Around here - Making your own

Following on from my last post about Home Made Recipes did you know you can make your own Baking Powder, I didn't know this.  The recipe is as follows and it came from Urban QLD Homestead Youtube video at 12.24 minutes in.  It's worth watching the whole video however if you are just after how to make Baking Powder go straight to the section.

BAKING POWDER RECIPE

• 2 Parts - Cream of Tartar [1 cup]
• 1 Part  - Corn Flour [1/2 cup]
• 1 Part  - Baking Soda [1/2 cup]

METHOD - Sift the above ingredients really well 2-3 times so it's all mixed together and then you have made yourself Baking Powder.

Amanda purchases a large 1.5kg bag of Cream of Tartar from Honest to Goodness via Amazon for $44.38 as the major supermarkets only stock smaller boxes which works out very expensive.

Another video from Urban Qld Homestead is about making your own "packet mix sauces" is a great one to watch.  Having home made packet sauce mixes so on those night you are wanting to cook dinner so it can be quick and easy.  Secondly, by making them yourself you know what ingredients goes into them and they won't have any unnecessary additives or preservaties in them. Once you have the pantry staples it will be much cheaper because you can just make them over and over again.  Amanda also provides a free download PDF with the recipes so you can print it out and have it handy to make up your own packet sauces.  The little craft packets she stores the dry mixes in are from Amazon and she has also provided the link at the bottom of her video.

In the past I have made my own Almond Milk however I didn't you know you can make your own Coconut Milk with a very similar process.  You can watch Amanda's video from Urban Qld Homestead here on the whole process which is very helpful.  She also freezes the coconut milk into tiny trays and once they are frozen then pops them into a ziplock bag in the freezer.

COCONUT MILK RECIPE

• 6 cups of warm water
• 250gms coconut meat [Amanda used Karan's Grated Coconut product of India you can freeze it]

1. Blend 2-5 minutes in food processor.
2. Needs to be warm to emulsify or cream will rise to the thop.
3. Strain into a jug through a nut bag and squeeze. 

If you refrigerate, the cream will naturally separate and can be removed for separate coconut cream.

Next, DEHYDRATE the left over coconut pulp for desicated coconut.

I can highly recommend you work your way through Amanda's videos as it is a great channel.

Here's some images of what's been going on lately.  Below is a Peppered Beef Recipe which is amazing but takes a little time.  Chopping the veggies, velveting the meat [popping a teaspoon of bi-carb soda in a bowl with the meat and leaving it for 30 mins] then washing it off and popping the beef in a marinade.  Then batch cooking in the pan then another sauce for the actual dish.  I've made it once before but this time I made the sauces up ready to go and chopped all the veggies while the meat was velveting which makes the meat tender.  Honestly it's so yummy so doing it during the day rather than at night for dinner is my recommendation.  I've popped them into the freezer as I had made another dish to eat last night.  

I made a batch of home made wraps and popped some baking paper in between and popped them into a freezer bag so I can just take 1 or 2 out for lunch and they thaw within a few minutes.  So simple and way better than store bought.  The link to the recipe is here.  I mentioned this in my last post but thought I would also include the link here too.

Always taking photos of Teddy who has been a family member for 3 years now.

Booked my facial which I got for my Birthday from my kids.  I make it really easy for them that I get a beauty voucher for Birthday, Mother's Day and Christmas so 3 times a year I have a lovely facial.

New Gardening book which was released on my Birthday on the 15th September.  Natasha Morgan lives in Daylesford in Victoria and had a large property at once stage but has now lived on a small suburban block and utilizes the footpath/verge for her gardens.  As the footpath/verge belongs to council it's not something we would be allowed to do in Brisbane but her side veggie garden and her garden in front of her house is beautiful.

I'm very excited because my curtains in the kitchen/dining/lounge have now been installed and I'm thrilled with them.  I still have the white roller blinds behind them that came with my townhouse but it really finishes off the room making it nice and cosy.  Early next year I'll book an appointment to get my bedroom measured which I was going to when the rep was here but decided against it at the time so maybe Jan/Feb next year I'll book another appointment.  The curtains take 6-8 weeks to make and then I had to wait another 2 weeks for installation.  Ceiling to floor is what everyone is doing these days so that's what was recommended.

