Planting beetroot you need to soak them first

One of the keys to growing beetroot from seed is to soak the seeds in warm water first. Warm not boiling.

If you want to know which beets are which you'll need to keep track of your soaking seeds.  I put a few seeds in small bowls and tuck the seed packet underneath until I am ready to plant.  Stagger your plantings and your harvest by planting every two weeks.

How to transplant onions the easy waay

I used to find transplanting onion seedlings back breaking and tedious.
But, ah, here is the easy solution.

Dig a trench and push the soil taken out to the right.

Place one seedling at a time along the trench, roots at the bottom ,leaves lying against the soil on the left.


As you push the soil from the right into the trench use your trowel to gently squeeze against the wall of the trench, at the same time you will create a new trench.

Don't worry about trying to stand the seedlings upright, over the next week they will stand up by themselves.

Vegetable gardening on a clear autumn day under the falling leaves

A mid week flex day is a wonderful luxury - I wish I could drop to 4 days work and make this permanent. The bonus was that despite yesterday being a wet, dreary day, today was clear and fresh. A perfect late autumn day. So I spent it in the garden.



Last weekend I planted two beds full of garlic.  Today I planted some winter vegetables.

In this area of New South Wales, Australia we plant the following seeds in May:
Broad beans
Garlic
Lettuce
Onions
Pak choy
Peas
Radish
Spinach
Silverbeet

And seedlings:
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Leeks

June is the same.
When I topped up all the garden beds with compost last weekend I covered them in lucerne mulch. Now its easy enough to poke seedlings down through mulch. Seedlings don't always germinate and push up through all those layers however.

This is the solution I came up,  I pushed the mulch back to provide a barrier between different seeds, it will still keep the moisture in.

5 weeks break - stumpwork embroidery cufflinks

One of my great loves is stumpwork embroidery.  If you don't know it stumpwork is the art of 3D embroidery. Pieces are created on a flat piec of fabric, edged with wire and cut out, The loose piece is usually then added to another work to add dimension.  I specialise in making jewellery from my stumpwork.  (Commissions always welcome)

As stupid as it sounds, I often deny myself the pleasure of doing things I love. I commute, I work, I cook dinner, I complain I'm tired and go bed to work early.  Aah.

Finally I have the time, energy and head space to create.

Again its raining and raining. Its freezing cold.  I have the fire roaring, sitting stitching tiny embroidery leaves in autumn colours.

The edge is made from copper wire and picked out in buttonhole stitch. The details of the leaves are created in thread painting, long and short stitch.  A lot of people don't like long and short stitch but I think its the most forgiving stitch of all. It gives the ability to create subtle changes of colour.

When complete, I carefully cut out the shapes using sharp scissors and a good magnifying lamp. It takes hours to cut them out precisely and remove all the tiny fibres of fabric outside the wire edge.

Preserved with fabric stiffener, my lovely leaves are glued into cufflink findings. My husband commissioned them last autumn, so I made him two sets, from 4 mis-matched leaves.

You can see some of my other work here. 

5 weeks break - Day 16 mushroom foraging

At last its that time of year, the autumn rains have come and the wild mushrooms have begun to appear in the local forests.

Howard and I went out this morning to forage for Saffron milk caps or pine mushrooms. These delectable delights secret a bright orange sap making them very easy to identify.

Its early in the season and plenty of people were out and about but not the number we will see in a few weeks when things get into full swing.  We worked hard for half a basket but got plenty for a few meals.

There is a delightfully simple way to cook these pine mushrooms.
Clean with a dry piece of paper towel then slice the mushroom.  Cook over heat in chilli infused olive oil and crystals of rock salt.  Serve on fresh bread toasted to make a delicious bruschetta.

Sorry I ate it all and didn't take any photos of our cooked dinner. Go cook your own :)

5 weeks leave - Day 12 the weather has turned cold and wet

The cold, wet weather has really set in for a few days.

I've used some of my new firestarters already keeping warm.  Today I just stayed home. It was a great day for a sleep in, some reading, yoga in front of the fire.

