Tea Cake Saturday

I felt an energetic vibe this morning.

So I tidied my home, did some washing, went grocery shopping, sorted my photo collection, set up my printer and made an apple tea cake.

I've had more productive Saturdays, to be sure,  but few as yummy as this!

I've been terribly inspire by River Cottage lately and am feeling the urge to sort out my chook shed and buy more chickens.

My weekend in pictures... (again!)

The Type Who Enjoys Lists....

Before we got married Rhys and I had to go through a series of marriage counseling sessions with the minister who would be holding our ceremony.    I actually really enjoyed these sessions as they usually involved some exercise or test that would shed some light/give me 'light-bulb' moments about Rhys, myself and our relationship.   (Note - the minister stressed not to take these things too seriously as they are only tools to get a general idea about the important talking points for the sessions).

One such light-bulb moment was when the results of one test that showed that Rhys liked to live a less structured life while I thrive on lists, plans and structure.   Why this was a light-bulb moment to me I don't know because it should have been obvious. 

I love lists.   I'll write lists about anything - about things I want, things I want/have to do, things I have done, how I plan to do things to be done..... I can be outlisted and outplanned by no man.   The itinerary I made for my last trip to Japan was a thing of meticulously planned beauty.

So perhaps it shouldn't be a giant surprise that I keep a spreadsheet file on my computer called 'groceries2.xls'



It lists in different sections:

• What was in each of my food connect boxes and the price comparison to woolworths & coles for each one (still doin' well!)
• The information about the latest grocery shop - what was bought? for how much?  who was it for? was it for meals/stock/bathroom necessities/tools/junk food? 
• The total cost of my latest grocery shop and totals on how much I spent (and on what) and Rhys spent (and on what) as well as totals for how much was spent on meals, stocks and junk food. 
• Information about each of my grocery shops since February last year.  Where? when?  who went? total spent?  Cat total spent?  Rhys total spent?  Totals spent on meals, stocks and junk food?

Why bother with all of this ultra-anal-retentive-list-making?

The idea is that it is like a food diary of sorts and that over time you can see patterns or changes in behavior.

An interesting fact made obvious by my spreadsheet is that if I go shopping by myself there is nearly always $0.00 spent on junk food and snacks.  If Rhys or Dan joins me this figure usually changes for the worse!

Another interesting thing I've noted is how much my grocery bill has blown up since I've been eating properly.   But it's also interesting to note how much of each shopping bill is for what I call 'stocks' - i.e. herbs, flour, rice, sugar, sesame oil and other items that will last for a long time and provide for many meals.


But no matter how detailed the list I am not satisfied.  I want more.  My current system means that the finer details of the latest grocery shop is kept, to be overwritten next time I shop.   The broader details kept in the grocery register don't provide me with details like whether I purchased meat (which can really bump up the cost), what was the most expensive item I bought (because a 10L can of olive oil can make a total shopping bill go up drastically!) and other such details that I'd like to keep stored.

What I really want is a database which allows me to store information about each grocery shop linked to an overall register.  This would make the list-maker-detail-storer in me happier than Larry. 

My Sunday in Pictures.

What to make with just 5 strawberries

I was thrilled to see I had strawberries in my latest food connect box.  Then came sadness that there were only 5 of them.   Though smooshing a plain strawberry in the mouth is one of life's great pleasures, I wanted to use all five together in a worthwhile kind of way - enough to help out with a meal. 

What could I do with 5 strawberries that would make them worthwhile?

Then I was reminded of the breakfast episode of River Cottage Everyday where Hughie makes a breakfast thickie as a quick and tasty option to include oats in breakfast - not as porridge!

In go the strawberries..... some homemade yogurt with the last scrapings of my mulberry ice-cream and a generous handful of rolled oats.   Cover the lot with milk.

In goes the hand blender.....

And in a few short minutes I have a delicious breakfast thickie!

Meal Planning

I have started meal planning.  

It is a process that takes half an hour to an hour to complete, usually something I do on a weekend but I have found the amount of time and effort it has saved me has been worth the effort. 

I thought I might write a blog entry sharing how I go about doing this and why.

Why meal plan? 

1) It saves time by:

• limiting the amount of time I have to sit pouring over cookbooks, frustratedly asking myself questions like "what am I going to cook tonight?" or "what the heck am I going to do with chicken, two carrots and half a cabbage?"
• limiting the amount of time I spend at the supermarket.  I know exactly what I need to buy so I'm in and out.
• limiting time wasted in the evening defrosting food.  I know what I'm cooking in the evening so it was taken out of the freezer to defrost during the day. 

2) It makes me eat a better diet by:

• forcing me to consider my diet spread across an entire week.  I can see at a glance if I'm not getting enough protein and add/swap in a meat or egg dish somewhere in the week.
• forces me to consider lunches so they're not just an afterthought or skipped.
• enables me to consider alternative breakfasts instead of the same thing every day. 
• I get excited about mixing it up and making new things when I meal plan.  Prior to meal planning I found I'd get home and the frustration with working out what to cook had me making the same thing or nothing. 
• I now eat breakfast every day and cook dinner (or reheat leftovers/frozen cooked meals) every night.  No excuses. No takeaway.

