The Tale of Two Cheese Books

A week or two ago, I mentioned that I was going to do two book reviews. So, as promised here it is. Note: The recipe for Wensleydale (pitured above) is missing from both of these books. It does not rate a mention. I am so glad that the little recipe book that I received with my kit has it listed. I love this cheese!

Home Cheese Making - Recipes for 75 Homemade Cheeses.
By Ricki Carroll.

The first thing that struck me about this book was that there were no photos in the entire book. All the pictures are illustrations which are quite well done, but not the same as seeing a photo of the cheese the recipe is describing. The other main problem with this book is that all the measurements are in Imperial with no metric equivalent in the recipes. There is not even an Imperial/Metric conversion table as is present in most cookbooks. That struck me as very odd in this modern day and age. With this book being the 3rd edition, you would think that they would have corrected this oversight to appeal to a wider audience. I will have to convert each recipe myself and add the metric measurements, weights and temperatures in pencil. Not an easy job, and one that the reader should not have to do.

Other than these two issues the book is well written for the novice, starting with the history of cheese, what all of the ingredients are, and equipment you might need. Then the author describes the process of cheese making with illustrations which was a good guide to help you understand what you are in for. There is even a section on how to smoke a cheese with a kettle BBQ.

The recipes are divided up into sections which start at Soft Cheeses for the novice, and then Hard, Italian, Whey, Bacteria and Mould-Ripened, Goat's-Milk Cheeses, all which have ample instructions and are simple to follow. I do like the occasional page dedicated to 'A Cheese Makers Story' in which the author has interviewed many prize winning cheese makers throughout the U.S.A.

To finish off this book, the author chose to include 47 pages about serving, enjoying and cooking with cheese. Some of the inclusions are how to cut different cheese, a little bit about what wine to serve it with and then pages and pages of recipes. These recipes cover off how to include your home-made cheese into simple, yet delicious fare. They even mention a few ways to utilise the whey into some of the dishes. I have often wondered what to do with the whey besides making more Ricotta!

Over all, a pretty good book which would certainly whet your appettie and put you onto the right path for creating your own wonderful and tasty cheese. You just won't know what they are supposed to look like!

Making Artisan Cheese - 50 Fine Cheeses That You Can Make In Your Own Kitchen,
By Tim Smith

This book is truly a delight to read. With lots of colour photos to tantalise the taste buds, my first impression was that this book was going to be a great tool in my cheese making journey. I am a firm believer that if you are just starting out in something, you will more than often need a picture to compare to your finished product. Maybe it is just the way I learn, I am a visual kind of guy.

The book is divided into three main parts, Part 1 - How Tradition Influences Modern Cheese, in which the author give a brief history of cheese making and cheese-making basics. I found these the two chapters in this part very informative, even for an intermediate cheese maker like myself.

Part 2 is titled 'Making Cheese' and covers of how to make Basic (Fresh & Soft), Intermediate (Intermediate, Washed-Curd, Cooked, Pasta Filata, and Whey), Advanced Cheese-Making (Mold & Bacteria-Ripened), and Butter & Ghee making. The good feature about each chapter is that it describes the techniques for each level and the equipment needed. I found this a good addition, because if you only want to make basic cheeses you don't have to wade through a myriad of equipment types to figure out what you need. Each recipe have both Imperial and Metric conversions and the majority have a colour photo of what the final cheese should look like. I really liked both of these features, as it helps add to the experiance and you can make an informed decision about each type of cheese before you take the next step and actually make it. For me, it was the photograph of the Pepper Jack that enticed me to give that recipe a go.

Part 3 - Beyond Cheese Making gives you tips on how to serve your cheese to bring out its full potential. It has a detailed advice on how to best present your cheeseboard, what wines go with which cheese, and something I really liked was which beer paired the best with each type of cheese.

I also liked the 'Artisan Advice' that featured in the sidebar of some recipes, and additional tips on how to add herbs to various types of cheese. For instance, the addition of green peppercorns to Pyrenees, or cumin or mustard seed to Gouda. All of these variations actually take the number of cheese recipes to 55, which is a bit of a bonus for the reader.

I would highly recommend this book to novice and advanced cheese maker alike. It is well written, simple to follow, and has more than enough information to get you motivated to run down the store and buy 10 litres of milk and make your first wheel of cheese!

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Just to see if there were any variance in each book, I compared the Moneray Jack recipies. Both are identical in ingredients, method until you get the pressing section. Also, one book recommends 1-4 months maturation, the other 1-3 months. Similarly, one book stated the method would yield 2 pounds (900gm) and the other 1 pound. When I made this cheese, it yeilded 878gm, so both were wrong. I suppose it all depends on how much whey remains in the finished cheese.

I hope you have enjoyed these two reviews as much I have in writing them. Both book are informative and well written, but if I saw them both in the same bookstore, I would only purchase Making Artisan Cheese if I was strapped for cash. Unfortunately, the title is missleading and suggest some form of experiance is necessary to use it, and maybe it is the reason why the other book is so popular.

Marathon Cheese Session

Due to a very slow Internet connection, last night was cheese making night. I started at 6pm, and Kim requested Wensleydale again. So I got stuck into it, but forgot one very simple thing. TIME. I had forgotten that it takes 9 long, but fun hours to make this wonderful cheese.


So at 3am this morning, I put the cheese into the press (after adding a layer of home grown sage for flavour) for the last time and dragged my sorry butt into bed!