Teddy sleeps in his little crate at night and if for any reason I need to be in the garage with the garage door open or tradesman are here I pop him in there, apart from that he's usually lying on the couch or his dog bed which is in front of the couch which is hidden by the dining table in this pic.  Underneath his crate is a piece of similar coloured lino from Bunnings so it doesn't scratch my floor.

 

If you haven't heard of the Merlin Bird ID app I can highly recommend it.  It's free and you can

press record and it will identify what birds it can hear and has descriptions as well.  You can also provide photos of a bird for it to identify however I've only used the sound part of the app.

This was near my house on my afternoon dog walk.

My sister and I had to wait at the Brisbane plane viewing spot for our sister to arrive from Perth as she is here for the week.   Brisbane Airport's plane spotting area has had a major makeover.  It's now called Fellowship Place and it officially reopened on 19 July 2026, as part of Brisbane Airport's 100th anniversary celebrations.

It's a purpose-built viewing area, particularly good for anyone who enjoys aircraft photography.

Hope you have a great week.  Let me know if you have any other recommendations for homesteading videos.  

Around here - Homemade Recipes

Back in 2007 when I first discovered Rhonda from Down to Earth Blog [sadly the blog is no longer available] however I discovered her via a magazine at the time.  I was in Melbourne visiting my in-laws and read all their gardening magazines cover to cover as they had an amazing veggie garden.  I really wanted to grow veggies when I got back to Brisbane and this was the start of my journey into simple living.   I learnt one new skill or recipe at a time and over the years there are many things that I make from scratch from home made vanilla extract to my own washing powder.

Homesteading is a lifestyle centred around being more self-sufficient, living simply and making more of what you need rather than buying everything.

Traditionally, homesteading meant living on a piece of land, growing food, raising animals and providing for your family's needs.

Today, however, you don't need a farm or acreage to be a homesteader. You can practise homesteading in a suburban house, townhouse or even an apartment.

I started by growing a vegetable garden, followed by keeping chickens. Both were wonderful experiences to share with my kids, teaching them where food comes from and helping them appreciate the value of growing and producing it themselves.  

We had 2 veggie boxes and did the lasagne method of dirt, compost and sugar cane mulch etc and the herbs and veggies thrived.  I ended up making a photo book of this little veggie garden which you can see the photos here.

One year my sister and I went to a cupcake cooking/decorating course and I learnt that you make your own vanilla extract by using vodka and vanilla beans so of course this is what we make now and it's super simple.  In fact my daughter was only 7 years old at the time and wanted to make it so I let her.  By involving the kids early they learn along with you and gain different skills they might not otherwise learn.  Back then I wanted a nice bottle to put it in however these days I just pop the vanilla beans straight into the bottle of vodka and then decant into a small glass bottle for everyday use.

Did you know you can make your own Golden Syrup?  It's pretty easy and whilst this one is made in a thermomix I'm sure with a therometer you could make it on the stove.

First time we made home made tortillas in 2013 the kids thought the tortillas were a thumbs up.  We have made these lots of times over the years and perfect for the kids to roll them out too.

   

Next up was yoghurt which to me was a little bit scary and I'm not sure why.  The first time I made yoghurt was on the 19th December, 2023 and I was very impressed.  I did make it using my Thermomix TM31 which I purchased in 2011.  I had a Thermomix Bowl which was basically like a thermos so I heated up the bowl with hot water for 10 mins and when the yoghurt mixture was ready, emptied the hot water out, poured the milk mixture in, put the lid on and wrapped it up in a beach towel for 24 hrs. After that it goes into the fridge and proud of myself that I made something that I was a little bit intimated by. 

In January 2014 I came across a lovely lady from New Zealand who had a blog which is no longer available however I did end up making her wonderful home made baked beans recipe which the kids and I loved.  From memory I bought her little tiny printed paperback cook book to support her and try her recipes.  Once you have made your own baked beans you'll never go back to the canned stuff.  One tip that I have is using fresh thyme rather than dried if you can get it because it just makes all the difference to the flavour. 

Another January 2014 recipe we loved making is Turkish Bread and nothing beats the smell of home made bread which the kids approve of.

A couple of blog posts on making home made pasta here and here.

When it comes to cleaning products, I haven’t bought any chemical-based cleaners from the supermarket in over a decade, because I make my own instead.  They're cheaper to make and it means we are not breathing in nasty chemicals.   If you haven't watched "The Plastic Detox" on Netflix yet I can highly recommend it.  Chemicals can disrupt hormones among other things.

