Gathering...

Every year while at the farm I gather my years supply of bay leaves. They are used in so many recipes and have other uses and our tree of them has no pesticides or anything bad so it is a great opportunity! 

Mum planted this tree years ago. They are very slow growing but now it is huge, an actual tree....

Bay leaves go into many soups (my chicken soup which cures anything) and stews/casseroles. They are a key ingredient. And now they know an important part of why the mediterranean diet is so healthy and keeps cancer rates low. It contains all kinds of vitamins, minerals and enzymes that are known cancer fighters and is thought to be unique in some of its properties. Use a few in everything you can! 

Bay leaves are also a key component to your bouquet garni, I'll show you how to make them and use them in another post! They are so useful and easy to use.

Jamie Oliver places 10 fresh bay leaves under his pork roast with 4 apples. Now I use quite a few with my pork roasts through winter. Yum.

So ... my farm visit is time to collect and then dry my Bay Leaves. Last year my aunt and I sat and made wreaths with them for our kitchens and gifts for our cook friends. They dried very well and I used several as kitchen themed gifts.

I had already made a wreath base from the vines my neighbour had trimmed and was throwing away the long cut off bits (horror of horrors!) She let me have all this and it made a dozen grape vine wreaths... most of these became the base for these wreaths. So the entire thing was 100% free.

The other thing is to make bunches of bay leaves and place them in your pantry cupboards. Then you will not have pantry moths. I had tiny irritating and creepy pantry moths once. I emptied the pantry, cleaned everything, put it all back and ever since have kept a generous bunch of bay leaves in each cupboard and have never had them since. Well worth it.

Once dried they keep for years. What a gift to be able to pick free herbs and spices, use them all year and benefit from the flavour and amazing health boost! 

There are so many herbs we can gather free. Most people with a bay leaf tree will gladly let you have a bunch, same with rosemary and many other herbs. At the supermarket I see people pay several dollars for a few sprigs of rosemary. It grows in the car park! It's in every park and garden around here! 

Take every opportunity to gather and use herbs. If you have something growing or available to you google all the uses for it... you might have a years worth of kitchen gifts and a healthy addition to your meals right there waiting to be picked! Bunches given to friends who cook are very welcome gifts.

Once I had so much parsley I took bunches into my local organic cafe and he was so happy he gave me free coffees for a year! 

Enjoy!!

Christmas.

I hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas. I am in recovery mode today! Possibly too much food over two days! But it was a beautiful Christmas in so many ways. A wonderful family gathering and so special. I feel very blessed.

We had the most stunning Christmas evening as the sun set we fed the deer carrots from the back of my brothers ute. It seemed so fitting as a Christmas Day activity and was so stunning and seemed romantic to me. It was dusk and we stayed until the sun set. Everyone of us was stuck by the beauty of it. I was slightly scared, they are HUGE and can be quite dangerous... so even with tame ones like these you exercise a fair bit of caution. But they were lovely and so close you could touch them... its hard to choose photos but I am fascinated by the antlers so in some I will try to show those... at the moment they LOOK soft... they have fuzz on them like velvet (it is actually called velvet) and looks like flocking! It is gorgeous!

What a stunning end to a big Christmas Day!

Chloe feeding a carrot... both the girls patted some noses....

Kato was braver than me and walked around ... I stayed in the ute!

What a lovely day. I feel very blessed. My nieces and nephew are so good and the Christmas table of eleven of us was stunning, turkey and ham and Christmas pudding and every side dish you can think of and cold meats for the evening meal and a huge pavlova... it just went on and on. The atmosphere of a very loving family. I am lucky. 

Funny little things bless your heart too. The trouble my husband had gone to over my gift and the way a man will wrap a present so carefully when wrapping is not his forte but he wants it to look good... this blessed my heart... and a card of with sweet messages. These things just mean a lot. Even the effort the girls go to for each other and everyone, it just makes me feel very grateful.

I hope everyone had a beautiful day. Now we are in my very favourite time of the whole year. To me it's a time to reflect on the whole year and to plan some things for next year. A new diary and lots of writing! I love it! Now to enjoy and soak up this lovely time...

Add a little bit.

So many things can be purchased fairly inexpensively as a basic item and in lots of cases this is cheaper than making the item yourself. If you "add a little bit" to them you have something luxurious or  a gift to give.

These kitchen towels from IKEA were really pretty and a good price...

I grabbed them last time I was in IKEA (along with the cushion covers) as I could see their potential!

Like many things adding a little bit will make a big difference! This kind of thing works well on sheets, pillowcases, towels... some crochet or embroidery (or both) making a world of difference and being fun to do!

In the evenings if we watch something on tv I will do something like this. Also if we are travelling and Andy is driving I will crochet. I love having something to do if I'm sitting down and I think the amount you can achieve in those times is just huge. In winter we watch footie and over a weekend that will amount to a few hours of tv! I get so many things made in those winter months, where as in summer months I will tend to be in the garden or we will go to the beach in the evening etc. But still we watched a movie on the weekend and I will still get some crochet finished.

