We Grew Chickpeas

It was our first time growing chickpeas so the Shearer put in a modest little patch, maybe .75m x 1.5m. He had acquired a packet of seed from a cool climate seed stockist. At worst we thought it would be a green manure crop.

From memory we sowed them in summer, just as we would the beans and they were quite fast growing, becoming little bushes with soft ferny leaves and developing masses of small white flowers. I thought I had taken a photo of the flower stage but couldn't find it. From the small flowers developed soft velvety pods, each containing one or two peas.

We allowed them to ripen and towards the dying off stage we then pulled them and hung them upside down in a shed to dry further. The podding was a little laborious but....

our reward is 1.5kg of our very own dried chickpeas. We could store them like this but I'm a bit of a spontaneous cook so when the preserving season winds down a little I will soak, cook and process in the pressure canner so they are shelf stable and ready for use in a moments notice. We will of course keep some for seed for next years' crop.

We rate this experiment a success and a good yield for crop space and a pantry staple at that.

Hummus and Seed Cake - But Not Together

Our singing group meet up coincided with Valentines Day this week and with a plethora of love songs in our books I set the mood with hummus and beetroot dips. To create the heart motifs in the centres, choose a wide shallow dish, like these small fluted flans. Place an oiled cookie cutter in the middle and fill the outer being careful not to disturb the position of the cutter. Next spoon in the contrast dip and gentle slide the cutter straight up.

I kept these really simple as one of our group is multiple food intolerant and I really don't think the internet needs yet another hummus recipe but I will say that a point of difference in this batch is that I make my own tahini in the thermomix - easy peasy, Beetroot is ready now in our garden and again, there are multiple recipes you could use. This one is without dairy or cashews. The beet was roasted in the oven, cooled, peeled and wizzed with lemon juice, tahini, cumin, salt and garlic. Just a simple puree really.

The Shearer will come home to a custardy carroway seed cake and I have adapted the recipe for the Thermomix and you'll find it here.

I had a little mixture left over and made a few small heart shaped cakes for my work colleagues too.

I offer love to you 

it is limitless

please spread it

X

A Corner Is Turned

We have turned many corners this month, weather-wise and house-wise. 

It's been just over twelve months since we actually moved in and a LOT of the work has been done and we are living comfortably and joyfully.

We are creating a garden now rather than just the emergency food growing area. Everyday I try to spend even just 10 minutes weeding and transplanting self sown seedlings around the place. The garden is still low on the budget stakes as we continue to repair the house and using what nature gives you is a fine and frugal way to create abundance.

We are blessed with beautiful flood plain silt and humus of many ages and are putting down stronger roots and sending them into the soil of our community too. We are bringing in the spring blossoms and welcoming the change and new friends into our life.

The pressure to get things done has relaxed and we are enjoying the journey and getting back to some normal activities.

I bit the bullet and ordered a pressure canner from America. And yes! You can use your Fowlers jars so need for extra jar purchases.

I've been canning the dried beans from last summer along with some chickpeas, giving us a ready to use product from the shelf instead of having to plan ahead 24-48 hours with soaking and cooking times of dried legumes. 

We've been scoping out potential country hanger and runway sites close to home for the shearer's plane. He is getting close to finishing it now that he has less house reno demads upon him. I'll post some photos soon.

We've been scoping houses too looking at trim colour options and fencing and landscaping....

The Heritage specialist builders are still at work in the front room putting layer upon layer of traditional lime render on the walls and paint stripping continues also. Our next big and hopefully final piss-problem to deal with will be the front threshold. It will need to be replaced and these guys will be in charge of that as well.

After 12 months I have finally been able to clear out all the furniture and building materials out of the children's' cubby house and restore it back to it's original intended use. I can't wait till Julien visits and discovers it for the first time.

All in all, there is a positive change in the air and we feel like we are home and blessed.

Pumpkins- A Garden Bonus

We didn't plant a single pumpkin.

We ended up harvesting about 20 pumpkins.

They come up so easily from the compost and grow so lustily that I haven't the heart to pull them out, well not the peripheral ones anyway.

I'm guessing they are QLD Blues, especially judging by the tough skin.

On the up side they keep so well but they really are a challenge to cut.

I know some who make the initial cut with a tomahawk or axe.

As a retailer of housewares for many years, I have seen some of the worst abuse perpetrated by people upon their kitchen knives. If you must attempt to cut your pumpkin with your kitchen knife, make sure it is a cooks knife and nothing smaller. DO NOT twist or be tempted to even slightly move the blade sideways, the blade is forged steel and it will snap. After making the first couple of inches incision, it will become almost impossible to cut further so use a wooden spatula as a wedge and insert it into the cut to hold the edges apart allowing the knife to cut further and keep working knife and wedge patiently around until you have fully cut through.

I now have some pumpkin soup made and frozen in portions ready for me to grab for lunches.

The skin was so tough I decided not to fight it and after cutting the pumpkin into natural crescent wedges, I simply brushed with oil and roasted on a tray in the oven.

Once they were softened, I could then more easily remove the skin and add it to the sauteed onions, garlic and chillies and cover with water. After simmering a bit longer I blended it all smooth and added......

NOTHING,

The caramelised onion and roasted pumpkin flavour does not need any additional stock flavouring etc.

It's just pure glorious flavours. Doesn't get any cheaper than this and you save a fortune by not needing to buy lunches. If you keep soup in the freezer you are never caught on the hop.

Pumpkin goes well with black pepper, nutmeg, cous cous, sweet caramelised onions, honey, feta....

My favourite is nutty chickpeas with their beautiful texture contrast.

So along with the pumpkin I have cooked a huge pile of chickpeas for putting into the soup after its finished or for mixing with roasted pumpkin cubes and baby spinach, dressed with a honey chilli dressing and a sprinkle of sesame seeds (excellent Vit A, calcium, iron, folic acid and protein. a complete meal)

First soak the chickpeas in plenty of water for at least four hours.

Drain and cover again with plenty of fresh water.

Simmer for about 10 mins, there will be lots of froth.

Drain and rinse completely.

Cover with more water (yes this is the third lot of water)

and cook until tender. When I drain, I rinse again.

You could also try using a pinch of asafatida powder to the final cook as chickpeas are known to cause flatulence.