I am half way through my second week off and I am content with myself all day. The last few nights though ... I wake in the early morning with the remnants of disturbing dreams colouring my mood for a little while. All the dreams have had a common thread of work, of frantic running around and deep feelings of anxiety.  My days are calm and quiet although I have not yet given myself over to a day of complete nothingness. I feel I have to achieve something.  I'm trying to keep a balance between doing and being. I am tired of my sleep being disturbed with that frenetic energy and anxiety though.

I cooked some basil pesto, made a batch of soap too.  But then I took myself and my doggies for a long walk into town. I rugged up against the chill and off we set. It was nice, we walked quickly. No point to it but to get out. Oh and to get some exercise.  We all liked it.

Tonight I am watching the last season of Dr Who and well, blogging.

The other thing I did today was make spinach and ricotta gnocchi which I enjoyed for my dinner.

5 week break - Days 9 and 10 Mulching garden waste

The rain has let up so we're out in the garden, pruning, trimming, weeding.  As they say, autumn is a lovely time to garden and it is indeed.

On Sunday (Day 9) we spent hours trimming the front garden, making things neat. I feel like we have neglected the garden for months, but I find once established it can be put back into shape with just a few hours work.

By the end of the day we had piles and piles of garden waste.

So our big job today (Day 10) was to turn all the garden waste into mulch.

Meet the mulch monster:

This monster machine turned all our trimmings into bags and bags of super fine mulch for me to spread throughout the garden as I continue my weeding. It chops it so fine in fact that it always makes less than I expect.

Howard is the expert in using this monster, I'm merely the fetch and carry girl.  Here are some tips to making mulch:

Tip 1 - a big petrol mulcher doesn't like moist, fleshy materials so no grass or weeds. Alternate between woody material and green twigs and leaves to keep it working.

Tip 2 - keep your pile dry. If it gets caught out in the rain it may be weeks until its dry enough to mulch.

Tip 3 - be safe!

Enjoy your mulchings, your garden certainly will

Autumn in the Southern Highlands of NSW just shines

The colour is stunning this year. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Burrawang Hotel


My garden in Robertson



Bowral
If you like my photos follow me on Instagram: homespunbliss 

Baking artichokes from my garden autumn harvest, overcoming fear of artichokes

This summer I planted artichokes for the first time. I was surprised at how quickly they grew and produced flowers.  Here are my photos from a couple of weeks ago.

We have had torrential rain since then. All the empty dams are re-filled and our sloping driveway and garden path have washed away. Everything is soggy underfoot and the water dripping from the trees drenches as I venture out when the rain stops.

I have lost a few crops. My silverbeet is ok just some of the leaves have rotted. My peppers look ghastly, completely ruined.

The biggest victim though was my artichokes.  They are completely laid waste on the ground.

I quickly snipped off the three heads I could find so growing them would yield some harvest.

Now as I said in my last post on the subject, I've never been confident about how to deal with artichokes.  So I found some information on the web and tackled the chokes with my laptop handy.

First I soaked them in a bowl of water with lemon juice. I took one out of the bowl and sliced a bit off the top. I cut down into the centre with a sharp knife to dig out the choke, the fibrous stuff you can't eat. This was like coring an apple only try not to cut right through to the bottom. My knife needs sharpening before I do this again, it was harder work than it needed to be.

Then I cut the bottom. Under the hard outside shell there's the delicate heart.  Carefully cut from the outside towards the centre shaving off that outer shell. Keep working around the bottom artichoke till the heart is exposed. Put it back in the lemon water while you prepare the other in the same way.

Place the artichokes in a pot of boiling salted water. Boil for 10-15 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 180c and spray a baking dish with oil.

I made stuffing for the artichokes. Here's my recipe:
   Finely chopped walnuts
   Chopped garlic
   Diced cherry tomatoes
   Sliced shallots
   Fresh parsley
   Blue vein cheese, diced.
Mix all ingredients together.

I took the artichokes out of the boiling water and cut them lengthways. Place them cut side up in the baking dish and spoon your stuffing into them.  Bake until them smell divine, about 10-15 minutes.

I wasn't really sure whether the artichokes were under or over ripe and struggled to find clear information on this.  The purply coloured one in the photo above was quite coarse so in future I'd pick them earlier. Don't worry though as through baking them any leaves that were super coarse fell away and exposed the tender middle anyway.

