Borlotti Beans

This is my total harvest of borlotti beans???? Is this as good as it gets from 3 vines?  Yes they look nice - and the pods looked even better but is there 1 meal here?  The scarlett runners were heaps better - we ate them non-stop for about 2 months.  I think that Brent was relieved when they finally stopped just a couple of weeks ago.

While the wwoofers were here we cleaned up the vegetable gardens for autumn planting.  This year I thought that I would check out the recommended planting days according to the "moon calendar".  I read that the days just following a full moon are good for transplanting and sowing seeds that germinate within 21 days.  Well the little vegie plants from the supermarket have romped away and I have an excellent strike of carrots, broccoli and cauli - and woad for my dye garden.  Photos will follow!

We have just had two amazing wwoofers here at Awatea Lodge.  They were like angels sent to help me with the "autumn clean-up"!

They are also fantastic cooks.  Just take a look at this German Quark Cheese Cake - and yes it tasted as good as it looks.  I have the recipe and I will put it up when I find it!  Quark is expensive here in NZ but I made my own.  Using a recipe that I found on-line and Buttercup,s lovely rich milk.  I am not sure whether this was the "true quark but it worked well.  

We had a bumper crop of Damson Plums this year - plenty for ourselves, friends and neighbours.  I even sold some at our local Waikanae market.  I have made plums jelly, paste and ......

• DAMSON LIQUEUR!!!!   - 
• 500G damson plums
• 500g white sugar
• 1 bottle gin
• First wipe the "bloom off the plums.
• Next simply put the plums, sugar and gin into a large preserving bottle.
• This should be ready to use in 3 months or when all the sugar has dissolved.

A selection of our crabapples,  and apples ready to be made into jelly and paste!

Brent's Pizza Oven

Brent proudly shows of the pizza oven he made for me! - I always wanted one and last year when I returned from 8 weeks away - there it was! What a special surprise - love it!

Olive Harvest At Awatea

Our first olive harvest! - about 3 years ago - since then the birds have beaten us to it.  Our neighbours have shared their olive crops with us and we have 4 large bottles of delicious cold-pressed olive oil in our store cupboard.