In the Garden - July 2012

While we were off galavanting the country, our garden took a bit of neglect. We had people caring for the animals, and picking any produce that was ready while we were away but we had our reticulation turned off so relied solely on rainfall to water the garden. Perth experienced some crazy storms in June which provided a lot of water, but also destroyed one of our Eucalypts (and at the same time sent out trampoline for a visit over the neighbours' fence). Here is what remains of the tree.

There were some pleasant surprises in the garden on our return too. The chicken run is about half covered by a passionfruit vine which we only planted late last year. The vine has grown prolifically and is now sporting quite a number of fruit. These passionfruit don't go purple, rather turn a yellow colour and have almost orange pulp. We tasted the first ripe one today.

Loretta (the lemon tree) has also come up with the goods this year, after around seven years of dormancy. She gave us one lemon last year, her first fruit, and we were pleasantly surprised to return home and find she has five fruit growing.

Larry (the patio lime) is also oozing with life this season. He is sprouting blossom everywhere so hopefully he'll be a very healthy litte tree and might even bear some fruit.

Given none of the chickens are laying at the moment (I suspect two of the four cochins are roosters), I've given them another important job - preparing the rear vege garden for sowing. They're doing a great job of weeding, turning and fertilising.

 The front vege garden is also coming along nicely. We edged it with old railway sleepers and Hubby has just finished the reticulation for it, adding a zone to our bore retic just for the vege gardens (which were previously watered manually via mains water). Once the chickens have done their job, I can start planting!

As one of my favourite Australian bands, The Waifs, say: "everytime you water the garden, you also water the weeds". Here is one of those weeds that is just too pretty not to photograph. I think I snapped this shot about half a second before Chicky plucked it from its stem, sending seeds everywhere. What can you do?

I have to say I was very pleased with the garden after 10 weeks of neglect. Nature never ceases to surprise. I'd love to hear what's going on in your garden this Winter (or Summer, if you're on the warmer half of the planet right now).

The rebirth...

So I thought I owed everyone a bit of an explanation about going MIA lately. While the gypsy getaway did get busy and exciting and lacking in internet access for the most part, something else happened on the trip that stripped me of all ability and desire to grow, bake, run, blog and well anything for that matter. I fell pregnant with number 3. Normally this wouldn't be too much of an issue, other than a little morning sickness, but the Northern Territory decided to bless me with a little stomach bug at the same time which has knocked me around for over 6 weeks now. 

While the trip was great, and I'll write a bit of a recap soon, I am very glad to be home. At 12 weeks now, I'm hoping the second trimester will bring me some much needed energy and an appetite, for baking, eating and blogging. There is a lot going on in our garden at the moment after 3 months of neglect, which I've snapped a few pictures of so will write a garden update in the next few days, and tomorrow is Chicky's 4th birthday (where has the time gone?) so I will be required to make a cake with some hideously coloured icing.

So we're back from our fantastic adventure, and the blog should be experiencing a rebirth soon, once I can stay awake past 8pm :) Thanks for hanging around!

In My Kitchen - June 2012

Wow, it's been a long time. The Kimberly consumed my energy and attention, and deprived me of electricity, phone reception and internet access. Right now we're in Nhulunbuy, NT, staying with friends, so I have some time to show you what I have in my kitchen.

Before leaving Perth I saw a photo of someone making use of a tiny apartment with a mobile herb garden. I didn't really have the time to set up anything complex, but when I saw these cute containers in Bunnings I thought they would be perfect. It's basically a little tub with some compressed soil, a packet of seeds and a plastic lid. You add water to the soil to make it expand, sew your seeds and cover with a lid until seedlings emerge. The clear plastic lid makes it like a little green house. Once the seedlings are established you can remove the lid. 

The basil is much bigger now than when I took this picture, and it's almost at the point of picking. Dried herbs have served me well on the trip up to now, but soon I'll be able to make use of these fresh ones. The chives have a little way to go but they are growing well too.

In my kitchen is a small set of electric scales. These are identical in design to the ones I have at home and cost me $6 on clearance because apparently no one wanted to buy the random patterned version. I have to admit I haven't been using them as religiously as I would at home. Camping for the last 7 weeks has brought out the less precise and more ad hoc cook in me.

To do the camper trailer justice, I thought I should show case the most valued aspect of the kitchen: the electric water pump and tap. Mk 1 of the  kitchen had a manual pump tap, and after a weekend trip of pumping water by hand, at approximately my shoulder height, it was time for plan B. We carry up to 120L of water in the tanks, and all this I can access with a handy tap. Running water is great! It's just like being at home.

I've recently acquired a camp oven, the type you put in a camp fire. I've already made casserole, muesli bars, damper and a cake in there but I'm still perfecting the art. I'll be sure to snap a picture for next month's In My Kitchen post. Take a look at Celia's blog over at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial to see what's happening in some other kitchens this month.

