Lately, I have been eating a variety of things that I’m not supposed to. And because of the lack of willpower to stay disciplined, I suffer the consequences because of my Endometriosis.
Chocolate is one food I cannot resist. I find that regular milk chocolate does not bode well with my tummy. But dark chocolate is okay, and I find myself indulging almost every night! My waistline has expanded as a result of this weakness.
Dessert is another food I cannot resist when it comes to sweet tooth indulgence. When hubby made some coconut pandan jelly recently, it was hard to resist despite knowing I am courting trouble. Like milk chocolate, my tummy cannot agree with the coconut milk ingredient. I’m just wondering whether it is my Endometriosis that’s giving me problems with this natural ingredient?
Jelly is something that one does not eat a piece only. You have to have several. So when the intake is more due to indiscipline, the tolerance level is compromised, and pain will kick in soon after. Sigh. It’s a balancing act to maintain without suffering any painful consequences.
I have not talked about my Endometriosis problems lately because there haven’t been any, thank goodness. You could say it is under control. But any pain experienced is purely diet-related and self-induced. Meaning, if I eat things that I am not supposed to, I will feel the pain.
Recently, I went back to drinking coffee with sugar added. If there’s milk, it’s just courting trouble. So far, I must say it’s manageable because I don’t gulp the whole mug in one go. I take my time sipping, and it works out okay. I’m glad because I do have an urge for a nice cuppa once in a while. But with the added sugar, it’s a setback as far as weight is concerned. Perhaps I should drink my coffee black. Hmm.
Coffee aside, cheese is still one food I cannot handle, although I love cheese. It’s too heavy and creamy for me, and I will be all bloated and upset in the tummy. You can guess by now pizza is off my menu. Eggs, especially hard-boiled eggs, are off my menu too. Besides these, onions and beef are also food that I try to avoid.
The current coffee grounds for the French press
It’s a balancing act to manage the intake and not push my luck. Sometimes it’s hard, so discipline is essential to a happy lifestyle and healthy tummy.
Bread and scones have become such a regular feature on our menu ever since hubby picked up baking last year. So much so, it can be boring to eat the same thing daily. Even he gets bored baking the same stuff all the time. That’s why we get cakes once in a while but only for special occasions.
One day, hubby decided to venture beyond these items, and he made jelly, coconut pandan jelly, to be specific! My, oh my, the jelly is simply delicious. But the process, to me, is very tedious because every layer has to be precisely measured. Such patience he has.
The evenly layered coconut pandan jelly with the evenly measured jelly powder
Two years ago, after months of serious searching, I finally found the perfect teacup to use with my Nessie and the Deep Tea Diver tea gadgets. And coincidentally, the glass cup is a whale-themed one, perfect for me who, once upon a time, carved Whales (besides my Gnomes and Citizens of Gigglesville). These days, there is hardly any carving done because I ran out of wood.
Anyway, the teacup comes with a ceramic lid and spoon and just nice to keep my tea hot. However, these days I hardly go into the office because of the pandemic and MCO restrictions. The glass cup and the two tea gadgets are left unused. Pity.
Once in a blue moon, it is okay to have a cheat bake day. One can only eat so much bread and scones, and after a while, it gets boring. The palate needs a new taste to jolt its senses.
So I was craving brownies, but hubby dearest did not want to make them (from scratch) for me initially. He said there’s too much sugar involved, and brownies are bad for both of us.
I was persistent, and in the end, we picked up a ready-mix box instead. I figured, what I don’t know (as in how much sugar in the ingredients), I will not fret too much when I eat the brownies. I even feebly suggested I make the brownies, but hubby–knowing my sad baking skills—baked the tray of brownies for me. Sweet, rich, and very yummy, it was a job well done!
A piece each time to keep the tummy happy everyday!
After the recent pineapple theft right before our eyes by the garden squirrel, hubby took no chances with the latest pineapple as it is almost ripe and ready. He had put a wire mesh around the fruit as it grew to protect it from the squirrels. Of late, squirrels have been visiting us.
Last week, hubby set out a cage trap intended for a suspected rat intruder in the wet kitchen area, but a silly young squirrel fell for it instead. It wasn’t a big-sized squirrel, nor was it the scalded squirrel. He let it go because the furry critter did look rather cute but not our intention to trap it. Then several days later, two squirrels was simultaneously trapped! Two, I thought it was quite a feat.
I suspect the critters are coming around because there are fruits in the kitchen, and they can smell the enticing fragrance of ripe fruits. Thankfully, we are one step ahead of them this time, and our fruits are not compromised.
But with the whiff of the ripe fruits, we have to be careful, and since the current pineapple is almost ready, hubby decided to harvest it. I think it should be two or three days before we can savor this fruit of his labor.
And yesterday morning, the scalded squirrel had a brief encounter with me. It contemplated coming inside the house as we left the terrace door wide open. We had a short staring moment, and I won as I got up, causing it to scurry off.
