Keeping summer in the pantry

I was just saying that it really feels like summer once the preserving has egun. I dont even like Gherkins, but this year the thought of bottling something i have organically (well, to the best of my ability)fills me with joy. Most times I have to buy the fruits when they are cheapest and then preserve them, but I had hoped growing gherkins was obtainable. And so after a daft batch of too early gherkins fizzled in a jar I then waited for some more to grow WAY bigger and today got a half decent jar, which i have pickled with my own garlic no less!!And so I present the finished item:

I just have to say that it is both a joy and a pain that more people are doing this for themselves. This is because it is FABTASTIC that everyone is going back to growing and preserving their own, the planet has so much hope now...but two of our biggest supermarkets didnt have white vinegar!! Also agee tops and accessories can be hard to come buy if you leave it til the last moment. I was okay I bought spiced vinegar for my picklesw but i am out of White..

I then turned to making a double batch of ice cream with the abundance of eggs we have. All the girls are laying at full strength although a couple of my old girls have begun the moult...this is very exciting for us as last year they didnt go through the moult...small things... Anyway the ice cream is an adult ice cream although Alex didnt have a scoop of it. It is made with Baileys. It was a beautiful creamy and proffessional (As Georgia called it) but very rich. To get throug it we may have to use the six jars of strawberry jam I (stupidly) made with half the sugar as sauce...Must.Not.Waste..

 The mistake bathc of Jam/sauce in the pantry, I made another two batches and then came over all domestic goddess(Something I attain to) and put pretty pink material(which is the backing to my pink quilt) and made little covers. So pretty next to the stewed plums and new wine glasses. Then GHIU put his ginger beer rustically next to it all.!  But the promise of ginger beer is exciting. Im glad he did it as I couldnt be bothered..He is always after the perfect ginger beer and this one came from the same book that the Gherkins and The baileys ice cream came from (which is Honegrown #no 2  if your interested)

The humidity today is dreadful, there has been light showers, and humidity so thick its a bit like walking around in a steamy shower (well thats what it feels like anyway) The rest of Nz is going to be having a few storms and heavy rain warnings, but it seems other than the odd saving grace of a strong breeze we are missing out on the drama. HOWEVER we didnt escape the drama of an earthquake. 5.5 so not a tiny one!! It is earthquake weather after all.!
Happy shaking
Love Cherry

preserving pickles and the perils of the poultry et al

Crafting:
Still humming along with this quilt. I am finding it fiddly but that is only because I thought I could make it less complicated than the pattern strip peicing instructions. I now see I was wrong...
Homesteading in the kitchen: As you can see I have done a spot of preserving red onions. They did not come out of the garden, nor did the spiced venegar emerge from within this house, BUT the dried chiilies sprinkled about the mix were grown here about two years ago aged and dried and now (finally) have a purpose.

About the poultry:
I came home at lunch but couldnt stay as I had to coach netball at Twyford School then run some errands for my Mum who is in the rest home. Between lunch and when i finally came in the door at three, Christmas had (again) flown the fence and been nearly gobled up by Sam the less than friendly to the feathered, labrodor. She had marks in the back of her neck and feathers missing etc. I could strangle that dog. Honestly. Anyone want a maniac purebred lab!?? I can only hope that Christmas remains infection free. She certainly has been tough in the past. This of course puts the gulf between man and dog even further. have I mentioned the GHIU has a tenuous relationship with the dog?? It is now set to crash to an all time low. The dog has been punished in all ways and forms and still does this to the chook . I need some help please!

Five eggs a day keeps the grumpies away

I am hopeless at keeping in touch...So much have I been up to that Im going to subtitle whats been happening. First up the...

CHOOKS

Well, really I love these girls. presently we are getting five eggs per day!!! So much for the people who thought my "old" chook wouldnt lay at all/much. She is still called Sad chook although Im guessing she is pretty happy. She lays the biggest lovliest multicoloured eggs youve seen! I can spend hours out the back just watching the chooks and digging up worms etc for them. I noticed last night as they had their supper of mash that their crops were ENORMOUS. Like goiters out the side of their chests. I dont know what they eat in the garden ut its obviously good for them. they also enjoy all the scraps plus the morning cereal milk that the kids leave behind in their plates.  Say what yoiu will but its working!!

