Changing season, changing menu.

One of the nice things about the changing seasons is the different fresh foods that are available and that we might grow or find on great specials. I am a really seasonal cook and love to see the fresh produce that comes with each season.  If you eat this way over a year your diet has a lot more variation in it.

In winter I cook a lot of soups, casseroles, roasts... hot stuff! Long slow cooking, hearty warm things. I love soups. I love walking into the house and it smelling of cooking when it is cold and stormy outside. Winter food is more about comfort and warmth.

In summer we have a lot of BBQs. Lots of salads and cold meats. It gets hot here. I avoid using the oven and making the house hot. Also in the evenings we go swimming and eat outside most nights at the garden table. It is light outside up to about nine pm. It is just entirely different to winter and meals are easier and lighter.

By the end of a season I am ready to change over. I start to look forward to it. But the same thing always happens. I have kind of forgotten half of my good ideas and favorites from last season. One of the biggest helps in the kitchen is having a list of meals that you know everyone loves and that are easy and work well in the budget. It avoids those moments of wondering what on earth to make for dinner and what to shop for. Wendy, Cath and Tania all plan well ahead their menu plans. This does take a little planning but like all planning a little time spent saves a lot of time overall. You know what you will be making and you know what to buy. There is no panic. So much stress is avoided! I have heard people say they can't decide what to cook so they got take away. A menu plan and easy things stop that happening.

Mainly I shop by what is on special and what is marked down. This works out that I am buying fresh and seasonal things. Then I plan what I can make. Otherwise I am looking for things that will give us healthy and yummy meals that are simple.

Just this weekend our weather really warmed up. I needed a reminder and some inspiration so out came my recipe scrap books which hold all my best recipes. Plus notes I have written and a few torn out magazine articles etc with new things I want to try. Then I write up a list of meals I want to be making and remind myself about for the coming months. You can ask too. Ask the family what would they like to see on the menu.

I keep this list on the fridge, pick things from it each week and make a shopping list from that. It avoids those times when we feel totally uninspired or have brain fade and just don't know what to cook! We have all had that moment standing in the supermaket thinking "what will I make for dinner?"

This is my current summer meals list....

BBQs. This can be chicken, lamb, beef, pork, bacon, sausages or a mix. Plus vegies like onions, sweet potato, asparagus, broccolini, carrot etc. Mainly I cook extra that will become a lunch and a cold dinner for another night. I try to keep on hand things to become salads... some fresh ingredients and some from the garden. Things like pickles, relish, dressings... and some tins too like pineapple, corn, beans... so one way or another I have things to make salads. This means BBQs are a big variety of meals.

Some nights the BBQ might become hamburgers, steak sandwiches or BLTs.

BBQs are one of the biggest helps in summer. No heat in the house. No mess in the house!

Quiche, flans, tarts, zucchini slice, impossible pies. I group these together since they all use the same things and can include anything you have lots of! Perfect for making for picnics and taking to the beach. I would always make double at least. One for the meal then another for lunches, going to the beach for dinner or something like that.

Wraps. ie flat bread, turkey, cranberry, lettuce... or lamb, cheese, tatziki, lettuce, onion, tomato, cucumber... or chicken, mayo, lettuce, bacon... etc. I often cook lamb or a chicken in the crock pot. It becomes wraps, rolls, and cold meat for a cold meat dinner. If I am making these I will make spares for lunch the next day.

Fritters. ie left over lamb or corn or zucchini and halmoui. And a salad.

Cold meat and salads. This could be roast meats now cold, deli meats, a cooked purchased chicken.. a combination. Andy loves cold meat and salads. He would have this every night. So easy.

Simple pasta. If I have lots of produce like onion, zucchini, tomato etc I cook it up lightly in a fry pan. Throw it over pasta, add a handful of chopped basil and herbs from the garden. Sprinkle of cheese.

Antipasto type platter. This can be a great way to use up all kinds of things.

Haloumi and salads.

Warm chicken salad. This is some kind of chicken ie crumbed and cooked, roast and sliced, fillet fried... sliced and over lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, cucumber etc with croutons and dressing. There are variations and crispy bacon is good on this. Left overs can be a filling for wraps.

