Day 3 of 365 is again such a satisfying day. After 2 welcome days of cloudy cool respite, it is nice to see the sun again. But more importantly, considering we are truly off grid, rather an anxious time to recharge the solar power batteries.
Thanks Clinton from https://ellies.co.za/, your technical advice perfectly balanced the need for power, with the cost of additional batteries.
Gratitude number 3: (1 being the beautiful morning; and 2 being we still have power): My sourdough is catching fire!
This sourdough is eager!
I may not even need to wait 2 weeks to start using “it”. And there we arrive at the first point where I ask for your friendly suggestions. I recently joined a sourdough social media group, and I hear you are meant to give your starter a name… any ideas?
So far, all fun and games, but lest we forget that the farm must pay for itself, I spent some time in the office, creating our very own QR code business cards. Going paperless for the networking required.
Gratitude number 4 – QR codes left, right and centre. Although irrelevant seeing as you are already on my blog, but here is one you can forward to your friends and contacts to direct them here too.
And that, as they say in the movies, is a wrap. Till tomorrow.
Not much to report on this second day of my sustainable living adventure. It was more about establishing a home office for those Teams meetings. Luckily the connectivity held out for the afternoon meeting.
But, my timesheet cannot go one day without producing some output, so celery salt is in the making. See you again tomorrow.
I cannot pretend that today is a completely new start to a new life. We have been chipping away at this dream for five years already. I can pretend it has been a tough weekend farmer existence, but that would be a lie. It has been a cherished existence, sacrificing a few creature comforts and big city lights entertainment, for the sake of living off the land.
Today being 1 May 2023, you can work out that the start of this journey pre-dates COVID. It has been in the works for long. COVID simply advanced our game plan, leading to my new full time living off the land occupation.
I know, not a particularly sexy heading, but one that needs to tell the reader this is going to be an observable fact based scientific minded post. One that is important for any self-respecting #livingofftheland #sustainableliving #endoftheworld survivalist.
Let me first create the context: Chickens lay eggs. No new science behind that statement. A less known fact is that chickens are seasonal. I have found autumn to be the time in the year where the speed of egg production drastically reduces from the usual 36 eggs a week, to a mere 18 if you are lucky, sometimes even less than 10 eggs.
For baking, this is not too drastic, there are egg replacement baking products, or you can even substitute egg with a tin of mashed butter or broad beans. That does tend to make rusks a bit stolid. (Stolid is defined as impassive, emotionless, and indifferent. Which is not completely incorrect description for such rusk experiments).
For frying eggs, that is not going to work.
[enter left stage] Behold, water glassed eggs.
A dearly learned lesson, which has an apt idiom “make hay while the sun shines”. In times where egg production is at a high, preserve for the low season. Same goes for all manner of farm produce.
The recipe is not complicated at all. My experiment notebook goes into the finer detail.
So preserving is one thing, and leaving a jar of water glassed eggs in a dark cool place is all good and well, the real proof in the pudding is subsequent application.
[enter stage right] My able-bodied camera assistant (thank you Samuel) can verify that there is simply no indication that the egg is not fresh. No smell, no discoloration. The white is simply a little more runny than usual, and this was 9 months after preservation.
Videographic experiment evidence
The daughter of my able-bodied assistant can verify that a 9-month water glassed fried egg is perfectly good.
Lastly, baked goods. That is probably the best lifesaving reason to preserve eggs. As was the case with me this weekend, for how would you make hot cross buns during easter, which is in autumn, where it would be wrong to assume you have eggs in the hen house. And now I shall step on to the next experiment – [evil scientist laugh reverberating in 3D, aka Pinkie and the Brain Pinky and the Brain (1995) (imdb.com)] ……….. cryogenic application of water glassing.
What shall we tonight Brain? The same we do every night Pinky …. TRY AND TAKE OVER THE WORLD!
Preparing a write up for the produce I am going to dispatch for sale at Saturday’s Finkenstein Bush Market, is a good place to start taking this venture to the next level.