3) It saves me from wasting food:

• I can consider how to use leftovers.  If I make tuna sushi for lunch one day I will plan to use the remaining tuna in a meal either that night or the next night. 
• I plan the meals based around the vegetables from my food connect box collected the Thursday before I plan.  
• It allows me to consider what veges are leftover from the previous week and how to use them first.

4) It saves me money by:

• I create my grocery shopping list from my meal plan (as well as items I know need restocking).  I don't waste money in the supermarket picking up things that I don't need.
• I have lunches planned each day so don't spend any extra money buying lunch. 
• by minimising food wastage I am also saving money. 
• I have a plan and the will to stick to it so I don't cave from exhaustion at the end of the day and buy take-out food anymore. 

 Yay!  Wins all around!

So how do I food plan?

I have a lovely meal planning pad from KiKi-K.  This might be familiar to Metanoia, who I sent another copy of the same pad, and to Grosby who received a portion of my pad for her use.   When my pad runs out I will probably have to get creative and make a set of papers with some ink stamps... or print some out.

But for now I use my KiKi-K pad which shows a kind of meal-planning matrix with the days of the weeks as columns and the meals of the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks) as rows.  There's a space at the bottom of the rows that I also utelise... but more about that in a bit.

I consider what plans I might have for the week ahead and write in any commitments or plans I know in advance on the meal plan sheet.  (e.g. I'll put a cross through dinner to indicate I won't be cooking it and write the reason  "Bob's birthday party" beside it.)



Am I away from home for any of these meals?  Do I have dinner out with Dajana one night?  Will I be at Mum & Dad's place for dinner sometime?  Will I be late home on a night and therefore need a very quick and easy dinner or perhaps a frozen meal?   Will I be leaving for work very early on another morning?  If so, no scrambled eggs for breakky that day!  It's not a perfect world and plans change but it's a good start!


I sit down with a handful of my cookbooks.   Though there are some books that tend to always find their way into the mix (Donna Hay's 'no time to cook' and Australian Women's Weekly 'Creative Cooking on a Budget') I try to keep it fresh by switching the books around.  Recently I've also included my ipad - abc ifood app, River Cottage app and Australian Womens Weekly cookbook app.  

I have my shopping list beside me and a list of the veges I know are in my fridge/kitchen. 


Then I start to plan - usually I mark in breakfasts first, because they aren't connected to any other meal.  I try to ensure I don't eat the same thing two days in a row.  I know breakfasts on weekdays are rushed so I don't plan for anything fancy - I leave that for weekends.

Next I plan dinners - keeping in mind what vegetables need to be used up first.   I flick through cookbooks and i-pad apps to find recipes that use those kinds of ingredients.   I also keep in mind that I need to keep a range of protein in my diet.  Often, I'll find a recipe to cook the meat/chicken/fish I have or want and then find a separate recipe for a vegetable side - or just make something up!
 
Once dinners are planned I can fill in lunches.  If dinner the night before will leave me with leftovers I put that down for lunch the next day.   If dinner the night before won't allow leftovers I plan for something else easy to put together in the morning, like salad, sushi, a basic bento box or an easy instant cous-cous. 


And the extra line at the very bottom I mentioned?  If a dinner will require something to be defrosted in the morning, something to be made the night before or something to be soaked or marinated throughout the day I will write it in the extra space.   It's usually just one word like 'FISH' or 'CHICKPEAS' and it serves as a simple reminder for me in the morning.



Oh yeah... and one last point... where I have based a meal on a recipe (or more than one) I will record in shorthand the book and the page the recipe is on.  I then leave those cookbooks used in the kitchen for quick and easy access! 

This week's meal plan on my fridge - because of changed plans on Thursday lunch I now have extra gnocchi leftovers and will need to do a reshuffle of dinners, probably ditch the pizza planned for tomorrow night and eat the leftovers then.

Important Points to Meal Planning

• Be flexible.  Recognise that plans change or you may forget to put the chickpeas out to soak in the morning.   Recognise that you may come home very late from work totally wrecked and not want to make fiddly scotch eggs...
• Build flexibility into your plan where appropriate - I almost never plan lunches for weekends.  My Sunday is very sketchy in the above plan.
• Have back-up meals in the freezer - for those nights that you come home wrecked! 
• Mix it up but don't plan meals that are too fancy for the time or effort you can afford.  Keep really fancy-pants meals for weekends when you'll have the time to prepare. 
• Do keep in mind which vegetables need to be used first.  Don't leave the banana smoothie for breakfast until a full week after your shopping... your nanas will be grossed-up by then.
• Consider the ways of getting the best and most from your ingredients.  I tend to never cook a steak because that steak will feed me one meal only.  If I cut it up and use it in a stir-fry or a casserole it will make two meals or more.
• Don't be afraid to chop and change recipes and get familiar with ways to substitute ingredients.  If you have a bunch of kale when a recipe calls for silverbeet or spinach, use the kale!  No white wine but you do have a can of Guiness in the fridge throw in the stout!  
• Know your usual suspect ingredients and keep your fridge/cupboard stocked.   I've discovered that I usually need cream at least once a week and can't live without olive oil.  I go through thyme like you wouldn't believe...  

