Dried apples and last days of Summer

Parrots got some of the apples, so I picked the rest. Some are delicious, so I thought the nicest ones could be dried in the dehydrator with some cinnamon. Yum.

It takes about 20 hours to dry the apple pieces. Then they are cooled, and bagged. No need to peel the apples- just core them. Pears are good too, but they take longer to process.

I got some good spices in Carlton on the weekend. Ras el Hanut from Morocco, and another blend, from Saudi Arabia, called Saudi Barahat, which smells just like the Souq in Jeddah. Experimenting with spices is fun, and can completely change a dish. Given that J is not supposed to eat eggs or cheese it enables us to have tasty dishes, and plenty of variety.

We have still not had any rain. Apart from a short storm last week, I can hardly remember our last wet day. The poor animals are getting bolder and bolder about coming in to gardens, as they have no water in the bush. I saw a wallaby tonight about 50 metres from our front door, just hopping along...

Had Sunday lunch at The Tavern today. Lamb salad with feta, pumpkin and pine nuts. Then home for a swim before a quick burst of housework, and a bit of knitting. Grannie stuff!!!

Mum was well on Friday. She has had a change in medication and the improvement was marked. We took her out for an ice-cream, but didn't walk much as it was about 30 degrees. She laughed and chatted like old times, which was great to see. She seems to be steadier on her feet, and odd though it seems, can hear better on her good days!

Which reminds me. I have her Toyota sewing machine, and was about to give it to the local sewing shop to give to some needy soul. But if you know of someone who would appreciate a near new, basic machine I can hold off for a few weeks... It would be good to give it a good home. It has a cover and instruction book.

 

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Life, truth and the way

Someone phoned up to ask me to an underwear party. She's a sweetie, but...How truthful should I be, I wondered. The idea of browsing onesies and bloomers with women I don't know, at prices even I can buy an outfit for, (pardon the preposition), leads me to one level of honesty... "I usually buy my undies on special, and by myself now", which came out as " I usually buy my underwear on special, so I will probably not be a big spender". "No worries, just come for the chat." she responded. Then she added;- "The profits are going to help support our local .....(worthy cause)". I made enthusiastic noises and added the out, that I might have something on that day.... Yeah. Underwear...

 

Well the sourdough making is going splendidly. Here is today's batch, ready to roll into breadsticks. One thing I have noticed is that they needs to be eaten the day they are made, as they go quite hard the next day. Grissini- like, I suppose. So hard that even the ducks at the park had to let the bits soak in the water for a few minutes before they could swallow them, when G1 went yesterday.

I've been making 2 lumps of dough (one piece is too big for the dough hook to work with), and letting that prove in the bowl for about 3 hours. Then it gets punched down, rolled into sticks or left as loaves, and then baked. Easy! As long as you are around to check how fast the dough is rising.

At the gardens near his home, G1 experimented with my camera, and I think he got this shot of Jim at the rotunda. He and I were grappling for control of the camera, and he took several interesting shots. The rotunda has beautiful tessellated tiles, and iron lacework. Just behind where this was taken was a park bench, with a breadboard and table cloth on it, and a note saying " Reserved for a special birthday at 12." We were there at about 11 am, so missed the event...

 

Of course, G2 is not able to be at our Thursday jaunts, so we remember her in other ways. I couldn't resist this little number for next year...

Here they were exchanging secrets at Christmas

 

I love children. They have a level of honesty we must lose as we grow. But get them in the right mood, and they adore a story. It reminds me of Dad reading Coral Island to us when we were kids. Lynley Dodd's tale about the possum and the apple tree is a delight for children who have seen a possum near the fruit trees...

I heard a conversation the other day about teenagers who have " done everything " by the time they are 13 or so. How their lives seem to lack the wonder of a more innocent upbringing . The innocence of little children is precious....

 

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Alzheimer's update, solar electricity, and food

 

Here is Mum. Taken today at Mt. Eliza Village. She was a sweetie today. No throwing shoes at staff when they tried to make her wear something she didn't want to put on. I took her out for a walk. She was quite steady on her feet, and reasonably lucid, once she clarified who I was. She told me today that her parents had been good to her, on the whole. She particularly loved her father, she said. I know that is true- he was good fun and not bossy. Other memories were hazy though- like the fact that I was born in an ambulance (true). She asked what was wrong with me that they knew to get an ambulance even before I arrived. I asked her about that time but she didn't remember Dad, or those years in Scotland. She talks a lot about Rod, and how good he is to her.

We planned to buy an ice-cream, but the store was closed, and she was quite dismayed. Apparently that particular milkbar also sells good chocolate, which she asked for several times, but it was still closed when we were walking back. I took a couple of photos, and suggested I put them on an Internet dating site, but she thought that was silly, 'cos she's only got a single bed now. (I don't think I'd cope with another wedding just now...).

