Suburban Life – Page 5 – MakeCookGrow.com

Phalaenopsis Orchids, Panzanella and Other Things

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A POT OF ORCHIDS

Cut back and tidied the roses after the most amazing flush of pink and red Pierre de Ronsards, red Father’s Love and yellow Holtemans Gold. Even the Glamis Castle, which I was going to dig out after it was decimated by chili thrip, has bounced back and had beautiful white flowers. No fresh flowers in the house presently, except alstromerias and a few pink Asiatic Lilies.

Decided on phalaenopsis ( moth) orchids to have on the table for the next few weeks. I bought a straight sided glass salad bowl from the op shop/ thrift shop plus three little brass drawer pulls from the hardware shop. Picked up orchid potting mix plus three white phalaenopsis orchids while I was there.

Glued the three drawer pulls on the base of the upended bowl using a clear multipurpose cement and left them to dry. Next day I planted the three orchids including most of their existing soil. Then I filled the rest of the bowl with orchid potting mix. The bowl sits on the table getting diffused light. The plants have settled well and each has had a new bud. When it gets hotter I will mound sphagnum moss on top of the existing soil to keep it moist.

PANZaNELLA

This traditional Tuscan salad is a way to use any leftover bread. Two days after a visit to a new Italian grocer, we had leftover bread and lots of it! I’ve made Panzanella before, using Jamie Oliver’s far more complex recipe, but as a fan of Nagi’s Recipe Tin Eats, (here) I decided to try her recipe. Both are good.

This is a traditional tomato and bread salad, requiring humble bread and seasonal tomatoes. This style of food, called ‘cucina povera’ or food for the poor, relies on beautiful tomatoes and rich olive oil for flavour, topped off with basil. Gather some stale bread, very ripe tomatoes, a cucumber, a handful of basil and, for the dressing, extra virgin olive oil, red or white wine vinegar ( I used red), Dijon mustard and crushed garlic and you’re ready to go! Use a French brand Dijon mustard for the flavour.

Nagi oven roasts her bread. I toasted slices of our leftover bread in the toaster then tore them into bite size pieces. Traditionally the bread is not toasted but, like Nagi, I find the soggy, lumpy bits of unroasted bread a bit unattractive. She drizzles olive oil on her bread before roasting it.

Quick, delicious and a great way to use up leftover bread this salad relies on very ripe tomatoes for flavour and moistness. Eat it when all the dressing is soaked up!

We really liked this salad, so I made it again. I oven roasted some leftover Italian bread, lightly drizzled with olive oil. I also added very thinly sliced red onion as I saw this in other recipes for this salad. Will do that again.

After a few hours, the bread has absorbed the tomato juices and the dressing and is really wonderful. Quick to make, full of fresh tomatoes, cucumber and basil and the best dressing.

So it’s no surprise I made another bowl of Panzanella two days later. This time I pulled apart an Italian loaf and roasted it in the oven, as directed in the recipe. The pieces of roasted bread were bigger than the toasted bread I’d used previously and absorbed more flavour. I’ll roast the bread next time, too, because there will be a next time!

Our new favorite salad, this time with oven roasted bread. Delicious.

OTHER THINGS

Our son came down from Kalgoorlie to spent the weekend here. It was my birthday. He gave me a lovely surprise! A new food processor which mixes, grates, slices and other clever things. I had to use it straight away, so made pastry. Very fast and mixes well. I really like the small rolling pin, too, and use it all the time. I commandeered it when my son stopped playing with Play Dough, so about 33 years ago. So versatile!

The pastry became the base for a quiche. I had lots of zucchini so I fried that with some bacon, then grated a variety of leftover cheeses ( Edam, Stilton and chilled Camembert, which grated well) added some eggs and a little Greek yoghurt and, viola, dinner. Served with some small boiled potatoes and some Panzanella salad. Dinner for two nights.

No recipe because it was just a mix of available ingredients. Only the pastry was made from a recipe!

OLIVE OIL CAKE

I did follow a recipe for the Olive Oil Lemon cake, from Jaclyn Crupi’s book, ‘Nonna Knows Best’. There’s definitely a Mediterranean influence to how we eat in Western Australia. We have access the best quality seasonal fruit and vegetables, plus very good wines and very good olive oil. We enjoy them all.

The cake also featured lemons. So many things I cook for about eight months of the year feature lemons and limes.

DID YOU KNOW?

There’s only 38 days until Christmas!

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Reading and Pottering

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Reading

Being restricted to large print books meant I explored a whole new area of the library in the past six months. I was surprised at the number of romances published in large print but also found some thrillers before almost totally gravitating to the non-fiction section. Found some great biographies. The latest was William Miller’s Gloucester Crescent : Me, My Dad and Other Grownups.

His mother was a doctor as was his father who was also known for being a famous satirist, opera director, documentary producer and writer. They lived in Gloucester Crescent (where the author and his family now live ) surrounded by other very relaxed, radical, left wing, anti-establishment, affluent, well known actors, producers, authors and philosophers.

