My Op-Shop Addiction

Black Beans and Rice

I love having beans tucked away in the freezer - tasty, satisfying and very economical.  I buy and cook bulk loads then freeze them, I find about 3 cups of cooked beans (equivalent to 2 tins of beans) does a double meal for our family of 4.
To give you an idea, I buy 1kg of beans for $5.00, this makes on average 11 meals at 45 cents each - a tin of beans from the supermarket is $2.00 - a big saving if you eat vegetarian regularly like we do.

To prepare my beans (chickpea, black, white, red, cannellini etc) I soak overnight, rinse well and cover with water in a large pot.  Bring to the boil and skim off any scum that rises to the top.  Reduce to simmer and cook for 25 to 40 minutes, topping up the water level occasionally, until beans are tender - nut mushy!  Freeze in lots that suit your family, with a little cooking liquid.  I don't add salt to mine but if you like, this can be added near the end of cooking.

Here's how we enjoyed our beans this evening

Black Bean and Rice Recipe
Vegan/Vegetarian
Serves 4

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, Crushed
1 Medium Onion, Diced
1 Teaspoon Cumin Powder
1 Teaspoon Paprika
1 Cup Short Grain Rice
2 Cups Stock
1.5 Cups Black Beans
2 Cups Vege (I used broccoli, snow peas and peas)

In a large pot heat olive oil over medium heat.  Gently cook garlic and onion till soft.  Add in spices and cook until fragrant.  Stir in rice and cook for another minute or so to allow rice to be coated in spices and absorb some of the oil.  Add in stock and bring to the boil.  Cover the pot and reduce to low (as low as dial will go) and cook for 20 - 25 minutes.  Half way through quickly add vege on top of rice to steam and put the lid back on  - don't stir.  Serve with grated cheese or parsley to make completely vegan.

I hate waste : Time to Reorganise

This morning I opened my crisper drawer to find some forgotten and slightly slimy lettuce, brussel sprouts and half a cauliflower - dang it!! I hate waste.

After a ponder while I walked the kids to school this morning I set to work reorganising my fridge.  Instead of the veges all being where I never look (crisper) I have cut, rinsed and boxed them, and put them right where I can see them.  All I need to do is chuck them in a stir-fry or in the steamer and half of dinner is done.

The carrots and apples are also just the right height for the kids to help themselves if they're hungry too.

I'm also trying a wee experiment, I have seen some fridge storage boxes lately with a very hefty price tag.  To me they just looked like normal containers with a fancy hole in the top.  So I have put a couple of small holes in the top of 2 of my storage containers to see if I can replicate those boxes with something I have sitting around the house.  I'll let you know how it works out.

Lets hope I start looks at healthy as my fridge does from now on!

Dinner with Friends : Pita Bread

Every month or so our family and wonderful friends have an International themed feast.  This evening we had Mediterranean so I made some pita bread to go with the lamb, couscous and dips (which was amazing thank you Helen x).

I have successfully made pita bread before without a pizza stone but the results are much better if you have one, the hot stone helps the steam to develop inside the bread and make it inflate. I've included instructions below on cooking both with and without a stone.

I love making breads like this, they puff up like magic.  Just watching my toddlers face as they blew up like balloons was worth the effort.

Pita Bread Recipe
Makes 10 to 12 portions

500g High Grade Bread Flour (I used 350g white and 150g wholemeal)
1 t Salt
375ml Warm Water
10g Active Yeast
1 t Sugar
1 T Olive Oil
Extra flour for dusting

Measure dry ingredients into a large bowl (or bread machine tin).  In another bowl combine yeast, sugar and warm water and leave for 10 minutes to activate (the yeast will start to float and turn foamy).

For a bread maker add yeast mixture and olive oil into the bread tin and set to Dough cycle.

And for the good old fashioned way, add yeast mixture and olive oil to the dry ingredients.  Mix till dough starts to combine and then tip out onto your work surface and knead for 10 minutes.  The dough will be very wet to start, don't add more flour, just keep working the dough, scraping your hands and beach down every now and then.  The dough will transform from sticky mess into a smooth dough.  Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and cover.  Set aside to a warm place for 40 minutes or until doubled in size.

