A New Buy

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It is a relatively rare occurrence these days for me to buy much other than consumables such as groceries and fuel, and experiences including travel, tickets to shows and events.

However, I think a recent purchase is worth sharing. Just after Christmas I was ordering some mixing bowls for one of my daughters. While perusing the website I saw some Joseph & Joseph chopping boards. These are rather expensive but were significantly reduced. I had seen my sister using them when we stayed with them early last year and I was impressed with them but had not done anything more about looking for some.

Anyway, I bit the bullet and bought two new red (naturally) boards. They are what I would regard as large and extra large. They are plastic but that is offset by their perceived longevity.

I may be a bit late to the party but here are some of the features I love about them. There is lip around 3 sides and a slight slope overall. These help to retain juices or errant bits when preparing food. Juices can also easily be poured from the deep corner. This in turn, helps to minimise waste. The recessed handles make them easy and safe to carry. One side has a spiked area which can assist in holding meat or other items in place while chopping them. There is also a narrow rubber strip on the edges which means they are stable and do not move when being used.

I have tried and used a variety of chopping boards over the years but these really appear to be the closest I have found to perfectly meeting my needs.

The other collection of boards all have their uses and will remain part of the kitchen until they break or wear out.

Nothing New

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In June 2014 I took my first tentative steps towards making a quilt using Disappearing 9 Patch blocks. I was finally completed nearly 7 years later as I finished sewing the binding on while I sat with my mother when she was in hospital. I am so glad that I was able to share the finished quilt with her as much of the fabric had come from her stash of offcuts from garments she had made for herself and various family members over many years. You can see it here.

Last year I offered to make one for our younger daughter. Her preferred colour palette was soft greens such as sage and olive. I wondered how on earth I was going to source sufficient scraps of these colours as they are not generally colours that I use. However, I have been remarkably surprised at the bits that have come my way from many and varied sources.

Initially, I made about 6 blocks but I have not made any since before we moved. I had been collecting and cutting fabric in preparation. So, the past couple of days have been a bit of a marathon and I now have 33 completed blocks. I have some squares cut out but need 42 blocks altogether so I need to keep a close eye on fabric in op shops.

This is a preliminary layout with the completed blocks.

I am confident that this quilt will not take 7 years to complete.

A Summer Garden

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The past 10 days have been an alternating mix of warm, sunny days and some significant rainfall so the young seedlings are enjoying the conditions. The zucchini plants which I planted at the beginning of December are literally doubling in size overnight. You can see what they looked like in this post.

This is today. The eggplant in the adjacent bed are doing well, too.

The cucumbers and new lettuce are also getting established.

Then there is the basil. Some in pots.

And more in the garden bed.

The basil is going to be trimmed this afternoon. I am planning to make a pesto/green sauce to serve with grilled eggplant, capsicum and pasta for dinner. As usual, this a creation I have have dreamed up. If the reality is as good as the idea I will hopefully have a recipe to share in a future post.

Monday Mending

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I chose to begin 2024 with a spot of mending.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the sheets on our bed were beginning to look a bit threadbare. I have 4 sets of QS sheets which I rotate for our bed and also the guest bed. Naturally the ones on the guest bed don’t get a lot of use. They are top quality pure cotton sheets and have lasted very well. In fact, I could not remember when I had last bought sheets. After doing some detective work I discovered that they would have been one of the sets referred to in this post from June 2011. Over 12 years is not bad.

However, I was not quite ready to throw them out. The top edge of the top sheet was literally disintegrating so I removed it and replaced it with a strip from a KS sheet which I bought recently from the local op shop. I used some of it for the backing of a quilt but there was plenty left for other projects.

Then I turned my attention to the bottom sheet. This had 2 small splits amid a larger very worn area. You can see the splits on the wrong side after I had placed a patch on the right side.

I use double-side fusible interfacing to secure the patch before sewing it. This also helps to reinforce the worn area. I used a piece of very similar fabric for the patch.

I know it probably doesn’t look particularly comfortable, I will be able to place the sheet so that the patch is near the foot of my side of the bed and my feet barely reach that spot.

