Summary: Follows the story of a young girl, abused by her father, who is then taken in by her estranged grandmother when both parents die.
Thoughts: Whimsical is not the way to describe a story about domestic violence, but the book is written in such a way that Alice’s life, while affected and overshadowed by her early abuse, goes on unexpected paths which lead her to central Australia and see her working as a park ranger in a national park. It’s nicely written and interesting, but I failed to engage with Alice and her adventures. Something just didn’t gel, although the idea was great. Anyone who loves native flowers will appreciate the many references and meanings of flowers, and the illustrations are beautiful.
This recipe has been on my radar for years. It keeps coming up on various blogs I follow, always referenced to the lovely Jo from Quirky Cooking. It’s also in her cookbook, and on the Thermomix Cookidoo and Recipe Community sites. And no wonder. It’s divine! Hearty, filling, easy, and considering how few ingredients there are, it’s a really simple but tasty addition to my winter soup favourites list. The Recipe Community website also has a grain-free version (originally suggested by Jo on her website) where you use cauliflower rather than rice. I’m going to try this next, but at the moment the original version is in the fridge ready to be used up over coming days. I used the Thermomix Veggie Stock Paste, and might try the chicken stock paste recipe one day. And I’m tempted to do my usual tweaking and throw in some peas or broccoli or zucchini or sweet potato (or all of them) and maybe leave out the chicken. I like the creamy thickness of using the ground up brown rice. I’m going to try it in some of my other soup recipes and see how it goes. Or not, given I try and follow a paleo diet and rice is not part of that, but every now and then can’t hurt me. Thank you Jo for this great addition to my soup recipe collection!