William relates his story from age 11 to age 54 and it is quite amazing. His neighbours, including Alan Bennett*, have featured in their own books from this time and I have previously read several of them. Child rearing was pretty relaxed ( Miller says laissez faire) and the children drifted from one house to another. William doesn’t do well at school but years later ends up in a business partnership with Nigella Lawson, producing her television programs and merchandise. They had been childhood friends due many affairs, divorces, marriages and other arrangements resulting in shared holiday houses and some other pretty bizarre situations.

A record of a different time, it is fascinating to read about the over lapping lives of so many creative people such as Allan Bennett, John Cleese, Oliver Sacks, A.J. Ayers, the philosopher, Shirley Conran, VS Pritchett and a plethora of other famous people. I couldn’t put this book down but the minute I finished it my husband began reading it and is now recommending it to his friends.

* Allan Bennett Lady In The Van

* Nina Stibbes Love, Nina

pottering

I like painting and little craft projects requiring paper and glue. I have a serious collection of papers, card, paints, glues for all occasions and scissors, trimmers and lots of other useful things. I have been really restricted in what I can do because my eyesight was so poor. I haven’t painted for some months. I used to paint almost daily.

As the date for my eye surgery approached, I kept planning all the Christmas crafts I’d like to do as soon as I could see. Bought myself an Advent calendar from an office supply shop. Each of the 24 windows has an ‘arty’ surprise. I know it meant for Christmas but I really wanted some little activities I could do quickly and might not normally do.

The first treat, day 1, was a fine tipped gold pen. Now I can read the calendar I had a lovely time writing notes and reminders. Very pretty. My next surprise was oven cured clay. I used to make Christmas ornaments with the children at school using this product. There were two tiny blocks of clay, one red, one green, so, of course I made mistletoe. So easy, so sweet.

The next treat was a tube a green acrylic paint and straight away I thought of gum leaves. I don’t open a box every day because I have so many other things I want to do, now that I can, but it is a lot of fun. Anyway, as soon as I unscrewed the cap I knew gum leaves and that green wouldn’t work! The next box I opened two days later had a little canvas, so I used the green to paint a Christmas wreath and put it on a small easel.

I’ve cooked more spanikopita, too, not just because we really enjoyed the last lot but I’m trying to avoid food waste. I’ve bought phyllo pastry before, used it for one thing and put it back in the freezer. When I’ve suddenly thought I should use it the sheets had cracked on the folds and gone dry. Not good. I also buy the pastry you store in the fridge, now, not the freezer.

Still making this German version of potato salad. The cooked potatoes are doused in vinegar and turned regularly until it is all absorbed, then a dressing of vinegar, Dijon mustard and chopped fresh herbs is stirred through then it goes into the fridge until the next day. I use whatever herbs are in abundance in the garden.

At the moment I’ve got lots of chives. Until we lived in China for a few years chives didn’t really feature in our house, now I use them all the time. Same with ginger. I liked gingerbread, a little bit of ginger in some savoury dishes, but I didn’t use it very often. Now fresh ginger, preserved stem ginger, glace ginger and powdered ginger feature regularly. Same with chilies.

My Mother grows tiny, sweet cherry tomatoes from the seeds she collects at the end of the previous season. They explode in your mouth and taste like summer. I squashed two cherry tomatoes from her plant onto a paper towel and left them to dry. Later I prepared six little pots to bury the soaked, then cut up, paper towel and left them to see what happens. I like to get tomatoes going in small pots then plant them in a bed or a bigger pot. Then it’s me versus the water rats to see who will get the fruit. I have a big, chicken wire cage to protect the tomatoes. Very unattractive but does the job.

I really like my new gardening apron but didn’t have anywhere to hang it in the laundry. I wanted it near the back door. Our laundry is really small so I solved the problem by putting a hook inside a cupboard door just near the door going out into the garden. Perfect!

Out of the way but easy to grab on the way out the door. Perfect.

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Surgery, Spanakopita and Spring

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eye surgery

A week ago I had surgery on my left eye. I have keratoconis which means my corneas are not a lovely rounded shape, but ‘conical’ with a lumpy surface. Keratoconus is when the cornea gradually thins and bulges, resulting in distorted vision. First diagnosed when I was about 19 I have been able to maintain reasonable eyesight by first wearing hard contact lenses for over 20 years, then soft lenses for about 25 years and then scleral lenses for 18 months. Scleral lenses are hard, large lenses which rest on the sclera, the white part of the eye.

Eventually my failing eyesight stopped me driving, painting and a whole lot of other things you never think about until you can’t see well enough to do them. I waited three and a half months for an appointment with an ophthalmalgic surgeon who could improve my eyesight.

