8 elements of a simply perfect day

I'm a homemaker.  This is my job. 

Each day I fill with the stuff that keeps our family working.

I find that if I do something of each of the following in a day, that day becomes perfect in its simplicity and I feel fulfilled in my role.

I also find that the variety in the day is enough to keep my mind busy and to keep the household chugging along.

These are my 8 elements of a perfect day (in no particular order).

~Housework~

It might be as simple of loading the dishwasher or putting on a load of washing, or it could be a whole house clean and tidy.

 

~Gardening~

Dig a whole new garden bed, plant a hundred seeds, weed under the trees, mow the lawns; or simply wander around the yard looking for new growth.

 

~Crafting~

Usually work on gifts for others, sometimes on something for the house or for us. 

 

~Cooking~

A simple dinner, or enough bread and cakes to make a bakery look sparse.

 

~Reading~

One blog post, or a whole book.  Fictional escapism or recipes and plans.

 

~Animal care~

Some time spent chatting with or cuddling the dogs, cats or chooks.  Feeding them, looking after them.

 

~Connecting with the family~

Taking time to properly talk to my husband and children.  Learning something new about them or reminiscing about the past.  Making sure I hug each one of them at least twice a day.

 

~Dancing~

For exercise and for my other job.  A whole class, a performance, some choreography or a boogie to a song on the radio.

They don't always happen.  Its OK if they don't.  Sometimes life is so busy with other things, or one element gets so big it squeezes out the others.

But the days when they do all happen are so good.

Yesterday was a perfect day.

Today is shaping up pretty well too.

How's your day?

Blossom

I've been watching my fruit trees with eager anticipation for weeks.

 

Miss Pink Lady, Miss Orange Pippin, Miss Apricot, Miss Nectarine and Miss Satsuma have been growing tiny buds along their spindly branches.

 

I've been watching them swell and gradually turn into leaf or flower buds, but nothing opened.

 

Finally, today, I was rewarded.

 

 

Miss Apricot won the race to show off her beautiful white petals with deep pink sepals.  So pretty.

 

 

 

Bread bread bread

We make all our own bread and bread products.  We have done for about 6 months now, only resorting to shop bought in emergency situations (like when I get signed up as an impromptu birth partner).  A new friend asked me today how I organise myself enough to bake our own bread.  So I thought I would share my (somewhat variable) routine.

I bake when I need to.  Depending on factors such as whether we've had visitors or whether we're in a toast or cereal for breakfast faze, this varies from every second day to a couple of times a week.  I choose to bake a good quantity and freeze some as it saves time and electricity.

On baking days,  I start my bread in the morning, usually after a cuppa and breaky.  I start my bread in the bread maker, throwing in all of the following ingredients in order:

• 600ml warm water (leftover in the kettle)
• 2 flat dessertspoons dry yeast (i buy big containers and keep them in the freezer)
• 4 heaped dessertspoons sugar
• 4 rounded dessertspoons milk powder
• 2 flat dessertspoons bread improver
• 2 flat dessertspoons of salt
• 4 dessertspoons of vegetable oil
• And a 1kg bag of plain flour.

All the basic ingredients (which I keep a good supply of always) go into my (thrifted - yay!) breadmaker.

Now before I go on, I want to defend explain some if my choices.  The big one is the plain flour.  No, I don't use bread flour.  I have tried it, and the bread I made using it was, at best, as good as my plain flour loaves.  We found it didn't last as long, and it ended up more expensive.  Go for it with your '00' or strong or bread flour if you like, I choose good old plain flour.  I also choose to use bread improver.  I've tried without and found it makes a profound and worthwhile improvement (that would be why they call it 'improver' I guess).  The only trouble is that the bread improver I like is (as far as I'm aware) only available at the supermarket I don't shop at, so requires the odd special trip and the yeast I like is only available at the other supermarket - why?  just to annoy me I think.  The oil - I used to follow Rhonda's recipe which called for butter or margarine. I find that unless really soft the butter doesn't mix in well, and I no longer buy margarine, so I use a simple vegetable oil - olive oil if I'm feeling fancy.  Use my recipe if you like, or follow your own, but mine is much loved by my family and highly praised by outsiders, so I'm sticking to it.

Ok, back to the bread.  I switch the breadmaker to the dough cycle, press start, help it with the initial stir (i cook twice as much as the breadmaker is expected to and if I don't help here, it doesn't work) and then go do something else for an hour.

When I come back, the breadmaker is still working.  I use this time to make a cake batter or some biscuit dough and put it/them in/on appropriate trays.

The breadmaker then chimes to tell me its done.  I turn  on the oven to 180c before I get the dough out.  The dough is usually quite wet, so I add enough extra flour as I knead it for a good 5min to make the dough a good consistency. 

