Suburban Life – Page 2 – MakeCookGrow.com

Plastics and Autism, Lemons and Printing

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plastics and autism

Plastics have made so many aspects of our lives easy and disposable. But there is a dark side to plastics, too. The Florey Institute has just released the results from a decade long study clearly connecting a biological pathway between autism spectrum disorder and BPA (the plastic chemical bisphenol A). Boys are particularly affected by BPA. It can disrupt male fetal development.

Autism is defined as a neurodevelopment disorder with a wide spectrum of cognitive and behavioural changes. The research has shown that high BPA exposure suppresses aromatase, a key brain development enzyme. This has been noted particularly in males and has been linked to an increased likelihood of autism.

Image Pixabay

BPA is found in packaging, food and drink containers, cosmetics, even some foods, such as chewing gum. Common items with this plastic are food packaging, water dispensers, reusable plastic drink bottles, plastic wrap, takeaway cups, waterproof clothing, kitchenware and even sunscreen. Plastic makes these products stronger and more durable. There are many reusable alternatives.

lemons

No risk of scurvy in this house! The lemons are plentiful this year and we’ve been enjoying them in both sweet and savoury dishes. We had leftover lemon juice after I’d prepared dinner but my husband had a solution. It went into a glass with a generous splash of gin. Very nice, apparently.

The Lemon Chicken I normally make is a Greek recipe. This recipe has an Asian flavoured sauce, which was a lovely change. I served it with the pieces of lemon from the roasting dish but my husband found them too strong. I really enjoyed the intense flavour. Also, I used maple syrup rather than honey. I served it on mashed potatoes but rice would be good, too, except I don’t eat rice.

https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/recipes/easy-lemon-chicken

One lemon provides about 31mg vitamin C which is 51% of the recommended daily intake. Vitamin C reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke, as does their fibre and plant compounds. Vitamin C plus citric acid, both in lemons, may help prevent anemia by aiding the absorption of iron. And they smell wonderful!

Also made these Lemon Crackle Biscuits. I omitted the desiccated coconut from the mix, so the biscuits were softer and spread out. They were delicious!

https://author-p35852-e148706.adobeaemcloud.com/shop/recipes/lemon-crackle-biscuits

We had leftover Lemon Chicken for lunch. Added mashed potato, carrots with mint and butter and baby beans. I also had leftover apples I wanted to use before we shopped again. Made an Apple Slice recipe which was easy and tasted great. The recipe actually states ‘green apples’ but I took a risk and used red apples. The slice was very good. Ran out of raw brown sugar so also used some brown sugar.

Visitors so I made a Lemon Cake which also had lemon flavoured icing and Brownies, no lemon at all!

printing

Our local library closes this afternoon and will be relocated to another building in the future. I have played mahjong there for years and also was part of an art group. We don’t know if we will be accommodated in the new venue. So we were just finishing off some printing projects this afternoon.

I had been very disappointed with the crispness of my previous prints. I cut a new plate, using the inside lining of a long life milk carton. I spent a lot of time pressing the image into the foil to ensure a crisp edge. Then I printed it in blue a few times and finally, in black. Quite pleased with the final monoprint. I have a piece of lino ready for my next project so will be drawing, carving and printing with lino.

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Literacy and Numeracy Week, Printing and Reading

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literacy and numeracy week

Celebrated on 29th -4th September, this week recognises that literacy and numeracy are the cornerstones of learning. The most recent OECD Program for International Student Assessment reveals more than half Australian students fail to reach proficiency standards in maths and 43% fail to become proficient in reading. Australian students are four years behind Singaporian students in maths and more than two years behind in reading and science.

The report also grades Australian classrooms as amongst the most disruptive ( in terms of disorder and noise.) We rank 71 out of 81! This makes me question the role of ‘student- centric learning’, the fashion of recent years. The teacher is seen as a guide or partner in the child’s education, not as a responsible adult familiar with educational philosophy. Education moved from a system based on knowledge, facts and experience to one based on political ideology.

This appalling information was published around the same time as the Australian Education Union rejected the Victorian Education Minister’s directive that all school in that state would employ the explicit teaching of phonics for a minimum of 25 minutes a day. The union says this displays a breathtaking disregard for teachers and advised their members to ignore it. Phonics is one of the most efficient and powerful ways for children to learn to read and spell.

