On the recession, blackberries, andginger beer bugs

On the recession: This quote from Laura Ingalls wilders "A Long Winter" will do:

"if only I had some grease I could fix some kind of a light" Ma considered. "We didnt lack for light when I was alittle girl, before this new fangled kerosene was ever heard of".

"Thats so" said Pa. "These times are too progressive. Everything has changed too fast. Railroads and telegraph and kerosene and coal stoves - they're good things to have but the trouble is, folks get to depend on 'em".

Last year we all went for blackberry hunts around the known wild blackberry spots of Hawkes bay. We had so much fun but the thing was I ended up with hepas of berries and I didnt want tomake jam with it. Eventually some got used in a blackberry crumble and blackberry fool recipe. (Yum!) but still I had so many containers left. Then from the Simple savings website I found this recipe for blueberry muffins. It is delicious but once I ran out of blueberries I used raspberries froim my mums garden. Then they too went. so then I supplimented backberries. Just as deliuos! And frugal too. No butter, I water down my milk a bit and black berries are free.

So here it is:

2 cups self raising flour

2 tsp custard powder

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup of blackberries

2 eggs

3/4 cup of milk(I water down my milk, its all gottne too dear!)

3/4 oil

Sift flor, custard powder and sugar. Add blackberries.

In separate bowl, mix milk, eggs and oil. Add wet to dry mix and dont over mix. Spoon into 12 muffin tin (this makes big sized muffins) and cook at 190 for 20 ,imutes.

Dust with icing sugar.

Also I havegreat ginger beer recipe off the blog worls but unfortunately the author has cancelled her blog. So as this has been requested Ill repeat it here:

4 tsp white sugar

2 cups cold water

2 tsp ground ginger

Juice two lemons

1 tsp lemon pulp

8 sultanas

Mix together in a jar with a lid. (use preserving jars)

Feed every other day with 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp of ginger. Do this for 6 days and make up on the seventh day.

To make up dissolve 2.5- 3 cups of sugar in three cups of boiling water. Add juice of three lemons, strained liquid from the plant and 3.5 litres of cold water. Bottle and cap using after at least a week or when bottle is tight. We found that ten days gave us a fizzy yummy drink. Cheers