Taste panel yum yum ......

Taste panel for a confectionary company sounds pretty good doesnt it.
Ive been on taste panel for about 10 years and believe me its not as good as it sounds.
For two days straight we have had training sessions which I must say are informative but ugh being a taste testers his hard yacker.
You know as a taste tester usually your opinion doesnt matter if you like it or not as the term they used was we dont give a diddly squat if you like it or not, we just have to be able to pick up certain attributes in things and that is what we are trained to do.
Our 5 basic senses play an important role
The eyes

 This milk being pink you relate it to strawberry but part of our training was they mixed this all up, so it was better if we closed our eyes to taste

 Smell is another one, boy was that hard, especially when most of the flavors they use are from a flavor house and I found that hard to pick as they are not natural flavors, I dont think they liked my comment that they are training us to recognize artificial flavors when they should be using us to make their flavors more natural. Be buggered if I thought some of the flavors smelt anything like natural flavors. Anyway my opinion doesnt matter.lol

The mouth and taste
sweet, sour, bitter,salt and umami
were the tastes we had to pick out in different solutions it got especially difficult when they added 3 of these to water and we had to pick them.

The ear
is the sound while eating crispy apple or crunchy chips
this one we didnt have to worry about to much as thats fairly easy.
I must say my senses are pretty tired right now, the last two nights I havnt felt much like tea, I have left work feeling like if I have to swallow one more thing I will gag.
My taste buds are fatigued.
Every now and then our opinion may matter if we are asked which product do you like more.
But in general its not the case as everybody has different tastes.
Ive worked out the worst taste in my opinion is bitter, I just cant swallow that one
Thank goodness we are allowed to spit.
Anyway hope everyone has a good weekend, Im of to rest my taste buds.

Earth garden

Today I received my latest edition of Earth garden magazine I must say I'm impressed the new and improved magazine is just full of great articles .

Pop down to your local news agent and grab a copy today you won't be dissapointed 

Happy Birthday Dad

 Tommorow is my Dads birthday so Happy Birthday for tommorow Dad.
Dad will be 69.
I finished nightshift this morning and since I have to work the next two days dayshift we decided to celebrate Dads birthday today. We were going to get take away but I decided to cut my sleep short and bake a cake and cook a lovely Roast lamb.
Above is the chocolate and zucchini cake I baked and it was delicious.
As we were singing Happy Birthday Dads little tune went
Happy Birthday to you , Happy birthday to you I love rotten eggs I hope you do to ...... lol
we all had a bit of a laugh as Dad has a phobia about backyard chicken eggs... he wont eat them and if he knows Ive cooked with them he tries to avoid it at all costs .
He informs me it has come from his Mother when he was little telling him that eggs have to have a stamp on them and if they dont they are disease ridden ugh.
Strange my father being a chef and wont touch a back yard free range chicken egg , it just doesnt make sense to me lol but none the less we get a bit of a laugh when he eats something here and forgets that it has eggs in it.

 This is a picture of Dad as a little boy with his Mother, I love old photos

 This is our roast tea, we started eating before I realized oh dam I forgot a photo, us crazy bloggers taking shots of everything and Im pretty tired today as 3 hours in two days is not enough sleep for me.

 Dad laughing as he gets his picture taken as the kids always want him to pull faces and do funny things .... which he does then they are in fits of laughter, this is just after he sang himself happy birthday about my rotten eggs .

 Dad has informed me that he thinks Im a pretty good cook but there is one thing I cant cook and thats roast potatoes ..... so today for his birthday I tried extra hard to get them right, so I bought some duck fat to cook them in.
Also only used butter in cheese sauce and on veges

Dad was a baker you see. Also a chef in restaurants for many years, and he has a little joke about different things I mess up. So if he tells me something is nice I know its pretty good as he is a harsh food critic.
Tonight my roast he informed me was the best ever, so Im pretty glad he enjoyed it on his birthday.
So Happy Birthday Dad love you to the moon and back xxxx oooo

This past week

 Well what a week it was, Tuesday was my birthday which I spent at work until 2 pm then myself and Brett went to Daylesford and Indian for tea by the lake. We browsed around the street which was nice, I love Daylesford.
Some of the gifts I got was the wall hanging above these are reiki symbols which my friend made she has a embroidery business that she does from home and she makes the most beautiful things
https://www.facebook.com/LyndalsPersonalizedEmbroidery?fref=ts
This is her facebook page its called Purple Cat Embroidery
Im not sure if you can click on link but type it in and take a peek.
Feel free to like her page.

 She also made me this pillow, she did make a couple of tea towels and hand towels but I have popped them in the wash.

 This is a picture frame she made also, I love this one

 Now my cousin drew this for me for my birthday what a talented artist she is.

 Of course I have posted about this a little earlier as it was a early birthday present from Brett Im still learning how to play this ,it is a Mountain Dulcimer just in case you missed the post.

 I bought myself this and my Dad gave me some cash towards it, now Im not one to buy anything from the adds on the tv, but when the add came on the kids informed me it was really good, my vacuum was not working the best so I got a vacuum and a steam mop deal and I must say this vacuum is the bomb I have never used one so good, the suction is amazing. For example I said to the kids pick everything up of the floor Im coming into vacuum your rooms. Well Teneale left her phone charger sitting in the wall and I didnt see it hence this vacuum is that strong it sucked the whole cord up and snapped it off the charger in the wall then I was banished from her room lol.  I also got some lovely perfume and a few other bits and pieces so I was quite spoilt this year. On Wednesday night we even went to see a chick flick at the movies it was a beautiful movie it was called Winters Tale, we actually were supposed to go and see Robocop....... not really my cup of tea but Brett likes a good action movie, I have no idea what happened but the girl mixed up the tickets and we watched about 15 minutes of the movie before we realized we were in the wrong cinema so decided to stay and sit it out . I was really happy as I loved the movie lol.

