How to make dandelion coffee

Its February and I just started using the dandelion coffee which is part of last year's bounty.  Two of the most useful and versatile plants in the garden are dandelions and nettles.  More about nettles in March when they start to grow and are one of the very first greens available.  But then so are dandelions.

dandelion roots drying

 You don't need to go planting fancy dandelions from seed companies, any old dandelions will do and there are most likely some in the garden already.  Let them grow where they will, in amongst other plants and vegetables is fine and if they take up a bit too much space, pick some leaves.  The young leaves are great in salads and you can force dandelions by placing a flower pot over the leaves, weighed down with a stone.  Then the leaves will be pale and even more tender.

Cook briefly (steaming works well) as a hot vegetable, or add them raw to a mixed salad.  Or juice them in combination with other greens and some carrots and celery.   Add apples to the juice if you like it sweeter.   You can use the ordinary green leaves in salad too all year, if you don't mind a slightly bitter taste. They add a dimension to salads as do other bitter leaves like land cress, rocket or mizuna greens.   They are really mineral rich and a nutrition boost, especially needed in spring.

We leave the flowers for pollinating insects and they are popular with many species of hover fly as well as nocturnal pollinators and bees.   They can be picked off just before the seeds disperse but allow a few to set seed for next year's crop.  Green Finches love the seed heads anyway. 

Then, when they get old and in the way of the next crop, we dig some up, leaving any that can stay to sprout again.    The roots are laid out to dry for a few days until hard, then roasted in a low oven.  Grind them up and you have dandelion coffee.  Half a dessert  spoon full is enough to brew a cup of coffee, done just like you would with coffee grounds and it is surprisingly tasty.

dandelion coffee - very tasty and not bitter at all

clutter challenge number 4

today's sixty second de-clutter happened because I was planning a felt making workshop.  The boxes of dyes and miscellaneous textile supplies.
The dyes were not too bad really but time had moved on and now I use gallon containers for the dye rather than 1l bottles.  A stock take of the box revealed old paper towels, some empty bottles and other bits and pieces.  Now that the old bottles are gone, there is room for some of the gallon containers in the box and therefore more space in the cupboard...

Flushed with success after only 30 seconds, I spied another box in my textile workshop that continues to bug me.  Miscellaneous.  Having replaced a white plastic bag with a clear one, I can now see at a glance what is inside.  Some bits and bobs have been re-homed or offered for sale and it all now fits in the box.  A total of two minutes and I am off for a cup of tea.

A few days into this and the sixty second de-clutters have achieved more already than a day-long tidy and sort session.  And the total time spent is probably no more than ten minutes.  It is a powerful tool that somehow gets around resistance.  Probably because your brain thinks a minute is painless and not scary...

It's a funny thing, because we have kept on top of clutter and had a 'one in one out' policy for years, but it seems to creep in during the night.  having a home based business doesn't help.  Nor does being too busy to focus on home stuff.  So this year, the focus is changing to more home based time to garden, look after our house and just hang out. 

Clutter crunch day three

So today's wee clutter jobs are... The sewing boxes.  Everything came out onto the floor in the large box first.  Some bits of fluff in the bottom, gone.  Several reels of lurex thread will never be used so will be donated to a craft group.

And despite having a number of old zips, saved from old clothes, none are the right length for the two pairs of trousers that need zips.  There is a great one for a sleeping bag and well worth keeping given the price. 

So two zips are on the shopping list and the sewing project on my 'to do sometime' list.  Those two pairs of trousers are really worth repairing but have not been worn for a couple of years as the zips will not stay up.  I thought I needed more trousers till the sewing box reminded me about those ones that are not wearable.  So a quickie, sixty second de-clutter of sewing box number one has saved money.

There is more space in the box after letting go of some stuff and I now know what is in there.  And I just remembered there is a half finished skirt on top of the filing cabinet, so that is another job worth doing.  Sometimes I have taken clothes to a repair shop for new zips.  It only cost me £8  to get trousers repaired that cost £40 new and I don't

often find good trousers in charity shops for some reason.

Sewing box number two contains mostly reels of thread.  And I got some really cheap ones in a charity shop. But how many reels of pink thread can I use in this lifetime?  Have let go of a couple of them and that wee box now has a lid that shuts easily.  It surprising how much difference a small thing can make.

