Let them fly!

With all the changes happening around here, I don't know where my head is some days. I wish to thank each and every person who has contacted me wondering when I was going to begin blogging again...After dealing with Mum's estate; It's time I did something for myself again.....Well I guess now is that time.....

Please understand: I've been putting it off because I didn't want the most important post I've published, moving down the blog line.....and that was when I wrote about the recent death of my dear mother. It's taken some time for me to realise; and lots of tears, but I know that mum would want me to keep blogging. So I've moved some things around to keep some very important people at the top of my blog.... 

There will be more changes to my blog (slowly) as I get back into the swing of things....but they'll all be good, I promise.

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How does that saying go? If you catch a butterfly, let it go, if it comes back, it's yours....Something like that ....the point is...you have to let them fly!

Being a mother to two completely different boys...I often look back at all the one-on-one times with each of them. You know; the times before they decide they want to hang out with their Dad more..or hang out with their mates..you know before they discover girls? My boys are growing up, turning into fine young men too I might add. They've both now gone through all those stages and are both now preparing for their future. 

DS21 is slowly moving into Mum's unit (on our property). Sometimes we call it 'his place', but it will always be 'Mum's place' to me. His girlfriend is moving in with him after Christmas too which is such an exciting stage for a young couple. I'm glad they will be close, as DS21 still likes to come to me for advice, comfort and security. Since Mum has passed away and Hubby works away from home I've realized just how much I depend on the company of my boys. It's a big change for everyone having mum gone, and it's something we are slowly working on...and it's definitely a quiet change I wasn't predicting in my near future. 

Before Mum passed away I had made the decision to allow K to move in with DS21 into his bedroom and that they are welcome to live with us until they save a deposit for a house. I'm at peace now with the decision I made to move them into mum's unit; I know that Mum would agree with me. A young couple needs their space...they would have been rather cramped in his little bedroom....Mum was always looking out for her grandchildren and always wanted what was best for them. 

DS21 will be starting his 3rd year of his apprenticeship (Mum would be so proud of his top marks at TAFE) as an Overhead Linesman Electrician for CityRail and K (his girlfriend) will be begin studying as a Veterinarian Nurse in the new year. It's a big move for K living away from her family (10 hour drive)...but don't worry K's Mum...I know I will look after her as if she was my own. It will be good to have another woman in the house too.

DS17 (18 in the first week of January)  [to soon I might add] has also had some changes with his world too. While he played a big part in his Nan's life, he has had some good distractions to help him cope with her death. DS17 recently obtained his licence and is able to drive a car on his own now. I've bought mum's car for him from her estate and it's a comfort knowing the history of the car and the maintenance that my hubby and boys kept up on it too. Last week DS17 approached the same business where DS21 first started employment and came home with the offer of being accepted for a trial shift. While it yanks hard at the heart strings, I'm pleased and mighty proud of my boys for the growth they have made over the last 12 months..

I guess his trial went well (I knew it would though), because last night DS17 had his 2nd shift at Sam's Pizza delivering the best pizza's in town. Being offered a bright snazzy new uniform I guess he is part of the team now. So now he is part of the workforce now too. He looks so grown up......

Sam's Pizza - DS17 Delivery Driver

This is new to me too, as I'm not used to being on my own for meals, and evenings....another change I wasn't counting on anytime soon.....While I know that this is only a temporary position for him, I also know that he is reaching higher with possibly a trainee-ship in the Army. That's a whole new change I will deal with if/when  the time comes. For now, I take one day at a time!

We all have to start somewhere...I started with babysitting...like lots of my friends at the time...then moved on to a take-away shop on the front counter and on from there......

Looking back...Mum had watched my sister, then my brother both leave the nest and marry....then my father died, then I left the nest....I wonder what things mum did to help her cope with the loneliness, the humm of the silent house?  It must have been tough for my mother to let me go, being the baby of the family, not having the love of her life to grow old with......I wonder how she coped with this "Empty Nest feeling"?

If my mum hadn't let me go...I never would have learn't to fly.....

It's not only my boys who grow from the decisions I make...It's me too! 

I'm letting my boys fly now too!

MUM'S FUNERAL DETAILS

MUM'S FUNERAL NOTICE


CLARKE
Joyce Isabel

Passed away peacefully on September 1, 2012 of Warilla formerly of Rutherglen/Wodonga. Beloved wife of the late Horace (Nobby). Dealy loved mother and mother in law of Susanne and Jim, Richard and Missy, Narelle and Andrew. Much loved Nan of her grandchildren Shona, Marie, David (dec), Deserae, Donny (dec), Jordan, Kennedy, Douglas, Lloyd and her great gra

ndchildren Callum, Kayden, Eliana, Nikaya. Loved sister of Evelyn, Joseph, Irene, Donald. Mum will be sadly missed by her loving family and many dear friends.