And he did! Even when I awoke from surgery with a plastic shield taped over my eye I knew my eyesight was greatly improved. It was so exciting! The next day he told me my eyesight would continue to improve for about a week. It has and I can see better than I can remember. This changes everything. Now I am crossing the days off until I have surgery on the other eye.

Gathered up a few of the pairs of spectacles I’ve used over the past three years, hoping they’d help me read. I might not need any of them in a few months when I have surgery on my other eye but I’ll keep them just in case!

spanakopita

A classic Greek recipe, Spanakopita used to be my ‘go to’ for work lunches and visiting vegetarians. I never followed a recipe very carefully but always liked it hot or cold. Then I found a good supply of goats feta at about the same time Nagi of recipetineats.com (here) published her recipe for Spanakopita. I use her cookbook Recipe Tin Eats Dinner by Nagi Maehashi for inspiration when I don’t know what we’re having for dinner.

So I made a small dish (I’ll double the recipe next time) following her instructions. I’ve never added spring onions before nor lemon zest and juice, either, but will next time, too, as it added depth to the flavour. Nagi is a bit sniffy about using frozen spinach but that was what I had in the freezer and it tastes lovely. She suggests adding some grated cheese between the top layers of filo pastry, but I only had sheeps’ pecorino, which is very strong, so I omitted that step. Adding Greek yoghurt to the mix was new to me, too, but this is a very good pie so I’ll do it again.

I melted the weight of butter listed in the recipe for buttering the pastry but ended up with some left over. It didn’t matter as I knew we were having asparagus with dinner. I poured the melted butter into a glass dish, added the juice and zest of the leftover lemon from making the spanakopita and microwaved it to make a sauce for the asparagus. Delicious!

THe spring garden

The roses have been decimated by chili thrip for the past two years. So far this year the bushes are strong and healthy and blooming beautifully. We have had no humidity, so the thrip may hatch and reappear if it is hot and sticky, but in the meanwhile we are picking masses and masses of beautiful, scented roses.

These ceramic spheres were discoloured and the paint was chipping off. I previously wrote about scrubbing and sanding them ready to repaint and here’s the photo of the finished spheres, back in the garden. I forgot to add the photo of the finished spheres lurking under the hydrangeas!

Scrubbed then sanded to smooth chipped edges. This small sander is so useful for a multitude of jobs.

Now dry and ready to repaint.

Back in the garden.

other things

Needed a new bottle of Worcestershire Sauce during the week. It now comes in a plastic bottle. More plastic rubbish!

I’m a fan of magazines, especially those about architecture, interior design, gardens and food. Can’t believe how expensive they have become so subscriptions might have to be birthday and Christmas presents. Also deciding if I need quite so many. I think I do, especially now I can read then easily, again, rather than holding the page right up to my ‘better’ eye.

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The Referendum, Reading and Sourdough

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The referendum

Last weekend our Federal Government held a referendum. All Australian citizens were obliged to vote in this poorly explained and divisive referendum. We were asked to vote for or against a change to the Australian Constitution .This would initially result in a new chapter, Chapter IX recognising the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders being added to the Constitution.. No more information, except this would result in a Voice to Parliament for First Nation People. We already have 11 elected First Nations parliamentarians in the Federal Government.

The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said we’d learn the details in the future. So we were asked to vote YES or NO to a change to the Constitution with no details! Unsurprisingly, 61% of voters said NO while 39% voted YES. The only area with a majority of YES votes was the Australian Capital Territory, home to many Public Servants.

Image, The Sunday Times newspaper 15/10/2023

An enormous amount of money was spent over months on this referendum. It has only divided our country, regardless of ethnic background. All that money could have been used to create prenatal and post natal birthing clinics on country , visiting health professionals to check the ears and eyes of school age children and information to support First Nations people with diabetes, kidney disease and alcoholism.

Image, The Sunday Times newspaper 15/10/2023

I think all Australians are hopeful of a better future. The billions of dollars spent now on programs seems to have achieved very little. It’s time to account for the money spent and determine better programs. Only consultation on country will achieve this, not the ideas of public servants in Canberra. First Nation groups are diverse and their individual wishes should be recognised and supported.

READING

I’ve been reading lots of books in large print while I’ve been crossing off the days until I have eye surgery. The enormous number of large print books about romances makes me wonder who borrows these books although I have found a few thrillers and then, to my relief, the non fiction section.

The first ‘couldn’t put it down’ thriller was Garry Disher’s Peace. Partly written to complete his doctorate, Disher’s murder mystery is focused on a remote farming community and a small, central town. The story is told from the point of view of the only local policeman, a detective demoted to sergeant and sent to the bush due to a racket within his previous posting. He claims he was not involved.

The killings begin with horses belonging to a popular member of the community and culminate in the murder of two people eventually identified as escaping police corruption after events occurring while they were in witness protection.

The events around Christmas are typical of any small town and the characters described are also unexceptional. The final revelation took me by surprise, but thinking about the little hints throughout the book, the information was there! It’s just that the murderer behaved like a lot of older males we’ve met over the years, so I didn’t pick up on the clues until the end. A really good read.

