Hello blog world

I've been toying with the idea of a blog for ages, somewhere to put my ramblings and here I am! I did it!!

I'm scared........not sure why but lets see where this leads us.

Basically, anyone who knows me knows that I love food, and wine and cooking and eating it all. I also like to be healthy and am weight conscious but its a daily battle that I'm trying to win.  I don't want to be skinny, I'm too old for an eating disorder, but I do want to stay a healthy weight and be as active as I can be especially seeing as I have a tendency to gain weight easily, I could gain 3kgs over a weekend in the right company without even trying!! But this isn't a weight loss blog, its a place to share my cooking foodie journey, with a bit of life thrown in.
I live in a coastal town in Victoria. I'm a stay at home mum to one gorgeous girl who is in prep and a hubby who has an obsession with the garden, lucky for me. He also works full time at a cheese factory, see food is everywhere in our lives! We have recently got a lab pup called Magic who is helping me get out for a walk most days. Oh and Coco the cat, she isn't happy about Magic but sorry Coco dogs rule!

I've just started working on a budget and menu plan to help us save some pennies instead of living pay to pay. Its an interesting process and is helping me feel more in control of our finances but its just the beginning. I'm not working much at the moment, I have a casual job in hospitality which I love but since January this year have been battling an illness which I'm still getting to the bottom of. The thing that keeps me sane is my kitchen, cooking, reading cookbooks, reading blogs about food and the home and watching cooking shows...obsessed is probably the right word. I'm an addict, while I'm eating one meal I am mentally planning the next, although this menu plan business takes a bit of the fun out of that but its only a guide...isn't it!

So I better not go without sharing a recipe. I'll start with a recipe I made last weekend with huge success, Pizza!! I haven't told you I also love everything Italian.

Pizza dough from Italian food safari cook book
750ml warm water
20g dried yeast (approx 7 tspn)
2 tspn salt
6 tbsp evoo (extra virgin olive oil)
2 tspn sugar
1kg 00 flour - strong flour
extra plain flour for kneading and flouring bench

In a large bowl put water and yeast, mix well to dissolve.  Add salt, oil, sugar and mix in well. When you see some bubbles add flour and get your hands in and mix. ( The best part, I love the feeling of the dough) Once a ball has formed, place onto a floured board and knead for around 10 min. Put in a floured or oiled bowl for around 2 hrs, until it has doubled in size. Knock out and roll into balls. This dough recipe can be halved for a smaller batch. It also survives being in the fridge covered with glad wrap for quite a few days.
We made potato and rosemary one of my favourites, I haven't worked out how to put in photos yet but will give it a crack....

So thats it for my first blog, wonder if anyone is reading....would love to hear from any of you!!
Ciao, Jan