incredible vegan oreo brownies

Healthy? No way, unless the presence of chia seeds cancels everything else out (I don’t think it does, sorry!)

Incredible? YES.

Worth making to treat your fabulous self? HELL YES.

These were a road-test for the family Christmas and needless to say, they will be making an appearance! If you’re making this for gluten-free loved ones, simply sub the flour for a GF plain flour (or buckwheat flour) and the Oreos for a GF alternative.

Incredible vegan oreo brownies

2 tablespoons chia seeds
110g coconut oil, melted
240g dark brown sugar
80ml maple syrup
3 tablespoons almond butter (or peanut butter)
60g cocoa powder
85g plain flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
10 Oreos (check the pack if you’re making this for vegans - the Oreos you can buy in Australia are vegan but that might not be the case everywhere), snapped into pieces
Roughly 12 squares of dark chocolate (I used Green & Black’s 85%)

Preheat the oven to 180 C (fan). Grease and line a 20cm square baking tin, making sure the paper comes up the sides and there’s a bit of overhang, so the brownie will come out easily.

Combine the chia seeds with 6 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and set aside to thicken, which will take about 15 minutes. It might look gross - mine looked like a film of mould had formed on a bowl of water, hair and mouse droppings - but don’t despair, I promise, everything is going to be wonderful. You can get on with the next step while the chia magic happens!

Whisk together the melted coconut oil, brown sugar, maple syrup and almond butter (I used my Kitchen Aid with the balloon whisk) until you have formed what looks like a thick caramel sauce.

Sieve in the cocoa powder and whisk again until the batter is shiny and smooth looking.

Add in the chia gloop - you should end up with about 6 tablespoons of it, roughly. Again, whisk until shiny and well incorporated.

Then gradually fold in the (sifted) flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and salt until incorporated.

Finally whisk in the vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar.

Now you have your batter. In future, I may double the ingredients up to this step of the process so I can leave the Oreos whole and cover them with batter. That sounds dangerous, doesn’t it?

But for now, break your 10 Oreo biscuits into pieces - either halves or threes, it doesn’t matter - over the bowl and fold them gently through the brownie batter.

Pour the batter into your prepared tin and dot with the pieces of dark chocolate. You could also use vegan chocolate buttons or melts.

Put in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. I pulled mine out at 24 minutes and they were pretty much perfect. But you know your oven! I used the oven function on my air fryer, which is a very reliable oven. If I were using the actual oven in my kitchen, which is gas, I would be checking them at 20 minutes as it runs a little hot.

Use a skewer to test for doneness - you don’t want raw batter sticking to the skewer, but a little is fine, that’s what you want because that means they’re still squidgy in the middle and will firm up as they cool. If the skewer comes out clean, they are probably overdone. Not inedible, they just won’t be fudgy and squidgy. So if you want squidgy brownies (who doesn’t?), set your timer for 20 minutes and check them after that until you’re happy, would be my advice.

Now, this is the crucial bit. You must leave them to completely cool in the tin. No cutting the brownies while they’re still hot, in the style of Homer Simpson.

Image from The Joy of Cooking Milhouse (a bloody awesome site!)

Leave them for at least an hour, but three or four is even better. If you stick a knife into the cooled brownies and it comes out clean, then they’re ready to devour.

Lift the brownie slab out of the pan, place on a board and cut into desired-size pieces. You should get 9 generous brownies out of this, and maybe 15 delicately-sized ones.

Next time I make these, I might leave out the maple syrup - the outer brownies are quite crusty, which indicates high sugar content. I wonder if leaving out the maple syrup would make a difference. But I’m not complaining, they’re pretty heavenly regardless!

Frankly, the only giveaway that this incredibly decadent brownie is vegan might be the occasional chia seed in the teeth. And it’s totally #worthit 😍

The Van Diemen History Prize 2022-23

I have some rather brilliant news to share - I am the joint winner (with Assoc Prof Terry Mulhern of the University of Melbourne) of the Van Diemen History Writing Prize 2022-23!