Anyway, my main post today is over at the Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op, and funnily enough it is about "Making Cheese at Home".

Enjoy, I am going back to bed! I need the strength to dig the remaining holes for the fruit trees.

Nearly Finished

So what do you think?  I believe that the template looks quite professional, and even better, it was free!

Just a few more things to add into the side bar, like links to some of the tutorials that I have written over the life of the blog, and then it will be complete.

Work In Progress

Please bare with me over the next day or so as I do a little bit of redesign work on the site. I believe that a change is as good as a holiday, so as I haven't had a holiday in years (not that I want one), revamping the site sounds like a good idea.

And before you ask, I have taken a backup! It should be up and looking great this evening some time.

Gav

A Great Weekend

Well what a great time had by all. Over the weekend, I was a very busy lad.

Friday night, I made a version of Monterey Jack cheese called Pepper Jack. I got the recipe from one of my new cheese books, which I will post a review of during the week. Here is the pre-waxed finished product. It weighs about a kilogram.

Note the red flakes throughout the cheese. They are my organically grown Birdseye chilli flakes that are added to the cheese when adding the salt to the curds. It took me about 4 hours to get to this stage. It has to dry for another day before I wax it as a little whey is still draining from it. The cheese will be ready to eat between 1 and 4 months. I can’t wait.

On Saturday, after I cooked my own full English birthday breakfast (bacon, eggs, beans, mushrooms), I ventured down to the hardware store (Bunnings) and picked up a few birthday gifts for myself. I purchased a gardening sieve to make seed raising mix with, some organic potting mix, and various punnets of bok choy and winter lettuce. I have a few pots that I wanted to plant out as the veggie patch is full.

My friend and fellow sustainable living group member David came over to help me set up for the MSLG’s fortnightly meeting. We set up under my Solar PV power station (the carport). How cool is having a sustainable living meeting underneath solar panels!

We were expecting about 10 people to attend, and I was glad when 11 turned up. We had about 10 minutes of official business, and then I gave an organic gardening presentation/demonstration which lasted for the rest of the meeting. I felt like a cross between Don Burke, Peter Cundell and Jackie French. It was quite humorous to watch. I thoroughly enjoyed it and there were lots of questions. I even finished it off with a “that's your blooming lot”. The entire group joined in and there was lots of tips flying back and fourth. I then gave a tour of the veggie patch to those who had not see it, and explained what I had planted and why. Thanks to all those who attended, you made my day.

Later that evening, after all of the group members had left, I started to prepare dinner. Kim and I had invited our friends Jane and Sim over for a curry night for my birthday. Jane writes at “Changing Direction…”. They brought along the most delicious lamb curry in a huge pot and a jar of lemon pickles (must look that one up now I have lots of lemons), and I made a chicken korma and provided the usual condiments of Hot chilli chutney, brinjal pickle and green tomato pickles. It was all so good, and we all went back for seconds! The ladies also bought me a present of a fig and walnut loaf. Doesn’t it look wonderful?

It looks even better sliced.

It was so delicious. I was a bit of a pig and ate three slices for breakfast with butter on Sunday morning. Everyone loved it except Ben who is a bit fussy about his bread. Kim wants the recipe!

After dinner, it was time to sample the cheese. So out with a little bit more Wensleydale and some Gouda that I also made. The Wensleydale was fantastic, as already reported, and the Gouda had holes just like the picture in the cheese book! It was a bit immature, but I thought it tasted wonderful. Kim thought it was a bit bland, so I re-waxed it and will sample it again in two months time. I better make some more Wensleydale as we only have quarter of a wheel remaining.

After a few crackers and some more cider it was time to say goodbye. Thanks for a great night ladies.

Sunday morning, fig and walnut toast and organic coffee. Yum. Then it was to work in the garden trimming back overhanging trees and jasmine and removing bamboo screens from the fence. We are getting our back fences replaced in two weeks time, so I had to make sure that Mr fence man could get free access to both of them. This is the mess we made of the raised bed in the chook garden area.

And another view.

All that mess in the foreground is bound for the skip. The council doesn’t take jasmine or creepers in the green waste collection which is fair enough given the nature of it to reshoot as soon as it is left on a bare patch of earth. Where the trellis is now bare, I will be planting 3 dwarf fruit trees and will be espaliering them. I have to prep the beds over the next few weeks as it is lacking in organic matter. Watch this space for a how to espalier a fruit tree!

Then we attempted to train Holly to not chase the chickens when they are free ranging. Here are the girls venturing out of their cage after we finished destroying the garden. I used a trigger bottle full of water to deter Holly when she made her move, and she learned very fast not to chase them. A few more times and we will have her co-existing peacefully just like Butch does with the girls.

It took three of us (Adam and Amy helped their old Dad) about 3 hours to finish off all the work. I was knackered, but my back felt really good. I did feel quite tired, but managed the strength to whip up a Chickpea and Potato curry for dinner. It was great with rice and naan bread.

I was then finished for the weekend and retired to bed early. What a great way to spend ones 45th birthday!

Oh, BTW. It rained today. The first time since February I think. The veggie have gone crazy with all of those special nutrients!

Pickled Eggs

I had a request from Maggie, a regular reader who had talked to Kate, another reader and friend about my pickled eggs.  The first batch I ever made is long gone now, but you can see them top right in this photo.

