how's this for a list?

here is a great list of dos and don'ts from melanie williams' blog "where simplicity leads".

Grow your own fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, and seeds.
Grow herbs for medicinal, culinary, and cosmetic purposes.
Raise chickens, rabbits, bees, goats, sheep, etc. for fur, fiber, meat, eggs, dairy and honey.
Cook from scratch.
Don't buy processed foods.
Eat at home.
Buy from local growers what you can't grow yourself.
Join an organic CSA.
Buy grass-fed meats.
Reduce meat consumption.
Shop second-hand stores, flea markets, etc.
Barter, use free-cycle.
Become self-employed.
Don't invest in the market.
Loan within your community to support positive enterprises.
Don't charge interest except to cover inflation, if any.
Build passive-solar homes.
Heat with locally available fuels.
Swap seeds with neighbors, friends, family.
Compost.
Use humanure.
Use graywater systems.
Collect rainwater. (Illegal where I live!)
Own your own water.
Sell your car.
Build with locally available materials (adobe, strawbales, stone, logs, etc.)
Salvage materials.
Give up gadgets (tv's, microwave ovens, dishwashers, cellphones, etc.)
Do it by hand (garden, kitchen, house, etc.).
Build a root cellar.
Learn to preserve foods.
Share excess produce.
Learn to build, repair and tinker.
Insist on home funerals and burials where legal.
Self-insure.
Exercise and eat right.
Ferment foods.
Learn how to safely store drinking water.
Drip irrigate.
Conserve water.
Learn how to find water.
Go off grid.
Use permaculture principles, esp. create no waste.
Live in the smallest shelter that's practical.
Buy bulk grains, beans, spices, salt, etc. if they can't be grown or found locally.
Figure out what you can do without.
Learn how to make cheese, yogurt, soap, wine, herbal distillations, etc.
Raise your own sweeteners (honey, maple syrup, sorghum).
Plant for genetic diversity.
Learn how to build and maintain healthy soils.
Use a clothesline.
Learn how to identify wild edibles and incorporate into your diet, sustainably.
Forgo air conditioning.
Choose a climate suitable for human endeavors, one that doesn't require much artificial heating or cooling.
Learn to hunt, track, trap, and fish.
Learn to co-exist with the local critters (including the human ones).
Don't use airplanes.
Stay where you are.
Build strong communities.
Re-invent community canning kitchens, community grain mills, etc.
Finance nothing--no mortgages, no car loans, no lines of credit.
Don't use banks.
Help your neighbors.

a few sketches from WA

the beach at quobba pointat lynton stationa headland on the rugged west australian coast

the sun set into the ocean for two weeks

izzy and i have just got back from 2 weeks in west australia. so, so different to our lovely lush new south wales... my father joked that it is desert that extends westward to end in a cliff above the ocean. it is not quite, but we saw a fair bit of the north coast above perth that qualified for that description.

the trip was to meet up again with my adventurous sister (out from the UK) and her five children and husband who had packed into a pajero and trailer and driven from sydney to perth and beyond. we met up again in the pinnacles, a few hours north of perth near a town called cervantes. the pinnacles are limestone finger-like projections set in yellow sand. the raw material for the limestone came from seashells in an earlier epoch rich in marine life. these shells were broken down into lime rich sands which were blown inland to form high mobile dunes. there are a few theories as to the actual formation, but they make a great playground for children and adults.

we looked at stromatalites at hamelin pool on the edge of shark bay, and admired a stunning skyscape. there is often not much between you and the horizon.

then on to quobba where we stayed on a rundown but over-priced sheep station that was spectacularly located on the ubiquitous cliff over the ocean. excellent snorkling nearby kept us at the beach each day. beautiful coral and vivid fish.

after a tearfull farewell to the english cousins who are heading north before their trip back to england, the rest of us stayed near port gregory on a farm so close to the beach that we could hear the breakers all night. on the property are several historic buildings including a convict hiring depot that illustrated the brutality of forced labour. these poor wretches were brought over to work in the geraldine lead mine. the big boss was captain sandford who lived in a magnificent limestone manor on the hillside overlooking the ocean. the original property was something like 24,000 acres. now a mere 800 it has recently been taken on by greg and jenny poett who are organic farmers from down south and will work their biodynamic magic on this place too.

we swam and lazed about for three days on a deserted beach. then headed back to perth and sydney. lovely to be home...

cannelloni

i seem to be drawn to rich orange/red coloured sauces lately, and the tomato sauce that swamped my spinach/ricotta and feta filled cannelloni was no exception.

recipe

sauce
fry a few onions gently until translucent, add garlic and then a jar of tomato passata. season with salt, pepper and eventually herbs and simmer until thickened a little. put aside or freeze until needed.

cannelloni
i used fresh lasagne sheets which meant the stuffing was so much easier than into the little brittle pasta tubes.
so, spinach cleaned and steamed, or (in my case) defrosted and drained.
fried onion, ricotta, egg, mace or nutmeg, a little feta cheese crumbled, some cream, pepper and a little salt. combine and place a big dollop on each half-sheet of fresh lasagne pasta. roll the pasta around the filling and lay on a baking dish. repeat until you have used up your ingredients.

pour tomato sauce over the lot and top with cheese (i used mozzarella and parmigiana).
allow to rest for half and hour before baking in a moderate oven for 45 minutes or so.

serve with a nice green salad...