Friday Favourite

The Guppy Hunters!

Here's my favourite photo taken this week. I'd love it if you'd share your Friday Favourite too, just add a link in the 'comments' below. 

Wishing you a lovely weekend! It's the first day of Summer tomorrow!!!

Vinegar that Keeps Giving

Back in August I ordered a "Vinegar factory" from Green Living Australia. See that large glass jar to the left? Well that's what arrived via the post, snugly packaged in an air cushioned bag thankfully. Imagine a smashed jar of vinegar arriving at your post box!! Anyway, the jar contained 900mls of cider vinegar culture. You could see the culture (which is called the "Mother") floating around inside. Initially our culture was pretty stirred up....it had endured a plane ride after all. But after a couple of days everything settled and the liquid became clear.

To activate our new vinegar factory all we had to do was remove the cap and punch 3 holes in it, cover the jar with a piece of fabric (it came provided), screw the cap back on and then store the jar in a warm dark place for 8 to 10 weeks. I wrote a note on the calendar reminding me when to dig it out from the back of a cupboard!!

Can your see that white disk? That's the "Mother"

Well after 10 weeks we finally dragged the jar from it's incubation spot (at the back of the Tupperware cupboard, where things can get lost FOREVER). On first glance, what  impressed us most was the size of the "Mother" - it was HUGE. The liquid itself smelt and tasted quite strong, but guess what? It was vinegar. Using a funnel, Ben poured two thirds of the liquid into a bottle, leaving the "Mother" behind in the original jar ready for making the next batch. Our newly bottled vinegar is now aging (softening) in the pantry.

We then re-filled the original jar using two bottles of apple cider. We used some bottles of Strongbow that someone had left at our house yonks ago - waste not, want not. The "vinegar factory" has now gone back to the Tupperware cupboard for another few months. The process can now be repeated over and over again. And guess what, we can even change the vinegar type (wine, cider, sherry - the options and flavours are endless). The "Mother" will just keep on growing! Eventually we will be able to split it up and give it away to friends. Oh Merry Christmas!

We go through a lot of Apple Cider Vinegar. I add it to warm water when soaking grains, beans and legumes, we splash it on salads and I even use it on my hair as a conditioner. Before discovering the 'Vinegar factory', getting hold of a good quality non pasteurized vinegar on Norfolk has been impossible. Unfortunately I was forced to purchase it online and thus feel guilty for contributing to huge unnecessary food miles. But there's another big advantage for not having to buy it anymore - less rubbish. I'm always looking for ways to reduce what ends up in the bin.

Maybe I'll never have to buy Apple Cider vinegar again. You know, this little project cost all of $16.95 + postage.  Obviously down the track I'll have to pay for Apple Cider, but still, talk about economical!

If you like vinegar too, I recommend giving this a go!

A last note... Ben is currently in the process of making vinegar from kefir. If he's successful, we might be able to stop buying the gallons of cheap white vinegar which we use for cleaning purposes! I'll keep you posted...

Stay-at-home Sunday

A good day to start work on our Christmas gifts

Harry feeds Lilly who lives in our paddock at the moment

Till has a piano lesson with Dad

I don't know about you, but I'd like Sunday to last a bit longer.
Have a great week!

Friday Favourite

We saw Jupiter up close!

Thought I'd start a new blog routine for Friday's - I hope to share just one of my favourite photos from the week. How about joining me by posting a link to yours in the 'comments' below (that's a big fat hint to my blog friends, and anyone else who feels so inclined - the more the merrier actually).

Brownie with a Difference

I rather enjoyed photographing these jolly little black beans.

Here's a recipe I'm completely in love with...

Healthy Grain-Free Brownies (yup, made with black beans)

Throw in the blender -
2 cups of cooked black beans (I soak mine for 24 hours, before cooking in a pot for at least 4 hours - Sally Fallon would be proud)
3 eggs
1/3 cup raw cocoa powder (oh I'm pretty heavy handed - usually ends up almost 1/2 a cup)
1 teaspoon (or more) vanilla powder (or essence)
1/3 cup raw local of course honey
2 tablespoons coconut butter/oil
a pinch of sea salt

Blend everything up until it resembles a smooth runny batter, pour into a lined 8" x 8" tin and bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.

: : Eat & Enjoy : :

Who'd have thought hey? Black beans!

