Using the Harvest

It's no use growing vegetables if you dont actually use them. Think about it, how many times do you buy produce only to throw it out because it's gotten manky & slimy?  The same goes with what you grow. I have been guilty of this from time to time, though in myy defense it doesnt go to landfill but to the compost or chickens.

I want to cut down on the manky, slimy produce and make an effort to use everything from the garden. Things like squash & zucchini I have been grating and freezing for later use. In winter I'll be able to use pesto, pureed tomatoes, dehydrated tomatoes as well as the forementioned squash & zucchini. This is one way to use up the harvest.

Another is menu planning. Tonight we are having cauliflower, broccoli & carrots in cheese sauce. All picked from the garden, all needing to be cooked. Yesterday I made zucchini slice which will take care of lunches for mum & I this week.The lone rockmelon has been sliced & is sitting in the fridge waiting for Stella to come home from school. A suprise pumpkin has got a date with the processor so we can have muffins.A beetroot delivery has been made to next door so that the wonderful Heather can make Borscht (hers is THE best). Coleslaw will be made from the cabbage in the fridge as it is perfect to have with schnitzel. Thats at least 4 dinners there (counting leftovers), lunches & snacks.

I see a lot of pumpkin based dishes in the future as the suprise pumpkin has been giving us lots of pumpkins (no one planted it, hence it's name), as well as cabbage based dishes to use up the 4 left in the garden...Thank God for cookbooks!

What's your favourite way to use up produce? Or how much produce do you throw each week?

Scents of Summer

The last couple of days have been great, overcast, not too hot and we even got some rain last night! After the ridiculous tempretures we've been having (46.5 degrees C anyone?!?), it's a godsend. Summer always has its own particular smells. The big one for most of Australia is the smell of smoke, we've got huge bush fires all over the country. The last couple of summers we had a lot of rain & flooding. Now we're back to heat & fire. I'm lucky that even though we live near bush land that we are not affected by the fires. It's heartbreaking to see/hear of people who have lost everything (big shout out to our fireies who do a fantastic job)

So smoke is a big indicator that it's summer...our smoke smell comes from the impromptu BBQs we've been having with our next door neighbour. Steak, chicken, onion, potato, corn....whatever is lying around gets thrown on & it's always delicious.

I also relate the smells of tomatoes & basil with summer. Tomatoes ripening on the bench, tomatoes being cooked into relish, the whole house smelling of basil as I make pesto to freeze. You only get these smells when it's summer. The thing is you need to be in the kitchen, in the heat to do these things....but it is worth it to have pesto on pasta in the middle of winter.

The other smell of summer is harder to explain. It's the smell you get after having hot day after hot day and then in the late afternoon it storms. The smell of the soil as it cools with the rain is unbelievable.

What smells do you associate with summer?

In The Garden

I spent a couple of hours in the garden today pulling up weeds and grass. I've almost done, just the rhubarb patch left. While I was pulling up grass I found a big fat grub, which I threw in to the chickens. Hot Ginge grabbed it and ran. She had Princess Fiona & Maggie chasing her to try and steal it. Hot Ginge tried to gulp it down but it was too big. I spent around 10 minutes watching the comedy show....she finally got the grub down and the other girls stopped chasing.

I picked 10 large chiggioa beet root (red & white striped), 1 golden beet root, broccoli, a savoy cabbage and countless tomatoes (several varieties, large & small). Bre saw the broccoli and said "broccoli, my favourite", a 2yr old that likes broccoli? It happens!! I'm baking beet root, carrots & potato to have with sour cream for dinner. I'll also have to start cooking, I'm planning on choc/beet root cake, salsa, tomato relish, tomato paste, pesto and beet root relish.

My hands are sore and I'm tired, but it was an enjoyable day gardening.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I cook a lot at Christmas time. Food for the day: breakfast & lunch, then food for boxing day. I also bake things for gift bags (last 2 years I didn't, brand new baby then i'd not long gone back to work).
So there's a lot of food & ingredients that go through my kitchen. Since I've started becoming more aware about ingredients and prompted by a post by dyno-mom (www.dyno-mom.com), I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on HOW I'm cooking this year.

On the plus side I'm using ingredients that are homegrown/organic/whole grains.
On the menu is shortbread, beet root relish, 2 types of date & nut squares, turkey, rice salad, coleslaw, potato salad, basil/tomato salad, fresh fruit, cream, raspberry water kefir, Brie cheese.