Do you meal plan?  Is your process similar to mine, more/less meticulous?  What things do you consider when meal planning?

Food Connect Box 3

My latest food connect box contained the following:

2 large imperial mandarines
3 oranges
3 kiwi fruits
2 avacados
1 small bunch shallots
1 bunch rocket
1 butter lettuce head
1/2 celery bunch
4 carrots
1 large head broccoli
1 large eggplant
4 apples
1/2 red cabbage
5 strawberries
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
2 lemons
1 bag mushrooms
3 pieces ginger
3 potatoes
3 small sweet potatoes
1 bunch kale (?)

It has been interesting to put these things together into meals, especially the more unusual ingredients I haven't ever cooked with before (like yacon and kale).

Egg and Dill

Just because my blog has been lacking colour lately...

mmmm Egg and Dill ready to become Scrambled Eggs.

Food Connect Box 2

I know I've been quiet folks -  enthusiasm for other things and my continuing health oddities/troubles have been taking my attention.

However things have been going on in my little patch of the world.
I've grown a batch of sprouts very successfully and plan to photograph the process next time for a blog entry. 
I then used the sprouts in a crazy soup concoction I call "verdant broth" in an attempt to use up more cabbage.  I can't remember the full receipt but it involves cabbage, peas, sprouts carraway seeds and no stock!
I've also watched my basil seeds, alyssium and lettuce seeds germinate.   Meanwhile everything else I planted while ago either sits dormant or are Fail.
I've been reading 'The Edible Garden' by the amazing Alys Fowler.
I've been cooking regularly and watching the inspiring 'River Cottage'.
I pulled two carrots that I grew - a very proud moment.


AND...

Last night I got my next Food Connect box of vegetables.

Contents:
1 bag flat mushrooms
2 large tomatoes
3 red capsicums
1 bunch spring onions
1 bunch coriander
1 big butter lettuce head
1 med brocolli head
3 green zucchini
4 finger eggplants
1 round eggplant
1 big and 1 small yacon
1 lrg sweet potato
3 very large cloves garlic

2 avacados
3 large mandarines
3red apples
3 oranges
1 pineapple
4 lady finger bananas
4 kiwi fruits


I have to admit I am stumped by the yacon...

Food Connect Box 1

I picked up my first Food Connect box last Thursday.  (Gourmet mixed box at $52)

It contained:

1 garlic head
1 bunch dill
1 med head of broccoli
1 bunch shallots
2 avacados
3 zucchinis
2 large eggplants
1 green chili
4 capsicums (1/2 red, 1/2 green)
1 butter lettuce head
1/2 sugarloaf cabbage
1 corn cob
roughly 400g flat mushrooms
2 beetroots
7 sweet potatoes
2 lemons
2 lemonade fruits
3 kiwi fruits
3 appleas
6 mandarines
2 oranges


I did an online shop of Coles and Woolworths and found that the same produce totalled $66.92 at Woolworths and $55.55 at Coles.   (This, of course isn't a perfect comparison but it does give some guide.)

Now to work out what I'm going to make from it all!

Food Connect

I stumbled upon Food Connect a while ago and was impressed by the concept.

But I didn't join up - because I didn't want to spend that much on vegetable boxes each week.

Then my good friend Night Child subscribed and gave fairly glowing reports.  She trialed a few similar companies and finally settled on Food Connect as the one to go with on a permanent basis.

She informed me that though a subscription is made for a number of weeks they don't have to be consecutive weeks.  That is, you can subscribe for four weeks but spread those out fortnightly.   This was exactly what I had decided I needed.

But I didn't join up - because  I kept making excuses during 'The Great Slump'.

Then, as you'd know from my earlier post, 'The Great Slump' ended, prompted by some health woes and a talk with my doctor about diet changes required.

So at last I have signed up to Food Connect, with a whopping 13 week subscription.


Yes, yes... but what IS it?

Food Connect is a company that has operations running in three capital cities, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide.   It finds local farmers that are within a certain km radius from the city who also have or are working towards organic farming standards.

These farmers deliver their produce weekly to a warehouse where they are packed into boxes.  The boxes are delivered to local 'city cousins'.  A city cousin is someone who volunteers to be the city contact for an area.   There are city cousins all over the place - my local one is only a 3 minute drive from my home.   Subscribers then pick up their box/es from the city cousin and enjoy the fresh and local produce! 

I think it works well all-round. 

I know I'm supporting truly local farmers.  When I was going to the fruit and vegetable markets I found out there was only one or two stalls that were actual farmers in the 'local' area, one of those being Stanthorpe - a good 3+ hours drive away!   Other stalls, the cheaper ones I was using more, were still importing fruit and veg from around the country and overseas.... and then taking it to about 3 markets before it ended up at mine.  All of the food connect farmers are truly local farmers.