My essay, “Anatomy of a Scandal: A Love Triangle in 1820s Hobart Town”, which details the event and people at the centre of my PhD project, will be published in an anthology of Tasmanian history writing in mid-2023.

I have to make special mention of John, a reader in Queensland, who sparked this whole thing - he read an article of mine in a family history magazine and was under the impression that my PhD novel was already finished (not even close!!) and published (dreaming!), and he contacted Forty South to enquire, as they are Tasmania’s leading independent publisher. They rang me (well, they rang Tom because he was connected to them through his work, #Hobart!) to let me know there had been some interest. “You should enter our history writing prize,” they suggested when I told them what I was working on.

Ten months later, here we are. I never in a million years thought I would win - I was just happy that I wrote something I was pleased with and made the deadline. Just entering felt like a win, to be honest. All I wanted out of this year, as I’ve written previously, was to stop letting my inner critic run the show and just try. To put my hat in the ring and start playing in the arena where I feel my true work is. Without the constant distractions, comparisons and time suck of social media, I had no excuses, only myself getting in my own way. And I was determined to get out of it.

But more than that, there is a special kind of momentum within this project, that I’ve never had on anything I’ve worked on before. The response I get from people when I tell them about the novel, and the central characters and incidents that I wrote about in my Van Diemen essay, is always enthusiastic and curious. I can’t wait to see what happens next with it…and actually finish it, of course.

Thank you Forty South for this great honour. To have such wonderful recognition at this stage of the project (I liken it to Mile 16 of the marathon, there’s still quite a way to go!) has been incredible, humbling and deeply encouraging, and my gratitude for this support and validation of my work is truly boundless.

city of my heart

Warning, mammoth catch up post ahead. Grab a cup of tea. You’ll probably be hungry after reading it too!

A few weeks ago, Tom and I spent some time in Melbourne, a city that was home for a few years, quite a long time ago now (it feels recent, but it really wasn’t!). We had not been there since 2019 and at the height of the pandemic, while it was the world’s most locked down city, I wasn’t sure when or if we would ever get there again. It was a joyful reunion indeed.

I expected to find the city very different, given all it has endured over the past few years, but I was surprised to find it very much the same vibrant and inspiring place that I had loved so much, and that had loved me right back. There were some subtle changes, of course. I went looking for places that I slowly realised had probably been gone long before the pandemic!

But many old favourites remain, still standing, thriving even. Being back in Melbourne reminded me that, whatever might get thrown at us in life, and despite the scars it leaves, we can survive, endure, and emerge stronger.

There’s something to make you smile on almost every corner of the city. Perhaps it was because we were staying in the CBD (right in the centre of things) but it felt like everyone wanted to be out - dancing, laughing, seeing, seizing the day. We saw a hen party on Swanston Street one evening, on our way to a dear friend’s birthday party (one of the reasons for our visit), some 30 women in ponchos (it was raining!) laughing and dancing in a silent disco who suddenly all started singing in a joyful chorus, like birds at dawn. Everyone who saw them couldn’t help but grin.

On our balcony!

A friend messaged me while we were there - Tom had put a photo of the two of us on his social media, which she saw. She felt moved to email me and tell me that it was nice to see me looking happy. "There's an ease in your face that hasn't been there for a while," she wrote. That got me thinking.

One day, my friends, the truth about everything that has happened this year, and the years before it, will be told. But for now, Amanda Palmer said it brilliantly: “I try to accept and embrace my own thin skin in the face of yet another catastrophic blast to my psyche, trying to hang onto the mast of my own ship…I have found my power in shutting up…My power is only just beginning to emerge.” 

This trip to Melbourne with my wonderful husband, and the words of my dear kind friend who took the time to message me, reminded me of that. That I survived everything that was thrown at me while I lived there and clung to my dreams for dear life, and got to the other side. I returned, battle weary, but still hopeful, still striving. Full circle moment.