Countries performing well according to statistics, employ ‘old fashioned’ educational styles. The slightest errors (eg. forgetting a pen) can result in demerits (two equal detention). The students sit up straight, all facing the front. Strict and explicit teaching methods, walking quietly between classes and being prepared plus greeting teachers politely are some of the criteria putting the children at these schools in the highest performing levels. Many are in disadvantaged areas. There is enormous parental support for these schools.

(Some of these figures are taken from an article written by Colleen Harkin, published 31 July 2024.) https://www.spectator.com.au/author/colleen-harkin

printing

Following the felting activity last week, I did a printing session this week. No, not learning upper and lower case letter formation! We created a template from a milk carton, inked it, pressed paper over the template then rubbed the paper to transfer the image onto the paper. Basic but satisfying activity.

Not really pleased with my print but next week will refine the activity.

reading

Piglet, by Lottie Hazell, was a very popular book earlier this year. Now I’ve read it, too. This is the story of Kit and Piglet getting married. Thirteen days before the wedding Kit reveals an awful truth ( it’s never actually named, but you imagine infidelity). They go ahead. They’ve bought and decorated a house, planned a honeymoon, sorted the flowers, the feast, her parents have paid for the wedding gown and all is set to go.

I was very surprised at the complex planning that goes into a grand wedding and the cost. Do the bride’s parents still pay for the wedding? This wedding was very grand until Piglet, the bride, realised at the altar she didn’t want to go ahead. The dream was spoilt. What happened next was pretty awful.

Piglet is a successful publisher of cookery books and I wondered what she was called at work. Her family, his family and all their friends called her Piglet, or Pig. Her family called her that as a child because she had a healthy appetite. Awkward name for an adult. Her younger sister was anorexic. This is a story about appetite and ambition.

I can see why it was a popular bookclub book. Feisty discussions, I’m sure!

I also read Sally Hepworth’s Darling Girls. We follow the lives of several girls in a toxic foster house. A sobering book but it does have a happy ending. I’ve read other books by Hepworth, an Australian author. This is a thrilling psychological murder story. Hepworth apparently interviewed social workers, psychologists, police, lawyers and foster families before writing this book. I read it in a day and a half. Not much else got done.

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Making Felt and Seasonal Vegetables

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making felt

I enrolled in a FELT MAKING course. I’ve made felt before but it was a long time ago. We were given 30g of wool. We set up our work places and began teasing our skeins of wool into small pieces. We created a square of five layers of the wool, each layer place in opposite directions, teased out and overlapping each other. We were shown how thick the finished piece should be and how to tidy the edges. Then we rolled the square onto a sushi mat and covered it in a sheet of plastic to create a sausage. Then we rolled this back and forward.

Teasing the wool into thin sections, each overlapping to create a square. We created five layers.

We all worked on the same project.

The wool was rolled many, many times to make the felt.

In the second session we unrolled our fabric, covered it in a piece of tulle, drizzled some liquid soap onto it, sprayed it with water and began rubbing it with a scrunched up soft plastic bag. After rubbing it repeatedly, we rolled it up and secured it, then rolled it backwards and forwards on a hard surface about one hundred times. Uncovered the felt, washed it repeatedly in warm water, then ‘bashed’ it on the draining board. Rinsed it after multiple ‘smashings’ on the draining board.

By now the piece of felt had shrunk and was quite compressed. Later I washed the rest of the soap out then ironed it with a steam iron. Finished!

seasonal vegetables

Our green grocer only sells seasonal vegetables. This suits us as it generally means the produce was grown nearby. I’d decided to stir fry some vegetables to go with some salmon and wanted Chinese cabbage. The Chinese cabbages were really fresh and attractive, but were being sold in lots of four. I only needed two for dinner but ended up with four.

I had already made some of Nagi’s (recipetineats.com) Asian Cooking Sauce which she calls Charlie-My All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce, so prepared the salmon and a pile of vegetables. This included zucchini as I’d used some in a ratatouille I was making and there was some left. Regular readers know my ratatouille mix never includes eggplant but often includes all sorts of other things. This time its Chinese cabbage! I try to avoid food waste.

