STITCHING 'N' BREWING

I have been somewhat of a slack blogger lately. I have lots I have wanted to share but just haven't had the time to get on here and write a post. So I will be making more frequent posts for a while now.

I wanted to share these very cute owls. Found the pattern in a handmade magazine and I have been collecting scraps of material for a while. These cute owls are all made from offcuts from old clothes etc. I made them as Easter pressies for two cute niecesof mine but guess what? As soon as they were finished Super Boy and Zippy claimed one each.

I had intended making a couple more but haven't had the time and now that school hols are here I won't be getting the sewing machine out for another few weeks yet.

The herbs in the garden are growing prolifically at the moment. I have heaps of basil, parsley, lemon grass, lemon verbena, marjoran, oregano, rosemary and sage. I tend to get a bit lazy and forget to use them. So yesterday I went hunting for recipes and found some wonderful ones I plan on trying. Not just cooking ones either. As I try them out over the next few days I will share them here.

Today I brewed up a batch of hair shine. I have made this before and it worked a treat, especially on my hair and the boys which is straight and brown. It even cleared up Guitar Dudes flaky scalp problem.

Rosemary and Sage Hair Shine

3 tbs rosemary

2 tbs sage

1 1/2 quartz water

Boil the sage and rosemary in the water for 15 minutes. Remove the herbs and pour the liquid into a container. I use a spray container. When cool refrigerate. Spray on hair and let the liquid sit for 2 minutes. Rinse off.

M xx

POWER BLITZ

I am on a power blitz. Mr Gadget is very interested in solar power especially with the rebates on offer - solar panels are a gadget to him and he does get mighty excitied about them. He almost blew me away when he suggested it. After a lot of research we have decided to go ahead and get solar power but first I want to see how much we can reduce our power usage. After all it is definately cheaper to reduce our use power use than to make it.

I started off with basic changes.
Turning lights off when we leave a room. All our light bulbs are the more energy efficient ones now.
Turning power off at the wall. Now this sounds so easy but I have been met with such resistance from Mr Gadget and the boys. They argue that it is too hard, not necessary, messes up the settings, doesn't save on power use etc. But really it is just laziness! Slowly they are coming around though. In the mean time I continue to go from room to room switching off power points. Some of the power points are really hard to get too -behind havy furniture but there is a power point gadget you can get with a remote control. Thinking this might be a good idea but I have resisted buying one because a) its another gadget and B) I have a bad relationship with remotes!
I have discovered that some powered items don't need to on continually such as the filter to the fish tank. I used to leave it running all the time, then decided to turn it off at nights and back on during the day. The fish were still active and alive, the tank was still clear. So now I have turned the filter off completely and it has now been over a month and all is nice.
The electric toothbrushes were always plugged in but now once the blue light is on indicating they are fully charged I turn them off and they don't get turned back until they are flat.
The pool filter I cautiously reduced the running time - just by a small amount at a time, and then watched making sure the pool didn't turn green. I think I have it worked out to the smallest running time to keep the water clean and blue.
We use appliances differently now too. I only turn on the oven when cooking a batch of things. I am using the gas bbq and cooking top more than the electric oven.
Our hot water is gas so no problems there.
The phones are cordless and rechargable and were once always turned on. Now I charge them up and turn them off.
So all these changes have resulted in lowering our power usage.

There is one area that is really wasting a lot of power and that is our fridge/freezer set up. We are a family of five and a few years ago found we never had room in our fridge so we brought a cheap small bar fridge for drinks. Then we began buying meats in bulk for freezing and making pasta sauces, stewing apple and freezing other produce. We ran out of freezer space in the freezer attached to our main fridge so went out and brought an electricity guzzling small chest freezer. So with our fridge/freezer, bar fridge and the chest freezer they add a lot to our power usage. I am in a quandry as to what to do since all three are working really well. Our best option is to make the cash outlay and buy the one fridge/freezer that is the right size for our needs rather than running the three we have now. I just dont like the idea of getting rid of perfectly good items and buying new. In the mean time we have emptied the bar fridge and turned it off. Mr Gadget is all for buying a new fridge/freezer but he is all excited about fridges with ice and water dispensers and the fridges with a mini pop open door to get out milk/drinks. Oh, he loves his gadgets! Me, I just want the most energy efficient basic design that meets our needs.

I will be standing my ground on this one too.
Stay tuned.