Having a change of scene was just what Tom and I needed too. We love Tasmania and both agreed, unprompted by the other, that we feel comfortable, safe and happy in Hobart, but I cannot deny what a tonic visiting the mainland is. It’s like we’re in a different, yet very familiar, country. Soaking up a different energy and vibe, I felt renewed and energised after what has felt like a long, cold winter.

Of all the places I’ve ever lived, Melbourne is the only city that felt like home immediately. It will be the city of my heart, always. And like all the true, long-standing friendships in my life, once we were reunited, it was as though we had never been apart.

So without further ado, let me catch you up on the Melbourne trip with the usual headings!

Favourite experience

I’m sure most of you will recognise this lady - she needs no introduction!

Speaking of friends, seeing them again was without a doubt the best part of the trip. What a joy it was to be reunited with these wonderful people (not all of them pictured!). We saw as many as we could, but alas illness, weather and simply not enough time got in the way of us seeing everyone. I’m so grateful for the time we did get though. And I am determined, once flight prices return to some modicum of reasonable (what is up with Hobart to Melbourne flights being nearly $1000 at the moment?!), to visit again really soon. My Melbourne friends are some of the most important people in my life. I felt so seen, so safe, so unconditionally supported in their company. I hadn’t realised how much I’d needed that. And I heard from my sisters and quite a few Hobart friends while we were away too, so the whole week was just a wonderful reminder of how many good people we have in our lives, people we don’t have to prove ourselves to, people we don’t need to convince that we’re worthy of their love - we already have it. Like I say, much needed.

Reading

I didn’t read much! I finished Shonda Rimes’ Year of Yes which I really enjoyed. Paid a visit to the Book Grocer on Bourke Street, of course (why oh why did Hobart lose Book City? I know, I know, I’m living in the past) where I found a few great vegan cookbooks. Have already made some recipes from them which I’ll share in my next weekly update, which will also be a mammoth read, just to warn you.

Eating and drinking

Unsurprisingly, I have a lot to share! Where do I begin…. I’m just going to tell you about all the places we loved!

My long time readers, especially those who have been reading since I was a resident of Melbourne, will not be surprised to learn that dumplings were a high priority. The priority, truth be told.

I googled “best vegan dumplings in Melbourne” and so we went to ShanDong MaMa where the vegan zucchini dumplings were indeed sublime. The only mistake I made was adding chilli oil - I had a throat infection and had thought, stupidly, that chilli might nuke the lingering bugs. No, it only resulted in a massive coughing fit which, unsurprisingly, prompted many worried stares!

I had been informed that my old favourite Shanghai Dumpling House had been a covid closure, but nevertheless I wanted to stroll down Tattersalls Lane for old times sake. Lo and behold, it was open! Shanghai Dumpling lives! We went for dinner a few nights later and it was delightful. Delicious, simple, filling, hot and tasty. I did not have any chilli, as tempted as I was. Has Shanghai been restored to its former glory as my favourite Melbourne dumpling place? Absolutely.

Union Kiosk was probably the discovery of the trip. Incredible coffee (OMG Melbourne coffee, how I had missed it!) and an all-vegan menu of delicious jaffles (in Tassie they are called toasties). Tom and I couldn’t believe our luck to have stumbled upon the place. It was so difficult to pick - we shared one on our first visit but soon realised that was a mistake. On subsequent visits we got one each! Seriously sensational. We sat at an outside table, eating the delicious sandwiches, sipping the glorious coffee, and gazed around in wonder and gratitude, pinching ourselves that we were there at all. I am still dreaming about those toasties. Number 6 was our favourite. And next time I’m there, assuming I’m not under the weather, I’ll be brave and try something spicy, maybe the kimchi gochugang one.

