Did you know you can save money and the environment by using re-usable cloths? Paper towels and throw away dish cloths and wipes can be replaced with re-usable micro-fibre or cotton cloths. That means you will have less rubbish in your bin each week and save money on your weekly shopping bill. Who doesn’t like the idea of that! More money for the things that you want rather than need.

We will be adding a new handmade wash cloth/dish cloth to our Shed Shop when we reopen. There are two styles that are both the same size, but differ in thickness and material. The crochet pattern used for both make them quite textured, making them scrubbable for cleaning and wiping down showers, benches, toasters, kettles, etc.

The four-ply, 100% cotton is totally biodegradable and can be put in the compost when the fibres start to wear down. I’ve had this stye cloth in my kitchen for over six months and they are not even close to falling apart. It’s suggested that they will last around to years but of course it depends on your use.

The eight-ply is thicker and uses a 50% cotton/50% acrylic yarn. That makes them more durable and longer lasting.

To help keep your dishcloth looking fresh and lasting longer, I put it in the washing machine at least once a week, re-shape it and let air dry.

I also try to rinse it with clean water and hand squeeze dry before hanging it in a well ventilated light airy spot to air dry between use. On the few occasions that this hasn’t happened, I’ve soaked it in hot water, with about a teaspoon of laundry soaker, then popped it into the weekly wash. The colour has faded a little but I felt happier knowing it was free from germs, particularly when I use it every day in the kitchen.

Hi Friends, here’s another biscuit recipe that I found easy to do and uses ingredients that I already had at home in my pantry and fridge. It took only 15 minutes preparation time , including grounding the whole cloves with a wooden rolling pin. The dough has to stay in the fridge for a minimum two hours but I left it in overnight just through laziness. I couldn’t be bothered to cook late in the afternoon when I knew I would be starting dinner soon.

Despite the lack of crunch, they were very tasty and remind me of Christmas (thinking about gingerbread men). I hope they keep in the jar until our Women’s Shed return. I don’t want to have to eat them all!

I have the recipe available here as a PDF so you can download and print it. That will make it easier for you when you are baking.

So, how often do you stop and smell the roses? If lockdown has done something, for many of us, it’s given us a chance to slow down from the manic pace that has become the norm.

It wont be long and we will all go back to that busy schedule, so now is the time to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of life that is all around us. Intentionally slow down, lift your eyes and pay attention.

In our Branxton community there are so many people out walking with and without dogs. It’s great to see. I can walk with a friend, catch up with lots of people I know and meet some new people as well. I’m getting fresh air and exercise and almost wearing out my joggers.

But the other morning, I literally stopped and took notice of all the roses in my neighbour’s gardens. It made me realise, yes, Spring is here, roses grow well in this area but also, how beautiful they are. They’re either about to open or fully open, and have a glistening after the rain.

So, after stopping and smelling the roses, it had me thinking about that phrase. Did you know Mac Davis wrote and performed a song with this title in 1974. Ringo Starr performed it 1981. There was even movie with this title in 2019.

Appreciating the meaningful things, people and experiences we’ve had in our life is slightly different that being grateful. Being grateful is more about the positive emotion you feel in response to receiving a gift or experience and is more about recognising the source of the goodness in your life. Both are great for feeling happy and satisfied with your life.

So try this next time you’re out walking:

1. Notice the roses.

2. See how beautiful they are.

3. Think about all the beautiful things, people and experiences in your life.

4. Be grateful for who you feel is responsible for everything that is beautiful in your life.

I think I would rather call them biscuits instead of cookies. It’s more Australian and I keep thinking the Cookie Monster might find them (I think I’ve been watching too much Sesame Street!)

This recipe came out of the old recipe book that’s falling apart and has no cover. Therefore, I can’t reference it’s details. I’ve been slowly trialing some of the recipes but changing some of the ingredients to suit what I have on hand. In this one, I swapped the raisins for sultanas (yes, they’re different) and I didn’t have a lot of maple syrup left so I substituted for some rice malt syrup. It was suppose to make 24 but I made twice as many and I took them out of the oven after 10 minutes. My biscuits may have been smaller than the recipe.

They look a little browner than the photo in the book too and remind me a little of our classic Anzac biscuits with fruit. Nevertheless, they disappear quite quickly with a nice cup of tea. It’s a good thing that we can walk during lockdown. The longer we’re at home, the bigger my waist is getting! (but hopefully the better my baking skills are).

Try this recipe and let me know how you went.

Ingredients; 1 ½ cups plain flour, 1 cup shredded coconut, 1 teasp baking soda, ½ teasp cinnamon, ½ teasp ginger, ½ teasp salt, 1 cup softened butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1 large egg, 1 ½ teasp vanilla essence, 3 cups rolled oats, 1 cup raisins.

1. Preheat the oven 170°C. Line two cookie sheets with baking paper.
2. Mix the flour, coconut, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a large bowl.
3. Beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until creamy.
4. Add maple syrup and beat until combined.
5. Beat the egg and vanilla.
6. Gradually beat in the mixed dry ingredients, followed by the oats and raisins.
7. Shape tablespoons of the dough into balls the size of walnuts. Place on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing 2.5cm apart.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on tray for 5 minutes then transfer to racks and let cool completely.  

