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December 2011 Relax www.sandpiper.org.au – Page 17
>> RESOURCE REVIEWS
#
>> SIMPLY COOKING
Notes on living life fully
Reviews by Jenni Greblo
Life Without Limits: How To
Live A Ridiculously Good Life
By Nick Vujicic.
Nick was born without any
limbs and has had many battles
and obstacles to overcome.
He is an international speaker,
travelling the word to inspire others
to “overcome adversity with
faith, hope, love and courage so
they can pursue their dreams”.
His basic premise is that if he
can do it – you can too. Yet he is,
in turn, inspired by those in circumstances
of extreme suffering or those
overcoming trauma. One such person
is Bethany Hamilton, a world class
surfer who lost her arm in a shark
attack in 2003 at the age of 13. She
taught Nick how to surf.
Nick decided that reaching out
and serving others helped him create
meaning in his life. He has helped
young teens all over the world, He
has helped the poor, orphans, AIDS
sufferers, the disabled and victims
of war in many countries including
India, Africa, China, Serbia and
Indonesia.
Sharing the story of his birth and
some of the more bleak moments in
>> GREEN THUMBS
Growing vegetables for Christmas
Shepparton garden
expert John Holder
gives some tips for
your garden
I
was involved with a talk-back
radio a couple of weeks ago
and a lady was asking about
growing her own potatoes. She
had been recommended to use
a fertiliser called 5.1.1. This
made no sense to her and she
was asking for information.
Now I have no use for a
fertiliser such as this but I could
explain the general position.
Fertilisers are often known to
their users by their contents.
The three main ingredients
can be read on the back of
any fertiliser as Nitrogen,
Phosphorus and Potash. The
fertilizer in question either
contains 5 parts of Nitrogen,
and one part each of the others
or contains them in that ratio.
I also happened to say that I
couldn’t think of a less suitable
fertiliser for growing potatoes!
And thereby hangs a tale!
In my experience most
home gardeners who set out
to grow their own vegetables
these days, whether expressed
in this way or not, attempt
to follow rules that apply to
certified organic vegetables
they might buy and this will
start with soil preparation and
fertilisers.
I have to say, from my
experience with vegetable
gardeners, that these principles
are not always well understood,
but once explained and
his life give us an appreciation of the
challenges he has faced and the life
journey he has made. One minute in
tears and then the next smiling at his
courage, laconic antics and sense of
humour. Nick was 28 when this book
was published so the future holds so
much promise.
Faith in God and an ability to
find the blessings in his life provide
inspiration to us all, challenging each
one of us to reach out and live life to
the full. This book is not a literary
work of art but it is thought-provoking
and a catalyst for change.
Nick says, “Live to glorify God,
and don’t leave an ounce of energy,
a trace of your uniqueness, behind.
Dare to be ridiculous, and you will
be ridiculously happy.”
followed, the results start to
speak for themselves.
In many cases it will be
appropriate to work in a
contained area. This could be an
old fruit box or a box made from
red gum boards, probably two
boards high.
Under no circumstances use
treated timbers. Avoid carpet
and underfelt and, by the way,
car tyres are never to be used
because they can leach cadmium
and heavy metals which are very
harmful to human health.
For a larger area I use a
reasonably flat area of the garden
contained by single red gum
sleepers. With mulching, compost
and fairly regular digging, the soil
level tends to rise a bit.
There are good books on the
topic of organic gardening if you
The Candle In The Window
By Grace Johnson and
illustrated by Mark Elliott
(Based on a story by Leo Tolstoy)
This beautiful tale is set in a
little German village where
the cobbler, Gunther prepares to
spend another cheerless Christmas
after his wife and child
have died. Gunther’s deep grief
stops him from seeing that he is
surrounded by caring friends;
his housekeeper and his cousin,
Griselda.
His lack of Christmas spirit is
further compounded when Lord
Von Schlimmel brings him shoes to
repair on Christmas Eve; shoes Von
Schlimmel wishes to dance in that
evening. No consideration is given
to the life of the cobbler and Gunther
expects little. The shoes of course
require more labour than the time
given and Gunther begins the task.
He then has a visit from three
strangers, Greta, Franz and Carrie
who visit in a whirlwind of activity
that puzzles Gunther.
They leave a candle in the window
of his shop and deliver a message.
want to take an academic interest
further.
If your boxes or containers are
fairly small you will want to grow
a range of vegetables, in smaller
quantities together. To achieve
this I have had people start by
filling the box with rice straw (or
any other suitable and available
straw) with a shallow compost or
soil layer on the surface.