Aged 78 Years
Forever in our hearts
Reunited with Dad

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a funeral service for Joyce to be held at the Main Chapel Wollongong City Memorial Gardens, Berkeley Road Unanderra on Tuesday 11th September, 2012 at 11:00AM. In lieu of flowers donations to Diabetes Australia would be appreciated.

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GRAVESIDE SERVICE WILL BE HELD ON 17th September, 2012 at Wodonga Lawn Cemetery, Cnr Melrose Drive, Wodonga at 10:00AM. 

Friends and family are welcome to attend....On the day, Mum's ashes will be placed with Dad.

Followed by Tea & Coffee at my brother Richard's house. Address will be given on the day.

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I'd also like to say a huge thank-you for all the love and support coming through. 

It is giving me great courage to follow through with

all the organizing that goes with arranging two funerals.

Thanking everyone

Chat soon

RIP Mum

Rest in Peace my dear Mother.........

Nanna Clarke....taken about 2 months ago in Brisbane

I'll keep this short for now (as I haven't had time for a full post for months, and certainly aren't up to it at this time), but I'd like to announce the sad passing of my mother this week.........

Mum suffered a long battle with bowel problems along with other medical problems including Diabetes and Kidney Disease.....
Two weeks ago I called an ambulance due to mum suffering with violent vomiting which then turned into vomiting what I though was bile. It was diagnosed that she had suffered an obstruction in the small bowel.

After 9 days in the hospital, Mum began to recover (us thinking how great it was that she would not be needing corrective surgery)..... only to start asking for strong pain relief again. More investigation showed that at she had developed another bowel obstruction which perforated within 24 hours. The infection that developed also began to shut down her kidneys....... Once this was known it was decided by family and surgeons that she would not benefit from any surgeries, but only suffer more.....
The enormously tough decision was made to...... 
'just keep her comfortable for the next few days'.......

Mum kept up the good fight for quite a while.....after all, she's the strongest woman I've had the pleasure of knowing.......
I guess she decided for herself that those who needed to say goodbye...had done so...Mum had many loved ones visit over the last few days....even travelling from Brisbane and Victoria.

Some say that maybe she even knew that her 78 year life was beginning to come up short......planning a trip to Wodonga (600km) for a visit with two life long, very ill friends...(I worked it out that the three of them hadn't been in the same room for more than thirty years)......

Cynthia, Freida & Mum
Reunited after more than thirty years.
I loved making this trip for mum.

..........Followed by a trip to Brisbane (1800km), accompanied by my son Lloyd......"Thanks matey...your Nanna could never have made such a huge trip if you didn't give up your entire school holidays to go with her and help her cope." I'm so proud of  you Lloyd.....

Lloyd with his Nan
This would be the last time Nan had any photos taken

This Brisbane trip was to meet for the first time....her two great-grand daughters Eliana and Nikaya from her 2nd born grand-daughter Marie...(Marie is a wonderful photographer).

*Mum also has two great-grand sons from her first born grand-daughter Shona.
A 2nd trip for Eli and Nikaya to see their 'Gate-Nan' was planned for before Christmas, but this was not to be......

Nikaya, Nanna Clarke and Eliana

After gathering family from all over, I gave Mum many opportunities to finally go be with dad....
(Giving your mother permission to leave you, in a room full of other people that also don't want her to leave...is really tough, but she asked me to do this for her many years ago, if the situation ever presented itself).......So with this plan that she had always had....I guess I just thought that once she had 'seen everyone' she would gently pass away with many loved ones around her...which would have been nice......
With me busy putting all those plans in place....I never dreamed that it might be me, that would leave the room while she passed away.......

Mum's passing........
Both myself and my niece Shona (Marie's sister) kept a very tight bedside vigil with her for the last 48 hours. We had ordered pizza at 12 midnight, which was to be delivered at the hospital at roughly 12.45am. I told Shona to put her feet up and shut her eyes until I picked up the pizza from down stairs...I figured 45 minutes of shut-eye would be good for her as she had not rested since driving from Victoria with her two young boys. I planned to take the time to just tidy up the room a little and have room to serve the pizza.
Time passed and the pizza guy rang...Shona said...."That was a short 45 minutes"....and I looked at my watch...which read 12.21am.....I went down to the main entrance to collect the pizza. I was gone for a very brief time, as he was there waiting for me already. With pizza in hand, I casually walked down the long hallway of the ward...smiling at familiar faces who were still awake....and when I opened Mum's door.......