OKRA

I have been asked how to grow okra and how to cook with it. I like silver queen okra - seems to grow well here (Newcastle area). I grow mine from seeds and they are very easy to propagate. They love sun and heat so I have planted my okra seedlings in the front garden whick is north facing and recieves sun all day. The flowers are yellow and pretty little things, though they only last a day and really don't stand out.

The okra pods need to be picked when small or otherwise they tend to get hard and woody. When picking them pick with a bit of stalk intact as the okra have this slimy viscous sap inside them. Not at all attractive - like snot was Zippy's comment.

Before cooking the okra I prepare them the Greek way by washing and trimming the stalk but dont remove the cone shaped tops. Place in a bowl and pour over vinegar. Turn to coat and then let stand for 20 min. Then rinse well and dry gently. This reduces the slimyness and prevents them splitting when cooking. I use the okras in casseroles or with stir fries. Just remember to keep them whole. They are a tasty vege and easy to grow if you are in a place which gets enough sun.

FRUIT TREES

A few months ago I decided to plant fruit trees/vegetables/herbs in preference of exotics or even native trees. I decided that when deciding on what to plant my main factor would be food production, followed by trees native to this area. No more buying for pretty flowers alone or lush fast growth. No now I want my garden to be able to feed us.

My latest plantings have included 4 olive trees down the side boundary of our property.

One navel orange - taking the citrus plantings to two lemons, one mandarin and now one orange.

One dwarf banana tree.

One dwarf avocado tree.

One mango tree tree.

The dwarf fruit trees are in pots in a very sunny corner in the pool area. They get sun just about all day in this area and being on pavers and close to the colourbond fence get heat transferrred from these sources too.

My dwarf fruit trees were purchased from my local nursery. There are a few good Australian sites

http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/fruit%20pages/dwarfs.htm

and

http://www.kendallfarms.com.au/

Both have lots of information on growing dwarf trees in pots, bags or in the ground. Now for the patiences - a few years and I should be rewarded with some delicious home grown fruits.

Funny thing is that just when I am thinking I have ran out of room to plant anymore veges or shrubs or trees I find more - a little less grass or I remove an ornamental plant. Really I think I can find a home for a few more yet!

Reading and watching

Everyone that knows me knows how I love to read. With the hot weather this summer I have been staying indoors more and have had a great chance to read some terrific books. So I thought I would share a few of my latest reads.

THE COMPLETE BOOK OF VEGETABLES, HERBS &FRUIT by Matthew Biggs, Jekka McVicar & Bob Flowerdew.

I got this book for my birthday and I love it. It is Australian (there is a UK edition due out soon) so all the plants and climatic conditions refer to here. It is divided into three sections - veges, herbs and fruit as well as a section at the back titled Practical Gardening. This section deals with such topics as planning veg, fruit and herb gards with some great plans, crop rotation, pollination and companion planting, mainenance and weeds and pests.

In essence it is like four books in one. I love the info given to each vege, herb and fruit - species, cultivation, medicinal, culinary, pests/diseases etc. There are lovely photographs and some delicious recipes. I like how the veges in the book are not only the common ones (carrots, tomatoes, cabbages etc) but other lesser known ones such as Cardoon (spanish thistle), Purslane, Samphire, Scorzonera (vegetable oyster). This is a book iI can see myself referring to time and time again. I have already made a list of the fruit trees I want after reading through this book.

ONE MAGIC SQUARE by Lolo Houbein

I found this book in the local second hand book shop. Lolo is encouraging everyone to grow their own veges, starting with one square metre of soil. Houbein includes designs and instructions for more than 30 different one-square-metre plots, including salad, soup, pizza and anti-oxidant plots. One Magic Square is Australian and written for Australian conditions. With chapters describing the vegetables, fruit and herbs that can be grown, as well as sections on compost, pests, mulch and seeds, there is everything included that anyone would need to start growing their own food in temperate Australia. I love how passionate Lola is about her subject. The book is full of wit and wisdom with gems of information—like placing a tile under a developing pumpkin to prevent rot. She writes in a chatty, rambling style. This book will appeal to both gardeners and non-gardeners, encouraging them to take the first step to growing their own nutritious, organic food.

