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Archives for February 2009

Sustainable Living Festival

February 19, 2009 @ 19:31 By Gavin Webber 3 Comments

If you are near Federation Square, Melbourne tomorrow, don’t forget to drop by the ATA stand and say hello.  I will be helping to run the stand first thing in the morning from about 0930 to 1200, but will definitely hang around the festival for most of the day. 

I am very excited at the prospect of maybe meeting just one of my readers, but am equally excited about just being at the festival and soaking up the eco vibes!  It should be a really cool day.

See you all there!

Gav

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Filed Under: SLF, Sustainable Living

Happy Blogiversary!

February 17, 2009 @ 19:45 By Gavin Webber 34 Comments

It was about this time last year that I wrote my first post on this humble web log.  Little did I know back then when I penned my first post, of the events that would unfold, and the doors that would open.  It has been a great ride, with many more interesting and topical posts to come. Oh, what fun it has been and I would like to thank every single visitor who has dropped by.

Here are some interesting stats;

There have been 18,878 visitors to this blog, with 30,474 page visits.  That is an average of 113 visits per day.  In the first month, I was lucky to get 10 visits a day and that was only because I kept emailing all my mates to keep reading it!  This graph shows the monthly stats over the year.  Not bad for an average Aussie who grew up on a dairy farm in Loxton North, and who settled down in Melton West, Victoria!

Now here is the average demographic by country since I started the blog.  Click to enlarge.  The bigger clusters represent large amounts of visits from those areas.

Enough stats, on with the exciting bit!

As long time readers may know, I started writing this blog for two reasons.  Firstly, I had begun a wonderful journey towards a sustainable lifestyle after my green epiphany, and wanted to share it with the world.  I was on a personal mission to help save the planet, but somewhere along my journey, I discovered that it wasn’t the planet that need saving, it was humanity that needed my help from their own actions.

Secondly, it was because I was laid up with a back injury and needed an outlet for my thoughts and opinions and I so desperately wanted to continue on the journey I started by any means possible.

So to celebrate the occasion, I am going to giveaway a small prize.  In the spirit of this blog, I have some well read magazines and a small book to giveaway.  The magazines are "G Magazine" which is touted as "your guide to green living".  I have found it very helpful, with great tips and articles about all things sustainable. 

The book is about change.  Now if there ever was a skill that we all need right now, it is how to handle change effectively.  The book is titled "Who Moved My Cheese? – An Amazing Way to Deal With Change In Your Work and In Your Life" by Dr Spencer Johnson.  It is a fantastic book, and easy read, and it changed my outlook on life.  I believe that if you can deal with change, you can deal with most things in life.

Now to win these fabulous prizes, you simply have to leave a comment (nothing rude please).  I will randomly pick a winner using a random number generator (nerdy, I know, but fair), and I will post the prize to any location on the planet.  The prize will be drawn on Friday 20th February at 1800 Australian Eastern Daylight Saving time, with the winner announced in a blog post.  So stop lurking and start commenting.  You have to be in it to win it!

Bon Chance Mon Ami!

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Filed Under: Sustainable Living

Homemade Feta, or Gromit I Found the Cheese!

