Healthy nutrition

Managing my health has become the focus of my daily activities. Including as much fresh organic produce as well as growing my own have been instrumental in making a road to feeling better. There are certain foods that appear regularly because I want to eat them. When I have lost interest and awareness in them I understand that they are not instinctively needed. When the sudden urge arrives for a lemon , I know there is something in that fruit that is a missed element. My weekly favourites are avocado, blueberries, spinach and mango. Very seasonal are strawberries( just a few), fresh lettuce, purple snap pea, mint for tea and parsley. The garden suddenly is very abundant and I have spotted a few miniature tomatoe fruits. It’s all immediate and grounding and provides plenty of opportunity for gratefulness .

Rhubarb and Date chutney

Since having lost a few motor skills I can no longer make big batches of preserves but that does not prevent me from starting a little chutney. It took all day but once it was on the stove I just needed to stir it occasionally . This chutney will need to ripen a few weeks but it’s full bodied and a nice dark colour. Recipe from Rosie makes a Jam http://m.rosiemakesjam.com/recipes/howtomake/rhubarb-and-date-chutney/index.asp#.XK4QORbTUlT

This handy website lets you enter a quantity of one ingredient and will calculate the recipe. I went for 1 lb of rhubarb. 

Will be adding that to the pantry.

Banana cake with crunchie

The weather has frankly been a bit dark lately and many are asking when winter will end. To fill the house with some cheer there is nothing better than the fuggy smell of a banana cake. Besides using up the needless black bananas that hang around in this house, it warms my heart and brings back wonderful childhood memories of Grandmother's kitchen. I love having cake in the house to dish out with that relaxing cup of tea or coffee. We are 15 miles from an urban coffeeshop  so we create our own coffeeshop atmosphere.

Ingredients :

• 200g Self raising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs beaten
• 75g butter
• 175g caster sugar
• 3 large amshed bananas
• 2 crunchie bars

Grease and line a deep 1/2 kg loaf tin

Place flour,bicarbonate of soda,salt, eggs,butter and sugar in a bowl and mix together.

Add mashed bananas and put the mixture in the loaf tin. Then break the crunchie bars up, put on the top of the mixture and swirl inside the mixture.

Bake at 180 degree Celcius for about 45 mins to 60 mins until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Cool for 5 mins and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Hide away in a tin until you can no longer resist.

Winter - time for Home

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth,

for the touch
of a friendly hand

and for a talk beside the fire: 

it is the time for home. 

Edith Sitwell

Marmalade time

The Seville oranges are back and our first preserve to fill the pantry this year will be Orange Marmalade.

A step by step visual recipe for you to enjoy.

Planning for food

Last week we created tee pees to create growing areas for climbing plants, beans, cucumber, marrows and sweet peas. The starting point is very much to find what is available in the surrounding garden that may lend itself to be reused in a different way.;making something new out of something old and giving it a second lease of life. Whilst creating the raised beds, we reluctantly had to cut down an aged clematis that had got out of hand but this year, the dead stems provided just the right material to weave into the tee pee structure.

Creating a small forest garden has meant investing in some plants, shrubs and trees and most of that work has been going on over the last few months. As the growing season gets seriously under way, I seem to be in the garden every day, checking on the seedlings, plants and herbs to see what is available, where there are gaps and if anything is in competition with the garden.

Today has been a day of transplanting cucumber and courgette seedlings into larger pots, harvesting some herbs for tonight's omelet, shoring up the potato plants, and marvelling at the peony blooms, planting gladioli bulbs. Awaiting in the wings are sweetcorn and small seedlings of the heritage bean varieties; lazy housewife, bi colour and trail of tears. I am switching to heritage seeds in an effort to grow our own and collect the seeds at the end of the growing season. This will mean less dependency on hybrid seeds and some experimentation will go on with regards to yield and suitability in the garden.

The purple sprouting broccoli plants, phase one, are setting seed which has prompted me to sow next years crop. Its a busy time, the strawberry plants are showing flowers and gooseberry clusters, raspberries, cherries, apples and pears are forming on the trees. Amazing what variety a small space can provide.

