Slipping off the Eco-Wagon...

I'm not being very 'Green', 'Simple' or 'Self Sufficient' right now...

My energy levels are on a roller coaster ride at the moment. I've slowed down in the last few days, my mind is cloudy and I'm not at all worried about the impending doom and gloom of packing, paying bills and moving on...

In fact I'm almost non plussed.

I've realised that because I haven't had any of my usual focuses to focus on, I feel a bit lost. I've got nothing to write about, I've got no meals planned, I'm scraping through the last of our stock in the cupboards at the same time as being a bit frivolous, thinking 'Oh well, we'll be gone soon anyway'... 

My Mum came at the weekend bringing a fresh haul of goodies. Muffins, brownies (no, not a chance it was fresh from the oven, fresh from Sainsbury's!) Sausages, chicken and lots of shrink wrapped veggies. She's so good to me and hates to think of me starving myself! So I haven't even had the usually mulling around the local shops to do. I did however pick a handful of French Beans for my Mum to take home, she was quite amazed and hadn't thought in a million years, her daughter would be giving her home grown veg!

As for the packing, well what am I thinking! A new life starts ..... (here!).... and I'm worrying whether or not to take my colander along for the ride! Mum's bagsed almost everything, Michael will be none to happy about that! He can't stand the clutter and begs me to take it away.. no more back up kettles purleeeese!

I usually base my posts around the photos I've taken recently. But there aren't any. We haven't been very far with no car. We catch the bus to playschool on Mondays and Wednesdays and pop over to the local park. No excitement, no stress.

We went on the bus into the city last night. The usual shopping trip before we travel, to pick up the necessities for traveling, like pants and stretchy things you can't get in India. Primark of course because we can't afford anything else, although I did splash out for the first time in years at the weekend. We went with my family to Wagamamas for lunch, which happens to be smack bang in the middle of the brand spanking new Highcross Shopping Centre, Leicester City. A haven of high class, top brand fashion... yuck! 

Now in my mind I hate all the faffy fashions, hate the thought of all that money being wasted away, despise the image factor and can't believe people enjoy doing it all on a Saturday afternoon. Then when I got there, I was on a high having my family around me, having £40 in my pocket from Grandpa and having a belly full of positive+ energy...

I found the shop (Republic) I had tried to order some quality, 5 yearly purchases, online a few weeks ago. My order had been refunded because they were out of stock.

We can't afford the G-Stars and Diesels of the world, not coveted for the expensive labels but for the quality, industrial look, comfort and practicality, so very occasionally we step up a level from Primark and buy some long lasting essentials.

There in the shop the lovely grey hoody and sparkly jeans I coveted, were waiting by the door to tempt me... along with a very practical, lightweight coat, perfect for air-conditioned airports and the fresh air of the mountains. 

I had also wanted these combats...                                                                                                                 

... but the size 10 was huge on me, they are supposed to come in a size 6 too, be serious, me a size 6, not even in my dreams am I a size 6! So I was very upset to find the size 6 never even existed. After a mass trying on session and a few giggles with the lovely guy looking after the changing rooms, my very relaxed shopping spree (baby with Ammama) ended on a high when the nice manager gave me a 10% discount for having such a silly sizing system on the combats!

So I'm all ready to go, full capsule wardrobe waiting in a not very neat pile...

We still haven't got our passports back, so no tickets booked!

***

I'm very excited about tomorrow morning! Another bus trip to the city, for my very first meeting with an 'Internet Friend'! I've arranged to meet Laura from 'Move to Portugal' for a cup of Fairtrade coffee in 'The Lanes' of Leicester. That'll be something to post about!

Ethical Dressing...

'Ricochet'

Evangel was given three beautiful dresses as a gift from someone special. They were from California and designed by a French lady called Jill Pillot, under the label 'Ricochet'.

Jills makes all of her clothes by recycling gently worn clothes and changing them into beautiful, 'wearable art'. 

Jill Pillot...

"Her journey to green fashion began 12 years ago when she opened the consignment store, Ricochet, while designing and constructing clothing as a hobby. To refine her technique, she studied fashion design and costume design at Cañada College. Today, she designs “wearable art” for children and adults in the forms of her two collections.

She uses donated clothing in both her casual Ricochet collection and the slightly more upscale Sans Paroles. 

Making clothing from recycled material “has always been a way of life” and “I want to inspire other people to recreate things from what they already have.”

