Seedlings for Spring, Who Knows How to Germinate Capsicum and Eggplant?

An interesting morning (for us). Across the river the boss rang yesterday (Sunday) and said he was heading back to Sydney "Don't worry about rushing over tomorrow morning, none of the cows look close to calving". Arrived at 10 am to find two new calves and a third on the way! As my dairy farmer used to say when asked when the Springers were due? "Sometime in the next three weeks" was the standard answer.

Spent some time ear tagging the newborn and then slowly moved all the new mums into a fresh paddock (now that we have a mini herd of 10) and set up a grazing strip in an adjacent paddock with a good crop of Rye and Clover. Only a small strip to start and gradually increasing their quality and volume of feed as their stomachs adjust.

On the neighbour's property next door the herd of 7 on the river have all had their calves as of this morning. A gate to a new paddock with some greener feed was opened and some relief for us as we now only have to check them every few days instead of daily. Up on the Hill only 11 of the 16 have calved.

The Tomato seeds we planted have all germinated and have now been all transplanted in larger pots. They have started to fill out and all is looking good for a Spring planting.

Transplanted Tomato Seedlings

The only problems have again been with the Capsicum and Eggplant seeds. Only one Capsicum has germinated. What is the matter? We have this problem every year. Does anyone have any suggestions?

The morning went quickly with cattle work leaving the afternoon for a period of intensive weeding. With surprise that went well with most of the weeding complete by nightfall. Only one bed to finish tomorrow. The fine Lucerne mulch (ex the mulcher) has worked well and only the edges of the garlic stands had to be tidied. Will try to make some more fine mulch material tomorrow and get the onion stands mulched.

The beauty of having plenty of composted material on hand was that generosity could be extended to any plants that were a bit slow in maturing. A few Carrots, Beetroot, Spinach and Pea plants needed a little lift.

With the westerly winds blowing all day things were drying out and needed a solid water on dusk when the wind stilled for half an hour. Will need to pump up again tomorrow - thank you 7 mega litre dam you are a life saver.

Hungerfords, Spiced Macadamia Nuts

A quiet day inside today taking time to do all the end of month accounts. Made up and e-mailed out the invoices for the work performed and then completed the monthly BAS statement. Most small business do their Business Activity Statements quarterly but we have chosen to do ours monthly. It only takes a few minutes in our small operation. Any outstanding bills are paid and then the paperwork filed ready for the end of year tax return. Any claimable deductions added to the BAS are also filed. When the end of financial year comes around it only takes a little while to summarise everything for the accountant who prepares the annual tax returns.

In the background a big batch of yogurt was on the stove. Normally the cream would have been removed and used for cultured butter but this time the cream was added back. About a month ago a batch of full cream yogurt was made and it was so delicious it seemed a good idea to try it again as there was an ample supply of cream. Of the 20 litres half the milk was used for yogurt and the other half for drinking. That left over about a litre of cream for other uses as we were happy to use skimmed milk in our teas and coffees and the dogs and cats don't notice the difference.

Two litre storage container and a one cup measuring tool

Overnight the cream has risen to the surface

Skimming the cream with the measuring cup.

And yet another comment on books. A long time ago when living in a remote valley a decent distance away from veterinary assistance we purchased a copy of T. G. Hungerford's  Diseases of Livestock. This was a very expensive book back then and is still pricey. But it was the best book on livestock we have ever found especially when it comes to diagnosis of ailments. Back then we had cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, dogs and cats. This book covered it all. We still use it today and it is especially useful it researching background detail about a specific problem.

Having come across a recipe to spice up the flavour of Macadamia nuts it was time to process some harvested nuts.

Macadamia Nuts stored in drying trays



Hand operated cracker



Step one removes the husk

Step two cracks the shell

Roasted nuts
 

Came across this recipe by Karen Martini in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food supplement. The original recipe included two types of nuts the other being Almonds. The only modification in hindsight would be to half the Macadamias. That way the flavours are spread over a bigger surface area. Other wise this recipe is delicious as a snack or as is suggested in the original recipe sprinkled over Pumpkin soup.

Garlic 2 cloves minced
Ginger 2 teaspoons finely grated
Curry Powder 1 teaspoon
Salt (flakes) 1 tablespoon
Tamari 4 tablespoons
Sesame seeds 40 grams
Macadamia nuts 360 grams

Roast the Macadamia nuts and Sesame seeds for 10 minutes in an oven at 180 degrees C
Toss with the mix of other ingredients
Roast for another 10 minutes.

If the mix seems a bit dry you can add a little water or even olive oil before the second roasting to assist the ingredients to adhere to the nuts.

Things in the Garden, Cooking Inspirations

After morning chores took a stroll through the garden to see how things are progressing. Still lots of food ready to eat and more on the way - thank goodness we won't starve.

Broad Beans on Target

Kale

Garlic looking very healthy

Self Sown Fennel. Let it go to seed once.

Two of the many Self Sown Radicchio. Again let it go to seed once for a permanent crop

Celery

Coriander Flowering. When the seeds are still green and soft they will be used in various dishes to add flavour and crunch

Flowering Jasmine "Gladdens your Heart"

In some commentary on another blog, readers referred to inspirational books on cooking that had set them on the path to getting serious about preparing their own food. This was reminder of a few of the books that set the scene for our cooking.

