Garden Share Collective August

This year is whizzing by and already it is time for the August update for the Garden Share Collective.

Just when things seemed to be drying up we got another 20 mm of rain and everything turned to mush again.  The goats were marooned for a day and ducks reappeared in the 'pond' in the paddock.  We had been having lovely days, frosts in the morning and sun, and even a couple of Nor'wester winds to dry things up.   Some days have felt almost spring like and I had to shed a layer of clothing.  It certainly is hard to know what to put on in the morning!

I have had a go at making some apple cider, using apples from a tree on the roadside outside our gate.  It is a simple recipe so fingers and toes are crossed it is successful. 






I froze 1.5kg of apples for a couple of days.  Semi thawed them, chopped them in food processor, and put into 10L bucket with 5.7 litres of cooled, boiled water.  Leave for a week, stirring morning and night.  After a week, add juice and zest of 3 lemons and 1kg of sugar and bottle.

We have been having lots of apple crumbles too, and the windfall apples have been getting fed to the sheep, much to their delight!

 

 

I have been busy pruning the fruit trees and sorting out the berry garden, and purchased a Hybridberry and Boysenberry on sale to add to the collection.  The Hybridberry is a Boysenberry cross so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

 

 

Things are fairly quiet in the vege garden so I have been taking the time to prune my roses.  18 done yesterday was a good start and it's sunny again today so I should get stuck in and do some more. 

 

The jonquils, crocuses and snow drops are flowering, the days are lengthening and the mud is drying.  I'll enjoy it before the forecasted wintery blast on Thursday!

 

 



 



The boys are in town.

It has been two weeks now that we have had a buck hanging out with my 3 does.  If you have never come across a male goat during the breeding season let me warn you that they stink!  If you have a sensitive nature maybe don't read the first paragraph.
They really are quite disgusting and I'm glad I'm not a goat.  Their mating ritual is fascinating but is really pretty gross with frequent urination, sniffing, snorting, pawing at the ground, biting and so on.  Fortunately we have borrowed this buck off a friend so in a month or so he will leave and take his smell with him.  It is so pungent I can smell him as I walk out the path to their paddock, and it lingers on you even if you have done your best not to touch him.  The interesting thing is that for about half the year they are completely different animals, lose the smell and the desire to urinate on anything that walks once the does are in kid!  It will be more that worth it though when we have some kids arrive in September.

"Spot" the boy!  Hoping Shadow gives my girls some spotty babies in spring.

We also had a ram arrive on loan from my sister and brother-in-law on April 17 - my birthday.  Pretty cool present and a sign that my priorities have changed since we have moved to the country.  Birthday presents have included decent gumboots the first year, a solar electric fence unit in the second year, and for the last couple of years we have used the services of one of my sisters old rams before they become dog tucker.  What a great way to go out!!!  This year we are hoping all 13 ewes will lamb, which is 2 more ewes that last year.  Our pet lamb from our first year, as well as 3 other two tooths, are out with the ram this year so it feels like we are making progress when are replacing the old ewes and building up our flock.  To be honest lambing around 12 ewes is probably enough at the moment.

Our three steers are growing and are cleaning up the rough grass the sheep have left behind.  We had a great debate about what to call them when they first arrived.  After much discussion we came up with Schnitzel von Steer (think Hairy Maclairy and Schnitzel von Krumm), Centre Steer (reference to the Land Rover) and Freddy Steer (Fred Astaire).  They are not pets, but with a 6 year old animals tend to get names.  Miss 6 is aware that we will sell two and one will end up in the freezer, and we have been through similar processes with our pigs Teddy and Salami, and an old ewe known as Mutton Ham! 

Freddy and Centre relaxing in the sun.
 

It has been quite an education for her as she learns where food comes from.  That was something we were hoping would come from living on a farmlet and that certainly has been the case.  While we have a long way to go on our journey to great self reliance/ self sufficiency/sustainability whatever term you use, we are increasingly providing more from our own property.

10 ideas on how to stress less

I found this yesterday on Facebook from The Organised Housewife.  It has some good simple advice for us all in a busy world, especially my current chaos with a 6 year old firecracker, and her 11 week old brother.

10 ideas on how to stress less

I would sum it up by saying "Do things that nourish you".  For me that is a walk, yoga, listening to music, gardening, cooking, reading and play time with family to name a few.

With that in mind I'm enjoying a quiet afternoon inside as the rain has finally arrived.  Nice steady rain is a wonderful sound on the roof, especially when I spent an hour in the vege garden yesterday clearing weeds.  I took a before photo so you could see the wilderness I am working with!

This morning I made some Damson Plum jam with plums Miss 6 and I picked the other day.  I also made a jar of Damson Liqueur. My Mum has put in an order for Damson Gin for her birthday so when I pick the rest I'll make her some.

 

 

What have you done lately to nourish yourself? 

Making Medlar Liqueur

Having discovered a medlar tree at our new place I did some research on how to use them.  There is only so much jelly you can have so I looked into drinks. 
I found an easy recipe for Medlar Cordial here.

I also found a recipe for Medlar liqueur .  It's a Sally Wise recipe and I've heard good things about her recipes so decided to have a crack.
We already had vodka and sugar so that was easy.  When I saw some birds raiding the tree the other day I figured it was time.  Unfortunately I was a bit slow and only managed to get 430g non bird pecked fruit.  Still I have managed to make one large Agee preserving jar full, so for the next week I shake the jar daily, then leave for 6 months.

Update
The liqueur is delicious and very easy to drink!  So easy to make and well worth it.  Tastes fruity and dangerously non alcoholic too.
The best thing is the medlars are ready in late autumn so the liqueur is ready in time for Christmas.

