I remember clearing out my great aunt’s place way back as a kid. She went through the great depression and hoarded everything imaginable. That was eye opening.

I think humans have innate tendencies to own objects, we use tools, we need clothes, we cook and we store food. It’s biology and culture.

But it’s just been to easy to buy things and that’s why we have too much stuff.

It’s like food, we love sweet and creamy, it’s biology, so in a land of milk and honey it’s too easy to put on weight.

Like you said, we have to be aware. 👍

I was like 😕 when I read his post

I had my reservations, but due to the strength of the wind I think it’s paid off.

Salesforce. I’ve heard Adobe’s marketing cloud is an old programs so it’s probably not much better

haha. OMG now that’s stuck in my head. But done. It’s a pasta/pumpkin/salami/cheese thingomijig

Delighted to. P & H soup is a staple for me. When the freezer runs dry I whomp up another batch. I vary it according to what I have in the fridge, but this is the basics.

1 250g packet of split peas (any colour) green is traditional but yellow is just as nice. Red lentils - see method below. This is a good way to use up any part packets you have in the pantry as mixing more than one sort is really really nice. 1 large carrot, topped and tailed and chopped into chunks - I don’t bother peeling these. The big winter maincrop carrots are the best. The tiny dutch carrots are nothing like as good. This adds a subtle sweetness to the soup. 1 brown onion - skinned, topped and tailed but left whole, with 2 cloves stuck into the cut end. About 1/2 bunch of celery stems - chopped into chunks plus please include the celery leaves if any. 1-2 bay leaves - these are essential About 6 peeled cloves of garlic - use more if you like it I large chopped potato - I don’t bother to peel this but you could if you wanted to. It helps thicken the soup. 1 ham hock - Aldi sell these in plastic wrap that looks and feels like fingernail clippings, as do colesworth and most butchers. You want the smoked kind. Size is irrelevant.

Optional - 1 star anise, 2-3 cardamom pods, 1 tsp toasted cumin seeds. Pick one of these but NOT all of them.

Method. Rinse the peas well in cold water and soak in cold water for at least one hour or overnight if possible. Doesn’t have to be in the fridge unless the weather is hot. They will swell a LOT, so you may need to top up the water from time to time. Don’t soak red lentils - just rinse them just before filling the pot. Remove ham hock from plastic, identify the meaty side and cut two deep slashes across the meatiest bit.
In a slow cooker or large stock pot, put in the carrot chunks, the celery chunks and leaves, the onion and then the ham hock. Add in the soaked peas/rinsed lentils (drained) the bay leaves, the garlic and other flavorings. Gently pour in COLD water to cover the whole by about 1 cm. It’s important that everything is covered with the water.

IMPORTANT - DO NOT ADD SALT! If you do, the peas will NEVER cook properly but will remain hard and bulletlike for ever.

Start the pot cooking on very low heat - it should take at least an hour to start to bubble. Skim off any white foam. Let the pot cook at a very gentle simmer for several hours. A slow cooker on high will take at least 3-4 hours. A stock pot on the stove nearly that long. It’s done when you fish out a few peas from the mix and can easily squash them between two fingers. But you can cook it longer if you like and it’s all the better for it.

Once cooked, fish out the ham hock (which will be on the point of disintegrating into its component parts), fish out the bay leaves and the star anise if using and discard them. Let the pot cool down a bit then use a stick blender to make the remaining pot contents as finely blended as you like. I like a bit of texture, but silky smooth also works. At this point you can salt it to taste if you think it needs it.
Let the ham hock cool down a bit, then strip off the skin and separate out the bones and gristle. Keep the meaty bits - shred or chop these and stir back into the soup. The bones skin and gristle can be recooked with more water to make ham stock if you can be bothered. Otherwise discard them. At this point you can freeze portions of soup, or even better let the pot rest in the fridge overnight for even more flavor. You know you’ve made a good batch when you take the pot out of the fridge and hold it up so the surface is vertical and it doesn’t even wobble.
Then just scoop out portions to heat up in the microwave and serve. I like to serve it with crusty bread and maybe a splash of tabasco sauce over the top of the bowl. Meal fit for a king that.

Quantities above will make about 8-10 serves. You can add more water for more serves or larger ones once cooked if you want. It’s not possible to make a small batch of P & H soup. But it does freeze very very well.

I haven’t had a homemade pie in a long time

I think about a decade ago, mum bought a pie maker from Kmart and taught me how to make a pie with puff pastry and mince. Being very much white bogan ppl from whoop whoop, we only ever had plain mince pies with tomato sauce, but being a more well rounded city slicker who resided in Brunswick for a week, I’d be super keen to experiment with different meats and pies, maybe chop up little bits of steak and put some bacon in like they do in the shops 🤤

I must have been lucky. Fingers crossed everything is ok in your area

it wasn’t much fun, I was out there for about an hour and I definitely felt it with multiple layers, a scarf around my face and a beanie as well.

Just had to go down to our loading dock to pick up an equipment delivery and can no longer feel my hands :|

Unfortunately not. Tree is in the backyard of a known anti-vegetation anti-mess maven. That is, a person who dug up ALL the bare earth in the backyard except for the tree (which is huuge and on the council register) and replaced it with tamped gravel and astroturf to save on mowing. Has been known to apply roundup to the nature strip in the street at the first hint of a weed, and talks frequently about hating ‘mess’. Not generally liked as a person.