Struan Farm

A Slippery Situation

I was wanting a bit of excitement given all the rainy weather we've been having in Piopio, but this is far more than I wanted or bargained for.

A few days ago between showers I heard a scraping noise was coming from the road, down below the top bank that runs along our main orchard at Struan Farm. Off I went to investigate. Our local roading contractor, Inframax, had a lane of traffic closed off, and was cleaning up part of the bank that had slipped due to all the wet weather. Oh. Oh. Previously it had been trees on the other side of the road. In this case it was mostly vegetation and soil, but on our side of the road.

 

Yesterday morning Clifford started barking and I walked down the drive to find this:

Oh dear oh dear oh dear. This situation has turned into a more substantial slip with the rains continuing. The lane will stay closed until NZTA decides what it wants to do with the problem. It may entail working from up top with a digger to even off what is now a sheer bank. This could mean the digger going through the orchard, ripping things up, etc. 

As you might imagine, they will be talking to John while I take lots of cleansing breaths. They tell me they will replace any feature trees damaged and restore lawn, hedge, etc. if this is the option decided upon. Clearly we don't want the bank to continue to slide onto the road either way. 

I guess this is what I get for threatening to move those quince trees, which are right in the line of fire, but our Peasgood Nonsuch apple tree, a peach and some plums could also bite the dust. I've learned that most digger drivers don't really think about fruit trees that have been nursed along for years or other feature trees for that matter, they just do the job they're meant to do.

So I can't think about all that right now, really can't! I'll deal with reality when it happens.

 

Stormy Weather, Cabin Fever

There are winter days when I get a bit of cabin fever here at Struan Farm. Guess you can see why?

John's latest suggestion is for me to grab a spade while it's pouring down rain like this to go out and check the drains beside our gravel farm tracks. 

I've decided my cabin fever isn't quite as bad as he seems to think, at least not just yet!

A Basket Case

Yes, yet another fungi here at Struan Farm! This time it's the "Common-basket stinkhorn," Ileodictyon cibarium. I noticed three of these growing under the redwoods at our entrance to the new(ish) house. We've had so much rain, and it's been unseasonally warm, so the fungi just seem to keep coming around the place.

These are apparently quite common, and are found at the forest margin in deep litter or in areas where mulch is used.  Striking, aren't they? The guide seems to indicate they can be a bit smelly, to attract flies that aid spore dispersal, but I haven't gotten too close to them to confirm that either way!

Another Orchard in the Making

John and I went off on a short road trip this past weekend to pick up the bare root Luisa plum trees I'd ordered from McGrath Nurseries in nearby Cambridge. They're a commercial nursery, so we had to order a minimum of five trees, but they're the only nursery here in NZ that cultivates Luisas.

On the way we also stopped at Smart Plants to pick up a few variegated Elm trees we'd ordered, along with a load of potting soil. Yep, just a few hundred germinating flaxes to pot up shortly, but that's another story!

Once back at Struan Farm we had to decide where to plant the Luisas. We've planted a few peach trees in an area across from the our main orchard at the new(ish) house, on the opposite side of the drive where I've recently planted the griselinia hedge. John decided this area is now officially more fruit orchard. The Luisas have been planted in a row along the bank.

Can't wait to see them in flower in the spring, they should look beautiful. And now that we've extended the orchard, we're both thinking about cherry trees. McGrath told us they should grow reasonably well in Piopio. What do you think? The more fruit, the merrier? 

 

Brainy Indeed

I came across this huge fungi (?), right inside our entrance gate at Struan Farm! It's been an interesting season for them, both in terms of variety and numbers.

It's the size of a human head, no joke, and also looks somewhat "brainy." I wasn't able to identify it in my "Mushrooms and Other Fungi of New Zealand" guide by Geoff Ridley. However I had the bright idea of trying to track him down, and discovered Geoff writes a blog that has his contact details as well as heaps of information on fungi. So I emailed him this photo with an explanatory note. He was nice enough to respond. Turns out it is, appropriately enough, a "skull puffball, calvatica caniformis."  It is very brainy indeed!

Kingfishers in the Neighbourhood

A few weeks ago I rescued a kingfisher who got stuck in the back of our garage here at Struan Farm. I christened him "Freddy."

Now we have a pair who've decided to make our front lawn and orchard part of their territory. We've been watching them perch on the trees between feeding stints. I can only get so close with my camera before they get spooked and fly off, oh well.