Chocolate Beetroot Cupcakes

I've heard about putting beetroot in chocolate cake, but never quite understood how or why you would. A couple of days ago I made cupcakes which may just change the way I make chocolate cupcakes henceforth.

With limited internet access on this trip, I'm becoming quite intimate with the May Issue of Recipes+ which I bought before leaving home. This issue has a recipe for Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Fudge Frosting. The recipe calls for fresh, boiled beetroot. I'm in the Pilbara, and the supermarkets I find myself relying on up here are lucky to have two different types of fresh fruit, let alone fresh beetroot so I went for the canned variety. I also substituted white self-raising flour with wholemeal because using white flour in anything makes me squeamish these days. I really have become a health conscious hippy. If I wasn't saving my last little bit of wholemeal spelt four for another batch of Breakfast Muffins, I might have even used that. Other than those two amendments, I kept the ingredient list the same as the original. The method however, I completely made up. Without an electric mixer I had to ad lib, so here is my method.

450g tin whole baby beets, drained and grated
150g butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs at room temp (or at 35C as the case was)
1 3/4 cups wholemeal SR flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1/3 cup milk
100g dark chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced) and line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases, plus a 12 hole mini muffin tray (this mix makes a lot of cupcakes).
2. Melt butter and chocolate in small saucepan.
3. Combine sugar, flour and cocoa in a large bowl.
4. Add milk, melted butter mixture and beetroot and mix as hard as your arm allows with a wooden spoon until combined. The batter will be fairly thick, something like a brownie batter.
5. Spoon into paper cases and bake for 20-25 mins or until they spring back lightly when touched.

Fudge Icing
3 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
100g butter
80g dark chocolate
1/3 cup milk

1. Sift sugar and cocoa into a medium bowl.
2. Put butter, chocolate and milk in a small saucepan and heat gently until melted and combined.
3. Stir chocolate mixture into dry ingredients until smooth. I used a whisk to eliminate any clumping of my not-very-well-sifted icing sugar.
4. Refrigerate for half an hour or so to set a little.
5. Spread on cupcakes.

These cupcakes were so moist you could eat them without the frosting, but this frosting really is very tasty. They have a beautiful deep red/brown colour due to the beetroot and the wholemeal flour (and probably the lack of electric mixing) adds a texture that I really enjoyed. This recipe made so many that we shared some with the family camping next to us that night and they loved them too. Definitely a recipe I will make again.

Impromptu Crabs

Being on holiday makes me forget which day it is. It's only really important if I need to visit the post office and it's a Sunday, but even then it isn't REALLY important. One day last week, I'm not sure which, we camped on the beach at a place called Herald Bight, north-east of Denham. People often refer to this area as Shark Bay as it is within the Shark Bay Heritage Area. It's a beautiful part of Western Australia, and if there's any opportunity for a simple camp on the beach, I'm there.

I was just making a start on dinner, and hubby and the girls were combing the beach when they noticed a lot of crabs in the shallows. We aren't carrying any crab scoops with us, but hubby thought he'd try his luck with a pair of leather gloves. I laughed, thinking there was no way he could catch adult Blue Swimmer Crabs with his hands, but no more than 5 minutes and 10 crabs later, he was the one having the last laugh. Well we all were actually, I stopped what I was making and threw a salad together. We were having crabs!

Just in case that wasn't enough of a surprise, a film crew from 4WD Touring who happened to be camping up the beach from us saw the crab-catching and came over for a chat. They interviewed hubby about the trip and the trailer, and then took some footage of him catching the crabs with his (almost) bare hands, with Chicky on his back in the ERGO (a child carrier). It was all a bit surreal.

We boiled some salted water in a big pot, put the crabs in and let the water boil again, then pulled them out after 3 minutes on the boil. They were amazing. There really is nothing like freshly caught seafood.

In My Kitchen - May 2012

My kitchen is a little less conventional this month. This trip has been a long time in the planning, and as such my temporary kitchen has been fairly well thought out. I thoroughly enjoyed shopping for kitchen gadgets that were perfectly suited to camping. I'll just show you a few this month, as my internet access is limited, and I'll save some for the coming months. So, in my kitchen.......

...... is a set of three Scanpan knives, with sheathes.

Since buying a block of Scanpan knives for home a couple of years ago, I simply cannot do without good knives, but because all of my utensils are filed in plastic containers in the camp kitchen, I thought the risk of cutting myself on a sharp knife while diving in for a wooden spoon, was quite high. When I saw these coloured Scanpan knives with plastic sheathes, I had to have them. I didn't buy all 3 together, and when I went back for the big one the store only had red, so unfortunately they don't all match, but they are fantastic none the less.

In my kitchen is a collapsible colander.