This is the recipe I have been making for my laundry powder since 2013 and it saves so much money as well.  I make up 2 batches using the thermomix or you could use a food processor or just grate your soaps by hand.

Toilet pods are an easy DIY product to make as well and I wrote about it recently.

Years ago on A Current Affair TV program they had featured Wendy from My Abundant Life talking about the way their family lived on one income and paying off their mortgage.  One of the things she talked about was cleaning products because she cleaned houses and she said you don't need to buy lots of products that cost lots of money.  One of the recipes she talked about was "Miracle Spray" Wendy has lots of budget tips and recipes for you to read through even though she no longer posts on her blog but there is heaps of great info on there.

I also have made soap a few times although not for many years.  Think I might have to put that back on the 2027 to do list.

As you can see, by simply choosing one new thing to try or learn at a time, the skills gradually build up over the years. When you stop and write down everything you’ve made, grown or learnt along the way, it’s quite surprising just how many homesteading skills you’ve developed without even realising it.  I've only mentioned a few above and it's great to really think about it because when you start listing out things you make it's a great feeling.

What things have you learnt over the years that you added to your homesteading skill set?

Around here - From Feeding a Family to Feeding Myself

In 2026, it really does feel like $50 doesn’t buy you very much at the supermarket anymore. And to be honest, I still haven’t quite worked out a good routine for cooking for one. I find myself buying food with the best intentions, only to end up throwing some of it away, which is such a waste of food and money.

One of my goals for 2027 is to really focus on this and come up with a better system that works for me.

I remember before I was married, when I was paid once a month, I had a great little routine. I would do one big grocery shop at the beginning of the month, stocking up on pantry staples, tinned food, meat, long-life milk and anything else that would keep. Then each week I would just pick up fresh bread, vegetables and anything else I needed. It worked really well.

I would also cook meals in batches. For example, I’d make a spaghetti bolognese that served four, enjoy one portion that night and pop the other three into the freezer. That meant I had homemade meals ready to go throughout the month, especially on those evenings when I got home late from work and just couldn't be bothered cooking.

Looking back, it was such a simple and practical way of managing my food budget, and I think it's time I got back to doing something similar.  Remember the less time you are at the shops you are saving money.  We've all done it. You pop into the supermarket for just three things and somehow walk out with ten! Those little extras might not seem like much at the time, but they quickly add up and eat into your grocery budget without you even realising it.

Fast forward to when my kids were growing up, I would still cook enough for four people, even though there were only three of us. We’d have three serves for dinner that night, and the fourth would go into the freezer for another day.

These days, cooking for one can be a real challenge. Sometimes I’ll take meat out of the freezer with every intention of cooking it that evening, but by the time dinner rolls around, I just don’t feel like cooking. It ends up sitting in the fridge for days until eventually I have to throw it away, which is such a waste of food and money. It can be hard to find the motivation to cook a proper meal when it’s just for yourself.

Sunday nights are still our family dinner night, so once a week I’m cooking for three. But Sundays are also busy because I spend the day with my sisters taking our Mum out for lunch from her aged care home, which is about an hour away. By the time I get home, I’m usually looking for something quick and easy to put on the table.

What I’d really love is to get back into having a good supply of homemade meals in the freezer. That way, on Sunday morning I could simply take something out to thaw safely in the fridge, and in the evening all I’d need to do is cook some pasta or rice. A lovely home-cooked family dinner without all the preparation at the end of a busy day.

I’ve always loved budgeting, and over the years our food budget was often very tight, but somehow we always managed to make it work. Fast forward to 2026, and to be honest, that same budget would be almost impossible to stick to now, even when I’m only cooking for one.

I’ve always been a big believer in making things from scratch for a few reasons. It’s generally cheaper, I like knowing exactly what goes into my food, and I genuinely enjoy cooking and baking.

The funny thing is, these days I don’t do nearly as much of it because it’s just me. I mean, I love baking a good brownie slice, but when there’s only one person in the house to eat it, that can be a bit dangerous! I certainly have no trouble getting through it myself, but I can’t exactly be doing that every week.

                                                        Home made biscuits.

Home made Five Seed Bread.

I recently came across a YouTube channel called True Blue that I found really interesting.

