Feather your Nest Friday, 3 February, 2023.

It has been a cool and rainy week just as if Autumn is already here.    I am loving it!  

Last weekend I headed over to Mum's with a basket of warm scones.   I had plans to pick some Bay Leaves from Mum's tree and some Rosemary too and to try them out in the freeze drier.



I especially love how the Bay Leaves turned out.  I have found some nice window paper bags with snap lock closures to package them up.  It is always lovely being in Mum's garden.



We had a cup of tea and scones and a lot to talk about!

I made Coffee Syrup.  This stuff is amazing!   For anyone that likes coffee flavour or iced coffee this would be a beautiful gift.   You can find the very easy recipe here at The Cheapskates Club.   It is an absolute winner!  


We had two men stay in the cabin and they brought me a big box of fruit and veggies. 


I planned the meals around the contents of the box.   There was a lovely bag of Eggplant.   Today I cooked them up and used them instead of pasta in my Lasagnes.  (So a kind of Lasagne/Moussaka creation.)   I got two big dishes like this, one smaller, a huge pasta bake and our dinner.   The tomato/meat sauce contained a big heap of grated Zucchini like last time I made it.   I was given three huge Zucchini from a friend.   




The giant pasta bake is for Chloe's family and I know she will get two dinners from it.   One Eggplant version will go to Lucy's family,   two will go into my emergency meals freezer.  (One is still in the oven when I took the photo.)  I am very happy adding meals to my freezer.

I went into town armed with a big list.  Usually Andy or I pick up Chloe's online Woolworths order.  This saves her at least half a day.  Quite a few things have not been available for weeks.  These include frozen veggies,  potato anything and nappies.    I managed to find some of each.  When you are an hour from town sometimes frozen veggies are really handy.   Now we have a motto of stock up when it's there!  Stock up when you can! 

I also went to the nursery.  Mum gave me money for my birthday and I bought three beautiful pots and some goldfish!    We are making one big pot into a water feature with fish on the deck out the front.   There were parcels to pick up from the post office....  by the time I had two families groceries, pots,  plants, parcels and more, the car was so loaded up!  I could not have fitted another thing in.


Today I got all the seedlings planted between showers of rain,  just perfect for them!  

I was invited to have a tour of a friends garden and given so many seeds!  It was just beautiful.  

The swap table had a box of nice little jars (good for jams) and I left Bay Leaves and dish cloths. 

I rearranged my jar storage so I have another cupboard that is cool and dark for freeze dried foods.



Denise from the UK told me she could not get baking powder.   I searched and discovered something I probably should have already known but didn't.  You do not need to buy baking powder!   It is simply one part Bicarbonate of Soda, one part Cornstarch or Arrowroot and two parts Cream of Tartar.    (I have realised Baking Soda is also on The Cheapskates Club Website and I somehow missed that.  I need to go study all the Make Our Own recipes.   I also need to go rearrange the fridge to fit in the Lasagnes.   I never freeze anything until it is completely cold right through so tomorrow I will freeze two and the other two will be distributed over the weekend.

Thank you to everyone who supported Laura for her account of her life in Romania.   Our "world tour" is proving to be very interesting!! 

I hope it was a good week for you,  full of opportunities to build up your home, feather your nest and look after your family.  xxx















Comments

  1. I'm not sure if you know, but if you are out of baking powder you can substitute with 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tbls vinegar or lemon juice. I don't even buy baking powder anymore, just use the soda/vinegar for all my baked goods that calls for baking powder. Have a great day :)

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    1. I use this method. I prefer using lemon, as I almost always have lemons.

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    2. Thank you so much! I will never buy BP again!xxx

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  2. Hi, I learned about making baking powder during the pandemic. The stores were out of stock so I googled and found the cream of tartar recipe! Now I have both items in storage, just in case! Hilogene in Az

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    1. This is fantastic. Now I wont buy BP anymore. I need it to get the gluten free scones nice and fluffy! xxx

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  3. Hello Annabel and dear Bluebirds,

    I love all your pictures from today*s post - like a beautiful form of art. You were very industrious this week and I bet the garden tour was a special day. Thank you for the information on Make your own recipes!
    I am curious how the gold fish pot would turn out - I imagine to be something lovely to gaze at their swimming around but I couldn*t have one or my cats would consider it as a gift of their own. Meoww!
    Today we were announced of more rising price for eggs - almost doubled - because of the avian flu - it is all over in Europe. More than 250.000 turkeys were sacrificed this week at two farms in the centre of my country - It must be devastating for a business! I keep my golden ladies pretty safe in their run, half enclosed and warm (we have -13 Celsius temperature - 8,6 Fahrenheit and lots of snow), they eat well and have space for their gym exercise. Not eggs for now but anyday.
    I got two more orders for knitted cardigans for 2 little children - one is almost ready to deliver - I am glad about that.