I could tell that her health had declined drastically.....I ran for the nurse and it was figured that it was probably less than 30 seconds before I entered the room that she gave her last breath. When the nurses entered her room she had already began losing her lovely glow......I knew by then, that my Mum had passed away. Shona and I both looked at each other with tears in total disbelief and soon decided that Mum passed away at 12.25am on 01 September 2012. Shona and I rang family to share the sad news, and after formalities and packing up her room, we left the hospital at 4.45am Saturday morning.

Mum had a gap of roughly just 3 to 5 minutes of being alone..... The perfect time I guess...if you don't want to cause your daughter or grand-daughter the pain of seeing you breathe your last breath and leaving this crazy wild world..........

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[[Dearest Mum.....you have no more back pain, no lack of circulation pain, no kidney troubles, no diabetes to worry about daily, no more nasty meds and injections, no more skin ulcers developing from your extremely thin skin, no concerns of going into a home, no worries about losing your memory like your mother did.....  You were a great peace-keeper, the best I know, calming and stopping many wars....and you were a very generous person. You've taught me many skills along the way, skills I'm grateful for, skills that make me some of the mother I am today.....

My dear mother, you will be sadly missed....It's been 25 years since dad died....and that's an awful long time to be alone......It's time now Mum, for you to finally rest with Dad. I'll make sure that happens for you. I love you.]]

30 Minute Stock

Yep, you read it right!
I've been experimenting with my Pressure Cooker after rescuing it from the top of a cupboard in my kitchen. It's been there since I bought it, remembering the complete disaster  I had with a find at an op-shop when I was first married. This attempt involved complete bowing of the bottom of the pot. No instructions, no internet...........It's taken me 20 years to give them another go.

But this time I would be prepared...boasting to hubby on the phone that I would be using it that night; I'd let him know the outcome the following morning when we talked again. Turns out I wasn't that prepared after all...........The meal would need to be cooked the following evening because......
When you first buy a Pressure Cooker, you need to season the pot before you cook in it.
Don't forget to take time to read all the instructions that came with the cooker.

To season your new Pressure Cooker....
Season the rim of the pot with a little cooking oil. This lubricates the lid and the pot making it easier to remove the lid.
Fill the Pressure Cooker to half way with cold water.
Place the lid on according to the instructions
Heat until steam releases, then turn the heat down and allow to 'season' for another 20 minutes.
Then turn the heat off and leave to stand until cold. Do not remove the lid until the whole unit is cold.

Meal number one....Beef Stew

*Huge success with minimal fuss.

*25 minutes under pressure

*You can see how the meat just falls apart.

*Brilliant!

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Now onto some much needed STOCK.
I was pleased to discover that our local Meat Market had re-opened...so I went to check it out.
I bought home two big bags of Beef Bones $4 each....and two big bags of Chicken Carcasses $2 each.
Baking all the bones in the oven, gives you a deeper, richer flavour....

Beef Bones
$8.00
Ready for the oven

Using half the baked beef bones, I went on to add other usual ingredients that I put in a stock....
The other half of the baked beef bones are labelled and in the freezer for another stock day.

Add 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 sticks of celery, fresh herbs and mixed spices
Cover with 3 litres of water. Make sure your pot is never more than two-thirds full for stock.

Put the lid on following the instructions....then once the steam starts to come out of the relief valve....turn the heat down low and allow to cook for a further 30 minutes. Allow to cool or release the steam as per instructions and reveal a lovely stock, ready to strain.

Beef Stock in a Pressure Cooker

While the oven was on I also baked the Chicken Carcasses....
I'll be making Chicken Stock using half of these baked chicken bones today....and the other half will go in the freezer for when I want to make some more.

Baked Chicken Bones
$4.00

 Do you make stock? 
Do you use a pressure cooker? 
What do you cook in your pressure cooker?

Wood Stoves & Charities

I've always admired the people who are equipped to cook on a wood stove in their kitchen. Glimpses take me back to my childhood to a few of those people. The first that comes to mind was my best friends Nanna. Nanna Humphries taught me how yummy mushrooms were, by dabbing a bit of butter directly on the hotplate and frying a freshly gathered mushroom right on the heat....a pinch of salt and ohhhhhh sooo yummy. I couldn't wait to run home and tell mum I finally like mushrooms. I'm sure she was most impressed as mushroom hunting was a weekend event we enjoyed quite regularly.(I never liked the way Mum cooked mushies back then...even though I cook them the same now)...lol

Aunty Milly (my Nan's sister) and Uncle Lindsay lived in Ardmona Victoria and ran a Dairy Farm. I always got up earlier than the others because if I was sneaky enough I could pour fresh milk on my cereal without stirring the cream in. "Did you stir the cream in before you poured your milk Narelle?"
"Yes Aunty", I'd reply.....I think she knew better though...lol

On childhood visits I recall cooking toast on the fire with Aunty and her always having a huge teapot of hot water on hand...even for washing the dishes. A good cook knows how many logs of Red-gum and how many of Yellow-box will make a good batch of scones; Aunty was one of 'those' cooks. She certainly knew her Slow Combustion Stove and she knew her cooking too. The taste of smokey toast after being 'blackened' by the open fire was delicious...or maybe it was the farm fresh butter.....even if I did have to scrape half the charred remains off. The mere fact that I was allowed to fork a slice of bread and sit at the fire to 'toast' it, was good enough for me. We certainly weren't allowed or able to do anything like that back at home.