When I have a glut of eggs and they are a few weeks old, this is how I preserve them so they last a bit longer.  They taste absolutely divine with a bread & butter cucumbers and a sharp cheddar cheese.

Here is how I make them.  I found the recipe in a very old pickling book from the library a couple of years ago (sorry, can’t remember the title of the book).

Pickled Eggs

12 hard boiled eggs, shelled and cooled
2.5 cups white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon pickling spice
small piece of orange rind, about 5cm long
3 cloves garlic, peeled

Prepare the eggs.  Place the vinegar, pickling spice, orange rind and garlic in a saucepan.  Bring to boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and leave until mixture is completely cold.
Meanwhile, put eggs in clean, sterilised jars with a screw lid.  When the vinegar is cold, strain it over the eggs, making sure they are completely covered with liquid.  Screw the lids on tightly and store for at least 6 weeks to allow the flavour of the pickled eggs to develop. 

Enjoy on their own or with cheese and pickled cucumber for an authentic Ploughman's lunch.

I hope you get a chance to whip up a batch.  I really like them.

Reflection

Over the past few weeks, I have had time to reflect on a many number of things in my life.  Relationships, work, home, community, hobbies, family, you name it I have thought about it.

Throughout all the chaos of Kim’s illness, and having the reality thrust upon us that she might have lost some toes or her right foot, it brought home, to me at least, that the most important things in life are the things that often stare you right in the face.  Here are some of the things that I have learnt or rediscovered from the experience.

Relationships are important.  Without Kim in my life while she was fighting to keep her foot, I felt helpless.  I went to pieces literally after we knew that she was safe.  I got sick because my immune system was compromised due to the stress of worrying about her.  We got through it together because we are very close and know how each other works. 

Family is important.  When I was out of action at the same time Kim was, both Amy and Adam came to our rescue and dropped everything at their work to come and help us out.  By doing this, Megan and Ben did not suffer at school and were able to keep up with their studies.  Once we knew that Kim was out of danger, all they had to do was keep an eye on me to make sure that I recovered.

Friends are important.  True friends are there when you need them even if you don’t ask for their help.  They call you when you are down, and help you out because they care.  They visit you in hospital when you least expect it, and they make you laugh when you need it most.

Home is where the heart is.  Our home was our anchor.  A place for family to gather and meet and love, a place for friends to enjoy, and a place of harmony amongst the chaos.  It was the norm when everything else around us was abnormal.  The garden kept me active when I needed to think and reflect upon what was going on around me.  It was a great place to ponder the future.

Community is important.  During Kim’s illness the fact that I had obligations to the community in the form of our sustainable living group kept me focused on the people around us and that I was not alone in the way I saw the world.  It is fantastic that in troubled times that like minded people can connect and do some good in our local area.

Being green kept me sane.  All of my little quirky but important green habits kept me distracted during all the times that I was worrying the most.  Caring for the chooks, worms and dogs kept me from thinking of the worst case scenario.  Tending for the vegetables and pruning the fruit trees gave me time to calm myself down when I was most anxious.  Making bread and cheese gave me a sense of accomplishment when I needed a lift in spirits.  Being green gave me a purpose for keeping it real.

Work.  Well, I can honestly say I didn’t miss my paid job one little bit.  However, I kept working to maintain the home, doing the work of two people whilst Kim was (and still is) incapacitated.  I did find that whilst engaging in meaningful work with people that were close to me was simply the most rewarding kind of work that I have participated in.  I had a job of maintaining the home, and I am determined to keep it ticking over with help from the kids.  Watch this space for developments.

Growing your own food is freedom.  I cannot count the amount of times that I utilised the fact that I have an abundant food garden at my door step.  Every night that I cook, I add a little bit of the garden to our dinner.  Whether it be something I have preserved, or something fresh, dinner feels so much more rewarding if even a little of it is home grown or home made.  Call it the ultimate gastronomic satisfaction. 

Walking is very social.  I have hardly driven at all over the last few weeks since Kim has been home, with a preference of walking most places.  Compared to driving, which is extremely antisocial, walking everywhere is a breath of fresh air.  I take Ben to and from school which is 15 minutes walk away.  I take Holly the dog with me every morning and kids ask if they can pat her every day.  Holly loves the attention.  People actually say hello to each other when walking and I enjoy my little chat with the lollypop lady every day.  I walk to the letter box on the corner when I need to, and other than that, I haven’t had the need to go out other than one very small shopping trip for some fresh vegetables that I have not been able to grow.

Stockpiling is a saviour.  If it hadn’t been for our stockpile of food and essentials, I would have been rushing all over the place and been very disorganised.  With 3 months worth of basic food in our stock pile cupboard, it has been easy to whip up simple meals for the family when I really didn’t feel like doing much at all.  I think I might follow this post up with a stockpile update!

So in summary, all of these things have helped enormously since Kim got ill.  I think that if we hadn’t had the support of family, friends and community, we would have struggled emotionally to get through it all.  Additionally, if we had not planned ahead with food security, we would have not maintained healthy eating habits and it would have cost us a small fortune to eat out all the time. 

I will leave you with this quote to ponder upon.  I tugged at my heart strings when I read it, and thought that it summed up this experience.

“Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people.” – Albert Einstein

Green Campaigning, Solar Style

I have been doing a bit of local campaigning and media awareness to put the Melton Sustainable Living Group in the headlines.  As you know, I sent a media release to all of our local papers and radio station a couple of weeks ago.