Here are the breadsticks, which are made with wild yeast starter, the dough being kneaded in the kitchenaid, to give a decent texture. A bit of experimenting seems to indicate that a tray of water on the bottom shelf of the oven gives a crunchy crust, but it is easy to overcook the sticks, and then they become too hard.

And while the creative streak continued I made sweet potato chips, some with sumac sprinkled over them. This was taken before cooking. They curl up a bit and go a beautiful orangey colour when ready. Yum!

We have taken the plunge. We have installed 16 solar panels to supply enough electricity for our home. It will take 3 years to break even if projections are reasonably accurate. Electricity has become too expensive to ignore such options... So our roofline has changed. I don't love it- but the savings will be welcome. Hopefully the price we can sell our excess back to the grid will increase in time.

 

 

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Sourdough bread and grandchildren

Here is an attempt to make sourdough bread. The recipe below is from takebackthebread.com., and I am using it because it means you can make bread on a normal working day, and keep the starter in the fridge.

"

Ingredients:

2 cups of starter

1 cup warm water

2 tsp of salt

2 tsp sugar

4-5 cups of white flour

2 tbsps of vegetable oil

As soon as you get up, take the starter out of the fridge. Open it, and add one cup of white flour. Give it a stir, and then leave it for an hour. This stage is important - you're feeding the yeast with some fresh food, so the yeast will be more active when you make the bread.

After an hour, the starter should be bubbly on top.This means it has woken up and is ready. Measure two cups of the starter, and pour it into a large bowl. If the starter liquid seems really thick, add one cup of warm water ( hot enough so that it just starts to hurt your finger). Add the salt and sugar followed by one cup of flour at a time. Once it gets too hard to stir, put the spoon aside, put some flour on your hands, and place them in the bowl to start kneading. Push the dough down flat at the bottom of the bowl; fold it over on itself, press flat again. Do this for a minute or two, adding a bit of flour as you go, until the dough is tacky on the outside, but not wet.

Now, using your hands, form the dough into a ball, squeezing it and folding it over a few times, then make into a ball one last time. Take the dough ball out of the bowl. Clean the remaining flour in the bowl, scraping it off the sides. Place in a cup or smaller bowl - you'll need it in a minute.

Put one tablespoon of oil in the bowl, spread it around, then place the dough ball in the bowl. Flip it over twice so it gets coated with oil. Make sure the seam side is down. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel. The first rise has begun. Let it rise until you come home from work ( assuming that's 8 or nine hours later).

There's one last step before you leave, though: put one cup of flour and one cup of water into the starter, to replenish what you took out. You can use the flour you scraped out of the bowl for this, as well as regular flour to make one cup. The water can be cold or warm, just not hotter than your finger can stand.

Give the starter a stir, put the lid on, and place it back in the fridge. Now you can go to work and let the yeast do its work.

After the first rise.

It's now eight or nine hours later, and the sourdough ball should have doubled in size. This won't look huge. To test if it is ready, poke it with your finger. If the indentation stays, it's good.

While you've been at work, the yeast has been eating the flour and expelling carbon dioxide, making the bread expand. For the next step you need to deflate this balloon, so punch it down a few times. Take the dough in your hands and knead it for a minute or two. Now, place it in a small oiled bread pan, and put a damp tea towel on top. Now you can go away for three hours as the yeast gets back to work.

Get ready to bake

The bread should have risen again, clearing the top of the bread pan, or at least looking obviously bigger than when you left it. ( It all depends on what size of bread pan you used). Don't worry if it doesn't look too big - it will rise some more in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 370 degrees F. Also, place a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven. This will help with the crust.

When the oven is ready, take the tea towel off gently. (If it sticks and deflates a bit, just give it another 15 minutes to rise again). Place the bread in the oven, and set the timer to 30 minutes.

The bread is done when it is golden brown, and sounds hollow when you knock it on top. Let it cool for ten minutes before taking it out of the pan. Doing this too early can cause it to rip. Congratulations, you have made a sourdough bread, joining a tradition that is many hundreds of years old! "

This is taken more or less verbatim from the website, so you need to change to Celsius, and I made breadsticks for dips ( a bit thicker than a pencil). I put them in the fridge to prove overnight and cooked them just before lunch to serve with dips and a cool Sav Blanc... We enjoyed that last Sunday with friends from Ireland.

Grandchildren added interest to the holidays...G1 went home to his great sandpit that Pops made for him. It has a swing up lid to keep the cats out.

 

G2 is here at the moment. Totally relaxed!

