wanderlust wednesday 010

did you miss last weeks post? or maybe you'd like to start from the beginning?

october 30, 2009

this afternoon we went to litchfield national park to check out the sights. seen some crazy huge termite nests, like over ten feet tall! then we went to florence falls to go swimming. beautiful area, the fish swam with you! i jumped off one of the cliff faces into the water, around 35 feet high! then went for a walk to the rock pools to swim in. then after doing some 4x4ing and almost getting stuck with a broken down truck after seeing the lost city, we went home and had some supper! later cait and i decorated our halloween costumes: super hoopers and poi boy! we thought about going out but eventually decided against it as we were getting up early to go fishing with scott in the bay.

october 31, 2009

was a hot day for fishing! got a little burn on my back. we cast out crab cages but didn't catch any. ryan and scott fished all day but only caught a cat fish. no barra! later in the afternoon we went home and painted ryan's costume up for the night. we got all dressed, had some dinner and drinks then headed to brownsmart theatre for the halloween fundraiser for a little girl from darwin with a brain tumour. they had lots of local bands and even people dressed up haha. met up with alex, one of the drummers from emdee, then watched his band play for a bit. we met some other people and ended up going with them to play pool at the after party. we were telling alex how we were contemplating staying in darwin to watch josh pyke (chimney's afire) on tuesday, turns out he's playing with him! so we'll be going to that on tuesday!

november 1, 2009

that morning we got up late and met up with alex, lukas and solena at this asian restaurant called tasty house. had some lunchskies there then all went for coffee and a very long bullshit on the patio. it was about 4:00pm before we left the place and we headed back to lukas's for a jam session. busted out the bongo drums, guitar, and ukulele. then decided we'd check out the outdoor cinema! was very cool, all those badass banana deck chairs and lebanese food haha. we watched a movie called van diemen's land. it was about these tasmanian convicts that escaped into the wild and ended up eating each other . . . then after we went to monsoons and watched a cover band for a while, did some dancing, drank some delicious sparkling wine. the lead singer of the band, dr. elephant, was apparently on that show "the biggest loser." interesting little fact.

Tweet

BEEF STROGANOFF // the healthy version // dinner recipe

here's the thing about me in the kitchen: i have a tendency to wing it. any recipe you're likely to find on this blog will be about the farthest thing from precise measuring than you can get. and that's probably why this isn't a food blog.

nonetheless i still love to share the occasional food post when i create something tasty in the kitchen. i especially love putting a healthy twist on an old favourite, like beef stroganoff for instance. nothing says childhood dinners like hamburger helper! but i cringe at the thought of all those additives and artificial everythings that must have been in those boxes. and i don't know about you, but my body craves more than just beef and noodles, i need me some veggies.

so was born this veggie filled healthier version of beef stroganoff! for a warm and filling comfort food feel, give it a try and let me know what you think!

Beef Stroganoff with Vegetables

ingredients:

• olive oil
• med-small onion
• minced garlic
• pack of ground beef/game meat
• about a tsp of paprika
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbs of flour
• broccoli florets
• chopped asparagus
• chopped red pepper
• about 4 cups of beef broth
• about 2 cups of pasta
• about 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• (optional) fresh parsley

step one:

throw your chopped onion and garlic into a big pot or dutch oven with some olive oil and heat on medium-highish. after a few minutes add your ground beef and stir well.

step two:

place your chopped asparagus and broccoli florets into a pot with about an inch or little less of water. put the lid on and heat on high for about 5 minutes. 

step three:

once your beef is nice and brown, sprinkle in the flour, paprika and salt and pepper, stir well. then add your broth and pasta.

step four:

after your broccoli and asparagus have been cooking for about 5 minutes, add the chopped red pepper and cook for another 4 minutes or until your veggies are cooked to your liking.

step five:

once the pasta is cooked, mix in the greek yogurt and mix well. you can add more salt and pepper here if you like. next you'll gently stir in your steamed veggies and you're ready to eat!

serve steaming hot and garnish with fresh parsley!

and because of how healthy the strog' was, i paired it with a perfectly unhealthy pretzel bun, hah!

Tweet

sweet baby HINLEY // 4 weeks PHOTOGRAPHY

"with grace in her heart, and flowers in her hair"

- mumford and sons

Tweet

quickly create a YOGA MAT CLEANING SPRAY // namaste bitches

i'm gonna make this short and sweet, because after taking an hour or so to type out this entire blog post, i mistakenly clicked the refresh button (assuming blogger had autosaved) and was much dismayed to find it had disappeared. there's an hour i will not get back... UGH doesn't that infuriate you?

so to the point! why are we all here? we're here for this awesome yoga mat spray cleaner that is super quick and easy to make and works really really good!

what makes it a better mat cleaning spray than the other million essential oil mat cleaners you might have seen? it's the witch hazel! this natural astringent will help to wipe away all the oil and sweat left behind on our dirty ass yoga mats, while the essential oils will take care of the bugs. double the cleaning whammy.

so lets make it! gather your shit:

• liquid measuring cup
• empty spray bottle (mine held about a cup)
• witch hazel
• essentials oils
• water

the cleaning solution ratio is 3/4 water and 1/4 witch hazel + oils

after determining how much liquid your spray bottle will hold, pour enough water into your measuring cup to take up 3/4 of the bottle. my spray bottle held about a cup of liquid, so i used 3/4 cup of water and 1/4 witch hazel (pretty straight forward, hah)

next you'll add your essential oils! experiment with different smells and strengths, giving a test sniff every now and then. don't forget to use some of the oils that are known for their cleaning power, oils like:

• tea tree (fights germs, bacteria and viruses)
• lemon (antiviral and antibacterial)
• eucalyptus (germicide)
• peppermint (antibacterial)
• sweet orange (tough on grease)
• lavender (antibacterial)
• rosemary (antibacterial and antiseptic)

then you'll pour carefully...

and label accordingly...

and bam! you've got yourself one handy dandy fast acting, germ fighting, magical mat cleaning spray! and why not spread the love? make one for a friend! or do as i do and make this sweet smelling citrusy cleaner for your lovely yogi students post savasana!

Tweet