At the Co-Op

I'm at the Co-Op again today!

I've posted on how I cope with my kids' demands for junk food and lollies.

Thanks for all your terrific suggestions on my last post - I'm now armed with some fabulous ideas for future posts :-)

See you there!

Rocket & Walnut Pesto

Rocket is an excellent substitute for basil, when basil is out of season. Not quite the same as the summery taste of basil pesto, but pretty yummy on pasta or pizza. Cashews are also excellent in place of the walnuts; in fact my kids prefer cashews as they aren't quite as strongly-flavoured as walnuts can be.

Rocket and Walnut Pesto

3 cups Rocket (arugula)
6 cloves garlic
1/4 cup walnuts or cashews, toasted
1/4 cup parmesan, roughly grated
1 cup olive oil

1. Add rocket, garlic, walnuts and cheese to a food processor and process until finely chopped.

2. With the motor running, drizzle the olive oil into the mix, and process until smooth. Use less oil if a coarser consistency is desired.

Makes 2 cups.

Store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to a week. Covering the surface with a thin layer of olive oil to exclude air will help it to keep longer.

Help: Ideas Please!

It's my turn to post at the Co-Op on Friday, and once again, I can't think of anything to write about! Compared to my personal ramblings here; I always have to rack my brain thinking of something relevant, topical and interesting.

So I thought I'd ask you if you wouldn't mind leaving me a comment with any suggestions you might have so that I can make list for future posts too.

Thanks guys!

Tip: Peeling Ginger

I was preparing another batch of my fresh ginger root for the dehydrator this morning and it occurred to me that I may not have shared this tip before:

When peeling ginger, use the tip of a teaspoon to remove the skin. So easy - it literally just scrapes away!



When you are finished, you can then use a paring knife to clean up the tips.



It may be more difficult to do on some of those old, wizened pieces of ginger root I've seen at the stupormarket, but it works well on mine, and it's infinitely quicker than trying to use a knife (like I used to do!).

Independence Days Challenge Update #7

It's Monday so it is time for another Independence Days update, although once again it's been a quiet fortnight with the school holidays on and lots of time spent outside...


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

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Plant something:

* Rhubarb, asparagus seedling, sprouted onions, potatoes, sowed carrot seeds.




Harvest something:

* Snow peas, starfruit, lemons, mushrooms, lettuce, red mustard, thyme, parsley, chives, rocket.


Preserve something:

* Lemon juice & lemon marmalade.



Waste not /Reduce waste:

* Picked up an order of bulk organic/biodynamic Demeter park Mill flours, including some wheat grain to experiment with;
* Made another batch of yoghurt, toasted muesli and dishwasher powder


Want Not/ Preparation:

* Purchased another bottle of Oil of Cloves for our medical kit. Oil of cloves is a mould-inhibitor and is terrific used on the bathroom tiles (at the rate of ½ teaspoon per 1 litre/quart of water in a spray bottle), but a gentle nudge last week reminded me of it's effective use in treating toothache as well;
* Knitted myself and Miss Seven some slippers.


Eat the Food:

* Used up the paste tomatoes (which I had picked green and let ripen indoors) in a pasta sauce;
* Plenty of ginger and turmeric tea and lemon cordial; and
* Buckwheat pancakes to use up the last of the old buckwheat flour.


Building Community

* My blog is featured in the August edition of Notebook magazine.


Learned a New Skill

* Knitting with double pointed needles.

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Hmmmmmm.

Doesn't look real good, does it?


This is (what's left of) my pepper vine, sigh. That's the problem with living at the absolute southern margins of the "sub-tropical" zone - it's cold enough this winter to see the peaches covered in flowers, but the same temperatures are playing havoc with my warm-climate trees and plants. Of course, if I ditched the tropical plants in favour of the stone-fruits and berries, the next winter would be hot and nothing would flower or fruit LOL!

I can't decided whether bringing the pepper vine inside will revive it a little or be in the nail the coffin that finishes it off! Inside is warmer - but is also darker and a drier atmosphere (although I would mist it every day). A friend suggested the bathroom but it's on the southern side of the house and therefore the darkest and coldest room in the house...

