If It Was Easy, Every Town Would Have One!

I had a weird end to my day yesterday. I couldn't get the thought out of my head that our sustainable living group is floundering due to lack of interest. I know it is not so, but sometimes I wonder......

Last night we had our normal scheduled meeting, well advertised in advance, managed to get a room in the local community hall, and would you believe that only four other dedicated members turned up. We have eleven registered members and at least 15 interested people that regulary turn up on and off. I know, I know, early days yet and I really appreciate the effort of those how did attend. Thanks folks.

I gave a pretty cool presentation (well I thought it was) about "Saving Money with Energy Efficiency" and one member even brought along their energy bills so that we could study them. However, it was mostly preaching to the converted and my audience mostly gave suggestions for improvements more than anything else. That took up the first hour.

The second hour was spent discussing small projects given dwindling numbers. We decided to approach all the local kinders, primary, and secondary schools to see if any of them would like our mini permablitz service and build some garden beds for the kids to grow vegetables in. The other idea was to approach our local council to see if we could plant a mini orchard on some unused land for the public well-being.

We also talked about the stall we intend on having at our towns local festival in November. I have organised the application, and we will be giving away information and selling vegetable seedlings. There are certainly enough gardeners to get this off the ground. It was a good session to end the meeting and we ended 20 minutes early. Finally a bit of action for the team!

I went home with mixed feelings, but Kim soon cheered me up, gave me a big hug, and said that if it wasn't for me, even those four people would still be out there wondering if there was anyone else who thought or cared about sustainable living. She said that everyone in the group were passionate, yet busy individuals who really care about the environment and our place in it. Kim said that you only have to look at the proud way that they show you the eco-improvements they have made around their homes, all for the better, to see how committed they were. I know she is right, they are my good friends, and sometimes I have to give myself a reality check.

Back out of the dumps now and I am very happy to be doing what I am doing.  Onwards and upwards as they say and looking to get stuck into the projects!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I have just spent the last four hours putting together a presentation for tomorrow nights meeting of the Melton Sustainable Living Group. Not a big chore really, just time consuming. The presentation is called "Saving Money with Energy Efficiency". I describe how to go about doing your own basic energy audit and how to take basic steps to reduce your bills. It ended up being about 38 slides so I hope that I don't induce death by PowerPoint! I will post it up tomorrow so that everyone can use it as a guide/resource.

Kim was nice enough to bring me coffee when I needed it and a nice bowl of icecream to keep me focused. I am looking forward to the meeting. We are also going to discuss our first project. I don't quite know what that is going to be, but I think a brainstorming session will be required to nut it out. Everyone needs to feel like they own a little piece of the decision, or otherwise I find they will not buy into the final plan. It has to be something simple, but high impact, and something that will raise awareness in the community about sustainable living.

What do you think? Do you have any small projects that you think will suit a group like ours? I am open to suggestions, don't hesitate to comment.

Dreaming of Greening

My main post for this evening is over at the Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op where I have a rant about taking the first step towards being green.

It is titled "Dreaming of Being Green".  I hope you can make your way over there and check out my essay.  I think you will like it!

Gavin

Emmantal (Swiss Cheese)

Remember back to the post where I told you about the Propioni Shermanii culture that I bought from Green Living Australia.

Well last weekend I used it in my first batch of Emmantal cheese.  Emmantal is a unique type of swiss cheese that has large holes or "eyes" as they are known distributed throughout the cheese.

I didn't take any pictures during the making session, but be assured the procedure is not that dissimilar from other hard cheeses I have made.  The only real difference is that you add the Propioni Shermanii to the milk at the same time as the Thermophillic culture and let it ripen for the specified time.  Add Rennet, cut the curd, stir for a long time, then press.

