down to earth

I am so grateful to have such a wonderful group of readers. I don't say this often but your comments really do keep me blogging. When they drop off, I do too. So thank you for being here with me and thanks for the thoughts and prayers you send me. It's such a lovely thing to be thought of by people near aand far. I think of you too. Every time you comment, I build up a picture in my mind of what you're like - how you talk and wear your hair, how you make a cup of tea and harvest flowers or tomatoes. I carry those picture with me and sometimes when I sit on the front verandah, someone from here sits in my brain for a while and makes me smile. So thank you all for that and for giving me the time it takes to visit and comment.

💛 ~ 💜 ~ 🧡

At the beginning of the week there was a bad smell in the house. At first I wondered if Gracie had found a mouse and killed it but mice in the house in summer is very rare so I searched for another cause. My nose lead me to the bathroom, the bathroom I don't use. It used to be the main bathroom but when we added another bedroom with en suite, that became our main bathroom. The old bathroom is used by visitors and if they use the toilet, that is where they wash their hands. The room also contains an old freezer, a cleaning cupboard and a shower. As soon as I walked in I knew I'd hit pay dirt - the smell was very strong and I could see the freezer light was off. 🫢 Then I remembered, I'd used my robo mop at the end of last week. That one electrical switch in the room has a dual purpose. It charges the battery on the mop and it runs the freezer and has done for over 20 years. I must have forgotten to turn the switch on again when I removed the mop cord. 😑

When I opened the door on the freezer my head nearly lifted from my shoulders. 😵‍💫 I put it down again but I could see rotting steaks, mince, two roasts, homegrown chard, a large bag of fresh ginger and chillies picked from the backyard. There was also two litres of lemon juice ready to be made into cordial for the second half of summer and about 5 kilos of bread flour I'd been storing in there. Funnily enough, the loss of the food was a distant second place to worrying about the smell.

This freezer was bought the first year we lived here. It was a medium sized freezer that served us well all that time and never caused any problems. It had started to rust in a few places and enamel paint chips on the outside wall fell off sometimes in the last year, so I knew it was on the way out. I didn't want to replace it but I knew I had to start thinking about getting rid of it. I don't live a freezer lifestyle anymore - no live-in family, no bulk meat purchases, no bread making and no garden to harvest from anymore.

When I tried to move it, it wouldn't budge an inch. So I rang my son Shane. He told me not to worry and he'd be here the following day to get rid of it. And that's exactly what he did. He moved the freezer out of the house and onto the trailer hooked up to his car and took it to the dump. It was like losing an old friend. But when I thought about it, it was another decluttering exercise. Yes it happened out of the blue, yes, I couldn't rescue any of the food it contained, yes, it made a mess but if it hadn't happened like that I would have had to slowly use the food in the freezer, turn it off for the final time, cleaned it out and ask Shane to take it to the dump for me. In this instance, I think the faster option was better.

When Shane removed the freezer it was clear by some stains on the floor that it had been leaking for a while. I cleaned the corner of the bathroom with bleach, then with disinfectant and washing up liquid in almost boiling water, finished it off with dry rags and set up a drying rack in the space. I have to admit, I miss that old freezer. It was such an important part of our first year living in our home and one of the first appliances I bought with visions of home productivity in mind. After I bought it, I set up a stockpile cupboard and a pantry and those three things - the freezer, stockpile cupboard and pantry helped me think in creative ways about home cooking, baking, fermenting, creating a food budget, food storage and cutting back on food waste.

I'll miss the old girl but in the future she'll help me remember what life was like for the Hetzels when we picked her up from the shop and brought her home. I didn't fully realise her potential at first but she helped me answer a lot of the food questions I'd started thinking about. She allowed me to buy bulk meat from a local farmer for a fraction of the supermarket price and she provided space to place newly purchased dry goods - flour, oats, rice etc. - so that if they contained any insect larvae, it would be killed in the freezer.

