Beetroot Jam

Much to my children's dismay, when I have a glut of fruit and vegetables I quite often try to work out what else beside "normal" eating can I do with these items. Just recently it was beetroot. I had bought some beets from the markets thinking I would make a roasted beetroot salad. Alas, time got away from me (as it nearly always does) and I was caught with these beets looking a bit soft and crying out to me to do something with them. This is when I decided to have a go at beetroot jam.

Now I rarely use a recipe as I can't seem to follow them very well. Don't get me wrong, I have heaps of cook books, and I love reading them, but I find some ingredients just wont pass muster in this house so over the years I have had to adapt and change the ingredients to suit the fussy males I live with. This also means I have to change quantities as well, so I try to visualize the process and possible taste in my head. 99% of the time this works. When we have a fail, commonly called a flop in this house....all come running and attack the remains and start giving "advice".

In my fridge this particular clean-out day were some apples that had been forgotten and passed over for grapes and stone fruit, so they too needed to be cooked up.This was just what I needed as the beets don't really contain much pectin at all. I cored the apples as well as peeled them,and placed cores,skin and all seeds  in a material bag that could be pulled out at a later date.This was then put in a pot that also held the chopped  up beets (next time I will grate them), my chopped and sliced apples as well as the juice of a couple of lemons I squeezed.A small amount of water so the fruit does not catch (burn) on the bottom...that's it. See , no recipes.....just guide lines to recipes.

removing pectin from cores

I then just kept this all on low heat  bubbling away until all the beets are soft (ish). I then pulled out the bag of cores/skins and squeezed out the pectin.  This is the gel like substance that oozes out of the bag. I put the containing mixture from the bag into a sieve and pushed through all the gel that I could. This then gets put back into the beet/apple mix.The fruit mix should now be soft enough to have sugar added to it. If not...grab a stick blender and give the fruit mix a hard time. This will make spreading of the fruit jam so much easier when all is done. I then add sugar to the fruit mix cup(of fruit) for cup(of sugar). If however I don't want it so sweet, I cut back a bit on the sugar....or add some extra lemon juice. You have to be aware that if you don't get enough pectin from your apple cores, and don't put in enough sugar...your jam wont set or keep for long outside a fridge.

This mixture now bubbles away till it says "jam set" on your thermometer, or till the jam gels on a chilled saucer.In the meantime while this mix has been turning itself from veggies to jam, I have washed some jars, boiled them in hot water to kill all bacteria (germs) as well as the lids...and are now ready to fill as soon as the mixture is ready. When all is cooked I remove any "scum" looking substance from the fruit mix. There is nothing wrong with this, except that is looks yukky when cooled down if you have put it into your jars. I now ladle the mix into my still warm to hot jars (if cold they will crack) and flip them over when done.

After about10 to 20 mins the seals on the lids would have sucked in and these will be good to keep on the shelf for quite a few months. If you want to take it one step further you can put them into a water bath to ensure the vacuum seal. If you do this you will need to add just a little extra lemon juice to the mix to ensure you have the correct acid level.Follow the instructions of your water bath booklet so you know how long to boil them for.

This mix was actually not to sweet at all, and put on some freshly made bread and butter, it tasted just great.
PS... One son only knows this as purple jam. What he doesn't know wont hurt him. Give it a go...it's quite nice.
PPS If you don't have any apples to create pure pectin, you can buy sachets of "jam setta". This is a Fowlers Vaccola product that contains pectin and sugar as a carrier. Just follow the instructions on the packet.

What is retirement ?

Hubby and I over lunch today were discussing our Farm. We were jotting down how we were going to do the walled garden, how and where to place the different garden beds; as well as where would it be best to fit the chook pen. Where we plan to move to is a cyclone prone area, so we need to take into account the direction of the winds when the cyclones, inevitably , arrive each year.
While we were doing this we realized our age will be in the late 50's by the time our first lot of trees become close to maturity. This is the age when a lot of folk are ready to retire.Which then started the question. What is retirement.??

We are in the process of planning our future and will be so busy we wont really be able to "retire" till they bury us. Many people talk about retirement as if it is a time to just stop.As if it is an end to their existence that they don't like and it is somewhere to run to. But what do you do once you get there.???

Yes, I fully understand when you are working huge hours doing the day to day grind  that retirement sounds like a great holiday. But if you ask someone what they will do in their retirement all you will get most of the time is "nothing" or "golf" or "sleep".....but really after the first month you will be looking for something, and unless you are prepared you will have a long time being just plain old bored.

We hope to be self sufficient and that means learning so many new things, as well as being reacquainted with some old skills ( just a little buried in the sub conscious). And because of this we are so excited about the future. We can't wait to start, but as  goals go, we need to stay where we are just a little longer. So in the mean time we will hunt down tools and machinery that will come in handy as well as learn and read as much as possible. We are preparing our special needs son as well. He is just as keen. The future to us is very bright indeed. There will be no time for "golf" "sleeping late" or "doing nothing"

I CANT WAIT !!!!

How's and Whys to Budget

Just before Christmas I was writing an article for our website and got a little out of hand. In the process my hubby suggested I turn it into a PDF. This we did. If you would like to read it feel free. We don't charge for the information in our heads. So when we write something, generally will hand it out for free.Below is an excerpt from the Hows and Whys of Budgeting PDF

.............What do you believe is your main motivation for doing or having a budget? Are you just going through the motions because that is what your spouse wants you to do? Have you contacted a help line and they have suggested you do this? Or are you under a debt repayment plan that requires you to do it? These reasons are not bad motivations, however they are external pressures that may not be easy to maintain over a long period. It is similar to giving up smoking. If you are told to do it, it won’t happen…however if you choose to stop then the chances of success are very high. That’s the feelings and motivation you need when doing a budget. If you choose to do it, then every decision you make when it comes to spending your cash becomes a choice and puts you in the driver’s seat.

