1000 Page Views! Time For A Giveaway...

Thank you to everyone who has been visiting my little blog. To mark the occasion of 1000 page views, I would like to offer a fabulous prize to my readers.

I will be giving away a set of Onya Weigh Reusable Fruit and Veg Bags from Divine Harvest to one lucky reader. All you have to do is comment on this post, and I will random.org the winner tomorrow night (Wednesday the 1st of December) and let you know. If you don't know me personally, please keep checking back to the comment thread to see if you have won.

Onya Weigh Reusable Fruit and Veg Bags are made from tulle, are see through and strong and reduce the amount of plastics you bring home from your grocery shop. There are five in the set and they can be used to rinse your fruit and veg in before you store it. They are lightweight, so they do not add any weight to your fruit and veg on the scales.

Thanks to Divine Harvest, a fantastic business operating out of the Wheatbelt in Western Australia, for making a range of sustainable products available to us country folk! Divine Harvest have a great online shop... check them out using the link above.

Happy reading!

A Buying 'Ban'

I decided a couple of weeks ago, inspired by EcoMILF's pledge, I decided to take up the challenge of buying nothing new for 365 days. I will begin this challenge on January 1st 2011, and end it on December 31st 2011. Nathan has agreed to join me on this journey (and, no, he was not coerced!) so as a family we hope to achieve a few goals:

• Reduce our environmental impact by keeping things out of landfill, reducing the amount of packaging we bring into our home, and placing our purchasing power behind more sustainable ways of living.
• Reduce our addiction to consumption and the pull of marketing.
• Learn new ways of providing... such as sewing, mending and repairing and sourcing things second hand.
• Save some money - now that we will be on one income, it is important that we readjust our spending patterns so that we can live within our means.

So what's off the list?

New clothes, shoes, accessories

New craft supplies, kitchenware or kitchen appliances

Home decorating items, including linen, photo frames etc

New furniture 

New CDs, DVDs or books (yes, this may be my undoing!)

toys, gifts, stationery

Items from party plan demonstrations (eg Tupperware) - sorry friends!

Gardening supplies

So what are the exceptions?

Underwear, makeup (although as I finish items from my makeup bag I will be replacing them with 'greener' brands)

New items made entirely from recycled materials

Local handcrafted items

Pre-loved items from ebay, opshops and markets

Food and drink

Toiletries

A laptop - I may not fit this into this year's budget and as I need to relinquish my work laptop when I complete my employment, I am in the market for a new one. I looked at the ecological benefits of buying a refurbished laptop vs a new one from a company that is working to improve its environmental policies and features, and it seems that in this case, new is the way to go.

Gifts from other people - we realise that this is our journey and no-one else's and do not wish to offend anyone or cause discomfort, so on gift-giving occasions we will be thrilled to receive any gift that has been chosen by our loved ones.

So join me on what I am sure will be a challenging journey. Those of you who know me well will realise that this is a rather large step for me! Wish me luck!

Spitikos Domatopoltos (Homemade Tomato Paste - Greek Style)

I borrowed this recipe from here but will write it out in full anyway.


Ingredients:
2 kilos end-of season, overripe tomatoes (peeled)
1 sweet red pepper (I used a dried chilli instead)
1 - 2 tablespoons of sea salt

Peel tomatoes by cutting the tops off, immersing in boiling water for a few minutes, then plunging in cold water. The skins should then peel off easily.
Place tomatoes and pepper into food processor and blend until well pulped.
Transfer to a pot and bring to the boil. Boil for 2 or 3 minutes.
Place mixture in a muslin lined metal sieve and suspend over a large bowl in the fridge for 12 hours, to drain all excess liquid away.
Transfer mixture to a glass or ceramic bowl and stir in salt. Leave standing until mixture is at room temperature place into oven to dry for 15-20 minutes at 95-100 degrees celsius.
Spoon into warm sterilised glass jars, avoiding air pockets, and cover with 1 cm of extra virgin olive oil. Let cool then store unlidded in fridge. Will keep like this for a year.

As the tomato paste is used, add more oil to the top as needed.
Jars can also be loosely covered with foil (does not replace oil - always use the oil), if desired.

A note on sterilising jars:
My method of sterilising is to wash the jars and lids thoroughly in hot soapy water, and dry well. I then place them into a cold oven and heat the oven to 160 degrees celsius, and leave jars in there for 10 minutes after temperature has been reached. Make sure the jars are not touching each other in the oven, and be sure to keep them hot until your preserved product is spooned in, as hot foods being put into cold jars will cause the jars to crack.
If using screw top lids, I boil these in a saucepan of water until needed, and use tongs to lift them out and place onto jar. Seal immediately, because as the food cools, it will cause the lids to 'pop' inwards, creating a full seal.
To remove labels from jars easily, I soak all jars in a tub of hot water with some eucalyptus oil, then use a soft scourer to scrape labels off. Make sure jars are then thoroughly cleaned, dried and sterilised as eucalyptus oil is toxic.

Well, my large box of tomatoes is nearly gone, just a few stragglers remain in the bottom. I am thinking I might oven dry these and use them in the pasta sauce that will be accompanying Nath's freshly caught squid tonight!

