Long Forgotten Original

Once upon a time there was a recipe for Oven-Baked Sausages.  I think the book has been moved along to the op shop in one of the culls of my recipe books, however, the general idea remains.

The original recipe consisted of a sweet/sour/spicy sauce made in a saucepan.  Sausages were grilled, cooled, sliced and added to the sauce.  Pasta spirals were cooked, drained and added to the mixture and combined.  Finally, the entire contents of the saucepan were placed in a large casserole dish, topped with grated cheese and breadcrumbs and then baked in the oven.

This was a filling meal for a hungry family but being time-poor I quickly cut out what I regarded as unnecessary steps.  It really did not need to be baked in the oven as all of the ingredients were already well-cooked.  Once the mixture was combined in the saucepan it was ladled directly into serving bowls.  If I was feeling particularly generous I would sprinkle a little grated cheese on top.  The casserole was always received enthusiastically so the cheese was not really necessary.

The original recipe for the sauce is a little hazy but here is the general idea.

1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 can tomato soup
1/2 can water
1/3 cup fruit chutney
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce

I remember that I was always checking that I had fruit chutney when I wanted to make this.

Like many recipes, this one seemed to run its course and then was forgotten once the girls left home.

I thought of it not long ago and have made it a couple of times recently with some amendments.

Some of these were necessary because I now eat a gluten-free diet.  Canned tomato soup contains gluten so I substitute home-made tomato paste and some additional water.  Naturally I no longer mix pasta into the dish.  The sausages I buy are gluten-free but you would need to check that, too.

The jar of tomato paste looks over full as I store it upside-down in the refrigerator which inhibits the growth of any mould.  This also applies to commercially produced tomato paste as well.

The recipe has evolved and varies depending on what is in the cupboard/refrigerator.  I made it this morning using the following ‘recipe’.

1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
Remainder of tomato paste (home-made) – about 1/4 cup
Water – enough to rinse the jars and create the right consistencey
Handful of sultanas
Vinegar – about 2 tablespoons
Rosella jam (home-made) – about 2 tablespoons – bottle rinsed out
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce (home-made)
Tomato sauce – home-made (remnant in the bottle) – rinsed out

Here are some of the jars – on the left is the worcestershire sauce.  The middle jar is the rosella jam mixed with vinegar and the last of the tomato sauce (empty bottle on the right).

I had cooked the sausages on Sunday night and cut them up ready so they were added and the mixture simmered for about 10 minutes.

Like so many casserole-type meals this sauce will benefit from standing and the flavours will develop further by the time we have dinner tonight.  There is some home-made pasta in the freezer which The Duke will have with the suasages in sauce and I will have stir-fried shredded sweet potato with mine.

World Environment Day

Well, yesterday was World Environment Day.  So, what did you do?  Anything special to mark the occasion?  Make a commitment to change something to make your life a little more sustainable?  Even just stop and pause to reflect on your journey to lower your carbon footprint?

The theme for this year is Think. Eat. Save and the focus is around the enormous (20%) wastage of all food in 1st World countries.  I am planning to encourage people in my workplace to take up the challenge and try not to waste so much food.  There will be more details on that another day.

Slow Living – May

Another month has flown by and it is time to review it in the spirit of the monthly round-up at Slow Living Essentials . {nourish*prepare*reduce*green*grow*create*discover*enhance*enjoy}

Here are the Slow Living categories:

{Nourish}  Apart from the everyday cooking I discovered that I could make very acceptable gluten-free cupcakes by simply substituting gluten-free flour for regular wheat flour.

{Prepare}  I retrieved several kilos of cherry tomatoes from the freezer and made some more tomato sauce.  I gave some to Missy and restocked the supply in our pantry.

{Reduce}  When I look around our home I can see how much ‘stuff’ we do not have.  It feels so much lighter not to have excess in our lives.

{Green}  Another raised bed made which brings the total to 3 so far.  These have all been created entirely with salvaged or leftover materials.

{Grow}  This is the time of the year when we harvest with seemingly almost no effort on our part.  The citrus are all producing luscious fruit – oranges, grapefruit and lemons as well as so many avocadoes that we can almost eat them at every meal.  We have planted more seeds and the bok choy seedlings are poking theirs through the soil.  We planted seed potatoes in another bed.

The harvest…………….

{Create}  I made a dressing gown for Miss O.

{Discover}  I am discovering some more family history snippets as I keep working on my family tree.

{Enhance}  We have applied to have our home included in the Sustainable House Day in September.  It was interesting to write the application and really think about all of the things that make our home sustainable.  Many of them are things we now simply take for granted.

I also made enquiries about joining the local Friends of the Library group.

{Enjoy}  We enjoyed having visitors.  Our daughter who lives in Melbourne was here for a weekend – she managed to tack it onto the end of a work trip so that was good.  We enjoyed her company and dined at a local restaurant one night.  Miss O came to stay for a few days before she went back to school after having had her tonsils removed.  She and I had lots of fun and you can read about it here and here.  Taking time to savour afternoon tea with friends is special.

