What is the inevitable result of two 12 hour + work days in a row, and a work trip to pack for??
You better believe it!
With the craziness of life lately I guess it was only a matter of time before the temptation of a takeaway GF pizza dinner was all too much.
In all its cheesy and pesto glory.
But now, is time to pack. When you factor in travel, tomorrow is looking like a 17 hour day eeeek.
Can you believe there are only 4 weeks until Christmas. How very wonderful - and crazy - all at the same time. Here's hoping that my work schedule and 'life' calms down a little between now and then, so that I can get some quality "Christmas baking" time in.....
Tonight's dinner continued my recent 'quick and easy' theme, and what is quicker and easier than stir-fry!
An orange tofu stir-fry.
I came across a similar recipe in one of my cook books, and with a few modifications, converted it to a BBB-style recipe.
Starting with the tofu marinade...
Orange zest, juice and tamari. Combined and poured over diced tofu, allowing it to marinade for a good 20 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, I prepared other vegetables...
which tonight were capsicum, carrot and asparagus.
Throw them all into a wok with some rice vermicelli noodle, as well as some orange segments and green onions at the last minute.
Let the wok do its magic, and voila.
Dinner is served.
Truthfully, both Mr BBB and I were rather apprehensive when the fresh orange segments were added.
But, you know what?
They were my favourite bits! Juicy, and sweet, and the flavour worked quite nicely with the tamari tofu.
For a rather random stir-fry - this one is certainly a keeper!
What about you? What is the weirdest ingredient you have put in a stir-fry?
Happy Sunday lovely people! I hope you have all had a great weekend so far. I know we have.
After arriving home rather late on Friday night (as expected), and feeling rather drained after a big work week, I have done as much relaxing as I can this weekend. Sleep-ins, yoga and afternoon naps aside, however, Mr BBB and I found enough energy to head out for brunch this morning, and also to get our Christmas shopping done. I am rather relieved to have it all taken care of.
Time for another pregnancy update!
How far along? 25 weeks 4 days. Which means, there is almost less than 100 days to go!
How big is baby? During month 6, baby BBB will grow to the size of an eggplant. Which makes me feel a little awkward given that I have a tasty eggplant dish planned for this week!
How I'm feeling? Tired. So very tired. But it looks as though there are only 4 more weeks of craziness at work, then the Christmas break, then a relatively quiet January. “just 4 more weeks” has become my daily mantra ;)
Weight? In a moment of courage, or perhaps craziness, I weighed myself for the first time since Week 15. Let's just say it was more than I hoped, but less than I expected. And that is all I am going to say ;)
How I'm changing? The changes my body has gone through over the last 25 weeks, and no doubt will continue to go through over the next 15 or so, never cease to amaze me. This week I noticed the start of what I think might be linea nigra - a (so far slight) line running from my navel downwards. Sure I have read about all these changes in books and online, but to actually see them play out in front of my eyes is rather wonderful.
What I miss? I was back to missing runny-yolk poached eggs this morning when we went out for brunch. Well done scrambled eggs just weren’t the same.
Symptoms? Over the past few weeks, I have noticed I am getting rather sore throughout my middle back if I sit too long. Not a fun symptom at all when you consider that I have been on quite a few plane trips (aka seated) and stuck in several traffic jams (also aka seated). Does anyone have any tips to relieve back pain in these situations where getting up and moving around is not an immediate option?
Cravings? Nothing springs to mind, which is no surprise as I am just not that hungry at the moment.
Highlights this week? This week’s highlight is rather materialistic, but a highlight nonetheless. The nursery! We have now assembled all the nursery furniture, and have ordered the fancy new chair I have had my eye on for a while. I’ll be sure to post some photos when it all comes together.
Happy Friday lovely people!
I am currently somewhere in Sydney where, hopefully, my day has not been too crazy work-wise.
Given I expect to arrive back in Canberra rather late, and will probably head straight back out again for pad thai at my favourite local Thai restaurant, I figured I would share with you one of my favourite dinners from during the week.
Dukkah lamb cutlets, with herbed quinoa salad.
Oh so simple, but oh so tasty. Just how I like my dinners to be really!
While I had a cup of quinoa cooking on the stove in 1.5 cups water, and Mr BBB was outside grilling up a few lamb cutlets, I got to work on the other parts of the salad.
Coriander, parsley, green onions, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms.
I also put together a simple dressing. Starting with bush spice seasoning…
Combined with olive oil and the zest / juice of one lemon.
Poured through the quinoa once it had finished cooking, combined with the salad ingredients, and part 1 of our dinner was complete.
Mr BBB returned from the BBQ not long after, with 3 lamb cutlets grilled to perfection – and “laid out especially for my photo” he tells me.
Topped with a sprinkle of pistachio dukkah…
And dinner was ready!
I loved the citrus in the quinoa salad, and the freshness of the herbs throughout.
The crunch of the dukkah also added a nice finishing touch to the lamb cutlets.
It certainly felt like one of those meals that looks fancier and more complex than it actually was. A good one for summer season.
What about you? Are you a fan of dukkah?
I. am. busy.
And this crazy whirlwind of life doesn’t appear to be easing up any time soon. Work is crazy, my 'social' calendar is filling up, we have a nursery and study to finish, and a tonne of planting to do once our landscaping basics are completed. Throw in a couple work trips to Sydney and one to Perth....all in the next 7 days...and well you get the idea.
