The Perils of Poaching Quinces

Last spring I was thrilled to discover that my Adelaide garden held a quince tree. I had never even seen a quince before. The spring blossoms were exquisite to look at and smelled wonderful. Eagerly I anticipated the day when I would have the opportunity to cook the fruit.

Well, that day arrived last weekend, and I did not find the experience of preparing poached quinces very appealing at all.

To begin with, quinces are rock hard and I sliced my hand twice trying the peel and core them.

I prepared a simple sugar syrup of one part white sugar to two parts water, which I simmered until the sugar dissolved. I then added a few drops of vanilla, a squeeze of lemon juice, and my quartered quinces.

My recipe suggested that I should allow the quinces to cook in a sealed, non-reactive pot (I used an enamelled cast iron pan) for between four to eight hours in a slow to moderate oven.

The result: The quinces changed from pale lemon in colour to a dark, rosy red. The flavour was a little like pears except stronger. The texture was slightly gritty. Nobody particularly liked them.

The Verdict: I don't think I would ever plant a quince tree as the fruit is awkward to prepare and requires long cooking. They can't be eaten raw. I would rather grow fruit that can be eaten and cooked more easily, especially in a suburban garden where there is limited space.

I am keen to try making quince paste but I have heard that the bubbling mixture can cause nasty burns. I didn't know fruit could be such a health hazard!

Have you ever cooked with quinces? Is there anything I should have done differently?

For more kitchen tips, visit Kitchen Tip Tuesday at www.tammysrecipes.com.

Two Lines About Quinces

Quinces are the most voluptuous fruit,

Round and dimpled like a Rubens' goddess.

The Three Graces, circa 1636

Tomorrow I'll share some of my recent (mis)adventures cooking the quinces from my front yard quince tree.

Earth Hour 2009

Tonight between 8.30 and 9.30 pm it's Earth Hour. That means that people from around the world will be turning off their lights and hopefully their TV and computer screens too.

So light some candles, get out those glo-sticks, play some boardgames or cuddle someone you love. It's a habit we might want to get into more often.

Do you participate in Earth Hour?

Disco Babies

For my first school disco, during the 1980s, I was resplendent in striped legwarmers, a blue drop-waisted mini dress and blue Avon eye shadow stolen from my mother.

Tonight my son, a mere infant of 6, attended his first disco at school. He had a delightful time bopping around to Abba and the Nutbush with other 5 to 7 year olds. Sometimes he danced solo, and other times he danced in a circle, holding hands with some of his little classmates.

Afterwards he said that today was the best day ever.

John Travolta, eat your heart out.

Can you remember your first dance?

Procrastination and Slothfulness

Are you a procrastinator? I am. More than ever before.

In the past I have always had babies and pre-schoolers who kept me busy, often combined with volunteer work, paid work, and taking care of a large home and garden.

Since we moved to Adelaide last year my littlest son has started school, I am not working, and I am living in a much smaller home with a small garden. I have begun to feel that I am not achieving anything.

Certainly, it now can take all day to do something that I could previously do in half or one quarter of the time -- unless I put it off until tomorrow, that is.

I think I need to be busier. When I moved here I thought it would be wonderfully luxurious not to be busy every minute of every day. I was happy not to over-commit at first. But now I am itching for a project or a goal.

Why is it that busy people can always fit in one more thing, but non-busy people (like me at the moment) can barely stay awake? Yes, I am exaggerating, but you know what I mean.

I am looking (sporadically) for part-time work, but haven't found anything regular yet (or they haven't wanted me). And once we buy a home my life will again be filled with all the little tasks that home owners have to do.

In the meantime I fear I am turning into a sloth.

Are you a procrastinator? Or do you create goals and work for them wholeheartedly, never putting off for tomorrow what you could do today?

Is it ever acceptable not to be busy?

Self Portrait

Despite my protestations about protecting my family's privacy, I have been wondering whether I should put a picture of myself on my blog. So this afternoon I went outside armed with a camera and the desperate hope that I would take one that looks halfway decent. I can't have you all screaming and taking off for the woods, can I?

Realising that any in which I look directly at the camera make me look slightly manic, my three finalist-photos all have me looking away.

Please leave a comment and tell me which one you prefer.

Remember, the chosen picture will be much smaller when it finally appears on my sidebar.

#1. This one was taken by my daughter who is shorter than I am. You'd think I'd have straightened my necklace first, wouldn't you?

This picture made me realise how much I need a haircut. I haven't been to the hairdresser since last year. I really miss my wonderful Maria in Melbourne and need to find a substitute. Fast.

#2. Head chopped off at the top but no messy hair ends.


#3. Side on. My favourite.