All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce.

I cooked rice for this salmon stir fry. I don’t really eat rice, which often caused comment when we were in Asia, especially when we lived there, but my husband likes it. Rice is almost sacred in Asia but I become very skilled at avoiding it. I would cover it with sauce or food and leave it on the plate. It was considered polite to leave food on your plate! There’s no photo of the stir fry because the minute it was done, we ate it.

The other seasonal food on display at the green grocer was apples. So many types of apples! We bought Pink Ladies and Gala, a big, flavoursome, crunchy apple. We eat them raw, stewed or baked. Plus an end of season pineapple which was very sweet and delicious. Also eaten before I thought to photograph it!

Enjoying the apple season. The Gala apples are crisp and very sweet.

The next day I grated a zucchini to make a Zucchini Slice. I followed an online recipe. There were interesting comments about Zucchini Slice recipes. One site said it was their most often hit on recipe, another asked if it was a typical Australian recipe as it was very popular. One of my neighbours makes it every week for breakfast, lunch or dinner, whatever she fancies. It is delicious and versatile. You can eat it hot or cold, take it in a lunchbox and even freeze it.

Traditionally, Zucchini Slice has grated zucchini (courgettes), grated cheese, beaten eggs, S.R. flour, an onion, some bacon and some mildly flavoured oil. Of course, mine was a bit different as I had a Chinese cabbage to use up ( they don’t keep for very long after picking) so that was finely chopped and added. Also, I had some cheeses left from a grazing board and some other knobby bits, too, so grated them and used them up. There was a wedge of camembert, too, but that didn’t make it into the slice. I ate it.

The Zucchini Slice was very good. It made three generous meals for two. It was easy to make and we enjoyed the mix of flavours. So many recipes online if you’re interested!

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Draught Stopper

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How do you keep the cold out in winter? After six months of high temperatures and no rain, Western Australia’s southern areas are making up for lost time! Very cold nights and a lot of rain. It feels like the winters we had as kids. Cold nights, frost on the grass then warming sunshine around mid-morning then more rain. It’s an old fashioned winter.

Our house is pretty draught free, except the door in from the garage rattles in the wind. When I tackled a low shelf in the laundry, untouched since we unpacked our things out of storage, nearly fifteen years ago, I found a thick mattress topper and a polyester filled pillow. No idea where they were used before but I immediately knew how I could used both items. I’d make a draught stopper to put against the garage door. Last year I used a bolster off an upstairs settee, time for a purpose built, recycled material draught stopper. Draught stoppers are also called draft excluders and door snakes.

Folded the topper in half longitudinally and rolled it up after I’d teased the polyester out of the pillow and placed that in the middle. Nice fat sausage. Stitched it up. Knew I had a metre or so of red velvet. Measured out how much I needed and cut. The next drama was finding a zip as long as the sausage.

Off to the fabric shop. A lovely assistant asked me what length I was looking when I was standing in front of the zipper display. I explained the length I needed and she told me zips are not available in that length. She then took a roll to the cutting table and showed me a continuous zipper. Never seen one before. She showed me how they work and cut off the length I needed. Worked like a dream!

Once I’d stitched in the zipper I cut two end pieces using a bread and butter plate as a template. I had some pretty pink piping which I thought would look good at each end but when I was looking at the door where the stopper will be, I realised it is very close to a Burmese red altar table with all the carved details highlighted in gold.

Originally thought I’d use this pretty pink and white piping but realised the light gold and dark gold piping would work beautifully next to the Burmese Red and gold altar table.

Burmese red Chinese altar table.

I had used a gold and cream piping on two tapestry cushions I’d made some years ago. Found the piping and there was just enough! Next challenge was working out how to join the ends. Thank goodness for YouTube. Bit of a faff, but I couldn’t remember how I’d done it before and watching how it was done professionally set me on the right track.

Used some leftover piping from these tapestry decorated cushions I made many years ago.

Not confident to just machine sew both layers of velvet and the piping I pinned then hand tacked it. Much easier to accurately machine sew the two layers of velvet and the piping. Pleased with how it looks. Now in position against the door. Stopped the draught, looks good next to the red altar table.

