Eating frugally

The challenge at the moment in our household is to spend as little money as possible on non-essential items, and to achieve the best price possible for essentials. We are trying to stretch our money as far as it can possibly go, just in case it takes a long while to get our business established here in a country town. Trips to our major regional town which is 50klms away, are only for essential trips. Our local Supa IGA has a range that compares well to the major supermarkets on both range and price, and we would prefer to shop there if we can to support the local community here. The one exception I have to this at this point in time is meat. No-one here is town does free range meat or chicken. There is a butcher in the major town that sells grass fed beef and pork, and the supermarket there sells organic free range chicken, so I need to make sure I stock up when I am there to store in our freezer. We do have friends who process their own beef and pork, and we hopefully will start to help them out with the processing, and purchase directly from them if we can. Damian does also want to learn to butcher our own meat chickens as well, but wants to watch someone experienced do this first so that we aren't learning as we go on an actual bird of our own.  Anyway....I am digressing a little :)
I think I am pretty good at using up what we have, and making cheap, nutritious meals out of not much. I think I can attribute that to Mum, as we didn't have a lot of money while I was growing up and Mum had to feed us all on a very limited budget...good on you Mum! xx I find that a good, hearty, filling meal can be made for very little money by making pies.  By mixing a little meat with lots of other fillings, a pie can be filling and healthy. One of my favourite pies to fall back on is a bacon, egg, silverbeet and cheese pie. I have a pie maker so I just lay a sheet of puff pastry in, fill it up, put on the pastry top, and 8 minutes later....yummo.

The egg and silverbeet are from our own produce, they only take a half rasher of bacon each, and a little bit of cheese to top. Another favourite is curried chicken pies, again very cheap.

 Just some shredded chicken, onion, peas, carrots, curry, stock etc. Out of $5 worth of shredded chicken I managed to get 8 pies. And I know exactly what is in them! Equivalent pies at our local pie shop which sells award winning pies which are just divine, are $5 each! I also find if I half bake the pies, I can freeze them, pull them out of the freezer to defrost when needed, and finish the cooking process then. Other pies I am going to make soon will be red wine and beef, steak and mushroom and steak and bacon.

Do you have a favourite pie that you like to make?
 

Dreampot cooking....and a bit more permaculture learning....

I purchased a dream pot a few weeks back, and this is the 2nd time I have used it. Yesterday I cooked up a coconut ginger chicken and rice. Both the rice and meat dish cook at the same time, and after the initial heating up on the stove, the pots are place in the dreampot and continue to cook. This works very similar to a slow cooker, but doesn't use any power or gas after the initial heating, so will be a great option for when we move to the property, as we will be on solar power.

It can also be used to make yoghurt and keep things cool. They're not cheap to buy, but hopefully a good investment. It will also be good for when we next take the caravan on a trip away, as it is safe to cook in this whilst travelling, which is what a lot of people use it for.
Not too much happening here other than that at the moment, I have things I could be doing, but can't seem to get motivated enough to do them...it's starting to get hot here again during the day, and I'm not a real heat lover, once it gets over about 28 deg my energy levels drop and I would rather be inside. Probably live in the wrong place then! The late afternoons after about 4.30 are just beautiful though....great outside and BBQ weather. I am currently reading Linda Woodrow's book on home permaculture design, I am really enjoying it. Even though I have done my Permaculture Design Certificate, this gives more detailed instructions on the actual setup...Linda, where did you learn all this info from? You are so clever...it's giving me lots more to think about with regards to my design at the new property...I thought I had it worked out pretty much, but back to the drawing board I go :) Better now than after I had started putting gardens in though...

Potato Planting day

Today was time to plant the potatoes. I ordered mine in from Green Harvest, and I got 6 different varieties to try, and I have decided this year to try the potato tower method. The varieties I am trying are Sebago, Nicola, Dutch Cream, Desiree, Toolangi Delight and Ruby Lou. I have purchased 12 kilograms all up, so I would like to get a 5:1 yield back at least to make it worthwhile. I used chicken wire as the frames, and put sugar can mulch in around the base and sides and filled the towers up with home made compost, alternating layers of potatoes all the way up the towers, then watered them in...crossing my fingers for a good harvest in a few months time.