Once pressed, you have to leave it in the cheese cave for a week, turning it daily, then remove and keep it at room temperature (21°-24°C) for two to three weeks.  This is to let the eyes develop and the cheese swells at the top, bottom and the sides begin to bulge.  This is unlike any other cheese I have made.  You also have to turn and wipe with a brine solution daily to help the rind form.  It even smells like Swiss cheese now after a week.  Here is a photo of the week old cheese.  Note the swelling sides.

After the eye formation is complete it gets returned back to the cheese cave for another three months for final ripening and is turned three times a week and wiped in the brine solution at the same time.  I am looking forward to the day that I crack open this cheese. 

Foodie Sunday

Home baking is the best!

Kim got stuck into making a few yummy things in the kitchen whilst I was working in garden planting an apricot tree and a nectarine tree.  We now have 10 fruit trees in the front yard which from now on in is designated as "The Orchard".

So what did Kim make?  Well, first she baked an Almond slice with a home-made plum jam base.  She made the shortcrust pastry base from scratch which is then spread with plum jam, and mixed up ground almonds, castor sugar, icing sugar, egg white and almond essence and spread that on top.

I think I might see if I can get a dwarf almond tree for the orchard so that we can grow our own organic almonds. 

They are oh so yummy, and will be a welcome addition to lunch boxes during the week.

Then she made some Granary Scones, topped with some of my Caerphilly Cheese.  They were our afternoon tea.

She is resting now, because it took a fair bit out of her being on her feet for a few hours.  Well done love.  You rock my world.

Caerphilly is the Shiznit

The jury has considered its verdict and the verdict is good. Caerphilly cheese is one fantastically tasty creation.

It has a rind that is about 5mm thick and it tastes divine. There is a little white and blue mould bloom on the surface which I think is a bit of cross contamination from when I was making 2 cheeses at once or from the cheese cave, but no matter because it adds to the exquisite flavour of the rind.

The middle is white, contains a little moisture, and is slightly crumbly. I cracked open the wheel on Saturday night, but then realised that it was only 15 days old, and should have matured for until 21 days. The damage was done, but I put half of the wheel back into the cheese cave for to see what it tastes like at full maturity.

Kim believes that the rind tastes like Edam, and the middle has is similar flavour but not as strong. More crumbly than Edam though, but really, really nice with a plain water cracker biscuit.

The top and sides were a bit swollen, but that was just from natural 'eye' development as the cheese matured. You can see small eyes in the second photo.

It is so good that I will be making some more tonight. With only three weeks maturation and very edible at 15 days, I highly recommend it if you are into cheese making and want a quick result. So far we have eaten a quarter of the wheel already, with Ben, Kim, Amy and I sampling and loving it. I was so generous that I gifted a small wedge to my friend David last night. He thinks it is a great cheese as well!

Earth Song

Love him or loath him, Michael Jackson struck a chord with me well after he released the Earth Song. I first saw the video clip just after my green epiphany in 2006, even though the song was released in 1995 on the HIStory album. I missed it because my head was swimming with conspicuous consumer thoughts at the time and it was the year I got divorced from my first wife. A pretty ordinary time in my life I must tell you!

Anyway, even though you had a troubled life Michael, you left us with many gifts, and I believe that this one is the most meaningful. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Gavin

Home Giveaway Winners!

After much deliberation, I have chosen, not one, not two, but three winners! I couldn't help myself, and the movie is just so good.

Heather @ Tenderbreak Permaculture Farm - for such a great plea, checklist of reasons and the passion to win the movie.

Nevyn @ Nevyn's Place - for doing extra research and being such a great help.

Sarah - for suggesting that it could be a chain film so that lots of people can enjoy it.

This gift from me to you has one eco condition. I want you to share this movie with at least 10 other people (as in lend or have a group screening) and show it to your immediate family as soon as you receive it. It is such an important message that I hope you agree needs to be spread far and wide. The peak everything clock is ticking!

Thanks to everyone else who wrote a comment and participated. It was loads of fun including the research. Can the winners please email me with their details please, to the address in the top left sidebar. I will send the disk off in the mail on Monday.

