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 what I have seen others doing as there are some great ideas floating around that I think are worth sharing.

First up is Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial making up succulent pots for gifts.  This is such a great idea and one I have used in the past for a friend and my lovely sister in law who has a somewhat dubious history with potted plants.

Then there is Tracey over at It's Al-Wright Being Us who shows us a couple of different ways to make juggling balls.  She also made some great gifts for her boys when they turned 8.

Finally Linda from the Greenhaven  has a great recipe on her blog for a Fizzy Rhubarb drink which I think would be perfect at this time of year.

I am sure that there are loads more gift ideas that you have recorded on your blogs in the past so if you have a link you would like to share feel free to leave a comment  and your link below.

Pure Joy

There are some thing's in life that just make you smile.  A second hand toy kept Jessie amused for hours.

 There was lots of wrestling and rolling.

 The pig made a grunting noise when squeezed and Jessie thought it was great.

 Pleased as punch with her new toy.

We Won

At the end of last year a developer lodged an application to put a Sand and Gravel Quarry just up the road from our house, and the houses of many other people in our small rural community. 
Needless to say the community was not happy and we started an action group S.C.R.A.M (Sandy Creek Residents Against Mining).
We had public meetings where I was the facilitator, created a website http://www.scram.org.au/ and a facebook page, put up signs, had bumper stickers made and wrote to the media, local government, state and federal government and the government and associated departments involved such as Main Roads, SEQ Water and DERM (Department of Environment and Resource Management).

The whole idea that our quiet country lifestyle could be shattered by the sound of quarrying 6 days a week from 6am till 6pm, and up to 1 truck and trailer every 3 mins for the next 30 years was to be frank devastating.

Well we fought and we won!!

The developer has formally withdrawn his application and get this, is now undertaking a feasibility study to use the land for an Eco Residential development.  What a change of events.

Over the weekend some of the residents from our community got together to celebrate all of our hard work and what we achieved.

We are now working on having the state planning maps and local council maps updated to have the property in question rezoned so we never have to worry about it again.

Blooming Lovely

I do not have big flower gardens full of flowers so sometimes I feel like there is nothing pretty in my garden.  This is how I was feeling till I looked a bit closer.
One of mu succulents was flowering these dinner plate sized flowers that are only open for 24 hours.

 I love the Pink and Red colour combination.

Then there is the Hoya that I have been training over the path in the shade house.

With all it's clusters of flowers hanging down.

Each Little flower has a glistening drop of nectar at it's tip try to entice the bugs passing by.

Then while checking on my tomatoes I saw this flower which would have been over 1cm across.  Let's hope I get a monster tomato from it too.

What's blooming at your place?

Free Range Standards

I get regular emails from Choice and this one in particular touched a nerve with me.

Even though we do not buy eggs I know that not everyone has the ability to have chickens and therefore must purchase the eggs for their household.  What I do not support is the watered down version of "free Range" the the egg corporations are proposing.  I do not think that anyone purchasing free range eggs should have to question to what degree the chickens  are actually free range before trusting the label on the carton.  They either are or they are not.  And at 20,000 chickens per hectare or 5 chicken per Sq Metre, in my opinion they are not.

Here is the email I was sent please try and comment on their facebook page or email if you can.

Earlier this year, over 3100 people stood with CHOICE to ask the ACCC to reject the Australian Egg Corporation's unreasonable attempt to increase "free range" stocking densities by 13-fold. The great news for consumers is that the ACCC listened to us, finding that 20,000 chickens per hectare does "not accord with consumer expectations about the free range production of eggs". This is a welcome development, however it is only an initial assessment and the final decision is yet to be made. The Egg Corporation has announced it will try to overturn the decision. CHOICE will continue to fight for a consistent national free-range standard that meets consumer expectations but we need your help! We want the ACCC to know that consumers support their decision to reject the dodgy free-range standard. Please lend your voice to our effort by commenting on the image on our Facebook page. You can also email us at campaigns@choice.com.au. We will forward your messages to the ACCC.

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 Tea.