The other book I’ve been reading forever, or so it seems, is Anthony Horowitz Moonflower Murders. An exhausting book, it is a story within a story, so two books in one with the book in the middle supposedly revealing why a murder took place at the Moonflower Hotel and why a member of staff has disappeared shortly after reading the book in the middle!

The second book didn’t reveal the murderer to me, so I had to keep reading. I did, and it was a good story with a surprising end but required greater stamina than I have at the moment! Other reviews refer to the labyrinth of clues, how clever it was and how much they enjoyed it. I enjoyed it mostly when I’d finally finished it. Too clever, too long.

sourdough

A loaf of sourdough fresh and warm from the oven. I’d really like to slice off a piece and eat it, but sourdough doesn’t cut smoothly while it is warm. So, patience is required. Once it is cool I will slice the loaf and then store it is a special bag in the fridge. I usually eat two pieces a day. My husband prefers a white loaf he buys from one of two preferred bakeries. The ease of parking can dictate which one he chooses!

It takes me two or three days (depending on the temperature) to make a loaf of sourdough from start to finish. Day one I take the starter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Then I feed it with some flour and water and set it somewhere warm to develop. This takes about 12 hours and then, when it is bubbly and puffy and risen, I take some of the starter and mix it with more flour, water and a little salt. Then it’s covered and back on the table, near the French doors, to develop. About 12 hours later it will have risen to the top of the bowl and it is ready to cook.

Firstly, I ‘stretch’ the dough five or six times, pulling it up then letting it collapse back in the bowl in between stretches. While I’m doing this the oven is heating. I scrape the dough into a lined glass dish. No rustic beautiful boulés for me! The rectangular loaf allows me to cut similar sized slices of the entire loaf. It takes about 40 minutes to cook and much longer to cool. It tastes very good.

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Melanomas, Bottlebrushes and Other Things

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MELANOMAS

Are you an Australian with Anglo-Celtic or Northern European ancestry? I’m only asking because statistically you are in the high risk category to develop a melanoma. The most serious type of skin cancer is a melanoma, when the cancer develops in the melanocytes, the skin’s pigment producing cells. These are aggressive cancers.

We develop skin cancers because our skin remembers every time we played all lunchtime in the searing sun, every time we were at swimming lessons mid-morning in the summer school holidays and every other time in your entire life you were unprotected in our harsh sun. I wont even mention slatheringb ourselves in baby oil hoping to accelerate our tans.

Basal Cell Carcinomas (BCCs) are the most common growths. They often appear as small lumps or dry red scaly patches and are easily treated by burning or excising. Although they are benign cancers that don’t enter your blood stream, they need treating or monitoring. SCCs ( Squamous Cell Carcinomas) can metastasise and spread into lymph nodes. These need more urgent attention.

In males, melanomas are most often found on the torso, in females they most commonly occur on the limbs. In Australia, one in 14 men will develop an invasive melanoma and one in 22 women will also develop an invasive melanoma.

So what should fair skinned Australians do to prevent skin cancers? Wear sunscreen if you’re going to be exposed to the sun from mid-morning to late afternoon and add a hat and sunglasses, reapply sunscreen after swimming and monitor children closely to ensure they are protected. As a fully paid up member of the melanoma family I have a yearly check up with my dermatologist who keeps detailed records. She looks at my skin from my head down to my feet and it is not fun. Since 2012 I have never left her rooms without things being burnt off or three times things being cut out.

Consider having hats at every door going to the outdoors, applying sunscreen every morning, even in winter if you’re very fair and be aware of your hands and arms being exposed when you’re driving. If you haven’t had a recent check ask your GP to check or look for one of the many clinics ( in Australia) specializing in recognising and treating skin damage.

SPRING

Every season is special in its own way but spring promises regeneration and growth. In the Southern Hemisphere we can think about putting the dark, thick, heavy clothes of winter away and digging out the brighter, lighter clothes marking warmer weather. It’s good to be outside, surrounded by new growth and the still warm sun, not yet scorching.

These Callistemon (family Myrtaceae), better known as bottlebrushes are common in the southern area of Western Australia and the east coast of Australia. They are called ‘bottlebrushes’ because the cylindrical bloom looks like a bottlebrush! They bloom in spring and summer.

The first stage of flowering starts at the end of a leafy branch with the development of buds. When the buds erupt the colour of the flower is evident, in this case, crimson.

Buds on the right beginning to pop open.The buds open to reveal the red filaments developing.

As the flower develops it becomes a bottlebrush shape. The flowers are long lasting and attract many birds and insects. The spent bus capsuls become seed pods.

Hardy, beautiful bushes, bottlebrushes are very popular in native gardens. They require very little water, have gorgeous blooms if they’re in full sunlight and only require occasional pruning to maintain a compact shape.

