Must Reads

Photo sourced from Urban Homestead South Africa Blog

From the paucity of posts you may have gathered that I have been a little busier of late.

True.

I would not insult your intelligence either with just any old drivel trying to fill a space.

If I have nothing of value to add then I would rather remain silent.

There are some who have said something very important in the past week.

The first is from Urban Homestead South Africa in her post "Back Then"

Oh out of the mouths of babes....

An overhead remark from a Gen Y to...well someone of a much older generation before they were labeled, gives rise to some very pertinent musings. 

Photo from Mount Gnomon blog

The second is from the Mount Gnomon blog and their post entitled 

"The Reality Of Farming"

The lovely couple of Mount Gnomon Farm are champions of the rare breeds and ethical farming.

They produce, among other things, true "organic free range pork products" from their Wessex Saddle Back Pigs.

Eliza gives a very moving and honourific account of a sow's first farrowing at the farm this week.

I felt every movement and struggle.

Have you ever had someone describe their labour of birthing and found yourself almost pushing through contractions in empathy?

It's like that. 

I have long admired Eliza's photography but her writing is also quite divine.

I am so excited about tomorrow.

I get to meet Claire from Sweet Birdy Love

She is having a little holiday in the State.

I am looking after the shop all day tomorrow so she is calling into 

Resurekt at 270 Invermay Rd at 9.30.

I have made Date Slice and Lee from Killiecrankie Farm is also coming.

Any other bloggers who would like to meet Claire or Lee are quite welcome to come in and have a cuppa and some slice. 

What My Father Taught Me

My Father taught me four important things...

1. How to oil my bike chain

2. NOT to saw asbestos sheeting

3. How to iron a business shirt

and 

4. How to make awesome popcorn.

Thanks Dad xxx

Making Dinner

Making dinner;

it's wholesome and nurturing for the family,

it provides good nutrition,

it saves tons of money,

it allows you to connect with the seasons...

It is also a drag when you come home from work on a dark wintry night or even on the hottest summer days too.

It is soooo tempting to say,

"Lets get takeaway"

NO! Don't do it.

When I feel on the verge of this lazy apathy I get myself up and peel something.

I don't have a plan or a clue but if I just start washing potatoes or peeling sweet potatoes the rest falls into place. Suddenly the steamer is coming out and the is greens and corn. Meat is being cooked in the pan in the most basic way and before you know it,

in less time than it would have taken to drive, order and get home with takeaway,

We have a simple but beautiful home cooked meal.

Jamie Oliver built a whole show around how fast cooking for dinner is.

Even if you just put on a pot of water for pasta,

the rest will fall into place with simple ingredients.

Tomatoes are the only fancy sauce you need, nothing else, no gums or thickeners or any other additives you find in the instant meal jars or packets.

I know we all feel this way a lot of the time coming home from work.

I know when I am like this I get a dialogue happening in my head that goes;

"After all, you've been at work all day, you deserve..."

The old "YOU DESERVE" trick. Don't listen to it.

So what do you do when you are tired at the end of the day and a meal seems like another hours work?

What is your secret weapon in the kitchen?

What gets you motivated?

Winter Woodcutting

Wood cutting is a bit of a preoccupation for those of  us still retaining our wood heaters.

The price of electricity has gone up so much and is rising again that I pulled the plug on the electrical heating.

I quite enjoy wood cutting. Its good sweat work.

We found a fallen dead tree and got a bit of wood but a lot of it had turned to mud.

Nature at work, compost before our eyes, home to many small insects in the life cycle.

We also felled a standing dead tree, now that is goooood wood!

After some good labour, a time to relax and have a bbq of lamb steaks, sausages and potato slices with broccoli and onion stirfry in soy and chilli. 

Sitting back enjoying the "silence"

because there is no real silence in the bush of course, it is just the absence of the human din.

There is easily five different types of birds calling. The rustle of upper eucalypt leaves and the hiss and crack of the fire. 

The smell of sawdust on my clothes from the peppermint gum.

I could sit here till the moon rises through the trees and the frost settles all around.

Caught My Interest Last Week...

Making Quark at Killiecrankie Farm

And a wonderful video tutorial on making Camembert by Gavin

This mushroom kit over at Northwest Edible Life

 And picking Saffron Milk Cap Mushrooms at Slow Living Essentials

I Am Momma Hear Me Roar has challenged us to thank someone who has made a difference in her weekly segment "Wake Up Wednesday"

I wrote and thanked Andrew Wilke for speaking so well this week in defense of the cruelty to beasts in live trade.

MADE gave me a very comprehensive and sound advice about choosing fabric for boy sewing.

And Housewife Eclectic gave us really really welcome advice advice about photographing people to look thinner. Loved it. Some good chin tips.

Sitting On Top Of Our World told us about making basil oil. I am grateful to find another great way of using basil abundance in something other than pesto. Imagine this dressing for greens in the winter months.

 

And Q Made took me into their summer garden giving me a brief escape from the wintry wonderland I am wallowing in. I'm gazing at snow covered mountains out of the window but imagining I'm hosing the vegies and indulgently laughing at the mud fighting foes in the other hemisphere.

Thank you ladies and gentleman for sharing and teaching me lots of new things.

The Past Week

The hat was finished and found it's way to a beautiful little girl who has recently got a part in a musical.

I see lots of cold days in rehearsal ahead for her.

They are exactly her colours and she looked divine.

A few jars of olives have already found other homes too and I'm thinking these make wonderful gifts.

Sleep patterns have a bit disturbed with adjustments to Craig's work schedule.

I've had a birthday which is always exciting

and Mother has arrived home after three months abroad.

I have made a couple of cushions from some vintage bark cloth and fine linen.

They are now in the shop Resurekt.

I adore linen and it was a joy to sew.

Also another apron, completely reversible and in size M

also available at Resurekt.

It looks bluish but the contrast is actually a vibrant purple and also has purple gingham.

I just had to dress the pocket with the selvage information edge.

Again a gorgeous fabric.

A big week.....

Final Bottling of the Olives

The olives have been having their daily brine bath

(see here)

These olives (don't know what sort) took 11 days.

I tried one and they have lost nearly all of their bitterness.

The next step in the method I am following is to bring enough brine for bottling to the boil.

The ratio for this brine is 1 cup of sale to 10 cups of water

(so it is double what the olives have been soaking in daily)

I gathered together my collection of glass jars with glass lids.

These have been saved from Maccona coffee jars and even as far back as Bushell Tea when it used to come in glass jars. Salt corrodes metal very quickly so I have opted for these jars rather than the clip seal types.

I have seen some clip seal type jars where the wire was powder coated and that may help prevent corrosion if you are wanting to do olives or preserved lemons.

After the boiled brine is cooled it is poured into the jars so that the olives are covered and then a layer of olive oil is poured on top to cover any olives trying to float and to create a seal on top of the brine.

Pop the lid on and store. They will keep at least 12 months in this way now.

When you are ready to eat the olives, pour away the strong brine and fill the jar with plain fresh water and place in the refrigerator for 24hrs after which time they should have leeched out any excess salt.

If not drain and rinse one more time.

Now you can add flavourings at this point to the drained olives.

You could add lemon zest, crushed garlic, chopped chilli, chopped rosemary...

I don't find flavours "infuse" olives so much as they "coat" them.

They really are superb eaten plainly on their own.

It is true what they say about never going back to commercial olives again.

The initial task of washing and slitting was a bit onerous and after two days of brine changing I was thinking "what have I started!"

By day four or five it has become a habit and before you know it the 10-12 days is up.

So worth every second of my time.

The big plus is they are chemical free and organic.