A big blob of dough, straight out of the bread maker.

By this time, the oven is hot, so I pop in the biccies or cake (these don't make the bread better by the way, but the routine works and saves oven running power).  I cut the kneaded dough in half and prepare it as needed. 

2 balls of well kneaded dough - you know it is ready when a finger indent 'bounces' back quickly.

• It can be rolled in some flour and baked in good tins to make lovely, square, white sandwich loaves.  It can have a multigrain mix kneaded in well and then shaped to make multigrain bread. 
• It can have a couple of dessertspoons of brown sugar, a tsp or two of cinnamon and about 1/2 cup of soaked dried fruit kneaded in to make a spicy fruit loaf. 
• It can be shaped into rolls - round, knot or long (I get 12 from half of the dough) and then sprinkled with sesame seeds or flour. 
• It can make a freeform vienna or cob style loaf, slashed with scissors and brushed with egg white to give a crusty top. 
• It can be used for pizza bases.
• Or it can form something more creative such as cheese and bacon scrolls or a cheese and chives pullapart. 
• The options are pretty endless - use your imagination.

Once the shaping is done and the bread is in/on lightly floured trays, I put the trays into the grill compartment of my stove, which is deliciously warm from the oven.

I check the biccies/ cake and make a cuppa, the bread needs to rise for about half an hour.
After about 25min, the oven is cranked up to 220c.  Once it reaches temperature, in goes the bread.  After 10min, I turn the oven down to 180c again and turn the trays.  The bread will cook in 20-35min total, depending on its shape.

Then I'm done! The bread cools on racks and is then tasted (of course!) and stored in the bread box or freezer.  By starting early in the morning, it is ready for lunch - hot and delicious.

Not bad for a couple of hours work - 12 rolls, a delicious cheese and chive pullapart, 12 choc chip muffins and a batch of Currant Spice biscuits.  YUM!

I always wanted to bake bread, but until this year, never had a lot of luck with it.  This recipe is my adaption of other recipes/procedures, and it works really well for me.  It produces yummy bread, but also really practical bread they keeps well, cuts easily for toast or sandwiches and makes great rolls for lunch.  Best yet, my kids occasionally get a piece of shop bread somewhere else and then tell me my bread is sooooo much better. :D

Do you bake bread? Just sometimes or all the time? Tell me about your routine, or let me know if you try mine out.  And one day soon, I will share the other bread recipes I use for soft flour tortillas and naan.  mmmmm..... time for lunch I think :)

Welcome to the world!

Just stopping by blog world to report that I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life yesterday (and through last night).

Yesterday morning, my brother called - a 'we need you' call.  I went to him and his wife, who is like a sister to me, pausing only to turn off the breadmaker.

My sister in law was in labour and had been for 2 days.  They were exhausted and in hospital.  They had a birth plan.  Me being there wasn't in it.  But plans should be flexible I guess, and it turned out they both needed an extra helping hand, and I was honoured they thought to call me.

I have loved my SIL since I first met her, but now I respect her and love her more than I thought was possible.  She was amazing.  Simply amazing.

We made a pretty good team, the three of us, and with a little much needed medical assistance and after over 70 hours of labour (yep, 70!), we welcomed the latest precious member of our family - little Clover Mae.

Being part of any birth is a spectacularly life changing event.  I was there at age 17 when my younger brother was born, it was also truly special.  And obviously, welcoming my own babies into the world was the most special day of my life.  I didn't expect to ever get the opportunity again and am just blown away that I did.

As an added bonus, watching SIL labour, healed some of the emotional scars I have carried from my birthing experience.  Sometimes as I watched her, I could see me in her place and I felt proud of myself and finally at peace with some of the things that happened during the boys' birth that I had felt were not ok.  They are now.  I did good.

Speaking of my boys, they, and Stu, were part of the support team too.  By being so brilliant about me needing to be somewhere else, they made it possible for me to focus my attentions in that birthing room. Stu even saved the bread dough and turned it unto edible loaves!

And now I have a niece.  A beautiful little girl who will always hold a little chunk of my heart in her pretty little hands.  Welcome to the world baby girl.

The Friday Morning Go Slow.

Thursdays are busy for me. 

I start the day with home things, then spend the afternoon in teacher mode - revising lesson plans, printing handouts, dressing for class, preparing a dinner to take with me, packing the car.  As soon as the boys come in from school, I fuel them up for dancing, then we're out the door.

From 4 o'clock, I am the queen of the belly princesses (and princes).  We shimmy and giggle, dress up and play, and I fill 10 young minds with all sorts of information about the dance,  how bodies work, Middle Eastern culture and ancient stories.

Once I've chatted to mums and waved off my princesses, I'm left in the big hall with my little princes.  Sometimes we dance some more - the class stereo turned up loud and a whole hall to spin, chase and pull out our craziest dance moves.  Other times, we chill out with books or the boys play their games while I dance some more.

