Another rushed but busy farm trip.

We headed off up to the farm again a couple of weeks ago, Loaded to the hilt as usual( I just don't know where we keep finding all this stuff)This time we took up our new dual wood heater/cooker that we are going to install, the new flat packed chicken coop and some of  the metal poles that we will build our outer chicken yard out of.

We were greeted by our  babies, they are always glad to see us arrive and rush to the shed because they know that Brian will give them a bale of hay just to  keep them friendly.

I had picked the Habaneros the morning we left(and saved some seed for next season) and on arrival got straight into making  up a batch of "Singapore Chilli Sauce" a recipe that I found in the "Ball Complete Book Of Home Preserving"

It turned out to be an extremely hot chilli sauce, I am not a huge chilli fan but the man  assures me that it is lovely.

That night when we went to have a shower we had no hot water as we keep the solar hot water system covered with shade cloth when we arn't there ,but  normally we still produce enough heat for a quick shower,but as we had  apparently had a week previous  of overcast skies, there was no heat. We sufficed with a kettle and a wash and the next morning Brian uncovered the system but just as an added bonus decided to light up the kitchen stove(which backs up the solar system0

Well, smoke went every where and very quickly filled the house. First fire light for the season and the flue was blocked, we opened the house   all up and got rid of the smoke and put the fire out. We found we had a big build up of  dry  tar type substance up in the flue. We cleaned it all up and it then  burnt and drew like a dream.
I got busy and painted some metal chairs that I started on the previous trip only to be attacked and stung 10 times by paper wasps that were living  in a nest under one of the chairs, they now look much better all freshly painted.It took me many weeks to fully get over those bites.

We  had  three days at the farm and then we traveled to Parkes to visit our oldest daughter and celebrate our youngest granddaughter's first birthday. On the way not far from our place we noticed these fellows grazing in a roadside paddock. We have seen them before and last year they had a calf. I think they are Bison, but we always just refer to them as "The Buffalo's"

We had a lovely weekend with our two daughters and two granddaughters, we had  lunch  to celebrate the granddaughters' first birthday, and she had a beautiful  caterpillar  birthday cake.  I was able to get a pic of the two gorgeous girls, but it was hard to get them to  sit still long enough.

We returned to the farm for a few more days, Brian got stuck into enriching  our raised  vegetable garden beds.
He dug out some of the soil, then placed a layer of hay biscuits or slices, then put the soil back  on top, and then topped it off with some more soil that we had brought up in bags  from our now shut down gardens on the coast.Hopefully it will all decompose and make some wonderful soil for us to plant in.

We cut some wood, and mowed lawns and replaced the front tyres on the lawn mower, pumped water, cleaned ,weeded and general tidy up.
We  wandered the property close to home, deliberating on where to place our new chicken coop that we brought as a flat pack.

We finally decided on a lovely spot out the back under the shade of some larger trees for protection in the hot summers, but in front of the big rock ridge that will offer protection from the cold southerly winds. We will remove some of the smaller saplings and build a larger high meshed yard into which we will place the smaller coop. The coop is roughly 3 metres by 2 mtrs x 2 mtrs..

We think this will be an ideal spot for the chickens.Hopefully work will start on it soon.
There are some pretty spots on the farm( or at least they are to me)...Below are are a few pics of the rock  ridge and caves and   a couple of other areas that I like.

It was a busy, disjointed visit but we still accomplished a lot, every thing we do now is one less job later. I really miss the  farm when we are not there, and can hardly wait to get back. It was so lovely and green this visit with feed everywhere for the sheep. The house yard was lovely and green too.
On our return trip, unusually we traveled three quarters of the way back  in  thick

fog. We often get some but not to this extent. The only time we came out of it was as we  peaked each  range between the valleys. The photo above. shows the fog over the township of Coolah which would normally be visible.
So now we are back on the coast, working ,saving, gathering supplies  and waiting  for  the next opportunity to get away again .
So until we meet up again,
Take care,
Cheers.
Jane.

Sauce with a kick !

About a week ago, I noticed that the Habanero bush was producing much more than I could realistically use up in "Habanero Gold"(sweet pepper jelly), so I decided I would make up a batch of  spicy Tomato/Habanero sauce.
So I picked  a decent amount of them, sorted the ripe ones to do the sauce and retained the others to cook with and to give to a friend that wanted some green ones..

For the recipe I  used 14 cups of peeled,cored and chopped Tomatoes..
5 Cups white vinegar
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons ginger(minced)
2 tablespoons Garlic(minced)
1 teaspoon all spice
2 teaspoons mustard powder
3 bay leaves
2-3 cups, seeded chopped  red/orange Habaneros
4 largewhite or brown onions(chopped)
1x 500 ml bottle of tomato pasta sauce.
I added all of this together into a stock pot and boiled for about 30 minutes.

After this I removed from the heat, fished out the bay leaves and blended the entire contents of the pot. I then placed it back on the heat and boiled for another 20-30 minutes to reduce and reach the desired thickness., keeping an eye not to stick to the bottom.