Cooking With The Kids

 

Miya and Eden both had one of those rare three hour sleeps today, doing wonders for every one's moods. When Miya woke up (even she was surprised at finding out she had, actually, fallen asleep!) the first thing she asked for was whether we could make some biscuits together.
I recently bought a fantastic cookbook called "Additive Free Kids' Parties" by Tegan Benfell and Rachel Davies Burrows. It is full of fun recipes for treats that don't contain any harmful additives. As Miya reacts badly to additives, this is becoming a well-used cookbook in our house.
We chose to adapt a recipe from the book and made Wholemeal Vanilla Biscuits (with 'faces' on). The girls helped scoop, measure, mix, pour and spoon (oh! the learning that happens naturally!) and decorate their biscuits with sultanas and almonds.

The results were impressive, and I caught the girls on numerous occasions sneaking out the back door having stolen one or two from the cooling rack... with only 1/2 cup raw sugar for the whole batch, I feigned shock and horror while revelling in the joy of watching my children enjoy a food journey from beginning to delicious end.

Wholemeal Vanilla Biscuits 
(adapted from 'Additive Free Kids' Parties' Vanilla Cream Biscuits recipe)

2 cups wholemeal plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 tsp natural vanilla essence
2 eggs
4 tsp milk (more if needed)
Sultanas and/or nuts to decorate


Preheat oven to 160 degrees and line or grease baking tray
Place all ingredients into mixing bowl and mix. Tip mixture out onto floured workbench and knead until all ingredients are well combined - adjust consistency with flour and/or milk
Roll dough out with a rolling pin until it is approximately 3mm thick
 Use a circle cookie cutter to cut biscuits. Place them on baking tray and decorate with sultanas and/or nuts.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges brown
Cool on wire rack

My Bedside Table Booklist

I love books. I have books shelved in nearly every room in the house, scattered on coffee tables, kitchen benches and bedside tables, and face down, much to my mother's disgust, on the floor, the bed and the couch.

I don't just read one book at a time. I might have on the go books about cooking, parenting, gardening, spirituality (and the odd trashy novel to keep me grounded).


Nath is buying me my current wishlist of books for Christmas, so I am clearing space in the 'important places' for my new offerings to my collection. This means reshelving the odd assortment of books I have scattered around the house, which, of course, means reading them - again- before I do so, to make sure I haven't missed anything!

My current wishlist:

Coming Home To Eat - Wholefood Cooking For The Family (Jude Blereau)

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver)

Seven Times The Sun (Shea Darian)

The Creative Family (Amanda Blake Soule)

Handmade Home (Amanda Blake Soule)

Creative Play For Your Toddler (Christopher Clouder)

 


 Sew Darn Cute (Jenny Ryan)

Time For Me

I am passionate about feeding my family nutritious, whole, natural foods.... and yet I struggle with my own weight, and often make poor food choices.
I am intentional about planning time where the girls are outdoors, being active and engaging with nature.... and yet I rarely prioritise my own exercise.
I engage the children in creative, soul-feeding activities, such as reading, singing, dancing, drawing and making... and yet I push my own creative needs to the bottom of the list.
I make sure that Miya and Eden interact and socialise with children their own age... and yet it feels so difficult to take 'time off' to be with my own friends.
I diligently protect my children's rest time, making sure they have enough sleep to fuel their bodies for their active days... and yet I seldom feel justified in pausing in my own tasks.
I actively seek opportunities for Miya and Eden to experience learning, and make the most of the incidental chances for learning to occur naturally... and yet I feel guilt over the time I spend reading, researching and pondering.
To be a mother is to be so many things.... the most important of which is to be one's self.
I pledge to take the time to be selfish, to be reflective, to feed my soul, to nourish my body, to grow my mind, to be me.

Peace For Yuletide

I was researching today the origins of the word 'Yuletide'. Tide was easy... this means season, or time. Time for what, though?
The word 'yule' has contested origins. Most sources merely state that the meaning of 'yuletide' is 'the Christmas season' or 'the period extending from Dec 24 to Jan 6'. It seems that the 'christianisation' (and commercialisation) of this festival has resulted in a loss of meaning, not just of the event itself, but even the literary roots of its name. In fact, the Oxford dictionary reportedly will only accept the meaning of yuletide that relates specifically to Christmas, despite the fact that the winter festival that Yuletide originates from predates Christ by a few centuries.

So what could I find out? Traditionally, yuletide marks the festival of the winter solstice, when the sun reaches its southernmost point. Some believe that the word yule has its origins in the Nordic jol (wheel), which may be derived from ancient Indo-European word meaning 'to go around', the assumption being that yuletide refers to the turning of a season, or the time at which the year is at its low point, ready to come round again.

Whatever it truly means, my research today has served to highlight that our contemporary society has lost the ability its predecessors had to mark with celebration the passing of time, to join in meaningful festivities that bring together communities in rejoicing in the most mundane of daily and yearly tasks, to find value in the ebb and flow of communal life.

On a personal level, I am entering this festive season with these things on my mind, having made some significant decisions over the past couple of weeks. Last Friday, I resigned from my employment, and will finish up there next Friday. I have been working three days a week for the past (almost) 18 months, while the girls have attended day care locally, at the town day care centre initially, and more recently with a fantastic home family day carer. I have decided to return to being a full time, stay at home mother, wife, home maker and woman. Our family is looking forward to this change, and I am so excited about settling into a precious rhythm with the girls, and being able to spend more time learning, exploring and creating with them.

It feels like the end of an era for me, one that was rewarding in a lot of ways, but one that also had its challenges and limitations. It truly does feel as if our family life is coming into a more settled, peaceful period, kind of like the wheel at its low point, ready to come round again. I very much look forward to seeing what the next turn of the wheel will bring.