by Krista | Jun 22, 2015 | Winter
Life in rural Queensland has been a delightful string of interesting encounters for me, and this weekend was no different.
My friend Lina, who moved to Australia from her home in Mauritius, had Bear and I over for an absolutely scrumptious Mauritian feast. I absolutely swooned over dal fritters, warm flat bread, chicken potato curry, spicy tomato dip, green mango pickle, lime pickle, and spiced pumpkin. Soon we’ll have her out to our place and introduce her to Danish food. It’s so lovely to share our cultures with each other and talk for hours as we swapped stories and experiences of life in our adopted homeland.
Saturday morning introduced me to more lovely people as I attended my first garden swap in the town of Clifton.
It is a wonderful event hosted by my friend Kathy, and the premise is simple: bring what you grow, make, bake and swap it with what others bring.
How I loved it!
Tables were laden with beautiful produce – carrots, cabbages, apples, onions, lemons, and herbs – as well as plants, baked goods, and homemade preserves – passionfruit curd, pickled chilies, and preserved limes.
It was so fun to peruse the offerings, sniffing fragrant herbs like rosemary, coriander, and yarrow, and debating whether to choose bags of sheep manure for my gardens or gorgeous little quails.
I brought wood-burned items and loaves of homemade spelt bread to swap. In exchange I received all sorts of good things: fresh and preserved limes, Polish red cabbage sauerkraut, sugar sweet carrots, and seedlings for silverbeet, Vietnamese mint, lavender, and feverfew. So fun!!
Here’s one of my loaves of spelt bread cooling on the veranda.
The best part of the gathering was meeting so many lovely people as we clustered around sharing a potluck lunch.
We dined on orange and fennel salad, quiche vivid with turmeric, curried eggs, and coconut cake drenched with lime syrup.
I brought a lemony quinoa salad studded with baby green peas and feta cheese and tasted my way through the delicious things brought by the others.
We sipped coffee and visited for ages, sharing stories of our lives on various farms and homesteads in the area. I met sheep farmers and veggie growers, chicken-raisers and succulent devotees, fermented vegetable masters and great folks who can’t grow a thing but love supporting those who do.
I returned home inspired and excited, renewed in my love of growing and making and, most of all, connecting with lovely human beings.
What would you like to bring home from a garden swap? xo
*new post* A Garden Swap and Lemony Quinoa Salad https://www.ramblingtart.com/2015/06/22/a-garden-swap-and-lemony-quinoa-salad/
Lemony Quinoa Salad
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked tri-color quinoa, cooled
1 cup baby green peas
1/2 cup grated Feta cheese
fresh parsley, chopped
1 large lime, juiced
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Combine first four ingredients in medium bowl.
In small bowl, whisk together lime juice, olive oil, mustard, salt, and pepper until emulsified.
Pour dressing over ingredients and toss gently to coat.
Serve cold or at room temperature.
by Krista | Jun 18, 2015 | Winter
After waiting and hoping for rain, it finally arrived yesterday and it was wonderful.
It was just mist at first, then drizzle, then full on rain drenching everything in sight, dripping down through the trees and turning the hard-packed earth into squishy mud.
I couldn’t let such beauty go unappreciated, so I pulled over to the park while out on errands and walked through puddles and piles of leaves and stood under raindrop-gilded pine trees, loving every second of it.
It’s been a good week, time for Bear and me to reflect on our past four years together, time to take stock and look toward the future.
This week I was featured in the newspaper, which was scary, fun, and ultimately just what I needed to spur me on in this dream of ours. But the truth is, none of this life would even be possible without my Bear.
He’s the one who worked and saved to buy this land and pay it off completely so we could start this dream with a clean slate. He built the fences so our animals would be safe, installed a bore so we would always have water, and brought in sheds and outbuildings so we’d have places to store everything and work on projects.
He’s the collector of every piece of equipment and machinery, the fixer of everything that breaks, the inventor of tools and processes that make life work around here.
Bear has also taught me nearly everything I know about farm life.
He taught me to drive a tractor and dig fence posts, showed me how to use drills, saws, hammers, and belt sanders, explained how to deal with snakes and why I didn’t need to be afraid of chickens.
Perhaps the best thing he’s ever done is give me free reign to learn, experiment, fail, try again, and figure things out.
I’m deeply thankful to Bear for giving me a chance to do all this, and for supporting me in all my pie-in-the-sky dreams of self-sufficiency, publishing, and one day, an agri-tourism business of our own. He’s the best partner and cheerer-on-er I could ever have hoped for.
Now it’s time to turn off computers and phones and cozy in for a movie night.
Cheering you on in every dream you’re cherishing in your heart. xo
by Krista | Jun 17, 2015 | Winter
The fog was so thick I could barely see a few meters in front of me as Bear and I drove to Toowoomba in the early hours of yesterday morning. I was heading for a meeting with the Toowoomba Backscratchers, a great group of local businessmen who meet regularly for breakfast, an inspiring speaker, and good chats who invited me to join in. It was so fun to meet them and hear about their work and passions and what they love about this region.
