At every angle we are bombarded with rises in the cost of living.With two home living teens, I concur.
Doubled down with a recent job loss, (I’m trying to keep my blog positive so I won’t go into it…), I am now more than ever engaging in the healthy pursuit of smallholding and self sufficiency.
I gather literal buckets of tomatoes daily. All shapes and sizes, colours and tastes.
It seems my inability to compost a single seed has paid off in the form of chutney, tomato ketchup, sound dried tomatoes, passata, pasta sauce.
Do let me know if I’ve forgotten anything, the plants show no signs of slowing down.
Despite child no. 3 feeding at least 30 pumpkins as dinner to the pigs while I was away, I’m estimating a crop of at least 100-200kgs.
(I’m adding “getting creative with pumpkins to my list of interests and hobbies on my resume).
I’m adding chutney, soup, puree, frozen chunks, pasta sauce to the cupboards and freezer. And still they accumulate on the verandah.
We have one third of a freezer full of pork from the pasture raised pigs we processed in August ’23.
Such was the reverence of this harvest, we wasted not a single part from nose to tail. I’ve preserved jars of lard in my fridge which I broke open last week to dip my toe into the world of home made skin care.
First cab off the rank is a trial of what I’d love to label “Farmer’s Hands”. Could equally be called “Gardener’s Hands” or “Horse Hands”. A deep moisturising blend of lard, beeswax, shea butter, Marigold infused olive oil, cocoa butter and essential oils.
The result melts luxuriously into warm hands and if your skincare is as uncomplicated as mine, can be massaged gently into the face as well!
Trial no. 2 was soap.
I’m fascinated by the chemical reactions needed to produce this household staple.
Home made soap contains a lot less ingredients found in commercial varieties and considering we apply it to our largest organ (our skin) daily that’s probably not a bad thing.
The drawback of soap? It needs time to cure - 6-8 weeks. If you’re as impatient as I am, that’s almost unbearable.
Figs are fruit I’ve always been indifferent to. I couldn’t understand what the fuss was about. As people exclaimed with ecstasy at their arrival marked by select, carefully placed fruit in paper bags, I tried time and again to be enthusiastic about the squat brown fig.
However, every day I step out at dawn to enjoy a solitary coffee with the background symphony of the chorus of native birds, the resident sprawling fig tree waves her beautiful green leaves at me. Her boughs dripping with dumpy fat figs at every angle.
There has to be a different way, I ponder.
How can I let these calf testicle shaped beauties be dropped to the ground uneaten until the hens descend and tear them to pieces.
I consult Dr Google and sure enough, he responds with a page of three ingredient recipes for fig paste.
I click on the first which advises pureeing, adding sugar and chopped walnuts then stirring until the mixture forms a putty like brown goop, upon which it can be added to moulds to set.
I did as I was told and popped the resultant creations into the fridge.
That evening as I prepared dinner, the tiny little brown blobs peeked up at me, I shqashed them alongside a rich creamy blue cheese and nibbled at a corner.
Oh. My.
The flavour!
I’m hooked. Those tiny bites are disappearing at a rate usually reserved for an opened block of Fruit ’n Nut chocolate.
The garden and kitchen activities are incomparably soothing in these troubled times.
Bare feet digging toes into soils teeming with life.
Hair standing up on arms with an impending storm, alerted by a knowing nose that is awakened by petrichor.
Fingers stained from never-ending rogue tomato shoot trimming.
Tiny glimmers - noticing the spectacular engineering in a spider’s web. An avocado tree growing valiantly from the compost. Brilliant flashes of marigolds flourishing in the arid climate. Pumpkins growing into all shapes and colours, the result of cross pollination.Nature is bountiful, beautiful and bold.
Sometimes we just need to refocus our attention.
Kylie x
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Thank you so much to those lovely people who have placed orders for my book either on my website here or on Amazon here.
Even though it looks like a children’s book, it is appropriate for anyone who eats.
While the hens are taking a break in Ireland, I’ve some lovely merchandise available for your perusal here.
Next week I am appearing on a panel at Global Citizen Now. Other attendees include Crowded House, Hugh Jackman, Charlie Puth, Julia Gillard, Sarah Ferguson.
I am wildly excited and can’t wait to share with you some of the sessions.
I feel like a very small fish in a big ocean, however the smallholder is integral to our planet’s health. We can enact change and are easily able to change tack when needed.
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