I have made many draught stoppers, door sausages, whatever you call them. I made four for my Mother who always felt cold and thought the sliding doors let in cold air. I made some for my son. I have made bolsters for our bed and for an upstairs settee. I haven’t ever made them with piping/cording. I wont be doing it again, either, anytime soon. It was fiddly and took ages to get just right. Of course, now it is finished I am pleased with it!

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Half Way Through 2024

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CHRISTMAS IN JULY

We have great neighbours. We meet several times during the year at one another’s houses and catch up. We meet one another in the street in the street, or drop in for coffee or sometimes meet at the shops, but these planned catchups are a chance to eat and chat together. Everyone brings a plate of food to share and usually their dogs.

We’d invited everyone to a Christmas In July get together. I’d had plans to decorate and really get in the swing of things, but other events intervened. My husband made a slow cooker of glühwein and the gorgeous scent was still in the air the next morning. We had a delicious quiche, a poppy seed cake and a bowl of strawberries and raspberries, plus a grazing platter and sausage rolls. I heated and lit a plum pudding. Such a lovely evening.

The glüwhein smelt and tasted very good, especially on a cold night.

Many Christmas traditions followed in Australia originated in Europe. Winter in the Northern hemisphere is cold and there might be snow. Christmas in the Southern hemisphere in in the middle of summer and temperatures in the mid 30ºC and higher are common. Despite the heat many people continue to have a leg of ham but serve it with salads and seafood. The food served at Christmas time is changing. Summer fruits, such as watermelon, rock melon, pineapple, strawberries and stone fruit are in season and popular Christmas foods. We always have cherries!

planning

A report on the TV news the other night was urging us to get our Christmas gift shopping done. It’s still six months away! Supplies are slow to arrive. Due to the unrest in Yemen shipping routes have changed. Ships cannot use the Suez Canal and are going around the Cape of Good Hope, a much longer journey . Shipping costs have increased by at least 50%. Someone actually told me last week that she’d already bought all the gifts for her grandchildren and was giving gift cards to the adults on her list. I was very impressed! I’ll think about it soon. Maybe.

This is one wall of two walls of built in bookshelves in our upstairs sitting room. I keep suggesting an audit ( reducing the number of books) but the idea is not well received. Many of the shelves have books two layers deep. I try not to think about the dust.

Luckily we are a family of keen readers. It is wonderful to have a pile of new books to read as soon as Christmas Day is over. Usually we select our own books. I wrap them all. A few years ago I bought some pretty, printed fabric draw string bags to use instead of wrapping paper, then forgot all about them. Found them recently and have put them with other Christmas paraphernalia.

cooking

Our neighbour will be coming home from hospital tonight or tomorrow and will need to rest. Her family will be in and out, so I’ve made a lemon slice to take in when it’s cool. I actually made two because we have so many lemons this year and we really, really like this slice! Recipe (here)

Also made some Asian Fish Cakes. I tore the recipe out of the Sunday paper and assumed it would be online on their site. It’s not! I was attracted to the recipe because it used smoked salmon and we had quite a lot in the freezer. Apart from coriander (mine has gone to seed) I had everything else on hand. Strangely, the recipe stated one of the ingredients as ‘store bought mashed potato’. I’ve never actually seen mashed potato for sale, but I haven’t looked, either. I peeled and boiled some potatoes and used that instead. I hope the bought potato didn’t have some extra ingredient or flavouring, but the fishcakes I made still tasted very good.

Last week a friend expressed surprise that I used bought salad dressing on a salad I make regularly and had just written about in my blog. It set me thinking and I decided experiment with my favourite (currently) salad dressing. I grow shallots just to make this dressing! So, here it is….

DAVID LEBOVITZ VINAIGRETTE

Whisk* one tablespoon of Dijon Mustard and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Then gradually add 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until emulsified. Add one tablespoon of finely minced shallot, a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper. It doesn’t separate or split.

*After I made this for the first time, I couldn’t be faffed whisking. Now I put the mustard and vinegar in a jar, shake, add the oil a tablespoon at a time, shake, add the shallots, salt and pepper, shake. Use immediately or store in the fridge in the jar. If it becomes too thick dilute with more EVOO.

Very good dressing.

