Little Potato & Haloumi Cakes

Anything made with chewy, salty haloumi cheese, has me hooked before the first mouthful. So it was with these little potato cakes. 

Delicious!

The recipe comes from The Art of Nourishing, by Therese Steele, which is one of my favourite cookbooks. Therese is a local woman who sought better health for her family through food and other changes to reduce or eliminate chemicals we can all be surrounded by in our modern lives and homes. There are so many delicious, healthy and gluten-free recipes in this cookbook as well as many tips for reducing chemicals in our daily lives. 

This is a very simple recipe really. I have omitted the salt from the recipe because I find haloumi to be salty enough on its own.  I also used olive oil instead of the grapeseed oil from the recipe. (I don't have grapeseed oil.)  Here's how I made them:

Little Potato & Haloumi Cakes

4 large waxy potatoes (A variety like Desiree is a good choice.)

100g haloumi cheese

2 large eggs

paprika & pepper

parsley *optional*

olive oil

1.  Coarsely grate the peeled potatoes on top of a clean tea towel. Bunch up the tea towel around the grated potato and use it to squeeze out as much moisture from the grated potato as possible.  Place grated potato in a mixing bowl.

2.  Coarsely grate the haloumi cheese and add it to the grated potato.

3.  Beat the eggs and add to the potato and haloumi mixture. *Add chopped parsely if using.*

4.  Season mixture with a generous grind of pepper and a sprinkling of paprika.

5.  Cover the base of your frying pan with olive oil and bring up to a medium heat.

6. Place little spoonfuls of potato and haloumi mixture into frying pan and even out thickness with the back of a spoon.

7.  Fry until golden brown on both sides. Remove from frying pan and sit on a piece of kitchen towel to soak up excess oil. 

8. Serve with a scrumptious chutney or chunky sauce and a generous side salad.  

Yum!  These little potato and haloumi cakes are so moreish that I don't recommend you make them all the time. While infinitely healthier than, say a hash brown cooked in palm oil at your local takeaway, eating batch after batch of them might still be overload. Once in a while though ... 

Meg

p.s. This is a rosti recipe I am very keen to try. Jamie Oliver's Giant Veg Rosti sounds amazing and full of goodness.

Hello, Sunday!

Hello, Sunday! It was an early start, there's nothing quite like a hungry Labrador who thinks the breakfast clock has been wound back an hour now that the day dawns before 5a.m. Lucky I am a morning person and said Labrador is so cute!

This extra hour allowed for the propping up of pillows and the reading of a fascinating book I discovered at my local library. Patchwork Prisoners, by Trudy Cowley & Dianne Snowden, is the study of The Rajah Quilt and the women who made it. This treasured textile, discovered in a Scottish attic in 1987, is the only known surviving quilt made by female convicts who came to Australia from England so long ago. It is amazing to think that on such a perilous voyage, aboard the convict ship, Rajah, and in such difficult circumstances, that something so beautiful was created.

Simple pleasures on a Sunday morning.

While I have never created a patchwork quilt, I did spend some time this morning stitching some little pale green olive sprigs onto a piece of dark brown cloth. Later, I will add tiny olive blossoms, with white and yellow threads, to these little sprigs. I am making a surprise for a sweet and generous soul.

After enjoying my own simple pleasures on this Sunday morn, I then indulged my canine friend with a lovely long walk along the path that follows the little creek. We strolled along, happy in the company of one another and the creek's soft gurgles. Being a Labrador, a swim along the way was compulsory!  We returned home tired, wet and content. Ready for breakfast and the rest of this beautiful Sunday day.

I hope your day holds some of your own simple pleasures.

Meg

Frugal on Friday

On this particular Friday, I thought I would join in with Fiona, over at Stay Home Instead, and list some of the frugal things I've managed to do over the last little while. I enjoy reading about the frugal things that other people do in their daily lives as there's a wealth of ideas for saving money among them. 