Lamb, hummus, haloumi or baked feta and salad.

Baked ricotta with crisp toast and greek salad.

Pizza. Now and then. I cut a whole heap of fresh herbs, rocket, lettuce and pile over the top after cooking.

Salads. Favoutites are pear, rocket, cheese,  walnuts and balsamic, Beetroot and fetta, Greek Salad.
I love to make up salads that will last several days. I made a big amount then that will be our salad and we always eat these up. Some actually improve over a day or two. They include rice salad, potato salad and salsa or bean type salads. They also travel well ie to a picnic. Some of these recipes are here.

I use the crock pot (other than the BBQ) mostly for cooking. So I might cook a chicken or leg of lamb then use the warm meat the first night and have cold meats for other nights. Also if we are having a BBQ I might fill the crockpot with baby potatoes in the morning and then at dinner throw over chopped onion, parsley and dressing. All the leftovers become a new salad for the next couple of days. Or you can get corn on the cob going in the crockpot, that is good too.

We don't eat desert every night. But in summer we have a lot of fresh fruit. Beyond that if I am having visitors I might use berries on a pavolva or parfait or something like that.

If I have lots of fruit to use up I make my anything fruit cake, muffins etc so that I can freeze a heap of these and get to eat that fruit later on (as well as enjoy an actual cooked desert).

Here it is covered in peaches..

And with plums...

The recipe is here.

So that is my menu so far which is about twenty things with a lot of variations. ie a BBQ is just about never the same twice nor is cold meat and salads or a platter. And there is nothing that we eat in winter it is entirely different. Just now I am really looking forward to it. But by the end of summer I will start thinking of soup and stew and hearty things have a sit down and plan the winter meals just the same.

This little bit of planning can save so much stress. I can make a quick list and also whatever specials I might find I will plan around those. Last year we had so many free peaches. They became our deserts, cake, salads.  And it is flexible. I might discover something new to try and add that.

Today I am going grocery shopping. I always watch for meat on special or marked down. These buys go into the freezer for BBQ nights.  And I need to build up my supply of things that help me make an instant dressing or salad. Then I am set for a very easy few months of cooking.

What is on your menu plan for the new season or tips on how to always have ideas with meals?
When the girls were at school the last thing they would always ask me as they got out of the car was "what is for dinner tonight?"  I would tell them and they would always say "Yum!" lol  Now the grown up version of this is Andy always sends me a text from work. One of these invariable says "whats for dinner?" Well, I love that our families look forward to and get excited by what we are making. After a long day dinner is important. It is a beautiful thing.

Have a wonderful week! xxx

Feather your Nest Friday, Sep 11, 2015.

I am glad to stop and have a review of the week. At the moment I don't think I achieved as much as usual due to a couple of days feeling really tired. I still have today of course to put some action into my day so there is hope yet!

Andy gave me flowers when I came home from the farm!

I am always saying to make hay while the sun shines. This is because the sun doesn't always shine! We have times we are not well, are overtired, caring for others and various things that mean we can't get some things done. That is ok! We do what we can and when we can. Yesterday I took Harper for a long walk in the sunshine so that Lucy could have a sleep. She was dead on her feed as she has had bad nights recently. It was sunny so we headed off with the pram and I looked at lovely gardens and saw beautiful parrots and Kookaburras. I say to her that at the moment a cared for baby, a meal on the table and the most basic things are all she needs to be trying to do. That is enough! More than enough.
Keeping things going is enough and if we can manage that it is success.

On our walk I found a perfect picnic spot that has a BBQ, table and chairs all under a huge Morton Bay Fig tree. It is GIGANTIC. I never knew it was there. I love finding picnic spots...

Some of the ways I saved money this week...

On warmer days I used recycled water on the garden. I use the rinse water from the washing machine out the back and the bath water out the front. This is quite good exercise. My Doctor once said to me I need to do weight bearing exercise as women my age need to. I told her I carry 20 buckets and watering cans of water a day around the garden from the house and water everything that way. Does that count? She said YES! that was fantastic and more than enough. So I am killing two birds with one stone.