Hmmmm, I might repot it into fresh media so that I can check the roots for rot, and then bring it into the kitchen. A spray with a dilute seaweed solution wouldn't go astray either I reckon. Thoughts?

Planning time.

Somehow my "baby" is turning four in a couple of weeks! Whoosh! That went by in a blink of an eye. As usual, the birthday was sneaking up on me until my other two girls asked what they could give her... and I realised that I hadn't yet given any thought as to what I am giving her.

Having three little children - and lots of relatives - meant that it didn't take too long for our small house to start looking like Toys R Us, full of (mostly) garish-coloured, cheap imported plastic toys that just didn't stand up to the enthusiastic attention of three children. I couldn't count the number of things that were irreparably broken and thrown out after only a couple of months. What a waste of resources! I feel sick when I think about it. I'm now solidly committed to toys and activities which will last the distance, are as multi-purpose as possible and engage the girls in creative play (rather than push-the-button-makes-a-loud-noise type of toys), are preferably made from natural materials and/or are hand crafted, and even better, are made locally (or at least in Australia). If you Google "Steiner toys" or Waldorf toys" you will see some of the things I am talking about - they may be, in many cases, considerably more expensive than imported plastic items, but I adore that they look like some love went into their construction, you know? Not to mention that they are built or made so solidly that they can be passed on to my grandchildren.

Anyway, whilst we are working hard to eliminate as much plastic from our lives (and on the flip-side incorporate as many beautiful, tactile, long-lasting hand-made toys), this birthday won't be entirely plastic-free: I have granted an exemption to Lego for the benefit of the in-laws. However I'd still like to make our family's presents as plastic-free and multi-purpose as possible.

So, I'm writing down my To Do List, to try and make myself somewhat accountable LOL, and perhaps help anyone else looking for some ideas:

* Make more scrap-fabric bunting to go with the ones I made last year for Miss Seven's birthday party, so that it will go all the way around the living area. Last year I cut out large triangles of fabric with pinking shears and sewed them together along the top with ribbon;

* Finally make that felt birthday crown I've been meaning to do for the last three years (ahem);

* Sew a simple reversible princess cape from some thrifted velvet;

* Make her a notebook and pencil roll. For some bizarre reason she doesn't have one although I've made the other two girls at least one each (oops);

Miss Five's pencil roll.

* Hopefully make some juggling bags and a bean bag toss game like this one;

* I know I won't have time, but I am going to make an indoor hopscotch mat for the girls (to use in wet weather when cabin fever hits) from a method I found in Seymour's Concise Guide to Self-Sufficiency - I hope to have it finished in time for the next birthday in October.

That lot should keep me busy! I still have two more birthdays after that - and then Christmas - so feel free to leave a comment sharing any simple projects you've made with me and other interested readers :-)

A little bragging...

I started teaching myself to knit last winter, but had a break over spring and summer, and only took it up again a couple of months ago. I get frustrated quite easily, but slow and steady wins the race as 'they' say, so I have been attempting simple projects but ones which add a new stitch or technique each time which I can learn and practice.

After finishing my poncho I thought I'd have a go at these slippers, to learn to use dpns (double pointed needles) and "knitting in the round".

Well, I'm just so stoked with myself LOL. I not only successfully used dpns for the first time, I also knitted with multiple strands of yarn for the first time, mastered "ssk" and "sk2p" stitches AND managed to produce these in only three hours!



Cute, no?



Not only that but Miss Seven then asked for a pair too, and buoyed by my success, I then went on to knit up a pair for her too and in a smaller size which I improvised (by only using one strand of yarn instead of three):



They are hardly masterpieces, and I can see all you seasoned knitters out there smiling quietly to yourself at my beginner's enthusiasm, but we all have to start somewhere LOL. My ultimate aim is to be able to unravel knitted op-shop garments (and to be able to pick the wool from the acrylic just by feel), re-dye the yarn at home and knit them up again into something new. Artful up-cycling: very cool.

Quick Bean Patties

These patties are a yummy vegetarian alternative to meat patties, we mostly have them in burgers and the kids love them. Much healthier than the minced meat patties we used to have, and very quick to make.

