No Power – No Worries

9 Comments

Posted on January 31, 2013

As many of you would be aware, a large portion of the eastern part of Queensland has endured some pretty wild weather over the past week or so. Ex Cyclone Oswald (hurricane) has wreaked havoc over a large area. Because the system was moving quite slowly we had plenty of time to prepare for the bad weather.

‘Prepare’ is the key word here and I think I did a reasonable job. As usual, there are things that we did well and some that could be improved. In the interests of creating a reference for the future I thought I would share what I discovered.

Firstly, here is a bit of background. Our household consists of 2 adults in a 3 bedroom, high-set timber-framed home on a small acreage. We are totally reliant on our tank water and have solar hot water as well as grid-connected solar panels. We live about 8km from the nearest town and there is no public transport. We have 2 vehicles. Strong coastal winds do affect our property.

Apart from the risk of structural damage to our home, my main concern was losing power. Without electricity we are unable to run the pump to get water to the house so we boiled water so that it was ready to drink. We prepared 40 litres which we stored in a 20 litre drum from our camping equipment and the Duke’s 20 litre home brew kit. We have a refrigerator/freezer in the kitchen as well as a small upright freezer in the study. I filled several ice-cream containers with water to freeze in an attempt to keep the frozen goods OK for as long as possible.

Once we lost power we were still able to access water from a tap on the tank to fill buckets. However, it is about a 400 metre round trip to the tank.

Because we are connected to the grid we cannot access power directly from our solar panels. I have heard that this can now be done so I will be investigating this possibility with the company that installed the panels.

Cooking was not a problem as we have a gas cooktop and we also had the wood-heater blazing in an attempt to keep the humidity down. We had 2 billies of water on the heater at all times so there was plenty of warm water for a ‘shower’ using buckets of warm water. I also cooked soup and bolognaise sauce on the heater .

The biggest challenge was keeping food cold. Since the refrigerator/freezer was in the same zone of the house as the wood heater it did not stay cool for long. The small freezer fared better as it was in another part of the house. I ended up using it like an ice-chest. It was lucky that we did not have a lot of meat on hand so I was able to cook and use all of it without any loss. I did throw out a few things but the total value would have been less than $30. That is a small price to pay rather than getting sick from eating food that has not been stored safely.

We were without power for a total of 59 hours and in that time we had to work hard just to ensure that we had food and drink as well as water for washing dishes and bathing. I did not even contemplate washing clothes as I knew that we had enough to last until the immediate crisis was over.

THINGS I DID WELL

Prepared plenty of drinking water
Cooked nutritious meals using ingredients we had available
Made sure that the perishable foodstuffs were used first
Wasted a minimal amount of food
Bought a lighter for the gas stove/fire when we realised that the humidity meant the matchbox was damp and striking a match was almost impossible
Having the house decluttered and organised meant that we knew where things were and they were easy to access with minimal light

THINGS I COULD DO BETTER

Start freezing water earlier to ensure that it is completely frozen before the power is lost
Consider buying a small generator
Set the camp fridge to ‘freeze’ before power is lost and fill it with frozen goods that will not need to be accessed during power outage. This would be especially useful if I had a lot of meat.
Move the small freezer downstairs (the coolest part of the house) and use like an ice-chest
Follow up on our plans to install a rainwater tank close to the house so that water is easier to access

I also gave some thought to what we would take if the house were damaged substantially. I had sturdy shoes and socks and a torch as well as my essential medications ready to grab if we needed to seek shelter downstairs. This seems very minimal and I need to give a lot more thought to what we would need to take if we had to leave in a hurry for any reason. I would love to hear if you have a ‘grab-bag’, what is in it and where you store it.

We survived quite well and were certainly not tested to the limit but the last week has given us several things to think about and priorities to consider.

Dinner Module

4 Comments

Posted on January 24, 2013

I have previously mentioned the concept of having modules to contain items fore a particular purpose. It helps to set limits so that you cannot begin to store more of a group of items than what will fit in the container.

Modules are also a useful concept to keep all of the things that will be used for a project in one place. It is this theory that I applied this morning in my kitchen.

Before I left for work I began the preparation for dinner. We will be having stuffed capsicums (red peppers) so the peppers are de-seeded and washed. I also thawed some rice which I will use when I make one for The Duke and there is grated sweet potato for the stuffing of mine. I have not finalised exactly what else I will use but there will definitely be mushrooms in the mix.

So, I grabbed a large plastic container (and lid), put all of the partly prepared ingredients in the tub and popped it in the fridge. Now it is all ready to go when I get home so I can quickly finish the preparation.

