Wax Works!!

 

I am getting quite excited about my wax recycling - how sad is that?  BUT I have thrown away so much wax and so many ends of candles over the years and I am in no hurry to tackle Jumbos that we were getting low and John does like to have candlelight at night!!!  The wicks are cents/pence and come in all sorts of sizes so I have managed to make four biggish candles from guff and a minimal amount of electricity.  I have yet to master  'keeping the wick in the right place' but apparently there is a tool for that so I shall be getting one.  Even at Jumbo's prices I reckon these would have cost me over €10.

Today we were lunching with Mum down in Emba - I forgot to take a photograph of the meal I produced but I was really pleased as I wanted to try and recreate a takeaway for Mum - she used to love a bit of lemon chicken!!!  So this is not my photograph but one which I hope will give you an idea of what I produced.

I poached the chicken in ginger beer to give it a bit of flavour and then I seared the goujons on the griddle pan to give it some colour.  Then I made a lemon and sesame seed sauce and a second one with garlic and chili for John and I.  I pre-cooked some skin-on home-made paprika wedges which I have absolutely perfected.

For pudding I made some one pot banana muffins and popped in some cream to go with.

I am a bit unfamiliar with Mum's combi-ovens so although everything was cooked and the wedgies crisped up, the chicken could have done with a minute more so that it was absolutely piping hot but I didn't want it to dry out.  Anyway I think it was a success and there was enough left over for Mum to have a meal tomorrow.  

I am quite enjoying the challenge of creating a meal that we can transport down to Mum - so far so good I think and as John says this is good practice for the time when, and/or if, Mum cannot drive up to us or doesn't want to drive up to us.

We have a project on our hands from our To-Do list which we decided we should tackle sooner rather than later - I had noticed the other day when I was sitting outside video calling Mum that some of the 'wicker' on the outside chair was beginning to crack - not helped by the fact that we had put the cushions away and had been sitting directly on it.  John had some wood that we had used years ago to create an extension to our dining table one Christmas when we had to accommodate 8 people and which we know is not something we are likely to do again so was surplus to requirement.  He had decided that there was enough to cut it up to create a solid base between the 'wicker' and the cushion and so we got it cut up and stained so that it will protect the seating and the furniture will last a bit longer.  Amazingly the first garden suite we bought was cheap as chips from Paps and lasted years outside in all sorts of weather - this lot was only bought the year before last!!

Behind the chair in the picture above is our Peace Garden where we remember, Dad, Hadge and Chivers - it is looking glorious at the moment because the Vinca is in full flower.  This is one plant that really really benefits from a good hard cut back each year because the following year we get a spectacular display of blooms.

A change to the week tomorrow - I am walking with Nicky as it is her birthday on Tuesday and I have plotted a new walk in and around Kritou Terra for her.