Once dough cycle has finished or dough has doubled in size tip dough out onto well floured board.  Punch out any air bubbles and divide dough in to portions (10 to 12 is ideal).  To get nice even pita breads weigh out the portions.  Roll each portion into a ball and place onto a well floured surface, leaving an inch or two between each of them.  When all the portions are rolled sprinkle generously with flour and cover loosely with a clean tea towel.  Leave to relax for 20 minutes (30 minutes if the room is cold).  While dough rests preheat oven, and stone, to 250C.  Fan bake if you have a stone, and just regular bake if you don't.  You must have heat radiating from the bottom of the oven if you don't have a stone.

Once dough has rested gently roll out 2 balls to a 5mm thickness on a floured board (my stone is very large so I could do 4 at a time).

If using a oven stone, lay a disc of dough on the palm of your hand and flip onto the stone.  Flip a second disc onto the stone and shut the door.  The pitas should puff up and be cooked in 3 to 4 minutes.

If you don't have a stone carefully transfer the 2 discs to a cake rack.  Slide the rack onto the very bottom of the oven or bottom rack of the oven and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.  You may need to flip 2 minutes though cooking to get them to cook evenly.

While the first batch cook roll out the next 2 balls.  Transfer cooked pitas to a rack or wrap in a tea towel to keep warm.  Put next 2 in the oven and continue until they are all done.

From Bones to Soap : Homemade soap experiment and 'Clean' Cleaning

I have been making my own soap for nearly 2 years now, I don't think I'll ever go back to the store brought stuff.  The main reason is that I know exactly what goes into my soaps; fats and oils, lye, water and some fragrant essential oils.  No nasty perfumes, numbered ingredients, parabens, sodium laural sulfates, all things I try to avoid.

Did you know our skin can absorb 80% of what you apply to it?

Think about that next time you slather creams, soaps and makeup on the largest organ of your body.  99% of what I use as ingredients for my soaps and moisturizers is edible.  My body, and my families', are a lot better off for it.

To give you an example; I stopped using commercial deodorants 2 years ago.  I suffered a few smelly weeks while my body purged all the gunk out of my pores - years of aluminum and goodness know what else had built up.  Now using mostly coconut oil and baking soda I still had a half a roll-on floating around in my handbag for an emergency.
I traveled to Auckland one weekend and forgot my homemade deodorant (the biggest annoyance of my coconut deodorant is that it needs to be in the fridge in summer) so I pulled out my Dove deodorant knocking around in my bag.  Just by the smell I should of know better.  The perfume smacked me round the face, chemical laden, fake smelling, disgusting.

All seemed fine that day, but fast forward to the next morning and boy oh boy did I feel disgusting.  My body felt poisoned, hung over, drained, dirty.  After using my homemade clean products for so long just one application of commercial deodorant was like I'd taken a small dose of poison.  It's amazing how everyday we apply layers of, well, crap to our skin.  Not realizing how we are slowly poisoning ourselves, oblivious to how good you can feel (and smell) without the junk they sell you for a small fortune on the supermarket shelves.

Making my tallow and soap

Straining the stock fat through a paper towel

 Anyway, moving on from my 'clean' rant - here is what brought about my latest post; being cheap!  I have become quite thrifty over the years, something I have become very proud of in fact.  So after making copious amounts of beef stock a couple of weeks back I decided that instead of binning the huge amount of fat that the bones produce, that I would give homemade tallow a go in my homemade soaps, instead of buying it.

First of all I gently melted down the fat that I skimmed off of the chilled stock and strained it though a paper towel.  To clean the fat further I boiled it with equal amounts of water for 15 minutes and left to set in the fridge.  I was left with wonderfully clean layer of tallow, that I dried and stored away in the fridge while I rode out a nasty flu virus.

Tallow after boiling, setting and drying

Now today, I have an empty house, we are all well so the kids are at school and my husband at work.  The fridge needs a clear out so I can across my tallow - soap making time.

I am very pleased with the results, so far, that fat did not smell too 'beefy' as I melted it and, for the soap makers, I achieved 'trace' during the saponification process with no trouble at all.

I love my essential oils - they smell so good

Safety first - homemade soap is not worth loosing my sight or a layer of skin

 I used my tallow, cocoa butter, lye, water, spearmint oil, pink grapefruit oil and teatree oil.

Tomorrow I will cut my soap and store it away to cure for 6 weeks - I look forward to trying it and letting you know the results!

All done, it just needs to set for 24 hours before cutting and curing for 6 weeks

Usually a 1kg batch of soap costs $16 to $20 dollars to make, which lasts me 4 to 6 months, depending on how much I give away.  This batch costs about $9 and it will make liquid soap for beside the sink, bars of soap for the shower and bath and laundry liquid.