I know I'm getting fresh fruit and veg.   I'm not buying stock that has first flown around the world, then sat on a supermarket bench for a few weeks first.   I'm not buying stock that has gone to the West-End, Powerhouse and Nundah markets before hitting my local fruit and veg market.

I'm supporting a company with sustainability ideals.  All boxes reused until their useful life is ended.  We are even encouraged to go creative and decorate our boxes and date the artwork so they can see how long the box's useful lifespan is - and to bring joy to other subscribers who get the box later!   Also, the idea of supporting local farmers feeds into the idea of eating seasonally and reducing food miles.

I know I have my fruit and vegetables sorted out... until November!  I've paid upfront for my 13 week subscription (spaced out fortnightly), which was a bit of an outlay but now I don't have to try to find the time or impetus to go to local markets for almost half a year.  I have no excuses for not buying veges this pay. 

They are flexible so I'm not locked in...  If I find I'm overrun by veges or am going on holidays I can halt my subscription for a week or two.  Or I can add another box in... or order some extras...  Whatever.  It's flexible.

The farmers are getting a regular and reliable income.  This is why the system is a subscription based one rather than a buy a box now... and maybe another one in three weeks.


I pick up my first box tonight and am super-excited.  You will no doubt get a post full to the brim with lovely fruit and veges tommorrow!

My Favourite Laundry Tips

Don't fear!   This is not going to be one of my long odious posts rambling on about laundry.   It is merely a few tips I have learned along the way that has improved my washing work.

1. Don't put washing up in prolonged rainy weather on a line that will be exposed to the damp air.  Even if the line is under shelter, the damp air still makes the clothes dry slowly and they get that rotting smell ever so slightly. 
2. When hanging jeans on the washing line,  hang them by the waistband.  First, close the zipper and buttons and hang them with the waist taut.  Then smooth out the wrinkles in the fabric.  This will help the jeans dry fairly wrinkle free.  If they dry with crazy kinks in the fabric it can be a horrid thing trying to flatten them out again, even with an iron.
3. When taking washing off the line, I fold it as it goes into the basket AND I take things off in an order that will make putting them away easier.  That is - All my pants/skirts go into one drawer so I take all of them off the line, folding as I put them in the basket.  Then all my t-shirts and other drawer shirts...   This means when I get them inside it's not an extra task to sort and fold, also, less wrinkles are going into them by being stuffed in a basket haphazardly. 
4. If you have plastic pegs - take them off the line as you take the clothes off.  They will last a *much* longer time than if they are left out exposed to the elements. 
5. I separate my washing in odd ways - towels, tea-towels and dishcloths in one load,  whites together, dark clothes in another load and then any light or dark coloured delicates in a last load.  Sometimes I also collect pink/purple/red clothes in a load for itself because they are so much more liable to run colour.  (That's a pink/purple/reds wash on the line in the photo above).   This works for me because I have a small load washing machine and I only do a 'reds load' irregularly.

Notes to my washing -  I don't have a dryer, everything is dried on a line.  I don't wash during the week, only on weekends.  If the weather is unkind one weekend washing is sometimes fortnightly.  (You can imagine the problems I had during our long wet before the floods!).  I don't iron all of my washing in one hit the way I've seen some do.  I iron as I need it on a given day.  I don't use hot water in my washing machine and I use powder detergent, thrown in with whites but swished around and diluted slightly in water first before adding to dark colours or reds.

That's it.  They're not very special tips but they make my life easier by saving time and effort - especially tip #3!

Do you have any particular things you do with your washing that makes the process easier? 

Pumpkin Envy

You may remember that I planted pumpkins earlier this year - a lovely breed called 'Potimarron Pumpkin'.   It was fairly expensive, at close to $1 per seed and Diggers no longer seem to stock it on their site. 

So I was heartbroken when my wee pumpkin vine caught the powdery mildew disease and died.

Meanwhile, at my Mother's place, there is a pumpkin patch that is wild with a pumpkin vine that just grew when she threw some seeds from a dinner pumpkin in there.   They've had so many little pumpkins started on this healthy vine and even if most never grow large or get stolen by mice, it's still a darn site better than having a spindly vine with droopy mildewed leaves. 

I officially have pumpkin envy.

Kitchen Sunday

I've instigated, as part of the recovery from 'The Great Slump' at least one 'at home' weekend day in a fortnight.

I think after today's raging success I will also be blocking my calendar once a month for 'Kitchen Sunday'.


Kitchen Sunday is spending a whole day in the kitchen cooking and baking food that will mostly be frozen or put away for use in the following month.

On the Menu for This Kitchen Sunday

Pumpkin Soup 
Made 4 services.  I ate one for lunch (gotta reward yourself for the effort involved in Kitchen Sundays!) and put the other three in the freezer for meals.

3 frozen meals. 













Pumpkin Gnocchi
Oh!  I had forgotten the previous lesson about how fiddly and annoying making gnocchi is!  But nevermind, now I have 4 meals frozen.



4 frozen meals.












