My first Aid kit.....

4 things I wouldn't be without and always use.

1. PRAYER !!!!

2. Floradix

Floradix is an Iron tonic made from fruit. I used to give it to my children and my husband  after an illness or id they were just worn out or run down. If taken morning and night as recommended, I always found my energy and vitality was restored within less than a week.

Active Ingredients:


EACH 10ML=1/2 MEASURING CAPFUL CONTAINS: 5.95g Aqueous extract from: carrots, nettles, spinach, quitch roots, angelica roots, fennel, ocean kelp, african mallow blossom, orange peel.3.24g Fruit Concentrate of: pears, red grapes, blackcurrants, oranges, blackberries, cherries, beetroots.1.17g Aqueous extract of: iron fed yeast with absorbable iron 7.5mg and added thiamine (vit B1) 1.0mg, Riboflavin 0.9mg, Vit B6 0.5mg, Vit B12 0.6mcg, Vit C 10.0mg.

Floradix provides nutritional iron and is a biological food supplement which provides organic iron, extracts of carefully selected herbs, delicious fruits, vitamins, specially cultured yeast and ocean kelp. In addition, it contains extracts of wheat germ and rose hips. Iron is an essential dietary factor. Floradix has absorbable iron in the form of a yeast extract dietary supplement. In addition, Floradix contains vitamin B2, B6, B12, and folic acid in an easily absorbable and favourably balanced proprtion. It is especially suitable for women (including expectant and nursing mothers), men, growing children and people whose diet is lacking in natural iron and vitamins
 
3. Tea Tree Oil
 

 
- Tea Tree oil is one of the best things everyone should have in their homes. Its the first defence against allsorts of insect bites (especially mosquito - which can easily become infected), cuts from rose thorns etc.  I'ts also great for pimples/acne and helped my teenage son immensley.

Its a natural antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-infection oil. It is effective against many types of infestations and is not just soothing and disinfecting, it is capable of penetrating into the lower skin layers with its anti-inflammatory, disinfectant, analgesic (pain killing) and cicatrizant (wound-healing) qualities. It helps the skin to heal by encouraging the formation of scar tissue.

and finally...

4.Weleda Hypercal Ointment

All weleda products are excellent, but I find this ointment to be exceptional. I've used their Arnica ointment for bruises and sprains etc and also Combodorum gel for colds (rub on chest).
Hypercal ointment is a traditional, herbal product to help soothe and heal painful cuts, superficial wounds and abrasions, an essential part of any first aid kit.


Active herbs in the ointment:
Hypericum (St. John’s Wort) - natural pain relief, antiseptic and anti-viral qualities
Calendula (Marigold) - wound healing, tissue regeneration and antiseptic qualities
The soothing Lavender essential oil gives the cream a pleasant fragrance 
 
I dress cuts by cleaning first, then a light wipe of t-tree oil, followed by some hypercal ointment on a bandaid.
On a graze I would just use hypercal ointment.
 
I hope you'll try some of the things from my first aid kit :0)

Homesteading

I've always had a fascination with people, who upstakes and move to the wilderness, to live a more natural, simpler life in harmony with the environment. I suppose I'm a bit of an idealist. Years ago I lived in a small cottage in the native bush in a small town (poulation about 15) in Little Huia, in the Waitakere Ranges NZ). We libed their for about 6 years while the children were younger. There were only a handful of other houses and most of them were holiday homes, tucked away in the bush.

I also believe its healthy for all people to live close to nature, and if the closest one can come to that, is by having a garden, then that's better than nothing.  The closer we are to animals and plants, the more we realise we need each other, and that we're all part of an eco system. In cities many people are completely ignorant to the need to be conscious of what we consume, and what we throw away. Our rubbish is ending up in land fills, polluting waterways and leaving a legacy of neglect and bad stewardship for future generations.

I admire people who can turn their back on the rat race, on consumerism and materialism and craft a living and lifestyle for themselves through innovative means, but the older I get, I no longer have a desire to live so far from others. My small town (population 1500 people, is quite small enough). Our property is fairly large and private, and there's plenty of room for flower and vegetable gardens along with fruit trees. Also as a Christian I believe we're created for relationship and community and not meant to live isolated from others. We may need quiet and solitude at times, but I think its healthier, if its only for a season. Some live in these areas like the video below by choice, are able to raise a healthy, balanced family and are make a living by protecting the wildlife. These people are probably exceptions and also could no doubt teach all of us many lessons about living of the land, medicinal plants, survival and being content with few possessions etc.

