We grew around 100 pumpkins this year, straight out of the compost. So, pumpkin soup has been on the menu a lot lately and this has given me the chance to try and perfect my recipe.
This recipe is based on home-made chicken stock. See below for info on how to make your own chicken stock- it's really easy.
Ingredients
Ground pepper 1/2 teaspoon
salt 2 pinches
shredded garlic 4-6 bulbs
onions 2 medium
butter 2- 3 tablespoons
2 litres of chicken stock
1 large Jap pumpkin peeled and chopped
What to do:
Use large heavy based pot.
Soften onion slowly in butter on a low heat with the shredded garlic mixed in.
Add chicken stock and bring to a gentle boil.
Add pumpkin with salt and ground pepper.
Add water but do not fully cover pumpkin it should still be protruding by and inch or two.
Gently boil until soft.
Put mixture through blender than return to pot.
Stir on low and add 300mls of cream.
Should feed about 6 people
Chicken stock:
Take the carcass,bones and fat left over after a baked chicken diner, put it all in a pot with about 3 -4 litres of water and boil gently for 3 hours. Drain off the liquid and store in the fridge for up to five days.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Milling flour
Today I milled my own wheat and made muffins for the children. It was a surprisingly rewarding experience to take the food from such a raw unprocessed state to a baked product. The children were fascinated and all wanted to have a turn cranking the hand mill which I borrowed from our neighbors. It was a lot of work for six tiny muffins.
It took about 10 minutes to grind about 1 to 2 cups of flour. I put it on a coarse setting. I made the muffins with yeast and was doubtful they would it would react, but sure enough it did. The children really loved them and didn't seem to mind the texture.
It was interesting to see the amount of manual energy required to produce such a small amount of food.
It took about 10 minutes to grind about 1 to 2 cups of flour. I put it on a coarse setting. I made the muffins with yeast and was doubtful they would it would react, but sure enough it did. The children really loved them and didn't seem to mind the texture.
It was interesting to see the amount of manual energy required to produce such a small amount of food.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Whole food experience.
Three days ago, inspired by Michael Pollan's book "In Defense of Food," my partner and I decided to adopt a more rigorous whole food diet for our family.
The main changes so far have been switching from Basmati rice to brown rice and from white pasta to wholegrain. The pasta has been no problem so far with the children. We have not tried the rice yet.
We have always eaten wholegrain bread so that is not an issue.
The other thing we are altering is the balance of grains to vegetables. The children love grains and so do we. I think we eat too many of them. I know I definitely do (but I eat too much of everything:) ).
So the trick will be to eat more leafy vegetables and salads. The children already eat a lot of fruit, so we don't need to make any changes there.
We have long used butter and whole fat milk, often fresh from our neighbors cow. So there are no changes required there.
Michael Pollan talks about the symbiotic relationship between people and food, and by growing food we are putting ourselves back into the food chain. The ideas in the book are not really new to me, but the way he has woven it all together as a philosophy of food, was inspiring.
We have good reasons to try and introduce this way of eating into our family.I am overweight and I suspect highly sensitive to refined grains. Diabetes runs in my family- my mother has mature age onset. Although it is not in my partners family, our children are still at risk. But of course, this risk can be reduced by diet and exercise.
I have been working in the garden a lot, the garlic, leeks and onions are thriving. I have made a greenhouse out of an old swing set and some shade cloth and I am raising seeds in it. Really looking forward to spring planting.
The main changes so far have been switching from Basmati rice to brown rice and from white pasta to wholegrain. The pasta has been no problem so far with the children. We have not tried the rice yet.
We have always eaten wholegrain bread so that is not an issue.
The other thing we are altering is the balance of grains to vegetables. The children love grains and so do we. I think we eat too many of them. I know I definitely do (but I eat too much of everything:) ).
So the trick will be to eat more leafy vegetables and salads. The children already eat a lot of fruit, so we don't need to make any changes there.
We have long used butter and whole fat milk, often fresh from our neighbors cow. So there are no changes required there.
Michael Pollan talks about the symbiotic relationship between people and food, and by growing food we are putting ourselves back into the food chain. The ideas in the book are not really new to me, but the way he has woven it all together as a philosophy of food, was inspiring.
We have good reasons to try and introduce this way of eating into our family.I am overweight and I suspect highly sensitive to refined grains. Diabetes runs in my family- my mother has mature age onset. Although it is not in my partners family, our children are still at risk. But of course, this risk can be reduced by diet and exercise.
I have been working in the garden a lot, the garlic, leeks and onions are thriving. I have made a greenhouse out of an old swing set and some shade cloth and I am raising seeds in it. Really looking forward to spring planting.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Cell grazing
Our next-door-neighbor's dad came over for a drink the other night. He told me all about cell grazing. And we are going to try and adapt it to our property. Although we only have 1.5 acres, we also have the use of Gilbert's land next door, which is probably another acre. And we could also probably use some of Harry's 100 acre block across the road.