I recently spent the weekend in Mudgee with Hubby and the family he is boarding with while away for work. What a wonderful family they are too. I never imagined that allowing my hubby to live with another family would be so hard.  BUT....all my fears and insecurities have now been washed away after spending the weekend with them. I felt right at home and am also able to join in the conversation now with Hubby when he talks of  the people 'I didn't know'...It's great, as I am able to relate to everything much easier...and I'm welcome back there any time as they say I'm now part of the family too.

While there I was able to cook on top of a wood stove all weekend ... which was heaven. I was truly in my element...only problem now is that I am looking for ways to incorporate a wood stove here....the family think I'm nuts..all that extra work....lol.. A girl can dream though hey!

Sure, the cooking can be fantastic, but the money saved in heating excites me big time. I heard on the radio this morning that electricity prices in the Illawarra will rise by 18% next month...and even though I have natural gas for heating, we have three heaters on our property that can all be on at once sometimes.....If I could limit the amount of gas used in the winter months, by rendering fat, brewing soups, drying clothes, enjoying the warmth, ect on a wood stove I'm sure we could come out in front.......

I figure if I have any chance of installing a wood fire in our house...I better get rid of some stuff! Lately it seems that almost every room in the house has become a spare room...so I'm decluttering the spare room and moving things around to get things fitting back in there. Maybe then I will be able to work on decluttering the kitchen and moving larger items into the spare room.
My larder takes up an entire wall of the dining room and it's hard to do a full day of cooking up and down the step that divides the two rooms. I'd dearly love to have the dining room floor built up to the same level as the kitchen...So I've kind of set myself a 12 month plan to be ready for next winter......but to do all that renovation...(as cheap as possible of-course).......
I first need to de-clutter....

If your local to the Illawarra area and are looking for a good place to recycle your old computers...look no further than the Illawarra Computer Bank.....they do a great service providing people with computers who can't afford to buy one......

Donating 2 computers & 16 boxes of books
Not a bad start to a dream

Also, if your looking for a good charity to donate books to...Lifeline runs a 3 day book fair every year raising thousands of much needed dollars. The profits of which go toward supporting Lifeline South Coast activities in our community.

Do you have a wood heater or wood stove? What tips do you have?

Maybe you have used these charities before....I'd love to hear about it. 
Do you attend the book fairs?
Maybe you know of another charity similar in your area.  

Milling wheat & making pasta

Yesterday; Celia over at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial posted about her Simple pasta in 15 minute's ......and that got me thinking of another way to thicken up the rest of the weekend soup to make into one more meal.....

Many people mill their own grains at home; and I've been giving it a go too. It's far healthier for you, no additives, no thickeners, no bleaching chemicals....just plain good wholesome wheat! If you have your own grain mill you can mill down a whole number of grains, seeds, nuts and even legumes. You even have full control over how fine you make your flour, depending on what you are planning to do with it.

Since sourcing some good bulk grain I've been experimenting more with my electric grain mill. Here are some photos to show you the different stages of milled grain I've been playing with.........

Stage 1: Wheat berries....Whole clean, husked wheat ready for use.

Stage 2: Cracked wheat....I think cracked wheat is prepared by first boiling it...so this is really just crushed wheat. I've been adding some of this to a mix of whole grains when making 'multi-grain bread' and also sprinkling it on the top of bread rolls.

Stage 3: Wheat Bran....This is what you get when you sift the milled flour from its finest setting. Bran is really a by-product of making flour and is made up of the hard shell of the wheat berry. We're sprinkling this on our breakfast and also adding it to other recipes for added fibre.

If I'm making bread, I don't always sift the flour to separate the bran, but when I don't; it makes a very heavy bread....A better or lighter bread is made from 50:50 of whole milled flour and plain white flour. If you don't want to use such refined and bleached flour....just sift your freshly milled flour.

Stage 4: Wholemeal flour.... Here is your flour at it's purest.....
No refining, no bleaching, no additives.
Just Wheat!

