Joolz mentioned this June! Photo a Day challenge on her blog a few days ago and I thought I would give it a try. I'm not promising anyone that I will manage the full 30 days but who knows I might even surprise myself.
Tracy

Citrus maintenance

By no means am I an expert on gardening topics or anything for that matter but I do love my garden. It gives me great joy. Right now is a good time to be loving some of my citrus trees. The lime and all but one of the mandarin trees have given up their fruit for the year and are ready for a little pampering. A healthy dose of chicken manure to invigorate them. 

Citrus have a high nitrogen requirement so chicken manure applied around the base to the drip zone works a treat. Commercially available fertilisers most likely have it all worked out to a science but poultry manure is aplenty here and it's free. Our climate is  very cold winters and hot summers which is perhaps not ideal for citrus but the only effect it seems to have had is that they are a little slower growing and maybe the fruit is a little more sour than it would be in a more suitable area. Having said that, I am yet to have an orange off our own trees but I live in hope that they are just taking their time and it isn't a result of where they are growing. The citrus trees are the water guzzlers of the orchard and they look decidedly sad when they are thirsty with their leaves turned up. Skimping on the water isn't good for the fruit or the tree. Too much water at once after a dry spell though can cause the fruit to split.

Citrus are the only fruits we have in the orchard right now and I have to say a mandarin is just about perfect for a snack or for a school lunchbox. Quite timely too to have all of that Vitamin C packed goodness with the cold season upon us. Still to be picked are the lemons, lemonades and the Empire mandarin.
Tracy

The weather has really taken a turn for winter now. We have had some much needed rain and a rather bitter north wind has blown in the winter. I think that most of eastern Australia is feeling the chill this weekend. I am feeling wintery inside, it happens sometimes. Not a depression, just a foggy feeling, not knowing which direction to take. It will pass and I will be feeling fine soon enough I'm sure. Life is good here so I have no excuse not to live it to the full and enjoy the privileges I have. I will move along.

We  had a quick trip to visit Tom in Sydney last week. Just a couple of nights all together as a family which was really nice. He had university during the day so not a lot of time together. The girls couldn't stay away from school too long so we were home by Thursday just in time for Grace to sing in the choir on Friday.

We also had our evening of fine dining at the local TAFE training restaurant on Monday night. Our past experience was of an a la carte menu but Monday was a mini-degustation which was a bit of a surprise. I am fairly adventurous in what I will eat but the others like to play it safe. Needless to say when pigs ears and sweetbreads were served as one of the entrees, surprise turned to horror for my fellow diners. I grew up eating offal so I can eat it and enjoy it but I can understand the viewpoint of those who don't like it at all. Hope wasn't left hungry, the chefs prepared some chicken strips and vegetables just for her and she had a delicious panna cotta for dessert.

I'm not sure what Grace is thinking or doing in the picture.  Certainly not posing for the camera like her sister.
Tracy

Pumpkin Frittata/ Quiche

It is more like a quiche really and when I made it on Friday for our zero food mile night, I omitted the dairy because I don't have any milk producers right now. I also dry roasted the pumpkin. How I usually make it is below.

Pumpkin Frittata/ Quiche

Ingredients

700 grams pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks about 2-3 cm.

Olive oil

1 onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

handful of spinach/ silverbeet/ chard(if using silverbeet or chard, tear or shred the leaves)

5 eggs

60mL milk

100 grams ricotta

basil leaves to garnish

Method

Preheat oven to 200 deg C. Coat the pumpkin in olive oil and roast until golden in a large baking tray.

While the pumpkin is roasting, saute the onion and garlic in a little oil. When they are softened, add the greens to wilt.

Lightly grease or line an oven proof dish about 26 x 16cm.

Spread the onion mix and pumpkin evenly over the base of the dish.

Whisk the eggs and milk together and pour evenly over the pumpkin and onion. Place the ricotta evenly around the dish.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Garnish with basil. 

The recipe is fairly basic and could be altered easily to use other vegetables. Tomatoes would be nice particularly roasted cherry tomatoes. A handful of cheddar or a stronger cheese is nice too for a bit more flavour.

I am having a night away from the kitchen tonight. We are heading out for some fine dining at the local TAFE. Tim and I had a great meal there last year and made sure we booked a table early this year. The meals are fancy, the service is fantastic and the prices are terrific. If anyone has a TAFE restaurant nearby, it is definitely worth a visit and it supports the efforts of those starting out in the hospitality industry. Win-win.

