Our New (Old) House

We have been living in our home for one year this month.  I'm not one to move around a lot, so this house hopefully will be our last for many years to come.  We thought long and hard about moving and it took a year of looking around until we found the right house for our family. 

Our New (Old) House

Previously we were living on a small block of land, in a brand new house that we built with the help of my parents, Designer - Mum, Builder - Dad.  It was a great house with a huge amount of storage, a big kitchen with lots of bench space and two ovens. Everything in it was sparkling and new.

Kitchen in our previous house (this photo was taken when it went up for sale- it certainly didn't always look like this!)

Our kitchen now

But as the years went on, our daughter grew and with the life we wanted to create becoming more apparent, we realised that this house wasn't suiting us.  It barely had a backyard, the layout of the house didn't allow for entertaining a big extended family, we were close to a main road and we had our chooks on the spare block of land next door (which was owned by my parents, but we knew that we weren't going to be able to use that land forever).

Backyard in our previous house

Don't get me wrong, we had 6 years living in that house and we were very grateful to have the chance to build.  It certainly was an "experience", especially when your father is the builder.  And it was wonderful to live in a brand new brick house.  We made the most of it and grew vegetables in the small area we had allocated for vegetable beds, we bought our chooks and built a chook pen for them and we lived our simple life values as much as we could in the space we had.  As Rhonda from Down to Earth often writes about,  'bloom where you are planted'. That quote really stuck with me and I tried to live by that.

Our space for growing vegetables in our previous house

Some of the space in our new yard where we will build vegetable beds and a chook run. It gets lots of sun.

But deep down, I always knew that new didn't necessarily make you feel content.  Lots of stars aligned for us last year and we found the home we were looking for.  For me there is so much to love about this house.  But it is vastly different to our last house.  It is just over 30 years old, a solid brick home, in original condition. It has been maintained beautifully and is in such good condition, considering its age.  It has only had one owner, in a wonderful street and has a sizeable backyard with lots of visiting wildlife.  There is room for our chooks, we have friendly neighbours and the layout of the house is so wonderful for entertaining. It has beautiful windows looking out to the backyard, a lovely outdoor area and the list goes on!  Sure, we will have to update parts in the coming years.  But we have been able to move in and live comfortably and cosily without having to change a thing.  It just feels right.

View from my kitchen window now - I love I can see the chooks going about their day.

Entertaining area in our new house

Over the coming months and years, we will slowly be making some changes, which I will record on this blog.  Our first is to put in some permanent vegetable patches with a linked in chook run.  My husband and I have talked about it for a few months now.  Hopefully we will begin that project soon. 

Some people thought we were mad to leave a brand new house.  But we couldn't be happier.

Snickers Bliss Balls

This recipe is made frequently here, so I thought it would be a lovely one to share with you.  A wholefood version of the Snickers Bar, so it doesn't contain anything you wouldn't recognise.  It is high protein so it is a great afternoon treat, that will keep you full until dinner time.  Everyone loves them, they are simple to make and they taste just like a Snickers! It is a win all round. 

Snickers Bliss Balls

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry roasted cashews
• 1/2 cup crushed peanut
• 6 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons cacao powder or cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon concentrated natural vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Method

1. Place the cashews into your processor and pulse to roughly crush.  Pour them into a bowl with the crushed peanuts and set aside.
2. Place the peanut butter, honey, maple syrup, cacao, vanilla and salt into your processor and blend until the mixture is well combined. 
3. Add the nuts and mix to combine.
4. Shape the balls (wet hands work best to prevent them from sticking) and place into the fridge to set.
5. Eat and Enjoy!  (Best stored in the fridge)

Crushed peanuts and cashews

All mixed together

I hope you will give these a go.  They are refined sugar free and taste so delicious. I love to make them for friends and family who visit for morning or afternoon tea.  They are just delighted when they taste them and can taste the likeness to the Snickers Bar.  Often they are amazed at how such simple ingredients, can be transformed.  Sometimes I think we have forgotten that food doesn't have to be highly processed and come out of a packet to taste delicious.  Most of the time we can recreate our favourite foods in more healthy, simple and nutritious ways.

My favourite mug

I will often be found enjoying these in the afternoon with a hot cup of tea.  Before our afternoon routine begins, they give me chance to stop and reflect on the day.  I hope you get a chance to enjoy them too.

The Power of Homemade Food

So with my very first post, I thought I would share with you one of the topics that makes me "Truly Content".  This is a big one, homemade food.  And I have come to realise how important it is, in the last 10 years.  Having my daughter and enduring some years of ill health has made me so much more aware of the impact of what we put into our bodies. 

The Famous No Knead Bread

 Around this time, was also when I realised how much I actually enjoyed cooking.  Following a recipe (sometimes changing things here and there) and being able to create simple, delicious meals, snacks and treats for my family from scratch, was very, very satisfying.  I felt so much better that the food we were eating was unprocessed and didn't contain preservatives, colours, numbers and ingredients that were really not needed (think sugar in store bought stocks and pasta sauces).

Pumpkin, Brown Rice and Chickpea Patties

I guess my foundations were laid, coming from an Italian family, where lots was always cooked from scratch and good food was truly appreciated.  But my interest really peaked in the last 5 years.  I have learnt so much and I continue to learn.

My Famous Jam Drops

Mmmm....Melting Moments

I borrow recipe books from the library and I read them for fun!  I read blogs about healthy whole food and I am constantly trying new recipes. I watch cooking shows.  I try to plan holidays or day trips around food. I once had a job teaching children to cook.  I designed and the children made healthy vegetarian food from produce we grew in the school garden. I am toying with the idea of a home business based around whole foods.
My husband was interested in vegetable gardening, so we set up some patches, which then got me interested (I may have taken over a little bit!).  But now that we have moved into our new (old) house, we are planning out our vegetable gardens together and it has been something we both spend time doing together.   As we grow more produce, I need to use it in wise ways and that then has me cooking different recipes with lovely organic produce from our own backyard.  Wow!  And that led me to cooking for family and friends, sharing it and also having them come to our place to enjoy that food.  The power of homemade food!

Baked Ratatouille with Green Olives and Parmesan

It has opened my eyes to the fact that this is something that really makes me content.  A warm pot of soup bubbling away on a winters day.  The smell of a homemade cake or biscuits baking in the oven.  The excitement in my family's faces when I tell them, "yes" I've made your favourite dish for dinner tonight.  Even coming home from a late afternoon walk and smelling someone's dinner cooking in the house I am walking past. That smell wafting into the cool afternoon air.  Mmmmmm.

Family Christmas Lunch 2016

When I reflect back and see what cooking from scratch, has really done for me, I am quite amazed.  It has brought so much more into my life, than I really thought possible.