One of the best books I have read in many years was titled 'The Holy Road' by Michael Blake (the author of Dances with Wolves'). The second book continues with the story from the first, but also a lot of it is devoted to the impact the first railway line across America had on the country and more specifically on the Native American people.

Here's some other interesting 'homesteader' links:

http://www.homestead.org/ElinorePStewart/LettersofaWomanHomesteaderIII.htm

http://www.homestead.org/

http://www.waldeneffect.org/links/

http://www.countryfarm-lifestyles.com/  (this site is excellent)

 I thought I'd share this video I found. It's about a couple who truly live in the wilderness, near the artic circle in Alaska..quite extreme, but interesting !!, if you like this sort of thing :0)


Homesteading in Alaska- Enjoy

Juicy Adventures (Meet Miss Pomegranate)

I purchased my first ever Pomegranate just before Christmas, then got busy with all the festivities and it sat in the fridge, getting some brown spots on the skin and wondering if I was ever going to do anything with it...So finally yesterday, I sliced it in half, actually thinking it would be rotten, but no !!! it was majestic..glistening, jewel like little rubys inside !! I was excited..so I whacked out a couple of seeds and crunched on them..the juice spurted out, I wasn't expecting that, had no idea what to expect really. So I held one of the halves cupped in my hand and squeezed it hard over the bowl..and masses of juice came out !!

.....enough for 3/4's of a glass of juice in fact. I tentativeley touched it to my lips.....    half expecting it to taste like raspberry, because of the deep red colour...but no..it was sweet, slightly astringent..a tad tart as well..and all in all, its own unusual lovely self..mmm
I loved everything about it, and was excited to think of ways to use the lovely red seeds in all sorts of decorative ways in future, dessert..salads..and who knows what else...
When refrigerated in a plastic bag, pomegranates will keep for up to 2 months

Heres'a  little history on the Pomegranate for other foodies like me. It actually has quite a spiritual history

Miss Pomegranates History

In the Greek myth of Persephone, the pomegranate is called the fruit of the underworld, yet in the Muslim Qu'uran it is called the fruit of paradise.

The inner beauty of the pomegranate has inspired design since Biblical times, and there are some who believe it may be the fruit on the tree of life.
As befits a fruit with many seeds, the pomegranate is the traditional representation of fertility, and seems to have its origins everywhere. We see it in the Middle East and India. The pomegranate was cultivated in Egypt before the time of Moses.
The pomegranate is significant in Jewish custom. Tradition holds that a pomegranate has 613 seeds to represent the 613 commandments in the Torah. The design of the pomegranate was woven into the high priest's robes, and brass representations were part of the Temple's pillars. It is mentioned six times in the Song of Solomon.We see the pomegranate again in ancient Greece and Rome. In the verses of the Odyssey, Homer mentions it as part of the gardens of Alcinous (probably in Sicily). The Romans imported their pomegranates from African Libya, and Pliny the Elder gave instructions for its storage. Lest the pomegranate be neglected in the East, it appears in China during the Han and Sung dynasties.The derivation of the word pomegranate comes from the Middle French pome garnete (seeded apple), but Europeans were slow to adopt the pomegranate.

Health Benefits of Pomegranate

The pomegranate has been used in folk medicine for centuries in the Middle East, India, and Iran. The health giving properties of the pomegranate are celebrated in a Jewish fairy tale, and it takes its place in Indian Ayurvedic medicine. The pomegranate provides a substantial amount of potassium, is high in fiber, and contains vitamin C and niacin.
Preliminary studies indicate that the juice may possess almost three times the total antioxidant ability of green tea or red wine.

Biblical References to Pomegranate - Is This the Tree of Life?


Some scholars believe that the apple was used by early artists to depict the scene of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden because it was easy to draw, but some feel that the pomegranate is the true fruit of the tree of life. Consider these Biblical quotations:

Haggai 2:19 Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree, it has not borne {fruit.} Yet from this day on I will bless {you.}

Song of Solomon 4 :13 Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, henna with nard plants. . .

Song of Solomon 8 :2 I would lead you {and} bring you Into the house of my mother, who used to instruct me; I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranates.

Deuteronomy 8:8 A land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; . . .

Numbers 20:5 Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.

1 Samuel 14:2 Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron. And the people who {were} with him {were} about six hundred men.

