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| A sweet potato flower |
Another week flew by so quickly. It was not as productive as the last week, but I got a few things done.
I cut up an old towel and made 8 napkins. It wasn't easy to hem them, becasue once folded it was thick, especially the corners. I broke two needles while using the sewing machine, and finally hemmed the last two napikns by hand. I placed them near the sink, so I can quickly grab one when needed. I tend to use paper towels too much becasue it is convinient. I hope these napkins will help me cut back using paper towels. I cut up another towel to make 8 more napkins, but didn't hem them yet.
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| Cloth napkins |
Here's what I picked from the garden this week. The first eggplant of the season! I didn't cook it yet becasue I couldn't decide what to do with just one eggplant. 😊 Maybe I'll deep fry, or bake it.
I sauteed moringa and katuk leaves, and added curry leaves and passion fruits to the morning juice.
I made a mix of oats and nuts for breakfast. I add almond milk to this mix and leave it in the fridge overnight. It's an easy breakfast. The mix includes oats, chia seeds, chopped walnuts, pumpkin seeds, dates, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and a bit of agave.
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| Overnight oats mix |
I have a small glass of juice in the morning, and this week I made one using passion fruits, frozen mangoes & strawberries, chia & pumkin seeds, curry leaves, flaxseed oil and water.
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| Making juice |
Not much happned in the garden. It's too hot and humid by 10 AM. Because I am not an early riser, I didn't do much, other than repotting two loquats and watering plants.
Speaking of waking up early - I think I have to go to bed early and wake up early. Usually I have dinner around 8 PM, exercise around 9.30 PM and then go to bed late, sometimes around midnight. I think it would be better to wake up early and do exercise in the morning.
I had to delay bathroom sink project becasue the hinges I ordered don't fit well. Doors don't close (they overlap) with these new hinges. I don't want to cut the doors, so I have to either order new hinges or look for narrower doors. I could have bought regular cupboard hinges, but I wanted 270 degree stainless steel ones. 270 degree configuration made the doors to overlap and these hinges cannot be adjusted to make the doors fit. Oh well, I learned something new!
I tried a couple of new recipes - Mealtless chilli (I didn't follow a specific recipe, just made it up), and baked zucchini inspired by Andrea's recipe. Both turned out really well. Chilli was enough for three meals, and baked zucchini dissapeared as soon as they cooled down enough to eat. 😀
Rising COVID numbers in Florda had scared my sisters, who asked me if I wanted to go to Sri Lanka for a while. They know more about COVID numbers in Florida than me! I told them it would be safer for me to stay home than taking a long international trip at the moment. And I promised them not to go to stores unnecessarily and wear a mask when I do. Still they worry about me. 😢
I plan to go to bed around 10 PM today. And wake up at 6 AM. That means I should have dinner very soon. 😃
Are you an early riser?
Take care everyone. Stay safe.
XXX
Nil
I am not normally an early riser but I have been waking much earlier than usual. Your harvest looks fantastic. I am letting my current zucchini get quite large so I can slice and dehydrate it. I hope it works!
ReplyDeleteI ,too, think you are much safer restricting your movement at home rather than traveling right now!
Dehydrating does make sense when you have a large crop. I've always wanted to dehydrate vegetables, I think it's a very space saving method of stocking things up. :)
DeleteOoh, you have flowers on your sweet potato! Mine has barely grown since I planted it! But, at least it hasn't died, yet! :D Maybe you can make pahi (moju) with your eggplant. Well done on making the towels for the kitchen. I mostly use just regular kitchen towels, but, use paper towels to clean up Dancer messes! I hope you find the right hinges you need for the cabinet doors.
ReplyDeleteYes, your sisters and mother, too, must be worried about you. I've been hearing about the rising number of cases in Florida and called my cousin who is in Jacksonville to check on him and his wife. His younger daughter is a doctor, who has just moved from Boston to Baltimore to start a at a new hospital and he said she's staying well, so far! I know you are taking care to protect yourself and be safe.
I am not an early riser; not anymore, anyway. I used to wake up early (5:30 a.m.) when I had to but, not anymore!
