Making the most of that Halloween pumpkin

Did you buy a pumpkin this year?

I love making Halloween lanterns with my pumpkins. But I also love eating pumpkin too. So last year when we missed out on buying a pumpkin I was disappointed not to get my annual fix. This year though, we decided to convert a tatty corner of garden that used to be a compost heap into an extra vegetable patch and we grew our own pumpkins.  Not going to miss out this year!

My favourite is pumpkin soup, especially if it is a little spiced up with some chillies and ginger - it makes a lovely winter warmer.  I've just had some for lunch.

Having scooped out the flesh we washed the seeds and dried them ready to plant next year.  One pumpkin gives quite a lot of seeds, so I'll probably have plenty to give away.  They will be ready to store by the weekend. If friends and family don't want them I'll give them to my local community shop.

Having grown our own this year we have five to use, so I'm looking up other things I can do with them.  Pumpkin gratin is great and I plan to toast the seeds from the rest of the pumpkins - you don't wash them if you are toasting them as it all adds flavour

We roasted some pumpkin with Sunday lunch, but although it has a lovely sweet flavour it was a little watery. Does anyone know of any good tips for roasting? I'm sure there's a way to get a better texture.

Abundance

Looking for something to do in half term? How about fruit picking?

I recently heard about a group called Abundance which arranges fruit picking for people who either can't or don't want to pick their own fruit.

You can read more about this on greenjottings. 


If you know people who don't pick their fruit it is worth putting them in touch with one of these groups. They can choose to keep the fruit that has been picked for them. Unwanted fruit is then given to charity.  Windfalls and damaged fruit is made into pies, crumbles, chutneys, jams and all in a good cause.


I will try to find out whether there is a nationwide list or website where people can find details of their nearest group.  When I do I'll be sure to post it here but in the meantime a few groups are listed in this article in Time Out.

Wind Power for Free?

I've been looking into ways of generating my own energy.  The depressing thing about this is that it costs such a lot of money.

Every now and then I research the latest on micro-generation, and love the idea of wind power.  I live in a windy spot on top of a hill - the only hill for several miles around.  So wind power would seem to make sense.  But, I know it is going to take me a long time to find the necessary information, save up the necessary money and work out whether the new 'feed-in tariff' will make this a worthwhile investment.

However, we can all be using wind power at no cost to all. How?

Just by hanging out our washing.  Yes, it is October, yes it is freezing cold but I hung out some sheets and pillow cases and tea towels and dishcloths about an hour ago and they are nearly dry now.

It is not going to save mega-bucks,  and by the way, you can find out how much it does save here but to me the best saving of all is that line dried clothes need far less ironing and that makes it even better.

More Packaging? Is it really necessary?

I took my grandmother on a shopping trip yesterday and was tasked with looking for her face cream by Oil of Olay. She was bothered by the fact the packaging seemed different as she likes to stick to what she knows.

I was bothered by the 'new' packaging too.  To my horror, in addition to the cardboard box that surrounds the pot that contains the cream, was yet another layer of packaging, a clear plastic box.

 Why?


Please, someone tell me what possible reason there can be for adding yet another layer of packaging to a product. I had considered looking at their range, BUT, I've changed my mind.  I refuse to buy anything that is so much more package than product.

One Man's Junk....

.... is another man's treasure.

Well my local community shop certainly proves that to be true. Each year they are able to give away in excess of £10,ooo to local charities and organisations.

When I decorated my children's bedrooms several years ago, one wanted a sea theme and the other wanted a jungle theme. The community shop was just the place to make these themes come alive. I found cushions, soft toys, stick-on insects, a fish mobile, and all sorts.

My children have grown up, and the rooms have been decorated, and now look tastefully teenage. So, today, I'm taking all these things back there to the community shop, in the hope that another child will be able to have their dream jungle theme, or seascape all for the sake of a few pounds which might end up funding their Guide Camp or the next bit of park that needs a revamp.

Soap Opera

If you stay in a hotel / motel kind of thing, where they have those little guest soaps, do you take with you the one that you have used?

If not, why ever not? I just wrap it back up and pop it in my wash bag. Otherwise, it is just going to get thrown away. Seems such a waste!

Composting Teabags

My hubby told me, the other day, that green guru Lucy Siegle reported an alarming find that 'tea bags (the stalwarts of compost bins and wormeries) are only 70-80% compostable thanks to the polypropylene webbing on today's bags. '

My first thought was Oh shit! That's probably going to mean that 70-80% of people stop composting their tea bags. Not a good thing.

I checked out her article and her links online and dug around a little further. I found various articles suggesting you should tear open the tea bags and just compost the tea, I found several mentions that people had stopped composting their tea and equally I read that various organisations such as WRAP that are supposed to know about these things say we should carry on composting our tea bags.

My plan is to firstly use up the tea bags I have AND I will certainly be composting them, and secondly to look into what tea bags don't use plastic in their bags.

Probably the words I read that most annoyed me were these:

"Teadirect’s Whitney Kakos said: “Most consumers don't notice (the polypropylene) and probably don't care.” (reported in Beverage daily.com)

I do understand that this plastic is there for a purpose as it is to do with the heat sealing of the teabags. I do understand that people don't want to have bits floating in their tea, but I do think that there are likely some perfectly viable biodegradable options.

Manufacturers do have to respond to market pressures and it is up to consumers to speak up and speak out about what they do and don't care about.

I want my teabags to be 100% biodegradable. Do you?

Take a look at this link for a new lease of life for an old (tea) bag:)

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5243911_uses-tea-bags.html