Neighbourly mulch

Mulch. It's pretty much just bits of broken up twigs and leaves but judging from the amount it costs to buy you would think you were laying out a red carpet.

I have been putting off buying this ($80 a trailer load/$160 delivered) gold to put on my native garden that I have created even though the garden is in desperate need of it. But the wait paid off because today while walking in my neighbourhood I came across some people chopping down a tree.

Something compelled me to go ask the guy if he was going to mulch any of the mess he was making. He told me no but how much did I need because he had a pile at the top of his drive. SCORE!

So to cut a boring story (to other people other than myself) short we went back with the car, shovelled some mulch and applied it to the garden. It looks terrific!

So this got me thinking...if we talked to our neighbours more surely we could all be a little bit more self-sufficient?

Neighbourly mulch

Jars of goodness

The baking section of my cupboard was an absolute mess so I decided that putting all the items in jars would not only solve this problem but look cool too.

It all started with the jar with the blue lid which I picked up at the Sallies op-shop for less than $1. It makes the brown sugar look so good that I just want to eat it with a spoon.

While at my local tip shop Trash Palace I thought I would have a look for some similar jars like this one and continue the trend.

Hidden underneath trays and trays of other assorted kitchen items I stumbled across a huge collection of French "Arc" glass jars.

Jackpot!

Once I soaked them and removed the old 70's labels off them they came up looking rather sweet. I have filled them with all my different baking goods. Don't they look good (despite my shonky photography!)

It seems I am not the only person to come across such cool jars. Caroline, the ultimate vintage/second hand shopper also found what looks to be that same jars! You can see her treasure finds at her blog.

Jars of goodness

Bread winner!

I got given a breadmaker for my birthday last year (at my request) and I was a little disappointed at my first attempts of using it. All I got was stodgy dough/wet bread that had not risen.

Then I discovered (through the internet) that an Australian tablespoon measurement is different from a usual one which was perhaps the reason why my (Australian breadmaker recipe) bread was failing. Who would have thought!

The king and queen of break-making in New Zealand are infact Simon and Alison Holst (perhaps I should say Queen and Prince since he's her son) and they have this amazing recipe book called funnily enough "The New Zealand Bread Book".  This quickly got added to the "all I want for Christmas.." list and Santa delivered.

Raisin and Nut

So far I've made the Five Seed, Sundried Tomato and Basil, Raisin and Nut and White breads and my partner has used the recipe to make croissants.

They are tasty breads just like you get from an actual bakery where a qualified baker makes them so I'm feeling pretty chuffed right now.

Oh and a little secret I learnt from my friend Olivia to help grainy breads to rise is to crush up a couple of vitamin C tablets and add them to the mixture. I'm still not quite sure what they do but I figure that it can't be a bad thing!

Happy Baking!

Bread winner!

Homemade Gifts

This Christmas I decided that I would like to make some gifts for people.

Mum got this handmade gardeners scrub. Very easy to make and gets the dirt off making your hands feel moisturized afterwards.

Handmade Scrub

1. Mix equal parts rock salt, brown sugar and white sugar together in a container.
2. Drizzle over a small amount of Olive oil. Just enough to combine the ingredients. Mix together.
3. Add a squeeze of lemon juice.
4. Add essential oil if you wish. I added some lavender from my garden instead.

I spent some time sewing some dresses for my niece. The first dress (in blue) I made my own pattern for. The second (in red) I used the Sew La Tea Do pattern for the "Miss Adorable Frock". She sure looked adorable in them both!

And no gift would be complete without a homemade gift tag. Here's me and my little helper preparing our gift tags in preparation for some good ole hot glue gunning!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy Giving!!

Homemade Gifts

Storm Trooper Snow Flake

For all of you Star War's geeks out there....

I made this one Friday-Crafternoon at work. You can make one too by downloading the template from this awesome website. You can also make Darth Vader, a Clone trooper, Boba Fett and a very elaborate R2D2 (which will require some experienced cutting skills).

My 3 year old nephew was very happy with his Storm Trooper Snowflake - who would have thought?

Storm Trooper Snow Flake

Kingsley's Christmas Cake

Due to the popularity of this previous post here is the recipe for the infamous Christmas Cake that I used Jack Daniels in.

1½ kg mixed fruit (we add packet of glazed cherries to mix)

½ cup sherry, rum, whisky or brandy

1 granny smith apple

1 tbsp golden syrup or honey

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

250g butter

4 eggs

1½ cups plain flour

½ cup self raising flour

1 tsp mixed spice

Place chopped mixed fruit in large basin, add the alcohol, peeled and coarsely grated apple, golden syrup (or honey), sugar and eggs. Mix well with wooden spoon or hand to break up any clumps of fruit. Add cooled melted butter, sifted flours and spice. Mix thoroughly.. Place in deep 23cm round or deep 20cm square cake tin lined with three sheets of greaseproof paper – bring paper 5cm above edge of tin.

Bake in middle of slow oven (around 130°C) for 3½ hours or until cooked when tested. Remove from oven and brush evenly with about 2 tbsp of extra alcohol, cover tightly with tinfoil, leaving greaseproof intact. Can be refridgerated in plastic food wrap for a least 6 months.

ENJOY! (we have had this made for us this year to eat on Christmas day - holding out big time!!)

Kingsley's Christmas Cake

Homemade Yoghurt

So I've been an owner of an Easiyo yoghurt maker for quite a number of years now and go through fads of using it. One of the pro's was that it was better for the environment for me to make my own yoghurt than to purchase something in a plastic container (which up until recently was non-recyclable in Wellington, NZ).

However the cost of a sachet (over $3) and the convenience of buying many different flavours already made at the same price made me less ecologically savvy and more focused on how much money I had in my pocket (selfish I know!)

Then from reading many different blogs about sustainability and frugality I kept reading about how people make their own yoghurt from milk or milk powder and I thought - I can do that! So I have found a recipe that has worked for me and it created this delicious thick yoghurt featured below with boysenberries.

Homemade Yoghurt

• 2 Cups of Whole milk powder
• 2 Tablespoons of natural yoghurt (I used a previous batch of Easiyo Greek Style)
• Cold water (close to room temperature)

1. Put ingredients into the Easiyo jar.
2. Use a whisk to mix together.
3. Top up with cold water and put the lid on.
4. Fill the Easiyo maker with boiling water up to the top of the baffle. 
5. Place jar into the yoghurt maker and top up with boiling water.
6. Put the lid on and leave for 8-12hrs 
7. Remove jar and refrigerate.

Result = thick creamy yoghurt for around $1.50!

Homemade Yoghurt