OTHER THINGS

Sorting out the freezer drawers unearthed a surprise; the ham bone was still tightly wrapped in the bottom drawer. Bone, yellow split peas and water into the slow cooker for 8 hours, wonderful rich, thick soup for three nights. Already ordered the Christmas ham for this year.

Looks unattractive but tasted WONDERFUL!

Also rediscovered a couple of kilos of cooked prawns, so thawed some for lunch and turned the shells into prawn stock and froze it until I needed it. Prawn stock adds vibrancy to so many things. Simply boil the remains in just enough water to cover the shells for about 30 minutes, sieve, cool and use or freeze.

My cleaning up urge sent me through the fridge at the same time. There was my favourite ingredient to add to just about anything, preserved lemons! I scrape off any remaining pulp and thinly slice the preserved skin and add it to casseroles, salads and often on fish. Lovely zing of flavour! Recipe (here)

The citrus trees are still fruiting so I’ve made more preserved lemons.

I hope you are enjoying lovely weather, where ever you live!

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Blood Orange Marmalade and Reading

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MARMALADE

The citrus trees are loaded with fruit: orange, yellow, lime green and orange with a red blush. The latter is blood orange which fruit from about August to October. Slightly sweet with a lovely aroma, I usually make gelato, a family favourite when they are in season but this time I made marmalade.

The actual word MARMALADE is under attack from the EU ( European Union) Traditionally, a spread made from citrus fruit is called marmalade and a spread made from other fruit is called jam. The EU want to change marmalade to citrus marmalade and all other jams will be called marmalade. Poor Paddington Bear wont be able to share his marmalade sandwich with royalty anymore. Let them eat citrus instead!

Making any fruit spread requires preparing the fruit. Usually it is washed, dried, peeled, de-cored and chopped into small pieces. A very sharp knife is essential for this task. I use a whetstone to sharpen our Japanese knives. I submerge the whetstone in a jug of water for about half an hour and then place it on a towel with the coarser side facing up.

To prepare the whetstone I fill a jug with water and gently put the stone in until it is fully submerged.

Gently swipe the blade, at a slight angle, over the stone. Do the full length of the blade in one sweep. I do this three times, then turn the knife over, repeat. Wipe the blade clean on a cloth and repeat the process using the other, finer grade side of the stone. Carefully wash the knife. Now the blade is very sharp. Just right for preparing fruit for marmalade.

To prepare the fruit use a peeler to lightly skim the peel off the pith, the white layer between the skin and fruit. It doesn’t matter if the skin breaks during peeling as it’s chopped finely later to go in with the fruit. Then use a knife to cut off the pith which can be very bitter and tough. Cut the fruit in half longways, then into half again. Save the pips. Remove any white fleshy bits from the centre, then cut the fruit into smaller pieces. Not too small as marmalade is best with some fruity pieces still remaining after cooking.

Then scrape the cut up fruit, thinly sliced peel and any juice into a pot, if you’re making the marmalade on the stove top, or a glass bowl if you’re making it in the microwave. Knot the saved pips in a piece of muslin and put in with the fruit. I couldn’t find my muslin, so used a washed handkerchief. Add the sugar and water and put to cook. I actually added some Jam Setta pectin to the mix as it was too thin for our taste. I haven’t added the recipe as there are so many online and it’s best to find a method to suit how you like to cook.

I prefer using the microwave as it is quicker and seems cleaner. Using a pot on the stove top seems to make everything sticky! That is obviously the traditional way. It is also the way I made the marmalade this time. I’ve never made Blood Orange Marmalade before and felt I could watch when it began to thicken more easily if it was in a pot on the stove top.

When the marmalade was nearly at the ‘set’ point I boiled a kettle of water to pour over the jars I’d already sterilised in the dishwasher but mostly to do the lids which had been hand washed. I let them air dry then poured in the beautiful smelling marmalade. Online photos show people filling their jars using funnels, I use a soup ladle ( because I have always done it this way!)

Marmalade is simply fruit and sugar with water and sometimes, pectin added. I think it is probably an economical way to make jam, especially if the fruit is growing on your own tree or given to you. Of course, that assumes you have someone who eats marmalade and jam! The glass jars are finitely recyclable and originally were bought with jam or marmalade in them.

READING

Are you a fan of Richard Osman and his Thursday Murder Club series? I’m reading his latest murder mystery called The Last Devil To Die and it is beautifully crafted, full of unexpected twists and turns and humour. It follows the same characters we met in his previous three books The Thursday Murder Club, The Man Who Died Twice and The Bullet That Missed. Another smart, funny and warm novel as his retirees ( The Thursday Murder Club) discover and solve a series of events all following on from the murder of their antique dealer friend. Osam deals compassionately with aging, living in a retirement village on the ongoing decline of the husband of one of the main characters. It was a great read!

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Gardening Apron, My New Favourite Lemon Slice and Reading

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GARDENING APRON

Despite looking like a faded grey apron it is actually black!