I'm not sure this single eggplant is enough for a moju, Bless. If I fry something I need to have more than the recipe calls for, because I eat as I fry. :)
DeleteI used to get up at 5.30 am when I was in school. I had to be at the bus stop at 6.30 am to catch the school bus. Now I wake up at 7 am. :)
It's a great idea to make napkins from an old towel. It's funny what we get used to isn't it, as I've never used paper ones.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely an early bird. I find it easier to get going in a morning. X
Growing up I never used paper towels. My mom still doesn't. So I think I should be able to go back to cloth ones faily easily. Though I can be lazy at times and grab a paper towel :)
DeleteNil, I am a night owl and definitely don't get up early in winter but do in summer as it gets light so early. Are your cloth napkins the same as cleaning cloths? I think of napkins as what you put on your lap when eating. Our countries do use different terms for some things as we know, e.g. thongs to us are flip flops for you 😅😂😂
ReplyDeleteChel, yes I plan to use them as multipurpse cleaning cloths. I think they are actually called kitchen towels here...
DeleteHe hee imagine going to a shoe store here and asking for thongs! LOL
I am indeed. If I sleep beyond five am, it's a lie in! :-) The flip of that is that usually I'm fast asleep by nine thirty pm.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is so very productive - how fantastic!
xx
Wow Joy, you wake up really early! I sleep until 7 am. :)
DeleteI am a morning person, Nil. I like to wake up early and enjoy the quietness of that time of day. I get much more done then compared to afternoons.
ReplyDeleteStay safe and well.
MegXx
It looks like the majority of my readers are early risers. :) I too find it's more productive when I wake up early. I just need to learn to go to bed early. :)
DeleteI start work at 7:30 so I am an early riser on work days but I do sleep longer on weekends.I enjoy the peace and quiet late at night but I am rarely up late. I try to follow my natural rhythm when possible, that way I am less grumpy. Lots of lovely cooking chez Nil, I am hungry reading your post :-)
ReplyDeleteI noticed Covid cases are soaring in Florida and was thinking of you, I hope you are able to stay in as much as possible. It is quite scary how quickly the virus takes off as soon as life returns to "normal". Stay safe x
Luckily right now I only teach two online classes and I don't have to be online very early. :)
DeleteI too can be a bit grumpy if I don't have enough sleep for a couple of days in a row. I try to get at least 7 hrs of sleep. :)
I too am going to try the baked zucchini, thanks for the link.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a very early riser but I'm more of a morning person that a night out, I like to exercise first thing before I can think of any excuses to not do so!
I too want to start exercising in the morning, Thrift Deluxe. But so far it hasnt happend though I have good intentions. LOL
DeleteI do something similar with courgettes (zucchini) except I add grated parmesan to the breadcrumbs. I like the sound of your breakfast mix and will add it to my list of breakfast ideas.
ReplyDeleteMmmm adding grated parmasan sounds like a good idea. I'm going to try it next time. :)
DeleteThat sounds like a yummy breakfast. I'm definitely a morning person. One secret to getting up early is having a dog that wakes up around 5 am! Without the dog alarm clock, I think I'd normal wake up around 6 am. I do like the mornings because it's quiet and peaceful. In the summer it's nice to get up early because that's the coolest time of the day and I can work in the garden before it's too hot. But that does mean I go to bed early, usually dinner by 6 pm and bed by 9 pm.
ReplyDeleteI remember you once said that Domino wakes you up. :)
DeleteIf I want to wake up before 7 am, I have to set the alarm. :)
I am an early riser, I have to for work. I get up at 3am and catch the ferry at 4.15am, start work at 7am, back home again at 4-5pm have dinner and usually fall asleep between 6-8pm. When I am not working I usually fall asleep at 9.30pm and wake up around 4am - habit forming, even on weekends. I use the mornings to do all my computer stuff as its quiet and I dont want to wake hubby up. When he is away I put on the washing and bang about the house LOL, such is freedom. Your eggplant is so long. I am getting prepared to garden more and love spending all day in the garden now, something I never did before in my whole life. So the last three years have been life changing for me
ReplyDeleteOh Bridget you are amazing. I can't imagine waking up at 3 am to go to work!
DeleteThe eggplant is called Japanese eggplant and that variety is long. It was touching the ground (the plant is not tall anyway), so I picked it a bit soon. I think it would have grown longer otherwise.
I'm an early riser too. Always have been. It's sweet that your sisters worry about you. My MIL lives in Jacksonville, Florida and she says the same thing about the heat. She is in her yard working early, but by 11 am it is too hot so she heads back inside. Your eggplant is a good looking one. I don't think I've ever seen one that long.
ReplyDeleteIt's Japanese eggplant, Belinda. They are long and skinny. I prefer this variety to the more common Italian one. :)
DeleteYour breakfast sounds like it keeps you full for hours. Personally-I am an early riser. I like doing things in the cool of the morning and tend to be ready for bed by 9:30 pm or so. Covid cases are rising here in California as well. Looking forward to reading more on the hinges!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the majority of my blog readers are early risers. :)
DeleteYes I think CA, FL and TX have more new cases than other states. Stay safe, Anita.
