Very long time no posting

Farming sure is a busy life!  We've survived another lambing, another kidding, and are partway through calving.  Pigletting should occur around Christmas and the rabbits are due to kindle in just under a fortnight.  We have a clutch of ducklings 25 hens all busy laying. We now have a working dog - he can actually work but all our animals are so tame that really he just looks the part.  The one thing he won't do is put the ducks back in the orchard - I don't think he considers them animals.  The donkeys have provided us with much manure so all sorts of things (including the weeds) have grown fantastically this Spring.  The asparagus has been the best ever - yum.

We have continued to have major difficulties with flooding (nothing a huge amount of money wouldn't solve) but continue to plant flaxes, willows, cabbage trees to suck it up.  The upside of the planting is that now the poultry are gaining a wonderful area full of hiding places, great when then hawks fly overhead.  We have planted a new orchard on the other side of our property where it is more sheltered and (until the neighbour decides to do something-else crazy) is less prone to flooding.  The citrus grove has cropped very heavily this year and now that the evil goat baby is wearing a triangular necklace the grape vines are growing well.  The shelter trees are starting to protect us from the vicious winds that we are prone to - in the last storm we only lost a few small branches, ironically off the shelter trees.

A plum in my mouth!

Beans anyone?

As usual at this time of the year life is busy – another bull calf born on Wednesday, and then the rains came!  This was wonderful news for the entire farm – everything got a decent watering and the tanks are full again.  Many of our orchard trees were under severe stress – even some of the feijoa trees were turning up their toes a little.   Now, everything in the garden is lovely.  There are beans, courgettes, cucumbers, scaloppini, silver beet, spinach, lettuces, radishes, Japanese turnips, sweet corn, peas, radicchio, basil, lettuces, potatoes and the first of the Black Doris plums.  Since we have worked outside much of the day, an easy dessert is called for tonight, to serve after our own fillet steak, our own potatoes, beans, sweet corn (dripping with butter) and spinach.

Look what I laid

Baked plums in wine

Put 1kg of whole plums in an ovenproof dish in a single layer, with ¼ cup of water and ¼ cup of wine.  Red wine is good, a fortified wine is better.  Sprinkle the plums with about ¼ of sugar.  Bake in the oven for an hour at 150 degrees C.  If the plums are large, you may need to halve and then stone them. 

Serve with cream, yogurt, custard, ice cream, crème fraiche or be totally decadent and serve them for breakfast with muesli.

Hidden treasure in the courgette garden

25 January 2013

Sometimes when we get home from work there are other things to do other than pick vegetables (first anyway).  We need to talk to the dogs, the goats, the sheep, admire the new calf and generally admire the farm.  This means that sometimes it is getting a little darker when it comes to harvesting dinner.  Courgettes have a nasty habit of hiding and then suddenly leaping out as large things.  The really marrow-sized ones go to the pigs but the middling ones are great as “vegetable casings” (as we used to call them in order to encourage children to eat them) for stuffing.  Lots of things can be used to stuff marrows or courgettes with.  Often leftovers can be turned into an easy meal this way.

Stuffed courgettes

A cup of leftover cooked rice will make enough stuffing to fill courgettes enough for 4 for a side dish or lunch.

1 cup or so of cooked rice

Half a small red onion (ours are still fairly small so I used a whole one)

Handful of raisins

A large handful of fresh herbs, chopped finely

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 – 6 middling courgettes or smaller marrows

Grated cheese for garnishing (Parmesan or left over Manchego that has dried out is good)

Mix the filling ingredients, and season.  Cut the courgettes/marrows lengthwise and scoop out the flesh.  Give it to your hens (or pigs).  Fill the skins with the rice mixture and put the courgette boats in a roasting dish.  Sprinkle the cheese over the top.  Pour a small quantity of water into the dish and cover the dish with foil.  Cook the courgettes at 180^◦ for about 15 minutes, then remove the foil.  Cook for a few more minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown.

Summer daze - that's me, not the weather

24 January 2013

Summertime is busy on the farm.  Actually, I think all the seasons are busy on the farm but the last few days have been spectacularly so.  One of the goats became ill and required much veterinary attention, and sadly another died.  The milking goats require milking (we’re only milking every second day in order that we don’t drown in the glorious stuff).  The hay was cut on a dry day, baled on a dry day, and while we desperately need the rain, was put in the barn on an annoyingly damp day.  We only made 159 bales this year compared with 572 last year – that’s about 27% if you want to know – but it is indicative of the difference in the summers.  We’re almost in drought mode here, even after today’s sprinkle, just enough to be a nuisance, and not enough to do any real good.  However, now that the hay is in, it can rain in earnest, and give the garden a decent soaking.  While we were loading the hay onto the truck I decided that I should check Little Miss Gentle, one of our Jersey cows.  She and Devonshire have both been looking as though they are ready to give birth twins or triplets at least for some time.   Little Miss Gentle did not come running to greet me as she usually does so I wandered over to find the dearest little perfect bull calf, carefully hidden in the long grass.  Well done Gen!