I had been pondering over the idea of a camping colander for a while (doesn't everyone?). I had decided they were too bulky and I'd just make do by angling a saucepan lid on the pan to drain/strain. Then I saw this fantastic collapsible colander at a camping store. It was $20 which I thought wasn't bad for what it is, and it fits perfectly into of my utensil containers.

In my kitchen is an oven thermometer.

With the temperature control being a bit difficult in the gas oven, and the built in thermometer being placed at the rear of the over, I wanted a second thermometer to gauge the temperature difference between front and back. I picked up this nifty little oven thermometer for less than $10, and it hangs inside your oven on the shelf. I'm still in the experimental phase of baking in the gas oven, but this little gadget helped to make a batch of Celia's Fudge Brownies this afternoon, and then home-made pizzas for dinner. Both were devoured before I could get a photo, so I'd say that's a win for the oven and the thermometer!

In my kitchen is a stainless steel kettle.

I was NOT making a cup of tea every night with a billie, and then burning my hands while using some pliers and an oven mitt trying to pour the water which would inevitably end up all over the floor and/or me in the process. So I bought a stainless steel kettle for the gas stove, which has a flattenable (I just made up that word) plastic handle for storage, a removable lid for easy filling and a whistle, and it's just so shiny! I never drink tea in the evenings at home, but there's something about camping which makes me need a cup of tea once the kids are in bed, and this kettle makes the experience so enjoyable.

That's about all I have time for tonight. I'll bring you some more exciting camping, kitchen suprises in June. Take a look at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial to see what's happening in some other people's kitchens this month.

Big Gypsy Getaway

This post, and all posts for the next 11 or so weeks, come to you from the Big Gypsy Getaway. On Monday 30th April hubby started 12 weeks of long service leave, so we left our cosy 4 x 2 in the 'burbs and headed off for a family adventure in our home-made (and I mean completely home-made) camper trailer. Those that know my hubby will understand this. He doesn't "do" hired help, and could not justify spending ridiculous amounts of hard earned cash on a sub-optimal prefabricated camper. So what does one do in this situation? The same thing my beloved does in almost every situation, make your own! I have to give credit where it is due; it may have taken 15 months of evenings and weekends, but this baby is a work of art. It is completely tailored to our needs and the workmanship is flawless. We now realise why the commercial versions cost so much, there is so much labour involved. Here is our home on wheels fully set up, with our trusty NH Pajero, on her first night in the bush; just north of Lancelin, WA.

I should mention that the trailer has an off-road chassis, so there aren't too many challenges it isn't fit to face. In the pic below, the trailer is attached to the car, and isn't stuck or is any kind of danger, it's just "bush bashing". :)

 Those that know me, know I'm no fancy girl, but there were a few things I demanded for our new home on wheels. A decent kitchen was one. We are camping, but I didn't want this to change our eating habits. It's important to me that we continue to eat a wide range of foods, and continue with a balanced, healthy diet. The prospect of cooking on a 2-burner stove for three months was less than appealing. I researched camp ovens, and while I'm sure you can get quite adept at cooking on one, we wouldn't be able to have an open fire everywhere we stopped, and with the girls running around the thought of having a fire and piping hot container at ground level was a little scary. And then I found this!

It's a Companion Portable Gas Oven and Cooktop. I didn't even know such a thing existed until I saw a similar unit in our local camping store. It was love at first sight. I had to have one. With both the girls and myself having birthdays while we're on the road, I couldn't not make cakes. It had its first test run today with roast veges which we had with pork medallions and boiled broccoli (I forgot to bring a steamer) for dinner. And I've just pulled a batch of Breakfast Muffins out, sans cinnamon because hey, I couldn't remember to pack everything. Temperature regulation is something that will take a while to get a handle on I think. The built-in thermometer seems to be the back of the oven, and I bought an oven thermometer which you can see hanging inside the door at the front. The two units read quite different temperatures (up to 100C at one point this afternoon!) so I'm cooking by intuition at the moment. It's looking very promising though.

WA has a spectacular coastline, and I am extremely lucky to be viewing most of it this month. I've always lived in Perth, but in 4 days I've already seen multiple stretches of coast that I've never seen before. I went for a very liberating barefoot beach run around Lucky Bay yesterday morning, and today we spent lots of the day riding around Kalbarri (with 4 flat tyres thrown in for spice). The photo above was taken at a place called Pot Alley, which we hurtled down a huge hill on our bikes to see. Fortunately the magnificent view was worth the return trip up the hill. Kalbarri is lovely, although the persistent mosquitoes have taken the shine off a little. Not much, just a little. I have plans for a lot more running and a little on-the-go herb garden. I also have lots of interesting camping accessories in my kitchen that I'll showcase in the next In My Kitchen post in the next few days, I promise.