First Aid and Chilli

Last week I attended a 2 day First Aid course, not the standard first aid which most people do or at least should do, this one is the Mental First Aid course.  With 1 in 5 Australians suffering with some form of mental illness in their lifetime it’s become essential to know how to deal with a situation if it happens.  I have certainly had my share of staff that needed help over the years and wish I had learned these skills some years ago.  If anyone has an inkling of interest its well worth your time and yes I will be watching you all…….I have the certificate.

I also had my regular trip to the Gold Coast which I do each month and luckily this coincided with Maggies birthday so also had a night in Brisbane.  We had a great evening in a Restaurant called Ortiga  www.ortiga.com.au.  It’s a Spanish restaurant that has been open just a year serving shared plates, magnificent food, the three of us shared numbers of dishes like Croquetas ,Mar y montana of oysters with pig trotters and stinging nettle picada and Codorniz rellena – stuffed quail with fennel and black olive picada.  And these Pimientos De Pardron with baby calamari.

Sorry not a good photo, taken descretly in a restautrant but all the food definitely had the wow factor.  I had purchased a night off especially for this birthday from Feb Fast so was able to share a bottle of 2006 Neudorf Chardonay from Nelson NZ which if you can find I’d highly recommend.

Its still febfast we are 17 days into it and both being strong.  Looking forward to this being over, it’s a bit dull eating good food without a decent glass of wine to complement.  Thanks to all those who have sponsored us to date we are almost at our target of $500.  If you would like to support us the address is -http://www.febfastfundraising.com.au/team_debere  

The weather turned from oh so hot to cold this week so we cooked a very un seasonal pot of chilli.  We served it with sour cream, avocado, chopped corriander and grated cheese and loved this for its comfort.  It makes a really large pot so you could freeze or just keep eating….Or turn it into a base for Taco’s or Boritos or Nachos…..for crowd.

Chilli For the Slow-Cooker

     1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1KG minced beef

2 large onions chopped

2 green pepper chopped

2 red pepper chopped

Fresh green halapenos (straight from our garden) depending how hot you like it, I added 6

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon sea salt - might need a bit more

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chili powder (or less if your feeding children)

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

2 tablespoons brown sugar

As needed: water

Brown the meat, in a separate pot cook the onion, when soft add peppers, garlic and fresh chilli, combine all other ingredients and cook for at least an hour or in the slow cooker at least 3 hours.

Love

Mary

Feb Fast and Flix

What an amazing week, so hot it was really hard to work over 30 degrees for a week!

But who are we to complain, a bit of heat and a few bad nights sleep is all we got, while hundreds of people are homeless in Queensland and today the front page is 40 homes in WA lost to fire.  Frightening times for so many people in Australia.

So have just enjoyed another great weekend.  We attended ‘Flix in the Stix’, as it sounds an outdoor movie / music experience held in the local botanic gardens.  A number of award winning short films, interesting and thought provoking, humorous and beautiful.  There where also a couple of slots where Mark Seymore (x hunters and collectors) was on stage – could have done with less of that but he was a big hit with a number of chair dancers close by that made it all allot more entertaining.  All in all a really nice way to spend a Saturday evening with a picnic dinner and a couple of camping chairs, especially for those participating in Februarys – 'Feb Fast' 

For those of you that don’t know….

FebFast Ltd challenges people to press the pause button on their alcohol consumption during the shortest month of the year, and at the same time raise funds to help reduce alcohol and other drug related harms amongst young Australians. 

Proceeds raised through registration and fundraising go towards the Australian Drug Foundation, YSAS (the Youth Substance Abuse Service in Victoria), Mater Health Services Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal Service (Queensland), The Ted Noffs Foundation (NSW and ACT), BushMob (Northern Territory) and Mission Australia youth alcohol and other drug services in WA, SA and Tasmania. 

Further funds will also be distributed through a grants program for smaller grass-roots organisations. 

For more information about FebFast and its beneficiaries visit www.febfast.org.au

If you would like to sponsor us just follow this link….

http://www.febfastfundraising.com.au/team_debere

Back to food.........while in Spain last year Nick and fell head over heels for salt cod, prepared in a number of different ways but at the moment I’m trying to perfect a recipe for salt cod croquettes…so Friday was our second version, it takes a bit of thought as the cod must be soaked in several changes of water over at least 48 hours prior to making the croquettes.  You can only just see these ones that we served with prawns, on mayo and with Rocket and Roasted home grown little Tomatoes.

I’m definitely not there yet.  The ones here tasted okay – they looked great but not anywhere near as light as the ones we where eating in Madrid, just means we have to eat more I guess….I’ll share the recipe once I’m happy with it but if anyone has the perfect recipe I'd love you to share.

Love Mary