Quick Bean Patties



Ingredients

2 x 315g cans lima or butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 large carrot, grated
3 cups dried breadcrumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 tbsp tomato sauce/ketchup
2 tbsp fresh chives, snipped
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dried breadcrumbs, extra
2 tbsp vegetable oil, if frying

Method
1. Mash 1 can of beans. Add the remaining can of beans, carrot, breadcrumbs, eggs, tomato sauce, chives and black pepper to taste, and mix well to combine.

2. Shape mixture into 6 large patties or 12 smaller patties, using wet hands. Roll patties in dried breadcrumbs to coat and place on a plate. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Heat oil in a non-stick frypan, and cook patties for 4-5 minutes each side, or until golden and heated through. Alternately, heat oven to 180'C/ 355'F, spray patties lightly with oil and bake for 15 minutes, turn and bake for another 15 minutes until golden and heated through.


Recipe from Pulses and Legumes by Bonza Books.

I'm back! I've wanted to post some quality blogs in the last few days, but you know what they say about "the best laid plans of mice and men..." LOL. So, while I get back up to speed, here are a few things I've been up to in the past week...



:: finally finished sewing together the 42 knitted squares for the poncho I started a couple of months ago ::

:: discovered how hard it is to take of photo of oneself wearing said poncho ::

:: found it pretty cool that my five year old is still young enough to think hand-knitted ponchos are "awesome" ::

:: cast on my next knitting project - Mary Jane slippers ::



:: picked up a bulk order of organic grains and fruit from Demeter Farm Mill from the co-operative I've joined ::

:: wondered where the heck I'm going to store it all ::



:: discovered that while my new butter bell works well in keeping our butter soft and spreadable, I failed to take into account the 'contamination factor' when used by little children, causing me to have to replace the water several times a day due to chunks of toast and Vegemite floating in it ::



:: watched my eldest learn to ride her bike without training wheels ::

:: taught her how to make a crustless quiche ::

:: enjoyed hours outside listening to the girls playing MasterChef in the garden with sticks and dirt ::



:: felt sad that my garden - once again - looks like the aftermath of cyclone Larry after hubby removed a huge palm and an ornamental variegated ginger (I can see the fence again - ergh) ::

:: felt glad that we are now one step closer to getting chooks now that we have the space to build a pen and dog-proof run for them ::

:: thoroughly enjoyed seeing my garden look a little loved again after some much-needed maintenance, although - as usual - the weeds are getting away from me ::

:: am sticking to the excuse that I don't want to inadvertently pull up any self-seeded parsley, dill or rocket seedlings whilst weeding ::

:: felt enough spring in the air to wash the seedling punnets and rinse them in a bleach solution ready for a spring seed sowing session ::


How about you? What have you been up to?

Goodness!

Well, I spend a few days away from my blog and suddenly I'm inundated with new readers!

Welcome!

Since I haven't been checking my stats for days I've no idea where you all came from LOL, but feel free to browse around while I get back into the swing of regular posting...

...which may not be today, since it's supposed to be 22'C (72'F) again today - lovely - and the garden is still calling me :-)

Cheers!


No need to buy vegie seedlings - half of my pantry seems to be sprouting ;-)

Phew!

Can't stop - it's SUNNY and GORGEOUS outside and it has been all weekend! Hubby took the day off to do some gardening and the kids have been having a sleepover at Grandma's while I alternate between getting utterly filthy in the garden and washing everything I can lay my hands on so that they can dry in the SUN for a change.

Too nice to be inside! Although I did open every window this morning to hopefully air out some of the musty winter smells. I just came back in to grab a big glass of lemon cordial, mmmmm.

See you tomorrow (I hope).

Crockpot or Solar Cooker: Sausage and Lentil Casserole

Comfort food: I serve this with creamy mashed organic potatoes - divine! The quality of the sausage makes all the difference in this dish, so try to use the best you can afford. Beef sausages work just as well as lamb.




Ingredients

750g organic lamb or beef sausages, sliced
1/2 cup lentils of your choice
1 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup carrot, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
800g tin diced tomatoes
2 cups water
pinch dried basil and oregano
bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Brown sausages in a pan, and drain fat off.