                                     

The sewing retreat on the weekend was very productive. I made quite a few items, and I also repaired a skirt that I needed to replace the zipper on. This is a bag I made for Kasey for school, but I think it is probably a little small for a school bag, but she loves it anyway. I just need to finish it off with a couple of clip studs to join the top on to the bag properly.

I also made her a new lunch bag, as her other one was getting a bit past it. 

 A new sun hat for me...might make a couple more of these I think...it has a nice wide brim, so is really great for the garden.

 There is always a project that the retreat ladies give us to do, and this time it was this table runner using a special flip ruler to do the shapes, I loved the colours of this one, and it is on the table taking pride of place.

 The last couple of days have been pretty busy, I had a bit of time spare before picking Kasey up from school on Monday, so I called in to the op shop and picked up this lovely picnic basket. I've always wanted one like this, but wasn't prepared to pay the high price of a brand new one. I picked this one up for $15, so was happy with that.

 Yesterday I spent some time in the kitchen, I made these lemon honey yoghurt muffins from Linda's blog for lunches, they are very yummy, for the extra sweet tooth's around here,  I made up some lemon butter in the Thermomix (very, very quick and easy, 10 mins from start to finish) to spread in the middle to keep them happy until they get a bit more used to less sugar, which is a big focus around here right now, and Linda has heaps of healthy recipes on her blog, so I will be trying quite a few for lunch box treats. I added some Chia seeds to them as well, they look just like poppy seeds, and no-one has even asked what they are, so a bonus.

I also made up a batch of mayonnaise in the Thermomix last night as Toni wanted some to put on her chicken sandwiches for lunches, very quick and easy to make, and yummy. I was looking at the prices of whole egg mayo in the supermarkets and they charge nearly $6 a jar, so it got left on the shelf! To make this batch would have cost me about $1.00 I would think, and I know exactly what is in it, no numbers in this jar.

I also made up a batch of yoghurt, and a big batch of dough from the Artisan 5 minutes a day for fresh bread book, so it has been resting in the fridge, and I will probably bake my first loaf from that tomorrow. I used a mix of organic white flour, as well as a soy and linseed mix, and I also added chia seeds, so it should be a nice filling, healthy loaf. I also baked up a batch of pikelets for the lunch boxes as well. I have flowers coming in tomorrow to be made up for the weekend, and an embroidery workshop in the morning, and scrapbooking Friday, so still a busy week ahead.

Creamy Mushroom Chicken

This is a quick and easy dinner meal, that is delicious. The combination of the chicken, mushrooms, bacon and cream makes this a creamy, hearty dish. Yum.

Ingredients
1/2 kilo chicken - diced or sliced
3 rashers short cut bacon, diced
1 onion
250g mushrooms sliced
1 clove garlic
1 tbspn wholegrain mustard
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
300ml cream
Butter and olive oil for frying
Cornflour and water to thicken

Put chicken and bacon in a hot pan with a tablespoon butter and olive oil, and fry until golden. Add onion and garlic and mustard and fry for 2 minutes, add worcestershire sauce and fry for a further 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and  2/3 cream, and stir over a medium heat for 2 minutes, add a teaspoon cornflour in 1/4 cup water to thicken, turn down heat and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes. Add remaining cream, and serve.

It's been a quiet couple of days here, I have become a little temporarily addicted to Pinterest, while I find my way around it and look at lots of inspiration for around the house. I have nearly finished the dimensional artwork piece I have been working on for our bedroom, and I have also started a block of the month project for another piece of artwork for the walls, which will be stunning when finished (hopefully). I have the choice to either make tomorrow very full on with running around, or very quiet plodding around here, will just depend how I feel in the morning....the plodding is winning out at the moment, hopefully I feel a bit more energetic when I get up in the morning.