I guess it's strange feeling sentimental about a freezer but it really did kick start how I changed my thoughts about food production. And I'm pleased the end came fast and that Shane was there for me when I needed help. It's a pity about the smell though. 😵‍💫

Kerry, Sunny and Jamie gave me a Cuckoo rice cooker for Christmas. I used it for the first time today because I made chicken curry for my main meal. It's a pressure cooker so it makes rice in 6.5 minutes. All I had to do was wash the rice until the water was not milky, add the rice and water to the cooker and turn it on. It worked out its own cooking time according to the weight of the pan and it kept the rice warm until I used it. Made in South Korea, I expect creative technology and I can see myself making more rice dishes because the rice it makes is much better than the rice I used to make. 😁

Many of you know my good friend Grandma Donna who blogs at Generations Before Us. Her blog is full of wise ideas about living simply as well as wonderfully nostalgic photos of her home. Recently Donna started a forum and I told her I'd tell you about it. This year she and her husband are conducting a study into 1930s living - you can read about that on her blog. The forum is a way for the people doing the study with her to swap ideas and get support. There's also a general chat area so you can socialise with like-minded people, everyone is welcome. If you click the link to Donna's blog, look at the top of the page and click on Forum to go there. You have to join but there's no hidden agenda. Donna's not well at the moment so it may take a little while to be welcomed into the forum, but it won't take too long. I'll be there to greet you. 🥰

When I took a break from my blog I spent a short amount of time online but I didn't do much communicating; it was just a way of filling in time. I hope I'm never in that situation again. Staring at a screen isn't a healthy way to live. I'm happy to tell you that it was productivity and housework that got me back on track and brought me closer to an understanding so familiar to me - that doing, creating, moving, organising and planning are just as important as breathing.

Christmas lunch at home with my family. We had ham, prawns, salads and pavlova. I bought beer and no one drank any of it, and champagne to toast Hanno and the bottle wasn't finished. I guess we're post-alcohol now.

I never thought of life after Hanno and the huge changes I faced as one thing. I got through it all by sitting on the verandah with a note book then breaking it into smaller pieces and focusing on the next thing I had to do. That's worked really well for me. Even if something is a huge task, breaking into smaller bits and doing it piece by piece makes it feel doable.

Gracie and I have a good routine worked out. She went through a period of searching for Hanno but I think she's given up on that. Now she doesn't like being alone. She loves being outside and I held the door open for her many mornings but she won't step out unless I’m with her. So she patiently waits for me to have my breakfast and after I put my plate in the sink, I make another cup of tea and we both go on to the front verandah and greet the morning sun. She inspects the entire verandah, drinks out of every water container, looks for lizards and March flies, stands at the gate and looks up the street, checks the boundary fence and finally settles down to closely monitor the neighbourhood from her surveillance position on the verandah. She won't let any black and white bird land in the yard now but ignores those feathered fiends, the native minors. Grrrr. They have been feasting on the capsicums I'm growing in the container garden near the bins.

Gracie was following the Korean robot mop around as it cleaned the floor. She's very suspicious of it. It was a gift from Sunny, Kerry and Jamie a few years ago. For Christmas they gave me a little Korean Cuckoo rice cooker. I'll write about that when I use it.

When Hanno died I spent a lot of time working out what I'd do. There were a lot of options but there was only one thing I knew for sure - I wanted to stay here in my home. But that provided problems too, mainly that I couldn't do the work Hanno used to do maintaining the house and mowing the lawn. I had to apply to the government for a Home Care Plan. I got one which started in December. For those of you unfamiliar with Home Care Plans - in Australia, our governments have a bipartisan policy to support older Australians who want to continue living in their own homes, even well into older age. There are four levels - level one is for basic care needs: $9,179 a year, level two is for low care needs at $16,147 a year, this is what I have; level three is for intermediate needs care $34,500, level four is for high level care at $54,000. There are strict rules for what the money can be used for. Once approved, the monthly funds are sent to an approved community care facility of your choice and they administer the funds on your behalf. They also provide records to the government to prove you spent the funds according to the rules. So I will never see the money, will never have to pay the bills to have the lawns mowed or the roof fixed and never have to provide documentation regarding the use of the money. So it's a win/win for me and so far it's working well.

The ever-changing fruit bowl.

It's that time of year when I review my finances and negotiate prices for insurance, internet, phone and utility bills. Yesterday I spend quite a bit of time phoning my providers to see what they're charging this year and what I get for my money. Oh my! The cost of home and contents insurance is skyrocketing and I'm guessing it will be the same for car insurance, I'll check that in March. Last year my home and contents insurance cost $1713 and this year I got a renewal notice for $4695!!! I phoned around and all of them have big cost increases. I finally stumbled on to Australian Seniors insurance. They were good to deal with, are recommended by Choice and Product Review and they're charging me $2116. If you're over 50, check them out if you're renewing your insurance.

Another batch of homemade, three ingredient laundry liquid. It costs about three to four dollars for 10 litres and does and excellent job. Here is the link to my recipe for laundry liquid.