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Versatile Salad and Hidden Plastic

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versatile salad and lunch

Another salad recipe in winter? I began making the original version of this salad when I was working. The vegetables are cut into smallish pieces, so I could eat my lunch walking around the playground, on duty, or sitting at my desk marking. Sometimes I even had a few minutes to sit in the staffroom and eat. Unlike carrot sticks, pieces of celery or lettuce leaves, all a bit awkward eating in a rush, this combination of finely chopped vegetables is easy to eat using only a fork.

No longer eating on the run I still make this salad as we both like it, it lasts well for three days in the fridge, it can be made with a variety of vegetables and it is healthy! Originally I chopped tomatoes, red onion, boiled potatoes and celery. Local celery has been dark green and bitter for some time so I began finely chopping cucumber and adding that instead. Tastes good.

So, wash and chop your vegetables into small pieces. I used two tomatoes, half a cucumber, three small boiled potatoes and a third of a red onion. When everything was chopped and stirred in the glass storage dish, I drizzled bought, 99% fat free Italian dressing. The bought dressing doesn’t separate like home made dressing and it takes us a few days to eat this so it needs to stay emulsified.

I add protein and maybe some bread and lunch is done. I often have fish balls, bought at an Asian supermarket. My husband prefers anything but fish balls.

It is school holidays here in Australia at the moment. I really enjoy school holidays, despite being retired for seven years. Why? Because I catch up with three lots of staff from the three different schools I taught at from the mid nineties until I retired. Almost everyone else is retired, too. I really enjoy these catch up lunches. The other lovely school holiday thing is spending time with my cousin, also a teacher. She arrives mid-morning, we have coffee and chat, then we go out for lunch and chat then much later she drops me home! This year we had lunch here and my niece joined us. Best way to catch up on everyones’ news.

hidden plastic

Some of the products containing plastic on this list from the blog Moral Fibres (wendy@moralfibres.co.uk) surprised me. Based on the above blog I’ve made a list of many things containing plastics you might not have considered. I certainly got a few surprises.

1. Chewing gum is based on polyethylene. Polyethylene is used to make plastic bottles and bags.

Image Pixabay

2. Clothing made from microfibre fleece, polyester, acrylic and nylon is made from plastic. Every time you wash these items, microplastics are released into the waterways.

3. Disposable Coffee Cups are lined with a fine layer of plastic so they don’t collapse when filled. Take your own keep cup.

4. Aluminium cans are lined with a thin layer of plastic resin, usually epoxy, which is linked to a number of health issues.

5. Glass jars don’t contain any plastic and are infinitely recyclable, but the lids are lined with PVC. Yes, I’d never thought about that, either.

Image Pixabay

6. Alternative/vegan plant based leather. All of these products are coated, or sandwiched, with PU plastic or bioplastic to make them durable and water resistant. This includes the very expensive brands which claim to be ethically aware and produce vegan based leather. It’s plastic, then biological leather then another layer of plastic. And very expensive with a short life span.

7. Produce stickers. It’s hard to avoid them, especially on bananas and citrus fruit.

8. Teabags are still being heat sealed with polyethylene. Check online to see if your preferred tea uses plastic.

9. Tetra paks, used for plant based milks, juice and long life milk look like they’re made from waxed cardboard. Actually, tetra packs are generally 75% paper, 2o% polyethylene and 5% aluminium.

10. Tin and aluminium cans are lined with a thin plastic coating containing bisphenal A, or BPA which may leak into the contents.

11. Sunscreen contains microplastics! They bind the ingredients and are very cheap. I’m a bit shocked as I use sunscreen 365 days a year.

Image Pixabay

12. Bandaids and other sticking plasters, even the fabric sort, contain plastic.

Lots to think about in this list. For more information, read the blog listed above.

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Difficult Times

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Since last September we have been going down to Australind to see my Mother almost every week. Initially we stayed a few days at a time and went shopping, to appointments and to visit her friends. We paid bills, I cooked and gardened and sat and chatted. She had carers visiting and a physio to maintain her high level of fitness and a dressing nurse to patch her wounds. She was having mini strokes, often in the garden, falling and tearing the skin on her legs. She wouldn’t wear trousers.