Tomatoes – Tall Tales and True

16 Comments

Posted on January 13, 2013

Six months ago I watched on wistfully as my Northern Hemisphere blogging friends struggled to bottle, preserve and freeze their abundance of tomatoes. It was winter here, and although the ground is not covered with snow, it was far too cool to be thinking about growing tomatoes, let alone harvesting them. I hoped that my turn would come, and sure enough, it has.

A couple of weeks ago I made tomato sauce and blogged about it here.

As well as the wild cherry tomatoes we are growing Roma tomatoes for the first time and they have been a runaway success. The next tomato project I decided to try was tomato paste. As usual, I found several recipes on the internet, compared them and then made it to fit my available ingredients and quantity of tomatoes. The site which I referred to most is here. You will see that I used much less oil than suggested. Also, please remember not to mix up pounds and kilograms. I used 5 kgs which is 11 pounds.These are 4kg of Roma tomatoes which I picked yesterday.

And another 1kg of cherry tomatoes which I had in the freezer.

I roughly chopped the Roma tomatoes.

5kg tomatoes, 125ml olive oil and 1 & 1/2 teaspoons sea salt into the stockpot and simmer for about 10minutes.

Then it is time to put all of the liquid and tomatoes through a food mill.

All of the liquid and puree went into a large saucepan and the skins and seeds into a separate bowl to be discarded.

Simmer the liquid for 1 – 2 hours or until reduced and thickened.

Pour the thickened puree into shallow oven trays and bake in the oven at 180C for 30 minutes and then for another 30 minutes at 140C.

Check the mixture about every 15 minutes and be sure to stir any caramelised bits on the edge back into the middle of the puree.

Transfer the paste to hot, sterilised jars. Be sure to tap the jars to remove any air bubbles as you pack it in. Place the lids on the jars and process in a hot water bath for 30 minutes. For your health and safety, please refer to more detailed instructions about hot water bath processing.

Remove the jars, allow to cool and check that the vacuum seal is intact before storing them.

This is an easy but somewhat time-consuming process. It is a great way to be able to store a large quantity of tomatoes for later use. 5kg of tomatoes made these 6 small jars plus a couple of spoonfuls that I have in a container in the refrigerator which will be used in the next day or so.

The harvest continues. Here are more that I picked today and there are still heaps more of the Roma tomatoes on the bushes.

Finally, here are the first 2 full-sized tomatoes that I have grown for several years with plenty more to come. I cannot remember what variety they are. They have some imperfections but those can easily be removed.

And one final photo for Mrs Thrift from Not Just Green Fingers who asked how we managed to garden in the heat we are having. I live in an area of Australia where we have a more temperate climate due to the elevation and also a good rainfall. In fact it is sometimes more than we need. However, the last 6 months have been particularly dry and very hot for the past week. The tomatoes and red peppers have coped well but with more hot weather forecast I decided to rig up some protection for them today. The main covering is a large piece of shadecloth which came from my parents’ home. It has timber frames at each end and eyelets in the corners so was very easy to attach to the star pickets at the corners of the fence. The extra piece is an old curtain (very thin) which is covering the peppers.

Despite the heat we are still managing to produce some of our own food. There are plenty of chillies, we also have figs and peaches. The fruit are unfortunately attacked by fruit fly but I salvage what I can even if it is just one bite. I am going to see if I can rescue enough peaches to perhaps preserve a bottle or two to enjoy in mid-winter. The first cantaloupe was picked yesterday because the side that was touching the ground had started to rot. It was a little early so not superbly full-flavoured but I diced it up and mixed with some locally grown pineapple was very enjoyable for breakfast.

Do you have anything growing in you garden at the moment? How do you cope when you have a glut of a particular fruit or vegetable?

Look forward to hearing your comments.

A Saucy Tale

2 Comments

Posted on December 31, 2012

Yesterday I picked 2 kg of cherry tomatoes from the bushes that grow wild in various parts of our garden.

Firstly, I removed the stalks and rinsed them and then added the 1.5 kg that were already prepared and frozen from a couple of weeks ago. It was time to make some tomato sauce (ketchup). The recipe is super simple and is written near the end of this post.

Home-grown cherry tomatoes have a very short shelf life so unless you are feeding an army, it makes sense to freeze the excess immediately or otherwise they go to waste rather quickly.

You will need a large saucepan or stockpot depending on the quantity of tomatoes that you are processing. Mine is a stainless steel one with a heavy base which helps to stop the food burning. This is important because by their very nature, most jams, pickles and preserves have a high proportion of sugar. Many of the old-style preserving pans are aluminium, however, I do not use aluminium for perceived health reasons.

Apart from the tomatoes, you will need a few other ingredients.

Here is the recipe.