We walked to Abbotsford on the Sunday to have lunch with some friends of ours at the Caringbush Hotel, a wonderful pub with a fully vegetarian and vegan menu. Bliss! Again, glorious to have the entire menu to choose from rather than just one or two tired options. Tom’s “lamb” ragu with gnocchi was startlingly realistic. “Are you sure this isn’t meat?” he whispered to me more than once!

I went with a roasted cauliflower, salad and tahini yoghurt as I was feeling the effects of 48 hours of mostly toasties and dumplings. It was also magnificent. Our friends, who are not vegetarian, loved their mains too.

Every cake in the box below is both vegan and gluten free. I know, I couldn’t believe it either! This was dessert one lovely evening that we spent with our friends - old friends from London who moved back to Melbourne recently. There was so much to catch up on! The cakes were so good. I’m still thinking about them. I have forgotten the name of the place but I’ll check and edit the post accordingly…trust me, if you live nearby you’ll want to check it out.

EDIT: Tash saw this post and texted me the details! The amazing cakes were from Voila in Coburg North.

In terms of vegan burgers, we were spoiled for choice with Lord of the Fries and Grill’d, both of which I sorely wish were available in Hobart! Grill’d was particularly excellent value, with 2 for 1 Meatfree Mondays.

We were also in Melbourne for work, and after that very successful, satisfying and rather epic day, we took the tram out to Northcote to try Brother Bon, as highly recommended by Cindy and Michael of Here’s the Veg. Sidenote: if you are a vegan and visiting Melbourne (or Brisbane, they recently went there), check this blog out, it was endlessly helpful in deciding where to eat!

Brother Bon exceeded every expectation. We were exhausted, starving and utterly high on life after our wonderful day, and so probably over ordered but we were so hungry and it was all so delicious, we didn’t care! Everything on the very extensive menu is vegan - yes, we double checked as we were in such disbelief - and it was very hard to choose. We ended up having the tofu bites and dumplings to start, and then Tom went with the very generous “fish and chips” - battered banana blossom, not unlike what we had at Erpingham House in Norwich six months ago! - and I had a gorgeous wok-smoky noodle dish, char kway teow with “chicken” (six proteins to choose from). We walked halfway back to the city after that meal, it was much needed! Absolutely phenomenal.

Non-alcoholic Prosecco, and very good it was too.

Finally, a dear old favourite bar which I was delighted to reacquaint myself with, Naked for Satan on bustling Brunswick Street. I met a friend there, and it was a beautiful warm afternoon. I had some wonderful, unexpected news that afternoon and so my friend was the first person I told (sorry Tommy!). To sit on a rooftop gazing at the Melbourne skyline in a bustling bar with one of my best friends and toast a much-wanted success was very special. Utter bliss.

We didn’t get to Brunswick Aces, nor a few other places we were keen to try, but all the more reason to come back again soon!

Watching and listening

We went to a party where our friend, who is a DJ, got on the decks and played some bangers! Most of which I have added to my inner summer playlist. Shazam on the iPhone is awesome!

We also spent a day on a video and photo shoot for an amazing indie musician, whose new songs are truly beautiful and memorable. We’ve been editing that EPK for the last few weeks - Tom has really outdone himself this time! Her new album is dropping next year - stay tuned!

Wearing

All I can say is I’m so glad I took my winter coat - I wore it pretty much every day! Poor Tom was hoping to buy a new coat while we were there but we had no luck. No wonder he, sadly, caught my cold!

I also wore my new Converse Chuck 70 recycled canvas sneakers non-stop - I love that I can wear them with both dresses and jeans. They look very stylish and are so comfortable. The main criterion for any shoe I buy is - can I walk in them? One of the best purchases of the year, for sure. Super handy for a city break.

Quote of the trip

It would have been Sylvia Plath’s 90th birthday a few days before our trip. I have been reading a wonderful recent biography of her, as well as her collected Letters, and came across this. It sums up how I feel about the trip and about life right now. I take every chance I can to ground myself in the present, express gratitude and try not to take things and people for granted. However, the only word that doesn’t sit right with me is cling - because I am trying not to do that. Seize moments, be acutely aware of the preciousness of life and love, but not cling to anything, where possible. Very much a work in progress.

