kitchen: making

There has been much making and baking going on in this house. Not to worry about our fairly unproductive garden of late, as our neighbours have kindly given us much of their excess. A very slight shift in weather has re-ignited my interest in the world of preserving and other such things. I'm starting to feel Autumn. Which, I think, has to be my very favourite season of all. Have you been feeling it too?

Back to the food.

Baskets of sour apples and over a kilo of blackberries landed on our doorstep. Some were made into the most delicious crumble (Nigella's recipe from this book). Twice.

Even more were made into Blackberry and Apple jam.

And once that was done, I think I may have caught the preserving bug all over again. There is still a whole basket of apples left. I'm thinking of making this.

You might remember me saying a little while ago that I wanted to make sweet chilli sauce? My chilli harvest this year has been one whole chilli. So far anyway. But that's one whole more than any other year, so that one chilli was cause for some excitement. That, of course, wasn't anywhere near enough to make a sauce. So I simply bought a big bag of chillies (from that place that we don't like to talk about) and made a batch from that. The recipe made seven bottles worth. I left out the ginger because I didn't have any on hand.

As much as I would have liked the chillies to be organic, they weren't. But I do know what went into it. Let me just say that there is a world of difference between bought/processed and homemade sweet chilli sauce. But I think you may already know that. I used this recipe (I used a mixture of whatever vinegar I had on hand).

And then I made yoghurt. I've made yoghurt before, just not in a long time. To tell you the truth I was a little tired of the whole temperature, oven and thermometer fussing involved. I always told myself that when I had more time I would get back into the swing of making it weekly again.

Then I remembered Tammi's method and thought to give it a go. The method seems to suit me very well. Kind of like the lazy guide to making yoghurt. Using that favourite appliance of mine, the slow cooker.

It worked. Just remember to leave it to strain in the muslin afterwards. It really gives the yoghurt that thick, rich quality. It puts a smile on my face when I open the fridge. Funny how making things yourself can fill one with a certain sense of satisfaction. I'd been missing that lately.

Have you been feeling a little Autumn-like too? What have you been making/planning to make?

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Ours was a weekend full of baking and food. While it stormed outside I did a little knitting and reading. I tried to dry the washing.

The last picture was not retouched in any way. The end of a storm combined with the sun setting, cast a surreal glow over our valley. It was beautiful.

How was your weekend?

on instagram

I've been enjoying the handy, compact benefits of iphone picture taking lately. Particularly when out and about.

I took the advice of many of you and joined Instagram. If you want to find me on there search for ivynest.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Nonna lessons

While attempting homemade pasta the other night, I had a visit from my mother-in-law. This Nonna knows the ins and outs of her pasta, so I was more than happy to let her step in. Pasta by hand is rather hard work isn't it? I'm not really sure why I haven't bought a machine yet as it is something I've made from time to time.

In no time at all the dough was transformed into delicate little fettuccine strips. Unlike my chunky larger-than-pappardelle strips (as seen in the last two pics).

Nonna told us about her mother-in-law disapproving of the new pasta machines when they came onto the market. She used to make it all by hand, often in large batches for the coming week. It was a big family, afterall, with six children to feed.

Over dinner we talked about these harder times.  Of bombings during the war.  An entrepeneur-type great-grandparent.

Which makes me think that food shared can be so much more. A chance to learn, a bringing together of different generations and cultures, and reminders of those that came before us.

And the pasta? Bellissimo!

just peachy

1. Iced Ginger roses from the garden.
2. Wool from the weekend.
3. Working on a new pants pattern for Violet.
4. Washing and ironing new fabric.
5. A nice little read from here.
6. For the hubbies dream camping trip, also found on the weekend.

Wishing you all a peachy Wednesday.

a garden tour

It has been a rather strange summer her weather-wise. Rain, even a light frost and temperatures soaring into the forties. Unfortunately this erratic weather has played havoc in the garden this year. The year before last I successfully grew many vegies from seed. But it wasn't to be this year. Almost every seed I planted failed to come up, and those that did mysteriously disappeared. I think it may be to a big increase in snails in the garden.

 

Lettuce, though so successful the year before, shot straight to seed as soon as the temperature soared.

 

There might have been one or two tantrums involved.  

 

Though it has been incredibly frustrating this year, it is not all doom and gloom. Let me show you around.

This picture was taken last week, and the perpetual spinach, silverbeet and parsley have now tripled in size after the latest rains. Purchased as seedlings.

The corn seedlings have grown huge and you can see many husks developing. I'm quite excited as I've never grown corn before. Some locals plant them all around their vegie gardens as a protection against our harsh Summer weather.

Tiny tomato seedlings have been growing like crazy. About four have survived. I had one full sized tomato plant survive despite planting about 6.

Here is the back of the garden. Needing weeding. Everything there is from last year and has completely gone to seed.

Let's move onto the rest of the garden.

Two of the apple trees we planted the year before last fruited this year. Above is a Lord Lambourne. You can see some hail damage there, but they were all still edible. Actually, they were delicious.  That combination of a crisp, juicy but dry crunch that you just don't get in supermarket apples. Sweetness with a tang.

Our Leighton Green Leylandii has grown to head height. We have a few lines of them running around the boundary, mixed with privet, photinia, butterfly bush and vibernum.
On the subject of Leylandii and neighbours I read a very interesting article here.

I couldn't tell you what this is - a day lily?  Note the dead grass in the background.

Perhaps the Autumn plantings will be a little more successful that the Summer.

As each season passes, we are learning more about the micro climate on our block, which will change as plants grow. The general climate here is rather harsh and with some altitude. With drying winds and scorching sun. There are ways around it, and many seasoned local gardeners are willing to share their experiences.

It is all a learning curve.

How has your garden been growing?  Have you had a successful /unsuccessful season? Or are you in the planning stage of your garden?

out and about

Perhaps the best thing about hubby and son attending a four wheel drive show on the weekend, was the the close proximity to several large op shops and that big craft shop. It had been several years since I'd visited the area. Somehow, I think in comparison to where we live now, it felt so noisy. But a little exciting to this now-country-girl. It seems a change of scenery can be a good thing every now and then. Strip shopping, to me, is far more pleasant that those over-sized shopping centres. The op shops were open all Saturday, and they were full of people. I even met a lovely blog reader in one shop (Hi Lauren!).

That big craft shop was positively bustling with people, and though I was forced to hide in an aisle (a wool aisle unfortunately..) to feed Violet, I still managed to come home with a few pieces of Japanese lawn fabric and a little too much wool. It seems I could not resist all those lovely balls of wool at such a (comparitively) small price.

And on the way home I was told that I missed out on a really good day at the show. Maybe next time.