Beef Casserole
This is still cooking in the slow cooker.   This casserole is filled with tasty things like, swedes, potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, fresh thyme, diced beef and mixed soup beans.  My bet is this will make probably 6 meals to freeze.



6 frozen meals.









Spiced Pumpkin seeds
This is really a case of waste-not-want-not.  The seeds were saved from the butternut pumpkin used for the soup and gnocchi.   First I washed off all the gunk, boiled them for 5 minutes then tossed them in a mix of spices and baked them while preheating the oven for roasting the gnochi pumpkin.


Snack in the pantry. 








1 Loaf Bread - lunches for the week.
1L yogurt - lunches for the week.
Sweet Spiced Cashew Biscotti - for lunches.

 Tuna, Silverbeet & Chickpea Creamy Pasta
This self created recipe made 3 very generous meals.  I ate one tonight, saved one for tommorrow's dinner and froze one.


1 saved and 1 frozen meal.

• 250g dried pasta
• 10g butter
• 1tsp olive oil
• 5 grape tomatoes, sliced
• 2 stems silverbeet, leaves sliced/shreded thinly, stems sliced thickly
• 1/3 cup of reconstituted dried chickpeas
• 300g canned tuna, drained and flaked.
• 1 rounded tsp of wholeseed mustard
• 100ml cream
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Boil the water for pasta while preparing vegetables.   Add pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente.  Drain and add to sauce.

For sauce - melt butter and oil in a frypan.   Add silverbeet stems and tomatoes.  Fry these for a few minutes then add the silverbeet leaves and chickpeas and mustard seeds.   Fry for a further few minutes.  Add tuna, cream and sour cream.  Stir through well and reduce heat.  Once the sauce is almost warmed entirely, add parmesan cheese, stir through.

 (Note the chickpeas were dried and I reconstituted them by soaking them in boiling water twice during the day.  They retained more flavour and texture than chickpeas from a can.  You could use canned chickpeas however I think that the firmness of the chickpeas really add to the meal and would recommend trying reconstituted ones if you can!)



Anyway folks,  I'm still in progress for Kitchen Sunday - I have yet to finish my biscotti!  I'll add photos once they're done too!

Today Planting Tally

Planted Seeds

• Basil
• Alyssium (beneficial insect attractor)
• Bronze Fennel
• Dwarf Peas
• Broad Beans
• Lettuce
• Bergamot  (beneficial insect attractor)
• Oregano

 Discovered seedlings

• Discovered completely dead oregano had self-seeded and started to grow.
• Discovered a pumpkin/zuchinni/squash? seedling had grown from a discarded seed.

Started sprouts in a jar.

Weeded and cut out old, straggley dead plants (bye bye Zinnias!)
Resisted the urge to buy bare roots roses at Bunnings today.

Felt pretty good about self.

The Great Slump and How It Ended.

I was doing well folks.  I was frugal.  I was tending a happy (if not overly productive) garden.  I was enjoying productive crafts as my spare-time entertainment.  I was on the road to a better, more natural and environmentally friendly life.

Then came what I am now referring to as 'The Great Slump'.  The last few months (half a year really) has seen my efforts and my general diet do a bomb-dive while frivilous spending has spiralled upwards. 

I was eating real trash (read - corn chips with BBQ sauce and cheese in the microwave for dinner,  take-out more often than not, carb-only meals based usually on pasta for other times etc.) and knowing it was bad for me but not having enough care or drive to fix myself back onto the straight and narrow. 

I often didn't have anything to cook or eat in the kitchen because I refused to buy veges and fruit at Coles/Woolworths but then didn't take the time to go to the markets.  Or I'd waste my food budget on other things and then say that I could eat "poor" for the rest of the week until payday.  I bought meat but it languished in my freezer because I didn't have any veges to cook with it.  I'd get home from work and look at my disgustingly messy kitchen and decide it was all too much effort to cook tonight.  Breakfast every day was a cup of tea and nothing more.

And thus it dragged on, getting worse and worse.

But I have come to the stage in my life where the consequences of a lacks-a-daysie view on diet and excercise make themselves known much more than was ever the case in my youth.   So it was that I found myself in a doctor's office with a month-long chest pain and lung tightness.....   I've since undergone some xrays and blood tests and am waiting on the next appointment to find out more about the state of my health.

But one thing is sure - it was the kick in the pants that made me realise that I cannot continue on as I've been.

Doctor's orders were to take in leafy vegetables, lots of other veges, fruit and nuts.  Keep up the dairy and yogurt (she was exceedingly pleased by my home-made bread and yogurt).  Much more protein - fish, chicken and meat.  Much less salt, sugar and fat.  

You know... sensible, no-brainer stuff.

What ensued was a giant shop for vegetables and other health-it-up ingredients at Coles that night.  I got home and cleaned enough of my kitchen to cook an omlette with fried tomato, onion and silverbeet.   Every day since has seen a packed lunch filled with vegetables and a piece of fruit and dinner has been cooked each night.   I've been choosing water over tea at work and  had only one piece of chocolate in the week. 

