How to use a windfall of produce.

The other day I posted about gathering. Even the word makes me happy. This reminds me of my friend Helen. Where she lives there is a lemon tree in a public space and she and others go there to pick lemons. It is such a big help to her and she makes the most of it. Yet I know most people would drive past and not even pay any attention. But to a few that tree is so well loved. Sometimes we don't need to even do that, produce just comes our way anyway. It might be a huge bargain and suddenly you have a crate of tomatoes for $5 or are given a bucket of lemons or something equally wonderful.

This week I had a little windfall which was produce from Chloe's fridge as she was going to be away for a week. Now I have heard of people just throwing produce in the bin and am happy Chloe isn't one of them! Anyway I count this as a windfall. It was a whole head of celery, a capsicum, parsley and bunch of spring onions.

Just now we are pulling out our entire old kitchen. It was a really terrible kitchen and no amount of handyman activity would fix it. Andy is building me a new one. So all this has been bagged up to use when my kitchen is back up and running. It gave me enough celery for my next three chicken soup/stock cook ups, enough parsley for the same plus some for something else, capsicum to go into a beef stew and three little bags of spring onions. I just pop it all into the freezer for easy additions to things. What lovely supplies to have on hand. So many things can be done this way ready to pop in soups. The soup you end up making is like free soup when you do this from left over bits and pieces.

Windfalls and gathering tend to produce great amounts of something all at one time. In summer I had some like 30 kilos of apricots... another time a whole bucket of plums, also lemons, quinces, plums and so on. And many of these you have to work quickly as in two days they can be ruined and wasted. While fresh produce is great and we eat it all as it is there is only so much you can keep up with and beyond that it's give some away or preserve, cook or freeze it so that it is useful and none is lost. 

Usually I make jam and pies from fruit. My easy microwave recipe is in an older post as is my easy cobbler and pies recipe. Also chopped fruit can go into muffins and frozen chopped for smoothies, made into ice cream, slices and so many things. Many of which can be frozen then for later in the year.

Whatever it is if I am stuck I google "Plum recipes" or whatever it is and am amazed at the suggestions.  Having made so much jam I googled "uses for jam" and found so many ideas from glazes, marinades and sponge cake fillings to jam drop biscuits, plum jam glazed pork chops, apricot glazed chicken pieces, jam in bread and butter pudding, jam tarts, melted as a sauce on pancakes and 101 ways to use up too many jars of jam. 

So whatever your windfall there are ways to turn it into a great asset and money saver. Possibly even gifts by giving hampers of homemade produce, a pie, a tart, tied up with a label and given away. Lemons here make their way into easy lemon curd (this was one of my early recipe posts) Tied up with a yellow ribbon a jar of this is like a gift of sunshine. So delicious and useful.

I love a windfall. And I have had very good news on this front. Someone in the family has a new house with a huge fig tree out the back! I feel some gathering coming on. Apparently it is enormous and covered. Given figs in the city get close to $1 each this tree has $1000 worth of figs on it! Figs are just divine and I have so many recipes that use them ready and waiting! How wonderful I am so excited.

These things just leap out at me as ways to use what we have, where we are and make the most of them.

While Chloe is away I am babysitting (budgie sitting?) her budgie Houdini. So it is like Chippy has a friend over to play. Chippy looks like small fry next to Houdini. But they seem to be getting pretty friendly although I don't trust them together yet!

Chippy seems pretty happy anyhow. And boy can they talk. Houdini has a bell which he likes to ring several times a MINUTE.  Lucky they are cute!

We have the extra bonus of rain. It has come in cold and I am really feeling it so out with the warm and snuggly clothes. This suits me I am a lover of cardigans, great longline ones, and scarves. 

I hope your week has started well. xxx

A shiny new month, a shiny new season!

It's exciting for me, a Sunday, a first of the month and a new season!  All in one day!
I always like to plan my week ahead on a Sunday. A few minutes doing this really saves me a lot of time during the week. it's a amazing. And I get more done if I have a list and some goals. I really achieve so much more.

