Basil Day

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Posted on February 23, 2015

Six months ago, while we were overseas, our housesitters bought a small pot of basil as it was actually cheaper than buying a bunch of basil. When we arrived home I planted it in the ground. It is now doing its best to take over the garden!!

I took this photo yesterday morning. The rain had finally stopped and the sun was shining. You can see the ‘lake’ in the background.

I knew it was collapsing everywhere so I had intended to cut it right back and use as much of the leaves as possible. When I got closer I discovered that the bees were loving the flowers so I could not destroy their fun so I have left the flowers and just picked lots of leaves. Mind you, it is hardly noticeable where I picked them from.

I could afford to be picky so I chose only the best leaves and rinsed them thoroughly.

Then spun them in the salad spinner. As an aside, I only bought this quite recently as I had never really seen the need for one. After seeing my sister use hers, I realised that a salad spinner could be quite handy and I was delighted to find one at Aldi soon after. It cost the princely sum of $6.99.

Next step was to chop the basil in the food processor.

I had about 2/3 can of chopped tomatoes in the fridge so that was added to the mix.

Then I used a small spoon to fill ice-cube trays with the basil and tomato mixture.

Finally, I double-bagged the trays in re-used bread bags and sealed them tightly before putting them in the freezer. The basil blocks will be useful for when there is no basil growing.

The Backyard & Dinner

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Posted on February 20, 2015

We have been lucky here so far because while we have had a lot of rain of the past 48 hours we have not lost power. There has been a bit of wind but nothing of any consequence so I am hoping that continues to be the case.

The rain eased off for about an hour this afternoon so I shot this video of our backyard ‘lake’. I was standing on the verandah.

The view at the beginning of the video is where the water comes out of the drain which runs under our driveway. It is not much more than a trickle when I took this but earlier in the day you could have white-water rafted from the top of our driveway to the rainwater tanks if you were feeling adventurous! While some of this water is what falls on our property, the majority comes from the top of the escarpment which forms the rear part of our property, via a couple of substantial waterfalls, then heads down the roadway until it reaches a low point – the puddle near the western boundary of our place and the neighbour’s property and thence into the lake.

The ‘lake’ exists because the driveway of the property to the east of us creates what is essentially a dam wall. In 2011 the volume of water flowing into our property exceeded the available space and overflowed down the road, damaging the surface and creating problems for properties on the low side of the road. Ah, the joys of living on the side of a mountain!

Enough of the weather and floods. It is highly likely that we will get more rain over the next couple of days but as long as we do not lose power that will be fine. I have plenty of sewing to keep me occupied.

At the end of the working week it is time for a quick and easy ‘takeaway’ meal. Here is one of the pizzas I whipped up with some home-made bases that I partly cook and freeze. A few things from the fridge and here it is ready for the oven.

And 15 minutes later, dinner was ready.

Do you have a favourite takeaway meal at home?

More Pancakes

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Posted on February 17, 2015

Last year I wrote about Shrove Tuesday. You can read the post here. This year I decided to be a bit more creative and I managed to make gluten-free, egg-free crepes.

I modified the basic batter that I posted last year. Here is my recipe for the crepes.

100g gluten-free flour *see note below*
20g flaxseed meal
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
250ml milk
Whisk all ingredients together and allow to stand for 5 minutes.

Pour a small quantity of batter onto a hot griddle, spreading thinly with the back of a spoon. Cook until just set then flip and finish cooking.

NOTE: The gluten-free flour that I use is a combination of 4 different flours in specific proportions that I learned about in a gluten-free cookbook. I cannot put the details of the flour here as that would not be fair to the author. Here is a link to the book if you are interested. No, I do not receive any commission. 🙂

Like any crepes these can be eaten in a variety of ways, either sweet or savoury.

I decided to use them to make a main course for dinner and filled them with a bolognaise sauce. As you can see from the photo they are a bit delicate to handle once they are cool, especially if you make them fairly thin as I did.

The crepes will be heated through then topped with a little grated cheese and finished under the grill. I am going to serve it with a green salad.

Are you making pancakes today, gluten-free or not?

Two Minutes to Tidy

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Posted on February 7, 2015

It is great to feel that the decluttering efforts are really making a difference. This morning I noticed that the shelf where my recipe books are stored was very grubby and needed cleaning. It was a simple matter of grabbing an armful of books and placing them on the bench while I wiped down the shelf and then replaced the books. This took me less than 2 minutes.

I have never had hundreds of cookbooks but nevertheless it has taken about 3 rounds of culling to get it to this. You can read about a previous effort here.

Cookbook shelf

That was about 14 months ago but a few more have moved on since then, too. I do not miss any of them and have not have occasion to regret my decision to move them along. Recipes are something that has really been revolutionised by the advent of the internet. There is nothing you cannot find. Also, recipes are like clothes – there are definitely trends and fashions.

Do you have recipe books? Have you reduced your collection?

More To Go

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Posted on February 4, 2015

A couple of days ago I read a comment online by someone unknown to me that they had decluttered so much that they had nothing left to declutter. I have no idea what their circumstances are or what they consider essential but I know that I have not reached that point. In fact, I am not sure that I ever will or even want to. We do not have a huge amount of stuff but for me it is more about carefully streamlining what we own to a selection of good-quality items that match our lifestyle. Our needs change and therefore, our possessions will change accordingly.

On the weekend I was cleaning in the kitchen and one thing led to another and I ended up re-looking at the cooking utensils that I use. I have supposedly decluttered these on at least 2 previous occasions but it never hurts to look at them with fresh eyes and a more detached point of view.

This is what I am taking to the op shop today.

