January 2006 . . .
Contents
Intro
Wombat News
Book News
January Garden
. How to be a drip
. What to Plant
. Garden Ideas for kids
. Wind warning
A Few Recipes
. Honeycomb or Yellowman
. Pumpkin Fruit Cake/ Muffins/ Rock cakes
. Never Fail Potato Soufflé
. Grandma's scones
Happy New Year! And the rest of the year too for that matter
It was a lovely Christmas here. Family, friends, wombats, no bushfires nearby, water in the creek and a possibly insane lyrebird who hopped up onto the hanging basket to yell 'pok pok pok' at all arriving visitors because they were disturbing the peace of his garden.
The creek has dried up now- the last six months have seemed wet, but that's only because the last four years have been so dry. We didn't even get our 'average' fall. So everything dried up again as soon as we got three hot weeks.
But there's water in the tanks and flowers in the garden and so much fruit on the trees that the parrots are just sitting there, stuffed. And the wombats are so fat with all the grass that they only come out at 2 am, munch a bit, and go back to bed.
Actually we did hear Mothball the night before last. She was having an argument with another wombat. And next morning there was a wombat dropping on every step up to the house, wombat droppings are the way wombats say' This is MINE!.'
Other news
Well, not much. The last few weeks have mostly been picking, cooking, eating, and yakking to friends at the same time. Which is pretty boring for anyone who doesn't know the friends and doesn't want the menus. (Thai fish cakes, slightly tough asparagus, kipfler potatoes followed by home made macadamia ice cream or pineapple sorbet for anyone who's interested. And this morning was spent refreshing the biscuit barrel with more choc chip biscuits.)
Tomorrow I start work on the replacement for the Phredde series. Have been looking forward to this one for the last year- hopefully the sort of book where I just sit at my desk and chuckle. Which must be a bit disconcerting for anyone passing by. Luckily there'll only be Bryan to see me, and the rest of the menagerie. And they're used to it.
Wombat News
Well, not much, unless you count the droppings. And unless the wombat yells in the night mean that Mothball is mating. Which will mean another baby for late winter.
In fact I'd be worried that all the wombats had vanished, if I didn't see all the fresh wombat prints every morning when and I for my walk. And the droppings, of course.
Book News
My Gran the Gorilla comes out this month. I think it's the funniest of all the Wacky Family books. And Stephen Michael King's illustrations are just amazing. (That's amazing= fantastic= hilarious).
Macbeth and Son goes to the printer this month too. It's been an extraordinary effort- not just mine but the team who've worked on it too. And if it DOES work it'll be due to them. It's the best thing I've written, I think, and as usual I'm terrified for it. It wasn't easy.
It's about truth, and does it matter, and about the real Macbeth, and how his story was changed first of all by the English historians like Holingshead and then by Shakespeare to please King James. A bit like a playwright creating a play today where our Prime Minister single handedly fights off the invading New Zealanders, or murdering the Senate to stay in power. A lie - but if it's a brilliant play, what does it matter in 400 years time?
The January garden
Summer Ideas for Kids
. use shade sails to give your kids shade for playing
. a sheet or blanket over the clothes line makes a fast and simple cubby .. peg up more sheets to make extra rooms!
. trampolines can be set flush in a level garden surface so they're not as obtrusive- and there isn't as far to fall!
. check out which- if any -trees in your garden are safe for climbing...and tell kids the results. put a thick mat of soft pine bark mulch at the base on any tree kids climb.
. don't hose the garden...hose the kids under a large tree that needs some water
.try a tent in the garden plus spare saucepans and plastic crockery
. make a mosaic.. a patch of concrete with the kids names spelt out in pebbles(Buy both pebbles a and bag of concrete mix at the garden centre)
. haul the kids down to the library and check out books of easy to make swings, climbing frames and cubbies- ones you can make together!
PS some are really very easy, even for someone who can't bang in a nail.
A Simple Sandpit
Plastic sandpits are convenient ... but you can't build a BIG sandcastle in them! Luckily a sandpit is easy to make!
1. dig a pit about 2 metres square and at least 30 cm deep.
2. Line with builders black plastic; pierce the bottom for drainage.
3. Fill with sand (look up the phone book for suppliers)
4. Drape shade cloth over the sandpit when not in use to discourage cats.
5. A broad edge of polished wood helps keep sand in the pit and makes a good seat.
Useful tip: grass is great under kids slippery dips and see saws, but soon gets worn away. Move play equipment often- the soil will be less compacted too, and not so hard if kids fall down!
Useful tip: place kids play areas where you can see them from the kitchen window!
Useful Ways to be a Drip
Drip irrigation systems are a great way to keep your garden green with much less water. And in some (sensible) council areas drippers aren't subject to water restrictions.