TOMATO SAUCE

Ingredients

3kg ripe tomatoes
15g whole cloves
15g whole allspice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
250ml vinegar
375g sugar
60g salt
500g onions

Method

Place the cloves and allspice in a muslin bag. Roughly chop the onions and tomatoes. Place all ingredients in the stockpot and simmer for approximately 2 hours, stirring regularly. Remove spice bag and discard. Strain or process mixture in a blender to required consistency.

Return mixture to a clean saucepan and bring to the boil for 5 minutes before pouring into warm, sterilised jars. Seal jars and store appropriately.

Notes

When using cherry tomatoes for this recipe there is no need to chop them.

I used chilli powder instead of cayenne, powdered instead of whole allspice and I always use raw sugar. The powdered spices and raw sugar tend to make the finished product slightly darker.

I use a hand-held stick blender to process the mixture. Whatever method you use, be very careful when handling the hot liquid as it can be unpredictable.

The original recipe can be found here. It is also in Sally Wise’s book, ‘A Year in A Bottle’.

This is a tasty tomato sauce which bears no resemblance to the commercial varieties. Enjoy!

Gift Giving

5 Comments

Posted on December 15, 2012

Even though I do not buy many gifts it can still be a challenge to find the perfect gift. I try to make choices that fit with my values and will be truly appreciated by the recipient.

This year The Duke and I have agreed that we are not buying ‘stuff’ for each other and that our trip to the USA was our gift to each other.

Belle, Missy and my immediate family will receive a combination of money, home-made goodies and Oxfam Unwrapped gifts. These are well worth checking out if you are not familiar with the concept.

Blanket

Miss O and Izz have more than enough toys and clothes so I bought them each a special Christmas ornament when we were overseas and also a couple of cloth badges. I have recently given them the camp blankets which belonged to Belle and Missy when they were younger and collected badges. Their main gifts are experiences rather than stuff – tickets to shows. I will take Izz to see a stage production of Hairy McLary and Miss O to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. These will both be in January and I am really looking forward to sharing the joy with each of them.

At work our team (about 10 of us) used to do a Secret Santa but a couple of years ago we all agreed that it was really unnecessary and we would make a donation to World Vision using their gift catalogue. We have lots of fun choosing what animals we will ‘buy’.

I feel that my gift-giving will not just add more stuff to people’s lives but make a positive contribution in several ways. It has also meant that I have no need to spend hours trawling the malls with a million other stressed shoppers so I am happy about that, too.

My Choices

2 Comments

Posted on November 7, 2012

This afternoon I left work early (3pm) and did the shopping on the way home. Simply Good where I buy most of my dry goods (flour, seeds, nuts and dried fruit) is only open until 5 pm on weekdays and 9am – 12md on Saturday. I am happy to support these traditional opening hours that allow retail staff to spend time with their families, however, I do have to be organised as it is about 40km away from where we live. Since it is on my way to work I decided to drive my car to the railway station nearest to the shop and then do my shopping on the return journey.

I stocked up on all of my usual supplies as well as a couple of extras for some Christmas cooking and I am hoping that I will not need to go again until the New Year. Aldi supermarket was my next stop and I was particularly to find that the cat food (fish varieties) was back in stock. Finally, a few things from the fruit and vegetable stall and I was home. By this time it was almost 6pm but still daylight for another 40 minutes.

When I arrived home I checked for mail, collected the rubbish and recycling bins that had been emptied. Next it was down to the backyard where I let the chickens out for a run, watered the vegetable gardens and weeded the small bed where the lettuce seedlings are becoming established. I picked lettuces, collected eggs and organised fresh feed and water for the chickens.

Collect the washing from the line, turn the plastic bags which were drying on the airer, unpack the groceries and decant the loose nuts, seeds etc into their relevant jars.

Then it was time to cut up the chicken and vegetables for the stir-fry and make the sauce.

While I was doing all this it occurred to me that most of these chores exist because of choices I have made, but I would not have it any other way.

I could throw out the plastic bags, put the wet washing in a tumble drier, buy my eggs and all vegetables from the supermarket, buy ready-made prepared meals and convenience foods but I choose not and I am very happy with my choices.

Christmas Countdown

1 Comment

Posted on November 6, 2012

It is exactly 7 weeks until Christmas Day. We are planning a relatively simple Christmas . Belle and her family will be arriving in time for lunch and staying for a night or 2. We will have 4 children under 7 with us so I am looking forward to sharing the true spirit with them. We will also spend some time with my mother, sister and brother on either Christmas Day or Boxing Day.

Gifts – I have a couple of small items for the children and will be adding some handmade gifts as well. None of us need more ‘stuff’.

Meals will be special but definitely not excessive. It will also be a gluten-free menu and as much as possible,grain-free as well.

