Mindful Monday #1...

 It's Monday, almost 6pm and I'm waiting for hubby to come home from work, so I thought it would be nice to write a short post, encouraging you in your own new week. 

I like Mondays, they feel as though I've taken a deeper breath, my attitude excited about what the day has to hold within the home and garden after the slower rythym of our weekend. I wrote a short to-do list after breakfast, and apart from the daily sweeping of floors, a load of washing, making the bed, cleaning the loo, and doing the dishes, today I focused on preparing some food and moving the large bookcase back in to the front entrance.

Last week I baked a really yummy slice, Berry and Apple, but forgot to show you...

...and I took a photo of the recipe in case you wanted to try it. 

I didn't have any buttermilk, so I just used normal milk with a teaspoon of vinegar to sour it. Works a treat. 

My husband isn't a fan of cake, but he loves a good crunchy biscuit (cookie) or a slice. I'm very much a slice girl, and I regularly try different ones from my older cookbooks as they have simpler steps. And they taste good. Always important. 

Today I chose to make an old favourite from one of my favourite retro cookbooks, which first caught my eye (whilst posting a parcel) at the local post office and which I have lovingly cherished for about ten years now.

It's a Raspberry Coconut Slice, and is a family favourite, especially when we have a glut of berry jam to finish. Normally I make it with raspberry jam because that's my second favourite jam (plum is number one), but today I used the last jar of strawberry jam in my pantry. Soon the price of fresh strawberries will drop and I can make up loads more jam to see us through the next year. 

Whilst I was taking these photos, I picked up the book by the edge and the cover slipped off. Now, in ten years I had never removed the cover...but what a beautiful find underneath! So wonderfully vintage, like old floral curtains of the 40s and 50s...

Tomorrow I will trim, fertilise and water all the indoor plants, then dig up the little volunteer seedlings from our pink Ixora in the garden and pop them in some good soil and new pots to get established over the coming spring. I also need to fertilise and mulch around the row of chrysanthemums near the front walkway before hubby installs a white picket fence which he's been working on for me. 

Before the hard heat returns around October, I want to spend as much time as I can in the garden, bringing some of my many garden dreams to life. 

Just like in the garden, all sorts of seasons come and go in a regular procession, and each one has its purpose. My very ordinary life has seasons too, and after many decades rushing through them, now I like to savour every day, every little moment, because today will never come again, so why would I want to pass it by so thoughtlessly? 

When you're in that autumn season of life, one of the four big seasons of aging, there's more behind you than in front, and that makes each golden sunrise, and every orange-red sunset all the more miraculous...all the more a gift to be grateful for. I thank God for my life, for the family He blessed me with, for a mind that is always learning, a heart that seems to hold more love this year than last, and His hand which gently reaches out to slow me down a little more as my years increase. Funny that, the years pass with increased swiftness, yet my day to day life quietly slows, whilst my appreciation for all that's been given by His grace, is magnified.

Have a lovely week my friends, embrace the moments, hug lots, listen to the birds, sit outside and close your eyes awhile to just be still. Eat something delicious, read a good book, rearrange a room, sing out loud, smile at everyone you meet...and give thanks to God. 

Hugs

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Last week of July...

 It was indeed a full week. The kind that can catch you off your guard in more ways than one. It began with days slightly cooler than we've had this winter, and they were just what was needed to refresh body and soul before the soon-to-return tropical heat. 

But little Charlie, just 31 months old, who had been battling fevers that came and went with increasing lethargy over the few days previous, ended up in hospital on Tuesday. He went downhill on Monday night and the doctor thought it was a blood infection so after being rushed into Emergency early Tuesday morning, he was monitored through the day, and once his fever was back down Blossom (who had barely slept for days) and Ross were advised to take him home to continue recovering from what was now believed to be influenza. Apparently the paediatric wards in our hospital were overflowing with babies and small children battling Influenza A or B, and RSV, so it was deemed safer for him to be at home. We only have a few paediatricians in Townsville (the waiting list to see them can be two years) and I can only imagine the strain that puts on parents, and our doctors and nurses in Paediatric wards. 

I called on my two prayer partners (all the way over in the USA) Allie and Susan, and more friends prayed after I posted on Instagram. What a blessing to have so many praying for our little fellow and all the children still in hospital. Charlie is continuing to recover well, and we are praising God for His faithfulness again...as if we can ever praise Him enough, for He is faithful day by day. 

