I don't know how we are up to July. Half of 2012 is gone already. This does not seem possible, at all.
Still, here we are, and another month is behind us. June has been a mixed month for me, but one of the nice things about these posts is that they remind me to focus on the positives. Here are some of them!
I got back into porridge eating, thanks to the onset of truly cool weather...
I also found, and enjoyed, dried incaberries. These are also known as cape gooseberries, Aztec berries and golden berries (amongst other things) and have the technical name of physalis peruviana.
They taste a bit like a tart raisin, but are also sweet - making for interesting and enjoyable eating. They are thought to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and whilst I ate mine plain, I imagine they would work well in baked goods too.
As some of you may already have picked up via Twitter or other means, I fell in love with Game of Thrones...
We watched the first season of the television series, which covers the first book (Game of Thrones) in the larger A Song of Ice and Fire book series. I tore through that book in an effort to catch up to our television viewing, and am now about three-quarters of the way through the second book (A Clash of Kings).
Despite being fantasy (I don't usually enjoy fantasy writing), despite the television series being rated R (expect lots of violence and sex), I am well and truly obsessed.
The lovely thing about this is that there are four more books for me to read, and I suspect many more television episodes to watch too. I am not sure if there is anything better than discovering a new, captivating, thick series of books!
Unless, of course, you have delicious snacks on hand to fuel that reading...
This month was quite productive in that regard, with snack and dessert creations including a vegan lemon slice, chocolate cherry quinoa mousse, a chilled vegan strawberry cheesecake slice, and homemade raisin bread. Not to mention a whole lot of cupcakes!
In hindsight, that is actually quite a lot of sweet creations. Fortunately there were savoury dishes to even things out, including my first (but definitely not last) foray into tofu bacon, some experimentation with cabbage, that split pea risotto with some challenges, vegetable soup with barley, and a few other dishes that are yet to be mentioned on here, including individual ramekin pot pies.
It seems like I spent a lot of June in the kitchen, which is a lovely thing indeed.
On a slightly more random note, June was also a month of discovery. Hair discovery to be specific. I have always considered myself to have brown hair, but Mr Bite insists it is red in the sun. When I asked a few people what colour they considered my hair to be, there was about a 50% response rate of "red".
And then Mr Bite took this picture, in which my hair really does look red.
So there we have it; a month of food, reading, and red hair.
What did your June bring?
Still, here we are, and another month is behind us. June has been a mixed month for me, but one of the nice things about these posts is that they remind me to focus on the positives. Here are some of them!
I got back into porridge eating, thanks to the onset of truly cool weather...
Oats, unsweetened almond milk, apple, cinnamon...
and tea, because tea goes better with oats than coffee
As some of you may already have picked up via Twitter or other means, I fell in love with Game of Thrones...
We watched the first season of the television series, which covers the first book (Game of Thrones) in the larger A Song of Ice and Fire book series. I tore through that book in an effort to catch up to our television viewing, and am now about three-quarters of the way through the second book (A Clash of Kings).Despite being fantasy (I don't usually enjoy fantasy writing), despite the television series being rated R (expect lots of violence and sex), I am well and truly obsessed.
The lovely thing about this is that there are four more books for me to read, and I suspect many more television episodes to watch too. I am not sure if there is anything better than discovering a new, captivating, thick series of books!
Unless, of course, you have delicious snacks on hand to fuel that reading...
This month was quite productive in that regard, with snack and dessert creations including a vegan lemon slice, chocolate cherry quinoa mousse, a chilled vegan strawberry cheesecake slice, and homemade raisin bread. Not to mention a whole lot of cupcakes!
In hindsight, that is actually quite a lot of sweet creations. Fortunately there were savoury dishes to even things out, including my first (but definitely not last) foray into tofu bacon, some experimentation with cabbage, that split pea risotto with some challenges, vegetable soup with barley, and a few other dishes that are yet to be mentioned on here, including individual ramekin pot pies.
It seems like I spent a lot of June in the kitchen, which is a lovely thing indeed.
On a slightly more random note, June was also a month of discovery. Hair discovery to be specific. I have always considered myself to have brown hair, but Mr Bite insists it is red in the sun. When I asked a few people what colour they considered my hair to be, there was about a 50% response rate of "red".
And then Mr Bite took this picture, in which my hair really does look red.
This picture also makes me look like I have straight, well-behaved hair. It isn't,
so I'm still not fully convinced the picture is honest about the colour...
So there we have it; a month of food, reading, and red hair.
What did your June bring?
Happy Half Year Kari! Those Inca berries look interesting. I picked up some raw cacao nibs on holidays and thought of you -have you used them yet?
ReplyDeleteThank you Liz! And I haven't - although keep meaning to! I have tried raw carob nibs but that is all thus far. How did you find them??
