Clever Clogs Cooking Club

Today in my newsletter I announced a new GG project.

(The first newsletter has already been sent but you can subscribe over on the top RHS of the blog so you don't miss out on the next one!)

I am starting a Monthly subscription Cooking Club.

YAY!

I would love you to join in!

Every month you will be sent a cute gourmet goodie bag made by me.

Each pack will Ingredients and a super gorgeous Recipe card with ideas of how to use the ingredient/s included.

The recipes sent out to my Cooking Club are exclusive and will not be published elsewhere.

Subscriptions are available on a 3, 6 or 12mth basis & are designed to get you excited about being in the kitchen,  to encourage you to try new things & to save you a bit of time!

Some months there will be extra bonus goodies or special discounts on other items in my store.

You can head over here to look at the prices & plans. I will let you know when it is all ready to go but I am planning for a JULY start!

There are very LIMITED places available to my Cooking Class this coming Wednesday for Steps Australia at Hobba in Prahran.

You can read a review of the last one here.

We had SUCH a fun time. I hope you can come to this one!

Tickets are available by clicking on this link.

I hope you all have some nice plans for the weekend and enjoy some happy feasting times with those you love.

Toodle-oo till next time!

xx

GG

GG's New look

Hoorah!

Today is the first day of my lovely new look blog.
I am EVER SO HAPPY!
There is still a bit of tweaking to get it just right but we are well on our way!

The GORGEOUS new blog header is the work of Swedish illustrator- Anna Lindsten.
I commissioned her to redesign my header after falling in love with her work in Anorak Mag, where I contribute my recipes in each edition.

Quick- go have a look at all her other work here.
How ace is all of her work?
SOOOOOO clever right?!
I gave her a brief outline of what I wanted & left her to it.

The polka dots on the apron are an element you see across my branding that relate to the wedding rings that Mr Girlfriend and I wear made by our very clever friend - five different colour polka dots on a red enamel base, each dot representing one of our five boys. There is a Figgjo pot in there that is a little nod to the ever present Swedish influence in my life.  To long time readers the presence of clogs is self explanatory- the only shoes I own and wear.  I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.
Thankyou so much Anna!

And I have had lots of help from my super ace friend Bec.
I can't thank her enough for sticking by me despite my tech fail whale sensibilities.
You can visit her online store here.
But I really recommend that you visit her in real life because shopping in real life is totes awesome- just like her.

And also to all the gorgeous 'keep on keeping on' messages of love from my hand-holding buddy over the strait who tells me to keep going when I felt like tossing it all in. Thankyou,  a very big smoochy kiss & a piece of cake too!

I have also started a newsletter which will feature some things that are not shared here on the blog, links to inspiring things and other Good Stuff!  You can subscribe at the very top RHS of the blog.  The first one will go out TOMORROW!  Don't miss out as there is a special announcement about a new project I am putting together!
Be sure to return the complete subscription email to activate your Newsletter too, otherwise you won't get it!

Yay for new improved, changey-moving forward ways!

Shall we celebrate with cake & coffee?
xx
GG

Chasing the Void

18mths ago I started running.

It wasn't until I started running that I really found something that was just for and only for ME.

Something that wasn't for any other reason than itself.

It has been a life changing gift.

I have been a long time fan of Haruki Murakami's writing but it was when reading his book 'What I talk about when I talk about running' that I really thought about the concept of doing something in order to do nothing.

I guess it is a kind of meditation really.  A way of clearing the mind.

When I started to run I needed to do ALL I could to distract myself from the fact that I was as unfit as I was & that taking part in running was merely a way of getting fit.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

I listened to music at first to try and make the time go faster but when I did this I seemed to start trying to run in time to the track playing which has near dire consequences when one is running on a treadmill.

Think: Bill Murray in Lost in Translation.
Not pretty but very funny.

So I started listening to podcasts - my faves are This American Life & Freakonomics. 

Then slowly over time as my fitness improved I realised I had stopped listening.

I had stopped listening to anything at all.

It was just me & my breathing.

“I just run. I run in void. Or maybe I should put it the other way: I run in order to acquire a void.”  (Murakami- What I talk about when I talk about running)

I was chasing the void.

