Friday, June 1, 2012

Slow Living Month 5: May 2012

May has been jam packed and as Christine said in her post, 
I too feel like I have been chasing my tail! 

Exams for our eldest son dominated the month alongside a fair amount of busyness. 
I feel the need for more slowing down!

NOURISH: 
Some of what we have enjoyed in the month of May-

* Butternut soup with lentils and apples to lower the GI and a hint of curry, shared with old family friends and then made again:
 some to enjoy and some to freeze for one of those busy days.
* Sausage stew, a family favourite from my childhood, loaded with fresh veg and some frozen marrow from the farm, in a sticky tomato and herb sauce.
*Spicy chicken curry slow cooked at lunch time and ready for dinner.
* Cooler mornings call for something warm at breakfast- 
I have been putting a breakfast bake in the oven at night alongside dinner:
apple & oats with cinnamon, enjoyed warmed up at breakfast time.
* Tried out some new muffin recipes: carrot and ginger & then savoury muffins with spinach, feta and sun dried tomato...delicious!

My daughter baked up a storm one Monday morning when there was no bread in the house..


*Challah- a plaited yeast bread with finely chopped spinach from the garden, mixed herbs and sun dried tomato.
*Apricot muffins - a double batch for those in between times when snacks are needed.
*Crunchies- plain for us and a batch of choc chip for the neighbour
and then she treated the boys to pancakes for lunch.


* An orange cake baked for her Opa's 75th birthday.
* Dinner kindly made by her on one of the days of crazy revision with my son - a delicious vegetarian North African spicy butternut and chickpea tagine with fresh peppers from the garden.
* She has been making pots of home made hot chocolate with vanilla and cinnamon and sometimes a dash of chili for me!

PREPARE:
Not much done in this department...
* More of that tomato and sweet chili jam for my boy...here is the recipe I use and adapt here and there if I don't have everything on hand:
about 500g tomatoes (red, green , frozen or fresh...whatever I have)
4 cloves of garlic
2 or more teaspoons freshly grated ginger
4 or more red or green chillies
30ml fish sauce
300g of sugar (though I usually use a bit less)
100ml red wine vinegar (I use what ever I have or a mix of what I have on hand)
1 or more onions diced (more is good)
3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar ( if I have it)
I let it simmer in the pot until it has reduced and thickened well, then bottle it. 
It doesn't last long as he eats it with everything!
 Really good on a cheese sandwich.

GROW: 
*I have planted peas and beetroot seedlings and then there are tomatoes shooting up everywhere that I didn't plant!
*I have harvested green peppers, spring onions, mustard greens, spinach, kale, basil, coriander, rocket, first peas and believe it or not a few more beans!

CREATE:
I have had little time to be still and be creative besides starting a new scarf for my daughter but she has had fun being creative...
* Her monthly Krafty Kow workshop was yesterday, scrap-booking with the girls. Each girl received a pack with pretty embellishments & templates she had made up for them. I loved the tags she re-purposed from old paint swatches.



*Below is a fun card she was "commissioned" to make for a 13th birthday and a pretty rose and ribbon bookmark she created from fabric scraps as a gift for a friend.



* She made this blue beaded handbag charm/ key ring to add to 
the bookmark to complete the  gift.


DISCOVER: 
Most of what has been read by me this month has been to help my son prepare for his exams. I think I could have written too and passed the geography and English papers!
 The younger two kids and I have been enjoying numerous books on Ancient Egypt as they decided they wanted to re visit that. 
And then of course there are the blogs I follow on home educating, mothering, gardening, green living and home making.

ENHANCE
* My daughter volunteered her time manning a table at the Teddy Bear Fair.
*She has been babysitting in exchange for sewing lessons.
* Our little nephew had a sleepover so his mum and dad could enjoy a night out and a late lie in. He has also been coming more often to us during the day 
as his mum is working mornings.
* Shared lifts to exams and other outings have been a blessing.
* We joined up with Free Rice, a free fun place to learn and earn grains of rice to feed others. Thousands are earning grains of rice daily, while having a great time learning! 

ENJOY:
* My family really spoiled me on Mother's Day with a lovely breakfast in bed, handmade cards and gifts and flowers picked from the garden.....



I love the fabric painted tray cloth with bright red poppies that my daughter made for me!

*There were many birthdays celebrated with family & friends this month and one of my dearest friends celebrated her 40th with a most enjoyable breakfast.
*It seems it was the month for numerous school outings too,
 creating enjoyable moments of fun learning times together.
*More weekends spent at home instead of galavanting all over the place.
* We enjoyed keeping warm next to a cosy wood fire on chilly nights too.




Thank you Christine for the opportunity to share again by linking up at
Slow Living Essentials.

10 comments:

  1. Wow, all that work in the kitchen... it sounds like you all ate very well. :-)

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  2. Hi Wendy, lovely to see you again! Gosh, your breakfast bakes sound delicious and SO practical!! It's always a rush here in the mornings - more so since we've been cooking porridge for breaky.

    And how wonderful to have a daughter who bakes (so well, too!). What a feast. The birthday card and handbag charm are also really sweet.

    Your Mother's Day celebrations tell in the picture just how special you are to your family. Have a great month! :)

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  3. You and your family have had a busy month! You have achieved so much even while helping with your son's exams. I enjoyed seeing your daughter's creative goodies. What are crunchies? Are they biscuits/cookies?

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  4. Thanks ladies for stopping by. Have visited each of you too and left some comments too :)

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  5. What a creative family! I hope the exams go well. They can be so stressful. I plied my daughter with lavender oil before her exams to calm her, and basil to keep her mind alert during them.

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  6. Sounds like a great month Wendy! I've also got some tomato seedlings popping up from the last crop. I've been pulling them out, but do you think they might actually grow? Could be a head start on next season?

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  7. Thanks for visiting, and yes I think those tomatoes will grow :)

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  8. Wow, lots going on at your place. Now I don't have a daughter old enough to bake on her own (mine are just three and one), but I'd love them to do it when they're older so I can sit back and enjoy the rewards. That's what I need to tell myself every time I cook with the three year old, it can certainly get a little frustrating... but fun all the same. Hope your son does well in his exams.

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  9. The New Good Life, yes baking with little ones can certainly be messy :) Hoping that his results are good too, thank you!

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