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Now I'm ready to make some WHOLEMEAL PASTA......
To every 100g of flour add 1 whole egg.

To 400g of wholemeal flour add 4 whole eggs....and mix well until combined.............

Then divide into four even blocks before putting it in the fridge to rest. I prefer to rest pasta dough for an hour before running it in the pasta machine.

Flatten the divided dough before placing in a plastic bag and pop into the fridge to rest. This shape helps to start preparing the dough for the dough machine.

Only remove one piece of dough from the fridge at a time. This ensures that the other dough pieces don't  dry out while you are working. I used half the dough for dinner ....the other half will keep in the fridge for one or two more days.

Then I heated up the soup that was made earlier..and also put on a pot of water to boil for the pasta....
Due to the cold weekend weather....another pot of soup was on the stove.....
The soup was made up of the following....

• a smoked ham hock - boiled for an hour, meat removed and added
• a few roasted chicken carcasses, with meat removed and added
• chopped meats left to rest in the stock overnight....then fat skimmed off the top before adding other ingredients
• grated vegetables of carrot, Swedish turnip, parsnip, onion, zucchini
• mixed legumes and grains (another filler and thickener)
• thickened with milled rice flour

When all the rolled pasta is cut into strips, lightly dust it with flour to stop it from sticking to itself.....

Once the water is boiling, add half of the pasta and let cook for 1 minute...remove the pasta with tongs and toss into the boiling soup....Repeat with the other half of the raw pasta. It's very quick!

then serve.........this soup was very filling, delicious...and quite rewarding; even for DS20 who took great joy in helping make the pasta.....Thanks mate...a job well done.

Do you have a grain mill? What other grains do you like to mill? I'd love to hear your ideas. 

Have you ever made your own pasta? Do you prefer wholemeal pasta or white pasta? How do you make your pasta? What do you add it to? 

Zucchini & Choko Slice

How many knuckles does it take to make a great slice? Three to be exact....well today anyway. With band-aids in place I continued grating until all the veg were done. Who knew a few pieces of skin could make such a delicious slice. Seriously though; there was no skin added, but I've never added choko to a slice before. With only two young zucchini I needed to increase the mixture. Hence another use for a Choko or three.


Zucchini & Choko Slice

8 medium eggs whisked well
add to that 2/3 cup of Olive Oil
then mix in 1 heaped cup of Wholemeal Self Raising Flour
mix well and put aside.

Now in another larger bowl grate the following:
2 zucchini
2 choko
1/2 a carrot
1/2 a sweet potato
1 cup of tasty cheese
then finely chop 1 brown onion & a small bunch of parsley

Mix all this together, then add the egg mixture and stir well.

When you fill your trays, you can fill right to the top, it will rise while baking, but fall when cooling.....
After pouring into two trays,....if your like me you might just have some mixture left over...so if you do...add another egg, a tablespoon or so of flour, and add in another grated choko....then you will not only have two large slices, but enough slice baked for lunch.

Lunch

Grease your trays well, then bake in a moderate oven of 170o C for 20 minutes for the small ones...and an extra 15 to 20 minutes for the larger baking trays. It was a delicious surprise for mum when she returned from Bingo today.
I have enough to serve for dinner tonight, and one for the freezer. Yummmmm!

Have you ever added choko to a slice?

Please forgive the poor quality of the photos today, I guess my camera was having a bad day and maybe I need to refresh my rechargeable batteries. 

Today's agenda & Worm Castings

I've had some lovely emails welcoming me back to blogland...thank-you to all who wrote. While I am extremely busy now that I run the house fully on my own, with Hubby being only home briefly for weekends.....I do hope to continue writing posts. I still do lots, but I just don't get around to computer time much nowadays.

What's on your agenda today? Here's what is on mine....so far:
7.30am... Solar Skylight man coming to check a skylight that has gone dark.
                Hang washing out on line
                Tidy up kitchen
8.30am... Need to have DS17 at work in Oak Flats for Work Experience
8.35am ...Pick up 5 bags of gum-nuts from Freecycle while in Oak Flats
9am...      Community Garden with Albion Park Rail
12 noon   Lots more house work or garden work, which ever I feel like doing more.
2pm...      Community Garden with Barrack Heights
4.30pm....Pick up DS17 from Oak Flats work experience.


Oops,....I double booked myself here...will have to fix this with Max......
4.30pm... Max is dropping of 160kg of Worm Castings (2 x full Potato Sacks roughly 80kg each) for $40....bargain$$$


Max also supplies a tipper ute of good food compost (from restaurant waste) for $80.00 which is a great way to enrich your gardens and pots quickly while waiting for your own compost to break down. 


