Slow Living Essentials Monthly 9 Link-up: January 2014

January was a wonderful month with a holiday feel to it. The weather was gorgeous and it was wonderful to have family here in Cape Town.

NOURISH:

My daughter came home from her extended holiday and wanted a change in her diet so we began experimenting with loads of raw food, salads, smoothies and juicing. One of our new favorite salads is made by ribbon slicing raw courgettes, marinading them in lemon juice , olive oil and a bit of crushed garlic. To that we add chickpeas and and a dressing made by blending a handful of basil leaves with sun-dried tomatoes and a splash of olive oil. 

We have been freezing watermelon and then blending it with lemon juice, a little water and a dash of  fresh mint...

deliciously refreshing on a hot summers day!

PREPARE:

I made a batch of  pickled onions. 

While visiting my sister, I got her beetroot chutney recipe and made a batch of this too. It is really good! It has apples, onions , ginger and garlic in the recipe and is a bit sweeter than my normal beetroot pickle. 

My daughter also made a birthday cake for my sweet sister. 

This is a differently delicious cake. The base is made with egg whites,  nuts and cream crackers. It is drizzled with chocolate and then covered in whipped cream with fresh strawberries....

REDUCE:

As we have been blessed with so many passed on clothes from friends (and have passed on clothes to others too), and still had a bag of clothes lying around, we sent them off to a charity shop where someone may eventually get good use out of them. 

I have also been going through our old school books and have managed to sell a number of them second hand. This has been a great help in buying new school supplies. 

GREEN: 

I had forgotten about my drum of seaweed tea...we started using it in the garden again. 

GROW:

The garden suddenly seemed to come to life and everything is looking green and growing well. 

Dotted around the garden bright yellow sunflowers bring cheer. 

We are enjoying the granadillas that fall from the vine daily, a few tomatoes, onions, chilies, courgettes and my favourite herb....basil.

I planted my red sunflower seeds and can't wait to see them flower.

CREATE: 

This month I made another two slouch beanies.

 One in a soft dusky blue as a birthday gift for a sweet teen girl and a black one for hubby. 

DISCOVER: 

I have done a little online reading regarding the Paleo way of eating. Interesting reading. 

The kids and I read a biography of Leonardo Da Vinci which was informative and enjoyable. 

My youngest and I enjoyed reading My Side of the Mountain. 

ENHANCE: 

I joined "Walk/Run for Life" this month. My daughter is able to join me on the walks (I walk and she walks and runs) and we love getting out early in the day to get the blood pumping and clear the cobwebs. 

Our youngest attended his monthly Chaeli Campaign meeting.

My sister and I visited The Gravel Garden, a wonderful meeting place for the community to trade fresh produce, purchase heirloom seeds and enjoy a cup of tea with other gardeners.

ENJOY: 

We enjoyed having my farm sister and her family visiting Cape Town. 

Family teas, lunches, braais and outings...all good. 

Wonderful to have the cousins all together too. 

Beach walks and botanical gardens and birthdays celebrated with family and friends. 

All in all much to be enjoyed! 

Thanks Christine for the link up.