Again out of pity, hubby left a piece of bread for the poor squirrel. I hope the birds will not eat it and continue pecking at their provided bird seeds. The things we do for our garden visitors.
The past year during our various MCO (Movement Control Order) to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, hubby learned to bake while I cooked. Initially, I baked using ingredients from ready cake-mix boxes, but baking did not interest me. So I stopped and, instead, focused on cooking to expand the menu for our meals.
But hubby enjoyed this activity and baked stuff from scratch. Admirable considering the kitchen was never his place to be, more in the garden. And we had a variety of baked goods. From scones, cakes, and all sorts of bread, I have never eaten so much of these things daily prior.
Hubby’s lovely herb bread……and perfectly shaped cranberry scones
Once in a blue moon, I itch to bake, and I only do one thing – apple pies. And mind you, I do just the filling; hubby prepares the dough. I don’t know why I find this fun. But my approach to this is more by feel than by measured steps. Nothing is ever accurate because I always read the instructions halfway, never pass what is needed. So the amount required is sometimes missed out!
And you can imagine what comes out when I bake! When hubby bakes, the result is predictable and almost to perfection. Occasionally, a slight burn on the scone surfaces or the bread did not rise. But we know what to expect. When I bake, well, you don’t know what to expect. Thank goodness, I don’t bake so often, if not at all!
My recent attempt was the perfect example. I was craving apple pies, but hubby was not too keen. So he suggested I use ready-made puff pastry skin. Knowing I will mess up the dough part of the pie, I agreed.
The apple pie recipe that I scribbled on a paper was missing from the kitchen counter! Oh dear, so I had to google it up again. When I found something similar to what I had in mind, I just read half of it and jumped right in. Very brave because I used only the ingredients that we have, skipping those that we don’t. The only thing I measured was the amount of sugar. The rest was just thrown in by looks and feel.
And I had to improvise because, with puff pastry, I was making puffs now instead of apple pies. Hubby was appalled at the situation because nothing was standardized! Besides the pie-looking puffs, there was also a real puff, a dim sum, a wrap, and a blob. It was spectacular!
My spectacular apple puffs of all shapes!
He could not understand why I can craft laboriously on DIY miniature houses and cafes with their minuscule detailed accessories, but not the apple pies, or in this case, apple puffs. Hmm, unexplainable.
Horrid as they look, they turned out good, I must say. The filling was just right in taste, while the puff pastry was perfectly flaky and buttery. Will I bake again? Well, there’s another pack of the puff pastry in the freezer, and I just might. Whether the taste will be the same or what they will look like remains, we will only know when that day comes.
Our garden is a sanctuary of sorts for all the critters in the area. Birds flock to our place for bird seeds provided on a timely schedule, squirrels romp here hoping for the same fortune as the birds, and earthworms make a mess of the garden surface while having a galore underground. The smaller critters – the bees and caterpillars enjoy the nectar and leaves at their own pace without any disturbance. It is a very fertile and happy place.
Recently we spotted an injured squirrel from the kitchen window. Unfortunately, I was too slow with the phone to get a picture. The poor thing looked like it got scalded for its tail, and part of its face and body is missing some fur with the bare pink skin showing. The poor critter is constantly looking very frightened and wary of the surroundings and still surviving.
One day, hubby – out of pity – threw out a piece of bread for the injured squirrel to eat. It came around and sniffed at the bread, unsure what it was. It is evident bread is something that is not in the squirrel’s natural environment. It even sniffed at the surrounding plants, wondering if the bread fell off from one of the nearby potted plants.
We couldn’t wait for it to eat the offering and left for the office soon after. That night, when we got home, the bread is gone. I am assuming the squirrel ate it, and we have not seen it since. Hopefully, it gained some strength from the offered food and is recovering well. We have to keep a lookout for it to appear again.
It looks like our other papaya tree is finally fruiting! Yay. Just when we thought we would not have any papaya to eat after chopping the big tree down to a manageable height, the newer six-foot-tall tree has come to our answer.
Will this tree give us papayas to enjoy?
The young papaya tree failed to pollinate several times. Previously, there were lots of flowers, but nothing more. This time, I guess the insects and bees have finally cooperated, and there are fruits now. Let’s hope the fruits will grow. We will have to monitor to ensure that the squirrels don’t get to them.
Our papaya tree has been very fruitful. We have had an abundance of fruits and have given away much of the yield. But good things must come to an end.
Two weeks ago, the largest fruit fell from the tree before hubby could pluck it. Thankfully, it did not cause any damages to the potted plants on the ground, nor did the fruit explode upon impact.
We both agreed that after harvesting the last few fruits, the tree needs to be shorter. Otherwise, it will be hard harvesting future fruits standing on the top-most step of the nine-foot ladder. Currently, the tree is about 20 feet tall!
So we spent a fruitful (pun intended) morning trimming the tree down to a more manageable height. It will be a while before we can have some papayas from the garden.
Capping the once towering but now shortened tree with some pots
Angieneering 
Remarks