Also this past week:

One afternoon I was out in the yard taking the washing off the line and glanced over to my right where a visitor had arrived...a Muscovy duck! Perhaps you don't know, but birds are a true delight to my heart and when I am in the midst of trials, or weariness, or extended seasons of deep prayer, God uses birds to remind me He is watching and that I can be sure He is working in the midst of every situation. This past week having a Muscovy spend two hours in my company before flying off into the sunset was a miraculous example of the Father's care - for I had never before seen a Muscovy duck in real life. 

The next day I was outside tending the garden, continuing to pray for Charlie and also for the rest of Blossom's family (who were exhibiting symptoms of head colds) when one of my favourite little birds, a Willie Wagtail, came to visit. He was sitting atop the wire on one end of the raised garden bed....

...and he stayed for ages while I chatted away to him. Of course, maybe it was Mrs Willie, and I did say that in my one-way conversation with this precious visitor, but no matter, my little friend didn't seem to mind, just happily wagging his tail feathers to and fro for my delight. 

On my to-do list for ages has been to write up an inventory of everything in our pantries, especially the small one in hubby's study, and the one in our linen cupboard. The main pantry (below) will come last because it's mostly full of the items we use weekly like baking staples, rice, pasta, spices, oil, condiments etc. and my bread machine.

The little pantry shelving inside my husband's study is wedged between our second fridge and his gun safe, a position which attracts more dust bunnies than anywhere else in the house. When I buy up on long term items after seeing them on special at a really good price, I just got into the habit of putting them anywhere I could find space, so it was very important that I took time one day to remove everything, clean the space, line the shelves (at last!) and then put everything back in sensible categories.

Here's the dusty awful before photos (excuse the photo quality as it's a dark shadowy room)...

I removed everything and prepared a notebook to write down exactly what we had in that pantry, how many of each, and what we needed to stock up on...

...and listened to my latest audio book while I worked away.  This is the third book in the series, set in 1923 after the Great War, with two wonderfully different and endearing main characters, Beryl and Edwina. There's a touch of Marple in the stories, so as I have now officially read/heard all of Agatha Christie's books (some twice) this series has definitely helped to fill my mystery book gap. 

Now for the 'after' photos.

The shelf lining has certainly brightened the area, but more importantly, everything is in it's right place at last, and I can easily plan meals for those occasional weeks when I like to "shop from the pantry and freezer and garden" to save on grocery expenses during a tight week. I do in fact think this is a wise habit anyhow, for we need to use what we have on a regular basis and not just store more and more and more without checking use-by dates. 

As much as possible I like to make everything from scratch - stewed fruits, jams, tomato products, pesto, yoghurt, bread, soups, broths, and even our milk (cashew and almond milk being our favourites), but life can be unpredictable so having basic meal items on hand like this means that if for any reason I have no time to cook from scratch, other options are on hand. This is also why I keep a supply of home baked breads and muffins in our freezer...oh my, these are so handy for easy breakfasts or a side plate. 

Lately I have been baking a large focaccia every Sunday (I have shown photos of the various ones from the past few weeks in previous posts) and I divide it into three. We enjoy a third that night for dinner and use some of it for my husband's work lunch the next day. Two portions go into the freezer. One of those portions will be defrosted and served with soup one night later in the week, and the final portion stays in the freezer so that we always have some on hand when needed. 

Yesterday was Sunday, my busiest day in the kitchen, and I decided to play around with a new focaccia topping...well, it was a success, so delicious! I added grapes, pine nuts, rosemary and celtic sea salt before baking. 

I think this is the best one I have made...in fact I am eating a tiny leftover corner from last night as I type this blog post. Having never roasted grapes before, this will be repeated many times in the future.

In the garden we've had an infestation of green vegetable bugs through the tomatoes. I catch them and squash them every day whilst picking ripe tomatoes, but the past few days their population increased dramatically so I decided to pick every single tomato off the vines. The ripe ones will be added to the mountain of ripe ones already on the kitchen benchtop and I'll use them for salads, fresh tomato and onion chutney, and as a quick pasta sauce.

But we had loads of green tomatoes...

...so they have now been washed, chopped finely along with onion and salt, and left to sit overnight. When I finish this post I'll drain them and begin the process of cooking a nice batch of Green Tomato Relish, which I'll preserve for use over the next year. Last year I made Green Tomato Chutney, but we prefer a relish so I've got a good old recipe to try from my 1959 Queensland CWA cookbook. 

Hubby used a natural pest spray on the tomato vines after I removed all the fruit, and we pray the next flush of tomatoes on them won't attract as many bugs. 

