Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Quick update

I am still around (literally) and in one piece! Just been busy with the stuff that happens this time of year.

Baby & I are fine. No signs of imminent arrival but just progressing in the normal manner. The baby's head is 1/5th engaged and is lying with it's back towards my right side. I hope it will turn a little before birth so that I don't have so much back labour this time.

I was so happy to find a recipe for an Apricot and Walnut Loaf I'd thought I'd lost. I made it for our weekend away. It's a tangy, crunchy type of loaf. The orange juice and zest give it a little extra lift.

2 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted
3 teasp. baking powder
1 teasp. salt
1 cup castor sugar
200g dried apricots, chopped
150g walnuts/pecans/ pumpkin kernels, chopped (I use a mixture of walnuts and pumpkin kernels)
1 Tablesp. orange zest, grated
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 Tablesp. oil (I used rice bran oil but any "flavourless" oil would be fine)
1 egg beaten

Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees C. Lightly butter and line a loaf tin (23 x 13 x 6 cm).

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add sugar.
Add apricots and nuts. Toss to coat.
Mix together orange zest, juice, milk, egg & oil.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour liquids in. Stir to combine.
Pour mixture into the prepared tin, and bake for about an hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool in tin for 10 mins then place on a rack to cool completely.

Great for morning tea.

If you have any spare "good thoughts", prayers, and other such like things, please send them up to the maternity unit at Auckland Hospital where a friend of mine is going through a tough time. Her little 33 week old boy has fluid on the brain, and she herself has cholestasis, and a number of other issues. She has 2 daughters who are 3 & 1 years old. She's on steriods to mature the baby's lungs etc but the outcome for him is uncertain.

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:08 pm

    Nice to know you are plodding along and doing okay. Sending postive thoughts for your friend and her family at this time.

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  2. Anonymous9:18 pm

    Wishing your friend strength vibes.
    Like your walnut and apricot loaf .. might have to pass that recipe on to the family baker :o)

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  3. good to see a post from you. glad you and the babe are doing well. :)

    thinking positive thoughts for your friend and her baby.

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  4. What a terrible thing to happen to your friend - I hope there is a happy ending. Glad to hear you are still going though :)

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  5. Anonymous8:12 pm

    Right Penny, I'm going to try this again.

    The diet we are on is from my doctor, who is a vegeterian himself, so I guess it's loosely based around that. I haven't seen next weeks menu, but there has been no meat this week, and in the notes we got, it says to use meat as flavouring, rather than the base for the meal, which, I guess is common sense really.

    It's also based around the theory (which is interesting that my grandparents lived their lives on the same basis, before all this technology) of having a largish breakfast, bigger lunch, and then light dinner (tonight was 2 pieces of fruit and popcorn, or other nights it's fruit and cup a soup)as you are going to bed and don't need food sitting around.

    No snacks. 3 square meals a day. Water between.

    Angela

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