Live Actively - Don't just exsist

Many people are amazed we do so well with so little.

Don't get me wrong, we're not scraping by or struggling, we live on simple food and simple pleasures with a focus on our families well being.  We have made decisions, set goals, and acted on them (this is the important part) to lead the relaxed lifestyle we have.  So many people get stuck in their high pressure lives, running on auto pilot, working long, hard hours to support their high-tech, high interest and consumer driven lives.  Living with their heads down in a social media driven, virtual word never looking up, or within, taking stock of their lives, their goals, dreams or family.

Before I had children I loved my job; creative, busy, deadline driven and at times, high pressure.  For five years I happily worked hard, was payed well for my efforts and was happy for my dream of living 'The Good Life' to sit on the back burner.  After the arrival of my first little bundle and having to return to work, a niggle of resentment, rebellion and frustration began to stir. I sat dutifully at my desk as a beautiful little boy said his first words, took his first steps and began to explore our world without me beside him.  Many evenings were spent with him tired and hungry, his little body ready for bed, with dinner still not ready and a tired frustrated mumma doing the best she could with the few very short hours she had with him each day.

I was lucky enough to have my wonderful mother look after my first for 12 months until my second little boy arrived.  She would follow the guidelines of how I wanted his routine and diet, and gave him more attention, love and comfort than any daycare could provide, but his time with me was rushed and clinical.  Mornings and evenings were focused on changing in or out of PJs, getting meals ready and eaten and then putting baby in bed or depositing  him at  Nana's house to face another day of work.  I felt stressed, detached from my little boy and tired, oh so tired.

After our second baby I enjoyed 7 months at home with both of my boys.  Our days were filled with relaxed meals, midday baths after exploring in the garden, my eldest and I would play, read and a laugh in the afternoon sun while baby bear looked on or slept.  When naps were fazed out during the day dinner could be ready at 4:30pm for a 5:30pm bedtime, till little bodies adjusted to longer wake times.  This is the life I wanted for my boys.  With 8 weeks till I was due to return to work the desire to stay at home and live our family orientated lifestyle we dreamed of was overwhelming.  I had battled with post-natal depression for a little with number 2, and the stress and anxiety of returning to work made everything unbearable.  It was time for action.

First I sat and calculated.  No matter how I worked our income versus our Auckland rates, mortgage, insurance, petrol, power, water, phone we were short.  After many calculations and tears it was decided that we could not stay in our first home, we couldn't stay on the North Shore living close to our family.  It was time for a major upheaval.

We considered a few areas.  Greater Auckland were homes were more affordable but Pappa Bears daily drive would increase dramatically.  Hamilton and Tauranga were options too, Pappa Bear would need to find another job but it would need to be management to cover the mortgage payments on one income.  High stress, deadlines, KPIs and possible late nights - good for me and the boys but terrible for Pappa Bear.  Our final option, and our destination, was quiet little Te Kauwhata.  Cheaper homes, large sections, good schools and large towns (with jobs) only 30 minutes away.  Perfect.

Putting our house on the market was scary, especially with the uncertainty of auctions and not having a new home secure, but we grabbed the bull by the horns and did it.  With the market that we were selling in we could of set our reserve high and brought big on our move.  But our mentality had changed.  We didn't want our life revolving around the accumulation of money.  We crunched our numbers, poured hours of hard work into clearing and cleaning up, set the reserve low and realistic, just enough to pay lawyers, pay off the new paint job on the house, a moving van, commission and a deposit on our new home.  It paid off - the house was sold and we were lucky enough to have a real estate agent who knew someone wanting to sell.  We were able to sign papers for our Te Kauwhata home on Auckland auction day.

The next stage was Pappa Bear getting a job close to home.  Now he could of aimed for management, higher income and the stress that comes with it.  Not the ideal job when you've moved to have a relaxed lifestyle.  So we did our numbers and worked out he needed to earn to keep us comfortable.  And our calculations didn't stop there, we factored in me making and growing as much food as I could - so I could take on some of the load in supplying for our family.  It didn't take him long to find a job, with the wages and hours we wanted.

Now it was time to put everything into practice.  Some days I work harder than I ever did in Auckland but the results are so much more gratifying.  I'm not stressing out to meet deadlines to fill someone elses pockets.  Pouring my hard earned money into a huge mortgage with massive interest payments.  Wasting untold money on food packed with additives, emulsifiers and preservatives that our lack of time dictated that we buy because we didn't have time to make it ourselves.  My days are now filled with watching my boys play together while I knead up loaves of bread.  Digging together in the garden and reaping the rewards with meals full of sweet, nutritious vegetables.  My husband is home in time for dinner with our boys each night.  There is time to stay in bed with cuddles when my boys are sick, time to relax and enjoy my kids just being kids.  No deadlines, margins or others making big demands of my time.

