Our new visitors

Well littleun wanted a pet and has a huge interest in the unusual so instead of going for a dog or cat he wanted Stick Insects. We have 4 at the moment but having had these as a child I am well aware how quickly this type, Indian Stick Insect - Carausius morosus, can breed. They seem to like the ivy but apparently will eat bramble too, which is just as well as that stuff is going mad on my allotment!

Earth Hour 26th March 2011 8.30pm (local time)

Earth hour started in Australia in 2007 when 2.2 million individuals and over 2000 business turned off their lights for an hour to challenge the increasing problems of climate change.

Over the years more people, more countries and finally Governments started to join in with this. Though has it made a direct effect? If you listen to David Cameron he says he supports this and is intent upon becoming known as the Greenest Government this county has had to date. So why then does his government keep coming up with daft ideas? I know the forest sell-offs were reversed but “we” have just decided to go to war in Libya, supposedly to help with freedom but coincidently in a country that is oil rich. I am not a fan of this move as I am not convinced that the Government is being honest in its dealings with it. We need to hunt out renewable sources not kill people to retain old and non renewable methods. Ok an over simplistic view perhaps and I am sure that there can be debates on all sides forever about it being more than oil, but you get my point?

So rather than being a clone and just thinking “I know I’ll do my hours bit” on the 26th why not do what Earth hour are hoping for and make greater stands with more pronounced changes? In this house we try and turn lights off, things aren’t generally left on stand-by and we don’t use the car for just a five min trip. But how can we improve our impact on the world? We already recycle and try hard to eat within seasons so that the food we buy is only from local areas (max 30 miles) the exception to this is Littleuns bananas, a greedier monkey you’ll never meet!

Well we have decided that although the lamps use energy bulbs we don’t really need them, so have for the next month decided to pack away all lamps and see if we can live without that form of light. We have chosen to block the switch on the fridge to stop the small waste through that and instead of using ordinary torches we are starting to change them (as they break) into wind up torches. Lastly Littleun and I have agreed to cut back on the use of the TV and radios. Instead of just putting it on then wandering out of the room to switch the radio on in the one we end up in we are now going to choose one or the other and actually turn it off if not in the room as well as cutting out the dross which really is wasting an hour at least of our lives each day!

So what will you do? If not a lot then do at least do the hours switch off and make the lantern in support (follow link here). But if you can do more, then please do, little things will lead to bigger savings if we all do it.

Sundried Tomato Bread

Last year some friends of ours gave me some jars of tomatoes they had dried. Yummy and tasty they were too. And gone in a flash. or so I thought until Sunday when in a bit of a need to cheer up mood I went hunting through the cupboard to try and track down a lost bar of chocolate. There in the back corner was one remaining jar. Problem was I had nothing except cheese to eat it with. So after hearing a certain Someone say how well their loaf had turned out I thought well that's what I'll do, use some in a loaf and scoff the rest with the cheese.

Rather nice with the chutney and cider it was too:

Sundried Tomato Bread Recipe

you will need;

425gms of strong white bread flour

1tsp salt

40gms Parmesan Cheese (though I used the strong cheddar and that worked fine)

50gms Sundried Tomatoes chopped and drained

3tbsp Sundried Tomato Paste

2tbsp Oregano or Rosemary finely chopped

7gms Yeast

225ml Warm Water

Method:

Put the flour, salt cheese, tomatoes and paste into a large bowl. Add the chopped herbs and yeast then pour in the warm water.

Mix together with your hands until mixture combines to make a rough dough ball.

Tip dough ball out onto a lightly floured surface and stretch and knead the dough four about 10 mins till smooth ad elastic.

Shape into greased tin press indentations and scatter the extra herbs, drizzle with some of the oil from the tomatoes and sprinkle with salt.

Cover loosely with clingfilm. Leave in a warm place until doubled in size (about 30-40 mins).