As things became more difficult, her doctor and the wounds nurse suggested she move into a nursing home. She didn’t want to leave her house or her garden. Eventually she agreed to look at some nursing homes and she agreed to ‘try’ one. I washed and labelled and packed her things and several pieces of furniture were taken to her new home. The house was left as it was when she was there, in case she ‘wanted to go back’!

Gradually, Mum began to adapt to the rhythm of the nursing home. She went to the exercise class every morning and really enjoyed it, worked out with the physio once a week, met people she knew and began developing a garden outside her room. She went to a karaoke session and thought it was great fun. With regular meals and medication she seemed to be doing very well. She trained the staff to make her porridge just how she wanted it and they’d make her a salad if she didn’t like any of the options on the menu for other meals.

Mum had always suffered from terrible migraines. She had preventative medications which became more effective over the years, but sometimes nothing worked and she was very ill for a day and fragile for a few more days. She told me one day she’d had a migraine but it was different from the usual ones and she still had a slight headache two days later. I asked her to speak to the nurse who dropped by every day.

Twice that same day she told me the things she’d really enjoyed doing. I was so relieved to think she was settling in. She had been there five weeks. Keen on reading the newspaper every morning and then watching news channels during the day, she was well informed and liked to keep me well informed, too.

Later that same day, a staff member from the nursing home rang me to say Mum had been found unconscious in her room and was being taken to the hospital by ambulance. Mum spoke to me from the ambulance and told me she must have fallen because she was found on the floor. My sister-in-law and brother met her at the hospital and stayed with her through emergency, while she had a MRI scan and then when she was transferred to a room in the hospital. By then she was in a coma. She’d had a massive stroke.

We packed up as quickly as possible and arrived in Bunbury to stay with her. Our son drove down from Kalgoorlie and arrived at 5.30am the next morning. My brother and sister-in-law were there that night and every night and morning, too, along with their girls who came when they could be there. She lingered for eight days. It was sad and difficult but the staff were so kind and they kept her comfortable with an air mattress and medication.

My brother and S-I-L where with us at the nursing home emptying her room when the phone call came to say she’d passed away. They’d told us she go when there was no-one there and that’s what happened. We went to say goodbye. That’s when we were told there would be a Coronial Enquiry as she died as ‘the result of an unwitnessed event in a nursing home resulting in death.’

The autopsy took nearly a week as she had to come to Perth. It was confirmed she’d suffered a massive cerebral infarction. It was all so distressing for everyone. Finally she was laid to rest with my Father, in Bunbury, after a beautiful funeral at her church, attended by over a hundred family and friends. She was 92. We miss her so much.

Maidee 30.09.1931 – 13.03.2024

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To Do List, The Federal Budget and Other Things

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TO DO LIST

At the beginning of this year, as usual, I wrote a list of jobs I needed to do, not realising this was to be a year like no other. Most of the jobs I listed involved household or gardening tasks. Some were done quite quickly but others remained undone as life became more and more difficult. Some gardening jobs were done one morning when our son was staying. He did a great job moving enormous pots to new places and helped me fill them but told me gardening was the job he most disliked! I ticked three things off the list that day.

Another time we finally knew we’d be here for about ten days and got a handyman to repair some reticulation, re-lay some paving and repair the edging. Slowly other jobs I could do, such as planting, pruning and potting cuttings from the hydrangeas for two friends got done, too. We also got new cushion inserts for two leather sofas in the family room.

Hydrangea cuttings going well.

These sofas are 24 years old. They have been slept on by dogs and people, they have been played on by children and sat on thousands of times. Every so often I get out my tub of saddle dressing and treat them. Eventually, the finish was getting worn on the edge of some of the cushions and an arm rest. I matched the colour to a bottle of leather dye planning to find time to dye the worn patches back to original colour. Not a chance. So many other things needed my attention. I put the bottle of dye away for a quieter time.

Then late Saturday afternoon my husband was off doing jobs, I’d read the weekend papers and I decided to dye the worn bits of one sofa. Poured some dye into a food container, found a clean paint brush and set to work. The difference is very pleasing. When the dye had time to dry I treated both sofas with saddle dressing. I have some smaller areas to treat on the other sofa and I’ll do that soon. While I’ve got the saddle dressing out I treat my handbag, our watch bands and wallets and some belts. I’d really like a workshop, or a shed but the kitchen bench suffices for now. I hope I remember to put rubber gloves on before I begin dyeing next time.