Anyway this is the difference it made to these kitchen towels...

I love them now and would give these as a gift happily! Or keep them...

Imagine this along the upper edge of a top sheet or around your towels. It is very easy to do. 
I use a fine steel crochet hook to work the first round and get the needle through the cotton. You could also go around and poke the holes for the crochet hook with a large needle. I do these about 7mm apart and 9 mm deep. Or you could do a blanket stitch with a large needle and your yarn around first to form a base to crochet into then convert to crochet. 
My pattern is just work along your base round with three single crochets then four double crochets into one hole, three singles in a row and repeat. This gives a scallop. It works very quickly. You can do a fine version of this around hankies. 

As I do it I dream of all the colour schemes I could be doing. Imagine these pink patterns with pink crochet edges for sheets for a little girl or around the hem of a dress....

In the same way a little embroidery can transform a ready made item or stencilling or adding some lace... I'll try and show all of these over time as you can save such a fortune on gifts and enjoy gorgeous things that are hugely expensive in the shops. 

I can't believe its Christmas Eve! I will be taking a couple of days off with my family so I will see you on Friday! Have a wonderful Christmas! xxx

Crowning Glory.

A little while ago I mentioned a lovely home wares store I visited. I didn't buy anything because of the prices but I did get heaps of good ideas! There were crown cushions and crown napkin rings... all the cushions were over $100 and the napkin rings were $50 each! Not $50 the set.... EACH. They were stunning but still I wondered if I might be on candid camera?

I really like crowns but the thing is use a motif you really love or if making things for a gift a motif you know the other person really loves! Stencils come in every design and size imaginable. I tried locally and the stencils were horrible and basic. Then I typed "crown stencils" in on Etsy and I had a choice of many perfect designs and had it in less than a week. Be specific when searching... ie you could search for stencils and you would get lots of ideas but if you know you want a crown or a bird or whatever search for Crown stencils and it will save so much searching! I have learned this on ebay as well.

The added bonus of a stencil is being able to use it over and over... I would like to make place mats and door mats using this. Plus I can let friends use it for their projects during the year.

So I am working on how to do the crown napkin rings which I now realise I should have photographed... but I have made the cushions. Totally cheating I purchased two IKEA cushion covers as they were only $5 something each! I inserted cardboard in to the middle so no colour could go through and mixed a fabric medium into my paint. Ask at any craft store or Spotlight for that. One bottle will allow so many projects and then you are able to wash the item. 

I have a friend who loves angles... so I am already thinking of making angel themed cushions as a gift for her. Really easy and quick to make!

After I finished I embellished with a little glitter paint... (of course)

Stencils are also great to use in blackboard projects or on things like wooden crates for a rustic effect, so they are future plans too.

I woke up this morning to find I had a surprise gift at my front door! And it is cool which is such a relief so the house is opened up with a breeze flowing through. Today I go to the supermarket for a final trip before Christmas and so I can be home all day tomorrow and avoid (hopefully) he worst of the pre Christmas Day rush. Can you believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve!?? Lots of little things to do but overall I am ready. It's quite exciting really! My husband has no idea what he is getting either and I know he will LOVE his gift! 

Gingerbread.

Every year I make gingerbread. This recipe is beautiful as it uses honey. So far everybody loves this. I used to make it for school lunch boxes too. I would cut it into gingerbread men shapes and the girls would turn them into gingerbread girls by decorating them with dresses and making smartie bikini tops! While we were at it, they would make some for friends to take to school as well. This was usually the day before school went back from the holidays. We would have a day of baking cup cakes, biscuits and savoury lunch box things. It was a great fun day!

This year I have made some little packets to give away and used left over sewing trims (to use them up) to tie up my parcels.

Like all my recipes it started out years ago with a recipe that I tried which I found way too dry and fixed it. Once moist enough it was a great recipe. And with all recipes they tend to start out complicated. I don't understand it. Like the fruit cake recipe... it's so easy and good but when I first read it there were over 20 ingredients on the list. Enough to daunt anyone! It kind of went 200 grams sultanas, 200 grams cherries ... I added it all up and put 1 kilo of fruit you like! Isn't that simpler! 

Anyway the same applied here! 

So here is the recipe....

250 grams butter melted. This is about  2 sticks of butter US or just over 1 cup. 

1 cup runny honey. If not runny microwave it until it is.

I cup, packed. dark brown sugar, 

2 eggs.

1 cup SR flour,

4 cups of plain flour,

1 teaspoon ground ginger,

Half a teaspoon ground nutmeg. 

(if you dont have either spice you could use mixed spice, it will do)

A little extra flour on hand for rolling or if the dough is too sticky.