If you grow your own herbs or spices you can dry them and give them as gifts.  There are a huge number of herbs that you can make tea from it is really just personal preference.
My favourites are Sage & Thyme, Lemon Balm, Peppermint, Lemon and Ginger and Rosella (Native Hibiscus).
Just as a side note if you feel a cold or a sore throat coming on, and have sage and thyme in your garden, pick a sprig of each and put in a mug and pour over boiling water.  Both herbs have natural anti-inflammatory, antiseptic properties and I swear by this tea as a cold remedy and will drink cup after cup when not well.

When giving your herbs as a gift for tea you have a couple of options.  You might like to pack the dried herbs and spices into individually labelled jar and provide small cards with surviving suggestions of different flavour combinations.  But you can also buy packets of empty teabags so you  can make them up ready to go.  Or you might do a bit of both where some are packed ready to go and some are left up to the recipient.

Fill your own tea bags

Packed with fresh sage and thyme

Another option is to make up a batch of Chai Tea as a gift.  This spiced Indian tea can be tailor made to suit any taste and makes an excellent gift.

Chai Tea

1/2 Cup Black Tea Leaves

3 Cinnamon Sticks

12 Cardamon Pods 

12 Peppercorns

4 Dried Allspice Berries or 1/2 Tsp Ground Allspice

15 Cloves

1 Tsp Cummin Seeds

1/2 Tsp Ground Nutmeg

1/4 Tsp Ground Ginger

Take all your ingredients except for the tea and spices that are already ground and grind in a moter and pestle.  You do not want to grind it to a powder by any means, so a few chunks are fine, but you do want the  flavours to blend.  mix in the other already ground spices and the tea leaves and store in an air tight container.

Making Chai

Put 2 tsp of the Chai mix into a sauce pan and add 2 lt of boiling water and 2 cups of milk and bring to the boil then turn off and let the mix steep for 5 minutes or longer if you like.  Strain the tea into cups and sweeten if you want with honey and sugar

Chai is one of those drinks that can be made to suit your tastes so feel free to add and subtract spices to your liking.  I sometimes add star anise or fennel seeds too.  It is all about trial and error.

Seed Swapping

A little while ago I announced that I had Pak Choy Seeds to give away.  A number of you replied and seeds have since been posted off.

I did not offer the seeds with the expectation that I was getting anything in return so it was a lovely to receive things in return.

I received seeds and also some lovely seed envelopes from the lovely Patricia.

Swapping seeds with friends and family is such a practical thing to do since most seeds do not germinate as well once they are a year or so old and there are usually more in a packet than you need.  Also if you choose to save you own seeds you are likely to end up with enough to supply a commercial market garden so why not share them around.

If you are new to seed saving or would like more information Liz from 8 Acres provided so useful links in this post.

I still have plenty of seeds left if you would like some and they can be posted anywhere in Australia so let me know if you would like some.

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 share a Jamie Oliver recipe that has been a hit in this house ever since I first made it and has been well received as a gift by others.  Jamie's Epic BBQ Sauce.  This BBQ sauce can be used on its own or as a marinade.  It also makes divine spare ribs and chicken wings.

I have multiplied the original recipe by 5 (but feel free to divide it by 5) because it takes a bit of time to make and it means I can make it ahead of Christmas then just bottle it the week before.  I like to bottle it in my Fowlers Preserving Jars and store it till I am ready but it also freezes well.

Jamie's Epic BBQ Sauce

For the Paste:
5 Onions, Peeled and quartered
50 Cloves of Garlic, Peeled
10 Long Red Chillies, stalks removed
5 Tbls Olive Oil

Herbs and Spices:
50 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme, hard stems removed
50 Sprigs of Rosemary, hard stems removed
1 Large Bunch of Corriander
50 Bay Leaves
5 Tsp Cummin Seeds
10 Tbls Fennel Seeds
10 Tbls Smoked Paprika
30 Cloves

To Finish:
Zest and Juice of 10 Oranges
1kg Brown Sugar
1400 Ml Water
30 Tbls Balsamic Vinegar
1 Lt Tomato Sauce
10 Tbls Worcestershire Sauce
10 Tsp English Mustard
1 Lt Apple Juice
5 Tsp Salt
5 Tsp Pepper

Blitz all of the Paste ingredients except the oil in a food processor until you have a really fine paste.  Pour the oil into a stock pot on medium heat and fry this paste for 5 minutes.