I don’t know how much these repairs will extend the life of these sheets but it was a relatively easy fix and a worthwhile one in my opinion.

The other two jobs were alterations rather than mending. I had bought both of these tops at op shops recently and while they are in very good condition the sleeves were too long for me and the grey striped one was much too long in the body. I have adjusted them for a better fit and they are ready for wearing during the cooler months.

A Final Word

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As I prepared to write this somewhat reflective post, I re-read the posts I had written in the last 12 months – all 99 of them. That is more than double the number I wrote in 2022 which was a measly 44.

I know that statistics only tell part of the story and are certainly not the reason I began writing this blog back in 2011. Nor are they the reason that I continue. The blog is primarily a diary. It is a record of activities undertaken as well as thoughts and feelings on a wide range of subjects at any given time. I hope that some of it is of use and/or interest to those of you who read it.

As you will see in an upcoming post, it is sometimes the only record I have of something which has happened in the past.

There is no doubt that 2023 was overwhelmingly about our relocation from Queensland to Victoria. The sale of one house and purchase of another and the subsequent move and organisation of a new space.

Like every other year, 2023 has been a combination of highlights interspersed with some less than wonderful moments but on balance I feel as though it was a better year than the previous couple of years. Unfortunately, I know that has not been the case for everyone.

Onwards to 2024 and Happy New Year to you all!!

Gifts For the Garden

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Well, Christmas is over for another year and I do hope your day was pleasant, however you may have spent it.

We had a quiet but enjoyable Christmas. GMan received a gift voucher from our daughters which was for a garden nursery that he was planning to visit.

So, today we went to check out what was available that he might like. A specific focus was dwarf varieties of citrus trees and he was pleased to get a grapefruit and an orange tree. These will go in large pots on the front patio along with an existing citrus which he previously rescued from an unsuitable spot in the garden. We are not 100% sure but we think it may well be a lime tree which is very exciting. He also chose an olive tree which is a small variety which is supposed to grow to about 2m x 2m rather than 7m x 7m like many of the other varieties.

Finally, we added a selection of Australian native plants for the new area to be landscaped at the front of the house. There is a mix of different sized flowering shrubs and groundcovers which are bird-attracting. We will add more over time as it is quite a large area but we are starting with 2 banksias, 2 callistemons and a grevillea.

This is what it looks like at the moment. We recently repurposed and repositioned the rusted steel edging. There will be updated photos in due course, once we have added plants and mulch.

And yes, the sky today really is that blue. It is a welcome change after having received over 100mm of rain in 24 hours on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. Thankfully, it was just rain and not the wild storms/tornado/cyclonic conditions which have hit other parts of the country.

Christmas Crumble

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Fruit crumble is one of my favourite desserts but is not usually on the Christmas menu.

This year I am preparing lunch for 3 adults on what looks like being a cool and rainy day despite the fact that it is the middle of summer.

I have plenty of cooking apples and an abundance of frozen mulberries so we will be having apple and mulberry crumble with ice-cream for dessert on Christmas Day.

CRUMBLE TOPPING

Ingredients

1 cup coconut
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup plain flour (I use gluten-free flour)
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
2 teaspoons golden syrup
2 teaspoons powdered cinnamon
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
2 teaspoons powdered mixed spice
90g butter

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the syrup and mix through. Finely shave the butter and rub through the dry ingredients using your fingertips.

Spread the crumble mixture on top of your favourite stewed fruit and cook in oven or airfryer until the topping is lightly browned and crisp.

NOTES: This is a large quantity as I freeze any excess for future use so you may wish to halve the amounts. I only use real butter as it needs to be very firm (not spreadable) for this recipe.

A Combined Effort

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I have recently finished making this lap quilt.

Let me explain the ‘combined effort’ in the title.

The embroidered calico blocks came to me in a bag of salvaged textiles that had been donated to an op shop but were destined for landfill as they were deemed not to be saleable. The blocks were sandwiched between other larger pieces and may not have even been seen. They had been hand embroidered and I felt it was important to respect the love and care which had gone into the handiwork.

