I scored one of these worm farms on freecycle in the middle of the year, and I’ve FINALLY set it up. It had a broken clip on one of the legs, but MrB mended it with a couple of bulldog clips. We cracked & bought 500 starter worms at Bunnings this morning, but I’m hoping to source some more on freecycle in the next couple of weeks.
I made them a bed of damp shredded newspaper, with a light covering of spent potting mix & mulch. Then I spread the worms out in one corner, & covered them with a damp hessian sack, as per instructions. I popped a little hand-full of sprouts in the corner, too, for when they get peckish. Following a tip from my permaculture teacher, I’m leaving the tap open, with a small bucket under it, in case any worms fall in the bottom level (they can’t swim!). I’ve chocked up the other end with one of MrB’s wooden offcuts, so it drains freely. The farm is in a nice shady spot, under the overgrown star jasmine outside our back door – I hope the little fellas are happy in their new home.
Filed under: food, gardening, home & hearth | Tags: food, gardening, vegan eating
The intrepid MrB joined me in the garden today, where we weeded & pruned, then emptied the hessian ’sack of spuds’, & harvested 10 little potatoes (better than nothing, I suppose). I replanted my homegrown avocado pit, too, and planted out the passionfruit vine I got for Xmas. I sowed rocket all around it, using seed I harvested from some plants that went to seed a couple of months ago.
I also cleaned out & re-organised 2 kitchen cupboards, using recycled Aldi containers to group similar items so I can find them more easily. Other than that it was a lazy day, but not a bad effort for a holiday Tuesday. I’m going to attempt a yummy-sounding recipe for Mediterranean chutney/relish tonight. I uses tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, onion, chilli & herbs, with a little sugar & vinegar. I have all the ingredients I need, so will give it a go!
I harvested 6 cucumbers yesterday after I got home from holidays – there will be salad galore for the next week!
There was good rain over the last week, so the garden has grown a lot, but sadly the powdery mildew took hold while I was away. I cut lots of leaves off today, but some of the older tomatoes will just have to go. We’re going to do some digging up & re-planting tomorrow, including the new passionfruit vine I got for Xmas.
I’m trying to track our grocery spending over the next few months – it will be approximate, as I’ll be os for a week for work. We did a BIG stock-up at Aldi today, including a pallet of tinned toms, 6 cans of chickpeas, 6 jars of salsa, 3 litres of olive oil, 2kg of grey-water laundry powder, bulk liquid soap (which we last bought 12 months ago), 6 bottles of soda water & about $12 worth of fruit & veg. The whole lot cost $110. I’m keeping receipts for at least 6 months, so we can see how fast we spend, then I’ll try & average it out from week to week… it should be an interesting exercise.
We just opened a 1kg package of Aware concentrated grey-water-safe laundry powder yesterday, too. I’m going to see how long it takes to use it up, as I’m keen to know what our ‘ordinary’ consumption levels are.
I made 3 500ml jars, using our homegrown chillis. My fingers are STILL burning. Also pitted & froze another 500gms of cherries, and made stewed plums for the freezer, too. They’re a bit runny, but they’ll make good sauce, or a nice mix with apples for a crumble. Holidays tomorrow!
Edited to add the recipe:
The recipe is actually for Peach Salsa, from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It’s an American recipe, using waterbath canning/bottling. I tried both peaches & nectarines, both work beautifully, so feel free to try whatever you have on hand, including mixed fresh stone fruit. I peeled the peaches, but not the nectarines.
Peach (or Nectarine, or Apricot) Salsa (makes about 4 500ml jars)
1/2 cup white vinegar
6 cups chopped pitted peaches, nectarines or apricots (about 1.5 kg)
1 1/4 cup chopped red onion
4 fresh chillis, finely chopped (for a milder salsa, de-vein & remove seeds)
1 red capsicum, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh coriander (I use a whole bunch)
2 Tbspn liquid honey
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
Prepare water bath, jars & lids (lots of instructions for this online)
1) To prevent browning, measure your vinegar into a large stainless steel saucepan, and add the peaches/nectarines as you chop them.
2) Add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 5 mins. Remove from heat.
3) Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1cm headspace. Wipe rim, put lids on jars.
4) Place jars in boiling water bath, ensuring they are completely covered in water. Boil for 15 mins at a rolling boil. Wait 5 mins, then remove jars, check seals, cool & store.
I’m about to go to Northern NSW for 4 nights over New Year and it’s raining here & there. The rain has been good – it’s fallen on western NSW which is magic for them. BUT I’m worried it might be a bit too wet in a few days. I went out yesterday & pulled off all the wilted leaves, but I think it’s going to be impossible to avoid powdery mildew in this weather.
At any rate, I harvested my first cuke yesterday, which was lovely, and there are more to come. I had a delicious salad with cucumber, garden greens & herbs, my tomatoes, some storebought avocado & some baked, marinated tofu.
I pitted & froze half a kilo of cherries, and also froze a half a dozen overripe bananas from the bargain table at the fruit shop. I need to make the nectarine salsa today… I think I will stew the plums & freeze them for later too. I’m also going to make a big batch of roast tomato/veggie pasta sauce. I cook all the veg in the oven rather than on the stovetop – it makes them lovely & caramelised.
