5 things Wednesday - keeping a visual journal

I keep a written journal and a visual journal. I was however horrified to discover today that I had not made an entry in my visual journal all year. I did not expect that at all.  I packed a basket full of collage materials, glue, scissors and crayons and went out into the sunshine.

 I covered a piece of black cardboard with season inspired images and motivational words. As this particular visual board is about keeping me working on my dreams, I added an envelope in which to tuck notes outlining my actions and successes.  I used photos from magazines as well as silk flowers, leaves and stickers from cheap shops and craft suppliers.

This will go on the wall in my studio.

5 ideas for keeping a visual journal or dream board

 1. The other pages from my journal are varied according to my mood. They include inspiring magazine pictures.

2.  Or materials from craft shops like these coloured leaves glued onto a simple painted background.

3. Believe in my dreams - silk flowers and transfer flowers.

 4. Paper cutouts work well. The word journey here is cut out from a colour copy of a street directory map.

5. The visual journal gives you the chance to experiment and explore. No creative talent is needed. This is a free space to play and feel free. Cheap paints work just fine in a sketch book.

Just be yourself.

I have never shared this pages before. How do you stay inspired? Do you let your inner child out to play?  Please share your story.

Welcome to new blog links

I have added three new blogs to my blog roll tonight.
Welcome to:
http://homespunliving.blogspot.com.au/
http://milkwood.net/
http://compostchick.blogspot.com.au/

This week I have been blogging about gardening, composting, worm farming and cooking stuffed mushrooms.

Still coming up on homespunblissblog...
Adventures in bread making
A new bird nest find
Egg brekkie cups
Landscaping around our chicken pen
My new studio
and visual journalling

And I'm sure there'll be some sewing, embroidery and more cooking before too long. Welcome and hope you are enjoying my homespun journey! Please take the time to stop and say hi.

Souffle stuffed mushrooms

I was catching up with a wonderful friend today and ended up talking about cooking.

On my way home I came up with a dinner idea that I thought I'd share.

I think its one of those meals that is easy but can look rather impressive. And surprisingly light. It takes a little time to cook but if you check out my tips, is quite doable after work. Which is always a priority for me.

And before I go on, although I love making souffle, this is actually a fake souffle. But you don't have to give away all your cooking secrets ;)

Ingredients
Large field mushrooms with a deep cup (1 per person)
Silken firm tofu
1 egg
Basil pesto (Optional but recommended. You could try olive tapenade instead)
Fresh asparagus
Shaved parmesan or romano cheese
Eshalots and sliced almonds to serve
Steamed vegies as desired (optional)

Tip 1: Don't be scared of tofu. It takes on the flavour of the ingredients around it and this version is light and fluffy like souffle. Don't tell anyone it is tofu - truly, they won't know if you don't tell them!

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180C.

Tip 2: No matter what you have to do when you get home from work, turn the oven on as soon as you get in to heat it up.

Pop or cut the stem out of the mushroom. Chop up and toss in the bottom of the mushroom cup or put aside for another meal.

Place the mushrooms in a baking dish and spray with olive oil.

Cook until mushrooms are going soft. Time depends on how thick the mushrooms are and how many you are cooking.

Tip 3: If you are busy, pop the mushrooms in the oven, as above, as soon as you can. Don't let them cook until they disintegrate. They need to be cooked through, but firm. They can always sit on top of the stove cooked for a while if you're busy. Just top and place back in the oven when you are ready.

Meanwhile... In a mixing bowl, mix an egg into the silken firm tofu. For 2-4 mushrooms half a pack of tofu is enough. Use the whole pack for more large mushrooms.

Tip 4: You need to have the right sort of tofu. I find silken firm tofu in the chiller section of my local supermarket with the other tofus. If you have any trouble check with an Asian food store. Silken firm tofu has a consistency a bit like junket, if you remember that. I sometimes find the store fridge cabinets are a little too chilly, so squeeze the packet and check it isn't frozen or dehydrated.

Snap the coarse stem ends off the asparagus. Place in steamer over boiling water and cook until soft but not soggy. If serving other vegies, cook them now.