I know not everyone has the means, desire or ability to do what we've done.  But I believe the important thing is to make active decisions on how you lead your life.  It takes practice to make decisions based on needs that don't necessarily increase or include your bank account.  Your family will not remember you for making interest payments to a bank, working long hours as replaceable cog for an employer and or by adding to the profit margin of smart-phone, MP3 player and computer brands. Regularly take stock of your situation, yourself and your family, make decisions and act on them to live the best life you can.

Croque for Kids

With dinner needing to be cooked in a hurry on a cold Autumn night Croque Madames popped into my head.  All I could kind of remember was that they have egg, white sauce of some sort with cheese on top - maybe. With no time to look for a recipe I turned on the ovenette, whipped up some sauce, bunged some left over beans into the bread cases, popped them in the oven for 20 minutes and the kids devoured them.  The extra white sauce topped the fresh garden broccoli perfectly.

Croque for Kids
Makes 6, muffin sized

Cases
6 Slices of Bread
2T Butter, melted


White Sauce
1T Butter
1T Plain Flour
1 1/2C Warm Water & 2T Milk Powder (or 1 1/2C warmed milk)
Pinch of Salt, Pepper and Mustard Powder

Fillings

1/2 Tin Baked Beans (or what ever left overs you have - chicken, ham, bacon, mince)
2 Eggs, beaten slightly


Cheese (I used Edam)

Cut the crusts of the bread and roll out each slice and thin as you can.  Brush both sides of the bread with the first measure of melted butter.  Line muffin tins with bread cases, pushing them down gently into the bottom of the tin.
To make the white sauce melt the butter over a medium heat.  Add the flour and stir over the heat until the mixture looks pale and kind of sandy.  Continue stirring and slowly add in the warm milk mixture.  It's important the liquid isn't cold or the sauce will be lumpy.  Continue stirring and add in the the salt, pepper and mustard powder.  When it's nice and thick and starts to bubble it's done.
Fill a third of the bread case with beans (or left overs), then one third with egg and then a large tablespoon of white sauce.  Using a vegetable peeler shave a thin layer of cheese over each case.  Bake for 15-20 minutes till golden.
They will be super hot on the inside, so transfer to cool on a wire rack while you steam some vege or make a salad for the side.

Home made Hot Cross Buns : Easter Egg Hunt

One thing I love to make is my own hot cross buns, fresh, spicy and warm from the oven.  They beat the stodgy store brought ones every time.  I made mine this morning while my baby bears waited to go for an Easter Egg hunt.  They were finished just in time to pop over to their cousins house for an Easter Egg hunt before the rain came.  Then we sat down with warm buns and a cup of tea while the kids bounced of the walls.

This years recipe was a winner - it may just make it's way into my treasured recipe box, only the best recipes make it there.

 Hot Cross Buns
12 large buns or 18 small

375ml Warm Milk (I used powdered milk)
45g Sugar
9g Instant Yeast
60g Butter, melted
1 Large Egg
20ml Oil
640g High Grade Bread Flour
1 1/2t Salt
1 1/2t Cinnamon
1 Large Apple, peeled, cored and finely diced
100g Sultanas
60g Glace Mixed Peel

Extra flour to crosses

Apricot Jam (optional)

Whisk milk, sugar and yeast together and leave to activate for 10 minutes.  Whisk in melted butter, egg and oil.  Tip in flour, salt and cinnamon and mix till it starts to come together.  Tip onto beach and start kneading.  The dough will be quite sticky and wet - don't chunk in more flour (dry dough makes dry rolls), just start kneading and stretching with mucky hands - it will form a smooth dough, trust me.  Keep kneading for 10 minutes till it smooth and both you and the dough have had a good workout.  Knead in the apple, sultanas and peel till evenly distributed.  Put dough into an oiled bowl covered with cling film.  Leave in warm place for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size (as the weather gets colder I heat oven to 50 Celsius, turn the oven off then put dough in there to rise).  Punch down and form into 12 rolls (about 75g each - but you can weigh your dough to be sure).  Space evenly apart on small tray (mine is 30 x 25cm), cover in oiled cling film and leave to rise for another 40 minutes till doubled in size.  Mix a quarter cup of flour with a few tablespoons of water to make a paste, pipe over risen rolls to make crosses (I mixed mine in a sandwhich bag and cut the corner off to pipe onto rolls).  Bake in preheated oven at 180C (fan bake) for 20-25 minuets.  As soon as they're cooked melt a quarter cup of apricot jam and brush over hot rolls.

My boys and their cousins finding eggs in the garden

Dividing the loot

Jalapenos in a Jar

Last summer was my first attempt at growing chillis, it was quite successful - even with my 1 year old picking quite a few tiny little chillis and flowers before they could mature.  This is our favourite way to have them now, you can bung them in a soup, salad, chilli, sandwiches, anything you want to add a little heat to.

This recipe is super quick and easy, and after a week or so in the fridge (if they last that long) they're even better.