February 16, 2009 @ 21:17 By Gavin Webber 18 Comments

“Well done lad”, said Wallace.  “You found the cheese!”
Yesterday was a monumental day.  I made cheese Gromit!  All my life I have wanted to give it a go, but never made the time or found the opportunity.  Since trying to live a more sustainable lifestyle, I have seized as many opportunities as I can, and willing to learn new skills where I can.  This golden opportunity was too good to pass up.
The Cheese Making Workshop was held at our local community centre.  The two ladies who ran the workshop were just fabulous.  Dorothy and Loraine made the day a relaxed affair, and no question was too hard to answer.  I could see that between them, they had years of cheese making experience.
So, starting at the beginning, I rocked up at about 0950, after having had to turn around once because I forgot my wallet.  Yes, friends, I was that excited!  I was not the first to arrive, and met most of the other students.  They were are friendly bunch, with 3 men and 8 ladies in the class.  We were asked to pick our preference of cheese recipes, and being a clever lad and having done a little research before hand, I decided to ensure that the fruits of my labour were going to be able to be sampled with in a few days.  Therefore I chose to make Feta.  One lady chose Wensleydale (hush Wallace), and would you believe that the majority chose Parmesan.  The reason I was a bit shocked was because Feta takes 2-3 days before you can eat it, Wensleydale 1-3 months before maturity, and Parmesan 9-12 months before it matures!  All worth while, but if I have learnt any thing on this sustainable journey, it is that if you put effort into anything, you must be able to reap the rewards quickly, which then gives you a sense of achievement that pushes you to carry on.  The other thing to take into consideration is that the harder cheeses must mature at a temperature of 10-15C for the entire time.  It is very hard to keep anything at that temp here in summer without a cellar or modified refrigerator.
Enough babbling, here is what I saw when I first arrived.
On the table is a small gas camp stove, a pot with water, and a 20 litre bain marie with 10 litres of full cream milk.  The pot acted as a double boiler.  Next to the spoon is a cute hair net (no photos of me wearing it either) that we had to wear so as not to get hair in the cheese.
It is illegal in Australia to make cheese out of non-pasteurised milk.  Pasteurisation kills certain bacteria in the milk that can breed when the temperature of milk is raised during the cheese making process.  To pasteurise milk, simply bring the temperature up to 68C, hold it there for 1 minute, then cool rapidly.  We were already using store bought milk, so it was already treated.  Next we had to reverse the homogenisation process.  Apparently homogenisation shrinks the milk fat globules, which makes it nearly impossible to make into cheese.  To reverse this process, we added 1 teaspoon of calcium chloride to 2 tablespoons of boiled rainwater which was then added to the milk and stirred for 25 seconds.
I then had to raise the temp of the milk to 32C, and keep it there.  Once at temperature, I got to add 10 grains of Mesophylic starter culture and a quarter teaspoon of lipase powder mixed with 50 ml of boiled rainwater.  Here is the milk at temperature with the starter and lipase mixed in (not very exciting).  You must not let the milk get over 40C or it will kill the culture.
At this stage it must ripen for 45 minutes.  The starter and lipase gives the cheese its distinct flavour.  After the time had elapsed, the rennet is added.  The temperature had to be raised again to 32C, and then 2.5ml of rennet is added to 16ml of boiled rainwater, then added to the milk with a quick stir.  At this stage you cannot reheat the milk, because something magical happens.  The milk starts to change composition into curds and whey (Miss Muffett’s please stand).  For my cheese this process took about 40 minutes.  I was told not to stir it during the setting.  This is what it looks like when set.  Click to enlarge and you will see where I had to put my sterilised finger in to test the firmness.
Once firm enough, I then had to cut the curd into 1 cm cubes using a whisk.  Basically you gently stab the whisk vertically into the curd until you reach the bottom.  You repeat this all over the curd three times.  Then you leave it to sit for 5 minutes.  Here is the cut curd.
Now the boring part.  You then have to stir every 10 minutes for about 2 minutes for two hours!  You also have to maintain the temperature at 32C again during the process.  It was during this time I decided to buy a cheese making kit, because I was determined to make more types other than Feta.  The kit was $122 and from looking at other cheese making web sites, it was great value.  I should be able to make at least 60kg of cheese with the kit ingredients!
This is what it looks like after the two hours.  You will notice that the curds and whey have really separated and the curd sinks to the bottom.
The whey looks a little yellow doesn’t it.  I bet you are thinking that this is why some cheeses are yellow.  Not so my friends.  The yellow in most cheeses is a food colouring.  Real cheese is usually off-white!
Next the curds is strained through a cheese cloth and the whey kept for later on.  Don’t throw the whey away (that is a mouthful), because you can make something special out of it.  I will show you later.  The cheese (finally) gets returned back to the bain marie and you massage it a little until rubbery.  Here is my rubbery feta.
Now it gets strained for a second time and put into the basket (mould).  Luckily they had a cheese press and we could speed up the process.  Here is my semi finished cheese.
It was still a bit watery, and had a little whey still oozing from it.  I wrapped it in foil for the journey home. 
I said goodbye to my classmates, thanked Dorothy and Loraine for a great class and told them I was coming back in three weeks for the mould cheese course.  They gave me 3 litres of whey to take home.
Upon arrival at home, I placed the Feta on a wire rack to dry.  It must be fairly dry before you brine the cheese.  The tray is to catch any excess whey still trying to escape.
Now for the surprise!   If you add a cup of milk and bring the whey to a temperature of 80-90C and hold it there for 30-50 minutes, the excess protein in the whey coagulates into Ricotta cheese!  What a bonus.  It tastes fantastic as well.  Nice with crackers, but Kim thinks it needs a little salt to sharpen it up.
Back to the Feta.  I left it on the kitchen bench overnight with a vinegar soaked tea towel (rung out tight) covering it all.  This morning it was quite dry and about 50ml of whey was in the drip tray.  
I then added the Feta to the brine solution.  The brine is simply 3 tablespoons of non-iodinised salt to 1 litre of rainwater and bring it to the boil.  Here is the photo from this morning with the Feta in the solution.  The brine must be cold before adding the cheese to it, otherwise the cheese absorbs too much salt.
I used a food grade plastic container, and then put it in the fridge until I got home from work.  Ben met me at the door and was so excited that I was home.  Not because he wanted to see his Dad safely home, but to taste Dad’s homemade cheese!  And taste it we did.  It was wonderful and had a firm consistency.  I liken it to a texture in between the softness of a Danish Feta and the crumbliness of a Greek Feta.  In the middle of the two textures and just right.  It was so nice that Kim and I had some more in our home grown garden salad for dinner.  It was a great feeling that I had made or grown everything in the salad bowl!
The feta should last for a few months in the brine solution, as long as I keep it submerged.  To keep it longer you can cut it into 1 cm cubes and place it in some olive oil seasoned with herbs and garlic.  I am going to make another wheel of feta over the weekend and marinate the lot in oil.   It takes about a week for the flavours to infuse when storing it in this method.
On Saturday, I will be making a simple cheese press from a few bits of dowel and two 20cm squares of wood.  Dorothy showed us one, but wanted to charge us $25 for it.  I have the components in the shed, so I will have one for free!
So stay turned over the next few months as I attempt to make other cheeses.  In three weeks time, I attend the mould cheese course and will then know how to make Brie, Camembert, Blue Vein, and Stilton.  I may have trouble with these cheese, because they have to be stored at the low temperatures for at least two weeks for the mould to grow.  If anyone has a simple solution for the temperature issue, please share via a comment.  
As both Margaret and Sharon mentioned in comments of the last post, I wish I could share via Taste TV.  Now that would be something.
If you ever get the chance to do a cheese making workshop, I can’t recommend it highly enough.  It was a great day, fantastic fun and very fulfilling.  All I have to find now is a local dairy that will sell me milk at wholesale prices in bulk.  At least I will know where the milk comes from and how it is handled.  If I can find organic, even better.

