Cumquat Marmalade: Winter Sunshine in a Jar

 

This year's cumquots have made the most delightful marmalade. It's like winter sunshine in a jar! 

YOU WILL NEED: 

About 500g of cumquots 

a cup of sugar

The juice of half a lemon 

METHOD: 

Slice the ends of the cumquots and cut them in half. 

Chop the fruit and pulp coarsley 

Mix in the sugar and lemon jouce

Cook on the stovetop sitrring constantly until the mixture thickens 

Bottle in clean jars whilst hot and seal. 

This is one of those experimental recipes. You can try different citrus or blend flavours together. 

All I know, is that when you have a smear on sourdough it is a burst of sunshine in your mouth ! 

Earthy Quiche

I love this quiche and I bake it regularly. It has become a really good breakfast food for hungry teenagers - it keeps them going all day!

I start by browning some onion and garlic, perhaps some bacon or sweet potato cubes. You can add anything you like that needs pre-cooking.

I whisk 4 eggs, some corn kernels, chopped spinach, half a cup of self-raising flour, half a cup of milk,  some grated cheese... you get the idea, basically anything you have on hand.

I add  lots or rosemary at this point. It is my secret ingredient to give the quiche a really earthy deep flavour.

Stir everything together and pour it into a glass pie plate. I have used a sheet of frozen pastry under this one to hold everything together, although you may find it is okay without the pastry.

Bake for 50 minutes at 180 degrees. Slice into 8 pieces when cooked.

Do you have a quiche recipe ? Do you add in anything you have on hand ? If you try this one or have an interesting recipe, please share in the comments below or on Facebook. If you know someone who will love this recipe, use the buttons below to share the love around! 

Mapping Out The Vision - A Spring Re-Vamp

Today is the first day of the school holidays and I feel that I finally have a chance to step back and examine this splendid life. As I have mentioned briefly, a number of different family events have meant that we have been running here and there since June.

During the last few months we have spent a lot of time on the road, living out of suitcases with friends and family or staying in hotel rooms. Whilst I love the place we stay in Sydney and love the meals, it is just so nice to come home.

Even though we have now been home for about 4 weeks, those busy weeks have seen lots of activity. Both boys were away at different times on school camps and they have had various sporting finals and events, parent teacher interviews and social functions.

During the past few months I also managed to take on some work. Luckily it is work that I can do in my own time, meaning that I have the school holidays off and can work from anywhere, provided I have an internet connection.

So with all that busyness finally finished, I am so excited by the opportunity to stop, breath and re-group.

The first thing we did was to get back into our garden, which was sadly neglected while we were away. Luckily we had a fair bit of rain which meant that things were 'wild' rather than 'dead'. It is time to undertake our spring planting regime which I love because there is so much potential and life in this season.

I am working on a new schedule which will enable me to carry out some paid work but still keep my family life in balance. At the forefront of my mind at the moment is re-vamping the following aspects:

- meal planning: slow change of meals to reflect the warmer weather and the availability of different seasonal produce.

- new budget: I have noticed a drop in fuel prices and a rise in grocery prices. This along with changes in the activities that we do means a new cash budget is required.

- new household routines: as we change from winter to summer we have different household routines, particularly with the jobs that need to be done outside. The boys are also older and are ready to add to their job lists.

- papercrafting: handmade cards and stationery are becoming increasingly popular and I am teaching more and more classes. I need to schedule my classes well in advance and have creative time for working on my new designs.

- health: re-vamping my activity schedule to reflect the warmer weather and to get back on track ( after way too many restaurant meals!!!)

- re-establish our sustainable living principles: Being away has meant that we often had to 'default' to choices that I would normally avoid. Time to re-examine the steps we take as a family to live a more natural, sustainable life.

And finally.............time to be .................slow.

Don't you just love spring. It is a time for a fresh start!

Busy Bee

Ask anyone how they are at this time of year and the answer will, without a doubt include some reference to how ‘busy’ they are.

Why are we so busy ? Is it because our to-do lists have a deadline? We HAVE to have things organized by December 25th?

I find that my days are busy because I have so many things that I would like to achieve, but many of them are attached to specific time frames so I actually feel a lot busier.
I wouldn’t normally group my whole to do list together, but every time November falls from the calendar I find myself looking at everything that needs to be achieved between then and Christmas.

Sometimes I have things playing on my mind that I can’t physically do anything about until they arrive, like attend end of school functions and Christmas parties – but they are on the ‘thinking of them at 3am’ mental list I tend to keep.

Add to the mental and physical list making the constant input from television, newspapers, radio reminding us of how to have our ‘best Christmas ever’ and how to ‘show someone you REALLY love them’ and ‘buy now’ ‘pay nothing’ ‘buy, buy, BUY, BUY’. AHHHHHH

No wonder they call it the silly season.

Please remind me, when I start down the path that society says I should be on, that I can chose to think differently. I can choose to participate in the frenzy or to step aside.

I choose to cultivate the spirit of Christmas. To think deeply about how I will bring PEACE to my house. How being prepared, planning ahead and thinking about things slowly will let me feel peace and let my family experience my peace.

I will think about how I will bring JOY to my home. Joy comes from a lack of stress. Joy comes from having the time to sit and play card games with your children, a family game of tennis in the front yard or watching a dance concert performed in your lounge room.

I choose to cultivate LOVE. What my family members want from me is not the latest and greatest catalogue item, they want my time and my efforts and my appreciation for what they do and who they are.

So….. the challenge now is working through the “must do” list so that I don’t sabotage my own Christmas Spirit.

Think…..peace……think…….joy……….think………love.