In The Garden, Toothbrush Heads and Other Plastic

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THE WINTER GARDEN

Most of the roses are now pruned. Soon I will remove the first few centimetres of topsoil in an attempt to disrupt the chilli thrip from emerging. I will replace it with fresh garden soil. The roses in our suburb have been decimated for several years due to chilli thrip. I am also buying some bugs to spread around the roses when they have new topsoil to see if they control the pests.  The final treatment if they appear will be chemical warfare but I’m trying everything else first.

Sadly I know several people with many roses who couldn’t continue trying to control the pests so they removed all their rose bushes. Some were very old and well established. Very sad. Unfortunately, if everyone around you doesn’t treat chilli thrip your plants will be infected, too. Annoying.

I’ve been mass weeding. We have never had weeds like we have this year. They are thick everywhere. I have discovered the best weeding gloves! They fit well, keep my hands dry, are cotton lined and I can dig deeply with my fingers to pull up the roots without piercing the fabric. No rose thorns in my fingers! They’re actually not gardening gloves but are industrial safety gloves to protect against oil and chemicals but they are great for weeding.

TOOTHBRUSHES

I’ve used the same electric toothbrush  hand piece for years. Every so often I bulk buy new heads. This means I’m reducing about half the amount of plastic going into the environment by only needing to replace half the toothbrush!  The only problem is the packaging. Each pack has two new heads. Both are also sealed in  their own individual plastic cover. Ridiculous.

I’m sure the heads were delivered on a cardboard sheet previously, but of course I’ve thrown it out. I think each head was attached to a cardboard sheet by a twist of covered wire, like green gardening wire but it was white. So now I have a pile of cardboard, easily managed and a pile of molded plastic, which is not easy to manage. And yes, I will be writing to Oral B about this plastic overkill.

 

I actually needed a Stanley trimmer to open the packets. Tough plastic protection for toothbrush heads.

The other plastic aggravation this week has been the little desiccant cylinders  in pill bottles. I had five little plastic cylinders  in one bottle of tablets. I don’t know but assume the small paper sachets of desiccant are just as effective and certainly far easier to dispose of responsibly. The tablets are manufactured in Australia so it’s disappointing that they are packed with all this plastic.

IN THE KITCHEN

Winter vegetables are still available here in abundance so I’m still making big pots of ratatouille. Not traditional French ratatouillie because I don’t add that French staple, eggplant. I do add other fresh vegetables regularly. So, along with the onions, zucchini, tomatoes, tinned tomatoes all cooked in a splash of olive oil, I added cabbage this week. The cabbages at the green grocer are big, crisp and really fresh. The only way to manage these big ones is to start off cutting them in half after they’ve been washed. Then I cut a half in half and thinly shredded that piece and add it to the bubbling tomato mix it into the pot. I should shred the outer leaves and add them to other scraps for vegetable stocks but time doesn’t allow for any extras at the moment.

Four serves of ratatouille for lunch with added goat feta, goat ricotta, some grated parmigiano and  one day, a poached egg on top. I also add two pieces of toasted sourdough to soak up the delicious juices. Our other meals this week have frequently come from things I froze for busy weeks and this has been a busy week.

DID YOU KNOW?

On August 29th we celebrate ‘According to Hoyle’ Day? This day caught my attention as the expression was frequently used in our family when we were growing up. My Mother actually used it only a week ago! So who was Hoyle? Edmond  Hoyle  was an authority on the prescribed rules and regulations for popular games. He is best known for writing the definitive books regarding the rules for card and board games. He had a vast knowledge of popular games and published books of rules, hence the expression, ‘According to Hoyle’.

 

 

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Car Batteries, Killing Weeds. and Batch Cooking

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CAR BATTERIES

Last week I wrote about the anomaly between producing electric car batteries and the supply of materials needed to be mined to enable their production. This week I’ll tell you about the battery in my husband’s car. When he had his car serviced, the mechanic said he needed a new battery. So he rang the RAC  (Royal Automobile Club  who provide road side assistance, insurance, batteries, travel and accommodation and other related services) and a van arrived half an hour later.  The serviceman told him they installed the existing battery in 2015. It was guaranteed for two years. It had lasted eight years..

VINEGAR AND WEEDS

Vinegar is a multi purpose liquid. Essential in so many recipes, a great cleaner ( avoid using it on porous surfaces as it can etch the material), a disinfectant and also a stain remover. I’ve bought 4 litres of vinegar for a different purpose; I’m killing the weeds in the brick paths and paving. After the wettest winter I can remember for years and being away from the house often, the weeds are taking over.

I used to mix it with salt and detergent, but now I just tip it into a spray bottle and twist the nozzle to a very directed, narrow spray and hit the weeds! It’s important to only spray the vinegar onto pathways or paving as it will alter the ph of the soil. Vinegar will kill ants, spiders and mosquitos but also bees, so be mindful of this when spraying.

Usually the weeds will begin to wilt within 24 hours. I let them really dry out then remove the residual plant with a hoe. Sometimes , if it is really sunny, the weeds will be dry enough to just sweep up. Later, I’ll use a pressure washer to really clean but I really like the moss growing between the pavers in some areas. We never have moss!

