o frabjous day! books, recipes & other things

In past months…

Been reading: – Across the Universe by Beth Revis is a YA generation ship story, the first in a series – I thought it explored a lot of interesting ideas, although I felt it suffered a bit from ‘stupid character’ syndrome (ie. the main characters taking ages to figure out something that the reader has…
Read more: In past months…
5 September, 2011
Breaking glass

A year or two ago, my camera was dropped off the bonnet of a car onto a concrete slab. I won’t say who was responsible for that (it wasn’t me). Astonishingly, nothing appeared to be terribly wrong with the camera. It had its 18-70mm kit lens on, along with a uv filter, and while the…
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3 September, 2011
Moments

Some of my favourite moments from our recent trip to NZ’s South Island: 1. Queenstown would not be my usual favourite holiday spot – it’s so touristy, and my preferred kind of travel is out of tourist season. Hanging out with crowds of other tourists is not my idea of a good time. But Queenstown…
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26 August, 2011
In zid

Things I’m loving about New Zealand: – the amount of farmland, and the sheer number of sheep I have seen grazing in fields, in the snow, and on seemingly sheer mountainsides. I love sheep. I am going to move here and run a sheep farm. With other people doing all the hard work – I’ll…
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19 August, 2011
On the beach

It was fairly overcast when we went across to Stradbroke Island a couple of weeks ago, but there were odd rays of sunshine that broke through the cloud cover. We took advantage of a relatively clear late afternoon, and walked down to sit on some rocks by the beach, drinking red wine and smoking a…
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7 August, 2011
Pumpkin spelt muffins

Another mostly cleanse approved recipe – the spelt flour works beautifully in these muffins. The amount of oil depends on how long you want to keep them – if they’re going to be eaten straight away, leave it at a quarter of a cup, if you want them to last for a few days, increase…
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3 August, 2011
Carob brownies

While the six week cleanse has ended, we’re still experimenting with a wheat and sugar free diet – these brownies are made with spelt flour, oil, honey and carob powder, making them wheat, dairy and sugar free. And surprisingly nice, despite all that. The icing does have dairy, but I think the brownies would be…
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3 August, 2011
Carrot spread

This is a deliciously sweet lemony spread – perfect as a dip, or spread on bread, or dumped on pasta or a salad. Adapted from here. Chop up 3 or 4 large carrots, and boil or steam them until soft. Chuck them into a food processor, and add a can of chickpeas, the juice of…
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3 August, 2011
In the distance

We were driving second, which meant we watched our friends’ four wheel drive sliding crazily along the muddy track before we followed them. It didn’t fill me with confidence. I don’t think I particularly enjoyed clinging on in the passenger seat as we drove through some particularly steep and muddy sections – I mean, it’s…
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10 July, 2011
On the dirt

We went driving in the truck this morning, up Shaws Pocket Road, which I had read a bit about online. If you look at the road on maps, you can see that it narrows down and continues through past a quarry to somewhere in Ormeau. After reading various forums online, I’m still not sure whether…
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26 June, 2011