Beer update and Sunday reading

I know we're all about the freshly made, but this post comes to you pre-prepared. While you are reading this, I will be brewing about 20 litres of ale.

After the beer had fermented for two weeks, we racked it off the dead yeast and sediment into a clean bucket and left it for a week to clarify. Then we bottled it.

26 bottles standing on the wall, 26 bottles standing on the wall, and if one brown bottle should accidentally get opened and drunk...

The last batch is now sitting in the depths of our basement and will age there for some time. The ale should be ready to drink rather sooner, but we're also more than doubling the volume that we will brew. It's essentially the same amount of work whether you make 5 litres or 25 litres.

Meanwhile, some reading for you:

What happens when you leave a city slicker family in the forest?

Seven things every first-time gardener should know

Nine lies that keep our schedule overwhelmed

A little uncluttering goes a long way

Eleven ways to live a happier life

Will mayors one day rule the world?

Cheap cuts - how to buy beef

Hops are the herbs of beer - the growth of local harvest groups

A tv-free day?

Some of you may have seen the coverage in the UK over new recommendations that people limit themselves to two hours of tv per day, and try to have a 'tv-free' day, to promote active lifestyles and combat obesity.

I've been thinking for a while about how to reduce the amount of tv we watch. It's partly that after a long day at work we are both too tired for anything more stimulating. But if I'm really honest, it's mostly that I have yet to find a way to make a tv-free evening sound attractive to my boyfriend. 

The good news is we are probably just about at the two hours a day limit, many days watching less, and we rarely watch live tv, it's usually pre-recorded shows we know we enjoy, or films. This is definitely some progress. But I'm struggling to come up with easy, relaxing alternatives to sitting staring at a screen.

To be honest, that's kind of scary. Like an addiction. What did people do before they had tvs? This is crazy. I know how people did laundry a hundred years ago, but not how they whiled away the evening hours.

So I did what everyone of my generation would go - I googled it. How to give up tv. And I mostly found blogs and forums of people who replaced tv with watching DVDs or playing games on mobiles/tablets. Doesn't that defeat the point? Surely the idea is to not be sitting in front of a screen?

I have found some interesting posts on this which intriguingly refers to several side effects of going tv-free - including greater sensitivity to the sights, sounds and smells of everyday life.

How to Give Up Television

8 Changes I Experienced After Giving Up TV

Why We Chose to Eliminate TV
50 Things to Do Other Than Watch TV

After a bit of thinking, I decided to try to avoid watching tv this last week. I've been pretty successful, really an hour or less most days and one tv-free day. So far, three things have helped:

1. Reach for the book (or the sewing/knitting) rather than the remote. I usually feel too tired to read, but after a few pages I'm fine and I think it's actually more restful - more restorative - than watching tv.

2. Don't sit down opposite the tv. Move your sofa, or sit down somewhere else. Ideally so that you are now looking at someone else rather than the screen. This seems to make conversation arise without effort, and makes turning on the tv something antisocial rather than just the default option.

3. Make plans, ideally with people. Go out to see a show, check out a new bar, arrange to meet someone for dinner. Extend those plans - go early to wander around the neighbourhood if the weather is nice, or suggest a detour on the way back.

Do you have any tips? Is it something you've had a go at?

Autumnal baking

I've been baking quite a bit in the last few weeks - partly inspired by the Great British Bake Off, partly in practice for the Brussels bake off in which I am participating, and partly to celebrate the tastes of autumn. There have been quite a few firsts...

First attempt at parkin - I had a hankering for something dark, rich and gingery. I think I added too much baking powder but it still tasted AWESOME! Recipe here.

First chocolate and beetroot cake. This looked fabulously pink while making it but came out beautifully. I wasn't sure how beetroot-y it would taste - the answer is not at all. The beetroot counteracts the 'sickliness' tendancy of chocolate cake, and made it beautifully moist. I took this into work - one colleague had three slices, and no one could taste the beetroot.

First chocolate ganache - I always thought this was a highly complex process but it's mind-numbingly simple and I will most definitely be repeating this. Yum!