While this is happening add all the herbs and spices plus the peel (without any of the white pith) of the oranges to the food processor.  Blitz really well then add to the pot and cook for another minute.  Add the sugar and stir until dissolved and you have a thick brown paste.  Then add the water and orange juice and cook for 2 minutes.  Add all your remaining ingredients and stir well.  Bring to the boil then turn down and simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken.

Pour the sauce through a fine sieve and into a large bowl.  Rinse the sieve and pour it through a second time to make the sauce really silky.
It is at this stage that I bottle mine into my preserving jars and put into a water bath for 30 minutes to seal.
Alternatively leave it to cool completely and divide between jars/bottles.
It will keep for a month in the fridge or up to a year if preserved in sterile jars.

How are you going with your Christmas plans?  Link up below and leave a comment.

Job Done and Just In Time

I had last week off work and after a weekend away camping with Hubby and Jessie the dog I had a plan to paint the ceiling in the lounge.
Our house is old and the ceiling is made up of panels which created a lot of extra cutting in.  But before I even got to the painting we had to move all the furniture out onto the veranda, then there was the washing with sugar soap and taping up around the edges.

It is not till you get up close and personal with your ceiling that you realise exactly how grubby it is.  I think for us not having fly screens makes a big difference and it is something that we will make sure we have in NZ when we build.
Hubby was working all week so it was up to me to do all the painting and I tell you one thing, it is a pain in the butt not having a second person to help you move ladders and a painters trestle around.

It has been so dry here lately it was the ideal time to paint.  But on Friday morning the weather report was for afternoon storms and I knew I had to hustle. I knew I was not going to be able to move the furniture back inside by myself even if had the finished the painting so I covered everything with a tarp.
And just as well I did as a storm rolled in and we got 35 mls of rain in the first hour.  Oh how we needed that rain.  It has been so dry (only 15 mls since the start of June) and everything was dry and crunchy.

We received over 70 mls of rain in the end and my garden was breathing a sigh of relief.
But the painting was finished and the garden watered, what more could you want on a Friday afternoon.

Greenpeace Petition

I received this from Greenpeace and thought I would share it in the hope that if can you too will sign the online petition.  It is already all set up so all you have to do is add you name which means it will take no time at all.

"Do you think coal companies should be allowed to release toxic water from coal mines into Queensland’s rivers and the Great Barrier Reef? 

Proposed new laws may allow this to happen if we don’t stop them from being passed.
Please send a message to the Queensland Premier to tell him you value safe drinking water, healthy rivers and the Great Barrier Reef.
These waterways feed into the Fitzroy River downstream to graziers, towns, the city of Rockhampton and eventually, the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Last week, Premier Campbell Newman told Queensland Parliament “the government will not do anything to in any way degrade the feed water coming down the Fitzroy for their water supply.”

That same day, Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney introduced new legislation that allows that to happen.

The Deputy Premier is proposing to create new provisions within the Environment Protection Act that would enable the coal companies to pollute our waterways.

We need to show the Premier that legislation permitting our environment, including the Great Barrier Reef, to be polluted is not acceptable.  Send him a message today urging him to pull the Deputy Premier into line and to defend our drinking water and the Reef from the coal industry. 

This new legislation will give companies the opportunity to ask for permission to release their toxic water into Queensland rivers, beyond the standards and guidelines set for safe drinking water and agriculture at short notice and without public review. 

Please tell Premier Newman we need protection for our waterways and our precious Great Barrier Reef from the coal industry.

If you are able to sign the petition you can access it here.

Planning For The Future

Both Hubby and I are goal setters and there is generally always one or two (sometimes more) things that we are working towards at any one time.  We are both very determined to achieve the goals we set and hubby in particular will work 7 days a week if he has to to make things happen.  Luckily he is very self aware and recognises the signs of over work and being burnt out.  He likes to take a day to recharge and do nothing and I have to be very conscious of not asking to do jobs around the farm.  I find this challenging as there are some things that need 2 people and when he finally is home he needs to rest.  But we negotiate this and it all works out in the end

Over the past 2 years our goal was to eliminate all debt from our lives with the exception of our mortgage which have only had for 3 years so we are not yet in the position to have paid it off.  We also wanted to save some money to give us options of what we might want to do in the future.  All the money we saved was kept in our mortgage off set account so it also helped to reduce the amount of interest we were paying.

