Urban Homestead South Africa

If you are looking for me....

2012-01-28T13:32:00.000+02:00

We are going away for our weeks holiday to celebrate family, birthdays and our wedding anniversary.

Long days beaching, starlit nights away from city lights, no reception, phones or cars...so simply we have..

Moods, mangoes and being a mommy.

2012-01-26T20:08:00.000+02:00

It's birthday season in our home. It started with my elder daughter's 17th on the 27/12, then my mom 9/1, then my elder son turned 15 on the 16/01. Following this was my mom-in-law's on the 25/01, mine is coming up on Monday, my Dad's on Tuesday and then my 3rd child - precious princess - turning 13 on the 15/02.

As you can imagine it makes for a lot of reflection when you have 3 children in their teens, lots of memories coming up to my 21st wedding anniversary to Superman. I have had a deep thinking past 3 weeks. I can see that being a mommy is never the easy path, neither is being a wife. It is a stretching, growing, happy, sad, overwhelming, exciting path to walk.

My littlest one asked me the other day why I am sad, well I am not actually, just reflecting deeply on things. The thought that has preoccupied me over the last month that is relevant to this blog is the state of my veggie garden. I have asked myself:

1) Did I make the most of the season?
2) Did I plan effectively?
3) Did we care for it enough?
4) Was there more I could have done?
5) What more do I have to learn?
6) What were successes/failures?

Honestly, I do not believe that we spent enough time in the garden Spring through Summer. With this semi-neglect comes loss of crops to bugs and over ripening. I also grew things that did not yield well and other crops that were too prolific and not liked by us like Lazy Housewife Beans.

There is still so much to learn, and being an impatient kinda gal, I am first and foremost learning patience with this process of growing food. I dabbled with companion planting this season and what I did correctly worked in our favour. I tried to get into medicinal herbs but just don't have the time so I am back to growing culinary herbs only. So much to learn - so little time.

Last summer we had so many marrows...we ate almost daily and ended the season with the freezer full of grated marrows for winter. This season we have had massive failure! But the last 3 years my tomatoes have failed and this year we have more than we can eat! So goes it....

Time is one of the most valuable things I can put into the garden and time is something that is trickling through my fingers like water...I have asked myself if this is truly simple, this life we are living? I guess not. Our food is simple, our needs are simple but we are a busy busy family in a specific season of life. A precious friend of mine always says to "Live in your reality - and rejoice..." and I am again reminded of this....Live in the season I am in...AND REJOICE! Soon the garden will have more time devoted to it as we switch to autumn/winter crops, but for now I will enjoy what it is giving us for our plates.

Talking about seasons MANGOES are in! Wooohoooo! Here are 3 mango recipes for you:

A faraway soul mate told me how to make this salad about 5yrs ago, it has morphed a bit through the years but it is still a winner.

Cook noodles for your family, chop up some cooked chicken, 2 large mangoes and a bunch of coriander. Add to it 1/2 cup mayo and 1/2 cup plain yoghurt, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder. Mix all together, add salt and pepper and enjoy!

Mango sorbet:

2 large mangoes cubed, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1 t port - blend up in food belndr, chill and then add to your ice cream machine to blend.

Mango smoothies...delicious in the morning when I return from my walk.

Blend up 1 cubed mango, 1 cup of blueberries (frozen), , 1 cup yogurt and 1 banana. Enjoy!

A busy week, recipes and robbery!

2012-01-22T14:14:00.001+02:00

I am sure you can tell by my lack of posting this week that we are back to school. It is actually our second week but this week the kids sports and music lessons started up again. I always say that we can handle our home, garden and schooling but as soon as the afternoon activities are added to the mix it is a matter of "hang in there, juggle another plate and collapse into a little heap at night."

As much as I would like to change this it is really not a possibility. Having 4 children who each do 2 activites means 8 in a week, swim training is 3x a week in itself! Throw in my need for excercise and it becomes a finely timed schedule and requires my full attention.

But this is just a little moan...I know that I will blink and my nest will be empty and they will move on with their own lives, so I savour and treasure each moment that I have them with me 24/7.

Well, onto the things you really want to read about - food, garden and self sufficiency. Here are the pictures and some recipes from this week.

The windowsill in our dining room is the perfect spot for morning bread rising...

Some little pilfering critter is getting to our corn before us....

My daughter's sense of humor! I still have to figure out what to do with these pumpkins...we are not big pumpkin eaters...any ideas? Something better than her idea of a hat stand LOL!

Some corn with a BBQ...the ones the field mouse/squirrel didn't get.

My mom bought me these lovely linen storage bags for potatoes. They are lined with black and can hang next to my stove in ready reach for cooking. They are not big enough for all the spuds we have harvested but I keep some there all the time. The others live in the fridge.

Yesterday while I was out for a meeting, Superman rallied the troops and did the garden chores. This meant more potatoes, tomatoes and a big bowl of Cape Gooseberries. I want to make Gooseberry tart for pud tonight.

A lot of our tomatoes have had to be harvested green. I put them on the counter to ripen. Some just weren't ripening to a full red then "du-uh" I remembered that I had planted some giant yellow tomatoes and a light bulb went on.

Two delicious meals this week were the above Calzone. This is just pizza dough folded over with a filling of mozzarella, spinach, mushrooms and homemade tomato sauce.

Above was a scrumptious Jamie Oliver meal from his Jamie At Home cookbook. It called for 2kg's of cherry tomatoes in different shapes and colors which I have an abundance of. This is drizzled with olive oil and basalmic vinegar and fresh Italian herbs. Roasted at a hig temp until all mushy. Then you add some pork sausages (we had Happy Hog smoked bacon and apple sausages) and cook until all brown and sticky. Served on homegrown mash potatoes...it was a meal to remember. I have a picture of many little heads stuck in the bowls licking the sauce...but my children threatened me with my life if I posted it here :-)

Water, water everywhere!

2012-01-15T11:15:00.000+02:00

Pictures from yesterday....

Thanks to a very vigilant Superman supervising the whole process there was minimal damage. We have wonderful water, pumping full taps....what a good result.

Harvest in a hurry

2012-01-13T16:47:00.000+02:00

I should be shouting: "Houston, we have a problem!!" but I will rather look to the blessings than the troubles...but just so that you know what is going on here...
Last year around Dec/Jan we noticed that our wellpoint was loosing pressure. Without "free" water, everything we are doing here is pointless! We cannot afford to water on municipal water and I don't want that water on my crops anyway.
About 3 weeks ago we noticed that there was not even a square meter of water being spurted out of the sprinkler with the pump going full taps and Superman and I looked at each other and said: "Houston, we have a problem!"
Well after all the experts came and went this week we have no option but to sink another well point, and this well point is going to be in the veggie garden right next to my beloved much nutured asparagus.

This caused a hurried harvesting session for all of us this afternoon - in the rain and then blistering humidity. We had to dig out all the potatoes as this bed will be used as their slurry pit, then we tied back the asparagus (I am praying it will not be damaged) and then we harvested all the tomatoes around and about.

While we were going we picked the corn that is ready and the pumpkin and butternuts.

I suppose I should be grateful that this weeks shopping :-) has been done!

Dear Readers, think of us tomorrow as they start to dig....

When God Gives Tomatoes

2012-01-12T19:54:00.000+02:00

I am sure I have mentioned before that I pray over my garden once the seeds for the season are in the ground.

1 Corinthians 3:7 says: "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."

This year I prayed in particular for tomatoes. Our first 4 years have been highlighted by failures in the tomato department so I was really trusting God for a good crop. At the moment we are picking bowls of tomatoes everyday. All types - black cherry, black prince, beefsteak, red cherry, yellow pear and more. I am so grateful for this visible sign of God's care for me....tomatoes...who would have thought
:-)

So tonight I had 2 bowls and a basket to use and made a delicious pasta sauce with home grown ingredients. I chopped all the big really ripe tomatoes up....

Added a colander of fresh basil and 4 stalks of celery....then a tablespoon of garlic.....

And cooked it up until soft. Then added lots of black pepper and a teaspoon of salt and whizzed with my hand blender.

It was so yummy on freshly made pasta, sprinkled with Parmesan. This pot of tomatoes made enough sauce for 3 meals.

Expectations and disappointments

2012-01-08T10:16:00.002+02:00

Back in August we decided to try another way of growing potatoes based on the "potato factory" idea that I found on the web. Superman built these planters and the idea is to keep adding slats to the frame as the plants grow. It is a similar idea to growing potatoes in tyres.

Yesterday we decided that the plants were dead enough to dig out the bottom spuds. Potatoes are generally ready to harvest when the growing stems have died, wilted and gone brown which takes 3 - 4 months.

So we removed the bottom slats....

Started to dig out the compost/soil (which was used as mulch elsewhere in the garden)...

Potato Dog got involved....

And there was promise, expectations, excitement....

Then disappointment :( as more than half of the spuds we soggy and rotten due to my over eager watering. We have only about 20 spuds that made it, the rest had to be thrown away.

Well, we have chosen to think like Thomas Edison and chalk it down to experience and the learning curve is not actually about counting your chickens before they hatch, but rather that we need to be a little more neglectful ;-)

Bean, marrow and baby tomato salad

2012-01-06T14:09:00.000+02:00

Boy it's hot here! It makes cooking in the evening a challenge. Tonight Superman has planned a BBQ which is really welcome, but last night I was on duty!

My garden is yielding so nicely at the moment. Tomatoes are being picked by the basket full, marrows are filling out and French beans prolific. I paged through one of my favourite cookbooks - Healthy Appetite, Gordon Ramsey - and adjusted a recipe of his.

Fry one chopped onion in some olive oil, then add trimmed french beans and circular marrows. Sweat until just tender. Remove from the heat and add lots of cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle over 1t sugar, 1/4t thyme & sweet basil. Serve luke warm.

I put this with some sticky chicken drumsticks. Heat oven to 200C. Put drumsticks in an oven dish, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Cook for 20mins.

In the meantime, mix together 3T Fish Sauce, 3T Soya Sauce, 3T Rice Vinegar and 6T Honey. Remove chicken from oven, pour sauce over and cook, turning every now and again, until dark and sticky....sooooo yummy!

The year that was in pictures

2011-12-31T14:34:00.001+02:00

To all the readers of this blog....

And then it becomes worth it...

2011-12-30T12:41:00.000+02:00

You labor and toil...you sweat and you bleed...you water and weed...you labor some more....then all of a sudden you begin to harvest and eat.
We are eating from our garden every night, sometimes lunches and breakfasts too....

A handful of strawberries for a smoothie...a delicious basil, tomato and mozarella salad for lunch.

Two dinners we have enjoyed entirely from our garden were zucchini fritters with homemade tomato sauce and coriander, fresh beets and a french bean salad.

I also made some stuffed cabbage rolls served with new potatoes and french beans. As insipid as the color is it tasted truly delicious.

Now that summer is here!

2011-12-28T14:08:00.001+02:00

The temperature's are picking up and by February we will have those cooking hot days. We want to enjoy the last two weeks of our school holidays to their fullest and go beaching, have pool parties, picnics, dam swims and more.

Naturally at this time of the year we think more about the sun that at other times, but particularly when it comes to protecting our skins from sun damage. Protection is more than just slapping on a SPF cream as most creams bought of the shop shelves are petrochemical based and are in some ways more nasty than the sun itself. On top of the harmful effects of chemicals on your skin a 2008 USA study of 1000 name brand sunscreens showed that many are not even effective for sun protection and 4 out of 5 contained harmful chemicals.

Reading labels is just as important here as it is with food....if any of your creams have an ingredient called Oxybenzone, chuck it away! It is a penetration enhancer and is linked to issues like hormone disruption, cell damage and allergies.

So what to do? Starting with the basics...cover up what you can. Modest beaching choices mean more skin is covered with a full piece costume, board shorts and a surfer shirt (antirub vest). Sun hats are also a must to cover sticky-out-bits on the face and shoulders.

Then your next layer of defense is a lotion of some sort. You can visit your local health shop and see what they have in their sun lotion section...A friend of mine who is an avid researcher of all things health recommends Sun Fun Capsules. You can also make your own spray. This recipe comes from Super Natural Home by Beth Greer which you can buy at Loot.co.za

4 ounces of distilled water (or rose water or Aloe juice)
1 level teaspoon of ascorbice acid powder
A few drops of lavender essential oil.

Mix together and keep in a spray bottle. Use 2 or 3 times a day when exposed to sun light. Respray after sunning.

Another layer of defense is to eat your orange veggies and fruits. Pawpaw, melon and carrots all help your skin after sun exposure.

Of course common sense dictates to stay out of the sun during its hottest times of the day. We try to be off the beach by 10 and not there before 3, gardening is done early in summer and sometimes in the shade of the evening too.

Hope this helps and prevents your sunburn this year and any long term damage to your skins.

This blog post is entered into Simple Lives Thursday over at www.gnowfglins.com

Simple Steps in Green Living and Frugality #5 - do not waste!

2011-12-26T09:54:00.000+02:00

Simple Steps in Green Living and Frugality #5 - do not waste!

We all know the old saying "waste not, want not" but I am still and have been more so in the past of having wasteful ways. I thought that I would just highlight some ways that I have begun to correct my habits in the BIG three areas of FOOD, WATER and ELECTRICITY.

Food:
Years ago I used to watch a friend of mine save the tiniest scraps of foodstuffs. She saved a tablespoon of mashed potatoes, a handful of roasted veg, a slic of tomato...and I quietly raised my eyebrow and thought "all that bother for such a little." But in the years to follow I would pick up on her good habit and find ways to include left overs and scraps in meals.

Besides for saving leftovers, planning your menus and purchasing just what you need is another way to prevent wastage.

