Very Good Scones, Getting Your Poo Test and Winnie the Pooh
I’m back from my Irish Italian adventures! 150km of walking over Irish mountains (who knew they were there?) in the rain and the fog with a couple of my closest friends, was most certainly an experience I won’t forget. Despite the physical difficulty, we loved the challenge and the wonderful Irish hospitality. And of course, the food. Favourite things to eat included Irish porridge, soup of any kind, soda bread and fish and chips. There was also cider, but that’s a topic for another day! For more details on my travels, there are plenty of stories on my Instagram feed.
From Ireland, we hopped over to Italy to run my Yoga Retreat with a wonderful group of people. It was a fabulous week of food, Italian culture, laughs and new friendships. Of course, if you would like to join me next year, best get your name on the list quick!
I hope that your winter or summer, wherever you might be, is travelling just the way you want it to. Sit back, have a read and enjoy.
Something to Think About
“Promise that you’ll always remember that you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think ” Winnie the Pooh
Something to Make
Fluffy Puffy Cheese Scones
This is a recipe that I have adapted over the years that can be served as a stand alone scone fresh out of the oven, the perfect accompaniment to your favourite soup or lightly toasted with your favourite topping.
These scones take literally 10 minutes to prepare and seem to be work well no matter how they come together. I won’t pretend that they are good as my mums, because she is a professional scone baker from way back but they are rather tasty.
Ingredients
4 cups self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp mustard powder
1 cup grated tasty cheddar cheese
300ml reduced fat/light thickened cream
200ml soda water
Method
- Combine all dry ingredients and the cheese and make a well in the centre
- Add the cream and the soda water and using a knife, mix all ingredients together until a ball of dough is formed
- Place the dough on a floured board and knead until smooth and you have a round ball. If the mixture is a little wet, add a little flour.
- Press the dough down with your hands until it is approximately 5cm high
- Using a scone cutter or glass, cut the dough into scones and place onto a lined baking tray, close and all snuggled up together.
- Bake in a 180 – 200 degree hot oven for 15-20 minutes until golden.
- Serve scones with a little butter or your favourite spread.
Something to Do
Although this may not sound like the most exciting news ever, it really, really is. Australians aged 45-49 can now opt-in to the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. This means that an additional 1.6 million Australians are now eligible to request their first bowel cancer screening test, by opting in to get the test mailed to them. Following this, their next screening test will be automatically mailed out every two years.
My Dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2017 and this led to me being an ambassador for Bowel Cancer Australia (BCA) for many years now. You can read about some of my thoughts about this here. BCA have been advocating hard for screening from age 45, given the rising rate of bowel cancer under age 50 and finally their hard work has paid off. Unfortunately, there is still a perception of ickiness around doing this very easy poo test but the reality is quite different. For a humorous take on the process, check this out by one of my colleagues Warwick Merry here (P.S. written before the age change). There is no ick, just simple instructions – all you have to do is click here to opt-in right now.
Australians diagnosed through the National Bowel Cancer Screening are 59% less likely to die from bowel cancer. That seems like a pretty good reason to start clicking!