It shares some great insights into grocery shopping, including the clever marketing tricks supermarkets use to encourage us to spend more, how their half-price specials work in cycles, and why something advertised as being on special isn't always the best deal. It's certainly made me think a little differently about how I shop and where I can save money.

There’s also a really interesting video about buying olive oil, explaining how much the price can fluctuate and why something advertised as being on special isn’t always the bargain you think it is. It also looks at whether it’s better to buy Australian or imported olive oil, particularly when you consider the different harvest seasons and how that affects freshness. It’s certainly made me think more carefully about what I’m buying and whether I’m actually getting good value for money.

With the cost of groceries these days, I think anything that helps us stretch our food budget a little further is well worth taking the time to watch or read. Even picking up a few small tips along the way can make a difference, and every little saving adds up.

And since Christmas is coming up I found this video about stocking up in October really good too.

Another video worth watching is How I Feed a Family of Five for a Fortnight on $300, which shares some really practical tips for making your grocery budget stretch further. Most of the videos are less than 15 minutes long, so they’re easy to fit into your day. I think they’re well worth watching because the more we understand about grocery prices and supermarket shopping habits, the better equipped we are to make smarter choices and save money. After all, a little knowledge can go a long way when you're trying to make every dollar count.

Let me know if you have any tips and tricks you regularly use when grocery shopping.

Around here - Life on Film - Volume 1

Back when I was 17 years old I bought my very first SLR camera from Ted's Camera Store in Brisbane city.  It was a Canon AE-1 and it cost me 6 weeks wages which was alot back then.  I had that camera for about 15 years and put many rolls of film through it until it accidently fell off a chair at a cafe at Southbank and I broke the shutter mechanism.  Eventually I bought a digital camera and have had many different ones since I got back into photography when my kids were born.   

As they say everything old is new again and a few years ago I bought a 2nd hand Canon AE-1 film camera from Australian Analog and going back to the old focus method of split-image focusing is certainly an adjustment.   The last roll of film I put through had lots of light leaks so I had to get the camera rebuilt completely with all new seals etc which cost me $395.  As these cameras range anywhere from 40-50 years old you can imagine that the seals just deterioate over time.

This is the first roll I've put through since having it rebuilt and taking photos inside with a fixed ISO of 400 [how sensitive the film is to light the film] is not that great so I feel this camera is better for outdoors where there is more light.  With my digital camera you can adjust the ISO for any image whereas with film all your shots are the same ISO in this case I bought Kodak Portra 400.

The Canon AE-1 Timeline

Over 5 million Canon AE-1 cameras were sold worldwide during it's production run, making it one of the best-selling SLR cameras of it's time.

1976        Original Canon AE-1 introduced.

1978        Canon A-1 introduced, offering more advanced automatic exposure modes.

1981        Canon AE-1 Program released, adding fully programmed automatic exposures.

1984        Original AE-1 production ended.

Today      AE-1 remains popular with film photography enthusiasts and collectors.

My sister took this of Teddy and I so it was the first pic on the roll.

Veggie Gardens.

Book Shelf Scene.

Kitchen scene.

Teddy in the lounge room.

Teddy having a sleep on the couch.

Teddy in the sun chewing on some stick he found.

Teddy in the garden.

Brisbane City with Southbank in the background.

Shorncliffe Pier - lots of people out fishing.

Shorncliffe Pier on a beautiful day.

Around here - Images from the last 6 months & Youtube

There are so many things I used to love doing when I was a hands-on Mum, especially taking photos of our everyday life and then editing them. It was something that brought me so much joy.

At the beginning of this year, I bought myself a little Canon Powershot V1 camera designed for vlogging, which is basically filming little moments of everyday life and putting them together into videos.

My idea was to start a YouTube channel and hopefully connect with a community of like-minded people who, like me, are trying to find their new normal now that the kids have grown up.  I guess it's also about rediscovering my creative side, getting back to the things that used to bring me so much joy and finding a little bit of purpose in this next chapter of my life.

I've created my YouTube channel, although I haven't actually posted anything yet. Back in around 2017, I learnt a bit about video editing and made a few videos of our family outings, which I really enjoyed. I also remember just how much work goes into editing videos — it takes about 10 times longer than editing photos!  Below is my YouTube logo, so stay tuned! I'm not quite sure when I'll have my first video ready to share, but I'm taking baby steps at this stage and hopefully it won't be too long.

