My "Country Kitchen"

I've had a few questions asking me about my kitchen and how much storage I have. I guess most people think that because I cook a lot and I'm living in a country house, that I have the big country kitchen to go with it. I try to keep it real, so here is my kitchen. 

As you can see it was designed in the 1940's, and has had bits and pieces added together since then. It's also very green (as is the entire house). The kitchen is in the middle of the house and has 3 doors meaning that it is a thoroughfare. It is also quite dark because the windows look into the enclosed veranda.

The original bench is very narrow and low, and the cupboards are small. The freezer is packed, and there is another smaller one in the laundry.

We installed the central bench ourselves as a temporary measure so that we had an actual work space. You can see the 2 buckets on the bench - one each for the chickens and pigs. The lack of storage means that my Tupperware containers sit on the mantel piece of the old fire place.

The original fire place has been blocked up and there is a cupboard where I keep all my saucepans, and baking trays (it is jam packed). Also occasionally I hear rodents scrabbling around in the blocked up chimney which freaks me out.

This is my under bench storage "system" (if you can call it that!). I got these old filing cabinets at Vinnies and they hold all our baking ingredients (except the stuff in Tupperware). The drawers have all our utensils.

The cupboards are narrow and you need an engineering degree to put all the plates in so they stack well.

The ever breeding Tupperware I keep in the wire baskets (which used to be in our wardrobe) and then the cling wrap and foil etc in the top. The big cupboard has most of the food in it, but I also have a couple of shelves cleared out of a cupboard in the spare room for all the jams, tomato sauce etc that we made earlier this year.

Should we decide to stay,  I have big plans for the huge country kitchen and walk in pantry, but until then I will continue to manage with my mish mash of a kitchen.


Hope that answers some of the questions about the kitchen. If you have any other questions about the country life, let me know!

Learning To Read In The 1980's

Hannah's school has been sorting through their readers, so my mother in law (who works at the school) bought home some of the unwanted readers for me. They were printed in the early 1980's so there is a good chance I read the same stories myself as a child, but to be honest I think I would have remembered these.

Look at those titles "Shooting foxes", "Wagging school", and "When I broke the office window".  They are hilarious, so today I thought I would share my favourite - "The Sick Chook". (A chook is a chicken for my international readers)

(Murgatroyd the chicken?)

When the other chickens were fighting over the feed, the sick chook just sat.


Grandma crushed an asprin and put it on a teaspoon with some water. (look at that poor chook! - please consult your vet before doing this)

I held the chicken while grandma poured the asprin down the chook's throat.

(poor grandma looks like she is about to have a break down).

{Wordless Wednesday} Sunday Breakfast

Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday.

Musings and a {Recipe} Pumpkin, Spinach, and Bacon Pizza

If you know anything about our country life, you know that we are currently inundated with pumpkins. We have taken to roasting a whole pumpkin at a time, then freezing it in portions. That way it is easy to use when we need it.

Toby is always keen to 'help' CB do anything - but doesn't stay still enough for photos.

Always on the lookout for creative ways to use pumpkin, Country Boy 'invented' a new pizza topping to add to  his repertoire of home made pizzas. Country Boy already makes a mean potato pizza, but I have a feeling that this new recipe will be a regular in our house.

Toby is also really into cutting things at the moment - maybe he will grow up to

be a chef?? (or a mass murderer!)

Country Boy recently bought a low light lens for our camera. We are both quite keen amateur photographers, and his 'excuse' was that I could use it for my blog now that it gets dark so early (I try to take food photos outside where the light is better). What ever the reason for the lens, I do appreciate his thoughtfulness (I am wondering if I can get an ipad using the same excuse?). I'm still learning how to use it, and I don't love the colour balance - maybe I need a filter. Please leave a comment if you know what I need.

Any way, back to the recipe...

