A Home Made Christmas

Each Wednesday from now until Christmas I will be blogging about a gift idea that can be made at home and I would love it if you would join in each week with your own contribution to "A Home Made Christmas".
I am sure that there are great projects to make, goodies to make, bake and bottle and ideas that you all have to share. I look forward to reading all about the things you make and being inspired by your ideas.

If you are worried about ruining the surprise feel free to post about something you have made in the past, something you saw or something you have received.

When planning home made gifts you need to consider a number of things:
How long the item will take to make? How far ahead do I need to plan?
How long will it keep?  What is the shelf life?
Does it need time to mature like Christmas Cakes/Puddings?
Can I make more than one at a time and give them to a number of people?

This week I want to talk about Hampers.  I debated whether or not to include hampers as "home made" but in the end hampers are no less home made than something you sew or bake with store brought items.  Plus all hampers are made up of a range of things some of which you can make.

Picture from here

I have no idea where I found the following list of hamper ideas but I think it was on a forum somewhere.  Anyway the list of hamper ideas is pretty long so instead of putting the whole lot in this post I have added a page to put the entire list on.

1. Garden Basket: gardening gloves, packets of seeds, hand tools (trowel, rake, etc,), gardening book or subscription to a gardening magazine, bottle or box of fertiliser, gift certificate to a garden supply store, garden clogs, a small house plant in a pretty pot. Try these variations:

Flower Kit: Use a large terracotta pot. Fill with small hand tools, seeds, small bag potting soil, liquid fertiliser, etc.
Vegetable Kit: full-sized spade, rake, and cultivator. Tie a cellophane gift bag to the bottom part of each tine with twine. Fill the bags with vegetable seed packets, fertiliser, garden markers, marking pen.
Decorative planter, hose, hose adaptor, stepping stone kits, sprinkler, etc. Great for a new home owner.

2. Pasta Bowl: in a large pasta bowl add a package or two of gourmet pasta, tongs, package of sun-dried tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, spices (oregano, basil, garlic powder), pasta cookbook, pasta tongs. Line the basket with fabric and top off with a bottle of Italian wine, a loaf of Italian bread, and/or a chunk of Parmesan cheese.

3. Golf Bucket: golf tees, golf balls, cap, golf towel, sunscreen, ball marker, glove, a subscription to a golf magazine. In lieu of a basket, use a small fabric cooler to hold all the supplies. Can do the same thing with Tennis. Skip the tees, add tennis balls, and a tennis towel.

4. Cheese and Cracker Basket: In a large basket add a cheese spreader, small cheese ball, a variety of small cheeses, several different crackers, napkins.

5. Puppy Basket: food & water bowls, squeaky toy (s), dog biscuits, collar & lead, brush/comb.

6. Kitten Basket: Catnip seeds, toys, collar, Kitty pillow, etc.

7. Writing Box: note cards & stationery with envelopes, assorted cards, letter opener, book of pretty stamps, return address labels, nice pen.

8. Pamper Baskets: gel eye-packs, aroma therapy candle, soothing CD, bath gloves/buffers, sisal mitt, sugar scrub, bath salts or gel. Then customise the assortment by adding products you know the recipient will enjoy. A plastic bath tote /basket with a handle is a nice change.

9. Child's Activity Tub: In a plastic tub a pad of recycled paper, package of coloured paper, crayons, markers, coloured pencils, glue sticks, scissors, colouring books, stickers.

10. Sundae Bucket: ice cream scoop, gourmet sauces, sprinkles, assorted nuts, and other toppings, maraschino cherries, sundae glasses and long handled spoons, sugar and flat-bottomed cones, gift certificate for ice cream.

11. Baby Bath Bucket: Use a plastic sand bucket. Add a hooded towel, face cloth, sleeper, baby shampoo, baby lotion, baby powder, nail scissors, rubber duckie.

What kind of Hamper would you like to receive?  Do you like to give hampers?

Calling It Quits

Over the weekend I pulled out all of my brassicas.  They grew healthy and strong but never formed heads, and after hoping and praying they would amount to something, anything I had to cut my losses.

All was not lost as our cows (Freezer 1 and Freezer 2) were treated to a salad feast.  And they sure did seem to enjoy their meal.

Today after building up the soil and putting some nutrients back into it I will be planting our some summer veg.  Lets hope I have better luck with those.

