Spring 1st

The view from the kitchen window

In this picture there is grass.  Finally, grass!  Tomorrow is the first day of Spring and with it the promise of new growth.  Platitudes aside we are very pleased to now have at least patches of our place that are dry enough to move the cows on to.  I think Gen ate solidly for two hours - they've been eating hay and baleage but clearly there is nothing quite like grass.  Six lambs and two kids so far with many more to come.  The does each had a pedicure today - the constant mud does nothing for their hooves, imagine keeping your hand in the dishwashing liquid for several weeks and you get the picture.  It (thus far) hasn't been a very cold winter and, while it has been wet, it has felt like Spring for a while.  The hens are in full lay and the citrus trees in the Food Forest are covered in fruit.  The rhubarb plants have leaves about two inches long and there are two marigolds out.  Two almond trees are flowering and there are several plum trees about to burst into blossom.  Even a crazy feijoa bush has a flower.

Our desserts are frequently based on lemons and eggs at this time of year.  Lemon bars are sooo scrummy and (too) morish.

Lemon bars

3/4 cup white chocolate buttons or bits

1/2 cup butter (half fill a cup with cold water and use Archimede's principle to fill the cup with butter)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1  3/4 cup flour

Icing:

2 cups icing sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice, more-or-less

Grated lemon rind

Pre-heat oven to 175 deg C.  Greae a 20cm by 20cm baking tray and line with baking paper.

Melt the chocolate and the butter in the microwave or in a pot over boiling water.  White chocolate is very easy to burn so watch carefully.

Allow to cool slightly.  Lightly beat the eggs and add them to the chocolate and butter mix.  Add the suar and the juice and stir until well-mixed.  Add the flour and stir until the ingredients are just combined.  

Pour the batter into the baking pan, smooth and cook for between 25 and 30 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle.  Allow to cool.

To make the icing:

Whisk the icing sugar and the lemon juice until smooth, adding more juice if necessary.  

Spread over the slice whilst still in the baking pan.  Sprinkle grated lemon rind over the icing.  Refrigerate for at least three hours - overnight is better.  Cut into pieces and enjoy.  This is a good recipe to freeze.

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!