Now I am off to check out some of the slow living blogs.

Til next month………..

More Fun

The fun continued yesterday when we made the cupcakes.  Once they were cool, I iced them and Miss O dipped them in sprinkles.  Here is the result.

There was a purpose to our baking as my sister was coming for afternoon tea.  Miss O set the table and we prepared quite a feast.

We all had a very enjoyable afternoon.

Today it was back to the garden.  We moved enough composted mulch and soil from near the driveway to 2/3 fill one of the newly-created raised garden beds.  Then we cut up the sprouting seed potatoes which I had bought from the Co-op last week.  I ended up with about 60 pieces which are all planted.  Next, we harvested the last of the cabbages and a few bits of broccoli before clearing out another bed.  All of the old cabbage and broccoli plants went to the chickens who will enjoy them.

Meanwhile, the chickens were having a fine time ‘rotary hoeing’ the freshly cleared garden bed.  Miss O was very unsure of the chickens a couple of days ago but all of her reticence was gone today as she delighted in running around the bed trying to get close enough to ‘pat’ them.  It was great to hear the whoops of joy as she managed to touch their tails.

Thanks to the efforts of an exuberant 5 year old with a rake plus the chickens my garden bed is now ready for replanting.

Slow Living – April

Here we are with another month ended and it is time to for a review in the spirit of Slow Living Essentials

I must say that a do feel like a bit of a fraud as there does not seem be anything slow about our lives.

Here are the Slow Living categories:

{Nourish}  We have continued to be very diligent with making our packed lunches every day.  It is now 9 months since I changed my diet to one which is gluten and mostly grain free.  I am feeling much better and as an added bonus have lost 8kg.  My main focus has been ensuring that we do not waste any food.  This makes for some interesting but nourishing meals.  This was made from some leftover bits in the fridge last week.  You can read more about it here

{Green}  We are starting to reap the benefits of SAM – our Solar Air Modules.  It is essentially solar airconditioning and we are using it to very effectively keep the bathroom and bedroom warm and dry.  I can reduce the humidity from 90% to 65% in the matter of a few hours.  You can read more about it here

{Grow}  It is well into autumn but I have still been picking cherry tomatoes and cucumbers.

{Create}  We have made 2 more raised garden beds.

{Discover}  I have made a start on putting all of the family history research into a computer program and getting rid of a pile of paper in the process.  I am discovering new facts and remembering some previous discoveries as I do it.

{Enhance}  I have gifted 2 pairs of boots via Freecycle.

{Enjoy}  I have celebrated my birthday, met a friend for lunch and spent a morning with another friend – morning tea and then window shopping.

Now I am off to check out some of the other slow living blogs.

Til next month………..

Weeds That Feed

What is a weed?  A plant considered undesirable, unattractive, or troublesome, especially one growing where it is not wanted, as in a garden.

If the above definition is applied then my cherry tomato plants are definitely weeds.  They are not particularly pretty, grow in places where I do not want them and generally get in the way.  I am forever pulling the seedlings out of the ‘formal’ vegetable beds and The Duke must mow over thousands of them in the lawn.

However, we usually have a few that we leave to their own devices in areas where they are not causing harm.  There is one plant which has been growing and bearing fruit for several months on the far side of the driveway in ‘no man’s land’.  It has spread over a heap of mulch and has intertwined with thistles.  I had not picked any fruit for about 6 weeks so I braved the thistles yesterday and was surprised to find all of these fruit just waiting for me.

 

There was about 3.5kg of fresh, full-flavoured cherry tomatoes.  I have cleaned, rinsed and frozen 3kg of them in readiness to make more tomato sauce.  I hope to do that next weekend.  The remainder are spread on a tray to ripen fully and then they will grace the last of our summer salads.

Plants that are self-sown which survive and thrive will be good as they have passed the ‘survival of the fittest ‘ test.  Perhaps that is why we have such success with the cherry tomatoes.  Other self-sown plants which provide use with food include pumpkins and cucumbers.

Do you harvest from any fruit or vegetable plants which just appear in your garden?

Leftovers for Lunch

Every day The Duke and I take a packed lunch to work.  Since I do not eat bread it is often leftovers or a salad.  The Duke will sometimes take some homemade bread, cheese and tomato and make a sandwich at work.

Today, however, I was at home so was not constrained by what I could pack.  At lunchtime I looked in the fridge and pantry and found an assortment of leftover ingredients just begging to be used.

There was a small amount of mashed sweet potato from last night as well as some refried beans, 1/2 can of crushed tomatoes, an opened packet of corn chips.  As part of my planned gourmet delight I also have some yoghurt, cheese, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.

In the interest of minimising the washing up I decided to use the glass dish that the sweet potato was in.  I spread it evenly over the dish, spooned a layer of tomatoes over it, then added the refried beans and the seeds.