After the meeting, Bear and I had all sorts of errands to run and decided to make a morning of it.
We picked up canvas to make an extension for one of our medieval tents, fabric for a sewing project, and a few other bits and pieces.
Once all the vital stuff was done, we made a beeline for Toni’s Continental Butchery and Smallgoods, a fantastic Slovenian shop our Croatian friends told us we MUST visit.
They were right! My little Europhile heart was fairly bursting with joy as I stepped inside and gazed in delight at ropes of air-dried salamis, loaves of wood-fire baked sourdough bread, and display cases full of things like Danish frikkadellar, something I’ve never seen outside my kitchen and the kitchens of my Danish relatives.
We visited with the proprietor and stocked up on favorites, pledging to return soon and often.
Then, feeling a bit peckish, we headed next door to Deli Delicious, a combination cafe and gourmet food market.
We ordered coffees – long black for him and flat white for me – and three different cakes to share, just so we could decide which was best. It was hard to choose, I tell ya. Moist Carrot Cake or the multi-layered coffee confection or the utterly luscious Chocolate Hazelnut Torte. They were all marvelous, and just the thing to lift the spirits on a very dark, foggy, and drizzling day.
We had such fun dreaming and planning as we sipped and nibbled. We’d been greatly inspired by the interview and newspaper article I told you about in my last post (Click Here to see the full article), and it felt so good to sit down and talk about the next phase of our plans: what to build, what to organize, what to look for.
All too soon the cakes were gone, coffees finished, and it was time to head home. I picked up a few special things for us – triple creme brie and a little pot of triple salted black licorice – and drove home in the rain.
Nary a drop had fallen on our farm, but this morning we’ve got the lightest drizzle misting everything, and we’ll take it. Even a little bit of moisture is cause for rejoicing around here.
Our finds from yesterday have also put big smiles on our faces. Breakfast this morning was pure bliss: toasted sourdough ciabatta topped with triple creme brie and garnet plum paste with a side of garlicky salami and a big cup of strong coffee.
Now it’s time to knuckle down and get to work. I have to build a campfire and make a series of campfire desserts to photograph and write about for an article. This is the kind of work I was born to do.
What little things are putting a smile on your face this week? xo
by Krista | Jun 15, 2015 | Winter
“Nothing endures but change.”
Heraclitus
I am a fearful person by nature. As a little girl I always wanted everything to stay the same: my room, the menu for Christmas, my friends and family. Change, for some reason, terrified me, but sameness felt safe.
Then, of course, life happened and I grew up and I realized that everything changes. And everyone. Including my dear ol’ self.
I also realized that fear was the thing that made change so scary. Fear that I wouldn’t be able to handle what came my way. Fear that I wouldn’t like the change, whatever it might be. Fear that the future would never be quite as good as the present.
Nowadays I try to see fear as my friend in adventure, someone I clasp hands with as we shout in unison, “Once more, unto the breach!”
I’m still frightened inside, but I’ve got heaps of courage in there too. And pluck. And a jolly good imagination that helps me visualize what I will do to make things better IF they really do go pear shaped.
This weekend my friend Sue asked me if I’d be open to being interviewed by the newspaper about our life on the farm. My first thought was to immediately dive under the covers and not emerge until such a scary notion had passed.
All the “I’m not good enough to do that” fears shot to the surface: “I’m not skinny enough to have my picture taken for all and sundry to see”, “Our farm’s not perfect enough to be showcased”, “I can’t let a stranger here to see all the things we haven’t done yet!”
Sigh. Honestly, those fear voices are a real nuisance.
So I shushed them. And calmly spoke truth.
“It’s OK if I’m chubby right now. I’m working hard to heal my body and get into good shape, and it’s a good thing to let people see me as I AM not who/what I wish I was. Besides, maybe a chubby farm girl with a big smile on her face will cheer someone up who’s also struggling with weight and poor health and trying to smile anyway.”
“It’s OK if our farm’s not perfect. It’s a lovely place jam-packed with possibilities and inspiring projects and it is a haven for us and our loves. And maybe someone who’s also mid-dream with stacks here and piles there will see our farm and feel encouraged to press on.”
“It’s OK if we haven’t finished everything yet. We’re allowed to have partially built smokers and half-painted beehives and chairs, tables, and beds waiting to be mended and refinished. How boring life would be if we were actually done everything and had to sit here with no projects to inspire us, no jobs to keep our hands busy and to discuss over lunch. Nope, these unfinished projects are reminders of how lucky we are to get to pursue a whole passel of dreams.”
So I said yes.