“Remember, remember, this is now, and now, and now. Life it, feel it, cling to it. I want to become acutely aware of all I’ve taken for granted.” - Sylvia Plath

It was an incredible trip, a much needed change of scene, and a week where Tom and I felt bathed in friendship, love and good energy. It’s been a tough year but we’re both really ready to cast off that heaviness and regain a sense of fun and promise, and to prioritise joy. I think that will be my mantra going into 2023…which can you believe is only a month or so away now?!

Lots more to tell you, which I promise will be soon. I hope you’re doing well xx

See you again soon, Melbourne!

Please note: this blog post has affiliate links with retailers such as Booktopia which means I may receive a commission for a sale that I refer, at no extra cost to you.

review in TEXT: My Tongue is My Own, a life of Gwen Harwood by Ann-Marie Priest

I was very honoured to review Ann-Marie Priest’s wonderful book My Tongue is My Own: A Life of Gwen Harwood for TEXT Journal of Writing and Writing Courses last month. It’s published now and you can read it here.

It took me some time to read and digest this incredible, meticulously researched and detailed biography of one of Australia’s most significant poets of the last century. There seemed a lighthearted wink from Gwen Harwood (and perhaps Ann-Marie Priest too), towards the end, where Priest recounts the poet declaring her hatred for writing reviews: “It seems insulting to praise or dismiss in a few pages work that has taken years to write” (p.313) which sums up my thoughts exactly. For a while I wasn’t sure how I was ever going to do justice to this very accomplished biography! As a result, my review could not be described as succinct but I wanted to give this book the time and attention it deserved, as its author does to her subject.

As a Tasmanian, this book was particularly enjoyable as there are so many familiar names and sites. Gwen Harwood’s Hobart of the 1950s and 1960s was also the Hobart my own parents grew up in. While I was reading it, I asked my father if his parents, who were very much part of the town’s artsy set (his words) at the time, had known the Harwoods. He couldn’t recall, but when I mentioned James McCauley, a close friend of both Bill and Gwen Harwood who is mentioned often in the book, his eyes lit up.

“I bought a car off his widow in 1977,” he said. “Mrs McCauley on Sandy Bay Road. A grey Holden FD. Nice little car.”

I also asked a friend of mine, a writer who lives in New Zealand now but who was raised in Hobart, if she had known Gwen Harwood too. It seemed likely, as she was a budding poet in the early 1990s. She smiled and told me about a workshop Gwen gave at Elizabeth College when she was doing her HSC.

“She read my poem aloud to the group and said she liked the imagery. I then started writing to her. I still remember her address.” Her memories were that Gwen was more than willing to make time for anyone who showed an inclination for writing, which Ann-Marie Priest also mentions. I include these two anecdotes here to illustrate my great amusement at the inter-connectedness of life in Hobart which is still very much a thing - you might not know the individual personally, but you’ll only ever be a few degrees of separation away :)

Thank you again TEXT for asking me to review this amazing book, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in poetry, feminism, twentieth-century Australia, or all three!

Please note: this blog post has affiliate links with retailers such as Booktopia which means I may receive a commission for a sale that I refer, at no extra cost to you.

catching up

Dear friends, how have you been? It feels like ages since I last wrote a post - last week was simply too much of a whirlwind to even contemplate it. And now, it’s Friday yet again, and it will be November before we know it.

The last fortnight has held a lot of work, a lot of running around, a lot of a-ha moments, and a lot of signs that I have probably been working too hard and need to take it easy. Therapy has shown me that busy-ness and work, much as I enjoy it, is also how I distract myself and keep at bay things I might not want to talk about or am not ready to process yet. It’s been that kind of year, and I’m sure it will continue that way until it’s out. Such is the way of things, I’ve learned.

