A Snapshot of my week

I'm not sure where the days go and sometimes I can't even remember what I've done on each day - should I worry about that I wonder! Each day started off with some form of exercise, either at Moffat Beach Studio or Plus Fitness in Beerwah, out in the community or at the beach and three times ended up with exercise on the treadmill and rowing machine at the gym.

Monday: Fine weather, so it was in to the gardens at home for me. I started on the back garden, a narrow long one that had 5 Cordyline things and ground cover in it. The Cordyline's are in the wrong place as the washing gets caught in them. I cut them back, dug them out and they will have a new home at Ross and Bernie's. I also saved some of the ground cover for them. The rest went into the garden bin. I also weeded the front garden, put some more compost onto it and planted a capsicum out there. Three chillies and two eggplants went into the 3/4's of the back garden I got completed. I'll finish the rest another day, once my garden bin is emptied. Both it and my compost bin are full at the moment. Lawns also got a mow and I swam a kilometre in the local pool. I was very happy with my time, 32 mins and 11 seconds, the best I've ever done and I didn't have to stop - amazing. I haven't swum since the beginning of the year. I want to try and swim a couple of times a week.

Before

After

Tuesday: Looked after the grand daughter's for the day. They survived and so did I, just. Tamara did not want to sleep - little monkey, so I put them both in the double pushchair and we went for a 5 km walk. Pushing an extra 25 kg's up hills, even if they are small ones, got the sweat running off me.

Wednesday: Moffat Beach for exercise - two classes then a 3 km walk/jog along the beach. I live in a beautiful part of the world. There were lots of dogs out being exercised too. Some swam eagerly, others reluctantly and one I saw wouldn't be tempted near the water at all.

Then I spent a couple of hours with an amazing woman who I have known since high school and who is the mother of my eldest nephew. She is 'actively dying' of Metastasized Breast Cancer and now has (supposedly) weeks to live, with the "pacmen" as she calls them, taking up residence in her brain, liver and lungs as well as all through her bones. We went op shopping. If Leslee has her way, her determination, humour and strength of will, will keep her alive until next year.  She is quite inspirational. 

Then I headed up to my Aunts for the night. Each evening, a strong sea breeze gets up and the kite surfers have a ball out in the entrance to the Maroochy River. This was our view from her apartment.

I counted 13 Kite Surfers at one stage. 

Thursday I went for a bike ride, walk along the beach, swim and bike ride back home again with my Aunt and some of her very fit "young" 70 something year old friends. It was a beautiful day and the water was delightful, once in. Getting in took a little bit though. I was very pleasantly surprised at how warm the water was.

Friday: Beach session, then to the Community Gardens to give them a good watering. The hot days and drying winds have removed all the moisture from the ground that the days of rain we had deposited. Then I met up with my old Team Leader for lunch, bought some preserving jars so I can bottle some of the beetroot out of the community gardens, made another batch of mango chutney (no more mangoes in the freezer now), bottled the Kombucha and baked some Lemon and Macadamia Biscuits. I sure I have done other things as well, like vacuuming, washing floors, laundry, grocery shopping etc, but they are just the normal day to day things that occur, no matter what else I am attempting to squeeze into my days.

2 comments Baking, family, Fitness, Friends, leisure, Preserving

Mango Chutney

Now that I'm home and have time and inclination, I took two of the bags of "cheeked" mangoes out of my deep freeze and put them in the big stock pot to thaw overnight. I sit the pot in the laundry sink, as, as the mangoes thaw, a great deal of condensation forms on the outside of the pot and if on the bench, makes rather a large puddle.

I am lucky enough that my kid's friends have a large mango tree and they don't eat mangoes - what on earth is wrong with these people! Last year, they had a massive crop so my son, who by trade is an arborist, climbed the tree and picked all the mangoes, throwing them down to us to put in bags, boxes and whatever other large containers we could find. We spent days, cutting the mango flesh off the stone and freezing it. It kept us in chutney and smoothies for ages. Unfortunately, this year, the tree had no fruit, so we have gone nearly a year without my famous chutney. When cleaning out the freezer a while ago, I discovered four bags of mango cheeks - it was like finding gold, well, nearly.

I have combined two or three mango chutney recipes to make the one I use and adjusted the amount of sugar. I figure with the sweetness of the mango's, not as much sugar is needed. The recipe is as follows:-

Mango Chutney

1.5 kgs of mango flesh
500 gm onions - chopped finely (I use the food processor)
2 chillies (optional) (increase if you want a really hot chutney)
1 red capsicum, diced
60 gm Garlic (optional)
750 gm brown sugar
500 mls vinegar (I use apple cider)
1 cup strong green tea (2 teabags)
2 tsp plain salt
2 tsp yellow mustard seed
1 handful Sultanas - optional


In a muslin/herb bag
2 bay leaves
1 lge cinnamon stick (Broken up)
8 cardamon pods
2 tsp black peppercorns
3 star anise


To a large stock pot add to the mango the chopped onion.

I then add all the other ingredients, except the vinegar, which I pour over last as I find this helps to  start the brown sugar dissolving. You may find, if you are using frozen mango that there is quite a lot of juice/liquid in the pot once they have thawed. Don't worry about this, it cooks off.

