Fenced-In Farm

Not that I’m suggesting there was ever any argument, but the pikelet recipe really is the best. 20 minutes from thought to table (including 10mins resting time) 🏎

1 cup self-raising flour
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 lightly beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
30 gram butter, melted
jam, whipped cream, to serve

Method

1 Sift flour and soda together into a medium bowl. Stir in sugar. Make a well in centre. Gradually stir in egg and enough milk for a smooth, pouring consistency. Rest 15 minutes.

2 Heat a large, non-stick frying pan on medium. Brush with butter. Working in 3 batches of 6, drop tablespoons of batter into pan, allowing room for spreading. Cook 1-2 minutes, until bubbles appear on surface. Turn and cook 1 minute further, until golden. Brush pan with butter between batches.

3 Transfer cooked pikelets to a wire rack. Serve warm with jam and cream.

GRANTED!
He can stay! Forever!!
We thought we were looking down the barrel of another 2 year wait at least until would get his Permanent Residency, but it came through totally unexpectedly today!
Unfortunately he’s been sick as a dog all week so no intense celebrating for us today, but a deferred par-tay is definitely coming up!
For anyone else waiting on immigration news at the moment, it seems like there is a bit of extra capacity at Home Affairs right now with nearly zeeeero travelling happening, so cross your fingers and toes, and make sure your application is in the best shape possible for someone to look at.
Make it easy for someone to tick a box on a Slow Friday (or Thursday) 😁

I achieved a whole lot of not a lot today...
A friend popped by to drop off some Winter clothes for Will (seriously, I thank the everythings for the fact that my friends group has four boys who range between a total 13 months apart in age!) and I honestly died inside a little at the squalid state of my house. Yuck...
But I am sooo thankful for just having the chance to actually sit and chat with a girlfriend again that the shame is a small price to pay 😂
After she left though, I got myself into gear and at least ripped through the kitchen to get that sparkling again. You really can deal with a lot with a clean kitchen.
And so with that clean kitchen, this afternoon it was time to finally get around to pickling the beetroot from our first CSA share a few weeks ago.
It’s testament to the freshness of those veggies that the beets were still fresh and firm and blemish free.
I’ve always found canning a little bit intimidating, but this is a nice way to ease into it for beginners.
Eminently adaptable, you can add whatever spices and flavourings you like, and leave out any you don’t.
I’ve saved the process to my story highlights in case you too need a small win today!
And if anyone else has a house that looks like a dust and dog hair tornado tore through, please let me know I’m not alone!!!

Having to buy eggs is one of the most painful things a chicken-keeper (or chicken-tender?) goes through...
Every Easter, without fail, we run out of eggs. It’s pretty normal, as our chickens go through their annual moult and grow a shiny, fresh set of feathers which they put all of their energy into.
But... that really doesn’t make it any easier to hand over cash for something that you’re usually giving away during the Spring and Summer!
If you’ve gotta do it, you might as well find yourself someone local to support.
Luckily for us, farm stall isn’t too far away, because I have a feeling we’ll be back this weekend too 🙄
**if you have moulting chickens too**
Be sure to feed them some extra protein through the colder months to help them grow those feathers back nice and quickly, so they can get back to laying breakfast as soon as possible! 🍳

You’re gonna need a bigger.... fridge...
🚣‍♂️
We have three boys in the house these days, all eating plenty of food, and drinking plenty of cold water and milk.
With the amount of delicious fresh produce we receive every week, and the fact that this photo is during our chickens’ moult, so we don’t even have 1/4 eggs in here that we will in Spring.... You can understand me jonesing hard for a bigger fridge.
This is the first new fridge I ever bought, at I’m pretty sure 19/20 years old - over a decade ago anyhow!
It still works, but I don’t think any fridge ever appreciates being this choc-a-bloc with food, and the temperature fluctuates quite a bit in different areas because of it.
We’ve had frozen vegetables and warm milk, within days of each other, and I’m just not prepared to waste any more food like that.
So... I’m asking for your recommendations, and also your criticisms of models/brands that you’ve been unhappy with.
I drink A LOT of water if it’s cold, and even more if I have ice, so my ideal would be the most energy efficient model with a plumbed ice maker.
I’ve done a bit of googling, but would love some real world reviews.
Thanks guys!!

Did I need to label the sesame seeds? Is there anyone in our house that DOESN’T recognise a sesame seed? No...
Have I vacuumed and mopped before starting this project? Also no...
But honestly, when a parcel gets delivered we’re compelled to use the contents immediately, and not necessarily stop to think about it first, right? Riiiiiight?
If this helps me sort out the disaster zone that is my pantry though, you’d better believe I will label
Every. Single. Jar.
I might have saved a dollar or two (but not much more than that, this was a great buy!) getting it on eBay, but definitely would not have got the feels that came with my purchase from
I’ll share the sh*tshow that is my pantry in my stories for you, so you can see what I’m working with.
Going to try reeeeally hard not to buy any more containers than I already have, hence my use of an old morello cherry jar for my garlic granules.
Also, Canadians.... please don’t @ me about the lack of poppyseeds in my bagel mix. I really thought I had some 🙄

DO YOU SEE THESE????
I grew elderberries!!! For the first time ever, the flowers have turned into berries! I’m so excited 😆
Now, how much cough syrup can you make from exactly 6 berries....?
🤣
Maybe I should have stopped stealing all those flowers for gin & tonics sooner 🍸