As a result, here is an interview I did last week that appeared in the Melton Express Telegraph.  The article is titled, “Melton green group backs solar”.  It shows a picture of me hugging my solar panel up on the roof of my carport and explains about the Solar Suburbs Scheme that our local council and Clear Solar is promoting.

I thought it would be a good idea to give the Solar PV rebate a plug seeing that it ends on June 30th.  If you can find a bulk buy scheme in your area, I encourage you to take up this once in a lifetime opportunity of purchasing a 1kW Solar PV system for around A$2,500.  It is a bargain and based on the average Australian homes power usage, you should be able to produce at least 25% of your own electricity needs.  Join the likes of my fellow bloggers Darren, Moo, the MadGnomes and myself (and anyone I have missed) in taking up this green renewable energy option.  You will never look back.  I certainly haven’t!

Climate Change Human Sign

Activism at its best.  A massive event happened today at St Kilda beach.  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend, however I offered my video editing skills for the day, and managed to capture this clip off of the evening news for my friend and fellow climate change activist David Robinson.  He helped organise the event, and you can get a full brief describing the event at http://www.live.org.au/.  Well done David and friends for organising a meaningful message to our elected officials.

You make me proud to be an Australian who also cares about the future of our world and our ability to live upon it.  Fantastic effort to all those people who made up the sign.  It looks like you all had a lot of fun.

Wicked Wensleydale

As they say, the proof is in the eating.  You may remember back a couple of months ago that I made a wheel of Wensleydale cheese. 

Now, because it was a special occasion yesterday (Lydia & Matt returning to the UK), I decided to taste test it after two months. 

The recipe suggested that maturation was between 3 weeks and 3 months, so I thought that it would be all right to give it a go.  I took it out of the wrapper that Kim had made,

sharpened one of my longest knives and cut out a small wedge.  I picked it up and smelt the cheese, and I could not believe the heavenly odour!

The colour was a slightly yellow.  I had expected a pure white colour, so it was a bit of a surprise.  I loved the layer of sage through the middle.

Having never eaten Wensleydale before, I really didn’t have anything to compare it with, but all I can tell you all is that it was best cheese I  have ever tasted (not biased or anything).  Kim had the next taste and her eyes lit up.  She could not believe the flavour, and noted that the sage emanated through the middle of the cheese.  The texture was smooth and creamy yet firm in the mouth.  It had a subtle aftertaste that lingered for about 3 of 4 minutes.  So last night at about 9pm, Matt and Lydia enjoyed some of the cheese.  They were highly impressed as well.  It went so well with the cider we picked up in Harcourt.  Happy days!

In fact I just savoured another piece with Kim and our friend Stacey, and it was unanimously judged as best in show!  Well it was the only cheese at the show, so it was bound to win their approval.  Gold medals all around!

So in 24 hours we have demolished a half a wheel.  I re-waxed the other half and will be leaving it for another month to see what flavours develop.  In the mean time, this success has inspired me to make some more.  Kim has requested Edam this time, and luckily I now have a recipe for it in my new cheese book “Making Artisan Cheese”.  I will have to give it a go next weekend.

What a great hobby I have stumbled upon!

 

The Trek

No post of substance tonight.  Adam and I are going to see the new Star Trek movie as we are both avid fans.  It should be a great evening.

That makes me wonder.  How many others of you out there love the Trek?  Leave a comment if you are a fan.

See you all tomorrow!  Be Green and Prosper!

 

Pressure Cooking

My main post for today is over at the Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op and focuses on one of my favourite cooking implements, the pressure cooker.

Please take the time to check it out.  It is titled “Saving Energy in the Kitchen”.  I have also included a recipe for my simple beef stew.  It tastes sensational.

We have been using the pressure cooker about twice a week now that it is winter, and the beauty of it is that it cooks so fast (saving energy), tastes fantastic (locks in flavour), and you can use cheap cuts of meat because the cooking process breaks down the sinews in the meat and would make boot leather tender!  Most meals take less than 25 minutes tops to cook.

If you can get your hands on one without costing you a small fortune, then I highly recommend that you make the investment.  Quick, wholesome meals made at home with great ingredients.  What more could one ask for.

 

It Doesn’t Grow On Trees

Tonight, when I was waiting to pick up Lydia, Matt and his parents at the train station, I came across a truly ancient phenomenon. Or so I thought anyway.  Would you believe that three out of five drivers had their car engines running for at least 15 minutes whilst waiting for their passengers to arrive from Melbourne.  WTF I thought!

I could not believe that people have money and the planet to burn.  It was not like it was that cold that they had to be wrapped up in climate controlled comfort.  I stood outside, leaning on the hybrid with a jacket on, waiting for my guests to arrive.  I was so angry and livid!

What a waste of petrol and diesel, with so much CO2-e just being pumped into the atmosphere by their stupid behaviour!  I thought that this kind of habit went out with the last oil peak.  People obviously forget so quickly.  I hope they get their just deserts next time around when their 4x4’s cost them an arm and a leg to run.  Rock on $2 a litre petrol.  Bloody planet killers!  (a bit harsh I know, but that is how I feel.  I just wanted to throw rocks at them and tell them to wake up to themselves, but apparently I might get arrested!)

Why is the average Australian not waking up to the damage they are causing though their everyday actions?  Is it that hard to grasp, or are they just so bloody lazy to change before it is forced upon them?  Who knows the answer. 