Yesterday, while the focaccia was going through the first and second rise, I made four jars of jam using some frozen berries and cherries that I'd bought for half price around Christmas. That's another thing with stocking up - frozen fruit and meat and vegetables and bread etc only last a certain period of time, not forever, especially here in the tropics. I try to look and see what needs using up a few times a month and then shop from my freezer. By doing that I free up space for any new bargains I find, or for freezing bulk meals I've made, breads, muffins, fruit etc. 

I'm going to rest today as much as possible after doing the basics of washing and tidying, making relish and gathering vegetables from the garden. The past week was full on and my Fitbit attests to that, but it's not good to have those kinds of weeks back to back if you can help it. Intentionally slowing whenever possible is life-giving, so I will pick up a book, brew a cuppa and go sit under the poinciana tree for a bit as it's a wonderfully relaxing place this time of year...

....before looking for hidden beauties to pick and display in a vase on my desk. 

I was asked to share how I make nut milks, so I'll do that next week because I can only take photos of one kind of milk at a time (when I make them). 

Other requests were for the recipes I've used for Cypriot Pitta Bread and Focaccia. Both of those are on Paul Hollywood's website HERE and HERE (I make one large focaccia, not two smaller ones).  

I'll be back in a couple of days with the next Virtuous Wife BOM pattern. Oh, and over the past couple of weeks I've added ten more patterns to my Etsy Shop, so if you wanted to browse pop over here. 

I'm also currently working on designs for a brand new Stitchery Club in my spare time (you can hear me laughing, right?)...well, I'm making spare time cause I'm intentionally slowing, and there's something rather relaxing about working on a new piece of fabric with needle and thread in the evening or during that hour of rest each afternoon before taking washing off the line and starting dinner. All I really want now is a new chicken coop and some more chickens so I can slow down even more. Birds you know? They have that effect on me. 

God bless you all, and may your own week be one where you see the kind and faithful hand of God working in your life, even in the very smallest of ways. Look around you and be amazed...look up and give thanks. :-)

Hugs

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Food, sewing, home...

 Though our winter is proving to be warmer than usual with days around 29C (85F) and nights of 18C (65F), it's a lovely change from constant air conditioning most of the year, to just the ceiling fans switched on at midday. The garden is blooming, and each day we harvest a little bit more than the day before, so salads are a constant on the menu, especially for lunch. This is definitely the best season of the year in the tropics of northern Australia! 

Food...

I've really enjoyed being in the kitchen each day, preparing mostly items which are natural, healthy and very budget friendly - but a few sweet treats have been made as well! 

We rarely use dairy milk, so for ages I have made my own almond milk because it's my husband's favourite. Two litres of homemade almond milk costs me $1.10, and contains nothing more than almonds, water and a teaspoon of maple syrup - delicious! Two litres of shop bought almond milk costs $6 for the cheapest brand. I also make cashew milk, and oat milk, and coconut milk. 

Cashew milk costs around $3.30 for two litres of homemade; oat milk costs me 35c to make two litres (that's right!); and coconut milk costs me 90c to make two litres. Every one of these non-dairy milks is delicious and way cheaper than store bought. 

I'm also baking bread regularly again, and finally was able to buy wheat grains for my grain mill. This is such a blessing when it comes to healthy tasty bread, and saves us heaps on store bought bread. I've also been back to making sour dough bread, in fact, a few different ways. I have two recipes for a quick sour dough loaf, and another recipe for the two-day version. All of them are yummy and work each time.

I also made a few jars of strawberry and apple jam, our family favourite, and delicious spread over fresh baked bread or on scones. The strawberry and apple jam I made was inspired by the two bags of frozen strawberries in our freezer. Fresh strawberries are really expensive now, and our supply of homemade jams was dwindling, so when I was "shopping from the freezer" one day and remembered those frozen bags of fruit, I very quickly got to work and made more jam. It's so yum, and so easy. 

I knead my doughs in the breadmaker, then tip them out for the final knead and rise before baking in bread tins - because we like bread to be easy to slice for sandwiches and toast. Have I ever told you that my hubby's favourite treat is cheese and vegemite on toast? He prefers this to anything else for his Sunday evening dinner.

The quick loaf below was made with a sour dough starter, and some added yeast to move the process along. I also added sunflower seeds and sesame seeds as this was to mainly be a toasting loaf and those seeds in the crust make the crunchy edges of toast taste amazing. In the photo it's completed the first rise in the breadmaker and I'm just about to tip it out and form into a long loaf for the second rise before baking in the oven. 

I know there are many sour dough purists out there, and if I lived in a climate that was perfect for sour dough year round I'd 'maybe' become one of them (nah, I wouldn't) but in reality we must work with what we have, whether that be climate, ingredients, finances, skills, time or equipment. Never feel bad about how you make or bake if it's different to what's popular. ENJOY your time in the kitchen, and you'll make everyone at home very happy with what you serve them. 

