A moment...

A crisp, peaceful autumn morning...

Plants sit covered in  the lightest frost...

Breath steams....

The sun peeks hesitantly over the horizon....

Billowing, grey clouds shroud it's intended course...

Birds singing loudly, majestically their morning song....

A cow gently lows to it's calf.....

Shrubs sit beautifully en-dowered with their colourful display....

A Kookaburra's laughter echoing through the trees....

Sunnyside....this morning...

This moment will never return... treasure it...

Blessings

Stinging Nettles ~ a triumph over the weeds!!

Our cold season is quickly approaching & one of the most notorious & common winter weeds we have here at Sunnyside is stinging nettles.  Stinging nettles grow everywhere that water goes in the garden (which is everywhere we want plants to grow) & so with great deliberation we have removed & removed & removed the stinging nettles each year (obtaining more than our fair share of stings in the process).  I am getting much better at removing them quickly & painlessly, but should we encounter them unaware  we have found that garlic rubbed onto the sting works wonderfully for waylaying the pain associated with touching this green plant.

Always in the far reaches of my mind I have known that although they are seen as weeds, stinging nettles are actually edible & are in fact very good for you ~ high in various vitamins, calcium, potassium, phosphorous, iron and sulphur.  I knew this, yet the thought of doing anything more than burning this pesky plant made me cringe. After all, how could I consider ingesting something that has caused me so much pain in the past.  So I disposed of that information & continued working against my garden nemesis.

 My change of heart began when I stumbled across a new DVD series at our local library ( we LOVE our library!!!)  We found the 'River Cottage' DVDs &  though we don't agree with everything (& always watch them with the children so we can skip just the occasional episode - thankfully they have a 'coming  up next ' in the previous episode), we have loved learning about living more sustainably & healthily (as well as seeing some beautiful parts of England).  We have been encouraged to continue the lifestyle we are slowly ( ever so slowly) building here at Sunnyside ~ that of growing & processing our own food and all it entails.  During one of the more recent episodes we watched they had a section on eating stinging nettles & it took our boys very little time to decide they just had to try them!!

They were quick in coming in with a plate full of the pesky plants & I agreed to blanch them to ensure they were fine for consumption ( I will say the video would be so much funnier if I had have missed this step, but hey ~ I'm a nice Mum!!!;)  After blanching I quickly emerged them in icy water.  They came out the most amazing green colour!!
  

Eli agreed to take his first test on camera...

I am not one to be left out, so I tried them as well....

Overall I will say that stinging nettles resembled silver-beet (swiss chard)  in taste.  They were flavourfull, although I think a little butter & seasoning added would have made them perfectly delicious.  They are a little frustrating to work with as you have to avoid the stings prior to cooking.  Since I have a lovely supply of silver- beet already growing here at Sunnyside, I think I'll stick to that, but it's always good to know about the edible foraging plants around the farm.

I just love that our children are taking the dream & running with it & weaving in their own ideas.  What a blessing it is to be able to farmstead our little piece of land as a family!!!

Have you tried stinging nettles?? 

Blessings

Joining in with:

Slow cooker - Chicken Curry

Sometimes recipes come together quite by accident & this is one of those.  It all started with a recipe that I was trying that was so terribly bland that I knew there was no way I would be able to get my family to partake.  We like good flavour to our meals & this one was severely lacking.  So I added this & that & whatever else I could find & thankfully wrote it all down . I am an inventive cook & rarely follow the recipe exactly, but often I forget just what I did should I hope to reproduce the meal again.    Therefore I am attempting to cultivate the habit of noting down exactly what I do.

This particular dish was given 'family favourite' status with all members enjoying it.  I thought I'd share it here in the hopes that someone else enjoys it or it encourages you to not be afraid to try a little inventive cooking of your own!!

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Slow cooker Chicken Curry 

Ingredients:

500 g chicken breast ( thickly sliced);

2 x garlic cloves ( crushed or finely diced);

1 onion ( chopped);

3 x mushrooms ( diced);

2 x carrots (sliced);

4 x potatoes ( cut );

1 x sweet potato ( cut);
Silverbeet leaves (torn)

1/2 cup corn kernals;

Any left over salad ingredients ( I often add to my casseroles anything that might be left over from a salad  such as lettuce, tomato, carrots, cucumbers etc.  These will all cook down & just add to the richness of the meal);

2 x cans diced tomatoes;

2 tsp curry powder (depending on how hot you like it add more or less);

600 ml chicken stock

300 ml coconut milk ( about 3/4 of a tin)

2 tbs cornflour (dissolved in water);

salt & pepper

Method:

*  Add first 11 ingredients (up to & including the canned tomatoes)  to your slow cooker.  