WINTER COOKING

Zucchinis were 49c each at the green grocer so I knew I’d be making a big pot of ratatouille. Traditionally, the French made ratatouille using zucchini, tomatoes, onions, eggplant, plus extra virgin olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. We don’t eat eggplant ( well, I do, but nobody else likely to eat my ratatouille does)  but I will add other vegetables which are abundant at the time. So, sometimes, sweet potato, or pumpkin or corn appear.

Ratatouille is a great side dish. I drizzle a tiny amount of extra virgin olive oil over it. I especially enjoy a bowl of it for lunch with crumbled fetta. At the moment I am resisting cutting the crust off the loaf of sourdough I have just taken out of the oven which would soak up some of the lovely juices, but the loaf tears easily if it’s cut while it is still hot!

This is goats’ milk fetta and doesn’t crumble well but tastes very good.

My Mother has been in hospital and then respite for a month or so, so we were going up and down to visit her. We’d stay for four days then come back, do what we needed to do here, then go back. We’d leave her for an hour or so while she had lunch and often enjoy going to a cafe or restaurant. Then we’d have something really light for dinner. When we’d get back to Perth there were a few things I’d quickly thaw from the freezer for dinner, but eventually the freezer was bare!

So when we settled for scrambled eggs on crumpets ( we had no bread for toast) I knew it was time to get cooking. I have restocked the freezer with tikka masala ( I microwave the rice while the vegetables boil to serve with it) and pad thai. We intersperse these with salmon fillets and occasionally, eggs! I read blogs about people who batch cook for a fortnight at a time and I’m so inspired but never actually follow through, but a week at a time is working. I  was also inspired by the bloggers who precook all their meals for when they’re away but that is a stretch too far when every minute seems to be committed at the moment!

I have rarely used meal kits as I have always made our meals  ‘from scratch’ except I rely quite a bit on red and green curry pastes as a basis for several things we frequently eat. Time poor and trying to do an enormous number of jobs in three days, I bought the tikka masala  and the pad thai kits after seeing both brands recommended on Insta. They were  delicious! Unfortunately, the same site recommended two new flavours of chocolate bars and I bought both of those, too. They were also delicious but long gone.

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Spots, Rubbish, Books and Electric Cars

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Several technological problems resulted in a muddled and late post last week. My apologies.

SPOTS AND RUBBISH

I have a navy cotton/linen blend dress with big white spots. It’s versatile and can be dressed  up with strappy sandals and for a more casual occasion, worn with espadrilles. I’m telling you all this because I’ve just read in a decorating magazine that psychologist Dr Dion Terrelonge  says we should avoid  spots and polka dots as they can cause stress and a negative effect.

Instead we should opt for horizontal patterns. Apparently our eyes naturally scan horizontally so these designs echo patterns found in nature. Interestingly, the article acknowledge that spots and polka dots are big in fashion this year, but there’s no comment on how these patterns on clothing  impact on our stress levels. I really like my navy and white dress and it will be out and about come spring. It will be worn frequently, unlike most pieces of clothing owned by Australian women, which are worn only seven times before being discarded.

Apparently, only 15% of clothing donated to op shops/thrift shops can be on sold. The rest goes overseas to developing countries or is sold by weight as rags. It all ends up as landfill. There’s lots of information  online about effectively laundering clothes to keep them looking fresh, ways to invisibly and visibly mend everything, even zips, and reasons why we should all buy less and certainly less man made fibres.

Ahead of the annual Clean Up Australia Day, it has been revealed that beaches in Western Australia are the most littered in Australia. Although we have the least amount of plastics collected in the cleanup, we have the highest amount of other rubbish, mostly metal and glass. This results in 1100 tonnes of metal and glass going directly to landfill.

We pride ourselves on having one of the most beautiful coastlines in the World but the figures highlight the need for a different attitude towards caring for our beaches. The five most common pieces of rubbish are

1. cigarette buts

2. glass fragments

3. alcohol cans

4. alcohol bottles

5. bottle caps and lids

OTHER THINGS

I know you’re not supposed to play with your food but I like to paint mine before I eat it. My eyesight is not good so I’ve moved from botanical paintings to smaller, less detailed subjects.

Small paintings every day in an old, unused Moleskin diary. Not really water colour paper, but small, quick paintings are very satisfying when life is so busy.

Currently reading Large Print books leading up to eye surgery. The first, which I’m really enjoying is Louise Penny’s All The Devils Are Here, set in Quebec and Paris involving a Canadian detective investigating his French Godfather’s attempted murder. Shakespeare said,’Hell is empty and all the Devils are here’. which indicates the many twists and turns throughout this story.

Winner of the Agatha Christie Award For The Best Mystery Novel of 2021 this is Perry’s 16th Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sureté du Quebec series. I’ll be looking for more.

The other book is Claire Balding’s Walking Home, My Family and Other Ramblings. Balding is a well known horse race commentator in the UK and is also an award winning British  radio announcer known for her commentaries from the Olympic Games. She’s prolific author. This book details her ‘rambles’ around the UK all recorded and broadcast on radio. She is eloquently  describes the beauty of each of her walks while interviewing people of interest. Apparently, the broadcasts, called “Ramblings” are very popular.