As always I find my anchoring in writing, in music, in reading, in meditation, in nature and in the company of the people I love most. How deeply grateful I am to have all those things.

The main event is that we had a joyful celebration of Tom’s birthday, which was quite a change from his last two birthdays - in 2020 we could only have a limited number of people to the house, and last year we were completely locked down (an introvert’s dream birthday, you could say). So that’s leading on nicely to…

Favourite experience/s of the week

A quiet but fun-filled day celebrating Tom, where we did all his favourite things and had lovely visits and Facetimes with family and friends. We shared a cake with our niece and nephew who are heart-burstingly adorable. And we had a wonderful trip to Gold Class where we saw a great film, had champagne brought to us, and felt very spoiled indeed. You only turn 42 once, after all, and I’m glad my darling Tommy got to do it in style.

I also attended my friend Holly’s book event in Hobart - despite getting caught in a biblical downpour on the way there and therefore looking like I’d been for a swim in my clothes when I arrived, it was a wonderful, memorable and inspiring evening as expected!

Reading

I finished Lucy Caldwell’s excellent short story collection Intimacies - about young women trying to find their place in the world, navigating emigration, motherhood, nostalgia, loss, temptation. I really enjoyed it. It also inspired me to trawl through my hard drives and find short stories I wrote during my London years that I never quite finished, on very similar themes. I discovered Lucy Caldwell quite by accident and I’m so glad I did! She’s a great writer, deserving of as much praise as Sally Rooney, in my opinion.

I’m dipping in and out of Break the Internet by Olivia Yallop which is basically a deep dive into the world of influencers and the industry that has built up around them, particularly over the last seven or so years. I’m finding it both infuriating and fascinating! The internet, and the world, was a very different place when I started blogging in 2005. Back then it was hard to imagine anyone wanting to watch a video of someone unboxing something, let alone that you might get famous, amass millions of followers and a veritable fortune for doing so. Some children I used to babysit (who are now, naturally, in their twenties!) have done just that, which boggles my mind. It’s an interesting experience to read this book as someone who didn’t exactly have a non-existent online profile themselves back in the day, and to be torn between feeling like I dodged a bullet or missed the boat. On balance I think it was the former. Either way it’s a great read and showcases what a disturbing landscape has been created in terms of why and how people get famous these days. A perfect companion/antidote would be So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson, an excellent book I read a few years ago, which hammers home the very dark side of “going viral”.

Rereading Natalie Goldberg’s The True Secret of Writing - I started reading The Body Keeps the Score but found that a bit heavy for bedtime reading, so switched to something that would get me in my happy place! Natalie’s words always make me want to write. I should also reread Dani Shapiro’s Still Writing, one of my favourite books on the creative life.

I also finished reading a wonderful biography of Gwen Harwood and writing a review of it, which I’ll hopefully be able to share in a few weeks.

Creative Boom: Beat the industry’s seven deadly sins with these brilliant books - I want to read all of these!

Catapult: Trying to escape the trap of digital productivity by Richa Kaul Padte - oh boy, how I related to this! My own stepping away from social media at the start of the year was a spontaneous decision but in the nearly 10 months that have elapsed since then, I can see it was something that had been brewing in my subconscious for a very long time. Padte makes some really interesting points about social media turning your life into a performance even when you are consciously trying to subvert that idea:

Even when I am not posting a picture, when I have ideologically committed to not posting it, I am still producing it in my mind’s eye. This compulsive documentation of my surroundings isn’t for personal use; instead, it is vertically shot and artfully arranged for a grid I can’t seem to escape. It’s what the environmentalist Vandana Shiva terms elsewhere a “colonization of the mind,” which feels, in the digital era, inextricably linked with the logic of productivity.

To be honest, I can’t believe it’s been nearly a year. I deactivated Facebook quite some time before this year’s complete exodus, so it’s been even longer since I was on there in many meaningful way. It has profoundly changed my life and outlook. I have so much to say about it and I’ll do another update for you all soon. Thank you Richa Kaul Padte for throwing a log on my internal fire!