I regularly visit Fiona as she posts a list every Friday (I think she is a very organised person!) On Saturdays, I pop over to read Wendy's frugal ideas at My Abundant Life and I also like catch up with Kath's list too that she posts on her blog Four Miles North of Nowhere.  Here's my own list:

A fresh loaf of banana bread. 

1.  Made banana bread to use up two over-ripe bananas in our fruit bowl. I froze most of the slices. A piece of nourishing banana bread makes a nice alternative to toast at breakfast time.

Pre-loved linens drying on the line.

2.  Found some pretty op-shop linens for less than $10.  There are six little cotton napkins, each embroidered with a little cross-stitched rose, that we will use here at home. The two longer panels of fabric, decorated with beautiful Australian native flowers, are actually old curtains. I plan to make cushion covers out of them. I think they'll make lovely gifts!

A sweetly-stitched heart.

(Design by Charlotte Lyon at House Wren Studio.)

3.  I have been steadily stitching different little motifs onto tiny cotton bags ready for Christmas giving. I have had a stash of these bags, which I bought for a song at Reverse Garbage, years ago. With a little embellishment, and a pretty drawstring ribbon, they are perfect for gifting soap, seeds, hair scrunchies and other tiny gifts. Some motifs I have stitched have been free and others, like Charlotte's, I have paid a small amount to be able to download. I know I will use her designs over and over again.

 A home sewn skirt.

4.  I finished sewing this simple A-line skirt using fabric I already had in my stash. The only thing I had to buy was an invisible zipper. I used the pattern I made from an old skirt. I absolutely love the tiny white flock of birds flying all over the most gorgeous sky blue. I have worn this skirt several times already!

A gift for a friend.

5.  Wrapped a birthday gift, Furoshiki style, using dyed fabric I had in my stash. (It originally came as a large remnant from my local community centre.) My son then created a handmade card using craft supplies we already had here at home. (I find a pot of coloured marker pens comes in very handy!) This saved having to purchase wrapping paper or a card.

I think it is really good thing to think mindfully about the things we do, not only to save money but also to re-use and re-purpose resources. While I doubt I'll be organised enough to post a frugal list every Friday, I may do it periodically just to remind myself that it is a priority in our household.

I'd love to hear what you've been up to on the frugal front at your place.

Meg

Hail Storm

Further north, there have been some destructive hailstorms of late. We rarely get hail here but yesterday, as the storm clouds gathered beyond the ridge, the air seemed more dense and the sky heavier and ominous.  

Storm clouds coming over the ridge.

 Gum tree branches silhouetted against the storm's clouds.

As it cleared the ridge, the wind whipped up and heavy rain lashed down. Spectacular lightning split the sky and the booming thunder claps that followed had our poor old Sir Steve dog trying desperately to get in under a bed!  Hail, small balls of ice the size of marbles (and not any bigger thankfully), began peppering our roof and covering our green lawn in a blanket of icy white. The racket as it hit our roof was deafening!

Hail and a mini-river in the backyard.

Marbles of hail.

While we stayed safely inside, this little fellow, a Pied Butcher Bird, sought shelter under our verandah. It sat on one of our deck chairs until the storm had passed by and it was safe to fly away again. 

A Butcher Bird sits out the storm.

Our boy had a great time scooping up handfuls of hail once it was safe to venture outside again. It reminded me of the storm we had here when he was much smaller. Hail had covered the trampoline that we had back then and he couldn't wait to get out there and bounce it off! 

Storms like this seem unusual at this time of year. To me, they are more synonymous with the sweltering heat and humidity of our subtropical Summer. I wonder what will be ahead, weather-wise, in the months to come.

What's the weather like where you live?

Meg

Our Little Local Creek

Just down the hill and around the corner, begins a path that walks you along our little local creek. It meanders all the way to the sea! When times are very dry, as they were back over the Winter months, our little section of this waterway is just a rocky creek bed. But, when we have lots of rain, as we have this past week, it soon starts flowing again. During breaks in the rain, or sometimes while it's pouring, we go down to the creek to see how far the water has come up and how fast it's flowing. 

