Rediscover Modern Homesteading

Being resourceful in the kitchen in a time of uncertainty helps to manage stress levels, your budget and your supplies.

With the ramifications of Covid-19 in New Zealand, from stockpiling to food rationing, we should now, more than ever, embrace a war-time approach to some aspects of our lives.

This is a throw-back to several years ago when we built a Rainwater Butt solution for our plastic house, but a nifty little project all the same!

If you’ve never tasted loquat, you’re in for a treat.

Now, planting sounds like a very simple job to do, and it is.

Upcycled Pallets are a common DIY theme running through Pinterest and a dream for many DIYers.

With Spring just around the corner, I must say I will miss my wet Sunday afternoons.

Delicious with so many things, Pickled Beetroot may be a little messy to make but worth it many times over for the taste.

Other than grilled cheese toasties, dagwood sandwiches and adorning your cheese platter, just how do you use relishes and chutneys in recipes?

Winter and pumpkin go together like a blissful duet.

Cauliflower-lovers, vegetarians and vegans, rejoice.

If you are up for a great foodie weekend, be sure to pencil Feast Waikato in your calendar for next year!

My Hungry Bin worm farm is trucking along just nicely after many years.

Now as you know (or should know) you can’t just send paint tins to the tip nor try and sneak them in your kerbside rubbish collection.

Whether folded through a summer slaw, used as a dipping mustard for fresh vegetable tapas or dolloped on BBQ skewers, this Apricot & Avocado Mustard is a zingy, vegan-friendly, dairy-free dressing to enjoy.

Have you bought lettuce only to find it weeks later in the back of the fridge in a limp mess?

Whether in a child’s bedroom as a scrawling wall, the kitchen as a shopping list, or the garage as a what-do-make-next agenda, a DIY blackboard (aka chalkboard) is super handy.

Homemade Lemon Curd is a classic.

Here’s a hearty flavoursome meal or side to celebrate leftovers and homemade relish: Stuffed Baked Potatoes I literally lived off baked potatoes when I was flatting.

Get dressed for summer dining.

So many panes of glass, so many wooden frames.

Perhaps there was a sneaky underlying message in a recent present, I need to bake more!

Yum!

Once you make your own dumplings, you’ll never visit the freezer aisle again.

This Vegetarian Enchilada recipe is an easy go-to weeknight meal and can be filled with just about ANYTHING.

It’s wonderful that the South Island has such an iconic dish to claim as their own: Southland Cheese Rolls.

Why should breakfast take all the waffle glory?

What??

For a light-style pasta, escaping the trappings of a tomato or creamy sauce base, Citrus Broccolini Pasta is refreshingly simple.

When someone offers you a pumpkin, accept it with glee.

Are you a leek freak, or willing to experiment?

This Mushroom ‘Meatball’ recipe is indeed meat-free, super-tasty and filling.

Summer Soft Shell Tacos are a ‘pretty relaxed’ dinner choice, perfect for social occasions and a DIY dining approach.

Whether you are stepping ‘nibbles’ up a notch, or wanting to serve it as part of your main – a Spinach & Ricotta Cob Loaf is a vegetarian delight.

Warning.

Any time is a good time for banana loaf, let’s face it.

A hearty dish for the household, Salmon & Potato Bake combines good carbs and protein plus helps empty the fridge of some pesky leftovers.

I’m not afraid to say that this was an absolute experiment.

Pumpkin puree is easy to make.

I’ve had such a massively successful run with chilli this season.

It is pumpkin season, which I always welcome.

This Smoky Bacon-esque Coconut Chip recipe is vegan, I am not.

I really don’t have a burning desire to upload endless photos of my evening meal, believe me, but when I come across a winner, I can’t help sharing.

Check out my 5 Ways to preserve fresh chilli so you can make the most of your chilli harvest.

I embrace ‘eating with the seasons’ and have found the joy of drinking with them too!

I am very proud of ‘seniors’ that inspire a generation half their age – a reminder that life is for living and age is no barrier.

Pondering what to do with loads of small-sized feijoa?

What to do with too many Courgettes?

It’s not often that you read ‘chocolate, courgette and blueberry’ in a sentence, let alone an ingredients list…but here is my Chocolate, Courgette & Blueberry Brownie.

Perfect for a dessert platter, lunchbox or an afternoon tea pick-me up, these nut free Apricot Raw Balls are packed with sunflower seeds.