Reaping What We're Sowing

Last night I attended a lovely Autumn Circle with some beautiful women.  We talked about what autumn means and how it is traditionally the time of most abundance and the period of harvesting, pickling, bottling and feasting.  Nom nom.

Yes, that is a love heart in the watermelon.  I was thrilled to see it when I cut out a big chunk for the children because watermelon does bring out the warm fuzzies in most of us, doesn't it?

We've been doing our part over here in our corner of the world.  In an effort to bring down the extravagant costs of our eating choices, we've been making a lot of our own goods that previously have been purchased with packaging, car trips and no more passion than a flourescent light can elicit (god how I loathe shopping centres and those lights!).

The bread making has been Jimbo's little corner of the kitchen.  I bought him this book for Christmas and he has taken to it with gusto in the last couple of weeks.  That loaf just above is a wholemeal loaf and was so freaking delicious - even with half the honey called for in the recipe it was still sweet.  I had to snap that photo quick smart because the whole loaf was gone within a few hours of it being cut.  I think Ted may have licked the container clean if given the opportunity.

During the big rain of last week Ted and I invited Zoe and Arki up to share the indoors experience.  Knowing there was a big bowl of dough int eh fridge but having no idea on what to do with it, I followed the instructions in the book very loosely and ended up baking a delicious loaf of bread.  Apparently the longer you leave it and the more you mix in the remnants with the new dough, the closer you move towards sourdough.   This loaf did taste like it was moving towards the sourdough end of the spectrum and what a shame, Zoe left before it was ready and our little household had to battle through eating it on our own.




  Now I realise this photo may not elicit the same sigh of love and satisfaction that it does for me, but ohmygoodnessyumyumyum. Harriet made these pickled onions about a month ago now.  We ate the other jar right smack bang on the day they were 'ripe' to eat, but these have been a couple of weeks longer.  The extra pickling time has treated them well and they are seriously delicious.  Pickled onion lovers may not be the most loved members of our society but we are a group that live in flagrant disregard for the opinions of others...obviously.






I've been dabbling in the making/growing of water kefir.  Invited into this little world by my lovely friend Lou, we took the precious little globs of culture and fermented our first drink to perfection.  It was downed with gusto by Harriet and myself, whilst the other two chose not to engage in the fermenting revolution that's sweeping...well...not quite the world but definitely our group of friends.  I made a second stage flavouring with dried mango chunks which tasted yum-yummy-yum-yum.










And in the world of reaping what you sow, let's all take the time to consider the perilous world of the self-created fairy.  It's a hazardous journey, filled with potential pitfalls of flowing trains getting caught underfoot, accoutrement taking up precious hand availability and having to respond to the constant refrain of "wow, what amazing shoes". 

Yes, they are small heels.  I bought them at an op shop and every child who can fit into them has been besotted with them.  No, I don't want to know who is making these child-sized shoes because the answer will scare me and quite frankly, the world scares me enough as it is.

Hope you're enjoying your autumn harvest.