BEYOND ORGANICS:GARDENING FOR THE FUTURE by Helen Cushing

This one I borrowed from the library to read. It is like a How To guide to transforming the average garden into a tranquil eco paradise and wildlife oasis. The author exposes some unpalatable truths about everyday gardening practices, and examines eco-friendly alternatives and their advantages. This book packs a wealth of information on biodiversity, conservation, soil and plant selection – interwoven with personal recollections – into one slender volume. Definately worth reading.

Watching on tv.

A new show on ten (Wednesdays) called Guerrilla Gardeners. A group of six young landscapers and renovators who strike ugly public sites and spruce them up without any municipal approval. Last week they tackled a corner block sandwiched between a train station, bus stop, crowded road with gas and electricity wires and dirt with a very low ph. Too barren to grow anything. They made seating, raised beds with hardy plants, painted the electricity box, made a lovely sundial and bike rack. The transformation was good -very good. I will be interested to watch this weeks episode -evidently there is some sort of strife with the local council.

Also heard of another show on Fox starting up March 29th called ALTER ECO http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/alter-eco/alter-eco-show-info.html. It is a 13 part series about ways people can live a more earth friendly lifestyle. During the series the ALTER ECO team renovate a 1920's house making it green and showcasing new options available to builders/renovators. The house acts as a base for the crew but it also features food and gardening tips, creative ways to make the green shift. Sounds worth a watch.

M xx

EGGPLANTICIOUS

Mmmmm, I love eggplants! This year I planted two different types. Got lazy and brought seedlings. I planted eggplant Bonica which is a F1 hybrid. It produces oval shaped fruit. These have been slow to grow and ripen. But finally I picked the first of these today.

The other eggplants I have are mini lebanese. They grow long and elongated and are great producers. Each plant has quiet a few growing on them.

The eggplants are growing in my front yard vegetable garden, the path in the picture leads to the front door. I have lost count of the amount of people who have asked me what these are. No one recognises what eggplants look like it seems. In this garden I also had tomatoes (all ripped out now), okra (will post about these another day), red kidney beans, basil and a border of thyme. This front yard vege garden was going to be temporary (because Mr Gadget was under the impression that front gardens are NOT for vegetables - too unsightly). But low and hold, he has been swayed after seeing how all the vegetables have flourished here and how peole haven't gasped in shock but have commented that they look great. And of course I was a little bit shifty and planted some of Mr Gadgets favourites here too - the basil, tomatoes and okra. So the vege patch will stay - hurray, I say!

My very favourite way of cooking them is to cut in half length way, rub cut surface with garlic or lemon juice, drizzle with olive oil, season with black pepper and sea salt and then roast in oven for about 20 minutes. Delicious! They are also wonderful cooked on the bbq. And a grating of mozzarella cheese melted on top is a bit divine too.

THOSE BILLS

The bills come in and I gasp at how much health insurance costs, at the latest gas or water or electricity bill. I pay them by the due day and then don't give them too much thought until the next time they arrive in my mail box.

Not today. Today I decided to review my bills and find cheaper options or way to save.

I started with the phone bill. I rang them up after checking online for their best advertised packages. Straight away I found I can save $4.00 each month by electing not to get paper bills and therefore cutting down on admin cost. and also by paying by direct deposit each month. Then I saved further by asking what the best plan was for me. I combined home phone and a mobile and saved a further few dollars each month on phone rental. We have a silent number which costs $2.66 each month but I opted to keep that as is for the time being.

Feeling inspired by the success with the phone bill I decided to check our health insurance. I have a condition that requires me to pay $120.00 each 3-4 months for health aids. These weren't covered under the old plan. But after asking to be insured for this cover the lady on the phoned asked if I stillneeded obstetric cover - my three munchkins are more than enough so the answer was definately no. And since no one suffers from pshyciatric conditions she suggested we stop that part of the cover and add health aids which worked out cheaper. So another success.

Next car insurance and home and contents - I worked out that I wasn't insured enough to cover contents so upped that. Found a cheaper car insurance as we live in a suburb that is deemed safer and I have a good record so that slashed that bill.

Now feeling happier about the days savings I looked at the gas and electricity bills. This summer our electricity bill is higher than it has been for the same periods in the last two years. Not happy about that and I have decided to get back on my bandwagon with the family about saving electricity - simple things like turning off at power points, lights off etc.
The gas usage is good and I have made another aim to reduce the use more.

I have also made a chart of when major bills are due so I am prepared for them. I am so glad I bothered to ring around today and ask if they could offer me better fees and services. It has really paid off.