When the mushroom cups are soft, remove from the oven. Tip any mushroom liquid out into the baking dish. If using, add a dollop of basil pesto or tapenade into each mushroom cup.

Top with tofu mixture. Try to keep inside the mushroom. Its ok to dome the tofu mix over the cup as long as contained by the rim.

Place in the oven.

Cook until the tofu is firm to the touch.

Serve the mushroom with asparagus, garnish of slivered almonds, parmesan, and basil leaves. Add steamed vegies to the side if desired.

I hope you enjoy this juicy and tasty stuffed mushroom.

Gardening jobs 3 - the vegie patch

My vegie patch has been a bit neglected of late. It was a very wet summer so didn't produce much. Its sunny again, albeit getting cooler as we travel through Autumn.

As my compost was ready I did some weeding.

My one bin of compost stretched to spread across three garden beds.
In the first I planted strawberries for a treat next Summer.

In two others I have planted three different types of garlic including early, mid and late varieties, again for next Summer.

The beds are just waiting the arrival of some lucerne bales that will provide a thick, warm mulch over the top.

Following the permaculture philosophy of keeping often used plants close to the kitchen I planted some lettuce in the herb garden I am fortunate enough to have near my kitchen and front door.

Handy for packing lunches and dinner garnishes.

What is in your garden this May?

Gardening jobs 2 - The compost bin

I recently posted about how much my chickens have helped my compost along.  I thought I'd share an update on how its going.

I have just emptied and spread a whole bin through my vegie beds.  It turned into compost more quickly than usual thanks to the added carbon matter and manure. So here's the story of starting again.

As it is best to layer your compost, first gather your raw materials.

As you can see you don't need a lot of space.

I started with grass clippings. At this time of year they have the added bonus of chopped up dry leaves which add to the carbon component.

Then I added some ash from the fireplace, some horse manure and a layer of kitchen scraps.

Shredded paper and mulch from the chicken coop on top. I will keep going with layers of scraps and chicken coop bedding. The grass is slowing down but I will add clippings when I have them. I topped it all off with some left over compost and soil. A drink of molasses and its all ready to start breaking down.

For more on composting the homespun way please check out my earlier post or leave me a comment.

Happy composting.

Gardening jobs 1 - Worm farming

I have been a little concerned that my worm farm doesn't have many worms left in it. They haven't been eating a lot. Time to give them some TLC.

First task - spread some newspaper on a work table and tip the contents of the worm farm out.
Wearing gloves (for the sake of the worms) gently pile the worm castings up to a peak.  The exra light will encourage the worms to dig down into the pile.

Then you can skim off the castings which is the soil like stuff that the worms have created from their food.

As you can see there are plenty of worms.  They just needed some attention.

This worm farm has been on the go for about 8 years so I am always happy to see it is going along well.

Pop the worms back in their box with some of the castings.  Add new food - I have given them banana skins and the fruit and vegie pulp from my juicer.

Just like the compost bin the worm farm needs carbon matter too so add some shredded paper or dry leaves.

Top off with sheets of damp newspaper and some cardboard or hessian. This keeps them moist and adds food too. 

After a bit of maintenance I have productive worms again and a tray full of castings to fertlise the garden.

If you are looking for more info you may like to check out my earlier post or leave me a comment.

5 things Wednesday -Beautiful Southern Highlands Autumn Leaves

Last weekend I headed out with my camera to capture some of the beautiful autumn scenes. High winds threaten to finish the colourful show early so I didn't want to miss out.

Here are some of my favourites so far.

 Moss Vale Road

 Station Street, Bowral

 McVitty Grove vineyard, High Range

Bowral views from Oxley Hill

Next 5 things Wednesday I start a series about Autumn leaf craft and Autumn cooking.

I love Autumn very much. It is a hard choice between Autumn and Spring. We create resolutions at New Years but I think the transition seasons are more about change than Summer or Winter.  I think that's why I always struggle to come up with resolutions after Christmas. Now that its mid Autumn I feel ready to plan for the year ahead.

If you live in an area that gets a good Autumn, how does it make you feel?