On top of that at the start of a new month I look back over the last and think about everything we achieved and things that were special then work on what it is I really want to do with this brand new month. And in this case as well what do I want to do through winter? For me that includes how to I enjoy and love it instead of just survive it! Doing this turned the last two winters into very happy snuggled in ones instead of gloomy long ones that had me desperate for some sun. One of the things that has helped me is to take every opportunity that the sun is out to be out there in it. And today even though the first day of winter the sun is shining! I always keep a spot to sit for a cup of tea or to write a letter and make a phone call out in the sun. This makes a world of difference to how I feel.

My next one is to illuminate the evenings so they just don't seem gloomy. We have a little chimnea outside and have a little fire, make toasties and have candles. THis makes a very cosy atmosphere that I love.

From past experience I know that Christmas time seems to be the time that I either am so happy with my year or that I wonder where it went and wonder what happened to my good intentions! And I want this Christmas to be in the first group. So the first of each month is my day to take a look at how my goals are going and not forget them!

I am just doing this now with my diary out and it is really lovely. And it is only June we still have more than half a year to (insert your things...) make lots of presents, meet my health and fitness goals, finish our kitchen, achieve my blog goals and so on. And I already have some happy ticks on some of my goals.

This all stops me from later going "oh yeh I was going to....." and "whatever happened to that!?" 

I think I have learned a lot this year. (so far) I feel I have and I have read a lot of books too. Some of them have given me so many ideas and tips and most of them have been free ebooks along with a couple that were two dollars or so. 

Winter is a good time for saving too. I think pots of soup, long slow cooking and crock pot meals are good money savers and filling too. Inexpensive meat and vegies turn into masterpieces that are so delicious and comforting. I get stuck into my present making and churn out lots of things that come Christmas time I am amazed at all my gift giving options. Busy as a bee is also my way of not feeling gloomy about winter. For winter gifts I make lots of really soft rugs. They are lovely to work on and make great gifts. I keep several for emergency gifts as well and smaller ones for children and car rugs.

My goals and savings etc are where I am in my life, family and circumstances and yours will be different. But the idea is the same, to take just a few minutes to consider and plan and get the most out of a year that goes by too quickly. I'd rather enjoy the moment if I can than long for another time. And winter has some beautiful things... marshmallows melted on hot chocolate, bon fires, twinkly lights, snuggly evenings, layered outfits, scarves and boots, delicious soups and hot baths. It doesn't sound too bad!

Win win savings.

I really love changes we can make that have multiple benefits. Like something that saves you money and also improves your health. Or organising your wardrobe and making new outfits from things you have saves you money and has you feeling good as if you have new clothes!

As we are all talking about our budgets and the budget overall it got me thinking about things we have done already that have had benefits on several levels. And then to take inspiration from this and see what else I can come up with!

Years ago I stopped buying lemonade. It was the only soft drink I bought and I loved it. I stopped dead buying that and fruit juice. So that money was saved and I wonder how many kilos I also saved right there. That was a good one.

Recently I decided to make a change that would save $100+ a month which was to replace going to the gym with other exercise. As I drove through busy traffic, burning petrol, to get to the gym and back I would think blaaahh this is stressful, petrol is costing me heaps and my precious energy is spent doing things I don't like one bit! It was stressful and seemed ironic that I should be getting so stressed doing something good for me.  I made a commitment and followed what Laine had done. Just as Nana did she worked hard and was fit and strong. I set the timer in the kitchen and would go like crazy on housework, gardening, window washing, vacuum cleaning. I mean get my heart rate right up and work! And it worked. I have hand weights I use for a few minutes a few times a week as well and I don't mind doing that. It's a win win. My energy bursts are good for me, I get my heart rate up, save $1200 a year and my house is much more sparkly! So this is what I have continued with plus drinking my water and other little things I try to do. I really feel I have had multiple benefits from this change.