PS I can't buy black beans here (not in any way, shape or form) - now there's a Christmas present idea....... hint hint my darling sister!

PPS For my Norfolk friends....here's where I order black beans (& raw cocoa powder & coconut oil & and all the other things I eat but can't buy at Foodies)

Our year for TV appearances

A TV crew from Channel 9's WEEKEND TODAY visited Norfolk Island over the weekend. WEEKEND TODAY, which is aired nationally, is basically a show covering news, sport, weather, entertainment and current affairs. From what I understand, the show's weekend weather girl Emma Freedman travels around presenting weather updates in a range of locations across Australia. On Sunday Emma gave weather updates for major Aussie cities (filmed live every half hour) on location at the Norfolk Island Sunday Markets. A great promotion for our little island! There were some locals with stars in their eyes, that's for sure!!!

Norfolk Kids were asked to gather together to sing a local song in the Norfolk language. Can you spot Harry and Till in the crowd?

Here's Harry well and truly in sight of the camera - perched on a pony next to weather girl Emma - they then "pretended" to go off riding down the road together!

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The Solar Eclipse

Last Wednesday Norfolk Island witnessed a partial (98.5%) solar eclipse. If you had wanted to see a total eclipse, then Cairns (Queensland) was to place to be, although astronomers predicted Norfolk Island to be the next best spot thanks to dry and clear skies, less atmosphere (the sun here had higher elevation in the sky because of our time difference with Oz) and less horizon hugging cloud. And boy were the conditions perfect. We woke on Wednesday morning to a bright clear sky - not a cloud to be seen!

It's funny how when you are told you shouldn't look at something, how much you feel compelled to do so.  I felt like a naughty kid all morning! I kept telling myself "don't look at the sun, don't look at the sun!", oh yeah, like it's something I do all the time in the non-eclipse time. Lucky we had access to the right types of viewing apparatus; special glasses, pin hole camera's, telescopes and live computer images direct from Cairns.

All round, the eclipse atmosphere was very exciting plus (to be honest) a little bit eerie. As the light faded, the planet Venus came into clear view. As the moon slipped further into position, all the birds stopped singing and the temperature dropped (quite notably I have to say). We didn't experience a night time blackout, but it was dark enough to confuse all the animals here. Maybe they were expecting aliens! Either that, or they couldn't figure out why some weird kids were peering into shoe boxes and others were donning Men in Black style glasses!!!!!!!!

Don't you just love Till's "WHOA, that is SO COOL" face.  Harry and Till found this eclipse business pretty fascinating. How could they not. The pin hole shoe box preparations were made well ahead of time. They were trialled and tested the day before. Hmmm...I probably shouldn't mention the malfunction Harry's box had halfway through the eclipse (diagnosis: stretched out of shape foil holes). Yes, it resulted in a few tears and some recovery deep breathing. Oh my poor little highly strung-out astronomer-in-training - I felt his pain! Till's box seemed to have a glitch or two (ie it wasn't working at all), but luckily she didn't seem perturbed! Personally, I liked watching the images that were projected onto paper from the telescopes our local science buffs set up.  And more than that, I thought it was just a hoot observing everyone, well, "observing"; kids and adults standing around with their faces looking up in one direction, waiting, watching, oohing and aaahing! And where was Ben throughout all this skylarking, I mean watching? Somewhere out at sea in a fishing boat of course. I think he may have had the best viewing spot of all! I can only imagine how peaceful it must have been.

Can you believe we have more astronomy adventures to look forward to this week?  As luck would have it, an astronomer from the Maidenwell Astronomical Observatory traveled to Norfolk to observe last Wednesdays eclipse.  Over four evenings this week, James Barclay is treating locals to some guided tours of the night sky, using a laser pointer and powerful telescopes. Norfolk is perfect for star gazing because we don't have any light pollution. Looking up at the night sky here, you see stars stretching from one side of the horizon to the other. It's beautiful!

NB. When there isn't a moon to guide us through the blackness, our night is incredibly dark. Honestly, you can't see your hand in front of your face! It's practically a Norfolk "law" that one should carry a torch when they head out at night.

: : This blog post is dedicated to Dexter (Harry's little 'Astronomer-in-training' cousin) : :

Show Business Baby!

Norfolk Island Central School

Presents

Alice in Wonderland

 A few of the main actors - don't they look FABULOUS!

