Bread and gardening.......

Hi All

I have been experimenting with bread. I have been making different types of sweet bread for the boys for afternoon tea. Below is some scrolls I made, on the inside I sprinkled cocoa and sugar. I have also put dried fruit in some and then iced them. Today I put Lemonade butter into the middle....can't wait for them to cook.

I made some lemonade butter this week, it is sweeter than lemon butter. Next batch 

I won't put as much sugar into it. I made it up in my thermomix, so easy I just put all the ingredients in and walked away while it did the cooking. Love my thermomix.

Yesterday I got some kale seedlings that I will plant out today. I love kale I put it

into every thing(do not tell William he thinks it's lettuce). I also make kale chips in the barby, which William will eat, go figure....

My stone fruit trees are losing all their leaves, I will need to get in and prune them soon.

I am hoping for a good crop from them this year..

The roses have just finished their last

flush of flowers and will also need pruning in the next month or so. I think the

garden is so confused as we had some cold weather a month ago

and since then it has been very mild.

All of my bulbs are out off the ground, so they will properly flower in the middle 

of winter.

All this warm weather is not helping my argument to have the wood

stove put back in the house, so I'm hoping for some cold weather soon.

Have a great day

I am going to make a cuppa and catch up in blog land.

Mandy

Grape fruits......what to do with them..

I am so enjoying the weather I love Autumn

cool nights, crisp mornings and sunny days.

With all this great weather my citrus is ripening every day. All the grape fruit is 

starting to bend the branches so I am having to pick them before they break.

Cassie loves grape fruit and is happy to eat them, the boys not so much.

I made a grape fruit cake today, it is normally orange cake so instead I used grape fruits. 

I will ice it with Philli cheese and honey,,,yummoooo

  I then put the skins to work in a bottle of vinegar to make my 

cleaning spray. I leave this jar on the kitchen bench and every one knows to 

put there citrus peels in there. I leave this to steep about 2 weeks and then pop it into a spray 

bottle. I use this spray for all my cleaning.

As you can see below the fruit trees have grown, next week I will have Lemonades ready...

The oranges and mandarins don't even make it into the house the boys just pick them and eat....

Now that's fast food.

Grape fruit and coconut cake.

1 cup coconut flour

5 eggs                   

1 cup yoghurt   

pinch salt

2/3 cup grapefruit juice

zest from grapefruit

1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil

1 teaspoon bi carb

1 teaspoon creme tarter

1 cup sugar(your choice of sugar)

*Beat together eggs, yoghurt, salt, fruit juice and zest.

*Add melted butter or oil in a slow steady stream mixing all the time.

*Fold in flour, bicarb, creme tarter and sugar mix till well combined.

* Bake for 35-40 mins in 180C oven.

* Let cake cool 10min before turning to cake rack.

* when cool mix 1/2 cup cream cheese and 1 tablespoon honey

pour over the top and enjoy....

Have a great week

Mandy

A Spend Free Week and Around the Farm........

We have some new members of the food chain here.

Finally we have new chickens after all our rare bread ones were taken in the new year.

Why so long to get some? I really,really wanted rare bread ones again,but they are soooooo expensive.

So I decided to just get any chooks I could for now and slowly buy my rare bread ones 

a few at a time....For now though I am getting eggs again and I am happy.

Meet Martha (black) and Penny (brown)

These lovely girls are saddle back pigs, and they are so pretty and tame. Now we now that they will end up on the table

and every one says I shouldn't name them, but happy animals are what we are about and William and I can't be down  playing with them saying "Hey you" now can we.

As soon as the animals see me they all come running for there food. We have 2 sheep ready for 

slaughter, Starlight and Origin...We still haven't got a new ram after the chicken and sheep disaster at Christmas. I think I will have to buy some new lambs in spring for next year until our ram arrives.

 I was like the Pipe Piper of cows they weren't letting me get away with out something to eat, they followed me all the way to the gate and then bellowed at me. I am looking forward to the time they will be ready to eat as well, for now though we get our meet from a local organic farmer.
Next on the list in meat chickens, but that won't be until after winter, this time next year we will be very close to producing most of our food here on the farm.

This week I am challenging myself to a 

No Spend Week....

It is Thursday and I'm doing well, the cat is now eating weet-bix and almond milk as I have run out of cat food!!!!!

I am cleaning out the fridge and pantry and making some interesting meals.

I have a few things still in the vege garden that we are eating, won't belong before all the crops are ready to harvest.

We do have to go to Stanthorpe this week end for William to play soccer. We are taking the 

caravan and staying at the free site there, food I will take with me from home.

Well that's the plan.....I'll let you know how that goes!!!

It is interesting having a spend free week as I'm seeing that I tend to go to the shops

when I run out of something instead of making do with what I have..

Has any one else tried to to have a week with out spending money?

I would love to hear how you went....

Blessing to all

Mandy

Holiday Update...

I have been on Holidays, which means a holiday from blogging as well.

We drove up to Charters Towers to celebrate a 61st birthdays.
David and Karen turn 30 and Mason 1 that's 61.