Evenings are still chilly and are spent spinning a yarn from Devon Alpaca and merino whilst knitting a nice shawl to cover shoulders later in the year. A woman of a certain age must have a shawl! I am planning to spin and knit sufficient yarn to make 6 pairs of socks, 1 sweater, 1 shawl and a couple of hats and gloves. The garden will also provide some plants that will help me dye the yarn. A lambs fleece of texel/dorset has been promised by the end of May.

Some painting is going on. We make it a priority to engage local craftsmen so the windows have been made by a local carpenter and fitted with double glazing. The window replacement program is ongoing and very much depends on funds. The priority windows were the ones that had rotted and were unable to open as well as the ones that, when closed, had the ability to make the curtains blow into the room, all indications of draughts. Maybe next winter we will be warmer!

the 5 min bread

Following on in my search to create a bread each day with less effort, no equipment and maximum flexibility has led me to the discovery of Artisan Bread in 5 mins by Jeff Herzberg and Zoe Francois. Its very easy and you can keep the ready made dough in your fridge for up to 14 days. You can use it to make loaves, pizza bases, flatbreads, pitta breads in a very short time filling the house with the wonderful delights of homebaked bread. You can watch the presentation and recipe in the utube video here:


Once you have the basic recipe, the book provides endless variations on ingredients and types of dough. Artisan in 5 also provides ongoing inspiration.
I have no pizza stone but warmed the baking tray in the oven and then slid the loaf onto it. It worked out fine.

Marmalade

Orange Marmalade

If faced with lemons, make lemonade. If faced with seville oranges, make marmelade.

The first preserve of the year has to be marmalade.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "marmalade" appeared in the English language in 1480, borrowed from French marmelade which, in turn, came from the Portuguese marmelada.
In Portuguese, according to the root of the word, which is marmelo, "quince", marmelada is a preserve made from quinces, quince cheese. Marmelo in turn derives from Latin melimelum, “honey apple” which in turn derives from Greek μελίμηλον (melimelon).

Marmalade has been a regular best seller in our village according to the shop ledger of 1963 and currently there is an influx of people, marinating, cutting peel and boiling up vast quantities of marmalade to add to their pantry.

If you have time, its a worthwhile experience and when you are done, you can make marmalade bread and butter pudding.
Elise's recipe for marmalade
Delia's marmalade bread and butter pudding

Easy bread

Not a lot of kneading, a great way to start making artisan bread using your oven and a few casserole dishes.

The blue in blueberry

The season after Christmas and the jolt into the New Year is probably one of my least favourite ones when it comes to the weather. Adding to that a lot of flu and colds going around, constant news of deteriorating economy etc etc. In case you are suffering from a case of the blues, enter the blueberry muffin. Naughty in a sense as you are probably trying to lose weight but good in another. Blueberries are very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, and a very good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Manganese.

This year I intend to feel alive every moment and experience life to the full so what better antidote to the winter blues than to get baking in the kitchen, a special request from a not so little boy. How about some muffins today Mum? How can I resist.

Need a recipe? Here is one to try.
Blueberry muffins

Right, I am off to sip a nice cup of herbal tea, a muffin and rummage through the numerous seed catalogues and do some planning, just the ticket to stop me wallowing.

on washing clothes

Wash Day


I initially thought that washing powder was soap based but on closer inspection have found that that is not how it works at all.
Soaps work as an emulsifier which means that water and oils mix and allow the grease and dirt on clothes to be washed out during the rinse cycle. Real soap is made from oil and fats as where modern soaps have had all the oils removed. Clothes washed in soap are generally softer and therefore do not need conditioners to make them soft again.

So here is the myth we have been sold in the past to do the washing :
you need some washing detergent that strips everything out of the clothes and then you need fabric conditioner to put the smell and softness back in. Some powders combine the two.

Historically detergents emerged from a soap shortage after the First and Second World War. Detergents made their appearance and as a result, soap disappeared from our shelves. Surfactant detergents reduce surface tension and allow water to permeate clothes and then mix with oil and grease which is washed away during draining and rinsing cycles. Surfactant detergents are harsher on fabrics, dry them out and can create more static when they go through a dryer.
As a result, the new detergents may have washed your clothes in a different more effective way whilst reducing the items lifespan. You only need to check the amount of fluff in a tumble dryer if you use one. The fluff is the equivalent of fibres lost from your clothes. As a result we have been replacing clothes much faster.