I alluded to the inevitable food inspired postings at the start of my blog -> Sugar & Spice
You may be able to tell from the origin of my blog, that the year 2020 was a game changer for me, and for many. The COVID lockdown certainly distilled in me a sense of self sufficiency, food security and resetting or priorities. Since then, I’ve been tinkering with various ways and means to become self-sufficient, while I slowly extricate myself from the security of a monthly paycheck.
Here it is, the first tangible product range, for sale on a (slightly) larger scale.
As promised on my product labels, I will extol the virtues and recipes of the DBP bounty on my blog.
DBP – Look out for the logo
Firstly, the brand “DBP”. No major mystery here, it is how we fondly refer to our farm, which is more formally known as DoornBoomPan.
Now for the juicy nuts and bolts that make up the emergence of the brand.
Health benefits.
“They say” , is a phrase I bandy about my dad often, to tease him on the basis of my “extensive scientific research”, which it is not. I do belief in living off the land, and organically produced fresh produce must be better than mass genetically modified foodstuff . But I choose to accept what the internet tells me about cancer-beating properties, anti-ageing benefits and so on.
So please do understand that the stated health benefits are not based on my lab-tested analysis. It is seemingly generally accepted benefits that our society has produced.
The garden of origin
Dried parsley
Of course also available fresh, but quite simply, packaged as a dried herb for the busy city dweller, that all too often find a mysterious bunch of green withered mystery herb in that obscure herb drawer in the fridge. You bought a bunch of parsley for that Minestrone recipe you wanted to try, only to find you actually only needed a sprig or two for flavoring.
Make no mistake, fresh herbs are simply the best to use in cooking (and baking – but more on that later). But we do what we must to not waste fresh produce.
I purposefully keep the leaves as whole as possible, so that you may enjoy maximum aroma when you rub it between your fingers to release it over the food. Just clean your fingers first please.
Health benefits of parsley: “They say” it “may be useful” in beating back cancer, wrinkles and bloating. Stronger bones and bad breath.
Uses in cooking: Sprinkle over some freshly grilled vegetables and meats, just before taking off the grill.
Any dried herb can be used to brew a cuppa tea. I like adding the flavors I like, as and when I feel the need for a different taste combination. Parsley and Fennel seeds being just one example of a bespoke tea that you are not going to find in the shops.
Fennel seeds
Fresh fennel is a great aromatic herb, but I have not yet found the right way to preserve the aroma in a dried state. So the seeds are the best way to preserve that zing and makes for great tasting bread (especially rye bread) whether you mix in in during second proving of the dough, or sprinkle it over the top before popping into the oven.
The only way I can tell the difference between fennel and cumin, is by popping a few seeds into my mouth. Fennel has an almost liquorice flavor, cumin not, but I do enjoy both.
Health benefits of fennel seeds: Fennel seeds are used in many ways: mouth freshener, condiment in foods, alternative medicines and so on. Its leaves and twigs are boiled to cure many ailments etc. Fennel is a medicinal herb rich in Vitamin A, B6, B12, C, D, magnesium, Iron, calcium, sodium, carbohydrates, dietary fibers and potassium.
Uses in cooking: Sprinkle over before baking your loaf in the oven, Mediterranean cuisine, pickling spice and so on.
Garden guard
Piquant Peppers (aka Peppadews)
Most of us probably first got to learn about peppadews by the piquant pickled version you buy in the shops, and then fill with feta cheese as a platter filler. In fact, I understand that the brand name PEPPADEW is reserved for use by that very company that brought it into our daily lives.
I was a bit slow to harvest this year, so have not pickled enough to sell, but they can be enjoyed in various other ways (in addition to the recipe ideas on the trademarked blog linked above) as listed below.
Health benefits of Peppadews: All round healthy with fantastic amounts of vitamin C, beta-carotene (good news for those who don’t like carrots but need the beta-carotene) and dietary fiber.
Peppadews dried
I had to pack these because they look so pretty. I can imagine this being a center piece in a pretty glass bottle, perhaps with a candle and a single green leaf of some kind.
