2017 Goals ~ Let’s go with Healthy, Wealthy and Wise… and a couple donkeys

I absolutely adore that the advent of the New Year gives one a sense of renewal, a chance to reflect and consequently focus on ones short and long term goals.  We have lots of changes planned for 2017 and, I must say, yes, I must, that we are very, very excited (and a teeny bit scared).  We will be putting all our eggs into our  entrepreneurial basket and focusing our time specifically ~ Pumpjack’s to our new wine business Terroir au Verre and me, Piddlewick, to my Pumpjack & Piddlewick  Shop and the life that goes on behind it, so our blog will get a bit of a face lift too this year.

Welcome 2017! It’s make or break time.
(Hmmm, maybe not a good euphemism when talking about entrepreneurial eggs.)

You can have only 2 kitchen utensils. Which do you choose?

I was cooking last night and it occurred to me (not sure why) that I use two particular utensils much, much more than others. This then had me thinking, in a general train of thought, if I was going to be washed up on a dessert island and could only have 2 utensils, which ones would they be?

The obvious one is the knife. Generally always needed and most utilised in the kitchen. One, well, cuts with it. Mince, dice, sliver, chops… a good knife does all these things. And I also use the side of the blade to crush, such as garlic.

I have a vintage Henkel steel knife that is my go to knife for everything cutting. It was Pumpjack’s birthday present to me a couple years ago, that has now started a birthday tradition. (And for those who subscribe to the concept that you should never give a knife as a gift, like Pumpjack, I did give him a penny for it just to be on the safe side as I did so want a knife.)

And why is it my go to, take to a dessert island, knife? It’s carbon steel, as opposed to stainless steel. It rusts, hence why knives these days are not made out of it, but it also is very very easy to sharpen. And a sharp knife is beauteous thing to work with in the kitchen.

So the easy choice is the knife, but what of the other choice? I’ve been thinking about this for awhile. Again, no idea why, as I have no intent to be marooned on a dessert island in the foreseeable future with two implements. I think it is more about minimalist living. I believe in homesteading, self sufficiency and old stuff. Combine these… and I come up with why I can only chose 2 utensils. (Well, the thought process worked for me.)

So, the other utensil I decided would be tongs. Yup, tongs. Not a spoon, I can use the tongs to stir. Not a fork, I can use the tongs to grab. Okay maybe whisk action would be pretty tricky, but I generally find myself using my tongs when the knife doesn’t, well, cut it. (Sorry, I just had to say it.)

What would your two be?

Chamomile has taken over my garden – tea any one?

Last year I planted Chamomile, with no great success. I tried it in various places and had a little grow in one of my pallet planters. It produced one really good bunch of flowers, which were duly harvested and made into Chamomile tea.

But what I had forgotten, when I had been, with desperate conviction, trying to get my chamomile to grow, was that I had ‘lost’ almost half a packet of seeds that had spilled out of the envelope. Fast forward to a little over a year later and I now know where the seeds have gone.

Make your own dog (and cat) food – easy peasy and cheap!

We like good food, real food here at Pumpjack & Piddlewick, so when we got a cat, and then a dog we felt it only fair that they get good, real food as well, e.g. no preservatives, fillers, etc. so we took the decision to give them natural, home made food.

With our cat, as a consummate carnivore, it was quite simple~ fish, chicken or beef. When I cook for us, I make sure some is set to the side for her (which I simply sautée up). When I buy for us, I simply buy extra for her. And when we have vegetarian nights? I often make double batches of meat and store in the fridge/freezer ready.  And the difference in her! Her fur in particular, amazing! So beautifully soft and shiny. And then life got easier when we got a dog.

Time is not a Good Excuse for Eating Bad Food. Recipes included.

This day and age everyone seems to be time poor. Too busy doing things to, well, do other things. But honestly, there is no excuse of too little time when it comes to eating real food, good food, even (dare I say it) healthy food.

Downsizing – How or Where to Start? Open your Refrigerator

I love downsizing. I love going through my things and getting rid of any thing I can. There is something so very therapeutic about it, like a weight cast off your shoulders. Some of the items I give away, some I sell. It depends on the item. But where do you start if you have never downsized before?

What’s all the fuss about French Markets?

You may have noticed that any cooking show about food and France always shows someone shopping in a market, sniffing veg, squeezing fruit and generally making out that a French Market is Am-aaa-zing. But is it?

Don’t Panic! if you have to feed a Vegetarian

I remember when I was 17 and I declared to my mother that I was going to be a vegetarian. She said of course I was, and proceeded to ignore me. She wasn’t going to go out of her way, as she put it “for a phase”, and make special meals for me. I would simply have to make do with what she deemed vegetarian.  It all came to an emotional head when she served me yet another baked potato. What it boiled down to? She didn’t know how to cook ‘vegetarian’.

Cooking up Pumpkin – Classic Pumpkin Pie

To complete my weekend trilogy homily to the Pumpkin I close with a classic recipe for Pumpkin Pie.  The wondrous thing about Pumpkins, whatever their size, is the will provide you with a goodly amount of pumpkin purée, and with very little effort.  Sure, you can buy pumpkin in a can (in the States), but there is no comparison in taste.  For very little work you can easily make your own purée and freeze in readiness for use throughout winter.

What else to do with Pumpkin ~ A twist on Soup and Seeds

If you saw yesterday’s Blog Post (How Big Does Your Pumpkin Grow), I mentioned a number of Pumpkin recipes I tried, of which I included Spicy Pumpkin and Apple Chutney.  Today I am posting Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds for your autumn harvest enjoyment. (Tomorrow, I will post a Pie recipe to close on a classic .) After all, those large pumpkins go along way.