How do we create shortcuts without loss of comfort?

Using washing soda :

For regular wash, add 1/2 cup of Washing Soda along with the usual amount of either liquid or powder detergent at the beginning of the wash cycle. (Always follow machine instructions when adding laundry products.)

For large, heavily soiled wash loads use 1 full cup of Washing Soda along with the usual amount of either liquid or powder detergent at the beginning of the wash cycle. (Always follow machine instructions when adding laundry products.)

For hard water conditions, add 1 cup of Washing Soda along with the usual amount of either liquid or powder detergent at the beginning of the wash cycle.

Washing Soda adds extra cleaning and freshening power to your detergent. Stains and greasy soils sometimes need special handling. Often a routine machine wash will just not be enough to remedy stubborn problems. The most effective way to remove stains is to begin treatment as soon as possible. Although some stains may be impossible to remove, a pre-treatment or pre-soak with Washing Soda is often very helpful; especially for removing greasy stains and embedded dirt from synthetics and cottons.


Pre-soak laundry in warm water (use cool water for non-colorfast items as well as for blood and egg stains). Use 2 tablespoons of Washing Soda per gallon of warm water if pre-soaking in a small tub, or use 1/2 cup if pre-soaking in a filled washing machine. Pre-soak for at least 30 minutes before washing. Wash with 1/2 cup of Washing Soda in the wash cycle, in addition to your usual detergent.

Short cuts to fabric conditioner :

Hang the washing out on the line and let the air freshen it naturally.
If using a tumble dryer, put some fabric conditioner on a small sponge and tumble with the clothes. The smell will linger nicely at a fraction of the cost.


This is a first step in changing your laundry habits. When you have decluttered your surfactant supplies you can start to look at alternatives such as Ecover.

































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Lifting the spirit

Tea Pot with Tea Cup

“May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you and all your heart might desire.” An Irish blessing.

After the hectic holiday season I find a simple pleasure in brewing a herbal tea in a beautiful teapot my young son bought me last year for my birthday. It is made by the local pottery and was saved for by him for many months. It is a precious gift as well as a reminder that I need some time to myself on a regular basis.

Herbal teas have the ability to lift our spirits, calm our souls and aid digestion. Here are my 3 seasonal teas.

Lemongrass tea

Dried lemon grass leaves make a zesty, refreshing drink that is highly satisfying both hot and cold. A native of South East Asia, Lemon Grass was introduced in the West with the growing popularity of Thai cuisine. It has a light lemony taste, with slight hint of ginger. It is known to lift a sagging spirit, as well as aid digestion. Recent studies also show that Lemon Grass has antibacterial and anti fungal properties. Best of all, it tastes great.

Chamomile tea

The finest chamomile flowers in the world come from the Nile River Valley of Egypt. Considered a remedy for all ills by the ancient Egyptians, this golden herb remains a modern favorite to promote calm and relieve anxiety. When steeped, these fragrant blossoms smell of freshly cut apples and produce a rich, golden cup with superior flavor. Delicious served with honey.

Peppermint tea

A herb prized for its medicinal benefits and distinctive flavor, peppermint (Mentha piperata) is a naturally occurring hybrid of spearmint (M. spicata) and water mint (M. aquatica) . Unlike other mints, however, peppermint contains in its healing volatile oil the powerful therapeutic ingredient menthol, as well as menthone, menthyl acetate and some 40 other compounds.

Dried peppermint leaves are used to make a minty, refreshing tea that is highly satisfying both hot and cold.

Make time in this busy world for a moment of reflection with a cup of tea. Take out your best china, your best teapot and sit in the most beautiful spot in your home. Enjoy the moment.

Cost of living

Autumn Grazing


How did you get to live in the house you are now?

Housing costs depend on what choices have been important to you and are currently important to you.