I've also been baking some staples - chocolate cupcakes.

Bathing in autumn sunshine

Happy autumn equinox people! It's miserable weather today so I thought I'd share some autumnal pictures from last weekend instead.

We went for a walk in the nature reserve at the edge of the city last weekend with some friends. It was a beautiful day full of autumn sunshine, with just a taste of winter in the air.

 

I spotted some hops growing over a doorway.

Our friends spotted some Siberian chipmonks stocking up for winter.

We tasted some small and very bitter wild apples.

We spotted some unidentified berries, which we didn't taste!

Unfortunately, there was a distinct lack of blackberries, which were our main target - they were all small, shrivelled and dried out. I did however pick some acorns to have a go at making acorn coffee...

Cold and wet and rainy day

“Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards.” - Vladimir Nabokov

It's a cold, wet, grey, miserable day. And I've got a headache. Oh poor me.

Definitely time for a piping hot cup of tea and catching up on some reading.

The lies your mind tells you to prevent life changes 
Scientists sniffing out the Western allergy epidemic
Installing a bee hive - a nervous beginner's experience 
7 tips to speed up decluttering
Organising tips from outer space
Homemade naturally sweet marshmallow recipe
Homemade sandwich bags
Hospital Food Standards: did medieval hospitals do it better?

Slow Living - July/August 2014

This post is part of a series started by Christine at Slow Living Essentials - although from this month it is now hosted by Linda at Greenhaven. I haven't actually done one of these since April!

{NOURISH} We've been enjoying warmer summer evenings to sit outside and linger over our food. More yoghurt has been made, and our first attempt at brewing beer, inspired by all the fantastic craft beer we've been drinking. There has been much yummy homemade pizza as well!

{PREPARE} The jam-making bug bit hard one weekend, and I'm hoping it will bite again soon as we are entering the last moment we can make jam for the year.

{REDUCE} Can I put my decluttering here? Much progress made. Still nowhere near enough but much. I'm also making progress on my first attempt at a patchwork quilt, which I'm making from old bits of worn out clothes. I also cut up my old jeans (found in a box in the basement) for cleaning rags and they are working much better than the synthetic fabric rags I was using before. Old jeans also became a pair of soft, comfy slippers.

{GREEN} Still making homemade cleaners - but being a bit more disciplined about routines so getting better results. I think I can probably count my egg-wash here as well - my latest attempt at no-poo is working well, currently alternating egg-wash and water only.

{GROW} I am finally growing something easily edible - lettuce leaves - and it feels great to toss them in with dinner. (Although not yet enough to supply our own salads - a goal for next year will to try to be able to avoid the salad bags in the supermarket and just eat homegrown.) Fresh basil goes on the pizza, and there are radishes about ready for eating.

{CREATE} Quite a lot of overlap here, as the patchwork quilt and even the beer brewing probably fall into this category. I've also made a pair of slippers from old jeans and cardboard. I've made some more progress on my embroidered table cloth but it's very slow-going.

And you? how has your month been?

Autumn bucket list

The wheel of the year is most definitely turning and autumn is here. The chestnut leaves are turning brown and beginning to fall. It was ten degrees yesterday and the hot water bottle made its first appearance. It's such a shame there aren't really any autumn traditions, I thought. Hang on a minute, I thought back. There's loads, I just don't observe them. Well, I replied, isn't it about time?

I spent a bit of time browsing pictures of autumn scenes on pinterest and once I had the picture of red trees, piping hot mugs of cocoa and seasonal food in my head, I started to write down ideas. I've been adding to them over several days and now I think I should reign myself in just a little - bearing in mind that it will be busy at work and I will only really have weekends to do autumn things. 

I want to get outdoors more, to be more proactive socially and to wring as much joy from the darkening days as I can. I hereby present to you:

The Autumn Bucket List

Get out - for a long walk, kicking leaves.

Forage - for fruit, nuts, pinecones.

Preserve - dried, candied or jammed.

Make - an autumn-themed decoration.

Bake - gingerbread, apple pie, or whatever inspiration hits.

Celebrate - the autumn equinox.