A few months ago I took over cleaning our house and I started reading about natural cleaning alternatives which I wanted to start using. I began to phase out our previous cleaning products and replaced almost all of them with just one: vinegar. For the kitchen and bathroom, I use vinegar for almost all jobs and […]
The possibilities and limits of baking soda
It’s only been about three years that I use baking soda for other purposes than baking. Baking soda is very versatile in its applications and makes for a great cleaning product. Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate or bicarbonate of soda, is a salt which is found in natron as well as in our bodies. It […]
My 30 favourite uses of vinegar
Every now and again I come across a book that really excites me. Today’s post is based on such a book. It’s Vicki Lansky’s book on vinegar. The book is an extremely handy reference for all the great uses of this acid. Some of them I knew but most of them are new to me. This […]
No supermarket challenge – update
It’s been a little over four weeks since I posted about our intention of not shopping at any supermarket. It’s time for an update. How it’s going First things first, we didn’t manage to stay away from any supermarket completely. First, there was a shopping trip for our camping trip to get the necessary […]
Backyard beekeeping and bees with a personality
In my attempts to know where my food comes from I took a little trip, 10 minutes down the road to my local beekeeper. I wanted to see how my honey has taken from the hive and learn a bit about bees on the way. We’ve been visiting Luke, the beekeeper, in his garden for […]
Our no-supermarket-challenge
In our family, we like to give ourselves challenges every now and again. We did the no-sugar-challenge a while ago (no piece of cake, literally), I’ve tried a vegan challenge (unsuccessfully) and now we’re preparing our next challenge, the no-supermarket-challenge. The premise is simple: we don’t want to shop at a supermarket for a month. […]
Knowing where my food comes from – being a Bettertarian
Every now and again I read a post on a blog and get really excited. Last week it was this: Why I still eat meat (and call myself an environmentalist) by Jo Hegerty. The post finishes with a term I hadn’t come across before but absolutely love: being a bettertarian. Being a bettertarian is basic: rather than […]
A clothing swap is shopping at your friends’ closets
I went to my first ever clothing swap last week. It was hosted at a friend’s house and we were seven ladies exchanging clothes – women’s, men’s and children’s. It was great fun and I left with a few new items. The idea behind clothing swaps is simple: bring some clothes you don’t wear anymore […]
The king of the barbecue: charcoal
Spring has arrived here in Australia. It’s getting warmer each day and with the increase in temperature, we’re also heading into the season of barbecuing again. Here in our house getting the BBQ out is not an easy job. We have a charcoal barbecue, not a gas one like most households around here. And cooking […]
Staples in my freezer
My freezer is not large but it holds some essentials for my cooking. And while preparing another chicken stock on the weekend I thought it’s time to talk about those essentials. Stocks A couple of months ago I did a workshop on pantry staples and one of the things we learned about was how […]