Wednesday 23 October 2013

lemon cookies



the hair on my forearms bristles as the skin puckers itself into little goose bumps.
i huddle my woolen cardigan closer and step out into the damp to get another armful of firewood, checking for puddles to jump along the way.
i look nervously at the quickly dwindling wood pile and make promises to gather more pine cones once the weather clears again.
i hope this is the last cold snap.
knocking each piece of wood to loosen and bugs or chips - an attempt to vacuum less - i pile one arm dangerously high, then add one more log to the top, using my other hand to balance the load somewhat before careening back towards the house and the warmth.
we have had a rather mild winter, i am told, and though i hoped and prayed and dreamed for a snow storm to settle on the ground, all that happened was a twice scattering of beautiful flakes, with neither occasion staying long enough to fulfill my dreams.
you let me down canterbury winter (though all the farmers and lambs are thrilled i am sure) lets get it on next year and roll on with the end of spring with a little more warmth.




now for the cookies

these are bo's favourite and though i will always be a ginger or chocolate chip and a glass of milk kind of girl, all my friends down here prefer these ones.
i came across the recipe on pintrest and you can find the link here and lauren brennan from hood river, oregon is the creator.
they are a delicious drop and go rather well with some earl grey, and, if you are anything like me, one is never enough.



LEMON COOKIES

1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg
1 tsp lemon zest
1 Tblsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup icing sugar

first, pre heat your oven to 180 'C and get your baking trays buttered

now, add butter, sugar and vanilla to the mixed and cream well.

next add in your egg, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. mix well again

now sift in the baking powder, baking soda and flour,
at this stage i usually mix bu hand until the flour is somewhat incorporated them use the mixer to finish the job off. this stops the flour becoming air-born and flying out of the mixing bowl and all over the bench, also ensuring you have the correct amount of flour in your cookies.

using a dessert spoon, form into even sized balls and roll in the icing sugar. place on your pre-greased trays and bake for 9-12 minutes until just coloured.... well really, just before they colour is best, but on your first go, a little tan on the edges will be just fine and dandy.

leave to cool for a few minutes on the tray then move to a cooling rack and try not to gobble them all up at once.



thanks for reading

xx







Tuesday 1 October 2013

for the pruning OCTOBER

hi all,
september has run away and we are now into october already. e-gads! time flies!
so, the wee gardeneing speel is a few days late, but better late than never (christine if you read this tonight run out to the garden and chuck some root vege in. quick hurry!) the past two days where the perfect time to plant root crops according to the moon cycle calendar. the next lot can go in later this month on the 22nd and 23rd, so dont fret too much if you missed out this time around.
today i planted more carrots, beetroot and my seed potato that i had been sprouting not all that successfully for the past two months. much to my dismay freya and bo found them sitting on the window sill and thought it was a rather nice activity to snap the young shoots off the main potatoes. so, i am not too optimistic as to how my crop will fare. fingers crossed though. nothing like new potatoes fresh from the garden, boiled in minted water and served with butter, chopped mint and a sprinkle of salt! to get a good go for your potatoes, dig a 30cm deep hole and pop said sprouted potato in, cover with about 10 cm dirt. once the shoots come up out of the dirt, add another 10 cm, and keep piling it up. i will go until it is about 20 cm above the start level and hope for bountiful crops of tender treats to feast on. handy hint from nz gardener - they like a little seaweed, so make yourself the nice seaweed concoction from below and add it to the mix come liquid feeding time.
i also put in some purple potato a few months back. i hear this variety tries to turn the others, so if you are planting them be sure to keep them WELL away from your other crops. i have mine in a big pot about fifteen meters distance away in the flower garden, so hopefully this is far enough. i do love the colour of purple potatoes but find the flavour is not as grand so a few in a roast salad brings a bit of party colour while the other veges pack the taste punch quota.

from the 3rd onward leave off the sowing and start preparing your soil. dig in manure, compost and any other goodies that you may have waiting to get into your dirt to give your plants a good heaping of nutrients.i have added nitra-phoska blue to give a little extra pep but if you are going strictly organic leave it off.

from october 8th it gets busy, plant leafy vege such as silver beet and spinach, lettuce (i have about 4 different varieties that i will be planting out once a month from now on to insure a constant supply of fresh green over summer) then from the tenth pop in any fruiting vege that you desire. i will be going mad on peas this year as i love nothing better than snacking in the garden, especially on peas. and strawberries. and raspberries. well.... pretty much anything, but last year my ma had a rather impressive amount of peas in her garden and i was outside every 30 minutes scoffing another hand full while we were there over christmas leave. peas. the. best. ever.
so, i am planting peas of a few varieties, sweetcorn, beans of  different varieties, pottin up my 4 different varieties of heritage tomato seed in a nice snug place so that any lingering frost wont nail them and leave me in tears and having a general hunt around for any other vege that my heart fancies to plonk in the dirt.
stop your mad sowing on the 14th.

15th - 17th is time to liquid feed everything. worm farms are amazing, so is seaweed tea. just collect a bunch form a beach near you, rinse the salty water off and shove it in a covered container to permeate. this year is my first time trying this but i am expecting big things from that stinky bin!

as stated before, get more root crops in on the 22nd and 23rd.

grab a hoe and stop those pesky weeds from the 24th til the 27th, then kick back and relax for a while.

sorry - no pictures.
i am camera-less for a wee while. sob.

happy gardening all.

xx