HOMESTEADING
 I had a marvellous moment the othe day as I embraced the feeling of living here happily withour ackyard urban farm until land comes along. No longer was I worried about leaving it to late to enjoy etc. I really thought Im happy to have land when the time is right and make this an awesome backyard semi self suffiency project as we go along. I think Ive been inspired by the folks at uran homestead here    Plus ive just found ou they are Kiwis !! Yah!
So on that route, we have tried two bottles of our cider a month apart. Im sure that they did not improve within a month of each other. well try another next month. If yoiu are a fan of the seventies show the Good Life, think of the Pea Pod wine they made. by the looks on their faces that is similar to ours when we drink our cider. Ive sought out the advice of workld award winning winemakers in the district (Hawkes ay is the winw capital of NZ and has some of the best wines in the world and some of those very same winemakers children go to Twyfor School with my girls so...) but I fear this business with cider making may be a long term project to reach perfection. Next we are making ginger beer. One of the winemakers told us that a gorgeous yummy brewery who also do the most devine ginger beer use ginger powder NOT root to make it. A hint from the wise.
Next on the homestead is the winter vege gardens. My Pok Choi is blooming, lasting through sveral devastating frosts lately. (Brrr it has been soooo cold in the mornings). The cauliflowers, brussel sprouts and I think brocolli (it was a mixed pack) are slowly moving upwards. No sight yet of the garlic, both organically grown in Hawkes bay and non oprganically grown somewhere in Nz are peeking thru yet. Im so keen to see them as Ive NEVER had luck with garklic and threw away all aspirations and attempts years ago but Im going to have to be patient. Apparently they like lots of muck. i throw the chook poo daily on the garden and we will get some more gorgeously dried horse poo hopefully this weekend.
I have started the garden one tangerine tree in, one manderion tree to go. One bay tree to be replanted. The pot from the tangerine tree I have used to plant some new Temptation strawberries you can see them ehind the Choi. The other pot I will be using to plant some more new strawberriesd The picture is up the top!!! I cannot work this new system on blogger!!!!)

CRAFTING

Covered notebooks some partially finished..Christmas presents

Isnt this cool this is a christmas pressies. Using cardstock, envelopes and creativity (Not mine!!) I made this mini booklet. The remaining photos go in the envelopes that are the front and back cover. I lOVED making these!!!

And scrapping..Ive done quite a bit these are just some of them. Notice I have found out how to distress with an inkpad. I have gone distree mad!!! Love this technique and all I had to do was ask the lady in the scrapping shop!!!

And finally.....

I have finally got around to this wallhanging. I need to get a finish on this one. Its fiddly and a pain but i do love the finished project.

My finaly note for the day. Some boffin wrote that nzs are too inward thinking about other countries due to the prolem of isolation. personally i dont see isolation as a problem, infact Id like to be more isolated. Scondly we havebt got the problems of the iother places in the world..if that is a result of inward thinking and isolation them hurray for those two factors i say. YEAS!!!I was really offended.

Love for now from :need to build a bridge Cherry

Plans in the making

Today i was mowing the lawns..actually mostly Alex was mowing and I was watching..Anyway I was walking around this triangle of lawn against the olive trees and the pool and i suddenly thought..Chooks!!
You can see it too cant you!? Its perfect for a couple of laying hybrids. And friendly ones too so I can graze them around the other parts of the garden. I dont know why i didnt see it before!! We are going to erect a temparary fence from left over chicken wire in the shed and build a small chook house for laying. I cant wait. I even rung up the local battery farm:-(  and chooks are 18 for layers.

As for other things of a more crafty nature.This is what Ive been working on since Christmas. it is a quilt adapted from Cheri Saffiote. I love primitive especially at Christmas but am well and truly over this now!!  It features both stitchery and applique and then around the edges i am just finishing it off with some Christmas greenery...