Watch the fruit bowl and vegetable drawers in your home so that fresh foods don't go over ripe and use up fruit in puddings, icecreams, cakes and vegetables in bakes, cakes and dog food before they waste.

And of course, by learning to make your own basic food stuffs you will appreciate the cost in time and effort and not want to waste!

Water:
Where we live we have hot windy summers. Well, I suppose we have wind most days too! Our garden also needs lots of water, so I make sure that watering in summer is done by 10am. The wind normally picks up after lunch and then sprinklers are really wasteful. Watering before 10am also lowers the evaporation rate substantially.

Shower with a bucket and use that to flush the toilet or use it on non edible plants in the garden.

Catch the drips from the taps and use it for the dog water bowl. (Note to self: get a plumber to replace the washer!)

Rinsing vegetables in a bowl of water instead of under a running tap, then using that water for the garden is a great water saver.

Electricity:
Power down the house at night....

Get children on board about turning off lights when leaving a room.

Don't "fridge gaze!" Have you ever seen a hungry youngster standing staring into an open fridge? I have one of these....he eats non stop all day and we have to teach him not to stand and wish food out of the open fridge.

Lots of other power saving tips here.

I am sure you have many if not all of these already happening in your home. If you have a NO WASTE tip, please feel free to leave a comment in the block!

I can feel it coming in the air....

2011-12-24T12:38:00.007+02:00

The days are changing and getting that muggy December heat and the garden harvests are picking up. So once I had put the gammom in the oven for cold meats tomorrow with family we went for a look see in the garden.

When picking gems I noticed that the dreaded mildew is starting on some squash leaves. Despite everything we have tried over the last years, this thing can bring us to our knees. I now just harvest what I can right up until we pull the plants up and throw the infected parts away.

Lucky the potato dog struck again aided by her side-kick and they dug up a 5L bucket of wonderful potatoes. We are already planning meals with these crisp beautiful spuds.

We also tackled our chillies today and got 3 jars pickled.

Tomatoes are ripening all over the place...big ones, small ones, red ones, yellow ones....

And then my gorgeous red onions are ready to pick. I just leave them in the ground to carry on growing until I want their sweet flavour on or in something. This is the first time I have manged to get onions to full growth...so happy I persevered.

The predictability of a vegetable garden....

2011-12-22T19:28:00.006+02:00

With a veggie garden comes the predictable work of composting, sowing and watering. Then the growing, nuturing and the harvesting. We have been away over the long weekend enjoying time with Superman's parents and friends. We came home to a giant marrow which was a lovely surprise as we brough home 5 extra people with hungry tummies and veggies stretched out meals!

When our house guests left we had a chance to attend to the gardens....this is some of what we did:

Weeded one of the 4 areas, picked a colander of beans and lots of spinach. Then we cut off the Brussell Sprouts (yes there are two girls in there).
Our carrots have grown beautifully and straight...last year we were given the tip to grow then straight after harvesting brassicas. I looked at this sandy soil with no added compost and was doubtful....but here they are - so gorgeous. Our youngest visitor had great delight in finding them and pulling them up one evening, so we have now been harvesting some each evening or just for a snack.
Our butternuts have formed fruit and while there have been some bees and bugs in the flowers, I haven't left pollination to chance and have hand pollinated what I can.
My lavender needed a hard cutting back so this is now drying and I plan to make some Amish "headache pillows" with it as well as some little pouches to put in clothes cupboards.
Our chilli bushes are heavy with ripe chillies...time to get a-pickling.

Two more apricot recipes...

2011-12-14T19:14:00.005+02:00

Yip, we are still trying to use up apricots! Last night I made a deboned stuffed lamb neck.

The stuffing was made with 12 pitted chopped apricots, two long pieces of rosemary, 1 finely chopped onion, 2 slices of bread, salt and pepper.

The butcher we get our meat from had deboned the lamb thankfully so all I had to do was stuff it and roll it up.

I drizzled the top with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and freshly ground black peper and roasted it slowly for about 2hrs.

It was superb, served with homegrown beans, gem squash and baby potatoes.

This morning I caramelized some apricots in a blob of butter and tablespoon Demera sugar.

These were the topping to our oatmeal waffles, with a dollop of cream and a slice of thick Boland bacon from our free range pork farm.

Turn away weight watches....it was sublimely decadent and delicious!

Simple Steps In Frugality and Green Living #4 ~ Eating Local Seasonal Foods

2011-12-13T11:32:00.006+02:00

Simple Steps In Frugality and Green Living #4 ~ Eating Local Seasonal Foods

I don't know about your home but in mine our greatest expense is food costs. Everyone wants to save a little on groceries but in our home I am not prepared to give up fresh organic whole foodstuffs to save a buck or two. Therefore I need to find a way to save on food costs where I can.
The first thing is to grow what I can. I will be completely honest here and say that I do not believe that we have saved money yet on this because of the amount of money that went into setting up the beds, pathways and fences. In the long run though we will save as there are no more costs in the initial setup.

By growing our own organic vegetables we are also eating as locally as one possibly can! No food miles here....just a couple of food metres! Our environment is saved just a little as my marrows, beans, tomatoes, salads, spinach and others are grown outside the kitchen door.
A great source of local seasonal foods are farmers markets where you can buy food from your surrounding areas. Unless you specifically seek out organic food markets you will more than likely find that the produce at farmer's markets are not necessarily organic, so do ask when you are at their stalls. They may be organic in conversion or grown with ecofriendly measures, but either way these markets are a good source.

Secondly, buying seasonal food means that prices are lower. Right now we are heading into the bounty of summer fruits and vegetables and the prices are dropping daily. Learning to wait for things that you love but aren't in season is a trait that you can learn...avos are my great temptation when out of season, but I am getting better at avoiding them as they never deliver the rich creamy in season taste out of season! Strawberries were also an issue being in the store long before mine were ready, but I didn't want to buy any as they are not grown ethically via commercial farmers and my baskets were showing promise.
Cooking seasonally is also better for your family, not just the earth. If you buy fruit and veg out of season that is imported this produce is generally artificially ripened with hormone filled gases which is pumped into the containers just before the ships dock with the produce. If you have ever tasted a sun ripened summer tomato versus a shipped in gas ripened one you can immediately tell the difference.

A way to overcome the seasonal food issues like needing tomatoes for a soup or stew in winter is by canning or freezing your produce while it is plentiful. This doesn't have to be homegrown, it can be shop or market bought.
If you are new to this way of eating I suggest that you beging to plan your meals on what is in season in your hemisphere. Here is South Africa we have the following in season now:

Fruits:
Bananas
Berries and Cherries
Peaches
Nectarines
Plums
Apricots
Melons (watermelon and spanspek)

Vegetables:
Asparagus
Beans
Beets
Carrots
Potatoes
Marrows
Gem Squash
Cabbage
Cucumber
Salads

This week we have been really feasting on apricots and our blackberry bramble has dished up loads of berries. My elder daughter made a scrumptious blackberry and apple pie for us. The apples during this season are all cold room apples from the end of the apple season, but are still great for pies.

Check this list for other general seasons.

Apricot Frenzy...

2011-12-11T10:01:00.004+02:00

We were very blessed this week when a friend sent a huge crate of apricots to us from her farm up country. They are sweet and delicious fresh but we would never have managed to eat them all before they went over ripe. So the frenzy began....

My daughter made some superb apricot jam.

I made some old fashioned apricot chutney....

For the chutney combine the following in a large pot:
1.5 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups chopped tart apples
3 cups chopped apricots
3 cups boiling water
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups sugar (1 brown/1 white)
4 cloves crushed garlic
0.5 cup raisins
2 T chopped ginger

Bring to the boil for 30 mins then add:
2tsp mustard seeds
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon & allspice
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
0.5 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayene pepper

Boil gently until it all thickens (about another 30mins) then pour into sterilized jars. I then boiled the jars in my canning pot for 10 minutes. On cooling the lids should "pop" to form the vaccuum seal.

And I also made some fresh apricot ice cream.

There are still enough left over, even after giving away loads, to make another batch of jam for my mom in law who's favorite thing in the whole world is fresh white bread, butter and apricot jam and she needs a little spoiling right now.

I am entering my chutney in Heidi Marie's baking challenge.

Peek-A-Boo

2011-12-07T14:11:00.002+02:00

The garden is bursting into life....how exciting! Underneath leaves I found these today...

Never A Dull Moment

2011-12-04T11:40:00.005+02:00

In amongst the normal busy-ness of our week there have been some highlights. I am gradually working through a list that includes things like dentists, material shopping, cleaning cupboards etc and I am nearing the end just in time too, it would seem, as today was the first day of summer for us. We went to the beach. The weather until now has been quite rotten, windy, cold and even rain. But today was perfect.

At 7.30 this morning we took Big White Dog and Precious Baby Lamb to the beach for a long run and swim. Superman and Son also had their first swim of the season. Bliss.

I also made two new soaps this week. A reader of this blog sent me a recipe for Honey and Rooibos Soap. This looked so delicious before it set..like a rich toffee. I also used my dried Calendula's to make this soap.

We noticed that our chickens weren't actually happy in their new coop...quite a blow to Superman's ego :( as they were not getting enough sun. So we have now enclosed another area that extends from the new coop and included the old garden shed.

They can wander around this huge area, dig and sandbath and get loads of sun during the day and when we go out we can put them in the smaller area as we have lots of cats in the neighbourhood. At night they can roost in the garden shed. Of course this made a huge need to declutter the shed and now we have piles of things to give away, chuck or recycle.

A highlight for me was that our first marrows are ready to eat. Lazy housewife beans are also growing prolifically. These made a great side dish with chicken pie on Friday.

I made spelt pancakes this week as you would make normal ones but just used freshly ground spelt. We had the pancakes for dinner stuffed with kassler steaks and roast veggies and there were a few left over.

I had some homemade plum ice cream left over which was the filling and turned out to be a delicious more-ish pudding.

My week in a nutshell...how was yours?

Simple Steps In Frugality and Green Living #3 ~ Learning to wait

2011-11-29T15:11:00.004+02:00

Simple Steps In Frugality and Green Living #3 ~ Learning to wait

I have found that one of the great "evils" against frugality and green living is impatience, instant gratification and an unwillingness to bide the time. In the past I have been very impatient when I want something - a new machine, an outfit, a dinner....but over the last few years I have learnt to bide my time.

Whether it is waiting for bread to rise....

Waiting for sprouts to sprout....

Waiting for keffir to culture....

Waiting for icecream to freeze....

Or just waiting for the Calendulas to grow and dry so that I can make soap - I have learnt to wait.

I can wait on bigger things too...I wait and watch as the strawberries ripen, the salads grow, the marrows elongate...I can wait.

I am learning to wait for even bigger things, like a new kitchen...we just keep fixing the cupboard doors when they break or repair the stove door when it leaks, disinfecting the crack in the sink top...

We are all waiting for a time (and the money) to build a room in the roof so that we can move the music equipment (and littlest one's Lego) out of the dinning room...

Waiting, I think takes time to learn, but it makes one reuse what is not quite broken. It saves money because there is no buying on credit....waiting instead of rushing out and purchasing makes you rethink what you have, repurpose something you find, or simply helps you to slow down a little and decide if you truly need it now.

A year ago....

2011-11-26T12:39:00.005+02:00

I have been wondering why the garden isn't so demanding this year and then it dawned on me, this is the first year since 2008 that we haven't been establishing a new vegetable garden.

Last December saw us undertaking the most ambitious project which was converting the last remaining yard space into a vegetable garden. It was a mammoth task as trees needed to be cleared through to the roots, lawn lifted, raised beds built, compost dug in, pond made and plants to sow. At the end of this time period it looked like this:

Today I took a photo of it at almost the same angle and it looks like this:

Here is a bed by bed description....

This is the second bed form the gate which holds salad leaves, coriander and radish.
I forgot to photo the first bed but that has new corn seedlings and winters brusell sprouts.

The second bed holds cucumbers in the front where the climbing poles are. Around the edge of the bed, not interfering with the cuucmber seedlings, I planted quick growing salads like rocket, watercress and coriander. These will be used up by the time the cucumbers are climbing.

Behind the trellis which you cannot see are marrow plants and behind that my gorgeous asparagus in all its summer glory.

The next bed holds our heirloom tomatoes like Black Prince. Behind them is the second asparagus bed.

The last bed in this area has some left over cabbages which we will still eat and in front - carrots. I have never done well with carrots as I feed the soil too much. But I picked up a hint from another gardener who grows long gorgeous ones that she plants hers after brassicas. So that is why they are here.

From this last bed is a rather unruly area where we are growing our corn. The photo is a little overexposed so its hard to see, but we have about 100 corn plants in different stages of growth from knee high to shoulder high. We used our own compost in this area which, we realised, held lots and lots and lots of tomato seeds.

The tomatoes have sprung up amongst the corn and whilst we removed many of them I did leave a few to grow alongside. This area also holds our blackberry bramble whose berries we are eating everyday now with our breakfast or in smoothies. Hanging up against the wall are some strawberries and we even have a few stray sunflowers to boot!

Today....

2011-11-24T13:33:00.006+02:00

At the moment I have just enough for today...tomorrow I will have just enough for tomorrow....

Today.....

Lunch today...fresh homemade ricotta...a little bland...

But soon spiced up with pepperdews and fresh things.

A little catching up...

2011-11-18T15:01:00.008+02:00

Here's a little of what has been happening in my world in the last 6 weeks...My elder daughter completed her Cambridge IG's = Gr 11...lots of driving to the exam venue, wonderful time for one-on-one chats, but as a homebody I battle being out like that.

We also wrapped up schooling for the year with the other 3 kiddies. What a great feeling to be done. Now it's time to create portfolios, get next years books out and pack this years away.