Clutter in your handbag, rucksack and car

Does it really matter if you have a load of bits and bobs in your bag or car?  To get started, clear it all out of the car or bag and make a pile. Then you can sort through everything.  And you will soon know!  I really didn't think this needed doing, but as it was only a sixty second de-clutter, thought I might as well go through the stuff.  That's the power of the sixty seconds, it unblocks because hey, it will only take a minute...

First, I discovered I had a nifty car booster for a flat battery.  I knew I had the compressor but had forgotten about this wee thing, which means you can jump start without another car to help and without lifting the bonnet. Oh, and the spare coat and wellies I keep in there for winter emergencies were in the house and I had forgotten to put them back in the car!

So a quick tidy of the car, which took two sixty second de-clutters in total (one for the boot and one for the car interior) and I was all set for the winter weather.  I added some more screen wash in a bottle and a blanket too.  And now I also know the spare tyre is inflated correctly and have even added a few snack bars for emergencies.  Amazing what organising the car does for your bad weather driving confidence.

So inspired, I moved on to the handbag, or wee rucksack in my case.    First thing was the mini torch I keep in there, which had a flat battery, so I put that right. And how exactly had so many bits and bobs accumulated,  left over from previous trips?  Three tubes of mints when one will do, a phone charger that I had been hunting for, which had somehow tucked itself into a corner, umpteen paper serviettes saved in restaurants.  These have now been added to the tissue box.  A pair of gloves too many. And there was the tiny pen knife that should have been in the bike bag, I had been looking for it everywhere.

  Another sixty seconds was all it took to sort those things.  Potential future hassles have been avoided and life actually feels better.  Partly because I am feeling rather smug I suspect!  So yes, it is well worth sorting out your bag and car and takes all of three minutes.

You will notice too, that a couple of lost things that turned up during this process.  De-cluttering the car and bag sooner would have saved all that hunting time.  The more you keep on top of clutter, the less time is spent looking for stuff.

all change - libraries updated and Radio 4 Extra

Our local library was a great resource, particularly for talking books, which I use in the car and whilst knitting.  However despite being well used, it was shut down by the Council as a cost saving  measure.  Do they realise what a huge hole something like that leaves in village life?!

Online library books
However, many libraries now have a free on line resource.  They use different packages to provide this, but a common one is Overdrive.  My own local authority does not have an online resource as yet but the Cargegie library of a neighbouring authority does.  I was able to join their main library years ago becuase I worked in the area.  Most main libraries in the UK will let you do that and it allows me to access their overdrive resource.  You often cannot join a branch library in this way, but there is no need, because once you have a main library ticket, it works for all the libraries in that local authority area.

Older syle Kindles will not work with Overdrive but the website pointed me to a free Overdrive app, This allows me to access both audio and e books on my phone and it could not be easier.   There are thousands of books.  So I sit the phone beside me in the car and can hear it pretty well except in windy weather.  Putting inside  a hard plastic box of some kind really boosts the volume, so I am on the lookout for a suitable receptacle.    If you want to access the books on your phone, get the app on your phone, although there is also one for laptops.

For actual books, you can look up the catalogue for most local authorities online, and get books sent from another library to yours.  Then just return them to your own library.   So here is what I do:
1. Identify a series of books I want to read.
2. visit Fantastic Fiction and check what order to read the books in.  This is an amazing resource.
3. Write a list and put it in my 'reading' folder.
4. find out which ones the online library has
5. find out which ones all the other libraries in the area have and add all this info to the reading list ready to order them in turn.
6. check on Amazon for any that remain and order those at the cheapest price possible.  this is often not a Knidle copy, but a second hand paper back.  actual books also have the advantage that we can both read them more easily.
7. Start reading!

It takes a bit or organising to get started but all the organising takes less time than one on line or physical shopping trip.  About one to one and a half hours.  I got a bit stuck with the Overdrive account to start with but phoned the main library.  They re-activated my library card as I had not used the one there for some time and gave me the default passcode start me off and to access the site.  Then it was easy.