DeleteKari you have red hair! :-) Beautiful red hair. (I always wanted red hair like Anne of Green Gables.)
ReplyDeleteI still haven't jumped onto Game of Thrones, I have heard from anyone who has seen it that it's great though.
I think I may have to embrace the red hair thing :-) I'll think of Anne of Green Gables and try to view it as a good colour change, instead of just a puzzling one!
DeleteYour hair is a really beautiful colour and it looks lovely and thick and like it's in excellent condition - mine could do with some taming - and a bit more colour and a lot less grey! What a great month in the kitchen you've had. I'd love to try those tart but sweet berries xx
ReplyDeleteOh thank you Charlie - it isn't, really, but that does make me feel better about its fly away tendencies (which are mostly visible from the back, rather than the back)! I definitely recommend keeping an eye out for the Inca berries - I just found them at an IGA, so I imagine they aren't too difficult to turn up.
DeleteI can't believe that we are halfway through the year either. I've not heard much about Game of Thrones - am sure I could get into it if given the chance but we have so many other things to see that it is probably best to stay away :-) Your hair does look red in the photo - mine was so much lighter as a kid that I still get surprised at how much darker it has got - has yours changed a lot since you were a kid and maybe this is why you have an image of yourself different to the reality?
ReplyDeleteIf you are short on time, or have a build up of other activities, staying away from Game of Thrones probably is a good idea :-) I have neglected many other things this month as a result of it!
DeleteI think my hair must have changed colour - although it is actually a second change as it went from blonde to brown when I was 4 or so. I think the red shades only came in the last few years, so I will have to work on updating my image of it!
Agreed! I have no idea how July starts tomorrow! AH!
ReplyDeleteAnd now it's here! :D
DeleteI was just saying that i couldn't believe we were halfway through the year - it has went so fast! You have several recipes that i'm going to have to try! I'm a new visitor to your blog and a sweat pink sister. Thank you for visiting mine!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy the recipes if you get to them :)
Deletei love your hair texture and colour.
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you. It is less well behaved in real life, I promise!
DeleteIt's so hard to believe that this year is almost over! You have pretty hair Kari! :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched any of Game of Thrones, but I have heard it is really good. I love Sean Bean. I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan. ;)
I think a month of sweet making is very good!
If you like Lord of the Rings, I think you would definitely like Game of Thrones! And thank you :)
DeleteMy June was eaten by work. Literally. I can barely remember anything.
ReplyDeleteBecause of work destroying all my "free" time, I still haven't finished the first GoT book. I'm kindof scared to read the later ones where I won't know the horrible things that are coming. Right now, at least I'm prepared!
Pretty shiny hair! So shiny!
Your June depresses me and I didn't even experience it. I can not say how much I want your July to be better. Please be better!
DeleteI am working on the assumption that with 5 plus books, everything in GoT will actually work out by the end. It may be a delusion but it's working well in the book 2 phase!
Inca berries are new to me - I'll have to chek them out. It's definitely porridge weather here in Melbourne!
ReplyDeleteI think it may always be porridge weather in Melbourne ;) Definitely look out for Inca berries - you've made me think that they'd actually work quite well in porridge too!
DeleteHaha Kari! You're hilarious! I just burst out laughing. From the pic, I def say Mr. Bite is right. I believe pictures don't lie, and I DO believe you have very nice, well-behaved hair :). You're not fooling me! hehe.
ReplyDeleteThe hubby's reading Game of Thrones, and he's really into it. However, he doesn't think I'll like it. Do the TV series follow the book closely? If so, I may watch it first on TV to decide for myself whether to read or to pass. The most recent books I've read and just fell in love with were Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth. LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Ooh, I haven't read anything by Veronica Roth. I'll have to look her up! The first series of Game of Thrones follows the first book really closely, so you could definitely try watching it and see if you like it. The only downside of that is that the gory parts are much gorier on TV than in the book!
DeleteWow, never heard of Incaberries - I'll see if I can get my hands on some where I live!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely do! They're really delicious :)
DeleteWe have also recently jumped on the Game of Thrones band wagon! We watched series one before we went overseas and have jointly been reading the first book. Not sure if I can wait to read the next book before watching the series, it is so exciting!
ReplyDeleteMy hair is all sorts of colours now, but it has changed heaps of times in my life all by itself. It has been everything from nearly blond to quite red. Then it decided to settle on mouse brown and I decided to settle on my hairdresser's expertise!
Our TV viewing was paused by finishing series one and not yet having series two! It was horrible at first but now it's rather nice knowing it's waiting for us - I have no self-control on rationing books/series so I need circumstance to do it for me.
DeleteThanks for your catch up comments, they are hitting my inbox in turn and it's rather lovely :)