    Have a nice day and keep smilling, Laura_s_world from Romania

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    1. Dear Laura, Thank you very much! This is bad about the Turkeys! I hope your girls stay safe, unaffected and I am so glad you have them! Every egg will be a help to you. I am so happy you have knitting orders too. You sound like you have enough to be busy all the time with knitting. Your post last week made me think a lot on how important the side gig is and possibilities we have. Also that we need to develop side gigs in good times and establish them as much as we can. I have thought about your post all week! With much love Annabel.xxx

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  4. Hi Annabel and everyone,

    Oh my, that coffee syrup looks amazing! I am going to have to try making that. All that beautiful produce and the herbs and cooking are so nice to see – what a good week you had! I cannot wait to see the new water feature.

    This week I did the usual things and tried to add some each day. Cooking included impossible pie, loaf cakes for the freezer, sandwich bread, apple crumble, spaghetti sauce, snack mix to use up bits, and a big veggie stir fry. If anyone has loved ones going through something similar, it turns out stir fry is a great meal for chemo days – who knew? (I leave out the strong seasonings and put condiments on the table so he can choose what seems ok that day.) Ribbon from a gift was saved to re-use and I made cookie crumbs out of some butter cookies that weren’t getting eaten, to be used in crumbles. A little knitting and cross stitching got done as time allowed, and I fully finished 2 cross-stitch pieces.

    I added some canned soups, rice, flour, sugar, and peanut butter to the pantry, and had an afternoon organizing everything in there. Here in Oklahoma, there is some type of bread on the shelves at the store, but there is also a lot of empty space. The produce section was full and they were restocking the meat, though I buy most of ours from a local farmer. They were out of whole milk, but had other kinds, and eggs were expensive, but available. I was able to buy a 10-lb bag of flour and one of sugar, but there were only a few bags on the shelves. The price club is better stocked – maybe because fewer people shop there. We also had some problems getting one of my husband’s medications, but it is refilled now, and I’m not sure if it was a supply issue or a doctor’s office issue. The store did have children’s medications that are in short supply elsewhere. One local hospital laid off 140 employees, and there were also layoffs where my husband is being treated; the medical providers and nurses seem to still be there, but schedulers and folks manning the phones have been greatly reduced. Also, like many others, my gas and electric bills are crazy compared with last year, and I am not using more fuel or power.

    I hope everyone has a good weekend.
    <3
    Kathy

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    1. Dear Kathy, You baked so many good things!! Delicious! Also you added a lot to your pantry!! Thank you for reporting on how the shelves are. Yesterday I travelled and the supermarket I went into had so much missing. They also had signs up to explain the giant missing sections. So... I got things I could get to add to my pantry like you diid.
      It is terrible the hospital let go so many people. It is very concerning... same with the drug issues.... At this point with our gas/electric prices going up so much and every body world wide reporting in we cant say it is some kind of coincidence we are all experiencing the same thing!
      You did so much and very well with your week! With love Annabel.xxx

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  5. We have been blessed with rain this week as well but it is a cold winter rain. I love to see those produce boxes the guys bring to you! Frozen vegetables have been hit or miss here but especially broccoli. We chill everything well before freezing it, too.

    We had a disturbing thing happen Wednesday night. We saw someone in our backyard looking into our screen porch with a flashlight. Where I was sitting I was looking straight out at the beam of light. When we were seen right there inside the person ran off. This has been a common occurrence in our area in the last few weeks. There is nothing of value on most back porches so all we can think is they are looking for freezers or extra refrigerators with food to steal. Ours are in our garage so there was nothing of value out there but we have never had such a thing happen here in 28 years. This made us think about our garage and so we turned off a bright night light we have in there and we put up curtains across the fronts of our shelves where we store canned goods and other foods. It is sad to think that people could be that desperate now.