As usual, both books are borrowed from the library.

A BATTERY ANOMALY

Last week a group of protesters gathered outside Western Australia’s Parliament House to protest about logging in native forests. All logging is banned in Western Australia’s native forests by 2024. WA already imports 80% of timber required.

Apparently, according to Green MLA Brad Pettitt, ‘The main issue in WA is the mining practices which would still be allowed in the forests after logging stops.”

Here’s the ANOMALY

To supply the quantities of lithium, copper, nickel etc required for electric car batteries and storage batteries will need more of all these metals in mineable deposits than is known to exist. These batteries are known to last for  less than 10 years. Then those chemicals will need to be replaced with freshly mined chemicals as there is no effective method of recycling them at this time. They will become landfill.

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So we are saving the Planet by hugely increasing mining which is said to be destroying the environment with no end in sight. We must also ignore the well established but inconvenient fact the electric cars require six times more energy to manufacture than ordinary cars and that their manufacture produces much more CO2.

It is a dilemma which makes me think of the children’s story,’ The Emperors New Clothes’

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Melaka

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When we were planning our trip to Maleka I saw it written as Malacca, Melaca and Melakka so I decided to wait until I was there before I gave this blog a title. Most of the signs coming into town and all the hotel signage spells it Maleka, but even here there is some variation in spelling! Apparently, Malacca has now officially become Maleka.

I wanted to go to Maleka for years.  The  Arabs, the Spaniards, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English have all left their mark on this once thriving shipping port. Originally a small fishing village, it was discovered and claimed by Iskander Sha around 1402. He was attracted by the good port and its location on the narrowest point of the Malacca Straits.

The original Dutch Church became the Church of England Church.

Interior of the Church.

Maleca quickly became a thriving trading port connecting the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea, enabling trade from India, Persia and the Arabian Peninsula. It was recognised for its safe and secure warehouses.

Modern temple.

Following the 1481 Papal Bull which was later called the Treaty of Tordesillas, Spain and Portugal agreed to divide the World into two spheres of expansion, the Portuguese settled in the Cape of Good Hope, India and parts of Asia as remote as Japan. They quickly conquered Melaka. They were trading in spices. Then in 1641 the Dutch claimed the area but later the British arrived and overpowered the Dutch. In 1824  the English negotiated control of the region. The Dutch had withdrawn by 1825.

This mix of nationalities has left a diverse array of buildings, maritime monuments, culture, religions and ethnic groups. Inter marriage of so many ethnic groups has created a unique cuisine called  Baba-Nyonya or Peranakan.  The City became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008.

Old fort and Church.

Many of the older buildings are concentrated in one part of town near the river. Most are in use as shops, some are cafes, museums or galleries, some are neglected and falling apart and there are some signs of modern but sympathetic renovations.

Old shop fronts in Jonkers Street and traffic jam.

I like to view new places from the water, if possible. I like a river cruise, whether it’s on the Oxford River, the Rhine, in Saigon, a ferry taxi from our hotel in Bangkok, on the Hong Kong Harbour or on the river in Melaka.

Older buildings along the river.

Older, restored houses on the river contrasting with a modern tower block behind.

Old painted godowns along the river.

Setting off from the quay we were surprised to see unidentifiable animals in the water, swimming fast. (Later we discovered they were  monitor lizards, . They live on the river banks and in the river and grow up to 3m (9 foot) in length. They have adapted to living in the water.) Many older buildings are on the edge of the river. A lot feature street art. So many places to eat! The river is crossed by several foot bridges.

We wanted to see more of the older buildings, so we organized a car and driver to take us to places of interest. It was very hot during the day, places we wanted to see were between the river and the sea, so  covering a large area. We found the driver well informed. I was able to jump out and take photos and read the signage. It was really interesting seeing new apartments and shopping malls, too, plus the museums and art galleries.

Our hotel had been suggested to us by our nephew. We had a river view room with a balcony with chairs, a table and candles, lit at night. The hotel was so luxurious and comfortable. Our bathroom had sliding opaque windows allowing views of the river from the bath. It was so roomy and lovely after the last hotel we were in. The cafe and grill served meals throughout the day, there was a library with a coffee machine and snacks and a gym. I know, it’s crazy to still count minutes ‘in the zone’ when you’re on holidays, but I do, so I spent time in the gyms of the three hotels we’ve stayed in while we have been in Singapore and Melaka. I really like a good hotel gym.

View of our hotel from the river.

Hotel enfilade, with painted ceiling, one of many at our hotel.

Our balcony overlooked the river, one of the few cool places in the evening. Melakka was very hot!

Despite its rich history, many historical indicators have not been maintained, been built over or simply neglected. We were surprised at how few buildings remain. Do your own research before you go to Melaka if you’re interested in the history as information and maps are sketchy.

Melaka is a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are some interesting things to see and read, numerous places to eat, plenty of opportunities to buy mementos and also modern shopping malls with all the usual brands and some particular to Malaysia. We took a car from Singapore for the three and a half hour drive and went on the river trip that afternoon after a wander down famous Jonker Street. The next day we arranged a car and driver to show us the historical sites and looked in local galleries and museums.  I think we could have done every thing we wanted in two days and nights but we spent the third day wandering around and resting. Early the fourth day we took the car and driver back to Singapore.

