Recipe | Moroccan Lentil Burgers

I made these burgers for Mum, Dad and Ben the other night and they were excellent. I've been buying the Celebrate Health lentils for a while but hadn't made any of their recipes until now. I love these because they are already seasoned. They also have a Mediterranean flavour as well as other products such as Quinoa, recipe bases (sauces) and stock. You can buy them at Coles in the health food section. This recipe makes about 8 patties so there was enough for me to take a burger to work the next day (hence the last photo with strange background) - bonus!

Ingredients:

1 packet Celebrate Health Moroccan Lentils (or plain lentils cooked with moroccan seasoning)

1 sweet potato, peeled, cooked and mashed

2 spring onions, finely chopped (I used some red onion instead)

1 egg

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup bread crumbs (for crumbing)

Vegetable oil for frying

Hummus, salads and bread rolls - whatever takes your fancy. I also added sweet chilli sauce to my burger.

Directions:

Cook lentils as per packet directions and the sweet potato. Set both aside to cool. Mix the lentils, mashed sweet potato, onion, egg and 1/4 cup bread crumbs until well combined. Divide mixture into about 8 patties, roll and dust with the remaining bread crumbs until lightly coated. Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat and fry patties until golden brown. Serve warm with salad, hummus and anything else you like on a bread roll.

Autumn Wish List

1. Saltwater Sandals

2. Herschel Backpack

3. True Religion jeans

4. Le Specs sunglasses

5. Thin gold rings

6. Red knit jumper

7. Tan camera satchel

It was actually sort of painful creating this set because I am dedicating all my energy into saving for my fast approaching trip to America at the moment. Nonetheless, I've been dreaming up a wish list of these items for a while now and though I'm afraid I won't be swimming in spending money when I get to the US, I figure I'll be able to buy some of these items or similar on the cheap. I haven't bought anything for myself in so long!

I kind of wish that I could have the backpack and camera bag before I leave, but it makes sense for me to look for them when I'm there as they'll most likely be cheaper. Actually, now that I've said that I really want to get the backpack before I go because you know, traveling and stuff. Makes sense yeah?

I've put those gold rings on there because I actually had a set of my own and stupidly left them in Melbourne on my recent trip. Quite devastated. I got them at the Brooklyn Flea markets when I was there last year, so I'm pretty sure that's a good enough excuse to go back in a couple of months! And to eat a blood orange doughnut from Dough at Smorgasburg, of course.

As for the red knit jumper, well it's now technically off the wish list because I happened upon one at Coles (yes, the supermarket) yesterday! It was only $25 and my dear parents put it in the trolley as a gift for me. For the price it looks quite warm and cosy so I'm looking forward to some cooler Autumn days.

The House

My mum and dad are visiting at the moment so I took half a day off work yesterday to spend some time with them. Since one of my goals for 2013 was to be a tourist in my own city, them being here was a great excuse to go out on adventure into the city.

We took a walk down to Circular Quay, marvelled at the massive cruise ship docked there at the moment and also watched another one depart. We spent quite a while on the steps of the Opera House watching the beginnings of a wedding that was happening on a boat. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the bride which is usually the most exciting part. Mum loves a good wedding and will take any chance to sticky beak. The poor thing is still waiting for me to get married - sorry mum!

It had been a while since I'd stood underneath the Opera House sails and I'd forgotten just how impressive they are. It really is such a magnificent structure.

We finished the evening with dinner at Darling Harbour. I often walk past the restaurants down there thinking they'll be too touristy or overpriced. We'd done a lot of walking so when we spotted this Italian place we decided to just stop there and rest our feet. It turned out to be an excellent meal and while it was a little expensive the food and service was fantastic. It was so nice to sit there as the sun set and watch all the people go by. I'm looking forward to being a tourist again soon and snapping some more photos to share here.

Have a wonderful weekend! xo

On Disconnecting

Is this a familiar scene in your household? I often find myself sitting on the couch with my laptop, phone by my side and sometimes even the television turned on though I might not even be watching it. Even as I write this, I've been stopping every now and then to check Instagram. Technology and social media are a big part of my life and I'm someone that's always connected. It's not only a hobby but it's part of my job as a Communications Manager as well. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm a HUGE advocate for technology and social media - I think it's amazing! But lately I've been feeling as though I need to take a step back every now and then. I read two blog posts on this topic recently that really spoke to me. The first was by Naomi on Love Taza and the second by Christina on Profresh Style. Both are worth the read if you're feeling a little too dependent on technology, as I am at the moment. 

A few days after reading those posts, I also watched an episode of Parks and Recreation where Tom has a bit of a breakdown when he's not allowed to use technology for a day and even makes an Iphone out of paper. While being absolutely hilarious, it also really made me think about how I would feel if I challenged myself to do the same. You can watch a really funny clip from the episode here.

Image source.

So a few Sundays ago I decided not to check Instagram, Twitter or Facebook for the entire day. Catching up on my Instagram feed is part of my morning ritual as I eat breakfast, so not doing that was admittedly pretty hard. I actually look forward to it when I wake up because it's a huge source of inspiration for me and let's face it, mornings are not that great. Anyway, I managed not to go on any of those sites for the whole day though I did use my phone as I needed to make some calls. I'm not gonna lie, I did feel kind of anxious which just proves to me that I need to do it more often. I mean, what was I anxious about? That I wouldn't find out what someone had for lunch? Geez.