Drippers are also great:
. above hanging baskets, to keep them flourishing too
. above the dog's bowl, so it will never run dry
. above the bird bath - birds (and dogs) like cool fresh water
ps even I can work out how to wind dripper pipe around my garden and punch in the drippers, and if I can manage it anyone can! You can buy he fixings at any good hardware store.
Pps drippers don't have to drip all the time- just turn their tap on when you need it.
Storm warning!
This is the wind time of yeardry bushfire winds and (hopefully) nice thunderous storm winds too.
If you're planning a fairly storm proof garden(no garden is totally storm proof- but some survive a heck of a lot better than others) remember that:
. deeper rooted plants survive best. Trees planted in a thin layer of soil over clay or shale, or even worse, in areas that have been 'top dressed' with soil over builders rubble probably haven't put their roots deep down; they've just spread out into the good soil. So they'll blow over in the first good wind.
. trees that have been tied to a stake won't have developed good roots either. They need the slight rocking that unstaked trees get to encourage them to form lots of tougher roots.
. trees that have had the lower braches pruned off are more likely to blow over; the wind gets underneath the 'umbrella' or branches and 'whoosh.'
. plants in groves shelter each other; single widely spaced plants are much more vulnerable to high winds.
.low growing shrubs are better able to survive strong winds than tall rounded ones.
.thin out foliage and branches if possible to cut down wind resistance before a storm hits
. hedges survive wind better than fences
. lots of coastal palms will help break the force of the wind, and are easily replaced if they blow over
. if a shrub or tree is uprooted you may be able to save it by replanting at once
. deep mulch helps protect plants and soil from high winds and torrential rain
. watch out for flimsy aluminium sheds, fences, hanging baskets and unsecured garden seats- they can all become lethal flying weapons!
. in really storm prone areas look for naturally multitrunked trees that have a good grip on the ground
What to do in January
. pick off basil and other herb flowers to encourage more leaves to grow
. don't rake or collect grass clippings in hot dry weather- leave them as natural mulch
. keep feeding and dead heading your flowers so they look good all summer
. prune back straggly petunias- they'll soon give another flush of blooms
.cut statice, rhodanthe, bracteantha, helichrysums and hydrangea flowers. hang bunches in a dark room to dry them for winter
. trim hedges...if you have to trim back too much summer growth in winter the branches may die back
What to plant in January
Plants:
Yes, you can plant any tree now as long as you have enough water to keep it moist, and give it a shelter of shade cloth or other covering on really hot days.
It all depends on how much you have to disturb the roots too. If it's just being slipped from pot to hole with no disturbance, it'll be happier in the nice well insulated soil than in a hot pot.
Food garden:
Also plant: strawberry runners, sweet potatoes, choko, herbs; seeds of artichokes, asparagus, basil, beans, beetroot, burdock, cabbage, capsicum, carrots, celery, celtuce, chicory, corn salad, cress, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, fennel, kale, kohl rabi, leeks, lettuce (may not germinate over 26C) , melons, okra, parsley, pumpkin, radish, salsify, scorzonera, sweet corn, tomatoes, turnips, salad greens like mizuna and mitsuba, and zucchini.
Flower garden:
Autumn flowering bulbs like Autumn crocus, nerines, tuberoses, vallota lily, or Zephranthges plus seeds or seedlings of achillea, ageratum, alyssum, amaranthus, calendula, calceolaria, cleome, Iceland poppies, lunaria, lupins, nasturtiums, pansies, sunflowers, zinnias.
A Few Recipes
Honeycomb or Yellowman
125gm sugar
2 large tb golden syrup
1 tb butter
1 tsp bicarb of soda
Heat syrup sugar and butter in saucepan, stirring till sugar has dissolved and the mixture is JUST starting to turn brown. Take off the heat. Add soda. As soon as it froths up pour onto a greased tray. Cut into chunks when cool.
Pumpkin Fruit Cake and Pumpkin Rock Cakes and Muffins
Basic Pumpkin Fruit Cake Mix
1 cup mashed pumpkin
125 gm butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
500gm sultanas, or mixed fruit(I prefer just sultanas)
2 cups self raising flour
Line a large tin with two layers of baking paper.
Cream butter and sugar; add eggs one by one; then pumpkin, vanilla, fruit, then the flour.
The mixture should be quite moist, but if is seems too dry (which it may be if the pumpkin is dryish) then add a little milk or water.
Pour the mix into the tin; bake at 200C for one hour or till it's brown on top and a skewer comes out clean.
This cake is rich, moist, and very very good.
Pumpkin rock cakes
Place spoonfuls of the mix on a greased baking tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Half a cup of mixed peel or 2 tb grated lemon or orange zest are good additions.