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Singapore

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Singapore is less than six hours flying time from Perth. It is a very modern, clean and bustling city but still maintains some unique characteristics of ‘old Singapore’. Although I’ve been to Gardens on the Bay, an amazing botanical wonderland, twice before, I’d never really explored the surrounding parklands. That was my plan for this visit as I wanted to see The Planet sculpture, aka the Floating Baby.

This enormous artwork by British artist Mark Quinn is made of painted bronze and steel. The sculpture is of the artist’s  7 month old sleeping son. The baby seems to hover peacefully in the air, surrounded by green gardens. The artwork divided the masses; either you love it or you hate it! I love it and enjoyed walking around it a few times, seeing different details each time.

The gardens were green and beautiful but the late afternoon heat was stifling. We walked across to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and went straight up to the top for the sea breeze, coffee and a big bottle of sparkling water.  Calm and cool but very misty over the water. Followed later by a relaxing hour of reflexology then yum cha. A lovely day.

Restoratives.

The heat and humidity was stifling and misty at times.

Great yum cha.

One of the other attractions of Singapore is the food! Singaporeans take food seriously and you can buy amazing food for a few dollars at a street stall or spend lots and eat in beautifully designed restaurants with carefully presented food. We ate at both and some places in between. We hadn’t had high tea at The Raffles for years nor been there since the major renovation was completed so we went there, too. It was lovely.

Scones, sandwiches, beautifully presented cakes and little chocolate treats….we enjoyed them all!

Since living in China over twenty years ago,  we have sought out massages, particularly reflexology or foot massages. Although the cost in Singapore is similar to an hour long session in Perth we have never found a really good reflexologist. We’ve had lovely foot and leg rubs and very half hearted massages but nothing like the systematic reflexology we’ve had in China, in Vietnam, in Thailand and Singapore. Bali can be a bit hit and miss, too! So, several visits to the spa for reflexology for us.

Airy, colourful entrance, in glass roofed foyer created by joining the two buildings.

The National Gallery of Singapore is an amalgamation of the former Supreme Court and the original City Hall  connected by a modern glass and steel structure. (There’s lots of information about the transformation from early planning and funding to constructing and utilizing the building available on Level 4, plus a daily walk and talk you can join and be shown around. Ask at the desk for daily times) The amalgamation works really well and has created a wonderful National Gallery of Singapore. It is always worth a visit. We skipped the regular exhibitions and went upstairs to the third floor for Living Pictures: Photography in South East Asia and fourth floor for Liu Kuo Sung: Experimentation As Method, both new, temporary exhibitions.

Sunlight pours in through the steel and glass middle section.

Followed by cold drinks and a snack in the cafe before a serious look around the gallery shop. Beautiful things but very expensive. A great range of art books, too.

Carefully restored former Supreme Court.

Enjoyed a wander through the National Design Museum, too, a bit different from the usual displays   Really enjoyed walking around Chinatown again but got caught in a monsoonal downpour. Had a lovely chat with the shop owner until the rain stopped. Chinatown has so many wall murals designed for interaction. One difficult thing was the tour groups on bikes who really seemed unaware of the pedestrians they were running into. We visited on the weekend, so the temples were busy and loud. Chinatown is vibrant and interesting. Look out for the old shopfronts still up and down many streets.

Grand old buildings.

Interactive street art in Chinatown.

You’ve been warned.

Are you interested in the Barbie movie? I was a huge fan of Barbie when I was 10 and my Father brought me a Barbie from America with bendable legs and arms. She was followed by Ken and her little sister, Skipper. I loved my dolls and built and decorated houses for them and sewed clothes. My father made me perfect tiny wire hangers so I could organize their wardrobes. I’ve still got them. Still interested in houses, interior decoration and clothes but mention all of this because Barbie and the movie are BIG in Singapore.

Free Girl Posing as a Barbie Doll Stock Photo

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Confronted by a Barbie photo opportunity display in a shopping centre.  Not only were there males and females from babies to about eighty dressed in pink having their photos taken clutching bunches of pink balloons  amongst  the Barbie paraphernalia, there was the Barbie jingle, ‘I’m a Barbie girl in a Barbie world’ warbling on repeat, very loudly. A quick look at the Sunday paper when we returned informed me Perth is going Barbie mad, too. So much pink! Plus a World record singalong attempt of Barbie World!

Next week’s blog will be about our visit to Melaka

 

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Capers and Some Interesting Road Safety Statistics

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CAPERS

As I arranged some capers on my smoked salmon sandwich, I wondered where they came from, did they grow on a bush and do we grow them in Australia? Capers are the edible flower buds of the capparis spinosa, the caper bush. It is a prickly bush which grows wild across the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. Caper plants also grow well in the hot, dry regions of Australia. The capers I ate at lunchtime were pickled and bottled in Italy from ‘imported produce.’

Once picked, they are pickled to preserve them. Interestingly, preserved nasturtiums seeds can be used in place of capers. They are considered to be more pepppery than capers. The seeds are pickled in a brine of white wine vinegar, salt and pepper corns.