Watch Your Step

This is the view out of the door that leads through the shade house to our garage.  It's the main door that we use to come and go from the house.

But the other day when I went to go out I got quite a surprise as I went to step out the door.  This 1.2 m Red Belly Black Snake was having a nice little sun bake right in front of the door on the door mat.

 He/She did not stick around and headed off into the garden.

However when hubby went to put on a load of washing later on it had decided to get out of the heat (38 degrees) and have a sleep behind the washing machine.  We had to spend the day keeping an eye on it but eventually when it cooled down it went back out side.

Any ideas on snake proofing your house?

A Home Made Christmas

Each Wednesday from now until Christmas I will be blogging about a gift idea that can be made at home and I would love it if you would join in each week with your own contribution to "A Home Made Christmas".
I am sure that there are great projects to make, goodies to make, bake and bottle and ideas that you all have to share. I look forward to reading all about the things you make and being inspired by your ideas.

If you are worried about ruining the surprise feel free to post about something you have made in the past, something you saw or something you have received.

When planning home made gifts you need to consider a number of things:
How long the item will take to make? How far ahead do I need to plan?
How long will it keep?  What is the shelf life?
Does it need time to mature like Christmas Cakes/Puddings?
Can I make more than one at a time and give them to a number of people?

This week I want to talk about something really quick and easy to make, that can be made at the last minute and is great to team up with a selection of imported beer for the man who is hard to buy for.

Spiced Beer Nuts

   

These would be great teamed up with the recipe so that the recipient can make them for them selves in the future.  They only stay fresh for about 3 days so are really a last minute make.

1 kg Raw Nuts (Macadamias, Almonds, Brazil, Peanuts, Cashews, Pecans)

100gm Pumpkin Seeds

100gm Sunflower Seeds

3 Tbs Olive Oil

3 Tbs Runny Honey

3 Tsp Sea Salt Flakes

3 Tsp Cummin Seeds

2 Tsp Paprika

1 1/2 Tsp Celery Salt

1/4 Tsp Freshly Ground Black pepper

Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees and while it is heating grind you Cummin seeds to a course grind in a morter and pestle.

Line a large baking tray with baking paper and set to the side.  Put the nuts in a large bowl and drizzle with the oil and honey.  Add the spices, salt and pepper and mix to coat them evenly.  Tip the mix onto your baking tray and bake in the middle of your oven for about 10 - 15 minutes stiring every 2 mintes.  When they are golden remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before packaging.  

Classic Car Show Success

Well it is all over for another year and I have had a chance to relax and reflect following this years event.  I have learnt a lot more about managing an event and about myself as well.  And I am really glad I took two days off following the event because not only did I need the time to unwind, but there were press releases to write and send, certificates of appreciation to make and surveys to send out.

The second annual Kilcoy Classics on Wheels, held on 14 October 2012 proved to be a hit with the motoring enthusiasts and public alike.  There was a turn out of over 100 cars and motorbikes more than double last year’s event.  We hope to grow the number of entrants further each year, although there will be a limit to the number we can manage.  With the beautiful weather the public had the opportunity to get up close and personal with some beautiful old cars and bikes.  The event is a fundraising event run by a team of volunteers that I lead and proceeds from this year’s event will go towards the local chaplaincy.

This year saw a number of clubs come along with large numbers and there was some stiff competition for the “Best Club Participation” trophy.  We are really aiming for the event to be about a fun social day out not a strict show with concourse standards. 

One of our judges was our Mayor Graeme Lehmann who has been involved in motor sports for many years.  He and our other judge were kept busy judging the entries.  The public were also encouraged to participate and vote for their favourites.  

Planning is already under way for next year’s event where it is hoped there will be over 200 cars.  But until then here are some snaps from the day taken by my best friend Sandra who kindly volunteered on the day.

A Home Made Christmas

Each Wednesday from now until Christmas I will be blogging about a gift idea that can be made at home and I would love it if you would join in each week with your own contribution to "A Home Made Christmas".
I am sure that there are great projects to make, goodies to make, bake and bottle and ideas that you all have to share. I look forward to reading all about the things you make and being inspired by your ideas.


If you are worried about ruining the surprise feel free to post about something you have made in the past, something you saw or something you have received.

When planning home made gifts you need to consider a number of things:
How long the item will take to make? How far ahead do I need to plan?
How long will it keep?  What is the shelf life?
Does it need time to mature like Christmas Cakes/Puddings?
Can I make more than one at a time and give them to a number of people?