Now, if I don't receive an email from the winners within a week I will be sending off a spare copy to Margaret @ Margaret's Ramblings in the UK, so she can listen to the wonderful music and share the movie with family and her "Buddy's".

Gav

Home Revisited

Nevyn posted a comment on the Home post I did with a link with more information. Thanks Nevyn, because after a bit of French translation and some digging around, this is what I found.

The movie home was a joint project between Luc Besson and Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Now apparently the reason why the movie was removed from YouTube was that Luc did not want the movie being distributed for free, where Yann did want free distribution. This is Yann's reason for wanting free distribution (translated from a French website by google translator):

"Without doubt the ecologist think will happen to tons of CO ² and oil it takes to manufacture the DVD home and carry it to sell that FNAC. Carbon and oil probably much higher than the environmental cost of transporting data over the Internet"

A damn fine reason if you ask me even if the translation is a bit sloppy!

Now, because Luc owned the copyright to the film, and loves lots of money, it was removed 10 days after its release on YouTube and there was not much Yann could do about it. Although Luc Besson does not want to release it for free, Home is in fact widely distributed for free on P2P networks, and BitTorrent in particular, in excellent quality. Gee, I wonder where I got my copy from? :-)

It remains only to Luc Besson to give the green light for downloading becomes legal. Do the right thing Luc and put it back on YouTube. Greed comes in many forms, however at the end of it all, you cannot eat money Luc.

I will leave you with a talk that Yann Arthus-Bertrand gave earlier this year at TED. It is quite an eye opener.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand captures fragile Earth in wide-angle

Also, regarding the Home movie giveaway, I have now have two copies to give away, to anywhere in the world, postage paid! If you are deparate to win a copy, free of charge, please leave a comment as to why you would like to win it back on the original Home post. Best of luck and don't give up!

Kev's Patch - Rejected!

Here is a letter that I received from the Prime Ministers office about the Kev's Patch Campaign that a few other bloggers and I are involved in. It is a resonable facimile with only my address being omitted.

---

Australian Government
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

ONE NATIONAL CIRCUIT BARTON
Reference:C09/32365

15 July 2009
Dear Mr Gavin

Thank you for your letter of 4 June 2009 to the Prime Minister regarding a vegetable garden at The Lodge. I have been asked to reply on the Prime Minister's behalf.

At this time there are no immediate plans to grow vegetables at The Lodge. While we acknowledge that there are many good reasons to do so, the lack of water in Canberra makes it impractical to undertake such a project. The grounds at The Lodge have already been affected by the water shortage and would be further compromised if water were redirected to the establishment of a new garden. There are however, existing fruit trees and herbs growing throughout the garden which are used in the house, as are flowers grown in the grounds.

The time you have taken to write to the Prime Minister is appreciated.

Yours sincerely


Suzanne de Smet
Assistant Director
Official Establishments Unit

---

Good on them for having fruit trees and a herb garden, however it is a bit disappointing to say the least, and I dare say that there are a few unhappy campers around with the same letter in their hands. A few apples and oranges and a bunch of herbs is not going to make much of an impression on the nation's people. Most of the folk I know have at least some mint, parsley and a lemon tree down the back. A bit more effort please Mr Rudd.

Now I must say that the lack of water in Canberra is a pretty piss poor excuse on the PM's behalf. If I can keep my veggie patch alive with water restrictions in place (watering for 1 hour, twice weekly) and got off my bum and put in a 2300L rain water tank, and sure the PM can spare a couple of thousand dollars of my tax payers money to buy The Lodge a few measly tanks. Not trying very hard me thinks! Set an example Mr Rudd and many others will follow.

What do you think of the result? It just makes me want to try harder, and now I am even more determined to increase the heat, so to speak.

