A Steampunk kind of day...

Last weekend was one that we had been looking forward to for a long time – except for the whole camping in the middle of winter thing (Jane’s perspective). Simone (our neighbour on the farm) had her 40^th birthday, and had elected a Steampunk theme.

We travelled up on the Saturday, only ever intending to stay one night. With night time temperatures dropping to -2 degrees, it didn’t make sense to sleep out for any longer. We might have a roof, but the temperature outside is the same as inside – bloody cold at present.

It has to be a bonus owning a vineyard when it is party time! The full array of Rosnay wines was on display, and we made sure to take full advantage. The night was excellent – and there was enough fire to be warm. Everyone took to the theme and really dressed up. A good fancy dress party is the best – and we are looking forward to many more in the future (have to get more wear out of a hat as magnificent as this one!).

Oh- and if you are wondering – I did make the hat…

 Finally found a use for an old mess jacket...

Jane and I stepping back in time

Our beautiful night sky again came to the party. I think this may well be the Moon, Jupiter and Venus over the roof of the house

A selfie with our cheeky little man...

Salami Day

I was lucky enough to secure an invite to Salami Day this year. Even better, it happened on my birthday weekend. The essential elements of the day are beer, meat and fire – all in all a perfect day out!

I arrived at 1030 h with an esky to see the fire already lit, and stack of pallets being cut with a chainsaw, and all with beers in hand. Four pigs had been boned out the day before, and the meat minced in preparation for the salami seasonings.

 The fire might have got a little unruly towards the end of the afternoon... Did you know that fire melts bitumen?

Salami is a very lean meat product, so the trim was mixed with beef and venison (one of the guys shot a deer a couple of days ago) and we made sausages for lunch. The ribs were brined overnight, and went into the smoker for a three hour cold smoke. The aim of the day was too make both sausage and salami, eat more pig products than you could imagine, and drink and chat. Great day.

Smoked pork ribs - sensational. Must. Have. These at Salami Day!

 The production line in full swing

 This is only a fraction of the sausages we made

The ribs were insanely good, and will form an integral part of our own future salami days on the farm. Some chose not to get involved with the manufacture, but I figured that learning opportunities like this don’t come along very often. I watched the butchers linking sausages, and asked for a tutorial. Those guys are poetry in motion, and watching them is like watching a talented knitter whipping through a ball of wool. To say I was a bit slower is an understatement. I eventually got the technique correct, but will need a lot more practice before I can claim any sort of proficiency!

We made the salami – these ones were made with a starter to reduce the required hanging time. The organisers tell me they are a little impatient and can’t wait for a full natural cure! We did three types, and took home a total of five each. There is a very mild, a traditional Italian salami, and a cacciatore salami. The cacciatore is going to be blisteringly hot – it is full of chilli and olives. The magic number for salami is 2.7% - that is the salt percentage to make a good salami. Apparently they figured out (after we made the salami) that they had overdone the recipe a little, and may have gone closer to 4%. Hopefully it will be ok!

 My share of the bounty, hanging at home for the next 3-4 weeks

It was a wonderful day, with plenty of food and beer. It was a great learning opportunity, and gave me so many thoughts for how we can turn workdays into festival occasions on the farm.

Today was my birthday, and I was thoroughly spoiled. Jane and MacK spoiled me this morning (before sunrise) with lovely gifts and we went out for breakfast with friends. Despite Jane saying that presents weren’t necessary, everybody thinks I am a lush and need watering. I did well though – three lovely bottles of red wine!

MacK chose the cake for my birthday, reasoning that if his idea of a perfect cake was Zappo the alien, then I would be bound to share the opinion! It was a lovely chocolate mud cake, well appreciated by all who came.

 MacK and I at breakfast, with Zappo the alien!

We spent the rest of the day working on our costumes for next weekend’s steampunk birthday party on the farm. We won’t spoil the surprise, but will share photographs when we get back. 

Winter reading pleasure

I don’t often recommend books to a mass audience, but there are a couple that I have read recently that I think contain incredibly important messages.

First is a book written by an author dubbed ‘the high priest of the pasture’ – Joel Salatin. Hailing from America, his book “Folks, this just ain’t normal” analyses the current agri-industrial food industry with its reliance on chemicals and synthetic fertilisers against a more traditional, pasture based system where the land grows what it can support. It is a really good look at how our food is produced – and could be produced.