Chloe gave me two large cement pots she found on the roadside out the front of where she lives.  They are the two pots on the left here...

They are big! It is hard to show how big they are but the bottom pot of the stacked pots is a large half wine barrel.  So this is my grouping at my back door and I refreshed some and planted up others. I have cherry tomatoes, basil, two types of parsley, chives, strawberries, baby spinach, oregano, thyme and capsicum. I water it all with water from the kitchen ie the water that comes out of the tap when you are waiting for the hot to run, left over tea, water from cooking etc.  I am really glad I got these started and will post an update when it is all grown.

The stack I have usually produces a lot of food. I have a larger stack and a smaller one. I did weaken at one stage and include some flowers. I can't wait for it all to be big again as it gets in summer but this is how it is this week.

Year after year I have found Cherry Tomatoes do very well in pots. And you get a harvest for just ages.

I finished another Christmas present. This time more kitchen towels in black and white.

The beginning of the week was cold so I cooked a beef casserole then the next day made meat pies. I was able to add some meals to the freezer this way. The crock pot makes the most tender pie fillings.

Also I made spinach quiches which were a dinner plus work lunches.

The ones to go as work lunches I cook in king sized muffin trays. For little kids do them in mimi muffin trays so they are just the right size to handle. These freeze well too.

I feathered the nest by:

I helped the family with some meals/cooking.

We increased household security.

I added to my pantry and cellar. 

The planting and the additions to the freezer...

How was your week?  How did you save money and build up your home? 

I am thinking of September 11th today and what that day was like. 

It kind of changed the world.  I remember that day like it was yesterday

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! xxx

Pantries and Preparedness. Free food continued...

Last week I was talking about building up your pantry with free food. If we are open to using what comes our way we can hugely increase our pantry!

Do you remember Rosanne and how she found so many apples in a car park? She sent me this picture of the results for her pantry and her two Grand Children who helped her achive this by helping her all day in the kitchen. This is Kyle and Trinity with the apples...

Rosanne said how hard these two worked! I thought this was just wonderful. Thank you for letting me share this Rosanne and well done to you Kyle and Trinity! Look at that quantity of apples! There is so much you can do with them. What a good addition to your pantry. Many people passed those apples by.

For the last weeks Teri has been busy. She said to me she had no time to write as she was up to her eyeballs in free produce. My reply was that we have to get busy on it when it comes in! There is time for other stuff later and the priortity is using the produce while it is fresh and good. And thats what she was doing!
Teri does everything she can to build up her pantry. She said to me that she hoped she was prudent with the food that came to them through God's grace. I really love that and yes she was! Free produce really helped her this summer. I will let her tell you...

WAYS TO USE SUMMER HARVEST

From Teri.

This summer, we have been blessed with an abundance of free and

nearly free food! We plant a garden each year and do pretty well.

This year, even though we struggled to get it growing (weather kept

things interesting), we prayed that our little garden would provide

us and our family with lots of fresh veggies. Seeds were replanted

several times but our prayers were answered! We have been eating

fresh; and processing yellow summer squash, beets, green beans,

onions, cucumbers and Swiss chard. We usually grow several

kinds of herbs from seeds but this year they didn’t grow. The sage

we have from year to year is doing well and our peppermint and

spearmint also have done very well.

One of the things to remember about receiving a small or large

amount of food is it needs to be processed quickly. So knowing

different ways to preserve food helps. When someone asks me if I

would like ______, I always say yes. Even if I don’t know just what

to do with it or how I can deal with a large quantity at one time, I

gratefully accept it. Then, start working!  First, we always try to

share with our family and neighbors. Then, I look over my recipes

to decide how to process the food and then get started!

This year, and for many, many years, I was never sure how all my

jars would be filled. But every year, God provides! And, this year,

we received boxes and boxes of green beans, tomatoes, peaches and

corn all at once! Oh my! Yet, at the end of each day, I always say a

prayer of thanks! After sharing, this is what I did with our free

food. I hope it gives you some ideas.