Make ahead pudding : Apple Pie

With friends and family visiting I needed something easy to make ahead for dessert.
This apple pie went down a treat, the crust is more 'crackery', not sweet, letting the apple and spices shine.

Apple Pie Recipe
Serves 8

Crust
250g Plain Flour - plus a little extra for dusting
1t Salt
90g Butter, Cubed and Cold
90-100ml of Cold Water
 Egg, for brushing

Filling
4-8 Apples, peeled and diced (depends on size of your pie dish, mine is shallow so I use 5)
50g Brown Sugar
50g White Sugar
1 t Cinnamon
Pinch Salt
Pinch Nutmeg (Fresh Grated is best)
3 T Plain Flour

For the crust combine flour, salt and butter by pulsing in a food processor till it resembles crumbs.  Set processor to slow speed and slowly pour in water till dough comes together in loose ball.  Tip onto floured surface and push into a ball, gently kneading together 4 - 5 times.  Wrap in film and refridgerate for at least 1 hour.

When chilled and rested, turn oven to 200C and roll out dough on floured board to fit your pie dish (mine is 25cm across, 4cm deep).  Gently transfer dough to dish and trim to fit.  Put pie dish in the fridge while you make filling.

For filling combine all ingredients, stir to coat apples and allow to rest for 10 minutes (while you roll our remaining pastry for decoration on the top of the pie).  Fill pie case with apple filling and press down gently.  Lay over decorative pastry left overs and brush pastry with beaten egg.

Bake at 200C for minutes at reduce to 180C and bake for a further 40 minutes.  Allow to cool for atleast 20 minutes before serving.

Getting Ready for Spring : Egg Fo Young

The shortest day has passed so it means it time to get stuck into the garden.  Last year my corn and a few other crops didn't do so well, so this year I'm going to be more prepared.

11am and still have ice in the garden - still getting used to this!

I'm going to try planting green manure.  You basically sow some nitrogen fixing plants (I'm using lupin) and 6 weeks later you dig the small plants into the soil and let them break down before planting your crops, boosting nitrogen for hungry plants - like corn.  I'm hoping this will lead to nice big ears of corn this summer - I got only 3 or 4 good ones last year.  The rest only got about 15cm long with a few sad looking kernels, only good for chicken feed.

Not sure what this is but can't wait till it blooms.  Love bulbs!

My broad beans - a couple of gaps after the chickens stomped through and snapped them

My boys helped a little today, smashing up ice from this mornings frost and while I was weeding we found some potatoes.  We also had a few visitors, fantails and wax-eyes.  They both love the mandarin tree, either eating the fallen fruit or chasing down the bugs that they attract.

After a couple of hours of hard slog and finally getting my poppy seeds in the groud we had a super quick and tasty Egg Fu Young for lunch.



Egg Fo Young Recipe
Makes one large

6 Eggs
2 Big handfuls of sprouts (we used alfafa and raddish)
Salt to taste
Slug of oil

Sauce
1 Cup Water
½ t Chicken Stock
2 t Soy Sauce
2 t Sugar
2 t Rice Vinegar
1 T Corn Flour
2 T Water

Heat slug of oil over medium heat.  Beat eggs lightly and mix in the sprouts with a pinch of salt.  Pour into pan and stir gently every 3 or 4 mintues.  When it's nearly done you can turn big chunks over with you spatula.  Cook as firm or as runny as you prefer and transfer to plates.

In a small saucepan combine first 5 sauce ingredients.  Mix cornflour and second measure of water to a paste and combine with other ingredients in the pan.  Bring to boil over med-high heat, stirring continuously till thickened slightly and glossy.  Drizzle over egg.

Times they are a changing

That last few months have flown by and big changes have been happening.

Firstly the change of season has lead to a slowdown in the garden.  I planted broad beans, broccoli and kale with a friend a few weeks ago - the first thing I'd planted in months.  They were doing really well, I had actually remembered to apply snail bait and feed them with a seaweed tonic.  Then a couple of my chickens jumped the fence and snipped all the baby leaves off the brassics and stomped over my newly emerged broad beans.  The worst thing was the rhubarb I planted from seed nearly 18 months ago was just getting established, they now look as if a grown man and sat on them - they are so destructive!  I was so cross I nearly drop kicked the chickens back over the fence (I used a few choice words instead and had a wee cry).  The chickens now have a slightly higher fence and thankfully the little wee kale and broccoli look like they have survived.  I'm not sure about the rhubarb yet, it is looking very sorry for itself.