After 5 Stu arrives and we catch up on the day.  I heat up our dinner (filling the hall with smells I later have to explain to more students).  We eat together and enjoy the family time.  Simple meals, but usually healthy and homemade.

Then the boys leave me to prepare again.

At 6.15 my adult students start to arrive.  Some are new faces, most I've danced with for years and call my friends.  We fall into chatting about our weeks with ease and I have to remember I'm the teacher and pull away from the girly chat to start our class.

It always takes me a few minutes to get into the swing of it.  The first two songs always feel the hardest.  Then I find my groove and I push the girls through a session of world dance fitness, body conditioning, drills & skills and then learning some of my latest choreography.  The class is mixed level, so I am kept on my toes giving a challenge to the advanced students while ensuring the beginners are getting the basics right.  I sing the songs, joke and say silly things - we all have fun, get sweaty and feel the feminine joy of the dance.  Then we're done.  We stretch a little and say our goodnights.

It's 8.30, one of the troupe girls puts the kettle on and gets out some biccies.  We're not done yet.  The three of us are close - mother, teenage daughter and friend to both.  This is our time.  With cups of tea (chai on lucky nights) we keep chatting while we keep dancing.  Last night was a quick rehearsal of our regular style before learning a new choreography for an upcoming performance.  It's different each week, but always full of teasing and giggles and hard work.  I'm still the leader here, but the learning is much more mutual.  The dancing is harder, pushing our bodies to learn new things and working towards the synchronicity that our little troupe is commended for.  We're definitely not the best dancers in the world (not even close!), but people tell us we're pretty good and we work hard to make that as true as possible, and we always thread the energy of friendship through our dancing - its the ribbon that holds us together.

Eventually our bodies have had enough (usually after an hour, sometimes two), and we pack up to go home.

I drive home.  If I'm good, I stretch while telling Stu about my night.  Often I'm not good though and just have a drink, wash my face and head to bed.

But sleep isn't easy with all that music in my head and I often lay there till the middle of the night continuing to dance in my head.

Now I'm here on Friday morning.  I can feel the effects of Thursday on my body and my mind feels foggy.  So the boys are sent to school and work as usual, but I take my time.  It's the Friday morning go slow.  An extra cuppa, something light to read and time to think.  Today I think I'll go to the library for a weekend book, and pick up more milk for the weekend.  I will work on a few things that came up last night, but stroll through the morning.  Friday go slow is lovely.

At least until noon, when I'll be back at the hall to dance with my mums and kids group :)

The Ole Snail Inn

 

Ah snails.... I once collected them (to use in a university experiment) on top of my akubra hat while walking in the rain.  Did you know that you don't need ethics approval to use snails in experiments? Not that I hurt them, just wanted to know whether they would eat my native tree leaves. They didn't, but they do eat my vegie seedlings these days.

 

I've tried being organic in my garden, but snails have always beaten me. The last couple of years I've used snail bait just so I could get some veg. This year however, I don't want to. I'd like to go out and have a chat with the snails and explain what they can and can't eat, but I don't speak gastropodian. So I have to deter or kill them some other way.

 

I've decided to take a threefold plan of attack. Method one is gumboot stomping. I rather like this one. I go out in the garden on damp mornings in my gumboots (preferably with a cuppa and still in my Pjs, it works better) and I stomp on any snails I find. They're easy to find too - on the driveway and lawns making their way back to shelter after munching plants all night. I used to collect them for my chooks instead, but my chooks are real Aussie girls and don't go for French food.

 

Method two is untried, but i'll give it a go. I found this method in Jackie French's 'Earth Gardener's Companion'. You collect a few snails in a bucket, pour over boiling water to kill then and then leave them in the wate for a few days to ferment. Then you spray the fermented snail soup on and around the vegie garden to detract the soup-ees friends. Ewwww.... But i'll give it a go. (you need to respray every time it rains or there is a heavy dew though).

 

My third method is the good old beer method. If you don't know about this, basically, snails are like most men - they are crazy for beer. The very smell of the stuff makes them come running (well, sort of). But, being gastropods, they're not overly bright (like some men) and given a puddle of beer, they will dive right in, get drunk/drown and die. This is supposed to be a good and effective way to rid your garden of the buggers, but if you just put beer out in a saucer, it'll evaporate on hot days or get washed away on rainy days. So some clever person invented these:

image from here, where the price tag isn't too high :)

Nice huh? But they come with a price tag, so I'm not keen. Some other smart cookie came up with this:

Image from here, with a tutorial if you like them.

But we don't drink much soft drink and I have other uses for the soft drink bottles we do use. So I came up with this:

 

We have heaps of milk bottles, so I can make heaps of these and they only take 2 minutes to make. Here's how.
 

