Grapefruit Sorbet

I've done it! I've found the best use for the grapefruit on my tree.
Grapefruit Sorbet. I scouted the internet and adapted a few recipes expecting a fair bit of trial and error and... aced it on my first try!

The BEST thing is as far as I'm concerned it tastes like a grapefruit and lemon Fruju. These things are my go-to in summer and were a godsend throughout my pregnancies. Now these seem to be seasonal for summer only so in winter I just go without. Until now.

I forgot to take a photo when I made it and it didn't take long to eat through most of it, but since photos are always nice. Here's the tiny smidgen I have left. Time to make more tomorrow :)

My recipe is as follows:
Equal quantities of sugar and water - I used a tall water glass of each.
Put in a saucepan on a moderate heat and DO NOT stir.
Leave it until it boils and then boil for 3 minutes.

Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Add 2 cups of grapefruit juice, 1 TBSP zest, 1 TBSP of alcohol (I used white rum as that was what I had but apparently vodka is good for being tasteless while still preventing the sorbet from freezing solid).

Stir and put into a dish that has been kept in the freezer for an hour.

After it is frozen to semi solid state stir it vigorously with a fork.
Put back in freezer for a few more hours until frozen to sorbet consistency.

Just a word of warning, like any grapefruit product you shouldn't eat this if you are on the birth control pill, blood thinners, antidepressants and possibly some other meds as well. Basically if you're on meds please check first. Grapefruit likes to meddle with medicine.

This recipe would work just as well I think with any other fruit juice/liquid substituted.

Mmmm bagels

Homemade bagels with homemade plum jam. Awesome! Bagels are my new 'easy-to-make-not-worth-buying' discovery.


In other news I'm in serious need of garden inspiration. Happily this year my beetroot were big enough to actually eat (and a gorgeous jeweled purple colour to boot) but now they're gone I'm faced with the standard winter dilemma - what to plant that I actually want to eat?

I already have celery planted on the hubby's suggestion. I'm not that partial to celery but I figured I could use it for soups etc. during winter. Typically it is thriving. I really don't like the standard 'space filler' Bok Choy and all variants of it. I'm tempted to just plant heaps and heaps of Kale. I already have 9 plants of it but my kids REALLY like Kale chips.

I have my wood all ready for winter again and happily it's been really warm lately. Although I'm dying to get started with the cosy fires I'm also pleased that it means our wood will last through whatever winter we get thrown at us.

Redid the budget. Food shop per week has been set at $180. Ah for the days where we got change from $150. Even at $180 it's only achievable because we've switched from upmarket to budget supermarkets. Personally I hate the supermarket in question and its horrid yellow lights and tall shelves that look like they're plotting to crush and end you in the most undignified way possible. But hubby does the shop and it seriously saves us $35 each time.

Food rewards (now with pictures!)

Now my garden is well established one of the best feelings is making recipes which contain a majority of items from my own garden.

I've decided to start sharing the results partly as a pat on the back for myself, partly to share new food ideas, mostly because blogs with pictures are pretty :-)

So my first food entry comes courtesy of a free Sanitarium recipe book.

Warm capsicum, tomato, burghul, and baked feta salad

Featuring chives, red onion, capsicum, cherry tomatoes and basil from my garden. Isn't it gorgeous? It was very tasty too although the kids weren't convinced. You can get the recipe online here.

As an aside Sanitarium has a free info service with qualified nutritionists and dietitians. You can email or freephone. There are also links on that page to sign up to get free recipes via email. Pretty good deal. I guess nutritionists and dietitians don't have to just be for the wealthy after all.

It's all about priorities

My mother heard an interesting saying which she relayed to me and as some sayings do it has stuck with me for quite a while. It goes like this:

You can't tell who's swimming naked until the tide goes out.

What does it mean? Well basically when things are going well in the economy it is easier for people to keep up appearances even if their income doesn't support it. But once things take a turn for the worst, as it has the last few years, those overextended people soon become quite apparent.

I think almost all of us have been guilty of being a bit careless with money in the past. Nothing like a 'good' Global Economic Crisis to pull us all into line.

We are by no means perfect when it comes to being frugal but one thing that I am proud of is that we do not overextend ourselves with HPs, overdrafts and credit card debt. Oh we did once. It took a year to pay off that consolidated loan. Lesson learned and never again!

Anyway the 'best' thing about the current situation (apart from ongoing low interest rates) is that people are starting to get creative. There's a new surge in home made clothes and crafts. I'm sure it's no accident that Pinterest is growing so exponentially. So many good ideas there. Gardening is taking off again. Old recipes are being unearthed. People are trying new tastes - especially protein sources such as pulses and beans. Nosh has even waged a price war with the supermarkets on the price of milk. (yes I know it's a loss-leader and don't even get me started on how wrong it is that there should ever be a cause for a war on such a basic commodity...)