Some questions to explore :


How much space do we need?
How can we maximise the space versus costs of property?
What are our housing needs?
How much are we prepared to pay for our housing costs?
Do we need to own a property?

If you did not reassess your housing costs before here are some ways of saving money or making your house help make ends meet.

Check that your house meets your needs ( i.e. could you manage with a smaller house, smaller garden different location etc). If it feels too small ask yourself how you can make it appear to be bigger? What is the core issue that makes you feel you need a larger house?
If you have a mortgage on your property check that you have the best possible rates and that you can manage the payments. How much are you prepared to pay for the way you live?
If you have a spare room, would you consider taking in a lodger. There is an issue with lack of privacy but if extra income is necessary could it be an option. Aim for maximum occupancy for your home which will also reduce your ecological footprint. Ensure that you have lodgers on a contract basis to protect yourself and your home.
Have you insulated your home as much as is possible both in terms of investment and possibilities in your home?
How much stuff do you need? Can you continue to declutter?
Is working from home a possibility cutting out commuting?
How much vegetables and fruit can your garden provide?
What temperature are you comfortable with?

With hindsight anything is possible; as I see people move into their new home I recall the many many boxes of stuff I packed, paid to be moved and then never needed. It is not a quick process but part of the downshifting journey.

My definition of success is total self acceptance. We can obtain all of the material possessions we desire quite easily, however, attempting to change our deepest thoughts and learning to love ourselves is a monumental challenge.

Cat and mouse

Sooty and Magic the two cats that board here have been roaming the countryside over the last week and brought home a variety of things to eat. Not a day has gone past without a present on my carpet: its a red carpet and the odd feather can be found after they have devoured their prey. I do feed them plenty and have given them collars with bells on numerous occasions only to find that they lose the collar and bring me another offering.

A few days ago, a baby bunny was laid out on the carpet; we have released about 6 in the past back into the wild. The adolescent squirrel had the cat puzzled; is it a rat, a mouse? Even the dog looked at it and walked away.

Yesterday a tiny little door mouse got caught by the cat but as it was not moving the cat seemed to have got bored with it. We finally cornered it in a flowerpot and released it, putting the cat inside first. No mole though.......they know, they know.....cats are not stupid.

The turning point

The news articles in today's newspapers are telling us of a new phenomenon : despite rapid increasing prices for fuel, food and daily living expenses the average high street spending has increased to record levels last month, way beyond expectations. When the government expects people to tighten their belts and spending, many have gone out of their way to spend more and more. There are 2 possibilities : some people may feel that now is the time to buy as next month the item may be more expensive and others might use shopping as a way to make them feel better about the rising costs of mortgage, credit and life in general in defiance. Whatever the motives, the move is a different one than expected.

On a local level we are seeing a difference too. We are spending more time explaining to people what we can do locally so they do not need to travel to the nearest town and there is a change in buying patterns too as people reconsider travel journeys that can be avoided. A more worrying trend is that some suppliers are going into liquidation, i.e. voluntary bankruptcy as profit margins decrease and running costs and interest rates rise. This will wipe out some businesses that are influenced by these factors and will result in some smaller companies laying off staff, and an increase in local unemployment.

I personally believe that the trend will continue as with higher fuel costs, higher prices for food and commodities will continue too. What would then follow is a request for more money, i.e.salaries to increase to keep up with the cost of living and possible strike action. This is the turning point where a simpler life is no longer a voluntary option for many but one that is being forced upon people as a result of a changing global economy. I predict irrational behaviour as people begin to realise that they cannot have what they want instantly, they may have to wait as supplies and resources become scarce. The quest for fuel seems to be a primary focus based on the fact that fuel and oil availability will reduce in years to come. The laws of economy then mean that when a product becomes scarce, the price will go up. Thus if for instance rice is no longer exported by countries because they need it for their own use, the price of rice rises as its availability decreases.

A proactive approach is to look at alternatives and ways to maximise current opportunities :

• For shelter - check what you can do to minimise the costs of your accommodation.
• For food : plan what you eat, diversify ingredients, take lunch to work and buy some staples ahead of time.
• For warmth : the cost of fuel will rise the nearer we get to winter so now is a good time to invest in filling your oil tank, building a log store for a wood burning stove and saving as much as you can on energy costs. What you save now you can use when you really need it.