I am very happy with my first try with artichokes.  Dig in, give it a go. It will work out and we'll all get better at it as we practice. I will re-use this stuffing recipe it was delicious.

The recipes and instructions I found helpful can be found on my pinterest cooking page.

By the way, I bought two new artichoke plants as they are a must have in my garden now. Oh drat raining again.                                                                                       

The first day of autumn and a big wet arrive the same day in the Southern Highlands of NSW

Autumn Sunday

 Autumn. Sunday.

We have had the most stunning Autumn: clear with brisk mornings and warm sunny days.

We always say the Southern Highlands are their best in Autumn and Spring. Summers are usually disappointing but this season has not been. It has delighted.

Work has been, well crazy. Its dark when we leave work now so the evenings feel so short and unproductive. I should get up earlier - its constantly on my goal list but I'm not good at it. Weekends fly by so fast and suddenly its back to Monday.

We stopped to till the soil today, to prune and neaten and reconnect.

Re-connection will be my theme this week.  I'll share as I explore what that looks like.

Meanwhile here are some photos of my front verandah in glorious Autumn colour.

Spinach and ricotta cannelloni recipe and left over frittata

After a week of stunning, crisp Autumn days it has turned cold and wet. In fact the rain is pouring down. We are sitting inside with the fire on. It is time for comfort food.

Cannelloni is one of my favourite treats. It is very easy to make, best for a weekend day though when you can put it in the oven hours before you intend to eat it, to ensure it cooks right through.

You will need:

1 packet cannelloni tubes

2 cans tomato puree

1 packet silken firm tofu

1 small tub ricotta

parmesan cheese, grated

spinach or silverbeet, sliced

Instructions:

Steam the spinach until tender.

Drain spinach, then mix with the tofu and ricotta in a large bowl.

Spoon into cannelloni tubes.

Pour half a can of tomato into the bottom of a lasagne baking dish.

Arrange the filled tubes into the dish.

Pour the rest of the tomatoes over the top, being sure to cover everything well.

Sprinkle the parmesan over the top.

Cover with a lid or sheet of alfoil/tinfoil. 

Bake in a hot oven until the pasta is soft.

Notes: the tofu can be admitted if preferred: double the amount of ricotta. I recommend the tofu however as it adds protein and also changes the texture of the cooked filling - I think for the better. Don't tell anyone there is tofu in this recipe and they will never know!

There are only two of us and a whole packet of tubes makes about 6 serves so I freeze left over individual serves: perfect for lunch, or dinner when you get home late from work. It reheats really well: you won't know the difference from when you ate it straight from the oven.

The bonus here is a frittata recipe. I often find after I fill all the tubes that I have left over filling. 

Mix a couple of eggs, add some feta cubes, sun-dried tomatoes and basil into the left over cannelloni filling. Pour into lightly oiled ramekins and bake. Great with salad or for breakfast.

Our thoughts return to Boston today

Our thoughts go to everyone in Boston this week. We visited last October and found it a pretty, very livable city, with friendly people.

The only kind of terrorist action we experienced in Boston was guerilla knitting. This delighted me.

I love how people decorate their houses for the seasons in Massachusetts  We visited in Autumn, one of my favourite seasons and the one we are enjoying now. 

The Constitution, The US Navy's flagship against the backdrop of the financial district. 

The contrast of old and new works well in Boston.

I was fascinated by the story of Paul Revere as a child so was delighted to visit his statue, house and grave.

Beacon Hill and the Charles River from the Mass. Ave Bridge on our walk to Harvard and Cambridge. They were preparing for a run that day too.

I loved this diner, so quaint (sorry, but true), authentic, friendly.  We discovered it by chance and enjoyed a hearty breakfast before leaving Boston, driving to Concord and Deerfield.

Dear Bostonians, we feel for your suffering and are glad the terror seems to have ended. I wanted to share a few photos of our experiences which were so enjoyable. We hope you feel peaceful again soon.

Happy Easter: a market and a chicken story

Happy Easter everyone. Its Sunday here and day 3 of a lovely 4 days off work. How we need this time to recharge the batteries and keep on keeping on.