I use this leather dressing on all leather goods.

renewable energy

The weekend papers are full of political rhetoric following the delivery of the 2024 Federal Budget. The information about renewable energy makes interesting but confusing reading. We are now subsidising coal as well as renewables! Electricity is more expensive because of the subsidies yet renewables are supposed to be the cheapest form of energy. Both Federal and States governments are contributing to this confusion.

To somewhat offset these ever increasing charges the Federal government is giving everyone a $300 rebate and our State Government of Western Australia is giving everyone getting an electricity bill $400 to off set increased energy costs. Of course, when any government says they are giving away money, it’s worth remembering that it is the taxpayers’ money and in both cases mentioned, is not means tested.

other things

I bought a rack to hold the lids off all the glass storage boxes as they were in a dreadful muddle in a drawer. Very satisfying. So then I bought an acrylic box for funnels and graters, with a divider to keep them sorted. So tidy. All this led to rearranging a cupboard with two power points in it. The sandwich press had always been in there, permanently plugged in and ready to use. Now the slow cooker is next to it, also permanently plugged in as I use it frequently in winter.

Lids, funnels and graters all under control in this drawer.

This meant sorting that cupboard and discarding things which led to doing another much bigger cupboard, something I’d been putting off for a long time. The outcome is three large bags of discarded things in good condition going to the Salvation Army depot. There’s still many more cupboards to do but they will have to wait.

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Olive Oil, Mother’s Day and Recycling Beads

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extra virgin olive oil

Having trouble sourcing your favourite extra virgin olive oil? Australian olive oil is in short supply due to the poor fruit harvest in 2023. Outside the Mediterranean, Australia is the greatest consumer of olive oil in the World. Each Australian consumes 2.1 litres of olive oil every year.

Image Pixabay

This doesn’t surprise me as I slosh, drip and drizzle EVOO on things I cook every day. I buy 3 litre ( 101.4 oz) tins and decant them into a one litre dark glass bottle kept within easy reach of the hotplates and food preparation area. The bottle has a pop up pourer, so no mess. Buying in bulk and decanting is more economical than buying small bottles. Storing in a dark glass bottle protects its purity.

Apparently, in Europe, the price of olive oil in January 2024 was 50% higher than January 2023. This jump in price is due to olive oil producing nations experiencing longer and hotter summers resulting in poor harvests. Some sources also mention the increased interest in the Mediterranean diet which promotes olive oil, adding greater demand in an already diminished supply chain.

mother’s day

I hope all the Mother’s had a lovely day with their families celebrating Mother’s Day. Or doing something else if that’s what they wanted! We didn’t celebrate Mother’s Day this year because I’m too sad. My Mother died in March. In memory of her I bought bunches of flowers in her favourite colours, so lilac, purple, cream, white with a dash of red. I also put a little arrangement of lilac and white lissianthus next to her photo. I miss her!

Mother’s Day Sunday was also the day we celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary. Forty years! On the Friday before we went to a restaurant on the beach and ate fish tacos, a crayfish taco and Fremantle octopus tentacles, plus roasted butternut and chips. Beautifully presented and delicious. Rain and stormy conditions were forecast but in reality there was a clear blue sky and a bright blue ocean and we were hot. A lovely way to celebrate.

Dessert of burnt honey cream brûlée with pear sorbet plus an extra scoop of pear sorbet because my husband knew I’d want to taste the sorbet even though I declined dessert. Soon it’s pear season so I’ll try making pear sorbet. It was very good.

jewellery

Last week I did a jewellery recycling workshop. Our instructor had bundles of old bits and pieces to be remade into something we’d use. I made a necklace with a ring in it to hang my reading glasses from so I knew where they were. Great idea but it was so long and so heavy it knocked things over or off the bench. Put it away to consider at a later date as the beads are very pretty.

Meanwhile, I gathered all my necklaces secured not by jewellery catches, but with safety pins. When the catches broke, as they always did, I’d secure both ends together with a small pin. As a junior primary teacher, I always had safety pins, bandaids and tissues in my bag. Today I mended every broken necklace catch. Really pleased with my fully fixed collection. Plus I’ve used some very bright beads from old necklaces to made new, less bold necklaces, more suited to my current lifestyle.