I finished Jarvis Cocker’s Good Pop Bad Pop which was as wonderful as I had anticipated. I wonder about doing a project of my own along similar lines - I have boxes and boxes of detritus from my childhood and early adulthood that my parents stored for me while I lived in the UK, and now naturally boxes of ephemera from my life in the UK too. Jarvis ponders in his book, as he is faced with an unwieldy pile of mess in his loft - why do we save things? Why do we collect things? What do these random piles of stuff we amass in the course of our lives and keep hidden away say about us and what we value? What sort of story do they tell about us and our lives? These are fascinating questions and I very much enjoyed Jarvis’s attempts to answer them.

And finally, I am listening to Toni Morrison’s Beloved on audiobook, read by the author herself, as I finish an embroidery project. It’s blowing my mind. Our Hidden Nerve session on Thursday (I can’t quite believe we only have one more to go) featured a few passages from it as an illustration of the presenter’s point about use of metaphor, how to create sensuousness in your writing without being obvious, and also how to write about anger. It was a really big penny-drop moment for me and I think it deserves a post all of its own, so stay tuned for that.

Listening to

On my morning runs, I’ve been doing something different and listening to affirmations over house music. Elroy Spoonface Powell (Chakra Blue) is my favourite. It’s a great change, and particularly good on days I feel a bit slow and lethargic. Running is a great mood lifter anyway but with these affirmations in my AirPods, it’s a complete endorphin-filled experience! Highly recommended. You can listen to Chakra Blue on Tidal (as I do) or Spotify.

Happy Place: The Craig David episode was brilliant. If you’re a recovering people pleaser, this will resonate.

Chill and Prosper with Denise Duffield-Thomas: I don’t know how this landed in my feed but I’m glad I discovered it. I listened to the episode where Denise talks about how to fix undercharging and overdelivering in business and I had quite a few a-ha moments! Worth a listen for all you freelancers out there!

I have recently made a playlist of favourite classical tracks and have recently rediscovered Brahms’ Serenades which were a favourite of mine as a teenager, which I played non-stop (but quietly) when I sat up late writing by candlelight like Jo March in Little Women. I love how music instantly transports you back to the time you associate with it, I could practically see my school bag in the corner.

Eating

I made Deliciously Ella’s spiced cauliflower and cashew pilaf traybake again (pictured) which was even nicer than the first time - probably because I added some chilli powder, haha! It’s a really easy and delicious meal, I thoroughly recommend trying it out.

An Italian-flavoured two lentil soup which I made a vat of - took a container round to my sister who has a newborn and an almost-three-year-old, and then we enjoyed the rest both as a soup with bread and then as a pasta sauce the next day when it had thickened overnight. Love a meal that does double duty!

Vegan chocolate cake for Tom’s birthday - which our niece pronounced “delicious”! - and vegan banana bread, just for something extra!

I made a rather divine creamy broccoli pasta with capers and aged cashew cheese, which we both loved. I think there was a sweet potato mac and cheese in there too.

Now I’m trying to meal plan for the next week and this is what I have in mind:

• Quinoa pad thai (a Rachel Ama recipe, from her second and latest book)

• Fennel and butter bean stew

• Veggie burgers

• Some sort of curry, most likely an Indian flavoured one because I bought a rather addictive mango pickle from Namaste Spices in Moonah and am glad of any excuse to eat it

• Chickpea and sausage casserole

• Most likely a pasta as well, which Tom has said on many occasions he could happily eat every day!

That’s all I’ve got so far! What’s on your meal plan?

Watching

Tom and I went to see Amsterdam for his birthday outing and we LOVED it. Never, ever believe the online reviews. I’m glad we didn’t! It’s quite something when a film set nearly 90 years ago manages to say a great deal about the present day.