“When I'm running I don't have to talk to anybody and don't have to listen to anybody. This is a part of my day I can't do without.”  (Murakami- What I talk about when I talk about running)

The need for me to have something in my life that was nothing at all had become one of my very favourite things of all.

I would never have believed that 18mths ago I could tell you how much joy running gives me.

I would never have believed that I could tell you I was actually fit. Fitter than I have ever been my entire life.

I would never have believed that what I chased was solitude and emptiness and that the end result of finding those meant also finding a sense of fulfilment.

“What’s most important is what you can’t see but can feel in your heart. To be able to grasp something of value, sometimes you have to perform seemingly inefficient acts. But even activities that appear fruitless don’t necessarily end up so. That’s the feeling I have, as someone who’s felt this, who’s experienced it.” 
(Murakami- What I talk about when I talk about running)

It is still hard.  I have learnt that it will never stop being hard & that same 'hard' that stopped me once upon a time has become a reminder that most things are hard and that is ok. 

Everything will be ok.  It will.

I ran today after quite a long break due to family illness and plain lack of mojo.
During this time I looked longingly at my treadmill and knew it would give me joy but I just couldn't seem to get myself on it.

It was so great to get back on.

Losing myself to the void so I could find myself again.

SPINACH & PARSLEY SOUP:
This is one of those "cook something out of nothing" meals that is a total gem you know you will make again & again.
I made it a couple of weeks ago when I felt like something hot & I needed it quick!
A quick look in the fridge & the garden and hey presto there it was 15 minutes later.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 1 x 200g packet frozen spinach
• 1 bunch Italian Parsley
• 3 cups chicken or veg stock
• S & P

METHOD:

Chuck the spinach into a saucepan and cook in the stock till defrosted.
Add the Parsley (stalks and all!) & immediately BLITZ till smooth.
Check seasoning and serve.

(I added Aleppo pepper and a dollop of Yoghurt to mine as I served)

Seriously scrumptious.

I think these dancers of awesome are in the void too.

Things I am loving: May 2014

On the weekend we watched some more episodes of Small Spaces- a show from the UK about clever ideas people have to transform or create new spaces in small and challenging ways.

We fell in LOVE with the Tree Hotel in Sweden.

I am totally going to go there.

I mean look!

images via Tree Hotel

So so great.

As if I needed any more reasons to go back there.....

You can read more about this amazing place here.

I have been reading (ever so slowly!) & loving  this gorgeous and timeless book.

I am wanting to go to this exhibition at the gorgeous Heide Museum about Mirka Mora.

Do you love Mirka too?

image via William Mora Galleries

She is such a smart, complex and interesting woman. I am excited to get to know a little more about her via her own collection of bits n bobs.

I am also loving the Autumnal magnificence that Melbourne always offers up. Gorgeous crisp starts leading to clear blue gorgeousness. Sigh.

What have you been loving lately?

DATE & CACAO CAKE:
This cake is so moist & tastes rich yet light.
So super yummy for morning tea with a bowl of coffee.
I baked one cake (for home) and a tray of 6 large muffins (without the nuts on top for allergy reasons) so the kids could take them to school for morning tea.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (separated into two halves)
• 125g softened butter
• 1/4 cup cacao powder
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1/4 cup flaked almond

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 175C.

Put dates & half the baking powder into a large bowl and pour over boiling water. Mix and set aside to cool down.

Pop butter & sugar into a bowl and mix together till creamy.
Add the egg and mix well.

Now add the flour, remaining baking powder, cacao and stir.

Now add dates and water and mix till combined.

Add mix to a greased and lined 20cm loaf tin. Sprinkle with the flaked almonds and bake for 40 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.

I'm impatiently waiting for Jane Tyrell's solo album....
in the meantime this will do just fine....

A significant moment.

Last Saturday night was a real milestone in our family.
Mr Girlfriend & I left our big two at a large Arena music gig ALONE.
Sheesh.  We are involved in a whole new ball game and I feel as if it is one I don't know the rules to.

We had given the tickets to them for their Christmas present. They have been very patient waiting for the gift to materialise. Nothing wrong with teaching patience right?
We had lots of chats leading up to it.
Lots of the "This is what you might expect, this is what I expect of you...." etc etc.
Music is a HUGE part of our family life and so it makes sense that getting to see a band they love in a big concert was a great way of celebrating that.

