Free-range chooks, children and guinea pigs ... no longer

Whether it be your chickens, your children or my guinea pigs, free-range has it's pros and cons!

I have only ever housed free-range chickens and I truly believe the happier the chicken, the yummier the egg!  We have had many chickens over the last ten years of living in the Hinterland, but sadly, we have also lost every single one of them.  Now, I only buy free-range eggs...

We also had a very friendly goanna in Maleny, and he loved our free-range eggs as much as we did!  We thought we had some lazy hens until we saw him scurrying down the tree trunk, slyly looking around before he crept into the chicken pen and munched up all of our eggs.

Since moving from our lovely 22 acres, to a one acre property in a semi-rural area, we have quite a few neighbours close by.  Our last three chickens, Sunshine, Jet & Henriette all disappeared into our neighbours yard through a hole in the fence and met their fate with Kai, the beautiful dog next door.  Sad, but true!  I didn't have the heart to break the news to my very sensitive first born, Noah, so I told a little white lie and said that they were much happier now in the natural bushland reserve at the end of our street! 

I like to think that my children are free-range ... I like them to make as many decisions for themselves as possible.  Within reason of course!  I would never allow them to be in a dangerous situation or to make a very obvious incorrect decision that would result in pain and suffering, but I like them to think for themselves and learn from their simple mistakes.  It surprises me how many people may consider this 'bad parenting'.  My children are my life and I love them more than anything in the beautiful world we live in.  I like to sit back and watch them play and work things out for themselves, they are amazing, and usually do!

The parents that I am very different to, are the ones who like to control their children, not allowing them to get dirty and play with bugs, but are more than happy for their own to sit in front of the television of game console for as many hours a day as they like, feed them processed foods full of unnatural additives.

We are all different, but I'd like to think that we can all take a little bit and learn from one another.

Sadly, we had one of our guinea pigs disappear last week.  Yes, our guinea pigs are sometimes free-range as my 2 year old is constantly opening the door to their very roomy home (because it truly doesn't bother me too much as they always come back), but sadly this time one didn't.  It was Forcefield, brother to G-Force and Speckles ... and today when Noah, Eli and I were cleaning out their space, topping up their food and water and putting G-Force and Speckles away for the evening, I had a thought come to mind - Forcefield was taken by the very plump kookaburra whom resides on our swing every day!  Oh, so sad, poor little Forcefield!  He would never have run away!!

So, free-range omelette for supper, free-range children snug in bed, fire on and guinea pigs in their freshly cleaned home ... I am going to enjoy a warm milk with honey and have an early night... sweet dreams!

Meatballs or Albondigas if you like...

It may not be the prettiest dish, but they are fast to prepare and so good to eat!

I love them served with a handful of fresh baby spinach or you can have veggies, rice or pasta.

It's also a great way of hiding vegetables, if your kids are fussy!  There are hidden vegetables in both the meatballs and the sauce.

This recipe makes about 24 small meat balls, which fit in my large deep frypan perfectly.  For a larger batch just increase the ingredients.

MEATBALLS
400g premium beef mince

1/2 red onion very finely diced

2 small finely grated carrots

1 small zucchini finely grated
1 slice of bread crumbed or a handful of bread crumbs
1 egg
salt & pepper

SAUCE
Olive oil
1/2 red onion
1 garlic clove mashed
2 samll finely grated carrots
1 samll finely diced grated
1 bottle tomato passata
1/2C water or stock
2 bay leaves
salt & pepper to taste

METHOD
Mix all the meatball ingredients in a bowl with your clean hands, and put in fridge while you make the sauce.

Lightly heat a small amount of olive oil in your non-stick pan
Cook onion, carrot, garlic and zucchini for a few minutes, add tomato passata and 1/2 cup of water
A dash of salt & pepper & two bay leaves
Cook for a few minutes until well heated and starting to bubble.

Turn the heat down and let it simmer while you roll your little meatballs and place them in the sauce.
Cook over low heat until they are cooked through.  Turn of heat and put on lid to keep warm.

These meatballs are very tender.  If you prefer firm meatballs, feel free to brown them before you add them to your sauce.

You could also spice up the sauce with chilli, or add parsely or marjoram ... whatever takes your fancy or entices you on the day.

Bon apetit!  I am off to enjoy a late lunch while babe is having a siesta....

Olives ... peace and happiness

Olives are a symbol or peace and happiness in the Mediterranean.... and I know that they certainly make me happy when I'm popping them in my mouth.  I love them!


You either love them or hate them... but it's safe to say, if you give me an olive, simply marinated, stuffed, baked, smoked, in a pasta or tagine dish, or any other way, I will enjoy it!

Olives are delicious and they also have many health benefits.  We all know that olive oil is good for us, but for some reason olives seem to get overlooked as having health benefits, when really they are a very potent fruit, high in fat.. but good healthy monounsaturated fat!  They are also an excellent source of fibre.

They are very rich in Iron, Copper and Vitamin E which helps to lower the risk of damage and inflamation to our cells.  They also help to reduce the risk of heart disease, colon cancer, the severity of osteo and rheumatoid arthritis and last but not least, hot flushes in women going through menapause.