Yesterday I signed up for a Food Connect subscription which runs through to November.   Fresh vegetables and fruit without the markets or supermarkets - all pre-paid.   But more about that tommorrow.   I've got two chickens in my backyard who will one day in the future produce a steady supply of eggs.

I'm also promising myself to make sure that I have one weekend-day in a fortnight is booked in as 'at home time' - no matter what invitations or events come my way.   I need that time to get my house and my life in order and to rest and recoup.

And I also have promised myself to take the time to reflect on life, my journey through it and how I intend to improve the way I waste  spend it. 

So hopefully that means you'll be seeing a fair few more blog entries from me.

Stamped with Love

I seem to have reached the age where friends and family around me are all falling pregnant are a rate that makes one question what is being put in Brisbane water.   Those who aren't getting pregnant are getting engaged and married.

I like to make cards - not because I think it's cheaper than buying one, although a nicely handmade card can work out cheaper -  but for the same reason I like to write letters.  The time taken to choose paper, write the letter, stamp it and slip it in a post-box is a gesture that shows that you care, that they are worth the time and effort taken.   A handmade card often means that the person made something unique, possibly with you in mind when they crafted it.   And that is a very heart-warming thought.

With that in mind, I've set myself to making cards for friends and coworkers who have caught the baby-bug.   Below are some of the ones I've made this week:

For Marika - a lovely coworker from my team.

For Naomi- a lovely coworker on the floor below my office.

For good friend and coworker - Tania.  (shhh... she hasn't received it yet!)

I've also made an engagement card for a friend however she reads this blog and it hasn't been sent to her yet.... so it will have to wait. :)

Zesty Zinnias

One of the few things going right in my garden has been my Zinnias.



They have been throwing up round little spots of bright Summer color here and there in pinks, deep oranges and dark red. Some of them are like little rounded pom-poms of petals while other have a mass of little golden stars growing in their center.


They are such joyful little flowers that I can't help but smile when I see them.

Disappointment

I've been quiet. I know!

I could blame it on a lot of things, such as the three weeks of working from home because of damage to my work building by the Brisbane floods in January. Or I could blame it on the frantic sewing I've been doing to get (too many) costumes ready for the Jane Austen Festival Australia that I will be attending in April.

But really, my quiet on this blog has been due to my recent failures making me feel miserable and very non-bloggy.

In the garden it has been one disaster after the other.

Gardening failures make me feel sad, droopy and
used up like this horrid little mushroom...

I got but one cob of corn from 8 plants and that was a slightly deformed cob with a strip of no kernels on one side.

I got only one zucchini from 3 plants before they all started dying from bad powdery mildew. I might have been able to save them had Rhys not mowed over the healthiest trailing one "by accident".

Then the powdery mildew moved to my white petti-pan squash which had been doing so well up to that point. And from there it moved to my rockmelon and watermelon plants.

My sunflowers all met an early death due to the awful weather.

Only a few of my carrots survived whatever was eating the seedlings off at the base (cutworm perhaps?).

My leeks were going nowhere at a very slow pace.

Miniscule onions (pulled up prematurely)
make me cry as much as the normal sized ones do....

I managed to kill my beautiful strawberry plant that had been so lush and healthy when I bought it.

Even worse, I managed to kill the chocolate pudding fruit (black sapote) tree which had been gifted to me by Christmas by my sister in law.

All the bronze fennel seedlings I neglected died in two short days, as did the tomato seedlings and roly-poly carrot seedlings I had bought from Bunnings on a whim.

My Loganberry plant was looking ready to give up the ghost. I don't think it liked being in the full Summer sun all day.

The holes in this leaf
leave a hole in my heart....

A marigold plant I had bought from Plants Plus to keep away the bad pests was eaten by... bad pests. (Nasty little grubs which chewed into the flowers like mad).

I discovered that the plants I had been nurturing, thinking them to be the gypsophilia I had planted, were actually common weeds.

The lavender I had planted by the front steps got a disgusting mould problem and died.

My Tigerella tomato plant seemed to be offering up one last fruit but it was a mutant tomato, with a tough skin just like a cracked old leather couch left in the sun.

Taking a 2nd place for making me miserable (narrowly beaten by the powdery mildew), was the infestation of bugs, grasshoppers and leaf hoppers which left holes in everything. EVERYTHING!


All in all, it's been terribly disappointing and has, of late, dulled my enthusiasm for gardening and not given me much blogging fodder.

But don't despair! I picked up the pieces and got to gardening today...

Oh Brother!

A dear and generous friend loaned me her backup sewing machine a long time ago. I recently decided it was well overdue the point where I should return it to her so I found at last I had sufficient justification to go and buy a new one.

The overhead bulb - brighter than the room lighting.

It sews.
It sews fancy stitches.
It lets me create my own fancy stitch designs and save them in the onboard computer.
It cuts the threads for me when I'm finished.
It threads the needle for me.
It tells me if I'm running out of bobbin thread.
It automatically winds the bobbin thread.
It has three different alphabet stitches.
If I buy an extra foot, it will cut the fabric as it overcasts... just like an overlocker.
It has a speed throttle that can be changed during sewing.
It is portable and light.