As you can see, I've never had any reason and to have my colours done. With natural red hair and sludge-green eyes, I am such an autumn. Autumn is my favourite time of the year, too.

Sweet Hearts

Question: What do you do if you are a rapidly growing twelve-year old girl whose favourite jeans have become too short?

Answer: Easy. Cut off the legs to make shorts, then borrow some of Mum's embroidery floss and sew on two intersecting hearts.

Adorable. And it was all her idea.

Made to Order

When my eldest son was planning his birthday dinner, he was very specific about what his cake should be like.

A home-made, layered vanilla sponge filled with whipped, sweetened cream and iced with chocolate icing.

I was happy to oblige.

Since when did I become old enough to have a 15 year old son?

To Be Sure, It's a St Patrick's Week Menu!

I think that instead of lasting one day, birthdays should last a whole week, or even a month. So although St Patrick's Day is really just one day, I am calling this week "St Patrick's Week". Green is, after all, my favourite colour.

Here is our menu for this week. Although it's St Patrick's Week we aren't eating Irish food every day -- unless having potatoes three times (including the cobbler topping) counts. Indeed, I don't think Irish people eat any differently from anybody else in the English speaking world these days. (They didn't when I was there, anyway.)

This menu is created from the food referred to in Shopping With a Calculator, Part One, and Shopping With a Calculator, Part Two.
Here in the Southern Hemisphere it's early autumn; the very best time of year for sourcing fresh, delicious produce. Two of the desserts involve peaches because we have a laden peach tree in our backyard that is too good to be wasted.
Dinners

pumpkin souphome-made bread rollspeach sponge pudding***marinated BBQ'd chickensaladsauteed potatoesfresh fruit***chicken cobbler (using onions instead of leeks)peasfresh peach and ginger crumble***15th birthday celebrationspaghetti bolognaisesaladhomemade sponge cake with chocolate icing filled with whipped cream (he was very specific!)***St Patrick's Daycorned beef pot roast potatoes, carrots, peassoda breadfresh fruit
Irish coffee (for the adults)*** macaroni cheese with hamgrilled tomatoesgreen salad


Although it's Tuesday, this is my post for Menu Plan Monday over at http://www.orgjunkie.com/.

Steps For Stockpiling

In the comments to my last post, Shopping With a Calculator, Part Two, Em wrote:

I've been hesitant to cut back on the weekly shopping too much in case it runs
our stockpile down (usually buy any specials that might be regular stockpile
items) - but we do need to try and cut it back our budget some more - any ideas
about how to work stockpile maintainence/specials buying in with the weekly
shop?

I am no expert in stockpiling but I've been thinking about this and have come up with a plan that I think would work for me, and hopefully some of you too.

I appreciate that different cities and countries provide different shopping opportunities. For instance, we don't have Aldi in Adelaide and we don't have coupons in Australia. I have always found the Woolworths/Coles duopoly frustrating as I know they keep prices high and there is little difference between them on price. Fortunately, Adelaide has Foodland, which provides a great alternative to the "big two".

The specifics of my situation are as follows:

• Family of six, with children aged 15, 12, 10 and 6.
• I shop weekly.
• All toiletries (apart from makeup) and cleaning products are included in the weekly shop
• A budget of $200 ($135 US), which I often go over:-(.
• All children and hubby take lunches to school/work
• We get takeaway or eat out as a family about once every 2 months. I buy coffee out about once a week and usually buy sushi for my lunch on Friday when I do my shopping. Hubby buys coffee sometimes too. These items are not covered by our $200 per week.
• The only freezer space I have is the small freezer above my fridge. The house we are renting has very limited pantry space too.
• Sadly, we don't have a vegetable garden anymore, due to our recent interstate move. Once we buy a home I'll start one up again.

Here is my plan for building a stockpile on a budget.

1. Think about your budget

If you are on a bare-bones food budget there may be very little room to buy extras for a stockpile. Thus if you want to build a stockpile you may have to allocate extra funds to do so. However, as I discovered when I took my calculator shopping, I could shop for less than I usually do, just by organising myself better.

2. Create a menu plan that will come under budget

In order to create a stockpile without going over budget, your basic menu plan for the week has to come under budget. To create such a menu plan you need to shop at home first, using up existing supplies, and study grocery store catalogues so you know what will be on sale. Also, think about which fruits and vegetables are in season in your area, as they will be less expensive and will have travelled less.

3. Think about which items you are running out of, and add them to your list

If you can get some of these items in bulk or on sale, that's great.

4. Plan to Stockpile

Using sale catalogues and your existing supplies as a guide, plan just a few items that you can buy in bulk or buy extra of, to add to your stockpile, or to begin a stockpile if you don't already have one. Don't get carried away; you still want to stay within your budget.