Really want to get it finished now!!

This morning i made some Blackberry pickle from Aunt Daisys recipe book that I got from the library. Its a classic!! Full of recipes . I want a copy!! Im not sure how the pickle will taste though. It only made one a half jars, but it may all be thrown out after the first tasting. Tomorrow im making some relish from the same book. Again just a small amount. I found some MORE frozen tomatoes in the freezer!! Goodness only know how long those have been in there!!

Happy homemaking to you all..

Love Cherry

The first Jam of Christmas..and other things

Yes Christmas in hastings has caught up to me! I realised this when the famous reindeer and sleigh that have been a part of hutchinsons furniture went up. Small things like this often make me realise with a start that TIME IS RUNNING OUT!!! I start decoraating so early that I always feel I have bucket loads of time up my sleeve!
On Wednesday i am shopping for a 99.00 Gazebo from the jolly festive red warehouse so that we can all enjoy our Christmas day outside (weather permitting..and who knows with t his years funny old weather pattern?)

I am also going to start buying the Christmas food on Wednesday (which as you may have guessed is Pay day!!) This year I am going to buy Organic free range chickens (in lieu of our own future Christmas offerings) I hate the way Chickens are battery farmed and we no longer buy chickens like we once did . As a side note i have een watching the Good Life from the seventies and as well as laughing a lot have just realised with our warped sense of humour and earthy aspiration that we are the NZ equivalent to Tom and barbara Good!!! Now just need the land (which they didnt have by the way)
We have chosen and put up our Christmas tree. it is gorgeous. Just lovely. Everyone is complaining about the lack of baubles etc to "fill up" the tree. i may have chucked then on purpose...er I mean BY ACCIDENT..as i thought they were cheap and nasty. Any thoughts though of buying some "lovely" balls or to start a collection were eaten up today with the sad realisation that I have been spending way to much (as evidenced y a meager bank balance) and the certainty that next week signals my last pay packet for SIX WEEKS!!!! Eeeek
I havent got any photos of the tree yet as im not so organised and Alex had the camera and all I got were close ups of trees(not ours!) and numerous ones of Georgia with faces like these!! I will say that the tree picking and lolly giving ceremnony afterwards from the owners is as part of our tradition at Christmas as Christmas cake!


But a few days ago I askede GHIU to bring me home a small number of apricots (because in napier there are some good orchards) I say small because it was unorganised and I knew I only had a few bottles clean with lids etc. Also time wise I hadnt made plans to spend it in the kitchen. So my GHIU arrives home that night with 15 kilos..... After fervent supply fetchinf, dishwashing I made these few jars. I was watcing the Christmas epiode of Emmerdale while i stoned and weighed the next lot (for the freezer for when the time is right) and the first 3kgs burned on the bottom...teach me for all the wrong priorites... luckily I saved the batch by skimming off the top 2 kgs and all was not lost. im looking forward to making the next lot now and in fact have found a whole batch of jam recipes etc in the latest Gardener (look out for my letter...skite skite) and have really got the bug. in fact after all the rain things are blooming out in the garden including my boysenberry which I held grim hopes for as it is staying in its black baggie until moving day. The day I eat that first boysenberry will be great indeed. Honestly just little things but sometimes i feel like the big pioneer homesteader!!!
Happy harvesting wherever you dwell.
love Cherry

Starwberry Jam anyone?

One hour spent picking strawberries...Yum the fattest juiciest ones didnt make it to the pan..

Then I spent what has seemed like ALL day in the kitchen. But its worth it for all this harvest of sweet strawberry Jam.

Strawberrily Yours

Cherry

Organic Apricot jam

..well ALMOST organic. Im

very excited about this very first batch of Jam. Not just because it is the first seasonal batch of anything this summer but because our neighbours apricot tree that overhangs our fence has been quite barren for two yers and i have never in the six years here had enough apricots to do anything with other than nibble. SO! Some of the apricots were a bit short of ripe but my daughters friends mother who is a food technologist, brewer and winemaker told me that under ripe fruit release pectin that is missing in ripe friut so that should ensure a good set. I never knew! Tomorrow i might buy some roadside apricots and preserve some apricots. My preserving MOJo has hit a high note now and Im so happy to be productive again!

have a happy preservative day

Cherry

Making Pancakes, enjoying the sun...