This past weekend two girlfriends and I went away to Scarborough for a scrapbooking weekend. My elder daughter also took the gap and came along. It was a wonderful time to enjoy the gorgeous seascape from the balcony, make headway into my other daughter's scrapbook and watch some chic-flicks.

Superman and I also snuck away from Tues-Thurs on a special deal for a two night stay at a hotel in Montagu. My mom and dad graciously stayed with the children. Superman and I had such a wonderful time together...eating some good food, visiting the awesome wine farms in Ashton, Bonnievale and Klaasvoogds.

On the way home we stopped off at Happy Hog to get stocked up on free range pork products...the clean styes were full of gorgeous pink piglets.
While away the chickens "summer villa" was completed and we moved them in there today. It's cooler for them and quite a bit bigger and it gives us a chance to deep clean the old coop so that they can move back in during winter.
The garden is flourishing with the unseasonal rains but besides for spinach, kale and herbs we are pretty much in between with supply from our backyard.

We have also been having fun with our ice-cream machine, even though wehave only made 3 types, this promises to be a hit for summer!

Taking a break....

2011-11-09T20:15:00.002+02:00

Just going to catch my breath a while so I am.....

...taking a break. Will be back soon.

Things that lifted my spirits today...

2011-11-03T16:54:00.004+02:00

I am feeling sad. Here are some things that lifted my spirits today.

Simple stuff...

Simple Steps Towards Frugality and Green Living

2011-11-01T15:38:00.005+02:00

Simple Steps Towards Frugality and Green Living # 2 - Cooking from scratch!

Some would argue that it is much easier to pop into your local grocery store and take your pick of the ready made pasta salad or crumbed chicken schnitzles or even the pasta sauce and use it. However there are 3 immediate reasons this is not eco friendly, healthy or indeed frugal.

#1 ~ Most convenience foods no matter how “homemade” the packaging makes it feel are full of hidden evils like high fructose corn syrup, trans fatty acids, sugar, irradiated spices, preservatives and flavor enhancers like MSG.

#2 ~ Packaging of these products means that somewhere along the line they need to be disposed of and most of these convenience foods have at least 2 layers or plastic or Styrofoam to deal with.

#3 ~ While it seems cheaper, you can be guaranteed that to make, for example, a similar portion of pasta sauce to what you buy you will be able to do it at a fraction of the cost and you can do it in bulk and have for next time you are tempted to rush out to the store because you didn’t plan your dinner. (Just today I priced a jar of pasta sauce - R20.49 for 500ml. For R20 I can buy 5kg's of tomatoes and make 2.5litres of sauce!)

For some, cooking for scratch is a very overwhelming idea. Perhaps it is because they lack basic cooking skills, others may think it is going to add a whole lot more time spent in the kitchen, for others is just to big a “green step” to take.

My advice to woman who say any of the above things is to just start small. Nobody is watching your every move, it’s only you who are judging yourself, so take it slow and easy. I also advise moms to start with just one thing.

The “one thing” should be the food you eat most frequently and in many houses it is bread. If making bread by hand is going to give you brain freeze, then save up and buy a bread machine! Using a bread machine is the simplest thing you can do and soon your home will be filled with the smell of fresh bread, free of any suspicious additives. I have some bread recipes o this blog which you can get started on – with or without a bread machine. We actually only use ours a couple of times per week when I am not using the oven so that we do not have to heat up the whole oven for just two loaves.

If you are not bread eaters, then take a look at what you do eat the most of...pasta? Believe it or not, once you know how, pasta is one of the easiest foods to make. You will need a pasta roller, which you can save up for or ask for as a birthday gift perhaps. One pasta type that does not need a roller is gnocchi and served with a delicious cream, vegetable or meat based sauce is very very more-ish.

Talking about pasta...think about your pasta sauces. If you are in the habit of buying sauce in a jar, I can guarantee you that if you read the label you will see you are buying a highly processed and preserved food. Nothing beats fresh! I have a simple pasta sauce which I use in my bolognaise sauces, or with some lovely smoked bacon, in lasagnas and I even use it in my winter stews and soups. You can keep it in a jar in the fridge if you will use it within 2 weeks or you can freeze it in portions to use over a longer time period.

Once you have these skills under your belt, you can tackle the next food stuff that you eat…cream cheese? Yoghurt? Waffles?

The world is your kitchen! Happy learning and happy cooking.

I will not negotiate!!!!

2011-10-29T17:04:00.003+02:00

Green living, frugal living, sustainable living or whatever you want to call it does ask that we change many things.

Eating seasonal veg and fruit can be tough sometimes but I can do that.

Recycling...that I can do.

Walk instead of drive I can do within my comfort zone.

Lots of things I can do, but I will not negotiate when it comes to smelly armpits!

I have tried lots of natural products but none of them work for our family and I will not go back to traditional deoderants. I was delighted to find a home made product that truly really works and I have been testing it over the last few weeks before telling you all.

Yes - simply take a little lump of coconut oil (keep it in the fridge in warm weather) and rub it under your arms. Then take a tiny pinch of Bicarb and rub that over.

You won't stop sweating (sweating is good as God made it like that) but you definately won't smell.

I have gone to look at my internet history to see where I found this remedy but I can't find it...but thank you to whoever it was!

On my mind - mushrooms

2011-10-28T13:39:00.003+02:00

Mushroom season past without us getting ourselves organized and going to the forest for pine rings. So when I saw a mushroom kit on a blog I follow - and it was local - I just had to find out more.

Yesterday when I took my daughter to her exams I passed a nursery that sell these kits and I bought the white oyster mushroom kit to try. It should give 4 flushes of fungi and it will equal the price of 4 shop bought punnets. They also have button and pink oyster kits.

I have been thinking about growing mushrooms for a while as I read how you can cultivate them on an old log in Jamie At Home and have been itching to try it...so until then this was a good tester.

On my mind @ Rhonda's

Simple Steps Towards Frugality and Green Living

2011-10-25T15:09:00.003+02:00

Simple Steps Towards Frugality and Green Living #1

One of the easiest ways to save a bit of money and reduce your dependence on grocery stores is learning to grow your own salads. Every time you pick your own salad leaves you can save yourself between R10 and R35 depending what you like in your salads.

The great thing about growing your own salads is that it allows you to "test the veggie growing waters" by making just a small garden patch or by growing in containers.

Salads are also able to grow throughout the year in our Mediteranean climate and even in those climates that get cold and frosty, you can grow them under cover - even on a sunny windowsill.

Salads in our home are:

Lettuce leaves
Spinach leaves
Herbs
Chives
Spring onions
Celery
Edible flowers
Sprouts
Radishes

Obviously in our summer we add other things like green beans, corn and tomatoes to the list.

So how do you take this simple step?

Gather your items...you need a patch of ground (1.5 X .5 is perfect) or for those with only container space some nice big pots like wine barrels sawn in half or for those with balcony/sill space a series of smaller pots. Untreated Terracotta is the best.

You will also need good potting soil for those containers or some compost and manure to dig into your soil. You can either grow your salads from seed, which is the cheaper option or you can buy seedling punnets from your nursery. If you want more bang for your buck, then a seed packet will offer much more and one packet of lettuce seeds (buy variegated for color) will last a long time as will chives and radish.

Fill your pots with soil, or dig in your compost and simply sow the seeds in circles or straight lines. Keep the soil moist until germination.

You can then make a decision to thin the seedlings and turf the ones you uproot or you can try to transplant them. If you are going to transplant them once their first true leaves show, its best to do it at twilight so that the transplants do not have to contend with the sun during the day while they reestablish themselves.

When the salads get to the correct leaf size, you can start picking off the outer leaves and the plant will continue to grow from the center.

You also need to think of protecting your seedlings from pests.

Thereafter you can enjoy the fruits of your labor and the fact that there is one less thing for you to buy from the shops....and you can save a little each day!

Feeding the family on the QT - majoram chicken.

2011-10-23T13:54:00.008+02:00

On Tuesday we have our evening home church meeting. Oftentimes we have extra mouths to feed...Tuesday is also my working afternoon so that I can stay up to date with orders. I also like to take Lucky and the kids for a walk on the local farm lands nearby or up to the park.

This Tuesday I had a lot to do workwise and needed to feed our family of 6 and another two young men with healthy appetites but time was going to run out if I went for a walk too. Lucky seems to know her walk days and follows me around all day just waiting for the moment that I put my takkies on which signals the walk. Then she starts to loose her mind as she whines, pants and jumps. Bad dog behaviour, I know, but it is the highlight of her day.

All this to say, I needed a meal that would cook away without me until 5.30. This is what I did...

Majoram is such a humble herb but I love using it in my cooking....I have about 10 plants in the garden, all loving the spring heat.

So, pick a huge handful of majoram. Wash and set aside.

Chop two onions and place in a roasting dish. Place 2 free range chickens on top. Pour over 1 cup dry white wine and 2 cups homemade chicken stock. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and the majoram leaves.

Peel and chop 8 potatoes and 6 carrots and 6 celery stalks. Arrange these around the chicken. Cover with tin foil or lid and then roast slowly at 150 deg C for 3 hrs. For the last 1/2 hr take off the cover so that the sauce can thicken.

Serve into wide pasta bowls making sure everyone gets the rich flavourful sauce. I made 2 french loaves to mop up all the juices.

Today in the garden

2011-10-22T15:39:00.005+02:00

Some snapshots from today in the garden...spring visited for a couple of hours and then the NW wind pushed in with sprinklings of rain.

Potatoes were banked, but the bed needs new sides then we can add more soil until just the tippy top leaves stick out. Lucky, the potato dog, decided to check the bed for any last spuds before we planted it up with transplanted seedling. The bees have done their job and all our boysenberries have set their fruit.

Tomatoes were trimmed and staked. The potato planters that were started at the end of August are growing so well. Hope this experiment works!
Asparagus in its full glory all frondy and waving in the wind. When we let the chickens out we have to cover our newly planted beds to protect new seedlings. Littlest one dug out these self seeded (from compost) squash and tomato plants which were transplanted. Some of our best tomatoes and butternuts came from self seeded plants last year. Granadilla is in bloom.
Once littlest one had moved the above seedlings he turned the bed and planted out the last corn with me. The chickens are so funny because they have figured out that as soon as we start digging they can feast with little work on their behalf!

A good day in the garden. What's up in yours?

Cavalo Nero....

2011-10-16T11:36:00.004+02:00

Say it with me - "ca-va-lo nero" or if you prefer "Nero-di-Tos-ca-na"...sounds romantic doesn't it? And no, I am not learning Italian, but rather falling in love with this "old fashioned" Italian cabbage.

While it looks like spinach it is actually part of the kale family and kale is part of the cabbage family and cabbage is a brassica...so there you are. Let's say it again "Cavalo Nero".

With veggies the rule is the darker the leaf the more nutrition it has and some call this "black cabbage" too so just think of all the nutrients that are packed into this humble cut and come again veggie.

My youngest will say it is a vile veggie, but he thinks most veggies are vile and I know he will outgrow it like the rest did. Poor him...I overplanted this veggie and have about 50 plants which will keep producing ALL YEAR LONG (wicked grin!)

Cavalo Nero can be cooked just like spinach but it does need a little longer to cook. You can also serve it like spinach -

~with butter and nutmeg
~in a cream sauce
~as a nest to serve schnitzel on
~in quiche
~in omlette

Or like I did yesterday....

Eggs Benedict - poached eggs, hollandaise sauce on lightly toasted bruschetta and a bed of Cavalo Nero which had been sweatted in butter and whole garlic cloves. Delicious.

In the garden today...

2011-10-15T14:12:00.006+02:00

Last night we had some delicious rain which made everything look so bright and clean this morning, so after gym I got stuck into the garden with potato dog and littlest one.

Lucky and my son uncovered a decent harvest of our last winter potatoes.

The asparagus is still sending up beautiful spears and I am so tempted to cut a few for a meal as I saw a yummy looking potato and asparagus pie on Jamie At Home and I am itching to try it.

Spring potatoes were banked...

Marrows are looking strong with protected by their cut worm collars.

We have almost got all our corn in. They were started in newspaper cups in a 2 week staggered planting program.

I stood and looked at our avo tree for a bit. It lost a branch in a storm so it looks a bit skwiff, but it's growing like a bomb. Only 4 years to wait ;)

Check out whats happening in the herb department at my herb blog.

No more breakfast cereals

2011-10-13T13:49:00.004+02:00

I know many a mom who finds making breakfast just too much effort and grabs for a cereal box. I did my fair share of cereals as a kid and as a young mom also offered these up to my children. It has been a good couple of years since we have had breakfast cereals, with the exception of "instant oats" when we are camping. However, even instant oats no longer find their way into my shopping trolley.

Maybe I should share what is wrong with them before I give you the recipes.

1. They are processed foods...
2. High in fat
3. High in sugar
4. High in salt
5. Contain additives and preservatives

This equal more cost, lower nutrition, teeth cavaties, increased weight, less sustenance, water retention, higher BP and more. This is a good article which covers more of the dangers.

I thought I would share some healthy yummy whole breakfast ideas for those moms who still find themselves grabbing boxed cereals. They will involve a bit more time spent and those, who are not morning larks like I am, may battle with adding this new cooking time to their life, but even if you just substitute 2 or 3 mornings of boxed cereals to start with, its better than nothing.

Slow Cooker Oats For our family of 6. Adjust quantities as needed.

Grease your slow cooker with some butter.
Add 3 cups organic rolled oats
1 litre raw milk
500ml spring/distilled water
1/2 t salt
1 T raw honey or muscovado sugar
1/2 cup raisins/cranberries or 2 chopped apples
1/2 t cinnamon or one piece of stick cinnamon

Turn onto low when you go to bed and in the morning you have a delicious porridge which needs a little raw honey drizzled onto it.

