Frugal old lady

Well, I've been really busy with my studies and business but as I was gardening the other day I was remembering a lovely elderly lady who told me that she could get three carrots from one seed plus seeds for future crops....impossible you think, well think again.
Other advice this lovely lady had given me had proven valuable so I decided to test this one out.
What she does is simple:

1. the first carrot is grown from seed as per normal
2. the second carrot is grown from the trimmed carrot top, which is planted in soil and kept moist until it grows
3. the thrid carrot is grown same as the second
4. the seeds are grown from the regrown top....yet again.

She does the same thing with spring onions by replanting the base with roots. I wonder what else could be regrown this way.
My garden is growing like crazy right now....even feeding the tots fresh peas from out of the garden...they call them green lollies!

Time to pull out the sunburn remedies:

• Calendula ointment
• the juice from aloe vera leaves
• cucumber slices

Yoghurt cheese (similar to philly cheese)

2 cups Yoghurt
2 tsp salt

Add salt to your yoghurt and stir.
Line a strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth or a clean teatowel.
Pour the yoghurt into the cheesecloth (or teatowel) and gently wrap, place the strainer onto a dih to drain into and leave on a bench for 1-2 days (depending on temp) then place in fridge to continue to drain.
The cheese is ready to eat in a week...add whatever flavours you like (I like chives) or you can roll in sesame seeds or nuts. I serve this beautiful cheese with a little sweet chilli sauce and crackers.

Simple huh!

Yoghurt

Yoghurt is super easy to make:
1 litre of full cream milk (can be powered)
2 Tbsp yoghurt

Bring the milk to almost boil, let cool to lukewarm then stir in yoghurt. Put into a thermos or put lid on pot and wrap in a wool blanket and leave overnight. Refridgerate and serve when cool.

Note
1) Honey is really yummy with this
2) Start your next yoghurt with 2 Tbsp of this yoghurt.

Next time...how to make cheese from this yoghurt!

Interesting Tips

1. A tablespoon of Baking Soda replaces dishwash powder/tablets for your dishwasher
2. The roots of the Yucca plant can be washed and crushed to use as a soap for cleaning dishes clothes and you (including hair)
3. A teaspoon of Eucalyptus or Tea Tree oil added to your shampoo will help repel nits (headlice), be careful you dont get any in your eyes though)
4. To cut down on water marks (mineral buildup) in your shower...first clean and dry then rub with car wax...keep nice by using a rubber window cleaning blade each time you shower (dont use on the base or you'll be likely to slip)
5. Before cleaning out the microwave put a cup of water in it and run on high for a minute.

Three day survival kit

Contents of my ideal kit/BOB (Bug Out Bag)

• Water ...three litres per person/per day
• Radio (preferably a dynamo radio so you are not dependent on batteries/ otherwise buy batteries too)
• Raincoat
• Emergency blanket/blanket or sleeping bag
• A tarpaulin
• A method of boiling water and heating food (I use a pepsi can rocket stove)
• Pot or billy
• mug, plate (plastic, enamel or something unbreakable), spork
• knife (hunting knife is ideal...buy quality and keep sharp)
• emergency food supplies*
• food and water for pets
• first aid kit
• medication
• something to start fire with (matches, lighter, flint, firesteel, etc....choose two different items for redundancy)
• Flashlight (dynamo or battery powered-if battery provide batteries)
• warm change of clothing
• bug repellent and sunscreen
• list of important numbers and important documents
• cash...eftpos and credit cards will probably be useless to you
• whistle (ever tried calling for help...you cant keep that up for long)

*Food could be as simple as pkys of noodles (if you have plenty of water), freeze dried and camping type foods, beans and rice are nutritionally helpful...cater for breakfast lunch and dinner for everyday plus moral building snacks like barley sugars and chocolate. Also include tea, coffee, hot chocolate and cordial (dont forget sugar and milk powder). By the way rolled oats (porridge) is ideal for breakfast but its a matter of personal preference.

Christchurch earthquake

How to explain how I'm feeling about such a horrible event? We are incredibly lucky that no-one was killed! Personally I feel overwhelmed that so many people and organisations (including private businesses) are helping each other through this...evewn the uni students have got off their backsides and have been helping dig and clear up after the sand volcanoes (liquifaction).
Other than damage done to buildings the biggest problem faced has been sourcing clean water.

This is a timely reminder to all to check that they have survival kits/BOBs (Bug Out Bags) including ample water. The recommended amount of water per person per day is 3 litres, this gives a little to cook with but nothing for personal hygiene.
The authorities recommend planning for three days but I believe we need to look further ahead, what if the emergency faced was a national one or worse still global? What would you do without the authorities coming along to save the day and feed and house you and your family. What if the earthquake had been so bad that thousands had died immendiately, the hospitals overrun, and more dying of secondary killers such as dysentary or typhus. This is a real risk and you cannot rely on others to do what you should have done all along.
In my next entry I will give you a list of what I think would be reasonable for a three day kit and in future entries I will put my other recommendations, please remember these are only recommendations and you must do what is neccesary for your family.

Cheap as chips Pizza Base (and easy to!)

I've been experimenting with pizza base recipes. I am basically lazy but want a terrific soft base that is flexible enough to turn into calzone as well.
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp oil
Around 3/4 cup water
Mix together the flour, salt and oil then slowly add water until you get a nice soft dough.
Roll out onto a floured board then put onto baking paper on a solid oven/biscuit tray.

I was a bit short on toppings so used only Tomato paste, mixed herbs, meatballs made from some sausage meat I found at the bottom of the freezer and a couple of slices of bacon (chopped small)....on top of this I threw around 1 1/2 cups of mild cheese. Bake until golden in a moderate oven (180'c).
Serve with homemade wedges and a simple salad.
Enjoy!
Hubby rated this pizza as 9/10 and better than the pizza place down the road!