Limoncello

i woke up ready to go today. Not too sure that i got all that much done but i havent stopped. First off was the pea and ham soup. Now, personally, I hate the stuff but i have had a ham bone in the freezer since the caterers left it behind last year ( in that incarnation it was the leftover from a whole shoulder of ham) and i didnt want to waste it knowing there are people out there who love the stuff. So, last week i mentioned said ham bone to a friend who sounded interested in relieving me of it. when i reflected further, the though of just handing over a frozen bone sounded a bit weird, so i decided to value-add before i passed it on. We had dried peas in the pantry so why not make the soup? and i really wanted some more freezer space (for the limoncello of course). One Google search later i had my recipe, veges chopped, stock out of the freezer and bones defrosting. Too easy. Blend, add, cook...VIOLA! pea and ham soup. The house really stinks.
When the boy bean woke up, i bundled him into his hat, jacket and trolley and we sprinted up to the local grog shop to buy some Vodka for the Limoncello, just missing the next downpour. With the help of the lads behind the bar, i managed to come home with some grape vodka which is a bit more like the Grappa that the Italians use to traditionally make their Limoncello, so, Hoorah! and its made locally here in Adelaide. Bought 3 bottles, only needed 2. Spare one for the freezer! Boy bean went back to bed, washing was removed from machine then i ventured out into the downpour to pick lemons, trying hard not to pull too hard to avoid that great extra sprinkle of water. Next up, babybean woke and was duly placed into chair-contraption thing on kitchen bench to watch me peel a mountain of 30 lemons, trying hard not to get too much pith on the shaved skins. My pumpkin peeler worked a treat for this, resulting in nice thin zest. i tossed the skins into a large jar, added the 2 bottles of vodka and stuck it in the cellar to sit and stew for about a month or two. Stage 1 limoncello complete. Peeled lemons dont keep long so i think i'd better do something with those 30 peeled lemons but i feel like collapsing on the couch with a glass of wine when the boy goes to bed not juicing lemons and making cordial.., maybe if i have a glass of wine when juicing the lemons ...
Tomorrow the potatoes really need planting as they have sprouted!

Limoncello:
15-30 lemons - clean/washed with good scent
2 (750-ml) bottles 80-proof vodka/grappa
4-6 cups water
2-4 cups sugar (more if you want it thicker or sweeter)

Stage 1: Peel/zest lemons making sure minimal or no pith is left on the zest/peel
Put peel/zest into big clean jar and add vodka/grappa and leave to steep in cool dark place for 2 weeks to 3 months (your choice)

Stage 2:Put the water and sugar in a saucepan, stir and slowly boil until it turns clear. Let the syrup cool. Put the cooled syrup in the jar with the lemon peel/zest (you might have to divide the batch into two jars at this point, depending on the size of your jar). Put the jars back in the closet for at least two weeks. Peel will be white and should 'snap' when bent and no longer be flexible.

Step 3:Strain out the lemon peel/zest through a coffee filter/muslin/cheesecloth.
Put the liqueur into clean bottles, seal tightly and leave the finished bottles for at least 1 week before using. Store in freezer until ready to drink. It shouldn't freeze because of how much alcohol is in it and it's meant to be drunk ice cold.

* read Limoncello Stage 2 here

ok, problem solved

What do you get when you mix 2 bottles of vodka, a tonne of sugar and as much lemon zest as you can manage, together? Limoncello! Adult cordial! Whoohoo. Will post pics when I'm done making the stuff.

up up and away (again)

well, now its just me and the baby boy. Said goodbye to the girls last week and this morning my man took off to Sydney for a week, bound for some Greenpeace adventure. They never tell you where or when if they are doing an action, but something's up- Simon's the yacht and knot specialist and its his second call-up by GP this year. Our carbon miles not looking good for this year at all. The last action was the stopping of processing at the Munmorah coal-fired power plant and this one could be anything...the Esperanza is on the move up the coast on its Energy Revoloution Tour of the country (sounds a bit rock n roll, no? but click the link, watch the vid and sign the petition)...there's coal mining...dunno...just have to watch the news everynight to see what they are up to this time. The last time Si did an action I saw from my loungeroom, through the lense of a TV camera, a zoom shot through the wire fence and watched him bundled into a white police van in his orange suit, shackled and shuffling like a Guantanamo hostage. Kids had a field day with that one at show 'n' share. "My step dad got arrested this morning" (biological father tearing his hair out...) Thats parenting 101.
So in contrast to such high moral action, I'm baking (you can justify pretty much any food when you're feeding a baby- the trick however is to stop when they wean! I learnt that last time round) I have wanted to cook (...eat) these since I came across them on The Sugar Bar. Peanut and almond filled chocolate cupcakes with a matcha (green tea) icing. Its the complete comfort food, maybe a complete meal in itself! - well, i had 2 for breakfast. Please, those of you who care, ignore the energy intensive, wasteful cupcake pans please, I KNOW, OK?! They were in the pantry. I used them. Its really raining outside, the creek is flowing so fast the waterfalls are running horizontal, ducks have flown in, the fire's on...ahhhhh. No gardening for me today but i will plan where the potatoes, beetroot and parsnips will be planted out tomorrow if the weather improves and maybe another cake...

