Emotional Eating.

Also known as “that’s not vegetarian”….

I’m feeling a bit off today & wasn’t able to manage breakfast, so when I was wandering the aisles at the supermarket before lunch I was hoping to find something that I wanted to eat. While loitering in front of the Vegemite I looked up & saw these “Peck’s” pastes.

Obviously, they are not a vego option, nor are they, usually, particularly palatable to anyone under 57, but I stood there looking at them all the same.

I remembered the last time I had actively noticed a jar of Peck’s paste was many, many years ago, in my Nanna’s fridge. My Pa used to have a couple of different little jars on the go at a time, with delectable sounding names like “anchovette” & “chicken & ham”.

I remembered how the smell of them intrigued me (there is no other word for it) & how I would often have a little bit spread on some buttery toast to nibble while my Pa munched on his own much more liberally spread slice.

The memory was nice. I miss my Pa still, even though it has been a very long time since he passed away; he was much more than a Grandpa to me, he was my father figure when I didn’t have one & so many of my happy childhood memories have him at the center.

So I bought some damn Peck’s paste.

And I brought it home. I spread a little on some buttery toast & I ate it, & it was good. It’s not something I would recommend… ever… it has a salty, odd taste, a taste that I would struggle to liken to anything else, but to me, today, it tasted like I a much-needed hug from someone I wish was still here.

Growing.

I hope you all know by now that green is the new black; it’s probably easier these days to recite a list of friends who aren’t growing something edible in their yard or on their balcony than a list of those who are, & I think that is just so great.

We’re getting back to the natural of order of things, connecting with the earth & where our food really comes from.

This is our potato harvest. It’s about 20 kilos… I think I’ll be rationing the spuds from here on in…!

Another thing that’s growing almost all on it’s own is my wall display of random thrifted goodness. I didn’t intend for it to get any bigger when I started with two frames & two plates, but it’s happening anyway.

I found this wonderful little guy fishing yesterday for $1 at the one opshop that was open. From the frame & the picture all I can deduct is “old”; any idea of the era, vintage expert types?

I wonder what the next addition will be…

The Birregurra Weekend Festival

I have been looking forward to this for weeks & was not disappointed. The most exciting thing for me, as usual, was the Hare Krishna food tent… so. So. So. Good.

Tiring Tuesday.

I am tired & my back is sore & although I've got a fair bit done today in the cooking & crafting stakes, I'm too tired to even think about finding my camera, taking photos, plugging the camera in to the computer, uploading the photos & yadda yadda yadda.

Instead I've been vegging out in front of the computer while Punky & her Daddy contemplate ice cream in front of the heater.

I am desperately awaiting two Japanese felt food pattern books at the moment, I've put a cute little wooden kitchen away for Punky's birthday & intend to make a lot of yummy things for it between now & early next year, but in the meantime I have found some delicious food inspired delights on Etsy;

Getting started in the garden.

We recently moved to a country town from the city & the house we are currently renting has an ENORMOUS yard - complete with a few lemon trees, olive trees, an apricot tree and a... well... I don't know what it is... I think it's a 'shade house'? Is there such a thing? I'd call it a greenhouse except for the fact that it isn't any warmer in there than outside & the rain can get through the cloth on the roof.

While we were in the city The Boy had started growing a few tomatoes in pots but they were done away with in the move so we're starting again from scratch... why couldn't we have moved in Spring!! I am desperate to plant all sorts of things but am restricted to sowing some boring old winter crops... I say "crops" but I don't know if that is the right word for a few styrofoam boxes filled with potting mix.

These are the "...almost before" photos, as some things have already started to sprout. I think the heatwave we had really helped the seeds to germinate in record time, I just had to make sure I kept the water up to them. I only put the boxes into the shade house a couple of days ago, I was scared of all the spiders & creepy crawlies that I imagined were in there (turns out, actually, that I wasn't just imagining it... *shiver*) but as Punky was wanting to play in the dirt everytime we went out to water, I had to put them up out of her reach anyway.

I keep daydreaming about the day when we have our own little house & yard, it's going to be fence to fence food I tell you!! Until then however I'm going to really try & make the best of what we can do here. I love checking on the progress of my seedlings each morning & Punky loves running around outside & playing in the dog's water.... I want growing food & knowing exactly where it comes from to be a part of her life & hopefully, eventually, come naturally to her, so that she has the knowledge & enthusiasm to sustain herself & her family. That is a gift I wish I had recieved & we all know we want everything for our children that we didn't have ourselves, whether that is a fancy dollhouse with working light fixtures (ah, to dream!) or a healthy connection with our earth.