{ Mu'Mu }

Back At the Farm

Another trip to the farm, this time for plums. Plums, plums and more plums. As well as a stash of good old fashioned organic vege for the table.

Some really late raspberries and blackberries are also still available, and I know there will have to be a few more trips to the farm before pumpkin-picking season. Sweetcorn ready for picking will be a couple weeks away, and I have a lot more jam I need to make first.

Oh and that crazy dog. What trip to the farm would be complete without that silly mutt and her doggy friend joining in the fun? She thinks she's human you know.

Forest Foraging

Well, I'm glad to say that summer has made a welcomed reappearance again in these here parts. It was getting decidedly autumnal at one point, so having some late summer days to play in is a really welcomed treat.

And better late than never! Berry picking time, a whole month after schedule, in one of our favourite forests. Wild blackberries, although smaller than their commercially grown cousins, are a lot tastier. They also happen to be abundant and free. Elderberries were also foraged and destined to become Mama's much anticpated Wild Berry and Apple Jam.

It's definitely canning season, people.

Winding Down

Are we at the end of August, really? Can it really have flown by THAT quickly? Yes, I guess the chill in the air says it's a quarter to Autumn; the gardening year is winding down somewhat. Plans being made for food growing are being made for 2011 (!). No more sowing this year.

Plans for next year and beyond? Well, Mama is keen on a beekeeping course in the spring. I have grand plans for polytunnels and raised beds. Chickens? I do hope so - depending on the patience of DH.

The babes are keen to get started on their guerrilla war on terra after scouring the web for red clay powder and wild flower seeds; I hate to break their heart and tell them they'll have to wait til spring.

As we slowly wind down from the summer rhythm, I am hoping and praying for good weather for an Autumn agricultural Show this year - and maybe even a few last runs up to the PYO farm for plums and the last of the late summer raspberries.

And aren't the blackberries late this year? A long walk in the forest for some free food and a long weekend of canning, and I think I can safely say plans for the next few weeks are all pencilled in.

And you? What are your plans for this late summer period?

Introducing

Yes, raspberries, late varieties still available at our local pick your own farm. Destined to become cake filling and jam, if I can manage to salvage any from hungry foragers.

And an apt time to introduce my new blog:: Urban Homesteading. Don't give me that look. Yes, I know how many blogs I have had; just grin a bear it OK?

Here's what it's all about. Don't panic; this one's still here for all the other stuff.

Happy Ramadan

Announcement 10/08/10 - 18:41 GMT: Ramadan Mubarak! The Coordination Committee of Major Mosques and Islamic Centres have announced that tomorrow (Wednesday) will be the 1st of Ramadan and Taraweeh prayers will be held tonight in the UK.

You Really Aren't Home Until....

You've spent a good few hours baking several things to go in tins and infusing the whole house with the smell of baking victoria sponge cake...

{this moment}

I'm Really Trying

Really, I am.

Mealtimes, those moments sent to torture mothers? I am really trying to plan and make lovely things for my family, so that I will no longer have to write posts like these.

A good place to start would be getting the low down from people who know what they are talking about - namely Molly Wizenberg (now in paperback) and Sophie Dahl. The writing in Molly's book really is good, but there are no pretty pictures. At ALL. That's OK. Because for that I have Ms. Dahl's delights to look at.

When Sophie Dahl first came on TV with her recipes I quickly dismissed her as an over-hyped media darling giving it the hard sell (in fact, I may have even said that I preferred her in the "BFG", which is a tad harsh. True, but harsh). And perhaps she is all that, but, you know, give me a whiff of nostalgia and I'm putty in your hands. And whatever else Sophie is, she is a good writer, a good TV personality and the stylists have got it spot on. Nostalgia in buckets. And more than that, just good, honest food that guarantees to satisfy.

I may never be a kitchen diva, but with these books perhaps I can at least cook food that doesn't make the gag reflex kick in? That would be good.

At the Farm

Gather ye rosebuds whilst ye may... fruit picking time, people! How long have we waited to go back to our favourite farm? A looooong time!

Enjoying the weather and glut of fruit, there is simply no better place to be at this time of year.

And the bonus - you get a farm dog to play with after all that hard work!

Weekending :: quietly celebrating

Scenes From My Kitchen

I'm not a natural 'foodie'; to be honest, the topic of food and meal preparation bores me beyond endurance, and if there is any job I would gladly give up in an instant it would be that of food provider.

