Life Struggles and Zumba

About two months ago, I thought I must get back on my blogging horse. Unfortunately, life seems to always get in the way. I find it difficult to get "me time" these days and when I do take a moment, I'm usually exhausted.

However, a couple of friends are trying to get me out and about a bit more, so I can get back a bit of my own space and time. Thank you!

Last Thursday night, three chubby middle-aged women went to their first Zumba class. The result - hilarious! We were all somewhat unco-ordinated and found it hard to keep up with our teacher who was probably half our age and fed on jumping beans. But we had lots of fun and hopefully we'll all get a bit fitter.

So, I'll be trying to get back to the blog and hope to see many of you again soon.

love and light

naturewitch

Now That's Frugal Living ....

Just had to share this joke with you all ...

MAMA AND HER BIBLE

Four brothers left home for college, and they became successful doctors and lawyers and they prospered. Some years later, they chatted after having dinner together. They discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother who lived far away in another city.

The first said, "I had a big house built for Mama."

The second said, "I had a hundred thousand dollar theater built in the house."

The third said, "I had my Mercedes dealer deliver an SL600 to her."

The fourth said, "You know how Mama loved reading the Bible and you know she can't read anymore because she can't see very well. I met this preacher who told me about a parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took 20 preachers 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for twenty years to the church, but it was worth it. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it." The other brothers were truly impressed.

After the holidays their mother sent out her thank you notes.

She wrote: "Milton, the house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house. Thanks anyway."

"Marvin, I am too old to travel. I stay home. I have my groceries delivered, so I never use the Mercedes. The thought was good. Thanks."

"Michael, you gave me an expensive theatre with Dolby sound. It could hold 50 people, but all my friends are dead, I've lost my hearing and I'm nearly blind. I'll never use it. Thank you for the gesture just the same."

"Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to give a little thought to your gift. The chicken was delicious. Thank you."

Still laughing....

love and light

naturewitch

Coming out of Hibernation

Been silent for just a little too long, mainly because life has just become so very busy...

In the past year, both of my partner's children have moved in with us, which has meant an incredible increase in the amount of housework, as well as my continual juggle with both work and study.

But in all the busy-ness, I've left part of me behind, so am starting to make a concerted effort to regain it.

Dixiebelle arranged a lovely outing for some of us yesterday, so we got face to face and had a lovely chat about sharing some of our skills. This, and interesting conversations with the crone and a fellow student recently, have helped to pull me out of my hibernation and I'll get back to blogging real soon.

Just an exam tomorrow and three more assignments and I'll be done for the semester ...

love and light
naturewitch

Of Things Leguminous

Out in the garden last weekend, I took a few snaps of our current leguminous crops.

The Golden Podded Peas are indeed golden. They are quite tasty when young and can be eaten whole like snow peas. As they get older, however, they tend to get a bit starchy and so I'll be leaving these to dry. The flowers are a lovely purple colour, so they are a very pretty pea.



The chick peas are flowering .....


And the first few pods are appearing ...


The broad beans, looking luscious, just before they were strip picked and cleared to make room for some new veges.


Legumes are such a good food for us. Just as they prepare the soil to support good growth, so do they help cleanse and prepare our bodies for good health.

Beans are the same shape as our lymph nodes, spleens and kidneys and they help keep these healthy.

Beans love to grow in amongst corn. Beans and corn together provide all the amino acids we need - that is, they are a perfect protein.

Alfalfa is also a legume and it is a fantastic lymphatic cleanser and body alkaliser.

All of these are good reasons to include legumes in your diet, but they are also very yummy and children just love to pick and munch them. Enjoy!

love and light
naturewitch

Busy and Exciting Times

I can't believe it's over two weeks since I posted anything. Have been busy with assignments, work, the garden - just the usual. We've got about three and a half weeks to go now and study will be over for another year, so hopefully I'll have a bit more time.

But there have been a few exciting happenings and a bit of progress in the garden while I've been silent ...