We have to be careful that all the animals get enough water, though the hens don’t seem to be suffering with the heat.  After a late night shift the hens are now more than happy in their new abode.  In fact they are so happy that they have invited an eleventh hen (from the other flock) to move into their digs and we are now getting on average 14 eggs a day.  Along with eating courgettes at every meal, we have been eating rather a large number of eggs.  The dogs are loving them too – not sure I like Oscar’s new look – he really does have egg on his face most of the time.  I looked out this old favourite recently in order to use a few more eggs.

Scotch eggs

You will need as many eggs as people that you intend to serve.

To serve 6 people, you will need:

6 eggs

6 skinned sausages or a packet of sausage meat

½ cup of flour seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups of dried breadcrumbs (Panko are good)

Oil for frying

To hard-boil the eggs, place them in cold water to cover in a pot.  Bring to the boil and then turn off the heat.  Set the timer for 9 minutes.  At this stage they will be hard-boiled but still moistish in the centre.   Shell the eggs and rinse carefully to remove any bits of shell.

Roll each egg in the seasoned flour, and then, working with wet hands mould the sausage meat to cover the egg.  Roll each meat covered egg in the breadcrumbs.

Heat enough oil to deep fry the balls, but only do a couple at a time.  Cook for about 4 minutes and then turn the balls and fry for a few minutes longer.  Drain the cooked balls on paper towel and keep them warm in a low oven while you cook the remainder.

You can serve them with tomato sauce for a family meal that the children will enjoy or you can dress them up a little.  Make a jazzed up mayonnaise with a little curry powder or a little mustard - serve the eggs with a sprig of fresh thyme, and a dollop of mayonnaise on the side, or in a small ramekin for each person.

I also served our scotch eggs with  a fresh cucumber salsa

¼ cup fruity vinegar (we use our own Boysenberry Vinegar but any will do)

¼ cup of white sugar

A large red chilli (finally we have managed to grow these this summer)

½ a cucumber, Lebanese or Telegraph, diced finely. 

A pinch of salt

Purists would halve the cucumber and remove the seeds, but ours are so fresh and perfect that we don’t.

Heat the vinegar, sugar, chopped and deseeded chilli and salt in a small pot, bring to the boil and simmer until the mixture reduces a little and is just a little thicker than it was.  Cool.  Drizzle over the diced cucumber (mix it through lightly) and serve. 

Courgettes - one of nature's success stories

21 January 2013

Today I only picked one courgette, however I made up for it by picking a trug full of cucumbers.  The cucumbers, both Lebanese and Telegraph are thriving in the garden that was left fallow last year, piled with old hay and manure.  With so much to harvest each day the dehydrator is almost running 24/7 and the freezer is filling up nicely (I say ‘the’ freezer somewhat loosely because we have seven of them, but I realise most people are not us.

We have eaten courgettes:

1.     Raw (see earlier blog)

2.     Lightly sautéed in a mix of butter and oil with some garlic.  When the courgettes are just tender add some fresh chopped or canned tomatoes (canned tomatoes are the only thing I concede to buying in a can) and lots of freshly chopped herbs – mint is especially nice.

3.     Battered.  Make your favourite thick batter recipe and then dip 5mm slices of courgette into it.  Gently fry the slices until they are golden, but not brown.  You want the courgettes to still be al dente.  Serve as they are or smarten them up a little with a dipping sauce.  Tartare works well as does a sweet chilli sauce.

4.  Raw

5.  Lightly sauteed  - oh that's right we had that a few nights ago.

Courgettes must be one of nature's success stories - more and more and then more!

Would you like some courgettes with that?

Sometimes things just happen.  Today I stood on the biggest pig poop imaginable.  Then I tried to rescue 11 brand new Pekin ducklings from the pond and got beaten up not once, not twice but three times by the mother duck.  Then there are times when you make something for dinner and forget to serve it.  Sometimes that is good, sometimes it is bad.