Just me and the coal range

We have just returned from 6 days at the family crib where the only cooking facilities are non electric - a coal range and a kerosene cooker.  (I'm too much of a novice to use 'Beatrice" so hubby gets to deal with her and I use the coal range).
Normally hubby's grandparents are at  the crib too so I can ask Grandma for help but not this time.

Got to crib about 3pm on Wednesday.  Opened fire to light as the rule is to always leave it set for the next person.  Not done!  Locate paper and kindling.  Set fire and light, all the while dying for a cuppa.Fill jug, sit on top and wait.  Hot drink before 4pm so quite pleased with that.
Pasta and custard for tea.
6:30am Thursday awoken by small person so up and lighting fire.  Hot water in half an hour.  Feeling pretty cocky!
By Saturday I thought I really had it mastered, even though the roast chicken had to be served as a second course to veges on Thursday night!

Mission: Bread.
Get recipe book.  4 1/2Tbsp yeast.  Yikes that sounds heaps but it's in "the book" so it must be right.  Just so you know it wasn't and the bread tasted awful.  See No spend Feb comments re bread.
Sunday second attempt at bread was more successful although going from 80C to 220C quickly in coal range not easy.  Especially as the thermometer was Fahrenheit.

So al things considered I would still love a house with a coal range, and despite hubby's reservations I would use it lots.

Jammin.... and Preservin

Summer fruit means dusting off the preserving jars and stocking up on sugar.
So far I have 9 jars of plums and 7 jars of apricots preserved and 6 jars of raspberry jam, and 3 of apricots done.
There are still more plums on the tree so I need to get out there but the rain has put a spanner in the works.  Hopefully they don't split now with the dampness.

The jam looks great and the fruit has all come up pretty well too.  Talk about having your hands full though with a pot of boiling water to sterilise jars, the oven on as a secondary sterilisation, syrup bubbling away, and the lids boiling.  It sure is hot and not a place for a young child!  The end result is worth it though and in the middle of winter some plums or apricots will be a lovely treat.

Considering the start to the year I am pleased with progress on the fill the pantry plan.

Dusting off the jam pot

We went raspberry picking on Sunday, and while it would be delicious to eat all 5kg we brought home I have filled some jam jars instead.  They were beautiful raspberries from the Waitaki Valley.  Large, juicy and very very good.

North Otago Raspberries

1.9kg of fruit made 8 good sized jars of bright red jam.  Makes me want to make some scones right now!

To do list;
Pick and process (jam, preserve) plums over next couple of weeks
WEED, WEED and WEED garden
Help hubby chop firewood which arrived yesterday
Play with Miss A over the holidays
Plan family holiday

Sour dough success

I tried making sourdough bread again today using a different recipe.  It was a bit of a cheat as you added yeast to the mixture but only 1t.  The recipe said it would make 16 small buns, and they are quite small but a nice size to have with soup etc and perfect for my daughter.  I think if I make it again I would make 12 bigger sized ones.
I had a baking afternoon today;
Batch of orange choc chip muffins for a friend whose daughter is sick
Batch of gingernut biscuits
Sourdough buns
Mixed grain buns

For tea tonight we are having pinto bean burgers(in the bread rolls of course).  If they are good I'll share the recipe.

The vegetables are slowly coming in the garden.  There are 3 cabbages that have been in over winter which are starting to heart up.
Update on seeds sown;
Half runner beans up
About 2 purple beans up
1 butter bean up
Beetroot and carrots up
Courgettes, pumpkins and rock melons doing well inside and being hardened off during the day.
Lots of flowers on broad beans, and currants are setting fruit.
My second lot of cauli and broccoli seeds have come to nothing as my daughter "gave them a mix" shortly after I had planted them! The joys of gardening with children.

Champers anyone?

 The rhubarb plants have revived after winter so I am overrun with rhubarb again.
there is only so much you can eat - breakfast, rhubarb crumble, rhubarb shortcake, muffins.

last year I started making Rhubarb champagne.  As far as I am aware it is not alcoholic - contains rhubarb, sugar, vinegar and water, but it gets very fizzy.
The good thing though is it keeps it fizz unlike ginger beer which can go flat once opened.  also no feeding a "bug" everyday.
It keeps well too - at least 3 months.  It does well to last that long really too.  I just reuse plastic sot drink bottles so that is less going to the landfill too.

Baking day!

I finally got round to making some more bread.
Kibbled grain bread rolls are a staple and an awesome recipe to make from scratch.  It makes an awesome loaf in the breadmaker too.

I also attempted to make Sourdough bread.  I hadn't really realised how much more time it would need to rise so it turned out a small dense, but still very tasty loaf.



Boston Bun recipe

I picked up an absolutely awesome recipe for Boston buns in the weekend.  It was my husband's great auntie's recipe from the War ration era.

You can make one large round, or I make a dozen smaller individual buns.

3/4 C sugar
1 C cold mashed potato
2 C flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 C milk
1/2 C sultanas
Cinnamon to taste(optional)

Cream potato and sugar together in food processor or cake mixer.  If lumpy sieve until smooth.
Add rest of ingredients and mix to form dough.  Shape into large bun (or smaller ones).  Place on lined baking tray.
Cook for 30minutes at 160 degrees Celsius.  Takes about 15min for smaller buns.
Cool, then ice with pink icing and coconut.

Yummo

Sourdough bread

For a long time I have thought about making sourdough bread.  Finally I created a starter on Sunday - one cup flour and one cup warm water.  Mix well in a plastic container (metal including metal spoons can affect the mix) and leave in a warm place for a few days, feeding it with some flour and water each day.  If it all works and picks up the yeast in the air, bubbles will appear and it will have a fermented smell.
It's looking pretty good so I am hoping to be able to make some bread soon.
I have been making bread for a while, by hand and with the breadmaker, so this will make a nice change.