    We restocked our supply of home canned great northern beans this week as we had used all we had canned. We also got some great deals at the salvage grocery stores. There are many great deals in the grocery ads this week so I will make my lists and go see what we can find. I ordered 3 dozen more pint canning jars while they are available and not too overpriced since they may be hard to find once canning season arrives again.

    Have a great weekend!

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    1. Dear Lana, It is frightening to have an intruder! If it is becoming more common in the area then it was a good idea to modify what can be seen in your shed. We use sensor lights so that if anyone approaches our shed (or house) they are blasted with a strong light. Of course they ahem the barking of three dogs to contend with as well. Because we have long driveway we have a driveway alarm.... gradually we have added more things because there is also an increase in incidents.
      It is great you were able to do some pantry stocking and also get ahead with jars, that was a really good idea! With love Annabel.xxx

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  6. What a wonderful bunch of veggies your boarders brought, and those lasagnas look so good! And so do the scones. I like the idea of your water feature with goldfish - can't wait to see a pic of it when completed. Sounds like you had a nice week. Mine is going well, too. When we drove into town for errands this week, I stopped to get gas, and the station I frequent also has a nice convenience store that has good sales. I picked up a dozen little 5 oz. lean steaks on sale, 3 for $5.00. These are perfect for hubby and I- they are small, lean, cook up fast in the air fryer, and are vacuum sealed so easy to freeze. Locally, Steak starts at around $7-12/lb. (depending on the cut), so they're a nice price. Also picked up a like-new pair of Dickies jeans on clearance for $1.99 at a thrift store - I just couldn't pass on them. I am set for jeans! We had so many lovely leftover dinners with homemade beef vegetable soup, spanish rice, hamburger casserole, delicata squash, bread, etc. from my cooking last weekend. Temps got down to -15F the past couple of nights with high winds making the windchill -35 t0 -45F, so we've been using the dining room woodstove a lot! It might get to 0 today, then it's supposed to get to +25F on Sat. - it varies wildly some days! If I do any sewing upstairs today, I'll be turning on the oil-filled heater because we've shut off the upstairs this winter since it's just the 2 of us. Stay warm and safe and have a good weekend, Bluebirds!

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    1. Dear Jill,
      You got some great deals! It is so cold! I cant even imagine temperatures like that! Your meals sound so nice! My fish are going well and I have the pot all sealed up, today the water is going in to test my seal! Have a good new week! With love Annabel.xxx

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  7. Dear Annabel,
    I know I say this often, because it is fact; you make everything beautiful that you touch. The Coffee Essence bottles are lovely, I love the baskets you used to gather herbs at your Mum's, the casseroles look delicious, and your freeze dried foods are beautiful.
    I will check out the website for making our own products. I want to try your laundry detergent, also.
    This week was Doctor's appointments for our daughter and a special blood draw. She and I will go to her Hematologist in a month to go over all the results.
    John and I have been eating soup, mostly, for the past two weeks. The endless soup pot is healthy and delicious. Any vegetable can be used but we prefer, chopped carrots, cubed potatoes, cubed sweet potatoes and small cut green beans. I make a broth of chicken bone broth, roasted chicken broth, tomato powder, water, and lots of seasonings and spices.
    It is so good as a vegetable soup, but shredded or cubed chicken can be added to it for more protein. John likes some cheddar cheese sprinkled on top of his. During the great depression, the endless soup pot always provided a nourishing meal. I plan on making a big batch and canning it soon. We just purchased more whole organic chickens so I can make more bone broth.
    I have so enjoyed everyone's articles on what is happening in their area. I hope to manage an outing next week to look at prices here. I do know that regular unleaded gas is back up to $3.38 in our area. People are struggling and the elite control freaks are putting more and more upon us peasants to destroy our finances; sadly.
    Much love,
    Glenda

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    1. Dear Glenda,
      Thank you so much! I am like John and love some cheese on the top of my soup! Soup is so good in the cold weather.
      Organic chickens are so lovely and so much nutrition in your bone broth.
      I will be interested to hear your prices and observations. Later today we have Heike's report from Germany... it is so interesting. Have a good week Glenda! With love Annabel.xxx

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  8. Shoot, I forgot to mention that we combined our seed order with our son's order to get free shipping - spring will be here someday! And, I was pleased to add two more cases of jam canning jars and a case of 6 1/2 gal. jars (for storage) to my basement stock as I noticed Walmart has a full range of canning supplies right now. They were scarce this summer, so I'm picking them up now!