Exodus 39:24 They made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet {material and} twisted {linen} on the hem of the robe. They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around on the hem of the robe, alternating a bell and a pomegranate all around on the hem of the robe for the service, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Numbers 13 :23 Then they came to the valley of Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two {men,} with some of the pomegranates and the figs

The last word on pomegranates belongs, as did the first, to William Shakespeare:


Wilt thou be gone? it is not yet near day.
It was the nightingale, and not the lark,
That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear.
Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate-tree.
Believe me, love, it was the nightingale.

(Romeo and Juliet, III, 5)

Most of my info was aquired via http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/FOOD_IS_ART_II/food_history_and_facts/pomegranate_article.html

Spicey Mustard Pickes

Because of a special request, I am posting this recipe (Miss Tessa) :0) Hope you make it now or in your summer :0))

Ingredients:

1 Cauliflower, break into florets and chop small
5 onions, I chop them up in my food processor
1 Red pepper - Capsicum - chop small
1 Yellow pepper - Capsicum - chop small
500g/1 lb green beans (fresh pick from your garden :0) - slice fine

Put all in a large china bowl. Add 2 large Tablespoons of cooking salt/sea salt. Stir through well. Cover and leave overnight.
Next morning, rinse the brine off  thoroughly..I taste a little bit of bean every now and then, and when the saltiness is ok, I know its done.

Then place all in a big pan, and add:

4 Tablespoons of seed/grainy mustard
4 teaspoons dry mustard powder
5 teaspoons curry powder (med. heat)
2 teaspoons tumeric powder
4 cups of white vinegar
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 Cup water

Bring all to a boil and cook for 15 minutes on a med. boil (until veges softened a little).

to thicken: 1/4 Cup white vinegar/2 Tablespoons plain flour - Mix to a fairly thin paste and when the mixture is cooked, add and cook 5 min more till thickened.

Boil all lids and seals and heat steralised jars in oven.
Fill hot jars with hot pickle and seal immediately. They are sealed when the top sucks down. Yum !! - enjoy with crackers or bread and cheese..mmmm :0))

* I also made Corgette Relish, will post that one later too :0)

Home Ground & Home Made Bread

I unpacked my old grain grinder the other day. Its been stored away in my shed for years. I used to grind wheat for a while when my children were small, as the enzymes were supposed to be still acitve in the flour and make the flour more nutritious. It's also a good arm workout :0) Although in hindsite I wish I hadn't been impatient & waited to get an electric one, which cost more. For now I don't mind hand cranking it..its a bit of a novelty.

So the other day, hubby and I ground some and made this bread. I store the flour in the fridge to keep it fresh longer. Here's a recipe for 2 easy fabulous loaves of bread... similar in texture to Vogles. If you havn't tried Vogels by the way, then you havn't lived..(its true)..especially toasted and then spread with crunchy peanut butter...mmmm - YUM

Easy/Fast - Busy Peoples Bread (Annabel Langbein) by Linda's Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 Cups boiling water
4 teaspoons honey
2 Cups cold water
5 teaspoons dry yeast granules
2 3/4 Cups high grade white flour
2 3/4 cups wholemeal flour - I used stoneground (a mix of Spelt & regular wheat)
3 teaspoons salt
2 cups Sunflower seeds
2 teaspoons linseeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
4 Tablespoons Pumpkin seeds

Method:
In a large mixing bowl place the honey and add the boiling water. Stir to dissolve. Add the cold water. Stir, sprinkle the yeast over twhen the temp of the water is warm (not lukewarm) and leave to froth - about 10 minutes. I cover it with gladwrap and a wrap the bowl in a handtowel.

Then add flour, salt, sunflower seeds, linseed and the sesame seeds.
The mixture will be a loose wet batter.
Divide the mixture between 2 prepared (I spray with non-stick baking spray) loaf/bread tins. Sprinkle the loaves with the pumpkin seeds and slash 4 cuts in the top of the batter of each loaf, sothe loaves will rise evenly, without splitting.

Bake for 20 minutes at 80 degrees celcius, then crank the oven up to 210 degrees celcius and bake for a further 30-40 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool on a wire rack. The bread is cooked when the base is tapped and it sounds hollow.


This bread stays fresh about 3-4 days and is lovely toasted. :0) enjoy
 

I also took this pic of some of my garden veges,

 its just soo exciting to go out to the garden, select whatever is fresh and ready and make a pie out of it. I made a lovely quiche and added some bacon :0)

Tan Fingers Slice & Amish Cookies

Tan Finger Slice

This slice is quick and inexspensive to make. Its a longtime favourite of mine and has a a lovely buttery, almost shortbread texture on the base. The filling is like caramel..mmmm, need I say more :0)
Base:
175 grams butter (softened)
2 1/4 Cups plain flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 Cup sugar

Cream butter, sugar and vailla until light and fluffy. Add flour and mix well, until all is crumbly.