Pumpkin Muffins
Bake in patty cases, or a muffin tray. Again, a little orange or lemon zest are good additions.
Never Fail Potato Soufflé
Mix
1 cup hot mashed spuds (No milk butter etc added)
4 egg yolks
1 cup cream or light sour cream
2 tb butter
2 tb grated cheddar cheese
1 tb chopped chives (or parsley if no chives)
Now mix in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Place in an oven dish (preheated for best result) and bake at 225C for twenty minutes or until, just set and crisply golden on top. Eat at once.
Grandma's scones
Scones used to be one of the basics of Australian life. You served them with jam at afternoon tea (which was a great excuse to show off your different varieties of jam - one jar of commercial not quite apricot jam is life at its most basic. Twenty pots of six different sorts of jam, to be dipped into in turn, is luxury.)
Scones were also served with stews, to sop up the gravy, they make great dumplings with some finely chopped parsley added to the dough and the tossed into a goulash or other wet casserole and Grandma always had toasted scones at breakfast, which were almost better than when they came fresh out of the oven.
Scones were one of the great standbys. If unexpected (or even expected) guests came, you could whip up a batch of scones before they'd taken their hats off - one minute mixing, fifteen in the oven, and by the time the cosy was on the teapot and Aunt Delilah had finished explaining about her hernia operation the scones were steaming on the table.
There is nothing quite as inviting as food that is still steaming. A scone must be fresh if it's to be good (unless of course it's toasted) and I mean steaming fresh. Those nuggetty doughy things in cake stores and supermarkets are probably the reason we no longer eat as many scones.
And scones are infinitely variable. Grandma usually added chopped dates to hers, or sometimes a few sultanas or currants, and you could add half a cup of dryish mashed pumpkin too. (Preferably not butternut - it's too fibrous for good pumpkin scones)
I've also come across scones with grated orange zest (a particularly good addition to pumpkin scones), cheese scones (add a little grated cheese to the basic mixture, then scatter just a bit on top), parsley scones (add chopped parsley), walnut scones (add walnuts).
If scones were fashionable today someone would probably have added chopped black olives and sun dried tomatoes - and, come to think of it, they'd go rather well with the basic scone taste and texture too. I'd serve them with soup though, not jam and cream.
This is Grandma's recipe, verbatim. I'll expand on it once you've read it.
1 and a half cups flour, small piece of butter, small pinch of salt, small pinch of sugar. Mix together well, with knife. Add 1 cup milk with a wee pinch of baking soda, dissolved. Roll lightly, bake at once, 15 minutes.
A little cream will improve scones. Use self raising flour.
Grandma, of course, assumed that anyone reading this - including herself - would have seen scones being made a hundred times, and just wanted reminding about the proportions.
To elaborate on Grandma's recipe: you can use half cream or even sour cream or even left over yoghurt instead of half the milk for richer scones; you can omit the baking soda if you don't have any, but it does make the scones lighter. I use icing sugar instead of granular sugar.
MAKE SURE THE OVEN IS HOT - otherwise you get leaden scones. And make sure too that the tray you put them on is well greased and floured or they'll stick - and very very solid, otherwise they burn or turn into steel on the bottom before the top is brown. Most baking trays nowadays are too-thin aluminium. I put one inside another when I make scones, to provide more insulation, otherwise the scones can get overcooked on the bottom and too chewy.
Use a high sided tin too, for higher moister scones. You CAN make them on a baking tray, but they spread and aren't as moist.
Make sure you knead scones well too - unlike Grandma I use my fingers. They should be smooth on top. I brush the top with beaten egg or milk before cooking to make them glossier.
When you stick your scones in the dish, make sure they almost touch. This helps them to rise and stay soft.
I use a glass to cut out my scones ... nice neat circles, or an asparagus tin - the only good reason to buy a tin of asparagus spears.
And MOST IMPORTANT (this was Grandma's secret) - as soon as you take the scones out of the oven, cover them, dish and all, with a tea towel for five minutes. This keeps the steam in and softens them slightly, so you get that true scone like, almost doughy texture.
Serve the scones just before they are going to be eaten. (They'll stay warm under the cloth for about 15 minutes). Break them open with your fingers - you should never cut a scone.
They're good just with butter, as long as they're hot enough for the butter to soak into the scone; or jam and of course, jam and cream, which is a true joy, the basic bread like scone, the sweet jam, the soft cream on top, so the whole is most definitely greater than the sum of its parts.
PS Whipped cream - or even better, light sour cream - has fewer calories and fat than butter, or even margarine. Not that cream is exactly GOOD for you - but it is better than the more solid spreads - and much more luxurious.