This gardening apron is my new favourite thing. I first saw them on Instagram and wanted to buy one but twice I got to ‘checkout’ and nothing happened. I was attracted to the canvas aprons initially because of the phone pocket. If I take my phone out into the garden I forget where I put it. Hours later, when I realise it’s missing I have to ask my husband to ring me so I can work out where I’ve left it. Sometimes I leave it inside, because I’m ‘only going to be a minute’ but I get distracted and spend ages out there. When I come in I have missed calls and texts and spend ages catching up.

This canvas apron has a phone pocket. My phone fits snugly in it and is easy to pull out when necessary. It also has two large, deep pockets for secateurs, ties, gloves, whatever you need. It is a great length and I like the faux leather detail, too. I found it on Ebay. I went looking because I realised I actually really wanted it.

My non consuming side reminded me I had a denim apron in the drawer; I could sew a pocket onto to hold the phone. My sensible side then reminded me I use that apron many times a week, especially for making bread. i don’t think a multi purpose apron would work. Garden, kitchen, garden. No.

LEMON SLICE

I really like Nagi’s recipetineats recipes and I’ve never been disappointed with the outcome. I often use recipes from her DINNER cookbook and flick through, looking for inspiration.

It is the citrus fruit season here now. Beautiful citrus fruit is available in the shops but also many homes, especially in old suburbs like the one I live in. I have a lime tree and access to lemons and kumquat. Citrus can be used in sweet and savoury dishes. Great scent and great flavour. Lovely colours.

If you’re a fan of citron tarts, you’ll like this slice. Quicker as you make a shortbread base, not a pastry base and then almost a lemon butter filling. Beautiful flavour, easy, very popular. The contrast of the shortbread base with the sharp lemon layer is delicious. ( recipe nagim@recipetineats.com and search for Easy Lemon Bars)

Also made Chicken Meat Balls. Just mix the chicken mince with spring onions and bread crumbs. Search online, many great recipes, some including spices I will use next time.

Really enthusiastic reviews for cabbage casseroles on American sites where apparently cabbage casseroles are very popular, especially in the south. Beautiful cabbages this time of the year, so I decided on one of the recipes and got to work. Thinly sliced cabbage and onions fried in a pan plus a bechamel sauce and cheese on top. All in the oven. Looked good, but not my favourite ever cabbage recipe. Look online for cabbage casseroles if you’re overwhelmed by lots of cabbages and want to try something new.

READING

WE SHALL BE MISSED, Donna Leon, a Commissano Guido Brunetti novel.

There’s an Italian theme to the first two books I’ve just finished. The first, by Donna Leon, was a lovely surprise in the library. We both enjoyed her many books for years and were disappointed when she said she wasn’t writing any more. Now, we have a new book, her 32nd. Actually, she is also publishing her autobiography this year called ‘Wandering Through Life: The Memoir’.

As always, this murder investigation is set in Venice where Leon lived for many years. Her stories reveal her great affection for every aspect of Venice and Venetian life. This is a typical Commissano Brunetti story. We learn about the impact of politics, tourists and undocumented workers have on Venice, whilst reading how Brunetti gently and skillfully solves another murder. I really enjoyed it.

The second book on an Italian theme was Dominic Smith’s RETURN TO VALETTO. The author is an Australlian now living in Seattle.

The main protagonist, a historian, is documenting vanishing and abandoned towns in Italy. He regularly spends holidays in Italy with his grandmother and aunts, his mother’s sisters, in a small almost abandoned town. They are all about to discover a terrible secret from WW2 which will unite the aunts and a now elderly woman who stayed with them when they were all children.

The revelation shatters but then strengthens the family and they decide to denounce the wrong doer, now in his mid 90s, at the Grandmother’s 100th birthday party. As much as I enjoyed this story I think the ending was clever but not very satisfying!

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Dry Cleaning v Surgical Spirits, Blue Moons and Old CDs

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SURGICAL SPIRITS

For too many years I regularly took suits and jackets, school blazers and trousers and sometimes ties to the dry cleaner. I loathed the odour when they were dry cleaned and as soon as I got home I’d remove the metres of plastic covering them and hang the lot, still on their nasty wire hangers, in the breeze to diminish the smell. The smell of dry cleaning gave me a headache.

Until recently, dry cleaning relied on Perchloroethylene (PERC) to clean. Recognised as causing many health and safety hazards* some dry cleaners have moved towards ‘greener’ products. A quick search in our local area did not specifically identify any dry cleaners using these less harmful products. My husband wears two casual coats regularly throughout winter and one needed cleaning. It’s label said ‘DRY CLEAN ONLY’.

A bit of searching online led me to surgical spirits. I bought some from the chemist. The label says ‘For drying or astringent action on skin or as a solvent.’ It cost $7.85 for 100ml. The smell evaporates almost immediately and it is very effective as a solvent.