(Louise Lao)

***

I have been secretly looking closely at the dolls clothes when we go to play school, to figure out if maybe I do have enough logic in my brain to make clothes. I have no idea how to use a sewing machine, but I do remember making something that resembled a cushion cover once upon a time. 

I guess India is 'The' place to learn sewing if you want to learn, but it's also 'The' place for getting things super stitched for good value and in no time. So the 'lazy' and the 'haven't I got enough things going on' in me, puts it to the bottom of the list of things to do.

'Khadi'

Khadi is Indian handspun and hand-woven cloth. It's the ultimate in 'Desi' (Local) and was first promoted in the Freedom Struggle of Gandhi's India. In a bid to claim back India's 'Self-Sustainability' and 'Spirit' at 'Grass Roots' levels, Gandhi encouraged Indians to wear only khadi cloth and not foreign cloth.

A quote from Gandhi I read here is way ahead of his time, reminds me of the issues of today regarding companies like 'Primark' and exploitation of child labour in developing countries. See this BBC website for full details.

"The industrialized countries of the West were exploiting other nations. India is herself an exploited country. Hence, if the villagers are to come into their own, the most natural thing that suggests itself is the revival of the Charkha (Spinning Wheel) and all it means."

I did watch the Panorama programme 'Primark: On the Rack' and as much as I cannot condone any child labour and certainly not a multi-national company profiting from child labour, I do see another side to this story.

You can see from my recent post 'Offsetting my "Ignorance Footprint"...' that I have had first hand experience with what would be classed as 'child labour'. Unfortunately in quite a few cases, (I can't give you statistics as this is just my opinion from observations I have made on my travels of India) some of the child labour is the only way a family can work together to survive.

Who are we to tell a starving family that they can't send their able bodied children out to work so the mother can stay at home and nurture her smaller children?

How can we judge a father who cannot afford to feed his children or pay for school shoes, who has no logic of his own to think that going to school will help his situation?

How do you tell a factory owner to sack his child labourers and not expect the children to get beaten by either their father, mother, landlord or himself?

What good is an education if you cannot concentrate or sit your exams because you have no food in your stomach?

Our ethical values are relevant to our own situations and the western world cannot just force their 'perfect world' on those less fortunate. 

How can we help?

Not by boycotting companies like Primark. They are giving much needed jobs to people whose  survival depends on them. They do have an Ethical Code of Conduct and a duty to their consumers to adhere to it. If Primark contract a factory to make their clothes and as is very common in India, the contracted factory 'outsources' its work to an unethical sweatshop, can Primark be held accountable?

***

There are many companies out there in the world of green and ethical clothing. This page has a long list of where to shop in the UK for peace of mind. 

***

The main point is to endeavor to be 'mindful' of what you wear... 

Don't focus on trendy fashion sense, but moral fashion sense...

This Weeks Menu Plan...

Monday...

Pasta with Lamb Meatballs in a Tomato and Chili Sauce

Tuesday...

Beef Curry and Rice

Wednesday...

Pork Chop with a Honey, Ginger, Garlic, Soy sauce, served with Cous Cous and Salad

Thursday...

Prawn Stir Fry with Peas, Pepper, Spring Onion and Broccoli, served with Noodles

Friday...

Roast Chicken with a Lemon, Sage and Apple Stuffing, Baked Potatoes with Carrots, Peas and Broccoli

One special dessert of Apple and Blackberry crumble. We picked the blackberries free on the way home from the park.

I've got all the meat in the freezer which I have to use up now. The same goes for the Carbohydrates, so I just had to buy fruit and vegetables today. Total £11.27.

I have to add this... I picked up 6 Cherries at the checkout for Evangel to nibble on, on the way home. They cost me 44p...yes SIX cherries for 44p, that's 7p for a cherry!!!!

A Good Indian Wife...

I've done it at last... 

Me the ever disorganised, procrastinateur and not to mention 'The Queen of bargains, reduced value shopaholics daughter', has finally got round to doing a very simplified version of a weekly menu plan. Now bearing in mind I very rarely know what day it is or where I might be living at the end of a week, for me this is a miracle.

The last (and only) time I planned a weekly menu was when my whole family were moving out of our 13 year family home. So my job as the official 'Obliterator' was to supervise the dwindling down of supplies.