This week I want to talk about Pesto and Preserved Lemons.

Both of these can be made at home for a fraction of the cost to buy them and require very few ingredients.

When it comes to pesto all you really need are herbs, garlic, nuts, Parmesan and olive oil.  It is up to you what herbs or nuts you use (my personal favourite is coriander and macadamia) and if you add additional things like chilli.  So if you have an abundance of herbs in your garden pesto could be the ideal gift.

Preserved Lemons are something that you can make well ahead of time.  There are a heap of recipes on the net that use different spices along side their lemons but for a good basic recipe similar to the one I have used try this one.  The only thing I do differently is that I cut my lemons into quarters so I can use smaller jars and still cram lots in.  If you still lots of lemons you could make a few jars now and they would be ready to go at Christmas.

What are you making this Christmas? I am looking forward to seeing your ideas so please link up below and leave a brief comment as well.

Busy Times Ahead

This Sunday is the day when it all happens.  The Classic Car Show that I am the Event Direct for, The Kilcoy Classics on Wheels, is on.

I mentioned the car show way back here when we were getting ready to run the first one.  Last year was a great day and was quite successful.  This year will be bigger and better.  We learnt a lot from last year and have made a few changes and had a lot of great responses from car enthusiasts.
So much work has gone into it and before Sunday there is still quite a list of things to do.  So with that in mind I will be taking a small break from blogging and will be back next week to report back on how it all went.
In the meantime here is a photo from my front garden beside the driveway.

Organic Seed Giveaway

This year I had great success with Pak Choy.   But after eating it for quite a while and other greens doing well in the garden I let the last 3 plants go to seed.

And go to seed they did.  So last weekend, after drying out the seed pods for a few weeks, I spent  some time shelling all the little seed pods.  Now I have more seed than I could ever use so I would like to give most of them away.

If you would like some please email me and I will post them to you  (my contact details are on my profile page).  I can only send these within Australia due to quarantine laws but I have plenty to give away so if you want some please let me know.

A Home Made Christmas

Each Wednesday from now until Christmas I will be blogging about a gift idea that can be made at home and I would love it if you would join in each week with your own contribution to "A Home Made Christmas".
I am sure that there are great projects to make, goodies to make, bake and bottle and ideas that you all have to share. I look forward to reading all about the things you make and being inspired by your ideas.


If you are worried about ruining the surprise feel free to post about something you have made in the past, something you saw or something you have received.

When planning home made gifts you need to consider a number of things:
How long the item will take to make? How far ahead do I need to plan?
How long will it keep?  What is the shelf life?
Does it need time to mature like Christmas Cakes/Puddings?
Can I make more than one at a time and give them to a number of people?

This week I want to talk about spice rubs.  Spice mixes or rubs make great gifts especially when teamed with a recipe or suggested ways of using them.  They are also able to be made quickly and cheaply.

Here are a couple of my favourites:

Cajun Rub

This Cajun-style rub that works well on any fish, meat or poultry. If you have a recipe that calls for Cajun seasonings, use this recipe.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Yield: Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 cup paprika

6 tablespoons coarse salt

1/4 cup black pepper, coarsely ground

3 tablespoons basil, dried

3 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons oregano, dried

2 tablespoons cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons white pepper

2 tablespoons thyme, dried

Preparation:

Mix and use for blackened dishes and any other dishes that call for Cajun seasoning.

 Ethiopian Spice Rub

There are a lot of flavors in this mixture and you might not have everything on hand, but it is a great spice rub for anything.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: Makes about 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

10 small dried red chilies

2 1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika

2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds

4 whole cloves

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon black cardamom seeds

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Preparation:

In a small frying pan over a low heat, lightly toast whole cloves, cumin seeds, fenugreek, cardamom seeds, peppercorns, and coriander seeds for about 2 minutes. Allow to cool. Remove stems from chilies and grind with toasted spices. Add remaining ingredients. Store in an airtight jar.

What are you making this Christmas? I am looking forward to seeing your ideas so please link up below and leave a brief comment as well.

Potting Mix - Is it worth Paying More?

