Bits and Bobs

I was chuffed. On my way to town today I saw two grey haired ladies out walking, and when I got closer I could see they were clearing up rubbish as they walked along. Yay, good for them. They got the big thumbs up.

LOW SUGAR MARMALADE

I've been doing research to try to find a good recipe for low sugar marmalade as the commercial one isn't that nice. 
The sugar helps the marmalade set, and also stops it going off quickly, so I would need to take that into account. Well I couldn't find a recipe that I was happy with, but found suggestions, like boiling the fruit longer, say 3 hours, to get it to set better, or using low sugar pectin. Some jams used chopped apples because the pectin in them helped the setting, and some used gelatin.
I thought that I would just give a combination of ideas a go - and it worked!

1 grapefruit
1 lemon
1 Granny Smith apple
4 cups water
1 cup sugar
stevia to taste - I used about 1/2 teaspoon

Grate the skins of the citrus, then slice thinly and chop fruit, removing pips.
Peel, core and chop apple finely. Place fruit and water in a large saucepan and boil gently. I only boiled mine for an hour, by which time it was starting to thicken. At this stage add the sugar and sweetener - tasting as you go until you are happy with it. Boil for a further 20-30mins and bottle in sterilized jars. Makes about 5 cups. Keep it in the fridge.

It probably wouldn't win any prizes at the Women's Institute, as it is a bit cloudy, thanks to the apple, but it saves me having to buy it for Derek.

A beautiful Northland Winters' day. The Cabbage Tree is approx 100 years old, and  half has died off, hope the other half hangs on - it wouldn't be the same without it.

Paying it Forward

Aren't some people great? This article in the Northern Advocate http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/news/pay-it-forward-whangarei-donations/1888363/  is about a woman who needed some clothes for her children, but finding everything so expensive on Trade Me, appealed for any unwanted clothes on her Facebook page. After getting all she needed, she then decided to give away all of her children's clothes that were too small... and this lead her to setting up a Facebook page that now has 4,000 members in Whangarei, and has also been established for other areas. Great idea!

A Fabulous Remedy
Even if this doesn't work I still like it. This old folk remedy has been recirculating in recent years. Together, gin (or the juniper in it) and golden raisins provide a double whammy of anti-inflammatory compounds - the list is a mile long.(NB golden raisins are known as sultanas outside of the USA). The raisins absorb the gin, which extracts the medicinal compounds from the raisins, making them more readily absorbed when you eat the alcohol-soaked fruit. Plus, the sulphur dioxide employed to keep the raisins golden also possesses anti-inflammatory properties.

Gin Soaked Golden Raisins

Place 1 cup of golden raisins in a glass bowl and pour in enough gin to just cover the raisins. Let the raisins sit for a week or so until they've absorbed all of the liquid, then eat 9 -10 raisins a day.

Possum Bait

I know I go on about possums, but they are the scourge of our garden. I decided to look on the internet for the best bait to attract them as they had been ignoring our Timms trap. I made up a dough ball with flour,water and eucalyptus oil and added it to the trap with 1/4 apple.

Looking out this morning I could see the trap had been triggered..but only a bit of fur to show for it. Watch this space.

Pesky pests

My garden is not looking good right now, thanks to pests. I thought rhubarb leaves were supposed to be poisonous...but obviously not to possums. Why would they turn down perfectly good fruit in a trap to eat rhubarb leaves?

While we were tidying up the garage so that we can fit the band in for practice night, we came across a pile of out of date cans of beer. (I know - but I don't drink beer). So I thought I would put it to good use as a slug trap. I recently saw that someone had made these nifty little traps by recycling plastic drink bottles, so I made my own versions.

They are good because the funnel shaped bit goes in the ground, so that not too much beer is needed in each one, and the base, cut off makes a wee rain hat, when propped up on sticks. 

I've had my doubts about the effectiveness of beer traps, so this morning went to check the tally. Three slugs in 6 traps, and the third was only there because I pushed him in. I think I might need to melt the edges of the funnel shapes, because although they were buried well, I think the slugs might find them a little sharp.

Outing
Yesterday Munta (dog) and I went prospecting at the beach for a few hours with the metal detector, as it was beautiful after a couple of miserable days. Apart from finding 7 coins and 4 sinkers, plus chatting to other beach goers, I picked a lovely bunch of flowers growing wild. Time well spent.

Good Lovin'

I just have to share something from my favourite magazine of all time -"Good" magazine - and that's really saying something from a magazine addict. (Although NZ Life and Leisure comes a close 2nd)

"Good"s content is focused on family values and care for the environment. My daughter buys me a subscription for Christmas each year. I feed the rest of my magazine addiction at the library, apart from my Life & Leisure sub which Derek gets me for my birthday. I love having the paper copies and refer back to them.
The latest "Good" has an article that just hit the spot with me "Savouring the Delights of Slow Midwinter" by Rebekah White.

"It's not just competence in a chosen discipline, but an empty mind that sparks creativity - allowing us space to connect ideas in new ways."Long periods of langour, indolence and staring at the ceiling are needed by any creative person in order to develop ideas" says Tom Hodgkinson in How to Be Idle.
(I knew it!) Also long periods of time oogling Pinterest.
Great Article
Good magazine ...www.good.net.nz


OILY RAG WARNING
Our local newspaper had an article this week about a shed that burned down, it appears from a rag used with linseed oil that had been thrown in with a pile of other rags. Apparently they can spontaneously combust. I so didn't know that!