Home

Last night, I watch the most beautiful yet disturbing documentary simply called "Home". It is about our home, The Earth, and what mankind has managed to do to it in a very short space of time since we have begun to use fossil fuels. By the end of the movie I had a tear in my eye. The entire movie is shot with aerial photography and the cinematography is second to none.

The script is exceptionally well written and powerful. It was directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and movie is narrated by Glenn Close.

Here is the trailer of the movie from youtube.

The website says it will be available until the 15th July, so maybe we missed the full movie. I am hoping they will bring it back. However, because I am a nice bloke and have a special copy, I am willing to send one lucky person a special off site backup of this fantastic movie. Just leave a comment and let me know why you think you should receive a copy, and I will select a winner on Thursday 23 July. The judges decision will be final. I hope the film makers don't mind. If they do, they should have left the movie up on youtube longer!

Have fun!

Chook House Renovation

Due to the exploding population of sparrows who are determined to make good use of the food we supply our chickens, Kim and I decided that it was time to make the chook house sparrow proof.  I swear that we now have 4 chickens and about 50 sparrows living in the back yard!

We had some spare reed screening in big rolls left over from when the back fence was replaced so decided to put it to good use.  I cut it to size and we nailed it onto the east and west sides of the coop.  It will also help to provide shade for the chooks during summer.

Next weekend we will replace the large chicken wire with smaller diametre holes so that the sparrow don't get in.  With shade cloth already making up the roof, there is not much work to do.

We were also sick of cleaning up chicken poo all over the patio area and tied of sweeping back the rocks around the garden at the end of the day.  So we bit the bullet and gave them free run of the clothes line area.  To make it easier for them to get out of their cage, I made a hole in the back and made a little door that serves a dual purpose as a ramp.

The plank that I used was vanished pine from an old shelf that I took down about a year ago and it was very slippery.  When the chooks first ventured out, they slid down it like a slide.  It was very funny to watch.  Anyway, I glued some coarse sandpaper to the board and now they have no trouble at all.  I used a couple of spare piano hinges I had in the shed to fix it to the structure, and it hooks up with a piece of rope and two cup hooks salvaged from the old fernery in the garage.

Then I made a makeshift gate out of a piece of trellis, a broom handle and some cable ties, and then blocked the rest of the gap off with some bamboo screen.  You can see the happy little chooks hiding behind the gate.

Another piece of bamboo screen was used to block off the gap between the fence and the lattice screen to prevent them from escaping. 

Once I had finished all the building work, I gave the lawn a rake with the leaf rake.  There was so much rubble left over from the fence work that it filled an entire wheelbarrow.

Then I set up a few perches, including the one I made out of the dead tree from the front yard.  It looks like quite a playground.  I didn't fence off the garden bed, mainly because I want them to enjoy their daily dust baths, and secondly because I want them to turn the bed over for me.  Here they are having fun in their new permanent digs.

As you can see, there is not much grass due to a lack of rain so far this winter.  We water it once a week with grey water from the washing machine rinse cycle, so it keeps it growing for the chooks to eat.

I hope this will keep them happy now they are a proper place to scratch around in.  It was a great idea, because it means that I can now plant Kiwifruit and other vegetables in the area that I removed the Jasmine from about a month ago.  Full steam ahead for the east side garden transformation!

CERES Community Environment Park

My main post for today is over at the Melton Sustainable Living Group site. 

It is titled "Fun at CERES".  I hope you take the time to pop over to visit.  It was a great way to spend a Saturday.

It just goes to show that there are places that green minded people can go and feel right at home!

Gav

A Sorry State of Affairs

What is our society coming to? After reading this headline today, I felt that I had just walked into the twilight zone.

Aussies can't live without mobiles: poll

And that is not all. Apparently out of the 1001 people surveyed, 61% said they can't live without their credit and debit cards. Are we really that addicted to plastic and endless credit? I know it is convenient to use Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS), but what happened to good old cash? It must be the other 39% who use it!