We've had an abundance of cucumbers so far and doing a refrigerator pickle for salads and wraps and sandwiches is the perfect way to use them up. Our capsicums are growing but not yet ready for picking so I bought a huge bag of red "odd bunch" capsicums for $6 the other day and pickled a lot of them too - the rest was sliced and frozen foe cooking in recipes. 

Being creative to save money is wonderful because you can always find new ways to use ingredients that may otherwise be thrown into the compost, worm farm, or to the chickens. I had planted out French carrot seeds a couple of months ago, but the carrots did not grow - and it was all my fault because I crowded the seeds into a large rectangular container and neglected to thin them out in time. However, the carrot tops were long and lush! So I decided to make carrot top pesto with cashews, nutritional yeast (you could replace with parmesan), garlic, lemon juice and olive oil...

...and it is YUM! I spread it across toast, on crackers, in wraps, and over the top of eggs for breakfast. Last year I made radish top pesto and it was delicious too...I may try beetroot green pesto soon. Honestly, don't waste the green tops of your root veg.

We've got kale growing now, and though not a vegetable we like, it is quite delicious when dehydrated with a good splash of olive oil, and a generous serve of my cashew parmesan. Two year old Charlie David devours this, as do I.

Now to sweeties. Hubby prefers biscuits (cookies) so I've baked jam drops again...

...as well as apple gingerbread for a dessert...

...banana, date and ginger loaf for afternoon teas...

...and another fat-free apricot cake, which I served with a Greek yoghurt sauce. I simply pureed more apricots with the yoghurt in a blender and poured it over the cake. 

As well as all this, in the past two weeks I've made a Lemon Delicious Pudding (a real throwback to the 80's), a south Indian peppered chicken curry (new to me recipe), and regular 'normal' meals that seem to rotate through the month. I cook mostly now with what's in season, or what I have on hand. Every Monday I clean out our two fridges and write a list of ingredients or condiments that need to be used up that week. From there I plan our menu and only buy necessary items from the shops. 

Sewing has really taken a back seat to gardening and cooking this winter, and I am yet to make a start on the crochet blanket I bought the yarn for last December. But that's okay. Who said we have to do it all, now, right now?? It used to be a conversation that ran often in my head, but these days I've learned to slow down, pottering about more, picking up this, putting down that, sitting in the quiet with a cup of freshly picked herbs steeped in boiling water while I watch the birds or read a book under the shade of our huge poinciana tree. 

Slow Sewing...

I completed a new design on Saturday. In the past this would have been made from start to finish is less than a week, but it's taken more than a month, and you know, to me this is the kind of 'slow stitching' I am looking forward to as the months and years pass. Unhurried sewing is very different to the schedule I'd followed since I first became a designer in 2009. Unhurried sewing is pure pleasure, with a mostly home-based purpose.

The kitchen island my husband bought me at a garage sale needed something on top, and that's what inspired me to sketch and prepare and sew a new design. The top of the kitchen island is 22" square, and the completed topper is 21.5" square so the wood can just peep out from under the edges. 

Before adding the binding, after I'd completed the hand quilting...

Four corners, all the same...

Sitting just as I imagined on top of the movable wooden island.

Home...

Home really is the place I love to be, tending the garden, creating healthy food, caring for all the Lord has blessed us with, praying with gratitude for all we have and the people who dwell within or visit, being conscious to create an atmosphere of welcome, security and comfort, infusing our dwelling place with the scent of Christ. 

The older I get the more I appreciate what's right in front of me today. If I think too much about tomorrow, the delights of this day will pass me by, and what a sad thing that would be. Gentleness comes easier these days, as does being quiet longer in order to hear what my loved ones have to say...and I find this especially important with 5yo Rafaella, who is a deep thinker, a real introvert, a little girl who should not be rushed along as she has big thoughts and needs time to put them into words. I am learning from my grandchildren as God rubs away my previously 'adult edges' which didn't listen enough to the little ones. And it really all comes down to getting off the hurry-hurry-highway this world encourages us to follow, and meandering along the gentler paths, the real paths, which offer a mor peaceful, gentler and kinder attitude to life. No wonder Jesus told us to become more like little children. :-)

God bless dear ones, and I will see you again on July 1st with the next free Virtuous Wife embroidery pattern. May this new week overflow with every good and marvellous joy the Lord has to offer, and may He always draw you closer to the One who loved you with His perfect sacrifice.

hugs

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