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...

MYO - Home Yogurt

Okay... so this blog has focused heavily on my garden recently. As a first time gardener everything about seeds, vegetables and flowers growing is fascinating me so I hope you'll forgive me for the one-track-mind. However, gardening isn't all I do around this place to steer myself onto a more sustainable and simple lifestyle.

Every Sunday I make yogurt to take in for lunches during the week using a 'cheater's device called an 'Easiyo'.

Sweetened Greek yogurt on top of smooshed mulberries.

Easiyo is a NZ company which has made home yogurt making easier. They sell a thermos-like device, canisters to fit it and little sachets of yogurt powder mix, containing the live culture, flavours and milk powder.

I've attempted making yogurt from scratch before but both times were failures... You see the trick with yogurt making is to keep your brew at the right temperature for the live cultures to do their work in turning the lactose into yogurt. If it's too cold, the culture will die. Likewise, if it's too hot.

The Easiyo device is half filled with boiling water and a custom sized canister, filled with the yogurt powder mixed thoroughly with water, is inserted. The boiling water gets the mix to just the right temperature and the thermos keeps it at that temperature while the bacteria do their thing.

Yummy, firm Greek yogurt after 8 hours in the thermos.

I do all this in the evening, it takes less than 5 minutes. Then in the morning I open the thermos, pull out the canister and find perfect Greek Yogurt every time!

You can buy all kinds of flavoured Easiyo sachets but I always use the unsweetened Greek yogurt. The fact that it is plain means I can use it for cooking, further process it to make soft cheese (haven't done this yet) or sweeten it with jams, sauces and honey.

Lunch - Greek yogurt with a generous dollop of Manuka honey.

Why bother with making your own?

1) Freshly made yogurt means the healthy, good-for-you live cultures are in the billions instead of the millions you find in yogurts that have been sitting on shelving.

2) It is cheaper. One yogurt sachet makes 1L and costs less than buying a 1L tub of cold yogurt from the supermarket.

3) If making from scratch, you know that your yogurt is entirely free of preservatives and other chemicals.

4) If making from scratch, you eliminate one more bit of plastic packaging from your household waste.

I live in hope that one day soon I will make yogurt from scratch, using lemon juice and milk to get a culture started. Given that my first two failed attempts were due to temperature fluctuations I hope the thermos idea will help moderate the heat so I will have success.

(Please note- I am not sponsored or supported by Easiyo in any way. I just absolutely love their yogurt maker! This entry is an honest review of their products from my perspective.)

Aussie Owned & Made Tomato Sauce

I bought this tomato sauce by Berenberg Farms in the last shop and cracked it open for the first time.

It was wonderful! Just the right blend of tomato, tangy vinegar and salt. I was in tomato sauce heaven.

I was also happy to know I was buying Australian Owned and Made in a glass bottle.

My mouth, the environment, the Aussie economy. All winners today.

Product Review - Lush Solid Deoderant #2

Mid last year I was looking to replace my toiletries and what cosmetics I actually use with ones that were free of unecessary and possibly harmful chemicals.

I was happy when I found that the soaps and cosmetics company Lush made solid deoderants without any of the unwanted ingredients on my strike list. I bought a dried powder block deoderant to try out. I really wanted it to work out for me as I'm keen on Lush as a company with an environmental conscience, limited plastic packaging and low energy/handmade production of their goods.

Unfortunately, as I wrote in my review on this blog, the powder cube didn't agree with me. After a few weeks of using it I still received a burning sensation and redness in my armpits when using it.

So in desperation I tried again with another Lush product - the Aromaco solid deoderant. Like the powder cube, the Aromaco had none of the unwanted chemicals in it, it was a deoderant only and not an anti-perspirant and it came with the usual recycled paper packaging Lush uses. The solid deoderant bar feels like a firm soap and is applied like soap by rubbing it onto your skin. I usually add a touch of water to the bar before rubbing to help application.

It has now lasted me 6 months and I've still half a bar left. I'm impressed with how it has warded off body stink during the Winter and Spring months. Scented with a soft witch-hazel-meets-patchouli it is non-offensive to even fussy-pants Rhys. (Though he does turn his nose up at the block when I use it and calls it my "feral hippy deoderant").

Now we've reached Summer I'm starting to see a decline in the effectiveness of the deoderant block over a full day, especially when I have to walk through the humid Queensland heat at my typically fast pace. I'm planning to get a second bar to keep in a tin at work so hopefully I won't have to supplement it's use with something less ideal.

In short I'm incredibly happy with it as a product and am pleasantly surprised with how long the small block I bought has lasted me thus far. If you're interested in giving it a try but don't have a Lush store near you, you can always buy it and any other Lush product from their website.

Review - Lush Oxeo Cube Deoderant

For a while now I have been wanting to rid myself of deoderants with unnecessary nasties like aluminum compounds, parabens and talcs so I was rather pleased when I saw that Lush have a range of deoderants without any of these ingredients.

Lush are a company with a conscience. They won't buy any ingredients from companies that test on animals. Nearly all of their packaging is in paper, which they encourage you to throw on your compost heap once used. They use fresh and natural ingredients and avoid putting preservatives or possibly harmful chemicals in any of their handmade products. You can see more about their company ethics on their website: www.lush.com.au



I chose the Lush Oxeo Cube because of it's size, smell and texture. Lush carry a range of natural deoderants, some a hard, soap-like bar, others powder based. All of them smell WOW but the Oxeo Cube had a luxurious floral smell that I appreciated more than its sister product, the tea-tree cube.

The cube is a palm-sized lump of powder pressed into shape, held together by a yellow-wax back. The instructions say to rub into the armpits, preferably after just showering. At $10.50 I was willing to give it a try so I could get rid of my current roll-on deoderant.

First use:
I used the bar as suggested, directly after showering. I got a slight stinging/burning sensation in the area the bar had been used for about 10 seconds but I am not sure if this is linked to the fact I had just shaved my armpits before getting out of the shower. The smell was lovely and lasted all day, despite a great deal of hurrying and stress. It is currently Winter and so there is obviously less sweating happening than in the Summer months. I'll be interested to see if the bar performs as well when its hotter.

I'm going to give this a week of use to see if the stinging/burning is linked to shaved 'pits' or is a reaction my body is having to one of the ingredients.