I have spent the majority of my adult life living on toast and sandwiches; not because I am incapable of cooking, but because I just don't want to. It just seems that the energy expended in cooking the damn meal and cleaning up after it far exceeds that which is contained in the meal itself. And I have never been able to get excited about food. I just don't get it. Food is fuel which you shove in your gob to prevent the agent of death from taking hold. I have found that the worse food tastes the better it is for you and, worse, chocolate isn't even a food group.

Mealtimes are something I struggle with. Maybe it is because nobody likes anything I cook and pick over every morsel like they are conducting a forensic investigation determining just what the hell this crap on the plate in front of them is. Maybe it is because we have one male who considers anything not ruined by chili and tumeric or deep fat fried a non-food and ergo inedible; one male who likes only burgers; and one midget male who has a passionate loathing of bread, rice, vegetables, anything green, anything red, anything that began it's life as a seed or anything beginning with 'p'. When, exasperated, I asked him one day he DID want to eat, he emphatically announced, 'cake!' (is there any doubt he is my child?).

But even though I hate mealtimes and have an indifference bordering on the pathological towards food, I DO try to remember that mealtimes are more than just the food.

Sitting around the table as a family is something that can quickly be forgotten about in a quest for peace and expediency, especially as we all seem to have different body clocks when it comes to hunger, but there is something so fundamentally fulfilling about breaking bread together, that even though I can never get excited about food, I find myself getting quite passionate about having a family around a table together. It is the only thing that gets me cooking - the thought of a nicely laid table and the people I love around it talking. And one day, they may even eat my food.

That might be a good feeling too.

What meals are you cooking? Any recipes that you'd care to share? I really need some simple and tasty options!

Summer Mealtimes

Last week it was so hot here that many of us went off food. It literally was too hot for a meal.

And given that summer is gone all too soon we opted instead for fresh fruit salad and icecream. And iced fruits drinks, iced tea and iced coffee. You get the idea - it involved a lot of cold stuff.

It's amazing how food tastes so much better eaten outdoors.

Pretty soon after these pictures were taken I was KO'd by a bought of flu and throat infection and life has been a miserable living waking hell, hence my absense (nearly wrote abscess, hmm) here. And although the pain has gone somewhat I'm still wobbly, so if I don't post then don't flounce off and leave me.

Hopefully too I will announcing my new shop and  blog here next week. Are you intrigued?? Are ya? Are ya? Yeah well too bad, I'm going to be telling you all about it when everything is finished.

Stay tuned!

xx

The Universe Loves Me...

My coffee tells me so....

Season Opener :: First Picnic of the Year!

Oh we have waited a long, cold winter for this moment. We have endured Crazyville Central to get to this sweet spot. The first picnic of the year. The first crazy warm day eating outdoors. It just doesn't get better than that in my book.

The picnic blanket I made years ago had been washed in advance of the coming season, and stands at the ready at the back door for more adventures insha'allah; and what better way to kick off the season than down at the allotment after a roasting morning's hard work?

Bliss.

A Meal is More Than Just Food

I was reminded of this again this week as we had the chance to eat together  with a guest. We were happy, we talked and shared jokes, we had come home hungry from a brisk walk and the chance to sit around the table and share that ease, and eat good food, and have indulgent deserts, well it was truly a blessing.

So often mealtimes can become a chore - a drag - a battle of wills - a means to an end.

This week I was reminded just what beauty and ease there can be in sitting around a table with good company.

Rising

There is something deeply soothing about starting the day with bread making. The rhythm of the kneading, and the zen-like state it brings about can zone me out and restore inner calm. The waiting for the rising also demands a patience, for you cannot rush an ingredient like 'time to rise'; and it's within these imposed waiting times, when I feel wholly present, that I am more than a little bit glad that I took the time, made the effort, overcame my tendency for convenience over home-made.

In a way I cannot really describe I feel completely whole.

Simple PLeasures :: An Example of Good Design

It's probably rather sad that I'm actually blogging about a cup, but I really do love my new cup by Isak and marvel at it's good design. I really wish more designers would put extra thought into the end use of an item and incorporate simple things like: beautiful lotus leaf in beautiful colours. No handle on the mug so mug can also be used as a cannister/jar/caddy.

A wooden lid - keeps tea hot and covered when out of the room.

Lid also doubles as a coaster.

Such a simple, yet elegant design. I marvel at it a lot.

What about you - anything you've seen which struck you as an excellent idea? Or perhaps something you'd like to find that hasn't been made yet? Anything that made you utter - why hasn't someone thought of it before??

Do share.

