Independence Days Challenge Update

It's Monday so it is time for another Independence Days update, although I barely have anything to report (blush). It's been so utterly wet and dismal around here this week, I've barely done anything in the garden except read the rain gauge!

Read more about why I am participating in Sharon's Independence Days Challenge, here.

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Planted something - Telephone pea seeds.


Harvested something - Mustard greens, rocket, thyme, snow peas, sweet potatoes (orange and purple - see below), mushrooms, starfruit, lemons, a couple of tomatoes, a handful of potatoes, yacon and arrowroot.




Preserved something - Juiced and froze some lemon juice to deal with later.


Reduced waste - I finally found and joined a local-ish (mostly organic) bulk-buying food co-operative, yay! I have to drive an hour round trip to pick up the goods, but I still feel that that's a better deal than lots of little trips to pick up small amounts of goods from my usual shops. I place my first order this week, for bulk organic dried goods such as legumes, flour and dried fruit. My initial order after totting up is about $550 worth! I have no idea how long that will last me, as I've not been keeping accurate records of the volume of these foods we go through, but I am guessing it would be 6 months worth for some items and at least a year's worth for others. It's a lot to spend in one go, but then I get it back both in monetary savings and the saving of time in my regular grocery shops (and anything that makes my shopping faster gets a big thumbs up).

I also finally won a vintage safety razor and leather strop set on eBay for a reasonable price (they are collector's items and always seem to sell for a fortune to someone who just wants to look at it), so now I can ditch my (and hopefully the hubby's) ridiculously expensive disposable razor blades. I have no idea how to use a strop to sharpen the blades, but that's the magic of the internet - I'm sure I'll find an instructional video on YouTube LOL.


Preparation and Storage - Yer, well. Nothing much in the past couple of weeks as such, despite a long list of Things To Do, but with a bulk order of goods arriving in a couple of weeks, food storage will reach borderline-crisis proportions around here! I not only don't have anywhere appropriate to store 5 kilo bags of chickpeas for instance, I don't have any vermin-proof containers large enough to keep them. Ah well, necessity is the mother of invention, as they say.


Eat the Food - Our favourite roasted vegetable salad with feta dealt with some of the yacon, sweet potatoes and potatoes (and some rocket) - the kids loved the look of the purple sweet potato in it; sweet potato & celery soup went down a treat; and there's been lots of mushrooms in butter sauce on toast for lunches.


Building Community - I really struggle with this one, as it's not in my nature to be outspoken about living more simply and sustainably. I find that - particularly with Aussies - most people actively dislike talking about conservation or sustainability if I bring them up apropos of nothing, but will be much more amenable to discussion if I mention something in passing during a relevant conversation. Then hope I sow the seeds of an idea. The problem is sitting back and waiting for appropriate timing, and then hoping that they come back to me with questions or enquiries. I also find it's a fine line between appearing progressive and appearing "hippy-like", in which case my ideas are dismissed as too alternative, without serious consideration.


Learned a New Skill - Nil. Tsk, tsk.

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So, a very quiet fortnight as far as the Challenge is concerned, although of course it wasn't quiet at all in every other household department!