Flat Breads

I recently wrote about Rhonda's new book from Down to Earth Blog and couldn't wait to make the flat breads.  I ended up making them last week and they we so soft and fully and really nice that I will be making them again. They didn't take long to make and these will be a regular thing in our household.

I was nominated by Fiona at Life at Arbordale Farm for a Leibster Award this week and I am thinking about the answers and also new questions for other bloggers.  Stay tuned as I will be posting this in the next few days.  I have enjoyed reading Fiona's blog and whilst they have now moved from their farm they are working on their life plan to move to their farm in NZ later on in the year and also welcoming a much wished for baby into their lives...so excited for them.

Some Interesting Internet Reads

Here's a few things on the internet that might interest you.

I loved reading this story about how this family spends their money and sets their goals.  This series on how we spend money is other people sharing their budgets/expenses and living on Notes from the Frugal Trenches blog.

A new to me blog called Frugalwoods has an amazing story of a young couple who are dedicated to their goals and plans and save an amazing 70% of their income.  I read a lot of their stories and I love that they plan for themselves and live their own life.  They have now bought their dream property in Vermont and rented out their original home.  I'm sure you'll pick up a few tips reading their blog.

Wendy from My Abundant Life was on A Current Affair back in June 2014 when I wrote about it here.  She was on A Current Affair again tonight talking about home brand foods.  I do agree with home brand foods my only thoughts about it is it's the major supermarkets that are the winners in the profits but I know home brands are necessary as aside from people's mortgage payments food appears to be high on the list of monthly expenses.  Wendy writes about "bulk cooking" here.

I bought Lisa's book 100 Days of Real Food a while back and read it from cover to cover....this week I have picked it up again to read it from cover to cover again.  Her website is here.  I can't stress how much information is in this book about food labels about the misconception of grains etc. her website has a video tours of her pantry, fridge and freezer....you might think that sounds boring but I learnt a lot from watching all three particularly her freezer.  Her husbands family grew up with a cow, organic veggies and op shops so knew about real food.  She knew about (like most of us) healthy food, low fat etc. but when she looked into it she learnt a lot and wanted to share her information with people so they didn't have to start from scratch.  I highly recommend you buy this book or get if from the library.  The book has recipes and how to start in all areas of making changes.  They originally took a pledge to eat real food for 100 days but felt so much better, had more tasty food that they kept going. 

If you are looking for a financial year diary which is task based and to do list based Elise designed and created the "Get to Work Book".  I've been reading her blog for many years and her energy in achieving goals and getting things done is very inspiring.  She does do a calendar year diary as well but right now the financial year one is for sale.

Last week I participated in a photographic project called "Week in the Life" by US Memory Keeper Ali Edwards where you photograph your life for a 7 day period so sort of like a time capsule of your life at this moment.  That means the messy lounge room, the piles of washing, going grocery shopping, cooking dinner, putting the washing on the line, driving the kids to school.  Just imagine if you could look through a photo book of a 7 day period in your life when you were 10.  The car your family drove, the type of TV, breakfast cereals you etc. etc.  We have done this project for the past 7 years and I'm a little behind in getting these photos into photo books however I fully participate in the same week Ali does and lots of people around the world do as well.  This is my cover from my 2014 book which I just finished last month and got printed.

This weekend I'm making some homemade yoghurt for the kids using this recipe.

Baked Herb Potatoes from Andrea Decker look very tasty.  Andrea is an organized Mum to 3 little ones and I've been following her blog since before she had her first baby.

Reading this post from Jodi at Practising Simplicity it made me feel warm and fuzzy about quilts.  I was a quilter many years ago and having a hand made heirloom sounds really nice.  I did make the kids a quilt each a couple of years ago (oh how time flies).  This is Sienna receiving her quilt for her 8th Birthday. James loved it so much he wanted one too, so I made him one here.  Here's a post on making Sienna's.  One thing I did on the first quilt was just join the fabric together but on James I pinned the top and bottom strips and in between so they were all the same length and not stretched.

The kids requested Chicken and Leek pies for dinner when they each had a friend for a sleepover. The recipe is here and it's so delicious.  As we had left over mixture the next day I decided to make crepes for lunch and the kids loved them so much so that they requested the same for dinner so I had to make a new batch that night...totally worth it.  I bought this crepe maker from Kmart for $12 last year as an affordable holiday activity. 