Other libraries
I am a sucker for buying books on holiday.  We had a timeshare in Aviemore for some time and I joined the library there.  I merely had to show the documents proving we had a temporary address there.  It saved me about £30 per holiday in book buying.  Now I can access Overdrive from anywhere so it is far less of an issue.

And if you can't sleep, you can get a book right then.  When I was away on a ten week bike trip and had a rough night in the tent, I was able to download a library book and read it in the dark on my phone. 
 
Many out of copyright books are available free online and the one below is a particularly good list. 
https://archive.org/details/west_virginia_university

Radio 4 Extra
this is an Internet radio station so can be accessed from anywhere.   There are lots of archived items such as plays, detective programmes, books read outloud and other things.  You can also access it live via digital radio. 

Here's what we are eating

There is kale, parsley and garlic in the garden and some winter salad leaves and spinach in the polytunnel. Lee's new Facebook group, Practical Simple Living is helping us to re-focus.  It was easy to stay focused whilst paying off the mortgage but has been way harder since then. Tomorrow we will review our bills and see what we can save. This is always worth doing, especially if you have not done it for a while.

And we will re-focus on the food bill, too. That means I need to actually pick the garlic, salad, spinach and kale for starters.  Tonight it is quorn meatballs and spaghetti on the menu and Lee made potato soup with the wonderful box of veggies a friend gave us at New Year.  Total money spent zero and we will give them a 'swap' of something

Yesterday we ate trout caught by a neighbour with the potatoes and carrots from said veg box. So that was  another frugal and tasty meal as the only financial cost was the broccoli (48p/50c).

life moves on...

So Knit 1 Bike 1 is a success! The book has been published (get your copy at www.createwithfibre.co.uk ) the exhibition opens 14th oct 2016  at the borders textile tower house in hawick, Scottish borders. Being away for ten weeks alone and by cycle changed so much and things have been changing ever since.

We have been de-cluttering and i realised how important it is that i grow food. So this summer we grew lots of it and had many WWOOFers (volunteers with worldwide opportunites on organic farms). Not that we have a farm, but seriously growing veg in a suburban, vertically challenged garden qualified us as wwoof hosts.

 I am focusing on what is important. It can be hard to figure out what that is and has taken a year to re-focus and figure it out.  Change is hard.  Turns out i want to live on a lot less again and to work part time so that i can get out on the bike more. We did that when getting out of debt but our motivation was less thereafter.  Now it is more again and it feels good.

So here is our progress to date:

• Hubby has sold a lot of tools etc from the garage. Loads more space
• We have had gardening volunteers and grown lots of food.
• We have sold the caravan and a vehicle and vehicle a campervan
• My tiny studio space now has amazing shelving and space to actually work in
• I have been steadily assessing my clothes and have even less than before
• I bought some additional,  very lightweight camping gear including a stove 
• Create With Fibre has grown and i have help with admin etc
• Our daughter is assistant weaver
• Hubby re-designed the website and has helped with the business too
• we decided to stay put after years of wondering whether to move house
• This has led us to become more engaged with the area where we live
• And the ongoing project is to simplify still further

And here's the big news - 

We have decided to offer simplicity and downsizing mentoring and to have people stay at our home for workshops and retreats. They will be bespoke and we hope it will often be just a couple of people coming to see what we do. So if that is you and you want some help to re-design your life, get out debt, and look at work- life balance, get in touch mail@createwithfibre.co.uk 

gardening and foraging

We have a shiny new gardeners n foragers group. Right here in our village and folks ha e travelled from elsewhwere. So i got to go on my first coastal forage in the dead of winter. It was so cold i ended up wearing two coats. And who knew all coastal seaweed was edible? Pick it with scissors to leave the 'roots' and pick a little of each not all of it of course.  And sea buckthorn has squishy orange berries full of vitamin C.  Scoop them off the branches n they implode. Suck up resultant yummy mess.  So at home i soaked the seaweed and cooked some of it briefly. Some was left raw. All was then dehydrated.  I made seaweed powder and also left some whole. Great in stews etc. And the sandhoppers ard edible too...

BEING BROKE AT CHRISTMAS
I decided to write this after struggling to get into the Christmas spirit as usual.  We are blessed with being financially solvent  thanks to having followed the Your Money Or Your Life programme in the book by Jo Dominguez and Vikki Robbin, but it was not always so easy.