Cooked oat with toasted almonds and cranberries

Cook the amount of oats you need for your family either in raw milk or water as you prefer.

Toast 100g of almonds lightly by dry frying them in a cast iron skillet.

Sprinkle over each persons serving of oats and top with cranberries and honey.

Raw muesli This is not my recipe - I got it from www.gonatural.co.za

3/4 cup oats per person
1 T mixed seeds (Chia, Flax, Linseed, Pumpkin, Sunflower etc)
1 T raisins or cranberries
Mix together.

1 T butter/coconut oil per person
1 T raw honey per person
Melt together in a double boiler.

Pour honey/butter over oat mix and stir until well blended. Serve into bowls and top with some homemade yoghurt.

Avo Toast

I make two loaves of spelt bread whenever I do make bread. One loaf is kept for the next morning and it is delicious toasted and topped with avo, salt, black pepper and lemon juice.

Wholemeal Muffins

These muffins are so delicious....my daughter put the recipe on her blog for you.

Oat waffles

We love these oat waffles on a Saturday or Sunday when we have more time to prepare.

Breakfast scones

Another every now and again treat from the baking department are breakfast scones. I learnt to make these in Home Ec at school and they are still fun. Combined with a protein they are great.

500ml flour
1ml salt
15ml Baking Powder
Sift together

40ml nut oil
150ml milk
10ml sugar
Add and mix

Shape into rounds place on a baking sheet and score into quarters. Bake at 200 Deg C for 15mins. Serve with cheese, butter, jams.

Eggs

Fried eggs, boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, eggs benedict (weekends!) or omlettes are all great ways to start the day too. We do this 2x a week.

Homemade Flapjacks/American Pancakes

This is a so much-so much recipe for each home but a delicious start to the day with savory topping like bacon and mushrooms or sweet like a homemade berry "syrup" with yoghurt.

There are lots of ideas and each are MUCH better than grabbing a box of empty calories.

Hope is an incredible thing...

2011-10-09T14:53:00.004+02:00

Each year I plan, sow, plant, water, weed, nuture, protect, prune and harvest....

Each spring as I put these plants in the ground I visualize the boutiful harvests we will have.

Hope is alive in me in spite of the fact that there will be pests, deaths, a destroying chicken intent on digging up seedlings...but I still hope for the best crop!

These were some photos taken today...early tomatoes are starting to flower.

I planted lots of salads today...mixed lettuce, rocket, watercress, coriander, radish...

Our herb tower is doing so well. Edible flowers, celery, coriander, thyme, oreganum and more...

Carrots planted last week are up. I planted then in the old brassica bed WITHOUT adding compost. I hope we do better with carrots this year.

My son made a big cucumber trellis for us on Friday, I have planted lots of cucumbers again this year. The first year we had a supberb crop, last year we got about 4!

First corn planting is up. I am staggering the planting by 2 weeks. We have 4 planned. Lots of tomatoes have popped up from the compost so I will save a few and dig the rest in so as not to compete with the corn.

I have planted about 30 butternuts around the place. We got some really good ones last year.

Spare Tyres and Chocolate Brownies

2011-10-08T15:10:00.005+02:00

Every Friday for the past few months I meet with a friend to walk in the forest at 8.30am. All or some of my children come along depending on their school workload, but my 4 legged child, Lucky, is always there! It's one of my favorite things to do...walk my dog, see my children enjoy nature and spend time chatting to this relatively new, but very dear friend. We also workout at the gym together 3x a week, are in the same small house church and spend lots of R & R time together too.

While we were walking we were talking about the things that are concerning us with regards to turning the corner at 40. One of those things is the comfy spare tyre that has settled around our waists.

Well I got myself into such a tizz about it that I had to rush home and make the most decadent, rich, yummy, sticky, chocolatey thing I could find. This is what I made and it put all thoughts of spare tyres far from my mind... :-)

300g butter
300g sticky muscovado sugar
4 eggs
120g stone ground cake flour
50 raw coco powder
100g hazelnuts (bashed a bit to break up)
100g of good quality organic chocolate chopped into bits.

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, mix well. Mix all dry ingredients together with the choc chips and nuts, add to the butter mixture. Put in a greased medium oven dish. Bake at 180 deg C for about 20mins.

To make them gooey and yummy, do not over cook, but when you stick your knife in it MUST have some mixture still stuck to it...not too much though.

Allow to cool slightly and then gobble as many as you can before worrying about the scale or the headache tomorrow.

Good...Better...Best

2011-10-06T13:28:00.007+02:00

Good, better, best
Never let it rest
Til your good is better
And your better best!

Drink water = good
Drink natural (unbottled) spring water = better
Drink purified water (distilled, reverse osmosis etc) = best

Make your own bread = good
Make your own bread with unbleached stone ground flour = better
Make your own bread with freshly milled organic wheat flour = best

Eat your vegetables = good
Eat organic vegetables = better
Eat homegrown organic vegetables = best

Clean your home = good
Use natural shop bought cleaners = better
Make your own cleaning solutions = best

Feed your pets :0 = good
Feed your pets organic shop bought pet food = better
Make your own pet food = best

Attend to your personal hygiene :) = good
Use natural and organic hygiene products = better
Make your own soap and shampoo = best

I am sure you get the idea...?

Too often we beat ourselves up for not doing enough...I have tried to stick to the good, better, best principle and to keep growing and learning as I go along.

The only way to make spaghetti bolognaise

2011-10-02T11:50:00.004+02:00

For some, spaghetti bolognaise is entry level Italian cooking...for others they slap it together in 1/2hr...in our house spaghetti bolognaise is a much desired, savoured nutritious treat. I have been making it this way for more than 10 years, I do hope you will give it a try.

Italian purests make it with sweet meats like veal and pork mince, I use our organic beef mince. But beyond this it depends on a few good basics....1 cup of good red wine...

Homemade tomato & vegetable sauce - make this ahead and keep in the fridge or freezer.

Real beef stock, also made ahead.

Time....

So here goes....once you have those basics above, chop 1 - 2 onions really finely and fry them gently in some olive oil. Add 4 cloves of garlic. Then add your beef mince and brown breaking it up into an even texture.

Add your cup of wine and then put the lid on the pot for about 5 mins.

Stir it up and add 1 liter of beef stock, 500ml of tomato sauce, 1 teapsoon of dried Italian herbs. If you have fresh basil and origanum add these later. Once the food has come to a simmer, turn the stove plate right down to low. Leave it for about 2 hours on low.

We make our own fresh pasta which would fit in now.

About 1/2 before serving add 1/2 packet of chopped bacon. We get real smoked free range bacon which adds a lovely smokey flavour to the food. This is when you will add your fresh herbs too and a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. If you like a bit of decadence add 125ml of fresh cream now. Stir and leave on low until your pasta is ready.

Add a good ladle onto your fresh cooked pasta, top with freshly grated parmesan...and enjoy with the other 3 glasses of wine...hic...hic :-)

I was invited to enter Heidi's Cooking Challenge...why don't you?

Simple Seed Saving

2011-09-30T17:13:00.005+02:00

There are some who make it a huge priority to save seed from their crops. I truly do see the value in it, and it's on my to do list for one day, but for now I don't have the time or energy. Instead this is what I do....

I only save big seeds. Broad beans were so hard to find this past winter for planting but I had saved enough for about 1 bed. The others I had to phone around to the nurseries to find. This year we have more than we can plant for next season. When we harvest our broad beans and we find big pods, those get set aside for drying. Once dried they are stored away for next winter.

Three plants that I never have to plant again from seed are coriander, borage and rocket...

These self seed all over the garden. Some think borage is a pest, but both the bees and I delight in them popping up all over the place. I also don't mind pulling out young borage plants as they are great for our compost.

With rocket and coriander, I just allow some to go to flower and they will follow the course of nature, make seed and drop them where they do. I am happy for both these plants to pop up where they choose.

Our loffah's didn't do so well this year, but we got a few for sponges and lots of seed for next year, more than we need in fact...

So, here's the thing....if you would like some broad bean or loofah seeds (South African's only) I am happy to send you some. Can I ask that as a "barter" you do the following:

Leave a good frugal tip here (please make sure it is not one I have already), then contact me via my contact form giving me your preference of seed and your address, and I will pop a few off to you in the post. First come, first served...

Thanks!

This week in the kitchen...lots of recipes!

2011-09-25T14:09:00.005+02:00

Like every week, we cook almost everything we can from scratch. I also try to not use my oven everyday but when I do I always make a loaf of bread with the oven dish or I make a batch of cookies while something else is cooking. We also do not eat puddings every night but on some nights we just HAVE to!

Each of my older children have also each taken over the dinner meal and clean up one night a week so I have 3 nights off. It's also my sneaky way of building up their repetoire of meals. I hope to make them each an "heirloom" cookbook of all I teach them for when they have their own families one day - yes, even my sons!

So in no particular order, here are some of the things we cooked this week:

Cinnamon rolls....I made a sweet dough in the bread machine and left it to rise while we took our Friday morning walk in the forest. When I came back I rolled it out, spread it with melted butter, muscovado sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Rolled it up, cut off circles and baked. Hot sweet and sticky!

My son made rootis for us with bunny chow for dinner on Thursday.

I am reading a series of books on the Amish and I kept seeing this pineapple upside down cake...so I made one up! Peel and chop up 1 pineapple, then saute it in butter and sugar (about 1 T of each) until softish. Set aside. Mix up a sponge batter 2 eggs, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup softened butter, add 2 cups flour, 1 t baking powder, 1/2 cup milk. Do not over mix. In a deep baking tin (I use one that has a loose bottom) place the pineapple chunks and juice, spoon batter over. Bake for 30 mins. When just cooled ease it out of the tin by running your knife around the edge and putting a dinner plate on the top. Flip over onto the plate. Eat warm!

I bought 5kgs tomatoes this week from my veggie man and we converted it into my standby tomato-veg sauce which I use in soups, stews and pasta dishes. Wash and chop tomatoes into quarters, grate 6 carrots, chop 6 pieces of celery, place in a big pot and cook until soft. Add a T of garlic. Last night after the family got home from rugby I had made some fresh pasta and we topped it with this tomato sauce and parmesan. Delish!

I made two batches of cookies this week. Oat cookies and choc-chip-coconut cookies.

200g flour
1 t BP
200g butter
75 g rolled oats
100g unrefined white sugar
50g brown sugar

Mix together and spoon out onto baking sheet bake for 10mins @ 180C
(For the choc chip ones - cut buuter in half and use coconut oil and instead of oats add choc chips and 40g coco powder)

I have found a new raw milk source! I had a friend with a cow but both she and her cow moved away :( Then I was buying from Ethical Co-op at R23/l...not sustainable. On Thurs I heard of a woman who runs a small herd about 20mins away...she sells her milk for R6/l....I bought 8 litres today...It has been made into yoghurt.

On Wednesday my little guy and I made chicken schnitzels. I have saved the end crusts of our homemade wholewheat bread and I blitzed these up in my machine, added 1 cup of milled rolled oats, some grated parmesan, lemon zest and dried Thyme. It made a delicious crumb for the chicken.

So that's about it for this weeks kitchen adventures....

In the garden this week...

2011-09-24T14:55:00.005+02:00

After spending R900 last week to fix my back after some over enthusiastic gardening, I decided to rather pay our handyman and get the heavy garden work done this weekn. His 3 days in the garden it cost me a fraction of what it would have cost for chiro/physio!

Des got stuck into the compost heap first. Some gals get excited over diamonds, some over roses...me? When I see that rich dark compost coming out of my bins I can really do the happy dance!

We really need 3 compost heaps for our garden and the demands that intensive growing has on the soil so the goal was to make 3 enclosed spaces with heaps in different stages. We ran out of wood so I have only two, a 3rd will have to be built in a while.

Friends have been bringing me grass, I have fetched some manure from the local stables and our own leaves all have been collecting in a rather haphazard way in our carport. So Des ripped it all out, sieved the lovely dark compost and bagged it. The chickens went in to help him eat some creepy crawlies.

He then built new containers and we layered the leaves, cuttings, grass and manure.

Some of the compost has been dug into the two areas that have lain fallow over winter and paving stones were laid yesterday.

Today the kids and I planted seedlings of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and corn.

And because today is Heritage Day in South Africa, the perfect way to celebrate was a good old braai (BBQ)!

The day of small beginnings

2011-09-22T13:48:00.008+02:00

I am currently going through old photos of my 3rd precious child as I prepare her first 13 years of life album, which she will get on her 13th birthday in Feb. I came across a photo of our first vegetable garden in this home in Feb 2007.

When people read this blog, and perhaps other blogs, where we have been busy working towards growing our own food for many years, it can seem very overwhelming. It is a photo like this that can be a good reminder that everything begins small.

What we have now has taken 3.5yrs to achieve. It's not like some good garden fairy godmother came and waived a magic wand and created all of what you see now...it was hard hard back breaking, but thoroughly satisfying, work to get it to this.

So if you are just starting out and making plans for your vegetable garden - however big or small - take heart and see all that you do as a learning curve towards a greater achievement.

After that first little patch, which was either eaten by snails or dug up by dogs, we tried another section outside our kitchen door. This too was attached by snails and dogs and never lasted long.

It was about6 months later that we decided to do it properly and we took the small area (although at the time it didn't seem small) just outside our kitchen door. This area was not used by the children who were still small and spent a lot of time in the garden.

This is what it looks like today. The end of our winter crops are there, although the spinach will run on until summer really hits. We have just planted beans in the last bed and the first bed awaits tomatoes. The chicken coop is in this area too.

We soon realised that this patch would never feed us, and 6 months later we cleared another area where shrubs were growing.