I did extremely well under so much pressure, considering my families likes and dislikes. Michael has to have HOT, tabasco or mitmita, Hanna is a picky teenager and eats only raw fruit and vegetables it seems and gallons of smoothies, my husband doesn't eat much and certainly "doesn't look for vegetables", my Mum has to find something wrong with every meal and then there's me... I eat anything (twice as much when I'm pregnant) and Grandpa who eats like a bird.

My usual plan of action is at about 6 o clock say to my husband "what shall we have for dinner", the answer "I don't know Bo, you know, whatever" inevitably comes. I look in the fridge, moan a bit, sit down for half an hour and then think I'd better get up and be a good wife and cook dinner.  Meat is always defrosted in the microwave as I never remember to take it out early. 

Now things have to change... C's shift has changed from 6am-2pm to 2pm-10pm, so now he can't buy the cheap sandwiches and samosas they sell at lunchtime. He won't eat a big meal in the day so it's my job to send him to work with a tiffin he can heat up in the microwave and have a proper meal when he returns from work at night.

So bearing in mind my one success story from the past, I sat down and scribbled some things down on a scrap of paper.

We had some pork fillet in the freezer, half price from when my mum took us shopping a few weeks back, so I took that out to defrost.  

My list...

Monday - minted lamb burgers with salad and chapattis

Tuesday - pork, pepper and pea stir fry with cous cous

Wednesday - alloo gobi (potato and cauliflower curry) with chapattis

Thursday - spaghetti bolognaise

Friday - leftover stew (anything I can find plus lentils and herbs)

lamb mince

chapattis

mint

yoghurt

pepper

onions

tomatoes 

cucumber

potatoes

cauliflower

cheese

beef mince

I haven't been to the supermarket for about three weeks now so the fridge is bare and all supplies are down to a minimum. I decided to walk to the local indian shops and buy my meat from the Halal butcher and the rest from the local Londis (mini market)

Once in the butchers looking for beef mince, I saw chicken mince and thought I'd try chicken bolognaise instead, so for 1kg of lamb mince and 1/2 kg of chicken mince I paid £5.85. Now I'm sure that's a lot less than Tescos charge. The men had a little laugh at me when I took out my supermarket carrier bags to be reused, so I told them I was out to save the world! Giggles all round and a little discount for making them laugh!

In the grocery shop I picked up everything on the list plus a nice punnet of juicy big strawberries. The cheese had 50% extra free! Total £10.80...

Now I don't keep track of how much everything is per kilo so I couldn't tell you if I saved or not, but I can say that if I had driven to Tescos (petrol and pollution) I would have picked up a lot more than was on my list, I would have had a lot more packaging to throw away (I don't use plastic bags for veg but when I'm forced to buy 'value' ranges they always come pre-packed) and I would have come away with a twisted feeling of guilt in my stomach.

So Mondays meal...

was a joy to cook, feeling on top of the world of menu plans, I chopped the mint (a very large bunch) and used half in the burger mix with red onion, chilli and garlic, blitzed in the chopper, added spices, an egg and a dash of oil and fried the patties on a griddle pan (covering with foil and turning off the heat when both sides were done to save energy)

The other half off mint I chopped and stored in a jar with sugar and balsamic, in the fridge. A teaspoon of this I mixed into the extremely thick and creamy greek yoghurt I bought for the dressing.

Served with a salad of home grown baby leaf lettuce, rocket and parsley with tomato and cucumber and chapattis (I only bought one pack of 8 chapattis forgetting about lunch the next day, so tonight I'll be making from scratch for the first time) 

Tuesdays meal... 

Threw all the ingredients into a wok with soy sauce, sweet chili sauce garlic and ginger stir fried on a high heat til meat fully cooked and then turned off the heat and left with a plate over the top.

One of the things I have been trying to do since starting this journey is measure and weigh in cups, things like cous cous, rice, porridge and pasta, so we don't get left with a plateful extra at the end of each meal and so we don't waste water or energy cooking it.

1 cup of cous cous feeds 2 adults. In a bowl add 1 and a half cups of boiling water and a squeeze of lemon and cover for 10 minutes with a plate. Perfectly cooked cous cous, not soggy not dry!

Oh I love it when things are so simple!

You may be wondering what's for dinner on Saturday and Sunday? Give me a chance... I'm not that organised!

Peas Forever with Love...

We have had a lovely few days...

Evangel planted this pea a few weeks ago, she loves to go out into the yard and see how much it has grown since the day before...