We generally do not get involved in the many Christmas parties as our focus is a small, family celebration. The one exception is Christmas drinks with the neighbours. We live on a long rural road and this is the only time during the year that we see some of the neighbours. This year we are hosting the event which simply means that I will sweep the verandah and set out some extra chairs and glasses. Everyone contributes a plate of finger food and brings their own drinks.

In the meantime, life goes on as usual. Miss O has a birthday coming up, I have a conference to attend interstate, Missy is relocating to another city and I have deadlines to meet at work. This is all aside from the day to day routines.

Do you have any special plans for the coming weeks? Do you celebrate Christmas?

Edible & Spreadable

11 Comments

Posted on July 15, 2012

What do you spread on your sandwiches? Butter, margarine, something else or nothing at all?

I used to buy margarine without giving it a great deal of thought, however, about 18 years ago I changed to spreadable butter that I make myself. My reasons are several:

Eliminate non-recyclable waste (margarine containers)
Health benefits (margarine is simply a chemical cocktail)
Easier to spread than pure butter
Know exactly what the ingredients are

This is the recipe.

SPREADABLE BUTTER

500g butter
250ml oil
150ml water
3 tablespoons skim milk powder

Allow the butter to soften but not melt. Beat butter using a mixer or food processor. Combine the other ingredients in a jug and stir well to dissolve the milk powder. Gradually add the mixture to the butter while continuing to beat. Beat for another 1 – 2 minutes until white and creamy. Spoon into containers and refrigerate. This made almost 1500ml so it is really quite economical. Actual costings would depend on the type of oil that you use.

I generally keep one container in the refrigerator and freeze the rest because we do not use a lot of butter and it will go mouldy/rancid if stored for long periods in the refrigerator. I use Pyrex glass containers as they can be put in the freezer and I am constantly trying to minimise the amount of plastic that I use for storing food.

This mixture can be used instead of butter in cooking and baking. The only exception I make is pastry as I prefer to use ‘real’ butter for that.

The type of oil you use is entirely up to you. I choose to use locally grown and produced organic olive oil which I buy in bulk at the Co-op in Maleny. Olive oil does have a distinctive flavour so you may prefer something more bland such as rice-bran oil. I do not consider canola oil as an option as most of the commercial crop is genetically-modified and I prefer not to use foods that contain GM products.

This is not a totally zero-waste exercise but it is certainly better than all of the margarine containers that you would otherwise use. I take my glass bottle to be refilled with oil. The butter wrapper is used to grease baking trays or line cake tins and then goes into the compost. I buy skim milk powder from Aldi in a 1 kg non-recyclable bag, however, I have recently discovered that I can buy this in bulk from Simply Good so will be doing that in the future.

My New Toy

10 Comments

Posted on July 13, 2012

I had another post half written but I just have to show you my latest acquisition.

It is a cast iron Dutch oven that I bought from Aldi for $20. Today we parked at Beerwah to catch the train so we could go to Aldi on the way home to buy some cat food, milk and ice-cream. Of course, while we were there The Duke had to have a browse at the items in the middle section (not food) and saw these. Normally, I would have said that we did not really need one, but 2 days ago I had read this post at Down to Earth about making artisan bread in a Dutch oven. So, we are now the proud owners of this.

Here it is with the lid off.

It is a 4 litre capacity so I am sure it will be used for reasons other than making bread.

This was an unplanned, spur of the moment purchase but I do not think I will regret it.

Shopping At Home

8 Comments

Posted on July 11, 2012

In years gone by the phrase ‘shop at home’ usually referred to mail-order catalogues. This meant that you could peruse the pages for your choice of everything from underwear to saucepans. It was a service provided to people who lived in remote areas. Imagine the excitement when the carefully-chosen and long-awaited parcel arrived from the city stores (Myer and David Jones) to families on outback properties.

Shopping in the comfort of your own home was also a driver of many ‘party plan’ and catalogue businesses. These included Tupperware, Avon and Nutrimetics, to name but a few.

More recently, much of this shopping activity has been surpassed by buying online. I have bought things online, but usually only after considerable research. It makes shopping easy, so easy in fact, that I think some people have accumulated much more debt due to the ease with which they can part with their money or more likely, credit.

My shopping at home, today, was none of these. I merely walked downstairs to my store-cupboard and replenished supplies which would otherwise have necessitated going to the shop.

This morning there was no cereal nor much psyllium husk which I have on my cereal. So I headed to my cupboard and picked these two buckets.

Here are my pantry containers refilled.

This afternoon I ‘shopped’ again – this time for raisins and sultanas as I wanted to make a boiled fruit cake.

Having a store of staples means less trips to the shops which in turn saves time, petrol and opportunities to spend money on other items. It makes sense to me to have a supply of goods on hand in case of a range of possible emergencies or disasters. As well as food I keep a supply of other items such as toilet paper, toothpaste and soap.