from the kitchen

Hello!

I'm not sure anyone if anyone is still checking on this little space. The longer one is away the harder it feels to break the ice. Why does time fly by so quickly these days?

But we won't harp on that.

I thought I'd show you a few snaps taken in the kitchen. My camera too, has been sorely neglected of late.

Nothing fancy in the kitchen these days. I tend to make the same things over and over. If something works and you don't need a recipe, just intuition of substituting what you have on hand, then that is something worth coming back to. Which is about as fast food as it gets around here. I rarely try new recipes these days, but for awhile there I made a point of trying a new one every week. Goodness knows I have far too many recipe books. May as well use them.

Now this is an old shot from months ago. The mushrooms are long gone around here, but I couldn't not show you, it was the best season I have seen since I was a kid. These are from my in-law's property down the road. Found tucked away in the bush behind the paddocks. I will be back next year to try my luck.

Which is best cooked simply with butter and parsley.

Experimenting with spelt flour and potato gnocchi. (Though next time I may stick to ordinary flour as these were a little too soft). I always get extra "help" making gnocchi these days. The discovery of a long ago purchased potato ricer made the whole process much easier.

 A suckling pig, bought from a local free range farm for a big family feast. Stuffed and rubbed with fennel seeds, garlic, rosemary, olive oil and salt courtesy of Nonna. All day on the spit roast and several days worth of meat. Food really does bring family together.

Apple cake.


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It feels good to be back. I missed my little outlet into the world of like minded souls.

the weekly update

I don't know about you, but my goodness, the weeks are flying by right now. Let us not even mention 'christmas' at this stage.  It's been busy around here. Fortunately a good type of busy for the main part. I am not one to like being busy just for the sake of it, but when that busy involves the usual daily life (admittedly with all it's ups and downs), cow milking, manure hauling, new seed beds in the garden, lots of interesting reading and future projects to plan, well, then that is not so bad.

Unfortunately this little space here has been suffering a little for it, and I will try to put aside a little more time for some more frequent posts with you. So where to start?

 

Family : all good. Just lots of extra activities that always comes at the end of the year. Two birthdays are coming up this month.

Bessie the Jersey (and calf) : both very well. Munching through lots of hay, making a nice and creamy 4 litres every morning, and getting quite shiny with her summer coat. I'm becoming much quicker and more efficient with the milking. We did have a bucket kicked over episode last week (I wasn't paying attention and she kicked it with the untied foot), and I now know the true meaning of not crying over spilt milk. Live and learn. Did I tell you I'm really enjoying it?

The vegie garden : I am hoping for a bumper season (well, at least better than last year), with a full ute load of garden "gold" just added to the entire vegie garden. Cow manure mixed with manure and wee soaked straw from the stables. I've got radishes, peas, cabbage and lettuce in, but over the next few days I will be trying to get a lot more in. We're forecast for more rain so now is the time. It's a little too early to get the tomatoes in, as we're still getting early frosts a few times a week.

In the kitchen: I've been making my favourite new cake (though I replace the sugar with rapadura sugar)  and lots of simple meat and vegie meals. I'm still brewing kombucha and kefir, and I'm hoping to make a little more sauerkraut this week.

The block : we're looking into biting the bullet and investing in a water bore. Purely rain water is just not cutting it. We also need to paint the chook house and make some fences.

Craft : I've been doing knitting rows here and there. I'm on the final hood of Luca's jumper. As for sewing, I tried to start a dress, got halfway through and realised the sizing was way off. Not fun. Project discarded and I haven't had the time or motivation to start anything else. Goodness knows I need the motivation, as my cupboard is full of "nothing-to-wear" right now.

Reading : Folks, This Ain't Normal : A Farmers Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People and a Better World. Joel Salatin doesn't hold back, and you can't help thinking that this guy really does have it all figured out. Highly entertaining and thought provoking.

The Weed Foragers Handbook : An Australian guide to weeds that you can eat. Clear pictures make the weeds pretty easy to identify, and I recognized many of them. It feels comforting to know which weeds you can eat, should the need ever arise. I am looking forward to a little experimenting.