Here are some of the other astounding results of the poll, which by the way, was commissioned by American Express;

• 60% can't live without their mobile phones (9 years ago most of us couldn't afford or want one. They can have my phone if they like, I hate the thing!)
  
• 32% couldn't live without their favourite bag (WTF?)
• 24% said that their laptop was their most treasured possession (not so bad, I suppose).
• 52% said they would be willing to live without watching their favourite TV show for a fortnight for the sake of their possessions? (not much of a sacrifice, really, get a grip)
• 48% would give up exercising (not a good idea at all)
• 34% would give up eating breakfast
• 11% would sacrifice time with their partner and, (might as well sign the divorce papers now!)
• 6% would give up showering for the sake of material possessions.

Here is the kicker. Fady Taouk from American Express said the survey showed that items such as credit and debit cards, mobile phones, and gadgets were no longer considered luxuries. "They are modern day essentials that provide convenience, peace of mind and security," he said. What about the other 4-5 billion humans that don't have these essentials and struggle each day to find food for the table? Get a grip Fady!

OMG, if these things are essentials, then we as a society have been well and truely (f)sucked in by the advertising & marketing strategies of global corporations. Forget Swine Flu! Forget Whooping Cough! Forget SmallPox (oh, thats right we did cure that)! The majority of us have caught a rampent case of Affluenza!

Now, wikipedia defines affluenza as;

affluenza, n. a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.

affluenza, n. 1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by the pursuit of the American Dream. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth.

Now, wait a minute. There is that ecomomic growth example gets thrown around a lot of late. All forms of government seem to keep telling us that we must stimulate the economy, and increase economic growth. But doesn't growth mean destroying, sorry, squandering the remaining resources we have left on the planet? That can't be a good thing, can it? What if continued economic growth is over? If we have hit Peak Oil, and I believe we have, and just can't see it yet due to reduced global demand, then we are in for a shitstorm of a ride in the next 10 years. Add climate change to that, and there will be no economic growth. We will be just spending money on keeping ourselve alive. You can't eat a gucci handbag or a flash looking car!

Anyway, doom and gloom aside, we must remember that the only thing that corporations care about is the almighty dollar, not the average joe in the street. How to increase shareholder value is their one and only concern. Why do you think people change mobile phones so often. Why do ladies own more cosmetics than a small third world country would ever want, or need. Why do men have to buy the biggest plasma TV they can, or in most cases, not afford? Why do we have some of the highest rates of debt per head in the western world? Because we are all over stimulated by advertising that tells us constantly that we are not skinny enough, or don't have the latest flash looking gadget, that we don't have a big enough house and need a McMansion to impress people who don't give a shit about us.

Maybe it is indeed time to be one of the 52% who give up TV, but not for the love of material possessions. Give up TV to spend time with a loved one, or some meaningful persuite, like saving humanity from themselves. Maybe even book one of those free home energy audits that the government are giving away now and lower your carbon foot print. You never know what giving up TV might lead you. Without all that advertising crap swimming around your subconcious, you might even become a free thinking individual and not like most othe sheepole I know.

But, alas, somehow I don't think that by me writing these words, anything is going to change much. People are going to continue to live shallow, unfulfilled lives, loving their credit cards and wallowing in the consumeristic myre that is our way of present way of living. The only ray of light are people like my readers who get it, and have found that a simpler way of life brings untold joy and happyness that others simply cannot grasp. It did take me a while to see the light, so I am no martyre for the cause. Most of my life, I too thought exactly the same way. It wasn't until I had my green epiphany that I began to question how the world worked. I am still in awe of the people all around me who still act blindly, and no amount of my persuating retoric will ever make a dent in their behavioural norms.

Some days I just feel like a stranger in a strange land. I wonder how many of you feel the same way?

Cheese Goodies

Today, my parcel of cheese goodies arrived from Green Living Australia that I ordered only four days ago.

