thanks Jennie.  we have outdoor bathroom/laundry, no garage or other rooms which are rodent proof. (though our house is) i haven't seen rodents in a while, i was transporting them all far far away , but i have seen them chew thru plastic/wood etc in the past and didn't want to risk it!  especially with yummy smells emanating from within...   maybe i can set up a table they couldn't climb up, to set my mind at ease. 

speaking of creatures, yesterday 11 stray sheep wandered thru our garden and ate EVERYTHING!  all the herbs and greens.       at least plants are still alive, and the rains this w/e might speed up regrowth.   

easy to find & pick them!  not sure where you are, there are many trees here in SA.  ask around, especially the older generation, who planted the trees and picked the pods, either for children or animals.

powdering them takes a bit longer - the deseeding is the most time consuming part, but well worth it.    any time you sit & chat with a friend, listen to music or watch tv    you could deseed at the same time!  then grind up but be careful - i have broken coffee grinder blades doing carob.  better to use the juicer with the grinding bits in, or hammer till really small b4 grinding.   

 thanks miss g and melb.

well i now have an excalibur    i know i have said before on here the sun works just fine for us, and it does, but my life situation has changed now  & i thought it might help feed the hungry children when i'm not here! 

i did try flax bread with glad bake, but it stuck, i had to soak the paper off then re-dehydrate.  so i'm wondering how you use the glad bake?

also....i was not prepared for the noise of the thing!!     we have a tiny house, and i find it impossible to be inside when it is on - the noise and energy get to me, really frazzling.  i love what it does though!  so wondering where people keep theirs?  i don't really want it outside where smells will attract rodents. i figure i could just have it on when i am not not home, but i'm concerned with not being there to keep an eye on things.   

yes a dab or two of lemon juice is the quickest thing i know of to get rid of a pimple.

the only time i experience armpit odour is when my diet is less than optimal, even with intense physical activity/sweating.  i haven't noticed any difference between fabrics for me personally.

thanks miss g.  would there be space in there to put my food on a plate or oven tray etc?   Are the mesh sheets washable (for mishaps - i know i need something on top).

thank you

hello  BB  so lovely to meet you & your beautiful family the other night.

i just had to respond to this post, as today we went walking in some nearby bushland collecting rosehips and tree sap.  native tree saps are an awesome gum, sometimes called 'bush lollies' by aboriginal children.  my children love collecting & chewing it. i'm still learning which ones are best, but i think acacias/eucalypts are a good place to start.

i'd love to hear if anyone else knows which trees are good for edible saps?

violet

kebster.. pumpkin chips are yummy, just thinly slice pumpkin and dehydrate, eat when soft & warm or wait till they go crispier.  can add flavour/spice/salt/oil/lemon etc if you like.   i have used oven for dehydrating sometimes, works well (& warms up house on frosty nights) but warning: it uses heaps of power so you might want to not do it daily!

violet

    miss g !

i haven't used one of these machines yet, but is it really necessary to use any sheets at all?? When i dehydrate in the sun, i put a touch of coconut or olive oil on the tray/plate and this prevents sticking.  I am considering an excalibur for the winter months....would i be able to get away with doing this in one?? 

violet

Blueberry Violet - how long do you dry your flaxbread for? I don't want to buy a dehydrator, but would love to try some bread and cracker recipes. Also how to keep the birds off your food outside if you don't use the drying box?!
Thanks
Bronny
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hi bronny sorry i never got back!    1 full day depending on weather; we have many birds but they're not usually interested, we sometimes cover food with a netting food - cover (not sure what you call those! pop out like an umbrella almost.)

we are driving over from sa on the 12th, so definitely couldn't make it to the picnic    

if it's not tooo late, we might pop in in case anyone stays all day.  i have no idea how long it will take us to get there.


waterberry & rudolf, i think we'll be in the dandenongs area 14-17 and 21-25 Jan, and melbourne on the weekends.

can anyone recommend a babysitter in melbourne?  (we'll be in fitzroy area)  needed for a couple of hours per day, weekends only, over the next 3 weekends.  (2 happy, raw, littlies)

please send me a pm.  thanks.  we're in sa.

or, if you are in melbourne/dandenongs and would just like to meet, let me know : )

can anyone recommend a babysitter in melbourne?  (we'll be in fitzroy area)  needed for a couple of hours per day, weekends only, over the next 3 weeks.

please send me a pm.  thanks.

also, would love to meet up with raw folk while we are there over the next few weeks, we'll be in the city and also dandenongs.

i love warm & hot showers.  soothing at the end of the day (well except for hot days.  tonight i had an icy cold one, it was 38 today). 

but.... we don't have a regular hot water service (by choice)  so all running water here is COLD.  We can turn on our water heater and get a hot shower in about 15 minutes, but I frequently forget and am in a hurry, so it's usually cold.  if i ever want warm/hot water i usually use a kettle. mostly it is for a hot water bottle (which i LOVE)

in india (himalayan parts) i would always be given a bucket of water for washing, and if i asked could sometimes get a small jug of hot water to go with it:)  it made me rethink my need for 24hr piped hot water. if you don't cook meat/oils you rarely need warm water for dishwashing.

late autumn/winter is another matter though, the water in our pipes is sometimes frozen solid till midday, and when it thaws it is really really cold!  then i do panic when i forget to turn the hot water on   super quick shower!

i think hot water is more of an issue if you have mains water in your shower, as chlorine etc are more easily absorbed into the body in steam form, so i've been told.  another reason to install a rainwater tank, if you don't already have one

hi freedom.  chillblains are so not fun.  i had them during winter in my last pregnancy, the baby had all my blood & my poor toes & fingers froze!  I found that too much fat in my diet was the main problem (and in the cold i want to eat more fat).  It made my circulation sluggish, and though it was a challenge, removing the excess fat removed the problem.
what really has helped me cope with cold the most over winter is going to Darwin  

another interesting thought - i read an article once about a study done on Russian longevity.  The longest lived people  A) swum every day of the year (in Russia) and  were  beekeepers. (bee stings are great immune system stimulants)

violet

we made flaxbread yesterday in the sun.  last apple season we dried 2 crates of apples in a few days in the sun.
we solar-dehydrate about once every few weeks except winter!
i like to chop vegies and marinate in dressing/water in the sun.  or plain vegie chips.

we have a box type dehyrator we made but rarely use it, is good for cooler sunny days.  You can use a wood  box with top cut at an angle & use a piece of glass for the lid. some holes for air flow, you'll find pics if you search. i've seen an awesome design where the sun doesn't directly light the food, but heats an enclosed 'slippery dip' and the hot air flows up thru a box, where the food is in racks.  if i was seriously going to build a good solar deh. i would look into that.    for now a few plates on our trampoline works fine

i like using the sun for food prep.  i have enough electrical devices (blender, juicer, fridge,kettle) in my kitchen, one more would drive me nuts   

i can see the convenience & don't mind what others do    we all do what we can.  i have a car and a computer, but for me a dehydrator, tv and 24hr hot running water are unnecessary. 

my local potlucks are 40km away or more, else we'd there every time. 
i am busy with other things else i'd arrange more myself.
i am not fussed about judgement etc but years ago it was an issue for me, i experienced criticism from raw fooders about my food choices (cooked, packaged, even grated    ).  so i can see why some could choose to stay away.