From what I can gather the key principle is constant rotation of stock through small paddocks.
It's based on the idea that livestock will eat the best pasture first. And they will eat it right back- this destroys hummus in the soil.
By keeping the livestock on the move, their impact on the environment is reduced because they graze more evenly across all paddocks.
It also reduces parasites because the host is removed before parasites have a chance to hatch- oh, and the other thing is you don't just go from one paddock to the next. You must move several paddocks away- to reduce the possibility of parasites finding the host.
In big properties the cells are set out like a wagon wheel, with the water supply in the middle.
The livestock are moved ever day.
Here we will only have three paddocks and I will move them weekly.
And now to the vegetable patch, we have around 60 pumpkins. The children have made a little stall in the cream shed selling our 'sun-cured chemical free' pumpkins for $2 each! So far we have made six dollars.
From what I can gather the key principle is constant rotation of stock through small paddocks.
It's based on the idea that livestock will eat the best pasture first. And they will eat it right back- this destroys hummus in the soil.
By keeping the livestock on the move, their impact on the environment is reduced because they graze more evenly across all paddocks.
It also reduces parasites because the host is removed before parasites have a chance to hatch- oh, and the other thing is you don't just go from one paddock to the next. You must move several paddocks away- to reduce the possibility of parasites finding the host.
In big properties the cells are set out like a wagon wheel, with the water supply in the middle.
The livestock are moved ever day.
Here we will only have three paddocks and I will move them weekly.
And now to the vegetable patch, we have around 60 pumpkins. The children have made a little stall in the cream shed selling our 'sun-cured chemical free' pumpkins for $2 each! So far we have made six dollars.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Chook update
The chook survived the dog attack and she has started laying again.
The dynamics in the chook shed has really changed since we lost two of the girls. The two chooks killed in the dog attack were the new ones that arrived with the rooster. Now that they have passed (as John Edwards would say) the other chooks have accepted the rooster.
The rooster hasn't started to crow yet.
The cows are doing well. Now that we have two, does that mean we have cattle?
As for the vegie patch- it is a little neglected. I picked the last cucumber last week and apart from that, the only thing coming out of there at the moment is marigolds.
I made some yogurt last night, but haven't baked a loaf of bread for weeks. I have been pretty busy with my job and business. I am also doing some post-grad study- I so wish I had not thrown myself into that- thank god for my house-dad.
The dynamics in the chook shed has really changed since we lost two of the girls. The two chooks killed in the dog attack were the new ones that arrived with the rooster. Now that they have passed (as John Edwards would say) the other chooks have accepted the rooster.
The rooster hasn't started to crow yet.
The cows are doing well. Now that we have two, does that mean we have cattle?
As for the vegie patch- it is a little neglected. I picked the last cucumber last week and apart from that, the only thing coming out of there at the moment is marigolds.
I made some yogurt last night, but haven't baked a loaf of bread for weeks. I have been pretty busy with my job and business. I am also doing some post-grad study- I so wish I had not thrown myself into that- thank god for my house-dad.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Dogs Kill Chooks
On Sunday we got home late, after sunset. The chooks had not been locked up. Two dogs came onto our property and killed two of the m.
A third chook has been seriously injured. She has spent the past few days just sitting in the chook shed. Yesterday she ventured out, but is just sitting down next to out water tank. The rooster is cuddling up to her - poor thing.
The two dogs traveled from the valley next to us, about 7kms.
The children were pretty upset about it- but at the same time they are learning valuable lessons about the life cycle.
Bill felt very guilty that he had not locked them up for the night- it was the very first time we had left the chook shed open after dark.
A third chook has been seriously injured. She has spent the past few days just sitting in the chook shed. Yesterday she ventured out, but is just sitting down next to out water tank. The rooster is cuddling up to her - poor thing.
The two dogs traveled from the valley next to us, about 7kms.
The children were pretty upset about it- but at the same time they are learning valuable lessons about the life cycle.
Bill felt very guilty that he had not locked them up for the night- it was the very first time we had left the chook shed open after dark.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Mayhem in the chookshed
The old chooks don't like the new chooks; the rooster is terrified and one of the new chooks is dead.
I didn't really understand, fully, what 'the pecking order' meant - but now I am witnessing it in my own chook shed. Since bringing home three new chooks and a rooster our old chooks have been very mean and are actually pecking the new chooks.
Hopefully it will sort itself out soon.
I didn't really understand, fully, what 'the pecking order' meant - but now I am witnessing it in my own chook shed. Since bringing home three new chooks and a rooster our old chooks have been very mean and are actually pecking the new chooks.
Hopefully it will sort itself out soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