The large bed in the front garden has been completely renovated, with weeds removed and new plants inserted, its also been fed and mulched, and an arch has appeared to train roses on one side and a jasmine and gelsemium on the other. This bed is about 12 or so square metres and it was rather neglected, so it was quite a job.

I've managed to find the time to make some more mint jelly and start a batch of elderflower champagne ... recipes coming soon.

We've started dismantling one of the raised garden beds in preparation for conversion to a wicking bed. This particular bed has a slight problem with couch grass, so we've been sieving all the soil. Ugh!

A couple of weeks ago, I was awarded a prize for "Excellence in herbal medicine" where I study. I was surprised, but very happy, especially since it came with a voucher for some herbal extracts from my favourite herbal company. :)

And best of all, on Saturday we picked up a new nucleus colony and so now we have two hives in the garden. The new bees seem to be settling in well. And next year we can probably split the older hive, so we'll have a total of three hives. Haven't harvested any honey yet; just letting the hives get stronger for now.

Now I'm off to have a look at what you've all been up to ....

love and light
naturewitch

Hugh, Chickens and Mint Jelly

I've become a bit of a fan lately of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and the River Cottage. The ABC has been showing the River Cottage Spring series and starting next week will show River Cottage Autumn. Top viewing, if you have the time on a Wednesday evening ...

Today I ordered the cookbook, which apparently has been around for some time; I'm just a bit slow catching on to some of these things ...

Last night, they had a session on the difference between organic, free range chickens and massed produced chickens. A British professor has been conducting research into their nutrient value.

Here's some chicken factoids:

• Compared to the chicken available to consumers 50 years ago, today's mass produced chicken has more fat and is no longer the lean option many people think it is - 12.9% fat comes to mind, but I didn't write it down, so I could have it wrong.

• Chicken used to be considered a good source of Omega 3 fatty acids - essential for good brain function, lowering high-density cholesterol, reducing inflammation, etc, etc. Modern mass-produced chicken has very little Omega 3. In addition to the added fat, it seems modern mass-produced chicken is not at all good for our arteries.

• Corn-fed chicken did not fair much better than the mass-produced stuff, but it did have slightly more Omega 3, although this was accompanied by extra fat.

• The supermarket purchased organic, free range chicken tested had more than 10 times the Omega 3 fats, was leaner, older and had more flavour.

So, if you weren't eating organic, free range chicken before reading this, you might like to reconsider. Yes, it's more expensive, but what price the health of your family?

So, to the mint jelly .....

We had a minor culinary crisis in our house the other day when we realised that we were out of mint jelly. I mean totally out, not even a bottle in the cupboard, a most unusual event in our household. So, my darling man went to the shop and bought some.

I have not eaten shop-bought mint jelly since I don't remember when. I have obviously been very spoilt. The shop bought stuff was not only coloured green, it tasted disgusting - something akin to a bad tube of toothpaste. Ugh!!!! Can't wait for the mint to be big enough to pick. Mint jelly making is definitely on my culinary horizon in the near future.

love and light
naturewitch

Passionfruit Butter Recipe

This one's for Sage...

Passionfruit Butter
Juice of 8 oranges
Juice of 3 lemons
Passionfruit pulp - 340g
6 cups sugar (about 1.5kg)
12 eggs
350g butter

Put it all in a small boiler with a heavy base. Heat while stirring until it simmers and thickens. If it's not thick enough, you can add 1 tablespoon of cornflour that has been dissolved in a little water.

Pour into sterilised jars and seal. Keep in the fridge for up to 6 months. Makes about 6 x 500g jars.

love and light
naturewitch

Natural Woman Network and Rad Pads

A friend of mine has recently become the Canberra facilitator for the Natural Woman Network (http://www.naturalwomannetwork.com.au/). One of the roles of the Natural Woman Network is to provide a vehicle for the spread of information about women’s and family health and sustainable living.

One of the products the Natural Woman Network promotes is Rad Pads, which are reusable cloth menstrual pads. Here is a link to the website http://www.radpads.com.au/.