Weekend happenings

On my way back from up north last weekend, I picked up a large tray of mangoes from a street market stall. Today I thought I would use some of them up, rather than them going to waste. I am in the process of making mango icecream with the thermomix, but I forgot the cream, so we will make it for dessert tomorrow night instead, it only takes a couple of minutes. But I did get the mango chutney made. And it is extremely yummy, it is a thermomix recipe, and has a nice bit of spice to it to make it tasty, but not hot, and this mixed with the sweetness of the mango and raisins, is yum.

I played around about a bit with my scrapbook max software, to do up the label, as I might make some for Xmas presents. We do have another clucky hen, one of the black australorp girls is sitting, so I will get her some fertile eggs this week, and allow her to hatch some out. She is so funny, if I feel under her, or speak to her while she is sitting, she carries on like there is no tomorrow, cackles away and won't be quiet for at least 5 minutes....I purchased a new chicken feeder as Damian hasn't had time to make the necessary adjustments to the one he made, and we have so many rats taking the chookseed, so I have finally been able to put the lid to the fully closed position today, and they are working it out, with a couple of the girls very confident in using it, and they are teaching the other girls at the same time. We have managed to dispatch of a few rats this weekend, they were nesting above the nesting box at the chook pen, so Damian took the dogs down there, and promptly got rid of quite a few, the dogs are so quick, and the job is done in a matter of a second, much more humane than baiting them and them having a long, slow death. We have to get them all gone, as I have been stressing about snakes, and nearly stood on a huge snake this morning, I don't know if it was a black or a brown, it looked like a brown snake to me, but some of the black snakes can look brown as well....whatever it was I want it GONE.....snakes absolutely creep me out, I am terrified of them....it took off towards next door pretty quickly, and the neighbours aren't helping  by having grass 2 foot tall in their back yard, so I think we might have a word to them and ask them if they can keep the grass down, at least through summer when they are really moving about. So I will only be going down there with my gumboots on, and keeping a really good eye out from now on. We have seen more snakes here in the last 2 years, than we have seen in the previous 17 years here...ugh.....I shudder at the thought of them....Damian managed to get the skirting and arcitraves all done in the office today, and get it prepped for painting, so that will be next on the list. I have managed to get a few Christmas presents sorted over the last few days, so I am feeling much more organsied about that, even though I still have no idea what to get Damian, or Michael. Damian and I might even forego presents for each other this year, as we really don't need anything in particular...and we have a few other things happening during December and January which will more than make up for it. So, off to sewing class tomorrow to finish the project started last week, and to finish organising Toni's Xmas present. I have a busy week coming up, Diesel's surgery is Tuesday, I have a wedding on Thursday and the sewing club Xmas party on Friday night. After that, things should settle down though for the run in to Christmas, hopefully

Making cream cheese, apple sauce and replanting the vegie garden

I made a batch of yoghurt earlier in the week, and I forgot to sweeten it, so I decided to finally give making cream cheese with it a go. I wrapped it in a cotton teatowel and placed it in a strainer in a large bowl and placed it in the fridge for a few days for the whey to separate. It has turned out perfectly.

There is about 350mls of whey from this process, so I will have a look at some recipes to use this for. I think it can be used quite extensively in baking. I have added sweet chilli sauce to some of the cream cheese, and it has made a beautiful, creamy dip, which is really nice with crackers.

While in the kitchen, there were a few apples in the fruit bowl that needed to be used up, so I decided to make some apple sauce to use in baking cakes, so I used the apple slinky to core the apples, then threw them in the thermomix with some water, chopped and cooked and pureed, and voila, lovely smooth apple sauce, with NO preservatives or sugar...much better and fresher than the bought stuff and so much cheaper too.

