! I start at the end of the month with Open Universities to study open units online (an eco friendly option) and I have enrolled into the Bachelor of Education (Primary) with UTAS - a University in Tasmania (also online learning). I am hopeful that I will be offered a place, but if not I will continue with Open Universities to work towards my degree. It will take a while to achieve, but I am not going to think about the time. I will just take each unit, each semester and each year as it comes and as the years pass I will be closer to completing my degree and closer to a rewarding career working with children. I am looking forward to learning too. Reading interesting text, improving my academic skills and sharing my experiences with fellow students and teachers of the future.

When I decided a few years ago that I wouldn't pursue the career I also decided that maybe it wasn't something that I wanted to do because I wanted to teach children things they don't teach in school. I actually preferred the learning environments of unschooling, Steiner and Montessori schools. BUT I have started to wonder why can't I include some of these concepts at the same time as teaching the curriculum? Maybe I can make a difference? Hopefully in the environment of a school with a supportive principal I can establish a school vegetable garden, have a compost bin in our classroom, create an ongoing and seasonal nature table, discuss life skills and making instead of buying...gently encouraging more makers and less consumers of the future. I imagine my room to look nothing like a regular classroom but more like a home. Maybe I am dreaming. But I like this dream, it inspires me and it will get me through the times when I struggle to study or I am nervous about an exam. I want to make a difference for the rest of my life and as children are our future I will be blessed and inspired to work with them through their own little journeys of learning and discovery. I just hope I can share some of my passions for living with them.

Thanks for visiting,

Amanda

P.S Study tips for busy mums are welcome in the comments below!