It is courgette (zucchini) season.  I repeat, it is courgette (zucchini) season.  It is the time of the year when anyone who has a garden approaches everyone else with a “would you like some courgettes?”

We enjoy them raw when they are small, so I had prepared some and then forgotten to serve them.  The next night, they were superb.  Now they are called Marinated courgettes!

Marinated Courgettes

For 6 small or 12 really small courgettes:

3T lemon juice (about that from 2 lemons)

the finely grated zest of the 2 lemons

a large pinch of salt

freshly ground black pepper

about 100 ml good quality olive oil

Whisk together the lemon juice, the zest, salt and pepper, then slowly whisk in the oil.

Slice the courgettes as thinly as possible.  Use a potato peeler or a cheese slicer.  Place the slices in a flat dish and pour over the marinade.  Cover with cling film or an up-turned plate and leave to marinate for at least an hour.  Turn the slices occasionally.

Arrange the slices on a serving dish and drizzle a little of the marinade over the top.

As I have already been out this morning and picked an armful of the things, watch this space!

Super drinks!

Even those who do lots of cooking have to occasionally clean out their fridge. L.  I found half a pineapple and some lemon juice that I had squeezed for something else.  On the bench was a grapefruit and in the fruit bowl was an orange – an almost instant juice was waiting.

Super juice

Peel the pineapple, and chop into bite size chunks.

Peel the orange and the grapefruit and the orange and break them into segments. 

Place the fruit and the lemon juice (about half a cup) into a blender or food processor and process until well combined.  Strain through a sieve. 

Now, the fun part – serve your juice in a tall glass by itself, over ice, with soda water or something stronger.  I didn't, but adding a sprig of mint would be very elegant.

Since I was in the drink making mood, I made a smoothie from orange juice and some raspberries.

Orange and raspberry smoothie

The recipe depends on how many smoothies you are making, so the proportions are what matter.

Use equal quantities of natural yoghurt and freshly squeezed orange juice (chill it before making the smoothie) and twice this quantity of raspberries (chilled fresh are better than frozen).  Blend the raspberries and yoghurt until they are smooth, add the orange juice and process for about 30 seconds until the smoothie is as you like it.  Serve immediately.

Dressing salads differently

Even if you live in an apartment with a balcony or only have a small garden you can plant a bucketful of potting mix with salad greens.  Sprinkling a few seeds at weekly intervals will give you salads all summer.  Another bucket or two can be planted in herbs so that you can enhance your salads.  Dressing the salad though is what gives it that zing. 

Most people don’t grow as many citrus bushes as we do, but one lemon and one grapefruit would keep a family in fruit (we have 41 bushes, long story there, but it will keep for another day).   We spent the afternoon weeding in the citrus grove and trimming off the water shoots – the nasty prickly shoots from below the graft.  Our last winter was very odd and much of the fruit has not (yet) ripened.  I picked a couple of grapefruit, initially thinking I would have them for breakfast, but had raspberries instead (yum yum yum).  Waste not want not as the saying goes, so I decided to ring the changes in dressing the salad.  Much of the time we squeeze a lemon over the salad and then drizzle over good quality olive oil (usually from one of our neighbours’ grove).  On other occasions  we mix equal quantities of olive oil and boysenberry vinegar (really quick and easy but so delicious).  However, I had two grapefruit so experimented.   

Grapefruit vinaigrette

3T grapefruit juice

2T Boysenberry vinegar (or some other fruity vinegar)

1t good quality mustard (Dijon is good)

½ cup olive oil

Salt, freshly ground black pepper and sugar to taste.

Whisk the juice, vinegar and mustard and then slowly add the oil, whisking as you do so.  Add salt, freshly ground black pepper and sugar to taste.

Grapefruit and yoghurt dressing

2T grapefruit juice

1T balsamic vinegar

1 clove of garlic, crushed (use elephant garlic if you want a milder taste)

1t wholegrain mustard

1 cup of natural (unsweetened) yoghurt

A small handful of chopped fresh herbs

Mix all the ingredients together – simple as that!

Fruity Ice cream - yum yum yum

Last night (yes I know I'm becoming a little boring and predictable) but we have house-guests and I needed a wow dessert from the garden.  I had some frozen red currants so tried a recipe that I sometimes make with other fruit, to see how it would work.  AMAZINGLY good. 