I'm continuing to reshape my home to suit me and not we. What you choose to surround yourself with in your home will help define the person you are. Those same items also have the power to nurture and soothe you or to take away your strength and ability. When we first came to live here 25 years ago, I decluttered to get rid of things I no longer had a use for. My main goal was to have a productive home with the tools, utensils and appliances that made that happen and to use the production of the home to nurture and strengthen my family and guests. After Hanno died and with the help of my sister, I removed Hanno's clothes and the things he loved but I kept a few small items he treasured. Now when I declutter, I'm choosing what I treasure and don't want to live without. It's not an enjoyable job, but it does improve life. You have less to look after and clean and it seems a weight is lifted with every bit you let go of.

This is how long my hair is now. I was thinking of growing it longer so I could plait/braid it around my head but as it grows, I'm losing the feeling for it. It's a pain to wash it, which I do twice a week and I can see myself rushing over to the hairdresser soon. I haven't been there for two years.

I hope you like the changes I've brought to the blog. I simplified it all and if I wasn't sure if I should keep something, I got rid of it. LOL I will continue to write here. Many of you have told me that you enjoy my writing and look forward to each post. But I won't commit to a regular post because now when I make those commitments they have not worked out. What I will say though is that I enjoy writing here as much as you seem to enjoy reading it, so that's a good start. I'll work out a new routine for myself for taking photos and making notes and I hope that will result in a regular post being here. Sometimes that will be a full post, sometimes a single photo with a note attached, or a recipe, and at other times, something else. I hope you stick around and see what these days present for you and for me. And thank you for being here today. xx

I believed we should all make the most of what we've got. If you haven't got what your family or friends have and you envy them, it's wasted time and emotion; you can't change it, you can only change yourself. Look at what you DO have and then make plans to make a beautiful life built around what you've already got right in front of you.

You probably know that Hanno and I have been gardeners for a long time, probably about 40 years. We started off small and taught ourselves by reading books and observing what happened in our various gardens. I also asked neighbour-gardeners what they were planting and how to do things that pushed the envelope a bit, like growing fruit, nuts, potatoes and garlic. It's all pretty easy after the first harvests have been gathered but it always take time, effort and persistence. I've loved all my gardens. It was a way of being outside in the fresh air surrounded by nature, birds and wildlife. The vegetables and flowers were a wonderful bonus!

This is where I sit every day. I have a radio, mosquito coils, books, Kindle and Gracie to keep me company.

My work bench with the Black Cherry tomato and chives. They'll be potted in the next day or two.

Here is the new fountain - I bought this new pot because Gracie kept drinking from the smaller pot, even though she had a bowl of water there, and I had to keep filling it up.

This capsicum/pepper is called Sweet Mama. I usually buy two capsicums a week. I like them in coleslaw, salads and pickled vegetables, so growing my own gives me the freshest and the cheapest.

You can see the Roma tomatoes peeking through here. They've been growing for about 3 weeks, they were on the verge of flowering when I potted them.

Angelonias and lavender.

This is a Digiplexis called Berry Canary. It's a foxglove.

When Hanno got sick at the end of last year, I walked away from my garden and didn't return until after he died. It was so overgrown that it made me realise then and there that I couldn't continue it. Back then I felt weak and defeated but gardens have a way of getting under your skin. After sitting on the front verandah and thinking about my future life, I just couldn't imagine it without a garden being there somewhere.

What I did have to take into account was my brain tumour and my age. I have a non-malignant meningioma and I'll be 75 next birthday, so starting a new garden wasn't as easy as it once was. I already had a few things growing in containers and they were easier for me because bending down and standing up again makes me lose my balance. So I decided I'd make a container garden of flowers and a bit of food and I'd put it right beside where I sit so I could see it, tend it and love it every single day. And it would be next to my three bins - rubbish, recycling and garden waste. How convenient and the real gift was that it brought beauty to that area that had always been the bin corner.

This is along the neighbour's fence. It's next to the bins at the garage entrance. Here I have the Montville Rose, gaura, parsley, another Digiplexis and The Fairy rose in the big pot surrounded by recently planted alyssum.

Yes, there they are ... the bins. I'm sure it's not everyone's idea of a good spot for planting but my down to earth heart loves it.

