Category Archives: Making, Creating + Frugal Living

creative and frugal living

Fire Breathing Fire Cider

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Four years I’ve been making this stuff now and I still whole heartedly stand by it. As an immune system booster, as a tasty salad dressing, and also as a general dinner pep up- fire cider has pretty much got you covered.

While new recipes on cityhippyfarmgirl.com might have trickled down, the whole food eating emphasis is still very much the basis of our everyday. This recipe is one of those basics that’s been incorporated into being a regular one.

Now, I’ve done recipes for this potent number in a number of different places over the years, but one little place I haven’t done it, is here. So for both my own reference sake, and for anyone else looking for an easy go to immune system superhero booster.

There is…Fire Cider.

If by chance you’ve already come down with a viral beast, or just want to taste some first before giving it a go yourself, Hilbilby Fire Tonic is excellent. While I have recently done some photography work with their products, anyone that has read these pages over the many years would know, I don’t mention things unless I wholeheartedly love it, and I do. Fire Cider no matter how it comes to you, really is awesome.

 

Fire Cider (super immune system booster)

Ingredients you’ll need:

Equal parts- ginger, garlic, turmeric, onion (with optional extras chilli) Quantities will vary depending on the amount you want to make.

Apple cider vinegar

1 Lime/Lemon peel (no need to chop)

*Where possible possible use organic ingredients.

In a large clean glass jar, add chopped ingredients, and top up with apple cider vinegar until bulk ingredients are well covered with the liquid. Add your lid, (if it’s a metal one, add a piece of baking paper as the vinegar can sometimes erode.)

Leave the mixture on a darkened bench for 2-4 weeks, with a once every 24 hours agitation this just means swish it round a bit when you are walking past.

With a sieve, strain your mixture into a clean glass bottle. Drink daily as a super immune booster or several times a day if you are feeling a bit under the weather. Start with a small amount and building up to half a shot glass.

Can be used as a kick arse salad dressing if drinking it straight is a bit strong for you.

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You might also like 7 of the Best Natural Cold and Flu Remedies

 

Between the pages

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I come from a long line of dedicated book lovers. My parents encouraged reading as a kid, my grandparents avid consumers of the written word, and in turn my own kids. Even though they are still at a fairly young age (thankfully) they love to eat books for breakfast too.

Whether it’s for knowledge, creativity, escapism, or a quite wind down before bed. However you consume the written word, I’d say it has value.

When people say, ahh but the era of printed books it’s over right, it’s all digital now isn’t it? I can’t agree. I won’t agree. Not in my world anyway. While I’m certainly aware of the print world having changed in recent times, there is something about holding a book in your hands that is in no way comparable to reading a back lit screen.

I am however mindful though of how my books come and go, and what stays on my permanent bookshelf. I utilise my library, borrow from friends and family, sometimes read digitally and also buy second hand. The way I consume books is similar to the way the rest of our life is lived, without crazy excess and I hope fairly thoughtfully.

For others out there still fans of words and pictures on paper, I thought I’d do a quick run down of some of the things that have passed my way lately.

100 Nasty Women of History– Hannah Jewell had me at just reading the back cover. Her writing is intelligent, informed, and importantly current, while weaving in an amazing line up of brilliant women through history.

The Last Thread– Author Michael Sala, is probably my 2017 wordsmith crush. I heard him speak earlier in the year at our city’s writer’s festival and life hasn’t quite been the same since. The Restorers is his other book and I’m still fairly animated from reading that one. The way he builds tension throughout the pages from the very beginning, has you holding your breath, while all you can feel is your own blood pulsing through your finger tips as you turn each page over.

Bystander– Originally published in 1994, this book is pretty much everything you could ever want to know about street photography.

Made to Last- By Vanessa Murray, this book is an beautiful collection of hand made goodness from around the world. This book is really quite incredible. It’s as much as a beautiful collection of inspiring pictures as it is a how to book. Everything in there seems vaguely more achievable when it’s broken down into pictures and instructions. Many makers are in there, such as a milliner, globe maker, metal caster, and furniture maker to name just a few. I’m also lucky enough to have been included within the pages of this beautiful book with a how to on making Firecider.

Slow by Brooke McAlary recently released a book and the publishers kindly sent a copy through to me to have a read. If you are coming at slow living as a complete change of perspective on life than I would say this book is for you. I struggled a bit identifying with it as I had simply never been in that position. For me slow living has been ingrained in some shape or form from the beginning, so didn’t feel I needed a how-to book simplifying things further in a list format. I’m an advocate of simple living, (clearly, otherwise I wouldn’t have written this blog for so long) however this one wasn’t for me. No problem though, I simply passed it on to someone else who I thought might enjoy it, which is what the majority of books should do anyway unless you are going to dip back into it.

