Green Bean & Artichoke Salad

.....inspired by 4 Ingredients, Fast Fresh & Healthy

Photo credit

1 can of artichokes, drained

250g fresh green beans

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon chili flakes

dash of balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup pistachio nuts, chopped

handful of parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Place artichokes in a bowl and add olive oil, vinegar and chili flakes.  Set aside to marinate, at least 1 hour.  Chop beans into 2" pieces and place in boiling water about 3-4 minutes.  Drain and place in bowl with artichokes.  Add the rest of the ingredients and toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

A Productive Weekend

I had a pretty good weekend as I completed a lot of stuff I've been meaning to do:

- Vacuumed the kitchen, laundry, living room and hallway
- Mopped the kitchen and laundry
- Moved bunny back to her normal living area (I moved her because the bathroom was being painted, and I didn't want her to get sick from the fumes)
- Dusted everything in the living room
- Cleared the dining table so we can actually have dinner on it.
-Watered the orchids
- Had my Mum and brother over for afternoon tea
- Sowed seeds (tomatoes, eggplant, capsicum/pepper, basil, summer spinach, silverbeet/chard, kale) to plant in my Mum's garden when they're grown. 

For afternoon tea I made Jenny's Blueberry Bran Bread (modified quite a bit, since I didn't have all the ingredients),  sundried tomato pesto & ham sandwiches and Cranberry Muffins.

The sundried tomato pesto was easy to make.  I used sundried tomatoes in oil and pine nuts all blended till smooth.  It was the first time I've made it and it was so easy I don't think I'll ever buy pesto again!  It is so much cheaper to make it yourself than buy it.

Roasted Pumpkin , Chicken and Ricotta Cannelloni

This recipe is from the New Zealand Healthy Food Guide.  I used ground beef instead of the chicken.  I also used real cannelloni tubes instead of fluffing about with the lasagne.  It is an awesome recipe.  Makes 4 big serves, even for greedy people like me.

My own little LOL Bunny

One reader asked me for bunny pictures and I am more than happy to oblige.  I took these pictures several weeks ago. 

Lookin' for treats

Playing with my cone

Treats??

Action Shots

Look how alarmed the cat looks in this one. LOL

Get outta my space cat!!

Sittin' Pretty

Hope you enjoyed them!

Ginger Tea

I bought a new cookbook the other day: 4 Ingredients; Fast, Fresh & Healthy 

I have the other two books written by the same ladies.  As the title says, all recipes in the book have 4 ingredients or less.  They have a gluten free recipe book which I haven't bought.

Out of the three books of I have of theirs, this is by far the best.  It has some really tasty ideas; not only that, they are all pretty healthy and use simple ingredients.

I'm going to share with you a recipe from the book.  It has been changed very slightly to suit my taste.  It has a very spicy taste so if you love ginger this one is for you!  It actually tastes like a non-carbonated ginger beer to me....

"Ginger helps to stimulate the heart and circulatory system and is also known for it's ability to reduce inflammation" [good for people who train a lot!].
"Good for indigestion and gas" [ahem!].
"Tea brewed from ginger is a folk remedy for colds"

10cm ginger root
4 cups of water
1 tsp honey
2 slices of lemon

Peel ginger and slice thinly.  Bring water to boil and then add ginger.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Strain tea and then add honey and lemon.  Bring to boil.  Pour into teapot and serve.