by Krista | Mar 10, 2015 | Autumn
“I know the look of an apple that is roasting and sizzling on the hearth on a winter’s evening,
and I know the comfort that comes of eating it hot, along with some sugar and a drench of cream…
I know how the nuts taken in conjunction with winter apples, cider, and doughnuts,
make old people’s tales and old jokes sound fresh and crisp and enchanting.”
Mark Twain
I love this time of year, so very much. Though I must confess that the beginnings of our Autumn feel suspiciously like the roasting hot days of the inordinately blistering Summer we’ve just had. Hopefully cooler days will come soon.
In the meantime, Bear and I are basking in the harvests of Autumn, hauling home boxes full of too ripe pears and perfectly crisp apples as we begin our initial forays into cider-making.
Over the past few months we’ve been collecting all the bits and bobs necessary for brewing our own cider, beer, wine, champagne, liqueurs, and anything else we might think of.
Our outdoor kitchen is still in the dreaming phase, so until then, our breezeway is stacked with demijohns and bottles, packages of lids and rubber seals, and the presses and mulcher Bear has been lovingly restoring and adapting to our needs.
Last week we were finally ready for the trial run of our equipment, so we got it all set up and went to work.
Our cider apple orchard isn’t planted yet, so we just picked up a couple varieties from the market and a box of pears to blend them with.
I was in charge of the mulching, getting the fruit chopped into pressable bits. It smelled amazing!! All that gorgeous apple and pear deliciousness wafting around us while we munched on apples as I fed the machine. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, I tell ya.
When the fruit was all chopped up, Bear manned the press, turning the handle and squeezing out every last bit of gorgeous juice into the waiting bucket. Then we filtered the juice into waiting demijohns, added Campden tablets and yeast, inserted the air locks, and set them into the Granny Flat to do their fermenting work.
Bear checks them all throughout the day, excitedly reporting back on the rate of air bubbles, frothing consistency, and whatnot. We’re getting rather antsy to get to the bottling and tasting stages. Oddly enough, we keep getting volunteers eager to help with that whole tasting thing. Such good friends we have. 😉
What is your favorite brew? xo
**If you fancy reading about how we got involved in making cider, pop over to our farm blog to read my hubby’s highly exaggerated account: Adventures in Cider Making 🙂
by Krista | Mar 8, 2015 | Autumn
It’s a beautiful Sunday morning, sunny and quiet, just what Bear and I need after a hectic week.
We’re having a pottering sort of day, a day for naps and research for our books and for a leisurely brunch made special with Pomegranate Mojitos.
I love pomegranates. They always remind me of California, for that is where I first tasted them and became a fan for life.
I have two pomegranate trees planted and a third seedling coming along well, but didn’t think I’d get to taste any fruit until next year. Then my friend Shirley stopped by bearing pomegranates from her tree! I was thrilled. I kept them sitting in a blue bowl on my table for a whole week before using them, simply because they look so beautiful.
Yesterday I finally set aside time to process them. Pomegranates take a bit of time to get the ruby insides ready for eating, but they’re well worth the effort. While there are many methods for removing the seeds, known as arils, I find the easiest way is to simply cut off the top and bottom of the pomegranate and score along the natural humps of the fruit with a sharp knife, top to bottom. Then you can easily break it open into sections, and quickly fill your bowl with these tart little beauties.
I decided to turn them into grenadine syrup to use in various cocktails (Tequila Sunrise, Shirley Temple, etc). Grenadine is the French word for pomegranate, and is usually a shiveringly sweet syrup made with none-too-healthy corn syrup. Making it from fruit and sugar instead results in a more flavorsome syrup that doesn’t hurt your teeth with sweetness. You can make it even healthier by substituting real maple syrup for the sugar, but it does contribute a subtle maple flavor to the syrup.
Grenadine syrup is very simple to make. Barely cover pomegranate arils with water, bring to a boil, simmer for five minutes, then press through a strainer to get as much juice as possible. Measure the juice and add an equal amount of sugar, return to a boil, simmer for one minute, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Either cool and use right away or bottle it for future use.