Sorting and fixing my necklaces made me realise I have a lot of jewellery I don’t use anymore. I don’t have pierced ears but had a lot of clip on earrings but I don’t wear them now. I have some pretty bracelets, too, along with a pile of necklaces. Some of the sweetest bracelets were made by children I’ve taught. I’m keeping them! Happy memories. The rest are in a bag, ready to go to the Salvation Army along with three other bags of things I’ve sorted. I quite like going into the city to drop things at their depot as I then go across the road to an Asian supermarket, buy the best fish balls and speak appalling Mandarin/Putonghua to the checkout girl. She is so polite about my accent!

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Cooking, Author Talk and Reworking Jewellery

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cooking

Are you trying not to throw away fresh food? Me too. Recently when I opened a packet of chicken breasts I wondered if they were actually turkey breasts or maybe emu! I eyed off the enormous chicken breasts for a while then decided that rather than cut them in half as the recipe directed, I needed to cut each into about six pieces. I’d chosen the recipe because I needed to use some baby romano tomatoes, baby spinach and the chicken. Plus I had everything else listed. I got to use up lots of ingredients already in the fridge.

I had to adjust the quantities of the ingredients to accommodate all the chicken! So I had to make it in two frying pans. Luckily we like chicken. We will be eating Tomato, Spinach, White Wine Chicken for quite a while. I’ve served this chicken dish with mashed potato and will also serve it with spicy rice, then couscous. The author also suggests thick noodles. Recipe (here)

At the same time I baked a loaf of sourdough. Due the heat in Western Australia, the starter was very energetic! I thought the loaf was going to bubble over the edges of the baking tin, but it didn’t and it tasted great!

Sourdough with caraway seeds. Delicious.

When rain was forecast for Sunday I decided to cook a traditional roast lunch. Our son was here for the weekend and we like to sit at the table and talk. I had to sort out so much stuff on the table, it had become a sort of dumping ground.

Sunday morning arrived bright and sunny and 21ºC. No rain in sight. Put the meat to roast, prepared the vegetables and opened the French doors so we could hear the fountain. Faux rain. Lunch was long and lovely, plus there was leftovers for a light dinner and cold roast beef and pickle sandwiches the next day.

Apple crumble and icecream with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

author talk

A while ago I wrote a review about a book I’d read by Rachel Johns called, ‘The Other Bridget’ a joke on Helen Fielding’s book ‘Bridget Jones Diary.’ Although written to appeal to a younger reader, I suspect, I really enjoyed it. The plot was clever with lots of twists and turns and it was written about an area I know well. I read a lot and it’s not often novels are set in Fremantle, Western Australia.

We were going away for a break so I borrowed two more books by the same author. Again I enjoyed the local settings and the clever story line. So when the Fremantle Library advertised an author talk with the author, Rachel Johns, I responded immediately and got a ticket. I am so glad I did, too.

Glancing around the room it became apparent those women attending were aged from their twenties through to about 70. Johns’ presentation and following open discussion with the audience was just like the books, that is, fast, funny and full of current affairs. So entertaining.

Some of the bright, chunky beads I wanted to reuse.

I had also enrolled in a course run earlier that day called UNIQUE JEWELLERY. When I was working as a junior primary teacher I always wore bright, chunky necklaces as the children liked them so much. Not really suitable for the life I live now, so I wanted to convert some of them to be more toned down. I also needed to mend some of the clasps and just work out what I could retrieve from my colourful collection.

I made a necklace with a ring for my glasses as I lose them all the time! I was inspired by the necklace the tutor was wearing with her glasses hooked on it. I think I could just wear it as a necklace, too. I also had time to repair the clasps on some necklaces. Later, I took apart some pieces to make new, less colourful necklace. I have bought a kit to renew more clasps and to make new necklaces.

Reusing beads to make a new necklace. Satisfying project.

P.S. There’s a problem with the necklace I made to hold my glasses; it is too long and heavy and crashes into the bench top and whatever I’m working on and is annoying. I’ll probably take it apart and make a new necklace. So, still misplacing my glasses, so I’ve bought a few extra pairs to limit the time spent hunting for reading glasses.

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