Max works out of Albion Park and can be contacted on 0414 733823. 
He's one of those genuine blokes that you will go back to time and time again.
If you ring him, tell him you seen his number on my blog. I know he'll appreciate the work.

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Over at Rose's blog, she has a lovely photo of Big Bill all cuddled up on the couch....

so I thought I'd show you a photo of my Cindy Loo

enjoying the warmth of a pillow-slip....

It's so cute to watch her try to get inside...

sometimes I just can't help myself and give her a bit of help...lol

Cindy Z z z z z z z

What's the bright light for...don't you know I'm trying to sleep?
After my nap, THEN I will take on the world.

Seating Circles & Donut Muffins

Beginnings of our Seating Circle which will be in the centre
of our Bush Medicine & Bush Tucker garden

Wow, what a weekend already! We had a productive day at the Community Garden today with the beginnings of our Seating Circle.  Down the track it will be the centre of our Indigenous Bush Tucker and Bush Medicine Garden; but things have to start somewhere...........

So that's what we achieved today....It was all hands on deck....or tyres & bricks really. We are using some reclaimed bricks to help fill the tyres. But it's lots of hard work, as the bricks need to be smashed up and the earth dug up to make the seating level.

We still have lots to do, there's more filling in for this level, then another level of tyres needs to be built on top. After that the framework goes on to make the timber seating....then we will start incorporating the garden around it.

Invitation for the Working Bee
for starting our Seating Circle

Another Seating Circle made from reclaimed tyres, rubble & timber.
I presume this in the one from either Kiama Primary or Kiama Community Garden

Seeing Kiama Community Garden's seating has given us the inspiration to build our own seating. You can check out the beginnings of their seating area here. I'm sorry I don't have a colour photo of the finished circle yet, but next time I visit them I will take a camera.

Kiama Primary School has also built their own seating circle in their permaculture garden. You can check out a great post about the construction on Darren's blog at GreenChange here.

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We had a lovely lunch cooked on our little barbecue, which is also in the plans to be moved and enlarged....but here's what we dined on for today's lunch: 

• Freshly caught by Darren (that morning) Kingfish and Cuttlefish. I wrapped the Kingfish in foil after placing it on a bed of Warrigal Greens and scattering aromatic herbs from the garden, before laying lemon slices along the fish. It was then cooked on the makeshift barbecue we have at the moment. I sliced the cuttlefish ribbon thin and tossed it in olive oil before being quickly frying it off in a very hot pan. It only took about 1 minute to cook the cuttlefish and I can still taste it. 
• Yummy Meat Patties and Vege Burgers and different breads supplied by Angela
• Delicious and filling Fried Rice by Marty
• I made a salad from fresh pickings in the garden including Nasturtium petals and young leaves, marigold petals, chives, lettuce, cucumber and many herbs. A simple dressing was made from lemon juice & olive oil.
• Coffee and tea was also served throughout the day, along with herbal tea brewing on the barbecue too.
• Yesterday I also made a batch of Donut Muffins to take along....these were a great hit with everyone. I'd say especially the children.....but I think the adults enjoyed them just as much. I had to hide them yesterday afternoon from DS17 or there might not have been enough to take to the garden...lol. 

There was plenty to go around. I'm glad I made a double batch, and the mini size went down well while everyone was working.......

So here's the recipe for the Donut Muffins....this is a new recipe for me....but I will certainly be making them again....so easy....but ohhhhhh so doubly yummy!

Donut Muffins

175g (6oz) butter, softened

200g (7oz) caster sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

375 g (13oz) plain flour

3/4 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

250mls (9 fl-oz) milk

Topping

100g (3 1/2oz) caster sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

25g (1oz) melted butter

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Grease your muffin pans well with melted butter.
3. Beat the butter and sugar until light, fluffy and creamy.
4. Add the eggs a little at a time, making sure the egg is incorporated well before adding more.
5. In another bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, nutmeg and salt.
6. Add half of the flour mix to the creamed mixture along with half of the milk.
7. Gently fold the mixture together until well combined..then repeat using the remaining half of the milk and flour.
8. Spoon mixture into the muffin pans filling them to roughly 2/3 full.
9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes depending on your oven. Or until lightly golden or clean skewer tested.
10. For the topping, mix the sugar and cinnamon together. 
11. Fresh from the oven after removing them from the muffin pan, paint the tops with melted butter, then toss them in the cinnamon sugar.
12. Eat them warm from the oven or eat them cold....if they last that long. 

Donut Muffins

Here's wishing all the ladies that are

celebrating Mothers Day

this Sunday.....

a very happy Mothers Day !

Taking the GOOD with the BAD

Gardening for me is a learning process. I have learn't soooo much in these last few years in the garden. I've added heaps of new plants to my list of 'Plant it and have a go'.