Other win win swapsies are line drying clothes instead of dryer. Sun and exercise and free drying.
Spot cleaning instead of dry cleaning... Big savings and less chemicals.
Grow your herbs instead of buying them. Savings and outdoor activity is good for you. Plus I find I tend to use many more, I just dash to the back door and snip some off. And overall it's a boost of flavour, vitamins and looks wonderful.

Walk or cycle to the shops if they are nearby and save petrol and improve your health.
Swap take out night for assemble your own pizza or toastie at home night. Much cheaper, you can make spares for lunch boxes and use up your left overs, all for a fraction of the price....
Swap buying cards and gifts to making them. (I have a tutorial coming up)
Swap coffee out with friends to crafting with friends and produce your homemade presents together.
Give up magazines and use pinterest and blogs for your inspiration and ideas.
Don't buy lotto tickets use this money each week to build up your pantry or save for an annual 5 star weekend away! ( a nice surprise for your husband!)
Start collecting and trading cuttings for your garden instead of buying plants. My friend Sue has a whole beautiful garden mostly from cuttings and bits and pieces, each plant has a story, is a memory of a garden past or the person who gave it to her. Beautiful! And free!
Give up iffy products like margarine for olive oil or a healthy alternative.
Learn to DIY your hair treatment/colour/nails/pedicure or whatever it is that is costing a lot. They are all easy.
Stay out of the cleaning product isle and save a fortune, make natural cleaners instead and also save on exposure to toxic chemicals.
And the same with air fresheners... save your money and use vanilla or natural oils and essences and good old cleanliness and fresh air.
Pack your own lunch and the families as they are usually healthier and this saves so much money it's ridiculous!
Use travel mugs to coffee on the go, they stay hot ages and usually have less calories than purchased.
One of my favourites is stop buying water in plastic bottles and save money, exposure to plastics, the environment. A water filter if you need it installed still saves hundreds a year.
Putting the crock pot on in the morning when I know the day will be busy... saving money or temptation on take aways, calories and health.

What are your win win swaps? I am always trying to find more. Many times I am finding getting back to wholesome basics proves to be a good switch that saves money in all areas. And I feel like I have a song in my heart as I work on things as you know it makes an enormous difference and reap the results.

Have a wonderful weekend. And start of winter (for us here in Australia)! xxx

Beautify your phone.

Yesterday I shared my discoveries of lots of free and pretty things for our phones. Too much to cover in one day so this is my second instalment.

After making it feel pretty and personal useful apps are the next thing to take advantage of. You never need pay a cent as although there are apps that cost a dollar or two many are free. The point is to think of any area in your life that you could do with help and go from there. There is an app for everything.

You can search in the app store and online. Doing this I am just amazed at what there is. Some of them are so beautiful I just want to play with them. 

I started with an app to help me sleep as I heard they were good. Well they are! Last night listening to the sound of waves I fell asleep like a baby. I chose Sleep Pillow which is free but there are so many. You choose any sound that is soothing to you and set it for as many hours as you wish. I pinned my  earphones to the top of my pillow. It worked wonderfully. WHy I didn't do this sooner, I have no idea!

Next I chose Wunderlist. It is an app of lists. You make your own categories. Mine are things like Todays To do list, This weeks to do list, Aims for the Month, Ideas for presents... and so on. Then you fill it in as you think of things. You swipe off done things and they are ticked off. You can have a list for everything you can think of! I am really liking this app as how often I go to the shops and forget my list! It is satisfying to me to see great lists of things ticked off, this appeals to me so it's a good app for me.

Another I like is Coletto which is really a very pretty calendar you can fill in with appointments, birthdays etc. It is lovely.

There are wonderful apps for everything from tracking your exercise, calories, what to make for dinner from the ingredients you have, track your period, meditate, yoga apps,
language, you name it. Whatever you need an assistant with theres an app for it!