All I know is that it makes my blood boil when I see such waste!  Wake up numbnuts!  Turn your car off when waiting for more that a minute or so.  It costs you money and the planet for the rest of us!

Albert and I

Well, once again I have applied to be a Climate Project presenter and if successful, I will have the privilege of being trained over 3 days in July by none other than Al Gore.  For those who don’t know, his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth shocked me out of the Matrix and into reality!  It was responsible for my so called ‘green epiphany’!

Hopefully, my application was a little bit more convincing this time around, and I managed to complete it without too much trouble.  I described how the region that I live in is kind of in a ‘70 time warp as far as Climate Change action goes, and that I am just the bloke to spread the message in the Western part of outer Melbourne.  I also mentioned my part in getting the sustainable living group up and running and raising awareness about climate change in the local media.  One of the conditions is to give 10 presentations to large audiences over the course of a year.  No problem for me, because I am used to public speaking to crowds of at least 50 people.  Last Thursday night was a breeze, and I really enjoyed talking about climate change and sustainable living.  I have had some really great feedback about my presentation, and I have also been approached by the Australian Youth Climate Coalition to talk at their Powershift conference.  Not sure of the details, but will find out soon enough.

It would be nice to get a guernsey for the game this time around, but if not this time, I will apply again next year.  Wish me luck, and maybe the picture I made will come true!  Me and Al, just imagine it.

 

Cheese Slices

It has been a while since I have made some cheese.  I am having withdrawals!  Making cheese is now a part of who I am and it just feels great when making it, but even better when eating it.  I feel like I have resurrected some ancient art that has been lost by modern man.  Well, when you think of it like that, I suppose that is exactly what I have done.  Hopefully, once my older kids have tasted my harder cheeses, they will want to learn how to make them as well.  I would love to pass this skill down to them.

Anyway, today I bought two cheese making books, thanks to a $10 discount voucher given to me by Moo from Moo I Made it!  Thanks Moo.

The first one I chose was “Home Cheese Making – Recipes for 75 homemade cheeses”, by Ricki Carroll.

The other is “Making Artisan Cheese: Fifty Fine Cheeses That You Can Make in Your Own Kitchen,” by Tim Smith.

I hope that my expectations are met, because I can’t wait to get stuck in to making some more yummy cheeses.  Of course I will have to wait until Kim is on her feet again, but she is healing well and should be independent again in a few weeks.  So, once I read these books, I will let you know which is the better one and if they are worthwhile investing in a copy.  My mouth is watering just looking at the pictures!

Why Does Nature Always Come Off Second Best?

I was reading this story today about the Superb Parrot titled “Parrot ‘putting hundreds of jobs at risk’, whose species is listed as a vulnerable species.  This parrot lives in the river red gums in the Murray Darling Basin and the hollows of the Red Gum are its only nesting site.  I am not normally a ‘tree hugging greenie’ but in this instance I feel I must say something in defence of the parrot.

The commercial media was all over this story like a rash.  All one sided of course.  Not one outlet saw it from the poor old parrots point of view.

The title of the main stream media kind of went like this;

• Garret a ‘warbling twit’ over parrot
• Green leek parrot endangers 1000 jobs in NSW
• Rare parrot to kill of 1000 Australian jobs
• Parrot threatens 1,000 timber industry jobs in NSW
• Parrot puts 1000 jobs at risk

Guess what.  It is not the bloody parrots fault!  They were there first!  I am here to tell you that I support the parrots point of view.  Where do humans get off at worrying about their freaking jobs, when a species of parrot’s existence is hanging on a thread?  What gives us the audacity to believe that we are more important than this beautiful bird, who’s only crime is to enjoy nesting in River Red Gum trees, that humans convert to woodchips that are exported to Japan, or the latest designer coffee table or furniture for the nuevo chic.  I hope that humans can live with the blood of the extinction of yet another species on their already stained hands.

Don’t the other inhabitants of our wonderful planet deserve a place to live besides the so call intelligent bipedal descendant of the apes (I use the term intelligent loosely)? 

I understand that a community’s livelihood is at stake, but who let them continue this unsustainable practice for so long anyway?  Was it the promise of Profits vs. the Planet?  So when the last River Red Gum is felled, who is the timber industry going to blame then?  The wombat or the Grey Kangaroo?  Get real!

Taking the humans side for just one second, what happened to all of these so called ‘Green Collar’ jobs that our government has promised us?  These would certainly offset any job losses when the timber industry is forced with a reality check by governments.

I will leave the verdict of whether I am over the top to those of you who decide to leave a comment.  I believe the parrot’s existence is far more important than 1000 Australian jobs.  Selfish arseholes!

Climate Change – We Knew Years Ago

We have known about man made climate change for a very long time.  The greenhouse effect was discovered in 1824 by Joseph Fourier.  He surmised that it was the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases warm a planet’s lower atmosphere and surface. 

Since that time scientists have gone on to discover that human activity in the form of burning fossil fuels has released vast quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which has lead to increased radiative forcing, and therefore heating the surface of our planet Earth.  It is this heating that is causing the climate chaos that we are witnessing all around us today, especially at the poles and in Australia.

Today, I stumbled upon a very old video clip that disturbed me.  Global Warming, or Climate Change as it is now known as, was taught to students in the US back as early as 1958!  Yes, folks.  We have known for a long time, and most have chosen to ignore the consequences of our actions.