I've two new plants in the garden which I have been excited to watch grow....Rosella and Chinese Water Chestnuts. My Rosella hasn't exactly been what you would call a success...but I have learnt lots while attempting to grow it....But the Chestnuts are going great!

Annette Mcfarlane has an informative PDF on Rosella; and according to her notes...I think my plants fell to 'root rot'. I couldn't understand why after all the rain we had a while back caused my plants to become sad looking....I was sure they had gotten plenty of water....but they began looking like they were dying of thirst just the same....

Rosella with Rootrot

Rosella with their calyx
inside the calyx are the seeds

So I've learn't lots about growing Rosella, and will take it all under my wing next season when I try again.....I've excepted the fact that I can't do anything with such a small harvest of calyx, so the one reasonably healthy plant that stands away from the others will be saved for it's seed. Some good came out of this bad after all....because I will have enough seed to use next season. You have to look at the bigger picture and not dwell on what you don't have...but focus on what you DO have. I have Rosella seed for next year! Yayyyy!

*****************************************

That was the bad news....now on to the GOOD news........I've talked about planting my Chinese Water Chestnuts before....in my water garden (the neighbors bath).

The Chestnut reeds are beginning to dye off....which is natural....I will be saving the reeds for weaving...Once they are all dried, they can be soaked to make a good medium for weaving.

Long thin Reeds of the Chinese Water Chestnuts
are beginning to die off
almost ready for harvest
(The other leaf is Water Celery)

I started off with just a few Chestnuts just like these. (Thanks Sonia)....For your water garden, mix a 50:50 of rich compost with sand...and build a good layer of that on the base of your water garden...fill with water and plant a few Chestnuts. You can purchase them online or better still, barter some from a friend to begin your own patch. If they have dried out, or have been frozen, they will not be viable. So fresh is best.

Their taste is unique, but sweet, crispy and fresh. I would describe the flavour as a blend of coconut, apple and maybe sugarcane.......I do have a hard time explaining flavors, so if you can help here...please feel free to leave a comment.

We have been enjoying them fresh from the water garden, or simply sliced thinly into salads. The boys aren't too keen on them whole as a snack, but their salads are still being eaten.....lol. Mum struggles with the skin if left on.....so I peel them roughly when I add them to a salad...but me...I eat them straight from the pond.

Chinese Water Chestnuts

I believe they hold their crispness after cooking too which also improves their flavour and texture. They can be added to all sorts of meals including stews, curries, soups and stir fries. Many Asian recipes include Water Chestnuts.  There is also an Asian drink made by blending raw chestnuts in water  or boiling them or their skins in water for 15 to 30 minutes...adding a little palm sugar to enhance the flavour. The drink tastes like water that has sweet corn added to it.....and it is believed the drink has cooling properties; great for hot days is Asia or even Australia maybe...lol.......  I'm yet to try these other recipes, but they sound interesting.

As I dig around the bottom of the sandy soil, beneath the water...I'm also finding chestnuts with new shoots...the ones with the most shoots....I will be keeping to follow on the next planting...but they must  be kept in water while you prepare your next water garden or finish your harvest in your existing water garden.

Chinese Water Chestnuts
chosen for replanting the next crop

Have you ever tried Chinese Water Chestnuts? Would they be something you would consider growing in a water garden? What about the Rosella? Have you had success? What conditions did you have?

Vermin & Basket Weaving with raw materials

Hi there.....I've got lots to tell you, but firstly I must apologise for my absence. I've been in a bit of a rut lately and life has been full on to say the least. For those who have written to me asking when I will be blogging again....Thank-you for all your well wishes....I'm back, or at least I'm going to try to be back!
During my absence I've lost touch with what everyone else is up to as well. So I want to hear from you. Tell me what's happening at your house at the moment!


So here is a catch up with some things you may find interesting........


A week ago, I would have said the biggest thing I was dealing with would have been trying to get my Mother's blood sugar levels under control...but thankfully that's all good now.......NOW the biggest thing I'm dealing with at the moment is VERMIN...It seems my crop of Madagascar Beans has attracted all the rats and mice in the street...Who knew there was this many....I mean it's not something I care to think about really......I assume they are all coming from the neighbours (3) that keep chickens....
I first thought that the damage was maybe due to birds, as most of the devastation was near the top...(where a bird could perch)...until I found evidence...droppings...large droppings......arrrrghhhhh!

First crop was totally munched....I picked a whole bucket of beans....every one damaged beyond edible.....Thankfully there's still hope because the vines are still flowering.......But I need to get rid of the VERMIN if I want to save any future crops.

 You can see how big these rats are....

VERMIN COUNT SO FAR....RATS 4, MICE 10...... to be continued, I'm sure.....

