Bokashi Powder - Part 2

Welcome Brian and Rebecca, I always like to see new people reading my blog....I hope you will stick around and find some inspiration while your here to try some of the things I get up to.Don't forget to leave some comments, I sure do appreciate them.
Sometimes it takes me a while to get to welcoming people or answering comments; but I get to it eventually..
So Welcome!




I recently completed a FREE course run by my local council on how to make your own Bokashi Powder...
I wrote about it here, along with the recipe and details on how to make it...

So first of all, you need to prepare your lactic acid..You will see Part 1 here 

In Part 1, I wrote the following:

Remove floating bran or wheat. The Remaining Liquid is the LACTIC ACID. 

So once the bran floats to the surface, I will strain this and keep the liquid for the next stage in making my own Bokashi Powder.

So you will need to check back in to see the different stages as I do them.Here I have completed the last step to making the Lactic Acid...

So the bran is floating now....Most of it floated, but it also started to sink again, so I guess maybe I could have used less bran. So I have strained all the  bran from the rice liquor.....

To use lactic acid in Bokashi preparation: 

1. Mix one part lactic acid to two parts milk.

I had 1 1/2 cups of lactic acid liquid after straining it, so I added 3 cups of milk.

I've now washed out the original Vacola bottle..and poured in the milk mix.


now I am waiting for it to seperate, once that happens, I will be on to Part 3.

2. Leave for a few days until the milk protein separates from the water which can be removed from the top.

3. This leaves a creamy yellow water which you can use.

4. To keep, add equal parts of molasses or brown sugar and store in the fridge.

Apricot Chicken - Easy

Tonight we had Apricot Chicken for tea, served with rice.....it's such an easy recipe the way I make it...

APRICOT CHICKEN

You will need the following:
2L bottle of Apricot Juice...mine was 25% juice....Cheaper than Apricot Nectar and you get more cooking liquor to soak in the rice
1 pkt French Onion Soup Mix
1.5 kg Chicken Breast OR Chicken pieces....this is the first time I have used Chicken breasts...I left them in a bit long, and found some cubes to be a bit dry
4 or 5 brown onions...sliced or diced

Now on the stove, add the Apricot Juice to a pot...and reduce to half the quantity.
Stir in the packet of French Onion Soup mix
Dice the chicken (if using chicken pieces, I remove the skin)
Dice the onion

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray....
Place onion, chicken and Apricot mix into baking dish
Cook in medium oven for 3/4 hour or until chicken is tender, stirring occasionally to prevent chicken pieces on top from drying out...If you put a lid on to prevent drying, you will create more juice, undoing all that reducing.

Apricot Juice reducing on the stove
and other ingredients...That's it!

Ready for the oven.

Apricot Chicken over steamed rice

Do you like Apricot Chicken? Have you ever made it? If you make it like this, I'd love to hear about it.

Bokashi Powder - Part 1

I recently completed a FREE course run by my local council on how to make your own Bokashi Powder...
I wrote about it here, along with the recipe and details on how to make it...

So first of all, you need to prepare your lactic acid...this is very easy..

HOW TO OBTAIN LACTIC ACID 

• 2 cups of White Rice
• Wheat Bran 
• Water

1. Let water that has come from rinsing white rice (homebrand) sit for 5 days until it smells sour.

2. Mix some rice bran or wheat bran with the sour water and leave to float to the surface.

adding wheat bran to the rice water
before stirring

Now to wait for the bran to float

3. Remove floating bran or wheat. The Remaining Liquid is the LACTIC ACID. 

So once the bran floats to the surface, I will strain this and keep the liquid for the next stage in making my own Bokashi Powder.

So you will need to check back in to see the different stages as I do them.

On my mind....my Mum's health

This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join. It opens the door to us sharing our lives through these photos and gives us all a new way to discover each other, and maybe form new friendships. Your photo should show something at home that you're thinking about TODAY. If you're in another country you should join in when you read this, even if it's still Thursday.

To take part, all you have to do is post a photo on your own blog, write a short caption explaining it, and link it back to here. Please write a new post, don't link to an older one. When your photo is published, come back and add a comment below, with a link to your blog photo so we can all find you. Please visit all the blogs that appeal to you and leave a comment. Slow down, take the time to cruise around and enjoy your cyber visits.

I have many things on my mind today, including my mum's health, making a loaf of bread from my Kefir, the front veranda which I haven't been able to get to....and lots of other things.