In the food selection I have, one determinate Roma miniature tomato called Little Napoli as well as an indeterminate heirloom tomato called Black Cherry. I haven't planted that out yet because I'll have to rig up a support on the trellis. Already planted are onion chives, Italian parsley, capsicum/pepper Sweet Mama, rainbow chard (in shade of the bush house), a foxglove that regrew from last year, a digiplexis which also regrew, a new digiplexis called Berry Canary, a gaura called Sparkle Pink which is mostly white 🙄, yarrow, Japanese anemone, penstemons grown from cuttings, and lavender. There are also four potted roses - The Fairy which is a miniature shrub rose with masses of small pink double flowers and repeat flowering, the Montville Rose/Duchesse de Brabant - an old French heirloom, and two standards - Mary Rose and Munstead Wood - both heirlooms and brought from the back garden and now potted. Mary Rose and Munstead Wood are standing at the middle entrance to the verandah, you've seen them before in the last post.

And here is my shadow. She knows when I want to take a a photo of her and she turns her head. I waited but she kept looking away. LOL

I won't go on too much about it, I have the photos here so you can see for yourself. It won't be everyone's cup of tea but it's not everyone garden, it's a garden for my wellbeing and I feel grateful to have it. It will give me something to work on, it gives me flowers to look at and it's relaxing. I like how it connects to the fernery garden we already had on the verandah and the whole thing makes a lovely entrance to my home.

This is a Federation Daisy that I'll pot soon.

Thank you for the delightful comments you leave. I don't spend a lot of time on the computer now so I don't reply to all comments but I read every one of them and I feel grateful that you take the time. I'm continuing my busy schedule here with decluttering, helping my family, reading, cleaning, cooking, gardening and being Gracie's best friend. In the next couple of days I'll start my next post in which I'll write about how I clean my house now. It's changed a lot to what I used to do, it's faster, takes less energy and is all done with steam or homemade cleaners. So until then, enjoy what you do - stay cool or warm, depending on where you are and be kind to each other. xx

This post is about a few small things that I've wanted to write about for a while but larger topics overtook me. My life is full of small things that are a part of something much bigger. I'm constantly reminded that not all people live as I do and usually it's the small things that people are interested in. I get that because without time set aside preparing for the bigger things, nothing runs smoothly. For instance, food - shopping list, cleaning out the fridge, checking the pantry etc.; cooking - peeling and cutting vegetables, defrosting meat or fish, menu plan so we know for sure we have what we need during the week; washing - soaking, stain removal, making laundry liquid etc.; gardening - saving kitchen scraps and making compost, sowing seeds etc.; maintaining relationships - keeping up with family and friends' messages, making time for occasional online, face-to-face talks, keeping a calendar with birthdays and important days, invitations for meals and morning teas. You have to put time and effort into relationships. Life is made up of the big things, but without the small things, the big things fall apart. So here goes.

Yesterday I visited my friend Nicole Lutze in her gorgeous new home. We'd not seen each other for a long while so it was good to spend time catching up over tea, delicious cake and pikelets. Both of us have undergone significant life changes so we had a lot to talk about and as I drove home I realised that talking with Nicole did me a lot of good. Nicole's blog and Instagram links are in my sidebar so do yourself a favour and check her out.

As you can see in the photo, I haven't been to the hairdresser for almost two years. My hair is usually in a ponytail now to keep it relatively neat and off my neck during summer. I decided not to get it cut short again and to wear it in plaits/braids in a circle around my head. I used to wear it like that when I lived in Germany in the 1970s and it always felt comfortable. I think I'll be able to plait/braid it early in the new year.

As usual there was washing to do which had built up over some rainy days we've had here.

Munstead Wood standard rose. You can see where this rose is standing in the next photo.

The weather is surprisingly cool at the moment so I hope to get the garden finished this week and all I'll have to do when it heats up again is water the plants and harvest. I'll write about the garden when I finish fiddling with it and show the photos I've taken. It's nothing fancy but it fills my heart up and makes me happy. The garden is on the edge of the verandah and spills out on both sides of the garage door. The rubbish bins are there too - beauty and practicality, I rate them equally. I would never have thought such a space was garden-worthy but now it makes complete sense to me.

I finally got someone to mow the lawn, it cost $210. I didn't want to get a teenager in to mow because I wanted someone who had insurance, just in case. I'm very happy with the work he did and I'll get him back again. I wish the grass didn't grow so fast. 😳

In my previous post I had a photo of some pastries I made recently. They're very tasty, don't take much time and they'll give you a quick and easy change from your usually baking. You'll need:

1 or 2 sheets frozen puff pastry
1 egg yolk + teaspoon water
jam - I used apricot jam
tinned fruit or homemade stewed fruit - I used apricot halves

Before you start assembling the pastry, preheat the oven to 230C/445F - the pastry needs high heat to puff up.

