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Word of the Year for 2023

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  What a year 2022 was, am I right?  It was an interesting one for me as far as my word went. That word was build.  I won't go into all   the details but if you want them,  they are in lasts years post. As usual, the year and my  word looked very different to what I  had envisioned.  I had wanted to build a new habit  each month but I found that feeling tedious  and without a natural flow so I abandoned it in June.   I was totally ok with that.  These words are meant to be  life giving and enriching, not restrictive. As for the rest of it, I feel I did build on  things I had previously learned.  But I feel like  I am always doing that. That's what  life is, right? Learning. As I reflect on the year gone, I feel  a sense of having had to tear some things down as a  foundation for future building that will happen.  One example of that process  is making the decision and resigning from my  job of sixteen years.  It wasn't a job I ever  saw myself resigning from but life had  d
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Word of the Year for 2022

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A brand new year ... it's one of my favourite things! This year has gone by so fast, hasn't it? If you follow along on my Instagram or Facebook pages, you'll know that last years word NEW was a great word and brought with it lots of adventures! We completed our goal of walking one new beach, climbing one new mountain and discovering one new waterfall each month. Thanks to this word, 2021 was one of my favourite years ... and I definitely have finished the year feeling very different to how I felt at the start.  I had hoped this word would help me feel a little less stuck in circumstances out of my control.  And it has!  While there are still things  in my life that are out of my control, they no longer  occupy the greatest space in my mind.  ** Moving into 2022, I have chosen the word build. I played around with a few different words, train and habit among them.  But then  last week I was listening to an  audio book or a podcast, I  can't remember now,  but I heard t
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Word of the Year for 2021

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  I doubt I need to say that 2020 didn't go as planned. For anyone. It's interesting though, as it always is, that the word I chose for the year ended up being exactly the right one.  It took on a completely different meaning than I had imagined it would.  I chose the word DANCE for 2020. I didn't really know how the word would  play out but early into  the whole COVID shut down,  it became  clear that  2020 was going to be about rhythms ... everything  changed, basically overnight, and we were left to figure out what our new rhythms would be. Here in Australia, or at least where we live, life has basically gone back to normal ... just with COVID protocols and increased cleaning, etc.  For us as a family, life went back to  'normal'-ish but then our puppy was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer.  We  walked a bittersweet couple of months with him, enjoying every minute that we had left.   Life had already  slowed to it's new rhythm and we slowed it even more to
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Clam and Veggie Soup

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I LOVE CLAMS.   Always have, ever since I was a little girl! This soup is is the result of just wanting to eat clams and needing to use up some veggies at the end of the week. I've made a it a couple of times and each time was different. There's not really measurements for this.   I just kind of throw everything in depending on what I have and how many servings I want to make. Ingredients:  Clams - I buy these ones locally.   The are frozen.  I use half a bag for this recipe. Onions, sliced. Mushrooms, quartered. Any veggies ... I 've used brussels sprouts,  zucchini,  broccoli, kale stems, spinach leaves. Spring onions, sliced to scatter on top. Bone Broth, I used a homemade chicken stock.   Thai Chicken Soup Crispy Garlic,  to serve ... optional but very desirable (recipe here ) Method: I start by sautéing the onion and the veggies. I add them in stages, seasoning with salt as I go, based on which ones I think will take longer  or shorter to soften.  I like to have some
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Tapioca Pudding with Stewed Peaches and Cherries

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I loved tapoica pudding as a child.  Turns out, I still love tapioca pudding as an adult. Ingredients: For Bottom Layer frozen peaches, two cups frozen cherries, one cup 1/4 cup water a drizzle of honey 1 tsp vanilla extract For Top Layer 1 can (400ml) coconut milk 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 tsp vanilla extract   3 Tablespoons tapioca pearls Method: Combine all of bottom layer ingredients in small saucepan.  Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and let simmer til thickened. This took about 10/15 minutes. In a separate saucepan, combine coconut milk, maple syrup and vanilla and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, add tapioca pearls and simmer. You will want to stir frequently so this doesn't burn.  It will take about 10/15 minutes for the  tapioca to plump up and become translucent.   Serve warm or put in  fridge and serve cooled. I prefer it warm ...  xx
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Instant Pot Apple Sauce

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I made apple sauce in my instant pot the other day. I just sort of winged it but it turned out great. I basically just filled the pot with apples and spices and let it do it's thing ... Ingredients: 3 kgs (6.6 lbs) apples (I use 2 or 3 types of apples) 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ginger 1 tsp nutmeg pinch star anise juice of half a lemon 1/4 cup water Method: Core and cut apples into 8 pieces. (I don't worry about peeling the apples.) Add all ingredients to instant pot Secure lid. Set on manual, high pressure for five minutes. Let pressure release on it's own. Once done, open lid and use a stick blender (or regular blender) to make blend the apple sauce to desired consistency. Freezes well. xx
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AIP Spaghetti Sauce - minus the Spaghetti

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This was such an exciting meal for me to make and eat!  I hadn't had a spaghetti sauce in over two years ... and this tasted like the real deal! It started with the discovery of  this post over on Unbound Wellness . It's a recipe for AIP Nightshade Free Marinara Sauce. It's an Instant Pot recipe don't worry if you don't  have one, she has notes for how to  cook it on the stovetop. I followed her  recipe exactly except for one thing. I used homemade chicken bone broth in  place of the water.  I use that stuff is as much as I can because  it is so good for us! So ... you'll need to make that first. I did this on a different day and froze it. Then when I was ready to make this dish,  I already had that sauce on hand.  To make the rest of the dish ... Ingredients: 600g beef mince 200g chicken livers 1 onion, chopped small garlic, to your taste preference (I used 3 or 4 cloves, finely diced) fresh herb
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