Ever wondered why your potted plants or seedlings are not thriving?  It could be that your potting mix is to blame.
I did a bit of an experiment with some seedlings that I had far too many of.  These are Queensland Blue Pumpkins that I raised in foam boxes from seeds before potting them on.  We did not need 8 plants that is for sure.  So 4 of them were potted into Searles premium potting mix.  The other 4 were potted into a mix of cheap potting mix mixed with some good quality compost.  We use the cheap potting mix instead of synthetic kitty litter for our ageing cat which is why we had some on hand.
All the pots were watered the same amount and sat side by side in the shade house but look at the difference.
Well the proof is in the pumpkin in this case.  I suspect that the PH is way off and there is not enough organic matter to hold onto the moisture.

Look at those pitiful plants on the left.

 And no gardening is complete at our place without the number 1 garden helper.

Having a lie down after a big day in the garden

Have you had issues with cheap potting mix?

Garden Odds and Ends Risotto

I made a whole lot of chicken stock over the weekend and most of it got frozen but there was still some in the fridge.  So rather than freeze it I decided risotto would be a good option.  I was going to make my favourite fennel and pea risotto but a I had used up most of the fennel last weekend.  All I had left was fennel re-shoots.  I have not grown fennel before so I had no idea that if I just cut the fennel bulbs off at the base, leaving the root in the ground, that they would re-shoot.   Any way lucky they did because I managed to find a few small bulbs to add to the risotto.

 

Fennel re-shoots, a bit small for tonight's dinner

I also managed to find a few small leeks that had been left to develop  but had not come to much, so they went into the risotto too.

Anyway here is my recipe for my fennel and pea risotto.  Risotto needs constant attention so you need to have all the elements ready to go.  You can expect to be at the stove for 30 minutes and you .  Serves 4.

2 Tbs Olive Oil

1 Tbs Butter

1 Brown Onion finely diced

1 large or 6 small fennel bulbs finely diced

250 gm Arborio Rice

1/2 Cup White Wine

5 Cups of Chicken Stock simmering

1 Cup Frozen Peas

1/4 Cup Parmesan or Pecorino if you prefer a milder flavour

Put your stock on and bring to simmer.  While this is happening heat your oil and butter in a large heavy based pan.  Add your fennel and onion (or the odds and ends you might have) plus a pinch of salt and cook with out browning on a medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent.  Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes stirring continuously.  Add the wine and stir until fully absorbed.   You can then start adding the simmering stock one ladle full at a time.  Do not add the next ladle until the previous one if full absorbed.  When you have only one ladle left it is time to add the peas.  Once the last lot of stock is absorbed remove from the stove and stir in the cheese and 1 tbs butter.

Have you ever had fennel re-shoot?

What is you favourite risotto?

Chocolate Crunchies

These are a great biscuit to make in a large batch and freeze smaller portions.  They are made in a large saucepan using basic pantry staples and can be iced but I prefer them plain.

Front to Back: Sponge Cake, Chocolate Crunchies, Bird Seed Bars,
Moorish  Meatloaf  (See Recipes Tab for other recipes)

250 gm Butter
1 Cup Sugar
6 Tbs Cocoa
2 Tsp Vanilla Ess
2 Eggs
2 Cups Self Raising Flour
3 Cups of Crushed Wheatbix

Pre heat oven to 170 degrees c.
In a large sauce pan melt the butter until it is just melted then remove from the heat.  Add the sugar,cocoa, vanilla and egg.  Mix well with a fork then add the flour and wheat-bix and mix till all of the flour is combined.
Wet your hands and roll the mix in to balls the size of truffles.  Place on baking tray and press slightly to flatten.
Bake for 10 - 12 minutes till evenly cooked but not dark around the edges.
Once cooked place on a cooling rack to cool.

Gooseberry Questions

At the start of the year I was given a Cape Gooseberry plant and I noticed today that many of the little berries in their dry pods had started dropping of the bush.  So I decided that I would pick up the fallen ones and pick the others that were ready.

The thing is that I do not really know what to do with them.  Can I freeze them till more are ready?
Do you have any suggestions?  What would you do with them?

A Home Made Christmas

Welcome to A Home Made Christmas.

Every Wednesday from now until Christmas I will be blogging about a gift idea that can be made at home and I would love it if you would join in each week with your own contribution to "A Home Made Christmas".
I am sure that there are great projects to make, goodies to make, bake and bottle and ideas that you all have to share. I look forward to reading all about the things you make and being inspired by your ideas.