On the minus side the ham that I got isn't the free range "happy" ham I wanted ($$ issues), I'm still making some choc balls that contain questionable ingredients (I will TRY not to touch them).

On the could do better side I know I should be soaking the nuts, rice & flours, making my own lacto fermented mayo (relish should also be lacto fermented) & making the apple & cranberry sauces.

What it comes down to is mostly time. I do feel better knowing I'm (mostly) using the best ingredients. I guess it comes down to better planning. Also I'm less inclined to pre cook stuff in the middle of a heat wave!!

Anyway tomorrow will be a big cooking day so early morning for me. Merry Christmas everyone stay safe.

One of "those" mothers

I work in childcare, my youngest is there 5 days and my eldest comes for school holidays. That means 1-2 main meals (my youngest tends to have an early dinner) and 2 snacks. Since I have been working there the meals have gotten a lot better - no more chicken nuggests or jar sauces, more made from scratch, wholegrain crackers & breads (aka seed bread), afternoon tea is always fruit. However margarine is used, I'm not happy with the rice cakes and we follow Australian dietary guidelines: low fat dairy for over twos.

So I'm now one of "those" mothers. I've taken in organic unhomogonised milk, butter, sourdough bread and yoghurt. Breanna still has foods she doesn't get at home i.e Vegemite, white rice but I feel a bit better knowing she's getting better dairy and bread options and that she is no longer eating margarine. Her main teacher is on board with it and I think the cook is, which makes it easier. I have been contemplating taking in single serves of brown rice that are pre cooked and frozen. Hmm we'll see.....

I also take in extra produce from the garden to be used in meals. That way the kids get extra vegetables (organic). And they might be something they don't always get, like squash.

We are lucky in Australia that our foods at daycare centres are mostly good, but we need to become one of "those" mums if we want our kids to have the best possible foods.

The Dreaded M.....

Again been slipping slightly, maybe that's why I've been quiet on the blog front. Some bad choices along with the good, and that's led to overrating. I haven't eaten at the M word place (think gold think arches) in so long. Then yesterday..... I won't lie it did taste good if a bit salty. Then an hour later I burped & bile came up. All I could taste after that was the burger. It wasn't pleasant.
Won't be doing that again!!! I don't know why I keep slipping up. I know I'm not perfect but when it comes to this....something I believe so passionately in I really shit myself. If I could whack myself upside the head I would....

So I leave you with a question. When you start slipping up how does that make you feel? How do you get back on track?

Stock Bag

My last post was about how we reduce waste in our house. It didn't list everything as I wrote quickly on my phone and some of the things we do deserve their own post.
One of these things is the stock bag. I stated that we have worms, chickens and compost bins and this is where our kitchen scraps go. This is true....but not entirely. I have a large zip loc bag in the freezer and when I peel carrots, onions, garlic, zucchini or use celery, the peels and ends go in here.

So what do I do with a bag full of frozen vegetable scraps you ask? Simple. When I make stock (which is a great way to utilise bones), I grab out a couple of handfuls and through them in the stock pot. This way stock gets great flavour, all the vegetable gets used and at the end the compost still gets it, but I have the base for a delicios soup or stew or sauce. Really easy. If your a vegetarian you can do the same thing but use more of the scraps and no bones. When I make the stock I pour it into large glass jars (leaving room for expansion), then freeze. This way I've always got some on hand and it defrosts really quickly on the counter or by putting the jar in some warmer (not hot - you'll crack it) water.

So now when I buy chicken I don't buy parts, I  buy the whole thing. That way there is a couple of meals plus bones which then leads to a couple of more meals. Easy isn't it?

In other news I'm back working 5 days but have shorter hours for 3 days. Money wise it's great, time wise it's better than 5 full time days and I've got a new challenge. I'm no longer with babies, I'm with 3 - 4 year olds and they are mostly boys. I think having a new room and the challenges that are associated with that are great as it's re-inspired me with my job. Having 3 days off was great but this way I still have afternoons at home, can still have time to prepare meals and can still pick Stella up from school. Also I got to have a few weeks "break" which has helped me recharge my batteries!

What do you guys do with your scraps? Or what new challenges do you have at home or work?