13 November 2020

Weekend Reading

Here is our really tasty lime cordial alongside a jar of radish sprouts I just started.

I bought a small bag of limes when I was shopping last week and decided to work out later what I'd do with them. They cost $2.50.  Last summer, my friend Nicole gave me some finger limes from her own garden. I hadn't used them before, found the flavour to be a delicious mild lime flavour and they made best cordial I've ever had.  I was hooked.  That memory came back to me later in the day so I finely zested and juiced the limes, added juice from two lemons from the backyard and made lime cordial. It doesn't have the complex flavour of the finger limes, but it's pretty good. Those seven limes and two lemons made up a litre of cordial which I'll serve with iced tap water or cold sparkling spring water.


Usually, we make large quantities when we preserve fruit or vegetables and that's a great thing to do. You make the fruiting season last longer and add interest to your pantry and meals by putting up a few dozen jars of peaches, jam, tomato sauce, relish or chutney. That's a great thing to do, but it's also good to preserve small amounts too and it's a good way to get started on preserving if you haven't done any yet. A small batch will take less time, the lime cordial took about 10 minutes to make, and even though you'll only make a bottle or a couple of jars, you'll have something special in your fridge or pantry.

Where I live, we have an abundance of citrus fruits in spring and summer so it's common to find offers of free lemons or oranges. If the same is true where you live, grab a bucket and do up a small batch of cordial or juice. It will set you on the preserving road and that is a really wonderful life skill to have.

Here is this week's reading list. I hope you're able to make a cup of tea and sit for a while to read them.
My sincere thanks to everyone who ordered and bought the paperback Down to Earth. I hope you get a lot of good ideas and motivation from the book and that it guides you towards significant changes in your life.

Stay well everyone, especially those in areas where Covid-19 has taken hold. Have a great weekend.
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10 comments

  1. Your lime cordial sounds so refreshing! Will watch for lemons and limes to go on sale (they are not native to where I live) and make some for next spring and summer. Thank you for sharing!

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  2. Hi Rhonda,

    lovely hearing another interview with you, I'm sure it will inspire and encourage many.

    I found the article about a guaranteed monthly check really interesting, it's something I've been pondering for a while now. I loved his statement that systems don't last forever, and that could include capitalism. Surely we are smart enough to come up with a more humane, less damaging system than the one we have. Perhaps if enough people hear your message a new system will begin to evolve naturally. I like to think so.

    Have a lovely weekend,

    Madeleine.X

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    1. Hi Madeleine. We should be wise enough by now to come up with a better system but it doesn’t seem to be happening. Greed distorts our capacity for humane thought.

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  3. Oh my goodness, what an amazing book shop. I really could disappear for days in there. I hope you and Hanno have a fantastic weekend, Mandi

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    1. Yes, it’s amazing. The first editions of Ulysses were sold from that store. It’s a unique place.

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  4. Well done on your book being published in paper back and your interview too.. Have a great week. Kathy A, Brisbane

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  5. Oh, look how green those limes are! Your cordials always sound so delicious. My Meyer lemons will be ripe soon. I like to make sorbet with them. Glad that your paperback is selling well...congratulations!

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  6. Good morning Rhonda, Gracie and Hanno, it's literally blowing a gale down south! Loved the interview,take care and have a great week. Got to see our family for a birthday this weekend, an amazing feeling and planting out summer veges in our tiny potager and pots.🙃

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  7. Just finished "down to earth" and it was a joy to read. I also loved the thought that had gone into the patterned page edges, stitching lines and little material-like pictures - a lovely book.

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    1. Thanks for your lovely feedback, Elaine. I loved the design of the book too. I was so lucky to get that designer.

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