I'm sure one of them must be Freddy! 

Saved by the Gardens

We had viisitors coming for morning tea a few days ago here at Struan Farm. It's that time of the year when there's not much happening in the gardens. The hellebores, which save me in winter, haven't started to bloom as yet.

However, this year is somewhat different--although we've had some reasonably hard frosts, a few roses and other flowers are still blooming. Barely, but enough for me to scrape together a little arrangement for the table to put beside the warm freshly baked scones and homemade strawberry and blueberry jams. 

Saved by the gardens!

Clear as a Bell(bird)

John and I were momentarily diverted from our gardening and mowing efforts at the Homestead a few days ago by an unusual bird call. It sounded somewhat like a tui, but different, and was coming from one of the camellias in the roadside wooded garden. Off we went to investigate. We both finally saw a bird we didn't recognise, greenish, with a slight down curved bill and a fork it its tail.

I dug out our field guides when we got back up to the house. Hooray, I was able to confirm that it was indeed a male BELLBIRD (Anthornis melanura melanura). "Makomako" in Te Reo Maori.

While I've thought I've heard them once or twice around Struan Farm, this is the first confirmed visual evidence we've had that they are returning. Most likely due to more effective control of possums.

I'm now hearing him more often while down in the gardens, it's a very happy sound!

Being Cheeky

In NZ the phrase "being cheeky" means being smart or sassy in a nice, teasing way. But here at Struan Farm we're giving this phrase new meaning--I've recently discovered beef cheeks. Much of the thanks goes to MasterChef Australia, where I've watched many contestants slow roast them to rave reviews and tasty effect.

I was able to find them at Magills Butchery in nearby Te Awamutu. They are a very inexpensive cut of meat and easy to prepare, but like lamb shanks take lots of time to cook down. I was prompted to try them after finding an interesting recipe in the winter issue of Donna Hay Magazine (#87). The cheeks are trimmed and seared, after which caramelised aromatics (celery, carrot, garlic) are combined with stock, port, sherry vinegar, bay leaf, onion marmalade and tomato paste. Everything is then tossed into a crockpot or lidded casserole dish in the oven for three hours or so, by which point the meat is falling apart. The sauce is strained to serve over over the meat. I did my cooking in the oven since I love an excuse to use my amazing Le Creuset casserole dish, purchased with Fly Buys points!

 

The original recipe serves the meat and sauce with polenta. I've served it with mashed potatoes. The dish is delicious, we can confirm that beef cheeks are definitely worth a try.

Continuing on the cheeky front, my next challenge was to try to find lamb cheeks here in NZ. Friend Lisa Blum raved about having them at one of the many high end restaurants she frequents in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have never seen them here and have now discovered why. Magills has told me that most abattoirs don't bother to process this cut for human consumption in NZ.  Never one to shrink from a good challenge, I contacted Chef Peter Gordon (who writes a weekly column in the Herald's "Bite" food magazine), Silver Fern Farms, and Beef + Lamb NZ to see if I could find any. Beef + Lamb NZ directed me to a Wellington based processor, Taylor Preston, who sells frozen lamb cheeks to the hospitality sector and for export.

My cheeky persistence has paid off: a carton of lamb cheeks will be on its way to Piopio shortly, hooray! Stay tuned for my next experiment.

The Welcoming Committee

Clifford really misses John when he's away from Struan Farm. It's most evident when the lord and master returns to the castle--I hear these happy yips, unlike any other sound Clifford makes. I know they signal John is home.

I certainly don't get those same yips out of Clifford when I return to the farm, even though I'm the one who feeds him most times. So there's a bond there between the two boys that I can't come close to.

Basically I'm second in line for hugs and pats, but that's okay, I'm fine with that!

Dream Bars, In Honour of a Good Friend

My intent when I started baking these "Dream Bars" was that I was making them for a friend. She is going through a bit of a health crisis at the moment, and I thought they might lift her spirits, make her smile. We used to eat/devour these at Smith College, almost 40 years ago now. A few months ago I managed to score the recipe from a fellow (sister?) alum, although it was for "Talbot House Dream Bars," which might not be the same as our "Albright House Dream Bars."  Be that as it may, today I checked both NZ and US postal regulations to make sure they could be posted off to the USA.