 

Practical Pages- That’s what these ones are. Pip Magazine– an Australian permaculture magazine and next years calendar, followed by Organic Gardener, diary and calendar again. I still write things down on a day to day basis. I have zero interest in writing things in my phone, it would mean yet another screen to look at. I don’t want to do that to find out whether it’s library day for the kids, or a soccer match isn’t on that day. I forget things, I know that. So I write things down and frequently check to see what I’ve forgotten. If I had to do that every time with a screen, pffft. In a nutshell, no.

Give me the lovely pages. Plus they have helpful things in there like recipes and when to plant your seasonal vegetables, (because occasionally, I forget.)

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How about you?

Digital or paper pages- what are you reading?

Do you write on a calendar or keep things on a screen?

 

Out of the garden, grows hope

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When you neglect your garden for a month over an incredibly dry period, the outcome is fairly predictable. Even so, it can still be a bit of a surprise at just how bad on a big scale it can all look.

With weeds running rampant, potted trees standing defiantly dead, and every leafy green edible gone to seed in an attempt at preserving itself for a later date. We did the most logical thing we could, and set to work.

Gathering shovels, hoses and unfailing enthusiasm, it was all bundled together with as many hardworking hours as I could manage to squeeze out of the day, to try to get this city garden back up to the functioning level it should be.

Several weeks later, while it’s still a work in progress, as I look around now, there are slow changes taking shape. No longer a backyard palette of baked brown, there are now green tinges that might just continue. With newly sprouted seedlings, tomatoes emerging from all corners, and two new editions that I’m tickled pink to be looking after.

From the dry overgrown mess that it had been, is growing something that often comes in many forms, and amongst the dedicated gardeners out there it’s also an old favourite… hope.

 

 

For the love of Pasta

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For the savvy pasta eaters amongst us, you might have been aware that it was World Pasta Day this week, and while I seemed to have gotten this far in life without having acknowledged it, for 2017 that was going to change.

It was time to pasta up.

With no clear idea of what to make for dinner besides a generic pasta dish, I decided to keep it easy. There are many reasons for this. The primary one? I have no interest in spending half a day cooking a dinner that will be consumed in three and a half minutes flat. (Obviously longer if the kids hate it on sight.)

But they didn’t, of course they didn’t. It’s pasta. Number one crowd pleasing dinner time plate. Have pasta, can cook. They key to a rocking simple pasta dish is a great olive oil, great parmesan and a toothsome pasta. If you have those three rockin’ things, well the rest of the dish is up to you.

 

Quick and Easy Pasta Additions

Pangritata

rocket, garlic and lemon zest

cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella

chilli, garlic and parsley

Oranges, lemons, limes…oh and meatloaf

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I’ve been given rather a lot of citrus in the past few weeks. Bags shoved into idle hands, baskets left at front doorsteps, ‘do you want some oranges/limes/lemons/grapefruit’ added in at the end of casual conversations.

So where does that leave me? Tickled pink, I tell you as this is M.A.R.M.A.L.A.D.E season, and I need to ensure that I make enough for a year of toast and teas. While also allowing enough spare jars to be popped into hampers and needy hands for those that might like the eating, but less of the making.

With all that in mind, I found myself cooking up 6 kilos of chopped up fruit, water and sugar. Now six kilos is a fair whack to be cooking in one batch, ambitious even.

Why? Because cooking up that amount takes a while, and when ‘a while’ happens, my mind can wander. Wander to the garden, wander to the laundry, wander to the computer, wander to instagram, wander to children with multiple demands of x,y,z etc, etc. Which made the sticky question extra pertinent… Could I keep this precious cargo from,

a) Sticking to the bottom of the pot?

b) Overflowing?

c) Over or under jelling?

Answer? Well as Meatloaf once said (as yes, I know he probably wasn’t singing about his marmalade making) two out of three ain’t bad.

Citrus Marmalade Ratio

2 kilos of finely chopped citrus mixture

2 kilos of sugar

1.5 litres of water

(Everything you ever needed to know about marmalade and jam making, right here.)

Must have gut lovin’ goodness list

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We are looking at take two of the ‘viral beast’ coming for a visit round these parts. It’s not an exciting visit, and to be honest I’m a bit miffed that the beast is back so quickly after the last time. Seriously the first round of coughs hadn’t even subsided properly.

However, it is what it is. Long naps, slow days, spluttery nights and afternoon sun snuggles…lock ’em in.