What about you? Are you suffering from the same technology dependency as me?

Carrot and Walnut Muffins (With Pulp)

It always feels like a small victory when I stumble upon a recipe I want to try and discover I actually already have all of the ingredients at home. I hadn't done any juicing in a while so yesterday I decided to use up some oranges, carrots and...wait for it...sweet potatoes. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you can juice sweet potatoes. To be honest, the texture once in juice form was a little bit chalky. It tasted pretty good but the texture kind of ruined it for me.

Orange, carrot and sweet potato juice.

I've seen a few recipes that incorporate the left-over pulp from fruit/vegetable juice. I decided to give these muffins a go, using the carrot and sweet-potato pulp from my juice. The sweet potato didn't affect the flavour, in my opinion, so you could probably just use carrot pulp or shredded carrots, if you're not juicing. I made sure I juiced the carrots and sweet potatoes first and set the pulp aside before doing the oranges.

Pulpy goodness.

Carrot, walnut (and sweet potato) pulp muffins:

2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 medium to large eggs, beaten

2 cups carrot etc pulp (or shredded carrot if you're not a juicer)

1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.  Grease about 12 muffin tins thoroughly.  Mix dry ingredients first.  In separate bowl, mix sugar with olive oil, water and vanilla.  Add beaten eggs and blend thoroughly.  Lightly incorporate the carrot pulp and nuts.  Finally add dry ingredients.  Put into muffin pan and cook  for about 20 minutes.  Let cool for about 10 minutes and serve with a bit of butter.

I get the feeling I'm gonna be eating a lot of these this week, because Ben refuses to eat anything where there's vegetables "trying to disguise themselves as cake." Oh well, more for me!

Goodbye Summer

Jeans - BDG Denim from Urban Outfitters, shirt - Urban Outfitters and jumper - Sportsgirl.

Well folks, Mother Nature is certainly doing a great job of reminding us that Summer is officially over and the days of t-shirts and shorts are well behind us. Many parts of Australia are experiencing heavy rain at the moment, including Sydney. My good friend self-timer and I decided to take a few snaps on my freshly made bed this morning.

Here I am with my favourite Hungry Caterpillar mug and my plush Miffy dolly. Yes, I am 25, what of it? I'm wearing a pair of my comfiest jeans and my cosiest jumper and drinking some delicious Turkish Apple and Cinnamon tea. We're waiting for Ben's brother and his girlfriend to arrive as they'll be staying with us for the night. Then next week I have Mum and Dad staying for about five nights. I love having visitors here as it is very rare!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend. By the way, head on over to The Cottage Diaries and enter the sponsor giveaway where you could win a free ad space on my blog :) xo

Old Melbourne Town

I spent three nights in lovely Melbourne this week for another work trip. I spent a lot of time around South Bank which isn't the most exciting area but I was pleased to score a pretty sweet view from the apartment I stayed in. I always love my trips to Melbourne. The city has such a different vibe to Sydney. I'm allowed to say that because I'm not originally from Sydney - if I was it would be blasphemy, or something.

As much as I do love Melbourne, can we just talk about the weather for a second? Over the four days I was there it went from scorchingly hot on day one to actual winter temperatures when I left last night. I've been caught out before, walking out of the airport into 11 degrees Celsius in just a skirt and blouse (in Summer, mind you) so I now know to always pack a pair of tights and a cardigan when I visit Melbourne. Somehow, I managed to forget my umbrella this time and of course it rained on two of the days I was there. Being stubborn (and strapped for cash) I chose to get soaked instead of purchasing yet another umbrella. I mean, not that Sydney is any better at the moment. That wet stuff just keeps on falling.

I'm not painting a very good picture of my time in Melbourne, am I? I actually had a lot of fun. Even though I was working, it was the fun kind of work. I was attending a big expo at the convention centre for the events industry. So basically, it's a massive event for people that run events, which means they've got a tough crowd to please! The first night started with a literal bang (fireworks on a Monday, holla) down at the South Wharf Promenade. They worked with a number of the restaurants and bars down there to put on a massive welcome party with fantastic food, drinks, live music and dancing! Quite impressed with myself for staying out dancing until 11pm, especially since I had been up since 5am!

Another highlight was an event the next morning which featured a live performance by James Morrison on the trumpet, followed by a bunch of motivational and somewhat famous speakers (including Layne Beachley, which I was quite stoked about!). Before I knew it (and before 10am) I was dancing to 'Shake Your Tail Feather' with The Voice winner Darren Percival. What a morning!

No trip to Melbourne is complete without a catch up with one of my good friends, Tia, which we did at Vegie Bar in Brunswick. I also took my horse-print jeans and boots out for a stroll to get some Lord of the Fries - vegetarian fast food like no other. Note to self - horse-print jeans attract unwanted attention from strangers.

Thanks for having me Melbourne, see you again soon!