around the garden

We have always had a veggie garden and our children have all been unhappy helpers at various stages of their growing up years. I do get it, I really do - which child wants to give up playtime to labour for their food? However I needed some one to collect cabbage moth grubs or snails; to weed seedling beds and dig out thistles; to turn soil, rake soil and spread mulch. We wanted them to know how to look after themselves, to feed themselves and to be appreciative of where their food came from. Whats the good of knowing all the algebraic formulas, for example, if you didn't know how to cook or sew or change a tyre or grow some food? Our aim in homeschooling was to teach them life skills and a life long love of learning. I'm chuffed to report that the oldest five have all had or have decent veg plots in their backyards - and with a little more maturing and a permanent abode, theres still hope for the two youngest ;) 

This one is offspring #5 - Bee - in her little patch. Not much space for a garden but she and her partner have made it as big as they could and we've all been enjoying the fruits of their labours! I think even just the thought that we have a garden and/or have the capability to grow food, makes this stay at home time a little easier. And of course the fact that we can spend as many hours of the day as we like pooltling about in it regardless of social distancing measures. I can only imagine what it would be like to live in a tiny apartment without access to anything green and outdoorsy - we really do all need a good soak in the natural world from time to time, don't you think? 

The harvest wasn't huge but there were certainly enough tomatoes for many salads, loads of delicious parsley to add to everything, cucumbers, beans and a rather productive basil crop which was processed into pesto and popped in the freezer for winter. I have shared our basil pesto recipe before but I'm going to add a vegan one which is equally delicious. 

We picked a lot of calendula flowers and dried the petals for......something! Not sure what but the last ones I dried were used to decorate raw slices and cakes. Will let you know ;)

The last few clematis flowers are still clinging to the vine. The vine needs removing as its climbing onto the espaliered plums so that will be a job later in winter.

And the last of the roses adding some colour over the fence. I love roses but oh the thorns are truly terrifying - this one in particular! 

Lastly, theres the one and only surviving sunflower! They are such a satisfying flower to grow aren't they? Not only do they have such a shiny, happy face that daily follows the sun but when the display is over, they provide lots of plump little seeds! True, its a pain to crack them all however now would be the perfect time to spend an afternoon doing just that! 

I think I'll delegate that job though haha!!! 

I'm actually missing having a garden of my own so it's lovely to potter about in my girls little plot - although it won't be long and there'll be very little garden time. Winter is on his way and then it will just be a quick visit outside for some greens and back to the warmth of the fire. 

And that has it's merits too! 

my life is (too) sweet

There have been a number of sweet things in my life of late. Too many sweet things in fact which made it hard to refrain from tasting, savouring and tasting again....sigh... (guess what my New Year resolution action might be??). Yes last year was not a sugar free year for me although it was a lite-sugar version! Miss Bliss, 14, has discovered cake making and decorating as well as photo styling which, paired with Instagram have become a full time hobby! But we have had some delicious treats and a few very fancy birthday cakes! 

That cheery red poppy and pansy creation above, was a simple chocolate cake topped with whipped cream, 'wild' flowers from our very overgrown garden and some crumbled frozen raspberries. It looked smashing for a 19th birthday cake in November! 

Then came Chocolate Mint Power Balls and Raspberry Bliss Balls. Now these were naturally sweetened with medjool dates and other nutritious ingredients and I did manage to try one of each before they were inhaled by various loved ones who always seem to be visiting when there's something yummy to be had! And they were delicious!

This lovely pink confection was my birthday cake in December - a lemon butter cake with pink frosting and fresh roses. All I wanted for my birthday was a big bunch of homegrown roses (which were obligingly obtained from the park by one child and a backyard by another!) and Miss Bliss used some to decorate the cake so beautifully. Not a good photo but it did look impressive and I'm pleased that she's following my tradition of using flowers, seeds and homegrown bits rather than sugary, shop bought decorations.

In our home, its not Christmas without loads of traditional biscuits and while this time, there were only four varieties, there were still ALOT! These ones, called Spitzbuben (loose translation = "cheeky boys", don't ask me why!) are made the closest to Christmas as they are the hardest to keep for longer due to our summer weather as opposed to winter in Austria. We made three batches of these - which were finished first because they really are so very more-ish! Here is a recipe in English for you to try.....mine doesn't use lemon rind but the rest is similar. 

Miss Bliss received a gorgeous cookbook from lovely friends, 'Natural Harry' by Harriet Birrell and naturally (haha) she had to try a frozen sweet delight immediately! And oh my, it was divine! The recipes are all plant based - this one is Peppermint Crisp Slice. Once again there were medjool dates and nuts involved but the best part was the mint flavour from the peppermint oil and the smoothness of cashew cream centre and cacao topping......I'm drooling over my laptop just thinking about it!! 

