Monthly Archives: August 2023

Successful Shoe Shopping

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Today we went to Bendigo, a regional city located about 30 minutes drive from where we live. As well as doing our regular grocery shopping I also wanted to look for a pair of shoes to wear to a wedding we are attending next month.

There are a couple of quality independent shoe retailers so I was hopeful but not super-confident as I had some fairly specific requirements – closed toe, low heel in a nude/beige colour.

Well, I was in luck.

I am so pleased to have found exactly what I wanted and they will get plenty of wear on other occasions which makes them a worthwhile purchase.

Garden Notes – Getting Started

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For those of you who are interested in what is happening outdoors, here is a bit of an update.

While I have mostly been indoors due to being sick and the cold weather, GMan has been beavering away recently on numerous small but important tasks outdoors.

A sign on the side gate as a reminder to visitors. The small dog is not an escape artist but definitely an opportunist and we live on a major road.

The hose reel is mounted on the exterior wall.

The roses have been pruned.

When we moved from Maleny we left an area which hosted a wide variety of environmental weeds which thrived in the high rainfall, temperate climate. However, we have swapped them for some other undesirables. This time it is Red Valerian (centranthus ruber), quite a pretty garden plant which is self-seeding throughout our garden. It is rated as a moderately invasive environmental weed in Victoria so once we worked out what it was GMan set to work to dig it out of the many locations in our garden. We will need to be vigilant to remove any new growth but we are confident that we can keep our block clear of it.

There was quite a bit getting established in this garden bed.

It was also spreading quickly at the front. GMan also removed several shrubs from inside the front fence. We are still developing a plan for the large area at the front of the house but it will definitely include a new front fence at some stage once we work out exactly where the driveway will go.

Another Recipe

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As promised in my last post, here is the recipe for the Eggplant Rolls which I made recently.

I have not included quantities as it depends on how many you want to make and personal taste.

EGGPLANT ROLLS

Ingredients

1 large eggplant
Ricotta cheese or drained plain yoghurt
Leafy greens, finely chopped – silverbeet, spinach, kale or similar
Seasoning of choice – salt, pepper, mixed herbs, smoky paprika
Can of tomatoes, diced
Flaxseed meal
Almond meal
Cheddar cheese, grated

Method

Thinly slice the eggplant. Lightly cook the slices in a pan or in airfryer.

Combine the ricotta, greens and seasoning.

Spread mixture onto eggplant slices.

Roll up eggplant and place in an ovenproof dish.

Top with tomatoes.

Combine almond meal, flaxseed meal and grated cheese. Sprinkle on top of the dish and then cook until thoroughly heated and crispy.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

If you look carefully at the photos you will note that I neglected to follow my own instructions and did not pre-cook the eggplant slices. The meal was still quite edible but it is definitely much better if they are pre-cooked.

For the final cooking I generally cook until hot in the microwave then finish off in the airfryer. You could also bake these in the oven.

The almond/flaxseed meal topping is so that this dish is gluten-free. If that is not an issue you may simply choose to use breadcrumbs.

I served this meal with steamed rice, carrots and peas.

Daily Stuff

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After writing this blog for over 12 years I sometimes wonder whether it has become a little stale or repetitive. However, I am reminded that there are new people popping in all the time so I will continue to share my activities here.

Since it is winter and I am struggling with a cold it is not a great time to be outdoors. There is plenty to do inside the house and most of it can be distilled down to cooking and sewing.

Cooking is essential for feeding ourselves and I try to build up a bit of a supply of meals as well as condiments. In the past few days I have made grapefruit marmalade (recipe here) from fruit which was in a giveaway box in the next block, a new batch of gluten-free pizza bases (recipe here), sourdough bread (GMan’s handiwork) as well as Eggplant Rolls and Pumpkin, Eggplant and Chickpea Curry. You can check our my vegetable curry recipe here.

The next blog post will be the full recipe for the Eggplant Rolls.

On the sewing front, I have completed a couple of mending jobs.

New elastic (salvaged from worn-out undies) to replace the elastic and drawstring in this pair of pyjama bottoms which were originally purchased 2 years ago from the $1 rack at the op shop.

This jacket is 11 years old and still in excellent condition but the zip had broken so I bought a new zip and replaced it.

I think that is the mending out of the way for the moment so I do need to set my mind to making a dress to wear to a family wedding in 7 weeks time. Watch this space as the saying goes.