I cut the pastry into four portions but they were two big and when I ate the first one, I cut it in two. Next time, I'll use one sheet and have three rectangles instead of the four large squares I made with two sheets. Work out the size you want and cut the pastry accordingly. Each pastry has a double layer so cut all the pastry the same size so you can double up. Cut a hole in the top layer, (see photo above) that's where you place the jam and fruit. Brush the egg wash in between the two layers and add the pastry with the hole in it on top of another piece of pastry without a hole - that's the base. Use whatever jam and fruit you have on hand.

When the pastries are made, brush them with egg wash - that's egg yolk with a teaspoon of water in it. That creates the golden colour. Put the pastries in the oven and bring them out when they're golden and puffy. When they're cool, you can drizzle water icing on them but I think they're sweet enough without it. They can be frozen and reheated in the oven on a low temperature.

I've been meaning to tell you about this kitchen brush I've been using lately. This isn't a paid promotion, I bought my brush and it does a great job. I use it for my frying pan, saucepans and sometimes I clean the sink with it. It's the German Redecker dish brush ($29.95) and I bought mine here. Although I've used mine a lot, it's kept its shape, no bristles have fallen out and the handle doesn't seem to stain. If you're looking for a good kitchen brush for a reasonable price, I recommend this to you.

When I had spare time this week, I worked on my replacement aprons. I like to have several aprons in the cupboard so I have a clean one to work in every day of the week. I've worn out most of my aprons that I've used for the past ten years so I thought I'd replace all of them in one go. Aprons do a wonderful job keeping your clothes clean while you work in your home and if you put a big pocket on your apron, you can collect eggs, put pegs in the pocket when you hang out the washing, or just collect bits and pieces that you find around the place. Just don't put scissors in your pocket because if you fall, it could cause a serious injury. Aprons are so easy to make so if you're not a sewer yet, it's a fantastic first project. Here is a YouTube apron tutorial and here's another. I hope you give it a go.

Thank you for the lovely comments on my last post. It really makes a difference when you comment, not just for me but for all bloggers. I appreciate the time you take to connect with me. xx

For the past 25 years, I've lived here in a very slow lane. I've often written about closing the gate on the outside world so we could remain oblivious to what was happening out there. On our side of the gate every day brought challenges on how to fix the soil, work with compost and think about how many chickens make the ideal flock. We planted fruit, herbs and vegetables, collected eggs and shared what we had with others. We were always less concerned with what was happening 'outside' because on our side of the gate, days were full of interesting and unusual projects and the promise of that continuing tomorrow.

I wrote about feeling safe and secure, of having time to enjoy what I'm doing and a growing appreciation of being able to learn traditional skills to help me carry out my work here. And sometimes I wrote about the quietness of my home, hearing the neighbourhood sounds, a train in the distance, welcoming migrating birds back each year. It was such a peaceful and enriching life.

My dish cloth and tea towel drawer.

You may be surprised to learn I was quite chaotic when I was younger but over the years I discovered the benefits of being slower and more mindful. I mellowed a lot and relaxed into home life and what it gave me. Eventually, everything flowed and I had time to enjoy the process, ignore what was happening online or on TV and to make plans to live a more traditional and bespoke life. I smiled a lot, especially when I was alone.

It felt like that existence shattered when Hanno died and I wasn't sure if I would still feel that my home was a safe haven. Last week, I turned that corner. I've been working in my home every day since Hanno died. With no real plan or definite ideas about what the future holds for me, I've been establishing new routines, organising things to suit me and not 'us' and I slowly worked to put life back together, piece by piece. I'm happy to tell you I feel I'm almost there. Of course, there is a deep sadness I feel every day and I doubt that will go but I also feel optimistic, strong and independent.

These pastries are the easiest you'll ever make. I'll show you how in a future post.

And I think that for me, although I had those initial doubts about the veracity of my safe haven, I've proven that home does have the ability to nurture and restore. My home wrapped itself around me well before Hanno died. It welcomed me back every day I visited him and it made me feel comfortable and safe, even with him gone. Over the years I've put a lot into my home. I wanted it to look after us and everyone who visited us and it's safe to say now that it's paid me back for every repair we ever did here, every floor I moped, every toilet I cleaned, every painted wall, solar panel and water tank we added.

Circa 1980s and 90s - a collection of old recipes I'd collected were among the many things that rode out of here in the rubbish bin.

This has been the worst year of my life but I'm pleased to say that even though I'll be 75 years old next April, I feel stronger and more determined than I ever have before. I have plans to paint, write, tend my garden, cook, rest and think out there, on the verandah, with Gracie. I don't know what I'll do tomorrow, but it will be very similar to what I did today because that is what life is all about - rituals, routines and repetition. I'll cook food, make the bed, clean up, make a batch of laundry liquid, put things in place and whether these things are done for necessity or love, it is all a part of homemaking that over the years helped create a safe haven that was here when I needed it most.