One afternoon when a run for provisions was needed I found myself in a chemist running through the symptoms with a sympathetic ear. A range of suggestions was given, including what I can only describe as a lengthy upsell. Which was all met with a no, I’ll just take the initial product please.

In a last ditch attempt, the sympathetic ear/ upseller went in to a long monologue about how probiotics are really important, encouraging good bacteria in our gut, and in turn ensuring a balanced immune system. I nodded, agreeing. Yes we have a lot of fermented food in our home for that very reason, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, sourdough etc etc. Intially she looked at me blankly, then followed that up with a raised eyebrow that said, sure continue on with your fluffy hippy woo woo stuff lady. When you are ready for the proper stuff come back to the chemist.

(She might be waiting awhile.)

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Must have gut lovin’ goodness list in times like this?

Sourdough– make your own, or buy someone else’s. The basis of every easy meal at the moment.

Sauerkraut– make a big batch and always have it at the back of the fridge. This stuff goes with everything.

Kimchi- this is being eaten twice a day, every day and I credit my not being invited to round two of the ‘viral beast’ because of it’s garlicky, chilli infused fermented goodness. Possibly a placebo effect, but hey, it remains a damn tasty one.

Kombucha– every day goodness, yes please.

Fire Cider– knocked back with an enthusiasm unmatched since shooters in the late 90’s.

Beetroot Kvass– It’s certainly beety, and also up there with one of the easiest to try your hand at if you are new to fermenting.

Ginger Beer-  This stuff will put hairs on your chest.

Lemony Goodness

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Tarty lemon cordial.

Soft eating lemon and olive oil cupcakes.

Lemon zest over mexican rice.

Marmalade with chunks of lemon in it to slap onto still warm sourdough.

Lemon in a green ginger wine hot toddy.

Possibilities are pretty much endless for the humble lemon. On a week where our family’s health has taken a smashing, it’s all about the lemons.

I hear there are healing properties in Lemon and Olive Oil Cupcakes…surely.

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What’s your go to lemony goodness?

Pumpkin, a currency of gratitude

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Sometimes in life, funny little things happen.

Like organising your parent-in-law’s holiday and accidentally flying them into a different city than stated, booking family accommodation for a stopover night in the wrong town, driving home without your lights on, or maybe driving home with your shoes on the roof etc. etc.

When there is a fairly lengthy supply of funny little things like that happening on a regular occurrence, well the day you throw your keys up on top of the roof of the house. It just feels like another day.

It was another day. Another day without my house keys.

When I asked a few people if by chance they had access to, say, maybe a cherry-picker? Most people followed that up by what the hell? How on earth did that even happen??

Mysteriously, that’s how. It was like a tiny winged elf grabbed hold of the said keys and whoosh, up they went. Right up to the top of the roof of the house.

Thankfully I had a spare set. (Which mind you, is only a new edition as I had got them cut after losing the same keys that were now on the roof. Where were they that time I hear you ask? Well to keep a ridiculous story brief, after 24 hours, lets just say they were under my nose all long.)

However they weren’t now. They were definitely 8 metres off the ground in an unseen guttering system attached to a questionable roof in the dark, with heavy rain now predicted.

I sighed.

The kids yelled in excitement and then we proceeded 10 different fairly useless methods of getting them back.

The keys weren’t budging. I couldn’t even guarantee they were there. I couldn’t hear them, or see them, but surely there was no other option right? For them not to be there, would be as crazy as arriving into a town for the night with all your tired family only to find out you had actually booked somewhere three hours south.

Of course that’s where the keys were. Which is how my lovely inventive neighbour managed to get them the following day. I’d asked for any suggestions he might have in retrieval. He assessed the situation, then disappeared into his garage for a time, rigging up a far more solid contraption then my broom-wire-coat-hangers contraption, and after 20 or so minutes of poking?

Jingle jangle.

I hugged him with glee, pocketed the keys carefully and then gave him my current currency of gratitude. A pumpkin. While there are many currencies in which to say thank you so much for your time, thoughtfulness and energy. Home grown pumpkin is my current numero uno. They have been prized possessions, something grown with a lot of love and contentment over the summer months and are now sitting in storage ready to be eaten or passed onto with basketfuls of thanks as deemed warranted.

And boy was it warranted. As along with being able to access your own front door, you can’t put a price on wonderful neighbours who show unending kindness now can you.

Educating your ears

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The last couple of months it’s been all about the podcasts. And I mean ALL about the podcasts. Sure I’d listened to some here and there before but not quite at the rate I’m flying through them at the moment, (on reflection, it’s probably something to do with having three kids at school for the first time, yes ever- my ears are ready!)