Filling:
1/2 Can of condensed milk
1 1.2 Tablespoons of golden syrup
50 grams butter

In a saucepan over a low heat melt the filling ingredients and stir until combines. Set aside.

Line a square pan with baking paper. Press 3/4 of the base into the pan. Pour over the filling and spread out evenly. Crumble the remaining base mixture evenly over the top.
Bake at 170 Celcius for 20 minutes in the middle of the oven. Cool and slice when cold.

Gemma's sticky Gingerbread

One night just before falling asleep, I had such a strong desire for gingerbreand !!!to the point that I had to get out of bed and hunt out an old recipe. I havn't made this for years...but remembered it was lovely and light, moist and a little sticky. The day before I baked it, I had spent an afternoon visiting some friends, and my young friend 'Gemma' (5yrs) was busying herself in her sandpit, making me all sorts of creations..such as chicken, banana and chocloate cupcakes lol..her desciption (really sand of course with a flower on top). I dutifully pretended to eat them all..but the joy she had in her creations and mixing sand and water made me smile and reminded me of my own fun making mud pies as a child..(the beginnings of my foodyism I think). When I was mixing this large bowl of gingerbread batter..in all its gloopiness, I decided to rename it Gemmas gingerbread.. : 0)

I like to serve it buttered. It could have a simple glace icing I suppose, but simple and rustic suits me.

* ENJOY *

(Makes 2 cakes 250g butter - melted

1 Cup golden syrup (or 1/2 treacle/1/2 golden surup) - darker cake

1/2 Cup brown sugar

1 rounded Tablespoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons mixed spice

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 Cup rolled oats

4 Cups flour ( I used 2 Cups wholemeal/2 plain)

4 eggs - large

2 Cups of warm milk

Method

1. Line 2 pans with baking paper.

2. In a large bowl sift all the dry ingredients together. Add the oats and mix through.

3. Warm the syrup. Pour milk,syrup, butter and eggs into the dry ingredients.

4. Mix all with a strong whisk, until well combined.

5. The consistency should be like pancake batter. Pour into the prepared pans.

6. Bake at 170 Celcius for 25 minutes (in middle shelf), or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

7. Cool on racks. I think this gingerbread is better the next day. I wrap it in cling film, keep the baking paper on it and stor in an airtight container.

My Easy & Light Sushi

Makes 3 long rolls of sushi (about 16 slices all up)
I like to keep sushi making simple, but there are many fillings which can be used, such as omeltte egg roll, salmon, avocao, toasted sesame seeds etc..

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup short grain white rice
1 Cup water
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Bring the water to the boil, add salt and rice and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile..

Microwave 2 T white vinegar and 1 dessertspoon of sugar until dissolved.

Filling:
1 can of tuna in oil
Cucumber and radish - sliced into strips

Mehtod:
When the rice is cooked, add the vinegar mixture and stir through until its all absorbed.
Cool the rice mixture.
Place a nori sheet shiny-side-down on your rolling mat.  Cover with rice from side to side, but leave a 1-inch spacer on the top and bottom

Place your “fillers” (tuna, cucumber & radish) on the edge of the nori sheet closest to you. Make sure the fillers are in front of the rice.

Using you rolling mat, nudge the roll forward. Squeeze the roll tight to ensure the edge is sealed.

Remove your roll to a cutting board, and cut into 6-8 pieces.

Enjoy by dipping into soy sauce . I put a little wasabi (pea size) in the base of the dipping bowl and add the soy on top, mix with a spoon. I also serve some pickled ginger on the side. Enjoy

Hokey Pokey Biscuits

These biscuits were a childhood favoutite of mine. Nearly every weekend we would go to visit my nana and she baked all week to prepare for the onslaught of grandchildren. The table was always groaning under the weight of pikelets with jam and cream, a white & chocolate cream filled sponge, scones...biscuits and on and on. After everyone ate their fill, us children would go crazy and run all round the neighbourhood, coming back and hour or so later to refuel. In Nan's old pantry she had all thses biscuit tins stacked up (about 7) and she would say 'you can have one of each) !!! lol..we all would beam huge smiles and pile the biscuits up in our hands. These hokey pokey biscuits, well my nana's ones were huge, lovely and chewy. Whenever I bake them, a wave of nostalgia fills my mind and heart 'the sweet memory of my lovely Nana)..She was a true homemaker :0)
Ingredients


125g butter, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup (May be sold in the speciality foods section in USA supermarkets. Its not the same as corn or maple syrup - has quite a unique (golden) flaour)
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 cups plain flour

Method


Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Place golden syrup and milk into a heatproof microwave-safe jug. Microwave for 20 to 30 seconds on HIGH (100%) power or until hot. Stir in bicarbonate of soda (mixture will bubble up). Add warm milk mixture to butter mixture. Stir until well combined. Sift flour over batter. Mix well.