• Cut the bottom 5cm or so off the bottle with scissors or a sharp knife.
• On the top part of the bottle, cut doors for the snails that are about 8cm high on each side.
• Add a jaunty sign to welcome snails in (or not....).

• You're done!
• To use it, bury the base into the soil near your seedlings so the top is near the soil top.

• Pour in some beer (perhaps some of your husbands home brew?).

• Push the top of the bottle in.
• And wait.

 

Hopefully the next day you'll find smiling dead snails in there.

 

Have fun!

 

PS. If you don't have beer, you can use a mix of yeast, sugar and water. Snails are dumb, they won't know the difference.

12 months of greening - August - Buy nothing new

It is the middle of August and I'm only just getting to this post. Not because I haven't had time, but because our challenge this month just doesn't feel all that challenging.  I've just worked out why though, so I want to share that with you today.

This month's challenge was inspired by this post over at Crunchy Betty. Have you been to her blog? Go check it out if you haven't, it makes for great fun reading, with lots of ideas.  Anyway, if you scroll through the comments on that post, you'll find mine stating that we're going to challenge ourselves to buying nothing new this month.

Buying nothing new doesn't mean not acquiring things, it just means that we stop taking the easy way out each time we need/want something.  So often, we see a need for something in our homes and head off to the shops and buy it.  Often, the item we buy is from a large department type of shop, it is relatively cheap and easy to buy.  But these cheap, easy to buy items are usually made overseas, often in factories with poor conditions for the workers, and they are made from poor quality materials that are frequently un-environmentally friendly in their production and they are not made to last.  I make no claims to being an expert on this topic, but I do know from our experience that we have bought so many supposed bargains (clothing, household items, electrical etc) that, after only a short time, become useless rubbish that finishes up in landfill.

So this month's challenge asks us to stop and think before we buy.  Can we make an alternative to a new item? Can we source what we need second hand? Can we do without? We have a list that we can add to, and at the end of the month, if anything on that list has not yet got an alternative, we'll buy  the most ecologically sensible option for that item.

Our list is up on the wall, ready to be added to anytime.
"Buy nothing new (except food) this month, but write anything we think we need to buy here.  If it isn't crossed off because we found it second hand/made it/learnt to do without, we can buy it next month"

Half way through the month, our list has three things on it. This is not to say that we've only  wanted or needed three things, but we've been coming up with make-do solutions before even writing things on the list.  And we've done this naturally and easily because the challenges of the past 7 months have altered our way of thinking. 

These are a few examples of things we could have written on the list, but found a way around buying new:

• A warmer pad or belt for the home brew was unnecessary because we used hot water bottles and a blanket that we had.
• I wanted to buy a new pair of pants, but dug into the back if my drawer and pulled out a pair I just haven't worn for ages - a change is as good as new.
• We were going to buy new materials to build a workspace at the end of our verandah, but a walk around the yard and some creative planning had the job done with items we already had.
• I wanted new materials for making gifts, but a rummage in my craft cupboard and at the Opshop found plenty of fabric and yarn for a few projects.

We've also extended to things people have offered to buy for us (afterall, this isn't about saving money, its about saving things). Stu was offered (for a birthday gift) a gadget so we could watch programs that are on our computer on our TV.  He was tempted, but I gently reminded him that we have more than enough gadgets and electrical items.  So we got creative again and set up our deck chairs in our office so we could watch these things on the PC monitor instead (which is a TV anyway isn't it?).

The items left on our list, will probably be bought in a few weeks, but by delaying, we take the time to think about what option is going to last the longest, be the best value and be the most ecologically sustainable.  In the interim, we continue to use up what we have properly or simply do without.

We live in a society where it is common to just buy anything we need or want immediately.  It is so much less common these days to do without an item, to wait until a birthday or Christmas to get something you want. To borrow, share or make something we need.  We're all about instant gratification, and low cost (poor quality) items in our shops make this possible even on a modest income.  But giving in to this means that more resources are being used to create the things that we are buying, and ultimately throwing away to fill our world with non-biodegradable (sometimes toxic) rubbish.

Our big shops sell temptingly cheap items.  It is so easy to buy cheap, poor quality items
that will need replacing down the track.  We're guilty......

If we stretch our minds a little, join together as a creative family or community, and buy less for wants, and more for genuine need, we'll be better off in the long run.  I'm certainly not perfect, nor is my family, we still buy and own more than we need, and have been tempted into buying items I know will only last a short time way more often than I care to admit.  But by doing as we're doing this month, we are slowing that down, just a little, and making a difference.  And hopefully, but thinking about these things enough now, we will continue to change our ways into the future.