If this is fertilised in the way
we will suggest this will grow
excellent plants in it’s first year
while you start a compost heap
using mowings and household
scraps to mix in as an area is
cleared.
Bear in mind I have seen
tomatoes grown in straw bales
that have been well soaked and
fertilised with a liquid fertiliser.
In the process the straw breaks
The message changes Gunther’s
Christmas forever.
As the story unfolds, Gunther
brings sincere Christmas cheer to
many and the events help him in some
way to be able to celebrate Christmas
and unlock his grief stricken heart.
This is a long story and many
pick it up, look at the print and then
put it down as they wanted an easier,
simple text – their sad loss. This is a
story for adults and families, a story
worth reading and re-reading, a worthy
story for your Christmas library
and a paradigm of service for others
to lift our own spirit. It celebrates the
true meaning of Christmas.
This story brings to light the message
of Luke’s Gospel which is one
of hospitality and Matthew’s gospel
seeing Jesus in the stranger. (Matthew
25:35-40).
These and many other titles are available for free loan at the Resource Centre, 118 Hargreaves Street, Bendigo. Open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm. Phone (03) 5442
6108 or Fax: (03) 5442 9463. Email: library@ceosand.catholic.edu.au or search online at: web.ceosand.catholic.edu.au (no www at beginning).
down and your compost starts
to provide more.
By the way I can recommend
what is widely sold today by
Councils as ‘mulch’ which I
believe derives from the green
bins. There will be extraneous
objects and some large lumps
of wood but the overall bulk
makes excellent thick mulch
and is usually fairly fertile and
well drained and supports good
growth of plants and trees.
I realise I am passing over all
sorts of details here but this will
get things started. The fertiliser
you will need will be labelled
a Complete Organic Fertiliser
and it will contain rock minerals
ideally contained and mixed
with coal dust and will have at
least four trace elements and
known to be suitable for the
area.
This can be mixed into
the top 10cm as you prepare
to plant or sow seed. You will
also do well to use a liquid or
dry Seaweed bearing in mind
that research has shown this
assists seed germination and
establishment of seedlings and
if watered on monthly will assist
in cropping and root growth,
increase your yield, assist
in frost protection and other
stresses of the plant.
The choice of vegetables to
grow is almost as complex as
discovering the most healthy
way of growing them!
For more information, visit John
Holder at the Shepparton Garden
Centre, 535 Archer Road, Kialla.
Phone (03) 5823 5677
True Love Lemon
Foodie Nicole Murphy
brings us another delight
from her kitchen.
Ingredients
The white bit
• 150g cream cheese room
temp
• 250ml double cream
• 200g condensed milk
• 1 lemon and 1 lime, finely
grated zest and juice
Method
Whisk the cream cheese until
soft and smooth. Add cream
and condensed milk and whisk
till thick and creamy – longer
the better. Add zest and juice
and mix.
Ingredients
The yellow bit
• 180ml lemon juice
• 1 lemon grated zest
• 5 free range eggs
• 165 caster sugar
• 125 unsalted butter
chopped.
Method
Put all ingredients in microwave
on medium for 6-8 mins
stopping to stir regularly until
thick.
Ingredients
The crumble bit
• 80g unsalted butter,
chopped and softened
• 50g brown sugar
• 1 tbs treacle
• 1 free range egg yolk
• 185 g self raising flour
• ½ tsp bicarb soda
• 1 tbs ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground star anise
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pistachios to garnish
Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Beat
butter, sugar, treacle and egg
yolk in bowl. Add flour, bicarb
and spices and sing hands
combine to firm dough. Turn
onto lightly floured surface and
rub through with fingertips to
make large crumbs and spread
onto a baking tray lined with
baking paper. Bake for 8 mins
or until golden. Remove and set
aside to cool. If it’s easier, just
make them into biscuit size and
crumble them up later.
Serve in glass with alternating
layers of white, yellow and
crumble.
CHEAT
Swap the white bit for cream
and the crumble for a packet of
gingernut snaps.
Another great Christmas
dessert I saw that looked
very Christmassy and wasn’t
actually a recipe as such, also
served in a glass – vanilla
icecream with chopped Turkish
delight and pistachio nuts.
Seriously easy. Have a great
and relaxed Christmas!
For more information, visit Bendigo
Wholefoods, 314 Lyttleton Terrace,
Bendigo. Phone (03) 5443 9492