 

If you start a budget be aware that you need a positive attitude, realistic expectations and motivation from within, then the chances of getting it right is much higher than without.With all the pieces of the puzzle in place, you should be able to achieve your goals.>>>>>>>>> click here to read on

 I hope this booklet may be able to help someone find the information they are looking for. If not I'm sure if you look around you may find something else that is helpful. Either way....hope you enjoy it.

 

scratch it's belly and get on with life

We've had a shocker of a week here. You know how in most cases, situations have the potential to go belly up, but only comes close?,,,,well this week every thing not only went belly up...it laid on it's back and wanted a scratch as well!!!!

We had the lot....these covered our home in Qld, tenants doing a runner, maintenance needed, tax bills, gardening problems, work related issues.....by the end of the week we were just laughing ( not in the good way) as the news kept rolling in and rolling in and rolling in......

What do you do when you have a really bad experience? Do you believe retail therapy is the cure? A good stiff drink...or many??

I fortunately have 2 lads at home to keep me in line.We have our special needs boy  who keeps me on the straight and narrow and reminds me that we have run out of biscuits for his cup of tea, and another son has caught a cold and feels that soup will cure him. Then (to remind us he's still around) ...My eldest rings from Afghanistan and puts in a request for tea bags as all the fellows there drink coffee, and he hates coffee.

By this stage the weeks bad news has pretty much stopped flowing in, hubby and I are over our hysterical mad laughter and realize...there's nothing we can do about all the bad news that come in, except scratch it's belly and get on with life.

So I did what was needed....went shopping for teabags to be mailed to Afghanistan, biscuits for middle lad, and bought chicken carcases for chicken soup.

I woke up this morning and was quite surprised to see the sun really was still shining.
I pulled all the chicken meat off the chicken carcass and will begin chopping veggies shortly. While I was doing this 1/2 doz magpies decided to serenade me outside the kitchen window. Do you think they know something?
I've checked my seedlings in the back yard and they seem to be growing as well.

All still seems to be well with the world.







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Teaching old dogs new tricks

We have recently moved into a rented house after living in the same home for over 10 years. I had forgotten how hard it is to not just do what you want, when you want. In our previous house (back in Queensland) we started our last garden on a sparse house block and managed to turn it into an oasis that had fruit trees, veggie patches, bird loving flowers and trees.It had little nooks and crannies and was really coming along.

We now find ourselves (for the next couple of years) having to live in the opposite side of Australia in a climate so foreign to us, we may as well be in another  country. We are accustomed to huge rainfall and the issues that arise from this. We know how to avoid tropical pests and know how to take precautionary measures when a cyclone crops up.

Now we are re-learning the gardening tricks of our parents as we live in a climate now that has 4 seasons (not just wet or dry), and having to learn about a soil that has no guts to it at all, and seems to require tonnes of manure and composting matter.

This was only 1/4 of weeds

Now as this house is not ours we don't really have a choice as to where we can plant things, and raised beds are out of the question, so this will be the first crop of veggies I will be giving a go. I've managed to pull the grass out of one designated area and sectioned off a few squares that I can plant in. We've pulled up a few pavers that was designed for the rubbish bins and found dirt  underneath ; this today became another veggie patch. A bit more plant and weed thinning in the garden and we will be able to pop in a few more tomatoes amongst the azaleas :o)

Finished reclaimed garden beds

Discovering dirt under pavers

2 new garden beds on either sides of pavers

Discovering soil under weeds

It doesn't really matter where you live. The opportunity to grow a few veggies or herbs can present itself in so many ways. If you really cant plant in the garden you have, then try pots. These come in all shapes and designs, if you don't want to go to that expense then just plain broccoli boxes will do the job. All you really need is one or two tomatoes and your favorite herb to whet your appetite and soon there will be no stopping you.

Be like the hummingbird

Sometimes knowing that you need to go on a budget can make you feel completely overwhelmed.

There is a story from Africa about a hummingbird. There in the forest begins a fire. Soon this fire becomes bigger and bigger, The animals all run away to the river and watch transfixed as the forest begins to burn. They are so consumed with fear that they just watch and do nothing.The fire of course continues to grow as no one does anything, fear has rooted them to the spot. The fire is coming closer and closer.

Suddenly a little hummingbird bird say "I'm not going to sit here, I'm going to do something about it" So this little hummingbird goes to the water and picks up a drop of water in his tiny beak. flies over to the fire and drops it. He then does this again, and again. Flying back and forwards trying to put out the fire one drop at a time. The other animals just watch him fly back and forth.

The animals watching (that are very large and could do a lot by helping) said to him. "Why do you bother, with your little wings and your little beak and the tiny amount of water that that you are dropping. You are hardly doing any good".

The little hummingbird turns to them and says "I am doing the best I can do".

No matter what the "fire" is. In order to put it out you need to start. Even if it is only one drop at a time. If your fire is a budgeting plan, or if you want to reduce some of your expenses by growing your own veggies or baking your own bread, you just need to start .

We all need to be like the little hummingbird and just keep trying. Sooner or later the "fire" will be put out. How soon depends whether or not we get help from others standing around.The support of family friends and in some situations community is what is standing between you and the "fire".

 Do you have any tips to get people started on a budget?  If your on a budget, how did you start? Was it hard to begin? I'd love to hear how others are going.