In 2009 we cleared another section but this had grass and paving stones with a walkway. It made this awkward V shaped bed which has never really done well. This year we have dug in lots of manure and compost and will be growing tomatoes, cucumber and companion herbs in this space.
While this was all going on we started thinking of vertical growing spaces and every wall or pergola became a place to grow strawberries. Paved areas were covered with containers with more berries, tomatoes and asparagus.

We are now experimenting with potato towers in this area too.

Lastly, in Dec of 2010 we cleared the last area of our garden. Our children being older now and spending less time in the garden gave us the freedom to pull up the last lawn and convert it to vegetable beds too. This is where our wildlife pond is and every night, or when it rains, we delight in the sound of our little frogs singing away merrily.

This was taken moments ago...our broad beans are our staple winter crop. We are getting very creative with recipes for broad beans. We also have our kale here and brassicas.

I never realised when I planted all this kale that it is a "cut and come again" plant...du-uh...so we will find some good homes for it and transplant it against the wall where the avo tree is.

So, never despise the day of small beginnings...just do the best with what you have, when you can.

Priviledge to work...blessing to rest

2011-09-18T14:39:00.005+02:00

Learning to manage my time has been a long walk for me. It started out when our first baby came along because before then I never needed to do anything more complex than show up for work at the right time 6 days a week, and then go home again.

As more children came along and other things like homeschooling, a small home business, cooking from scratch, sports, church and gardening were added to the mix I kept on learning more about time management. I became a do-er. My mind was never at rest, the constant need to do the things on my list was always running like a conveyor belt in my mind.

I kept up with it for the most part. Juggle this, mix that, squeeze this, modify that. It was exhausting. I knew this year that it simply was not sustainable any longer.

I then went back to bare bones which is simply my family and my home. Anything else needed to take a back seat and was only attended too if it could fit in. This opened the door to feelings of guilt...how could I rest when there was so much to still do?

Through the Lord showing me, from different avenues, I have realized a few things:

~The work will never be done
~Work hard for 6 days, rest completely on the 7th
~We do what we have to do, so we can do what we want to do.

Monday to Friday I am up at 5.45. My daughter and I go to gym for 1 hr on Tues and Thurs. (She also goes Mon and Wed night with her brother and Dad). Breakfast is made from scratch, devotions are done and then school runs from 8.30 - 2 daily. We only have two afternoons at home when we take the dog for a walk, I work n my business and they in theirs. The other afternoons are sports or art. Tues, Wed and Friday evenings we are involved in our house church activities.

Saturday we go to gym from 7.30 - 8.30 and then work in the garden until lunch time. Afternoons or evenings we enjoy a braai with friends or a movie at home or another social event. In between these events over these six days I will make soap or stock, make snacks and cook our meals. Just recently each of my older children have taken over 1 dinner prep and clean up. This is such a blessing to me.

Then comes Sunday. Sleep late...PJ's all day...reading....TV....naps...good food...family...long soaking baths...a walk with the dog....reading the Bible....

R-E-S-T.

Lucky the potato dog!

2011-09-15T13:55:00.006+02:00

We have all heard about pigs that sniff out truffles...well here's our dog who sniffs and digs out potatoes!

We had dug all the top spuds out of this bed but we let littlest one and Lucky dig it over for us. They found another whole bucket full between the two of them.

This week they were turned into two delicious meals.

My elder son made this sausage and potato saute by frying some red onions in some butter, adding the partly boiled new potatoes and some cooked chopped sausage. We used a lamb sausage which had been spiced with coriander and cumin. Delicious.

This other potato bake is such a delicious side dish with a spicy lamb or pork free range chop. Thinly cut the washed new potatoes and layer them in a greased dish. As you layer sprinkle with salt and pepper then pour over about 750ml of fresh chicken stock. Bake uncovered for an hour.

Both these recipes were from Harvest!

Books for every homesteader...

2011-09-11T12:00:00.004+02:00

There are so many good books out there. I have many books on green living, frugality and gardening on my bookshelf but only a handful of books that I go back to time and time again. These would be the books that would be the first into a suitcase if I could only take a few books.

These books are all available through Loot for South Africans and for those in the USA, they are linked to Amazon on my right side bar.

A friend lent me her copy of Living the Good Life about 4 years ago...I didn't want to give it back! The worst part of handing it back was that at that time it was undergoing an overhaul and was not available. The moment it was re-released I grabbed a copy. This book is not going to tell you how to grow vegetables, and it only has a few recipes along the way, but it must be the most inspiring book that I have read. I read it at least once a year and each time it teaches me the value of family, working hard and encourages me not to give up when the going gets tough.

My mom bought me Christine Steven's book about 2 yrs ago and after a few months delay I started tucking into this feast. The recipes are outstanding - like me, she loves to cook with wine, loves comfort food and believes in slow food cooked in one pot! I cook from here at least twice a week.

My parents in law gave me this book in 1994. It was the first book I read on vegetable gardening and I fell in love with the concept. Gradually over the years I learnt more and more about gardening but I always refer back to this book for planting seasons, ground prep (although I do not use her suggestions for fertilizers) and trouble shooting.

Most people know about this book. I believe it epitomises the "locavore" way to eat. It is more "academic" in the writing but is a delight to read and definately a way to get inspired in feeding your family good food. There are some very interesting essays on how food is produced in bulk and the resulting issues for humans which make for eye openers.

This book is the msot recent addition to my collection. If I could, I would give a copy to all those nearest and dearest to me. You, readers, are by extension part of this group. Beth writes in such a simple open way and gives so many easy alternatives to eating, cosmetics, cleaning and living that even though the information she presents can be quite fear instilling, you are not discouraged but rather inspired to make good healthy changes.

Like I said...there are so many more books I could recommend but these are my grab and run books. Which are yours? Feel free to list your favourites on your blogs and leave me a comment with the link.

The 80/20 principle

2011-09-08T13:31:00.005+02:00

One of the things I love most about my Superman is that he has this ability to see through all the "fluff" right to the real issue. It's not often that he is is duped and he is quite clear on the goals for our family.

I, on the other hand, tend to get too intense on issues and can get overwhelmed very easily when it comes to all the information that is thrown at me. This is partly my own fault as I enjoy reading and learning new things, but then I get anxious because there is so much to do as a wife and mom....

Superman tells me to do 2 things when I get like this:

1. Pray - ask God for what He wants me to do with the information.

2. Work on what I can do, and leave the rest.

I am reading a book at the moment (another post on this soon) and the writer shows all the different ways that we can make changes for better personal health and a less toxic home. I know that since 2008 we have made some really good inroads in the many things she lists, but there still seems like sooooo much to be done.

The other day when I was sharing this with Superman he did his normal tunnel vision thing and simply anwsered: "You can't do it all, just work on the 80" and promptly left the room. So I have been thinking about this. I know what he means about the 80...is the 80/20% principal.

This is the way we have begun to operate but initially our lives were out of kilter when we worked long long hours, spent too much money on things, didn't eat well, never cared for what rubbish we threw away etc.

The 80/20 principle is simply 80% good living - 20% marginal living.

80% good eating - 20% could be improved

80% sustainable lifestyle - 20% could be improved

80% eco friendly products - 20% could be improved...you get the idea?

So by taking his advice to work on the 80...I need to just keep doing what I am doing, and need to stop worrying about the rest.

I know some who are so concerned about their lifestyles that they feel they are doing it opposite - 20% good, the other 80% questionable...it seems that fretting about this never gets them anywhere, which is why I created my Babysteps Ecourse so that they can make little changes every month and start improving the ratio and tipping the scales towards the 80%

I truly believe that God made such an awesome body that it can deal with the questionable 20%. We have been given lymph nodes, kidneys and livers to get rid of the bad stuff that comes into our bodies through food, cleaning materials, building materials and pollution. But its when we overload our bodies with toxins that bad health and illness occurs.

So here's to the 80%...thanks Superman.

Well...lookee at who has some new socks!?!

2011-09-07T19:27:00.005+02:00

Slow plodding produces results....my socks are finished after months :0

They are comfy, warm and perty!

I really wish that I had managed my goal of one pair per person in our home...but nope, just this one pair for my old feet.

Pattern is here.

Next up is Carle's beret...I am not sure if I am woman enough for the job?!?

The No Shampoo Dilema

2011-09-05T15:09:00.003+02:00

Way back in 2009 I decided to go "no-poo" which at the time was more about stepping outside of the way of conformity. A friend and I started together using bicarb and vinegar as the hair washing mode of the time. I stuck with it for a few months but try as I did, I just really did not like it. I decided over time that I need foam :-) to feel like my hair is being cleaned.

I also really did not like the gritty feeling on my scalp although for all other reasons bicarb and vinegar worked well, it reduced the amount of times that I needed to wash my hair and the only side effect was that my hair was a little more fly away than it would normally have been. But like I said I gave it up.

Then the next option I tried was my own homemade soap. Again this worked fine and it gave me the foam I needed, and with a apple cider vinegar rinse my hair detangled easy enough. I did however notice that my hair tangled easily during the day and required more brushing.

Then I regressed to normal shampoos again...not sure why, but it was probably the fact that my kids never bought into the whole no-shampoo thing so I was still buying shampoo for them.

I have recently been looking at the effects of petrochemicals on health as right now I have 5 people in my small extended social circle who are battling with cancer in one way or another. I had bought a book in Dec 2010 called "Your Life In Your Hands" for one close relative who was about to start Chemo for breast cancer and I had dipped into certain chapters before handing it on...this was where my interest in petrochemicals started.

Recently I was given a gift of a shampoo bar and this reignited my desire to get away from shampoos and conditioners knowing that they contain alot of petrochemicals, like all cosmetics. The bar was great, it smelled divine and pretty much left my hair in the same condition that my own soap did. One side note though....if you get the foam in your eyes it burns like blazes! Superman has taken the bar over as he doesn't need to condition afterwards :-)

I am now back to shampoo but this time using Earth Sap which is free from all PC's and other toxins and find that this is best for me and my kids. Perhaps sometime in the future I will try to make my own shampoo bars for our hairtypes...we'll see.

It was good while it lasted....

2011-09-03T11:40:00.003+01:00

There are 7 days in a week....

There are 168hrs in a week....

There are 10 080 minutes in a week....

And this year was the first that we could harvest asparagus for just one week. It has been a 3 year wait for our grown-from-seed plants to send up their first offerings.

We had asparagus for 3 meals as side dishes...now we leave it to grow. Next year we can harvest for 2 weeks.

There are 14 days in 2 weeks...

There are 336hrs in 2 weeks...

You get the idea :-)

Why my dogs love "stock day" and 2 recipes

2011-09-01T18:34:00.004+01:00

One of my sweet children asked me: "Surely you are not going to put that picture on your blog?" when this child saw the following picture in the taking....

Well, I did! (blush blush) However this is the reason my dogs love stock day! They know that when I have poured off the liquid and the bones and skin are left, they get the bits and pieces. Our big white dog starts to lick his chops when the delicious stock smells waft through the house...he walks in and nudges me every now and again as if to say: "Done yet mum?"...

My precious baby lamb a.k.a. Lucky lies under my feet the whole time jumping up the moment I move...but then dinner time comes (or breakfast depending on what time I start) and they are satisfied.

I never re-use the beef meat that is left over, it tastes like cardboard after 12 hrs in the stock pot, but the chicken I cook for shorter and can be used in pies or bakes. On Sunday I made a delicious chicken and broccoli bake from the stock chicken. This year I planted sprouting broccoli and purple broccoli and we can cut from the plants at least once a week and I had a nice bowl full to use.

I steamed the broccoli, spiced up the chicken with salt and pepper and made a white sauce with a good dollop of mustard. This was all combined, topped with grated cheese and baked. Served over brown rice it was delicious.

My lemon tree is full of lemons...my first tree died in the transplant from pot to ground, but this one, in a pot, is doing fabulously.

I found a delicious recipe on a young girls blog who is friends with my daughter....

And because hers looks so much better than mine did, you can pop over to Beautiful Girlhood to take a look at the picture and get the recipe....it was very yummy.

Free Green Living Ebook

2011-08-30T14:46:00.003+01:00

Hello all from a VERY windy Cape Town...gosh I hope it rains after all this wind!

Yesterday I got a really interesting submission on my green living website called Save Money and Help the Environment with Vegetarian Cooking.

It is full of great advice which I want to pass onto you all.

The writer of this article also has a free ebook that you can download with some great green living tips called Going Green in 24hrs.

Enjoy!

Time for everything...

2011-08-28T14:28:00.004+01:00

The other day a mom asked a group: “How do you do it all?” There were varying words of advice from doing what you want first then doing what you have to after that to easy tips like writing down what you need to do and then working systematically down the list. Others said just accept what you can do in the hours you have and do not feel guilty about the rest.

I have been thinking about this a lot as I have realized a few things along the way of being a wife, mum to 4, homeschooling, working from home, growing our own food and living green. Yeah that’s a long list of things, but they are all interwoven and intertwined.

I turned the corner at 41 and all of a sudden, it seemed, I could not do more than one or two extra things really well in a day. There were a lot of reasons for this, my back pain, increased schooling hours with my older children and busy hours in my kitchen with changed eating habits. This means that the focus is very simple...once we have done schooling, chores and sports, cooked and spent time together, I can make some cookies or stock...I can knit a bit or garden....you get the idea?

Broccoli harvested yesterday...recipe to follow

One of the worst things we can do as moms is comparing ourselves to others. There are other families who live on farms or whose children are in school or who do not work from home etc and they can seem to achieve much more as they have more time available. I have a handful of places I visit on the web – in fact only 3 blogs – over my week and for the most part I skim what the content is about and only if I can apply it to MY life and MY home do I read further. I have seen many a mom chase the rainbow of another’s home and burn out way to quickly. Staying busy in my own home with my own family and life is what God wants for me (see Titus 2: 3 – 5).