I ordered another café thermometer so that I don't cross contaminate the second batch of cheese if I am making a mould cheese and a hard cheese at the same time. Up until now I have had to sterilise the one I had every time I wanted to check the temp of the other pot. A bit of a pain, but all sorted now.

I also bought another kilo of cheese wax because I have run out. 125ml of calcium chloride, 2 muslin cheesecloth as the original ones are now starting to disintegrate after about 12 batches of cheese. The new cloths look very sturdy and have a fine knit so I won't have to double them over anymore.

Finally I bought some Propioni Shermanii culture which is used to make Swiss type cheese like Emmenthal and Gruyère. I do believe that I will making some on Friday night! This is just so much fun.

Oh, and I sent off an email about how much I received, because the little jar had about 1/16th of a teaspoon in the bottom. I checked my cheese books and found to my suprise that they state that I needed 1 teaspoon of Propioni Shermanii per 8 litres of milk. So, I just had to ask the team at Green Living if there had been a mistake. Well, no sooner had I shot off the email, I received a phone call from David who works there with his sister Val. He explained to me that they use a concentrated culture from Italy and that you only have to use a tiny, tiny bit. The end of a very pointy knife is what he suggested.

So, problem solved, and great customer service to boot! Nice one Green Living Australia. It is great to see people who cares about their customers and are passionate about the products they sell.

Caerphilly Cheese

Yearning for a cheese that would be on the table quickly, I chose Caerphilly this week. It has Welsh origins, and is a lightly pressed cheese that ripens in 3 weeks.

Here is a bit of history about Caerphilly from Wikipedia;

Caerphilly cheese is a hard, white cheese that originates in the area around the town of Caerphilly in Wales, although it is now also made in England, particularly in the South West and on the English border with Wales. It was not originally made in Caerphilly, but was sold at the market there, hence taking the town's name.

Caerphilly is a light-coloured (almost white), crumbly cheese made from cow's milk, and generally has a fat content of around 48%. It has a mild taste, with its most noticeable feature being a not unpleasant slightly sour tang.

It is rumoured that the cheese was developed over time to provide the coal miners of the area with a convenient way of replenishing the salt lost through hard work over ten hour shifts underground and so was a staple of the diet of the coal miners.

So here is my method for making it. I used the recipe out of Making Artisan Cheese by Tim Smith and modified it a little.

7.5 litres whole milk (2 gallons)
1 quarter teaspoon (about 2 ml) mesophillic culture
1 eighth teaspoon (about 1 ml) calcium chloride diluted in 60ml cool unchlorinated water
1 half teaspoon (about 3 ml) liquid rennet diluted in 60ml cool unchlorinated water
2 tablespoons non-ionised salt

Heat milk to 32°C user double boiler (I use a smaller saucepan under the large pot).

Add the calcium chloride if you are using homogenised milk. Stir for a minute. Then add the starter culture and stir for another minute. Cover and let rest for thirty minutes at target temperature.

Maintaining the temp of 32°C (90°F), add the rennet to the milk, stir for two minutes, then cover. Let mixture sit for forty minutes at the target temperature, or until you get a clean break.

Cut the curds into 6mm (¼ inch) cubes, keeping the size as uniform as possible.

Slowly raise the temp to 33°C (92°F); this should take about ten minutes. Hold the curd at the target temp for forty minutes and be sure to stir frequently to keep the curds from matting. Let rest at target temp for five minutes.

Drain the curds into a cheese cloth lined colander, and let whey drain for a 5 minutes. Cut the curds into 2.5 cm (1 inch) thick slabs, and stack on top of one another. Turn the stack over, top to bottom, two times in ten minutes. This will assist in draining a lot of whey from the curd.

Using your clean hands, break the curds into thumbnail-sized pieces, and blend with salt.

Fill a cheese cloth-lined 1kg cheese mould with the salted curds.

Cover the curd with one corner of the cheese cloth, lay the follower on top, and press at 5kg (10 pounds) for ten minutes.

