Gifts and other surprises

I’ve been a bit spoiled lately.

Just before I left for Brisbane, I got an email saying I had won last month's contest at aduki and I would be getting a book in the mail. It was waiting for me when I came home.

I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever won anything. Needless to say, it was exciting to get my free book and I look forward to a mythical future day when I have the time to read it. Thanks aduki!

Then Andy’s parents came up, and brought with them gifts from some of Andy’s aunties at home. A set of six wine glasses means we have enough to offer if we ever have guests (a big step up from our previous set of two mis-matched glasses). Likewise, a new towel set means that people who stay at our place don't need to use beach towels when they shower. And before they left, Andy’s mum and dad got us a juicer.

We ended up getting the last one on the shelf, which was missing its box and paperwork but had all of its parts—and it was $100 cheaper than it usually is. We downloaded the instructions from the internet and have been juicing all week.

Our first creation involved beetroot, carrot, orange, rockmelon and ginger. It was yummy but I forgot to take photos. Our next batch was similar—orange, beetroot, carrot, sweet potato, mint and ginger (though I don’t think the mint juiced very well).

In order to not waste the pulp from this batch, we decided to make Pulp Nuggets. Before they cooked, I thought they looked a lot like raw mince.

These are basically the recipe for chickpea cutlets, with pulp instead of chickpeas (we picked out most of the clump of orange pulp). Flavoured with korma paste and then formed into nuggets and fried, these were a really yummy way to use the extras from our juice, especially alongside some lime and coriander potato salad, and a mixture of raw corn, tomato and cucumber.

Our latest juice was very different from the others. Half a bunch of celery, a cucumber and two apples made for a very green juice. Andy didn’t love it, but I thought it was pretty good. Another apple probably would have made it a bit sweeter.

And and and, I checked the mail last week to find not one but TWO gift certificates from my family. For my birthday, they’ve treated me to two sessions at Plant Essentials, a vegan and organic spa in town. Wahoo!