I topped it with corn chips and grated cheese and browned in under the griller.

This made enough for 2 serves so I will be having the same again tomorrow.

Served with a dollop of natural yoghurt this was a quick and easy meal which used up a couple of things that could easily have been wasted.

Getting Back on Track

I have had 2 weeks back at work since my holidays and I still feel as though I am chasing my tail at home.  Somehow everything has been done but the smooth process seems to have flown the coop.  In fact, last Friday morning I had to iron a shirt for The Duke as there were no business shirts in his cupboard.  That was not good.

This weekend has been pretty busy as Miss O and Izz came to stay and that certainly limits what I get done.  However, I have managed to finish the washing and ironing, written a menu plan and have the meals prepared for Monday and Tuesday.

Do you plan your meals?  What is your process?

I have have also decided what I will wear to work tomorrow so I feel as though I am ready to start the week.  How about you?

Slow Living – February

This is my second month of joining in the monthly round-up at Slow Living Essentials and already I seem to be struggling with what to write.  A couple of things seems to have conspired against me – it is a short month – is it really the end of the month already? and the weather!  Since the dry spell broke on the Australia Day weekend (26th January) it has rained almost constantly which limits our activities somewhat

Here are the Slow Living categories:

{Nourish}  With the onset of some cooler weather with the rain it was an ideal time to pull out the slow cooker.

I made a batch of pumpkin soup and and beef casserole.

{Prepare}  We had an excellent crop of figs.

As well as eating lots of them fresh from the tree, I was able to dry some.  This was very successful so I am hoping to have enough to do again next year.

{Reduce}  This is always a hard one as we do this each and every day.  I turned a singlet of mine that was too short into one for Miss O.

{Green}  The weather has brought out the mould but I am keeping things clean and smelling fresh with the use of clove oil.  You can read a previous post here.

{Grow}  The warm, dry beginning to the summer meant that we had about 8 mangoes on our small tree.  We planted it about 4 years ago and this is the first time it has fruited.  I suspect that it is generally too cool for them here but this year’s crop has made it worthwhile.  They are some of the best mangoes I have tasted and the flesh is as smooth as anything with no sign of stringiness.

Last weekend we had a rare fine day so we bought and planted some vegetable seedlings.  They have more than doubled in size in a week.

{Create}  Since my sewing machine has returned from being serviced I have got quite a bit of sewing done.  I am working through my stash of fabric as well as some pieces I have been given.  Here are some of the results.

Winter and summer pyjama bottoms.

A new lining in my skirt.

{Discover}  I don’t think I have read anything this month but in a different vein I did discover some fabric to be used when I was sorting out my stash.

{Enhance}  We gave away the used fencing wire via Freecycle.  I also shared some of the many self-sown cucumber seedlings with neighbours, work colleagues, blogging friends and also on Freecycle.

It is a shame that I did not take some photos of them.  Not so much for the seedlings but the innovative packaging.  I used some excess egg cartons that I had been given and each seedling and its soil was packed in a space in the carton.

An internet friend sent me some fabric and I used some of it to make a dress suitable for an 18 month old.  I will send it to her for her granddaughter who was born last week.

{Enjoy}  We travelled to Melbourne and spent a weekend with our daughter who moved there recently.  We saw her new home, sampled food at some local establishments and shopped.

I bought this dress to wear to a wedding in a few weeks.  I just need to finalise accessories.

The slow living this month has been heavily weighted towards sewing and I guess that is not entirely unexpected with being stuck indoors due to the weather.

Now I am off to check out some of the slow living blogs.

Til next month………..

 

 

Minimalism and Multipurpose

While the nature of some tasks require a specific tool or space to complete the job, many things do not.

The first thing that comes to mind are the plethora of single-task appliances which seem to take up residence in many kitchens.  You know the ones – waffle makers, ice-cream makers, popcorn makers, juicers, breadmakers and so on.  I admit to having a breadmaker – The Duke makes all of our bread and has done for many years, although he is playing with the idea of artisan-style bread baked in the oven and successfully made a loaf the other day.  We also have a juicer which could be used more.

However, today I want to take the concept of multipurpose away from appliances.  When we had our kitchen re-modelled a few years ago we created a large amount of bench space, including this breakfast bar.

We use this space for eating meals, serving food and general food preparation so it does not always look like this.  Once I have finished using the bench, it is cleared and we try not to use it as a ‘dumping ground’.

By having a clean, clear bench I am able to use it for other purposes.

I can pull the chairs back out of the way and I have a cutting table and workbench for when I am sewing.  It is the perfect height and totally stable.  I am also able to access it from almost any direction.  My sewing machine is in the closest bedroom (a few steps along the hallway) but this is the perfect solution for me.

So, which comes first minimalism or multipurposing?  If I had more stuff the bench would probably not be clear to use.  If I could not use the bench would I acquire a suitable table and contribute to more stuff?

This is a winning solution whichever way I look at it.