Im sorry to say to all my northern hemisphere bloggy friends that the sun hads definately come over to this side of the world. Yes Summer seems to be entrenched in springtime hawkes Bay-or at least our girls seem to think so!! Gorgeous hubby spent the weekend cleaning, draining, painting and filling the post earthquake cracks then refilling it again. Cold but clear the girls were in their togs quicker than a cat up a tree and in and swimming.

Every since Jamies Ministry of Food programme the girls and I have been enjoying lots and lots of pancakes. It has got to the stage where they completely make these themselves, everything from turning on (and off) the switches, mixing the batter, measuring , cracking eggs..absolutely everything, while I sew happily waiting for pancakes whipped cream and ice cream to be served. Bliss!!

I have been busy sewing blocks for dissapearing nine patch quilt and today I went to the quilt show (much joy). There was some gorgeous civil war blue and red fabric at half price (1/2 metre minimum cut) and I clutched it o my chest, but what with the queue, the heat, the children (im hungry, I want to go home, Mum Dad will tell you off etc etc) I was forced to down fabric and leave. But the show is open til Monday so I live in hope!! I forgot my camera which no half good quilting blogger should ever do so i have no glorius prints, but as usual I was gobsmacked. Also I love the little notes on them telling of their history. There was a gorgeous scrap quilt called a mile a minute and I quickly pegged that in my brain as the next scrap quilt project. Infact it was instant love. Anyway I got home and looked up for a tutorial and sure enough found this here at the Quilting is my passion blog. The one I saw today had probably five blocks across by ten down and was interspersed bysashings. It looked glorious. I WISH I had a photo!!

Okay so its late and its muggy tonight and I really must go and put the girls to bed, have a shower and attempt to have an early night. But I want because I am down to the binding on the Keep Christmas in your heart panel and then its done. Yea!!

Have a warm night

Love Cherry

Check out my new shirt for the girls..

Another great tutorial that i found just when i thought my sewing mojo had gone, I found this tutorial for a sweet peasnat blouse. This one I whipped up in next to no time and as always with first tries it is as rough as they come, but Alex was persuaded to wear it for a blog photo!

I have quite a stash of cotton material bought in Autumn for a dollar a metre and so I will have some peasant tops from them. I had to tweak the pattern but its VERY easy. (i only chose easy tutes) The website that this tute came from has some great tutes for childrens things. I recommend that you go there. For my next tops I think i will make them longer and add elastic around the bottom to gently gather it. Or I might make it really long and add casing three quarters of the way down and have a ruffled bottom. The problem with my sewing is the kids are sometimes reluctant to wear these clothes because they are "scratchy". Oh well.

Tonight I was watching Jamie Olivers Ministry of food. My cooking ability is average and my keeness to cook is very come and go. I can adore cooking and baking for weeks on end and then struggle to do so thereafter.. BUT this programme really inspired me and I stopped flicking between it and Lipstick Jungle and committed myself to Jamie. AND im not that keen on cooking programmes per say. Hes bought out a great website to go with these episodes and the recipes are written people who cant cook in mind (Really- there were people on there who didnt know what boiling water looked like!!!) Most people have never learnt to cook from their mothers and have lived onn takewawy food. Sad:( Especially as they were passing this on their kids. Im not one to brag but my children are both adept cooks, preservers and jam makers and as soon as they were old enough to hold up there bodies they have been sitting up on the kitchen bench with me cooking. (and licking the bowl afterwards!) Anyway find his website here

The far north

We have just returned from a glorious holiday to the far north of NZ. We stayed in Pahia (Waitangi) and travelled from there all around the place. On Wednesday we drove and drove and drove and drove until we reached Cape Reinga right at the very tippy top of our country.
Here is Georgia looking out over to where the seas meet and where you an go no further north.