The goodness of cooking from scratch

I love cooking from scratch, but occasionally, it starts to feel like a chore and the lure of packets of ready mades in the shops is hard to resist.

Tonight though, I remember why we cook from scratch.  It is cheaper, feels more satisfying, and the taste.... Oh the taste.

Tonight was a practise run for tomorrow's kitchen garden program at school. A "made up by me" recipe - pumpkin and bean burritos.  They were sooooo good.  We used a chunk of grated pumpkin cooked with azuki beans (I had them instead of kidney beans and their small size was perfect) and taco seasoning.  We served in homemade tortillas with salad, cheese, sour cream and salsa.  I'm sure they'll be good at school, but our homemade tortillas made them amazing!  I'll put the recipe below.

Then for dessert, I fancied chocolate topping on my ice-cream.  We don't have any, but a quick Google search found this recipe.  Was it good? Put it this way, I will never buy chocolate sauce again.

Picture with recipe here.

Sorry, no photos of our food, we scoffled it all down too quickly.

Soft flour tortillas

1. Mix together 2 cups of plain flour with 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tsp oil. 
2. Add 3/4 cup warm milk and mix to a sticky dough.
3. Kneading dough on a floured bench for 2 minutes.
4. Place in a covered bowl to rest for 20min.
5. Remove and divide into 8 pieces.
6. Roll each piece into a ball and place onto a plate, not touching.  Cover and stand an extra 20 min.
7. Roll out the balls on a floured bench to about 20cm diameter.
8. Cook in a hot, dry frying pan until they puff slightly, flip and cook other side (about 30 sec each).
9. Eat warm or cover with a damp cloth to use a bit later.

Spring preparations and some drama.

It's been a beautiful afternoon here in south west Victoria, sunshine and the smell of moist soil getting warmer and ready for spring. We've had a great day, busily working outside, as well as fixing up yesterdays dramas.

Yesterday, while the three boys went to watch my brother play footy, I planted my newspaper pots with the first lot of seeds to go into the coldframe. Melons, pumpkin, zucchini, cucumber, comfrey, capsicum and eggplants are all in and ready to be nursed through their baby days so I can plant them out in about 4-6 weeks when spring is really here. 

Seeds all tucked into their newspaper pots with recycled milk bottle labels.

With my seeds all snug, I got to other garden jobs.  I've started chopping into our pittosporum hedge which runs down the fenceline of our block, and am replacing it with evergreen fruit trees. Yesterday I planted a naval orange, a feijoa and a rangpur lime.  I have left the back branches of the pittosporum on for now as they give much needed privacy and will also give frost protection to the young trees.

Orange tree closest, then the feijoa and finally the lime with a recycled feedbag tree guard.

The boys got home just after lunch and just before I had a phone call telling us we could go and collect some free recycled bricks.  We were hoping to get hold of some to build a pizza oven and were very pleased to get the phone call, even though we had to drive an hour to get them.  We hitched the trailer and went to get them, loading up nearly 300 bricks and some big hunks of bluestone too.  We were thrilled and so were the people we got them from, who considered it a saving in tip fees.

We were so pleased with ourselves until 5min down the road when the wheel fell off the trailer! It seems that after the last time the wheel had to be put on, it hadn't been tightened enough, and a tonne of bricks was just too much for it.  So we were stuck on the side of the road until my stepdad came to the rescue with his ute. We loaded the bricks onto its tray, unhitched the trailer and left it there so I could come home in time to dance at the restaurant.

It is bittersweet when such a great day goes wrong. 

Never mind, today we've patched it all up.  Stu and I were building this morning, starting the work on closing in the end of the verandah to give is storage for homebrew and preserves.  Then we started the courtyard renovations in preparation for the pizza oven.  This involves tearing down a huge jasmine vine that has been there for about 10 years.

Half the jasmine on the ground, the rest is still standing. 
The pizza oven will be built right behind where the jasmine currently stands.

My stepdad came over after work to drop off our brick haul, then he and Stu went to collect the trailer.  It is damaged, but home and fixable.

Free bricks in my garden!  That makes me happy.

All in all a great, busy weekend.

I love the promise of spring and the extra energy and enthusiasm it gives us to work in the garden.

I see many of you have been busy too.  Enjoy the preparations!

How to do nothing....make icecream.

Its been a week of coughing, sniffling, washing our version of hankies (s'not paper tissues), aching muscles, chicken soup and too much TV.  The boys and I were struck down with the dreaded lurgy.  Its been a doozy and we're just starting to feel human again now.

Yesterday was the big school excursion to see Annie in Melbourne.  We'd paid, and the boys had been looking forward to it for months, so they went.  I was too sick to see them off.  They got there, they saw the show, I got a phone call in the afternoon to tell me that one was asleep and to ask permission to give the other panadol.  By the time they got home at 9pm, they were exhausted and crashed to sleep very quickly.