Unfortunately I hadn't remembered the brown sugar meringue topping, which is way too fragile to ship internationally, however well packaged. We also don't have one of the vital ingredients, Crisco shortening, here in NZ, so I used butter instead. Not too sure about that, so just as well they weren't being shipped off to someone Cordon Bleu trained.

As we say in NZ "Kia Kaha," be strong my friend. You are in our thoughts and prayers, even though John and I will be forced to sample your Dream Bars! 

As I look at this concoction I'm reminded we were much younger then, so could (and did) eat things like this. But toasted tuna grinders were probably better for us than these!
 

 

 

 

Winter Pud

In a quest this week for a new winter pudding recipe I stumbled upon "Cranberry & cinnamon bread & butter pudding" in Sophie Gray's great cookbook "Fill the Tins." Everything I've made from this book has turned out well, and this was no exception:

 

And not a bad way to use some of the Wild Ruby Cranberries in the freezer either! I also used some croissants that were on special at our local market. Now just to get to some weeding so I can justify doing more than looking at this....

Progress with Planting

Must say that the new gardens I'm meant to be planting this winter at Struan Farm are taking time. I'm making progress, but it's been slow going. While some of this has been due to rainy weather, a large part of it is that I simply haven't been able to buy an interesting mix of plants, very frustrating! The garden centres, even the better ones that are usually my salvation, all have the same things. Very little variety, few special things. I'm also somewhat challenged by my self-imposed height restrictions, especially for the one kidney shaped bed that we look out on directly. I don't want anything that is going to restrict views across the lawn.

Okay, yes, I have made a dent. I've planted Leucadendron "Mrs. Stanley" and "Julie," purple sage, Azalea "Pax," Eriostemon Profusion, Choisya, Penstemons, Daphne, Loropetalum Burgundy (not sure this really works as a topiary, which is how it is being sold this season--it's blown over three times now despite staking...), Acacia cognata "Limelight," "Bella Stella" Lily, Lamb's Ear, Coleosis "Sunburst," Cistus, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Nana, and Alstroemeria Inticancha Dark Purple. I've popped in poppy seeds along with runuculus and freesia bulbs. This week the "My Mum" roses arrived with some bonus "Friesia" I hadn't ordered. "Frilly Jilly" is on the way. Delphinium seeds are in trays in the glasshouse,  I'm thinking I will plant a line of those along the inside curve even if this may test my height restrictions. In the other new bed near the fence I've also planted Escallonia "Gold Brian," Serissa Jap. "Pink Mystique," and Acmadenia "Pink Butterflies," as well as some transplanted rose cuttings and dahlias. I'm worrying about too much pink, I want variety of colour and texture.

So getting there at a snail's pace. I'll crank up the glasshouse with annuals in spring to fill the gaps. The way this is looking right now I'll definitely need to, but Mother Nature may surprise!

Another Winter Salad

I came across yet another good winter salad recipe this past week, "Raw Winter Salad with Mandarins & Almonds," in the Winter 2016 issue (#24) of Nourish Magazine.

Finely sliced raw brussel sprouts, fennel and broccoli are tossed with slivered almonds and mandarins (I used my Zyliss mandolin to slice the veggies, very easy). The dressing is made with 1/4 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, orange zest, pinch of salt, honey and dijon mustard. It's a delicious salad, and will keep overnight in the fridge, so leftovers can be served for lunch the next day.

Nourish Magazine is available locally at The Fat Pigeon Cafe in Piopio and Red Kitchen in Te Awamutu, on a complimentary basis. 

Close Encounters

Despite my recent crush on Posh, that adorable baby goat we've adopted out, I haven't forgotten about our priorities here at Struan Farm: the lambs! 

John, Clifford and I went out for a walk a few days ago to catch up with the pets and other lambs. My objective was to see if I could get the pets to sample some "horsey treats," which I've read they should like, and are good for them to eat. This would also help keep them used to being around humans.

The surprise was that Rosie, who is usually our best socialised pet lamb, didn't want much if anything to do with treats, although she did give them a sniff. She was much more interested in pats and being with both John and me. Ruby, on the other hand, ate three treats after walking right up to me. She also had some fun teasing Clifford. Pepper and Pip were shyer but eventually let me walk up to them, and they each sniffed the treats. 

Clifford behaved himself admirably, in the middle of lambs who decided to tease him. He knew he had nowhere to go on this, he just had to grin and bear it!

