Cheap Mince other than Beef

I had the opportunity to shop at Coles at the regional centre again. I have tried three Coles, this one was very pleasant. They had every mince (or hamburger/sausage) cheap as long as it wasn't beef. They also had a half-price goldfish bowl, my daughter was very happy. Now to catch a fish from our pond.

Thursday ~ Bacon & Cauliflower Soup with Parmesan Crisps (uses bacon bones)
Friday ~ Pot Stickers or Pork & Ginger Dumplings
Saturday ~ Broccoli & Bacon Pasta
Sunday ~ Tuna & Mushroom Spaghetti
Monday ~ Tuna Pilau
Tuesday ~ Left-over Rigatoni Bolognaise below
Wednesday ~ Stir-fried Lamb, Vegetables & Noodles
Thursday ~ Szechuan Lamb Rissoles with Asian Greens (when the 3 kids aren't home)
Friday ~ Chorizo & Vegetable Soup
Saturday ~ Pork Mince & Cabbage Stir-fry
Sunday ~ Pork Mince Stroganoff
Monday ~ Italian Sausages & Beans
Tuesday ~ Rigatoni Bolognaise made with pork sausages & veal mince
Wednesday ~ Mustard Sausages, Potatoes & Beans & Tomato Sauce (when the 3 kids aren't not home)

Everything Is Fine

Lying Around The Garden

No, I don't mean junk, hoses, old newspapers, I mean you.  Do you do it?

I have determined, it probably depends on the privacy aspect.  Last weekend I was lying on the yet still unpainted garden bench.  The only small problem is a neighbours window a block away, but still it is there at the back of his house.  If it wasn't for that it would be perfect.  This is at my new house, the current one is very overlooked, read on the side of a hill.

Allposters

I think it is important to simple living.  I remember once lying on the back lawn of our rented farmhouse.  It was great.  Our landlord chose that moment to visit his farm.  Isn't it always the way.  It was fine, but not the same as just with family until whenever you feel like getting up.

Retro Simplicity

Pay Dirt

My supermarket now has a rack of spices from Herbies, and some French style lentils. Both are very exciting.

Thursday ~ Mexican mince
Friday ~ Spaghetti Bolognaise
Saturday ~ chipolatas or sausage casserole
Sunday ~ tuna casserole
Monday ~ Singapore pork sausage styled fried rice
Tuesday ~ pork sausage pasta with rosemary
Wednesday ~ Pork mince with brussels sprouts
Thursday ~ Pork mince & Ginger dumplings
Friday ~ Spicy Pumpkin & Beans
Saturday ~ Lentil & Basil Soup
Sunday ~ Spicy pork mince with asparagus & noodles
Monday ~ pork & veal meatballs

Spare: Broccoli Pasta
Beef & Cabbage Stir Fry
Beef Mince & Pea Curry

Teaching Kids to Take Capsules

My daughter has to take antibiotic capsules. It didn't work. The doctor said to keep the capsules and if she found she could take them she could use them if the other medication didn't work. So backed into a corner I found this advice, and it worked a treat from the Royal Children's Hospital. Within minutes we had the yoghurt, the snake lollies or candy, and the medication was swallowed.

Basically she has been taking the capsule in a spoonful of chocolate yoghurt.

Do you think this is it for the year?

You can see what my husband and son were busy doing last weekend. Hopefully it will be enough, it is still very much like winter here, except it is not very cold like it was. It is still like the weather conditions of our hometown which is still in North East Victoria. I am still wearing the same clothes, but maybe less of my jacket.

Our heater fan broke while my husband was away last week. He was away on Monday and Tuesday and also the previous Friday night to Sunday night. He struggled with the hot heater and got the fan fixed. It was a little chilly while it was switched off, but not overly so, just cold as usual.

As you can see, he also cleaned up the drive, a pile of woodchips there that was annoying.

The stack is bigger than we usually have. It was his first try of his new chainsaw. The old one that we bought from a family member who were selling their hobby farm was stolen. Prior to this my husband used his antique chainsaw. He originally bought that at a clearing sale many years ago, I think in pieces, I think he got another in pieces as well which is probably still like that or maybe he finally got rid of them, not sure.