So I finally finished this baby blanket that I’ve been making during lockdown. It has one of my new favourite stitches, the crossover stitch. In simple US terminology, the initial chain needs to be a multiple of four, with a single crochet along the second row. Then chain two, skip the first space and double crochet into the next three spaces. The fourth double crochet then goes into the skipped space, crating the crossover. This pattern is repeated for the whole row. The next row is just single crochet. When the blanket became a square, I single crocheted a couple of rows around the outside.

The yarn is 70% bamboo and 30% cotton, purchased online from Oz Yarn (I thought it was an Australian company when I bought it, but it’s not). It’s 3ply and very soft, perfect for a baby blanket, particularly in our Australian climate. It’s not too thick and heavy but will keep the baby comfortable during the cooler evenings. It’s tricky to work with though. The strands separate very easily. I used a size 3 hook.

I made this blaket in white for my daughter who is due to have her second baby soon. This one I am donating to the Women’s Shed for the Etsy store. If you’re interested in buying it, you can find it there.

There’s a tutorial link here about the crossover stitch in groups of three (I did four). I think it’s a very easy stitch but looks very effective.

Here’s another recipe idea I tried from an old cook book I found lying around the house. Lockdown has been a great opportunity for us to rediscover some things we’d forgotten about in our cupboards as well as proving some time to try out different recipes. This Twisted Zucchini Slice is so tasty that we’re going to put it into our regular rotation of meals. It’s so good that no one is even missing the meat!

Did you know that haloumi originated in Cypress and is a great source of protein and calcium?

Here’s the recipe:

1 cup cooked risoni, 500g grated zucchini, half teaspoon finely grated lemon rind, 250g grated haloumi, 4 finely chopped green onions, 1 clove crushed garlic, a third of a cup of finely grated parmesan cheese, 4 lightly beaten eggs, half a cup of self-raising flour.

1. Cook risoni in  a saucepan of salted boiling water 8 minutes or until tender. Drain, cool.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease square tin/line with baking paper.
3. Squeeze liquid from zucchini. Add risoni, rind, half the haloumi, green onion, garlic, parmesan and egg. Stir to combine.
4. Add flour, stir well and season.
5. Pour mixture into prepared pan, smoothing surface, scatter with remaining haloumi.
6. Bake for 45 minutes or until firm and golden. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces.

Serve with a side salad and leftovers are great for lunch the next day or to take to work (if you’re still going to work!)

Let us know what you thought of this recipe or if you have one that you like.

Who can resist these jam drops? Even a novice home cook like myself can make these look inviting. These were so quick and easy in the thermomix, using the butter biscuit recipe, putting an indent in the top and dropping in some strawberry jam before baking. It’s child’s play.

Master 3 had a practiced making balls with playdough first, then with the biscuit mix. His favouite biscuit was his ‘sausage’ shaped one because “Sausages are easier to make than balls.”

But of course the best part of making biscuits is the eating. Yum!

No matter how you feel, you’re living your life’s story. So sometimes you need to just put your feet on the ground and start today’s chapter with a lot to be thankful for.

It’s so tempting to sleep in, wear pyjamas all day, just to put another set of pyjamas on at night. No one’s going to see you during lockdown anyway! (Well, I have been caught going to the letterbox in my dressing gown and Ugg boots from my neighbours across the road. But I swear I had my day clothes on underneath, I was just a bit cold.)

Getting up early, even if you have no where to actually be, is good for the mind and soul. At this time of the year we have some beautiful sunrises and I am so grateful that we live in a place where we can see them so clearly.

Dress up. Put your game face on. And what’s happening to all the clothes in the wardrobe. It’s a new season. Spring is here. So it’s time to find some clothing that makes you happy and wear them, even if it’s a fluffy boa! (only kidding, the neighbours really would think I’ve gone crazy.)

Show up for ourselves. Love yourself, honour yourself and be your own biggest supporter. Take the time to do some self care. Pamper yourself with a bubblebath, give yourself a home facial, home manicure or pedicure. Enrich your soul by playing some of those old records, tapes or even CDs. Dance to them by yourself in your lounge room. No one’s watching or visiting any time soon.

Do something that makes you happy every day with no excuses, (within the Lockdown guidelines at the moment of course!)

Who else is trying out new recipes?

Now is the time to do something that you normally don’t have time for. I had these white chocolate chips that were close to their use-by date so I went looking for a recipe to use them up. I came across this recipe in one of my mum’s old cookbooks. I didn’t have walnuts so I swapped them out for pistachios.

WHITE CHOCOLATE AND WALNUT COOKIES

250g plain flour, 1 1/2 teasp baking powder, 1/4 teasp salt, 125g softened butter, 60ml vegetable oil, 150g brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1/2 teasp vanilla, 180g white choc chips, 100g walnuts.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, oil and brown sugar in a large bowl until creamy.

Add egg and vanilla, beating until blended. Mix in the dry ingredients, chocolate chips and walnuts.

Form the dough into a 18 cm long log, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease two trays. Slice the dough 5mm thick and place 5 cm apart on prepared trays.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden at the edges. Cool on baking trays until firm, then transfer to cooling racks. Makes 24 to 28 cookies.

Tell us what new recipe you’ve tried recently.