I then made my self a funnel out of an old drink bottle and filled my bottles that had been keeping hot in a sink full of hot water.
After this I wiped the rims clean with paper towel soaked in white vinegar, placed the caps on(which I buy new each season) and placed all the bottles into my electric  boiling water bath preserver.

After bringing up to boiling point, I then processed the jars for 15 minutes, after which I turned off the processor ,removed the lid and allowed the bottles to sit for a further 5 minutes before removing them onto a towel covered bench to cool.When they were cooled I labeled them and stored away 9some to stay on the coast and some to go up to the farm.

I ended up with 12  x 500 ml bottles, which I was really happy with.
I had a small amount over(about a half pint) which we used some of on our dinner that night.

 It was so tasty, I am very pleased with the result, just a lovely tomato sauce with a good kick of chilli.I was extremely happy with dinner that night because apart from some of the sauce  every bit of that food on the plate we had produced ourselves. The lamb was from the farm, the chokos fresh from the garden, corn frozen when we harvested our crop, and canned carrots and beans from our garden as well.Even the tomatoes had been our own(I used previously canned tomatoes)
I certainly will be making this again, I think it will prove to be a popular condiment in this household in the future.Most of us like a bit of chilli.
So until we meet again,
take care all of you  and stay safe,
Cheers
Jane.

Mrs Morris's Mustard Choko Pickles.

Ever since we have lived here on the coast, nearly 30 years, we have had a Choko vine for most of that time. Some years there are a glut,and some years just a  reasonable amount, but every year, we run out of things to use the choko for. It is also known by two other names around the world, Chayote and Merliton.

The top picture shows the vine in a good year, where it ran every where, the the lower photo is just last week, we have a smaller crop this year due to the extreme heat and dry weather  that we had experienced this last summer and the fact that we were not  here to give it as much water.
I have a mustard pickle recipe that I make each year,  that a lovely   neighbour of my Mum's  up in the country passed on to her.She is long gone now , her name was Mrs Morris( so we now always without fail call this recipe "Mrs Morris's Pickles" It can be made with Green Tomatoes,cauliflower,choko or a mix of all three.(I have used zuichinni as well sometimes).
Firstly I advise you to put on thin "skins" gloves as the chokos have a strange slimy  feel when peeled that dries like a brown second skin on your hands and is difficult to remove. I doubled the recipe when I made this batch. It doubles and triples quite well. I rarely make a single batch.

You will need to have 2 1/2 lbs of Choko, Green Tomato or Cauliflower(I used all choko)
next you add 1 cucumber,Peeled and chopped

Then  you add 1 green capsicum(Bell pepper) Chopped(seeds removed)

And 2 large onions, peeled and chopped.

Put this altogether in a large stainless steel stock pot, cover with water and  add 1/4 cup salt and leave overnight. All the peelings went to the two worm farms.

Next morning, place pot on heat and bring to the boil and boil for10 minutes,. While this is boiling prepare your jars ready and  make a  smooth  paste  up in a bowl of 2 tablespoons of plain flour, 2 teaspoons dry mustard powder,1 teaspoon curry powder,2 teaspoons Turmeric and a pinch of cayenne pepper with about 3-4 tablespoons  of white vinegar.
After the 10 minutes, drain off the liquid, and add 2 cups white sugar and 1/2 pint white vinegar and return to heat and boil for about  3 minutes.

After this, remove and add  yellow paste

Then stir thoroughly to  combine evenly and make sure there are no floury lumps.Place back on heat and boil for about a minute or two to  thicken and cook the flour.

I then used a small plastic jug to pour the piping hot pickles  into jars  as my plastic jar funnel  is just a teeny bit too small for the jars I used this time.
I then wiped the rims of the jars clean with a paper towel soaked in white vinegar, screw on my new lids and place my jars in a double layer with a pizza tray separating the layers into my electric water

bath preserver.I then brought it to the boil and processed the jars at that temperature for 10 minutes, after which I turned it off, removed the lid and let the jars sit in the unit for another 5 minutes.

I then removed them out onto the towel covered bench until they cooled,
I then insisted they line up and pose  for one final photo shoot before labeling and storing away in the pantry.

We use these  pickles a lot, We use it in Sandwiches,plain and toasted with cheese, and on hot and cold meats, beaten into cream cheese as an impromptu dip.and in a tuna casserole that I make pastry and spread the pickles over the pastry then roll it  up and cut  slices through(I then turn these spirals face up on top of the tuna and white sauce and bake.) It Maybe an acquired taste, but one my family loves.My Mum used to make it when we were young and we always loved it.
This may be the last crop we see here as we will have probably moved to the farm full time before next years crop, and it will probably take a while to establish a vine out there(if at all as it is frost sensitive). So I may in future be making the Tomato or cauliflower version of this, which isn't a problem as they are equally as tasty.
So everyone until we meet again,
Cheers to you all,
Jane.