A slow day

I think that lately I have been running on a high from my iron supplements but it caught up with me yesterday and today too. I am feeling a bit worn out and have slowed down today. That's probably for the best though I am I believe quite an impatient person when it comes to myself and what I want to achieve on any given day.

 

Well, as I was having a slow kind of day, I decided to do some things that are quite a lengthy process. Growing garlic for one.

 

 I'm sure I usually have my garlic in the ground before now but better late than never. Not all of the bulbs I stored from last year have started shooting but the ones that have have been sorted and separated and planted. By mid spring, there should be plenty to unearth for cooking and growing next year too. I calculate our garlic usage at approximately 1 bulb per week so I usually plant out 100 garlics to have plenty for regular meals, pickles/sauces, the garden and to share as well. This amount doesn't take up as much room as it would seem for 100 plants, but if I didn't have the room, I would halve the amount and buy in new bulbs each year.


I took a look at our honey reserves too. This season has been on the leaner side as far as honey production goes so we have less for sale. But, our aim is for optimal production over maximum production. Quality not quantity. We inspected the hives last week too and although there is plenty of bee activity, they don't have any to spare for us right now. I think it is due to the rather extreme season we have had which has probably disrupted flowering and nectar flow in the eucalypts which make up the bulk of our bees foraging. The hive closest to the gardens is fairing the best, benefiting from the flowering plants we have planted.

 

Although our hives are permanently situated and the honey is multi-flora, there are still seasonal differences. The honey on the left, is harvest from earlier in the seaason whilst the honey on the right is a late season honey. And they taste markedly different too. The darker honey is more robust in flavour and my personal favourite. 

 

I checked the progress of my creamed honey this afternoon. I made it last weekend and it is definitely going through the candying process. I haven't made creamed honey before but it was simple enough, the biggest test is patience. There are plenty of websites and books with instructions on how to make creamed honey so I won't bother with a how to here. Suffice to say, it just requires some runny honey and creamed honey and time. Slow food.

I'm tempted by these hot chillies to make a Sriracha sauce but I may just get lazy and string them up to dry out. Even with all of the pickles, relishes and chutneys I make with chillies, a string of dried chillies is still my favourite way to preserve them.

 I'm always open to suggestions for new ways to preserve what I harvest so if anyone has some special recipes using chillies, I'd love to try them.

Now I am going to do some cross stitch which is just the right kind of craft for a slow moving day.
Tracy

Bottling and biryani

Bottling up honey. I'm keeping the packaging and labelling simple because the honey is what it's all about. Besides that, my graphic design skills are non-existent.

Sweet potato and red lentil soup

Our dinner last night , sweet potato and lentil soup. This one certainly ticks the budget meals box, costing about $2.00 to feed four of us and have left overs to stir though pasta for lunch today. Even if sweet potatoes weren't on special at the greengrocers, this would still be a cheap meal.

Tonight's dinner was still on the cheap side but no less tasty maybe even more so. My estimate of the cost is $6 to serve the four of us. Unfortunately this time though, there are no leftovers. It is an easy dish to make too which is always a bonus.



Chicken Biryani

Ingredients

1.5 cups basmati rice

2 and 1/4 cups water

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2cm ginger, grated

1 chicken breast fillet, cut in 2cm dice

1/2 tsp dried chilli

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

150mL plain yoghurt

3 tbs sultanas

 

Method

Combine rice and water in saucepan and cook covered on medium heat for 10 minutes.Drain if needed.

Heat oil in a large saucepan and stir fry onion until softened.

Add garlic and spices and cook for a couple of minutes.

Stir in chicken and allow to cook for a few minutes.

Stir in yoghurt and sultanas and heat through.

Place rice on top of the chicken mix. Cover the pot with a tea towel and then the pot lid.

Allow to cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Remove lid(careful of the steam) and stir to combine the rice and sauce.

Serve with salad (I used tomatoes, cucumber, onions and mint tonight) and a raita.

Wow, that is harder to type than to make.
Tracy

Just a couple of reasons

...why I love where I live.

My ducks lining up in a row

I really think I am meant to be in this place. It isn't the right place or lifestyle for everyone but it truly suits me just fine. I guess I can say that I am really me here. If that makes a scrap of sense.



Friendly neighbours

 We have been toying with the idea of moving for a promotion for Tim's work if the opportunity came about but I think we have decided to definitely stay put and leave work ambitions to the ambitious(it would mean living in the city indefinitely). Of course we have things we would like to achieve just like everybody does. Including our current aim, to get our honey into some nice jars and make a little pin money from it and be proud of the product that we the bees have made. It is tougher than you would think. There are a lot of  options for containers and it is a matter of being spoilt for choice which makes the decision harder. Not important in the big scheme, just little choices.I am leaning towards glass over plastic and just two sizes, 1kg for those with a sweet tooth and maybe 500grams. Anyway, hopefully it will be a done thing soon enough. Any ideas or suggestions that might help would be gratefully accepted.
Tracy