Using a new kitchen wipe I dabbed away at the raised seams and the collar of the coat and was very pleased to see the marks disappear. The entire process took less than five minutes, there was no residual smell and I did it at the kitchen sink, wearing protective gloves. I only used a very small amount of the surgical spirit.

Then the jacket went into a QUICK, cold wash in the washing machine before it was hung on the line to dry. I shook it a few times to remove any wrinkles. So impressed. Now hunting around to see if anything else needs dry cleaning!

Totally clean and no product smell.

Surgical spirits, also known as rubbing alcohol, can be used to remove general stains and stains on upholstery, remove sticky labels and ink stains and can be used to make home made hand sanitizer.

*Perchloroethylene (PERC) is a potential human carcinogen. Common short term reactions are confusion, dizziness, headaches, drowsiness and ear, nose and throat irritations. Longer term issues have been identified as depression of the central nervous system, damage to the liver and kidneys and impaired memory.

Dry cleaning depots are recognised as having all the elements for uncontrolled fires; fuel, ignition and oxygen plus combustible materials.

THE BLUE MOON

We’ve all heard the expression ‘Once in a blue moon’ referring to something that happens only rarely. A blue moon is an extra full moon in a month so not blue at all! Even rarer than a full moon is a month with two full moons as happened in August, just last week. The sky was clear here and the second full moon, known as the Blue Moon, was big and bright. Two full moons in one month happens every 33 months.

We know the moon impacts tides but did you know the moon can also effect sleep, cardiovascular conditions and the health of plants? The moon also features in fairy tales (think of werewolves) and poetry. Did you know the 2023 full moons all have interesting names, such as Wolf, Snow, Worm, Pink, Stawberry, Black, Sturgeon, Blue, Harvest, Hunter, Beaver and Cold. No, I didn’t either!

OLD CDs

This piece of furniture hides an enormous collection of CDs. Every now and then I open one of the drawers, eye off the contents and shut it again. Most of the CDs don’t belong to me but neither of the two people who they do belong to have the slightest inclination to sort through them and discard most or any of them.

I used to have CDs in my car but now I stream music. My husband’s car can play CDs but I’ve never seen him using any. We have a CD player as part of a sound system but no motivation to play them. If we want to watch a series or film from the past we usually find it online.There’s games, music and films in the collection and I have no idea how to recycle them .

The problem with CDs is they are difficult to recycle. The actual disc is made of composite plastics and the covers are plastic, too. The mixed materials in the CD make them uneconomical to recycle. Some sites buy CDs for resale with offer only cents per item. I found only one business in Australia offering this service.

Please let me know if you have any clever ideas!

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In The Garden, Toothbrush Heads and Other Plastic

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THE WINTER GARDEN

Most of the roses are now pruned. Soon I will remove the first few centimetres of topsoil in an attempt to disrupt the chilli thrip from emerging. I will replace it with fresh garden soil. The roses in our suburb have been decimated for several years due to chilli thrip. I am also buying some bugs to spread around the roses when they have new topsoil to see if they control the pests. The final treatment if they appear will be chemical warfare but I’m trying everything else first.

Sadly I know several people with many roses who couldn’t continue trying to control the pests so they removed all their rose bushes. Some were very old and well established. Very sad. Unfortunately, if everyone around you doesn’t treat chilli thrip your plants will be infected, too. Annoying.

I’ve been mass weeding. We have never had weeds like we have this year. They are thick everywhere. I have discovered the best weeding gloves! They fit well, keep my hands dry, are cotton lined and I can dig deeply with my fingers to pull up the roots without piercing the fabric. No rose thorns in my fingers! They’re actually not gardening gloves but are industrial safety gloves to protect against oil and chemicals but they are great for weeding.

TOOTHBRUSHES

I’ve used the same electric toothbrush hand piece for years. Every so often I bulk buy new heads. This means I’m reducing about half the amount of plastic going into the environment by only needing to replace half the toothbrush! The only problem is the packaging. Each pack has two new heads. Both are also sealed in their own individual plastic cover. Ridiculous.

I’m sure the heads were delivered on a cardboard sheet previously, but of course I’ve thrown it out. I think each head was attached to a cardboard sheet by a twist of covered wire, like green gardening wire but it was white. So now I have a pile of cardboard, easily managed and a pile of molded plastic, which is not easy to manage. And yes, I will be writing to Oral B about this plastic overkill.

I actually needed a Stanley trimmer to open the packets. Tough plastic protection for toothbrush heads.

The other plastic aggravation this week has been the little desiccant cylinders in pill bottles. I had five little plastic cylinders in one bottle of tablets. I don’t know but assume the small paper sachets of desiccant are just as effective and certainly far easier to dispose of responsibly. The tablets are manufactured in Australia so it’s disappointing that they are packed with all this plastic.

