Friday Favourites – Orange & Poppyseed Muffins

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I have tried various muffin recipes over the years and although they have been relatively successful I have never found one that suited what I was looking for.  Some were too sweet, too dry or just like an over-sized cupcake.

Here is a muffin recipe I tried quite recently but it has already become a firm favourite.  The basic recipe come from the book “Down to Earth”, written by Rhonda Hetzel who writes the blog of the same name.

ORANGE & POPPYSEED MUFFINS

1/4 cup olive oil
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups self raising flour
1 cup orange pulp
1/4 cup poppyseeds

Beat the oil and sugar, add egg and milk and mix thoroughly.  Add orange pulp and poppyseeds.  Finally, add the flour and combine gently.  Do not overmix.

Spoon mixture into prepared muffins pans.

Bake at 180C for 20 minutes.

I make these to use up the orange pulp from when I squeeze the oranges from our trees.  If you want to increase the orange flavour you could try substituting orange juice for some of the milk.  I have not tried this but might next time I make them.

I make 12 generous-sized muffins from this quantity.  The muffins also freeze well

The basic recipe suggests that you can add anything you like.  I have made lime and coconut, banana , cherry and coconut as well as apple and cinnamon using this recipe.

Now it is my turn to ask a question.  I would love to be able to make good savoury muffins with grated cheese, grated vegies and herbs.  Could I use this basic recipe and just leave out the sugar?

I look forward to your suggestions and ideas.

Crash!

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Last night when we got home we discovered that another large limb had come off the poinciana tree.  The tree is close to our boundary and this has fallen across the fence and into the neighbour’s ‘paddock’ near the front of their block.  Undoubtedly, the wild weather of the past few days has contributed to this latest loss.

2012-06-28 01There have been at least 3 other occasions where sizeable branches have fallen from this tree and we had decided that it really needed to go and were planning to have it lopped later in the year.  This latest incident has forced us to re-think our plans and move them forward so I have contacted a tree lopper.  He is going to come next week to give us a quote.

2012-06-28 02As well as having the tree lopped, we also plan to get it mulched so that we can use this in our landscaping.  We have decided that we can better utilise the mulch than making more firewood as we really have plenty and this type of tree does not burn well. I am hoping they will be able to grind the stump so that we can then decide what we will plant in this area.

2012-06-28 03I took these photos today.  You can see that I am very thankful that no people or property were in close proximity.

A Storage Solution

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I do not use any disposable cleaning cloths but instead I have a selection of microfibre and cotton cleaning cloths as well as an assortment of worn out towels and t-shirts which make great rags for almost any cleaning job.

The cleaning cloths had previously been folded in a pile in the laundry cupboard and the rags were in the cupboard under the laundry tub.

Recently I decided to make a ‘ragbag’ modelled on my memories of one that belonged to my grandmother.

2012-06-27 02I made this from some scraps in my stash of fabric.  The patterned fabric is leftover from nursery curtains I made before Miss O was born, the plain green is the from the op shop doona cover which I used to make my ironing board cover and the binding on the opening came from a collection that belonged to my friend’s mother.  There was no pattern – just my memory and an idea which I turned into reality.

2012-06-27 03It is conveniently located on the inside the the laundry door where I have hung it from the rack which holds my laundry detergent and soap.

This saves me trying to keep a pile of cloths stacked neatly on the shelf.  Sometimes it can be the most simple thing that makes life easier.

Routines

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Much of what I write about on this blog is one-off organising projects but today I want to tackle a different subject.  What about the routines? The simple everyday things that you do regularly and consistently.  Why have routines and what difference do they make to the running of a household?

Many of us have routines imposed due to the constraints of going to work and school each day.

I love this quote from a colleague with whom I worked.  When asked about why he worked a particular way, his response was, “I always do this the same way because then I don’t have to waste time thinking about how I am going to do it”.

This really sums up the essence of a routine.  It becomes so ingrained that you do not really think about it.  This does take time, so in the interim you need to set up a plan to incorporate new routines.

The routines I am working on are ones to simplify and streamline my time during the week.  Here are a couple of examples:

Every Sunday I refill the tablet dispenser for my medications for the week.  This takes about 3 minutes to do once a week.  The tablets are at my finger tips and I do not have to open several bottles twice a day.

