An Invigorating Simple Living Weekend

Last weekend was one of those rare ones: a weekend where we had no obligations and we could do what we wished. Of course we did what we do best; work and play together.

We did a few odd jobs around the house that had been bugging me, like sweeping and mopping the floors and cleaning the bathroom. Those tasks may be thought of as unpleasant but are very rewarding when they are finally complete.  Of course there was many swims in the pool in between tasks!

On Saturday morning we did our normal grocery shopping and visit to the markets. We got a bit distracted and bought some ingredients for beer making, and also some tools from the Yandina markets. I got a machete which was great after a bit of sharpening. It is a very useful tool for when we need to start to clear our place. OH got a old fashioned 'dutch hoe' for weeding. It is very hard to explain but they are great tools. They have two cutting edges so you push and pull it just under the soil to cut the weeds off at the roots.

We also got to make some damn delicious food. We had a go at making some fresh pasta for the first time. There is a pasta maker at the house so we borrowed it. What a revelation those things are! Previously the one time we did it by hand we ended up with the thickest pasta you have ever eaten. It was difficult to fit in your mouth. Of course we made way too much so we have some in the freezer for the next little while.

Our awesome pasta

I made some of Rhonda's basic muffins with mashed banana added in. They are ok, but I think they need a little vanilla extract to give them the right flavour.

Basic Banana Muffins

OH also picked a HEAP of basil from his work. So as we were running out of pesto we made another 6 jars, which should last us at least 6 months. I love using pesto on pizza, and of course on homemade pasta with heaps of parmesan :)

The recipe I used is:

Chop two handfuls of walnuts in the food processor. Then fill the processor loosely with basil leaves, two garlic cloves and add salt and pepper (I added four "circles" of salt, which is me grinding it in a circle at a constant sort of speed). Then process. While processing, dribble in the oil for about 30 seconds or until you get the consistency you want. Then place in a clean jar. We keep ours in the freezer, because we have a very large one and saves us on gas to heat up the water bath canner.

Here they are, chilling out with the bread

OH also made a spelt loaf by hand, which was great. We had that for dinner on Sunday night with our fresh pasta, with a sauce of fresh tomatos from OHs work, basil and parmesan. How delicious. I think the most satisfying food is some that you have made yourself from scratch. Or even better, grown from scratch.

Yum yum!

We also repotted three of our citrus trees. Some of them were starting to look a bit tired so it was time for a bit of love. Last time we put mostly garden soil instead of citrus soil so we'll see if they perk up a bit better.

What a satisfying and productive weekend. Bring on two long weekends in a row!