Another change is my youngest starting at daycare and my eldest starting school. At first my youngest loved daycare. He attended the first 5 weeks with his older brother but now that he has left for school the excitement has fizzled out, now he just wants to go to school - if only he could remember the months and months of begging to start daycare!

My eldest has loved the first 3 weeks of school, he comes home telling me what he's learnt or randomly starts applying fractions to his afternoon tea.  I was a little worried in the weeks building up, he is such a sensitive little soul, but after a school visit with him I could see just how ready he was to learn and focus in school and all of a sudden he's come out of his shell and he is a confident, social butterfly.

My wee man off to school this morning

With Mr 3 starting daycare I had grand plans to fill the 18 kid-free hours out of my 91 hour mummy week.  One goal was more exercise which is off to a good start considering I've been sick for 6 of the 9 weeks I've had time without my boys.  None of my other grand plans have been completed yet - I seem to being catching up on all the odd jobs that never got onto the priority list with 2 boys at home, sorting, mending, digging around in the back of cupboards - so very exciting.  My big plans will eventually happen, I'll finish plastering my bathroom just as the weather is warm enough for painting, I'll have an undisturbed day to paint my dinner table and chairs and my rock garden with get the overhaul it desperately needs - Rome wasn't built in a day.

We are nearly nappy free with toilet training starting after the Christmas holidays, which has left about $15 to spare each week, so I have taken to looking for clearance items at the supermarket.  I don't spend my entire old nappy budget on these things, just a few dollars here and there.  This week I scored a beautiful wheel of brie for $2.40 - I just enjoyed a toasted sandwich of brie and feijoa jam - so good!  Last week I found some blue cheese so I made my blue cheese sauce to have over steak.  Some weeks there is gourmet yogurt, bacon, humus or dips - they liven up the menu that week, I love hunting out a bargain.

Feijoa and brie toastie - what a treat! 

Rounding up sheep after school run last week - you don't do this on the middle of Auckland 

2 Posts, 1 Day : Feijoa and Ginger Loaf

2 posts in one day!  What's going on?

Well my youngest started daycare today, he was so excited, so was his brother in fact.  They both spent a good chunk of yesterday evening packing and carrying their bags around the house.  And this morning was the easiest it has been for a long time getting out of the door- I guess it's because we all had the same goal for once.

Since leaving them happily playing at the play dough table I have come home and gotten back into my PJs feeling achy from the bug that has hit me overnight.  My seeds that arrived today will have to wait until I'm better - so today I'm taking it easy.  I'm going to go grab a box of tissues, make a hot ginger, lemon and honey drink, stoke the fire, put on a movie and slowly fold the heap of washing that my sofa is hiding underneath - and enjoy a slice of Feijoa Loaf.

This recipe is super easy, you do need to wait for the fruit to cool but it doesn't take long (put the pot in a sink of cold water if you're impatient).  The loaf stays moist for 4-5 days, if it lasts that long.

Feijoa and Ginger Loaf Recipe
Makes 1 Loaf

1C Feijoa Pulp
1C Boiling Water
50g Butter (or oil)
1C Sugar (using half of this is fine too)
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
1t Ground Ginger (more if you love ginger like me)
2C (250g) Plain Flour
2t Baking Powder
1t Baking Soda

Pre heat oven to 180C and grease and line loaf tin.  In a saucepan combine feijoa, water, butter and sugar.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool till luke warm.  Stir in beaten egg (don't mix in the egg while the fruit is hot - you'll only get scrambled eggs).  In a large bowl combine remaining ingredients.  Add fruit mixture to dry ingredients and stir well.  Pour into loaf tin and cook for 45-50 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean.  Leave to cool in tin for 10 minutes before turning onto cooling rack.

Mothers Day : Fruit Bread

One of our favourites in my no knead bread.  It stays moist and fresh for days, makes wonderful sandwhiches and even better toast.

With Mothers Day coming up I very happily rigged what I would get for breakfast - fruit toast - something I ador!  I adapted the no knead recipe and the result was perfect, I think it even tastes better than shop brought stuff.  So with the fire roaring, tea in hand and hot buttered fruit toast I was one happy Mumma on Mothers Day.