This post is for you, if you are struggling with debt and lack of money this Christmas.   I would rather give the money to charity than buy things no one really wants and this year have made a donation to the local food bank in lieu of Christmas cards and some gifts. So ask for the Your Money or Your Life book for Christmas, or my other bible, The Tightwad Gazette

I get cross that people feel pressure to spend money they don't have just because it's Christmas.  Have a look at the blog entries for previous Christmases about the ways we have found to get around that over the years.

For this year though, I want to focus on money and what to do if you are broke this Christmas.

So here is a question:
What could you do to earn £10 right now?  One of the things about being broke is the blind panic.   If you need a lot of money in order to be solvent, earning £10 can seem like a drop in the ocean.  But break the problem down into managable chunks and you begin to feel resourceful again.  If you can find one way to earn £10 you can find several ways.  Do it ten times and you have £100.  Then think what you could do to earn or save £50...there always seems to be something.

Think about your hourly rate when deciding which things to do first.  Some things will net you £50 an hour and some 5p!  So this morning I have been experimenting and here is what I did:

Put some books up for re-sale on Amazon.  
 Non fiction is best.  I went through the book shelves and pulled out anything that had not been read for a while, or was available from the Council library service (check their website).

As is often the way, I found that one of the books will sell for about £13 although the others will only net me £1 or so each.  A good result, assuming they sell but it didn't take long to do.

books put up for sale on Amazon today

NB It is easy to sell things on Amazon and does not involve Paypal.  There are many things other than books that can be listed and I once sold a tent on Amazon!  You don't need a photo if the item is already listed on Amazon which is a big advantage. 


Switched to a Nationwide Flexdirect account
Look at moneysavingexpert.com for up to date information about bank accounts and choose one that suits your needs.  I got an interest free overdraft for a year and a £50 referral fee split with a friend because she recommended me.  I will also get 5% interest for a year so long as I pay £1,000 a month in.  What prompted the change is that Smile started charging a £25 a year just for having an overdraft facility even if it is not used. Some accounts will pay you £150 just to switch to them but might charge more for an overdraft, so do the sums.

Made a large pot of soup
This has gone in the freezer so that when we think 'what can we eat' there is something there and we will not end up with a takeaway.  A packet of broth mix cost £1 in the Pound Shop and will do two pots of soup.  I added carrots, onion and potatoes and some vegetable stock.  (buy Marigold tubs of veggie stock for a lot less than veggie stock cubes.)  I know this isn't big news but every so often I remind myself to do it, as bad habits creep back.

Here are some other things we have been doing, just not today...
Repaired some hiking boot laces
Yes really!  the ones on my hiking boots had got all frayed and I had problems finding new ones that would fit through the holes.  Getting new ones would mean braving the shops and I would undoubtedly come home with lots of things I didn't know I needed until I saw them.  So I got a reel of sewing thread and bound the ends -they look fine and you cannot tell the difference.  Actual saving about £2 but take the inevitable impulse shopping into account AND the fuel to get there and it is a lot more than that.

My daughter made some Christmas decorations
the felt and sequins cost £1 for a large quantity of each and she used the stuffing from an old pillow to pad them with.  Great for giving as a little 'thoughtfulness' if you go to visit someone.  It may not have actually saved much money but is a real morale boost and a handmade gift is so special.  We love the ones she gave us.

felt hearts cost pennies to make

Had a £1 gift challenge with friends
This always seems to result in more fun than 'normal' gift giving and you get extra Brownie points for a second hand or hand made gift, or even a book that you have read yourself and want to pass on.   We have had some hilarious times as a result of it - remember the pink and orange psychedelic long johns Andrew...  We also keep a gift box throughout the year and if we see a likely present for anyone, it goes in the box. 