1. Tomatoes- I decided to quarter and can lots of them. I also

made tomato sauce. I decided to can all of them plain (just

adding the lemon juice and a bit of salt and sugar). This way,

I can use them for many different dishes and add seasonings

and herbs when I open a bottle. (We use our tomatoes/sauce

to make spaghetti sauce, macaroni and tomatoes, soups,

stews, chili, etc.) I also dehydrated lots of sliced tomatoes and

dried the tomato peelings from the sauce, to grind into

powder. (tomatoes can also be frozen, but I didn’t do that this

time). Our grape tomatoes are also being dried. And I still need

to make salsa!

2. Green beans- cleaning and cutting beans takes some time but

is so worth it! We froze lots, dehydrated some, canned 22

pints and made dilly beans.

3. Cauliflower- This was from our garden. I pickled most and we

ate some fresh.

4. Corn- We blanched and froze our corn this year. Other years,

I’ve canned and dehydrated it. We shared most of it with

others.

5. Yellow summer squash- This is from our garden, also. We

have enjoyed a great deal fresh, shared with family, made

yellow/zucchini relish and dehydrated a bunch. We will

continue this until it freezes.

6. Zucchini- Our seeds didn’t come up this year, so when my

friend asked if we would like a few from her garden, I said

YES!! Lol (And, yes, they were huge but I didn’t mind)! I

peeled and grated 12-2 cup bags for the freezer and blanched

chunks for the freezer. I used 3 medium sized ones to stuff

with ground beef mix and then used some in my relish. This

was a wonderful blessing!

7. Peaches- Even though I still had some peaches still canned, I

didn’t want to say no. We had used all our jam and pie filling,

so I made lots of both of those. I still put up 21 quarts of

peach slices after making pie filling and jam! I also canned 7

quarts of peach nectar. Plus, a lot were eaten fresh!! 

8. Beets- These are from our garden. We picked close to 50 lbs.

Again, we ate some fresh but canned most of the lot. I still

have a few jars of pickled beets from last year, so I just

decided to do plain this year. I did put 1 container of

sweet/sour beets in the freezer. I still have a few in the garden

(we planted seeds several times about 2 weeks apart) but most

likely they will be eaten fresh.

9. Cucumbers- These are being enjoyed fresh. Our temps.

dipped last night and the vines got nipped. So, hopefully it

will warm up a little and we can enjoy a few more. (I won’t eat

the cucumbers from the store, ever)!!

10. Carrots- They are still growing but we have pulled a few

and they are yummy!

11. Plums- My friend shared her plums. I was all out of

plum sauce, so this was a real blessing! I cleaned and cooked

two huge pots of plums to make the sauce with. I also canned

14 quarts of juice from the simmering plums! This was a

bonus and it’s delicious. (I don’t have a juicer, so I just let the

juice run through my hand food mill into a separate pan and

then push the fruit through the mill into another bowl). These

plums were extra ripe and made a deep purple juice and some

very tasty sauce! Again, I left the sauce plain and will season

it when we use it. That way, we can eat it like a fruit, season

it for chicken or pork, or I can put some in the slow cooker

with apples and make butter.

12. Acorn squash- This was a volunteer plant from the

compost pile which I am very happy about! We will gather

them all and put them in our cold storage room to use all

winter!

We also received several boxes of cantaloupe and some

watermelons! Whenever someone gives you free food, please find a

way to use/preserve/share it! Annabel has told us lots of different

ways to receive food. She wrote how she has asked neighbors with

fruit falling to the ground, her grandmother asked strangers and

ended up with fruit/flowers and friends! Letting others know you

would love to have any “extras”. U-pick and farmers markets are

also ways to increase your pantries, though a bit more expensive.

Local fruit stands can be a way to get fresh fruit and veggies; and

growing a garden (big or small) is one more way. Our garden is a

few grow boxes placed in the front/side yard instead of lawn.

Planting veggies/herbs in-between flowers or in pots is another way

to have some fresh food. I pray for guidance, I let family and friends

know I will take any extras and I pray for my garden to grow and

give us fresh food! Ask and you shall receive! God blesses us and

I’m so grateful for each thing that comes my way!