When we first moved to a rented farmhouse in 2003, he got his antique chainsaw out of the shed and started using it. The first year here in 2004 we bought wood, then have been cutting it every winter since. When the chainsaw went missing, I think we brought back the wood we had cut ready for us at our new house. We were to move in at Easter. We brought it back in the back of the 4x4 each week. When that ran out, he went back to the antique chainsaw and found it hurt his back. It wasn't maintained before he put it in the shed, so he came back with only small pieces of wood. He got it fixed, borrowed a trailer I think after a bit of running around. Ours needs new tyres, $300 worth. We have done our tax, so maybe that will be rectified soon. We are expecting money back from an education thingo that repays half of your internet costs.

So this weekend he borrowed a workmates private trailer which was very generous of him, took the new chainsaw (he was so shocked to get a cheque all except $100 in the mail) and he said he kept cutting, not knowing he had cut too much. Still the trailer was a large one. Even so it requires towing it up a very steep hill. Very steep.

There you go, we are thankful we are still able to keep ourselves in wood. The time freed up when spring comes will be greatly appreciated as well.

Homemade Microwave Popcorn

My daughter who is seven was hungry after school yesterday. I had a bag of popcorn, because although it looks unapetising in the bag, is very cheap. We found our recipe for microwaving the popcorn, I asked her to use a glass bowl with a plate over it. It was too hot, but a sister or brother helped put it into another bowl so she could eat it, with her favourite thing, icing sugar.

It comes from one of my favourite recipe books Microwave Cooking for Babies & Toddlers, which I think has been rereleased, by Virginia Hill.

1/4 metric cup popcorn
1 metric teaspoon water

Place corn and water into whatever you are using. Cover. Microwave on high for 5-5 1/2 minutes. Remove when popping has finished. Be careful as the bowl/jug will be hot. Variation toss through 100s and 1000s or nonpareils .

Get Comfortable with Being Alone

This is the same title as a post I read at My Simpler Life. I typed in something like Simple Living in my Google reader in Browse for Stuff and found it there. The post talks about solitude, and a book the author read that suggests an a-z of being alone. Here is my A-Z. Years ago before we moved house the first time, I regularly had a bath while my husband did his correction for his job, an activity he did after the kids went to bed. I also loved just thinking, and looking out the window in my bedroom in the next house. The thinking was great, I always thought up things to help the kids that wouldn't have happened if I wasn't sitting still. My Grandfather spent lovely time sitting on a fold up chair in his shed looking out into the garden. I have felt the loss of my old deckchair, have you seen the price of new ones? You can also do this in one way with little kids while supervising if they are playing in the garden under a tree, I suppose it qualifies if they are fully engaged with playing with each other.

A - Alone
B - Bath
C - Chair
D - Dog
E - Enjoying
F - Feeling the breeze or the sun
G - Garden
H - Hearing
I - Independence
J - Joy
K - Knitting
L - Listening
M - Meandering around the garden
N - Nature
O - Observing
P - Paging through magazines
Q - Quiet
R - Revive
S - Sleep
T - Thinking
U - Unstructured
V - View
W - Water
X -hale
Y - Yoghurt
Z - Zinnias

Baking with Lemons

Please visit Spades and Spoons. Paola has been baking with lemons, so I decided to post my Mum's recipe that has lemon icing.

Chinese Chew

1 large cup self-rising flour

1 pinch salt

2 eggs

1/2 large cup chopped walnuts

1 large cup chopped dates

1/2 cup sugar

1/4lb butter

Combine all ingredients, beat eggs and add to melted butter. Mix all together. Bake in flat tin 20 mins. Ice with lemon icing.

I found a recipe in an old scrapbook of mine.

Lemon Icing

1 cup icing sugar/powdered sugar
1 tab lemon juice
2 teas water
2 teas butter

Sift icing sugar into bowl. Add melted butter, water, lemon juice, mix until smooth.

Be Yourself