Making Our Way in Winter :: 11 :: Embracing the mess

You would think after nearly eight years of this mothering gig that the basic points of parenting would have become embedded in me by now - but nope. Each day I still stress out about the messy house, the crap on the floor, the broken knick-knacks. Each day I have this battle of letting go and living in the moment, rising above the mundane and the urge to nit-pick and trying to find the creative aspect of our lives together - moving from an insane and unattainable goal of having a tidy house into aiming instead for a loving home. And sometimes to have that loving home it helps if Mama stops her nagging about the crap all over the place, ya know?

So my new mantra - embrace the mess, dive in, pile it up, but most of all enjoy the home.

**************************

Merry Christmas to those of you out there who celebrate. If you are travelling in this terrible weather then take good care and I hope you find the love and warmth of friends and family around you this season. I may keep babbling on here since christmas is just another day in the ghetto, but I'm thinking of you all! Keep in mellow, folks.

Peace

Debbie

xx

Recipe :: Cauliflower & Pasta Cheese Gratin

It's been a long time since I posted a recipe, mostly because it's been a long time since I have cooked! Hubby took over the role of house chef for a while, and after a few months of him trashing my kitchen, using every utenstil not nailed down or on fire and leaving mountains of washing up to do  being at the helm I've added my two cents every so often these last couple weeks.

What can I say. I have a tough life.

Anyway, the recipe - a bit of a mix-it-up-bit-of-everything, that my children ate. ATE. And this is a big deal for me, so sharing is caring - here it is::

Ingredients:

1 cauliflower, chunked

1 bowl of dried pasta - whatever type that floats your boat

a chunk of salami, or sausage meat

2 slices of dry bread

sunflower seeds (optional)

Cheese sauce

Grated cheese

Double cream

salt & pepper

Do it:

1. In the same pan boil the cauliflower and pasta for 10 minutes til done. Preheat oven to 200*C

2. Pour the cooked cauliflower and pasta into an oven-proof casserole dish. Add cheese sauce, salt and a fair sprinkling of pepper, and a good pour of cream. Stir the mix.

3. Slice salami into teeny tiny chunks and add to the mix too. Stir.

4. In a blender place the slices of bread and whizz til breadcrumbed (we always end up with a couple slices of stale bread in the house, this dish is excellent for using them up - if you don't have any stale bread {what's WRONG with you}, then you can toast a couple slices before you crumb it)

5. Put breadcrumbs over the the cauliflower/pasta cheese. Cover with sunflower seeds and a smattering of grated cheese. Cook in the oven til the top is golden brown.

Either eat by itself or serve with salad and/or other vege.

Enjoy!

Nature where you find it

A couple weeks back the littlest and I had to make a semi-emergency trip to the hospital. Thankfully there was nothing broken and we were discharged with lightening speed.

Finding ourselves with a little time on our hands we sat in the car park to take in the view of, um the cars, and the general hubbub of everyday nee-nor life of a hospital. Until I spied apples in trees over-hanging the car park.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, "I see fruit - want to go apple-picking today?"

"Yesh"

So we did. We shook the trees and there they fell, plop! plop! plop! at our feet. There were other goodies too and so, in the middle of the ghetto that I call 'home', the babe and I sat in a car park having an impromtu picnic on free food.

And it was tastey!

We got more apples than we could carry, poured them into my poncho, made a sack and threw them over our shoulders and went home, to core, slice and freeze our little harvest ready for more pies.

And I suppose it was mini-lesson in life :: you can either plan, and plot and schedule your life and get nowhere, or you can take the blessing out of every opportunity, this very second and grab the sweetest moments and happiest memories with both hands right now, for in reality Right Now is all we ever have in life.

And if you could manage not to fracture your finger falling down the stairs landing on the vacuum cleaner? That would be good too.

Just sayin'

Rich Pickings

The Pick Your Own season is winding down; we are at the tail end of the fruiting year and what little fruit left there is (raspberries, plums) is really only suitable for jamming, which is fine by me.

The strawberries are long gone; the blackberries ransacked; the raspberries few and far between. We get what we can while the going is good.

Now we are in a new season - sweetcorn, pumpkins, squash - a reminder of the winter ahead.

Hopefully a few more runs to the farm for some freshly picked sweetcorn and gourds before the gates close behind us until next summer. And some good company along the way? Well that would make the pickings truly rich.

From Forest to Table :: Food for Free

Bramble and Apple Jam - without question a BIG hit in this little house, and a very fine result of a forest walk, like a little hunter-gatherer prize.