This is what the author of this YouTube video posted with the clip;

“For FIFTY YEARS scientists have known about global warming. This excerpt is from the well known educational documentary "Unchained Goddess" produced by Frank Capra for Bell Labs for their television program "The Bell Telephone Hour." It was so well made, that it went on to live a continued life in middle school science classrooms across the nation for decades.
Nearly half a century before Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth," this film was made. But what does it reveal? That our scientists have known for over two generations about this danger, but our politicians and citizenry have chosen to ignore the dangerous implications of this fact until it really is too late to avoid the preventable consequences.
Perhaps we deserve our fate. “

I hope you all learned a little from this clip.  I learnt that just because someone presents the facts in an understandable form, it doesn’t mean that we will act upon it until we actually see things changing before our eyes.  It is basic human nature.  What really disturbs me is that we can see the effects of our actions now, but people still refuse to change.  Unfortunately, I believe that change will be forced upon us by the Earth, but by then it will be far too late.

In the mean time, I pledge that I will continue to do everything within my control to influence and educated people about the simple actions they can take to reduce their personal carbon footprint so that we may have some glimmer of hope of averting climate chaos.

Gav

Media Release

I thought I would post up the first media release from last nights community meeting of the Melton Sustainable Living Group.  It was a great night and believe that it will get bigger and better from here on in.  I had a ball presenting and answering questions.  I took my camera, but forgot to give it to someone to take few snaps.  Maybe next time.

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 Local Sustainability group open for new members

Melton Sustainable Living Group was recently formed to raise community awareness about the actions that individuals and business can take to lower their personal carbon footprint and to build local sustainability in water, energy, waste, transport and food production.

Last night (May 7th) the group held a community meeting at the Melton Community Hall and attracted more than 18 Melton Shire residents, who are keen to learn more about the simple actions that they could make to green up their lifestyle. Among the group were members of the Alternative Technology Association, people interested in community gardens and several people who are involved in Sustainability in their professional lives.

Commenting after the meeting, Melton Sustainable Living Group President Gavin Webber said: “The evening was a big success. It was great to share with other local like minded people ideas we all have for making our lives, and the lives of our families better - saving money and saving the planet. Most people want to take positive action in their own lives, we just need to work out how we do it. We plan to hold more public meetings to inform ourselves and others about how we can live sustainably and help the family budget.”

“New members are warmly encouraged to join and have their say as to what the group should focus on. There is interest in the group on installing solar panels and solar hot water, energy conservation, growing your own vegetables, retrofitting your house to save energy and lower your power bills,” Mr. Webber said.

Melton Shire residents interested in being involved can look at the groups’ web-site on www.meltonsustainablelivinggroup.blogspot.com or contact the group via email: meltonsustainablelivinggroup@gmail.com. “We would warmly welcome anyone who has similar interests,” Mr. Webber added.

The next meeting for potential new members of the group will be held on Saturday, 23^rd May, 2-4pm. For details, contact the group via email.

For media enquiries contact:

Gavin Webber

President

Melton Sustainable Living Group

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I had a little help from my friend Linda, who is a campaigner from way back.  It was tailored to match the local demographic.  After endorsement from the committee, I sent it out to all of our local media outlets.  I might just get a bite, but time will tell.  Our next meeting falls on my birthday, so it should be a good time.  What more could a sustainable living environmentalist ask for on his birthday except a meeting of like minded people.  Heaven on a stick!

Fruit Orchard

I have fond memories of growing up on a dairy farm in Loxton North, South Australia.  Dad and Mum were share farmers and took a third of the profit from the dairy and the owner took two thirds.  We lived on the farm for about 12 years.

This is my family circa 1972.  Left to right.  Front: Me, Scott, Teena, Jim.  Back Mum & Dad.  All of us are dressed in our best cloths for the Loxton Show.  These were simple living times at their best.

There was a large fruit orchard next to the farm house and as kids we used to play there all the time.  My brother Jim and I would climb the massive apricot tree and scoff down so many apricots that we would burst.  We would try and pick oranges (Navel and Valencia) without getting pricked by the thorns.  Of course there was a lemon tree, apple tree, quince tree, huge fig tree, pears, nectarine, peach and I think an almond tree.  All trees were irrigated and it seamed that we were never without fruit.  We even made the mistake of trying to eat a quince raw.  Yuck, so horrible.

I think Dad pruned them each year and sprayed cow manure sludge from the dairy a couple of times a year.  Mum used to preserve peaches, apricots, nectarines and pears with her fowlers-vacola kit each summer.  We would have these fruits as desert with fresh cream from the farm every couple of days.  I don’t think we ever bought fruit from the shop the entire time we lived on the dairy.  Back in those days there were no such thing as getting fresh fruit out of season from interstate or overseas.

The sad thing is that the dairy farm is no longer due to climate change.  As the Murray Rivers flow has slowed, there is not enough water to go around for all of the irrigators.  Their water allocation gets cut smaller and smaller each year.  As we were in such a dry area, the only solution to keep up production was to irrigate.  The dairy supplied some of the Riverland’s milk each day (we had about 120 head of dairy cows), and our farm was surrounded by Orange groves and vineyards.  The dairy is now just a dust bowl, and the oranges and grapes are all drip irrigated instead of open channel irrigation as in the past.  Far more economical for them, but you just can’t drip irrigate pasture for cows!

