Bridget McNulty

Natural vs medicinal

// August 27th, 2010 // No Comments » // Diabetes, Life (and the living of it)

I’ll explain about the elephant now.

First, though, an update on my diabetic rant from the other day: my doctor tells me that the blood test result I got really wasn’t that bad (a slight over-exaggeration on my part, perhaps?) and once I’d been to my wonderful reiki lady for an hour and a half of energy healing (call me a hippy if you will!) I felt heaps better. Obviously, the fact that I’ve been away from home for 4 weekends in a row was taking its toll. And the fact that I had to drive all over Gauteng, North West and the Free State, on my own, with no idea where I was going, was ever so slightly tiring. No surprises there…

But it made me think, this wonderful reiki healing, about natural vs medicinal approaches to healing. Before I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was all about the natural way of healing. One of the reasons I got diagnosed so late, in fact, was because I was quite anti-doctor for a while. But now, thanks to my daily doses of insulin, I’ve recognised that there is definitely a place for medicine in my life. A big place!

At the same time, though, I do appreciate that certain illnesses are a result of being tired and overworked and stressed and eating badly and not taking care. And I think flu is one of them… Which is why I loved finding the little wonder up there in that photo – oscillococcinum (impossible to spell, but it works!) It’s a homeopathic treatment that knocks flu sideways, when combined with sleep and rest.

So what do you think? Homeopathic, energy healing, or just good old fashioned medicine? I’m very curious…

Prawn and cashew nut korma

// August 26th, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Blogs, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it), Recipe of the Week, food

This week’s Recipe of the Week is a real challenge… My first ever prawn dish (and I overcooked them ever-so-slightly), my first ever curry-from-scratch.

And it was deeeeelicious!
If I made it again, I’d throw in some cauliflower to flesh it out a bit, but the flavour was incredible.

Here’s the recipe if you’re feeling brave! (Thanks Fresh Living magazine!)

A traditional Indian dish, the coconut milk is often replaced with cream or yoghurt.

Ingredients:

1 onion, quartered

4 cloves garlic, peeled

4cm knob ginger, peeled

Vegetable oil

8 cardamom pods, husks removed

1Tbsp (15ml) ground coriander

1 Tbsp (15ml) ground cumin

1 Tbsp (15ml) ground masala

3 bay leaves

8 curry leaves

1 can (410g) coconut cream

1 cup (250ml) chicken stock

1 packet (100g) raw cashew nuts

Salt and milled pepper

1kg whole prawns, heads removed, peeled and deveined

Serves 4

1. Blitz onion, garlic and ginger to form a paste.
2. Heat a generous glug of oil in a saucepan and fry paste until it begins to turn golden.
3. Add spices, bay and curry leaves and fry for another minute.
4. Toss in coconut cream and stock, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Pulse cashew nuts in a blender until they resemble fine breadcrumbs.
6. Take care not to over-blend as they will begin to seep oil.
7. Add cashews to saucepan and simmer for another 5 minutes.
8. Season.
9. Toss in prawns and allow to cook for about 5 -10 minutes or until prawns are just cooked.

Serve with plain, steamed or pilau rice.

Above: the photo from Fresh Living.
Below: my rendition.
Clearly, I have a long way to go still!

Local bloggy gems:

// August 11th, 2010 // No Comments » // Blogs, Cape Town, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it), Links, food

I’ve recently stumbled across not one, not two, but THREE local bloggy gems, and I wanted to tell you about them. It always makes me so happy when I find local blogs that I love, because not only can I totally relate to what they’re talking about (especially if it’s about food), but because it means the South African blogosphere is growing! Great stuff.