For those of you in Canberra, Cathy will be at the next Tuggeranong Homestead Markets on Sunday 11 October (9am – 2pm) with a stock of Rad Pads for sale, along with other information about the Natural Woman Network. She will also have samples of the Rasasara ayurvedic skin foods.

You can also arrange to have a gathering at your place where Cathy can bring samples of Rad Pads and show you the Rasasara skin foods and Chi cleaning cloths. If you are interested, contact Cathy on cathy@emailme.com.au.

love and light

naturewitch

Buying Local and Loving It

One of the benefits of buying local produce is that you're never quite sure beforehand about what might happen in your kitchen that week. It keeps things from being routine and boring and surely that's a good thing!

Yesterday morning, my darling man and I went to the local Farmer's Markets, which set off a chain of culinary events ....

Finding some beautiful strawberries at good prices not only meant fresh strawbs to eat (yum!), but four pots of strawberry jam, which should last us several months.

Purchasing fresh, sweet, juicy oranges gave rise to me juicing the old ones and cooking up six pots of passionfruit butter, something nearly-teen-boy loves on hot oat cakes. The recipe also used a dozen fresh local hens' eggs.

Duck eggs reminded me of the moist coconut cake that a neighbour used to make from my brother's spare duck eggs when we were teenagers, so of course, that had to be made as well.



Fresh fennel, artichokes and sweet potatoes were roasted and added to fresh fish to produce a lovely meal.

And another meal of a thick vegetable soup was graced by the addition of locally produced chorizo sausages sliced on top (which, incidentally, gave off no fat while cooking and tasted amazing) and slices of toasted gluten free Crunch bread (a seedy concoction held together with a bit of gluten free flour).

OK, some of the supplemental ingredients were not local, but the majority of ingredients were. My point is that by shopping this way, you eat with the seasons, stock the cupboard with the seasons, and generally eat much tastier and healthier food (well, except maybe for the added sugar.... ;)).

I hadn't planned on making jam or a cake this weekend, but it sure was fun. And the fresh produce - simply delicious!

love and light

naturewitch

First Asparagus of the Season

Last night we had the first of our asparagus for the season - three fat purple stalks. Yummy!

This is a photo from last year, but hopefully we'll be getting this much again soon.

Just love asparagus!

And did you know that asparagus is a source of the trace mineral chromium? Chromium helps to balance our blood glucose levels, as well as helping to reduce our cravings for evil sugar.

Just love asparagus!

love and light

naturewitch

The Real Reason the Chicken Crossed the Road

At last, an answer to that burning question.....

Just had to share this one with you .... apologies to any vegetarians ...

love and light
naturewitch

Ah, Spring!

Outside in the early morning

The others still tucked up in bed

Picking lettuce and rocket for our lunches

My breath of fresh air before the busy week begins.

The kale, which has fed us so beautifully over winter

Is heading upwards now, soon to flower

To provide food for the bees.

The first couple of broad beans

Not enough for a meal

But a contribution to a stir fry.

Breathe in deeply, feeling the cool air rush into lungs

Too long kept in the stuffy inside air

There's nothing like the clean fragrant air of spring

With promises of all that is to come.

Ah, Spring!

love and light

naturewitch

Tomatoes and Basil

You know the warmer weather is approaching when you start planting your tomato seeds. Here in Canberra, we have to start our tomatoes under cover, transplanting out after the last frost in late October or early November.

So today I put some seeds in pots for both tomatoes and basil (the two just have to go together!). I've recorded below the characteristics of the tomatoes, as best I know them from seed packets and other information. I'm going to see how the crop goes and compare it to the information supplied. Hopefully, we'll have lots of salad and cooking/bottling/paste/sauce tomatoes this season. I'm going to rely on self-seeding for the cherry tomatoes and yellow egg tomatoes...


The basil varieties I planted are: Lettuce leaf; Small leaf, ball-shaped; Classic Italian; Holy Basil and Thai Basil.