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    1. Good thinking Jill! Also good on the jars. I think jars are always a good investment! xxx

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  9. Dear Annabelle, my name is Susan. What a wonderful gift to get a large box of produce. I wanted to ask about your coffee syrup? How do you use it? Do you just pour it over ice and add milk?

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  10. Annabelle, its Susan again, i wanted to ask if your gift making ebook is still available?

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    1. Susan, yes pour the syrup into your glass of milk, ice, ice cream or however you like it. It is a concentrate you dont need very much. You will quickly find the right amount for your taste. It is amazing! xxx

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    2. That makes sense! Thanks for explaining!

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    3. Oops, that was me!
      --Maxine aka mikemax1968

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  11. Dear Annabel
    So lovely that you had a cool, rainy week where you are; it is so much easier to get stuff done when it isn’t really hot summer weather. Here , on the mid north coast of NSW, the cool wind off the snow ( snow at Perisher ) just reached us this morning. It has been quite hot- early thirties( Celsius) and I got up early to open up the house before it got hot and had to close most of the windows again. Cool but lovely.
    You have inspired me ( as always) to extend my food preservation skills and look at vacuum sealers and freeze dryers- my project this year. And add another freezer.
    Thank you for your weekly dose of inspiration and happiness ! Love the rose tablecloth the baked pastas were sitting on!
    Love
    Virginis

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    1. Virginia, this isn't aimed specifically at you, nor is it meant as criticism--but, instead of adding another freezer, wouldn't it be better to just buy one big energy-efficient freezer and sell others that you have? I'm thinking the one big freezer would take less electricity than running several, plus you'd have the advantage of owning a newer freezer. I think this whenever someone mentions "freezers," plural, which is pretty often! Just a thought....
      --Maxine in Idaho USA (aka mikemax)

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    2. Hi Maxine,

      We have more than one freezer because of how we purchase meat - if you buy a 1/2 beef from the farmer, on its own the beef will nearly fill a large upright freezer. A lamb also fills a good amount of an upright freezer. If you buy meat this way and want to keep *anything else* frozen (homemade ready meals, bread/doughs, fruits and vegetables, butter, yeast), you do need another freezer. I'd imagine folks with hunters/fishermen in the family can run into the same thing. Adding a second energy-efficient freezer to our home only added single-digit dollars to our energy bill and has been well worth it for us.

      I hope you have a good week.
      Kathy

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    3. Thank you so much! Snow in summer! I was amazed! Thank you I made the tablecloth :) Thank you for your kind words and I am so glad you are encouraged on the freezer, vac sealer and freeze drier! xxx

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  12. I have not commented before but I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your blog. I appreciate your common sense approach and your encouragement to prepare and do what we can without panicking. I also love your articles on preparing like nana as well as the guest posts from around the world. I also appreciate the efforts you take to make the everyday items, chores and tasks more beautiful. I need to do more of that. Thank you for taking the time to share with us.

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    1. Thank you so much! Thank you for commenting I really appreciate it! xxx

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  13. Annabel, I never buy baking powder - and always buy just plain flour for everything. When a recipe calls for Self Raising Flour, the ratio is 1 teaspoon bi-carb soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to each cup of plain flour - that is all that is needed. No need for anything else and it has always worked for me all these years. This is from my mum's old recipe book published way back in the 1940's during the war years and also from an old school recipe book that I still have.

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    1. I do this to make my own self-raising flour also.

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    2. I think Nan and Mum's old recipe books are the best and full of things that are amazing money savers! Thank you!xxx

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  14. Baking powder obviously has no set recipe because the one I use is 1 level teaspoon bicarb, 2.5 level teaspoons cream of tartar and 0.5 teaspoon of cornflour.
    I'm not sure I would want to add salt to mine, bicarb is very salty on its own but whatever works for the individual.

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    1. Dear Su, Thank you! I dont add salt to anything I dont even buy it. I asm making this up by the jar just to replace BP altogether! So helpful thank you! love Annabel.xxx

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  15. Absolutely love Annabelle’s blog and Bluebirds comments but please could all Bluebirds add their location when they comment . Thank you.

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    1. Umm...and who and where are you? LOLOLOLOL
      --Maxine in Idaho USA

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    2. Dear Anon, It isn't a bad idea if people wish but I see the irony Maxine has pointed out!

