Many thanks to those who have given us so many of the above fruits this last week.  The photos show us picking fruit in friend Kaye's garden on Saturday afternoon (with Louise).  So much fruit from just a few trees, what a great autumn it is! Kaye's medlar tree is looking very promising too - … Continue reading Apples, pears and quinces abound

What do you do when the weather turns chilly? And when there are bits and pieces of leftovers that need using up? Baking of course. The Anzac barrel was running on empty and now is almost full again. Some white chocolate that was not-too-successfully melted a couple of weeks ago and was discarded in a … Continue reading Good Day for Baking

We decided to fire up the bread oven today to cook the lamb roast for dinner. That means I'll also be baking breads. The (spelt) dough is on the rise and so loaves will be baked and out on the stall at our gate by 4pm.

So much for tomatoes not ripening. This is a true case of 'be careful what you wish for'. This crate-full is just from this morning's picking. There are two more crates of ripe red tomatoes in the cooking school that will need bottling today.

Spent a lovely evening picking elderberries at Lachlan with Stephanie. Many thanks to William and Narelle for their generosity in letting us pick from their trees. Tomorrow I will be able to make syrup and jelly. Maybe even sparkling elderberry. Given the berries' medicinal properties, anything will certainly be worth making. Looking forward to it … Continue reading Elderberries

Finally got to pickling those quail eggs. Worst part of the process was peeling the 45 eggs. However, it was made much easier by soaking the cooked eggs in vinegar for 12 hours. Well actually, it was 24 before I got to them and so it wasn't really too much of a worry at all. … Continue reading Quail eggs and sourdough plant

Today is the first run for breads for the stall at our gate. Here are the first loaves to come out - several cob loaves, plaits plus some pull aparts (salami, bacon, capsicum and cheese). Absolutely delighted with the results. The breads are for sale right now on the stall here at 179 Wyre Forest … Continue reading Breads from the new oven

It's 33 degrees and rising here. Where's the cloud cover and showers that were promised on the weather reports this morning? By the way, the preserves in the stall at the gate are safely cooled in an eski out there now. There are fresh jams and chutneys, as well as a cordial syrup made from … Continue reading Homemade icy poles

First trial bake in the bread oven Robert built. First 20 pizzas were baked and then, with trepidation, the first 2 large loaves of bread. Cooked like a dream, looks amazing, smells even better.

Just look at these beautiful little things - quail eggs. I bought them from friend Jacki Niemann yesterday when she came to visit. I've not had the luxury of working with them before so was not quite sure how to go about it. Thankfully Jacki was able to provide me with plenty of advice in … Continue reading Quail eggs!