I decided to use some in a special Pomegranate Mojito to make our Sunday Brunch extra special. Mojitos are my favorite cocktail. Always refreshing, always cooling, just the thing for a hot Sunday morning. A traditional Cuban mojito has five ingredients: lime juice, sugar, mint, white rum, and sparkling water over crushed ice. This is bliss in a glass, and the perfect base from which to experiment with different fruits. Blackberry, raspberry, they’re all delicious, and pomegranate is just as scrumptious.
What is your favorite cocktail on a hot day? xo
Grenadine Syrup Recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups pomegranate arils (seeds)
water to cover
granulated sugar
Directions:
Place pomegranate arils in medium saucepan and add water until just covered.
Bring to boil over medium-high heat and simmer for 5 minutes, crushing seeds gently with potato masher to extract juice.
Remove from heat and pour through fine mesh strainer into new saucepan, pressing seeds to extract all juice.
Measure juice and add same amount of sugar.
Return to heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Simmer for one minute.
Remove from heat, cool, and bottle in sterlized bottle. If using right away, store in fridge, if saving, put through hot water bath to seal bottles.
Pomegranate Mojito
Serves 2
Ingredients:
4 tsp Grenadine syrup
Juice of one lime
20 fresh mint leaves
1.5-2 cups crushed ice
4 Tbsp white rum
chilled soda water or sparkling mineral water
mint leaves or lime wedge to garnish
Directions:
2 tsp of Grenadine syrup in each glass.
Divide lime juice and mint leaves equally between two glasses. Stir then muddle gently with muddler or mortar so leaves are bruised but not crushed.
Divide crushed ice and white rum between two glasses.
Top up with chilled soda water and garnish with mint leaves and/or lime wedge.
Serve immediately.
by Krista | Mar 6, 2015 | Bits 'n' Bobs
I’ve been waiting eagerly for Autumn to arrive. For sweltering hot days to be replaced with cool mornings and breezy afternoons. For markets to fill up with crisp apples, juicy pears, and plump grapes.
It’s finally here and I’m so happy, body and soul. My Canadian self is not cut out for Queensland Summers. As much as I love the sunshine and brilliant blue skies, the heat knocks me flat and mornings are the only time I feel remotely energetic.
So this morning, when I woke to overcast skies and cooling breezes blowing in our windows, my whole being gave a sigh of relief.
Autumn is here.
Bear and I spent yesterday doing a trial run of all our cider-making equipment, processing apples and pears to turn into hard cider today. I’ll tell you all about that soon.
This morning, however, is about resting and basking in Autumn weather and getting caught up on reading and dreaming and planning.
It’s about wandering through gardens to see what’s flourishing and what is on its way out, checking on newborn goats and growing ducklings, and sitting down with a big mug of Lemon Verbena tea to relax before the next big project.
It’s also about studying and researching, for Bear and I have embarked on writing a medieval cookbook together. We are having a marvelous time expanding our current knowledge and experience and putting our discoveries to the test. Our study times are punctuated with exclamations of, “Hey babe, listen to this!” or “Ohhh, we’ve GOT to try this!” We’re both loving it.
Summer on the farm is marked by feverish activity, each day packed with watering, feeding, building, managing, etc. We fall into bed each night utterly exhausted but strangely satisfied from knowing our weariness is simply the result of a job well done.
But Autumn brings a reprieve, giving us time to sit back and be proud of what we’ve accomplished, to work steadily but leisurely harvesting and enjoying what we worked on so hard all Summer long. We’re gathering rosellas and the last of the green beans, plump yellow heirloom tomatoes so sweet they’re almost candy, and the few apples that our fledgling orchard produced.
It’s also exciting as we see the new growth of the few things that thrive in our Winter: citrus trees blossoming and filling out with baby lemons, limes, and oranges, and hardy winter veg gearing up to produce Brussels sprouts, cabbages, and spinach during the cold months.
Yes, I love this time of year and am looking forward to every day.
What is your favorite thing about the season you’re experiencing? xo
by Krista | Feb 27, 2015 | Summer
Last night I was woken from a sound sleep by an incredible storm. Booming thunder shook the house, lightning lit up the farmyard, and rain hurtled straight down making an incredible racket on the roof. It was both scary and marvelous.
A few hours later we woke again, this time to a quiet but sodden world. The ground was like a sponge and laundry hung on the line the night before was so wet I had to wring it out before it would stop dripping.