5. Take your calculator shopping

I cannot emphasis enough the advantages of doing this. If you hit your limit, start putting things back on the shelves, beginning with the least important ones.

6. Rotate Your Supplies

There is no point storing lots of food if you allow it to spoil. So keep eating and rotating the supplies you have.

While I am not a Mormon, they are worth mentioning as they are experts on food storage. Members of the LDS (Latter Day Saints) church are encouraged to store at least a 3 month supply of food and water for all family members. To find out more about Family Home Storage, click this link. If you Google "LDS food storage" you will find lots of other links on this topic.

My next post will be this week's menu.

Have you have any tips on building a food stockpile? If so, please leave a comment.

For more kitchen tips visit Kitchen Tip Tuesday at www.tammysrecipes.com.

Shopping With A Calculator, Part Two

When I entered the supermarket yesterday I expected to struggle, as usual, to keep within my $200 (equivalent to $135 US) grocery budget. Imagine my surprise when, with the help of my trusty pocket calculator, the total came to a mere $161.27 (about $105 US).

The calculator technique really works!

Instead of roaming up and down the aisles in order, crossing items off my shopping list and checking for specials, I shopped only for the most important items on my list, adding them up on the calculator. Only when I was sure that I could stay under my limit did I add any extras.

This method of shopping did take longer than usual, but it would be worth continuing with as it forces me to be a more disciplined shopper.

Thanks to a grocery receipt that itemised my purchases into categories, I can tell you how my $161.27 was divided.

• General Groceries, including toiletries and cleaning products: $54.78
• Dairy, including 15 litres milk, $31.70
• Frozen: $1.96 (1 kg frozen peas on special)
• Fresh meat incl. chicken: $27.07
• Fruit and Vegetables: $31.86
• Deli: $4.49
• Bakery: $9.41 (3 loaves bread + 2 packets crumpets on sale)

The Verdict: Grocery shopping with a calculator in hand can definitely save money, but it may take a little longer than usual.

Shopping With A Calculator, Part One

Shoppers at Large A&P Grocery Store

The time has come to get serious -- about keeping within my grocery budget, that is.

I feel that my budgeted figure is realistic but I need to be more disciplined about keeping to it. It's so easy to go 20 or 30 dollars over each week.

I already compare catalogues, plan menus and write a shopping list each week. I don't use coupons because there are none in Australia. I don't keep a price book but have a mental list of my target price for most items I buy regularly. And I try to shop vintage-style, thus avoid many packaged and processed goods.

I used to take a pocket calculator shopping and it was a great way of ensuring I stayed within budget. As soon as I hit my limit I had to start putting things back on the shelves.

More recently, growing children, including a hollow-legged teenage son, and rising prices have forced me to raise our food budget. Shamefully, I have been lax even with that.

Unfortunately, our income is not rising. In fact, it has fallen in the past year due to a number of factors, factors that I know are fairly widespread. It's not called a world financial crisis for nothing.

So tomorrow my trusty pocket calculator will be coming out of hibernation and going shopping with me. I'll let you know how we get along.

What is your best tip for staying within your grocery budget?

Help! I Accidentally Deleted My Blogroll

Somehow I have managed to accidentally delete my blogroll. There were about 100 blogs on there; too many for me to remember off hand. If you were on there or would like to be, please leave a comment.

In the meantime I'll try to reconstruct it. Sob.

Home-Made Laundry Powder

One of the ways often suggested for saving money in the home is to make one's own laundry detergent. Thinking that this might work, I made up the following recipe:

Home Made Laundry Detergent

6 bars laundry soap, grated
1 500 g (16 oz) box borax
1 500g (16 0z) bag washing soda crystals (sodium carbonate)

Combine and keep in an airtight container. (I ground mine up in the food processor to help it dissolve better.)
Add one tablespoon of detergent to each wash.

I think that this detergent is a wonderful idea, especially with prices rising all the time. The only trouble is that it does not seem to work very well on my family's whites, even after soaking. I have four active children who sure can create stains! However, this mixture works well on dark items, so I'll continue to use it for them. (Perhaps it's just that I can't see the marks on dark clothes.)

Another laundry tip is to reduce the amount of conventional detergent you use, perhaps by half, and see if you can notice any difference.

My best money-saving laundry tip is to line-dry your washing. In bad weather you can use a clothes airer indoors. Although I haven't done the calculations to prove it, I suspect you'd save more by foregoing the clothes dryer than by changing the type of detergent you use. You'll also save on fabric softener and dryer sheets, and you'll be doing something good for the environment. It's a win-win situation!

