This is my third daughter Abby on her 7th birthday and her younger cousin, Brooke.  We had a little birthday afternoon tea with our six children, two of their cousins, me and my sister-in-law.

I was tagged by Libby for this one…

Here’s what to do:

* Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures.
* Go to the 6th Folder, then pick the 6th picture in that folder.
* Post that picture on your blog and the story that goes along with the picture.
* Tag 6 other people that you know or don’t know to do the same thing and leave a comment on their blog or an e-mail letting them know you chose them.

I won’t tag anyone, but encourage others to join in the fun.  Let me know if you do!

Here’s another beauty from Simple Savings…

This is just like the sauce on curried prawns etc you get from the Chinese take-away.  We had it on mixed steamed vegetables - kipflers, sweet potato, choko, cauli, broccoli, zucchini, etc.

2 large onions, sliced

dollop of butter

1 tbspn curry powder (or to taste)

3.5 tbspn cornflour

3 tbspn raw sugar (less would be fine)

1 cup water with 3 tsp Massel Chicken Stock Powder

1/2 cup milk

squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

Melt butter in a saucepan.  Fry until onions are transparent.  Add curry powder and fry for a few minutes.  Remove from heat & cool slightly.  Add flour & sugar.  Mix until combined.  Slowly add stock/water and milk until combined.  Heat, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens.  If using, add lemon juice (I had none, so didn’t).  Serves 4-6.

We got some new cutters for playdough and clay.  But before we took them out to the art area in the shed, we made a batch of these…

2 tsp natural vanilla extract

250g butter, softened

1 cup raw sugar (or less, or rapadura)

1 egg

2.5 cups plain flour (wheat or spelt both work, wholemeal or white)

Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy.  Add egg.  Beat until combined.  Sift flour over butter mixture.  Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface.  Divide in half.  Shape each piece into a ball.  Chill until firm.

Roll onto a floured surface with a floured rolling pin.  Cut with floured cutters.  Place biscuits, 3cm apart, on prepared trays.  Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until light golden.  Cool on trays for five minutes.  Twist if stuck or simply slide onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Freeze well.

Well, I am only two weeks into my Buy Sustainably Challenge…  And it’s really hard not to feel like I’m awful at this.

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This was shared by another homeschooling mama on Liberated Learning awhile ago.  I’ve adapted the recipe to suit us.  Served it tonight with rice, steamed choko and pumpkin and corn on the cob.  A sprinkle of grated cheddar on the lentils, parmesan for some.  Delish!  This served 9 of us, plus 2 meals for the Dad to take to work this week, and another couple of serves into the freezer.  So those of you who don’t need a dozen or more serves could of course make half (or freeze most of it for later).  This would be great with pasta, as a pie filling, as a topping for jacket potatoes or served with mashed potato and steamed vegies.  A very versatile dish, so a good one to freeze.

3 cloves of giant Russian garlic, chopped finely

2 brown onions, diced

2 cups red lentils, rinsed

3 cups water with 1 tbspn Vegetable stock powder (Massel)

2 heaped tbsn tomato paste

3 x 400g tins diced tomatoes

400g mushrooms, sliced

1 tsp dried Tuscan herbs

fresh ground black pepper

olive oil

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft.  Put all ingredients into slow cooker.  Stir.  Cook on high for a couple of hours, checking that the lentils are softening.  When lentils are the right texture, turn to low.

I saw this on Libby’s blog.  Those in bold, I’ve done.  What about you?  If you take part, please leave a comment to let me know!

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I’m sharing this because a lot of people wonder what homeschooling is like during these transition years into further study and/or work.  For every homeschooled teen, their days are different.

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Today I wrote about sustainable communities on the Simple, Green, Frugal, Co-op Blog. Check it out here.

I’ve decided to take up Melinda’s Challenge! So for every purchase in 2009 I’ll hopefully be asking myself :

1. Do You Really Need It?
If you do…
2. Buy it Locally.
3. Buy it Fair Trade.
4. Buy it Green.
5. Buy it To Last.

In the hope that this doesn’t get lost amongst my varied personal goals for 2009, I aim to post regular updates on my Sustainable Shopping Habits. I wish you all the best for your hopes and dreams for the year ahead too!