But wait! There's more!

The Brother Innovis 900. My new favourite toy.

It has an embroidery unit which is attached to do embroidery and appliques.
It has 70 onboard designs and a card slot.
It also can hook up to a computer so any designs purchased online can be used.

The first completed project of the machine - a small tea-time tablecloth for a friend.
It completed this design in less than 10 min.

I love it. I love it goooood.

From Little Things Big Things Grow.

I started gardening for a few reasons:

• to do my part in creating a more sustainable food industry/culture in Australia.
  
• to change my yard from all lawn (very unfriendly to bees and native birds) to a dream paradise where bees would flock and little native birds would find a haven. This perhaps is a pipe dream...
  
• the sheer joy of watching things grow under my care.
  
• to put fruit and vegetables on my plate that had not been sprayed with chemicals
• to eat vegetables and fruit that are not stocked in the supermarkets. Chocolate pudding fruit? Purple carrots? Chocolate Brown Capsicums? Yes please!
• to help keep these heirloom varieties live by learning to save seeds.

The last four points are why I grow from seed.

Growing from seeds amaze me. I am fascinated by the way that each seed has it's own different shape, needs, germination rate. Did you know that the seed from palm trees can take up to three years to germinate while zucchini seeds can take less than a week? Some seeds will only germinate after a period of frost, others after being exposed to smoke or fire. I think that's very cool.

When I grow from seed I know that the plants produced haven't been feed chemicals or non-organic fertiliser.

But best of all is the exciting varieties of plants that I can get when buying seeds. Even the major seed companies like Mr Fothergills and Yates are now producing seeds for exciting and heirloom varieties.

So, if you care to have a try at growing Red Rocket carrots, oka, Acerola cherries, green tea, white eggplants, Banana passionfruit or Dark Opal Basil here are a few sources of seeds within Australia that stock seeds for both traditional varieties, as well as some you'd never have imagined existed!

Though I have listed some companies that are stocked by local suppliers like Bunnings, Plants Plus, K-Mart etc I encourage you to support the other little guys who are locally producing seeds and started the heirloom (a.k.a. heritage) seed market.

Be warned! Seed collecting is addictive!

Seed Suppliers Often Stocked at Garden Centers or Stores
(All have websites with excellent gardening information and advice.)

D.T. Brown
Cheap and good value. Usually stocked by Crazy Clarkes and the Reject Shop. I have had much success with them. (Imported from UK).

Mr Fothergills
Well priced. Usually stocked by Bunnings. I have had reasonable success with them.

Yates
Reasonably priced. Usually stocked by Bunnings, Plants Plus, K-Mart etc.

Johnsons Seeds
Reasonably priced. Usually stocked by Bunnings. Not much success with their seeds so far - catnip had zero germination. (Imported from the UK).

(I have a large number of 'Grower's Pride' seeds however this is only because Bunnings were dumping their stock at 99c/pkt. A good and reliable brand but I haven't seen it anywhere else.)



Websites
(Check websites for details but most produce seeds organically and all produce seeds locally so they are better suited to Australian weather than imported seed.)

Diggers
This company forged the way for seed saving and heirloom varieties in Australia and are strong advocates of organic gardening. They have a massive range of heirloom seeds and a 'diggers club' you can pay to join to get free seeds and seed catalogues throughout the year. I have used them heavily with varied success but find that I have a LONG wait for my seeds to arrive - so plan ahead!

Eden Seeds
I haven't used this company yet but they have a good reputation and a great range.

Green Harvest
I haven't used this company yet but they have a good reputation and a great range. Extra love to them for being one of the first to sell a 'beneficial insect' seed mix (i.e. seeds for plants that will attract the good bugs to your plot).

Cornucopia Seeds
I haven't used this company yet but they have a good reputation. Their range often includes varieties missing from the other's sites.

Rangeview Seeds
I haven't used this company yet. They aren't one of the 'bigger' online companies so I haven't read much about them on the online communities. Very well priced.

Greenpatch Seeds
I haven't used this company yet. They aren't one of the 'bigger' online companies so I haven't read much about them on the online communities. All seeds are organic.

Lambley Dry-Garden Nursery
All plants in the Lambley Dry-Garden (and stocked in their online store) are selected because they survive and thrive in dry conditions and require very little water. There are some very stunning varieties with blooms of all colours. (Be sure to check out their gallery of the gardens!)

Pleasance Herbs
I haven't used this company yet. They sell only herb seeds but have an enormous range.



Ebay Sellers
(Note - I haven't used any of these. None offer any varieties you cannot get from the above suppliers. However, some people are comfortable with the ebay process and they can be very well priced so I've included them here.)

Little Miss Seedy
Excellent range - particularly of heirloom tomatoes.

Seedy Lady
Small but interesting range.

Heritage Seeds International
Excellent range.

The Great Mayonnaise Debacle.

I had squeezed the very last splurt of mayonnaise from the squeeze bottle and my menu plan for the next fortnight included two meals that used mayonnaise. It was time to buy more.