The second is called “Meat – a benign extravagance”, by Simon Fairlie. It is a book fairly heavy on academic/scientific research, and again is an excellent read. It looks at how we currently farm, and whether or not we should even eat meat. The author was once vegan, and chose to eat meat again because of the research he did. It provides a balanced treatise on the pros and cons of farming, and how the ever growing population can be fed. It provides damning evidence against factory farms, and suggests we should moderate our meat consumption accordingly.

The third is a book called “Farmageddon – the true cost of cheap meat”, by Phillip Lymbery. Lymbery has long been a member of conservation groups, and makes no attempt to hide his bias – but the facts as presented are pretty irrefutable. Factory farms and mega farms are destroying the agricultural world and doing irreversible damage to eco systems and waterways across the planet. He again does not advocate a meat free diet – far from it – but opens the readers eyes to the danger posed by the construction of mega farms and accompanying use of synthetic fertilisers and chemicals.

None of these three books are likely to be in your local library, but they are more than worth the investment. If nothing else, they will change the way you look at where your food comes from. In a world where more that 70% of the world’s population is expected to be urbanised by 2025, there is a growing lack of understanding about where food actually comes from. This allows the industrial farms to become even more cavalier with our health. They no longer care about the land – it is all about money.

As I started to read Farmageddon, I listened to a story on the ABC about a mining magnate who is about to build a mega-dairy on the Victorian/South Australian border, and listened to the non-farmer mining magnate tell the audience that each of his cows had to milk a minimum of 10,000 litres each year. Any that didn’t would be replaced. When the announcer asked about his environmental approach, his response was simply that profit trumped all. It is all about the money.

MacK… comedian, food critic and artist!

Thought is timely to share a few more gems from MacK… Much as I thought we wouldn’t change the way we cook to accommodate MacK, we have. We are lucky, as he still eats most things and isn’t afraid to try new things. The only things we have really had to get rid of are pepper as a garnish and herbs. He doesn’t like the ‘green things’ in his dinner.

I was out in the garden with him the other day, and asked him to pick some parsley and rub it between his fingers to smell the oils. I explained that the herbs he was playing with (and enjoying the smell of) were the ones he didn’t want in his food. I asked if we could start putting some of the herbs in our meals.

His response: “You can use herbs Daddy, as long as you pick them from our garden, and only use them to decorate the plate!” Sure…

We were at a kids birthday party last weekend, and the host asked MacK if he wanted chips, which he turned down (as a much younger boy he asked if he could send back the chips at a restaurant in favour of a bowl of broccoli). When the other Dad asked MacK if he wanted a small saveloy, MacK asked him what it was. When told it was a sausage, MacK replied “No. That is not a sausage”. He is right…

I think he is going to enjoy living in a place with a cold larder with cheeses and salamis, prosciuttos and fresh bread – I know I am!

I took MacK to work with me the other day as Jane picked up an extra shift at work. As well as charming the ladies at work, he spent a little time at the whiteboard drawing pictures of his family. Not so sure that you could use them as police identikits, but he is very sure of the characteristics!

 so - this one is Jane... really it is!

 and MacK...

 And this one is obviously me!

Today was my birthday, and MacK was incredibly excited about the present he was giving me. He woke up WAY too early, and insisted that presents be opened before daybreak. Imagine my surprise to open a Scooby Doo cartoon… Apparently that was a whole lot better than it could have been – among the things I couldn’t possibly do without were Fireman Sam’s rescue boat and every Marvel comics figurine… So I started my day watching Scooby Doo in space with MacK!

MacK, Jane and I made him a robot costume last week, because every boy needs a robot in their wardrobe!

Winter changes

As the Antarctic Vortex makes its way across the Eastern Seaboard, we can take stock before making some changes later in the year. We now know that we are going to Darwin for two years. It will be fine, and hot. Hot, and very hot!

Jane is about to embark on a new adventure, having enrolled in a welding course. We are now going to do steel balustrades on the house and steel frames for the kitchen cabinetry – I think Jane is going to be busy.

We are about to order the windows, so are one step closer to being completely locked up. The big spaces are still going to be the big doors. We now need to wait for Leigh to get back from Europe and get settled, as he is going to build steel doors with Jane. I can’t wait to see how those doors look. I am thinking it will give that side of the house an industrial look that will be brilliant.