This year, my husband helped clean and cut beans, and cooked all

our meals. It sure helps to have the extra set of hands, so if you

have a family member or friend helping, it goes much faster. Also,

if you have children old enough, let them help! Our kids still talk

about the tons of peas THEY shelled several years in a row! LOL

This is just one more way we can fill our pantries! As some of us

are going into spring/summer, others are headed into

autumn/winter! It’s so important to get our pantries full! One of

the most important things about having food storage is having the

foods your family eats! Store what you eat and eat what you store

is such sound advice! Rotation is key to keeping a stocked pantry.

You will have less waste and be able to fill your pantry with yummy

and, sometimes, free food!

Have a lovely week! Teri

Thank you so much Teri. What a lot of work and how beautiful to have all those full jars and such abundance!

Next I want to mention Cath is writing a series How to build your Stockpile. I am thrilled about this and will be following.
Brandy from The Prudent Homemaker has had some very interesting things to say in recent posts about her panty and preparedness. I am following along there also.

My Aunt held a garden party and the idea was to come along with produce, plants and cuttings to exchange. I was unable to attend due to my dash to the farm. I had planned to take bunches of Bay Leaves, Parsley and succulents as these are things I have to swap. At the right time of year this could be a friends, neighbours or church group way to swap your excess and share produce. What a good idea! It could be extended to include pantry items too. I just think what a way to have an afternoon cup of tea  and share. This is my Aunt with some of the plants and cuttings and then some of the produce.

What a good idea and another way to build up our pantries through free produce!

If you have pictures of what you have been cooking, canning etc please show me! Isn't it just beautiful to see! There is encouragement just in looking at them!

Have a wonderful week. Be prudent and diligent! xxx

The farm.

I always find it so interesting to see pictures of everyone's kitchens and pantries, cooking etc. And I find the US ladies lives and ways of doing something fascinating. So it dawned on me that maybe others would find the farm interesting?

This time I will post about the farm house, kitchen etc. as I stayed home and we didn't go out and around the paddocks. It rained a lot of the time. Previously I have posted at Christmas about the deer. Next time I will go for an evening drive and post pics of kangaroos and emus, stock etc. (It is a sheep and cattle farm.) 

So this is about the homestead.

It is also a nice time of year, the end of winter and just spring. Too early for many flowers yet.

The family moved to this farm when I was about 19. The site where the house is was nothing, barely any trees. We planted the garden from tiny plants and there was no hose, we watered hundreds of trees with buckets. My youngest brother was a baby then. The garden is surrounded by native trees and it blends in so you don't obviously see where the scrub ends and where the garden starts.

As you drive up the driveway on the left there is a large pond. The kids have a little canoe they paddle on the pond. Mum and Dad have always had little dogs and they hop in too. There are usually ducks here. In the evening and during the night there is the lovely sound of frogs. From my room I listen to the frogs in the night, I love that!

The front door is like a fortress and is huge and solid. No flimsy doors allowed! Also the whole veranda is made of posts that are the trunks of the local gum trees. That was Dad's idea.

This is the largest post on the corner of the garage. If I stand and put my arms around it I can reach half way. The house isn't going to blow away anytime soon.

In the garden there is an "arbour" that Dad had built of trees as well.

That is out the front so you can see the house behind it. There are hollow logs in this and they are always full of nesting parrots. Where there are not enough hollow logs Dad straps extra hollow logs! The birds nesting in these are Rosella's. Eastern Rosella's to be exact.

Mum and Dad each have a kitchen! Mum wins on cleanliness though. This is Mum's stove which is an Aga.

Mum has a large pantry, a very large chest freezer...

They are about an hour from the nearest small town and it is all dirt roads. So everything is kept on hand at all times.

Dad has a stove he uses all the time and this stove he is currently not using but it works. He got it from an old homestead that was falling down...

He has shelves all long a wall in the kitchen stocked with his favourite stuff. 