A "bit different one" I like and am using is called Carrot. I stumbled on this one! Essentially it is a motivational tool. It is a grumpy Robot who thinks humans are really lazy. If you like sarcasm you will like this. You list your tasks for the day, anything you have been procrastinating about and want to get done. Carrot is not confident you will ever do anything. And is amazed when you actually do! Over time you earn rewards and impress (or disgust) Carrot. Well it sounds strange but I like it! If you don't do anything for ages he gets grumpy. It's between a list and a game. The more you do and go up levels the more interesting it gets! If you liked computer pets and games you might find it motivating and fun. From this one I can see apps could be wonderful for teenagers. They like their phones so lists and organisational tools presented this way may be quite helpful.

A big thing for me is now having all my lists with me and on hand. And if I am waiting anywhere I have work I can go on with like planning and sending some cards in a text that are super pretty. No postage! 

If all else fails as you walk out the door take a photo of your shopping list. I keep one on the fridge so while I'm working in the kitchen I jot things down as I realise I am running out. That tip has saved me quite a few times!

In spite of what are great leaps forward in technology for me I still have Chippy as my "Blog overseer" so I don't get too carried away. It's quite good he is happy to be paid in small instalments.

Using a new app is a bit like learning a new game. A few minutes invested in understanding the basics of it and then you get to enjoy it. And if it isn't helpful then delete it. I have mostly used free ones and have not mentioned any over $4. If having trouble understanding an app watch a video on it on You Tube. Usually they are a three minute, or so, little video demo which can be the fastest way to "get it".

I have to go and get some jobs done before Carrot gives up on me! xxx

(Please share if you have any apps to recommend, that would be wonderful)

The world of pretty apps.

I have discovered a whole new world and I'm probably the last one to do it!

Since my new free phone a few things have come together and I have found that my phone can be much prettier, much more useful, much more "Bluebirds" and I'm so thrilled with it!

Years ago I had a cute little flip phone I adored. It was kind of like a cute little robot. It had personality.  I loved that phone.  We have no landline not seeing the point of paying for another phone. So my iphone is it for me. Having a brand new one you get to choose a new cover etc as they cunningly make each phone a different size. You have rows of ugly covers to choose from. Last time eventually I found a nice cover in Forever New. 

The very next day my favourite Blog Brocantehome was about phones. I had a sudden lesson I really needed! Very timely.

The phone itself is good. Good camera, love that , it's so much better. But really they are functional and ugly. And with us all the time and our link to everyone!

In my revolution I discovered apps. Yes I knew about them but they seemed functional and also ugly so I never really went any further. Oh dear. This was a mistake! 

I have always adored the way Laine classed the modern things that help us and work for us like our crock pot, bread maker, washing machine, dishwasher etc as our handmaidens. She said to get up and get all your handmaidens working! I just loved that. It is true and helped me so much. Well I just took on a whole heap of new handmaidens. This is what it amounts to.

First of all getting a new cover. Shops like Forever New have actual pretty covers. Etsy has an amazing selection, you need to know the specific type of phone. I chose this one...

as my first preference.  Or this one....

There are so many to choose form you need to narrow it down. So search your model and type and add pink, flowers or whatever you would like and narrow it to a few hundred! 

NOW.... there are apps so your screen is not ugly either. My excitement just went through the roof. And even I could do it. I really am not much good at these things but it was easy. So now my icons on the front and screen look like this...

Don't laugh... I chose this pink and little cakes. This is an app called Pink Home Screen Designer. But there are a million to choose from. Whatever it is you would like you can have.

THEN texts do't have to be ugly either. Who knew this? Why didn't anyone tell me?!

They can look like this...

Or this...

Or this...

Plus several dozen others that include ones for guys, birthday, thank you, Christmas etc. and they are all gorgeous. It is called Cartolina and it is $3.50. You just go to the app store icon on your phone and search Cartolina purchase and you're done. It is so easy to use. I sent one straight to Helen. She replied in a minute and said "How did you do this!??" as she loved it!

Another frontier revolutionised!

Next I started on things that are both cute and useful So I have a pink calculator which was free. Much nicer!

Tomorrow I will go into apps I am loving. I have tested out a few. I am adoring the one that sends you to sleep. I have trouble sleeping sometimes and it truly works and is another free one. I LOVE it. There are glorious to do lists, challenges, motivational, organisational and inspirational ones! 