I think there are two main areas of concern for families and homemakers today - providing healthy food for the family and reducing the cost of living. I wrote about reducing the cost of living recently. If you didn't catch that post, here's the link to it. So today, I'm writing about healthy family food that is from scratch and can be prepared in 30 minutes when everyone comes home from school and work. This also works for the parents who work at home - either continuing their roles as stay at home mum/dad or for those who are choosing to work at home after Covid. Let's face it, when you've got small children who can't prepare their own meals, everyone needs a bit of help. It's tough to get those plates on the table so that the kids have plenty of time to do their homework, play, talk to their parents and siblings or relax before bed. When they go to bed, everyone relaxes.

Before we go any further, I'm not giving you recipes for meals - everyone knows how to roast a chicken, BBQ steak and chops, fry fish, boil, poach and fry eggs or load up the slow cooker with the makings for a casserole. No, this is more about ways to get homemade food ready quickly - the food prepared ahead of time, stored in the fridge and then served with some form of protein. If you've got a small selection of side dishes in the fridge, you can get them ready while you cook your protein. Instead of making the same old salad you always serve or peel vegetables to boil or stir fry. Side dishes provide variety, new tastes and excitement. And if you've taken some time earlier in the week or on the weekend to prepare your side dishes, they're fast, convenient and waiting for you in the fridge. Goodbye monotony, hello diversity.

You'll need storage containers. I use glass containers with plastic lids or bamboo lids, (above). You can see what's inside without taking them out of the fridge, they seal fairly well and will keep food fresh for a few days. I've just ordered some Rubbermaid containers which are 100% airtight and leak proof. They'll be much better than the older containers I've been using. My general rule is to store for four - five days. Some things can go longer but I feel comfortable with a shorter period because I want to eat what I make and not waste anything. So far, that's served me well. Be careful with rice, read about that here.

PICKLED MIXED VEGETABLES

I have this a few times a week now and I love it. Peel and slice your chosen vegetables, put them in a large bowl and pour over one tablespoon of salt. About an hour later, when the vegetables have wilted, wash all the salt off and allow the vegetables to sit in a colander to drain. Then make your spiced vinegar. You'll need a large glass jar and the following ingredients.

This is not preserving/canning, it's refrigerator pickles that will be eaten during the following week so your jars don't need to be sterilised but they must be clean.

Following is the pickling liquid I use. It won't be to everyone's taste, I love vinegar, but I want you to start with this recipes and modify it to your taste. I don't add the water to mine, I want the full vinegar taste - I drink the left-over vinegar 😍. You may add more or less sugar, different vegetables or spices or no spices at all. Just play around with it till you find what you like. It's a delicious addition to grilled or barbequed meat, chicken or fish meal.

PICKLING LIQUID

2 cups white or apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
pickling spices (optional)
Bay leaf

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and heat on the stove. Bring to the boil, then simmer for ten minutes. When it's ready, allow it to sit and brew for an hour or so. I sieve out the spice mix as I'm adding everything to the jar. Cover the vegetables with the liquid and put the lid on. Store in the fridge for a week. These are delicious served with any meat, eggs, fish or on sandwiches.

This German meal is a filling and delicious recipe that everyone will love. It's great for vegetarians or served with a salad, makes a delicious meal.

KARTOFFEL PUFFERS
Serves 4

6 large potatoes
2 large onions
3 eggs
¼ cup flour
salt and pepper

Grate the potatoes and finely dice the onions, add to a colander and allow to stand for 30 minutes while the juices drip. Add the potatoes and onions to a bowl, squeezing them to remove most of the juices. Add the eggs, flour, salt and pepper and mix well.

Put about ½ cup of oil in a frying pan, heat to medium heat then add ¼ - ½ cup circles of the potato mix. When the first side is golden brown, turn it over and cook the other side. Each one takes about 5 or 6 minutes and you can usually fit 4 into the pan at one time. If you're making a large amount, use two pans.

Drain on a clean cotton cloth or paper towel and use a new paper towel or clean cotton cloth on the base of the glass box for best storage. Leftover cooked puffers can be stored in the fridge for three or four days and eaten with a variety of salads or sausages. Reheat in the microwave or in a dry frying pan on low heat.