And just to prove that I occasionally get to the garden, here are some pomegranate cuttings ready to go into the ground anytime from now on:-

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Summer

Just when you thought there would never be any more posts to brighten your day - I make an attempt to start a regular post.

Possums....

And rats and birds ....they eat the best of my garden produce. A paper bag over the figs deterred the animals but rotted the figs! And netting looks so ugly, as well as not being very effective unless it is very thorough. The pic above is a scarf for G1 who has been to stay for a few days. He saw a possum in the trap on Christmas morning and has been obsessed ever since. He is particularly fond of the possum story by Linley Dodd, called The Apple Tree.

 

Pomegranates are my fruit of choice at the moment. From cuttings,which are easy to strike- to little trees which have a lovely bright foliage as well as cute little fruit that look like Christmas baubles. It seems remarkably pest free which is a huge bonus.

The apple crop is varied. Birds got some, through the netting, and we caught about a dozen possums and rats near the trees. I have 5 varieties of apple, 4 of which have fruited. The best basil I got this year was from a hydroponic pot I bought at the supermarket, and then planted out!

G2 is beginning to show her little personality. She is calm and enjoys playing by herself on the floor.

Here is a shot of her falling asleep during lunch! She is hopefully coming to stay for a few days soon.

Today we are minding G1 while Mum and Dad go to a wedding. He is asleep after a full on morning. We have plans for the park when he wakens. Here is his cool sandpit- courtesy of Pops, who made it when he was here on a short break.

Holidays are good. I'm enjoying the slow pace!

 

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Back at last!

Well, it's hard to start again,since several blog posts have disappeared into thin air. I think Blogsy is somewhat lacking.

Where to start. Spring is springing. Spent lots of yesterday in the garden...There is such a lot to do. The greenhouse is useful for starting seedlings, but a couple of hot days and everything dies.

So unlike Ireland...

Italian parsley is everywhere. I remember planting it to combat weeds. Now it has become a weed... A student gave me some sum choy seeds,which I have just planted .They are like pak choy but nicer.

I went to see Mum last week. She was well. Don't you think?

This was taken near her place. She lives near a cute little village, though her walking is getting slower now, so she really needs to go with someone, as the traffic conditions are quite scary for someone who thinks any green light means go...

Here is the avocado with buds coming out. The tree got really waterlogged during our extra wet winter, and I wondered if it would survive. Though the leaves are stressed the new growth has burst forth in a Gerald Manley Hopkins sort of flush... ( not sure about the spelling of his name- I just remember a sprinkling of his poems!)

I moved a fig tree in the winter, and it seems fine. They are hardy but this winter was so wet I wondered if the tree would survive. It was in a spot that was too shady for the fruit to ripen, so it is in full sun now.

G1 was down in the holidays. He enjoyed a stint in the sink- here is the proof.

His cousin, G2 was also down, but this was taken in her yard. What a delight to watch them thrive!

I've been trying to make a quiet book. It has tested my resolve, as it is slow to blanket stitch little bits. This is a sock matching page, not yet complete. There are magnets sewn into the socks, so each can be matched to its mate. I enjoy making it- we'll see if the kids enjoy playing with it. I found the pattern on a great site called "imagine your life " where an enthusiastic and talented young mum puts up patterns of interesting books she makes for her little boy.

Here is the orchid Katie gave me. They are such beautiful plants. One day I would like to learn about them...

Well I hesitate to write more because my last few blogs vanished completely. I will leave this up for a week or so, and then add another post .

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Irish Stone Walls

Well I have found a really interesting book. From Book Depository.

I will now be able to learn how to build a wall around areas in the garden and create a more interesting place, without drastically changing anything. There is a prefabricated block I can source, from Sydney, which looks easy to use, but it will work out very expensive if I make say 3 oval beds. I have to find out if there is any local material I can use. There was a two day workshop through Permaculture in Sydney last month that looked a good hands-on for beginners thingy, but I missed that. I am sure someone will have an idea where to start. Jim thinks I am a bit nuts, but I would really like to do this.

Look at the little chocolate hellebore flowers. They are growing under the shade of a big salvia near one of the cherry trees.

 

I was away this weekend and got two apple blossom quinces on the way home. They only grow to about one and a half metres, but the pink blossom looks just like apple blossom, and it produces real quinces. I have planted them near the apples, within sight of the kitchen window, as I am hoping the blossoms are spectacular next year. Have dug in worms and compost along with chicken manure and seaweed fertilizer.

There are so many lemons on the lemon tree that need picked ( something is peeling and eating them from the top). I thought I would make up the lemon syrup needed for sorbet, using some pectin to reduce the amount of sugar needed. That can than be frozen, and made up in the icecream maker as required. That way none of the lemons are wasted...

 

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