Beginner Baking 14

I'm not normally a big fan of biscuits and consider them to be a waste of calories and chocolate. But sometimes a biscuit is just what is required and afternoon tea is one such occasion. So when we had grandparents coming over one weekend recently, I decided to make cumin biscuits from another recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.



J was moderately satisfied with the biscuits but thought the cumin flavour a little overpowering. He would have me leave the seeds off the top next time. I liked them just the way they were and thought the seeds were a touch of prettiness. We will have to agree to differ.

Craft Corner

Here's the finished product - my craft desk, bookshelves and my writing desk, all set up in the rumpus room. I've divided all my bits and pieces into paper crafts, sewing, jewellery making and other crafts and lined up all my writing paper and postcards on the windowsill using the lovely desk furniture that my grandfather has made for me over the years.







Now I just need to sit down and work on some of my projects...

Desk Job

I had the enjoyable task of setting up my corner of the rumpus room last week. The cornerpiece of the arrangement is an old desk that I found in a junk shop a few years ago. I was tempted by the large surface area which will be ideal for sewing and crafts and by its solidity.

It's a bit shabby round the edges but I love all the clues to its former life - the labels on the drawers ("insurance notifications") and the stamps and scribbles inside the drawers. Intriguingly the drawers only go halfway into the desk and there are secret, locked cabinets at the back. The builders put the desk in place before I had chance to explore the secret compartments but one day I'll take a hairpin to the locks and find the treasures inside.

Stocking up for the winter

Ever since we moved into our house, almost three years ago, I've been meaning to get our emergency supplies in order. I've made the first step towards that goal by stocking up the pantry with a range of long life goods - UHT milk, grains, flour, tins, pasta. All sorts of things that we'll be able to cook on our gas hob if the roads are blocked, food is in short supply or the power goes off.

Luckily I don't need to worry about water, provided we've had plenty of rain recently. Our pump won't work without power but we can lower a bucket into the tank whenever we need to.

Next up, I need to make sure we have a basic first aid kit in place and plenty of torches, matches and candles. I ought to pack an emergency bag too in case we need to evacuate but that just seems to be one step too far. We'll see...

Civil Defence have heaps of advice here if you think it would be sensible to get ready for whatever might hit you - tsunami, earthquake, tornado, you name it.

And I found the Modern Homesteading blog had some very interesting articles on food security and related issues.

Relaxing in the Past

Bathroom Basics

Yesterday's Laundry

Classic Kiwi Kitchens 3

Who knew that the world's first dishwasher had been invented in New Zealand? Perhaps.

Classic Kiwi Kitchens 2

Classic Kiwi Kitchens 1

My regular readers (all three of them) have been very patient in the absence of any "after" shots of our newly renovated house. I'm determined not to post any photos until the house is completely finished. One day, our house will look like it's going to be on the pages of Homes & Gardens. Just for one day. And that's the day that I'm going to take the photos.

Until then, I'll be posting some pictures of classic kiwi kitchens and other traditional rooms as a taster for you, courtesy of the Waiheke Museum and Historic Village.

Autumn Sunset

Soil Samples

My last few assignments have been about soils and fertilisers. The materials accompanying the modules encourage students to take soil samples from their land and test them to see what nutrients are lacking.

I don't really have the equipment, time or inclination to take soil samples at the moment. (But if I change my mind in the future, I think I'll be using this online manual to work through the various tests.)

Fortunately the builders dug a large hole at the back of our house so I have been able to take a closer look at our soil structure in any event. (I know that proper soil samples should be taken away from buildings but this is the best of a bad job!)



For the last few weeks, I've studied the hole through the laundry window almost every time I've put a load of washing in. The soil structure hasn't changed over that time sadly.



I already knew that we had clay soil - prone to waterlogging and compaction when it rains heavily and then cracking in the hot weather. But I've learnt that the yellow-brown colour with red and orange mottles reveals that the soil has been affected by periodic waterlogging. At least it isn't prolonged waterlogging.

I also knew that we had very little topsoil (though I hadn't remembered that this layer is called "horizon A"). That's why we're going to be doing most of our growing in raised beds where we can add a rich layer of organic matter on top of the poorer soil.

I could have guessed that we would have poor soil structure too - you can see the large blocky peds which are the big cubes of earth which make up our soil and which make it difficult for roots to penetrate. That's another reason why we need to add that rich organic layer using compost which will consist of finer granules - crumb.

On the positive side, I've learnt that clay soils have inherent fertility levels which are relatively high and the nutrients in a clay soil are readily available to plants. That's something to be thankful for, at least!

A rare treat

My other birthday treat was a trout. I used to eat trout reasonably regularly back home in the UK. The sandwich shop near college did a particularly delicious smoked trout sandwich. And then there was another sandwich shop close to work which did a quite miraculous smoked trout and emmental panini. In fact, I would say that I took trout for granted. But no longer.

Trout is a restricted product in New Zealand. There are controls on importing foreign trout and on selling both local and imported trout. You just can't get it for love nor money. Except for love of fishing, that is. I don't love fishing, though it's on my list of things to do. Luckily, a friend's freezer was overflowing with fish caught by her husband and his father so I was the happy recipient of this little beast.



I baked it first, using the leftover liquid from this recipe for braised leeks and then added some more leeks and celery.

We only managed to eat one side of the beast for my birthday dinner and so I flaked off the other side and made potted trout from this recipe book, a thrifty purchase that I knew would come in handy...

Beginner Baking 13

I've been a bit slow posting a photo of my birthday cake. But here it is.



This slice isn't quite as gooey as the ones that I cut when I served it just cool from the oven. At that point it was more like a chocolate mudslide than a chocolate cake.

Either way, a photo cannot convey the true deliciousness that this cake offered. But it was good. Very good. So good that I've now given up chocolate for Lent.

Here is the recipe. My mother spotted it and sent a clipping over because it uses a lot of eggs. Luckily, the hens remembered what they were supposed to be doing during the week of my birthday so we were able to have this chocolate cake AND pancakes too.

Ripe for the picking

Almost exactly a year after the tree was planted, our first apples are ripe. And sweet and crispy! Success!

A Little Lemon

Here's a little lemon that's appeared on our little lemon tree.



I have a feeling that I ought to take this little lemon off the tree so that the tree can focus on growing leaves and branches and roots. But I'm not sure I can bring myself to do it...

The Heart of the Matter

There are a few areas of native bush on our block. I've been concentrating on extending one of those areas, using plants that I've picked up at school fairs, markets and op shops. I've had about a 50:50 success rate with the plants establishing, which isn't bad considering I've neglected them.

Here's a puka that I planted about a year ago:



There seems to be some strong growth with a new bud appearing at the heart of the plant. I love the structure of the plant viewed from above.

And here's a cabbage tree that's almost doubled in size in a couple of years:



It's probably time to find a few more plants now and see what happens next...

Raindrops 2

Raindrops 1

Pine Cones

Cabbage Tree

Broody Bantam

Last year's chick-hen has been learning bad habits from the other hens and has gone broody. Here she is sitting on a few eggs. At least she is laying in the chicken coop though, unlike the other hens.

Laundry Moth

Indoor Cricket

Unseasonal Bloom

Our magnolia seems to think it's spring already... Or still.

Weatherbomb!

La Nina continues her rain of terror...