I thought they'd be home recovering today, but they've gone to school (their choice) and will no doubt be having a quiet day there as more than half of their class is away sick.

I've been trying to be gentle on myself.  I've given myself permission to watch TV and drink tea and do not much.  But I'm hopeless at doing nothing, and I sit there thinking about all the things that need doing.  So I've compromised.  The house is a mess, but the washing is done and the dishes have been put away.  I ate leftovers last night and have agreed to buying hot chips for dinner tonight, but I baked a batch of bread and biscuits today.  I did the groceries yesterday, but only went to one supermarket rather than my usual round the town trip to get the best and cheapest options.  I will be teaching my classes tonight, but they will be gentler than usual, and I'll ask my students to help out.  For me, these compromises are taking it easy.

I'm just not good at nothingness.  Yesterday, with a whole day to myself (the kids gone from 8am-9pm and Stu from 8.30am and then overnight), I wanted to do something special just for me.  People suggested going for a massage, to see a movie, a long bath, or a quiet lunch out.  I know that these are things that many women love, and I certainly don't begrudge them those luxuries, but I find that sort of thing very tedious.  I sit there, knowing I should be relaxing and enjoying the moment, but wanting to be anywhere else doing something.....anything!

Thankfully, I found my luxurious moments where my body relaxed and my thoughts slowed.  I went to the nursery in a moment of clear skies and wondered the aisles daydreaming about the garden.  I imagined all of the fruit that I hope to one day grow, and I bought myself a beautiful big orange tree and a feijoa bush (cheaper than a massage and will last much longer too!).  Then, when I came home from town, I made icecream.  I took my time, seperating eggs, pouring cream and watching the beaters change runny, slightly yellow goo into fluffy, snowy white peaks.  And then I folded it all slowly together and swirled the top.

My luxuries are homemade and simple.  They bring a smile to my face, which relaxes every muscle in my body. 

Do you find luxury in making and doing?  Or in the nothingness of a massage or bath?  Either way, I thought I'd share my very simple icecream recipe with you - if you're like me, you can meditate watching the beaters, otherwise, make it and then eat it while in the bath :)

Basic Icecream

1. Beat 6 egg whites until stiff.  Beat in 3/4 cup of icing sugar.
2. Beat 600ml of cream with 3/4 cup icing sugar until thick.
3. For whole egg vanilla icecream, beat the egg yolks with 2 teaspoons of good vanilla and then fold into the cream.
4. For other flavours (use your imagination here - strawberry swirl?  peppermint choc chip? honeycomb? cookies and cream? banana? chocolate? etc etc etc), fold your flavouring of choice into the cream instead.
5. Carefully fold the egg whites into the cream mixture until well mixed and then pour the lot into a 3-4 litre container and freeze.  No extra whipping required.

NB: A chef once told me that this isn't icecream.  He called it something else.  I say, whatever!  It tastes like icecream, works like icecream, is cheap and made of real food.  If supermarkets can call some of the crap they sell 'Icecream', I can call this icecream too.

A gardening job for rainy sick days.

The hints of spring that we were seeing last week have gone and been replaced with more rain, wind and cold. If that wasn't bad enough, another virus has attacked our household, this one with a nasty cough and headache.  So my plans for getting work done in my garden have been postponed.

I'm not good at resting and doing nothing though, so today, I stayed in my PJs, put the Olympics  on the telly, and together with one sick kid taught myself to make origami newspaper pots. We have made thirty of them so far, and stacked them together in groups of six.  We used this tutorial to learn how to make them.

These newspaper pots will be used to plant seeds for my vegie garden this year as I try to move away from buying seedlings from the nursery.  I've also been saving toilet rolls for this purpose and will be able to decide which method I prefer this year and therefore either get started on the pots earlier next year or start collecting toilet rolls earlier.  I figure I need about 100 pots, so will need to make a few more this afternoon.

Now I just need to gather some trays or plastic pots to stand them all up in in the cold frame.  I'll then be ready for planting all the seeds I received in the mail last week so I will (hopefully) have a lot of lovely, healthy, homegrown seedlings to plant when spring truly arrives.

Do you grow from seed?  I've been reading a lot of tips around cyberspace, but would love to hear yours.

Something goods a-brewin'

It's Stu's birthday today!

Happy birthday to you - my best friend.  I love you for everything  you've been to me for the last 15 years, everything you are today and everything you will be in the future.

We love birthdays in our family, making them into a real celebration and trying to spoil the birthday boy/girl all day.  But as we try to step away from consumerism, we're trying to teach our kids that a birthday with a few homemade gifts, a homemade meal and family gathering filled with love and laughter is all you need for a happy day.  And I think its working.  The boys and I were very excited to give Stu his gifts - a crocheted beanie, a box of homemade fudge (his favourite) and some artwork by the kids.