Back in the early 1980's a passing acquaintance hearing we were about to prepare a special meal for friends loaned us Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking which was used to prepare an authentic French feast. Although not as easy to use as Julia Child's books it nonetheless forced some discipline in preparation and delivery and brought us into the world of French cooking and cooking for pleasure. Ten years later we acquired the box set of Elizabeth David's books but took out the pristine French Provincial Cooking and gave it to the stunned acquaintance who had forgotten that we never returned her loan. The dog eared stained original still holds a special place with us.

Not long after that The Cuisine of Paul Bocuse joined our shelves and brought creativity to the kitchen. Over the years cookery books accumulated on our book shelves, some just for their prettiness, others for specific recipes or techniques still used and others just because they were about cooking. When hunting for something new to do with a vegetable in over supply it's not unusual for us to sit with a dozen rarely opened books over coffee examining alternatives. Sharing the discovery process is not as easy on the web as it is with the hard copy.

Cleaning Milk Collection Container, Spare Trailer Tyre

Good day for young mothers. Two new calves across the river, almost 30% of the 25 have calved. Up on the hill out of 16 we have 9 new babies with the new one today. On the river out of 7 expectant mothers 5 have calved counting the new one this morning. The new one on the river almost looked liked it may be orphaned. The mother hadn't licked it clean and for a while there wasn't all that much interest. We checked it several times during the day hoping we didn't have to drive them into a neighbours yards for a bit of force feeding but by the end of the day all seemed reasonably well. Will monitor this one for a while.

We had a busy day going into Dungog to repair a tyre for the trailer and using the trip to visit the Op Shop, Dump Shop, Produce Merchant, Library and nursery whilst the tyre was being repaired. We are looking at building an egg incubator and were perusing the recycling places for some components. Picked up another spare tyre and rim for the trailer at the dump for $5. It was in the same condition as the one being repaired. The repair cost $22.

$22 Puncture Repair

$5 Recycled

 A busy finish to the day putting out silage across the river and ear tagging 2 new calves before collecting some oysters at Karuah. Had a long chat with the two oyster farmers about a recent conference they attended. A lot of changes in the industry with tradition making way for more efficient growing and harvesting techniques. The worst news was the move to breeding disease resistant varieties and rather than gathering naturally spawned stock the move is to breed stock for supply to the farmers which could result in a reduction in genetic diversity. Our farmers plan to stick to the traditional methods as it is lower in cost and although harder work quite profitable.

After collecting oysters there was a stop off at the dairy farm for milk which brings us to the title of this blog. The container for milk collection is a food grade 20 litre plastic drum. After emptying the milk into a 25 litre stainless steel pot the cleaning method is as follows.

Rinse the drum with cold water until the water runs clean.
Put in a couple of litres of hot water and a little detergent.
Shake vigorously and empty out the soapy water.
Rinse again with cold water until all the suds are gone.
Leave about half a litre of cold water in the drum.
Put in about a tablespoon of Sodium Metabisulphite and shake.
Store container and just rinse out before use.

Since using this cleaning technique there have had no contamination issues and the process is exceedingly fast.

Things that Inspire and Web sites that don't respond

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Brassica Progress



 

 

We have always had problems with Brussels Sprouts except this year. Previously the sprouts were small useless marbles but finally we have had success. But still we don't know what contributed to the success - was it a more fertile soil or just a better seedling? These little beauties are delightful halved and steamed served with a creamy cheese sauce.

 

 

 

 As usual the Cabbages continue to mature. This one is destined to be eaten in various dishes including a stir fry. Last week another dozen seedling were planted out to ensure we have plenty of product to make more Kim Chi and Sauerkraut.

 

This is one of the many Broccoli plants that were put into our partially shaded Summer bed. The heads weren't all that big but still we got something. The smaller heads were probably a result of running out of compost when these were ready to transplant and only blood and bone was used with a small amount of green manure. Some of the other plants located in a sunnier bed and well fed which have already had heads harvested have commenced getting side shoots. There will now be broccoli for months to come.

This is the only Purple Cauliflower planted. Not all that large. Probably due to insufficient nutrition. We don't plant a lot of Cauliflower mainly because it seems to take longer than Broccoli to produce a head and there are no follow on shoots. Still it is important to have variety in vegetable types and colours.

As usual all the morning checking of herds occurred and then after morning tea we went across the river and spent the rest of the day fencing and performing odd jobs such as mowing lawns. Although mowing lawns and trimming edges is not something either of us enjoy it is good PR. I'm sure the owner would rather be doing something else with his weekender than maintaining lawns. We remind ourselves how lucky we are to be both employed in a job as flexible as this i.e. come and go as and when you please, choose the work you want to perform and get paid. And we work together.

Electric Fencing Tip, Garden Update

A round of all the herds before breakfast. One new bull calf over the river. Nothing new happening up on the hill but all calves well and no activity on the river. Moved next doors cows and calves onto a new strip but they weren't happy with that strip.

All the internal fencing on our 25 acres is electrified. To make it easier to work on fencing or isolate shorts there are a number of switches installed. Rather than purchase a whole bag of switches this little trick was picked up from a local farmer and is very effective. As can be seen from the two photographs it is a simple lift on or off to connect power to another run of the fence. As well as working well it serves as a visual guide to the state of the fence. The insulated cable is the heaviest gauge which provides a better springiness to form a clean circuit closure.

In the garden the potted Artichokes that were transplanted recently are growing at a good pace and have a lovely dark green foliage. We are looking forward to a good crop.

Also planted recently were these bunching shallots which have germinated and progressing quite well except for two. The two that hadn't popped out had been planted upside down and the stems were curved around still trying to find the surface whilst the roots were curving down looking for soil depth. A little adjustment was performed.