produce..

its all very well having a vegetable garden that abounds in produce, but it does all ripen at once, and so needs eating and preserving all at once....
i am only just keeping up...
cucmber relish...
tomatoe and chilli jam...
tomatoe relish...
tomatoe pasta sauce...
fig and ginger relish...
spiced rhubarb jam...
if anyone can help me with preserving the aubergines i would be very grateful.. i have tried baking and keeping them in oil, but did not have a lot of success and cant seem to find a good reciepe to help...
anyhow, more on the recipes for the above soon..

it has been hot, really hot here for the past week, and i am making birthday gifts...knitting birthday gifts in fact, in 39 degree heat...i must be looney..
so this yarn was a delight to work with...i have made a scarf and will purchase some leather driving gloves to go with it...
the recipient recieved a cuban mob car from his wife for his birthday... it is pale blue and i think a chevrolet 1956 ish....and it is fabulous, pale blue, the same as the scarf he should have already recieved...i cant wait for him to get this in the mail...the pattern was from an old book of mums with loads of sample stitches in it, sorry i don't remember the name...i just picked one i liked the look of that was a bit masculine...i thought it would be a quick knit, but i used #9 needles as i wanted a loose weave, and i hate knitting on large needles..i felt all thumbs, and ended up knitting the continental method to give my aching wrists a break....


and finally my two new babies...they were given to me a fortnight ago, how could i say no...just look at their faces...
as brothers they play, sleep, walk, annoy, do everything together.... they will be good company for each other, as in the past we have always had cats when the children were around to play with them...nowadays with children all grown up and me working 3 to 4 days per week they will have some quiet days with just the two of them defending the home....
they are such time wasters...i hope they don't loose their collars, its the only way we tell them apart...
red = cassias
blue = ivanda
...don't ask....

harvest...

my weekend was spent in the garden.....

weeding...

mulching...

cutting back....

and the reward on sunday afternoon was to pick...

the silver beet we ate at dinner tonight...

rhubarb to be stewed in the morning...

spaghetti egg plant...i don't quite no how to handle these..i want to preserve them spiced oil...any other suggestions i would love to hear from you....

chillies for drying, and paste, and jam...

i guess tomorrow is going to be busy in the kitchen...

how scary is this...

yes thats teaspoon of 'fat equivalent' in each meal..
i took a client to a dietition today...man oh man what an eye opener it was...
fish, chips and coleslaw v's grilled fish, baked potatoe and salad...
i was invited to sit in on the session...never again

proofing...

why hasn't somebody told me...

i have been making my own bread for ever..i have always proofed the dough by putting it in the back of the car and reversing the car out of the garage into the sun...
today i decided that i would try microwaving it...BINGO!
simply put dough into a ceramic container cover losely with plastic wrap, and microwave on the lowest power level for 5 mins...
a true revelation for me...
5 mins not 25...
and now for lunch...

in the mix...

i have played around with different ingredient mixes for a while now...
this now needs sharing, because once you hand-make your own, you will never..yes never...buy chai tea or latte again...

chai mix is traditionally made in a large pot of sweetened boiling water and steeped over a long period of time- over night even...
with a pot on the stove top you can just dip in any time you like...
but for practical purposes in our household, we use a single tea steeper for one cup and a coffee plunger if multiple cups are needed...

so here is my mix..and i always double it to fill the canister..

1 tablespoon fennel seeds
6 green cardamom pods
12 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 cm dried ginger root
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg pod
1 star anise
whole vanilla bean

place all of the above ingredients in a mortar and pestle and smash roughly to mix. don't turn it to powder...

to the above quantity of spices you add 4 tablespoon of good quality green tea....if you are not a green tea drinker then add a mild black tea like darjeeling or russian caravan...
the commercial tea leaves are just used to pad out the quantity so anything can be used so long as it doesn't overpower the spice mix..
store in an air tight container.

for chai tea just steep one teaspoon of mix to one cup of boiling water...
for chai latte steep one teaspoon of mix in hot milk...

remember...chai is traditionally a sweet drink, so if you are that way inclinded i suspect brown or raw sugar would be the go...i have a sweet tooth, but never feel the need to sweeten this, the vanilla bean and cinnamon seem to suffice...

this is perfect for drinking in the craft room with your favourite music playing while working on your current production....the fragrant smell is enough to put you in a good mood...
actually it is just good for drinking anytime...happy crafting....

happy..sad...

these make me happy...
these are the most fantastic red...
these are delicious...
these are a treat...
tamarillo's just make the best desert...tart yet sweet...
such a short season to enjoy them.. its over before you know it has started... so buy them when you see them, because next week they will be gone...

this makes me sad...really sad...
whilest taking tamarillo photo's i knocked a glass of water over...
over my panasonic lumix fx18 camera...
this is the last photo that it took, and i think it is from the inside of the camera after it had been drowned...
sniff..sniff...and we leave for holidays in 3 weeks...sniff sniff...
how am i meant to photograph african animals without a camera...sniff sniff...

there is beauty in everything

they never cease to amaze me....

its quince season...and i love them...

i love that the plain ordinary looking fruit can transform themselves into something so beautiful..

i love the colour...the scent...the flavour....the surprise in their cooking....
but ohhh the flavour...