So what are your "updates" lately? I feel a little out of step with the blogging world right now, so please fill me in with your latest projects and doings.

inside the lunchbox

A few of you have asked what I pack inside the kid's school lunch boxes. So here it is. A week's worth of lunches. When we started this wheat free thing, it was very tricky figuring out what to pack in the absence of sandwiches. Afterall, it is what lunchbox packing used to revolve around here. Through trial and error I have slowly discovered what gets eaten and what doesn't (and nobody likes unpacking a lunchbox still full of food!).  I have found that if I have a few staples of real food such as eggs, nuts, seeds, dried fruit and cheese, then I can create quick lunch box fillers without packet food. Of course one or two baked treats a week doesn't go astray either, and I have found the most popular ones have been almond flour based. Sometimes I soak spelt flour for baked treats such as pancakes. Sandwiches are not entirely off limits, but these days they are usually rye, spelt or kamut sourdough, although not very often due to the cost.

Monday :
Buckwheat pancakes spread with butter and filled with grated carrot and cheese.
Popcorn cooked in coconut oil.
Mandarin.*

Tuesday :
Corned beef (leftovers from last night's dinner).
100% Rye sourdough* bread with butter.
Tapioca pudding from Nourishing Traditions.
Mandarin.

Wednesday: 
Sweet carrot muffins from From Scratch.
Nuts, sultanas and sunflower seeds.
Leftover bolognese style sauce with grated cheese.
Mandarin.

Thursday:
Sweet carrot muffins (links above).
Boiled eggs.
Sliced cheddar cheese, cos lettuce, celery and carrot.
Mandarin. Again.

Friday:
Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and sultanas.
Grated carrot, camembert cheese and leftover roast lamb.
Sliced orange.*


*Lately I have been buying oranges and mandarins in bulk through Fresh Citrus Direct. I love being able to support farmers directly, and I have to say that that these are the freshest and sweetest citrus I have ever tasted. The oranges make the sweetest juice ever. Stored in the fridge they tend to last much longer than the supermarket variety.

*While I am still not yet venturing into the world of sourdough making, for the moment I have discovered a wonderful online sourdough baker, Hope Farm Bakery, for the occasional treat. (I ordered 5 loaves to save on postage, and stored them in the freezer).



So, yes, it is a tricky business, this lunch box thing, but it is good to finally feel more confident with changes. Thankfully my kids have not been too embarrassed with these homemade efforts, though there has been a few teasing comments in the past. Along the way I have tried to educate them as why we eat the way we do, and they seem to be embracing that, in no small part because a few of their friends eat in a similar way.

How do you handle the whole lunchbox thing?
Any ideas or recipes to share?

another food update

saurkraut

As I have previously shared our food journey with you before, I thought there might be some of you wondering how that was going. So I thought a little, or not so little update as the case may be, would be on the cards today.

We have continued to exclude wheat from our diet (though the kids still eat some when out and about), and we have now found that for us adults occasionally eating it has some pretty negative effects. I know now that that is because my body is just not used to wheat anymore. Even spelt flour (though the kids are fine with spelt). It will give me stomach aches, insomnia and leave me hungrier for several days. Which is strange when I have eaten the stuff all my life. But I know how much better I feel without it.

Wheat Belly bread with butter, strained yoghurt and maple syrup

Fortunately a properly fermented wholemeal rye, spelt or kamut sourdough does not have the same effect, and so I think I will soon (budget permitting) look into buying a flour grinder to make our own fresh sourdough. This heavy bread tastes very wholesome and doesn't leave you hungry like I find ordinary bread does. The ancient way usually proves best.

We don't eat a lot of grain these days, but we occasionally have some such as rice or porridge made from oats. I try to follow the Nourishing Traditions way of soaking grains and serving it with plenty of butter or cream. The kids eat homemade popcorn, cooked in coconut oil, quite regularly. It is a favourite lunchbox filler.

I can't say it is not difficult finding snacks for kids when you don't buy anything processed. Apart from popcorn, I also make activated nuts, chickpea bombs, crackers (all three recipes from Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar) or slice up some cheese. There was initially some "teething" problems, but for the most part the kids are now used to it. It has been a tricky and sometimes emotional process though. It is not easy when most of your peers are eating out of packets.