SAUERKRAUT
I used to grow cabbages in winter and then make enough sauerkraut from them to last about nine months.This is great as a side dish to mix in with salads and for cooked meats. The post I wrote about it is here.

KIMCHI DEVILLED EGGS
If you have chickens in the backyard, this is a handy recipe for making batches of devilled eggs, a great side dish. And here is a blog post of me making Kimchi with Sunny. My daughter-in-law, Sunny, is a Korean chef.

KOREAN BANCHAN
These are quick and easy to prepare side dishes. Asian pickles make a very good side dish. They last well in the fridge, they're a healthy option and they taste great with all sorts of meat, chicken or fish.

TEN EASY JAPANESE PICKLES
These make great side dishes and don't take much time to prepare.

LEFTOVERS FROM SUNDAY ROAST
When you have a roast, make double the vegetables so you have plenty to serve as side dishes later in the week.
Bubble and Squeak
Fried vegetables

FINNISH OVEN PANCAKE
A snack or dessert but certainly worth the time to make it.

APPLE PANCAKE

This is a quick dessert or snack that can be made as a batch and stored in the fridge. The batter will last three days in the fridge, make sure it's well sealed.

Make up your favourite pancake batter, mine is here:

2 cups plain/all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder (fresh)
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 peeled and grated apple

Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat until it's a smooth batter with no lumps. Add the grated apple. Allow to stand for 1 hour before cooking. Leftover batter can be stored in the fridge for another day. I cook one large round pancake then cut it into triangles because I can't be bothered fiddling with the small round shapes.

CHICKEN AND CHICKEN BROTH
You can pre-cook the chicken on the weekend or during the week as you prepare that night's meal. It will take five minutes to start it cooking and just remember to remove it from the heat about an hour later.

Boil a chicken in water, a bay leaf and parsley according to it's size. About an hour will do most chickens. When it's cooked, remove it from the broth and when it's cooled a little, portion the flesh according to your taste - shredded or larger portions, and store it in a sealed container. Pour the broth into a container and store in the fridge. During the week you can make chicken curry, hunter's chicken, chicken tacos or plain chicken with vegetables. Use the chicken broth for your sauces or make a simple soup by adding sliced vegetables and either rice or small pasta and cook for a further 30 minutes.

DRINKS ETC.

And don't forget your drinks, snacks, sauces, chutneys and desserts. I always have a jar of lemons or limes in the fridge over summer. When I have a drink I can add a slice of sweetened lemon to the iced water. It's suitable for iced tap water or carbonated water from a Soda Stream. When you get to the end of the slices, add the syrup to your drinks too, by then it will have a wonderful sharp lemon taste. A one litre jar will take three large lemons.

All you need to do is to add sugar syrup to your lemon slices. Sugar syrup is usually equal parts water to sugar. However, I use light syrup which is 2 cups tap water to 1 cup white sugar. Mix together in a saucepan and heat it on the stove. As soon as the sugar dissolves, add it to the lemon, seal and store in the fridge.

I also should add that if you have your own vacuum sealing system (I don't but I wish I had one) you could peel and slice your vegetables and store them in the fridge. Put all the mixed vegies in one bag, don't bother separating them. That would cut down a lot of time in overall meal prep.

HOMEMADE SAUCES AND JAMS

I have this gravy mix made up and sitting next to my stove. It's so easy to make gravy or sauce after I finish cooking the meat. No more going to the pantry to find the seasonings, flour, spices etc. All you do is add the mix, stir and add water. It's a real winner.

Gravy mix from scratch
Chilli jam from scratch

I know cooking from scratch everyday can be difficult especially if you're out working or you're looking after small children or caring for loved ones, but it is healthier and cheaper than the alternatives. I hope you try a couple of these ideas and hopefully they'll help you cut down your prep time during those busy after work and school hours. If you can't do two, do one. Slowly, add another one and work out things that will help you cook from scratch. And if you've got any ideas that work for you, share them with us. It might be just the thing someone is waiting to find. xx

It was a dark day yesterday. It had rained overnight and there were showers all morning. As I passed through the kitchen, it was too dark so I lit candles and brought some gentle light in. Breakfast was grilled cheese on toast with black tea which I enjoyed on the verandah while Gracie explored the yard. It was a good start to the day.

Then the dishwasher was emptied, sink scrubbed, the stove was wiped over and benches cleaned and dried. I had the radio on, listening to Australia All Over, and I was quite happy to discover the microwave needed cleaning - more time to be spent in the kitchen. I set a bowl of water and vinegar in there (I often use half a lemon instead of vinegar), turned it on for 10 minutes and wiped it clean again. Ready for another week of defrosting and reheating.