Bought this year's turkey on Boxing Day last year
A huge turkey cost only £10 and is lurking in the bottom of the freezer.  Our lovely neighbour also presented us with a huge trout after a fishing trip and we are saving it for New Year.  So plan ahead for next year and look out for bargains on boxing day and New Year's day.  We found that 9pm on New Year's Eve is a great time to go to the supermarket.  We bought things for 5p that would usually be £5.  Yeah I know some of you would rather be at a party but call in on the way like we did!

remember - do review your bills...
Over the holidays if you are at a loose end, check your house insurance fuel, phone and car insurance bills.  If you have never done this before you will probably save a lot of money by reviewing them.  Look at www.moneysavingexpert.com for the latest information.

How to make vinegar and mustard

How to make vinegar and mustard

I am someone who needs to get my feet in grass once a day.  If not, life begins to go wrong.  Get outside and my mind switches off.  I cut wood, garden and generally potter about without a care in the world.   A big sign I am working too hard is when things feel ‘wrong’ and there doesn't seem to be time to get outside, or to make good food. 

So instead of merely doing sums about whether it is worth growing a bit of veg, add this into the equation:

·        money saved on counselling (!)

·        arguments avoided with one’s spouse or significant others

·        money saved on going to the gym

·        eating one’s own home grown spuds can replace going out for dinner - because they feel really special you therefore don’t feel the need to go out.  It is not the equivalent of simply buying spuds.

Similarly, bought mustard will sit in the cupboard for many a year and not get eaten.  But if a friend gives me their home made mustard, it is yummy and special.  A friend did give me home made mustard and it got eaten in a couple of weeks.  She also inspired me to make my own.  When I found out that you can make mustard from kale seeds, the abandoned kale plants in the garden got a new lease of life.  They had gone to seed because I left the flowers for pollinating insects and now there was a use for all the seeds too.  Kale flowers are excellent for insects as are all brassicas  (cabbage family), onions and leeks.

 The kale seeds are now harvested and drying out for mustard making.  About half of the seeds used to make the mustard can be kale, the rest need to be regular mustard seeds.  I am stripping the kale seed pods from the stems and storing them in paper bags made from newspaper, until the pods ripen and the seeds pop out.  It is a bit of a fiddle but doing some every time I pass the kitchen table means they soon get done.

Kale seeds drying

Here is the mustard recipe – with thanks to my friends Gail and Gil and to www.downsizer.net

 Kale mustard

This is mild but tasty and the mustard seeds break down whereas the kale seeds stay whole, giving a nice texture. 

2 tablespoons of yellow mustard seeds

2 tablespoons of kale seeds (or use black mustard seeds)

100ml white wine, cider or other vinegar

Half teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon any kind of sugar

Put the mustard & kale seeds and liquids in a jar to soak for 3 days.  Put in a cupboard not the fridge.

After the three days put it in a blender and add the sugar and salt.  Then blend until it has the desired texture. 

NB the vinegar is important as it is a preservative so do not be tempted to skimp on the quantity.

Vinegar is another satisfying thing to make.

Vinegar

There are several ways to make vinegar.  The simplest is to use water in a jug, add a tablespoon of vinegar as a starter, a tablespoon of sugar or honey and some chopped up fruit.  Leave in an open jug for about 3 weeks  and stir every couple of days and it will turn into vinegar.  it will have a white film on it which is the vinegar 'must' and nothing to worry about.  Strain and bottle.  If you grow your own fruit this is great.

 Another way is to use the ends of bottles of wine.  Put some vinegar in an open jar or jug and leave it until it develops a white film on the top.  This is the vinegar starter.  Add the wine and leave to ferment for three weeks. 

Jamie Oliver suggests making vinegar from just wine as follows:

Wrap a half full bottle of wine (with the lid on) in a towel, enclose it in a plastic bag and tie securely with string.  Leave it in the boot of the car so it can roll about for three weeks.  The rolling about will aerate the wine and help it to turn into vinegar.

 By the way, we were given a huge marrow – people often have trouble giving these away, and they are great.  We  are grateful for them as they do not grow outside where we live so we usually have only one plant in the polytunnel.  We often freeze them and use the pulp later – and get lots of free meals.  This one was stuffed with leftover rice and beans with some seasoning and tamari (wheat free soy sauce) and baked in the oven.  We got a dinner and two lunches out of it.  Today I had the remains of another free marrow as soup.  Soup is a great way to use them up and the soup freezes well.  Add some curry powder for a great flavour.  So that’s a free dinner for two and several free lunches this week.