So, in no particular order, three lovely blogs you should check out:

* Mint The Shop is my idea of heaven. Gorgeous vintage and retro homeware, from kitchen stuff to quirky home decor. Be warned! It’s difficult to leave without having bought something (because it’s reallly reasonable). That gorgeous vintage yellow Le Creuset pot is now mine! Thanks brother. Visit Mint here: http://www.minttheshop.com/

* Still Life With Wooden Spoon is a blog about cooking…. with a full time job, which I appreciate. Funny, self deprecating and with some incredible recipes, this is one to bookmark and look at just before you go home to cook dinner. I may even try the gnocchi-ravioli combo… Yum! Visit Still Life here: http://slwws.wordpress.com/

* love made me do it is extremely girly and whimsical and lovely, and I read the whole thing in one sitting. The author is actually going to be our wedding photographer (more on that soon!), and we have so much in common: a passion for old knick knacks (she’s also collecting vintage plates for her wedding), a love of proteas, a fondness for the phrase ‘love is all’ etc etc etc. Visit love made me do it here: http://lovemademedoitx.blogspot.com/

Happy bloggy browsing!

PS: It’s time for the SA Blog Awards, so if you’d like to nominate me, please visit here: http://www.sablogawards.com/or click on the banner on the right. I’m under ‘Best Personal Blog’. Thanks!

Image: love made me do it

One wonderful weekend…

// August 4th, 2010 // No Comments » // Cape Town, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it), Nature, food

This past weekend was one of those weekends that will stick in my memory for a long time to come… My man and I went away with five other friends to a tiny little town called Prince Albert in the Karoo. It was a four hour drive (a stunning four hour drive, through some really majestic scenery) to get to the little town, and we arrived on Friday just in time for dinner. I fell in love then, even in the dark, mainly because there were succulents everywhere. Everywhere! Excitement overload.

The next day I fell in love even more. The whole town is centered around a main street, which has lots of the expected restaurants and guesthouses, but also has a Saturday market run by Afrikaans tannies and ooms (aunts and uncles, for those not from SA). They were selling pancakes for R3 each, big slices of homemade cake for R5, pots of tea for R3 and homemade roosterbrood for R8. It was like being in the land that time forgot…

Before the Saturday market, I’d gone for a long walk into the surrounding orchards and then out into the veld. It’s extraordinary how vast the Karoo sky is – like a completely different country, with a 360 sweep of sky. Incredible.

The weekend was spent strolling around, stealing succulents (see above), sitting in the sunshine eating delicious food, visiting the dairy (yes! A dairy!) to sample the homemade cheese (yum!), and playing a particularly fun game called Post-It (our name) where you think of a famous character, write it on a Post It and then stick it to someone’s forehead. Then they have to guess who it is in 20 questions, while dealing with the humiliation of sitting in front of everyone with a blue Post It on your forehead. Ha! Hilarious. Until it’s your turn…

The highlight of the weekend was our ghost tour – dinner combo. Prince Albert is a  town rich in history (and ghosts) and we went on a ghost walk around the town with a fascinating storyteller (dressed in a long black coat) who told us all the local tales… Creepy! We then went to African Relish for a superb dinner – bacon and spinach fritters (wow), Karoo lamb stuffed with roasted celery and pecans with the most amazing polenta I’ve ever tasted, and hands-down the best milk tart in the world. The dinner was long and full of laughter and I can’t wait to go back.

Oh! And how could I forget! That afternoon we’d visited African Relish (which is also a cooking school, and is co-owned by our friend’s father) and I tasted jamon for the first time! Jamon! The real deal! Made in South Africa using all the Spanish techniques! It was extraordinary.

So, all in all, a pretty wonderful weekend. We stayed in the most amazing cottage (see below), we ate some truly special food, and we spent good time with friends, laughing. What more could you ask for?

Photos courtesy of the extremely talented Mark Peddle: www.markpeddle.com

Day 29: Last day…

// July 30th, 2010 // No Comments » // 29 Gifts, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it)

So I’ve come to the end of my 29 day giving challenge… And I wanted this last gift to be something meaningful, something that I will carry into the next 29 days, and the 29 days after that.