Roll 2 teaspoonfuls of mixture at a time into balls. Place onto prepared baking trays, allowing a little room for spreading. Gently press biscuits down with a floured fork.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden and firm to the touch. Stand on trays for 3 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

..... ~ NOVEMBER ~ ....

Hello.... I didn't think I was going to ever get this blog written because I've been so busy in the garden - tackling some major projects. and before I forget, I wanted to add this link to a wondeful New Zealand cooking show. Its set in the South Island of New Zealand (Central Otago), the area I grew up in and would spend holidays etc.   http://tvnz.co.nz/free-range-cook/recipes-group-3691722 Annabel is fabulous, a woman after my own heart and totally connected to the earth and her garden ..:0)

http://tvnz.co.nz/free-range-cook/s1-e11-video-3890127 a video of last nights show at the AMP show :0)

Check it out, you'll love it !
Here;s a cool NZ cookbook review site and talks about Annabels latest cookbooks. http://beattiesbookblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/free-range-cook-companion-cookbook-to.html

Other stuff: Already people are talking about Christmas, and on at least 2 seperate occasions people have asked me if my Christmas shopping is all done !!!!. I don't really start getting into preparations till at least December. There's not so much need now that the children have all grown. I'm looking forward to going to my daughter Katies for Christmas day. It'll be fun to plan and cook with her and get to see my little grandaughter Lily too.

Little Lily on the dairy farm, in the cow shed (4 1/2 months old). Isn't she the cutest :0) She certainly won't be hard to shop for !!!

Now as for the garden, I have quite a few invasive plants that if I don't keep on top of, could literally take over and spread throughout the whole property. I'm talking about Ivy, Blackberry, Convovulus..and another creeper kind of thing, which I suspect is Old Mans Beard. It winds itself around trees and attaches itself with what looks like hariry tentacles. They seem to be glued on like cement !!! :0(. Over time, it takes over the host tree, suffocating it, & is impossible to remove....and eventually the tree needs to be removed. We don't get snow here in Central Hawkes Bay, so these creepers have opportunity to flourish all year round. Hence I've been gradually (over 3 years) hacking, weeding and pruning my way around the property and now a once dark, over grown garden, is finally starting to see the light. Hallelujah !

The Making of Raised Beds:
Where it all began in the vegetable garden. Each of the treated timber boxes are 1.5 metre square. Weed matting was laid at the base of each box and around the sides. 

Black polythene plastic was stapled gunned inside to prevent any chemicals from the treated timber leaching into the organic compost, and also to preserve the wood longer. 

The raised bed vegetable garden and my amazing 3 wheeler wheelbarrow over yonder ..makes moving plants and weeds around a whole lot easier. I've planted beans, carrots, silverbeet (chard), various lettuces, some baby leeks, spring onions, celery and radishes. Over by the shed are some tomato plants (heirloom seed varieties and a black cherry tomato plant and some zucchini seeds have just sprouted in my propogator. At the garden centre, zucchini plants were $5.00 per plant, & their was no way I was paying that, when a whole pkt of seeds only cost $3.50, so much more economical. So far 3 plants are underway !!! already (after only 10 days).

Little orange tree now..

Strawberry plants beginning to ripen. I covered them over with netting, because the birds already were enjoying them before I could pick one !!

Pretty Alstrameria flowering out in the front garden.

tall long stemmed red roses..just peek above my living room window :0)

 I've included a couple of recipes from some baking I've been doing latley...enjoy :0)

* MARSHMALLOW TREATS *

Ingredients

Pink & White marshmallows

1/2 Can Condensed milk

2 Cups biscuit crumbs

1 dessetspoon cocoa

1 teaspoon vailla essence

100 grams melted butter

dessicated coconut

1. Mix the melted butter, condensed milk and vanilla together with a wire whick, until all combined.

2. Add cocoa to crumbs and mix through, Pour buttery mixture in and mix well until it forms a dough

3. Take a large teaspoon of thie mixture and shape it round a marshmallow.

 Roll into a ball shape and then into the coocnut, until coated.

