We have finally arrived at the end of term four, school is finished, swimming and dance lessons are over for the year.....and I'm sitting here wondering where the heck the year went!! Xmas is fast approaching!
The garden is going great guns, we have all the seedlings in now, and the next round of seeds on their way. we also have many more seeds drying etc.....i love this full cycle stuff! from growing, to eating, drying the seeds and replanting! we are well on our way to our self sufficiency goals!!! Gaby and Anthea have become my seed collecting, drying and planting specialists. Baxter absolutely loves getting out in the garden with mummy, and doing odd jobs with daddy! Britney has been re-motivated to keep up her flower garden out the front of the house, and the hubby is keeping the lawn pristine! (well maybe not, we are still getting rid of some prickles) its so nice to be outside! i looove my garden. i could disappear out there all day. Miss Lexy loves it too :)
I cant wait for some more bonza crops! we have been enjoying gorgeous herbs and sprouts for some time now, and things like tomatoes and chillies, but now we want more more more!!! I'm growing impatient for real tomato sauces, relishes, oooh the freshness, the flavour......
I plan to use any excess (that we cant eat, use for sauces, freeze etc) for dehydration. i'm hoping within a month or so to get my dehydrator!! Im also looking into other old-school preserving too. i think ill get some of those preserving jars and do some of those in the future. not a great deal. just enough to add some variety. So excited about my dehydrator, I cant wait to make real fruit roll ups for the kids! - put this on ya packets uncle toby's: "100% real fruit, maximum nutrition, enzymes intact". *shudders* packet food! Ergh!
speaking of which..... hubby cooked dinner last night from a packet Mexican thing. it was horrible (don't get me wrong, the beef was yummy, loads of veggies in it etc, and cooked to perfection) i just don't think he is confident enough with spices etc. hence the packet. anyway it was the first thing for a packet we had eaten in months. the saucy stuff was hideous, you could taste the fillers/ thickeners and fake crap in there!! even he said mine was better, and to think we used to think that was yummy, and had Mexican nights frequently. Another bonus of no packaging (aside from the not needing to go to the supermarket very often) is NO garbage!! i went to put the bin on the street the other day, only to find an empty bin!! The Sims', a family of 7, had 1 bag of garbage for the week. (Which i had to scrounge for when i discovered the bin empty!!). DOUBLE BONUS!! we have more stinky compost though, and more bugs!!
hmmm........... nice little segway to my next NOT so nice observation. All this good traditional food. Everyone is interested. Everyone wants in. Including the bugs!!! OMG i have never had so many bugs in the kitchen!!! its funny how a swarm of bugs will come around and kamikaze into my bread dough, yet i never have any problems when I'm cooking my special occasion cakes (white flour sugar etc etc). Do you think the bugs are smarter than they look?? i think so. It is annoying, and i hate bugs, it makes me feel a little gross that i am always keeping bugs out, etc. but it is interesting, and eye opening, nonetheless!!
Now onto the kiddies! I have had some real "WINS" with all of them making comments here and there about their new and improved healthy food. and their exposure to processed stuff is minimal (ie staying at a friends house), but the effects are immediate, and unpleasant. ('gives me a pain in the guts, and i feel yuk!-their words) No one asks me for junk food anymore. although, Britney said she misses ice cream. (which is funny as we eat ice cream a couple of times a week, and the fat rich stuff too) maybe she means the sugar filled variety!! lol. Anthea, always asks me for more healthy things in her lunch box, and i think it has become a bit of a point of conversation between her and her friends at school. she is enjoying 'being the healthiest kid in class' and educating her peers on grains, and where sugar likes to hide!! lol. Gaby is self regulating her sugar intake, she counts her sugar serves (eg. a little rapadura in porridge, 2 fruit, teaspoon of honey in a smoothie, bread {i put honey in it} and a spelt biscuit- would be a typical day) and i have noticed a distinct difference in this kid. not mind blowing, but she is more balanced, not so easily aggravated/ irritated, and her attitude has almost certainly become more positive!! Oh and i should definitely mention Baxter. who is never exposed to processed food, and has had none for months. With the exception of his birthday cake. He was an uncontrollable nightmare child for two days after that. i regret the food colourings BIG TIME! next year it will be my flour, and natural colours if need be. Lesson learnt!!
The hubby is still happily coming along for the ride, i am surprised by him, he is a processed and convenience food child, yet he is so open to all this!! I expected resistance! He always helps me with the gardening side of things, and i think as time goes on, and we get a bigger property he will be in his element! (probably because we will then be able to branch into growing our own meat! lolLOL but observation of the creature that is my husband, would notice no late night cravings for sweets, and once upon a time, he would walk in the door at night with a one or two blocks of chocolate. He comments now, he doesn't even think about it! We are getting there! I cant wait for him to start brewing his own beer. then we can be fermentation buddies :) bahahahah
wowzers, i have got a little carried away as you can see, I'm just so excited! other developments to keep you eye out for will be:
- cheese making experiments
- more recipes!
- I have found a place i can get raw milk, i cant wait for real milk again! Unfortunately it is expensive. so i will still have to buy the far-from-superior supermarket stuff for cooking and the like
- food item of the week (eg oat, zucchini, yogurt's etc)
- introducing the kids: they want to do some blogging with me!
Argh, you are SuperMum! Love, love love hearing all that you're up to <3
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