We let them go through the gates and then waited for the text from them to say "We are in our seats" before we walked hand in hand away.
It felt weird. We felt nervous.  Were we doing the right thing?  Were they ok in there? Are we letting the reins loose too soon?
We stood in silence for a while both staring, wondering to ourselves "At what point do we start walking?" Neither of us wanting to be the one who started to walk away.
A significant moment.
I felt a little panicked that I should be a bit more grown up too seeing as I had nearly grown up children. But what does being 'more grown up' even mean?

We took ourselves off to seek comfort with Wes at The Grand Budapest Hotel.
We sat looking at a group of couples in the foyer of the cinema and Mr Girlfriend said to me "Are we the same age as them?'
I nearly spat out my drink.......they were in their 70's.
We started talking about having a kind of an age dysmorphia.
Of how hard it is to pick how old people are.
But it left me thinking....... when do we grow up? When do we become 'old'?
Aren't I the same age as when I had my first baby nearly 16 years ago?
How is it possible that I am so old that my eldest kids can go out like this at night ALONE?
HOW?
 
It feels as though the clock stopped then.  When my first baby appeared 16 years ago.
It was as though I had learnt everything I could ever learn right there at that very moment.
What I really learnt was that I knew nothing at all and never would ever again.
And so it still is.........

As parents we are laid bare. Completely and totally vulnerable. Everything we knew is forever changed. And we are left knowing nothing at all.

We sat there on Saturday night with all the same questions no doubt that all of our parents had as we entered the years of early adulthood.  And all the same emotions and doubts.
But...... our eldest children ARE becoming young adults.
We are entering a very different part of parenting.
The bit where we get to see if all the things we have offered up as preparation to let go of them works.

Before my very eyes I see the physical reminder that my children are becoming adults.
Our (very nearly) 16yo is as tall as his dad and our (very nearly) 14yo is as tall as me.
But it is the way they behave that is more of a reminder.  The deep level of their thoughts & their conscience.  Their understandings of social & world issues.  Their independence.

And their ability to go to a music concert alone.  Without us by their sides.  Just each other. They love music so much and this makes me so very happy.
Music, like  food, is made to be shared. And I love that they share this passion with each other. They play their instruments together often (I have included a short sound clip of them playing at the end of this post).
It was utterly fitting that their first real celebration of this stage was going to a music concert.

It has always been on my radar that one of the best things we can give our children is our trust.
I hope that in all we do and in all the ways we behave in our house, that we have been guiding our children to live with morality and integrity.
And I hope that they know I trust them to make the right decisions.
I have made it clear endless times that I don't expect them to always get it right. And I have told them too, that NO MATTER how badly you get it wrong we will be there to lift you up again.

I hope I have taught them to know it is ok to ask for help- no matter how big or how small.
I hope that they know that it is ok to stumble.  And I hope I have given them the fortitude to get back up again if they do.
I hope they choose things in life that inspire them and fill their hearts.
I hope I have given them the gift of laughter and joy.
I hope that I have given them the courage to stand up for what they believe in even if it is not popular.
I hope they continue to enjoy the things they are passionate about.
I hope they find love.
Most of all I hope they find themselves.

As they enter early adulthood I can't help but burst with pride at the humans I see before me.
These kids are kind, compassionate, big hearted, gutsy, humble, multi-faceted, funny & clever.

I am crying as I write, thinking about how terribly fast it goes, constantly reminded by the fact that we also have children who are very young and SURELY they were all this age just yesterday?
But no........ it is time to start letting out the line.
A time of excitement at what lies ahead but also of reminiscing and feelings of sadness.

I feel positive about the future when I see them and their friends.  Despite the negativity surrounding teens, I see NO evidence of this whatsoever.
These kids & all of their friends are thoughtful, sensitive, clever, forward thinking, community minded people who want to take care of things and of each other.

So while I don't have a rulebook as to how we go about this big and important phase I can know that it is ok for me to stumble and get it wrong and that what matters here is that it is love that will guide me.
So far it hasn't been a bad guide.