The weather has been great: clear and sunny with a genuine Autumn chill in the air but seems like rain may be on its way now. The Highlands have been inundated with visitors, which is very good for the local economy.

Yesterday afternoon we went, as always, to the Burrawang Easter market where they close the main street and transform a quiet little village to a teeming mass of stalls, people and dogs. It is the best market around with good food, lovely craft, classy products and happy people.

We stocked up on cheeses, local wine, cherry-almond shortbread, lime infused dijon.  To us the produce is always the best bit about a market.

I bought a darling doiley holder made of old tea coloured linen with hand embroidery, a scalloped crochet edge and satin ribbon close. This double layered cloth was designed to keep your doilies clean, flat and safe inside.  I have never seen or even heard of one before. It is so precious. 

I added to my African textile collection with a raffia mat from the Congo made by the Kuba people. Its geometric pattern is made with pulled raffia and has a course brush-bristle texture. I have another Kuba mat of a different style that I picked up in New York as well as many mud-cloths.

We were at the market for hours and merrily looked at antique stalls, hats, tea towels, food, cider and more.

Now I promised you a story about a chicken. It is Easter but its not the happiest of chicken stories although I'm optimistic it will end well.  Katie is the most accident prone little chook and has been convalescing in our bathroom for days. On Tuesday I heard her making the most piteous noise, rushed outside to find her trying to push through a wire fence. She seemed to have taken a fright to something and was determined to get to the other side of this fence and under our house. The first thing I noticed was her comb which is all bloody and droopy. But the real damage is to her wing which she has scraped badly. I won't share a photo of that. So back into the cat box in the bathroom to be kept quiet and away from flies and pecking.  She has barely made a peep ever since, but has been eating and drinking.  Anyway we decided we should let her have some time outside and see how she goes. She's outside now scratching around with Scully.

The funny part of the story is Howard and I trying to bandage her wing. I'm here to tell you it is no easy task!  Howard held her while I applied a non-stick dressing and wrapped a gauze bandage around the top of her wing. I used a bit of masking tape to hold it in place. Well one flap of her wing and the whole bandage went flying across the room. Hmm, not to be deterred from our mission we unwrapped the bandage and had another go. This time I wrapped the last bit of the bandage across her body, pinning her wing to her side.

When we set her outside I realised I had pinned both wings to her sides!  She has managed to shrug this off now but not the dressing on her wing. Poor chicken would probably fair much better without me trying to help her! We hope she comes good. She has been in the wars but is looking happy out scratching for worms.

The rest of my days off will be spent cooking, making soap, pulling a few weeds and generally enjoying the peace, quiet and relaxation of time at home. Whatever you are doing I hope you are enjoying it!

Quinoa salad for lovely autumn lunch

Here's a salad with a difference. Try this for a lovely balance of colour and flavour.

Boiled and cooled quinoa

mandarin pieces

baby spinach

green beans

steamed pumpkin

pumpkin seeds and walnuts

cheese - try feta, Cheshire or haloumi

Toss everything together. Serve cold or warmed. I drizzled a little orange infused olive oil over it.

Variation suggestions include boiled egg or chunks of salmon.

5 things Wednesday - 5 frosty photos

First frost this morning. The light was different when I got up this morning and sure enough there was a frost.

I snapped these photos when I ventured out to feed our chickens. It looks freezing, and its certainly not warm, but its not as cold as some other morning over the past week.

More autumn photos from Moss Vale and Bowral

Autumn is putting on a stunning display this year in the Southern Highlands.  Here are some photos of down town Moss Vale.

Made by Others art and design store in Moss Vale. A great place for a coffee and to buy unique gifts. 

I really liked the funky wallpaper flying ducks!  They were a bit like the wallpaper at the craft store at Bundanoon. Check that out here.

The main road through Moss Vale is tree lined and looking colourful.

This little park in the middle of Moss Vale is lovely all year round.

Spectacular skies over Bong Bong Common between Moss Vale and Bowral.

Its always a toss up between Spring and Autumn for my favourite season but this year Autumn is looking like it could be a winner.