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  16. This week my husband gifted me to raised bed planters with wheels attached to one end. These stand about 35 inches high and have a shelf on the bottom to both stabilize the planters and allow one to put pots underneath the planter. My patio garden will take off this year. Now to get him to put them together...Always the challenge there!

    I did no grocery shopping this week, have gone a full 7 days without going into any store. I know that I need to do some stocking up though and hope to at last have a bit of time to work this out.

    I'm going to start with a full pantry and freezer inventory something I meant to do this past month but couldn't manage with other responsibilities to attend to.

    I had a day of batch cooking several items at once and put some things in the freezer. I made both chicken salad and Pimento cheese as well as bread to make sandwiches.

    I was sick this week. I had everything on hand that I needed to carry me through the illness. It was lovely to be able to shelter at home and not have to venture out to the store to find items.

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    1. Dear Terri,
      The planters sound fantastic and what a wonderful gifts! You will be able to grow so much in them!
      I need to Deo an inventory but it is a huge job as you say! I hope you are feeling much better now. Have a very good new week! With love Annabel.xxx

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  17. Your baked goods and produce look so lovely, Annabel. I can't believe how fluffy your scones are! Thanks for the coffee syrup recipe link, what a great idea.

    My week was full of appointments and our church's Winter Bible School on Wednesday. But I still got in some savings with baking, home hair cuts, and many meals from a gifted turkey.
    How I invested in my home was some good buys on meat from a grocery store I don't usually visit and a bulk buy on potatoes. This week I start seeds indoors.
    Blessings to all,
    Leslie

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    1. Dear Leslie,
      Thank you! Mum really likes the scones. So I keep making them!
      You had lots of good savings! The store with the good meat deals... it sounds like maybe a good store to check more often. Good job! Very exciting to be ready for seed starting!! Have a good week! With love Annabel.xxx

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  18. Dear Annabel,
    You had a lovely week and I especially love seeing your basket of bay leaves from your mum's house. I am sure your daughters are so grateful for the meals you provide and the groceries you manage to find for them. That is a huge blessing.
    I also love seeing your freeze dried food. My dad has a freeze dryer and loves it, and we have also invested in one, but we don't have it set up yet as we need to rework the electricity first. I was wondering if you knew about freeze drying your eggs. My parents have had success with it. Just another way to preserve them, especially if you have a lot of extras!
    My week saw lots of cold, rainy weather. We stayed cozy inside watching movies and lighting the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate- all of the cozy things. My productivity revolved around getting ready for an overnight guest on the weekend and our visit was wonderful.
    I've had lots of success thrifting lately, so that has been fun too. And I have picked up blogging again, which I am really enjoying.
    I hope everyone has a lovely week to come! It is nice to be back among the "bluebirds"!
    Love, Kelsey

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    1. Dear Kelsey, I am so excited you have a freeze drier!! When you get going you will find it fantastic for when you have excess eggs. I have the medium harvest right... I do one dozen eggs per tray. I learned that it is best to crack 12 lovely eggs then blend them. Sit the tray inside the freeze drier and por the egg into the tray rather than fill the tray then try and move it in! My mid sized jars take one dozen eggs just nicely and it is nice to know that each jar is a dozen eggs stored. It works out two desert spoons of the mix plus two of water = an egg... in cooking.... but also you can scramble them etc. The egg is a crumbly powder but as soon as moisture is added it is the same as before... blended raw egg.
      I am heading over to find your blog! Im so glad you are sharing again! Also it is great you are having thrift store success! It is lovely having you back here Kelsey! With love Annabel.xxx

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  19. Hi Annabel, I’ve always wondered how you go about freezing these meals, do you freeze in the dishes you bake them in, or take them out? Thank you, Kelly

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    1. Dear Kelly, I use casserole and oven proof dishes. I get. a lot at thrift stores so I have a supply. Sometimes a foil tray. To make the meal I will get it out of the freezer in the morning so it is thawed or almost thawed by evening. Also I dont put a really cold dish into a hot oven as it could crack. I will sit the dish on a tray and put it into the oven so it heats up gradually. I try to always have at least a few weeks of frozen meals on hand. As soon as that dish is eaten the dish is ready to fill and start again. I hope this helps, Love Annabel.xxx

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    2. Thank you Annabel, you must have quite the collection of dishes 😀
      -Kelly

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