I bought this T-shirt for a pound, it's way too big but I love it so much... Peace Forever with Love... or in Angel's eye's it's Peas Forever with Love!

@ home...

After coming home from "home"

I've felt really relaxed about the present and the future and I've had a genuine smile on my face,

I think I've even laughed quite a lot!

Our Plans...

We have decided to go back to India now for 11 weeks, from November to January, so I'm very excited about it all.  My best friend Rachel, who I don't get to see much and her daughter Lily, who is Evangel's best friend (from the photo in the pool in Home Matters Most), are also thinking about coming with us.  Rachel is a single mum and very unhappy at work, so she thinks a break would be good for the both of them.  I think it will be an amazing trip to take together and I am praying that everything goes to plan.

Saying that, myself and Rachel are the most useless people there are with regards to planning, punctuality and organisation!! 

C is planning on handing in his notice as soon as he gets his visa in September, so we are hoping to leave at the start of November, perfect timing for the weather in India and perfect timing to miss all the "hoo haa" of Christmas! I'm a bit of a Scrooge when it comes to Christmas... 

We are hoping that we might find ourselves a nice piece of land around Vagamon. C's brother is there at the moment checking it out. We await news...

In the "Yard"...

I have once again been stunned by the beauty of nature, this is one of my cucumber plants... need I say more!?

Little Yellow Flower Part II...

Wild strawberry plant given to me by my Mum a few months ago, the berries are about the size of a fingernail, very sweet and juicy.  Evangel has loved them since she was tiny and awaits eagerly for the next ones to grow.

The strawberry plant I planted has now sent out it's tentacles and set up satellite babies, all around there is new life (and new future fruit!)...

An old weed my Mum told me to pull up has now creeped up over the wall and flowered into this wonderful deep purple... Some so called weeds are still so pretty...

Busy visitors...

@ the park...

The explorer...

Picking Daisies in the wind...

Abbey Park has been our "Garden" since we came to Leicester.  We spend quite a few evenings there. It's huge and beautiful and divided into different sections so you can never get bored of going time and time again.  

There's a pets corner with rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks, peacocks, goats and birds, children's play areas, a boating lake, a mini train, a river, a vegetable garden, all set within a beautifully landscaped Abbey grounds.

We are so lucky to have this amazing place right in the centre of the city...

and finally..

They call me 'The Obliterator' at home, because I'm very bossy when it comes to de-cluttering my Mothers house. I managed to relax for a few days and with the help of some deep breathing I was able to control the innate desire to 'cleanse' her of junk.  I did however, to compensate for this, have to bring home a box of groceries from her ever growing supply of wholesale food supplies and once again reassess my priorities, needs and don't needs in the flat.    

* I have emptied over the last few weeks, 3 large wooden storage boxes of supplies, which included rice, tea, coffee, tins, sugar etc and stopped buying ridiculous amounts of 'back ups' that I don't need because the nearest shop is only 2 minutes walk away and I AM NOT MY MOTHER!

(Don't worry Nikki, I don't think you're my Mother, you have a valid reason keeping your emergency stores, my Mum would however be very proud of you!  I will start on my emergency food storage once I have a long term place to store it. Oh and BTW, if ever there is a food shortage or impending need for chemical cleaning products, please feel free to muster at my Mums house, there should be enough to feed a small gathering of us 'unprepared ones' for a few months!)

* The boxes are now in our storage cupboard (with no doors) instead of the ugly cardboard boxes I was 'making do' with. 

* I have somehow managed to gather 2 bin bags of bits and pieces from throughout the flat and taken them down to the local charity shop.

* I have taken a bag of Angels hand me downs from Lily she has grown out of, back to Rachel.

* We have eaten all our fresh food and the fridge is bare, in preparation for our last few months here which will be weekly planned... Ha Ha, I hear myself say!  I'm going to give it my best shot, I won't shop weekly because I've decided I hate supermarket shopping with a passion.  I'm going to use the local shops, at a cost, but in the long run I should save money because I won't be tempted by the silly supermarket 'buy one get one' mentality.  

* We have given up the weekly organic veg box because I was disappointed every Thursday with the poor quality veg we were getting. I'm sure half of it ended up in the bin.  We just can't afford organic these days and I can only dream of the days of self sufficiency more...

Food for Thought

Okarey-af, Afar region, Ethiopia

'Unda Awka had been slipping in and out of consciousness through lack of food. 

