What Lies Within

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Today I cleaned the vanity unit in our bathroom.  It is generally a quick wipe over the mirror with home-made window cleaner then the sink and surrounds with a cream cleanser – also home-made.  The recipe for the window cleaner is simply 400ml water, 100ml vinegar and a few drops of dishwashing liquid mixed in a spray bottle.  The recipe for the cream cleanser is here.

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Nowhere are my minimalist tendencies more evident than in the bathroom.  All that is on the bench is a toothbrush holder (repurposed vase with a hole drilled in the bottom) and a soap dish with a small cake of hand soap.  Keeping the bench clear makes it easy to clean.

However, today I cleaned the cupboards and all of the drawers so the first task was to remove everything.  This is the contents of my vanity unit laid bare.

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I started with the cupboard as that was relatively easy.  The large box on the right hand side contains all medications and first aid supplies.  I had cleaned and sorted this a few weeks ago, including removing any expired medications which I returned to the chemist for disposal.

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Then it was on to the drawers.  The top two have 4 clear plastic containers which I use to divide and contain the contents.  I bought them about 10 years ago from Howard’s Storage World.  After washing and drying the containers, I reviewed and replaced the contents.  GMan uses one drawer and I have the other.

This is mine.

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There are no photos of the other drawers but the third one has a bag of essentials, including prescription medications and the relevant paperwork.  This is specifically to grab and add to our evacuation kit if the need should ever arise.  In order for the medication not to expire, I constantly use and replace these medications on a weekly basis.

The bottom drawer has an assortment of extra stock such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, and shower caps as well as my hairdryer.

I threw out a few things but this was predominately a cleaning exercise.  I found various sample-sized items as well as some almost empty bottles that simply need to be used up.  I put everything in the container below and will leave it out on the bench to remind us to use them.

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Making and Growing

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It rained almost all day yesterday and today has been a succession of intermittent showers.

I had managed to plant some more seedlings before the rain started.

New snow pea seedlings.

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Eggplant seedlings.

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The climbing beans are thriving and enjoying the trellis.

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Lettuce and bok choy growing quickly.

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GMan created a new bed for the cauliflower seedlings.  It is located where the compost heap was so the soil is particularly good.  As an aside, GMan is working on building new compost bays so there will be more about that before too long.

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Meanwhile I have not been completely lazy.  I made covers for the armrests of the sofa.  On one of them I added a pocket to hold the remote controls.  The fabric I used is the leftovers from the upholstered seats of the dining suite chairs.

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I try to mix the days up with outcome-based activities interspersed with day-to-day housework and periods of complete relaxation.

 

 

Projects and Phone Calls

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A few days ago I posted on my Facebook page that I had cleaned a window.  Yes, one window but it was the large window above the kitchen sink.  One of my Facebook friends (thanks, Helen) commented that she had chosen to undertake some ‘Projects’ during the current self-isolation regime that many of us are currently undertaking.  She noted that projects have no time-frame and do not include regular day-to-day housework.

Yesterday was a very productive day here with a couple of projects completed as well as washing, ironing and some general housework.

I removed everything from the cupboard under the sink and wiped it out with a damp cloth.  I did not declutter anything as that had been done long ago and everything that remains is functional and used.

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Replaced and ready to go.

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Next was the cutlery drawer.  One of the great mysteries of life is how grubby a cutlery drawer can become when the only thing that goes in there is clean cutlery.

Emptied out.

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The plastic divider was washed and dried before replacing it.

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Completed – until next time.

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Today was a completely different story.  There were no projects tackled but I did make and receive numerous phone calls.  Some were planning, others were social calls to extended family and yet another was finalising the rescheduling of a trip to Uluru which we had been unable to undertake due to the current restrictions.  I did manage to fit in a bit of sewing, too.

While I do have a basic daily routine and some projects (large and small) in mind, my achievements vary enormously from day to day.

The Pandemic Pantry – Leftovers

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Last night we had Mexican Quinoa for dinner.  You can find recipe here.  Since that original post, 3 years ago, I have modified it and eliminated the salami, making it a vegetarian dish.  Like many one pan dishes, the quantities are very flexible so you can easily adapt it to the number you are serving.

As I often do, I made more than I needed last night.  Instead of simply reheating for lunches or freezing for a future meal, I decided to make an entirely new dish.

Here is the leftover quinoa and some of the other ingredients.

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I used my basic zucchini quiche recipe with some modifications.  Instead of zucchini I grated 1 large carrot, the leftover quinoa and about a cup of baby spinach which I roughly chopped.  I did not use the onion as there was onion and other flavourings in the quinoa dish.

I would normally serve this with salad but I was inspired by what I had picked from the garden this afternoon.