No Knead Fruit Bread
Makes 2 Loaves

1L Warm Water
15g Yeast
500g High Grade Flour
350g Wholemeal Flour
2t Salt
100g Sugar
3T Cocoa Powder
1C Sultanas
½C Currents (or more sultanas)
2t Cinnamon
2t All Spice
½t Ground Cloves
1t Ginger Powder

Pre-heat oven to 50C on standard bake if you have it - you will use fan bake later.
Stir together water and yeast and allow to stand for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile boil the kettle and generously oil 2 loaf tins (or line with baking paper).  When yeast is activated and foamy stir in remaining ingredients.  Give a good mix - about 30 stirs will do.  Divide batter between the 2 tins and put into warmed oven alongside a bowl of boiled water (the steam will stop the tops of the loaves drying out while rising).  Leave to rise for 20 to 30 minutes until the batter looks like it is just about to spill over the sides of the tin.  Gently open the door and remove hot water - do not slam the oven door or your loaves will deflate.  Turn oven up to 200C and switch to fanbake.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and leave loaves in their tins for 20 minutes and then gently ease into cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Picky Banana Eaters : Banana Muffins

We can never seem to eat all of our bananas - it's the same in a lot of households I imagine.  There is a brief window between too green and too ripe, if you don't scoff them over the day or 2 that they are perfect you suddenly have a half bunch that only the fruit flies seem remotely interested in.

With a sad few in our fruit bowl this morning and lunch box fillers being non-existent I whipped up a batch of these.  They turned out moist and sweet with not much added sugar.  I use paper cases for easy clean up too.

For a healthier version leave out the sugar, add a tablespoon of honey and substitute half the flour for wholemeal or oats.

Banana Muffin Recipe
12 Muffins

3 Bananas
1/3 C Sugar
1 Egg
1/3 C Oil (I use olive)
1½ C Plain Flour
1t Baking Powder
1t Baking Soda
Pinch Salt
1t Cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 190C bake.  Mash bananas in large bowl.  Add sugar, egg and oil and mix.  Add in dry ingredients, mix to combine.  Divide between 12 muffin tins/paper cases.  Bake 20 minutes.

Healthy Bites : Muesli Slice

After a simple and tasty breakfast I got to spend most of today alone with my Mr 4.  We took a relaxed stroll to the library after he helped me put sourdough loaves in their tins to rise, we chose a small toy at the shops and brought a cookie at the bakery - he was so excited.  After lunch he got to spend 2 hours immersed in lego - 4 year old bliss!

Breakfast: Crushed tomatoes, garlic and basil on homemade wholemeal toast

We also tried out a different way of making muesli bars for afternoon tea (and Pappa Bears lunch boxes).  A lot of recipes I've tried involve toasted oats, nuts and seeds held together with an almost caramel mixture of honey, sugar and golden syrup - not very healthy.  With a good helping of sultanas no sugar is needed in our newest version, no butter or oil either - and the kids demolish them.

Muesli Bar Recipe
Makes 9-12 bars

1½ C Oats
1 C Nuts and Seeds (I used half cup cashews, and topped it up with flax and sunflower seeds)
½ C Sultanas (or other dried fruit)
1 t Cinnamon
½ C Flour
½ t Baking Powder
1 Egg
320ml Milk
1 t Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 190C.  Line or grease 22cm square tin.
Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and beat wet in another.  Mix wet into dry ingredients and pour into prepared tray and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Cut while still warm.



And our sour dough turned out really nicely too =)

Chocolate Brownie : The Vegan Bean Version

An easy way to avoid buttery baking is to just never have butter in the house - that's what I find anyway.  Having a huge sweet tooth butter soon ends up turned into cookies, cakes or slice - which always disappear faster than I'd like to admit.  Being butter free am I experimenting more and more with dairy, egg and gluten free treats. 

 

 

You may wonder how on earth I thought of using beans in a brownie.  I was making refried beans for dinner last week when I noticed how thick the bean mix became after just a little bit of mashing and simmering, and it got me thinking.

 

These brownies are amazing, fudgy and moist just like a brownie should be.  Full of fibre so one small slice is very filling, they're super simple to make and much easier on the pocket (and waist line) without the butter and chocolate that most conventional brownies require.

 

If using canned beans use the left overs in a salad, soup or chuck them in the freezer for later. If you can't find pinto beans (I buy mine dried, cook heaps at a time and freeze them) then try haricot or black beans.

 

If you haven't tried it yet then give my Tofu Chocolate Brownie recipe a go too.