Amsterdam is a complex murder mystery that unfolds alongside a poignant tale of love and friendship between three people who met and bonded on the battlefields of the First World War. Despite the horrors they witnessed and endured at the Front, Burt (Christian Bale), Harold (John David Washington) and Valerie (Margot Robbie) spend a happy period of living it up in post-war Amsterdam, and all return to America feeling hopeful and optimistic about the future. Nearly 15 years later, the three are drawn back together when their old army colonel dies suddenly. His daughter (Taylor Swift) believes he has been murdered and asks Burt and Harold, who have stayed in touch all this time and are still best friends, to investigate on the quiet. Unfortunately, the daughter’s hunch is correct and she too is bumped off before Burt and Harold can confirm her suspicions. There is then an extensive flashback to their time in the army and in Amsterdam, which give the viewer many clues as to how they’ve ended up in this situation. Back in 1930s New York, they find themselves unexpectedly reunited with Valerie and the three join forces once again to unearth the culprit and to also expose some dangerous right-wing underground activities that are brewing, some of which involve a few people they know.

Written and directed by David O.Russell, Amsterdam is a very clever and well-produced film full of dark humour but with also some very serious messages about the world we live in today: the prejudices that are still alive and well; how needless suffering is allowed to happen; how tolerance of dangerous rhetoric can have terrible consequences (the theme of turning a blind eye was brilliantly symbolised with the use of eyes in Valerie’s artwork and in Burt’s glass eye); the futility of war and greed; and that choosing love over hate is vital but not enough on its own. We also have to fight to protect kindness, which is usually the first casualty of power being pursued at all costs. “I’m very happy to be unimportant and live in a place that has love and beauty,” muses Valerie. “Art and love, that’s what makes life worth living.”

I have spent much of the last six years despairing over the state of politics in the Western world, as I imagine many of you have too. Living in the UK as Brexit rumbled and the Tories stripped the country’s integrity away piece by piece; sharing my American friends’ horror, grief and fear as Trump was voted in; too numb to cry as I watched the Australian election results in 2019 and we learned Morrison was staying where he was for the foreseeable. In each situation, I always wondered HOW?! How has this been allowed to happen?! I am no political scientist but I am a historian. And the great lesson of history is that people and nations rarely learn from it. Watching this film, two years on from the ousting of Trump, was a curious thing. I have listened to many podcasts and read many articles about the situation and conditions that were created in America that allowed him to rise to power in the first place, but it never crystallised more for me than in the watching of Amsterdam. All the clues are there, if you want to see them. It’s not about the 1930s, or the aftermath of the First World War. It’s about the world we have lived in for the past few decades, and where it all came from.

Honestly, I cannot recommend it enough. As does the birthday boy, who said “if they were releasing it on 4K Blu-Ray tomorrow, we’d be watching again tomorrow. I can’t wait to see it again!”

Wearing

I haven’t worn them yet but I finally bit the bullet and bought myself two pairs of new running tights, as the ones I bought in 2019 are starting to get holes in them! In fact most of my running gear is very old - I still have the Sweaty Betty capris I ran the London Marathon in (which also have holes, so I use those for gardening), Lorna Jane gear I’ve had since 2013, yoga pants I bought in Canada in 2007 (!), the list goes on. It’s all lasted pretty well considering how I practically live in workout gear. My friend Anita recommended Australian brand Abi + Joseph to me ages ago and this week they had a 70% off sale, so I was out of excuses! I’m excited to run in tights that have a pocket for my phone, instead of using my spi-belt that has never sat on my hips properly or wearing a jacket with zipped pockets, which just gets too hot this time of year. Will report back.

Quote of the week

Holly quoted this short poem by Mary Oliver at her event last Friday evening, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I think it sums up the human experience in general!

“We shake with joy, we shake with grief. What a time they have, these two housed as they are in the same body.” - Mary Oliver

If you’d like to share your thoughts on this post, or anything else, with me, please do! Have a happy and safe weekend xx