In a big bowl mix the lot together. It will start out crumbly and then squeeze it together and knead it in a few batches until you have a dough. Roll your dough nice and smooth, the more you work it the smoother it will be. Use flour if its sticky and roll it out in batches and cut into the shapes you want. Cook on baking paper on trays. Go for a medium oven and if you like soft chewy biscuits it will be around 10 mins, and crunchy biscuits a few minutes longer. I like crunchy! Just keep an eye on your first batch to get your timing right... you want golden colour then they are done! Cool and package or decorate. 

Letting the kids decorate them is a great activity and you can get gorgeous colours and things to use for hair, jewellery (our gingerbread girls had diamond rings and necklaces of course!) and the stuff you can get now is even better. You can buy edible gold, glitter in all colours... and you can use icing plus sprinkles, lollies etc. We sometimes made them to look like certain people which was hilarious.

I had one for breakfast this morning so I had better give them all away today (after putting one in Andys lunch box for tomorrow) ! 

Haloumi.

During the hot weather we tend to have lots of salads and cold meat, cheeses etc and not use the stove. Also as power and gas bills are high I decided to make an extra effort to embrace beautiful fresh salads and also on nice nights use the BBQ outside. And it worked our quarterly gas bill was down by one third! I was so pleased with this. Other nights I will cook something super quick so the stove is not on, just the gas top for a few minutes only.

One really quick thing we cook is haloumi. If you don't use it and you like cheese give it a go! It cooks under the grill or fry pan in two or three minutes, it browns and becomes chewy and beautiful while holding it's shape. Then added to a salad it makes the meal filling and delicious. Chloe goes mad over this, so I cook it almost every time she comes for dinner!

The garden is full of fresh herbs and the basil is lovely right now. It smells so good! Basil happens to go with tomato, onion and haloumi like a match made in heaven. So this is a meal made in a minute and so nice on a hot day. 

Watching Jamie Oliver has helped me use my herbs much more. He seems to use so many with almost every meal he makes. I have been guilty of growing them and using them a bit but not as much as I could. So this meal is a real meal mostly from the produce in the garden and perfect for in  a heat wave!

I'm going to share some recipes for something I consider rare and yet so handy... salads that last a few days in the fridge. They are so good as once done you have several days taken care of as far as your salad/sides are concerned. And they travel well ie to work, picnics etc. But that is another post, I need some pictures! 

Hot days...

Really hot days are tough on everyone! My hydrangeas are being watered three times a day and still droop if I look at them. And despite everything one camellia that wasn't covered yesterday is now BLACK. I'm pretty sure black is not a good sign! The others have shade cloth over them and with lots of water they are looking fine.

The chooks are unhappy and I am pouring water over their house to create an evaporative air conditioning effect several times a day.

I am mostly able to stay out of it except for all the dashing out to wet and water things. Plus I do have to go to the shops but quite often that is the coolest place to be in the heat!

Having things to do that are quiet and in the coolest place just makes life in the heat much better. Distractions are good! As with children, if they are bored it is terrible! Activities in the cool make life much nicer. 

Sometimes I have worked on things like my photo albums, letter writing and so on and that has been lovely, you get these things done you never usually do because of having this enforced stay in time. While knitting and crochet are good they seem to hot to be working on and big things like rugs go away until winter when I'll take them up again. Little embroidery projects or sewing projects are beautiful right now.

I try to keep a supply of little things for when people have babies. Embellishing little singlets is so quick and easy and they are really good gifts. And it's cool work! 

A dear lady that used to make things for my girls, Loris, made glorious things for everyones babies but made the singlets from scratch. Her stuff was just beautiful and I have kept much of it to this day. I tend to buy little baby items in the sales and then work something on to them. Although... I have made little velour outfits covered in winnie the pooh characters (they are stored away in the high cupboard...) and I made this little dress in fine stretch knit jersey. It's a glory box item for one of the girls....

Another little one is using fabric paint I paint on a little design then embroider around that. Little angel singlets can then be worn as a little top on hot days which is sweet on a baby.

A little bit of basic embroidery has so many uses. If you're out of practise the hot weather is a perfect time to try some little things. Like all handiwork if you have a Nan or Mum or older neighbour ask to learn a few things, do it now while you still have them. And teach your young ones while they are home on holidays too. Or ask Nana if she will teach your daughter some of her skills BOTH of them will have the most beautiful time. Failing that look on You Tube by search "How to learn...." or " Crochet/embroidery/knitting or whatever for beginners" it is exactly like having free tuition anytime of the day or night that suits you. Imagine the value of that? This can be fabulous for kids too, as they learn they go on to another tutorial. Wonderful in the holidays but wonderful for us too. You can start now, no need to have been taught when you were little! 

The pleasure and contentment of handicrafts means you always have gifts to give for little money. You can always help people, you are never bored and always happy! Also if you are unwell or stuck in bed you have lovely things to be working on. How nice is that?