A warm head, coffee, bacon and home grown eggs!

We had a special breakfast to celebrate the morning and tonight, we have family and friends gathering for homemade pizzas at our place (this was originally to be ordered  pizzas, but I changed my mind - homemade all the way!).

As an extra birthday treat, Stu's latest project, and family endeavour to reduce waste and costs, went from looking like this:

Snug as a bug - there are hot water bottles under there too!

To looking like this:

Frothing out the top!

Do you know what we're up to?

Right, I'd better get back to my birthday fairy work. I've got a carrot cake waiting to meet some cream cheese icing, and I want to do it before the birthday boy gets home (so I can lick the bowl without having to share :P).

Slow living month - July

I'm linking up again this month with Christine at Slow Living Essentials to look back on my month of living slowly.  Sometimes it doesn't feel slow!  I got so much done.  But the satisfaction of doing it all ourselves and really connecting with our own life makes all the work worthwhile.

~~Nourish~~

Having my teenage brother stay with us for a week made me really look at what we eat and make me proud of the food I put on the table. Lots of vegetarian meals, a little meat, chicken and fish and all made from scratch. Having him here also made me pleased that we don't always have an extra mouth to feed - so much bread baking!
Highlight meals this month - shredded chicken and bean tostadas made using homemade tortillas and the chicken from the school's rogue rooster and the simple minestrone I made with dried beans and veg - great flavours, very satisfying and very budget friendly.

~~Grow~~

I received my first order from the Diggers club to much satisfaction and have planted several new fruit trees/vines and am preparing new garden beds together with making a cold frame so this summer will be our biggest crop ever!  On the harvesting note, there isn't an awful lot in the garden, so young leeks, coriander and lettuce together with a few other herbs are the extent of it.

The new veggie beds being built.  The savoy cabbages in the foreground
are being watched closely - they'll be ready next month I think.

~~Create~~

I've continued to do lots of sewing, crochet and general crafting in early prep for Xmas. When you plan to give all homemade, it pays to start early.  I can't show you most of what I've made though as it would spoil surprises! :) I will show you the headband and clip set that I made for a little girl's birthday that the boys were invited to. I've also been working on my crocheted jumper again as I have high hopes of having it done before spring arrives.

A pretty crocheted headband and flower clips for a 7 year old girl.

~~Prepare~~
I bought loads of cheap apples at the start of the month and used them to make jars of stewed apples which we're all enjoying and also pectin stock for next summer's jams.  A visit to the cannery and Ballarat market saw us stocking the cupboards with lots of dried beans and cans (to top up my store cupboard in which I stored nowhere near enough of our own tomatoes and fruit last summer!), enough to get us through till our garden starts producing I hope.  I've also made more soap, started my own deodorant and made some facial toner.

The beautiful new calendula infused soap will be ready soon!

~~Green~~
Lots of recycling going on as always. The new veg beds and cold frame were built from Stu's excellent scavenging and we hope to use more in the building of the brew shed next month.  I've had to cut down some trees in the garden, but have saved as much of the wood as possible for using down the track as firewood. 

Cold frame made from all recycled materials
Sitting next to my recycled vegie beds (made from pallets and lined with feed bags)

~~Reduce~~

I've also been putting away lots of recycled items from the kitchen for various crafts and storage purposes.  As much as they can be recycled, using them over and over again before the recycling process is even better.  We've also continued with our Screen Free Saturdays, reducing power usage and also our reliance on technology,

~~Enjoy and Enhance~~

I've put these two together as I wanted to write the same things in both.  The best times this month have been about spending time with people and enhancing our relationships with each other and the community.

With my husband on our weekend away.
With the dance community at Ballarat Belly Dance bazaar
With my kids and also my mum during the school holidays.
With my sister in law on her pre-baby day.

I've also enjoyed getting to know our new hens.

~~Discover~~

I've been a regular at the library this month and have read lots of grassroots magazines - I find a lot of what is written a smidge extreme for us, but gain valuable inspiration (and I've nearly convinced Stu we can build a cob oven after looking at lots of articles!).  I've revisited Jackie French's book "Earth gardener's companion" and have gotten lots of tips for the garden.  And Stu has also started getting in the spirit, borrowing more DIY books for both of us.

Go and have a look at what everyone else has been doing this month :)

Rustic homemade spinach pasta

I've had a pasta maker for a few years now and I love it!  I love it so much that a few months ago I stopped buying pasta.  We used to always have a couple of varieties of dried pasta in the cupboard, but that is all but used up and we are homemade all the way.  A basic egg pasta (my original recipe is Jamie Oliver's) is easy to make and very cheap if you have fresh eggs from your own chooks.  It tastes better than any pasta I've ever bought, fresh or dried, and is Oh-so-satisfying to put on the table.  Making all of my own pasta makes a dinner of pasta and sauce a little less convenient, but that's OK, we manage.