When life becomes so overwhelming I par back so that my time is spent on only doing the essentials. At bare bones level this is 1)spending time on relationships 2)cooking for my family 3)doing schooling 4)keeping the house in order 5)caring for our interests (garden, chickens, home business). I accept in these times this is all I can do but that soon things could change and my capacity may increase to add in social events and learning new skills.

Lucky asleep on the old coir we replaced yesterday

The Bible says in Philippians 2:14 that we are to do ALL things without complaining and arguing. So when I feel like having a good old moan, I remember this scripture and ask the Lord to give me fresh vision for what I am doing as a homemaker. Colossians 3: 23 – 25 also says that whatever you do, work at it with all your might, as working for the Lord. With these perspectives it is easier to keep focussed on what I must do as a wife, mother, homemaker, in this season of my life.
6 litres of chicken stock waiting to be decanted

The other thing that helps me to get through the cooking, cleaning, schooling, gardening, bread making, sustainable practices etc is to make sure our family works as a team. Everybody knows what their daily jobs are, how they need to be done and that they are to “do a little extra” without complaining. I always try to find jobs that suit the personalities of my children...one of my children really gets no pleasure from gardening so I keep this child’s gardening chores to the minimum, but she enjoys baking and cooking so she gets more of these chores allocated. Sometimes though each child will have things to do that challenges their dislikes, but this is great for character training :-)

Almost all the strawberry plants were rehomed in new baskets yesterday

My answer to this moms who asked “how do you do it all?” is simple – you can’t actually. Something always gives if we try to take on too much and there is so much that we can do as homemakers. The key is to be sensible to your stage of life, your unique circumstances and to your families needs before adding anything new to the mix.

Spring production line...

2011-08-21T14:42:00.006+01:00

Rain is forecast from today (Sunday) until mid week, so yesterday we made hay while the sun shone.

275 pots planted with tomato seeds (5 varieties), dill, basil, sage, amaranth, cucumber, squash, butternut, hubbard squash.

While 3 if us were busy with that, Superman and daughter tackled making potato planters based on these ones. We can fit about 6 of them along the wall on a brick paved area and at R699 a pop we had to make a plan for ourselves.

We have tried potatoes in tyres but they never yielded like expected and recently studies have shown that chemicals can leech from the tyres to the soil and thus potatoes so to err on the side of caution we were looking for a new way to do this making use of our paved areas.

We have grown potatoes in the main veggie beds too in the past and the yields are good, but they are in the ground for a long time, cannot be replanted there in the next 2 years and in our small space where we need to focus on intensive growing the new wooden frames seem like a win.

We shall see, we shall see.....

Getting Ready For Spring

2011-08-18T12:48:00.006+01:00

The countdown has begun...I have always looked forward to spring as it was a wonderful time to teach my young children out in nature's first blush, it was a time to shake off the cobwebs of hibernation, to get busy again outdoors. This winter has been a dry moderate winter which is very concerning for summer water needs.

But spring is around the corner and it will wait for no woman...at least this year I am not in such a frantic rush like last year when I spent the 2 weeks in the UK with my daughter. I have been able to do a little everyday in preparation for planting days.

Each day my children have on their chore lists to make 10 newspaper pots each. We calculate that we will need close to 500 of these little things to get seeds started this year now that we have added the new pond garden.I shared my excitement previously about Jane's Delicious Garden Planner and have all my plans stuck up next to my desk here at my computer.The coolest feature they now have is a link to Living Seeds where you can click on the necessary seed which takes you to the ordering page at LS. I bought some of my seeds from them this year again. We also have to remove two big tree limbs from our stinkwood as when they are fully clothed they cast so much shade that we loose about 4 veggie beds. $$$$$

Another cash out lay is on replacing some - almost all in fact - of our coir strawberry baskets. Superman surprised me way back in 2009 by hanging up loads and loads of baskets. We planted them up with strawberries and they have given us so many fruits that we owe it to them to give them lots of TLC this spring.

This will be a big job as we will have to remove the current baskets and the roots tend to grow right into them. Give them fresh soil and replant. I really hope this will regenerate their growth and production.

This summer I am determined to grow ginger. I tried last season but it didn't work so I am trying again.

We have not made enough compost for our planting season, so we will have to buy in...time to start shopping around for prices.

One thing I am still trying to decide is whether we will do as we have always done and do big garden days on the weekends to whether we should each be responsible for a patch and work everyday...a little at a time. What do you do in your gardens?

Meal planning...for the unorganized :-)

2011-08-16T15:31:00.005+01:00

I bet the people who really know me laugh at this title as I am "known" for being organized - well here's a newsflash: I am slipping in my old age!

You see I have always worked with a meal plan - I'd plan 2 - 6 weeks in advance, buy the needed foods and then stick to it! However over the last couple of months I just haven't been doing that.

Mind you, I will not be seen standing at my fridge or in a check out line at 5pm...I always know what I am having at least a day ahead. But now my meal plannng works something like this:

"Aaah we have lots of eggs..." scrambled egg for breakfast or egg mayo sandwiches for lunch or quiche for dinner.

"Mmh, veggies to juice...with almonds" - that's our snack.
"Gee, I better use those broad beans tonight" and they are whipped into last nights meal of chicken and broad bean pasta.

That's just how we roll for now. Here's last nights recipe....

Easy spinach, pinenut and cream cheese pies.

2011-08-11T12:57:00.003+01:00

Today for lunch we had delicious spinach pies. Our spinach is growing fast and furious in this unseasonally warm weather....it's a bit concerning that we have not had enough rain....

I took a packed colander of spinach, washed and chopped it... then added it to a pot with some fried onion in butter to sweat.

In the meantime I rolled out the pastry and edged it with egg.

When the spinach is cooked, drain and cool slightly. Add to it 250ml cream cheese and 125g packet of pine nuts. Mix it all together and plonk a little in the centre of each pasty square.

Seal up and brush with egg then bake until golden. Delicious.

A day of rest...

2011-08-09T11:35:00.008+01:00

“For we are an overwrought generation, running to nerves as a cabbage runs to seed..." Charlotte Mason

Have you ever wondered what our world, our communities and our families would be like if we kept the 4th commandment that the Lord gave to Moses way back when? {Remember the sabbath and keep it holy.}

First asparagus of the season

Over the last few years we have been trying to move more and more to a day of complete rest. It is still a ways off, but we have definately started to understand the benefits of staying home, staying still, resting on a Sunday, honoring God.

Raised beds ready for spring compost

I have been thinking of what it might be like for people to keep a Sabbath, not out of a legalistic constraint but out of a choice to make a difference to their family, community and world. Here are my rambling thoughts...

Sprouting Broccoli picked by the handful, eaten raw

Staying home =

Less cars on the road...

Less CO2 emmissions....

Staying out of shops....

Less money spent.....

Ladies in waiting - newspaper pots

Homestyle family based entertainment...

More time with family...

More time for relationships...

More time to talk about real issues...

More time for slow food...

Winter Salad - snap peas, nasturtiums, rocket, broccoli, pak choi....

More time to be frugal...

Teabags drying in the sun for firelighters

More time for simple pursuits...

More time for weary parents to rest...

Calendulas in full bloom

This in turn will build...

Stronger families...

“The family is the corner stone of our society. More than any other force it shapes the attitude, the hopes, the ambitions, and the values of the child. And when the family collapses it is the children that are usually damaged. When it happens on a massive scale the community itself is crippled. So, unless we work to strengthen the family, to create conditions under which most parents will stay together, all the rest – schools, playgrounds, and public assistance, and private concern – will never be enough…” — Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson

Stronger communities...

A healthier world.

Today's harvest of broad beans

What do you think?

On my mind....

2011-08-05T13:35:00.004+01:00

I am trying to get back into juicing every day. I use carrots, pineapples or oranges, celery and whatever else is in season - spinach or cabbage....

I am also growing wheatgrass to juice...its on the sunny step outside my bedroom.

On my mind is a Friday photo feature hosted by Rhonda Jean at Down to Earth.

Broad bean and bacon risotto

2011-08-04T08:21:00.004+01:00

In 2008 we planted our first broad beans. Each year since I have saved seeds from the harvest for the next years planting. This actually happened by accident as the pods are so well camouflaged that the beans inside the pods that we missed became so big that they got quite bitter. Those are the ones we saved. This year we have 3 huge beds of broad beans planted out and they are now in for the eating!

Sunday lunch has turned into a traditional risotto meal. It is a nourishing and filling meal using home made chicken stock and whatever in season green veg I have. If I can find mushrooms cheaply at the shop then I also make a risotto with mushies as the veg instead.

This Sunday I adapted a recipe from Harvest and made broad bean and bacon risotto which was just scrumptious.

1pkt streaky free range bacons sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
500g risotto rice
1.5 litres chicken stock
250ml white wine
250g shelled broad beans
6 sliced spring onions
200g finely grated parmesan cheese
handful of thyme

Melt butter and oil, fry bacon and onions. Add rice and coat with the oil. Add the wine, stir well and keep lid on the pot for 2 mins. Start adding the chicken stock cup full at a time stirring well with each addition until all the stock is used.
Add the broad beans, thyme and 3/4 of the parmesan and turn off the heat. Put the lid on the pot while you lay out the plates. Serve into each bowl, top with fresh parmesan. Gobble up quickly!

Thinking of spring...

2011-07-31T07:31:00.002+01:00

Even though we are mid winter right now and our garden is giving us its winter veg I have to apply my mind to the next season. My family all knows what is in store for them in September as we will then spend every weekend in the garden...we rearrange, pull out, compost, dig over, rebuild, sow seed and honestly by the end of it we are all a little glum. It is really hard work when spring rolls around.

But before we can get to the physical work I have a lot of background stuff to do...I am not by nature a logical ordered person - that's Superman - I would just put a seed here and there and be happy for a small yield, but because of the time, money and effort we have already put into this garden over the last 3.5 years, I make sure to do a thorough plan (which sometimes goes arry).

This means that the last few weeks of winter are a time to go through our seeds and order what we need, make a garden plan, by materials like wood for new beds, coir for strawberry baskets etc. Then I start to talk to Superman Inc. and get them all ready in their mind for the upcoming slog.

Yesterday as I was about to switch off my PC I recieved an email which has got me all excited! Delicious Jane has created an online garden planner. The only ones I have ever coveted have been for the Northern Hemisphere, but she has worked with one of these companies to create one specifically for South Africa...hooraaaah! I gave it a test run yesterday and it is absolutely fabulous and well worth the R170 per annum.

This planning tool offers me a huge amount of relief and time savings in the planning of our extensive garden...after we have done our chores today, I know what I will be doing :-)

Urban Homestead Happenings

2011-07-23T13:08:00.005+01:00

Even though I took a short break from blogging, real life has carried on. It was back to school this week after a delicious school break and a weekend away at the apple farm. But real life hits with a thud and we need to keep on keeping on. On the whole it has been a good week - a busy week - and full of learning curves.

I have nearly finished my first sock with the self striping wool. I knit so intermittently with everything else going on, but its almost there. I hope to finish it tomorrow while we tour the pennisula with some visiting friends.

On Monday evening a friend organized a crochet evening. She taught us to do a simple wash clothe...my crochet skills are improving but it is still very halting.

Last Friday I made Almond Oil and Rose Geranium soap. The recipe is on my herbal blog.

I have been very blessed to have had a young American girl here for the last 3 weeks. She is here to visit her fiancee who is studying at Bible College down the road, but we have spent some good quality time together. At 18 she is a kindred spirit as she loves the Lord and wants to live a sustainable "green" lifestyle.

Today they came over and I showed her how to make soap and then we all got stuck into the garden. The young men sifted the compost and carried it around to where we needed it, cleaned the coop, weeded, dug, carried and all those jobs that required muscles.

The gals pulled out spent lettuce, gave the asparagus their winter haircut and transplanted the curly Kale. We gave a good covering of compost to the asparagus and while I look with wonder on these "dry twigs" sticking out the ground and I know that in spring we will be eating our own asparagus for the first time. It's been a 4 year love relationship that I have had with these plants...

With all the cold evenings I have eventually got into the routine of making our own firelighters. It was a tip shared on my Green Website which I have been meaning to implement for absolute aaaages...its so simple once the routine is in place, I don't know why I didn't do it earlier?

The best surprise of the day is that I see our broad beans are starting to appear...I can almost taste them...the anticipation will kill me! :-)

Lying Fallow

2011-07-12T09:48:00.003+01:00

In winter we loose about 1/3 of our growing space. The house casts a shadow over these areas.

All I do is dig them over and leave them until September when the sun's angle changes.

I am going to do likewise for a bit - lie fallow that is...I need to take a break from blogging.

See you all in a little while.

Beetgreen Quiche

2011-07-11T14:06:00.006+01:00

Yesterday I harvested our first beets. These are Chiogga Beets and are deep pink. When you cut them you get red bands between the white layers. I actually planted them because I love the color...not for any other reason!

Luckily not everyone in my family likes beets so I only need about 10 for a meal. Then I got to thinking about all the greens...surely we could eat those too? And yes we can!

Once the beets were cooking gently I washed the greens and chopped them like spinach. I fried up some French Shallots in butter and then sweated the greens. In a bowl I mixed up 8 of our eggs, salt, pepper, a cup of milk and about 500ml grated cheese.

The beet greens and onions are put into a greased baking dish and the eggs mixture poured over. Bake until brown.

I served this with chopped avo and a simple salsa with tomato, coriander, red onion, lemon juice and olive oil. A delightful filling meal.

Mamma's day out!

2011-07-10T08:41:00.005+01:00

On Monday I told my family I was having a day off. Starting with my normal gym session at 7 am, I then headed off for a facial. GROUPON is a real win if you can make sure you only buy what you need. I bought a facial with a salon around the corner for 75% off a couple of months ago which I used on Monday and thoroughly enjoyed my hour of spoiling.

