Struan Farm

The Farm's Official Drama Queen

You will be thinking this would be me, right? And you would be WRONG!

It's weaning time here at Struan Farm for pet lambs Cookie and Tootsie. Late season pets Minnie and Mickey, who arrived on the scene in late November vs. September, are on bottles until February. But the older pets are now learning about tough love. I'd cut their bottles down to almost nothing before Christmas, and they're eating grass. So it's really just about cutting that umbilical cord, and more about emotional attachment on everyone's parts.

Tootsie is fine, but Cookie is not. The wailing hasn't really stopped just yet. Yesterday she followed John around the paddock crying the entire time, and no one is getting any late sleeps in the morning.

 

So you don't think I'm an entirely terrible person, she is getting lots of pats, just no bottles!  

Another Plum Job

Remember those plums from our heirloom plum tree at Struan Farm? They've been ripening on the window sill in the kitchen. And pretty quickly at that.

Lucky for me that I found a recipe by Claire Aldous in the latest Dish magazine for "Apricot & Almond Tart." The notes said fresh apricots, plums or cherries could be used in season, or tinned/canned when not available fresh. With the plums we picked ready for prime time I decided to give it a try. It did require a run into the Piopio Superette for a package of shortbread cookies, which form the crust. Fortunately I got the last package in stock, phew! (Rural life: plan ahead.) Fortunately I had the rest of the ingredients called for left over from the Boxing Day baking stash, which included both cream cheese and mascarpone.

Et voila:

It was absolutely delicious. The tart is baked and then chilled before serving with a dusting of icing sugar and a dollop of softly whipped cream. Not an every day dessert to stay the least, rather a special treat!

A Plum Job

A few days ago John noticed that the heirloom plum tree in the Old Orchard area here at Struan Farm had quite a bit of fruit. Last year it did also, but birds completely stripped the tree before the fruit ripened and we could get to it.

Not so this year! We tested to see if the plums would ripen when picked green, and they do. So we've picked the plums and have them ripening in the kitchen.

So the series is tied: Karen & John 1, Birds 1. Bring it on next year, since John will be pruning the tree shortly and it should fruit heavily this next year as a result. I suspect the birds will be plotting their revenge, so we'll need to stay on it.

Basil Ice Cream, Just Because

You will know that I sometimes try things just because, and this would be one of those things: basil ice cream. We have heaps of basil growing in the glasshouse here at Struan Farm. I got just a wee bit over-enthusiastic about the prospect of growing basil for our local cafe, The Fat Pigeon. And like most things Karen, my idea of "lots of basil" and their idea of "lots of basil" are somewhat different.

So while the arrangement is working, there's a considerable surplus to deploy. And I still have heaps of frozen pesto that friends Kris and Bob made for me during their visit in March, so pesto isn't the preferred option right now.

Recently one of the MasterChef Australia contestants bombed out making basil ice cream, but that got me thinking. I did have a recipe for it in my ice cream bible, David Lebovitz' "The Perfect Scoop."  He also has recipes for thyme ice cream and parsley, in case you're interested in those.

It wasn't bad. Unusual, and definitely not on a par with the lemon verbena, strawberry, lavender honey, or toasted coconut. I served it with fresh strawberries given that strawberries and basil are a good combo, and that worked. My darling husband is used to my experiments, and he's particularly happy to play guinea pig on anything ice cream.

But let's just say that I may be back to making pesto with the surplus!

Feijoas in Flower

It was good to discover the two feijoa trees at the Homestead's back gate in flower a few days ago. They look (somewhat) similar to the native pohutukawa tree, which is nicknamed NZ's "Christmas tree" since it flowers brilliantly this time of the year.

We've got two different varieties at Struan Farm: "Kaiteri," which has very large fruit, and "Oops, Karen Lost the Tag," which also has delicious fruit. I'd never particularly enjoyed feijoas before eating those we grow here in Piopio. I thought they were musty tasting and an acquired taste. Well, I've either acquired the taste or these are really tasty! Might be both.

A Wild New Year's Eve...

At least one with wild food that is. I was gifted a piece of young, wild pork on Boxing Day here at Struan Farm from cousin Marg, and decided it would be fun to cook that for our New Year's Eve dinner. Despite my recent efforts with roast turkey and ham, I really don't roast big hunks of meat all that often just for John and me. And I've never cooked wild pork before, so was interested to try it.

Roasts take time in the oven, and this was no exception: 3 1/2 hours all up.

I went looking for, and found, a recipe that had both apples and apple cider. This one also used shallots, chicken stock and some fennel seed. The top is rubbed with olive oil and sea salt flakes before roasting for 25 minutes at 220 C. Then the stock, cider, fennel and shallots are added around the meat, the roast is covered, and oven temp reduced to 180 for 2 1/2 hours. After this time I tested the internal temperature to make sure it was cooked before removing the foil, adding the apples, and roasting another 30 minutes. While the roast rests for ten minutes with the apples and shallots removed the juice is reduced on the stove to make a sauce (not gravy).  This proved essential to the dish, adding wonderful flavour. We loved it!

As you might imagine we've got a bit of wild pork leftover. Next comes pork sandwiches with chipotle mayo for lunch!

Boxing Day Leftovers, continued

Yep, still eating that ham leftover from Boxing Day at Struan Farm. At least John retains his enthusiasm for it, since we really don't eat ham any other time of the year. 

I couldn't stomach another sandwich or chunk of meat, so decided to improvise, and found Chelsea Winter's recipe for Ham, Cheddar and Onion Frittata.

It was really good. You can barely taste the ham, a bonus for me, plus there are lots of tasty caramelised onions. I popped in some cherry tomatoes and lots of fresh herbs and zucchini from the garden.  Give this a try!

Out with the Old, In with the New

Happy New Year from Struan Farm.  For some reason I had the urge to undertake a major house clean on New Year's Eve day. And for some reason this is something I have the urge to do on or around New Year's, every year. No matter where I've lived. It's something that is primal within me. With the new year I feel the need to clean and be tidy, organised.

Just don't let anyone tell you that wood floors are easy care, okay?