Remove the cheese from the press, take it out of the mould, and unwrap the cheese cloth. Turn the cheese, and rub a layer of salt on both top and bottom before rewrapping with cheese cloth. Press at 5kg (10 pounds) for ten minutes. Repeat the same procedure (salt), pressing at 7.5 kg (15 pounds) for twenty minutes. Repeat the same procedure, pressing at 7.5 kg (15 pounds) for sixteen hours. I finished this stage at 6 pm on Saturday evening, so I had to wait until 10 am Sunday morning for the next part.

Take the cheese out of the cheese mould, and let it air dry on a cheese mat and cheese board for about 3-4 days. Make sure you turn the cheese several times a day to ensure even drying and fat distribution.

When the cheese is dry to touch, it is ready to be ripened. Place in your cheese cave at 13ºC (55ºF) at 80-85% humidity for three weeks, turning several times a week. No need to wax this cheese. It will form a rind, and if any mould develops, simply rub the cheese with cloth dipped in some salty water. The salt in this cheese should retard mould growth anyway.

At this time of the year in Australia, you could find a cold cupboard to ripen your cheese in if you don't have a fridge that you can get warm enough.

I will let you know what this salty cheese tastes like. I reckon it will be nice!

Pickled Limes

On the 4th of June, I decided to made one of my favourite condiments that I normally serve with one of my home made curry dishes. A friend of mine at work had an excess of limes, so the time was right to make this wonderful Pickled Indian Limes. Now if you are going to make this, be warned. In winter it take for ages to pickle in the jar, however I dare say that in summer it would only take a week as suggested in the recipe I found.

Here is the method I used;

Pickled Indian Limes

Makes 3-4 500ml Jars, depending on the size of the limes.

20 limes, cut into quarters
1 cup sea salt
juice of 5 limes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
1 tablespoon fenugreek
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
2 green chillies, cut into long thin strips
2 red chillies, cut into long thin strips
1 teaspoon curry powder
extra lime juice (4-5 limes)
chilli oil

Mix the quartered limes and sea salt in a bowl. Pack salted limes into a a large sterilised jar and top with the freshly squeezed lime juice. Seal and leave for a week in a warm, sunny spot (5 weeks in winter!)

I find that these big swing top jars are the best for these sort of thing. The peel was soft and very flexible and the juice has gone very thick and was all the way up to the top of neck of the jars.

After the pickling time has elapsed, heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the spices for 2-3 minutes. Be careful because they burn quickly. Transfer the limes to smaller, sterilised jars.
Stir in the fried spices (I removed the cinnamon stick), and chilli lengths. Top with more lime juice to cover and pour a little chilli oil over the top before sealing.

Store for 2 months before using. I dare say these would keep for quite a while due to the acid in the limes and the large amount of salt.

Here is my finished product. I managed to squeeze them into 4 big jars.

I must say that the pickle smells absolutely fantastic, and I wanted to demolish half a jar there and then. I can't wait for a few months, coz it will ready in time for a chickpea curry banquet. Add in the hot chilli chutney, brinjal pickles and home made yoghurt, it will be a banquet fit for the Raj!

Drum roll please.......

I have decided to keep the blog with the same format. I think that it was Geoff's comment in the last post that helped clear my mind. Making stuff at home is the ultimate expression of sustainable living, and if that has not been the journey I have been travelling on, then you must be reading the wrong blog. The comment was so well written I have decided to repeat it here. If you want to see other wise words of wisdom from Geoff, you can catch him over at Flood Street Farmlet. Cheers Geoff.

"I think the cheesemaking is the most important outward manifestation of green-ness. It's a renewed profession for a post-peak, relocalised, greener world that you'll have for life.

You seem to have achieved most of the major external things that can make your immediate environment greener, and now you appear to be making your way along a path of internal change showing us that we can go beyond being consumers of green things to become producers of green things.