   

Bring the mixture to the boil, stir occasionally. Turn heat down until you get a nice rolling simmer. Leave cooking until mixture has reduced. Stir frequently to ensure the mixture is not sticking to the bottom and burning. On my gas rings, it takes about 45 mins to get to the thickness I like. I have to stir continually for the last 10 to 15 minutes, otherwise it would stick and burn. The mixture darkens with cooking - this is normal, don't worry. 

Bottle into clean jars. Lid once cool. Makes about 2 litres of chutney. 

Ready to put into jars

This chutney is a hit with my family, extended family and friends. I'm going to buy (sob) a tray of mangoes while they are cheap and make a batch to take home to NZ as Christmas gifts. A few jars make there way down to Victoria to my daughter-in-laws family and also up the NT where two of her brothers live.

2 comments leisure, Preserving

Tomato Sauce

I've made my first batch of tomato sauce from this season homegrown tomatoes.  I use a recipe out of a very old cookbook full of recipes from women who lived up the Waitotara Valley, NZ.  The cook book was produced for the Makakaho Junction (Marahema) Taumatatahi School 60th  Jubilee in 1958. It has recipes on soap making, where the mixture is boiled in a "copper" over the fire, using mutton fat, handy hints, such as "when making an apple pie try adding an ounce of grated cheese to the cooked apples. An apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a cuddle". There are even health hints - a cough cure, a "building up mixture' that contains black molasses and a cure for rheumatism.

I love flicking through the two copies I have and seeing my Aunts and Grandmothers handwriting in them, commenting on or altering the ingredients in some of the recipes and also their names at the base of some of the recipes. There is also a section on the history of the settlers of the valley, including my paternal grandfathers family - they lived a really hard life, one we cannot begin to imagine.

The Tomato Sauce recipe I use is a combination of two or three from the book, refined over time and converted to grams and kilograms instead of ounces and pounds.

I don't skin the tomatoes, instead once cooked I whizz the mixture up with my whizz stick. I also use frozen tomatoes or fresh if I have enough fresh in one go. I also cut up onions and apples in my kitchen whiz - not worrying to much if they are still a bit chunky as the whizz at the end, puree's up everything.

Tomato Sauce

3.6kg ripe tomatoes
1 kg Granny Smith (cooking) apples
6 lge onions
125 gm plain salt
1 kg brown sugar
1 litre malt vinegar
garlic (about 10 gloves)

In a muslin bag (I use a new chux cloth and tie it up)
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp whole allspice
28 gm whole cloves

Cut tomatoes, onions and apples. Put all ingredients in a large stock pot. Bring to boil and simmer for somewhere between 2 - 3 hours, stirring occasionally to make sure it is not sticking to the bottom of the pot.  Whizz and bottle - cork when cold.

Depending on the type of tomatoes used, the colour varies - this time I have a mixture of Apollo, Black Russian, Rouge de Marmade and Mortgage Lifter - the Black Russian have given the sauce a deep red colour.  Previously I have used a mix of red, black, orange and yellow tomatoes.

2 comments Preserving

Friday

As I sit at my computer tonight, typing this blog entry up, I can hear the wonderful sound of rain on the roof, and if I go into my bedroom I can hear the water running off the roof and into the tank. Lightning is streaking across the sky, both sheet and forked; I wish I could capture it on camera; followed some seconds later by thunder which rolls around for a a good 30 seconds or more. Hopefully, no bush or grass fires are being started by lightning strikes, the vegetation is so dry.

My day started off with quickly vacuum packing some tomatoes I free flow froze. Not only does vacuum packing before putting back in the freezer stop the development of lots of ice around the tomatoes, but it helps reduce the amount of room they take up in the freezer. I have 4 lots in the freezer now and another tray full to vacuum pack tomorrow morning.

Then it was off to beach exercise class. There was a mist hanging over the now bare land where earlier this year a pine forest was harvested. It reminded me a little of winter at home, NZ, where we would have days of thick fog.

The sun was already up by the time I got to the beach, but as always the sunlight reflecting on the water had me snapping a photo or two. Then it was off to my Aunts in Maroochydore to have a quick shower and a chat, before heading off to work. I never tire of the view from her balcony out over the Maroochy River winding its way out to sea. When I was there Tuesday evening, kite surfers were out playing in the waves. This morning, I didn't even see paddle boarders, even though it was such a beautiful morning.

Work, well, what can I say, another day at the office. It was my colleague's last day today so I made her some Raspberry Scrolls - the smell while they were cooking permeated throughout the house, even upstairs, drawing most residents out of their rooms to see what was baking. They were delicious.

Home via the supermarket to buy protein balls for our big walk Sunday, wraps, milk and vegemite. I don't actually like vegemite, in fact, I think it is disgusting, but I am using it on a nasty ulcer I have under my tongue. Two people have told me to put vegemite on it several times a day for a couple of days and they promise it will go away. It better, I nearly gag at the taste of it and it stings something wicked when I put it on the ulcer. Anyway, I forgot the stupid vegemite, so will have to rinse the mouth with salt water until I go back to the supermarket tomorrow.  Nothing else has worked, so I'm willing to keep on for another day. Do any of you have a remedy for mouth ulcers that really does work?

In just over an hour, I'm heading down to the airport to pick up my daughter who is flying in for a three day weekend, to do our walk on Sunday. It will be so wonderful to see her and spend time with her, even if it is too short an amount of time.

4 comments family, Fitness, Preserving, Work