It was so easy to make, it was almost laughable. Kasey and I went up to the markets this morning, I bought a few lot of seedlings for the garden, and I also bought a huge tray of strawberries to freeze up to make smoothies in the thermomis. It was $5 for the whole tray, and after washing them and removing the stalks there is just under 3 kilos of strawberries there. I have packed them all flat in bags in the freezer for later use. This afternoon was spent planting a LOT of seedlings in the vegie garden, but in a few weeks it should all start to pay off, and the vegie garden will start to become a thriving place to be again. I still need to plant some peas and carrots, and probably some rockmelon and watermelon for summer fruits and a few more summer greens and salad vegies and leaf crops, but this afternoon gave it a huge kick along. The eggs are buildng up quite quickly now that I am beating Reggie to them, so will do some baking hopefully this week, and just Kasey and I for dinner tonight and she has asked for boiled eggs, the thermy makes these so easy to do as well, so I will pop them in shortly to cook. So, a busy and productive Sunday, and after the HUGE effort of cleaning out the shed on Thursday, it's been a very productive week.
Oh..and the tooth fairy needs to visit tonight...the 2nd front tooth has finally fallen out, Kasey found it beside her bed this morning...

No takeaway tonight :)

I'm feeling very proud of myself, did not feel like cooking tonight...So I had a look through the thermomix cookbook and put a mushroom risotto on to cook...so a nice, filling, yummy dinner...didn't have to buy any ingredients, they were all here...well other than white wine, but I had a bottle of champers in the fridge, so I used that instead, and I used some of my homegrown shiitake mushrooms, it was a definite novelty just wandering out to the greenhouse and picking some mushrooms....so it's now chugging away in the thermy, smells good...will be cooked in a few minutes...should be yum...
Note to add:
It was yummy...

Icecream, Renovations and keeping busy

Geez, I'm exhausted today...I went a bit overboard this morning while I was feeling motivated and did lots of things, and wore myself out..lol....Did some dusting, vacuumed and mopped the floors, did the washing, and caught up on some phone calls that had to be made, booked the pest control for next week and ordered some candle making and skincare making supplies.  Over the weekend, I cleaned out the pantry as it was getting quite messy in there, so it's all tidy and organised again now. I also cleaned out the top drawer of our vanity unit in the ensuite, will do the other 2 as I feel like it. Damian pulled out Toni's shelving out of her cupboard on Saturday in preparation for the new shelving coming in. After he did that, I got to work painting it, so it would all be ready. The painting in there was finished on Sunday with the painting of the gloss on the trims. The new shelving for Michael's room arrived this morning, and is now installed.

I just have to paint the plasterboard door now to match the walls and then we are just waiting for the new carpet to be installed. School holidays here, so we made some ice cream this morning in the ice cream maker. We haven't used it before, so we just made up a basic vanilla ice cream, it's very yummy and very creamy, much nicer than bought...it comes out as soft serve, and we can put it in a container in the freezer for firmer icecream.

I made pumpkin soup in the slow cooker today, and have made a loaf of bread in the breadmaker to have with it

Got to sit down tomorrow and work out some activities for the school holidays so Kasey doesn't go stircrazy. She would like her friends to come over and play, so I need to work that out with their Mum's as to what day suits. We're going to spend a day out this week and go to the movies and have lunch out, and other than that I want her to have a break as they all get a bit worn out towards the end of each term. So lots going on to keep me busy, but will take it a little easier tomorrow after a busy day today.

Around the place

Been fairly quiet around here the last week. Just plodding along through each day at the moment. I have some vegie seedlings to go and plant this afternoon, did a big harvest off the eggplants the other day, I gave quite a few to the chooks as they had been munched on by something, but I did leave them on the plants for too long as I hadn't worked them in to the menu to cook them. I cooked some up in to eggplant fritters, they are really nice, especially with chilli sauce.

I did manage to get a few eggplants that hadn't been munched on, along with a few other goodies. Still only get 1 egg per day....the girls had better get a move on, or they will be moving out...they are very expensive when they aren't producing, and you have to buy eggs as well as feed them.