Beginning with my Mum's health....she seems to be puffing and panting a lot when walking around...and she is also collecting fluid in her face while she sleeps....Yesterday her eye was almost closed due to a fluid build-up. In the last 12 months she has had her eyes checked and had a cataract removed....while under the eye specialist, Mum asked about how her eye swells overnight....upon examination, the eye specialist suggested it may be oedema (fluid build up with swelling)..and that she should get her heart checked out.

Due to a massive in-operable hernia (which looks like a big belly, which she has had as long as I can remember) she can only lay on one side while sleeping. I am taking mum back to the GP today to find out if she has fluid around her heart...having the GP push her x-ray results she had done yesterday morning.

On top of that my 77 year old Mum has a chest infection. 

taken 18 months ago

What's on your mind today?  

When a Choko is not a Choko

Travelling around the Illawarra, there are still signs of this horrible weed growing everywhere....It's on my mind.....I wonder if there is a plan in place to try and eradicate it? New Zealand are making the public aware of how to illiminate this noxious weed, which is number one on the countries weed list.

My camera finally decided to hand over these photos...which I am thankful for, as I also now have some photos from when I went and seen April on National Permaculture Day....(that's another post to come).

Araujia hortorum, Moth vine

Araujia hortorum, Moth vine

When the plant is showing it's choko-like pods...these seed pods become dry and split, releasing anything up to one thousand seeds, which are spread with the wind. Which can take them hundreds of kilometres.

Araujia hortorum, Moth vine

If you have this weed growing in your garden, you need to take measures to get rid of it. As you see seedlings, and young vines....pull them up and let them die. If there are seed pods on the vine, these should be removed and disposed of in your general rubbish. Do not put them in your compost!

You can also cut the stems of larger plants and paint the ends with a herbicide gel to prevent re-growth. If you prefer not to use a herbicide, simply cut the stems on a regular basis, and check vigilantly for any re-growth.

Be careful with the sap of this plant...The sap can be a skin and eye irritant...so when dealing with it, always wear long sleeves and gloves. If you would like to read more about this weed click here.

I wonder if there are plans in place to try and irradicate this horrible weed? It is suffocating our natural bush as well as our gardens.

Sometimes confused with this lovely plant.....

which is edible...The choko

I have been growing Choko's in my garden every year for the past 4 years...I use them to make pickles, jams, and even sweet pies......The fruit takes on the flavour of a host fruit....so if you were to make Pineapple Jam for example....you could use one pineapple, and a couple of pounds of Choko's.....and the finished preserve would taste like Pineapple Jam....Brilliant!!...You can also steam them and serve with butter, salt & pepper, or make them into a lovely soup. Such a versatile fruit really!

My Nan used to do a whole heap of baking for the local Red Cross stall....and she stretched fruits as far as she could...using Choko in Apple Pies,.....(I even remember her using gramma in apple pies).....but she also used Choko's for preserves like I described above.

Here are some photos of the good Choko's from my garden..........

Sechium edule - Choko

Sechium edule - Choko

Sechium edule - Choko

Sechium edule - Choko

Sechium edule - Choko

Sechium edule - Choko

Sechium edule - Choko

Sechium edule - Choko

Sechium edule - Choko

Sechium edule - Choko

I usually get two crops each year....and often give away heaps......at the moment, fruit are budding again, but with cold nights the tiny things are dropping off the vine. I have two vines in, as long as it doesn't die off completely at the  base.....I think I will have it for many years to come. 

Do you have a choko vine? Would you like to grow a Choko Vine? 

Buttermilk Scones

After making all the butter and other yummy goods from that 2 litres of cream....I had some Buttermilk to deal with.
I found this lovely looking recipe for Buttermilk Scones here...

Buttermilk Scones

• Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 60g butter, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220°C/200°C fan-forced. Grease and flour a 8cm-deep, 19cm (base) square cake pan.
2. Place flour, sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add butter. Using fingertips, rub butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Make a well in the centre. Add buttermilk. Using a flat-bladed knife, stir until dough almost comes together. Place on a lightly floured surface.
4. Knead gently until dough comes together. Press out to a 3cm-thick round. Dip a 5cm round cutter into flour to prevent dough sticking. Cut out scones. Gently press leftover dough pieces together and repeat to make a total 16 scones.
5. Place scones, touching, in prepared pan. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until light golden and hollow when tapped on top. Serve with jam and cream.