I'll keep you posted on their progress over summer.

love and light
naturewitch

To Be Fifteen Again!

Scene at the breakfast table ...

Dad: "Julia Gillard was impressive last night on Smarter Than a Fifth Grader."

TeenGirl (with a roll of her eyes and that tone): "She is the education minister, Dad!"

Had to stop myself rolling around laughing (no offence, Julia)! Oh, to be fifteen again and know everything.

love and light

naturewitch

I Love Soapnuts!

After seeing Molly's post on soapnuts, I decided to buy some - I got mine from Eaternal. The service was terrific and the soapnuts arrived in a couple of days after ordering.

Today I did my first big wash with the soapnuts and they are absolutely fabulous! Everything came out clean and bright and the wash water went out on to the garden. I did my usual trick of saving and re-using the "suds", which further reduced the amount of water needed.

This morning we also worked out a plan to convert our raised garden beds into wicking beds, so hopefully we'll start work on that next weekend. By using the washing water to recharge the wicking beds each week, we're sure to be saving on water this summer.

Out in the garden today, I completely weeded my long herb bed and planted some of the new arrivals. Others are inside awaiting the last frost. I'll post some pictures when they grow up a bit; at the moment, it is hard to distinguish the herbs from lucerne mulch!

While weeding the bed, I also found a couple of parsnips missed last autmun. No problem, they'll make a great addition to the roast vegies we're having for dinner tonight :).

Talking to my neighbour this morning, who was also out in his vegie patch, I was delighted to hear that he had a better than usual crop of pumpkins last autumn, which he attributed to having the bees nearby. I too had noticed an increase in production, but it's really nice to have it confirmed. Our dear bee friends are proving to be very popular. Can't wait to get more.

love and light

naturewitch

The Herbs and Seeds are Here!

We arrived home from the food co-op* this evening to find a fruit box full of plants awaiting us at the front door - it was my first herb order from All Rare Herbs.

Everything arrived in good condition and was solidly packed so that nothing had spilt or been damaged.

Included in the order were:

Galangal

Golden Alpine Strawberry

Ammi visagna (seeds)

American Wild Yam

Barberry

Betony

Orris

Self Heal

Sweet Annie

Woad (I'm dyeing to try this when it grows up! :))

American Arnica

Also this week, my first seed order from The Italian Gardener turned up. Everything was well packed and the photos on the packets have me drooling and keen to get growing, even though some of them will have to be raised under cover to protect them from any late frosts.

I'm in plantaholic heaven and there's not much chance of anyone keeping me out of the garden this weekend....

.... although, I must confess that I'm going to visit the bee man on Saturday morning to get a spare hive box, just in case the bees decide to swarm in the next few weeks. Also, I'm going to check out about getting another nucleus hive and am keen to get a proper protective bee suit (my white pyjama pants aren't really that suitable LOL!).

I'm also toying with the idea of a smoker, but it seems a bit cruel to smoke the bees and so far they've been pretty mild-mannered. Has anyone got any experience with this? I'd love some thoughts on the practicality and ethics of smoking the bees.

*The food co-op we go to is the ANU Food Co-op. For anyone living in Canberra interested in organic food, with deliveries of fresh produce twice a week, I highly recommend it. They also have a wide range of bulk flours, grains, cereals, dried fruits, nuts, fair trade chocolate, eggs, milks, breads and grocery items. You take your own containers and bags and so help to reduce the wastage of excess packaging associated with our food. There are discounts for members and workers, which make the products very affordable.

love and light

naturewitch

Food Forest Fun

This morning, when I should have been finishing my presentation for tomorrow morning's class, I escaped into the garden. It was simply too beautiful a day to be cooped up inside staring at a computer screen.

And there was the rest of the strawberries to plant. These runners have been languishing in a dilute solution of seaweed extract for about six weeks now. They've been outside under the mega kale leaves, so they've been aclimatised. They've survived remarkably well and are now happily nestled in the beginnings of our food forest.