quince jelly

1.3 kg quince fruit..washed and quartered
2 lemons...halved
1/2 cup water
two cinnamon sticks
1kg sugar

place fruit, lemons, cinnamon and water in a large pan and simmer until the fruit is soft and pulpy.
place in muslin/gauze and hang over a bowl overnight. don't be tempted to squeeze the pulp hasten the process or the jelly will go cloudy.
place the collected juice back into a clean pan and bring to the boil. slowly add the sugar and continuously stir until it comes to the boil. turn the heat down to low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally for 2 hours, or until setting point is reached.
bottle while hot into sterilized jars. you can add a sprig of rosemary to each jar or a bay leaf and as you pour the hot jelly into the jar, the herb will infuse into the jelly giving it an additional flavour...

this jelly keeps for well over 12 months if sealed properly...
trust me it is worth the effort.... its delicious on toast...delicious with cold meats....delicious on a cheese board....

connecting with the past..

everything ripens at once...

i have been cooking all weekend.....

stewed plums...plum sauce...pickled plums...plum conserve....

then of course the tomatoes are ripening faster than we can eat them....chutney this week and hopefully tomato and passionfruit jam next week....
and because this is so delicious some more limoncello.....
i felt like my granny all weekend...

she loved preserving, she always produced a jar of something delicious to share....i used her favourite receipes that were given to her by her mother....

i love that the generations still remain connected through old hand written receipes...tried and true...simple...they never fail me.....

now i have to label and find a home for all this in the pantry....

chink..chink..christmas treats..

i know this is a drink and should be in bottles...
but, various bottles? or matching jars?....
jars of course....
this is seriously delicious..
i make it alot during the summer when lemons are in abundance...
it also makes a great xmas gift, especially when it is bottled correctly....
the receipe is from my travels through italy years ago, when i stayed with and old friend. amongst the cellar filled with sausage, wine, pasta, tomato sauce, sat bottles of limocello...i am sure she wont mind me sharing it with you....

Francesco's Limoncello
11 lemons
1000mls vodka
700gm sugar
1000mls water.
Peel lemons with potatoe peeler taking as little of the pith as you can.
place peel in a glass jar and pour over the vodka.
seal and stand for 5 days in a cool dark place. gently shake each day.
then...boil the water and sugar until dissolved.
allow to cool.
strain the peel and mix the juice with the water.
bottle, adding a few strips of peel to each bottle
seal well and leave for 4 weeks to brew before using.
delicious mixed with sparkling soda water, sipped as a liqueur, or poured over vanilla ice cream..

........

now what do you do with 11 lemons with no skin...you make lemon cordial of course....
more gifts.....

granola.....

humming to neil diamond...

a favourite muesli that i have been eating for years has gone out of production....sniff, sniff...whilst a few substitutes have been ok, i cannot buy them locally and so i have to wait for trips to the city to stock up....i googled for a receipe to attempt to make something similar to what i have been missing so badly......this is just delicious...seriously delicious....i added an extra cup of fruit and nut, and some cranberries ( good for the alzheimer's they say)...but other than that, i pretty much followed the receipe to the 'T'... i was unable to purchase orange oil anywhere in the state, and got tired of looking, so resorted to using orange zest instead, and it has turned out just fine...a nice blend of taste and fragrance....it is so delicious i am reluctant to go on about it at the breakfast table for fear i might have to share it with the rest of the family....you know how much boys eat!!!

the cycle...

we sow them......

we grow them...

we mow them....they go and get processed (sorry no photo for that step)...

then we eat them.....

Apple and Cinnamon Muffins
(all done by hand in one bowl)
mix together 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup milk.
add 1 cup S.R. flour, 1teaspoon baking powder, 1teaspoon cinnamon and 1 peeled chopped apple.
mix lightly and put into greased or lined muffin tins. bake 15-20 mins 180 degrees celsius.

delicious, especially hot out of the oven!!

they don't last long in this house, i baked a dozen an hour ago and have only three left...
why do boys eat so much?

we've been on broome time...

no crafting going on around here.....

we've been on a winter break to broome, in our states far northwest... what a fantastic few days away with friends....30 degrees (celsius) everyday, no flies or mozzies or bugs....watching sunsets like this, whilst sipping champagne on the beach....

driving scooters around to take in sights like this.....

reality check as we hit home.....

washing, washing and more washing, rain,rain... but can't complain we're farmers... and back to freezing weather with no food in the house other than the essentials....

creation.....upside down tomatoe, onion and marinated feta cheese tart...

delicious....appreciated by all, as there is none left for today's lunch....

i will write up the receipe because it was so easy and soooo yummy...just have to finish the chores first....

quince paste for lunch

there is something special about a quince. its odd shape, its odd texture, how it transforms itself into shades of burgundy after cooking, disguising itself.

quince jelly and quince paste in abundance.....bring on the school fetes....or add it to a delicious cheese platter for mothers day lunch!

the receipe i used was a mixture of several. basically you peel and core the quinces cover with water and bring to the boil. simmer until the fruit is soft. now the interesting part, you have to drain off the liquid through muslin overnight. just let it drip, don't be tempted to squeeze it or the jelly will turn cloudy. the next day you bring to boil equal quantities of sugar and liquid and simmer until it reaches setting point. I also added lemon juice, a cinnamon quill and a few bay leaves. bottle while hot. as it starts to get hot it transforms into a lovely ruby red. it keeps for 12 months and is best eaten with blue cheese.