Yesterday I spent ages trying to get my laptop set up with DaVinci Resolve, the editing software I used back then. My old version was from 2016, so I had to update the software and make a few other changes to my laptop just to get the latest free version up and running. It ended up being quite a process, but I finally got there!

That being said, I haven't even uploaded any of the photos or videos I've taken over the last six months onto my laptop, which is so unlike me. I used to use Lightroom every single day, and the last time I actually used it was to edit some photos of my nephew's new baby back in April.

So much has changed with Lightroom now, especially with all the AI features, that things I used to be able to do with my eyes shut I now have to stop and think about!

I think video editing will be much the same. I'll have to get back into learning how to film, edit and put everything together so I can finally start posting videos on YouTube. It's a bit daunting when I've been out of it for so long, but I'm hoping once I get started it will all come back to me.

Also, my birthday was about a month ago and we took my annual "Birthday Photo" with the kids, however I haven't even uploaded those photos from my Canon 6D yet either!

My Birthday Tradition started back in 2006 the year Sienna was born. Every year on my birthday, I would take a photo of myself with the kids and birthday cupcakes. Most years I used a tripod because it was just me and the kids, so there was no one else to take the photo.

It's something I've managed to keep going all these years, and we've only missed one year, which was last year in 2025. I was in Italy and James was off travelling around Europe on his solo trip, so we never managed to get my birthday photo that year so I have 19 years of images of this occasion.

It's such a simple little tradition, but looking back at all those photos and seeing how the kids have grown and changed over the years makes these memories so special to me.  This is a post from my Birthday back in 2023 with the photos since 2006.

Anyway, back to my little vlogging camera and the photos I've taken over the past six months. I thought I'd share a few of them here. They're all straight out of the camera, completely unedited, but it's nice to finally share them and document these little moments rather than just leaving them sitting on my camera.

Home Grown Roma Tomatoes

 

Around Here - October 2026

It's mid October already and only 11 weeks left of 2026 and as of today that's only 80 days.  I will be coming up to my 2nd Christmas at my town house and it seems like I only moved in yesterday.

I finally got around to ordering curtains from Spotlight which will take 6-8 weeks until they are ready and I think it's been 4 weeks now so they will be in before Christmas.  The curtains are for the living/dining/kitchen area which currently have roller blinds and these will be behind the curtains. I have 3 windows on one side and a large set of sliding doors which goes out to the back courtyard.  Speaking of out the back, look how much my plants have grown in one year making it nice and green and cosy. 

                                                                This was August 2025

This is Sept 2026

Here's some more photos of what's been going on lately.

Eumundi Markets for my Birthday and I bought a new hat off this lady's stall.

At Eumundi Markets.

Can't beat having some lovely dutch pancakes also known as proffertjes.

Chickpea Coconut Curry, haven't made it for ages so it was very enjoyable.

Homemade Sourdough Bread using my new Dutch Oven from Kitchen Warehouse.

If you aren't into Sourdough but want to make bread try this recipe for No Knead Bread.

Ricky [my bird below] and my sister's bird are staying here for a couple of weeks while she is on holidays.  As my back outdoor area is small I don't have room for Ricky and his large cage so both Ricky & Charlie [my sisters Cockatiel"] live at her place but when they are away they both come here.

Teddy enjoying a cuddle.

Thought I would post a link to the Chocolate Coconut Slice blog post from 2014.  The recipe is the from The Organized House Wife.

I like to post the recipes on my blog as so often I link to a blog and then they may shut the blog down and I loose the recipe so for my own benfit here is the recipe.

CHOCOLATE COCONUT SLICE

• 150gms butter - melted & cooled
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/3 cup self raising flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup desiccated coconut

ICING

• 1 and 1/2 cups icing sugar mixture
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 20gms butter finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons boiling water

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 160c [fan-forced]
2. Grease and line with baking paper a 20x30cm lamington pan.
3. Place butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a bowl, stir until combined.
4. Sift flour and cocoa into the bowl.
5. Add 1/2 cup of coconut.
6. Stir until mixture has combines.
7. Spread mixture evenly onto pan.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until just firm.

ICING

1. Sift icing sugar and cocoa into bowl.
2. Add butter and boiling water, stir together.
3. Spread warm slice with icing.
4. Sprinke remaining coconut over slice.
5. Leave to cool.
6. Put in fridge to firm up before slicing.