As for meat, we have a full freezer of it right now. Buying meat week to week was proving far too expensive for us, so we bought a quarter side of grass fed beef from a local organic farmer, of which he had butchered (or minced or made sausages) to our specifications. I was also given all the bones, which I make stock/broth with about twice a week. We also bought a whole lamb from him, and another lamb from a farmer down the road. We managed to pack it all into our freezer in the fridge and our freezer in the garage. I think it will last us at least six months, but it is too early yet to say.

Another big change here has been the now weekly arrival of our organic box. We order a seasonal fruit and veg box, cream in little glass bottles and a few bottles of raw "bathing only" milk. I was so happy to finally find a way to include a little raw milk in our diet, though budget only allows a few bottles a week. This milk is almost double the price of premium full cream milk. The taste though is a revelation of how real milk should be. It is beautifully creamy and yellow. Definitely worth seeking out.

The garden is a little dormant right now, but I regularly use the prolifically growing kale (both Russian and Tuscan) and rocket. The cabbages, broad beans, parsnip, and beetroot are slowly growing, but are still not ready.

Chocolate nut balls - though I sweeten mine with maple syprup

For the last few months we have been taking fermented cod liver oil along with butter oil. Every night I melt the butter down and add it with the cod liver oil to a a little orange juice. The additional flavouring in the cod liver oil makes it a little easier to take.

So I guess you might be asking the question is all this effort really worth it? Has it made a difference in our health? I can say for the most part yes, though it has been up and down, as we figure out what foods we react with. We found that once you take out all processed food you suddenly become very sensitive to wheat, white sugar, certain oils, some alcohol and additives. If weight is anything to go by, we have both lost some, and I fit back into my pre-Violet clothes. Daniel is back to the size he was before we were married. But the bigger indicator, I think, is the disappearance of niggling little health problems, the extra energy and clearer skin.

Some days I have questioned whether all the food preparation is worth it, the loss of fitting into society and being able to eat anything without apparent consequence when you are out and about.

The way you eat could be likened to a journey. Along the way you try to figure things out, and you might change or adapt as you go along. You might stumble many times. But there are always new things to learn. New recipes to try or books to read. Real food to enjoy. Above all it is really hope that keeps you going. The hope for good health.

 

Links to previous posts on this topic :

on food
the follow up food post
fermented

a few little things

A few little things brightening up life right now:

Nut loaf from Coming Home To Eat. Baked with spelt flour, sweetened with honey (speaking of honey did anyone else catch this story?) and I replaced the dates with dried apricots. Pretty good! Though I'm trying not to eat too much because it was made for a lunchbox treat afterall. I'm thinking the freezer option may be a good idea.

I received a parcel this week filled with the most beautiful handmade little clothes for Violet. Many of you will know the lovely Lea, and she was so very kind to pass these on. Aren't they just wonderful? Thank you Lea!

I finally made my first batch of playdough. It seems to be a hit, although the pink, red and green has now blended into a giant blob of funny brown. I do hope my crochet rug (cold frosty morning!) fared okay.

Slow but steady progress is being made on the Nituna jacket for Julia. She selected the pattern and the fabric (from the stash), while I chose the lining.  Hopefully it will be finished before Spring hits. I really should start sewing and knitting a season ahead!


What little things have been brightening your day lately?

everyday life

While looking through recent photos there were many little snippets of relatively uneventful, but no less special, little moments. It's those little things that you tend to forget over the years though, isn't it? But when you look back on older photos, often the seemly uneventful ones - at the clothes you were wearing, the small objects in the photos, the food you were eating, well, it is often these things that help us remember. The smaller details of everyday life that we don't want to forget.

It's been good to see that an old garage sale find a few months back has been getting a bit of use again.

 

One of the very few things in Daniel's culinary repertoire. Zabaglione taught to him by his Nonna. Made by hand whisking egg yolks with sugar. We tried  it with rapadura which lent quite a nice caramel like flavour and a little extra colour.

Our latest (grain free) pancake recipe, cococut flour pancakes. They are a little trickier to flip, but taste pretty good.

Knitting, this time for Luca. Rediscovering the joys of double pointed needles. Not quite.

Leftover soup (lamb stock, lima beans, tinned tomatoes, carrot, Italian herbs) as an afternoon school snack.

Trialling grain free bread (while still dreaming about making sourdough) and it's not too bad with plenty of butter and peanut butter.