Most papers will be full of tips on how to save money and short term savings can be made by cutting down on what is bought new, long term savings can be made by being focused on what you will need in the future and finding the right time to purchase that item. If you made assumptions about a budget at the beginning of the year it may need to be reassessed to take into account price rises.


As a sustainable business, we want to keep our prices competitive which has been successful in particular in the fresh produce section of the shop. Ice cream consumption is low due to inclement weather and chocolate consumption is up. Soup is in demand although this is completely unseasonal.

Life as we knew it is about to change.

Detoxing breakfast

One of the side effects of detoxing is that in eliminating toxins from the body, the body reacts( in my case giving me headaches), as in general it craves the missing element.

Take for instance the morning cup of tea. It contains tea, sugar and milk. I am simplifying by drinking it black first without sugar, then when I have got used to that, I change from tea to redbush or herbal teas. Reducing milk and sugar in tea does not seem to have as many side effects as reducing the caffeine in my daily cup.

Many breakfast cereals contain sugar. Here are a few breakfast options to try to reduce temptations of instant, conveniently packaged breakfast cereals.

Porridge
Oats soaked overnight in water, with cinnamon, almonds and currants
Oats, yoghurt and fresh fruit
Smoothie ; 1 banana, cup of raspberries, cranberry juice and yoghurt

Good Morning

I have come to realise that when I feel hungry my body is infact thirsty. Ultimately our bodies are made up of a large proportion of water ( not tea, coffee or fruitjuice). Water therefore seems a good source of hydration.
I used to drink 6 cups of tea per day, now am down to one. I am not saying its for everyone but we do load our bodies with complex infusions, drinks with sugar and extra sugar and maybe we were not designed to deal with that amount of sugar on a daily basis.

Herbal teas have never been a favourite of mine but I am trying a variety of them, some I like and some I do not. Herbal teas are made from herbs and many can be grown in the garden. Lemon balm and mint are easy to grow and make a really refreshing cup of tea.

You can have cake

Cake takes on a whole new meaning.

6 months have passed since stepping into a supermarket for my foodshopping. In fact this week I reflected on the fact that I have lost touch with consumer mania of too many choices for supper, impulse food buying and being influenced by adverts.

The local shop has only 10 varieties of cereal ( heavens can we survive a choice of 10 against about 45 in the supermarket). We can have fresh seasonal vegetables and fruit delivered while we wait for the garden to take shape.

The ingredients have simplified and I am discovering that moving to a vegetarian diet may be a better possibility.I have talked about this in the past but had very little personal knowledge of where to start.

This week I visited a nutritionist and discovered the shocking truth that our diet here is based on a lot of wheat, corn, sugar and fats and that toxicity levels in the food available in shops is far too high to create a healthy environment for our bodies. Did you know that cucumbers carry a higher than normal aluminium level?

I am therefore cooking in unknown territory and the ingredients before me are not the usual ones I have been cooking with. The aim is to store some dry ingredients that hold more complex nutrients and minerals . These will not perish as fast as the usual foods, frozen or canned and will provide a good base food in the future. They will take longer to digest and longer to release their nutrients in the bloodstream. We should feel fuller, longer and less inclined to go for sugar fixes and bars of chocolate. ( I don't mind the latter one!)

Today, I made a cake with lots of seeds, no fats or eggs or sugar and surprisingly it worked and tasted quite good. Its consistency is that of bread pudding. I say quite good because my tastebuds were expecting something else. I felt like one of my sons who says' I do not like that' before trying it but even one of the boys had a bite from the cake and said it was quite good.

So what was in it :
Brown rice flour
whole wheat flour
rolled oats
linseeds
sunflower seeds
pumpkin seeds
sesame seeds
flaked almonds
ginger grated
raisins
cinnamon
ginger spice
rice milk

Not the usual cake ingredients of fat, sugar, flour and eggs, not dripping in sugar icing either. Best of all,we could have cake and eat it. Seeds are not just for birds.....