Anyway, this brings me to the point of my post.  I already have the following fruit trees growing on my suburban farm;

• Blood Plums
• Dwarf Jonathan Apple
• Dwarf ‘ANZAC’ Peach
• Lemonade
• Tahitian Lime
• Lemon
• Mandarin
• Apricot

Not content with that lot, Kim and I decided in late February to get 10 more fruit trees and create fruit orchard in the front yard.  As my attempts to grow vegetables in the front have failed dismally due to the lack of rain and being able water with mains, we decided to put in drip irrigation to help them survive.  It will be much easier than watering garden beds once a day.  So here is what I bought from the Diggers Club and they arrived in the mail today in a huge box.  The post lady struggled to get it through the gate!

• Dwarf Apples 'Cox's Orange Pippin',
• Dwarf Apple 'Granny Smith',
• Cocktail Pear 'San Giovanni',
• Cocktail Pear 'Lemon Bergamot',
• Cherry 'Stella',
• Nectarine 'Goldmine',
• Peach 'Anzac',
• Apricot 'Moorpark',
• Plum 'Santa Rosa', and
• Plum 'Satsuma'

I will post some pictures tomorrow, as it was getting dark when they arrived.  This lot set me back $210 which I personally think is a bargain.  I will recoup it easily in the second season.  Only nine of the plants came today, with the ANZAC Peach being sent in November.  Apparently the heat wave we had in summer damaged a lot of their fruit stock. 

So, over the next few days I will be preparing the holes for each of these trees in the front yard.  I have to pull a few dead shrubs out that popped their clogs over summer and dig heaps of cow and chook manure into the beds.  It will take me a while, and I will only be able to do it while Kim is sleeping in the afternoons, but I will get there.  Maybe my strapping son Adam will volunteer to help me out on the weekend!

With lots of TLC and a good irrigation system, they will get through the first summer and fruit in the second.  All of my childhood memories will become reality for my kids.  What a great legacy to pass on and we should be self sufficient in fruit for our family.  We might even be able to sell some of the fruit when all the kids leave home, or use it for barter.  Either way, I am looking forward to getting them in the ground and giving these trees the best start I can.

The CPRS Is Dead

Long live the CPRS. What a farce! The proposed ETS has been delayed 12 months and will be amended with a 25% target. See what Crikey has to say about it. Rudd surrenders to big polluters.

I reckon that this so-called Emissions Trading Scheme was dead months ago and would never have passed through the Senate.

It was so appallingly designed, so much so that it would have done absolutely nothing to actually reduce national emissions. We would have had a cap, that is all. Having it may have been worse than doing nothing.

It locked in millions of free permits for big polluters; it would have locked in emissions targets of 5-15% of 2000 levels by 2020, meaning that emission savings by households and small business would be 100% pointless, as any savings would be added to the quota for big polluters. It would lock in 5-year (or longer) targets and prices, meaning that future governments would be unable to react to changes in the scientific picture which is changing on a daily basis.

It was written by lobbyists for big polluters and destined for the rubbish bin. Even Professor Ross Garneau didn’t recognise it after the government and interested parties were finished with it.

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Let's hope we get a real ETS next time - or better still, a simpler and more effective mechanism such as a carbon tax. Anything has got to be better than the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme but at least his heart was in the right place when he started. I think the PM just forgot that those pesky big polluters have lots and lots of money to counteract anything he tries to come up with. Only the will of the people will keep him true to his word. I can feel election time in the air!

Homemade Pickled Onions

Tonight, I spent a wonderful evening bottling pickled onions. However the story doesn’t start there. It began yesterday when Amy noticed that some of my home-grown brown onions (that I have been drying for far too long) were beginning to re-shoot. Oh, no I thought. I better do something with them before they all are ruined.

So, after lunch Amy and I began to peel 2 kg of small brown onions. Amy was tasked with peeling as much of the dry skin off with her hands, and I top and tailed the onion and removed the first moist layer. It took us about two hours of teary goodness and our clothes smelled like sulphur when we were finished and the kitchen compost bin was full with brown skins.

I then placed the onions into a large stainless steel bowl, dissolved a quarter of a cup of non-ionised salt into 4 litres of cold water and poured it over the onions to cover. I left them overnight before the next step.

So back to the beginning of my post. After dinner tonight, I washed out 8 jars in hot soapy water and scrubbed clean with a bottle brush. I then rinsed with cold water and put the jars on a baking tray upside down and into the oven still wet at 120C for 15 minutes to sterilize.

Whilst the jars are in the oven, I prepared the pickling solution. I poured 1 litre of white vinegar into a saucepan, added half a cup of white sugar and 1 tablespoon of pickling spices to the pan. You can pick up pickling spices in the spice rack of most supermarkets. For those who can’t find some, as I couldn’t last year, here is a simple mixture of spices that will suffice.

• 1 tspn Coriander seeds
• 1 tspn Cloves, whole
• half tspn Fennel seeds
• half tspn Peppercorns
• quarter tspn Mustard seeds

Once the sugar is dissolved, I brought it to the boil and then simmered for 15 minutes.

I then strained the liquid, discarded the spices and let it cool down to room temperature.

While I was waiting for the liquid to cool, I drained and rinsed the onions in cold water.

I then removed the sterilised jars from the oven and put them on a clean tea towel to cool down as well. Careful because they are very hot!