2. Add to the crockpot/ black solar cooker dishes with the remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 6-8 hours in a crockpot, or around 8 hours in a solar cooker.

I'm at the Co-Op today...

See you there!

Thoughts on preparedness.

Unfortunately, we had a nasty little incident at our place last night, which has gotten me thinking about the value of being prepared whilst I dealt with the aftermath today.

We don't know how, or on what, but while our family was glued to the last 10 minutes of Masterchef, one of our dogs sliced a huge gash in the underside of his tongue. He didn't make a single noise - which is astounding - but evidently he sat (on the sand-coloured carpet) behind the lounge where we were sitting, bleeding profusely, for some time before running from one end of the house to the other, looking to get outside I suppose. Why he didn't whine I truly have no idea, but he lost a lot of blood for his size and managed to get it on everything in his path - floors, walls, curtains, cupboards, toys...

DH stood up to put the kids to bed when the show finished and as you can imagine, almost had a heart attack when he saw what was happening! It was total chaos for the next 5 minutes while he grabbed the dog and put him in the bath tub to contain the mess and calm the dog whilst I tried the calm the kids.

One late-night trip to the vet for stitches later we are seven hundred and fifty dollars poorer, yikes! The dog is sore and sorry for himself, but will be fine, thank goodness. But as you can guess I've spent the day washing every. single. cloth. in the house, scrubbing the walls, bathroom and curtains and trying to get the remainder of the enormous pools of blood out of the carpet behind the lounge (Right where you look into the lounge room as you come in the front door. Sigh). I got most of it out last night with cold water and umpteen dozen old cloth nappies, but of course in daylight it looks dreadful. Double sigh.

So what has this got to do with preparedness? I guess it was vivid reminder for me that bad things can happen very quickly and how utterly blessed we are to live with close proximity of services (like on-call veterinarians!) many of us take for granted.

I cop a fair amount of friendly stick from friends who think I'm a little over-zealous when it comes to stockpiling etc, but really, how easy would it be for both DH and I to be laid up with the 'flu or a nasty gastro bug at the same time and be unable to go grocery shopping for a week? Or for one of us to be called away to a family emergency and leave the other one without a car and kids to feed for an extended period? The money we spent on vet bills last night is more than three weeks worth of groceries for us, so if we weren't budgeting carefully we'd be in some serious strife right now.

I think sometimes there is a fine line between being thought of as a "nutter" and being admired for coping efficiently with the unexpected. I'm just glad our unexpected emergency was nothing too significant in the grand scheme of things.

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On a side note, if you haven't read it already, you should read Sharon Astyk's description of Pat Meadow's "Theory of Anyway" regarding action we should be/are taking to deal with climate change and peak oil, and then read Pat's additions to Sharon's thoughts here. It neatly sums up why I do what I do. As Sharon says:

"...95% of what is needed to resolve the coming crisis in energy depletion, or climate change, or whatever, is what we should do anyway, and when in doubt about how to change, we should change our lives to reflect what we should be doing "Anyway." Living more simply, more frugally, using less, leaving reserves for others, reconnecting with our food and our community, these are things we should be doing because they are the right thing to do on many levels. That they also have the potential to save our lives is merely a side benefit (a big one, though)."

My Winter Garden: A Photo Tour

Despite being the middle of winter, there are still signs of life in my food garden, so on a rare sunny morning today, I raced around with the camera.

The Meyer lemon is producing abundantly as usual, but snails seem to be chewing at the fruit which are then getting fungal infections and falling off the tree :-(

The potted rosemary is looking very pretty.

The galangal is ready to harvest when I get a chance. Only two rhizomes survived but it looks as though they grew on OK, so will be interested to see how much I get from them.

Something (?) is chewing at my green papayas before they can ripen. I will have to pickle this one.

The mulberry is starting to produce buds and fruit...

The blueberries are also beginning to flower and fruit...

and the strawberries are flowering.

The garlic and onions are looking pretty good, despite all the rain.

Although the red cabbage are all sulking and refusing to grow.

