So this is true Russ and Di style … 

For a while we have been wanting to cook a meal from Jamie Olivers 30 minute meals. You know the ones, the ones that you can do in 30 mins to save you time … well that is if you start at a reasonable time. Russ and I decided to cook the Piri Piri Chicken one Saturday night and well, it only took us half an hour, but we started at 9pm, and then ate it at 9.45pm … which in both our books was pushing it. 

It was amazing and we hope that we can do it again soon.

The Piri Piri sauce was so easy and Russ and I both learned how to season and cook the meat beautifully.

These tarts were to die for. The toffee was a bit chewy, but I have since made these just on their own. Easy and quick, and I have not found one person that doesn’t like them :)

Did you even think about the environment? 

Would anyone like to come to see Anima Mundi?

Read this and tell me why you shouldn’t see the movie. Inspiring people and can’t wait to see it. 

My own Bi-carb rinse & Apple Cider rinse both with Lavender from the garden

I have read about this for about 2 years. I should say that when I first heard about going ‘shampoo free’ I thought wholly about the environment and how this would benefit the waterways, the plastic consumption and also ethical choices of consumerism (who makes ethical shampoo anyway?).

Now being a mum my focus has changed a little. Not putting environmental reasons aside I have also considered it because of the health reasons (chemical intake through our skin/scalp) and also financially. I see this as something I am doing to look after myself and the environment. 

I am not going to write a lot about the reasons and recipes, it is well documented here:

Info: Shampoo Free 

Going “poo-free” may not initially sound like your cup of tea, but don’t be fooled into thinking shampoo is a necessary or healthy part of your body care routine. On top of being excessively harsh, your shampoo may contain ingredients you’re not comfortable having on your body or your hair. To really reap the benefits of healthy hair you’ll want to return it to it’s natural state, and going poo-free is the best way to do it. Try it for a month, and be faithful… see how much you love your new hair . You’ll surprise yourself at how soft, vibrant and clean it will feel.

What kind of herbs can I use to improve my hair’s health? 
  

I am pleased to say that it has been 3 weeks and my hair looks and feels great. I feel like my hair was producing so much oiliness and bi-product to protect my scalp from the chemicals I was putting on there. Now I can feel my hair so much better and so much cleaner. Wouldn’t go back, next time I am mixing up some with Rosemary in it. :)

Have a look at what we plan to discuss tonight at wineNjesus - not like all the other topics we discuss this one is close to my heart and I can’t wait to chat. 

To add further to the discussion:

Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable human environments. It is about designing households and communities that are productive, sustaining and largely self reliant and have minimal impact on the environment.

I enjoy this statement a lot, but feel that maybe the calling is not to “design” the households and communities to produce, sustain and have a minimal impact, but rather be there to empower, encourage and enable. Almost like a call to worship, a call to forgive, a call for prayer … this is a call for the earth. People are feeling the call and we who can help create and design these sustainable futures should deliver the goods so that others can respond to the call as well.

Thoughts?

We got the recipe from here.

And this is how we did it.

Eve stirring away

Buns rising

Crossed and ready for the oven

Finished buns! YUM!

Next year I will look at maybe a sourdough recipe with a live yeast and also look into getting some local ingredients, like grain/flour and possible the raisins and current. For the time being this used up what I had in the pantry. 

I also found this online, although it is not the recipe that I used it is a good idea. Maybe I can look into getting the recipes that I like put onto hand towels. 

MOZI tea towl

I did a lot of reading as I was not sure whether to do plain beets, spiced beets, hot beets … who new the options. We settled with spiced beets. Here is how it happened. 

3 jars sterilised and hot - size = about 300ml each
6 beets
2 1/2 cups of white vinegar
1 cup of water
splash of ground cinnamon
splash of ground cloves

1. Boil the beets (skin on) for about 25mins. I used the water from here to make up the water for Step 3. 

2. Let them cool for a bit, and skin them. I used an old glove that didn’t have a pair and although it was for my left hand I put it on my right and that saved my hand getting too red. 

3. Add water, vinegar and spices into pot that was used to boil the beets. Bring to boil. 

4. While that is boiling, slice (or dice into cubes if you like!) the beets. and put them into the hot sterilised jars you have prepared earlier. 

5. Once boiled, pour into the jars over the beetroot and poke with a knife to get all the air out between the beets. 

6. Close lid and store in fridge for about 2 weeks before using. 

YUM!Can’t wait to make them with my own next season. 

Peeled Betroots

Peeled beets, glove and hot jars ready to be filled. Note the newspaper on the bench, just to save my pink bench from becoming more pinker!

Sliced beets going into the jar

Nappies - Green Nappy Company - We researched for ages and settled with these ones because a) they were locally (Australian) made, b) they did not have inserts like many nappies so we don’t have to handle the dirty nappies too much, c) dry bucket system and d) the cost was reasonable. Tips on these would be to make sure you wash them before you use them to help the absorption activate and the material work. Once they are working they are a great product. I use them with the Eenee flushable liners as well.

Waterproof Nappy Bag - diaperbagwrangler - instead of plastic bags I carry one of these handy bags. It would be great if I had another one, cause washing them every time I use them means some days I do have to use the old plastic bag, in which case I use a biodegradable one! 

Pants off Party Floor Mats - So Russell’s sister Heather gave us a great little mat she made using material and a plastic table cloth she got from spotlight. It is a waterproof solution and means you can just chuck it in the wash - much like a towel, but less bulk for when they are moving around a bit.