Hi Nil, Nice napkins. Yes, I'm an early riser, always have been. That sweet potato flower is so pretty! I love the color purple. I think you are wise not to travel. The news seems to really be scaring people. It sounds like you are living a very healthy lifestyle with a careful and nutritious diet. Your home grown produce looks enticing, too.
ReplyDeleteI try to eat healthy, Stephenie. :) Now if I can make exercising a regular thing, I'd be very happy. :)
DeleteEarly riser here too, even now, when it's cold out.....if I'm not out the door with the dog by 6am I feel like my whole day runs behind. That means getting up about 5, to have a cuppa, give cats a snack, clean litter trays, start a load of washing then let the chooks out and feed them. In summer I'll get up a bit earlier and do some gardening before doggy walk. Do you cook your oat mix in the morning or have it uncooked, like meusli? You're wise to stay home, not a good time to be on a long haul flight. x
ReplyDeleteNanette, I add milk to the oats mix and leave it in the fridge overnight. Then eat it uncooked. Because these are not steel-cut oats, the mix becomes so soft and doesn't need cooking.
DeleteWell, I am an early riser too! But if you are used to getting up late and going to bed late, it will be hard to change that - a bit like having jet lag for a while. I have heard the worrying numbers about COVID in Florida, even from here. Do stay safe NIl!
ReplyDeleteI used to be an early riser when I was a student, earthmotherwithin. Then I got lazy. 😁
DeleteYes, COVID numbers are very high here. Just the other day three hospitals in this area said their ICUs were full. Luckily the number of deaths isn’t going up, I hope it continues to go down.
I find that I have been going to bed later during the lock down because I have no where to go in the morning and I can get up when I want. I am a snowbird and was in Florida until a month ago, but we made the trip home in our car despite having to stay overnight one night in a motel. We were very careful and had lots of hand sanitizer. I've never seen fresh moringa before. What do you do with it?
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you left FL Judee. I hope COVID numbers are not bad in your area.
DeleteYou can sauté fresh moringa leaves, add it to soups and juice. Or dry the leaves, make a powder and add it to food. 😊
Lovely to read your post Nil as I have been worried about you as well, when we hear the Florida Covid numbers on the news. However I agree with you and I think you are safer in your own home. We have no desire to travel at all at the moment.We have been rising later in Winter, so nice to sleep in when it is cool, as once Summer comes we will be up at 6 am and walking. Morning exercise is my time, certainly not evening or I would never get to sleep.I love baking an eggplant with a combination of other vegetables and a sprig of rosemary. Such an easy and tasty way to do veges, however would be great in your vegetable chilli, or in any vegetable stew like ratatouille. Pouring rain here at the moment, lovely, I might go and read a book. Stay safe and take lots of care Nil. Thinking of you. Pauline x
ReplyDeleteThank you Pauline. I try to be careful when I go to stores, wear a mask and follow all the safety guidelines. I too have decided not to take any trips until the numbers go down considerably.
DeleteI love ratatouille, and baking eggplant with rosemary sounds so good. I’m going to try it with the next one. There are two more eggplants on the tree. 😊
First time I see sweet potato flour, so pretty! I move overnight oats, perfect healthy breakfast☺
ReplyDeleteYes, overnight oats is a healthy and a very filling breakfast. I don’t feel hungry for hours if I have oats for breakfast. 😊
DeleteWe (my husband and I) are early risers, but that doesn't necessarily mean we actually get out of bed 😀 he reads all the news events on his tablet and that could take as long as 90 minutes. I do also look at the news, but not in as much detail and so I will read for a while. we sometimes stay up to midnight, but most nights are in bed by 11 pm. I have been known to stay up later if working on a blog post 9crazy I know). Thanks for letting me know you ordered some of the face masks from American Quilt Co. here in Nashua, NH, and hope you enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteI too read in bed after I wake up. And before going to sleep. 😊
DeleteIt sounds like you’re doing well at home, and not bored at all.
ReplyDeleteI don’t even think international travel is possible right now.
I'm a homebody, Akasha. I am rarely bored when I'm home. :)
DeleteHi Nil, you have a similar breakfast to me re ingredients. I find it keeps me from becoming hungry again for hours. I enjoy your posts about your garden produce, the visitors (mockingbirds etc) and the house and craft projects. I think the redwork group of pieces is lovely and my favourite is the rooster. Stay safe and being a homebody, I feel, is a good thing at the moment. XO
ReplyDelete