And yet I constantly hear of people struggling because they don't prioritise. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate it is hard out there. I am not saying that people are struggling simply because of wrong choices (thanks John Key) but there are a few that could be a little smarter. Here's a bit of 'brain spew' from my completely unqualified noggin:

• If you're finding it hard don't go nuts on label clothing for the kids. Honestly I think clothing children (shoes excluded) is the cheapest part of having them right now. If you want new stuff buy on sale for the following year. Otherwise second hand op shop stuff is usually in pretty good nick and very cheap. The retail sector is struggling - there are sales everywhere. You should not have to buy stuff at full price.

• Make use of your garden. If you don't have a garden make one in pots and containers. If you don't have the time or this isn't an option then buy at your local market. We did it the other weekend and got an entire week's worth of produce for under $20. There were 4 vege stalls to choose from. Get friendly with your neighbours and swap unused fruit for some of the end result preserves that you are going to make.

• Learn how to cook some meals meat free. There are heaps of other protein sources. Also stop with the takeouts - they're stupidly expensive. (OK confession, we still do takeouts once a week).

• Plan your trips. Walk when possible. Petrol is expensive. Also in the same vein, car servicing when possible is important. It's more expensive to fix if you wait until things go wrong. Try and put money aside for this and do it annually.

• The horrid 'B' word. Make a budget. Go and see Sorted.org (link on the side)

• Don't let the banks keep raising your credit card limits. Stay on top of this. Try to only use your credit card for emergencies and only spend what you can pay off in the month.

• And the most important one - Learn to differentiate needs from wants.
  * SKY is not a need - we don't have it. We are still alive.
  * New couch on 24 months HP. Be very careful because there is no such thing as a 'free lunch'. Also I would strongly discourage anyone from buying items with a quick devaluation on HP unless they absolutely have to. That's phones, computers and definitely cars.
  *Cloth nappies. Yes you can have too many. You don't need a limited edition whatever. It's a NAPPY. It will not feed your children.
  * Just follow the golden rule - ask yourself 'do I really need this?' This doesn't mean never treat yourself. In fact I would recommend you put money in your budget for little treats. It would be a sad world indeed with no coffee ;) Just be sensible.

Most of this is not rocket science. Most of you will probably be doing this and more now. But you would be surprised the amount of people who are not managing simply because they are not prioritising needs and wants and still trying to live outside their means. Do yourselves a favour and live frugally - you will feel freer than you would running around in a unpaid for car, sitting on an unpaid for couch and looking for all the world like a million bucks.

Rain rain go away

Righto so we're in summer apparently. No one has told the rain that. It's completely f'ing the berry season up and down the country and at home my garden isn't faring much better.
I'm rather grumpy. My garlic has started dying back so I had an exploratory dig around the base of one. The bulb at the end is minuscule. Well not minuscule but certainly not decent sized. So disappointed. I'm not sure why they are so small. I want to blame the weather although that's probably not entirely it. I shall have another go next year and see how we go but honestly not cool.

My uncle used to grow awesome garlic here in Auckland so I know it's do-able. Unfortunately said uncle is now suffering from Alzheimers so I can't actually ask him for tips.

My brown onions look like onions but small pickling onions. I will leave them as long as I can but it is dependent on when the stalks start dying back which they look like they're going to. Red onions are only just starting to appear.

Beans are pretty pitiful. Mind you I didn't see many bees in our garden which I understand is a fairly common problem nowadays. I'm going to get some borage from Mum and plant that to see if I can bring more bees in next year. Borage is gorgeous when in flower though it does tend to take over gardens if you're not careful.

Tomato plant has gone nuts. 2 ripe cherry tomatoes so far but a plant that is taking over an entire bed. *sigh* I REALLY should have staked it.

Capsicums are starting to develop. We've had a few good courgettes too so far. But overall my garden has been fairly dismal. I really can't blame the weather too much. I was very slack at planting and tending over the summer.

The plum tree has just produced another great crop. I've just gone out with the broom and smacked down a whole basket. Stuff you blackbirds! These ones are mine.

We have some fat happy blackbirds here. The neighbour has plantain bananas which they love having for breakfast and they usually have a great lunch on my plums. I'm sure once the tomatoes ripen they'll be having a shot at adding those to their diet too.

Christmas overall was a great success. I'm getting very good at making food that looks tricky and tastes great (if I do say so myself) and are incredibly cheap to make. This year I provided the old reliable - cranberry and pistachio biscotti along with a new trial; Chilli chocolate florentines.