There are a couple of sharp knives that have seen better days and I simply do not use them. A scraper for cleaning a George Foreman grill which we no longer own. A cleaning brush for something – I don’t know what and as far as I can see it has never been used. Spoon and spaghetti strainer which are not used. Meat mallet – I haven’t beaten meat for over 20 years – our diet does not include recipes that require it. Spaghetti measure – was part of a corporate Christmas hamper a few years ago and has never been used. Small aluminium skewer – I have a set of stainless steel skewers and this is no longer required. Chip cutter – this came from my mother’s place when she was decluttering some years ago and I have never used it. A good idea but I cannot remember the last time I made chips at home and I am quite capable of cutting potatoes into chips if the fancy happens to take me. Anyway, aren’t “hand-cut chips” the latest craze on menus??

So what stays?

Electric knife
Carving fork
Scone cutter
Rolling pin
Fine grater
Metal tongs
BBQ tool
Pineapple peeler/corer
Apple corer
Cheese slicer
Cherry/oliver pit remover
Garlic press
Ice-cream scoop
Citrus zester
Grapefruit knife
Skewers
Vegetable peeler (not shown)
Jar opener
Tea strainer
Tea infuser
Wine vacuum sealer
Cork remover
Bottle/can opener
Measuring spoons
Corn cob holders
Egg rings
Knife sharpener

The electric knife/carving fork and cherry pit remover are the only items that would be rarely used. Everything else is used regularly, mostly on a weekly basis. Some, like the grapefruit knife and corn cob holders are seasonal but still essential.

I also have 2 jars of cooking utensils that I use almost daily. There location on the bench means that they are easy to grab as I am cooking and preparing food.

Wooden spoons x 4
Metal whisk
Potato masher
Metal spatula
Non-stick spatula
Non-stick spoon
Slotted spoon
Small sieve
Can opener
Pizza cutter
Rubber scrapers x 3
Brush
Citrus juicer
Pie slice

I also have a knife block with 6 assorted sharp knives.

To a hard-core minimalist this probably looks like a huge number of utensils, however, I prepare and cook most of our meals and use these items very frequently. It is important to keep and use what works for you.

There are lots of areas of my life where I could reduce my possessions but I think I have completely decluttered the kitchen utensils to my satisfaction.

What utensils do you use every day? Are they much different to what I have shown here?

Gloriously Gluten-Free

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Posted on October 15, 2014

I made a gluten-free lasagne for dinner tonight. That is not particularly earth-shattering as I know that you can buy gluten-free pasta and I have used it on previous occasions. However, this time I was inspired by a Facebook post from a friend and decided to substitute the lasagne sheets with sliced zucchini.

I use a combination of potato flour and chickpea flour to make the bechamel sauce.

Here are all of the components prepared before I assembled the lasagne.

The last layer in place.

Ready to serve.

Plated up.

The verdict?

The zucchini did not provide as much support as lasagne sheets, therefore, the lasagne did not translate neatly in one piece onto the plate. The taste was excellent which means it was a success by my standards. I would definitely make this again with a few adjustments. I would make the meat sauce drier which I think would help in maintaining the shape. The zucchini could perhaps be sliced a little thicker. You could also make the serves in individual ramekins.

Something from the Garden

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Posted on June 29, 2014

Back to one of my favourite topics – eating what is in season.

Last night we had salmon for dinner. While the salmon is not strictly local, it does come from Australian waters. It is farmed in the clear water of the Huon River estuary in southern Tasmania. The salmon could hardly be considered a budget meal as it costs about $10 for enough for 2 serves. We always barbeque the salmon and season it with a little salt and some lime juice to enhance the flavour.

I served it with pumpkin mash, stir-fried pak choy, balsamic roasted cherry tomatoes and avocado slices. I poured some of the balsamic/tomato juice over the salmon as a glaze to finish it off. All of these ingredients came from our garden so you can’t get much more seasonal or local than that. It also means that a meal of salmon is quite a reasonable price. What would you pay in a restaurant for a meal like this? $30 – $35 perhaps?

Not every meal contains as much of our own garden produce but I do try to include it as much as possible. Tonight we are having pizza which will be spread with mango chutney (made from the neighbour’s mangoes) instead of tomato paste and have balsamic roasted pumpkin as the main topping.

We have had a bumper harvest of pumpkins this year so I am constantly looking for creative ideas to use them. As well as the ubiquitous pumpkin soup, pumpkin mash and being used on pizza topping I have also made some pumpkin scones recently.

What do you have a glut of? Do you have any pumpkin suggestions?

Autumn Has Arrived

Foodie Friday – Kids in the Kitchen

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Posted on April 12, 2014

I didn’t get back to post this last night. Miss O and Izz have been staying for a couple of days so the food focus has clearly been about them. They enjoyed shopping at Simply Good yesterday and discussing many of the different fruits, nuts and grains that we bought. Miss O was keen to practise her recently acquired spelling skills to read the names of the ingredients on the storage buckets and fill them up when we arrived home.

They picked pumpkins and tomatoes as well as collecting eggs. It is great to see them understanding where their food comes from. 4 year old Izz wanted an anatomy lesson on how the eggs get out of the chickens!!

Tomorrow we are going to a picnic with extended family so I made some choc fruit nut balls and Miss O helped by rolling the balls in the coconut.

Apologies for the brevity of this post but I have been working on our Ireland itinerary and looking at ferry timetables and rental car details.

Foodie Friday – Fit for the County Fair?

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Posted on April 4, 2014

Just a reminder that real food comes from real dirt. We never actually set out to grow pumpkins – they come up self-sown in the compost and some are more successful than others. This is by far the largest I have ever grown. I picked it today and it weighs 8.7 kg or 19.2 pounds.

I placed a 2 litre ice-cream container beside it in the photo for comparison. This will make a lot of pumpkin soup!