There are some days that are just idyllic, here in this Derwent Valley. Today we set off on a mulberry picking mission. Friends had offered us the fruit from their tree, on a property at Bushy Park. We picked the tree clean of its remaining berries - the best way to do this is to … Continue reading Mulberries and accidental discoveries in Bushy Park

What do you do when you've spent the night at Nan and Grandad's house? Cook of course, by special request of Charly. On the menu this morning were cupcakes - tri-colour no less. Great fun as we raced to the chant of "chocolate, pink, vanilla!!" layering dollops of the mixture as fast as we could … Continue reading Sunday Morning Baking

Oh dear! After the cooking class yesterday, there were about 12 lovely yellow nectarines left over. As I have visitors coming for dinner tonight, I decided to make a nectarine crumble for dessert, maybe with lemon coconut ice cream ….. I stewed up the nectarines no problem, then added the sugar and gave it a … Continue reading The salt that masqueraded as sugar

Fun in the kitchen again yesterday. Robert relieved Stephanie and Nat of some of their large crop of grapes. It was duly brought back here and turned into verjuice, which is essentially the juice of under-ripe wine grapes I am told. It's tart for sure, but flavoursome and delicious. It will serve well as a … Continue reading Grapes and Jelly Cakes

And so as the day goes on …. this morning Robert peeled the onions for pickling. It's a rotten job, don't know why he likes (or maybe it's just tolerates) it. He set himself up as usual outside with a bit of a breeze carrying away the worst of the fumes. I actually took note … Continue reading Pickled onions and fruit cheeses

And then there were CRABAPPLES!! What a treat. Arrived home from mulberry picking this morning to find these treasures in the porch, such good quality (thanks Deborah). Tomorrow I will make jelly and paste from them, maybe even some crab-apple lemonade. I neglected to take the camera with me this morning when we went mulberry … Continue reading Crabapples and Elderberry Tonic

No-one could ever say Tasmania and this Valley were not productive. Despite the challenges of the dry weather, a plague of green beetles, marauding possums, potoroos and wallabies, everyone's gardens seem to be yielding huge supplies of summer fruits. This morning started out with Robert bottling off a gluten free beer. He is, as always, … Continue reading A Tasmanian Summer’s Abundance

So, a productuve weekend one way or another, and great company with the people who attended the cheese making class here on Saturday. Then yesterday a recreational catching up with dear friends from the past. After the class there was Quark 'left hanging', and a surplus twelve litres of milk in the fridge (I always … Continue reading All Things Cheesey

This morning was ideal for jam making - nothing can be done outside, so its a good excuse just to cook. Greengage jam and strawberry were the order of the day. In the jug amongst the jam making paraphernalia are the stainless steel forks that I threw into the greengage jam to stop it catching … Continue reading Jammin’ on a rainy day

Never been so happy to be soaked to the skin in all my life. I knew if I put clothes on the line, it just might bring back the rain that was so promising earlier this afternoon. However, schedule picking fruit - that's a definite. And sure enough, as we arrived to pick greengages from … Continue reading Greengage Picking in the Rain