Now its mid January and I'm firmly putting my New Year Actions into place - it only takes 21 days I'm told but if she keeps trying out new delights my willpower is going to be seriously depleted! 

Wish me luck.....Evi

making and freezing pesto

Look at all that lovely fresh, pungent basil! Doesn't it just make you think of hot summer days, long lazy lunches and good friends? Yes, yes, me too! 

Since we erected my favourite garden structure, the poly tunnel, I have been growing bunches of basil......lots of bunches! The first year I just used it in every dish I made and we had pesto with every meal - okay maybe not breakfast, but it was close! Then last year I thought it would be better if I made pesto all in one go, popped it all in the freezer and then pulled a jar out whenever I needed to add it to a meal. Only I didn't use it much over summer, still having the fresh stuff in the tunnel and when I did use it in the depths of winter, I realised that this what I was going to do every year! What better way to inhale just a small part of the summer glow, than with a delicious jar of fragrant pesto! 

                     

So with the help of children and a visiting family friend, we picked armfuls of basil, peeled clove upon clove of garlic, whizzed walnuts and grated parmesan. Oh the smell was delightful, so lovely I wish I could send a bit of the delicious smell through to you!

Fresh Green Basil Pesto

4 cloves of garlic

3/4 cup of walnuts

4 cups of fresh basil leaves

1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Himalayan salt

fresh grated pepper

1 cup of extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor, add the garlic and walnuts and give them a buzz until they are roughly chopped (see above) 

Add the basil leaves, Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste (maybe 1/2 - 3/4 tspn)

With the machine running, drizzle the olive oil into the mixture until its all fairly finely ground and well mixed. 

Pour into small jars and cover with a tiny bit more olive oil to stop the top going brown. 

Cover with a tight lid and eat now or freeze for winter! 

I have kept this pesto in the freezer from April until December and its still delicious. I'm sure it can be kept frozen for longer though, without any loss of flavour. 

We mainly use ours as a flavour bump in sandwiches or to add to pasta with extra Parmesan, butter and fresh cracked pepper.....ooh its making my mouth water just to think about it!! Yum yum yum!!!

PS - I'm writing this up on a friends computer because I am having a little jaunt in NSW. Its quite a bit warmer up here and I'm enjoying it immensely! Back soon!

how to make seed packets from old book pages

Very early this month, our home eduction group held a Garden Swap. The idea is that everyone brings along something either from the garden or pertaining to the garden - you receive a token for every item you bring and in return you can take one item per token. As you can imagine there were a lot of different goodies to swap with……loads of potted plants of course and seedlings, fresh seeds and abundant vegetables from autumn harvests, jams, baked goods, garden magazines, big bags of seaweed and manure, even some kombucha starters. I brought home a few bags of the afore mentioned seaweed, some potted herbs, big bags of onions and two different jams, chosen by my children! To swap, I took along rhubarb, coriander seedlings and some fresh dill and chive seeds.

I may have mentioned that I have a tendency to do things at the last minute and the seed packets were no exception!! I realised very late (well, ok the day before but thats pretty last minute!) that I needed to put the seeds into small packets. Naturally I wanted something pretty but fairly quick to whip up and I came up with the idea of using old book pages which I have a lot of and a simple sketch to tizzy them up! The end result was a bunch of quirky little seed packs that looked cute as well as repurposing something that was no longer used.

In case you want to make some too, here are some step by step pictures which are mostly self explanatory. If I knew how, I'd add a link to a pdf doc with the pattern for you, but I've googled and it all seems a bit complicated for this time of night, so you'll have to make up your own. Its not hard!

I used a book that I picked up for free. Its written in Dutch so I can't read it but the cover will make another journal and the pages will get used up in all sorts of ways!  

It didn't take long to draw up a very simplistic dill seed head and then with just a teeny bit of watercolour they were transformed into a unique seed packet!

I put one heaped teaspoon of seed into each one and wrote the amount in small lettering on the back of the pack. They were stuck together with a glue stick.

While the paints were out, other artistic folk came along and had a painting spree too! 

I also made some coloured packets for chive seeds although I didn't like the end result as much but they did the job. A friend has a chive problem in her garden. Can you believe it? She has them popping up everywhere and they just keep self seeding, so we lopped all their lovely heads and I spent a few hours winnowing the seeds from the husks. 

By the time I'd huffed and puffed and blown all the husks out of the bowls, I was beginning to have some idea of how the wolf felt!! 

And just for fun, here are two creations made of pumpkins! There was a competition for best pumpkin sculpture and these were the two entries. I also wanted to take some photos of all the goodness that was there for swapping but I forgot and then it was all gone!! You'll have to take my word for it!!