We all had lots of  fun while there.
Water skiing and tubing.

The boys got some fishing in.

We even got a feed of fresh fish one night.

Jessica,Lock and girls drove up,Chloe, Damien and Harry flew up.

Bruce, Robbie, William and myself drove up there for 10 days.

Not all together but those of us that was able to make had a great time catching up.

Easter Sunday brought the Easter eggs and lots of smiles.

David and Karen put on a breakfast for all those that came up for the party...

Most of us enjoyed our breakfast, but there where those that ....

well lets say they had a headache and stomach bug.....

Easter Monday saw us head home via Jessica's where we picked Alanah up from her 2 week shift at Roma.

We got home in time for William to be in our local Anzac March.

I enjoy holidays, but more so when surrounded by my children and grandchildren.

Thank you David, Karen and Mason for a great Easter break.....

Mandy

Living a simple life......

Every day I give thanks that I can now stay at home and look

after my family...

To have the time to cook good wholesome meals that my family enjoy.

To be able to potter in my green house raising seeds,

taking cuttings for friends and family.

 To plant those seedlings in the vege garden and then harvest them for meals.

Yes I am enjoying living my simple yet fulfilling life. Life is defiantly being lived at a slower pace here, one 

that I know this family is enjoying.

We are all kept busy working on and around our farm though.

Bruce and the boys have been very busy building fences to keep the new cattle in.

We now have 4 different paddocks to keep the cattle and sheep in.

I love walking out the back to see happy cattle grazing and all that fire danger being eaten down.

New fruit trees have also been fenced off, I have planted more mangoes, citrus and a Pomegranate, this will be my new food forest and eventually the chooks will be moved out here.

I still do the  bookwork for our business, and sometimes blogging..haah

But when I'm finished doing bookwork I can walk outside and pick some fruit, or do some gardening.

Yes my life is Simple happy and yet very busy.

There are now so many blogs out there that share there lives as they live a more simple fulfilling life.

I think more and more people are trying to reclaim there lives by getting back to the basics..

What do you think???

Mandy

A Busy Kitchen....

Hello to all in Blog land...

I have been a little quiet here on these pages lately...

We have been getting some much needed rain this week...

220mls so far

The tanks are full and so are the dams.....In wet weather like this I have been 

making supplies as you can see below, the real kitchen and how it really looks :)

I have been experimenting with my soap, and I made this one

Honey, Oatmeal, Lanolin and Pumice Stone Garden Soap.

I also used my new mold that I have been waiting for, doesn't it look good with the bee on them.

I also made

Double Choc Fudge..

Seriously this smelled so good Robbie wanted to lick the bowl out hahaha should have let him....

For both of these I used my basic Soap method and then added brown colour and chocolate scented oil...For the Garden soap I also used basic soap and added. 2tbles Oats, 1teaps Honey, 30g ground pumice stone and 1 tbls Lanolin.

I am really enjoying experimenting with the soap....

Below is the last of the Goats Milk Soap, I am waiting for the latest batch to finish curing..

I have also been busy knitting dish clothes and washers. I do have a nice stack starting to happen..

I also made a Double Choc Fudge soy candle, my thinking here laying in the bath with chocy candle burning

whilst bathing with chocy soap....Chocolate fix done, calories NONE....

I know I'm either a genius or stark raving mad (going with the last one)

I then got in and made a batch of Washing Liquid, I put some Lemon Myrtle oil in this batch and it smells so fresh....Enough here for 2 months...

Before I new every one was wanting dinner with chocolate dessert hmmmm

Wasn't the most popular Mum around when they realized I hadn't been baking...

And tea well......

It was all leftovers from the fridge, they didn't know that though I told them it was

Curried mince and veges...BUT there clothes are gonna smell good and so will they....

Last weekend

My Mum, Chloe, Harrison and I took a road trip out to see my eldest daughter for her birthday and also my youngest grand daughter turned one.

 Here is Abby with her Great grandma opening her bear that GGmar made her.

There was lots of help on hand for Abby.

We also went into Roma for Jess"s birthday and had a wonderful day out..

Now I should really go and bake for my family

or

I could stay here and catch up on blogs.....

Blessings

Mandy

Changing Rooms.........

Some days you just need a change right....

I thought I would get in and rearrange the Dinning lounge area.

 Some days I should stay in bed when I have ideas like this as it is safer...

Before

The TV cabinet was against this wall and now 

below I have put some reading chairs there.

I moved the cabinet to the centre wall.

Lounge chair where the dinning table was.

Still trying to figure out where the wood heater will, need to find a new home

for my China cabinet. This seems the only wall for it though, so may-be in a different room.

I just don't know.

Before

Dinning table along front windows now.

All looks so boring.....

Yep hate it..

Spent all morning moving every thing and I don't like it and I'm too tired to move it back

sighhhhhhhh.

So went out and rearranged the front veranda...

Now I'm liking how it's coming together.

So I will have to sit in the newly arranged Lounge room and see if it looks any better...

Have a great week end..

Blessings

Mandy