Fair trade

Behind every cup of coffee or bar of chocolate, sesame seed and banana....lives a family.
We can take our foodsupply chain for granted if we do not know where our food comes from. The above video clip shows the principles behind fair trade relating to coffee, the second biggest crop after oil.

We have all heard of fair trade, but what does it mean?
The video clip is about 8 mins long.

weather attitude

Home Sweet Home Sweet Home II


There has been a shift in attitude about damage caused by the weather. It seems normal now that tiles fall off, that roofs leak and that water gushes down the walls. It is a minor disruption compared to floods that take everything with it.

About 3 years ago, such weather and its damage would have raised eyebrows, panic. As a result of the storm the next hamlet were without electricity for 24 hours which apparently has not happened before in the last 25 years. Trees falling down over electrical cables also seem the norm, diverting traffic, making deliveries late and unpredictable.

Not many visitors in the shop today which to us is the effect of the weather. I am still grateful that I do not need to go out in the weather when it rains. I could see the rain and wind battle it out from within a safe haven. I also noticed that neighbours joined together to drink tea, to offer warmth, comfort and help where needed. There is regret from some that home maintenance was put on hold and resolutions to plan and prepare better. The difficulty is knowing what in fact we are planning for.

With powerlines above ground , there will always be danger of trees falling and disrupting the network. If your whole existence centres around electricity, and it is cut for a long period of time, how do you prepare for that?

I personally cannot bear to be cold and a woodburner that can heat some soup or boil sufficient water is a lifesaver.

Some safety tips for when blackout happens :

• Only use a torches for emergency lighting. Never leave candles unattended
• Turn off electrical equipment you were using when the power went out.
• Avoid opening the refrigerator and freezer.
• Do not run a generator inside a home or garage.
• If you use a generator, connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator. Do not connect a generator to a home's electrical system.
• Listen to local radio for updated information.

How Can I Prepare Before a Blackout Happens?
Assemble supplies, including:

• Torches
• Batteries
• Portable radio
• at least one gallon of water
• a small supply of food.

The house seems to have withstood the wind and rain damage others did not escape. Someone felt their house shake, other wrestled with tarpaulin to cover and make good. All in a days work today.

The shift in attitude is one from horror and surprise that hurricanes, winds and rain can slash the countryside to a strange acceptance that this is the new weather we can expect in winter. Warm, wet, windy and unpredictable. It is not just staying warm that is the key but to keep water out and roofs on.

We may have taken our homes for granted in the past and in the future there is an opportunity to ensure that the house is tight and safe for the winter to come.

Garden structure

More and more pruning is being done to the bushes in the garden and the space is opening up. The paved area, where the sun should be shining full blast in summer has rampant climbing plants on the wall. Honeysuckle, clematis and lots of ivy. From talking to people in the village the garden used to boast 1 trained peach tree and greengage tree as well. At some time, previous owners did keep 2 goats in the garden.
In order to get the most edible plants in the garden we are working on bringing the fruit trees in good shape and introducing soft fruits where possible. Underneath the fruit bushes and trees, strawberry plants will nestle so that they can flourish in a woodland habitat.
It still looks bare at the moment with the odd daffodil and primrose bringing colour into the garden.

What seemed an overwhelming space now has some structure to it. I thought I would be starting completely with a blank canvas but a discovering that once, not so long ago, this garden was loved by its owners and tended by a man called Bob Tuckfield who was the gardener. The Tuckfield family go back to 1733 in this area, family history tells us and obviously Bob was a gardener and had a connection with our garden as little ago as in the last 20 years.

Where I garden, so did Bob Tuckfield ( and others), and I wonder what he made from it, and what his plans were for the space, its priorities etc. The garden used to be larger as the house we live in is only a part of a large house, and there was a vegetable garden and space for a horse.

When the woodburner was installed, the men excavated the chimney and told me that the structure was one of an inglenook fireplace. All that remains now is the seats either side on which we have laid slabs of slate. The woodburner gives off some heat and when I look out to the garden I realise that I am the latest of tenants and gardeners in this house. I will leave my mark on it for sure and as there are no plans or stories about the past, I may well discover more.