This will be my last Blog entry in Australia for 2010.
We are off to Malta for 2 months from Tuesday - two days time. Michael has Long Service Leave, and we wanted to visit a place where we could do some research on Mediteranean foods that will grow well here. Michael has a company there, and a friend has offered us his holiday home, so we will be doing lots of Blog research. I am particularly interested in recipies for carob, pommegranite and quince, three plants that grow well here with very little attention, and I have scant knowledge about processing, preserving, and eating. In the mean time, here is a catch up photo diary of our eating habits of the past few weeks.
Broad Bean Harvest - I have found that they are delicious and sweet if eaten young and cooked briefly. I eat with butter, yum.
BD TTT Beef from Farmer's Market
New local Yoghurt available at Coles
Stir fry in the new Wok, home grown veg and venison strips
Michael found this local salt at Marion Bay general store on his last surf trip.
Local Bacon found by Michael in Foodland in Seaford
We have finally run out of dried yeast - amazingly the jar we had in the freezer lasted this whole time. We cannot find local yeast, so Michael has reprieve from baking bread. I have been experimenting with potato scones, and muffins, both without any raising agents. The muffins use lemon zest and yoghurt. The potato cakes, which are delicious, are lots of butter, mashed potato, flour, & salt.
Potato scones are cooked on a hot skillet, with flour - not oil. Makes for an interesting challenge.
Lemon muffins, I made these for the WWS School music concert.
Food Forest
I have attended a couple of Sunday courses at the Food Forest in Gawler http://www.foodforest.com.au/
One on Organic Vegetable growing and Free Range Poultry, and one on Organic Fruit and Nut tree growing.They were both very worthwhile and enjoyable, stacked full of useful information and hands on learning. Anne Marie and Graham are such a wealth of knowledge, such down to earth people, so generous and passionate. It is so wonderful to experience their willingness to teach and share with others. While I was there I ate their delicious home grown goodies, dried figs, apples and pistachios, and fresh white mulberries, yum. I also purchased some of their new apple cider, apple cider vinegar, and their new movie! a very good insight into to their Food Forest lifestyle with a great interview with David Holmgren, the co-founder of Permaculture, and interviews with the Brookman offspring. Very inspiring , well made, and easy viewing, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sDmbbqsGIg.
Local lunch at home
Home made mayonnaise - I always think it takes too long, but actually, it tok only minutes, I did not even use a recipie. local olive oil, our own eggs, salt, Farmer's Market garlic, lemon juice. Blend together, keep adding olive oil till it gets thick. EASY.
It has lasted in the fridge for at least two weeks. I add parsley and dill from the garden to make tartare sauce, and add lemon juice to make a salad dressing. yum.
It is always such a pleasure to be invited to Ruth and Tresh's house for dinner! They are so generous and the atmosphere is so relaxed, Ruth is lovely and Tresh is such an entertainer, here he is making bread in the pizza oven he made.
Hot bread from the wood oven! What a treat.
Ruth's desert, with local Willunga grown berries and home made berry sauce. So Delicious, Ruth's deserts are legendary.
Breakfast without toast
Latest farmer's market find - fruit leathers made in Aldinga Beach! and such a huge variety of flavours.
Steve Poole's plums - thanks Steve
Our latest purchase a WebberQ BBQ from Mitre 10 in McLarenVale. we decided to upgrade from our old clunker, and it was highly recommended by friends the Notts and the Goods. We like it too. It is supposed to be energy efficient and easy to use & clean. It certainly seems to cook well, and it's all good so far.
Lynda my good friend and neighbour, helping me enjoy the results of my first try cooking on the new Webber Q. We ate the best zucchini I have ever tasted from Lynda's garden, and chicken sausages from Willunga butcher. They are usually very fatty when fried. On the Webber grill they were sensational.
Breakfast 2 without toast
Here is the Worm Farm Fridge. I saw a version of this at the Blackwood Primary school community garden. I was inspired because I don't have a space in the garden that does not have direct sun for the whole day, and my old worm farms were the standard can-o-worms black plastic variety and they seemed to get too hot in summer. In fact we lost them last year in the November heat wave. The Fridge is insulated against heat and cold, is white (doesn't attract heat like black) and is providing a lot larger surface area for the worms. I am hoping that this will keep them happy and healthy enough to multiply to a number that will deal with all of our household waste that cannot go to the chickens. Citrus, tea leaves, garlic, onion, floor sweepings, etc.
It feels good to be using a fridge that was unwanted, recycling it into a useful item. It is up on bricks to a bucket height to allow the worm juice to be drained off. It is also on a slight angle to allow the flow of juice. There was already a hole that was the perfect size for the plastic pipe - reused from the fridge. I had to fill a few holes with silicone, and siliconed around the hose. I used the wire mesh from the back of the fridge as a grate to keep the worms and debris off the gravel at the base.
The gravel is to allow the water to drain easily from the farm, and prevent the worms from drowning in the fluid at the base of the farm.
ontop of the mesh I laid shade cloth to improve drainage and stop debris falling through.
ontop of the shade cloth I laid the stuffing from our old club lounge suite which I had saved when we had it re furbished with new foam. The cotton wadding and coconut fibre/horse hair is perfect bedding material for the worms, and it did not go to landfill.
Watering in the bedding
with food added
Happy worms
I added shade cloth to cover the farm and prevent flies and other flying bugs breeding in the wormfarm. I could have used flyscreen, I attached it with velcro to make accessibility easy.
Aarod cooks breakfast
How nice to have a 16 year old who likes to cook. We bought bread at the Farmer's market this week, a treat before we go.
The real reason we are going to Malta!
Michael brought this hope with him on his last trip. It is Anisette liqueur, an aniseed drink I expect like Ouzo. It is traditional in Malta to have a shot in coffee.
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