Let me know if you think you may make your own seed packs. I think its something useful and arty all in one, and that suits me just fine!

a raspberry breakfast recipe

This summer, this dry, dry summer, we've finally managed to harvest a wonderful crop of raspberries. All sorts of magic just seems to have come together - warm weather, flourishing canes and best of all, a bird net! Oh yes, the bird net, has been very helpful in keeping out those rascally blackbirds, although any small gaps are very quickly taken advantage of by birds that seem to spend their days waiting for a lucky break! And as you can see, one small brightly coloured chickadee still managed to find her way in under the net on a daily basis……and under the strawberry netting too! She visited most days and the first excursion was always the berry patch! 

While most of the berrys were eaten fresh, some did manage to make it into a meal and that meal was mostly breakfast. Theres nothing nicer in summer than a sweet berry feast to start the day and its even better with home grown ones! I mentioned before, that I'm following an eating plan called Trim Healthy Mama, which, at its most basic, separates fats from carbs and eliminates most fructose. I lowered my blood pressure (which had 'mysteriously' risen after years of very low BP), I lost that bit of flubber that was expanding my waist and I am feeling fantastic! Although I feasted on Christmas food including sugary biscuits (well, it was Christmas) I'm now firmly back on my eating plan and happy to be so.

The following recipe is one that we make a lot, mostly with frozen berries as the berry season is so short lived. We make it in various incarnations and although there are a plethora of these recipes getting around the 'net, I'm just going to share the variation that we make and enjoy using raspberries.

Raspberry Summer Porridge

1 cup rolled oats (not quick oats!)

1 tablespoon whey protein powder

1 tablespoon chia seeds

Pinch of salt

1tablespoon of Natvia* (or to taste - I like it sweeter so I add extra stevia too) 

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

1/2 cup 0% Greek yogurt

3/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk

Optional splash of vanilla

The evening before- 

Mix together the dry ingredients.

Add in all the wet ingredients and stir to mix well.

It should be fairly sloppy because you are going to let it sit overnight and the oats and chia seeds will soak up a lot of the moisture. 

Leave in the fridge.

In the morning, enjoy your summery berry delight!

This recipe is what would be called an 'E' meal which means it is very low in fat and therefore high in slow release carbs. But please don't think I'm dieting and missing out on satisfying fats…oh not so! I'm still eating lots of butter, coconut oil, eggs, cheese and all other delicious fat rich foods, I'm just eating them separately from my starchy foods! If anyone is interested, I'm happy to share more recipes and information although the best idea is to buy or borrow the book and read it for yourself. Fascinating stuff! 

So there you have another summer breakfast to add to the repertoire. Sadly our raspberries are now finished but we do still have strawberries coming on……..

*Lets talk about Natvia. This is a mixture of stevia and erythritol (theres an excellent article about it here) and while I'm not 100% convinced that its completely benign, I do feel its a whole lot better for us than sugar/fructose. Stevia is a fine white powder thats been processed from a small plant and like most things, there are good quality products and cheaper not so good quality products on the market. Natvia is actually just a brand name combining the two sweeteners and is found in Coles or Woolworths in the sugar section. 

sunflower cheese anyone?

Have I mentioned before that I was brought up by a very health conscious mother? She grew up in a family of nine children during WW2 and they didn't have enough money for general living expenses let alone for doctors and medical treatments. If they were ill they stayed at home and rested, perhaps with some sort of herbs. People in those days were a lot more resourceful and used what they had around them, taking responsibility for themselves. Mum doesn't remember being sick often but I'm guessing that when she was, she was put to bed and given a nice herbal tea that corresponded to her symptoms because that was just what she did for us kids when we were growing up!

Tummy ache? Here sip this peppermint tea!
Headache? Have a nice calming chamomile tisane!
Cold or flu? Rosehip tea will pep you up…. its full of Vitamin C!  

I just mention this because my mothers healing ways had a big impact on myself and my sister. We have both chosen to educate ourselves about healthy healing modalities, eating a clean, plant based diet and taking care of any illnesses using natural methods. Most of my children had never seen a doctor until they needed to obtain a medical certificate for a job and those three that did need a hospital visit, needed it for accidents rather than illness (and yes, I am thankful that there is that option available)

Now, I'm not sure why I'm rambling on about this but it seemed like it might be relevant - after all, not many people make 'cheese' out of sunflowers! I don't often make it anymore either but about 10 years ago, we spent a year and a half eating a very high raw diet and this tasty recipe was not only used as a dip but also when thinned down, as a dressing for salads. This summer we have (as usual) had loads of zucchini and this was another way of munching through that glut! Sunflower seeds are quite cheap compared to nuts so this is an economical way of adding a whole bundle of vitamins and minerals into our diet.