With winter coming up warm breakfasts are great and this home made baked beans recipe is my family's favourite.

I'm so envious of Emma's beautiful crochet projects, she whips them up in a matter of no time.  I need to get my crochet blanket on the go....it's still sitting on the couch in the family room.  With the cooler weather it's a good time.

If you think that making from scratch is not worth it, take a look at the price per kgs of these pita chips in the supermaket which Cath wrote on her blog Debt Free Cashed up and Laughing.

I made the "Flat Bread" recipe which are delicious out of Rhonda's new book which I wrote about here.  Next I need to make the Harvest Turnovers as they look fantastic.

Around Here

Around here there has been football, home made food, crafts and cubby houses.

Home made pizza using this pizza base recipe.

Watching you tube videos in Sienna's cubby house made of sheets in her room.

AFL in full swing for the season.

These are the best home made fluffy soft bread rolls ever recipe here.

James at footy.

Polishing James school shoes....I remember as a kid we used to do this every Sunday night.

James and Sienna playing in the backyard.

Watching her brother at Tuesday night footy training.

Sienna's crafting activities currently making these little crochet bears.

Kids being silly in the backyard....love this pic.

James relaxing with his guitar.

Jumping on the trampoline having fun.

Doing some history homework with a clay pot.

Baking in the Country

I've written posts before on my days with my friend Karin that I titled "Baking in the Country" as she lives on acreage which is only 10 minutes from my house.  We always go to her house as it's a treat for me to enjoy their house and beautiful view however I wanted to return the favour and last week we had a day at my place.  Karin hasn't made pasta before so I said I would show her how to make it and we could have it for lunch.  Karin brought some home grown basil with her which she had collected the seeds from some previous basil and had grown it from this seed.  It was the greenest and freshest basil I have ever seen, nothing like what you find in the supermarket.

Before she arrived I made the dough for the bread rolls written about here so that had time to prove and then baked the rolls in time for lunch.  We made fresh pesto to have with the pasta and had the most amazing home made lunch.  Pasta is so easy to make however if you haven't made it before it sounds so daunting however I was thrilled that I could show her how to make it.  This simple lunch made me so happy and sitting there eating our home made rolls and pasta with fresh pesto on it was such a delight.  If you haven't made pasta before I urge you to give it a go.  My only tip is to make it thinner than you think as when I first made it a long time ago it was too thick and just tastes rubbery so thinner the better in my opinion.  I would take a meal made like this over any shopping trip as it is such a feel good thing to do.  I still can't get over Karin's lovely green pasta...look how green it is.

Rhonda's New Book - The Simple Home

My book finally arrived on Thursday and I was so excited to start reading it.  Here's a sample of a couple of pages in the book which has some recipes including step by step instructions for making bread.  The book is broken down into 12 months from January to December with a different focus for each month including budgeting, meal planning, veggie garden planning etc.  You can read the book in order or pick a topic and focus on that.  The book is written with the Southern Hemisphere in mind however Rhonda has put a note at the back of the book for there Northern Hemisphere readers which chapters to read in order ie summer gardening in Australia is a different month then overseas.  So far I have read 2 chapters and it is written for a broad range of simple living families in mind.  Whether you are 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 or 70, whether you are single, married, with kids or retired there is lots of advice.

One thing I have always admired about Rhonda's blog is she does not "preach" ie she doesn't promote what she does as the way you have to do it. She tells people what they do in the hope that you may pick up tips or tricks but ultimately it's your family, your life and your routines and you can decide how your family wants to "live simply".  If you don't want to ever make bread, then don't.  If you want to go to the farmers markets and buy fresh veggies instead of growing your own if you don't have time then do what is right for your family.  The book is wonderful, it is well made and the pictures and instructions are wonderful.  It is a credit to Rhonda to pump out another amazing book which required hours of locking herself away in a room with her computer rather than just enjoying her life.  This is her last book and I'm very thankful I came across an article in the Burkes Backyard Magazine about about 8 years ago that she had written.  The fact that I was visiting with my in-laws in Melbourne who had a wonderful veggie patch also inspired me at the time.  I look forward to reading the rest of the book in the coming week.  I think the Harvest Turnovers below would be a big hit with my kids.