We will only have overcome the problems with our current economic structure when we have the larger percentage of household consumption being of things produced within that household.

You're promoting the household economy, just as it was in our (great-)grandparent's times. This is one of the greatest political and social statements we can make.

Perhaps a sideline (extra obsession?!) in wine making might round out the enterprise lol."

Thanks to everyone who commented. Sometimes I just need a sanity check, and what better place to get good honest feedback than my blog! Oh, BTW I made more Camembert and some Caerphilly yesterday. I am writing up the posts now!

The Cheesing of Gavin

Kim and I were having a great laugh about this title the other day when I mentioned it to her, and it kind of fits my current hobby and mindset quite well.  The fact is that I cannot stop thinking about Cheese making fun Friday each week, and it has become quite an obsession.

It is weird how I haven't written or thought much about politics, climate change, peak oil and the frustration of global inaction against the things that matter.  Purely because I am engrossed in my new found love for all things cheesy!  I can't get over how much that this has taken over my life.  How can 8 litres of warm and nurturing milk be so bloody important to me each week.  Is it the buzz I get every Friday night whilst making this obsessive delight, or is it the sense of adventure each week by trying out a new method or technique? Or is it the thought of enjoying a nice glass of red wine whilst making the cheese? 

If I thought that this cheese making hobby would become so freeking addictive, I don't know if I would have started it.  I suppose I am trying to say that maybe this fanaticism is taking over my greenness, after all, this blog is called The Greening of Gavin for a reason.  I still do all the green things that I started, and keep up the maintenance of the garden, orchard and chooks, but other than that, there is not much more I can do around here.  Maybe I should start another blog to keep both my green thoughts and cheesy behaviour separate.  Maybe I am as green as I can be?

What do you think?  I am going way over the top on cheese related topics?  How green can one person be?

I welcome your thoughts,

Gav

Cheese Update

I was very lazy over the weekend and did not make any cheese.  I was too busy socialising and catching up with old friends, old cheese and old wine!

Anyway, I have saved the milk I bought on last Friday for a cheese making session this Friday evening.  I have decided to make a Farmhouse Cheddar or Caerphilly.  Both have relatively short ripening times and are ready to eat within a month.

The Camembert that I made last week has white mould all over them.  Here is a photo I took a few minutes ago;

 

Don't they look great?  At the end of the week, I get to wrap them in foil (shiny side in) and leave them for another 4 weeks, and I am hoping the lines from the tray will disappear during that time.  Then all four Camembert are ready to eat!  The containers I bought were a good investment at $11 each.  There has been no cross mould contamination on any of the other cheeses.

The first Stilton I made is very mouldy all over and I have wrapped it in foil with the ends exposed to encourage mould growth in the holes.  It smells fantastic, and I want to eat it now!

It looks a bit squished, but that is how it came out of the cheese mould.  It will be fine in another month, and ready for the table.

As for the Stilton I made last week, it turned out to be a bit too dry and cracked in half.  I have had to wrap it in foil early to get it to keep together.  It is just showing signs of blue mould growth at the top of the photo, and should go crazy over the next week.  I am hoping that by wrapping it tightly, it should still be OK, and I will just turn it every couple of days to help mat it back together. 

You can see the crack better in this picture.  I nearly cried, until I remembered watching how they wrapped Roquefort cheese in thick tin foil in France.  Before I wrapped the cheese it was laying in half on the bottom of the ripening container.  All in all a pretty good recovery, and this Stilton should be ready in about 10 weeks.

I think that after one of the ripening containers are freed up I will make a Castello Blue, which is essentially a Camembert with blue veins in it.  I haven't found a recipe, but should be able to make it up as I go along.  I believe that if I add the blue mould to the milk with the starter, make the Camembert, and then spray the out sides with white mould and punch a few holes in each one, we should achieve the desired effect.  It will be at least a month before I give this a go.  I will let you all know how it goes.  Wish me luck, and happy cheese making one and all!