I took Diesel back to the vet to get his stitches out from his desexing surgery, he finds the car rides really stressful :) !! (not)

He definitely seems more comfortable in the front legs since he has been on anti inflammatory tablets and glucosamine chews, so hopefully we can keep him as comfortable as possible. I have started to do some knitting and crocheting at night by the fire. I have been watching some online tutorials from http://www.mikeyssmail.com/  His instructional videos are so easy to follow. I have been trying to get the hang of granny squares, and I couldn't get the grasp of it by following a written pattern, so his video tutorial is fabulous. This was effort number 1, my practice piece. I really like the look of the squares with the round centre, just for something a bit different to the usual squares...

And I have told Kasey that I would crochet her a blanket for her bed, so I have started on that, in pink, dusty pink and purples...I have done 2 of those...about 118 more to go! I am threading the ends in as I go so that I don't have to do that at the end...

I am going to alternate the colours around, so that on some the centres will be dusty pink and others will be the darker pink and the outer edges will alternate over the 3 colours as well, to add variation and interest. I also bought some can can wool at the craft fair recently, so will be making up a scarf with that.  I am really feeling like a sweet treat after my lunch, but I am trying hard to eat healthy foods only at the moment, so I am going to go and make up a batch of yoghurt, even though it won't be ready to eat until tomorrow morning, I will have some on hand for when I get the sweet urge tomorrow. We have had the fireplace going fairly regularly lately, and I have been using it to keep the kettle on to boil up hot water for cuppas etc, it has been working really well. I am even organised for dinner, and have a beef goulash with herb dumplings cooking in the slowcooker, I am using the recipe from Sally Wise's slow cooker recipe book, the recipes in there are really tasty, but really easy to make...and I have already done the vegies, so just have to turn them on later. I finished re-painting the spare room, which is no longer spare as Son number 1 has moved back home...we are still waiting on the new carpet in the bedrooms, but it is looking like the end of July until we can get that, as I seem to have a knack of ordering the most popular products, and we are still waiting on the cabinet maker to come and install the robes, so he is living out of boxes at the moment, but he'll be able to unpack into his cupboard soon enough. I am hoping to start on the painting of Toni and Kasey's room shortly so that they are all repainted before the carpet comes in. Anyway, I'm off to make some yoghurt before I lose the motivation....

Eating less meat

It has been a goal of mine for quite some time now to reduce the amount of meat that I eat, for health, for becoming more self sufficient in the way we eat, and to feel better about eating another living creature.  I have always been just tolerant of eating meat, if I put the slightest bit of thought in to what I am eating and how it got to my plate, I can't eat it, and I definitely can not tolerate the way that the majority of animal farming is carried out, and I have been looking for better, local options where the animals are treated to a natural, happy, well cared for life before meeting their fate. I am not interested in this stage at going down the more extreme road of vegan, I know my chickens are looked after and they free range every day, so I am happy to eat their eggs, and I must admit I didn't understand the whole "no dairy products" either, but after speaking with some vegans recently and asking them why they made the decision to be vegans, and listening to their responses, I can understand where they are coming from.  I guess it's a personal decision, and now that I am more aware of how things are done, I will definitely be looking for a local option for my milk supplies from a reputable, humane dairy farm. (hopefully there are some out there)

Cooking for a family of meat eaters, it does make it difficult to sneak in vegetarian meals, so it has been easier to just conitinue on as normal. However, it is something that I am starting to feel more strongly about, so I am endeavouring to just bite the bullet and make a start, even if just for me. So, starting today, I will endeavour to cook at least one vegetarian meal a week, and increase this up to a few times a week over time. Today I am going to start with something relatively simple and accepting by the rest of the family, so it will either be pumpkin soup and home made bread, or a tomato, creamy cheesy pasta bake with some vegies. I will have to do some research in to some vegetarian cooking, having done my permaculture course and also the skincare course I did, the meals there were all vegetarian and I must say, very, very, yummy....I don't want our only options to be pasta based dishes or soups, so I will have to be on the lookout for some yummy recipes to try.

Home made Christmas Gifts from the heart

I have finished all the wrapping and prepping, and now just waiting for Santa to come...

I have made up a few little gifts for a few people that I just wanted to give something small to..