We have been talking about our living arrangements for sometime and what we want to do.  We have considered knocking down/moving the old house we live in and building again, buying a new house and also moving out of the area entirely.  We like to get away camping every month or so and we find this is a great time to talk about what we want with out the distractions of all the jobs that we could, should and need to be doing on the farm.

Over the last six months we have talked in depth about what it was that both of us wanted.  We had an idea about what it was we thought we might do but it was going to be a BIG change.  So we wanted to really take the time to look at all the pros and cons, consider all of the alternatives and then come up with some sort of a plan about how we would make it happen. We have weighed everything up we have made a decision.  A decision that is still open to change if we change our minds or circumstances dictate we have to.
But as it stands at the moment we will be packing up our lives and moving to New Zealand.

We have purchased a 5.5 acre bare block of land and intend to move there within the next few years.  We have been looking online for the past 12 months and while we were back in NZ in August we inspected about 20 properties.  We knew that we wanted to buy vacant land so August was the perfect time to be looking since it is one of the wettest month of the year which allowed us to see exactly what drainage issues existed on each property.

In the end we settled on a property about 20 minutes from my parents on the western side of the north island.  We will be about 6 km from Marton and about the same from Bulls.  We are within 30 minutes of both Feilding and Palmerston North and 2 hours from the capital Wellington.

The plan is to pay off the land while we are still living here as the exchange rate works in our favour.  So for now we are staying where we are saving every cent we can and will just be doing a few cosmetic things over the next year to get our place ready for sale.  Which reminds me that I need to get back to work.  The first job I am doing is repainting the ceiling in the lounge and at the moment all of our furniture is on the veranda while I get it done.  I have washed the ceiling, filled the holes and taped around all the edges ready to start painting.  So now I am on the home straight so I better get back to it.

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?

Strawberry Jam

This week I want to talk about preserves.  These days it is not as common as it used to be for preserves to be made which makes them a great gift.  Well made preserves are streets ahead of their store brought equivalents plus there are so many varieties most of which you will never see on a supermarket shelf.  They are also perfect to have on hand for when you need give something small that you had not planned for like when some one drops by unexpectedly with a gift for you or you find out at the last minute that there will be an extra person on Christmas day.  With a few different preserves on hand all you need to do is add a circle of Christmas paper or fabric tied with some ribbon and you prepared for any unexpected situations.

In the past I have made Cherry Chutney, Coriander Pesto, Tomato Relish, Basil Pesto, BBQ Sauce and a few other things.  I have also been on the receiving end of home made preserves as a gift including Chilli Plum Jam, Worcestershire Sauce and Apple and Mint Jelly all of which were divine.
I will be sharing some of the recipes over the coming weeks and will be looking at what other new recipes I want to try.

Mustard Pickle

What have you made or been given?
Please link up below and leave a brief comment as well.

Slow Living 2012 - Month 10

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 are still eating home grown asparagus and eggs.  I think we have done our dash with silverbeet and the rest might go to the chickens as we are a bit sick of it in every second meal.

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 have made some strawberry jam and mustard pickles to put away in our stock pile and I will be making .

more bread and butter pickles soon too as we have run out and we really enjoy them with cheese and crackers and on sandwiches too.

Reduce - Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing.
The cleaning out of our wardrobes continues and we have sent more 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 have not been making much this month but still have plenty left from last month.

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

It has all been about planting out the seeds that I propagated last month and the month before.  They are now ready to go into the ground.  We have also established some new flower gardens and I have been propagating flowering plants.

Create - To fill a need or feed the soul. Create for ourselves or for others.

I have been getting a start on making Christmas cards.  I am still practising my knitting and am knitting a few more dishcloths.

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

Enhance - Community
I was the event director for a classic car show which went really well and you can check out the photos here.  The anti sand mining group for my local area that I am involved in appears to have had a major win but I will have to wait a bit longer before I can confirm anything.

Enjoy - Life! Embrace moments with friends and family. Marking the seasons, celebrations and new arrivals are all cause for enjoyment.
October was a busy month and not overly social.  Just a few quick catch ups with friends and family.

What have you been up to?