Here are some photos I took while making the Buttermilk Scones....and they are all gone already.

I guess I will just have to make some more.

Rubbing the butter into the flour

Rolling out the mix. I never wash my rolling pin.
I always just dust it off and wipe it down with a clean tea-towel.
I was told by an elderly cook, never to get it wet....so I do as I am told.

Cutting corners to get the most cuts.....
When they rise, the cut corners get filled in anyway.

15 minutes then turned the tray 180 degrees for another 5 minutes.

With home made butter, fresh and hot!

Challenge # 4, 5, 6, & 7

It feels like ages since I have blogged....Welcome to Catherine, Robyn and Splashfish. Thanks for following my blog........If you have been coming back to see what's happening...I hope you found something interesting to read about....I've been setting myself more challenges....and I guess I've been overdoing it....falling asleep on the couch at 5pm is not a good way to start preparing the evening meal.

Challenges I have set myself lately are:

• cleaning out the kitchen drawers - (amazing how many duplicates I had in those drawers)
• de-cluttering the kitchen cupboards - (I have sorted all the plates, cups, mugs, bowls etc, but haven't gotten to the underneath cupboards as yet)
• de-cluttered the laundry cupboards - (I still need to do the shelf above the laundry sink and washing machine)
• I finally sorted out the sock basket....we have pairs again..yay!

I think that's it for this week....some of it still needs tweaking, but it's nearly done....and I am so pleased with the work I have achieved. and I'm really starting to see the differences. 

Have you been following along and joining me in any of the challenges? Maybe you have been setting some different challenges for yourselves.....I'd love to hear what you have been up to too. 

A quick visit to the track

No, I don't bet on horse's...except for the yearly Melbourne Cup....but I have an aunty who manages a few race horses and she lives almost 2 hours away. Occasionally Aunty Irene and Uncle Fred come to our local race track to run some horses....so it's a great chance for us to catch up....we have a one hour window where we get to exchange goods and catch up while having lunch supplied by me. we sit beside the horse float in the middle of a paddock which is also the carpark for the horse floats.

Saturday morning was busy for me, as it was the day I started all the dairy recipes with the cream....

To spend time with Aunty, we had to leave home by 10.30am....so before we packed the car I had already made.....

• Chicken & Vege Soup (from the chicken carcasses brewing in the crockpot overnight)
• Milk Kefir drink
• Butter
• Creme Fraiche (home-made Sour cream)
• 2 trays of biscuits from frozen biscuit dough 

The weather wasn't the best, and under any other circumstances, there would be no way we would sit outside to have lunch in the cold wind...and the occasional light misty rain.  But the company was great.

Hubby, Aunty Irene & Mum enjoying my soup for lunch.

Aunty Irene wearing a scarf that Mum knitted for her
Uncle Fred climbing out of the truck

Men chatting about home-brewed beer

Some Galahs joining in on our chatter

We exchanged mulched horse manure soil, lemons, chillies, & some bulk frozen foods for knitted scarfs and slippers, soap, soup, biscuits, pickles & sauce.
Despite the cold weather, we all enjoyed the short time we had together.

Mashed Potato - my style

My boys love my mashed potato, I can't recommend it if you are dieting though...I do occasionally make different variations of mashed potato by adding some sweet potato or pumpkin, or even left over veges......I like leaving the skins on too if they are clean enough....it is a good source of fibre and the kids don't even realise your adding another source of fibre to their diet.

For a side dish for 5 adults I used the following:

steamed potato with peel left on
3 to 4 large spoons of sour cream...this was very runny as (I used my new homemade sour cream, but I have only ever added store bought in the past)
butter..about 2 tablespoons of butter......(I used my new homemade butter, but I have only ever added store bought in the past)
Vegeta (seasoning) I used about 2 teaspoons..but add according to taste....You can buy Vegeta in many sizes.

Over the cooked potato: clockwise from the date stamp.....
Vegeta seasoning, sour cream, butter

Then roughly mash all the engredients together...I sometimes do a smooth mash, but when I leave the skins on....just a rough quick mash is great. You will notice there is no milk in here...but it is so yummy! be careful adding the sour cream, use it gradually like you would for milk.

Everyone loves my Mashed Potato!

If you decide to have a go at making it,

come back and let me know what you think of it.