Dried, this herb is less spicy than fresh, but it packs a good amount of heat. There is no way to describe it accurately, because what I consider spicy food, my husband would not be able to tolerate, and what he describes as hot I would say is nice, not particularly spicy. So I’m afraid you are going to have to wing it when using it in cooking.
Either add it in quite early in the cooking process (stews and such), or first reconstitute by soaking in just boiled water before adding it to the food.
Peppadew powder
Same as above, you must determine your own degree of hotness. I find sprinkling it over my plated meal adds just the right amount of Zing, and the Husband sprinkles less, according to his taste badsbuds.
If you add it to your pot (which is toiling on top of the stove or a potjie over the coals), the heat dissipates somewhat, so you can afford to be more generous with the amount you add.
Hot sauce
Hot sauce ingredients
Here I saved you the trouble of prepping hot sauce. The peppers were first fried together with Onion, garlic and ginger, and then cooked with a good amount of apple cider vinegar (which has its own long list of health benefits) before being blitzed.
Small helpings on the side please – it is quite hot.
Wild rocket
Fresh this is an amazing peppery leaf. Similar to traditional rocket, but with less leaf surface.
Dried you can add half a teaspoon to your vinaigrette, or generous helpings to your spaghetti bolognaise sauce. Anywhere you would use Italian or mixed herbs.
Coriander seeds
I am convinced coriander must be family of avocado. Why you ask? Because you have exactly 20 min to enjoy avocado at its best, then it becomes overripe.
Fresh coriander similarly does not last long as a growing herb, but if you leave it to go to seed, it literally does that, produces the berries which become dried seeds. Makes the garden look untidy, but so worth it to add freshly ground coriander to salads, cooked meals, meat dishes especially, and of course, for making biltong pickling.
Moringa
The Moringa, back when it was still a baby
You are not going to eat moringa for the taste. But you will devour it for the health benefits.
Johannes never came to ask for headache tablets, as he would chew on the seeds for headaches, diabetes and many more medicinal benefits.
Edema treatment, liver protection, stomach, bacterial diseases, moods, heart (physical and metaphysical), wounds, and the list goes on.
I enjoy the crispy leaves sprinkled over my muesli in the mornings, or work it into your daily smoothie.
The last of the herbs for the season, is for Chamomile tea (or for craft beer I have heard).
It’s truly a soothing herbal remedy that I take before bed time for a good night’s sleep.
“They say” it promotes digestive health, and is good protection against cancer.
Tomatoes everywhere
Tomato pasta sauce
When you are stuck with an overload of ripe tomatoes, you make jam, and when you’ve made enough jam, you make pasta sauce.
Toumaitoe or Tomahto
Ideal for a quick meal after a busy day. Once you’ve cooked and drained your pasta, you simply mix in the sauce which should reheat with the pastas residual heat.
If you were truly busy during the day, you grab a pack of bacon, chop it up (even in its frozen state) fry it up, add the sauce to heat through, and then stir through the cooked pasta. Add some depipped olives if you wish, and voila, la vita e bella.
The ingredients are tomato, some peppadew powder, olive oil (from the zero waste store Zero-Waste (zerowastestore.com.na)), salt and pepper.
Tomato jam
The Husband and The Father
I know, it’s a bit weird. A savory fruit (yes, it’s a fruit, the scientists say so) that is presented sweetly. But The Husband and The Father ganged up on me, so I had to produce this incongruity.
A cleaner jam than this you cannot get.
The tomatoes were skinned, then cooked with sugar and ginger. That’s it. Enjoy a generous helping on a fresh, thick slice bread and butter, or a dietary inspired thin scraping on toast.
Writing these kitchen thoughts made me famished, but the time spent writing these thoughts neatly brought me to tea time. Let me end with Stefan Edmuns’ wise words:
, is a phrase I bandy about my dad often, to tease him on the basis of my “extensive scientific research”, which it is not. I do belief in living off the land, and organically produced fresh produce must be better than mass genetically modified foodstuff . But I choose to accept what the internet tells me about cancer-beating properties, anti-ageing benefits and so on.
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