archives – may 2012 – daisy and me

May 29 2012.

I chose this archive entry because it contains my frequently made broccoli soup recipe and heralds the beginning of the milking period and we get a mention of Sheila and a real look at Daisy and me.

Reaching back and revisiting these old characters is a mixture of sad and delightful but we (I) must not let myself get mired in the sad.

Though I wish my legs still looked that good!

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Wind in the willows chapter two is HERE.

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A rare sighting of miss c and Broccoli with Garlic Soup

I have begun to investigate slow cooking. With the arrival of Daisy’s calf fast approaching, and Sheila the Babe (hopefully this week), I can look forward to a lot of milking and the cheese making, I will have at least another two hours work a day and that does not include the clean up. The barn I can clean with a hose. Don’t you wish you could do the same with the kitchen!

So I need to find ways to save time. The crock pot has never appealed to me. I honestly prefer my food freshly picked and prepared. But until I get my head around this new regime I am going to have to resort to making dinner in the early afternoon then leaving it to cook alone. My other problem is my old rickety gas stove that has not quite worn itself out yet,  needs supervision. It cannot be left on in the house when I am out of the house. So I am reconsidering the less than sexy crock pot.

Yesterday was a case in point, we were racing to get the fencing finished and Daisy’s milking parlour ready.  There was no time to muck about in the kitchen.  The Kitchens Garden had garlic almost ready to harvest and the broccoli was going to shoot in the terribly hot winds we had yesterday.  The lettuce has gone past it. So no quick salad. 

So the dinner ingredients were already decided. That is the best garlic we have grown.  

The challenge: what can you make in a crockpot with these ingredients and leave to cook inside while you are outside for hours. Broccoli and Garlic Soup. Am

Chop up the peeled broccoli stalks as well as the florets.  In the slow cooker add oil, thyme, lemon juice, chicken stock and salt and pepper. Muddle in a whole bulb of chopped and crushed garlic.  I cooked it on low for about three hours, then pureed most of it.

It is not a pretty soup but it was good. And fast to serve with minimal clean up.

And now a wee surprise. Daisy and I.  Daisy is walking like a cowboy now and not going very far, and so when we were not fencing  (again the heat was in the high nineties but this time with gale force winds) I was hanging out with her under the trees. John took the camera from its fencepost and managed to nick an unflattering shot of me in his nieces T-shirt, which I redesigned with a pair of kitchen scissors, and my work skirt,  my hair blown straight up, looking like I have been dragged through a bush backwards.

This is probably the first time I have included a full picture of me in the blog. But I have been thinking of perspective lately.  How to show size in the shots. A box of matches and Daisy would be silly. And this image does give you an idea of how large Daisy really is.  I am 5’7″. Now look at the size of her head again. She just needs to swing that head to dislodge a fly and she has inadvertantly knocked me for a six.   She is a gentle giant lately though. Such a big animal to have in my care. Stepping so carefully, poor fat pregnant cow in the heat.

Good morning.  Queenie Wineti, The Bobby (this years steer) and  Hairy MacLairy are all out in the newly fenced Dairy Mistress paddock.  They are more than happy with their new field.  I can check them from my kitchen window which makes life very easy. And gives me something to look at when I do the dishes.  (Where is that hose!)

I think we have an ordinary day ahead of us. The usual chores and rounds. So it will be a good solid and peaceful day. There are no surprises in the plan.  Touch wood.  You have a lovely day too.

Celi. May 29 2012

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The post is HERE if you would like to pop back to read your comments.

Were you here already then? Reading with us?

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Good morning!

The day has dawned windy and warmer.

So it will zoom above freezing nicely. Actually it will go way above freezing. 32F is the point of freezing in Fahrenheit.

And yes: I still hate the crock pot.

But I love broccoli soup. Though as Dorothy said the other day I change a recipe each time I make it depending on available ingredients!

It is Friday here! Though that makes no difference at all on the farm.

Have a lovely day.

Celi