So I chose something simple but, for me, profound. I have always wanted to be one of those people who really focusses on someone when they’re talking to them. I am, by nature, a little flighty and scatty, but when I speak to someone and I can tell they’re listening, really 100% listening to me, it makes me feel so great. So noticed and validated and wise.

Do you know what I mean?

For my last day’s gift, I really listened when people spoke. And it felt so good to be right here, right now, present. Presence as my last present. I love it!

PS: The photo, of course, doesn’t really have anything to do with presence. I just love succulents (in case you hadn’t noticed…)

Day 27: Stillness

// July 28th, 2010 // No Comments » // 29 Gifts, Decisions, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it), Love

As I mentioned yesterday, I have been B.U.S.Y lately… I’m not 100% sure why, but all of a sudden my man and I have been deluged with invitations and work has been reallllly busy too. So I’ve had very little time to myself, I’ve been rushing around too much (I hate rushing) and in general I’ve felt like my plate is full to overflowing.

So today I decided to give myself the gift of stillness. I left work on time and went for a 2 hour reiki session with an amazing healer. It was so wonderful to be able to lie down and soak up good energy. For anyone who hasn’t tried reiki, give it a go! It can be completely transformative. I went in feeling tired, rushed, a little worried and snotty. I left feeling pretty close to wonderful!

Day 17: New pyjamas

// July 18th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // 29 Gifts, Life (and the living of it), Love

Is there any feeling as delicious as that of slipping on a pair of new pyjamas? Especially if you’ve just got out the shower and you’re about to get into a warm bed? I don’t think so.

My man, believe it or not, has never worn pyjamas, and much as t-shirts and shorts are handy, they don’t do what a pair of crisp cotton jammies will for a good night’s sleep. So yesterday, while out on a bit of a shopping spree for myself (more on that later), I decided to buy him a pair of pyjamas. Delicious.

Day 15: Heartfelt card

// July 15th, 2010 // No Comments » // 29 Gifts, Life (and the living of it), Love

Do you ever have those, ‘What if I died tomorrow’ moments? I do, and not in a morbid way at all. I sometimes think to myself, ‘If I died tomorrow, would everyone I love know that I loved them? And, most of the time, the answer is a resounding yes. I’m very open with how I feel and I tell my man and my family and my friends that I love them, often.

But I was thinking, yesterday, that there’s one area of my relationships where I haven’t said how I feel – my future parents-in-law. I suppose because we got to know each other quite slowly, and I was (naturally) a bit reserved when I first met them. But I’ve grown to really love them, and I so appreciate all the delicious meals and incredible gifts (like my recent vintage crockery set!) and support they’ve given us over the years.

So today I wrote them a (very cool and sparkly) card saying just that.

Day 12: Passing on freebies

// July 13th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // 29 Gifts, Decisions, Life (and the living of it)

I have a confession to make: I’m a hoarder. As in, I hoard pretty much anything free that I’m given. I love free stuff, absolutely love it. I’ll accept something solely because it’s free and I feel as if I’m getting a good deal (even if I really don’t want or need it). But as I discovered when we had to clear out our last apartment before we went travelling, a lot of the freebies I get are really not that cool (to me). But by the time I’ve kept them for 6 months or a year, they’ve lost their fresh and shiny allure.

So today I passed on two freebies to the security guards at work. Look, they’re pretty lame keyrings, but the guys seemed pretty happy with them. And like I said, it’s alll about creating new habits, hey? Maybe I can out-habit the hoarder in me.

What do you think? Any chance of that happening?

PS: Let’s also not discount the fact that they call this a 29 day giving challenge because it is a CHALLENGE! To think of something new and not lame every day is harder than I thought it would be…

Day 11: Get well mug

// July 12th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // 29 Gifts, Cape Town, Life (and the living of it)

Cheesy as all get-out, it’s true, but when you’re feeling sick (and have been all weekend, as a lovely friend of mine had), something this cheesy can help to brighten your day. What do you think?

She said she’d think ‘be well’ thoughts every time she drank out of it. A good idea for all of us, hmm?