Although I don’t think people eat huge amounts of capers at any one time, one of the Australian growers claim capers contain two flavonoid compounds, rutin, which strengthens capillaries and prevents platelets clumping in blood vessels, and quercetin, considered to be anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and also an analgesic.  So eat up and think of the benefits!

Now that your taste buds are tingling, I’ll share an amazing French Potato Salad recipe. It’s not creamy and thick with mayonnaise, but really delicious and, you guessed it, includes CAPERS! This French Potato Salad is more like a traditional German Potato Salad. I used small red potatoes because they taste so good and look attractive.

FRENCH POTATO SALAD

Try to make this at least one day before you need it for the flavours to blend and develop. You need

• 1 kg ( 2.2lb) potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces

• ¼ cp vinegar, any sort you prefer ( I found apple cider vinegar was not sharp enough)

• 1/4 cp mild olive oil

• heaped dspn of drained capers, 2 dspn chopped parsley, 2 dspn chopped shallots, or red onion  or chives

• salt and pepper

1. Cut the potatoes to bite size pieces, put in a pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Test doneness with a fork. Drain the potatoes, leave for a few minutes to cool slightly, then while potatoes are  still warm, tip them into a bowl.

2. Shake the vinegar and oil in a screw capped jar to amalgamate then pour over  the chunks of potato and stir.  Repeat about every five minutes until the liquid is mostly absorbed. It doesn’t take long. Add some pepper and a good pinch of salt and stir again.

3.  Stir and add the capers, chopped chives ( or red onion or thinly sliced shallots ) and the parsley.

4. Leave to cool then stir. All the liquid will now be absorbed. Cover and put in the fridge. This French Potato Salad will improve in flavour overnight and is even better the second day.

There are so many varieties of French Potato Salad. Although the basics are the same, some recipes add chopped gherkins, some add anchovies and some add celery for crunch. Many recipes include garlic in the dressing. It depends on what you have available and what you like!

This French Potato Salad is suitable for lactose and gluten intolerant people plus suitable for vegans and vegetarians.

I had to open a new jar of capers the second time I made this salad and although they were packed in Australia the capers had come from Morocco.

ROAD SAFETY STATISTICS

All statistics referred to in this section were obtained from August/September 2023 HORIZONS magazine  printed by the RAC W.A. The information was collected from a number of member surveys.

Recently the sun was shining briefly after freezing cold days with frequent rain so we went for a drive along the beach. I was the passenger and was surprised at how many drivers along side me were using their mobile phones. It is illegal in Western Australia to use a mobile phone when driving. Then I read in the Horizons magazine that 15% of drivers surveyed thought using their mobiles to text, phone or watch movies is acceptable at traffic lights. At one set of traffic lights the female next to me was texting when she arrived, kept texting waiting for the lights to change and continued texting as she drove off. The survey revealed 27% of all respondents had used their mobile phones when driving and 44% of drivers under 30 admitted they they’d done it in the last year.

Free Person Holding White Smartphone Inside Vehicle Stock Photo

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In the same survey 93% say of people say they generally use private cars to get to work/study, 12% catch the train, 9% work from home, 7% walk and 5% cycle, including e-bikes. There’s some overlap as sometimes commuters used one or the other method of transport. Although people have varied reasons for driving their own cars to work the train network in Perth has been extended in the past few years. We were once regular train users to go to the Art Gallery WA, the Museum, to eat in Northbridge and shop in the City but the last two journeys were marred by unsociable behaviour. In fact, on one journey, many of us got off at the first station and went down a carriage rather than be abused. When we talked about this with friends, they agreed it was a problem but not so bad during the usual going to and from work times. They are the times we try to avoid! Do you feel safe on the train?

Free Grayscale Photography of People Falling in Line at Train Station Stock Photo

 

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Free Range Eggs and Plastic Free July

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FREE RANGE EGGS IN AUSTRALIA

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We can buy eggs laid by caged hens or eggs laid by free range hens in Australia. According to Australian Consumer law, free range eggs are defined as eggs laid by  hens who have meaningful and regular access to the outdoor areas, are free to roam and forage and  are stocked at less than       10 000 hens per hectare. Caged hens live inside large, climate controlled sheds. The cage must be 40cm high, provide at least 550cm² per hen and 10cm feeder space. Eggs from caged hens are considered safer than free range eggs and production is higher and more efficient. Caged hens rarely get sick and live longer.

New legislation in Australia dictates that caged hens will be phased out by 2036, but each state will decide on its own timeline. Many states are already predicting 2025 as the  goal for ending caged hens. Battery hens, or caged hens, will still be legal but egg farmers will need to provide larger cages and ‘enrichment’ for the chickens.

Apparently, only 30% of eggs purchased in Australia currently come from caged hens. Both large supermarket chains in Australia have announced they will end the sale of caged eggs by 2025. ( Some research says 40% of eggs bought in Australia are from caged hens.)

Free Brown Eggs on Black Steel Basket Stock Photo 

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Free range eggs are more expensive than caged eggs. Nutritionally, both are very similar. Eggs are high in vitamins and minerals. We have sought out free range eggs for many years. We were concerned about the welfare of the hens. I also like the environmental aspects on chicken poo returning to the paddock as fertilizer. Free range hens are able to practice normal behaviours, such as perching, nesting and dust bathing. I try not to buy eggs from large supermarkets as they are not as fresh as eggs from other sources. By the end of 2022 our ‘other sources’, one a commercial farm with low stocking levels with daylight hours spent outdoors and another, an independent supplier, had dried up. We’re looking for alternatives.