Sophie the Giraffe - we have only just taken this out, but already she is in high demand. I am not sure exactly what this thing is made of, but it is amazing! She pops it straight in her mouth and it is light enough that she can eve squeak it which makes her giggle. 

Mumma and Bubba Calm Balm - we were given this and I didn’t use it for a while until Eve was having a few rough nights and I cracked it out. I was amazed. It smells wonderful and is by sure my first option when she is terribly upset, I grab this, give her tummy and back a rub and I even hold it in front of her nose on my hands and she sniffs it and is either distracted enough or absorbed by the smell that she calms right down. Also coming with a great useable box packaging as a toy, their product is organic, natural and free of chemicals. The packaging and posting is all very conscious of the environment. 

Baby Wearing - Minimonkey - Baby Bjorn - One of the most satisfying and easiest way for me to bond with Eve has been heart to heart. At them moment I don’t go anywhere without this Minimonkey. It is by far the easiest thing to use and Eve just pops in and out and I can get in and out of a shop, a petrol station or even just a quick coffee. And she loves it. We were also lent a Baby Bjorn which has been just beautiful. The times that I have had a screaming baby and I pop her in, give a little jiggle and she generally rocks off to sleep. I shop with it, garden, house work, sometimes even I put her in, if she falls asleep I lay down with her still in it. 

I am sure that there are many more, and I will be posting as I learn and discover way more things about having a baby and being a mum. A good start, cause someone asked me what I sued the most. At the moment these are my top 6! 

So, we are still here. We emerge as a family from the 3 month blur of a new baby. In fact I can say that the last 4 weeks has been so great I can’t imagine doing anything else. Earlier I was thinking I couldn’t get back to work sooner, but as I have enjoyed the playing, the smiling, the walking, the gurgling and the homemaking I am starting to fall in love with my ‘new’ mother life.

It has been hard at times, there is no denying it. But I am starting to begin to feel like my head is just stretching out and above the water and I can breathe. 

Russell my darling, this post is probably to you and I and just reminding us that although we now have a beautiful little daughter it is time for us to get back to our worlds of getting on top of housework, church time, together time and into the drift of family times. Our house is amazing and I am so comfortable in here that I can’t imagine having our family anywhere else. 

Cheers to families.

Cheers to baby’s.

Cheers to God and creation … ah beauty. 

Lavender and Lemon Cordial

So I was not sure whether to write more about motherhood delights or to focus on something else for a while. I thought I would post a really nice recipe for cordial. My neighbour dropped round a whole lot of lemons and so I figured I would make some cordial from them, not letting them go to waste. While I was looking for a recipe (trying to find one with a sugar alternative - hard to do!) I stumbled across this website: onebitemore Not only do I love the idea of the cordial but also the game she writes about.

Seen as though my lavender in this new house is blossoming (I have so many varieties!) I thought I would give it a go. It worked great, except, it didn’t turn pink! Which I was slightly dissapointed by. I am not sure why but none the less it is refreshing and I couldn’t wait for morning tea today when I treated myself to a lovely glass with some ice!

washed lavender buds, shaved lemons, lemon skin

infusing the flavours

in a jar ready to use

I ended up with a double batch, which is great cause I have a few to give away and share this great summer treat!

This morning (19th January 2010), in the segment about Miranda Ker and her new baby Flynn, XXXXX made the comment  “Is it just me or do women today think that women have never had babies before?” This comment triggered off what has been a common misconception/disillusionment that I have recently become aware of. The reason children/women/adolescents find ‘common’ issues like childbirth, breastfeeding, contraception etc. hard to confront or deal with is because your generation doesn’t openly talk about them. It is hard when women of your generation say that they were fine, “in my day we did it the hard way!”.

I have recently had my first child and although it has only been 10 weeks I have learnt more then I ever have in my last 29 years. One of the biggest things that I have learnt is that I am not alone. I had a lot of breastfeeding problems, and the more people I spoke with the more people would say, oh yes that happened to me, or I was like that too. It becomes a problem when people are not open about the issues. If women of your generation were open enough and more community oriented then these ‘issues’ would become more a part of life and you would find less stigma attached to them.

On a recent trip to Africa I experienced communities of women sharing babies, home births, breastfeeding in public, openly discussing cloth pads and menstruating to name a few. The common parts of life all should share. The children around would have been absorbing this discussion and watching mothers feed and nurse. I wish that more people would be as open and as sharing so that we could grow up with more at hand life skills, not importance orientated towards money, certificates or degrees. 

It went on … but that says enough for you to understand the general idea. 

The truth is …

• … that I was not, and am not coping. As I sit here with my baby in her cradle I can say that it has not been easy.
• … that it is hard and there are changes, and that many people have done this before me. 
• … everyone has moments and experiences, no matter how together people look. When you talk to them you realise that they too have the same experience, but are really good at hiding it (which is half problem!)
• … you should ask for help. If you understood that people have done this before it would not be hard to ask someone to take your dog for a walk, or for a dinner, or lunch, or even for a break from visitors. 
• … you and your baby are individuals and should listen to each other BEFORE any advice or websites. Your instincts have been given to you as a gift and you should not ignore them. 

I am sure that there are many more truths, but these have been in my gut for a while and I needed to get them out. This post is really just a call out to everyone to be honest and truthful to each other and themselves. Honesty and reality is full of worth while experience.

One of the best comforts is to hear that I am not alone. At 3am, when you have a screaming child and you feel like your boobs are broken and you are not sure how to continue, the best thing for me to reflect on is reality and not some perfect ideal that has been advertised or promoted to me.