Jams and Christmas cake in a gift box

Jam and soap gift box

A Secret Santa gift including a gift voucher, soaps, jams etc

Another secret santa gift including a cd, giftcard, wine, soaps and chilli jam

Boxed chiili jams

Boxed chilli jam and Onion Jam

A soap and chilli jam gift box

So, some nice gifts given from the heart, which won't cause clutter, and all handmade, other than the couple of gift cards and wine and cd in the secret santa gifts. The chilli jam was made from home grown chillies I have been growing and freezing throughout the year in preparation for making up a large batch for Christmas gifts. The christmas cakes I made in tuna cans to make up single serve cakes, and they are beautiful and moist this year, as I taste tested one today...yummy!!

So...Merry Christmas everyone...hope the day is a beautiful one....

A new recipe

I made up a new recipe tonight. I was at a loss to what to make for dinner, I had some home grown potatoes, beans, carrots and cabbage, and not much meat in the freezer, so I just started with the chicken and made it up as I went along. It was really yummy, and I will definitely make it again, no photos as it was all gone before I thought of it, will take some next time I make it.


Creamy Thai Curry

Indgredients:

2 chicken breast fillets sliced
1 onion chopped
2 tspns crushed garlic
3 tbpns thai curry paste
1 cups beans chopped
1/2 cup cream

Method:

Fry chicken until slightly seared, add onion and garlic, and fry for a few minutes. Add thai curry paste and beans and fry for a further 5 minuites or so. Add cream (you can add more cream for more sauce, I only had 1/2 cup left tonight) and stir, reheat but don't boil. Serve with boiled potatoes, cabbage, carrots and peas, with a dob of butter on vegies, and season to taste with salt and pepper.


Serves 4

Strawberries galore for Jams and Syrups

I caught up on my papework on Friday, well most of it anyway. Saturday we went out early and voted, got there at 8am and still ended up lining up for nearly half an hour, so glad we didn't go any later. I took Kasey to a little friends birthday party as well, and then didn't do too much for the rest of the day. Sunday I got up early and went up to the markets, and returned George the rooster back to the people I purchased him from. I was a bit sad doing this, but found out also that he wasn't actually a frizzle, but a silky cross, so I really did get the dud deal with what I was actually buying, even still, he was a lovely looking rooster. Unfortunately 2 roosters just isn't a workable situation...Sam is so much happier now that he is back to being the only rooster, he stood up on top of the hill yesterday and crowed and crowed and crowed, and was happy hanging around with his girls again rather than by himself up at the pen where George would leave him alone. George was a bit rough with the girls as well, so I think they are much happier with their gentle Sam.

I purchased a 10kg tray of 2nds strawberries for $5 while at the markets, and after I had cut them all up and gotten rid of the stalks and yukky bits, I ended up with just under 6 kilos of lovely strawberries for jam and syrup. I ended up with 8 x large 500g and larger jars of jam, which will do us for the next 12 months.  I would really like to get the strawberries here producing so I can use our own strawberries, rather than buying the unknown.

And I also made up just under 4 litres if strawberry syrup, to use for yoghurts etc.

I also made up another batch of skim youghurt, which once again set really well, and Toni had some this morning with the strawberry syrup and oats mixed through it. I also purchased a couple of new trees yesterday, a new fig tree and a gorgeous jasmine creeper to climb over an arbor at the entry to the vege garden, which will hopefully attract the bees to the vegies to do some pollenating for us. I also purchased a vanilla bean plant, which I need to find a nice shady spot for. I have a couple of spots in mind, but just need to check what type of soil etc they like to be in before I plant it. So all in all, a very busy weekend. I need to cut out some fabric today for a laptop case which I am starting on tomorrow, and a little bit more catching up and storing of last years paperwork etc in the office, as well as working on the silk halos and baskets for this weekends wedding, so all that will keep me out of trouble for the next few days...it is just starting to rain here now, it's been overcast all morning, just the weather for working inside with the fire going...just have to relight it...we have another load of firewood coming in this afternoon apparently, Damian organised it, so I really hope he is home to help unload it..... :)

Skim yoghurt was a success....yay...