Free Four Assorted-color Roosters Stock PhotoImage Pexels

PLASTIC FREE JULY

Free Drone Shot of Landfill Stock PhotoImage Pexels

Plastic free July was started by Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, the founder of the Plastic Free Foundation, and a small team of supporters. Begun in 2011 and since 2017, a not for profit charity, Plastic Free July encourages everyone to reduce their use of plastics. Their vision is to see a World  free of plastic waste.

Most plastics are produced from oil and gas and don’t decompose. This means plastic micro beads ( broken down plastic) can remain in landfill, soil, rivers and oceans, harming the environment and animals for centuries.

So what can we each do? There’s many checklists, ideas and helpful information online.  Try making little  changes all the time. Select the easy things to start with, such as refusing plastic wrapped items in the fruit and veggie aisle ( take you’re own fabric bags and if you forget, use a paper bag from the mushroom area), buy milk in a glass bottle (cartons are lined in plastic), store things in glass, bamboo lidded containers or glass jars, both of which are infinitely reusable.

Free Crop female putting fresh almonds from bag to glass jar placed on wooden tray with jars with macarons in light room Stock Photo 

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If you have room and the ability to make compost, put all your veggie and fruit scraps into the pile. I make evil smelling slime, not compost, so turn all sorts of vegetable off cuts/remains into stock, which I freeze, or turn into soup. Stock will be strained so apparently you can add onion skins and garlic skins. I haven’t tried doing this, but intend to soon. The trick is to store the remnants in a glass jar or similar in the freezer until you have collected enough to make stock. And if you’ve never made stock, inspire yourself by reading the ingredients in bought, liquid stock, packaged in a plastic lined carton.

I have bought waxed fabric wraps and also done a workshop making them from fabric and beeswax. They look very attractive but never adhered properly to my containers, so I gave up. I had to add a rubber band to keep them on the container, too much faffing around. I use shower caps collected from hotel rooms. Used, wash, hang over the tap to dry, reuse. Problem is they finally tear away from the elastic and then become landfill. So I’m trying beeswax wrappers again.

To make bees wax wrappers you need washed cotton squares, beeswax and grater, an iron and old fashioned grease proof paper. You need to iron your fabric square, grate the beeswax if you’re using it or buy beeswax pellets. I have seen pellets for sale online. This would be quicker.

I did what I have done before except I used a lot of grated beeswax as I really wanted this to work. I have accepted that I cannot make compost and today I have accepted beeswax wrappers aren’t for me, either. The wrapper I tried  just doesn’t seal tightly enough for me. Last time this happened with bought wrappers I keep them securely on with rubber bands. Wont be doing that, either, so my bees wax wrapper will go into someone else’s compost!

If you want to try beeswax wrappers there’s many YouTube and online tutorials. Good Luck!

 

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Computers in Classrooms, The Most Livable Cities and Reading

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COMPUTERS IN JUNIOR CLASSROOMS

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Western Australians are currently enjoying two weeks of school holidays. I enjoy  the holidays, too, despite not having school aged children because I catch up with several groups of friends I have taught with at four different schools. Three of those groups are involved in primary school education.

There is one constant concern expressed by these teachers; learning is prescriptive, online and difficult to assess. Many learning areas are totally digitalised and children work on their devices  alone. It has long been known children develop writing and spelling skills by actually sounding out and writing words. The physical involvement reinforces and embeds the skill. Self correcting digital programs do not require nor develop these cognitive skills.

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So I was interested to read that Sweden’s Minister For Education, Lotta Edholm, has recently announced a plan to reduce the use of computers in primary schools. This follows Sweden’s poor score in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study . This indicates Sweden’s performance has declined from high to intermediate in the past five years. The test measures the reading comprehension of 9 – 10 year olds.

Computers are everywhere and will be part of everyday life in all areas. Children will become adept at using them without missing out on standardised learning  objectives, the current trend. The article refers to comments by Isobel Dans, Professor, University of Santiago and researcher in Diadactics and Digital Education. She says “Screens are everywhere. What is a mistake is to link them to more traditional learning without assessing their usefulness.”

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I know many experienced junior primary teachers in Western Australia who would agree!

Further information   SOURCE 

THE MOST LIVABLE CITIES IN THE WORLD

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Vienna is the most livable city in the world. Vienna has won this award several times in the past five years. The city is recognised for its stability, infrastructure, culture and entertainment and education. Return to order after the covid-19 pandemic was also considered. Improvements made in developing countries were also noted.

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The 30 indicators for each of the 175 cities assessed are ranked from 1 ↔100. The indicators are assessed according to ratings of acceptable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable.

The top five most livable cities in the World as rated June 21st, 2023 are

  1. Vienna, Austria
  2. Copenhagen, Denmark
  3. Melbourne, Australia
  4. Sydney, Australia
  5. Vancouver, Canada

READING

STORIES of the SAHARA by Sanmao.