PROJECT FOR TODAY
Tidying up my storage area in the studio. I am constantly frustrated by not being able to find things.

PROJECT FOR THIS YEAR
Use up the art supplies and paraphernalia for mixed media works I already have and stop buying more. (Similar to using up the stuff in your pantry)

Small Town New Zealand

Sometimes when Derek is heading to a small town for a few hours work he will take me with him. Yesterday we went to Waipu, which has a strong Nova Scotian link, with ship loads of settlers having arrived there in the 1800s, my ancestors included.

Tartan pennants for Tartan Week

It's a great place for a junk fossick, with two charity shops, and a new Hospice shop opening there on Monday. There are also three antique/ collectables shops, although yesterday only one was open.

Waipu Antique shop

Probably just as well, as I came home with a load of stuff, some of which even Derek raised his eyebrows at. But I have visions for it all! I'm going to bravely post the before photos, but there will be a wait for the afters.

First rip out all the little nicnacs and just use the box frame for a hanging succulent garden.

The chairs were only $65 for four - can't go wrong there, and we needed a few more for when the studio becomes a B'n'B. We haven't decided yet whether we will paint them different colours.

The people are so friendly - it was a delight to potter about. Plus the cafe in the centre of Waipu had the most delicious food and great coffee.

Mail Art
If you have a parcel to send off, or even just want to brighten someone's day (and the postal staff's), then go all out with a little mail art.
We had a few things to send to a family member (that's not the real address on the parcel) so thought we'd add a little something. This is just a mild version of what I sometimes do, due to time constraints, but I will post more pics of others as I do them. If you want some good ideas, Google mail art images.

 

Some clever ideas

"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different"

Coco  Chanel

On my journey to reduce consumption I have been testing out a few remedies I found for making things last longer and life easier. Here are a few that work...

For Scratched CDs
Rub along the scratch gently with a bit of non abrasive toothpaste, even childrens' toothpaste. Then rinse off with water and dry from centre to outer edge (not in a circle) with a very soft cloth. like an old t-shirt. One site suggested car polish, but toothpaste works well.

Improved Strawberry Fruiting
This tip came from a friend who grows strawberries commercially ... put your strawberry plants in the fridge for 2-3 weeks to help them fruit. This might not help in colder climates, but here in the subtropical North it's a good tip, as apparently strawberries need a frost to set the fruit, and we don't always get that here. Wish I knew this one before I planted my strawbs.

To Make Oven Cleaning Easier
I don't know why I wasn't doing this because it's so easy, and I've only just started. Maybe everyone else was already doing it. While your oven is still hot after cooking something place a pan of water in it and leave it overnight. Next day the oven just wipes clean really easily, although you may need to apply your white vinegar and baking soda to really hard to shift stuff.

Handwashing Dishes
Add a little baking soda with your washing up soap liquid if you have hard water and you will get a little foam. A little white vinegar helps in there too if you are doing a greasy load. This helps if you are using environmentally friendly detergents or Castile soap, which are low sudsing anyway.

Revive Wilted Vegetables
..from our local newspaper's frugal tips page...When vegetables become wilted (carrots, broccoli, lettuce, beets, celery etc) trim the stem end slightly and soak the limp vegetables in warm water for an hour or more. You will find the vegetables become firm and fresh and ready for use.

It doesn't need to be perfect

A good thing about livin' slow is that not everyone is doing it, which makes it easy to buy things like pasta machines on Trade Me. I just bought one that had been tried once only.

New to me Avanti pasta maker

Yesterday I decided to try it out, and discovered why the previous owner probably gave up after one attempt.
Like anything, it takes practise to make good looking pasta. I cooked the better looking fettuccine without taking a pic; they improved in looks the more I made, and my speed increased with practise too.

Imperfect first attempt! Still tastes good.

The upside - it will just improve, and it really tasted good. Cost-wise, I think it would work out to be a reasonable cost saver, plus no plastic packaging.

THE SUBTROPICS

I love living in subtropical Northland. While the other end of the country is experiencing snow, we were at the beach today, walking the dog and fossicking with the metal detector. We only found a few bits of old wire today, but we seem to meet lots of curious people. One woman today was keen to know whether I had hired my metal detector as she had lost a ring in a barn last week, and despite sifting through sawdust had been unable to find it. She only lives 25 minutes away, so I took her number and will pop over there next weekend.  

Another great thing about our climate is being able to grow subtropical fruit. Today we planted 2 more Tahitian lime trees, a tropical guava and another feijoa tree. We have a bit of traffic past here in summer, heading to the beach  and if we can grow a surplus I think gate sales would be a bonus.

Weekend Baking

I am always looking for recipes for something to go with a cup of coffee that is not too sweet, and has decent nutritional value, and yesterday I made this cake...

LUMBERJACK CAKE

1 cup of dates

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup of maple syrup (but I use 1 tablespoon of golden syrup instead)

1/2 tsp of baking soda

2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp lite olive oil ( I use rice bran oil)

2 eggs

3 Apples, peeled and finely chopped

1 1/2 cups of self raising flour

pinch of salt

Heat oven to 180C. Prepare a ring tin or loaf tin by lining it with baking paper.

Heat dates,water and syrup in a pan, then take off the heat and add the baking soda.

Mash lightly.

Cool 10 minutes then add vanilla, eggs & oil. Mix.

Add apples, then flour and salt.

Place in prepared pan, bake 50 minutes.

lumberjack cake - quite moist, lovely warm with coffee with a cake fork.