Over the past few years, our little creek area has been rehabilitated. Invasive weed species have been suppressed and more native trees, grasses and reeds planted en masse. I love to see the cycles of growth and blossoming and setting seed that we observe in the plants that grow along the creek. As we walk this path almost every day, there is always something beautiful and botanical that catches my eye.

I love watching the rejuvenation that the rain brings; the increased flow of water in the creek bed, the green that returns so quickly to the landscape, the blossoming of native flora and the abundance of birds and other wild creatures that call our creek their home. Nature seems to rejoice, as much as we do, when plentiful rain falls.

Meg

A Rainy Weekend at Our Place

While the rain intermittently poured down outside, and drizzled in between those downpours, we remained (mostly) inside, all dry and cosy. I think there's something quite indulgent about wet weekends like this. They are the perfect "excuse" to eat comfort foods and sip warm drinks, snuggle under covers with good books, watch your favourite shows (having dragged those same covers to the lounge) and finish off a project or two. Here's a snapshot of the our rainy weekend:

Our rain soaked front verandah.

Raindrops on the olive trees.

Freshly baked Zucchini Slice Muffins.

Blanket stitching around a little felt brooch.

Cooking homemade minestrone soup.

A bunch of flat leaf parsley for the soup.

Pots of zucchini in the garden.

Little chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven.

(The delicious smell of them wafted through the house.)

 

A cucumber plant soaks up  the rain.

Washing drying inside.

A warm drink & a library book.

A saturated back yard.

Hmm... quite a bit of comfort food there. 😊 I'm sure the homemade lasagna and sticky toffee pudding we shared with friends who came for dinner on Saturday night would also be classed as comforting too. It seems I cook and bake (and eat?) a lot when it rains!

What's your favourite way to spend a rainy day?

Meg

Here & Now 24

Here, as I write this, it is raining steadily. Our sky is a blanket of heavy, grey cloud that has obscured the view of the horizon to the East. I don't think there will be a chance of rainbows today! The air is damp and cold and I am wearing the Winter woollies I have resisted packing away so far this Spring. Soon, I will make a warm drink for my hands to hold but I'm reluctant to move lest I wake the snoozing Sir Steve dog at my feet. Should he stir, the day will officially begin and I am content with the quiet just now. 

Arum Lily blooms.

(A gift from my Mother-in-Law.)

One creamy cotton washcloth.

(I really need to block it & weave in the ends.)

Tiny & sweet Alyssum.

(The honeybees and native bees both 💛 it.)

Our beautiful elderly statesman.

(Such a gentle soul.)

A single, white Ranunculus bloom.

(Catching the light of a sunnier day.)

Loving //  The warmth of creamier whites.

Eating //  Warm and nourishing meals like this delicious version of Shepherd's Pie.

Drinking //  Lime cordial, in defiance of the weather, and just because I love its zing.

Feeling //  Like the year, and the last of my son's primary school days, are passing by so

                       quickly.

Making //  Less than I would like to be ... but I am adding to my pile of cotton washcloths!

Hoping //  ...  that our farmers, battling the drought, have had some of this

                          beautiful rain.

Dreaming //  Of Straddie island days which, at last count, are only 49 sleeps away!  

Our wet weekend days will be spent cocooned, warm and dry, at home. The furthest we might go is to the little creek, down the hill and round the corner, just to see how fast its flowing and to jump a few puddles along the way. Otherwise, we'll be watching the rain fall beyond the window panes and listening to its music on our roof.

Sarah over at Say, Little Hen, hosts this monthly link-up. I'm not sure if it's raining in her part of the world this morning but you can visit her there for a peek at her gorgeous photos and for links to others joining in to share snapshots of their own days.

Have a lovely weekend, no matter the weather!