I cannot believe I have been missing out on all this. It really is a whole new and lovely world of handmaidens and happiness. Whatever area you would like help in there is an app for you. I am amazed. 

We had a huge amount of rain last night. Things re truly soaked. This is so good, the garden was so dry. 

Lucy has had a day surgery and I was so worried. One of my not sleeping moments. She is out of it and has gone well. I am very thankful. That is enough for me today.xxx

Economical and yummy cake.

Today I want to add a recipe that is a great way to use up left over fruit and yoghurt. Quite often a have a bit of left over yoghurt. I either freeze it in ice cube trays (for protein shakes later or to make this recipe down the track) or use it up in this cake.

It also uses left over fruit. When I have apricots on the tree or nectarines I use some on this cake. It then is a good desert or handy in lunch boxes.... also the whole thing will freeze very well.

You can use fresh fruit like apricots, nectarines, plums (I have used all these but you could try others...) But also you can drain a tin of apricots or whatever and use that. This is what I did this weekend as I had yoghurt in the freezer to use up.

The recipe is very flexible.

It is   250 g butter or margarine, 1 and a half cups fine sugar, 6 eggs, about a cup of yoghurt, even flavoured it doesn't matter, 2 cups SR flour. 

Mix eggs, softened butter, sugar, add in yoghurt and flour. It is quite a runny mix.

Line a baking tray with non stick paper. I use my roasting pan. You could use a lasagne dish. The idea is it is a flat cake more like a slice. This is so you can use loads of fruit to cover it. If using plums, nectarines or apricots I just cut them in half to remove seed and place cut side up all over the cake, this time i used a tin of apricots so it looked like this....

If I had plenty of fresh fruit to use up I would cover every bit of the top, no spaces, but this is what I had. So you can use heaps of fruit. If you had a bit of this and a bit of that use that too and mix it up. The idea is to use what you have.

Bake 180 deg C for about half an hour. I would watch and test when it is risen and golden. To me everyones oven is different let alone your baking dish size etc. Test with a skewer and as soon as it comes out clean it is done.

Now dust it with icing sugar through a sieve. Liberally!

The bits with the fruit sort of soak up the icing sugar... it's really yummy.

To me the more you use up fruit that might be wasted otherwise the better value this is. I have taken a large round one on a tray to someones house as a gift and it was a hit. It's quick and easy and rustic looking.

We have had a lovely weekend. Sunny and beautiful autumn weather. But this week it is the start of winter! 

I had a serious look at some of my goals for the year and also budget this last week. Chloe had commented my mobile phone monthly payment was high. Plus my phone was quite old. Old being three years, that's old these days apparently! I went into my phone company.  And just like that I had a brand new upgraded phone for free and the girl looked at my usage and said my plan could be half what it was. Then as usually I was friendly and chatty with her as I always would be.  I remarked I was trying to get my bills down as the budget would affect us especially with increased costs for medications (Andy has heart related medications and a lot of them). Then she paused and said "just wait, we can get this plan down a bit more" and reduced it again. So I walked out with a new phone, and a massive yearly saving. Nice work! This goes along with what I said the other day. Ask, talk, tell. People want to help you and they often can. I was so pleased! 

At home I decided to set my phone up so I really love it. We have no landline so we save there and my mobile is it for me. It may as well be lovely. I have never really used apps etc much. Very basic. But you know me, love pretty things, love encouraging words, lists, planners, things that help me. Oh my goodness have I made some discoveries!  This week I will share some of the gorgeous things I've found that make over your phone and  also how it helps you. Revolutionary! 

I hope you had a lovely weekend too. xxx

To gather.

I was brought up gathering wood for the fire, mushrooms from the paddocks, fruit from the trees, pinecones and sticks as fire starters, flowers from the garden, eggs from the chook house... and a million more. A basket and off you set and I LOVED it. We would walk miles picking mushrooms. I adored it and didn't even like to eat them but others did.