Inspired by the 'Real Food' challenge on Not Dabbling in Normal I decided that I would make my mayonnaise from scratch. It would be healthier without all the preservatives, it would have a more traditional feel to it and I would feel better for having made it myself.

Or at least that was the plan.

The following debacle unfolded on Facebook so enough talk from me. I let the disaster speak for itself.







The big lesson here is this:

Though adding extra ingredients to a failed cooking endeavor may work sometimes it is not always the best way to go. Lemon essence? Really!

Project Use-Up-The-Ham Part 1

This year my family had a large Christmas dinner with all of my Dad's side of the family there as well as all my brothers and sisters, their spouses and children. It ended up being close to 30 people... thank goodness it wasn't hosted at my tiny house!

This year the responsibility of buying the Christmas Ham fell to me, a task I didn't take lightly. Knowing the number of people due to come and the healthy appetite of the clan I bought a decent sized smoked ham leg for $60.

As is usual with Christmas dinners there was a lot of leftovers. My ham was returned to me with less than a quarter of it gone. Enter Project Use-Up-The-Ham!


PROJECT USE-UP-THE-HAM

Objective:
To use up the entire remainder of the Christmas ham in exciting and different ways (i.e. not ham sandwiches every day for a month).

Important Information:
Ham will keep for some time given it is stored correctly. One of the best ways to store ham is in a ham bag (a.k.a a calico bag) which has been soaked in a mixture of 1L of water and a cup of white vinegar. The vinegar acts as an antiseptic while the soaked bag stops the ham from drying out.

The ham bag needs to be re-soaked every few days.

Progress so far:

To date the ham has been used for a number of meals including:

• ham and salad rolls.
• homemade pizza with ham, capsicum, onion and tomato toppings.
  
• diced ham included in a bento box for lunch
• other, more exciting, options below.

Boxing Day Soup


Don't be fooled by the curious name. It is pretty much just a variation on pea and ham soup.

It uses:

• whatever mix of pulses and grains are in your pantry in the place of the split green peas. (I had split green peas, some red lentils and brown rice).
• whatever soup vegetables such as carrots, celery, leek, turnip, swede etc. you have available.
  
• Salt, pepper, a bay leaf and some dried herbs. (I used whole peppercorns, thyme and basil.) either vegetable or chicken stock.
• Smoked ham diced in the stead of the usual ham bone scraps.
  

I put all of these ingredients cold into the slow cooker and let it stink my house up for half a day. And there you have Boxing Day Soup.



Italian Omelette
(adjusted from a Family Circle Recipe- Pasta Cookbook)

Bad photo of excellent food. Italian Omelette went so quickly this is the only shot I got of it.

Again, this recipe has a deceiving name. This is nothing like a traditional omelette. It is closer to a frittata.

• 2 tab olive oil
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 125g ham diced finely
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 cups cooked spiral (or other short) pasta.
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese
• 1 tab fresh basil chopped
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese.
  

Heat half the oil in a frypan. Add onion and cook over low heat until soft.
Add the ham and cook over low heat for a few minutes. Transfer to a plate.

In a bowl, whisk eggs, milk, s&p together. Add the cooked pasta, parmesan and gruyere cheese, herbs and onion/ham mixture.
Return the omelette mixture to the same fry-pan, top with cheddar cheese and cook over low to medium heat until it has started to set. Put the fry-pan under a grill to set the top of the omelette.

The mix of the three cheeses really made this dish sing. The photo doesn't do it justice at all. Dan and I both went back for seconds and I ended up with no leftovers!



Honeyed Ham For Breakfast



Honeyed ham is, in one word, delicious.
Honeyed ham for breakfast is just plain decadent.

Cut off chunks of ham.
Heat either olive oil or butter in a saucepan.
Add the ham and a generous dollop or two of honey.
Fry the ham in the honey mixture until golden brown.

Best served with toast and egg with a cup of tea on the side. Oh yeah!



Ham and Vegie Fritters


When my mum heard of Project Use-Up-The-Ham she offered her suggestion of fritters. This is a family favorite to make use of leftover roast and I can't count the number of times I had fritters for dinner as a child.

• 1 egg
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 onion finely chopped
• pinch salt
• 125g ham diced finely
• 1/3 cup peas
• 1/3 cup corn kernals
• oil for frying.
  

In a bowl, beat the egg and milk. Stir in all other ingredients.
In a frypan, heat olive or vegetable oil over high heat. Once sufficiently heated, drop two to three tablespoons of the fritter mixture into the oil. Fry each side until golden.

It is imperative that these are served with an emoticon (smiley face etc.) of tomato sauce.


I failed at frying the first batch because I didn't have the temperature high enough or wait until the oil was ready before adding the batter to the frypan. My second batch was more successful. Remember that you are frying these.... they should be golden and crispy and not the consistency of pancakes (though they taste pretty good that way too!)



End report:
With a large amount of the ham now gone I am still looking for ways to use up the last of it.

Suggestions so far have been a ham-based carbonara and fried rice.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for completing Project Use-Up-The-Ham?