Next I headed to a new hairdresser recommended by a friend. She works from home and is super cheap and does exactly what you ask - so no pink hair mistakes!

Thereafter I met a friend at a coffee shop for a quick lunch and chat...then we headed to a special little shop found in a very quaint quarter of Muizenburg. Gina's Wool Studio stocks all sorts of hand crafts, but we were going to look at her hand spun hand dyed wool.

She also sells completed items and while we were very tempted with her gorgeous beanies and socks, we remained focused and bought our wool we were after.

Heading home at 3pm I felt rested, spoilt and full of eager anticipation to get stuck into the wool...

However I have already started knitting some socks with Nuturing Fibres self striping wool. This is such a novelty and I am constantly thinking about how you can hand dye wool so that it self stripes as you knit....and it works....

Stockpiles, fast slow food and my fridge.

2011-07-07T15:36:00.005+01:00

Last week I stocked up on the basics I need for cooking nutritious fast food for my family. Once everything was in the fridge I realized how much the contents of my fridge have changed over the last 3 years.

No more convenience foods with lots of packaging...just the raw materials to make good wholesome meals. Not the most glamorous pictures, but this gives you an idea.

3 kinds of stocks, yoghurt, veg and tomato sauce....ready for some fast slow food. Not seen here are the bags of grain - spelt, organic wheat, barley and rye.

Today I had 9 people to feed over lunch and it took me a few minutes to throw a delicious nutritious soup and bread together for us all.

Leeks, sliced and softened in butter, 4 beef shin pieces, chopped carrots and turnips. 1 jar of beef stock, 1 jar of tomato and veg sauce (tomatoes, carrots, celery). Add 1 cup of barley and 1 cup spring water and allow to simmer for about 3 hours. Season to taste and serve.

While the sun shines...

2011-07-03T11:56:00.004+01:00

Today has been typical Cape Town weather - changing seasons in 4 hrs! But this morning we all had garden jobs to tackle while the sun was shining. Superman and Son tackled the terribly smelly job of the coop. The front part has been left open on top, but during winter the rain makes the ground smelly and sludgey. Last weekend they extended the plastic "roof" right to the front and made a fold down flap to protect against the slanted rain.

However the ground was still yuck and I don't believe it is a healthy environment for the girls. So they dug out the top layer of soil which was enough to make us all gag (can you picture this?) and put it into the compost. Then they took some loose bricks we had lying around and made a "floor" which can be hosed off. We then sprinkled Diameteous Earth all over the place. This will have to do until we can make another plan.

Superman and I also added two more levels to one of the first raised beds we did back in 2008. We have potatoes in here so instead of digging down and banking we could just add a few loads of compost to the bed and this covers the stems of the plant. When he designed these beds back then, he had the uprights intentionally longer so that we could simply hammer on two more boards like this.

The girls took over the cleaning out and planting up of the neglected herb tower. It was completely overgrown in Dec 2010 and then being in shade most of the day during winter, alot of the herbs died off. I also made the mistake of planting herbs that get too big in such a small space.

The sages were moved out to other beds. I used all the celery yesterday in my stocks so it was a blank canvas again. I decided that since it is right outside our kitchen door, that I would just plant culinary herbs in there. So in went the oreganum, majorum, thyme and celery.

It felt so good to be back in the garden after all this time but then the rain chased us inside.

A busy kitchen week...

2011-07-02T12:53:00.004+01:00

I took the gap this week and spent some time every day building up my food bases. These are things that we use all month in a variety of dishes and I need to make them every 2 - 3 weeks.

This month we ordered a whole lamb from our free range organic butcher as it works out much cheaper and we do have the freezer space. I never like cooking with ribs so I made them into lamb stock which I will use with all the yummy lamb stews we can now make.

The other thing I use a lot of is a tomato based source. I use it in all my pastas and some curries. I don't follow a recipes - it's simple about 5kg tomoatoes, washed and quartered, a good handful of chopped celery, about 10 carrots grated and 2 heaped tablespoons of garlic. I leave this to cook until soft then cool and put in bottles in the fridge.

My son helped me squeeze lemons and oranges for lemon curd which is our winter jam.

I fed the sour dough starter and made two delicious sour dough rye loaves which were just superb with the lemon curd.

I also picked the last of our chillies and made 3 jars fo sweet chilli sauce and pickled the remaining ones.

Besides all of these, I made 4 litres of yoghurt, chicken stock, beef stock and two delicious pies. My mom and dad were here for the first two days and I wanted to treat them so I made Jamie Oliver's steak and guiness pie and followed it with a blackberry and apple pie with old fashioned short crust pastry for dinner the one evening. It was just delicious.

On Tuesday night before home church started we shared pudding with the other family we meet with. This is such a simple recipe and is great for all types of juicy fruits. I have given the recipe before which you can find here on my blog.

A week of good food memories.

Oat waffles with cinnamon apples.

2011-06-30T11:59:00.003+01:00

This morning we had a real treat breakfast. I don't have much time during the school term to do fancy breakfasts - it's generally muffins, oats or eggs. But the house was still quiet at 8a.m. with all my babes asleeping that I had time to make something before their empty stomachs woke them.

I ground 3 big cups of organic rolled oats in my mill. I do this on quite a coarse setting. While that was going I peeled 7 apples and put them in a pan on a low heat with cinnamon, sugar and a knob of butter. I don't like them soggy and overdone, just softened.

Seperated 4 eggs, beat whites to soft peak. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter. To the oats add 3 teaspoons baking powder and 3 tablespoons raw sugar. Add butter and 2 cups of whole milk along with the beaten egg yolks. When mixed fold in whites.

Cook on the waffle iron. If you don't have one, these can work as flapjacks (pancakes, pikelets) too. Serve with apples ontop, a dash of whipped cream and drizzle of raw honey or maple syrup.

It wasn't long until the babes were all awake and around the breakfast table to eat :-)

Falling off the frugal bandwagon!

2011-06-29T13:55:00.004+01:00

I was very impacted by Rhonda's post yesterday...I am slipping in my frugal ways...and I know it is time related.

I, like most of you, am in the stage of life where my children take up huge chunks of time - time I am so happy to give them. We homeschool too, so this means my mornings (until 2pm) are taken up with school activities. Thereafter, 3x a week, they have activities. This leaves Tuesday for my business (packaging and posting orders) and Friday for groceries and errands.

Saturdays and Sundays are meant to be quiet at home days but Saturday seems to fill up with stuff...anything from making something in the kitchen through to a family outing for something....Sundays I am really trying to rest which is not easy for my "must-be-busy" nature.

So in this hurly burly of life I have relied more and more in the last few months on shops. I still make my own bread most days, cook from scratch, garden, line dry washing, no heaters - rather a fire, but our household bills climb increasingly.

It doesn't help that we now have one of our precious children meeting with a speech therapist for dyspraxia weekly which gobbles a huge chunk of cash every month. This is not negotiable and is necessary for him...please don't take this as a moan...it isn't.

So somewhere, somehow I need to make time to save more and I know from the past that living frugally = time...something that I don't seem to have right now.

Is there anyone out there who can give me a VIT B frugal injection? I sure would appreciate it!

There's a grandma in there somewhere....

2011-06-27T12:20:00.005+01:00

Did I ever say how much I love my mom? I truly hope that at her age I will have the same amount of energy and zest for life!

My folks are here for 3 days and today my mom got stuck into my veggie garden...she pulled weeds, got rid of an invasive ground cover around the pond, staked broad beans and just made everything more tidy for me.

I worked really hard (ja, right!) and pruned the lemon verbena and rose geranium and pulled some of the nasturtiums up.

The geranium and lemon verbena are now hung up to dry. I hope to cook with the verbena once it is dry but I have big plans for the rose geranium. Hopefully I will blog about that at my herbal blog soon. In the meantime I just made it into a lovely tea by shredding 1/4 cup of leaves and letting it steep in boiling water, strained and added a teaspoon of honey. Very nice.

When everything was cleared I saw this amazing fungi growing on a stump that I use as a pot stand.

Peas - the perfect winter pickup!

2011-06-26T18:21:00.005+01:00

Yesterday I was feeling really miserable. I figured out that I am missing summer's bounty and provision. We planted our peas, brassicas, broad beans, chard and others so long ago it seemed. We have eaten salads and chard but that's really all for the last few weeks.

I made a delicious recipe from Jamie At Home and wanted a nice green salad to go with it. To my delight our peas have come in. I love eating them in the pod but this has to happen quite soon after fruiting before the pod gets too tough.

We have planted peas in half wine barrels, in pots, in raised beds...wherever we could.

Even with eating lots straight off the plant there were plenty for the salad. Needless to say, once this was done I was feeling much happier with my winter garden.

On my mind...

2011-06-24T12:25:00.003+01:00

Today I am thinking about my next knitting project....

These wools I bought last winter and have been patiently waiting for me to make something beautiful from them.

This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join. It opens the door to us sharing our lives through these photos and gives us all a new way to discover each other, and maybe form new friendships. Your photo should show something at home that you're thinking about TODAY. Hosted by Rhonda @ Down To Earth

For the love of coriander

2011-06-23T13:04:00.003+01:00

It goes by many names - coriander...dhania...cilantro....but I love it no matter what you call it.

At the moment we have loads of coriander growing just outside my kitchen door interplanted with the chilli bushes.

With all the rain we have been having we have been enjoying lots of curries...which if I am honest is just and excuse for me to use my coriander :-) However last night we had Peanut Butter Chicken...here's how:

1kg deboned chicken breast cubed marinated in:
~80ml soya sauce
~60ml lemon juice
~30ml brown sugar
~2 cloves
~1 star anise
~1 chilli
~10cm piece of lemon peel - heat all of these til sugar melts and pour over chicken. Leave to marinate for 40 mins.

Make the peanute butter sauce by:
~ fry one chopped onion, 10cm grated ginger & 4 cloves of garlic in some peanut oil.
~ add 1 small chopped chilli
~ add 300ml crunchy peanut butter
~ add 1 can of coconut milk

Heat and then allow to stand on a low heat while you fry the marinaded chicken in batches. I used peanut oil for this too.

When all the chicken is cooked, add back to the pan and pour peanut butter sauce over the chicken. Serve on basmati rice with chopped chillies and COPIOUS amounts of coriander.

Quick easy spinach bread

2011-06-21T15:49:00.004+01:00

I seem to be dropping more balls than I am catching at the moment and ended up at lunch time with no bread for the hungry hordes! I didn't have time to use yeast so made up this quick bread....

Here is how to do it...

1. Run out to the spinach patch to cut a colander of spinach...give the holey ones to the chickens.

2. Steal two eggs from under the chicken while making sure she doesn't peck you.

3. Wash & chop the spinach and then wilt it in a pan on the stove.

4. Measure 500g of flour.

5. Grate 250 ml of cheese and some extra to top the loaf.

6. Mix together the two eggs with 250ml water and 125ml olive oil.

7. In a bowl mix together the flour, 1 heaped tablespoon of baking powder and the grated cheese and 1 t salt.

8. Add the wilted spinach and the wet ingredients.

9. Put into a greased loaf pan, sprinkle with sunflower seeds and remaining cheese.

10. Bake at 180 deg C for 40 mins while reading to the children to take their minds off their hungry tummies.

Cut and enjoy with fresh avo, chicken mayo, cream cheese or just butter!

How to knit a sock in 2 months :-0

2011-06-19T12:06:00.004+01:00

Here's how to knit a sock in 2 months...

Buy the pattern and watch the videos on April 23.

Knit every Friday night for 1 hr for 3 weeks while talking to a friend.

Be forced to put it down to take up former responsibilities and get daughter #1 through exams...

6 weeks later write "finish socks" on TO DO LIST.

Sunday, watch the last 2 videos, shape the toe and stitch up.

My son now has one warm foot!

Back then....

2011-06-17T13:03:00.004+01:00

I received this today via email...

"In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. The former generation did not care enough to save our environment."

He was right, that generation didn't have the green thing in Its day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But they didn't have the green thing back in that customer's day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks. But she was right. They didn't have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby's diapers because they didn't have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts. Wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right, they didn't have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a hankerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn't have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right, they didn't have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But they didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful the old folks were just because they didn't have the green thing back then? I remember all of that."

Food for thought!

A truth universally acknowledged...

2011-06-16T18:20:00.006+01:00

Forgive me Miss Austin....

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single patch of ground in possession of nothing, must be in want of a few potatoes."

Tonight while supper was on I snuck into the garden between the showers of rain and planted some winter potatoes.

These seed potatoes got forgotten in the hurly burly of the last 5 weeks....Glad they are in the ground now.

Win some...lose some!

2011-06-12T16:30:00.007+01:00

I am so very aware that in blogland (and sometimes in real life) we only share the good stuff. I understand why this is...two reasons I think.

1. Who would read blogs full of moans and groans and negativity?

2. We don't really want to be real in cyberspace and share our struggles.

I know other bloggers who present a very "perfect" image of their homes and children and I think this is a very dangerous thing as it will more than likely leave moms who do not have it "all together" or who are battling with different issues feel even worse about themselves, their home, their family.

I am all for cyber privacy...decidedly so! I think however it is important to be real and not present an image to others that is not honest, true, trustworthy and reliable. We need to be able to encourage one another when we are down, rejoice with one another when up and know that everyone has struggles - no one is perfect, we all have failures and sometime we all just get fed up!

As it relates to this blog...we have had some failures this year in the garden and kitchen. I learn from failures as well as successes...so I hope you can learn from what I share too.