Jalapenos in a Jar

6-12 Jalapenos, washed and sliced to 4mm
White vinegar (about 1 1/2 Cups)
1/2t Rubbed Oregano
1-2 Cloves Garlic, sliced
1T Sugar
1 Jam Jar

Fill your kettle and bring it to the boil.  While you wait for it to boil measure 3/4 of a jar full of vinegar.  Put measured vinegar, oregano, garlic and sugar into a saucepan.  To sterilise the jar fill it and the lid with hot water from the jug while you complete the next step.  Bring vinegar mixture the boil, once boiled for a minute or so add the sliced jalapenos and boil for a minute longer.  Remove from heat.  Carefully pout hot water out of the jar and lid.  Scoop the jalapeno and garlic slices from the pan into the jar and top up with the hot vinegar mixture.  Close the jar and leave to cool before storing in the fridge.

Blood, Sweat and Chicken Poop

After a few more hours of hard work this weekend my new border is slowly starting to look like I could start planting in it.  After the initial stage of putting in some edging and letting the chickens have a scratch around and deposit some poop, I've spent this weekend digging up, hoeing and raking the clumpy, root bound soil to a fine crumble.  I'm looking forward to sowing poppies, white allysium and wild flower seeds at Anzac weekend.  Plus a few herbs and winter lettuces.

Before

During - Can't wait till After shot - full of flowers and herbs

I keep changing my mind on what types of flowers I want.  I love cottage garden pinks, whites, blues and purples but love the contrast of blues and yellows - so I've got another flower bed planned for the other side of my garden!  The garden pictured above will be pinks, whites and splashes of red that come with my wild flowers, to admire from the bench under our cherry tree.  The other bed will have vibrant contrasts of oranges, blues and yellows.
In time I'll find what flowers and foliage types I like and mix well.  But in the mean time I'm just going to keep planting, learning and discovering.

 I've also turned my compost pile to find a huge barrow load of the best compost I've ever made - perfect for the huge crop of broad beans I've got planned for winter.

I was excited to find my Grape Hyacinths have come up too - despite the beating that the chicken gave them over summer.  Well, back to the garden, I've got to finish up my raking, plants some carrots, beets and lettuces so we have something to eat in winter.

Curried Pumpkin Soup - with Soda Bread and Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

With Pappa Bear recovering from a nasty virus, and starting to gain an appetite, a big hot soup was in order.  In a little over half an hour we were slurping up sweet and spicy soup and crusty soda bread, perfect for a rainy Autumn afternoon.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

2T Oil
2T Curry Powder
2 Onions, diced
500-700g Pumpkin, 2cm cubes (I used 1/3 or a large Crown Pumpkin)
Salt and Pepper
1-2C Milk

1 Soda Bread - recipe here...

To serve - Spiced pumpkin seeds (see bottom of recipe)

Start off by putting the soda bread in the oven.
In a 4L pot heat oil over a med-low heat.  Add curry powder and onion and cook until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.  If the curry powder starts to catch just add a splash of water to the pan, no need for more oil.  Add pumpkin, dash of salt and pepper and add enough water to just cover, bring to a simmer.  Cover and continue to simmer for 20 minutes or so till pumpkin is tender.  Remove from heat and mash or whiz with wand blender till smooth.  The soup will be a thick puree at this stage so stir in enough milk to thin down to thick creamy soup.

Serve up with hot crusty soda bread, butter and spiced pumpkin seeds.

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
For extra HEAT put a tablespoon of oil over medium heat, add a teaspoon of chilli flakes and sizzle for half a minute.  Add in handful pumpkin seeds and cook until they pop - serve seeds and oil on the side to sprinkle over hot soup.

Feijoa Jam - Easy Peasy!

After collecting roughly 8 kilos of Fiejoas in 2 days from our monster tree it was time to make jam.  Looking over a few recipes and trying to remember what I made last year, my sister-in-law and I just made it up as we went.  The result was golden, delicious jam - what else could come from fiejoas!  Next time I plan on adding ginger - a favourite combination of mine.

Fiejoas anyone?

Feijoa Jam
Makes 4 medium jars

1kg Feijoas, roughly peeled, ends removed and quartered
3/4C Water
2C White Sugar
1t Citric Acid (or juice of one lemon)

Gently simmer feijoas with water, mashing every now and then, till pulpy.  Stir in sugar and citric acid and boil for 5-10 minutes until at setting point (put a drop on a frozen saucer, sit for a minute and if the surface wrinkles when touched it's done).

Pack into sterilized jars.  Easy!

To sterilize jars put clean jars into at 120C oven for 20 minutes and boil the lids in water for 15.  My lids are getting a bit on the old and warped side so I used cellophane tops - you can get these from the supermarket for about $2.

If you double the recipe, don't quite double the water, start with another half measure and add more if you need to.

Golden and Delicious