Day 171, Manjimup, WA

It was a blessing that we planned to stay near the van today as we woke to a temperature of just 4 degrees and the highest temperature it reached all day was just 15 degrees.  It was the perfect day for cooking up a storm.

First up though was a yoga practice.  My body is really missing my regular yoga practices with the lovely Beth and I am not practicing nearly enough to give me the balance, stability and strength that yoga gives me and that my body wants and needs.  But I suppose anything is better than nothing.....

Once we had cleaned away our breakfast dishes Philip and I started on our Roast Lamb Lunch.  We seasoned the leg of lamb and placed it into a Weber bag and then it went into a double layer of foil trays to stop the underneath from burning.  It then went into the Weber set at 150 degrees for around two hours.  With about fifteen minutes to go we peeled back the "window" of the bag to allow the roast to brown.

Meanwhile inside the van I had chopped up Potato, Onions, Carrots, Onion and Zucchini and tossed them with Garlic Salt and Oil and they went into the oven when the roast was finished and resting.  There was not enough brownings from the roast to make a decent gravy so I fried off an onion in lots of butter and cooked over low heat for around ten minutes until the onions were nicely caramelised.  I then added a beef stock cube and plain flour and cooked that for a couple of minutes before adding enough water to make a rich gravy.  It works every time and is the perfect gravy when you don't have any pan drippings.

I also threw together a Spanakopita for tomorrows lunch while I was waiting for the roast to cook.  We dropped into a farm gate yesterday and picked up a lovely bunch of "fresh from the Paddock" silverbeet that is perfect for Spanakopita.  My recipe is a fairly basic Spanakopita with just equal amounts of Fetta Cheese, Ricotta (didn't have any ricotta so used Cream Cheese mixed with a little greek yoghurt) and Parmesan Cheese mixed with a couple of eggs and seasoned with Nutmeg and Dill.  I use ten sheets of Filo Pastry (five top and five bottom) and don't engage in the messy job of buttering each layer. I just use olive oil spray.  It cooked in my little oven for around 40 minutes.  It is browned a little more than I would have liked but I know it will taste good (My oven does not have a temperature dial so it is guess work!)

The last thing I cooked was an Apple Tart Tartin (Cheats Recipe) for afternoon tea.  I had two apples that were on their last gasp so I peeled and quartered them and then tossed them in a mixture of 1/2 cup maple syrup and 60g butter.  Once they were slightly softened I topped them with two sheets of store bought puff pastry that I rolled together to make one thick sheet.  In the oven that went for 20 minutes at 200 degrees and you have a fast, delicious and healthier version of Tarte Tatin.

Tomorrow we are heading back to Bridgetown to check out a free camp just out of town that we might stay at for a couple of nights.  We are not entirely sure where it is so situated so a recon of the area is definitely a necessity.  On our way home we are going to call into an Organic Winery to see what their range is like.  I rarely drink any wine because of the headache that I get from wine with preservatives, so I will be interested in seeing how the preservative free wine tastes.