These Days

It's been strange weather here these days - sunny and warm one day, then wintery and stormy the next.  We have been spending more time than usual inside, making indoor cubby houses

playing with dolls

 making crystal scenes (before)

 sewing library bags for little friend's birthdays

 watching our crystal scene grow (after!)

 Picking ingredients from the garden for dinner when the rain finally stops

 Enjoying these golden roses

 Sowing seeds with dad

 watching the hail storm outside

Making Butter

We had a go at making butter the other day.  There were several cartons of good quality cream reduced to clear at the supermarket, so we took the opportunity and bought all six of them!  We found a good recipe to follow in this book.

Making butter was easier than I initially thought.  Just pour in the cream and let the mixer do the rest!  

It takes a while for the cream to separate...........

Then as soon as the buttermilk and butter separate, put the butter into a sieve lined with muslin to drain a little more squeezing the buttermilk out by hand.

Then back into the mixer for another brief stint of whipping to get the last of the buttermilk out

Back into the sieve lined with fresh muslin for the final drain (see all the buttermilk in the jug!)

However, it was a little fiddly when it came time to shape the butter with the butter pats (these were my grandma's I think).  There is definitely an art to it.

and voila, homemade butter! 

We made seven 220gram parcels all together

We have frozen most of the parcels as the recipe suggests that homemade butter doesn't last as long as the shop bought stuff.  The buttermilk made lovely pancake batter too.
Our butter was lovely spread on homemade bread with lunch.  We will certainly make this again!

These Days

The Summer garden harvest is in full swing here.  Tomatoes, chillies, zucchini, capsicum, basil and watermelons (of which Phil is particularly proud!)to name a few.  Our kitchen is also a hive of activity, preserving the season's bounty ready for the leaner months ahead.  We have been making harvest tomato sauce and tomato and thyme tart from this book.

 I have had a little time to finish some sewing too.  A skirt and top set as birthday gifts for two of Ava's little friends.  I am quite happy with the way they turned out. The appliqué (of an elephant in case you are wondering!) on the T shirts was an experiment that turned out better than I expected.  

And a little light reading from our recent trip to the library

Have a great day.

A road trip

We have been on a road trip.  A family holiday heading west towards South Australia along the Great Ocean Road.  The end destination was Adelaide where Phil attended a work conference.  It was amazing to see the beauty of the coast and countryside.  We saw some spectacular scenery.
We hopped in the car with quite a few days to spare.  No plans, no daily destination.  We just took in places along the way and stopped when or where we felt like it.  How indulgent.  We are very lucky.
The west coast of Victoria is steeped in history.  Old buildings, old lighthouses (I am a BIG fan of lighthouses and would like to be a keeper one day!) and old fishing ports.  
Adelaide was nice enough, but cities are becoming too busy for me.  I've discovered that I have become a country girl without even realising.  After a few weeks of feeling so unsettled, I know this is the life for me, that I do enjoy the slower pace of farm life and whilst the city is nice to visit, the country is where I belong. It was so good to return home to our farm.
So here are a selection of the many photos we took on our road trip - the 12 apostles, blue lake (an extinct volcano that is now a lake), cape jaffa lighthouse, cape otway lighthouse (there is a theme here!), london bridge, the obelisk at robe, an old church from the 1840's and the big lobster!

This Moment

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.  Inspired by soulemama at www.soulemama.com

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see

Hope you have a great weekend

This Moment

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.  Inspired by soulemama at www.soulemama.com

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see

Say Cheese!

A few days ago we decided it was time to unveil our homemade cheddar.  About six months ago, I attended a cheese making workshop with the Dexter Cattle Society in Tasmania. Over the two days we made lots of different cheeses - camembert, feta, ricotta, mozzarella and cheddar to name a few.  We were  able to taste test most of the cheese I made straight away, but cheddar needs ageing in order to mature and develop good flavour.  So, after many months of waiting - we unwrapped our cloth bound cheddar.  It was well worth the wait, with lovely creamy flavour and a slightly crumbly texture.  We served it up with homemade green tomato pickle.  It was really good and we are now hoping to make more cheese with milk from a nearby organic dairy.