Note:  since I wrote this post I have made the flat breads and they are so easy and delicious.  Harvest Turnovers next on the list (21-05-2016).

Autumn Spicy Soup Recipe

Last week we visited a friend and she made this delicious spicy soup for us and my kids loved it and that would be an understatement and they wanted me to make it once we got home so I made a batch yesterday and had some for dinner last night and now I'm eating some for lunch.  I don't know where the recipe came from so I can't link back to it and I'm not taking photos of it as brown/green soup doesn't look very appealing in photos so I'll post a couple of pics of my kids holiday activities instead.

Sienna wanted to have a camp out in the backyard on Sunday night and I didn't want to sleep outside myself with her so I told her she could camp in our family room so we set the tent up and she sat in their knitting and watching some TV.  She slept in it all night and loved it.  

Let me warn you this cost me about $25 to make because I had to buy a cauliflower which was nearly $5, some red lentils and they only had a large packet $5 and I needed Korma Curry Paste which was also $5 something and then 8 cups of vegetable stock and a leek so It was between $20-$25 which I thought was crazy however I now have the Korma Curry Paste and lentils so I won't need to buy them for the next 6-8 times this soup gets made.  It is so tasty and thick and will go nicely with our home made bread rolls but for now I'm having soy and linseed toast with it.  I'm not a big fan of cauliflower unless my Mother in Law makes it with the yummy white sauce but this way my kids get to eat it as well.  

CURRIED CAULIFLOWER & LENTIL SOUP

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

1 leek, trimmed and sliced (you could use an onion if you didn't have any leeks)

2 cloves of garlic crushed

8 cups of vegetable stock

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

1/2 cup of red lentils

2 tablespoons Korma Curry Paste

lemon juice to taste (I didn't bother with this)

METHOD

In a large saucepan heat oil and add in vegetable oil leek and garlic and saute until softened.

Add lentils and stir for a couple of minutes.

Add Korma Curry Paste and stir for a couple of minutes.

Add cauliflower and mix around to coat all ingredients.

Pour in vegetable stock and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Blend using Bamix or kitchen gadget (as it's hot always be very careful to keep the Bamix under the surface as you don't want hot soup splashing all over you.

As I was going off to the dentist to get a wisdom tooth out I spent 10 minutes cooking this in the pot on the stove and then just transferred it all to my slow cooker and let it could for 3-4 hours before I blended it at dinner time.  

I'm not a lover of Indian food myself and have never bought any Indian Curry Pastes however this is amazing, spicy, filling and healthy too.  Would love to hear what you think.

James is an avid reader and he started and finished this book last week so I have to order the next one in the series from the library for him.

Around Here

Around here we've had our first week of school holidays and they have been great.  We've been to the movies, skating, we went to the beach to visit a friend, cooked damper on a stick, made scones and the kids also made hot cross buns which they were thrilled with.  We watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Wizard of Oz, they played a little on their iPads, Sienna knitted and painted rocks with glitter and James read a couple of novels.  It was just a great week and as a parent when kids get on each others nerves and fight it's not very pleasant however there wasn't too much of that which made the week even more special...we all had a wonderful time.

Exploring the rocks at Rainbow Bay/Snapper Rocks.

Watching the surfers catch the waves.

An unusual huge jelly fish on the sand.

My surfie chick.

Painting the sugar syrup on the hot cross buns straight out of the oven.

The kids made half with sultanas and half without as Sienna doesn't like them but loves the hot cross buns.

Dancing to "Don't blame it on the sunshine, don't blame it on the moonlight" at skating.

A morning at skating which is great exercise, good music and lots of fun.

James decided to make some scones for morning tea.

Sienna did a lot of knitting on the holidays, she is so good at it and starts new project by herself.

James picking up sticks in the local bushland.

Sienna posing for a pic.

The kids making damper on a stick for afternoon tea.  This picnic ground with wood fires is about 10 minutes drive from our house.

Once they are cooked we pour "Golden Syrup" into the middle of them, so yummy. Recipe is here.