*  Mix curry powder & stock & pour over mix.

*  Cook in slow cooker until done ~ I use low & cook it for about 8 - 9 hours (I love having dinner prepared in the morning).

*  Add coconut milk & cornflour mixture.  Allow to thicken.  Season to taste. Add extra curry powder if you desire.

Serve with rice & some Bread Machine Sourdough !

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I hope you enjoy this meal as much as we did.  

Have a wonderful Friday friends!

Blessings  

Planting garlic : Video

As autumn continues to meander across the calendar  the garden is getting more & more attention.  I just love winter gardening ~ possibly because I have more success with it than the summer plants that seem eternally thirsty in the blistering heat of the sun.  Winter seems so much more gentle on it's plants with beautiful, cool days & frosty, cold nights ( although only light frosts up here on the hill ~ that may be critical to my success ).  I think that autumn days are designed for gardening.  The middle of the day is the perfect time to spend out in the garden, getting your hands dirty in the soil & encouraging new skills in the children!  We just love taking our lunch break outside amongst God's beautiful creation!!  

 One of my favourite winter plants to grow is garlic!

Here in Australia, the saying goes that your garlic should be planted by Anzac Day (April 25th).  I know that I'm a couple of weeks late in posting this & I was slightly late in planting mine, but I don't foresee it being an issue.  Should you plant in the next few weeks I'm sure that you will achieve a harvest next summer (God willing of course).  We have only just used up last year's harvest, so this year I've planted double the amount I did last year in the hope that it will last a little longer in 2014.  Of course ideally I'd love some leftover to use as seed next autumn as well.

I went outside to take some pictures of our garlic gardening.  Zai (who was my assistant)  wanted to take it one step further & do an instructional video for you all on how to plant garlic!  

Who could resist those big, brown eyes & although I'm sorry for interrupting so much, I do think this is cute & something we will treasure as he gets older.  Who knows ~ maybe it will encourage you to plant your garlic as well!!  Home grown garlic is just delicious & as with all homegrown produce, it's wonderful to know exactly where it's come from & so very satisfying to know that it's gleaned directly from your own garden.  

Notes:

 *  If you are going to plant garlic, always purchase local garlic & make sure it hasn't been treated or bleached.  

* The bigger the cloves, the bigger your head should be ( depending upon growing conditions of course). Try & get nicely sized cloves to plant. 

* Plant garlic in loose soil.

*  After you've finished planting, mulch, mulch, mulch  ( I am a big believer in mulching)!

* Whilst the tops are still green, trim them & use them as a gentle garlic seasoning in your favourite meals or salads!    (I plant a couple of full heads for that very purpose).

The garlic bed is loosely mulched ~ don't worry, the garlic will grow through it! 

Have a wonderful day friends!

Blessings

Joining up with:

April Days

Deliciously warm days are slowly turning into cooler nights.  Snug flannelette pyjamas have been pulled from the cupboards and a new layer of blankets is being added to the bed.  All sure signs that even with a late summer, autumn is well & truly here.  Slowly the leaves on the trees are beginning to take on the beautiful yellows & reds that symbolise the ending of a fruitful year & the  beginning of dormancy for just a period.

Tonight I sit here listening to the music of soft raindrops on our tin roof.  I am so glad our home has a tin roof so I can delight in this cacophony.  Although I will admit that sometimes it is deceiving  in the proportion of noise to the small amount of rain we have received   Still I won't complain.  I am happy to relax here snuggled under my well-loved  crocheted blanket and listen being slowly mesmerized by the sound.  Is there anything more delightful to fall asleep to than the sound of rain?

April has been a hurried month for our family.  It seems it has just begun & yet it is coming to a sudden close & I wonder what have we done with these days of our lives.

It began (at least for us) up in Qld.  My sister was getting married & so we were up there to celebrate with her. I had so much fun attending to all the important things that the lady-of-honour entails and making memories with all my 4 sisters & our parents!   My sweet sister has found herself a lovely, strong, Christian young man & one day I hope to record their love story for it is such an encouragement to other young women who think that love has forgotten them.   I pray that they will be abundantly blessed in their new life together.