To make the base:

Dough - Makes 2 pizzas

1 sachet of yeast

3/4c tepid water (just warm)

2c bread making flour (plain flour will do) approx

Good pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200oc
2. Place the water in a bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Allow to sit for 3-5 minutes.
3. Add in flour and bring together to form a dough. Note the actual amount of flour needed will be slightly different each time because of factors such as moisture content of the flour and of the air.
4. Turn the dough onto the bench and knead the for about 5 minutes or until it springs back when poked with a finger. The dough will get wetter as you knead so you may need to knead in some more flour.
5. Shape into a ball and place back into a bowl. Cover with cling wrap and place in warm place for 30minutes or until the dough has doubled in size. This is important to allow the flavour of the crust to develop.
6. Knead the dough lightly a second time. Divide into 2 equal balls
7. Roll each ball out and top as desired
8. Place on a pizza stone (if you have one) or baking tray and put in the oven for 20 minutes or until the crust is crunchy and the topping is cooked.

Topping - For 2 pizzas

1/4 c tomato sauce

1/4c bbq sauce

1T chopped fresh herbs - we used basil and thyme

6 rashers bacon cut into strips

15 spinach leaves - shredded

300g roasted pumpkin - cut into 2 cm chunks

1 1/2c grated cheese (we use half mozarella and half cheddar)

1 avocado - cut into thin wedges

Method

1. Mix the tomato sauce, bbq sauce and fresh herbs together in a bowl.
2. Fry the bacon until beginning to go crisp and then add the spinach.
3. Toss until the spinach is just starting to wilt.
4. Spread the sauce over the bases.
5. Sprinkle 2/3 of the cheese over the base.
6. Top with the spinach and bacon, pumpkin, and avocado.
7. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Vicarious Living

Before we had kids, I used to (jokingly) say that I was planning on living vicariously through my children. I was planning on having a family band (think The Corrs or Hanson - NOT Jackson 5). I planned what instruments they were going to play, and more importantly, how they would keep in the lap of luxury which I so richly deserved.

Of course once I had children, I learnt that I have very little control over their skills, personalities, or willingness to cooperate with my grand schemes (I can't really send them to the corner when they are on stage).

My children are introverts (as are both CB and I), and the thought of performing on stage fills the girls with dread. Hannah freezes whenever she thinks she might be the center of attention. If I want to live in the lap of luxury, I may need to rethink my strategy.

The one part of this plan which is coming along nicely, is that Hannah has started piano lessons. She has wanted lessons for a while now, but I had put them off. I had promised her that when she was in second grade she could start, so she reminded me at the start of the year, that this was *the* year. 

Starting a new school, in a whole new area, it took me a term to actually find a piano teacher - which also gave Hannah a term to settle into her new school. 

Extra curricular activities, like everything else around here, requires commitment because of the travelling times involved. So every Wednesday, Hannah and I jump in the car for the drive to town (luckily only 15 minutes) for her lesson. 

Hannah is loving it. I knew she would. She takes it very seriously and enjoys doing the homework and the practice. I love to play the piano, and am enjoying living a little bit vicariously through her. On the drive to and from the lesson we get to chat uninterrupted by her siblings.

I may not get my family band, but I am glad that she is enjoying learning the piano.

The Quiet Time?

Shearing finished on Friday - Hooray!! It is impossible to explain exactly how it impacts on life while it is going on. Country Boy spent every spare moment in the shed. The kids spent most of their waking hours in the shed, which they were starting to get sick of. Everything non essential gets put on hold (that includes cleaning the house). The animals were fed in the dark, and dinner is late. Hannah's homework was a last minute rush. Some how all the essentials get done, but that was it. I am slowly getting back on top of the house work. Today I scrubbed out the bathroom which was, frankly, embarrassing.

Life is still busy despite the pressure of shearing being over for the year. FIL turns 60 this week, and so we are planning a birthday party on the weekend. After work today I am doing a mammoth grocery shop in preparation. I have also planned our meals for the next four weeks as well, so I am expecting about 3 shopping trolleys to get it all.