So, next time you are enjoying a nice little mezze plate with olives and a glass of vino, sit back and think about the positive effects they are going to have on your body... and enjoy every little ball of happiness!

Chocolate & Coconut Slice ...

This recipe is my version of an old weetbix slice that I loved as a child.  I have altered the recipe to suit my choice of ingredients and it's just as delicious!

I use a combination of wholemeal and white spelt flours, but any flour can be used, whatever you have in the pantry. 

I also use Organic 70% dark chocolate, which is sweetened with Rapadura Sugar, but any dark chocolate will do...

Coconut Sugar, which I have found in the granulated form is excellent... I absolutely love it!!  It looks and tastes like dark Rapadura sugar but just gives that extra something and still has health benefits that refined sugars don't have... if refined is all you use, that will work too, white, raw or brown.

You could add any nuts, raisins, sultana's dates to this ..  with my recipes, almost anything goes...


110g butter
60g good quality dark chocolate
1T maple syrup
1C wholemeal flour (or 3 weetbix for crunch)
1C plain flour
1T baking powder
100g coconut (whatever you have in the pantry, I use organc shredded)
80g Coconut sugar (or any sugar of your choice)

METHOD
Melt butter, chocolate and maple syrup over a low heat
Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl
Add the choc/butter
Mix well
Put into a greased tray
Bake at 180 for around 15 to 20 mintues

When cooled, I drizzle melted white chocolate over the top and slice into small squares

This slice is so yummy and everyone loves it, children and adults ... it's so simple and always a hit!

Toad in the Hole ...



An oldy but a goody!!

I still have absolutely no idea where it got the name 'Toad in the Hole', but I loved it as a little girl and I still love it now... It's a nice fast breakfast or a very lazy supper.

A little bit of protein, served with a nice cup of tea or a glass of milk for the kids and some yummy, new season strawberries ... this is what we had for breaky today.

Slice of bread

1 egg (of the happy fee range variety of course)

nob of butter

olive oil

METHOD

cut a hole in the bread

place in a hot pan of melted butter & olive oil

Turn when browned

Cook egg to your liking, we love ours all runny in the centre

Top with hole

YUM!!!

Obviously if you are not a butter lover, or want to keep it healthy, just brush the bread with olive oil instead.





Potato Gnocchi

I love making this with the help of my boys ... they love to help in the kitchen.

We all have a ball of our own to roll out and cut into pieces so our gnocchi is always very 'rustic' but it tastes delicious...

If you've never made pasta before, once you do it the first time, you realise just how simple it is... as long as you don't mind getting a little bit messy.

I usually make this with white spelt flour, but it can be made with plain white flour too...

4 potatoes (sebago are perfect)
salt & pepper
2C plain white flour
1/2C finely grated parmesan cheese
flour to dust

METHOD
Boil or steam potatoes with skin on
Drain really well of any excess water, remove skin and mash until smooth (I use a ricer)
Dust your table or bench with flour well
Place the mashed potato on the bench and form a well in the centre
Add a lightly beaten egg to the centre
Add half of the parmesan and half of the flour
Start mixing lightly with a fork
Add the rest of the parmesan & flour and continue to work together with the fork
Then knead with your hands until smooth, adding flour if you need to
(don't overwork it, as the more flour you add, the heavier the gnocchi will be)
Seperate into 4 or 5 balls and roll into long sausages about 2cm wide, on a dusted surface.
Cut into small pieces, about 1cm long.
Cook in a pot of boiling salted water until they reach the surface, drain and eat immediately.

If you aren't going to eat immediately you can drop the pieces into iced water to keep their shape and cool them down, and you can then place them on a flat tray in the fridge or freezer.

We eat our gnocchi with a simple pesto cream sauce, zucchini, chilli & tomato sauce or bolognese topped with freshly grated parmesan ... any simple sauce is yummy!

The Sweetest Things in Life ...

Sweet, Sweet Sugar!!

It comes in many forms, but most of the sugar in our society's diet is completely refined, has absolutely no nutritional benefits, is hard on our bodies, and creates havoc with our digestion and depletes our immune systems.

Over the years, I have discovered many unrefined sugars, and sure, initially they taste a little bit different, but it's delicious...

Refined sugars are addictive ... the more you eat, the more you want!!

I always have unrefined sugars in my pantry and sugar bowl. We like Rapadura (Brazil), Muscovado (Mauritius), Muscobado (Philipinnes) and of course we love Organic Maple Syrup and Agave Syrup.

We use these in all of our baking, porridge, smoothies, coffee and tea for friends, and anywhere a sweetener is needed. 

And sure, it is slightly more expensive as it is grown overseas under fair trade progams, so not only is it better for us, but it is also better for our natural environment, the earth we all love so much.

The unrefined dry sugars I've mentioned still have nutritional vitamins and minerals, as the cane sugar is simply squeezed, dried and ground, and the juice isn't separated and then reunited in unnatural proportions the way it is to create white, raw, brown, demerara and other sugars.

They don't create the same imbalance inour body that refined sugars create when eaten, helping to keep our moods balanced.

You can replace any recipe with equal portions and you can purchase them online or at your local natural food stores.

So, if you need a little bit of sweetness in your life today ... try using one of these sugars and your cravings will go away!

Ciao,

Sweet Ness