It’s been an interesting time, living in a yurt during this stormy weather! The thing I love about the yurt is also the thing that is a bit crazy when it’s raging outside – you hear and FEEL the elements!! The rain and hail plays my home like a drum, the wind thrums around the walls, and the trees lash outside. There’s nothing to do but surrender.
Yurt Life
I wash up outside, often at night by the light of a head-torch, sometimes with my raincoat on. I love it. I’m thinking about plumbing in a sink inside the yurt, but if I do I will miss my outside washing up, under the stars or in the magical mizzle, looking at the trees or the clouds pink with sunset. This elemental life suits me. I’m prone to obsessive focus and it somehow grounds me and reminds me of my physical body and surroundings. Packing wood into my woodbasket for the burner, or ferrying my shopping in a wheel barrow are part of the fun of it all. I feel like a kid playing ‘camp’ a lot of the time 🙂
But, sometimes…
when I’m tired or a bit fed up, the idea of washing up in the rain is a pain. I can’t be bothered to go and get more wood. But then I need a pan or the night starts to close in, and a more basic survival need kicks in. I have to drag myself off the sofa to sort things out. Inevitably it takes me outside. Inevitably it makes me feel better. I actually remember how much I love this way of living, and how much it loves me back. Life feels rich and I feel blessed by nature and the love of family and friends.
Beautiful Pictures Galore!
I’ve now got two Instagram accounts now – one for my food and one for my art. Follow me if you like – I’d love that 🙂 Here’s the link to my food. Here’s the link to my art
This Week’s Delicious Recipe: Raspberry Granola Flapjacks
These are so pretty, and a super healthy snack to take to work, give to your kids or share with friends over a cup of tea. You can actually use any berries, including frozen ones, so have fun experimenting. They freeze well too, wrapped individually.
Makes 6 – 12 flapjacks, depending on what size you cut them
Ingredients
Flapjack Base
4 ripe bananas
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 pinch mineral salt
200g porridge oats
Topping
25g porridge oats
25g pumpkin seeds
25g sesame seeds
25g almonds
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp desiccated coconut (optional)
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp date syrup or honey
125g raspberries, cut into halves
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease a 24cm x 15cm/9.5 inch x 6 inch baking tray with coconut oil.
For the flapjack base, blend the bananas with the cinnamon and vanilla essence. Stir in the oats and mix thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the baking tray.
Put the base into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Whilst the base is cooking, combine all the topping ingredients except the raspberries in a bowl. Once thoroughly combined, gently stir in the raspberries.
Remove the flapjack base from the oven and sprinkle the topping over the top.
Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven, allow to cool and cut into whatever size flapjacks you fancy.
Store in the fridge and eat within 5 days, or freeze them individually wrapped in grease-proof paper.
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