We were thrilled.
Good, soak-into-the-ground rain is so rare here, that anytime it comes is cause for celebration.
Normally we’d drive straight into chores and to-do-lists, but this rainy morning Bear announced that he was treating us to breakfast. Never one to argue with a good idea, I hastily got ready and off we went.
It was wonderful to sit in a comfy booth, chat with friends who happened to be there too, and linger long over coffees and extra hash browns.
There was lots to talk about, for we’ve decided to plant another orchard, this one set aside for cider apples and cider pears so we can make our own hard cider in years to come. It was so fun to pour over lists of cider apple names from England, France, and Australia. Who could resist a “Brown Snout,” “Fox Whelp,” or “Bulmer’s Norman?” Not us. 🙂
We settled on ten varieties of apples and two varieties of perry pears, ordered our trees, and are now waiting excitedly for them to be delivered in a couple of months.
Between now and then we’ll be digging holes, building fences, and setting up bird netting to keep the fruit safe from marauding cockatoos, galahs, grass parrots, and innumerable other birds who’ve set up home on the farm.
After getting our cider orchard planned and a few errands run, the rain began to fall again, soft and gentle, and we arrived home in time for a cozy afternoon of cuppas and wood-burning, studying about cider-brewing and watching new episodes of “White Collar.”
On rainy days like this I like to make us special breakfasts, warming yet nourishing ones that are a bit out of the ordinary. This week I made a healthy apple crisp topped with oats, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds drizzled with a bit of butter and some real maple syrup. While the crisp baked I made a quick batch of vanilla pudding lightly sweetened with a swirl of maple syrup. Dusted with cinnamon it made a warm, luscious topping for the apple crisp and made us feel quite decadent and spoiled.
What is your favorite breakfast on a rainy morning? xo
by Krista | Feb 26, 2015 | Summer
Bear and I have been running around a lot the past few days, hauling feed, finding materials for various farm projects, and collecting bottles, demijohns, and yeasts to make our own beer, wine, and ciders. By the time Wednesday afternoon rolled around, I was exhausted and in need of some down time.
On one of our jaunts to the country to pick up feed, we passed a nursery I’d never seen before, Baringa Nursery. Wandering through someone else’s gardens sounded like a marvelous way to relax and maybe even get inspired, so when we had a few minutes to spare between appointments, in we drove. While Bear snoozed and read under a shade tree, I strolled leisurely through the gardens.
Situated in the country, the Baringa Nursery gardens are exquisitely quiet and peaceful. Surrounded by bush and set back from the road, the only sounds are wind in the gum trees and birds twittering overhead. As I crunched along the gravel pathways I could feel my muscles relax and my mind clear.
The gardens are tidily set out, yet have a delightful rambling nature with unexpected vignettes to be found amongst the greenery. Autumn may only be days away, but the only signs of it were scarves on these little chaps.
I learned that the nursery specializes in plants native to Queensland and Australia, featuring flowers, bushes, and vines that thrive in the often extreme weather here. It was really exciting to me to realize that even in drought I could have a garden full of color and fragrance and lush greens.
I was also inspired by the quirky touches found about the place. Like this stained glass window set into a rock wall and surrounded by leafy tendrils. Somehow it belonged.
I’m really looking forward to finding out what these spidery beauties are. I’d love to plant them in my Secret Garden when Bear and I get it fenced in.
I’ve been collecting rocks from around our farm so I can build a rock wall one day. Isn’t this one lovely with the vines clambering over it?
The stained glass windows set in the rock walls truly delight me. They must be especially stunning in early morning or late afternoon with the sun setting them aglow.
I think my favorite part is this gorgeous wooden door with that wonderful wrought iron work. I’ve been pondering ideas for an entrance to my Secret Garden, and as soon as I saw this my heart gave a lurch and I knew I’d found it. I’ll be scouring second hand shops for lovely bits of weathered wood to make my very own garden door.
I’m so glad I found this beautiful spot and took the time to investigate. After lingering among the flower beds and walled enclosures I was rejuvenated and ready to get back to work.
Do you have a place you like to go to restore your spirits? xo
Baringa Nursery
674 Killarney Rd.
Warwick, QLD 4370
info@baringanursery.com.au
(07) 4667 1700