Tracy



Zero Mile Food Night

On re-reading my last post it does sound a little whingey. It wasn't my intention to have a whine I think it just kind of snuck in behind the scenes. Sorry for that.

 On Friday night there was a local food night in town with Costa Georgiadis as special guest. There were to be canapes and wine all sourced and made from within the 100mile/160km radius of the town. I really would have liked to attend but without a car and not being keen enough to pedal the 50 kilometres to get there, I decided on a zero mile food night at home.

Pumpkin had to be on the menu because it is the vegetable of the moment. There are at least eighteen still hanging on in the compost area and probably another thirty in the vegetable garden proper. I am leaving them out there until absolutely necessary to ring them in and the flavour keeps improving.

Truly not the best picture but it was a nice dinner with the best of company. Roasted pumpkin frittata, the last of the beans and button squash, simple garlic mashed potato and a mixed salad of rocket, nasturtium leaves and flowers and parsley. I forgot to add the basil until after we were eating but it is supposed to be on top of the frittata.

 I used a couple of the new beeswax candles that I made that day too. The wicks in the candles came from afar and I'm not sure that I would use the homegrown cotton on something as short lived as a wick. Homemade lime cordial finished the meal off. I have to say it was simple fare but that is probably the best way to eat most of the time.

It would be a great to be able to eat this closely to the source every day. It would surely take some planning and work and one would probably end up feeling a bit deprived. It also wouldn't support the growers out there that rely on selling their produce for their livelihood.

Tracy

Bee business- wax

Generally speaking I am not a procrastinator, I like to get things done. Though on any given day my to-do list is longer than my done list but not because I have a lazy streak but I just bite off more than I can chew sometime all the time. However I have been putting off processing our last lot of bees wax. It is messy and a job that I do not relish.

 This is the wax after it has been washed. Before this it has honey and other debris mixed in with it. So at this stage, it looks fairly clean. It is a good idea to have a pot/ double boiler that is just for processing wax because it is hard to clean off. I use an old heavy based saucepan over boiling water and have an old knife I use for stirring.

 Once it melts I strain it through cheesecloth into whatever vessel I am using. Usually an ice cream container or a clean milk carton. These make for easy removal of the clean wax and they are fairly easy to come by, inexpensive and a good size for the amount of wax I have to deal with.

I know I have written about the 'joys' of wax processing before but I think it bears repeating. Wax is messy business but lovely when it is clean and casting a delicate glow from a homemade candle. It feels smooth and luxe and leaves me in awe of the things such humble little creatures can create.

Tracy

P.S. I now have what could in all likelihood be the most boring  Facebook page ever published. You can check it out here.

This and that

Firstly thank you to those who left lovely comments on my post on  Mother's Day. I appreciate that people take the time to stop by and read and then leave a comment. I know for certain that there really isn't enough time to read every blog post from every blog that you enjoy let alone take the extra time to comment so I am thankful for the heartfelt comments that I do receive.

 The dry autumnal weather is continuing with wintry nights and sunny but crisp days. My apricot tree which is a favourite of mine in any season, is stunning in its autumnal garb.

 Not easy to discern but the picture above is of some of the rows I have been sowing over recent times for some grain and cereal crops. Our focus on our farm is feeding ourselves first and foremost before any surplus is sold, bartered or given away. The farm is too small to support us financially but it can provide a lot of our dietary requirements. The cooler season crops in are spelt, rye, oats and wheat. I also have lucerne growing for the animals. We have ummed and ahhed over whether to buy a rotary hoe for tilling but decided against it and I can safely say my biceps are better for it. No need for the gym.

 This afternoon I have been sneezing up a storm. I made a batch of green curry paste. I thought the chillies would be the wort part of the procedure but it was grinding the 20 peppercorns that made me come unstuck.

 These chillies are however very potent. I have washed my hands a few times but the sting still remains. I know I should use gloves but a) I don't have any disposable gloves or even washing up gloves and b) I like the hands-on approach when I am cooking, even if it is a bit hazardous.

We used a jalapeno last night and it was extra hot too. So it must have been a good year for chillies.

The end product doesn't look the best but if the aroma is anything to go by, the next Thai green curry I make will not only be hot, but tasty too. I used a recipe from Spirit House and I can recommend their recipes highly.
Tracy