I never realised that the far north was so ingrained with so many places of early pioneering kiwis as they came over here from England and Scotland. The oldest remaining house built in 1818 was just eye candy to me as was the adjoining oldest stone store next to it, that sells wares you would find back then. So they teachers are getting slates and pencils (!) for presents.
As soon as we came back, seven days later, I was into the housework with renewed enthusiasm, proving time away is indeed valuable.
When you are lucky enough to have orchardists for relatives you get bags of this and that. I received a huge bag of Granny Smiths which I have stewed(Pictured ) and a bag of seconds limes and I wasnt sure what to do with these so I squeezed as much juice as possible into the ice cube trays.
While on holiday I made good progress on hand quilting my table runner and also found some gorgeous reproduction quilt material in the Stone Store, proving that you can buy reproduction material in NZ from the 1800s. Now I just need to find some more and when I have enough I will be looking to make a quilt very old pioneer looking.
On the way home I stopped at a quilt store in a cute little town called Tirau in the Waikato and bought two0 gorgeous magazine Amercian patchwork and quilting. Whaty have I not discovered this mag before??? It will replace all others as first choice in quilting magazines BUT at 18.00 is is terrifically expensive. Still I love it, and am very envious of all the Amercians who can buy this magazine much cheaper!!!
Take care for now.
Cherie

Possibly my most boring post yet..palstic bags

First start off with a bag, pressed out in the correct way..













Fold in half and then half again..















\
Now fold up into a triangle..













And another all the way up to the top..












When you get to the end tuck the little left over bits in the triangle pocket that is left..

Apparently this is the way flags are folded. This is not my clever scheme someone showed it to me and I think it is wonderful!













I KNOW I shouldnt be using plastic bags and by and large I dont...but there are times when Im caught on the hop, when my twenty four resusable bags are in theother car, left at home or some such thing, or when I blindly chat away to the staff while my groceries are being packed up at the end by a staff member Anyway the thing is i seem to have a ever growing collection of the t
hings. I donate them to op shops who ask for them but this little way of folding them up has kept me and my children and een gorgeous hubby occupied. When the plstic bags are folded like this you can store them neatly in your bag, car anywhere and pull them out as required.

Crockpot Yoghurt

Blogging is great. I love to read other peoples simple old fashioned ways of living and on one of my much visited homemaking sites I came across this recipe for Crockpot yoghurt. So excited to have another thing to make at home that I would otherwise buy! http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/ It make heaps too and I can add any fruit or flavourings I choose.

Rumplestiltskin

Every year since Georgia was five she has taken part in a musical stage performance with various companies. This year was a superb rendition of Rumplestiltskin in which Georgia played a spider, villager, courtier and agnome! A lot of back stage wardrobe changes. I was doing wardrobe this time. I love the theatre asnd love that my two girls are so into it. Alexandra takes part as the backstage help and will be in a production where she can show off her dancing flair.
As I watch all the teenagers takingpart in this show and seeing all their talent and committment and sucess I realise what good role models they are for my children in so far as teenage behaviour is modelled. Here are some poctures from the show:(seven shows two full houses and the rest nearly full!)

Also I have been going through an apron making stage. Ive made two frothy frilly jobs, this is the one that I will be collecting my future chooks eggs in...

Harvesting the goodies

Although I love and celebrate each and every day and season, this particular time of the year is special. As the days darken earlier and the clock goes back and things seem to become a bit dull outside, the harvest is in full swing. Orchards are busy with apples, tomatoes and corn abound and my kitchen is full of the tools of preserving.

Today friends of ours moved and in amidst the moving we managed to pick several kilos of feijoas. I love preserving these, although most people freeze the insides or stew them and freeze them. But Im always aware of things like the power going off and losing all frozen goods! It always makes me feel okay about the incoming reession while I am bottling, kind of like stocking up the cupboard for tougher times I guess. (This being the case we will be living on peaches, tomato relish and sauce and feijoa

So although the pool cover is on and the mornings are quite chilly, my pantry becomes full with all the goodies from our harvest.