This cover would win the award for the least clear and enticing cover on a book.

My neighbour lent me an unusual book of essays. Originally published in Chinese  this translation of Stories of the Sahara into English was published in 2019. The author is described as a writer, novelist and a pioneer. Born in China in 1943, she excelled at school, especially in literature and was offered opportunities to study philosophy. She then continues her studies in Spain.

Widely traveled, she is fascinated by the Sahara Desert. She meets a Spanish diver and underwater engineer, José, who moves to  El Aqúin in Spanish Sahara to begin work for a mining company.. Sanmao soon follows and they consequentially marry. Housing is in short supply and expensive, so they move into a small, unfinished derelict home in the cemetery  district and settle into desert life.

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The Spanish colonized this area of the Sahara in 1884 to capitalize on the fishing opportunities and ports on the coast. They increased their claim in 1958. They also mined  phosphate. The Muslim Sahrawi, the traditional owners, living around the Spanish mining ventures, continued living the way they had for centuries. It is an uneasy arrangment, but ever curious Sanmao goes exploring, often alone, in the desert. She makes friends with some of the locals by getting to know their children.

Sanmao is thrilled by the desert and writes essays about the temperature, sand storms, mirages and the way the light changes at sunset. She describes its vastness as ‘majestic’ and is awed by the changes in colour during the day and the total blackness at night. She has an array of Chinese and Western medicines and despite no medical training, becomes known for helping with aches and pains, infections and other health problems. She holds ‘school’ for the local girls and teaches them to count, a skill previously only known to males.

Unlike other Spanish living in El Aqúin, Sanmao develops friendships with some Sahrawi families. She writes about the planned guerilla led revolution against the Spanish and the occupation by the Moroccans. Although I found her behaviour to be frequently reckless and also dangerous for the Sahrawi involved, she was adventurous and a keen observer of local life. She records and writes about local life in both positive and negative ways.

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El Aqúin is two thirds down the coast of the yellow part of the map.

What also intrigued me about this book was my ignorance about the Spanish occupation, the bungled decision making about their future in the Sahara, the downfall of the Sahrawi guerillas and the eventual occupation by the Moroccans. Spain began to withdraw due to international pressure, especially from the United Nations. Morocco and Mauritania now preside over different parts of the region. The history of the area, south of Morocco, highlights the problems of colonization, particularly when the colonizing country withdraws.

Sanmao was a free spirit, a skilled writer and she lived an extraordinary life. José died in a diving accident in 1997. Supported by her parents, she returned to Taiwan, where her extended family lived, and continued writing, teaching and traveling before committing suicide in 1991, aged forty seven.

 

 

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Home Ownership, Happiness and Household Things

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DOES HOME OWNERSHIP MAKE YOU HAPPY?

Australia is experiencing ever increasing inflation with no end in sight. The cost of food, fuel, insurance, electricity and consumer goods rises every week. Home owners with mortgages are experiencing regular increases in their repayments and most are feeling the pinch. The cost of living continues to rise. ( Mortgage stress is considered to  be making repayments greater than 25% of the homeowner’s post tax income. It is estimated more than 30% of West Australians with mortgages are already in this position)

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This poses the question: Does home ownership make you happy? A  leading psychologist in New Zealand, Professor Robert MacCullioch, an expert  on Money and Well Being  refers to the cognitive bias, the ‘Endowment Effect’ which claims human beings place more value on the things they own.

The article also claims that people who own their own homes are richer and this results in greater happiness. This is because people feel they have control of their money. Home ownership also means you move less often and children perform better at school. Other research claims areas where home ownership is high have better schools and children achieve better outcomes. They also have greater access to services within their community. There’s references to higher social status, better mental health, financial security and independence, as well as less crime in areas of high home ownership.

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This is supported by research both internationally and in New Zealand  which consistently supports the belief that home owners are more satisfied with their lives. Some studies cite psychological security ( the home is a safe haven), privacy, equity in the home, choice about where you live, a sense of belonging and being part of a community as important components  of home ownership.

So what about countries where renting is more common? Countries such as Germany where more than 50% of people rent have laws that protect the renter, obligations about maintaining the properties and long leases. Traditionally most people rented rather than purchasing their own homes as a result of the substantial deposit required to get a mortgage. Culturally, renting was accepted as a way of life. Due to the shortage of housing stock in Germany anyone wanting to buy their own home would more commonly buy land and build a house. Similar situations exist throughout Switzerland and France.

HOUSEHOLD THINGS

Are you building or renovating your kitchen? I’d like to suggest you place the rubbish bin in a pullout ‘drawer’ below the area where most food preparation will occur. Then you can just pull it out and clean the cutting board or bench top by wiping everything straight into the bin.

This terrible photo of the slide out rubbish bin shows how easily I can swipe rubbish into the bin from the bench top where I do most of the food preparation. I know I should make compost from fruit and vegetable scraps but past experiences make it plain compost is not my forté.

I frequently make sourdough bread. This time I added caraway seeds to the dough and sprinkled some on top before the loaf went into the oven. Lovely flavour. I’ll do that again.

Our greengrocer is full of many different types of apples at the moment. I bought too many for us to eat raw so I stewed some and made tarts and an apple pie. Disappeared quickly.

