Challenge #12 - Recipes

Reader feedback has suggested that one of my new challenges should be to try 48 new recipes / flavours.  It is a lovely idea (thank you). It is always a risk with challenges that we can have a collector mentality to the task, and the challenge becomes finishing the challenge for the challenge’s sake.

Can I make the task richer than just ticking off 48 new recipes / flavours?

Todd Sampson in his fascinating ABC TV series 'Redesign my brain' is challenged to have a new taste sensation every day, as a technique to improve his creativity.  So new tastes can be open up linkages in our brain, improving creativity.  That sounds like a good excuse.

I also like the thought that we can travel by eating; travel to other times, travel to other cultures and in this process, travel to other mindsets.  One of the food experiences I have been learning about is the way in which the fast is broken during Ramadan.  There seems to be so much generosity and gentleness in these rituals.  To give you an insight I suggest these two podcasts:

• A Sydney restaurant’s Ramadan menu, Radio National Blueprint for living
• This lovely expose into the hearts of people sharing a gentle Ramadan from America’s 'On Being'

It is some of this kindness that I would like to capture in my cooking.

Research around the first ANZACs has revealed that the original ANZAC biscuit was not made all sweet and with oats like the delicious things we eat and call ANZACs but was in fact a form of hard tack. Here is a recipe from the Australian War Memorial. This is on my ‘to try list’. ANZAC wafer

I am declaring the beginning of this challenge to be a lovely date with a lovely woman, to whom I am married, at the great eatery Bitter Suite (http://bittersuite.com.au/). Consider this a shout out for the people who go to Brisbane.  I checked off two new tastes:

• Hot spiced cider (a cider version of mulled wine). Cider and spices are batch mixed in a slow cooker and kept warm.
• Warm lamb salad, which was a lovely combination of flavours. I have since attempted to replicate this with some success.  (recipe here).

Since then I have tried an Australian gin.

• Four Pillars (https://www.fourpillarsgin.com.au). This emerges from an interest in the way in which Australian botanicals can and are being incorporated into gin, in this case lemon myrtle and pepperberry. It seems that gin is the trending drink and there is a lot of experimenting in this space which I find fascinating. For more info try http://theginstress.com/
• At the same time I tried the Fever Tree Tonic water.  Hard to know for such a newby if changing brand is really adding a new taste or flavour.  But for the time being I am counting it in my tally.  Fever Tree is less sweet than many other tonic waters.  Australian Bartender Australian Bartender has recommended that Capi Tonic water is the best available in Australia, so it is on my “to try list.” I like how the company seems to be exploring new tastes, see their tumblr post on the Urban horticulture workshop http://capisparkling.tumblr.com/.

And before someone suggests it, I did try the Cadbury Vegemite chocolate.  It was before my enjoyable date. I am not including it in the tally.  I am not trying it again!  Having said that, just because a taste is not enjoyable does not mean it cannot be on the tally.

Challenge #11 - 48 Blog posts

Conversations / feedback at home suggested that I should seek to create 48 blog posts in the next year.

I have started two blogs beside this one ...

Point of Wonder will be the voice of my ad hoc science education consultancy, 'Hamletics'. I currently have one post about why air with water is lighter than air without.  I have a couple of planned posts for this site.

Under the Lino is a site for some of the things I uncover while reading about local and broader history.  Most especially it is an outlet for some of the amazing things I am uncovering on the National Library of Australia's web site, Trove.

I toyed with the idea of having a third blog to reflect on theology and matters of faith, but on reflection I think my voice is not sufficiently distinct to justify another blogger in the space.  Besides, I would be concerned that it would draw too many haters both from within and without.  I have read some of the comments on the ABCs Religion and Ethics page from time to time.  The advice "don't read the comments" is best obeyed - the thread can become so dark and nasty so quickly.  For me blogging is about finding something which people may find helpful, but offered without some desire to be prophetic or preachy.  I don't have the resilence or the patience for people who read blogs just to pick a fight.

I do play around with a bit of song writing occasionaly, and a couple of my songs I still have some affection for, and like so many other projects I have a couple of songs I want to finish. I wondered about a record label, Christian Resources Amateurly Produced (CRAP), can't decide if I really wanted to have the recordings available or just to have the record label ... I did design a logo ;-).

Challenge #10 Resilience

Challenge - create 48 cards that could be used as an educational tool in contexts that seek to foster resilience in individuals, families and communities.

Part of my studies for my teaching qualification included reading in the area of resilience.

My working definition is "Resilience is an aggregate of factors including genetics, epigenetics, environment and cognitive skills that allow a person to rebuild with purpose and hope following trauma or adversity."

As one paper said 

“Whether a person hangs tough or gives up in hard times depends on influences at multiple levels, from molecules to neighborhoods.” [1]

If we could understand the nature and the interplay of these factors we may be able to make ourselves, or those around us, better able to endure the inevitable trouble which must come to us all at some point.

There are risk factors, protective factors and strategies to enhance resilience.  Some of these are related to an individual, some to a family and others to a community.  I developed a database that had over 250 such items.  There was a lot of overlap as I would record the same trait for each reference in which it appeared.  It is to this resource that I want to return, to tidy up my learning so that I can share it.  It is one thing to pass a subject, it is something else to offer a useful resource to the world.