Hoping that your week has been kind to you.

another week

Another week gone, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it was certainly another busy one. But that seems to be the way of things around here lately. Between school "fun" days to bake for, an out of town cross country carnival, coffee catch ups and the usual grocery shopping, it has continued to be extra busy all week. As much as I am the sort that doesn't like rushing around too much, at least it is a good type of busy, which at the end of the day is the main thing. As I contemplate on the weekend ahead (yes, another busy one!), I'm hoping that you yourselves will have a pleasant weekend also.

And here's hoping that next week will be just a little bit quieter.

on food

I've been doing much thinking and reading on food lately. I was feeling less than healthy after the excesses of the holidays and the conveniences of being away.  In the space of a month I'd experienced a cold, a very sore wisdom tooth and swelling in one foot. I couldn't even wear my favourite sandals anymore. It had also been quite a stressful time with the fires, but I knew this was more than just stress. It is easy to get off track sometimes, and I'm noticing this far more in my 30's than in my 20's. It was so easy to bounce back then.

So I'd begun taking more care with our diet again. Lots of soups and salads on the menu. Homemade bread back on the menu. Within a week my gums were back to normal, though I was almost convinced the previous week that I would need to visit to the dentist.

I re-read Nourishing Traditions. Always a wonderful reminder of how our diet should be. For those that haven't read this book, it is full of traditional recipes using the ingredients that have nourished people for thousands of years. It is the complete opposite to everything we have been told about what we "should" eat. Grass-fed beef, animal fat, butter, vegetables, raw milk, eggs, fermented foods including dairy and grains that are soaked are all on the menu. There is also much information on what Sally Fallon describes as "new fangled" foods, the dangers in foods such as most vegetable seed oils (with the exception of extra virgin olive oil and some unrefined nut oils), sugar and white flour.

We watched Food Inc, after reading about it here on the Down to Earth blog. Though I thought I had read and watched a lot on food before, I really did find this shocking. I knew that cheap food came at a cost, but I was unaware as to just how far this goes. The animals, the farmers and ultimately the unaware consumer are all the victims in this billion dollar food industry. It is a very sad state of affairs.

While browsing through the Amazon reviews one night I stumbled upon Primal Body Primal Mind : Beyond the Paleo Diet for Total Health and a Longer Life, of which people had some very positive things to say about. So I ordered myself a copy and once arrived, read it within a week. It advocates a similar diet to that outlined in Nourishing Traditions, but with less emphasis on grains. Grains are to only be eaten once soaked, and preferably not at all. Starchy food is also not recommended. This is a version of the the Paleo Diet, based on what our ancient ancestors would eaten. Being a hunter gatherer, there was meat, seafood, animal fat, vegetables, dairy and small portions of grains and fruit available. According to the book, our bodies were designed to burn fat (mostly saturated) as fuel rather than carbohydrates (anything made with flour, sugar and grains).

I read this with great interest. I am not one to say I follow a particular diet, as I don't like to label how I eat, nor do I believe in diets. I know I could never completely cut out grains. Or potatoes or beans. But we can eat less of them.  I did cut out sugar (again) a few weeks back and I've cut out white flour, although I'm still eating oats and other soaked grains once a day or every second day. I've been baking the kids spelt bread, leaving the dough out overnight for now. Though we do still sometimes sweeten with maple syrup or honey and we do eat fruit. We've been eating quite a lot of eggs, salads, yoghurt, nuts and local grassfed meat with lots of vegies. Often with liberal amounts of butter, coconut oil or olive oil. Unfortunately I've had no success with sourcing raw milk in our area of no dairy farms, short of buying a cow for ourselves one day. You never know.

I'll admit that the first week of no wheat and sugar had me falling asleep virtually every afternoon. But this week I've got my energy back and then some. I'm feeling less hungry, particularly in the late afternoon which is always a low energy time for me. Also less bloated, and in a consistently better mood.

I don't know how sustainable this is in the long term, but I am definitely hoping that it will be. It is a rather drastic change considering that for many years our diets revolved around white wheat products and sugar. How I used to love bread and sugar.

As a bonus I'm able to wear my favourite sandals again. After about six months of minor swelling,  it completely disappeared almost two weeks ago.




Did you see Food Inc?
Have you ever tried a Paleo or traditional way of eating?
Have you read any interesting books or blogs lately on the subject of food?