Linda commented yesterday that she did not want to post about items she was planning to give this Christmas as her friends and family read her blog.  This is totally understandable.  So if you are worried about ruining the surprise feel free to post about something you have made in the past, something you saw or something you have received.

When planning home made gifts you need to consider a number of things:
How long the item will take to make? How far ahead do I need to plan?
How long will it keep?  What is the shelf life?
Does it need time to mature like Christmas Cakes/Puddings?
Can I make more than one at a time and give them to a number of people?

Something that is cheap to make, can be made well ahead of time and stored, and you can even involve the kids in the process, is Bath Bombs.

Bath Bombs are cheap and easy to make.  They can be given as a small gift on their own, that extra something to go with another gift or part of a hamper.  There are a lot of recipes out there on the net and rather than re-write them I have provided some links below.

Bath Bomb Recipes Links
Not Martha
Teach Soap
Kid Spot
CSIRO

Bath bombs can be wrapped in cellophane or packed into gift bags.  But if you have a few to wrap I suggest squares of fabric tied with ribbon.
I am looking forward to seeing your ideas so please link up below and leave a brief comment as well.

A Home Made Chrismas

It will soon be Christmas.  Are you groaning at the thought?  Are you well on your way in the planning and shopping stakes?  Have you finished all of your gifts and can now sit back, put your feet up and relax?  Or maybe you do not give gifts at all?

For me Christmas is not about the receiving of gifts but about the giving and sharing.  It is not about battling crowds, fighting for car parks, spending time in queues or listening to shopping centre carols on repeat.

For me it is all about taking the time to make things that I know will be enjoyed.  Things made with love.  Where the recipient will know that I care about them enough to spend time making something for them.  Not necessarily something with a high dollar value, but definitely something with a high love value.

So each Wednesday from now until Christmas I will be blogging about a gift idea that can be made at home and I would love it if you would join in each week with your own contribution to "A Home Made Christmas".
I am sure that there are great projects to make, goodies to make, bake and bottle and ideas that you all have to share. I look forward to reading all about the things you make and being inspired by your ideas.

One of the things that I have given in the past is my Cherry Chutney which is a great addition to any Christmas meal.
So get your thinking caps on and dig out those old favourites for your Wednesday posts.

What ideas can you share to create a home made Christmas?

Slow Living 2012 - Month 9

Linking up with Christine again this month after missing last month due to a few weeks overseas.

Nourish -Make and bake as much as possible from scratch. Ditch over packaged, over processed convenience foods and opt for 'real' food instead.
We have been up to our eyeballs in eggs this month and have been making the most of them.  Using fresh vegetables from the garden to make yummy self crusting quiches.  The asparagus is sending spears our way daily and these have been used in salads and grilled for breakfast.  Last night I used up the last of the fennel in a fennel and pea risotto.

Prepare - Stockpile and preserve. Freeze extra meals or excess garden/market produce. Bottle/can, dehydrate or pickle foods to enjoy when they are not in season.
I spent the day baking up a storm of bird seed bars and other goodies to stock the pantry and freezer for a busy few weeks ahead.

Reduce - Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing.
I have been cleaning out our wardrobes send a few bags off to the local op shops.

Green - Start (or continue!) using homemade cleaners, body products and basic herbal remedies. The options are endless, the savings huge and the health benefits enormous.
I made up another batch of liquid soap and made some bi-carb paste.

Grow - plant/harvest. What's growing this month? What's being eaten from the garden?

It has all been about planting out seeds this month.  And there have been some experiments too but more on that later.

Create - To fill a need or feed the soul. Create for ourselves or for others.
I have not been crafting much this month but have a lot planned for the next few months.

Discover - Feed the mind by reading texts relevant to current interests.
I have been reading books about permaculture and climate change and will be blogging about them in another post.

Enhance - Community
I am the event director for a classic car show which is happening on the 14th of October so that is taking up a bit of time.  I am also still involved in the anti sand mining group for my local area.  Then there is fund raising for the local chaplaincy with monthly sausage sizzles and I  am involved in the social planning for our community.

Enjoy - Life! Embrace moments with friends and family. Marking the seasons, celebrations and new arrivals are all cause for enjoyment.
September was a busy month for social gatherings with visits from friends and family.  I also had a special visit from my 27 year brother who has just moved to north QLD from NZ and I hope to be seeing a bit more of him in the future

What have you been up to?