Ooh organisation!

Well I decided to try and help my brain-fogginess by having a planner- I have put a weekly planner (free printable can be found here: Artsy Farty Mama Printable) in an old picture frame and I'll be writing on the glass using a dry wipe pen so I can re-use the same printable! I admit the frame isn't the best but I'm sure it will look fab once I get a bit of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on it :)

Pain and numbness

Well last night was a doozy- massive flare up of leg pain which also radiated into my lower back- also interestingly I can't put weight on my right leg without it cumpling and I also can't move my right arm/hand properly either. I've taken some oxycontin but despite that I still didn't sleep more than around 2 hours so feel wrecked- hope the people of Pembrokeshire are friendly today!

Sigh..

This week has been particularly difficult- night sweats and night terrors aplenty leave me with less than around 3 hours sleep a night and legs pains, nausea, fatigue and optic migraines have abounded grrrr. I will NOT let this all beat me- I am determined to keep on at the doctors who seem not to listen to me about my deteriorating symptoms.

A Plus point is that we are warm and cosy with our wood burning stove and I'm currently cuddled up to my amazing husband with our special girl beside me- happy days :)

Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes- UPDATED

Well it's that time of year again and even for the atheists like me it's time for pancakes. Normally this involves me getting cranky as the first pancake always seems to be a disaster and I hate food waste (not that it's really wasted as our GSD LOVES pancakes!) but I'm always after new recipes and I'm going to try a compare and contrast this year with vegan & non vegan pancakes and see where they get me :)

Well surprisingly the VEGAN recipe won! It was thicker and the batter once cooker was fluffy and light. The non-vegan recipe was quite watery and stuck to the pan a lot more. I trialled both recipes on my husband and didn't tell him the ingredients for either recipe and he scored 10/10 for the vegan recipe and 7/10 for the non-vegan as he said the shape wasn't as good (due to said pan-stickiness) and the flavour had a more milky taste. I will say that I personally liked both equally but it's handy to know how yummy the vegan recipe is if you are running low on eggs or milk :)

So the VEGAN recipe can be found here (I added slightly more water as the batter is quite thick):

All Recipes Vegan Pancakes

and the NON-VEGAN recipe can be found here on the Awesome Jack Monroe's blog (she has several options for pancakes- all of which are delicious!):

Jack Monroe's amazing recipe: Allegras rolly-up pancakes

​ Obligatory shot of our very special girl:

Vegan Instant Pot Risotto

Vegan Instant Pot Mushroom & Pea Risotto (with manual method)

This is one of my arsenal of recipes which I use to convince people that vegan food isn't bland and can be delicious and heart warming- it also happens to be one of my favourite meals because in my pressure cooker I can make it in around 5 minutes so risotto is no longer confined to special occasions- yay! This can also be a good recipe for cooking on a budget- I frequently use frozen vegetables as they are generally cheap, you have less waste and they are frozen soon after being picked so the nutrients are locked in. I have included a non-pressure cooker recipe which does take a lot longer in case you are missing out on one of these fantastic gadgets!

Serves two:

Ingredients

• 1 diced onion
• 200g chopped mushrooms (which ever variety you like- I like chestnut but porcini are popular)
• 100g peas
• 460ml vegetable stock (ramp this up to 700ml if using manual method)
• 80ml vegan/veggie wine (red or white- both work well! or if no alcohol available sub for extra stock)
• 200g carnaroli rice
• good glug of rapeseed oil (or what ever oil you like)
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp thyme (I used dried but if you have fresh then a finely chopped handful is awesome)
• few drops of truffle oil (optional but this MAJORLY adds depth!)

Method (if using Instant Pot)

1. Set Instant Pot to 'saute less' add oil and onions and stir to soften
2. Add rice and stir to coat with oil
3. Add wine (or 80ml stock) and stir until almost all absorbed
4. Add the remaining 460ml of stock and mushrooms and stir to combine
5. Set Instant Pot to High Pressure and cook for 4 minutes. Once done 'quick release' presssure.
6. Stir the risotto and add the nutritional yeast and thyme. Finally, add the peas and serve immediately- yum!

Method (manual method)

1. Add oil to saucepan and preheat
2. add onions and stir to soften
3. Add rice and coat with oil and stir until translucent
4. Add wine (or 80ml stock) and the thyme stir until nearly all absorbed
5. Add mushrooms and another 100ml of stock, again stir until nearly absorbed- keep adding a bit of stock at a time until rice is cooked.
6. Stir in the peas and the nutritional yeast & serve (and especially enjoy after all the extra effort!) :)

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