1. We have still not seen any savings in vegetables since growing our own. The initial set up costs of the garden are yet to be paid back in cash savings! I suppose we could have done it cheaper, but Superman likes things orderly.
2. Leading on from #1...Superman and I have had many differences of opinion about the layout of the garden. He doesn't like my, as he calls it, "ADD eclectic" style :-) I don't really mind his ordered pathways and square beds...it is in fact much easier to plan like this and the gravel keeps the weeds under control.

3. We would have starved by now had we been the pioneers of the 1800's [blush blush] Our garden does not yield anywhere near what we need to feed our family. Even in the height of harvesting we probably eat about 3 - 4 meals from the garden, never 7 night a week!

4. My children are wonderful helps to me, they bless me so much with their helping hands...however, they are children and towards the end of the autumn planting season they had HAD ENOUGH :-) I am a little older and wiser so while I also had HAD ENOUGH, I wasn't anywhere near as vocal as them!

5. I have had some tremendous flops as I was too idealistic. Taking on too much too soon is one of my traits. Having this ongoing back problem now has made me reassess what I am doing and to par back to what we can do. There are certain non-negotiables but there were also other things that just had to slide for now.

6. Some of the flops are food related. We all agree that the cold cucumber soup was the all time low...tonights one-pot-crockpot-chicken comes in a close 2nd :-)Some of my breads were simply yuck...but we keep learning.

7. In the garden this year we again had a very unsucessful tomato crop. Better than last year, but really not what it should be. We have lost ALL our turnips to some critters AND our second last planting of potatoes was too late and the winter shade has robbed us of any winter spuds.

It is now coming up to the beginning of our 4th year in this Urban Homestead adventure. We are a little less idealistic, a little more tired, but still looking ahead to what more we can learn.

Despite the hardships, disappointments and disagreements, we are keeping on! The rewards definately outweigh the drawbacks, particularly when we see spring around the corner in a couple of months time.

Super Simple Apple Crumble

2011-06-09T08:09:00.005+01:00

Whenever I have fruit that is not as crisp as it once was, I like to make it into something. Bananas go into banana muffins or bread or even into pancakes...apples, pears and guavas always seem to go into some form of pudding.

This super simple crumble is our favourite served with custard.

Mix together 2 cups flour and 100g soft butter. Cut in until it resembles bread crumbs. Stir in 3/4 cup sugar.

Press half the mixture into the base and sides of a deep pie dish. Peel and slice as many apples as you want to fill the dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Pour the other half crumble mixture over the apples. Bake at 180 deg C until the edges brown.

It's quick and easy and very tasty.

The winter garden

2011-06-05T13:35:00.005+01:00

Now that it is officially winter I thought I would give you some snapshots of our winter garden. We are very fortunate to be able to grow veggies year round. We have a mediterranean climate here in Cape Town so while we do get cold, have lots of rain and winds, we escape the frost and snow that the inland provinces have to face.

What we grow now are called "cool season vegetables" - all the brassicas, spinach, kale, lettuces and my favorite - broad beans. We can get away with beetroot, onions, potatoes and sweet potatoes now although the growth rate slows dramatically.

This is what our newest veggie garden looks like today....who could think it was like this about 6 months ago!

Our lettuces are doing well...too many to eat in this cold weather. The broad beans have me salivating in anticiplation...

Curly Kale is a new veggie for us...I believe it is very tasty and iron rich.

Spinach as always - a staple food in our home!

Peas are making flowers...lots need to be staked. Oh...a gardeners work is never done!

Superman's chillies...some too hot even for him! We planted coriander in between the bushes and it is very happy.

Red and white cabbage, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli fill the other beds.

The only problem in winter is motivation :-) To leave my warm home, my book, my kitchen...and go and do something in the garden. I am sure it can wait until tomorrow :-)

On my mind....

2011-06-03T10:23:00.003+01:00

Puppies looking for a good home...

A friend and I have been involved in rescuing 5 puppies and their mum from a very deprived situation. These three puppies are looking for a home. I am mindful of the immense need in our country where people need love, care, jobs, home, security and education. It's such a huge task...I am one woman...where to begin?

On my mind is a Friday photo feature run by Rhonda-Jean at Down to Earth

Frugal Winter Soup

2011-06-01T18:05:00.003+01:00

I have a self imposed "eat from pantry and garden" challenge simply because I cannot seem to get my act together and get to the shop!!

So we are eating some pretty creative meals...thank goodness I have the basics. One meal that wasn't too outrageous was our lunch from yesterday. A yummy winter cabbage, potato and bacon soup.

I had one cabbage in the garden ready to harvest...planted in summer...which was shredded and gently fried in butter. Then I added 1.5litres of homemade chicken stock, 4 peeled choped potatoes, salt, pepper and a pkt of bacon (sliced). This simmered during school time and was served with some fresh butter rolls.

Delicious.

Where does your chocolate come from?

2011-05-27T15:55:00.006+01:00

Today my son bought some chocolate. I have not often thought about the origins of chocolate, I know that, like coffee, there are issues of fair-trade involved...but as I don't eat chocolate (I get headaches from it) and that my cacoa powder is from a reputable company, it just never occured to me to find out the origins of what my kids and husband eat.

Just now I happened onto an article which has left me fairly shaken...perhaps I am just naive or uniformed that I didn't know this was happening...child slave labor to grow and harvest cacao...

2011 and children are still being sold into slave labor by impoverished villages for chocolate which ends up in our "wealthy" western diets.

I am shocked

I am horrified

I cannot not share this....

I will spare you the gritty pictures (you can find them yourself on the web as I did) but I will not spare the question: "Where does your chocolate come from?"

How do I stop this practice....first step for me - CONSUMER POWER! Buy only certified fair trade chocolate, cacoa powder and coffee or don't buy at all. (I have contacted Superfoods to find out the origins of their cacoa products.)

Next step - prayer and support for those who fight this horrible crime against children.

Sourdough - labour of love!

2011-05-26T12:48:00.007+01:00

Whenever I try something new in my garden, kitchen or handcraft I have a few concerns...what if it doesn't work? Then I have wasted time and money. Or, what if my family doesn't like it? What if its a complete flop? I must say that this week long journey into creating sourdough starter was full of these sorts of questions. You will have to wait til the end of this post to find out which way it went - success or failure :-)

I have always been keen on trying sour dough, but it's taken me a long time to try it out. Buying Nourishing Traditions has rekindled this interest and all the whey that was produced with the cheese making meant I had an opportunity to try.

The principle of sourdough is to allow a natural fermentation to take place which creates the necessary leaven to develop. Most bread makers use brewers yeast as it acts faster and makes a lighter loaf than sourdough.

Here's what you need to do...I used Rye flour as a starter as I want to make a soft Rye bread.

Mix 2 cups of flour (freshly ground or at least stone milled)
I cup distilled or spring water
1 cup whey (can use a second cup water instead)
A piece of cheese cloth
2 bowls (second bowl used tomorrow)

Mix the flour with the water - makes a sloppy mixture.

Cover with cheese clothe - this prevents bugs getting in but allows the yeasts and bacteria to get to the dough.

The next day and for the 6 days after that you will add once cup of flour and as much water as you need to get back to the sloppy mixture. It's easiest to transfer the first dough to the new bowl, add the flour, mix then add the water. Cover and keep doing this.

My dough started really bubbling on day 4, day 5 and 6 it outgrew its bowl!

Yesterday I was ready to try it in a rye loaf.

I took half the starter and mixed some water and salt into it and then added some rye flour until I got a dough I could shape. I did this at about 9 am.

By 2 pm it looked like this....

Then I baked it when dinner was in the oven and it looked like this....

It tastes delicious and while the crust is tough, the inside is soft and moist. For South African readers - almost like the Woolies Rye!

I also used another cup of starter to make these Sourdough English Muffins. Once they had gone through the initial rising stage I shaped them and placed them in the fridge over night on the baking tray.

This morning I baked them for breakfast and they were served with overnight cream cheese and homemade lemon curd. Scrumptious!

I feel like this was a week long labour of love...one I will repeat. I have two cups of starter left which will stay in the fridge until I need to grow it again via the same process as I listed above.

Tree hugging :-)

2011-05-22T11:55:00.007+01:00

Yesterday my older daughter forwarded an email to me which was an invite to help plant trees in Tokai. Deep inside me I know that I am a tree hugger...and I know others who are too. So despite the fact that we had planned a morning in the garden - peas need to be staked, aphids on my broad beans need to be sprayed, beds need to be weeded, leaves need to be swept - we took our trusty spades and watering cans and headed to the forest wiht some friends.

To be honest, it's not a forest like many in the Northern Hemisphere would identify as a forest. These are pine plantations which are being harvested after 100 years. It has been a source of contention between the mountain bikers, nature conservationists, greenies and SAPPI for a good few years now.

We have walked and picnicked in these plantations for the last 12 years, mountain biked in the higher forests and have been so saddened to see the destruction of these pine woods due to the felling of the trees. The good thing is that the Fynbos (Fine Bush) which is the natural flora of the Western Cape will be rejuvenated and that the felling is being done in stages.

Todays efforts were to plant a row of trees on both sides of the walkway to offer future shade when the pines go. These trees are all indigenous and were all waiting for us as we arrived. We took along our friend who is here from Massachusets for 3 years studying at Bible college, and his first words were that this is like no forest he has ever seen.

Everyone did their bit...

Water is fetched African style, from a tank with buckets. I watched from the side and fetched water....can't dig...back doesn't allow it....

So our garden has to wait for another day, but it is good to know that in a couple of years time when I take my grandchildren for a walk in Tokai, I can tell them about when their moms and dads where little and planted these trees they see today.

Days rolling by....

2011-05-19T18:03:00.006+01:00

I thought I would share what has been happening in my world over the last while. Most of it is food related...

We are very focused in the home on our daughter's Cambridge exams but in between I have been trying some new things.

I am nearly finished my daughter's beanie for winter.

For the last 5 weeks I have been getting 6 liters of raw milk which I am processing into yoghurt every second week and then into cream cheese before the next batch of milk comes in.

Other weeks I try to use the milk in puddings but this past week I made ricotta cheese.

It produced a lot of whey which I am using in different ways. One way is to make a sour dough rye starter. I will do a proper post on that soon (when I know it works!)

This was the 3rd day...

This was today....the yeasts are going wild!

I am still making stocks...beef and chicken. I now make enough for 2 weeks at a time.
These go into soups, stews, mince dishes and wherever I can find. Good for the bones! (more on my bones in another post too!)

I also used the whey to make oats the following morning. I used our last frozen strawberries to make a sweet sauce to go on the oatmeal and toasted some flaked almonds for a crunchy addition!

And lastly, my new chickens are laying so well. You can see my old girls egg there, the rest are from the new ones. Every second day we get 4 eggs and every first 2 so they are all firing!

Well, thats all folks!

Sunday Walk

2011-05-15T15:20:00.003+01:00

I thought I would write a long post on what has been going on this week which prevented me on posting here...but instead I will take you on the walk we had today in the mild autumn weather at our favorite spot....

Those who have gone before me.

2011-05-08T13:03:00.004+01:00

I am mindful that today is celebrated as Mother's Day around the world. We don't make a big thing of it in our house as I appreciate Superman's approach with the children that EVERY day is Mother's Day. He is always encouraging the children to help me more and to honor me and they do. I am truly blessed by my family daily.

But for my mothers I am so thankful. My mom is truly a gem. She is my encourager when times are tough, she is my champion supporter when I attempt something new. She loves and serves with her whole heart and is one of the most giving people I know.

This is my mom and me around 1972!

My mother in law has been part of my world for 23 years now and is a brave, loving and joyful woman who has touched my heart deeply. She loves her grandchildren unconditionally and her arms are always open to hold and cuddle those who need it.

My mom in law and her grandsons.

Further back, I remember my grandma. One of my greatest regrets is that I didn't get to know her better, but I was a very self centred young person...there are some special memories I have of her. Making toffee, fudge, fish pie (with little hearts on top), lemon curd, bed socks, colorful blankets are all memories I have of her. Special Sunday lunches where she pulled out all the stops for us. Sleepovers and special shopping trips on the bus!

My Grandma, with my mom and aunt.

To these woman who went before me - I am grateful for you in my life. I would be much poorer for not knowing your love and ways.

To the moms who are readers of this blog - may you always find joy and fulfilment in being a mother.

And to my close friends (Cath, Lisa G, Lisa VDL, Wendy M and Linda M), thank you for being my inspiration, support and encouragement as you mother your own.

Defining "simple"

2011-05-06T14:19:00.007+01:00

What does "simple" mean? As I sit here I have just finished with my children's school work, I can hear one building Lego, the other practising scales on his guitar, another typing away on her book and another making a snack. I can smell the beef stock simmering away on the stove. The air is hung with the smell of fresh dinner rolls, my sewing is piled up behind me and my knitting on this desk. So much to do....

My chickens are clucking away - they want to be let out (sorry girls - not today!) and my dog is eyeing me from the corner of her eye as she wants a walk...the moment I move from this chair she will start her begging dance.

Is my life simple? Not according to some....3 afternoons a week I am running around doing errands, taking children to sports and music lessons, doing my shopping and just catching up with life! The other 2 weekday afternoons I am working on clients orders or processing/making/creating more time consuming foods for my hungry family.

But what makes my life "simple" is I am singleminded in the pursuit of a quality of lifestyle for my family. People often use busy and simple as antomyns, but they are not actually. Complicated or complex lifestyles trip us up...they steal our peace and joy, leave us gasping for breath at the end of the day, complicated is the antonym for simple, not busy.

We can be very busy living simple lives :-) To me simple is:

Simple = back to basics...

Simple = food as close to natural, uncomplicated and slow.

Simple = family together, building long standing relationships

Simple = knowing God and walking with Him

Simple = fellowship with people who are on the same journey.

And you?