 

Vegan Chocolate Brownie Recipe

Makes 16-20 Serves

 

Vegan Egg Mixture

3T Ground Flax or Linseeds

7½T Water (110ml)

 

3 Cups Pinto Beans (about 1.5 cans), drained and rinsed

½ Cup Sugar

½ Cup Coconut or Olive Oil

1 Cup Cocoa Power (or ¾ C Cocoa and 1t Instant Coffee Powder)

½t Salt

2t Vanilla Extract

2t Baking Powder

Optional Extras - Chopped Nuts, Chocolate Chips or Coconut

 

Combine vegan egg mixture and let sit for 10 minutes, till gooey and 'eggy'.

 

Preheat oven to 190°C Fanbake and line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.

In a food processing blend beans until smooth, about 2 or 3 minutes.  Add in remaining ingredients, including vegan egg mix, and blend until fully combined.  The mixture should spread easily - but not be runny (think thick butter frosting consistency).  If the mixture seems stiff pulse in a couple of tablespoons of water.  If using optional extra pulse these in too (or sprinkle on top before baking).

Spread into lined tray and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Cool for 30 minutes in the tin before serving.

 



Herb and Spice Garden Pasta

This summer I am having much better luck with my tomatoes.  Last year I was plagued with blossom end rot and tasteless tomatoes.  At the weekend I had half dozen large ripe tomatoes so with half a bag of pasta and a bunch of spinach I invented something for lunch.

I wasn't sure about putting basil with the Mexican type spice base but it worked well.

Herb and Spice Garden Pasta Recipe
Serves 4

1T Olive Oil
1 Large Onion, Diced
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
2t Paprika
2t Smoked Paprika
2t Oregano
¼t Cayenne Pepper
6 Large Tomatoes, Chopped
250g Wholemeal Pasta (Penne)
Salt and Pepper
2C Spinach, Chopped
Handful Basil Leaves, Torn

Grate Cheese to Serve

In a large pan heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Cook onions until soft.  Add in garlic and spices and cook for a minute or 2 (add a little splash of water if the spices start to stick to the pan).  Add tomatoes and cook until softened.  Add in pasta and 2 cups of warm water, season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a gentle simmer and cover for 15 minutes (check after 10 minutes and add a little more water if needed).  Remove lid, stir through spinach and cook for 5 minutes longer until pasta is tender and sauce is reduced.  Stir through basil and serve with a sprinkle of grated cheese.

Shoo Fly

With a list of chores complete and the kids happily playing I sat down with the local paper, only to be covered in what felt like a swarm of flies.  It was more like 2 or 3 but the constant bothering was unbearable.

With a quick Google and browse through Pinterest for homemade fly repellent I found long list of essential oils that do the job. Lucky I have quite a few so I grabbed what I had from the list and got mixing.

It's works really well - the pesky flies are avoiding the kids and I and I've even sprayed the dogs bedding in the hopes to deter flea (if not she'll  smell good).

Shoo Fly Repellent

300ml Spray Bottle (I got mine from www.arthurholmes.co.nz)
75ml Witch Hazel
75ml Vodka
150 Cooled Boiled Water
Lavender, Eucalyptus, Lemon, Tea Tree, Citronella, Cypress Essential Oils

Put witch hazel, vodka and water into spray bottle.  Add 5 drops of each oil.  Shake well and spray on skin, clothes etc.  Shake well before each use.

Busy Mumma

The last few months have flown and the poor old blog has been on the back burner.

With my boys growing, more active and curious and with 5 times as much vegetable garden to tend to, time to sit and write is pretty much non existent.

There were a lot of distractions this spring so the only thing I needed to give my seedlings - water - was forgotten quite often, so they were a little thin this year.  What I did manage to rescue has grown well - mostly flowers, cosmos, sweet william and sunflowers.  Early summer included a last minute flurry seed planting to make up for the spring failure.  I managed to get some corn, gherkins and apple cucumbers to sprout, which were planted before the holidays.

Corn next to the cucumber and gherkin frame (broken umbrella frame)

I brought some  heritage zhuccini seeds and planted them early summer too, I just chucked half a bucket of compost in a mound and dropped in seed or 2.  Now look at them - behemoths spreading out over my silverbeets and path.  We don't mind though, they make perfect veggie steaks.  We slice them thickly length wise, toss through a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper and grill on the BBQ - so simple, so tasty.

Behemoth zhuccini!!

I 'cheated' with most of my tomato plants this year, buying seedlings - shameful for Mrs-grow-from-seed-it's-cheaper.  The first sweet, sun-warmed cherry tomato I picked yesterday made it all worth it - there I a mountain to come too.

Everyday I'm bringing in loads of food - pretty soon there will be too much to eat so pickle recipes will be tried, and with luck, blogged.