With the kitchen finished I made my bed, wiped the bathroom over, opened up all the windows at that end of the house, folded up a couple of quilts and put them back in their original plastic covers and stored them in the wardrobe for next winter.

Two photos above: the back garden at this time last year. Just before Hanno got sick.

All work stopped then for morning tea. I got a drink and a biscuit and went back to the front verandah. Grace and I shared a stem ginger biscuit, I turned off the radio and listened to my Sunday morning neighbourhood. I looked around the plants accumulating on the verandah and made some plans in my head for cuttings and seeds, and then had to edit my over-enthusiasm. I identified the plants that would guarantee my mental health as well as the ones that would help add beauty to this odd side-verandah garden and ditched the rest. After watering all the plants. We went inside. I'll have a post about the new garden soon.

We've been growing food here for 25 years. I think that's why I find it so difficult to give it up completely. On the verandah garden I now have roses, salvias, foxgloves, yarrow, lavender, gaura and have added more flowers and some herbs and vegetables - capsicum, tomato, chives and parsley. I have cleome and nasturtium seeds too and I doubt I'll resist the urge to plant them. 🤫

The photos above, up to the chard, are all photos of gardens in our past. We grew almost all the vegetables we ate which saved us a lot of money and gave us both wonderful hours spent in the gardens over the years.

We also kept heirloom chickens, which, like heirloom seeds need backyard gardeners to keep them alive and thriving. If you are thinking of buying chickens, check out the heirloom varieties and not just the old red hens which are bred for the caged eggs industry.

So, back to yesterday's step-by-step ... phone calls from Tricia and Kerry.

Sunday lunch was a mushroom omelette with salad. After lunch I watched an episode of Vera. I love that show. We have an older woman in her green cloth hat and overcoat overseeing a team of detectives and giving them a bit of a hurry up when they don't work as fast as she does. It's a breath of fresh air because we don't often have such a scenario. If we went on the usual TV formula, you'd be forgiven if you thought older people, men and women, were only capable of portraying victims or pensioners doing their shopping. 🙄

This is the developing garden on the front verandah.

After Vera, I picked some lemons and rearranged the outdoor furniture on the back verandah. I pulled the table and chairs back towards the house because if the weather reports are true, it will be another wet summer, with the possibility of floods ... again. While this was happening, Gracie discovered a cane toad under a sheet of metal in the old vegetable garden. She tried to get it out but luckily it was too far in. Cane toads are dangerous animals. They secrete poison on the top of their necks and if they get caught by another animal, which is usually by the neck, the dog or cat is poisoned. We had a cat in that situation years ago. She foamed at the mouth, got very ill and ended up at the vet's. I threw a ball around the backyard for Gracie to chase to get her away from the toad and when she went inside, I removed the metal, exposed the toad and saw it hop down to the creek.

Not every task I do here is rewarding or fulfilling but doing the unrewarding things gives me a feeling of achievement as well as the knowledge that I'm doing what I need to do to look after me and Gracie. I realise now that Hanno did a lot of those unpleasant tasks and I probably didn't thank him enough for what he did. I did bake a lot of his favourite cakes though and maybe that was enough. Now, each time I do something difficult or something I don't want to do, it makes it easier the next time because I know I'm stronger than I think I am.

I went inside at fiveish drank some water and thought about making toast. Instead I saw the one blood orange I bought last week and had that. I LOVE blood oranges and this one was dark red and absolutely delicious. If I see any next week I'll buy them to make blood orange marmalade.

As it was getting dark, I went around the house closing all the windows and blinds. I put some stained tea towels and dishcloths in to soak, cleaned the laundry sink and folded what was in the dryer. I watched ten minutes of news and some YouTube before having a shower and then read till I fell asleep.

Another day full of all the ordinary things that make up my life now. It's not exciting, I think those days are behind me, but it is fulfilling and meaningful. Today I've been sewing, reading and drawing and the only housework was cooking. I think that's the key really. When there is no one else to mix things up a bit, you have to make sure you don't get in a rut and just keep repeating the same thing most days. Satisfaction comes from living a life that is slow and has depth and I think I have that. The depth is provided by my ever-loving family and maintaining a level of productivity that keeps me engaged and interested. I think I'm pretty luckily actually.

Hello to all the newcomers, there are quite a few of you. Welcome. Thanks to all my readers who take the time to comment. It lets me know who is out there and while I don't answer every comment, I do read and appreciate each one. I hope you're doing well and the troubles of the world haven't caused too many problems where you live. xx