For 2 cups of frozen free flow de-strigged red currants add 1 cup of cream and 1 cup of icing sugar to your blender or food processor.  Turn it on and then be ready to add more cream if you need to.  If the blender/processor  won’t churn up the cream add a little more cream at a time, until everything starts to move around.   As soon as the fruit is chopped up and the (now) ice cream reasonably smooth, stop and serve the most wonderful soft-serve ice-cream.  I drizzled a little of the poached summer medley over the top – spectacular for next to no effort.

If you don't have free-flow frozen red currants, pick some in the morning, put them on a tray in the freezer, and then when they are frozen, de-strig them with a fork (the easiest way to do this) and then pop them back in the freezer on the tray again until they are solid.  When you are ready for dessert they are waiting.  Five minutes and dessert is on the table.

Summer fruit medley

I know I seem to be a one track currant fanatic at present but that is the way of a garden.  Suddenly there is a glut of something you have waited a whole year for!  Just wait until the courgettes take off.  The currants are more-or-less finished – certainly the commercial pick is finished but there are still currants to be had and ironically, now that the covers are off the birds are leaving them alone.

We have been enjoying a dessert that is really not worthy of a recipe but more an idea.

Poach black currants in a syrup of equal quantities of sugar and water.  Cook them at a rolling boil for about 6 or 7 minutes.  While they are still hot, but now off the heat, add about the same quantity of red currants.  When the fruit has cooled (so that you can hold the pot, but the fruit is still warm) add about the same quantity of strawberries, hulled and chopped.  Sweeten with icing sugar if it is a little tart for your taste.  Chill before serving with yoghurt, ice-cream, over cheesecake ……

Happy New Year and happy jam-making

Happy New Year to all, and may it bring each of you everything you wish for. 

Our aim this year is to forge forward in our quest to eat either from our own garden or farm and if we can’t, then we try to eat as locally as we can.

Tonight’s dinner is almost as local as you can get – pork chops from the farm, Jersey Bennes and cabbage from the garden, mushrooms from Parkvale (15 minutes away) and carrots from the local Farmers Market.

Out of sheer laziness (and it is New Year’s Day after all) I made Red Currant Jelly in a hurry this evening as our dinner was cooking.  It is not for the purists but it is a superb colour and almost as clear as the jelly we make and sell under our Martinborough Manner label. 

Red Currant jelly for the non-purists

Place equal quantities of red currants and sugar in a large pot.  Try to remove the leaves and spiders (and their webs) from the fruit but otherwise put it all in the pot.  Stir until the sugar has dissolved and there is quite a lot of red liquid coming out of the currants.  Bring to the boil, and boil for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Using a sieve that fits the largest glass jug you have, pour the now cooked fruit into the sieve and drain it into the jug.  Shake the sieve a few times to drain as much of the about to-be-jelly out of the fruit pulp.  Do not push it through the sieve with anything as this will make your jelly cloudy.  Carefully pour the jelly liquid into jars that have been sterilised (wash and place in the oven at 110^◦C for 40 minutes) and seal with lids (that have been sterilised by boiling for 10 minutes).

We also have a fantastic crop of strawberries this year so it seemed a good idea to try making both fruits into jam.  If you don’t have enough fruit from a single day’s picking, collect what you have and freeze it until you have a reasonable amount.  500g of each would be a sensible small quantity to make.

Strawberry and Redcurrant Jam

Equal quantities of strawberries and red currants

Sugar equal in weight to the (total) fruit

juice of one lemon per kilo of fruit

Hull and quarter the strawberries and destrig the currants.

Place the fruit and sugar in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, pour the fruits and sugar in to a heavy base saucepan.  Heat gently until the un-dissolved sugar has melted.  Then turn the heat up and bring the jam to a vigorous boil.  Boil for about 10 -12 minutes, until the temperature reaches 104°C – 106°C.  Use a thermometer or place a small amount of jam on a chilled saucer – if after a few minutes the jam has formed a skin you are done.  Add the lemon juice.

Pour into sterilised jars and seal.

Baking with fresh currants

We have never had such a great crop of currants as this year, particularly red currants.  We seem to have been picking them forever and now have to think of more and more ways to use them.  You can use them instead of blueberries in muffins for example, or you can use them in this easy to make loaf.

Red currant loaf

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon grated orange peel

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh red currants destrigged
small quantity icing sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs and orange peel, and beat well.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the creamed mixture and stir gently.
Fold in the red currants and fill a greased or paper-lined loaf tin two-thirds full and bake at 180°C for 40-45 minutes or a skewer comes out of the loaf clean.
Cool for 5 minutes before placing on wire rack.
Dust with icing sugar when the loaf is completely cooled.