So needless to say, quick and easy meals are the only ones making it onto our menu in the next few weeks. And tonight’s dinner was no exception.
Helped, nay made, by my latest purchase…
A programmable rice cooker that has been on my wish for way too long!
Into the rice cooker went oil and butter...
Followed by rice,
diced pumpkin and stock.
Then I hit start. And I walked away. And I returned 45 minutes later to find that I had a big batch of pumpkin risotto without ever having lifted a wooden spoon.
Finished with a few extras…
sundried tomatoes, basil and parmesan cheese.
And our rice cooker risotto was complete.
Aka. Risotto for the busy girl!
While the texture may not have been as luscious as its stove-top counterpart, the convenience of a 'throw-in-walk-away" meal was too much to refuse. I was able to get a few things done around the house, without being chained to the stove top as I normally am when making risotto.
And besides, although the texture may have been a little different, the flavours themselves were fool proof.
Pumpkin, sundried tomato and basil – how can you go wrong??.
Delish!
What about you? Do you use your rice cooker to make anything apart from rice? My new one can make porridge too – which I am rather excited to try out!
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PS – Thankyou for all your lovely comments about the recent Soon Maternity fashion challenge – you guys are too kind.
Voting is still open on the photos over at their Facebook page if you have the time 
And, don’t forget that one lucky voter will win a $100 voucher of their own! Wouldn’t it be great if it was a BBB reader!
Over the course of the second trimester, I have found that food is starting to lose its appeal. I just don’t feel hungry all that often, and find myself eating more out of necessity and obligation than any real sense of hunger.
And, with it, has come a waning desire to “get creative” in the kitchen.
So, when I had a craving for freshly baked muffins over the weekend, I wasted no time in using it as an opportunity to break my baking “drought”.
With none other than….
a big batch of gluten free savoury muffins!
Flavoured with sundried tomatoes, pesto and grated cheddar.
Baked until golden brown.
And soon I had the perfect mid morning snack.
Slightly crunchy on the outside….
And, rather unusually for a GF baked treat…
Relatively soft and fluffy on the inside!
Certainly enough to solve both my baking drought and lack of appetite!
Pesto and sundried tomato muffins (GF) – makes 12
(NB. these are best eaten on the day they are made, as they became quite crumbly by the next day).
What about you? Any fun baking experiments lately?
I think it is fairly obvious that I am in no way a fashion blogger. Sure I wear suits and corporate attire during the day, but the truth is that I feel most comfortable when I am in my workout clothes and heading out for a run / bike ride (pre pregnancy) or a walk / yoga (during pregnancy).
However, when soon maternity (and awesome Australian maternity store) asked me whether I wanted to participate in a blogger pregnancy fashion challenge, well how could I refuse!
The goal? Style 4 items from the soon maternity range - including jeans, a dress, a top and a tee.
The result?
Some rather dorky fashion photos of yours truly :)
My personal favourites were the stripy dress (comfy yet clingy in all the right places) and the white 3/4 tee (also rather bumpa-licious). I can certainly see myself getting a lot of wear out of both over the next few months!
You can check out all the entries at the soon maternity Facebook page here, and I must say, the other ladies involved were rather stylish indeed:
he he and I don't think it will take you long to spot the dorky Aussie amongst these stylish fashion bloggers ;)
But that's not all......
1. The lovely people at soon maternity are offering one lucky person the chance to win a $100 voucher this week and next week (which I know will interest my preggy blog friends!). All you have to do is head across to their Facebook page here, and leave a 'comment' against one or more of the photos - for your chance to win the $100 voucher.
2. soon maternity is also offering BBB readers an exclusive 10% discount on all full priced items from its online store (excluding gift vouchers and sale items). Just enter the promo code: BAKEBIKE10 at the checkout - which is valid until midnight December 4th, EST. Also any purchased of $200 or more includes free shipping for Australian residences!
Oh and in a shameless self promotion....
I should mention, that the 'blogger' with the most comments/likes on her outfit photo will take home a $500 soon maternity voucher (hint hint). I already have my eye on this and this - both of which would help me through the holiday and party season!
If you have the time, I would love it if you could visit the photos and could put in a 'like' or 'comment' next to one of my photos :)
What about you? Are you someone with an ‘eye’ for fashion? Preggy ladies, what are your maternity styling tips?
I don’t think it is any secret that pizza is one of my all time favourite meals. I love how versatile it is, and how quick and easy it is to make at home. Oh, and the fact that I love cheese probably contributes to my love of pizza.
So over the weekend, when Mr BBB and I sat wondering what to create for a lazy Saturday dinner, it probably comes as no surprise that I voted pizza.
Homemade spelt Hawaiian pizza to be precise.
Dough was kneaded...
Proved....
Shaped and topped.
And topped….
And topped…
And finished with a little extra ingredient...
An egg!
Into the oven for 15 minutes, and we had ourselves quite the feast.
And our kitchen smelled like an Italian restaurant.
I would like to say that Mr BBB and I were restrained, and only ate a portion of this pizza. However, long after we had reached the appropriate level of satiety, we found ourselves going back for "just one more slice" and then "just one more slither".
So needless to say, we were well and truly pizza-fied by the end of the evening.
And I loved every cheesy mouthful :)
Delish!
Spelt pizza base (makes 1 extra large base)
What about you? What is your favourite pizza variety?
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