So, I trimmed the blocks to a standard size and set about sourcing some plain coloured fabric which would complement the embroidery colours. Some were from my own stash and others from a friend.

The patchwork top was finished earlier in the year before we left Queensland. Once we moved I needed to find someone with a long arm quilting machine as I wanted to make sure that I did justice to the work so far. I bought a king-size sheet from an op shop for the backing and the binding and handed it over to be quilted. My quilting contact did a marvellous job of highlighting the various elements of the embroidery and patchwork.

Then it was my turn to add the finishing touches with the binding which was also cut from the sheet.

You can see the backing and quilting detail in the photo.

I feel like this was a really worthwhile project and the only new materials were the batting and thread.

In the Kitchen

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While our granddaughters were visiting us my kitchen activities were limited to just getting the next meal on the table but yesterday I managed to do a bit of forward planning and preparation.

The first thing was to make some Choc Fruit and Nut Balls. These are perfect for Christmas gatherings (or any other time of the year) when you are asked to contribute a plate. They are always well-received and are super-easy to make (no cooking required). They freeze really well and it is easy to pull some out at a moment’s notice.

My next job was to make some more peanut paste. I buy raw, unsalted peanuts and lightly dry roast them before putting them in the high-speed blender. I have previously roasted them on a baking tray in the oven but this time I decided to try them in the airfryer. This worked perfectly. I did 2 batches in a round cake tin for 10 minutes at 170C.

Meanwhile, I had a batch of grapefruit marmalade simmering on the stove. I never thought I would be making marmalade in December as citrus usually ripen here in late autumn/early winter and it is now officially summer. However, GMan took the car to have some work done on it the other day and was at a loose end for about 4 hours. So, he went walking in Bendigo while he waited and happened upon some free grapefruit in a box on the footpath. He collected 8 grapefruit in his backpack and they are now marmalade.

Also, in the spirit of not wasting anything I had these remnants to deal with. The last of the peanut paste is notoriously difficult to remove from the jug of the blender so I chose to leave about a tablespoonful of the mixture and then used that to make satay sauce. I set the excess coconut from rolling the choc fruit balls aside and then used it in making another batch of gluten-free muesli.

Here is our dinner of satay chicken with rice and green salad.

All of the recipes mentioned are elsewhere on the blog as they are regular favourites here. Here is the link to the recipe index which can be found on one of the tabs at the top of the front page of the blog. I refer to it frequently because a lot of what I write is as much for me as it is for my readers. Please feel free to use the index as your own.

The link for the Choc Fruit and Nut Balls is somewhat different to the ones I make now – there have been multiple modifications and I will add the updated version later today.

Creating and Crafty

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We have been away for a few days at the beach with our guests. The weather was not great – cool and rainy. Unfortunately, you cannot plan on good weather but we had a relaxing time and a change of scenery.

Yesterday evening I was inspired to create a Christmas table centrepiece using a hard plastic cone which had contained Ferrero Rocher chocolates. I did not buy them but it had been brought by a guest at a function we hosted a couple of weeks ago and it seemed too good to throw out. I filled it with a few baubles and Christmas decorations. Then I reattached the base with sticky tape and added some gold ribbon trim before placing it on a stand made from part of the insert which held the chocolates.

It has been hot today so I have stayed indoors and done some sewing. I made these bags from some fabric gifted from a friend.

Then I finished refashioning the sundress for Miss14. I cut a small amount from the hem to create straps to tie over the shoulders. These replace the rather flimsy adjustable shoestring straps that were on it originally. She is happy with the result.

A few other alterations for Miss16. I shortened a newish pair of cargo pants which were just a bit too long and dragging on the ground as well as turning a pair of older black leggings with holes in the lower leg into a functional pair of bike shorts. These are always in high demand in their household for wearing under netball uniforms.

Finally, I am working on some minor alterations to this dress. It is for Miss16 and we found it in an op shop while we were away. She is notoriously fussy and difficult to please but fell in love with this one. I have unpicked the side seams of the bodice to take it in slightly under the arms. I also intend to redo the hem so that it has an overall better finish. I think it was $7.50 well spent as she is planning to wear it to her semi-formal in the middle of next year.