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The quiche turned out really well.

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Served with balsamic roasted cherry tomatoes and butter beans.

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There is no photo but we finished off the meal with ice-cream and fresh homegrown raspberries.

The Pandemic Pantry – An Experiment

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I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I had set the apple peels and cores aside for another project.

In the interests of wasting nothing, I am experimenting with making apple cider vinegar.  I read and consulted several online recipes before deciding on the exact method to use.

But first I needed some suitable fabric to cover the jars.  I found a scrap of white linen from which to cut circles and I overlocked the edges.

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The peels and cores were packed into the glass jars, covered with water and sugar added.  The covers are held in place with rubber bands.  I labelled them with the details and they are now residing in a rarely-opened cupboard above the oven.

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NOTES:

The apples were organic so pesticide residue is not an issue.

Tonight I found this blog post which has recently been updated and indicates that what I am making should be correctly called Apple Scrap Vinegar.

I will let you know how the experiment turns out in a couple of months.

The Pandemic Pantry – A Windfall

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On Sunday evening a friend contacted me and asked if I would be interested in buying some organic celery and apples from a small business which had to close and was now unable to use the amount they had on hand.  I took 2 large bunches of organic celery and a couple of dozen small green apples which are also organic.

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I had a plan so it was out with the large stockpot which lives on the floor of my pantry and I was ready to make a large quantity of celery soup which is one of our favourites. The recipe below is for 1 regular bunch of celery so I actually multiplied it x 3 as the bunches of celery were huge.

CELERY SOUP

1 bunch of celery
2 medium potatoes
2 medium onions, diced
2 teaspoons vegetable stock powder
Salt and pepper
6 cups (1500ml) water

Wash and roughly chop the celery, including the leaves.  Peel and chop the potatoes.  Lightly saute the onions.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Bring to the boil then simmer until soft – at least 1 hour.  Allow to cool a little then blend until smooth.  Add more water if required to achieve desired consistency.  Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Here it is divided up and ready to freeze.

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This is a cheap and hearty meal when served with crusty bread or cheese scones.

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Then it was time to deal with the apples.  I peeled, cored and stewed them.  They are now packed away in the freezer for future use.

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I set the peels and cores aside for another project but more about that tomorrow.

 

The Pandemic Pantry – Recipes Part 1

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Last night we had a meal which I regard as a great standby as it is created entirely from what what we generally have on hand – pandemic or not.

TUNA MORNAY

The ingredients assembled.

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There are no real quantities as such but the amount I made will serve 4-5 adults.

Make up milk using milk powder.  Fresh milk is fine but if you are trying to make do, reconstituted powdered milk works well in cooking.  I used about 650ml for this recipe.

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Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add enough flour to make a fairly dry roux.  I use gluten free flour but regular wheat flour is perfect if you do not have any allergies or intolerances.

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Gradually add the milk and stir until smooth and thickened.  When using gluten free flour I use a stick blender to aid in the process.

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Add the juice of half a lemon, seasoning and a handful of grated cheese.  You can add about half a teaspoon of prepared mustard if you have it.

Add a large can of tuna (drained and flaked) and 3/4 cup frozen peas and 3/4 cup corn kernels.  I used frozen, homegrown corn but canned corn works equally as well.

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Here is some brown rice which I had cooked last week and frozen so it was simply reheated.  I do this in a glass dish in the microwave and add about 1/2 cup of water.

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Dinner is served.  This dish does not get points for visual appeal but it will feed empty tummies.

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Something which we should consider at any time but it is particularly important when popping to the shops is not really an option – food waste.  Therefore, at times like this we should be making a real effort to use everything we are fortunate enough to have.

This is the principle behind the meal I have planned for tonight.  It does not have a name but for the purpose of indexing it, I will call it:

EGGPLANT NOODLES WITH PESTO

1 large eggplant – julienned using V-slicer
Curly kale – finely shredded
1 tub of basil pesto dip
1/3 tub ricotta

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I chose and prepared all of the ingredients this morning.  The pesto had been purchased for another purpose and not used and the ricotta left over from the Eggplant Lasagne Rolls that I made a couple of days ago.  I will do a separate post about that recipe.

The method I will use is:

Lightly saute eggplant and set aside a keep warm.  Saute kale until wilted then add ricotta and pesto.  Stir through eggplant noodles and serve.

I think this sounds good and hope it lives up to expectation.

 

 

 

The Pandemic Pantry

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…………and refrigerator and freezer.

There are several reasons why we may need to be able to create meals from what we have on hand rather than rushing off to the shops for a particular ingredient. During the current pandemic there is a chance that any of us may be quarantined or supply lines disrupted.

