Rainy Day

I had planned to write yesterday afternoon, but a brief stint in hospital put and end to that! Anyway, I thought I'd share the rainy morning activities from yesterday, as it started out with such promise and up until lunchtime it was a great day.

The barometer said rain - again!

 This book arrived in the mail to cheer up the day!  I love these books

 Lots of lovely projects to inspire me.

 Pickled Onions are Phil's favourite.  He made them from a recipe in this book.

 Ava was very content to play inside - carefully setting up her toys....

 for a train ride - All Aboard Ava's Express!!

 I started a new knitting project, inspired by this blog.  I'm learning how to use circular needles.  We will see how it goes!

 My favourite flowers on the table, filling the house with their gorgeous perfume.  A reminder that Spring really is here, despite all the rain!

 Our flock happily grazing in the paddock, completely oblivious to the downpour.

Over the Weekend

It was a warm and balmy weekend here; stormy and overcast, with just enough sunny weather to dry the washing! We spent lots of time in the garden and picked a bumper crop of berries (strawberries, loganberries and silvan berries) which we have been enjoying for dessert with homemade ice-cream.

 Phil mowed the lawn for what seems like the hundredth time this month! (photo by Ava)

 A jug of Spring Colour on the dining table!

We also planted out some Snapdragon seedlings and some others we have raised from cuttings into pots for colour around the house.

Hope you had a good weekend too and I will post again soon - hopefully our internet won't cause any more disruption!

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.

 

Have a great weekend!

Home Made Broad Bean Pesto

Our broad beans have been growing quite nicely.  We thought the flowers were pretty and the beans would be along fairly soon, but upon further investigation, we found lots of pods ready for picking which was a surprise!

So, we decided to make one of our favourites from this book, Broad Bean Pesto.  It's so simple, and everyone loves it.  It's milder and creamier than regular pesto made with basil and it takes about 5 minutes to make (once you have podded the beans!)

You will need salt, pepper, 200 grams of fresh broad beans - podded, 2 handfuls torn basil leaves, 3 tablespoons of pine nuts, 5 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil, 100 grams of freshly grated parmesan cheese.  These ingredients will make enough pesto for about 500 grams of pasta.

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.  Or, if you want to be more authentic, you can use a mortar and pestle!

Cook up your pasta and reserve a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water to loosen your pesto if necessary.  

We enjoyed ours with homemade pasta.

Bon appetito!

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.

Have a fantastic weekend!

In the Kitchen

I'm a keen cook. You'll nearly always find me in the kitchen at home (or at parties for that matter!) rustling something up. I love to find new recipes to try, or experiment with my own. It lifts me up when I'm feeling down and it's also something we all enjoy as it brings us together to share a meal.
We recently had some sad news from the vet about one of our lambs. I shouldn't get attached, I know, but it's hard not to, especially when we helped it's mother give birth.  Growing up in the city means that I'm not as 'tough' as I should be when it comes to life and death on the farm.  Especially on this occasion, when we are the ones who must decide whether things are to live or die.  Often it's easier when it's out of our hands.
So in order to process this information, I head to the kitchen and cook.  Today we had strawberries that were lovingly picked by Phil, Ava and Ned from the strawberry plants under our fruit trees.  

I've been enjoying the River Cottage Preserves book (yes, I'm a big fan!) and decided to follow a little twist that Pam the Jam (who wrote the book) suggests.  I added a couple of Rose Geranium leaves during the cooking process. The leaves are removed prior to bottling and they give a wonderful aromatic flavour to the jam. It's really, really good. Especially when raspberry jam is the firm favourite here. This batch gives the raspberry a run for its money. 

 

We were also given two massive bags of lemons by a kind friend.  I usually make homemade cordial as it's so much better than the bought stuff, but as we have more than enough for cordial requirements, I decided to branch out a little.  

I've never made alcohol before, so I thought I'd give this Limoncello recipe a go from Darina Allen's, Forgotten Skills of Cooking book (which I'm also a big fan of) and it's worked out really well.  I first tried Limoncello in a little place in Sorrento - Southern Italy which this area is renowned for.  It's pretty potent stuff, but on a warm summer evening, it goes down a treat!  

 This batch is very reminiscent of Southern Italy - oh to be there today.....

Over the Weekend

It has been a long weekend where we are for the Melbourne Cup.  We decided to take advantage of the extra few days and head off on a trip to the Snowy River.  It was a great  day and a fantastic opportunity to spend time together as a family.  We didn't really plan too much, but just set off with our picnic lunch and some warm clothes for the day.  
We have had lots happening on the farm lately, with new lambs, hatching chickens and endless lawns to mow. So, it was nice to take a break and remind ourselves of how beautiful the countryside near us really is.  
Here are some photo's of the day - it really was a memorable one.

Ava at the falls

On the walk

One of our favourite flowers in bloom - Billy Buttons

A jackie dragon sunning himself

Crossing McKillops Bridge

The gorge lookout

Piggy backs on the track!

Skimming stones on the river

Beautiful waterfall