IN THE KITCHEN

Winter vegetables are still available here in abundance so I’m still making big pots of ratatouille. Not traditional French ratatouillie because I don’t add that French staple, eggplant. I do add other fresh vegetables regularly. So, along with the onions, zucchini, tomatoes, tinned tomatoes all cooked in a splash of olive oil, I added cabbage this week. The cabbages at the green grocer are big, crisp and really fresh. The only way to manage these big ones is to start off cutting them in half after they’ve been washed. Then I cut a half in half and thinly shredded that piece and add it to the bubbling tomato mix it into the pot. I should shred the outer leaves and add them to other scraps for vegetable stocks but time doesn’t allow for any extras at the moment.

Four serves of ratatouille for lunch with added goat feta, goat ricotta, some grated parmigiano and one day, a poached egg on top. I also add two pieces of toasted sourdough to soak up the delicious juices. Our other meals this week have frequently come from things I froze for busy weeks and this has been a busy week.

DID YOU KNOW?

On August 29th we celebrate ‘According to Hoyle’ Day? This day caught my attention as the expression was frequently used in our family when we were growing up. My Mother actually used it only a week ago! So who was Hoyle? Edmond Hoyle was an authority on the prescribed rules and regulations for popular games. He is best known for writing the definitive books regarding the rules for card and board games. He had a vast knowledge of popular games and published books of rules, hence the expression, ‘According to Hoyle’.

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Car Batteries, Killing Weeds. and Batch Cooking

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CAR BATTERIES

Last week I wrote about the anomaly between producing electric car batteries and the supply of materials needed to be mined to enable their production. This week I’ll tell you about the battery in my husband’s car. When he had his car serviced, the mechanic said he needed a new battery. So he rang the RAC (Royal Automobile Club who provide road side assistance, insurance, batteries, travel and accommodation and other related services) and a van arrived half an hour later. The serviceman told him they installed the existing battery in 2015. It was guaranteed for two years. It had lasted eight years..

VINEGAR AND WEEDS

Vinegar is a multi purpose liquid. Essential in so many recipes, a great cleaner ( avoid using it on porous surfaces as it can etch the material), a disinfectant and also a stain remover. I’ve bought 4 litres of vinegar for a different purpose; I’m killing the weeds in the brick paths and paving. After the wettest winter I can remember for years and being away from the house often, the weeds are taking over.

I used to mix it with salt and detergent, but now I just tip it into a spray bottle and twist the nozzle to a very directed, narrow spray and hit the weeds! It’s important to only spray the vinegar onto pathways or paving as it will alter the ph of the soil. Vinegar will kill ants, spiders and mosquitos but also bees, so be mindful of this when spraying.

Usually the weeds will begin to wilt within 24 hours. I let them really dry out then remove the residual plant with a hoe. Sometimes , if it is really sunny, the weeds will be dry enough to just sweep up. Later, I’ll use a pressure washer to really clean but I really like the moss growing between the pavers in some areas. We never have moss!

WINTER COOKING

Zucchinis were 49c each at the green grocer so I knew I’d be making a big pot of ratatouille. Traditionally, the French made ratatouille using zucchini, tomatoes, onions, eggplant, plus extra virgin olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. We don’t eat eggplant ( well, I do, but nobody else likely to eat my ratatouille does) but I will add other vegetables which are abundant at the time. So, sometimes, sweet potato, or pumpkin or corn appear.

Ratatouille is a great side dish. I drizzle a tiny amount of extra virgin olive oil over it. I especially enjoy a bowl of it for lunch with crumbled fetta. At the moment I am resisting cutting the crust off the loaf of sourdough I have just taken out of the oven which would soak up some of the lovely juices, but the loaf tears easily if it’s cut while it is still hot!

This is goats’ milk fetta and doesn’t crumble well but tastes very good.

My Mother has been in hospital and then respite for a month or so, so we were going up and down to visit her. We’d stay for four days then come back, do what we needed to do here, then go back. We’d leave her for an hour or so while she had lunch and often enjoy going to a cafe or restaurant. Then we’d have something really light for dinner. When we’d get back to Perth there were a few things I’d quickly thaw from the freezer for dinner, but eventually the freezer was bare!

So when we settled for scrambled eggs on crumpets ( we had no bread for toast) I knew it was time to get cooking. I have restocked the freezer with tikka masala ( I microwave the rice while the vegetables boil to serve with it) and pad thai. We intersperse these with salmon fillets and occasionally, eggs! I read blogs about people who batch cook for a fortnight at a time and I’m so inspired but never actually follow through, but a week at a time is working. I was also inspired by the bloggers who precook all their meals for when they’re away but that is a stretch too far when every minute seems to be committed at the moment!

I have rarely used meal kits as I have always made our meals ‘from scratch’ except I rely quite a bit on red and green curry pastes as a basis for several things we frequently eat. Time poor and trying to do an enormous number of jobs in three days, I bought the tikka masala and the pad thai kits after seeing both brands recommended on Insta. They were delicious! Unfortunately, the same site recommended two new flavours of chocolate bars and I bought both of those, too. They were also delicious but long gone.

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