Now, if I missed something interesting on the radio, I can catch up. If I have a particular subject I’d like to get to know a whole lot better there are generally oodles to choose from.

While there are some fantastic podcasts to choose from there are some eye crossing ones that simply don’t work for me and generally I’ll find the stop button fairly quickly. I’m all for giving most things a fair crack, but there is no point in listening to something that doesn’t resonate, I value that time and want to make sure I’m using it wisely. Educating my ears has been very enjoyable.

A few favourites in the last few months.

Conversations with Richard Fidler: so many varied topics in here.

A Small Voice: interviews with photographers.

Magic Lessons with Elizabeth Gilbert: creativity and all her shades.

Chat 10 Looks 3: Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales talk about art, books, politics and everything in between in an intelligent and funny way.

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What are some of your favourite podcasts to listen to at the moment?

Contemplating Cumquat Marmalade

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Making a large batch of cumquat marmalade is a perfect time for deep contemplation. Not so much of the fruit themselves, but using the opportunity to completely dissolve into the task of cutting the flesh open, separating the pips, and cooking it up.

It’s a long labour of love if you have cumquats like mine, with small balls of juicy tart fruit that are filled with those pectin producing seeds. You need them out, but you also need them to set your marmalade. Cut, separate, simmer, stir stir stir, test, and bottle. While there’s not a lot of room for nodding off here, you do still need to pay attention, there’s also room for having a good think.

And so the wonderful dissolving process begins.

With hands busy, the task of making marmalade that tastes like sunshine in a jar begins, and with that, like many creative and repetitive tasks- the mind is set free.

To wonder at will, delving deep into ideas that often few other tasks in any given day allow. You need these kind of activities now and then. Busy hands creating something, but also time to slow it all on down, contemplate the intricacies of life, ponder on the importance of speaking up, our moral values as a society (or maybe just how good that sunshiney marmalade is going to taste with a few squares of dark chocolate tonight.)

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This cumquat tree was originally planted as a Tree of Life.

The marmalade was loosely based around this recipe.

Bee B&B Hotels in School

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Weleda Bee B&B Hotel || cityhippyfarmgirl

While there are many benefits to encouraging native bees within the home, and the surrounding area. Setting up a hive or an insect hotel in a public space and school is in many ways even better. Why? Because you are encouraging that conversation to continue, the education to spread and that beautiful enthusiasm to snow ball, running further than just your immediate household.

And who better to do that than our pint-sized enthusiastic future generations. Welcome to keeping and encouraging native bees at school.

Whether it’s an inner city funky-vibe school or a relaxed red-dirt outback playground, you are pretty much guaranteed to find room for a bee hotel.

 

bee hotel- best for your solitary native bees

bee hive- for your social native and honey bees 

 

While you can easily set up a bee hotel yourself within your school (or home.) The organic skin care company Weleda has recently started an initiative to get primary schools set up with a ‘bee B&B hotel’.

The project is aimed at teaching our primary school kids, the super important stuff like biodiversity, the role of pollinators, and with a starring role…our native solitary bees.  Doing this by building their own Bee B&B Hotel.

One dollar (A$1) from every product sold goes towards funding the project (until June), and with 70 schools involved already, they are looking at expanding that to further schools over the next few months, (this initiative is free.)

The company offered to send me one to make up with my kiddo’s, and help spread the word. While I’ve made an insect hotel before and also have a native bee hive, I’ve also got a soft spot for our native pollinators, and love nothing better than trying to encourage that amongst others…especially school kids!

 

Weled infographic 2016_V7

“Primary schools across the country are building a nationwide network of bee hotels to help conserve our native bees, improve education about the importance of biodiversity and ultimately, increase Australia’s food security.

The Weleda Bee B&B Hotel initiative has now launched with more than 70 schools on board, and registrations are now open for more schools to get involved.

The project gives schools an opportunity to turn their kitchen garden into a place for native solitary bees to take shelter and rear their young. The ‘bed’ is the bee hotel and the ‘breakfast’ is the school garden.”

bee hotel 1 || cityhippyfarmgirlbee hotel || cityhippyfarmgirl

If you would like to build you own, give it a go, and get creative. There are oodles of designs out there to play with. I whole heartedly believe that every school should have one or several of these. It’s incredibly multi-faceted in terms of education, while providing a practical use as well.

If you have a school that you would like to be involved…have a click here Bee Hotel Weleda

If you would like to read a bit further on native bees in general, jump back here.

Bee B&B Hotel || cityhippyfarmgirl