After the beautiful wedding, we slowly drove back home to Sunnyside taking the long, coastal roads.  It was wonderful to spend time together as a family unit just relaxing.  We enjoyed taking in some of the more touristy sights & looking over beautiful, green (GREEN) farmland!!  It was slightly hazardous as it did make us covert for just a second that gorgeous, fertile, coastal land....

Dave had organised a loose plan of where we were going to go & we enjoyed going to various towns.  Dave would go to the real estate agents & the children & I would explore the towns ~ finding cute book stores & countless op shops to spend our time & thankfully only a little money!  Such delightful, memory making days they were & the farms were just beautiful & no, we haven't brought any..... just dreaming for now.  We are satisfied & content here at Sunnyside.  Sure the green would be nice & the land would be beautiful, but we would have to take our whole church family with us & that would be rather difficult ;)

After arriving home relaxed but tired ( long drives are always tiring) we took a few days to rest ( & wash the countless loads of washing that always seem to add up after even just a few days).  It was then time for  our church's holiday kids club & it was such fun!!  I was the year 5/6 leader & such a wonderful group of children they are! I have been blessed to have this group at various activities over the  years.  It is particularly nice to know who my sons friends & peer group are.

 Unfortunately on the last day of kids club Jud came out in the spots & while the local pharmacist wasn't concerned that they were infectious, we were a little worried when Ellie came out in them the next day.

Twin birthdays, trips to the city to purchase curtaining materials ( oh just the nicest one for my kitchen & dining window ~ I can't wait to show you all once they are made) & playing with html for a change to my blog look (it was time to go green :) resulted in rather busy holidays.  Preparations were made for term two's  industrious school days & finally before we knew it the long awaited holidays were over & we were back into routine again.

Isn't routine just lovely ~ I love the knowledge that the boxes are being ticked & my list is getting crossed off.  There is something satisfying about knowing what is going to happen next & being prepared for the events of the day.  Of course sometimes it doesn't all go to plan, but that's alright as well.

And now I sit & the rain has ceased.  Tomorrow we usher out April & instead May takes it's place. The days will get shorter & the nights colder .  More blankets will pile onto our beds & socks will envelope cold toes.  Hot chocolates will become evening routine & warm soups will fill our tummies.  The cold wind will turn our noses pink & our fingers blue & winter will be just round the corner.  The seasons continue to turn here at Sunnyside in a reliable, steady pattern & we continue to grow & change through them, content in this cycle that was set by our wonderful Creator right from the start.

May this season of life bring happiness, peace & true contentment in the Lord!

Blessings

P.S. Still missing my DSLR camera :(

Sunday Psalms

The Lord watches over you-

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

Psalm 121:5

What ANZAC day means to me...

Today Australia celebrates ANZAC day & Australians all over our beautiful country come together to remember those people who have given of themselves in service to our country.  Old men march proudly in the parades, a glimmer within their eyes of the pride they hold for their youthful bravery in defence of this loved nation.  Service men & women stand at attention & remember those who went before them on the path they are now treading ~ those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Image source: HERE

Today I bundled up my four.  We made a little group heading off to the parade in the nearby village.  The cenotaph  was surrounded by people ~ farmers who had taken time off their tractors in the middle of sowing to remember, mothers who had bundled up their little ones to pass on the tradition, older men holding wreaths from their clubs, older women  holding their memories at the surface.  These very people who make up Australia .  Together we sat as a small community within our nation and together we are thankful, so very thankful for what we often take for granted ~ our freedom.

 The wind was cool, but the sun was warm.  The temperature was perfect and the flies were out .  I took the children because I want them to know that their freedom isn't something that came without sacrifice.  I want them to appreciate what has been given for them.  I took them in honour of the grey-haired men who marched there with pride.  I took them to honour their Great Grandfathers who gave up a part of their lives as very young men to make Australia what it is today. These very children carry on the bloodlines of true Australian heros.  They even hold the names of some. I hope they will always remember the sacrifice made for them at a time before even their grandparents were alive.  I hope they will retell the stories passed on.  That is the main reason why I take them ~ to keep those memories alive for future generations. 

So Happy Anzac Day friends.  

I hope today you have taken time to thank God for the freedom we have here in Australia, for the men & women who gave of themselves, for the mothers & children who were left behind.

We are so very blessed..... Australia let's remember!

Lest we forget...