Therefore, it is beneficial to maintain a selection of shelf-stable goods that can form the basis of basic meals.  A refrigerator allows us to keep perishable foods but during times like this it may not be possible to restock perishable items on a regular basis.  Finally, a freezer can be useful for storage of a variety of foods, including processing gluts of fruit and vegetables.  These may be sourced from your own garden or when you have taken advantage of seasonal bargains.

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Tonight we had a large shared serving of nachos.  Corn chips and canned tomatoes from the pantry teamed with a jar of refried beans from the freezer and some grated cheddar cheese and we had a filling meal.  I make the refried beans from dried kidney beans.  The recipe is here.  They are really versatile and can be used in a number of ways.

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We do not usually have dessert every night so this was a bit of a treat.  We currently have an abundance of eggs from our chickens as well as a steady supply of lemons and the oven would be turned on for the nachos…………..so, I made a Lemon Delicious pudding.  It is a relatively simple combination of butter, sugar, flour and milk along with the eggs and lemon.  Recipe is here

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What is in your pantry?

 

 

 

 

Making a Mask

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**DISCLAIMER**  Everything written in this post is based on my experience and the best information I can source.  It is general information only and should not be taken as medical fact.

If you had seen this blog title a year ago you would have assumed that I had an invitation to a masquerade ball.  Fast forward to March 2020 and many of us are thinking of some sort of protective mask.  A couple of months ago in Australia, it was bushfire smoke and now it is coronavirus.

Wearing a mask is no substitute for practising ‘social distancing’ which means keeping a minimum distance of 1.5 metres between yourself and any other person when you are out in public or preferably, staying at home as much as possible.

A homemade, cotton fabric mask does not offer the same level of protection as masks manufactured as ‘fit for purpose’.

This article lists different types of masks and their intended purpose, cost and effectiveness as well as some general information on mask-wearing and control measures.

Due to the extent of the coronavirus outbreak, masks seem to be in short supply and people for whom they are not necessary or recommended should not be buying them.

If I don’t need to be wearing a mask why did I make some?

  • I am currently healthy but that may change
  • I will not feel like making masks if I am ill
  • A cotton mask worn correctly will reduce my risk if I have to leave my home for essential tasks
  • Wearing a mask will remind me not to touch my face when I am in public
  • A mask is a visual reminder to others to keep their distance

How to wear/use a mask:

  • Wear it once
  • Wear it over your mouth and nose – not around your neck or on top of your head
  • For maximum effectiveness masks should be changed every 20 minutes or after sneezing, coughing or talking
  • Handle only by the elastic/ties when removing after use
  • Disposable masks should be discarded as soon as removed
  • Reusable masks should be contained immediately in a lidded bucket, thoroughly washed and dried in sunlight

So, you want to make masks for you and your family?

There are many, many links, instructions and tutorials.  Like all instructions, they vary enormously in the detail and quality.  Furthermore, some do not look as though the finished product would be of any use at all while others are so complex that they would be beyond they capability of many people.

As a retired operating room nurse, I am very familiar with the general size and construction of a mask as I wore one every day of my working life for over 30 years.  Therefore, I had several features in mind which I felt would make it as effective as possible under the circumstances:

  • Ties instead of elastic loops
  • Pleats to assist in contouring it to my face
  • Wire to conform over the bridge of the nose
  • Several layers of fabric
  • Tightly woven cotton fabric for the outer layer

I found this link which met my criteria.

I made 2 alterations to what is in the instructions:

  • The ties on my mask are only 36 inches in length rather than the 54 inches recommended.  That was the length of bias binding I had available and it works well for me.  You need to be guided by the size of the head of the intended wearer but you definitely do not want to be hampered by excessively long ties.
  • I added an additional layer to make a total of 3 – outer layer is a strong, tightly-woven cotton, middle layer is very fine, lightweight cotton and the inner layer (next to my face) is used cotton sheeting which is very soft and non-irritant.

The fabric you choose is important.  A tightly woven outer layer will provide the best physical barrier while the inner layer should be soft and comfortable against your skin.  If you add an extra layer keep it fairly lightweight otherwise it will be too bulky and sewing the pleats will be difficult.

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I bought a roll of plant tie wire from Bunnings for the wire to conform over the bridge of the nose but any plastic-coated twist tie would be suitable.  Be sure to turn the ends over and flatten them.

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Remember, a mask may be an adjunct in preventing the spread of COVID19 when used properly and in conjunction with effective handwashing and keeping your distance as far as possible.

The better a mask fits, the more effective it will be.  It must completely cover your mouth and nose at all times when you are wearing it.  A neat fit, without being tight, over the bridge of your nose, under your chin and in front of your ears is desired.

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Please take care and stay safe.