  

So while it seems I've got Ruby over the line on eating treats, the other three are going to take time, it will be a process. These were carrot treats, I may need to try the apple ones possibly.....

Yesterday's Mum

I called in to see "Posh," the orphaned baby goat we rescued a week or so ago here at Struan Farm. We adopted her out given my travel schedule, which meant I couldn't be around to deal with the frequent bottle feedings she would require.

This is one seriously happy little goat! I dropped off the coat and a pink collar for her so she has a "town wardrobe." She has a purpose built crate with fresh straw, inside. So she's warm and cozy and quite the little Queen Bee. When outside she runs, jumps and hops around, is loved by the two little boys. (Confession: she's got a much cushier situation than she would have had if she'd stayed with us.)

It was very clear to me I'm "Yesterday's Mum," so time for me to move on. Bring on those pet lambs!

Let Them Eat Cake

We had a birthday in our family this week. Even though I wasn't attending the celebration, I was charged with making the cake, you know how that goes?

And so I baked Annabel Langbein's "Ultimate Chocolate Cake" from The Free Range Cook. I decided that I'd only make one layer, so used the surplus batter for a few cupcakes.

That way I could test that I liked the flavour of the cake with my improvised raspberry cream cheese icing before I found myself overcommitted.

To make the icing I combined 200 grams of cream cheese with 100 grams of butter, both softened. Then mixed in 2 cups of icing sugar, whipping it all with an electric mixer until quite smooth. After this I added the "secret ingredient":  Fresh As freeze dried raspberry powder. What is great about this powder is that it adds both raspberry flavour and natural colour. 

Suffice it to say that I need a cake decorating class, my work isn't going to be winning any prizes. The Cake Boss would say that my piping needs work, and I won't be winning Cupcake Wars either!

The cake looks particularly atrocious, I apologize.  (Topped with freeze dried raspberries and chocolate chips, set on piped blobs. I just got carried away, and in a bad way.) In my defense I'll say that my target audience was little girls, otherwise everyone else just wanted it to taste good.

Bottom line: this tasted REALLY GOOD! The combination of chocolate cake with naturally flavoured raspberry cream cheese icing was somewhat inspired. Next time I'll try to make it look better, I really will....maybe also not quite so pink.
 

 

Perspective on Persimmons

I'm working to adjust my perspective on persimmons, a fruit that has been in the same category with tamarillos and feijoas in my book. I haven't been too sure, really. Love the trees, know birds love them too, so have thought about adding one to the mix at the orchard here at Struan Farm.

Friends from up north sent some fruit down with John a few days ago. These are the same friends who exposed us to those amazing Luisa plums, and of course we now have five bare root trees coming our way this winter. So I figured they might also help me turn a corner with persimmons.

They are beautiful, aren't they?

A search for recipes came down to two that looked interesting, one was a cake while the other was for fruit broiled with honey drizzled on top, served with mascarpone. I ended up making a version of the latter. I baked the fruit in honey and lime juice, drizzled more honey before I grilled the baked fruit to caramelise the tops, then served it with mascarpone whipped with vanilla, icing sugar and lime juice.

In fairness, I should have left the fruit to ripen a wee bit more. They're meant to turn reddish and soften, and most likely I jumped the gun. The dish was okay, what served with mascarpone tarted up wouldn't be, really? But it wasn't anything special to rave about.

So I won't make any permanent decisions about persimmons just yet, am still keeping an open mind.

 

Late Bloomer

I was walking up the drive a few days ago here at Struan Farm, looked up at our Monty's Surprise apple tree and saw a flash of red. Very quickly I realised it was the last, very late apple of the season.

Nice surprise, Monty, when I least expected one!

Catch Up with the Girls

Guess who I bumped into in the Cottage Paddock the other day at Struan Farm? My girls, our former pet lambs, all of them!

Rosie:

Ruby:

Pip:

And last but not least, Pepper:

Rosie is the most socialised, still. I see her often and make an effort to stop and give her pats. But this time Pepper was very friendly and Pip and Ruby were okay too. Pip and Pepper got into a little head butting incident, not sure what was up with that:

What's funny for me to watch is the reaction of the other lambs in the paddock. They aren't quite so afraid of me now, and since the girls come up to me the other lambs often get close too. This happens even with Clifford around, since the pets grew up with him and aren't fussed by him at all.