Author: robbiesinspiration

Robbie and Michael Cheadle are co-authors of the Sir Chocolate series of books. We both like to write and bake.

Robbie’s Inspiration – A spectrum of colours #TankaTuesday and a fondant tree #CFFC

Colleen’s poetry challenge this week is colours. You can join in here: https://wordcraftpoetry.com/2023/06/06/tankatuesday-weekly-poetry-challenge-no-323-6-6-2023/

Instructions:

  1. From the chart: choose a color and use the color in your syllabic poem.
  2. Also: Choose ONE word from the descriptions under the color you chose, and add it to your syllabic poem.
  3. Remember, if you write a freestyle poem, please include a syllabic form along with it.

I got a bit carried away this week and wrote one shadorma poem for each colour.

Backwards thinker (Yellow)

I focus

Yellow light expands

Clarifies

New ideas

Answers soon manifest as

Completed puzzles

Cloudy outcome (Gold)

Golden sun

Provides energy

Solar Power

Sounds perfect

Cloudy weather renders it

Unreliable

Needful adaption (Black)

Denial

Inevitable

Black thoughts come

Unbidden

Mind embraces acceptance

For self protection

Don’t wait (Purple)

Swollen eyes

Sporting dark bruises

Purplish

Fear tattoos

Follow your intuition

Before it’s too late

White disturbance (White)

Bright white light

Kills serenity

Reminder

Of anguish

Time spent in hospital rooms

Hoping for the best

Choices (Pink)

Anger brands

Pale cheeks a bright pink

Forgiveness

Is needed

To restore internal peace

A difficult choice

Seeking joy (Peach)

Juicy peach

Bursting with flavour

So tempting

Refreshing

Simple pleasures bring much joy

Transform attitudes

The student (Red)

Red blood pumps

Burning with passion

Misguided

Ill-fated

Destined to end in anguish

Life’s steep learning curve

The lie (Green)

Our planet

From space; green and blue

Wounds hidden

Smog disbursed

No healing necessary

The distorted truth

I don’t want it (Magenta)

Take it back

I hate magenta

Not purple

Not crimson

Confused colour in between

Take it back, I say

Lacking purpose (Grey)

Cloud cover

White tinged with light grey

Impassive

Nonchalant

Neutrality its purpose

No rainfall, no sun

The Balance (Blue)

Sky and sea

Dark blue meets light blue

Dramatic

Powerful

Nature’s great balancing act

Of air and water

Mislead

Those who seek

Sophistication

Purchase teal

Do they know

The namesake of the colour?

A small, dappling duck

By Robbie Cheadle

Fondant tree and Fruitdrop fairies from Sir chocolate and the sugar dough bees story and cookbook for Cee’s Weathered Wood challenge here: https://ceenphotography.com/2023/06/06/cffc-weathered-wood/
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A Five-Star Review – for Lion Scream: Syllabic Poetry About Southern African Wildlife by Robbie Cheadle

Thank you to fabulous author, Toni Pike, for this wonderful review of Lion Scream. I am thankful and delighted to read positive reviews of this book which means so much to me.

Toni Pike

I’m delighted to share my latest review, for Robbie Cheadle’s brilliant new book: Lion Scream: Syllabic Poetry About Southern African Wildlife. Robbie was inspired to write this book by her extensive travels to African game reserves and the understanding that gave her about the sixth mass extinction. Needless to say, this book is very moving, informative and impactful.

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Robbie’s Inspiration – fish stew with green olives and capers

It was a busy weekend filled with cooking, baking, and art. I am busy with a series of 6 drawings using watercolor pencils for a project and they are great fun to create.

Terence is still away in Turkey so I had all my time to myself but no sous chef. I got a lot done in the kitchen, all on my own. Somehow, when I cook or bake alone, there is a lot less washing up – smile.

This recipe is one I developed after looking at about 10 low sodium variations of fish stew. Capers and olives both contain high levels of salt but I used fairly small quantities and no other salt so they are my compromise.

Ingredients

140 grams chopped red onion

Olive oil for cooking

7,5 ml garlic flakes

1.25 ml turmeric

2.5 ml smoked paprika

Milk for cooking

350 grams baby marrows, chopped

250 ml white wine

400 gram can of diced tomatoes

15 ml dried parsley

7,5 ml dried thyme

79 grams drained green olives, pitted and halved

6 large caper berries, chopped

5 ml fennel seeds

Zest and juice of 1 medium lemon

Method

Place 600 grams of a white fish (I used hake) and 400 grams of Norwegian salmon in a large frying pan and cover with milk. Skin should be upwards. Bring the milk to the boil and turn down to a simmer. Cook for approximately 8 minutes.

In a pot on the stove, brown the red onions in the olive oil. Add the smoked paprika, turmeric, garlic flakes and fennel seeds. Cook for a few minutes. Add the baby marrow and the white wine. Allow the wine to reduce about 5 minutes.

add the dice tomatoes, thyme, green olives and capers and cook for 20 minutes.

Remove cooked fish from the pan and remove the skin. Discard skin and milk. Using an egg lifter, break the fish into large chunks.

Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and parsley. Stir in cooked fish and serve with rice.

Art: Y. González n Botero + Extinction: Robbie Cheadle + Podcast

Thank you to podcaster, blogger and writer, da-AL, for sharing my post about wildlife conservation and whether zoos and wildlife sanctuaries play a role in this vital undertaking.

Happiness Between Tails by da-AL

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6DJPGN1Qog58xE1P4htqtt?si=cbd905c15fe14714
Click podcast player above or link below to hear today’s audio version of Happiness Between Tails.

Click here for the Spotify for Podcasters Happiness Between Tails page, where you’ll find links to subscribe, hear, and share it via most any platform, from Spotify and Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts and Breaker, to Pocket Casts and RadioPublic and Castbox and Stitcher, plus many more and an RSS feed. The full list of 50+ places is here.

Writers, including novelists (about my books here), need food for the soul. Long Beach’s Museum of Latin American Art is small and modest, yet it always inspires me…

Artwork by Yolanada Gonzalez, called "The Dream of the Artist."

Yolanda González gave a wonderful talk for their current exhibition of her art. Chicana by birth, she mines the world for insights into her multi-disciplinary work. She spoke of how, in addition to the Chicano/a/x movement, the German Expressionism has influenced her from…

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Robbie’s Inspiration – low GI, low sodium health muffins

Michael had another high blood pressure interlude. This time was worse as the blood pressure readings were higher. After three days in hospital having lots of tests the cause has been determined as years and years of treatment with high doses of cortisone. He is on blood pressure pills and a new low GI and low sodium diet. This means we are all on this diet which can’t hurt I suppose.

This is a healthy muffin recipe that I developed from a few recipes and which is very nice.

Ingredients

2 eggs, lightly beaten

160 ml plain low fat yogurt

150 grams grated carrot

50 ml sunflower oil

2 small bananas, mashed

60 ml (1/4 cup) honey

5 ml vanilla essence

200 grams high fiber wheat flour

125 ml (1/2 cup) rolled oats

7.5 ml baking powder

7.5 ml bicarbonate of soda

10 ml connamon

15 ml pumpkin seeds

15 ml sunflower seeds

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Measure the oats, flour, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and baking powder into a bowl. Add the grated apple, beaten egg, yogurt, sunflower oil, and honey. Combine. Add the vanilla essence and banana and combine.

Spoon the mixture into cupcake or muffin holders and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.