Have you ever made home-made laundry detergent? How successful was it? Can you suggest any ways to make mine more effective?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Defending Our Beliefs

“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”

My husband is reading a biography about Dietrich Bonhoeffer that he borrowed from our church library. I am planning to read it next.

Bonhoeffer was an extraordinary man, a German Lutheran pastor who opposed Nazism. He was murdered by the Nazis on April 9, 1945, aged 39 years.

You can read more about him here.

Facebook Forebodings

Are you a member of Facebook? I have been, twice.

The first time I joined at the invitation of several friends living far away. It seemed like a great way for us to stay in touch.
I did feel slightly ill at ease, however, at exposing myself so publicly. Although I was already a blogger, I don't display clear pictures of my family on my blog. Yet any lurker on my blog could look me up on Facebook and find out about my family and friends without my knowledge.

As a result of these reservations I removed myself from Facebook.

However, after several months I returned. Not being on Facebook is like being left out of the social loop. It is an important form of modern communication. And it's fun. I have linked up with many friends from the past and now quite like it when blog readers who are known to me look me up and ask to become my 'friend'.

Why then have I removed myself again?

I guess my reservations have exceeded my desire for this form of communication.

Here are some of my concerns about Facebook.

Computer Safety: it seems that a number of computer viruses are being spread via Facebook

A Permanent Record: once you are on Facebook you can't eliminate the information on there, even if you later leave. You also have no say over who has access to your records.

A Public List of Our Associates: This is where I find Facebook most scary. If, God forbid, an extreme regime were to arise in any of our countries, we have provided it with lists of all our known associates. The KGB, Gestapo or whoever else would have very little work to do to find out everything about us.

Now, I know this sounds paranoid, and I know I am being controversial, but do think about it. We are living in times that are not dissimilar to the early years of the Great Depression. Financial hardship breeds strong political views, as it did in the 1930s when totalitarianism arose in Europe.

Call me crazy, but I do think about these things.

I am not saying that there is any conspiracy behind Facebook, but I do think that we give away our right to privacy very easily these days.

Yet Facebook is so much fun and is so addictive.

What do you think about Facebook?

Apple Slinky Magic

Now that bounteous Lady Autumn is on her way with the promise of crisp, fresh apples, my apple slinky maker has become my favourite kitchen gadget.

This is what it looks like.

We call it an apple slinky maker because it cuts apples into a slinky shape. Do you remember the slinky toys that could be made to 'walk' down the stairs, and that invariably became hopelessly tangled?

The real name of the slinky maker is much more boring. The box says it's an "apple peeler, corer and slicer".

Here's how you make an apple slinky. You poke the apple onto the prongs.

Then wind the handle. The apple is peeled and sliced at the same time, although you can move the peeler blade out of the way to keep the skin on.


And this is what you are left with. The core on the prongs.



A really long trail of apple peel.


And an apple slinky that makes eating healthy food fun, and that makes fast work of preparing apple pies, crumbles and crisps from scratch.


The slinky maker works on firm fruits like apples or pears, but turns oranges into mush. Don't ask how I know this!



What is your favourite kitchen gadget?

Party Tips and Hints on a Budget

When my eldest son was little we did birthday parties on a much larger scale than we do now. I once hired a magician with assistant for a party for about twenty five children.

I think part of the problem was that we lacked confidence in our ability to run a party just the way we wanted it. In recent years I am happy to say that we have scaled back our birthday extravaganzas. We like to give our children happy birthday memories, but are unwilling to bankrupt ourselves or cause ourselves nervous breakdowns in the process.

This year Master 6 had 8 friends to our home and even that number felt like too many. I do like the idea of only inviting as many guests as the child's age. However, we are new to Adelaide and wanted to offer hospitality to some new friends, so eight it was. Added to our own four children, there were 12 at the party.

Last year I wrote a number of tips and hints for holding a young child's party. You can read them here.

The point I most want to make is to be flexible. We found that after several games; pass-the-parcel, musical chairs, musical statues and limbo-ing, it became clear that some unstructured play was in order. So rather than continue with our party plan, we got our huge box of Lego and tipped it out on the floor. A couple of the boys asked for the Fisher Price pirate ship and castle, and all the children built and played happily for quite a while.

Our party food was very simple; party pies and sausage rolls with sauce, watermelon and grapes, fairy bread, chips and chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting. The cake was a home-made chocolate ice cream cake. The only drinks offered were cordial and water.

The children were invited to wear their favourite costume, but no other attempt was made to follow a theme. If you are marvellously creative, have money to spare, or have plenty of time, following a theme can be wonderful, but otherwise I think that keeping it simple and flexible is best.