I planted and mulched to the accompaniment of bees buzzing, blue wrens singing and magpies carolling. It was simply divine.

So here's a couple more pictures of our fledgling food forest. The stepping stones are four pavers placed closely enough so that we don't have to stand on any plants. But in between the trees and the pavers will be solidly planted.

I've sprinkled lemon balm and borage seeds in between the strawberry runners. These will provide food for the bees, as well as herbs for me.

Elsewhere in the garden, the rocket, the broccoli and some Chinese cabbages are in flower, adding a little variety to the bees' current feast on plum, nectarine and peach blossom.

love and light
naturewitch

Herbs, Herbs, Herbs

Hello. My name is naturewitch and I am a plantaholic. I feed my obsession in many ways - visiting nurseries (when I have the time and the transport), reading about plants, or buying them online.

I have just discovered a new place to buy plants and they are ones especially dear to my heart - herbs. All Rare Herbs has an amazing collection of herbs, herb seeds and dried herbs for sale. They have specials each month - to tempt you further - and are lovely to deal with. I have placed my first order this week and eagerly await its arrival. I'll let you know when it arrives.

love and light

naturewitch

Microclimate Gardening and Food Forests

After last year's hot summer, I've decided to take a different approach this year - microclimate gardening.

The raised beds in our garden are made from Besser blocks, which is great for winter vegies as they retain the heat. However, they can be a bit warm in summer (last year I had to put this canopy up to raise the carrots), so this year they are going to host all of the heat-loving vegies, such as corn, pumpkins, tomatoes, melons, eggplants, etc.

The less heat-tolerant vegies, such as the leafy greens and root vegies, are going to be planted under and between the fruit trees. They'll still get enough light, but they'll also get protection from the hot midday sun; in other words, it will be the start of a food forest.

And I saw a neat idea on Gardening Australia the other day - pots with frames in them for growing Ceylon Spinach or Malabar Greens. These could be really useful to move around the garden to act as temporary shades and I'm also thinking of other plants we could grow in these pots.

I've moved the Queensland arrowroot from the garden into a big black bin under the eaves and it's put its first couple of leaves up already, about 2 months or so ahead of usual. I'm going to try this technique for also growing sweet potatoes and chokoes, so will tell how that goes later in the season.

We've worked out a site for a water tank to collect the rainfall from the roof and have finally agreed a site for the chook pen. It will mean moving the current compost heap, but that's OK with me. I'm also thinking about establishing a pond/bog area to house plants like water chestnuts (currently in buckets) and cranberries (currently in the bath tub); don't know if we'll get to it this year, but it's in the plan!

I lost a lot of time in the garden this winter due to illness and busy-ness, so I'm a little behind the eight ball. But on the weekend I got out in the garden and started weeding, feeding, fertilising (don't you just love chook poo!), planting and mulching under the fruit trees - twenty strawberry runners in so far. Haven't taken a photo yet, but will when I get a bit more done - hopefully next weekend (depending on the weather).

And last, but certainly not least, the bees have survived the winter (I was worried we might lose them when it was very cold and wet for a while) and we're thinking of putting in another hive. It is so terrific to see them around the garden and I'm planting up some extra herbs and flowers just for them.


love and light
naturewitch

Italian Vegetable Seed

Some women have shoe fetishes; I must admit to seed, book and craft fetishes. But the one I write of here is unashamedly seeds.

Last week at work, one of my colleagues said that she'd managed to obtain some Italian vegetable seeds for her father (who is Italian). Of course, at lunchtime, I simply had to investigate! I happily returned with no less than eight packets of Italian vegetable seeds and a website to look at - http://www.theitaliangardener.com.au/

I am absolutely thrilled with this find as they have seed available that I've not seen in any other Australian seed companies. They also carry some organic seed stock.

Here's a picture of one of their tomatoes which I will try to grow this year. It is supposed to yield 400g fruit, which are very fleshy, with very few seeds.

So, if you share my addiction to trying out different varieties, have a look at what they have to offer.

Happy gardening!

love and light
naturewitch