Menu planning – On the weekend I generally do at least a rudimentary plan of evening meals for the week.  I cannot afford the time to spend thinking about what to have for dinner, when I am out of the house for about 13 hours each day.  By having a plan I can take food out of the freezer the night before and start cooking the minute I arrive home.

Wardrobe planning – My morning preparation is 40 minutes from the alarm going off until I walk out the door so there there is no time to waste on thinking.  Before I go to bed I decide what I am going to wear for the following day.  I do not set it out but with a relatively uncluttered wardrobe I can simply open the door and grab my pre-determined outfit.

Naturally, you need to seek a balance between routines and flexibility.

My routines are based on my need to minimise the time wasted during the working week.  What are some of your routines and how do they help you?

Project Streamline – Coats & Jackets

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In Project Streamline this week I am looking at my coats and jackets.  Many people who live in more extreme climates would suggest that we do not need jackets or coats in Queensland.  However, we live in one of the cooler districts and these are mostly quite lightweight so they all get some use during the year.  The colours are either neutral or fit with my basic colour combinations.  We are only 3 weeks into our ‘official’ winter season and these have all been worn this year.

2012-06-25 01Navy water-resistant, lined jacket
This is a practical colour, easy to clean, has adjustable cuffs and a concealed hood
Good for outdoor activities and travelling.

2012-06-25 02Dark navy, lined, double-breasted, wool coat
20+ years old, usually worn once or twice each winter.  I wore this today to work and probably will for the next couple of days as it is quite cold when I leave home and again when I walk from the train station to the office.

2012-06-25 03Lightweight, khaki/navy water-resistant jacket
This was a corporate gift about 8 years ago.  It gets worn when I don’t need the weight/bulk of my navy jacket.

2012-06-25 04Black cord jacket
I wear this to work regularly as it teams with all of my work clothes.

2012-06-25 05Dusty pink suede jacket
Versatile item which is worn to the office with business attire or jeans on the weekend.

2012-06-25 06Pink vest (polar fleece lining)
Great for in between seasonal wear.  Colour fits with the rest of my clothes.

2012-06-25 07Red polar fleece jacket
I bought this a few months ago for our holiday in August/September.  I plan to keep it for the trip although I have worn it once – when we went to the football.

2012-06-25 08Red, hooded wind/waterproof jacket
This belonged to Belle but she no longer wanted/needed it so I decided to use it when we are travelling.  It is lightweight and takes up very little space.  The sizing on me is generous so I can wear it over a couple of other layers if required.

After I had taken all of the photos, I remembered that I have another spray jacket (navy zip-front one) but it is much lesser quality and does not stop the wind as well as the red one.

I am happy that all of my jackets and coats have earned their place in my wardrobe and they will stay, even though they are mostly worn only during about 4 months of the year.

Next week I will start on my tops/t-shirts/blouses.  I have put these off until last because I am not sure how to group them and there are more than any other category.  However, I will bite the bullet and do them so tune in next week to see how I justify them.

Organising the Woodshed – Part 2

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Another cold, grey weekend has meant that the fire has been going most of the time.  This is a timely reminder to prepare some more firewood.

2012-06-24 01This is a pile of large logs near the woodshed.  They are pieces which The Duke had cut from large limbs that had dropped from the eucaplypt tree at the bottom of the garden.  We moved several loads in the wheelbarrow to a spot which is closer to the house.

2012-06-24 02The Duke split them into pieces of a more manageable size.

2012-06-24 03I loaded them into the wheelbarrow and then stacked them under the house.

2012-06-24 04

This is the result of less than 2 hours work spread over both days of the weekend.  We now have a substantial pile of split wood which will dry out completely since it is out of the weather.  We have achieved this through collecting wood from our own property, allowing it to weather for a couple of years and finally, splitting and stacking it.

Like many other activities of self-reliance we have a real sense of achievement and satisfaction in knowing that we have done what is required to maintain a warm, comfortable home through the winter.

We plan to continue splitting and stockpiling firewood until all of the current piles of logs are prepared for use.