This is bliss...the groceries are put away, the kids are at school, and I have a yummy lunch to eat and some new mags to read...

A lovely ham and salad sandwich with home made chilli jam, homemade skim vanilla yoghurt with homegrown passionfruit, and a cup of tea.  The skim yoghurt using the long life milk turned out really well, nice and thick. It has a different flavour to the full cream one, more of a baby food sort of taste to it...it's nice, just different to usual, however, with some passionfruit on top it is absolutely delicious. In fact, I am going to make another batch a bit later so I don't run out. I think it will be really yummy with some peach or strawberry syrup as well, I may go to the markets on the weekend, and see if I can pickup some bulk strawberries, and if I can I will make some jam and some strawberry syrup for yoghurt and icecream etc. The recipe I used for the yoghurt was the simple savings one, modified with the long life milk at the suggestion of another member who had good success with it:

1/3 cup skim milk powder
2 heaped tablespoons yoghurt powder
1 tspn vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
I then filled up to the fill line on the easiyo container with long life milk, gave it a good stir and shake, and processed in the easiyo thermos as normal.

Last night I did a bit of attaching my back on the farm shapes to the fabric ready for cutting out, 2 down, 2 more to go. This morning I went and booked in for the new sewing classes from Sep - Dec as the new list came out last night. I am glad I called in early to book as some of them had already started to fill up. I then had a little bit of a look around at the shops, bought a couple of new mags, and then did the grocery shopping, went to the bank to pick up some new cards, called in and picked up a finished preservation from the framers, and then came home, by the time everything was unpacked it was 1pm....the day has flown by....Nearly time to do the school run today, good time to catch up on the reading or do some cutting out or hand stitching etc while I wait for the bell to ring.  I have a silk wedding to finish off over the next few day for a client, and I also need to get stuck in to the sewing and finish some projects and catch up on others.

Making things, My first Capsicum and a mouse invasion....

Yesterday was quite busy. I managed to get through a long list of things to be done. I also made passionfruit jam

The recipe called for 5 cups sugar, which for the amount of fruit and pulp, seemed to be way too much for me, so I only used 4 cups sugar, which is plenty sweet enough. It is very yummy, I have never tried passionfruit jam before, so it is different to what I would normally have in jam, but I will definitely have on my toast etc.

I also made some Lemon  Spread

I thought that I would have filled this jar, it is a 500ml one, but probably should have used a 250ml jar instead, but no matter. This is delicious, and I am definitely going to use this to go in the centre of a sponge cake, and also for scones and I am thinking it would be very yummy on pancakes with icecream....not very diet friendly, but ahh well.... I also finished off the embroidered flowers which are going to be accenting the front of the elegant evening bag we are making

These are done by embroidering the design on to wash n go stabiliser, and then washing the stabiliser away to just leave the stitching, very nifty... I have also picked my very first capsicum ever grown in my vege garden, what an exciting milestone

I could have left it until it had gone completely red, but I quite like them this way, as I prefer the green capsicums over the fully red ones. I have never had the pleasure of eating a home grown capsicum before, and just feeling how firm it is over the supermarket ones is amazing, I thought the supermarket ones were fairly firm when fresh, but they don't have a patch on this home grown one..... I checked on the progress of my corn drying in my pantry yesterday, and it would appear we have had a little mouse visit and chew through the mesh bag, and it has eaten all of the drying kernels.....damn it, grrrr....I now have to take steps to eliminate the mouse/mice...they cause such damage and mess....luckily I changed most of the dry goods in the pantry into glass storage over the last few months, so there hasn't been too much else for the mice to get in to. So, I had better go and sort out dinner, probably chicken kiev tonight, and then I am going to do a bit on my back on the farm quilt tonight, and then off to the garden expo tomorrow....I am really looking forward to this, especially the giant kitchen garden, just the ticket for some inspiration....