This continued on when the girls were little we had a fireplace and we would gather our pinecones and sticks for fire lighters and figs from a nearby tree, apples from a road side tree we knew about. Some days of gathering were so epic we would take a picnic and thermo to make a day of it. Beautiful days. The following days were spent cooking apples or whatever had been the result of all that gathering.

Nana B was a gatherer master. She was a florist and I doubt she ever paid for a flower. Yet she won more ribbons at every show including the Royal Adelaide, more than I could count. She also appeared in books with her floral work. Her home was always full of flowers, huge displays like you would find in a church or now, modern hotel foyer. Massive! It was all gathered. Even the flowers for weddings were gathered. She would march up someones driveway and ask if they would mind if she picked some of whatever it was she had spotted. She was so happy and charming, she made friends this way.

So I grew up knowing I always wanted my home full of flowers and I wanted giant impressive arrangements. One trip to a florist reveals you don't get much for $100! So a huge urn of flowers a meter high must be thousands? Nan would laugh about that. 

There are so many things you can collect and dry or enjoy fresh. Plenty of greenery sets off your flowers and helps you gain an impressive size. Taking a leaf out of Nan's

s book I am happy to ask people do they mind of I pick some of whatever it is I am after. At the farm there is huge potential and in my own garden of course. My hydrangeas improve each year and I fill the house with them but then I dry them and they go on in other arrangements. 

If you have neighbours with hydrangeas chances are they prune them and all the drying flowers go into the bin! Just ask as there are so many things you can do with them. The bulk of my big arrangement is something I picked that a neighbour was pruning and I asked if I could have... and I took on the task. They are giant spirals of white flowers that dried perfectly and I filled in gaps with silk flowers. I keep adding to this...

Placed in front of my side of the road mirror they look even bigger. I saw a bunch of sticks (yes sticks) at our local florist and I had to check out the price. It was $60 for a bunch of sticks. Yep. 

I'm no flower arranger or anything but gradually I have achieved my aim of big arrangements!

When we go to the farm I have the chance to gather bay leaves from Mum's tree, bunches of rosemary, pinecones for Christmas crafts, native flowers and sticks....

I gather enough bay leaves for our kitchen and bunches for my cook friends who love this.

I'm always on the look out. In the supermarket I see people buy rosemary when the whole suburb is surrounded in it! Many of our family or friends will have herbs and flowers we can use. I've never actually met anyone who has said no to picking some of anything. 

The most exciting days are when I come home with a bucket of lemons or figs... I know a house where there is a fig tree. Oh my goodness figs are almost a dollar each at times in the city. Here is a tree covered in them. The million dollar tree!

Jamie Olivers "Save with Jamie" series and book has a great section in gathering and preserving herbs. You can freeze, dry, infuse into oils... all kinds of things to make a bunch of anything into something to keep you going for ages.

Pinecones, interesting pods and berries and all kinds of things have come home with us from our little driving holidays. I keep a basket in the car and scissors at all times!

When I moved from the country to the city I wondered if my gathering days would be less... but no. Maybe even better. But I have the best of both worlds and I'm lucky with that.

My motto is the do what I can with what I have where I am. We have to make the most of what comes our way. If figs come your way, or apples or tomatoes... what ever it is you can turn it into a great asset. Busy as a bee using up the things you have gathered is pure happiness! 

Today it is Kath's Birthday. We had a circus as I thought it was today and I rang the nursing home and they wouldn't confirm or deny... so I had to get Kath on the phone (yesterday)... which was another circus! But in the end she was so thrilled to get a phone call and yes today is her Birthday. Andy has gone in with flowers, pink biscuits, a present, a handmade card. I have just had a message from him about the excited reception he got and how thrilled she was! And Wilma had requested fruit so I made her up a bag lined with pink tissue paper of pears, apples and bananas (there are the favourites) and she was thrilled too. It has made Andy's day from the sounds of it.

And it's Friday. I must get on and do the last things on my list so we have a relaxing night. I had a wonderful week! We had glorious weather and many blessings, my head is spinning!

We are ordering the basics for the kitchen Andy is making me. I am so excited about this!

Have a lovely weekend! xxx