Hot scones, butter and tea was the perfect way to enjoy it masha'allah. 

For anyone new to jam making I totally recommend this book for all the information you need. And for some useful equipment,  for UK residents LakeLand Ltd really can't be beat on price for jars and it also has this really useful canning set which I've never seen anywhere else in the UK, as well as all the other bits and bobs you'll find useful for canning.

We've got plans for more blackberry picking insha'allah, and perhaps one last trip to the farm for strawberries before the season is over? That would be good.

Weekending :: Season Opener on Putting Food By

From my sister's apple trees - enough pie filling frozen to do us for a little while, kicked off with the first Apple Crumble of the Season. T'riffic.

Weekend Snapshots

1:: Making

2 :: Baking

3 :: Bonding

4 :: Chillin'

5 :: Knitting

6 :: Sitting

What was your weekend like?

Ramadan 4th :: Breaking the fast together

Having  a couple of little people giving it their best shot for an afternoon's fast makes Ramadan extra special for me. To talk over the table as the pain of hunger and thirst are abated - to watch those little eyes gleam at their favourite food (kebabs!), to be swept up in a wave of togetherness, to listen to their happy chatter, their plans, ideas and to listen to how their day was... Well, it's not the food that fills me at iftar; it's the comfort of family. Alhamdulillah.

Ramadan 1st :: Mubarak!

Ramadan Mubarak! It's here! The month we have been living in mortal fear of! Well, I'm sure our nafs have, but now it's here I am sure you all are as excited and as pleased as we are! An excellent month lays ahead the like of which cannot be replaced by any other act of worship, so I hope you are all mentally and physically prepared for this little jihad.

This is my personal jihad this month:

Oh how caffeine is my backbone in times of stress!

Taken yesterday after a mammoth clean-fest in preparation for Ramadan - after an all day clean it was heaven to be able to put my (sore) feet up and sip that tea...

Golden nectar, how I shall miss thee....

Keep us in your prayers!

xx

Hit and run summerdays...

I don't really want to moan about the sucky weather, but it's getting hard to avoid - constant rain? Thunder and lightening daily? For FOUR weeks?? Come on - by any standards that sucks.

We have spent a lot of time indoors, or garden-based ready to run for cover when the deluge hits. Summer activities have made way for Autumn and Winter-time pursuits : games, drawing, dressing up, whilst Mama reacquaints herself with slow crafting in the easy chair.

So when the forecasts predicts something crazy like a whole morning with no rain (sun optional but oh so good) we hit the ground running.

And *because* of all the rain, we usually make it to the allotment to do mortal battle with the damn weeds. It works out great -  I get digging practice and the babes watch and catch bugs, paint in their nature journals and eat what they find. Bugs optional.

And s l o w l y I y I can see the tide turning a little our way. Bit by bit, patch by patch from jungle to farm.

And bug hotel - very important...

 And whilst wondering just why the hell I went for an allotment and made all this work for ourselves I overheard the youngest say to his brother as they sat in some long grass catching crickets::

"Brother: I LOVE our allotment"

And as the sweat dripped down my back, for that one sweet moment I really loved it too. And so what if the weather sucks. When it rocks, it really rocks.

Weekend Leftovers

The A-Lot-Dump Report

Hard ground; stones everywhere; impossible to dig; weeds from Hell; no shade; relentless sun; endless battle.

Great neighbours; gooseberry bushes fully laden; working as a family; making plans; planting and hopefully giving our kids a useful education.

Love it.

Meanwhile, back at the farm...

I can't quite believe it's strawberry season again. Summer has just pounced on us this year.I feel like I'm playing catch up with everything.

Jam. Need to start making jam! Might need jars for that. Might need a big pan. Might just buy jam and pretend I've made it. Could work out cheaper and quicker all round. That's the bonus of living in a post-modern industrialised nation - you can get back to nature and undo aeon of progress to live in a yurt and recycle your own crap. Or you can just go to Tesco.

And for a little bit of feel-good factor, easing one's conscience about mass consumption, mass production, unethical bully-boy tactics of multinational conglomerate hypermarkets on small businesses and local farmers, every so often we can Pick Our Own.

And now that I've got that back-to-nature real-farm-livin' urge out of my system - it's back to take outs.

I am, of course for those of you afflicted with Literal Symdrome, joking. We do not live on take outs. We live on cereal like everybody else.

Breathe it in.... you know, all that oxygen can't be good for you....

Do my children like Picking Their Own? Yes. They do. Here, have one...