*********************

On to some exciting news....... 

I recently attended a BASKET WEAVING COURSE

organised by the Shellharbour Council through the Barrack Heights Community Garden.

What an awesome day we had.....

Lovely hand-crafted baskets and other items made by Mr Jim Walliss can be admired at the Arts and Crafts NSW gallery at the Rocks in Sydney...Jim, who ran the class was mostly self taught many years ago from studying aboriginal artefacts in State museums in both South Australia and Queensland. Wanting to use plants indigenous to his local area...NSW.....he found there was very little documentation. 

You can read more on the Aboriginal Plant use for NSW Southern Tablelands website here.....Even after seeking help from Aboriginal Elders he found very few who knew the skills AND were willing to teach him. I can tell you he has certainly done himself proud with his research and developed skills, now having Aboriginal elders seeking him for his knowledge; and we were fortunate enough to be his pupils for the entire day.

The class was split into two groups....One being taught the Coiled basket....and the other half being taught the String Bag technique; with the intent to take your new skills away and swap teaching another person the technique you learnt....I was taught the coiled basket technique. Here is a copy of the booklet we were given which is very simple, but very informative. 

Here are a few photos of some of the items which were made on the day.....

Ross and Joy made these items

Bark from the
Brown Kurrajong tree

Cordage from the bark of the Brown Currajong

Seeds Left to Right: 

Bunya (dyed with most likely red ochre),

Macadamia & Wisteria

Towards the end of the day we were all taught how to harvest and make string from the bark of the brown Kurrajong tree. 

I found this to be very interesting. 

We also used the dried and re-soaked leaves of the Red Hot Poker plant to make a thicker cordage.....I preferred this cord......but it is an introduced plant and not indigenous to Australia. Did you know that your Aloe Vera also belongs to the same family as the Red Hot Poker? Picture the flower......

String made from the leaves of the Red Hot Poker plant

One of the ladies was also shown how to make a New Zealand Flax basket from the leaves of the New Zealand Flax plant....as we watched.....I had a go at making one after the course with a Cordyline, but the leaves were too short and too thin....

New Zealand bag using the leaves of a Cordyline plant

Wanting to finish my own basket from the course...(below)

This basket is roughly twice the size of the one Joy made
: Reason for not being finished...lol

..........I set out hunting and gathering plants last week...and found many along the side of the road and not too far from home.....I had gathered some on my own, then another day after visiting the Albion Park Community Garden; both myself and Ross and his wife Joy went gathering more....
Ross has more knowledge of plants and where they are in the area than I do...but I'm learning. Thanks Ross and Joy for all your help!


Here are the plants that we gathered............................

Typha species.... BULRUSH, CUMBUNGI

This seems to be very brittle....Once soaked..
it should be easier to manage.

Phragmites australis.....COMMON REED....aka Tiger Grass

The base of the thicker plants can be used to make beads like below

Phragmites reed used to make the four beads on the top necklace.
Cordage was Red Hot Poker leaves

Dianella.... FLAX LILY 

For some very clear instruction on how to prepare the flax look here......

To learn how to weave a place-mat look here.

This large Flax will be excellent for weaving a basket.

Commersonia fraseri ......BROWN KURRAJONG

Ross kindly showed me where this tree is, but I don't plan on harvesting any of the branches as it has been planted in a Bush Regeneration Program and I also took home the sample of bark from the class.

Commersonia fraseri BROWN KURRAJONG
Branch

Commersonia fraseri BROWN KURRAJONG Foliage 

Lomandra longifolia ..... SPINY-HEADED MAT-RUSH

It's an idea to harvest dried plant material as this can save you a lot of time. In order to use most plant matter for basket weaving, you first dry it, then soak it for hours to make it pliable for weaving. 

 

Baumea rubiginosa ...... SOFT TWIGGY RUSH

I think this is the correct photo?

Salix Sepulcralis.......WEEPING WILLOW 

Stripping the willow of its leaves and gathering it in coils

will make it easier later to soak in water.

Syagrus romanzoffiana......QUEEN PALM TREE 

See how huge this pod is in comparison

to the front of my car? I wonder what I will make with this?

Inside the pod

The outer layer of the pod.

I've also gathered some leaves from the Bana Grass at the local Community Garden

and some Agave leaf...this produces lovely fine thread

Everyone found the class to be very rewarding....now I find myself looking at plants that I never gave a second thought to.....I just need to make time to finish my basket and begin another item......

(I better go do some house-work, this post is far more in depth than I had planned

...but hey...I've loved sharing it all with you)

Have you ever made a basket from raw materials?

Maybe you have done a similar course?

Would you be interested in learning more about

basket weaving with raw materials?