 Here we are in the garden - Yes, that's Harry (top left) - the all singing, all dancing, 
ALL talking flower!!! 

 He had one of the funniest lines in the whole show.

 Till moved and grooved hip-hop style in the Tea Party Medley

Then she wiggled her hips like there was no tomorrow in the 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' dance

 Here are a few 'behind the scenes' shots - you'll notice Ben was Mr Lights!

I just had to share some photos with you. It was such a great show. We sure do have some very talented children, parents and school teachers on this island. The past few weeks have been crazy busy and a little bit stressful, but I'm quite sad it's all come to an end - well almost - I've got to keep on sorting through the HUNDREDS of photos I took! I hope my Picasa software doesn't implode!!!!!!

Love Notes in Chalk

This message was left on the blackboard outside.
Sweet huh?

Don't you just love the spelling?

Less Rubbish: Ditch the tissues

We are a fully fledged hanky-using family now.... I know, maybe not a blog-worthy announcement - but stick with me. It's been a while since I addressed the issue of reducing waste and living more sustainably, albeit this is a very small solution, but everything counts right! There are times when we don't think of the obvious until we read about it, well that's how it works for me anyway.

Did you know how damaging the humble tissue can be on our environment? Many tissue manufacturers acquire pulp from old growth forests!!! It seems incredible doesn't it, that in this day and age virgin forests are still being destroyed just so we can wipe our noses. And if that isn't bad enough, many tissue manufacturers contribute to air and water pollution because they use a dangerous and highly toxic bleaching process. Even some of the so called natural and recycled tissue brands are laden with undesirable substances! And surprisingly, tissues don't break down in compost or landfill as easily as you'd expect. It's not even recommended that they be put into a septic system. So many negative consequences - I figure it's just best to give up on tissues as much as possible.

We must be a sneezy nose-blowing kinda family, as we used to go through a lot of tissues here. Mind you, Till often pinched them for wrapping up all manner of things. Apparently they make perfect little blankies for small dolls, rocks and goodness knows what else. Anyway, a few boxes of tissues made their way into the trolley each time we stocked up at the supermarket. I felt guilty about it but we didn't have a supply of hankies. That situation has now been rectified. During our recent trip to Oz, I bought up BIG TIME! We're talking dozens of handkerchiefs people, ranging from the mega man-sized, to the petite-stuff-down-your-bra or up-your-sleeve sized ones (also perfect for small people's pockets, namely Harry and Till's). You should have seen my clothesline when they were all washed and hung out to dry! Very pretty.

And so how's it working out? I know you wouldn't actually ask me that. But seriously,  I'm here to write a blog post...so here's my answer anyway. Our tissue to hankie transition is going fine. Hankies don't take up much room in the washing machine, I refuse to iron them (unless the kids offer to do it for me) and if one gets left in somebody's pocket by mistake it doesn't fragment into a million annoying bits. Yes I did always check first, but somehow a sneaky tissue would occasionally find it's way into the machine anyhow, resulting in a big fat Grrrrrrrrrr.....and washing that looked like it had endured a severe blizzard!

Some of you germaphobes may be concerned about hygiene! I'm confident I can keep the snot germs at bay. Sheesh, I used cloth nappies on my babes - so hankies are a walk in the park! Believe it or not, everyday snotty hankies don't have to be soaked separately, yes, throwing them in the wash with everything else is perfectly fine (I did my research on this one). They don't have to be washed in hot water either. As long as our hankies get a good breezy dose of sunshine, I'm confident they'll be squeaky clean and germ-free. Now and then I may decide to give them a bit of a soak (especially if one of us is ill). I don't buy/store/use bleach, napi-san or anything equally nasty and toxic (I can't even walk through the cleaning aisle in the supermarket these days - that smell!!!!! - how do people use those products???). As far as I'm concerned, cheap white vinegar is the environmentally-friendly soaking agent of choice and it has never let me down. For some extra germ-killing oomph, I just add a dash of tea tree or lavender oil.

So there you have it. Just another small way our family is reducing bin waste (plus helping the trees). Visitors come prepared, for if you require a tissue and don't fancy a handkerchief, I'll hand you a roll of toilet paper.....unless we decide to give that up also.

Hankies... they're snot so bad. If you want to read more....here are two links - the first one is pro tissues, the other promotes hankies! Make up your own mind.