Companion planting

This gorgeous cauliflower is HUGE. About four times the size of my hand. I companion plant, I always have. Not because of the greeny reasons (better plants, less pests etc) but due to space. Anyone following my blog for a while will see that no matter how much garden I have it is never enough. So I squash veggies in amongst flowers and roses and vice versa. I love the surprises it brings. 

I am an avid user of NZ Gardeners weekly electronic newsletter - Get Growing. The advice is good, there is interesting detail and I have adapted a lot in my garden due to their tips etc. I am now an avid follower of gardening by the moon cycle. But I disagree with an article they published last week about companion planting. They said "do not put brassica's with strawberry plants". Well in all the time I have gardened I find that my brassicas do best in a strawberry bed and so does garlic. 

The top photos is a huge cauli, just picked for tonight's dinner, grown in the strawberry patch. The cauli underneath is a variety called side sprouting. I thought it would give me a big heart and then do the side sprouts. But no, you can see a big heart developing and side sprouts at the same time. Now that is my idea of maximising space in the garden!

Family Food Friday - easy chicken soup

This food post really is about how to make homemade soup without the hassle of chicken bones etc.

I am guessing that most people do not need a recipe for soup, just the tips that make it easy. So I fry off diced onion, carrot and celery. Then I add enough water to fill my pot and grate in any left over veges that are just hanging around in the fridge (you know the ones that end up in the compost bin). Any leftover roast pumpkin etc is good too. This chicken soup is very yellow as I also grated in fresh tumeric when frying the onions. I love barley so I always add that to soups, but lentils are good too.

Instead of putting the chicken carcass or bones (always leftover from either a roast or a hot chicken you bought at the supermarket last night when you were in a rush for dinner), straight in the water I put a sieve into the soup pot and put the bones etc in that. Then when the soup is ready you just lift out the sieve and you are done. No mess, no bones left behind but the full flavour of the chicken is in the pot.

When the bones have cooled for five minutes you can remove any chicken from them and put that back in the pot.

I link to these places.

A Scandi Christmas

For ages I have been meaning to make a banner - In a Scandinavian style - using reclaimed linen shirt (leftover from my hat) and red thread. So far I have a N and part of a O. I am beginning to think that it will not turn out how I had intended. But I will persist.

Goodies on the washing line

I managed to get in a little stop at an Op Shop the other day (thrift shop for some of you). I found some 60's and 70's sheets for just $2 each. The pink flowery one was a double and brand new, from someone cleaning out a house I presume. It was all starched and stiff.

I have great dreams of using these for pretty tea dresses. Still haven't made the other sheets into anything so we will see.....

The best cyclone ever

We headed to Fiji under threat of a cyclone, I am so into holidaying in a cyclone!! 33 deg Celsius every day. Amazing place to stay. Got seriously caught out with the heat and Sun though. A day trip out to an island and swimming in the sea all day has left me feeling like the worst parent ever. The boys got serious sunburn on their shoulders. For the first time ever I am more than looking forward to a day of rain

A finish - upcycling via the sewing table

Yay, I started and finished something in the same day. A hat. Just in time to head off to Fiji.

I have been meaning to make another hat for summer and think about it often (the last three summers!!). So finally realising my hat was in the caravan and I needed to pack for the tropics, I pulled out an old linen shirt and started cutting.

I used McCalls 2163 with a huge amount of adaption. I quilted the top of the head piece and the brim. Made the brim wider, did not follow their instructions - all the typical behaviour of someone who does not want to be told what to do!!

I am so thrilled with it that I have already pulled out an another linen shirt - in black - and have cut out a new one already. More alterations than before. So there will be another update (soon I hope).

Now on to finishing all those headbands for Christmas.....
I link to these places.

Family Food Friday - Banana's

I am always on the lookout for a bargain when it comes to any grocery. Often though with fruit and vege it is difficult as they are cheap due to age and the need to use now. The bargain of the month for me was yesterday. I stopped at the fruit, vege and meat market on the way home and could hardly contain my joy. $5 for a 20kg box of bananas (or you could buy them for $2.99 per kilo) and $5 for a box of yellow tamarillos.

Even the lady at the checkout could not understand what you could do with all that, getting ripe quickly, fruit. So it was cheap as they were sold as old, or euphemistically, "salad bananas". 

But even if you do nothing except give them away and keep three kg for yourself it is still cheaper than buying by the bunch.

So first I gave some bunches to my relatives. Then I skinned and broke up bananas and onto a tray. This went in the freezer. We have a smoothie machine and bananas just make all smoothies much smoother and creamier. As it is coming into summer the kids will be able to take a piece of banana from the freezer to make the smoothie colder.

Then I made a huge pile of banana muffins, using every muffin container that I had. Super quick and easy and diary free. These also go in the freezer for school lunches. We make our lunches the night before. So get one out of the freezer, into your lunchbox, how easy!!

I have still some leftovers but I am taking 5kg to church tomorrow as we have a pot luck lunch and they have asked for fruit and veges.

I feel satisfied, thrifty and virtuous. What a great start to the weekend (now all I have to do is tackle the tamarillos - why do we call them tree tomatoes?)

I link to these places

It's a finish and some flowers

Well I have decided that the little projects, which can be finished easily, are the things to do as I try to balance my life working, being a mum, participating in our family and all the other stuff I want to cram in. This little project is inspired by a blogger on the other side of the world, who I follow, Tiina. She makes the most amazing zip bags all the time.

This is going to be filled with "perk me up" items for a lovely young lady going to university. Any suggestions for what to put into it? I have been focussed on food and need to think of other fun things. 

If you follow the blogs of other NZ and Australians, you will start to see the photos of spring coming in. Love love the huge variety of daffodils.

Linking to these places.

Back into sewing

It has taken a long time for me to feel like sewing again. But lots of things are sorted so now I feel I am on a roll. Signed a new contract at work, sorted my sewing room and read a really inspiring article about just making changes by 1%. So am attempting to sew just for half an hour a day.

I finished these two blocks last night and quilted them. They will be a zip pouch for a lovely young lady who is going to Medical School next year. We will miss her. sigh. Anyway, am feeling more inspired with the little bit of sewing and a bit more exercise in my day.

I link to these places.

Family Fun

On the weekend the boys made the biggest hut ever!! The entire lounge was gone. I got shot while I was taking these shots. Then I was informed they had a food hatch and biscuits and chips would be acceptable, 

It was hard getting photos due to being shot all the time. So I went outside and took a photo from the outside in. The boys had not thought about the winder and it was quite funny.

We all went to the Cheviot spring festival. I stayed behind as I was attending a gardening lecture. The boys went over to Gore Bay and got soaking wet and had a fab boys day. 

Making toast and drinking hot apple cider. 

Playing dodgem with the waves, the waves won!! 

Headbands - Christmas is coming

I have found this YouTube video on making headbands and they are soooooooo simple.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_IYc0nlejI&feature=youtu.be

The reason that it is about Christmas coming is this. This year the family Christmas is at our house and I have decided that everyone's present is a home made Christmas Cracker. What goes in a Cracker? The noisy thing, a toy, a joke, and a hat. So I decided to make headbands for all the females as their "hat". So still a few to go!!! But so easy. Get your bag of scraps.

I ironed them straight onto the interfacing rather than cutting separately as the video does.

Sew two sides together and put in the elastic. Sew Simple!!!

Linking to these places