I’m flying up North, but one of my caravan-mates is driving. Since she & our other co-habiter are carnivores, and we’re staying a fair way from the shops, I suspect they will be eating sausages etc relentlessly. Luckily I discovered a Turkish deli in my old neighboourhood that stocks a huge range of tinned goodies like dolmades, stewed chickpeas in tomato sauce, iman bayaldi – even tinned hummus (bland, but edible). I stocked up on these, plus some soymilk & muesli, & put the bag in the boot of my mate’s car last weekend when she was over for pre-Xmas catch-ups. I don’t generally eat out of cans, but as vegan tinned food goes, this stuff is pretty good, and it means I’ve basically paid for all my meals in advance. I’m sure we’ll go out to eat a couple of times, but Northern NSW is not called ‘the Rainbow Region’ for nothin- I’m sure there will be plenty of veggo food to be had 
I wouldn’t call this a resolution, but I have a couple of plans for 2010. The first is to track my spending for a month, to see exactly where my money goes. I’ll record all my spending on the ‘notes’ page in my diary.
Aside from a couple of regular debits, I have a 0 balance on my credit card at present. I’ve raised my automatic savings transfer (to the home-buying account), but will also start squirrelling some extra $$ into the account I use for HECS and other big, irregular expenses. I’d like to sock away an extra $1000 in that account by March.
I’d also like to get more efficient with menu planning. We’re pretty good at buying the right amount & minimising waste, but we could get even better. I’m going to work through some of our pantry items, too, & use up the things we don’t eat much of, so we can re-organise the space to store more of the things we *do* eat.
Filed under: Uncategorized
House energy ratings
House energy rating through the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) uses computer simulations to assess the potential thermal comfort of Australian homes on a scale of zero to 10 stars. The more stars, the less likely the occupants need cooling or heating to stay comfortable.
What is rated?
A dwelling can be rated before or after it is built. The rating depends on:
- the layout of the home
- the construction of its roof, walls, windows and floor
- the orientation of windows and shading to the sun’s path and local breezes
- how well these suit the local climate.
Installing wall insulationEnergy consumption by hot water systems, lights or household appliances is not part of the rating because those fittings are usually replaced several times during the life of the building.
I bought 2 kilos of cherries on the 23rd, and made a batch of cherry jam. I’m keen to get some low/no sugar pectin soon, as I actually prefer my jam on the less sweet side, but Jamsetta needs quite a bit of sugar to set. I used my fabulous new cherry/olive pitter for the first time, & it was magnificent. It’s an Oxo goodgrips deluxe version with splatter guard, which cost nearly $25, but was worth every penny. 2 kilos pitted with no hand cramp – hurrah!
I’ll be interested to see what the texture is like – after I bottled it, I realised I had followed the timing directions for both the Aussie method (boil about 10 mins, then bottle) and the US water process method (boil 1 min, then water bath for 10 mins). Ah well, cherries are a low pectin fruit, so even though I added lemon juice I’m hoping it won’t be rubbery.
I have a kilo of nectarines and a half kilo of plums in the fridge. The peach salsa was so amazing, I think I need to make the nectarines into salsa, too. I’ll use the plums to make crumble… with candied ginger I think. It’s cold & rainy today, though, and I think mostly I’m just going to celebrate my first day of hols with no visits or duties by reading in bed.
I do have a holiday ‘to-do’ list, though, which includes a fair bit of organising, de-cluttering & freecycling. I’m going to do it Flylady style, setting a timer and working 30 minutes at a time, so I don’t go nuts.
Adapted from a recipe by Camilla Saulsbury. These are good when you want a sweet treat that’s not going to send your blood sugar wild.
1 and 1/4 cups puffed rice, or other puffed cereal. I use quinoa, with good results.
1 cup uncooked oats
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed or chia seeds (no need to grind chia)
1/4 cup finely chopped dried fruit (e.g., sultanas, chopped dates or figs, dried cherries, etc.)
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts (preferably roasted or toasted)
1/4 cup brown rice syrup (or honey, maple syrup, or agave)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (I reduce to one tblspn– it still works)
1/3 cup nut butter (e.g., peanut, almond, cashew. You could also use sunflower seed butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or chai spice mix
Combine the rice cereal, oats, flaxseed meal/chia seeds, dried fruit, and nuts in a large bowl.
Bring the syrup and brown sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. (If you are brave enough to let it boil a little bit longer than the minimum to blend the mixture, your bars will be firmer.)
Stir in nut butter and vanilla until blended.
Pour nut butter mixture over cereal mixture, stirring until coated (mixture will be stiff). Press mixture firmly into a standard sized square baking pan. Cleanup is easier if you lightly oil the pan, or line it with baking paper. Cool in pan (on a wire rack, or in the fridge). Cut into 8-12 bars.
Individual bars keep well in the fridge for about a week, and can be frozen for lunchboxes.
Filed under: food, gardening, learning | Tags: food, gardening, skilling up
I haven’t done a lot of non-work related reading lately, but I have looked at a couple of new books. Here’s a mixed bag:
Work
The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life, by Twyla Tharp
I first learned about this one from Mystic Medusa’s fabulous astro-blog. Very personal, readable insight into a life-long creative discipline. Tharp has a new book out about collaboration, which really interests me, as I do a fair bit of collaborative work.
Food
Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life, by Brendan Brazier
Hmm, mixed feelings here. I did learn from reading this, and I really love the idea of eating to reduce stress & improve physical/mental performance, but I have real reservations around the whole ’superfoods’ thing. For example, Brazier champions agave & hemp. I live in Australia, where hemp seems to be illegal in foods (other than oil), & we can only get agave imported from North America. I suspect the environmental costs of shipping ‘exotic’ ingredients might outweigh the personal benefits. As a consequence, I’d like to know more about the properties of particularly nutritious foods, & be offered a list of alternatives, so I can go with the best locally sourced version. This book gave me good ideas, but was very ingredient-specific to North America.
Gardening
All New Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew
I have heard great things about this method, & reading Bartholomew’s book was very inspiring. It’s not something I’ll be using in our current home, but it looks like something I’ll definitely try once we have our own place!