He also has a big freezer. It is the size of a bedroom! It is full of sheep, cows, venison, rabbits, fish and who knows what he has in there!

The garden is very peaceful. I really like it.

This is the Bay Leaf tree... I would guess it's about 6 meters/yards tall (roughly)... When I told Dad Bay Leaves are 40 or 50c he said that tree must be worth $10.000!

A Grey Shrike Thrush had built a nest on the back veranda which I was thrilled about! I stood on a chair to look inside and there were three eggs. She sat there singing away while on the nest, multitasking!

Over the next weeks I will work in a lot more photos but that's enough for one day! 

I find the farm really relaxing, sitting near the fire, the bird life is beautiful and around the house they are all so  friendly. Blue Wrens sit on the windowsills and sing. They are my favourite bird and also Grey Fantails. I saw five of those this trip.

 I am glad to have the farm in the family. And the girls grew up between the farm and the beach as we lived nearby right near the sea. That made for lovely childhoods. I came home with wildflowers, a duck, good op shopping, Bay Leaves and bunches of lavender.

Have a prudent and diligent week! I am heading out the door to stop and have washing on the line. xxx

Feather your Nest Friday. 4th September, 2015.

I have been at the farm and it isn't Friday anymore! But I still want to do my Friday post and look back over the week. So sorry it is late.

It seems like a really long week! There is a lot to report!

Some of the ways I saved money this week:

I made several quiches. They made meals and work lunches.

When I have these I like them for breakfast. They are mainly eggs and vegies so I think they are great for just about any meal! They are also nice hot or cold so they are just really handy.

I made up more lemon butter. I needed to get moving on the lemons as a few were getting stale. So I made this and froze some, gave some as gifts as well. My Dad likes it so I took some to him.

Also I used the peels to soak in vinegar. I like vinegar to clean with and make cleaner but not the smell. After a few weeks this smells like lemon. It is super fresh fragrance with extra cleaning properties.

On the way to the farm I went to three op shops. It is a three hour trip. The first part of the trip sees me go through some country towns. One op shop in particular is wonderful. In the country the op shops are much cheaper. I had the best luck! I got a doona cover for the rose print cotton. Here it is on the line as I washed it as soon as I got home...

This side is roses the other side is rose buds. I think I will make serviettes or pillowcases from this. I just love it. It was $1. That is a lot of material for $1.

I also got two damask tablecloths with matching serviettes and they have never been opened. Gorgeous!

Plus beads and pearls. Two belts. A lovely top and a soft jumper I love. It was so good! Grand total $9.

I took Dad a practical present. I have given him all kinds of gifts over the years. Lately I have worked out if I give him things I have made he likes that. So his Fathers Day gift was fig jam, plum jam, lemon butter and a big basket of vegies...

Also I made the card...

I finished some more kitchen towels. This time blue.

At the farm I picked lavender. I have a project planned for this. It was lovely out in the sun picking bunches. 

I also picked fresh bunches of Bay Leaves since my last lot were all dry and packaged up. This is everything hanging on my ladder now that I am at home.

I picked flowers to dry and I don't have a photo. I picked a lot.  Enough for several huge vases. I will try to remember to show that next week. It is amazing to fill vases for free and these will dry and last years.

Mum gave me a basket of jars. Also a duck. Not an alive duck, a frozen duck to roast. :)

I made tags. They can be gift tags or to tie to food as labels...

I just found a mason jar image on the internet and copied it onto thin cardboard, cut them out, punched a hole and added string. I made a few dozen so far. I really like them as they will go with my pantry themed gifts. 

I hope you also had a good week. We have had pouring rain and a sunny day since. A mixture for the start of spring.

It was really a great week. When you get home from being away a few days there is always heaps to do.

My Dad is much better and working as usual but has to be careful of his arm. It is looking good and he thought they were wonderful to him in hospital.

I took photos of the farm house and some of the kitchen and garden etc which I will post next week.

How did you build up your home and save money this week? I hope it was good  and you are enjoying the changing of the seasons.

I have planting to do and spring cleaning too ... so I have a few plans for next week already.

Have a lovely weekend.xxx