I'm not a psychologist or a mental health professional, but some of my friends are ... I would welcome the opportunity to co-lab on this.

[1] Southwick, S.M. & Charney, D.S. (2013). Ready for anything. Scientific American Mind. July/August 2013, 32-41.

Books and Identity

Challenge #1 get rid of 48 book - exceeded ... I'm aiming for 96 now ;-)
   The blog Nourishing minimalism made this comment ... "Decluttering books can be especially difficult because often times our identities are bound to what we read — or what we plan to read someday."  The blog Becoming Peculiar had a similar message "I am a pretentious douche who hangs onto material possessions because I derive my self-worth from them."
   For a long time I have had a copy of Satre's Being and Nothingness.  I tell this story "I read the first 48 pages six times and still didn't understand what he was saying."  I have said goodbye to that book this cull.  It sat on my shelf for over a decade because I thought it made me look smart.  Even though I would happily tell the above story that made me look dumb.  In fact I probably needed to tell the "I'm dumb" story in order to make a visitor notice the "I'm smart" book. Go figure.
   I have culled a stack of theological dictionaries from my library. They were attached to my life as a pastor and an Old Testament Lecturer; both careers to which I am unlikely to return. Even if I did return, the works may be too out of date by the time I did, or available electronically. Letting go of those books and that identity has been more cathartic than I expected and perhaps a little less grief inducing than I feared.
   Farewelling of these books was assisted by the  amazing social media skills of my wife who sold them for $48 on facebook in about 15 minutes.  And yes that $48 went to charity to support TEAR's relief efforts after the Nepal earthquake (hence the image at the top of this post).  Here is a link if you feel inspired.

Challenge #9 Grass

 

Red Natal Grass (Melinis repens) with anthers visible, Moogerah Dam, April 2015.

Red Natal Grass is an environmental weed in Brisbane.

Challenge #9 To document or collect 48 species of grass.

Grass has interested me for years.  Having worked on a field crop for nearly a decade, I developed a fascination with grass, and most journeys in the car have had me observing the roadside diversity. Even the act of mowing in the backyard can reveal at least four species.  But I have needed a reason to focus on these common and often under appreciated plants hence this challenge.

The 'Catalogue of Life' lists 11, 543 species in the family Poaceae (the grasses).

The grass family is the basis for so many of our food systems (unless of course you are on a paleo diet): rice, wheat, barley, corn, sorghum are all grasses .

There are also a number of grasses which are significant weeds. One author, whose name escapes me at the moment, made the observation that it was the advent of dicot herbicides, such as agent orange, which gave so many land managers an ability to deal with dicot weeds, that opened a niche for the monocots to invade and therefore become problematic.

The Challenge List so far ...

NB - Order does not indicate priority or importance.

Challenge #1 - Books

Reduce the size of my library by 48 books.

Challenge #2 - Clothes

Reduced the size of my wardrobe to 48 items (some exclusions on this one)

Challenge #3 - Charity

Make 48 donations of $48 to charities whose work I willingly support.
This can be funded by sale of things I no longer use.

Challenge #4 - Trees

Plant 48 trees.
This can be at home or with others e.g. Landcare.

Challenge #5 - Walking

Go on a 48km walk and summarise that walk into a 48 second video.

Challenge #6 - Community

Intentionally give my time to the community - 48 times.
This can include my current involvement with State Emergency Service or Scouts.

Challenge #7 - Exercise

Exercise for 48 minutes per day.

Challenge #8 - Cycling

Go on a 48km ride on my push bike.

Perhaps challenge number 9 should be to complete the list of 48 challenges (jokes).  I'm open to ideas dear blog readers, but not necessarility compliant with suggestions ;-).

Why 48 Challenges?

For the last few years I have been setting challenges for my son related to his age.

2013 - Age 7 - Year of the Boat
2014 - Age 8 - Year of the Universe
2015 - Age 9 - Year of the Arthropod

Challenges have been age related.  For example this year one of the challenges is to collect 81 arthropod themed stamps.  81 being 9 x 9.  This is one of nine challenges for the year.

These have been a lot of fun, and rather than limiting our interaction with the world they have deepened it.  We have been to places and done things we would not otherwise have attempted.

As my own body chronometer ticked over the 48 years, I realised that I may deepen my own interaction with the world and perhaps start to more fully embrace the life I hope for if I set some challenges.  In keeping with the pattern I am going to set 48 challenges.

Challenges with my son (really the whole family gets invited) have been fun and I have approached the combined journey with a sense of joy and determination.  The sort of headspace that you may occupy when seeking to level-up on a game.  Someone looking in (like you dear blog reader) may say, "this is like setting new years resolutions" or "you are setting SMART goals".  My answer would be yes in part, but my experience with those tasks in the past has felt more like chores or legal requirement, by framing this as 'challenge' I have limited obligation and kept freedom and therefore I think I may have a better chance of reaching the targets.

New blog post listing the challenges so far COMING SOON.