Now, don’t forget to sterilise the lids of the jars. You can’t put them in the oven, because the plastic in the lid melts and doesn’t seal properly, so you have to let them sit in boiling water for the same time you have the jars in the oven. Make sure they are extremely clean before sterilizing them. I use a large fowlers-vacola jar to do this.

Once the jars are cool to touch, add into each jar 1 dried Birdseye chilli, some peppercorns and a bay leaf.

Then I packed the onions into each jar. I found that I only had enough onions for 5 jars so I placed the others aside. I used a bit of artistic flare and arranged them so that you can see the chilli and the bay leaves in the jars once packed.

Then, when and only when the pickling liquid is cool (a hot liquid kills the crunchiness of the finished product), I poured it into each jar to just cover the onions. To finish off, I secured each lid tightly, and below is the finished product.

Homemade pickled onions. I grew the Birdseye chillies two years ago, and dried them for storage. I use them in cooking and pickling. Boy are they hot.

Anyway, the Pickled Onions will be ready to eat in three months. Refrigerate before you open them because it adds to the crunch. Great with cold ham, some cheese and crackers. I reckon that this lot will go down just divinely with some Wenslydale I have lying around somewhere and that will be ready about the same time! A match made in heaven.

Current Events at TGOG’s

First of all, a big sorry to all my regular readers.  My blogging mojo has gone missing over the last few weeks which is understandable.  It is quite difficult when the love of your life is dramatically ripped apart from you, that you cease to fully function effectively.  I have been up and down so much over the last two weeks, I feel like a see-saw!  I even managed to catch a very nasty chest infection that had me laid up in bed for four days solid.  Don’t I look just terrible.  The photo was taken on day 2 of my infection!

Anyway, Kim comes home tomorrow from hospital.  She is off the IV and the cellulitis is nearly all gone.  Her foot is healing well after some surgery that was required to remove dead tissue.  They are using medical honey to promote tissue growth in the gash that was once the top of her foot, and it is working better than expected.  It was touch and go for quite a while.  It nearly got to the stage that it looked like she was going to loose at least 3 toes on her right foot.  I was very worried, hence the getting sick myself part.  My immune system must have been so low through the stress of it all. 

For the next two weeks, Kim as to rest in bed with her foot elevated and has to have a daily anti Deep Vein Thrombosis injections to stop blood clots from forming in her legs.  No walking, just resting.  I have talked to my boss this morning to let him know what is going on.  He is very supportive, which was just what I expected.  I am looking forward to playing nurse maid to Kim over the next two weeks and I have missed her so much.  A daily visit of just an hour a day with the kids is no substitute to the close and loving relationship that we normally have together.  It has certainly taken a lot of adjustment to our daily routine.  Also a big thanks to everyone who visited her in hospital (you know who you are), to everyone who wished her well, and most of all to Adam, Amy, Megan & Ben for being such wonderful and caring children.  All of your support really helped during our time of need. 

So, where to from here?  Onwards and upwards as far as The Greening of Gavin is concerned.  Back to our regular sustainable living posts about all things green and fun at our place in Melton West.  My blogging mojo has returned!

African Horned Melon

Feeling Horny?  Well this fruit is for you!

The African horned melon (Cucumis metuliferus) is an annual vine, which looks like an oval melon with horned-like spikes.  This strange fruit originates from Africa (funny about that), but really came from my front garden.  They are about the size of an apple cucumber, and belongs to the cucumber and melon family.

I managed to buy the seeds from the Diggers Club catalogue, and planted the seeds in November last year.  I had 3 seeds germinate out of about 10 I planted, and transplanted them when the first true leaves were showing.  The vine grew to about 2 metres long, and I harvested these 7 fruit just from one vine today.  According to Wikipedia the fruit is supposed to be bright yellow or orange when ripe, but can be eaten when mature green like these ones.  They will ripen like bananas once picked.

This is what the vine looks like.  Click picture to enlarge.

Bit of a rambling vine with small leaves, and quite drought tolerant.  I watered them once a week during summer with grey water from the washing machine, and there are still about 10-12 more fruit on the other two vines.  I want to see if the flavour changes when the vine dies over winter (if it does).

So what does it taste like?  Well, I thought it tasted a bit like a just ripe banana crossed with a cucumber and a lemon.  A different sort of taste, with it less sour than a passion fruit and the sweetness being very subtle.  It was great as a snack and I ate it like a kiwi fruit with a teaspoon.  My girls thought it was too sour, and thought it resembled snot and have hence titled it the green snot fruit.  They are a funny lot!  The seeds are covered with a gel like substance a bit like a pomegranate.  They would probably be easy to juice.

The horns are spiky to touch and I picked them with gloves on.  Not cactus like spikes, but enough to hurt you if you were not careful.

Someone else liked them as well.  I accidently dropped some of the seeds on the floor and Holly lapped them up and begged for more.  Is nothing sacred? 

The fruit is marketed as the Kiwano in Japan and the US, and grown in New Zealand and California and from what I can tell are about USD$10 each!  It is eaten, but apparently are used mostly for decoration and I can see why.  The fruit looks like it came from an alien planet.

Would I grow them again?  In a heart beat.  They are so low maintenance and would probably climb a trellis even though I let them sprawl on the ground.  They are an unusual fruit, but a good talking point in any organic food garden.  If you can grow cucumbers then you can grow the African horned melon.  I am going to try more crazy looking fruit again next year.