instructions for duck

i have never cooked duck before. Here's a tip...if a recipe tells you to cook the duck breast for just 6 minutes and that doesnt sound long enough, just DO IT like the recipe says.
I will cook duck breast again, but this time for just 6 minutes

Haiku Friday

looking through the glass
into our garden of life
blooming a new day

up up and away

I waved the girls goodbye today, watched them disappear down the ramp and into the glass walkway that separates real life from the dream and their hazy forms step into the plane. It was a teary goodbye on both sides, B1 declaring undying love for her new brother (she said she felt like she was leaving her son! hehe) and wondering how she will live without him for the 2 weeks she will spend with her father and me feeling how i always feel when i put them on the plane; negligent. Negligent that my decisions in life have put them in a position wherby they have to go through this every school holidays to get the love and attention of their father. Ugh. I have to calm myself with reassurances that it was his decision to move to the other side of the country but it doesnt lessen my feelings of grief when i see them alone and facing their own selves squarely in that moment. letting go is hard, they hate flying! zen moment required.
On the brighter side- i get my computer to myself! no more sharing my pc with a teen. party hat on. Blog on!

Purging the Poo

Its over. Our time as a 2 car family is cactus, kaput, gawn. We made the decision last night to get rid of one our cars;the Peugot, affectionatley known around here as 'the Poo' and finally pare ouselves down to just 1 gas guzzling energy sucker which we will convert to liquid gas. We did the numbers and reckon that even if we spend $1000 a year on taxis' or hire cars we can save about 4 thousand annually with all associated costs. Its pretty easy for us to have one car really, even with 3 kids. Our logic...

1# we could just get a little better organised with our time
2# B1 already busses it to school
3# B2 bussess home from school
4# we live within walking distance from the centre of town
5# there is a bus stop at the end of our street
6# I only need to catch 1 bus to work (when Im not on maternity leave) and the bus drops me nearly right outside the door
7# if we need to pack the car with gear for a family of 5 for holiday travel we just hire a bigger car or borrow one from my mum (thanks mum, havent asked her yet to be a part of our downsizing equation)
8# Simon is a stay home dad so no need to shuffle work/kids and car

So, when ya look at it, its hard to justify having had 2 in the first place!

Now comes the big dilemma... when we decided to sell the car we all went 'great 4 grand saved, lets go to Indonesia for a family holiday!'. Ummm, hello!
Is it all just swings and roundabouts? Can we ever justify another OS trip when using our carbon footprint/consumption of resources as a measure against which to evaluate and live our lives? We sponsor 3 girls in India and Thailand, 1 monk in Tibet, sank a well in Africa when we married, make loans via Kiva, monthly fund medicins sans frontiers and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and Greenpeace, are life members of Trees for Life, never eat red meat, restrict our fresh fish intake, purchase only biodynamic hormone,antibiotic free chook n eggs, run the house on PV solar, harvest thousands of litres of rainwater, grow some of our own food, compost, recycle, buy second hand for almost everything (we love eBay), shop seasonally, buy locally, line dry ( can you believe its ILLEGAL to dry using outside clothes line in some US states parts of the US?!- clotheslines are an Aussie institution) support SLOW... yaddah yaddah yaddah.. its a bit like being kosher- hehe eco-kosher... We tithe within an inch of our lives, say 'no' to almost everything, hell we even recycled our old wedding bands - from our past relationships, had the jeweller melt them down and add some extras for our new ones (i even part paid the jeweller with some gold teeth i happened to have lying around which i aquired from my ex-mother in law -that does sound very odd I agree!!) Does all this bloody holier than thou living attone for contributing to jet fuel burn? CAN WE GO TO INDONESIA FOR A HOLIDAY?!!! Im on Kermies side- its not easy being green.