And I’m so glad I did. Jayden (reporter from the Warwick Daily News) is an absolute gem, a ray of sunshine on our farm. He loved everything, even the wonky, unfinished, just-pretend-that’s-not-there stuff, bless him. And it did my heart no end of good to share our dreams with him, to explain how healing it’s been for me to live on this farm and learn so many things, to show him our goats and gardens and ducks.
It reminded me of what we’re working towards and how much it means to us. It renewed my vision, our vision, and made all the aching muscles, bruises, cuts, and scratches absolutely worth it.
I’m so glad I’m learning to hold hands with fear, to say yes to frightening things, to do it scared. My world is so much bigger and better because of it.
What do you do when fear rears its head in your life? xo
by Krista | Jun 12, 2015 | Winter
My whole world seems rather higgledy-piggledy at the moment, but that’s not such a bad thing.
Our crazy weather has my plants thinking it’s Spring or Summer instead of the dead of Winter. Rather than living off of hardy greens and root veggies, I’m picking blueberries, collecting tomatoes, and looking in astonishment at fruit trees sending out blossoms.
My dear ol’ body decided to go wonky too, keeping me in bed much of this week. Thank goodness for a big pot of ham bean soup and stacks of movies from the library to make things easier. Even the worst sick days are made immeasurably better with marathons of “Grimm” and “Rosemary and Thyme.”
In the midst of the weird and hard stuff, there have been good, good things: a wonderful weekend away with our medieval friends that I can’t wait to tell you about, our first attempt at apple wine brewing beautifully, and our orphaned twin goats now fully weaned and healthy as can be.
To top it all off, my actor/singer friend, Kristopher, now a producer in New York City, sent me tickets for a concert by the oh-so-fabulous Mary Wilson, original member of “The Supremes.” I was thrilled!! So Bear and I rugged up against the cold and spent an incredible evening listening to this awe-inspiring 71-year-old belt out powerful ballads, standards, and favorites as if she were 40 years younger. She was cheeky, hilarious, down-to-earth, and made us shake with laughter, wipe away tears, and go home feeling that this truly is a wonderful world.
I’m so thankful that life rarely leaves us saddled with only bad and hard things. There’s always something good and beautiful along the way to shimmer light into the dark places.
What is one good thing in your life this week? xo
by Krista | Jun 1, 2015 | Winter
It’s been a good, good weekend. A time of restoration and healing and returning to the things I love with a stronger, braver, and happier heart.
Bear brought in my cup of tea this morning and said, “You seem very peaceful this morning, very happy. I think it has everything to do with telling your story. You aren’t afraid anymore.” He’s right. I can’t describe the exquisite freedom I feel in body, mind, and spirit, and I’m cherishing it.
There’s something about speaking your truth that dissolves fear. Keeping it all hidden inside, only letting it eek out in tiny snippets, keeps the soul withered and frightened. It makes giants out of bad guys when in reality, they’re only human beings who have fed the darkness inside them instead of the light. They aren’t too big for us to stand up to, and they aren’t too powerful to fight against. Not forever anyways. They do seem to get away with bad things for as long as they’re able to keep up a facade of trustworthiness. But when the survivors of their cruelty heal and regain strength and speak truth, their power crumbles.
“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others.
My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”
Jane Austen
I like this quote so much. It makes me smile and stand a little taller, helps me face scary situations with resolve. It also reminds me to keep feeding the light in my own soul. To read, watch, and listen to things that lead to greater wisdom, deeper understanding, more enduring courage. To spend time with those who exemplify the things I cherish: honesty, kindness, bravery, a comfy-ness in being utterly themselves. To make time for the activities and experiences that make my heart swell and my soul sing.
As I rest in this deeper healing, I’ve returned to simple pleasures, nothing lavish or posh – though those things are jolly fun sometimes. I crave quietness and ease of planning marked by deliciousness. Here are a few of the simple lunches we’ve been having lately.
Ripe pears and aged cheddar cheese. Although such a lunch wouldn’t be sufficient on a cold Winter’s day, it is marvelous on these bizarrely hot days we’ve experienced over the last week. Winter arrived today, but freezing temperatures aren’t supposed to show up until Wednesday. Until then, we’re basking in summery warmth and dining lightly.
Mini-skewers. I don’t like to cook every day. I really don’t. Instead I try to only cook every other day and make enough so we have leftovers the next. Mini-skewers are marvelous things for that. I simply thread good Feta and sun-dried tomatoes on toothpicks, and cheddar, olives, and Farmer’s sausage on others. I put them in containers in the fridge and we can pull them out for a nibble whenever we’re famished.
Roast chicken and fresh veggies. With this gorgeously warm weather, I’m still getting ripe tomatoes and good cucumbers. They make a marvelous lunch with leftover shredded roast chicken.
Now I’m off to town for a sunshiny morning of errands and meetings. I’ve got music to listen to and dried apples to snack on so I’m all set.
What is your favorite simple lunch? How do you feed the light in your soul? XO