Sunflower seed Cheese

1 1/2 cups sunflower seeds

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

2 or 3 cloves of garlic 

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

I dry blend the seeds up in my blender first and then add the rest of the ingredients. You might need to add a bit of extra water to make it blend properly so just adjust the seasonings. 

If you soak the seeds in water overnight, it makes the 'cheese' creamier, is easier to blend, you won't need to add extra water and it also removes enzyme inhibitors. 

Enjoy it on crackers, as a dip with all sorts of veg or on top of sweet zucchini rounds!!  

slow living in march 2014

This month it's been all about food. Well, mostly about food. 

Because it's that time of year when I'm starting to think about Extra Food for the coming cold months. 

Welcome to my Slow Living March edition!!

Nourish - Food. Yes, we have been eating rather a lot of delicious food courtesy of our garden. Lots of Briam, cucumber salads, stuffed baked zucchini and pesto, pesto, pesto!!! After the late start to our summer, we have finally gotten a wonderful harvest of every good thing! I've been mostly cooking with our own garden produce and enjoying every minute of it…..well, perhaps not with all those cucumbers but certainly with the basil!

Prepare - and that leads me on to telling you about the pesto! I have made about 3 kilos of pesto, stored in small glass jars and popped into the freezer to be taken out in the cold wintery months. We are looking forward to some summer freshness on pasta and sandwiches but we haven't neglected to eat lots of it now, either! When we had the two lovely French Helpxers here, they bottled up a couple of batches of scrumped apples which we are already eating……. fortunately we are also already starting to bottle some more! 

Oh and just to make you all a bit more envious - there was another large bowl of strawberries processed and frozen for winter vitamin C needs (oh, the yummy smoothies to come)! 

  

Reduce - you know, I can't think of anything I've 'reduced' this month…. other than perhaps my waistline with this no sugar, low carb lifestyle! 

Green - and this one, again, has nothing. I'm going to spend my winter months meditating on this and hopefully come up with some way to remedy this over sight! 

Grow - ah, but this category always has a lot to offer! There have been harvests of the aforementioned basil, cucumbers and zucchini as well as carrots, potatoes, beetroot, spinach, capsicum, tomatoes and eggplants. Along with enough eggs from the lovely hens, we have homegrown feasts almost very night as well as loads to give away! 

On the growing front, I've been sowing carrots, beets, mangel-wurzel (some sort of beet) coriander, perpetual spinach and daikon. I'm running late with planting cabbage seedlings though, and hope to get it done this week. All in all, the garden is the place to be at the moment. 

Create - The biggest creation last month was The Quilt. I spent a solid week and a half, cutting, sewing and quilting before heading off to Melbourne with it for a wedding. They loved it! 

I also created a lovely party frock for my Fairy (don't you just love that word - frock - for me, it conjures up images of elegant ladies from the 50's) as well as a bunch of little zippered pouches as gifts for some lovely friends who watered the garden and fed the animals while we were gone. 

  

Discover - I managed to fit in another Open2study course last month - The Art of Drawing and Painting. I liked it but didn't get time to do any of the practical stuff which is a pity as the lecturer showed us some really novel painting ideas. Doing these classes is doubly exciting because mostly there are one or two of my children watching and learning along with me.

  

Enhance - March went by in such a blur of garden and sewing that I'm pretty sure I didn't do any enhancing! Unless you count prettying up the newly weds bedroom with a lovely quilt? I just can't remember anything else and haven't noted it down on my 'slow living list' that I keep, which helps me write this post each month!! 

Enjoy - I mentioned that we had our first Helpx helpers here in March and it was certainly an enjoyable experience - the two lovely French girls, weeded, picked up pine cones and bottled apples, among other things and we had many a good laugh trying to speak each others languages. We now have a young German bloke here which is much better language-wise! 

The other most enjoyable event was our Autumn Equinox celebration. I love a good feast with family and friends!!

March passed in a blur - so busy and full! Every month I pick a word I'd like to think on and practice for that month and interestingly enough, my March word was 'Abundance'. There was certainly an abundance of garden produce but there were also loads of other nicely abundant activities in my life in March - lots of family coming and going; a few days away with much loved but seldom seen friends; getting to know new people from overseas; lots of creative at therapy! I must admit I was hoping for an abundance of the monetary kind but am satisfied none the less! It was certainly a busy and productive month.

Now I'm ready to enjoy April. My word for April is 'Peace'!

Please stop by and visit Christine for her update on Slow Living and then have a peek at what others have been doing too. It's always inspiring to see how they are striving to live their simple and meaningful life!