Meg

Purple & White Flowers in my Garden

There are masses of some very pretty purple and white flowers blooming in the garden right now. I think the deeper purples really highlight the pure whites they are in flower with. A lovely colour combination!

 Salvia

Salvias have fast become one of my favourite plants in our sub-tropical garden.  They are colourful, fragrant, long-flowering, hardy and bees love them! I have quite a few different varieties growing now. This particular one, grown from a cutting, was given to me by a friend. It's thriving in the garden, covered in a mass of flowers. Whenever I see it, I think of my lovely gardening friend.

Wild Iris

A row of these strappy plants stops soil, from our driveway garden bed, washing into the rocky path we've made along one of our side boundary fences. Every single one of these plants came from the division of a clump I have in another part of the garden. They are incredibly hardy and readily self seed so you need to be sure you want them in your garden before you plant them! Wild Iris is sometimes called Butterfly Grass. Their masses of white and lilac flowers, fluttering about on the tops of their longs stems, do remind me of butterflies.

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow 

I remember this old-fashioned shrub from the gardens of my childhood. It's so pretty when in bloom; covered in flowers that fade from a deep purple all the way to white. It has a sweet fragrance too. Rather nondescript when not in flower, it's stunning when covered in a profusion of purples and white.

What colours are you noticing in your garden right now?

Meg

Petals and Sunlight

On a whim yesterday, I bought a little $6 bunch of Ranunculi. Softly-coloured, floaty petals unfurling from their button-like centres.  Perhaps, if they'd been more expensive, I would have left them in their florist's bucket, but then I would have missed this ...

I set them upon our old wooden table where we can watch their tightly closed buds open and the flowers slowly fade. In the early light, that streams through our big glass doors of a morning, their petals catch the light and are almost translucent.

Every Sunday, Fiona over at Stay Home Instead, writes of something she is grateful for in her "Sunny Side Up Sunday" post.  Today, for me, it is the gorgeous petals of Ranunculi catching the sunlight. Even though not fully awake, as I made my way through to open our doors for the day, I couldn't walk past their blooms. I thought to myself just how beautiful these flowers are, unfolding on our table. I'm glad I brought them home.

I hope there's something beautiful unfolding in your Sunday too.

Meg

Meat-Free Shepherd's Pie

Although balmy Springtime days are here, our evenings are still quite chilly so the wonderful warmth of a delicious Shepherd's Pie, topped with buttery mashed potatoes, is still most welcome on a colder night. 

Delicious and nourishing Cottage Pie.

Unlike a traditional Irish Shepherd's Pie, made with a lamb, this delicious pie filling is made with lentils and vegetables and herbs. Of course, it's topped with creamy, buttery mashed potatoes. It's a meat-free meal that is so tasty and nourishing and filling. 

I came across the recipe in the book, Grown & Gathered, by Matt & Lentil which I borrowed from my local library. It's also available here. I tweaked it a little to match what I had to use. I used a tin of organic puy lentils I had in the pantry instead of preparing and soaking lentils overnight. (Lazy??) Also, as suggested in the recipe, I used vegetable stock rather than making the filling with a lamb or beef bone and water. This makes the filling a vegetarian version. I also chose not to make the pastry and so topped it with just simple mashed potatoes rather than the mash, made with potatoes, sweet potato, carrots and turnips, suggested in the original recipe. It's a lovely recipe however you make it!

 Lentil & vegetable filling full of goodness.

Creamy mashed potato topping. 

Ready for the oven.  

Piping-hot pie!

This version of shepherd's pie is a 'keeper' that I know I'll make many times over because it's so versatile. You can soak those lentils or use tinned lentils. You can throw in whatever herbs you've got growing in the garden. You can make your mash however you like! It's great when you find a recipe you can put on repeat!

What's your favourite recipe-on-repeat at your place?

Meg

p.s. Did you know that a meat-less Shepherd's Pie is sometimes called a "Shepherdless Pie". I found that out, among other things, at this link to Jamie Oliver's 10 Things You Didn't Know About Shepherd's Pie.