Preheat oven to 220c/gas 7. Remove clingfilm from dough and reduce temp to 200c/gas 6. Bake for 35mins till golden.

Scoff.

7 weeks to go

Ok I know we have Ostara/Eostre first yet to come but for this house there are two main events in our nearby community in the year which are very important to us.

The first is Beltane/ Jack in the Green. In 7 weeks we will have the busiest weekend of fun, music and laughter. It’s a great time for friends to catch up, for new friends to join in and for the community as a whole.

The gowns and robes from last years have come back out and alterations are on the way. Littleun is prone to this irritating habit of growing out of things! I am on the hunt for new shoes (well perfect reason to buy some) but seem to be having no luck so far. They need to be green and suitable for dancing as well as long term wear. Fingers crossed something will pop up soon.

This year is promising to have a fantastic lineup with the programme to be found here. Looking forward to the Ceilidh and hoping to get the Fella along to it (He foolishly said He could dance!).

The ivy for our decorations has started is re-growth with vigour recently, so that is looking like a good crop can be had without damaging the main plant. We also planted some wild flowers in a section at the allotment so that I can use them in the head-dresses and there are shoots sprouting through the earth already.

But first there is as said above Ostara/Eostre to come and as that is only around the corner I had better get going with those plans, egg blowing and chocolate making at the ready.

Has it really?

Been over a month since my last post? Oh my how time has gone quickly.

Well a brief update then. We have been slogging away at the allotment getting it all ready for the planting out of things. The onions went in and the borders were made with some old wood from a builder friend. Trenches dug for the potatoes and the herb area cleared too.

We have managed to get a lot of daffodils from littleuns bulbs and the house is smelling fantastic with them all around the place. Bright and cheerful yellows peeking out from every corner.

We have also had a half term break and took the time to go visit friends up town and catch up. Visited the Greenwich Maritime and observatory. Which was lovely, the first warm day of the year and we were wandering about in just t-shirts, no need for jumpers or coats for us brave bunch.

The observatory was great as littleun is fascinated with the sky, stars, Moon and Sun as well as clocks so this was a good mix of things he could look at as well as some hands on fun. Ties in nicely with the steampunk that he has now discovered and got me making (Captain Nemo anyone?!).

We've also been making the new clothing needed for this years Beltane festival whilst at the the same time writing petitions and letters to stop the governments plans of scrapping May Day Bank Holiday. Somewhat nervous we will lose this one and that will have a huge impact on us both as Pagans and the local communities across the Counties here.

So as you can see not a lot of time for my ramblings. A balance which needs addressing!

Yay!

So the best thing happened on Imbolc this year, the long awaited ickleun turned up. Many congratulations to my Cousin and his family for their new baby! Can't wait to see the new addition.

Creative Natives

Littleun loves books and he has started to read fairly nicely coming home from school with prizes for getting better. As such having a few pence left on a book voucher card I got given at Yule I thought I would treat him to something from waterstones. His choice, anything he wanted (well excluding those blood thirsty things he seems intent on having nightmares with!). I do love wandering about the bookshops and as he does too was looking forward to a good hour or so browse. This time though Littleun surprised me and found something within only a few minutes.

Creative Natives is a book I’d recommend to anyone but those who already love nature will really enjoy it too. Written By Sam and Steve Sullivan and illustrated by Maggie Sam it is a short story following the day of a family and their friends. The story works through the woods and tells them about things they find, how to make a den, animals in the area and working together. In the margins of the pages are beautiful little drawings of all sorts ranging from different types of bark, leaves, berries, animals to help you teach the basics to your littleun. It also shows via the story how to make things like mobiles out of twigs, leaves and other similar debris and how to respect each other and nature as well as talking about the seasons.

Well worth the read and a good reference point with a fun story I was more than happy to get it for Littleun and will definitely be watching out for any more that might come this way.