Tomorrow is another day, and I plan to make Buttermilk scones, which will be a first....

If you make my mashed potato, do come back and tell us about it.

Have you ever made Buttermilk Scones? What would you make if you had just over a cup of Buttermilk?

I loved the feedback when I asked what to make with the cream...so I'm asking again....lol

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.

Kefir, Butter, Creme Fraiche, Ice-cream,

I hope everyone has had a good weekend...Here; we have been blessed with an extra day with today being a public holiday. So tomorrow is the start of the working week for hubby and DS19......
With lots of wind and rain on and off over the weekend, I haven't been able to get to the markets, driving past to go somewhere else, there were only 4 stalls anyway due to the horrible weather we had.....So not being able to go find bargains to decorate the front veranda...I put myself to work on the cream I picked up on Friday.................

Thank-you everyone for the suggestions on what to make with the cream...I am happy with what I have done so far....here goes:

First up, I have been reading up on Kefir, and all it's benefits...I would prefer to be brewing the Water Kefir though, as I don't usually drink much milk....I also like the idea of having a ginger beer flavour, and other fruity fizzy drinks...I drink far too much fizzy drink, and would love to get off it. Over the next few weeks I will be trying to source some Water Kefir grains. I would prefer swap with someone for something, but at the moment, I only really have my soap...it's all natural, and is made from rendered beef fat...I also don't add any scents.

So I'm putting a call out for anyone who has some spare Water Kefir Grains....either dehydrated or simply washed from their supply. I am willing to swap for something, and this can be arranged via emailing me.

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#1 A Milk Kefir probiotic drink

Through much reading, I think this Kefir is not quite the real deal..and after making it, I think it is a form of Kefir but not with the results expected....there is a mecca of information on the original Kefir here.

The product I bought is a Kefir (yoghurt like) drink...After making it, it is still the same texture as the original milk....but it is definitely cultured. I tried the boys on it....and they scrunched up their nose....DS19 even felt the need to rinse out his mouth....lol....I tried to tell him to think of it as a thin plain yoghurt drink, but he insisted it was just soured milk.....I am drinking this for a few days, until I have half a glass left to make the next batch.

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#2 Homemade Butter

This is the whole reason I ordered the 2 Litres of fresh cream...I posted about having a new supplier for cream and was so inspired by Fiona at Inner Pickle I could hardly wait for the cream to arrive. As for all the lovely suggestions...it didn't make it any easier. 

I took the recipe from a book I am reading at the moment, which I borrowed from the library....I am waiting for another to arrive from a different library called The Home Creamery..which I think is where Fiona got her recipe from.

The book is called Homemade sorry about the order some of the photos..I'm having a few technical problems, so you will have to scroll down for a photo of the book. 

The book I am really after is the Readers Digest version of Homemade.....I believe this is a great source of reading material which has been highly recommended.

 Here are some photo's of my butter making...........

Over whipping the cream

Solids of butter with Buttermilk

 After straining the solids...I thought it would be a good idea to use the dough hook on my whizzer...to beat out any remaining buttermilk....It wasn't a good idea, as it seemed to whip it back into the butter.

 At this time you also need to wash any remaining buttermilk from the solids. this stops any buttermilk from spoiling in your lovely butter....after washing the butter, then add the salt...for this amount I used 1 teaspoon, as I found 1/2 teaspoon wasn't quite to my taste....I think though on using it now....I should have only added 3/4 teaspoon of salt...but you live and learn!
For extra photos of the butter making you will need to scroll down...sorry!

Adding the butter to some moulds.

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#3 Creme Fraiche or Sour Cream

heaps of Buttermilk after making the butter

After 24 hours, It had reached a sour I was willing to try....
Far different kind of sour than I had ever tried.
Not thickened much, but very sour, into the fridge it goes.

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#3 Homemade Vanilla Ice-cream

 

Straining the vanilla bean

Churning in the Ice-cream maker for 45 minutes

I placed a plastic bag on top, to avoid ice particles forming
before putting it into the freezer

 

Rinsing the butter with ice-cold water
to remove any residual buttermilk

Rinsing the butter......note the difference in the water after each rinse.

Leftover sticky date pudding with my ice-cream
more ice-cream than pudding, Yum!

Once again, sorry about the order of these photos....

Still to come.....my version of mashed potato....some buttermilk scones...and anything else I can think of......stay tuned...............