Now that we have two or three different bins for different sorts of rubbish I use spatulas to clean jars and tins as clean as possible before washing them to go into recycling. Some things can be swished out with hot water and added to whatever you’re cooking or the soup pot.

Thought I’d try a supermarket brand of baked beans having read a few articles saying these items are the same as brand name products. I am sure some are, but not the baked beans I bought. Never mind, they went into the pot of minestrone and tasted wonderful after mixing with everything else.

Minestrone with home brand baked beans. I had to dilute it with more stock as it just got thicker and thicker. Three days of slightly different soup depending on what I added to use up or just dilute it!

Made cheese and sweetcorn muffins to have with the soup. The leftover corn went into the soup, too. Recipe I used (here).

Today is WORLD CHOCOLATE DAY. Well, that’s easy to celebrate!

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How to Sterilise Jars, Preserving Lemons, Pickling Cucumber and Quick Soup

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STERILISING JARS

Glass jars for storing food can be used and re-used multiple times. They are strong, easy to see the contents and easily cleaned and reused. Of course, they are useful for storing many other things, too, but they are perfect for food. So how do you sterilise a glass jar for food storage?

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For each method you begin by washing the jars in hot soapy water, rinse but don’t towel dry.

1. Set the oven to 110°C, place the jars on an oven tray, place in the oven for 15 minutes, carefully remove and leave to cool.

2.Alternatively if you have a pot deep enough you can set the washed jars in it, cover with water and boil for 10 minutes. Remove carefully and leave to cool.

3. Or you could place washed jars in the microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove carefully and allow to cool.

HOW TO PRESERVE LEMONS

It’s citrus season in Western Australia and I use fresh lemons and limes in so many ways. Nearly every style of cuisine involves citrus.

I like to extend the citrus season by preserving some of the lemons. Preserved lemons are pickled in their own juice and salt for three weeks. Originating in Morocco and Middle Eastern recipes I find a little preserved lemon adds zing to everything from salads to stews. Sterilise the jar you want to use to preserve your lemons. A wide opening makes it easy to insert them. Cut off the tops and bottoms after you have washed and dried them. Then cut your lemons into quarters leaving them joined at the base. Spoon two dessert spoons of salt into the jar and spoon more salt into the first lemon. Place it in the bottom of the jar. Continue adding salted lemons, squashing them down and releasing juice.  Finally, when the jar is full of salted lemons top up with extra juice.

I push the lemons down with a round wooden ‘stick’ I’ve had forever. I don’t know what it was originally intended for but it’s great for making sauerkraut. And preserved lemons. An upended wooden spoon would do the same job.

Screw on the lid, put the jar into the fridge. Invert the jar each day for three weeks. Then, uncap and remove a quarter. Scrape off any remaining pulp, thinly slice the skin into strips and add to a salad, a stew, a tagine, anything you like.

PICKLED CUCUMBER

The Fruit and Vegetable sections are full of crisp, fresh cucumbers. It’s the coldest and wettest winter we’ve had for years, so salads don’t feature in this house. Raw, cold food doesn’t appeal at all, but the lovely cucumbers do, so I’m pickling them. I still eat them cold but only a little bit at a time.

Pickling cucumbers is easy. Sterilise wide mouthed jars. Make the pickling  liquor by putting 2:1 vinegar and water with coriander seeds and mustard seeds in a pot and bring to the boil. Then slice the cucumbers long ways into thin slices. A mandolin would be useful but I don’t have one. Do this while the pickling liquor simmers for about ten minutes. Then leave it to cool.

I added star anise to the pickling liquor because they’re so pretty! Unfortunately, my pickles don’t taste like traditional pickles, which is what I prefer. They taste good, but just not how I usually make them!

Trim the sliced cucumber to fit in your jars. Pack them in closely. When the pickling liquor has cooled pour it carefully into the jars, adding some of the spices. Put the lid on and into the fridge. These are ready to eat the next day.

When I’d filled the two jars I had about a third of a cucumber left. I try very hard not to waste food, so I diced it finely, then gathered yoghurt and garlic. I still had some cut lemons on the bench from earlier so I had lemon juice, too.

I mixed the diced cucumber, a big dollop of Greek yoghurt, a squeeze of lemon juice and some garlic to make tzatziki. Instant afternoon tea. No waste.

TOMATO SOUP

I was asked this week if I had any other suggestions for ‘quick soup’ that doesn’t require lots of chopping or other preparation. It’s good if the ingredients are already in the pantry so you can make it without going shopping. So here is my other speedy, satisfying and very easy soup!

Dice an onion and fry it with two diced cloves of garlic in a big pot. I use diced garlic out of a jar for this (2 tspn) as the juices add to the flavour and it’s all about speed and flavour. Add two cans of crushed/diced tomatoes and three cups of vegetable stock, made from bullion or homemade. Let it bubble away for about 10 minutes, blend, reheat. Serve with a sprig of basil. A little grated cheese on top is nice, too.

This Tomato Soup takes twenty minutes from gathering the ingredients to serving up, including going out the back to pick some basil. I know because I timed it. Serves four big bowls or six smaller bowls or mugs. Delicious. And economical. Let me know if you make it.

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