Creative natives ISBN: 978-0-9558023-0-0

The allotment and with Imbolc around the corner

Well just when I thought it was getting warmer the cold is back. Which is a bit frustrating as we have been preparing for the new season up at the allotment and now the ground has gone from soaking to frozen.

We celebrate Imbolc a little differently than some might. We tend to use it as a way to start new with the shoots of the bulbs we put in around Samhain time now showing. We have planned out what we want to do with the allotment and now is the time to start clearing greenhouses in readiness for the seeds to be sown.

It’s a lot of hard work and as I am still learning sometimes it can be frustrating. The ground has some sort of strange long grass which instead of a root mat structure seems to have bulbs and is a devil to get out. This all needs to be cleared before I can dig over and as I’m not that fit plus trying to get it done around work means that it is a lot slower going than I hoped it would be. But we are getting there. The diagram below shows what we are hoping to grow in the season and we are about half way across the potato patch (about 2½ metres). Little has a spade and fork just the right size and mixed in with playing with the toys comes and digs over for me. Though more often than not get sidetracked by the fascination of watching fat worms dig back into the earth!

Last year for Imbolc we made a Priapic wand and at Samhain burnt it as part of the turning from old to new by creating light for the forthcoming nights. So we have spent today making a new one. Which after a lot of thought and care Littleun took up with us to help the bulbs and we will be taking it with us to the green house in a few weeks when we start the seedlings. Littleun has already waved it several times over the potatoes out to chit and has made a chant of his own as he does this:

“Grow and grow and grow so I may grow and grow and grow. Thank you very much”

Which I was pleasantly surprised at, it would seem he does listen when I explain to him about Cernunnos. It’s a much simpler chant than the one I use but it sums it up, and the way he adds the thank you is very funny, in this little voice as if to say oops must not forget that bit!

Anyway that’s enough rambling for today, my bread is yet to be kneaded for the second round and there’s a toyroom to inspect!

Cherries Galore

It’s that time where I start to bake again. Having dragged myself out from under the 31days of Hades (otherwise known as the Tax Return season) I am now free to do a bit more of my things. This is a recipe for a friend who only likes cherry cakes. Unlike most that seem to use glace cherries this one uses fresh so would be better for the summer months but I am splashing out (I know goes against my live within season thoughts but he is worth it) and getting them now.

Ingredients:
250g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
350g fresh cherries
8tbsp granulated sweetener
5 eggs, separated
1tsp almond extract
150g ground almonds
100g self-raising flour
You'll also need:
20cm loose-base cake tin or spring form tin



1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Grease and line the base and sides of a loose-base cake tin or spring form tin. Grease the paper. Halve and stone the cherries.

2. Using a hand-held electric whisk, whisk together the butter and all but 2tbsp of the sweetener until pale, creamy and very soft. Whisk in the egg yolks, almond extract, ground almonds, flour and 1tbsp warm water.

3. Whisk the egg whites in a thoroughly clean bowl until they form soft peaks, then whisk in the remaining sweetener. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold a quarter of the egg whites into the almond mixture. Gently fold in the remainder with half the cherries.

4. Turn the mixture into the tin and spread it out in an even layer. Scatter the remaining cherries on top. Bake for about 50 mins until the cake has risen and firm to the touch. Test by piercing the centre of the cake with a skewer, it should come out fairly clean. Leave to cool in the tin then transfer to a serving plate. The cake can be stored for a couple of days without drying out.

Wassail Chant part two

Well they sang it in rounds, not sure they meant too but it was fun. The film is wobbly sorry, difficult to keep a littleun away from the draw of flames whilst filming at the same time! But hopefully you'll like it.

Was a fantastic evening, catching up with friends, new and old. Celebrating the apple trees. Oh and the smell, of the hot ciders, the fire, the hog roasts just lovely. Littleun enjoyed it, dancing away to the drum beat, watching the Morris sides (only Borders though not sure why) singing the tunes. Beats Saturday tv anytime!