 Saturday I went to a tupperware party and I must say its the best tupperware party I have ever been to.
This woman knew her stuff, there were so many awesome things, I was pretty good and just got a couple of things.
Lynda from http://middleagedreflections.blogspot.com.au/   Living in the land of Oz.
held the party, this is the first time I have met Lynda and I felt like I had known her for ages , what a lovely family they are. The tupperware party was 10.30 am and we were still talking at 4 pm eeeeek.
Its amazing how you meet such wonderful people through blogging with similar interests.
If you havnt checked out Lyndas blog pop over and have a look

Sunday morning Dad came for a visit and greeted me with all these samosas I must say they are the best I have tasted EVER. Lucky I am back walking again , I got a little lazy for a while.
I did plant some seedlings Sunday afternoon , lettuces, kale, cauli, silverbeet as my garden is looking quite a mess at the moment.
Today went for my morning walk, opp shopped but only got a couple of things and now will do some listing on ebay and thats my catch up for the past week. Now I have to get organized with some menu planning and ebay catch ups.
Hope everybody has a wonderful week xx

Friendship

Where have I been this last week.....
Ive been saying goodbye to a beautiful friend.
So unexpected
Last Tuesday I went to work as normal and in the first hour of work I had a phone call from my friends partner to say that my friend Tracey had a brain aneurysm and was now on life support with no chance at all of recovery.
Last week I think I had been in shock with something so sudden to take away a beautiful life Trace was a mother to four children and she was a beautiful friend.
We had many fun times our children were good friends.
Friendships are a wonderful thing its funny how people just click and it doesnt matter if you see each other everyday or once a week or once a month or even once a year.
Im grateful for all my beautiful friends and just want you all to know that I treasure your friendships.
Thank you my bloggy friend Lynda for my text today with some good therapeutic advice lol.
Last time Trace was at my house we picked loganberries together and she was loving my garden, I havnt been out in it to much because of the heatwave and its looking quite tired and dry.
Im going to finish of with a photo of Trace and I then some beautiful flowers from my garden for her.
Heres to friendship xx

Loganberry , banana and white chocolate chip muffins

                                         Loganberry , banana and white chocolate muffins

1 1/2 cups SR flour
1/4 teasp bi carb
1 teasp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup white choc bits
1 cup frozen loganberries [ or any berries}
1 egg
1/4 cup vege oil
3/4 cup milk

Mix alltogether
Bake in a moderate oven until ready
delicious

Spaghetti squash

 Well Ive finally got to try spaghetti squash and I love it, its really quite amazing first I cut the squash in 1/2 long ways.
Removed the seeds {and saved} then I placed in baking tray flat side down.

 Baked for about 30 minutes or until soft

 Then run a fork through it

 Until all scraped out, its just amazing texture

The kids just added some sweet chilli sauce to it and loved it. I had garlic and butter.
Well worth giving this vegetable a try.
I will definitely be growing this again

Indian head massage

                                           Just a little information about Indian head massage

Indian Head massage is based apon the ancient Ayurvedic therapy which was traditionally used to promote healthy and lustrous hair. Today the benefits of Indian head massage are much more than healthy hair. The westernised version that we use today was developed by Narendra Mehta in the late 1970s.
 The version we know today has been adapted to incorporate massage to the upper back, neck, shoulders, face and scalp.
It is a highly effective treatment for the relief of stress related conditions and general tension in this area
                                                   Benefits
Helps soothe and relax the nervous system
Relieves joint and muscle stiffness
Beneficial for tension headaches and eyestrain
Encourages lymphatic drainage
Stimulates circulatory system thus helping to eliminate toxins from the body
General relaxation
Rebalances chakras
Stimulates hair growth and enhances hair texture
Many reflex points in upper back, neck,head and face when worked on help restore natural balance to the internal organs
Reduces lines on face caused by strain and tension

As you would think this kind of massage is incredibly relaxing and anyone who has had one will feel instantly revitalized and invigorated.
The whole treatment will usually take 45 minutes, relaxing essentials oils will be used as part of the procedure.

This is my reiki room, my Indian head massage clients are treated sitting in a chair.
After a morning of massages Im of to do some baking xx

How does your garden grow

 We have had quite a few very hot days and lucky the garden is still coping with the heat, although the grass is looking very sad.
My large apple tree that covers the chook run has lovely apples, I usually stew these as they are quite tart.

 Pumpkins and zucchini running wild.

 Bees busy in the pumpkin flowers

 Pumpkins forming, I have no idea what sort they are.

 Tiny toms ripening.

 Ive finally done something in the garden, I try to avoid doing anything in this heat.
I got to prune my loganberry bush and tie up the new runners

 These are the old canes ready for the compost

 A little greenery on the lawn which I pick for the bunnies

 Blackberries coming along

 This lambs ear survives anywhere, I know its like a bit of a weed but I love it as it reminds me of my Mothers garden as a child

 Roses seem to like the heat.

 Bay tree loves it too

 So does the rosemary

 The grapes seem to thrive

 Little while longer to ripen

 Some more tomatoes

Spaghetti squash, hmm Im not sure what they are meant to look like when ripe as I have never grown them, Im eager to taste them, I hope they are nice as I have a few.

 Four blueberry bushes and only 2 or 3 blueberries a day, its their first year so hopefully they will be more established next year.

 Hollyhocks although untidy are magnificent flowers I love them

 The girls are all doing fine in the heat, they have been a little slack on the laying side of things though

 Worm farm still moist and doing ok, its so easy to forget about it.

I have a fig.  I love fruit trees