Maalika, Australian nurse Valerie Browning, says: “She probably had two days to live – it’s simply a food problem – she needs to eat.” Maalika was able to give her two cups of baby food – enough to give her enough energy to sit up and regain consciousness.'

Photograph: Nick Danziger/Oxfam

The full Guardian story can be read here

***

I have just been sitting here with my coffee, catching up on a few bookmarks, with a few thoughts drifting slowly through my mind.

 

What shall I get on with today? - Will I get round to going to the supermarket? - Will I stick to my list? 

Penny pinching - Price hikes - Petrol - Peak Oil

Tesco Finest to Tesco Value

Does any of it really matter?

We can't even feed the people in the world who really matter.

The elders, the people who teach us the values of life, who nurture us, feed us, protect us...

The children, who make us smile, need us, can't survive without us, are our future...

When will the 'People in Power' wake up from their peaceful dreams and stop the hunger?

How simple is this message?

Why doesn't anyone listen anymore?

 What can I do?

What can you do?

***

This is what I do everyday... it's only a drop in the ocean, 

but if I can get you to do it too, we can fill a glass together.

Bhookh.com

Lemon balm tea

This photo will be my entry into the Jugalbandi  July click! photo event!

***

So I finally sat down for another cup of Lemon Balm Tea, recommended by Nikki. 

I used a little brown sugar to help bring the flavour out of the leaves when chopping.  It was very refreshing and subtle, a beautiful thirst quencher on a balmy summers day.

I think next time I will try it iced...

***

I'm doing well on the 'One Bag a Week' Rubbish Challenge!

This week we've hardly done any shopping, because most of our store cupboard has been stocked up with everything we need.  It takes so much time to replenish your basics, when you move in to a new home. (bearing in mind we lived with my parents after returning from India)

I felt sick when I returned from a grocery shop with my mum last Sunday.  A great time to go shopping to get the cheap, reduced, organic vegetables!  The amount of packaging I threw into the bin was horrible...I felt like bagging it up and taking it to the manager of Tesco's!

Once again my dilemma of buying locally grown veg has been looming over me.  I paid 10p for some reduced organic mushrooms (I actually bought 4 trays in the end).  Now remembering the first veg box I got with mushrooms in, well those cost me a pound, for about 7 mushrooms!!!

But the organic Tesco mushrooms are in a plastic tray, and then covered in clingfilm and I think they were produce of France.

We are living on pennies at the moment, so how can I be ethical?

***

I have been collecting large jars from friends to store my rice, pulses etc in.  I just picked up 3 wonderful green hexagonal jars from a guy on Freecycle

If you haven't heard of it yet it's a Yahoo group, that connects you to your local community where people can give and take just about anything for free.  The aim is to keep as much 'rubbish' out of the landfill sites.  So far I've got some nice plants, plant pots and the jars.  I've managed to get rid of an old bike and some cups!

***

I bought a brass thermometer from ebay, so my next challenge is Neufchâtel

***

Yummy Crème fraîche is my favourite thing to have with Lemon Tart.  And it's so easy!

Take some double (whipping) cream, add a spoon of cultured buttermilk, leave it in a sealed jar in the kitchen overnight, chill and then spoon dollops of it onto your dessert!!! Voila!

***

Veg Box Envy

Oh dear, is there such a thing?

Did I really pay a pound for 3 small onions? I was a bit miffed also to find rather expensive (17p each!) mushrooms (not in the photo, in the fridge!), in place of VEG no. 7...

So we got:

Rainbow chard, a bit limp

A lovely cabbage

Quite a few red potatoes

3 small onions

5 carrots

A handful of broad beans

6 mushrooms (in a plastic bag!)

2 fairtrade banana's from Peru (LOCAL?) (an added bonus, I guess)

I'm not sure if my high expectations of a huge bounty of vegetables in a box was fueled by images of GM plastic packed vegetables at Tesco... but to me it just seems, well, not very many vegetables to feed my little family for the week.  I even Googled Organic veg box just to check out what the box should look like!  Thankfully I found Martin's blog and I feel a bit better that £7 doesn't really buy you many vegetables these days.

I did however find a new shop less than a mile from home, the pick up point for the box.  The Wholefood Coop was a breath of fresh air in the city.  An Organic, Eco Supermarket with a Homeschool bookshop, Roving Books

I'm going to cook up a rainbow chard and mushroom stir fry with cous cous tonight...