Slow and steady to get through the work

There are few things more grounding and self-affirming than working quietly in your own home to provide comfort and healthy food for yourself and those you love. Yesterday was such a day for me. In between tending Hanno - making breakfast, lunch and tea, with coffee and tea throughout the day, and administering eye drops every two hours, I made a sling and fleece neck rest and thought about the beginnings of a quilt to use up the many scrap fabrics I have here. I hope to start on that soon and have started selecting scraps.

I had two big cans of crushed Australian tomatoes waiting for me in the kitchen so mid-morning I made a spicy tomato relish, enough to do us through spring and into summer. After the relish was jarred and cooling down on the bench, I rearranged Hanno's occupational therapy appointment. We've moved from the hospital to a private OT who specialises in hand injuries. Then a bit of typing to finish the minutes of the MNC last committee meeting and back into the kitchen to make lunch.

After lunch and a bit of knitting I made a date and walnut cake. It is one of those oven foods that smells just as good as it tastes so we enjoyed the smell of it for a couple of hours and a taste mid-afternoon. Then I took the washing off the line, put another load in to wash overnight and I was ready to make our tea. We've been eating leftovers this week. Monday night we had corned beef hash cakes with fresh coleslaw and last night it was the leftover roast pork we had when Kerry and Sunny were here. I just cut it all up finely, cooked a selection of fresh vegetables and herbs from the garden and make a little sauce in the pan. It was delicious.

It was a busy day and I ended it feeling really tired but there is nothing better than getting a good night's sleep because you worked hard during the day. I felt like I'd done well at my work and that I'm getting through the backlog of tasks that didn't get done during our crisis. Today, there is another load of washing in the machine now, I'll be cleaning the floors, making a couple of batches of soap, potting up tomato seeds I have fermenting on the kitchen window sill and juicing lemons for cordial. If I have time, I'll prune the mandarin tree and work on my presentations for the Real Food Festival. And yes, I will rest, but not quite yet. 

For all those who live close-by or in Brisbane, if you're looking for something interesting to do this weekend, come to Maleny Show Ground for the Real Food Festival. I'll be doing two presentations and book signings there from 12.30pm on both days. If you do come up, please come over and introduce yourself. I'd love to meet you. Hanno will come with me if he's feeling up to it, or I'll only be away from a couple of hours. 

Click here to see the guest presenters.

The Real Food Festival is returning to Maleny in the beautiful Sunshine Coast Hinterland and this year it's going to be bigger, better and lots of family fun!

Last year over 4500 visitors flooded through the gates and, with the support of major sponsor IGA Sunshine Coast, the 2012 Real Food Festival has been extended to two days to give more people the opportunity to participate.

Highlights:

· Over 100 exhibitors – all from the Sunshine Coast – with displays covering a wide range of food and food-related interests, from primary producers to prepared food

· Cooking demonstrations in The Natural Foodstore Real Food Kitchen, featuring talented local chefs and special guest, Martin Boetz, from Longrain

· A special Market Chef cook-off between Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson and State Environment Minister Andrew Powell

· Eumundi Markets Kids Arena, which is dedicated to inspiring kids with pizza-making, Market Chef competition between high school teams, plant potting, talks, activities and entertainment

· Jeffers Market Nourishing Ideas venue, which will host experts sharing advice on eating for good health for the whole family

· Food for Thought talks on subjects such as local food systems and indigenous food heritage

· Live entertainment with seating on hay bales under the Big Red Tent

· Book signings with speakers and presenters

The Real Food Festival is about authenticity: all food on display has been grown or produced in the Sunshine Coast bioregion according to the interconnected Slow Food principles of good, clean and fair. You’ll be inspired by our passionate producers and chefs, and have a fun family day out.