This is what I love to see
February 5th, 2010 AndrewDWater flowing into the tanks.
Water in the tanks
Our 1 Acre – One Vege Patch at a Time
Jam Away
February 4th, 2010 AndrewDOne of the advantages of living in the country is that we have an orchard farm in Yass, probably the last in the area. Basically they produce Peaches, Nectarines, Plums and Apples. All seasonal, once the sign is has been taken down, the fruit season has ended (usually the last apples are approx June each year). What this means for us is that we try to get most fruit seasonally and not get those cold storage apples from Woolworths (to be honest we do get some in the off seson).
So two weeks ago the sign outside the farm let us know that they were open for business again. So what did we get. Well a flat box of approx 30 peaches for the high price of $10. But then the real bargain, Lee-Ann mentioned that we want to make jam. For that we got a box of nectarine 2nd’s for the high price of $4. Not sure how many but when we peeled and removed the seeds we had 3kg.
So the weekend was jam making. The result 9 jars and in the fridge two more containers of jam (so 11 all up). The idea being that we don’t buy jam for the year now (well once we get the plums that is – and we already have a few jars of peach jam made).
Peeling necartines
Final result 11 jars of nectarine jam (two not in the photo)
The other bargain was limes at $4.99 a kg so we bought some. Now what to do with limes. Basically there was only one option I could think of, lime cordial.
Take 10 limes (juice and zest), 1 tblsp citric acid, 1.4kg sugar and 4 cups boiling water.
Add zest, citric acid, sugar into a bowl. Pour over boiling water and stir until sugar is disolved, add lime juice. Bottle and place in fridge. Easy. This will make approx 2 litres of cordial. Now while it makes a fantasic cordial it is great for making a gimlet (which of course we did straight away).
Lime Cordial
My Gimlets
Using Gin or Vodka
- 2 shots gin or vodka
- 1 shot cordial
- ice
Place ice, gin/vodka, cordial in cocktail shaker. Give it a shake. Pour into cold cocktail glasses (any glass will do) add wedge of lime and a dash of soda water (add soda water only if you like) and presto.
mmmm so nice – and we are getting another bottle of vodka for tonite 
Molting – What?
January 25th, 2010 AndrewDWe have had our chicken for approx one year. And they were at point of lay when we recioeved them (so approx 4-5 months old). Anyway we were getting between 2-3 eggs per day from our 3 Isa Browns. Then without warning, no eggs or maybe a single egg. We notice some feathers around the place. What is it, a mite, lice, do I bath it or visit the vet?
No, chickens molt. They shed old feathers and grow new ones. During this time they stop producing eggs and put all their energy into feathers. Apparently we need to give them some more protein (bug patrol needed). Anyway we are still getting a single egg a day so one is still leaying.
Feathers from molting chickens
Away – Hols
January 25th, 2010 AndrewDOver the break we had two quick trips away, both involving water. The first was spent with friends for two days down at Currarong (near Nowra on Beecroft Peninsula surrounded by Navy land and National Parks), 1 block away from the beach. The time was spent in the water, drinking beer and eating seafood.
Lynsey basically spent time with her friends and Lee-Ann and I took Alyssa to the beach and for walks on the rocks.
Some of the wildlife - feathered variety
Some of the wildlife - crab (hidden in the rocks)
A week later we decided to venture down to Wee Jasper near Yass for an overnite camp. Wee Jasper is a small town approx 55kms from Yass. You have Carey Caves and Goodradigbee River. We camped right on the river at the Swing Bridge Reserve (one of approx 4 reserves).
To the left of our tent
To the right of the tent
Alyssa going with the flow
Lynsey floating by
For more on Wee Jasper – http://www.weejasperreserves.com.au/
Crackers to You
January 12th, 2010 AndrewDLate last year, just prior to Christmas (2009) as I sank a glass of wine and had some cheese and crackers. I wondered much do we spend on crackers? So some back of the coaster numbers. If we have one box/packet per week and at least an extra packet at major holidays and when we have guests, we would roughly have 65 packets per year. At $3 per packet we are coming close to $200 per year.
So can I make them? Well we bake our own bread (bread machine) and bread rolls (oven) so I could just tag them on to that.
So here is my recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Cups of Flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup warm water
- 1/3 cup veg (I use olive) oil
Preheat ove – 200c. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, oil and water. Make dough. I now split the dough into 5 equal portions. With my hand I flatten the dough (keep a towel over the remaining dough so it does not dry out) and now using the pasta maker roll the dough out. I roll the dough till the number three setting on the pasta maker. If rolling by hand I guess get it as thin as possible, but really using a pasta maker is so much easier.
On the flat sheets now season. You can use whatever you like. Poppy seeds, cracked pepped, salt, chilli. Use a rolling pin lightly to push the seasoning on. Now cut the flat sheets out, I use a ravioli cutter, but a knife is fine. Place on a baking tray. Now do not forget to prick them with a fork. If you do not they will rise. Put them in the oven and bake for 3 minutes then remove and turn them over and bake for another 1 minute. Now these timings are based on a thickness from the pasta maker. So you may need to experiment. Also the batch above makes probably approx 3 packets worth of crackers.
From the first batch you can see the changes. The thickst were by hand (rolling pin and not pricked), the middle ones in the oven for approx 5-6 minutes and the last ones as I have described above.
1st batch of crackers
And a different view
1st batch of crackers
And the finished product
Crackers and chees anyone
R.I.P Rowland S. Howard
January 3rd, 2010 AndrewDRowland S. Howard one of our greatest musicians died last week (wed 30th Dec 2009) aged 50. Rowland was probably best known for being the guitarist in the band Boys Next Door (which became The Birthday Party later on). He will be missed and Australia has lost a creative soul.
XMAS and New Years
December 30th, 2009 AndrewDI hope that Christmas for all was good and spent with family and friends. We visited the grandparents for our Christmas and for the past few days had friends (and their kids) staying with us. The food and converstaion has been great and we all drunk far too much.
And now onto the New Years I hope that 2010 is a good year for all.
One Year On
December 27th, 2009 AndrewDAnd the deck is almost complete. Yes you heard correctly, I started the deck as last years Christmas project #2 (http://onegreenacre.com/2009/01/19/christmas-project-2/)
The deck out back
The above image is from Jan 09
Now almost 12 months later I now have the deck done. Basically the area is now as large as our loungeroom and will provide a great space.
Andrew and helper (Alyssa)
Terrible Result
December 26th, 2009 AndrewDAfter the terrible result from the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. The Aust Youth Climate Coalition have put together this message.
Rain Rain Rain
December 26th, 2009 AndrewDSo much rain has fallen over the past 2 days, over 112 mm and it is still raining. One thing is it has prompted me to create a rain page so I can track the rain fall here at One Green Acre.
Check it out here http://onegreenacre.com/rain/