4. Chill the marshmallow treats in the refrigerator in a covered container..enjoy :0)

 .

* ~ 'SPRING'S LEMON BUTTER CAKE' ~ *

 A new summer dress and bottle of perfume, got  me in the summery mood....and lemon for some reason seems like a summer flavour. Maybe because of hmemade lemonade?.  Ayway the other day I had such a craving for this cake, that I went in search of the recipe. I used to make it  a long time ago when my children were small and as it makes a large cake,  I decided to halve itand it turned out great.  I hope someone will try it & let me know how it turns out.

Ingredients

100g butter - softened

2eggs

1 Lemon - freshly picked - or an organic unsprayed, unwaxed Lemon

1/2 Cup full cream milk

1 1/2 Cups Self Raising Flour

3/4 Cups White Sugar

Method

1. Wash the lemon and thinly peel the rind. Cut the rind into thin strips, remove the white pith from the lemon

    and discard. Segment the lemon and set aside.

2. Using a food processor (I use a small one, it works best with this quantity), place the sugar, and lemon

    rind in and pulse until finely chopped. Add the softened butter and and blend until the mixture is creamed.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, pulsing well, then add the lemon segments. Pulse untill chopped fine.  Add the

    milk, blend gently and then pour the mixture into a bowl. Gently fold in the flour - half a cup at a time.

7. Spoon the ,mixture into a smallish round cake tin. I line mine with aluminum foil and then spray with

    cooking spray...or use a non stick pan.

8. Bake at 170 C for about 40 minutes.

9. Cool on a rack and ice with desired icing. I used Betty Crockers Vanilla icing (because I love it), but a

   cream cheese lemon or vanilla icing would also be lovely.

~ * Home Made Bread * ~



Its a cold wet day here at the little homestead, and I decided to fill the house with the smell of baking bread..mmm. I found one of my first hand written cookbooks and my tried and true recipe for bread. I got this recipe from a bread making workshop I attended many moons ago, when I was a young wife. The workshop was led by an old dutch woman, and she made beautifull bread, using a 'sponge batter method '. It's got to be one of the easiest recipes I've ever used, and when my children were younger, I used to bake this bread twice a week, (3 loaves each time...phew :0)..glad I don't have to churn that much out anymore. I also went through a phase of grinding my own wheat by hand !!!!! crazy ? (yes). My impatience got the better of me, and instead of waiting and saving for the electric model, I got half way with the saving, and bought a hand cranked one. Note to self: patience pays of, impatience never does !! So now the hand grinder is yet another thing in the 'shed', in its box, sigh....So anyway thats a little story about my bread making history..I hope you'll try this recipe :0)

'Wholemeal Bread'

500g white flour

1 egg

1 Tablespoon of sugar

1 1/2 pints warm water (900ml)

3 teaspoons dry yeast

1. Mix all with a whisk in a large crockery bowl. Cover with cling film, and wrap in a warm towel. Leave in a warm place for 30 minutes. The batter should have small bubbles on top. Now add:

2lb (1kg) stoneground wholemeal flour (I use organic)

1 T sesame seeds, 1 T linseeds, 2 T sunflowers seeds

1 Tablespoon sea salt

3 Tablespoons Olive oil or rice bran oil

2. I add the flour in batches, stirring vigurously with a wooden spoon, add all other ingredients (first). Turn out onto a floured bench and knead for about 5 minutes. When the flour is all incorportaed and the dough smooth and elasticy, put it in a large bowl, which has been wiped around inside with some olive oil, just to help it not stick as it rises.

3. Cover with cling film, and wrap with the towel again. Place in a  warm place for an hour.

4. Punch the risen dough down in the bowl.

Turn it out, divide into loaves. I cut it in 3, 2 larger loaves and 1 smaller. Grease the tins well and sprinkle seeds inside for a crunch crust. Place dough in tins. Brush loaves gently with some milk, and sprinkle with more sesame seeds.

 Leave covered lightly with a damp tea towel for about 20 minutes, or until risen to the top of the tins.

5. Bake in the centre of a hot oven, about 200 C for 40 minutes. The loaves are cooked, when they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Once cooked, I place the loaves on a cooling rack and cover with a clean tea towel. This helps the crust to soften a little.
Tip: Cool loaves, slice to desired thickness, then freeze.