 

Yesterday, I made spinach (silverbeet) fettucini to serve with some organic meatballs and a basic pasta sauce.  It was yummo!  Adding some greens to your pasta makes the pasta look really cool and also adds that extra veg to your dinner without it being an issue for the kids.  Its also a great way to use an abundance of greens from your garden, or in this case, from my mum's garden (we seem to have only grown dark purple silverbeet this year - great if we wanted pink pasta, but it doesn't look so nice with a tomato sauce).  I call mine 'rustic' because I don't puree the silverbeet, just cook it and chop it finely.  This makes the pasta spotty, and also a little harder to cut with the machine, but it tastes great and still works.


 

Note:  The following recipe makes enough for 2 big adult serves or enough for 2 adults + 2 (small eater) kids with a hearty sauce - I usually go with about 100g flour per adult serve if serving with a light sauce, less if you are serving a hearty meat based sauce.

 

What you need:

• 2 big silverbeet leaves (or the equivelent of spinach or other greens - try rocket, basil........)
• 1 large egg (if you make this without the greens, use 1 regular egg per 100g flour)
• 200g plain flour (use 00 flour if you like, but this works fine)
• extra flour
• some cold water

 

How to do it:

• Remove all of the stems from your silverbeet and then cook it in some boiling water.  Drain and chop the silverbeet finely (or puree in the food processor if you want less spotty/rustic pasta). 
• Weigh your flour and put it in a pile on your (clean) bench top.  With a spoon or your hand, spread the flour out to make a large bowl/well in the centre.
• Add your chopped silverbeet to the well and crack in your egg.

• Use your spoon to mix the wet ingredients into the flour, bringing in the flour from the bowl gradually.  Once your ingredients have started to come together, ditch the spoon and use your hands to bring it all together.  Depending on how wet your silverbeet was and how big your egg was, you will need to add some cold water.  Add it slowly, kneading the dough as you go.
• Once it all forms a dough, knead it until it is nice and smooth (and spotty!).  Pop your dough in the fridge (covered with a damp serviette or, if you must, plastic wrap) for at least 1/2 an hour or until 1/2 an hour to an hour before you want to eat.

• I don't like to dry my pasta, so I make it fresh and then chuck it straight in the pot, but you can dry your pasta to use later by hanging the strands over a rack (or any clean stick hanging in your kitchen).  Just be sure to dust it with plenty of flour or it will stick to the rack.
• Because I use my pasta straight away, I prepare the sauce in advance and have it simmering away ready to go as soon as the pasta is cooked.
• Back to the pasta. 
• So, take your dough out of the fridge.  Cut it in half and roll out flat.  With your pasta maker set on the widest setting (1), you need to laminate the pasta.  Roll it with the machine, fold it in half and then roll again.  I fold and roll, fold and roll about 6 times.  You'll know it is ready because the pasta become nice and silky smooth.
• Then you gradually roll the pasta thinner.  For fettucine, I like to go up to the 6 or 7 setting on my pasta machine (go thinner for ravioli etc).

• You will find that your pieces will get rather long as your roll them out.  Just cut them in half as needed.  I'm not concerned if my pasta is variable in length, so I don't worry about exact lengths.
• Once the pasta is all rolled, attach your cutter to the machine and switch the crank handle across.  Dust your pasta well with some more flour before you cut it to stop it all sticking together as it comes through.  Feed the dough through the cutter and voila!  Fettucini (or spaghetti if you used the thin cutter).

• I pile my cut pasta all over the place then while my lightly salted water comes to the boil.  Once your water is at a rolling boil, add your pasta and give it a stir.  It will swell slightly and rise to the top when it is cooked (about 2 minutes).  Be careful not to overcook your pasta or it will feel waterlogged and a bit gluggy.

• Drain and serve with your sauce and some parmeson cheese.  Feel free to look smug while serving it and gloat a little while you eat ;)

A note about pasta machines: If you don't have a pasta machine, you can hand roll and cut it. Have fun with that. I've done it before and the pasta tastes great, but its hard work and it never looks great.  I have a cheap pasta maker.  After a few years of relatively regular use, it is starting to fall apart a bit.  Nothing un-fixable, but I've just picked up a replacement for when it really dies.  Mine cost $10 from Kmart I think, and there are often some at Aldi or other discount shops.  By all means, spend more if you like.  As to the electric ones, I really don't see the point for home pasta makers.  The winding of the crank is soothing and fun (kids love to help too) and I don't think the electric ones or worth the extra dollars for the time you save.  Your choice though!! :)