The Bloomsdale spinach is stunted and also refusing to grow...

Whereas the Winter Giant spinach is coming along nicely? *Shrug*

The endive isn't doing all that well either...

But the tatsoi is almost big enough to eat (if I can keep the snails away long enough).

The red kale is powering along...

As are the remaining fennel seedlings and the Tuscan kale.

Although all the lettuce are bolting, despite the cold weather - I can't seem to win with them this year.

In fact, the only greens big enough to eat in the garden at the moment are the Chinese Broad Leaf Celery (lovely in stir fries)...

And the Red Giant mustard.

The kohl rabi that weren't eaten by the snails who cunningly bypassed the snail bait, are looking good...

As is the celtuce, which looks as though it about to form it's long stem at the base.

The snow peas are producing lovely crisp pods...

And the rainbow chard is beginning to colour up, although not large enough to eat yet sadly.

I hope your gardens are also producing well for you. Happy gardening everyone!

Independence Days Challenge Update

It's Monday so it is time for another Independence Days update...


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

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Planted something - Borage, corn salad, spinach, celery leaf, horseradish.


Harvested something - Snow peas, lettuce, starfruit, lemons, mushrooms, thyme, parsley, cress, rocket.


Preserved something - Lemons (lemon cordial and frozen juice), ginger (grated and frozen in ice cube trays).

Bulk nuts & seeds.

Reduced waste - Received two bulk order deliveries: a hormone-free, grass-fed beef hamper from Spring Hill Beef Hampers and bulk dried fruits and seeds from Honest to Goodness (still waiting on a delivery of assorted bulk grains and flours from the bio dynamic Demeter Farm Mill); made chicken stock from roast chicken bones; made banana muffins from some mushy over ripe bananas and froze the rest.

The grass-fed beef hamper taking up a whole shelf in the fridge.

Preparation and Storage - Knitted another dishcloth (using a new-to-me soy/bamboo cotton); finally sorted out my thrifted yarn and needles and listed them in my Ravelry notebook so I actually know what I have!; bought more organic pasta on special for 99c; purchased a jar of tincture of Benzoin to add to our home first aid kit; bought three more 8.5L and two 5L storage containers on sale; started using the Butter Bell (okay so far); cleared an area of garden in our backyard for a potential future chicken pen.


Eat the Food - Bulk batch of honey toasted muesli & low-fat muesli bars; crustless quiches with lots of greens; chicken noodle soup.

Bulk toasted muesli (granola).

Building Community - Was contacted by two of the co-ordinators of Transition Towns Newcastle, and was asked if I would consider entering Sustainable House Day this year, although we can't participate as one of the qualifying criteria is having solar panels.


Learned a New Skill - Home roasting green coffee beans.

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What the?

So, it's the absolute middle of winter here - and a (normal) cold one at that. We've had overnight temperatures down to 1'C (34'F) recently and mostly cold, overcast or wet days...




So what's up with my peaches? They're throwing out heaps of new growth too and the strawberries are starting to flower!

Anyone else experiencing weird things in the garden ?

Ginger & Turmeric Tea

Apart from tasting terrific, both ginger and turmeric are blessed with therapeutic health properties as well. Herb expert, Isabell Shipard writes about the benefits of turmeric here, and you can read more about the medicinal value of ginger here. Suffice it to say, that both are excellent to take in winter when our immune systems can take a battering from coughs and colds.

Since it is currently cold and wet here, but I am blessed with plenty of home grown ginger, turmeric and lemons, I have started making my own tea to help combat the nasty cold that is threatening to take hold. My favourite is a recipe from Aussie vegetarian chef, Kurma Dasa.



Kurma Dasa's Ginger and Turmeric Tea

Place two cups of water in a small saucepan, bring to the boil and add ½ teaspoon each of powdered turmeric and ginger. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Strain into a cup and stir in the juice of half a lemon and one tablespoon of maple syrup (I use raw honey). Drink warm. You can feel it doing you good!




Next up I plan to try the equally delicious-sounding recipe for lemon, ginger and garlic tea which Chris kindly posted in the comments in my ginger harvest post. Yum.