Finally, a big thank to everyone who has commented this week.  I have responded to them all (I think).  Come back tomorrow for the next instalment of Project Streamline.

Hanging the Handle

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I had a Vileda broom with a detachable handle.  The idea was that you could buy replacement heads for it, however, by the time I decided that I needed a new head for the broom, they were no longer available.  I bought a new broom but the fact remained that I had a worn out broom head and a perfectly good handle.

I had read some time ago that the best way to hang home-made pasta to dry was over a broom handle resting between two chairs.  So I decided that my obsolete broom handle would now be my pasta drying rack.  The next question was where would I store it when it is not being used?

Since the handle will be used in the kitchen it seemed sensible to store it in the same room.  I fixed a hook to the wall of the pantry and hung the handle on it.  Now it is easily accessible when I am making pasta.

Close-up of handle

Here you can see it hanging just inside the pantry door.

Handle in pantry

It is only a small project but makes all the difference when things have a specific location and are easy to find when required.

Book Review – Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

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I have just finished reading the book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver.  I had seen it mentioned at times on the Simple Savings forum but there was no real detail of what it is about so I had forgotten about it until recently when I finally remembered to download it to my Kindle.

This book was first published in 2007 and documents the attempts of one family to eat mostly local food for a full year.  It is a substantial book and full to the brim with detail and information so is definitely not a light read.  I think I will need to read it a few times to extract the maximum benefit from it.

I found some of the detail quite confronting at times, especially the descriptions of CAFO’s (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) and the harvesting of the chickens and turkeys which they raised for meat.  This is not necessarily a bad thing as it forces us to examine our feelings about how our food is produced.  Out of sight should not mean out of mind.

Although it is written from a North American perspective there are many universal truths for everyone, no matter where you live.  By the time I had finished the book I was inspired with renewed enthusiasm to seek out as much local produce as possible.

During the course of the year, they travelled to Italy and also on a road trip north from Virginia, through Vermont and into Canada.  The local food that they ate and people encountered makes fascinating reading.

I also intend to apply the same principles to the food we eat during our upcoming trip to the USA.  Since we will be in the north-east states during late summer we will have an excellent choice of fresh food.  One of the things we had planned to look for is Farmers’ Markets in the cities and farm gate sales in the more rural areas.  My goal is to eat as much locally-sourced, organic and unpackaged food as possible while we are away but more about that another time.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle contains numerous recipes based on seasonal produce which are also available on their website.

The book contains an engaging mix of passion, theory, humour and science related to a topic which is the essence of every one of us – our food.

I would strongly recommend that you read ‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle’ and take the time to really think about what you are eating and how it came to be on your plate.

Shopping In The Garden

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This afternoon I went down to the garden and picked a bucketful of oranges, some mandarins, limes, perennial onions, grapefruit, chili and avocadoes as well as collecting 16 eggs.

Here is some of the haul.

2012-06-21 01Mandarins

2012-06-21 02Eggs

2012-06-21 03Ornages , limes, grapefruit, onions and chili in this bucket.

2012-06-21 04I set the oranges out ready to juice them.

2012-06-21 05These yielded 3.5 litres of juice and enough pulp to make 2 dozen orange and poppyseed muffins.

The juice is frozen in single serve (250ml) portions.

2012-06-21 06Here is the orange juice packaged and ready to freeze.  Once it is frozen I will remove it from the containers and place in double plastic bags for ease of storage.

I took a pack of grated zucchini (from the garden last summer) from the freezer and made a zucchini quiche for dinner.  While this was in the oven I made the muffins and a Lemon Delicious for dessert as well as roasting some sliced pumpkin ready to use on home-made pizzas tomorrow night.

The 2 grapefruit are prepared for The Duke for his breakfasts and the mandarins will be used in packed lunches.

The avocadoes are in the fruit bowl as they will take about a week to ripen.

I chopped the chili and onions and added to some cold rice.  Lime juice, oil and pepper made a dressing to toss through the rice and we had this and some carrot sticks and sliced mushroom with the quiche for dinner.

I used 9 eggs in my cooking and am left with 34 in the refrigerator.  Must be time to give some more away.

We are lucky to have a productive garden so it is important to make sure that we use what is available and store any excess so that it does not get wasted.