Now I'm busily preparing for a family wedding and looking out for clothes in the sales for the girls for next year. Luckily when it comes to winter stuff the rain is helping me get into the right mindset ;)

Oh and speaking of sales - the best bargains to be had at the moment are overseas. Especially in the UK. The exchange rate is reasonable and when the British do sales they REALLY do sales.

The most wonderful time of the year

Christmas madness is upon us. I looooove Christmas. Adore it!
But due to poor planning on my husband's and my part we also have our children's birthdays in Nov and Dec. Plus my family has followed the trend so add another 4 to that between Nov and Feb.

It makes for an incredibly busy and expensive time of the year.

This year marks the first year my eldest has really been aware (and therefore into) birthday parties. 'It has to be at the riding bikes park mummy'. This was non-negotiable. Luckily the park has a community hall. Even better it only costs $10/hour to rent it. Given Auckland weather around this time of year (it's raining as I type) I wasn't keen on having 16 kids in my little house. So $40 outlay and some chips and wee people food. Entertainment will hopefully be the bikes and the park itself. If it's wet, balloons inside will hopefully suffice.
There is a barbecue, full kitchen with dishwasher and tables and chairs. Everything I need to keep it stress free.

If you are stuck for party venues I recommend looking into this option (assuming your kids are old enough that you can't get away with a small family gathering). Friends of ours were amazed at how cheaply they were able to rent the local community hall for their area. The bonus was there was a play centre attached and the play area was open for them to use. There are fantastic options that come cheaper than McDonald's or Lollipops if you do a bit of searching around your local area.

This year I don't have to host Christmas so that removes the expense of extra food. Present shopping for the kids has already been done months back during sales. This may be the last year I can do this as I suspect next year Miss 4 will have set ideas about what Santa needs to bring. Grown up pressies are proving to be a bit more of an issue. Mainly because my handy present list I used every year was stored in my old phone that got drowned by an errant cup of tea. (Moment of silence).

I've already been caught out with shopping without a list. A visit to some local shops last week resulted in a baby shower present, a birthday present and.... no Chirstmas presents :S

If you are crafty and need a bit of inspiration my new fun place to hang out is Pinterest
Instead of creating endless bookmarks of things that inspire you this allows you to 'pin' it with a picture to a virtual board. Think of it like a cork board on your computer. Lots of very crafty people share great ideas on here. Fantastic for those of you wanting to go the homemade route this Christmas.

I'm also carefully scanning the local papers for Christmas Events. Tree lightings, Carol services, markets; there's lot's of fantastic things starting to happen now.

Oh and for those of you wondering Kale does bolt. Apparently you just need to blog about it to set it off ;) But that's ok because strawberries and snow peas are already happening in our garden. Christmas and summer produce - who could ask for more?

Playing Coffee Roulette

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a coffee nut (or should that be bean?) . Like any coffee nut I'm pretty picky about the product. Especially when it costs upwards of $4 for a cup. It seems New Zealander's really aren't that fussed about good coffee - or else why are there so many terrible baristas (I use that term loosely) out there?

Now I'm no expert but if you get a sour watery coffee or one that tastes like someone has stubbed their cigarette out in it then it's no good. That's $4 of undrinkable coffee. Plus the cost of fluffies (that's steamed milk in a demitasse cup for the unitiated) for the kids.

I was lucky enough to be gifted an old coffee machine a year or so ago by friends of mine who had upgraded. It was small but it was beautiful and I loved it. It even came on holiday with me. Sadly it died this year and so I was left with the option to buy a replacement or play coffee roulette with bought stuff.

I managed to get a Baby Gaggia off TM at half the retail price of new. A very dirty, never been cleaned machine but still a good price. I did have to buy the cleaning brush, backflush disk, tamp (it came with a plastic one) and cleaning solution for it. Plus since I don't have a grinder, I have to buy coffee for it every week(To all the coffee drinkers shuddering at the thought of pre-ground; I know! I know! But I haven't been able to convince my non-coffee drinking hubby that we need a $600+ grinder -yet). Unlike my old machine she's a bit fussier and doesn't like the 'supermarket' grind. It has to be finer for my baby. So it costs $12-15/ week for the coffee but I get 7 or more cups from that.

So is it cheaper? Possibly not at the moment. Depending on how long the machine lives it may well be though. Is it better than bought stuff? Well it's better than a majority of it. I know a few places to get awesome coffee around here but only a few.

Consistent coffee every morning is worth the cost to me. Plus my cafe doesn't charge for fluffies :)