In two weeks time, FIL and MIL head off on a 3 month adventure around north west Australia in their camper van, leaving us in charge of the farm (scary).Winter is the slower time of year, making it a good time to leave (also escaping the cold sounds good!). Lambing will happen while they are away, so we may have a few poddy lamb to deal with (lambs that have been abandoned by their mother).

The casual teaching position which I have been doing, has been extended to the end of the year. I really enjoy the job. My colleagues are easy to get along with, and the students are generally well behaved. Discipline is a lot easier than at my previous school. The only down side to the job is that it is so far away. The days are short now. I often leave as the sun is coming up (after scraping the ice off the windscreen), and don't get back until it is setting. I am now carpooling with another teacher who lives a little closer, and it certainly makes things a lot easier .

My father took this photo at my brother in law's wedding - love it!)

Country Boy has been busy with our vegetable garden, getting wood, and doing the myriad of other things that keep our life on track.

I have this funny shelf in the kitchen - finally found something which looks good to put on it!

When we first moved here, I looked forward to the quiet time of year. I have already come to the conclusion, that there is no such thing as a quiet time. There is a rhythm, and what needs to be done changes constantly, but there is no time when it is really quiet.

{Wordless Wednesday} Busy Boy

I'm up to mischief 

Where are those chickens?

To busy to stop for food

Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday.

Our Winter Garden

The Country Boy finished clearing out the vegetable garden from our summer vegetable haul. My goodness - never in my dreams did I imagine that we would grow as much as we did. We are still enjoying the produce I managed to preserve.

He has been raising the seedlings for his winter vegetables in the green house (which was already here) and over the last few weeks he has been planting them out in among the craziness of shearing.

Once again I think he has over estimated our vegetable needs, but it will be exciting to harvest them all. So here is what our winter vegetable garden looks like.

We have a few rows of beetroot. I love it roasted.

Here is our first (tiny) broccoli. The girls are broccoli fans, so we will enjoy this (though there is only 2 bites in this one).

Country Boy has grown garlic for several years now. It is really hard to find Australian grown garlic in shops. Country Boy and I both prefer to avoid buying foreign grown fruit and vegetables (think of all the food miles!!) so garlic is a necessity in the garden.

The silver beet, carrots, and spinach.

Here are our cauliflowers.

Our onions are also growing well.

We also have pak choy, brussel sprouts (I like these with cheese sauce, and bacon), broad beans,  as well as parsley and chives. We are definitely going to be busy when harvest gets going again.

I took this photo on the weekend. All the oak trees in our tree line have turned golden brown this week. The sunlight looked so beautiful, don't you think?

It's A (Food) Revolution!

Today is Food Revolution Day. Jamie Oliver's day to promote quality food production, consumption, and education.

I don't need to be convinced about the benefits of knowing how your food has been made. I am fortunate to be able to cook the vast majority of our food from scratch, using food we have grown ourselves. The benefits are huge both in terms of our nutrition, and our budget. I know that we are soooo lucky to have the time, space and skills to produce and cook so much of our own food, but you don't need to be living on a farm, or growing your own vegetables.

I strongly believe in teaching my kids how to cook food. We have had our kids help us cook from an early age. Hannah, who is seven, was given a cook book for Christmas last year, and is beginning to cook simple meals by herself (here is her recipe for French Toast).

Here's Meg (aged 2) 'helping' roll out pastry

As a Food Technology and Hospitality teacher, I get to see the pride that students feel when they develop a skill. I love that learning food preparation skills is something that will help them for the rest of their lives. Kids who have food preparation skills and knowledge are less likely to be overweight, and more likely to make healthy choices for themselves, and their own families when they grow up.

Hannah (aged 4) making some tasty treats

Food Revolution Day is about making small changes gradually. If you don't cook from scratch very often, why not try something basic today - and get your kids involved. If your not sure how to start, here is an article I wrote for TinaGray{dot}Me about how you can start.

Why not cook yourself  a yummy dinner, or go to one of the hundreds of community events being held to promote good eating and good  health. Today is the day to start your own Food Revolution.

p.s. you can get links to all recipes I have posted by clicking on the recipes button at the top of this page!