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Filed Under: Cheese, food, Food miles, Sustainable Living

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About Gavin Webber

About Gavin Webber

An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

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Podcast Reviews

  • Always inspiring and entertaining!
    August 4, 2016 by floriographer from Australia

    I've crowed about Gavin's podcast before but I just have to recommend it once again - I love that he shares his learning as well as his successes - it helps the rest of us try try try again! Thanks Gavin!

  • ms
    July 22, 2016 by Ketaea12 from New Zealand

    I really enjoy listening to Gavin, he has a kind lovely voice. He covers some great relevant topics for the everyday greenie. With lots of tips or how to or what not to do. Thanks Gavin, love it!!

  • Well worth your time to tune in
    October 23, 2015 by A Vision Splendid from Australia

    I can highly recommend Gavin’s podcast ! I have followed Gavin’s blog since the very beginning and have loved to see his journey unfold. Gavin has a lovely speaking voice so this podcast is always very easy to listen to. Gavin has a very authentic approach to his green living lifestyle. He shares the ups and downs but always provides motivation and practical steps that we can all implement.

  • very good
    June 28, 2015 by Scared pax from United Kingdom

    This is a great podcast if you want to improve your life in so many aspects and become a more sustainable person. I love the soothing voice, the good pace, and it contains lots of useful information. Recommended!

  • opened my eyes
    May 25, 2015 by Gorn4lyfe from Australia

    A wonderful show!

  • Inspiring
    April 30, 2015 by Alan Whelan from Ireland

    This is a great podcast if you're looking for practical info on saving money by living more sustainably from someone who's made that journey over the last few years. Told in a nice, easy conversational style

  • Green Living, inspiring and practical
    January 8, 2015 by EliseMac from Australia

    Thanks Gav for sharing what has (and hasn't) worked along your journey for living a greener lifestyle. Inspiring and achievable for anyone, I look forward to this podcast weekly.

  • Local food equals less waste
    December 27, 2014 by allotmentadventureswithjean from Australia

    Another brilliant podcast from Gavin Webber encouraging us, and showing us how, to cut down on food miles, growing our own food, and cutting down on food waste. Gavin is a really interesting speaker, showing us how to eat better, growing our own food and how to live more sustainably.

  • Honestly australian
    December 15, 2014 by HodgepodgeOz from Australia

    Fantastic podcast, with a wide variety of well thought and researched topics. Gavin is a honest, forthright pod aster with a genuine interest in helping others get green. Like a day alongside is a day wasted, so too is a week without listening to Gavin. Highly recommended for people starting out, or those in the midst of their new lifestyle. Keep it up Gavin, wish there were more great reviews! Kimberley

  • Morning motivation
    December 8, 2014 by Bunnyworm from Australia

    Gavin has a great passion for living this greener lifestyle that motivates others to do the same. The podcasts are always interesting and informative. :)

  • Passionate Advocate
    October 18, 2014 by BoomOpGirl from Australia

    Gavin's enthusiasm and passion for creating a more sustainable world is nothing short of contagious. Thanks Gav, you are my weekly source of motivation for living a sustainable life! :)

  • Gavin speaks from the heart
    October 13, 2014 by Green gavin from Australia

    Gavin's podcasts are required listening for anyone planning to live a more sustainable life. He doesn't preach, but tells you his story from the heart. You'll laugh, smile, share in his concerns and along the way you'll pick up some great tips on living a simple life.

  • Green thoughts, so well iterated
    October 9, 2014 by Kwasikwami from Australia

    This is a wonderful podcast. Not only does Gavin talk knowledgeably on a range of sustainability topics from gardening tips all the way to the issues facing humanity as a whole, but he does so in such a wonderful voice, it's like listening to my Dad, love it!!

  • Easy listening inspiration on being green
    September 24, 2014 by Broomedy from Australia

    Gav knows how to share his journey to a more sustainable life in a manner that shows just how easy it really is. Not to mention healthier, economically beneficial and generally rewarding. The podcasts are an easy way to absorb Gav's great lifestyle. I recommend to anyone.

  • Thanks Gavin!
    August 31, 2014 by Honeywoodmilk from Australia

    Great practical advice for a greener lifestyle. This podcast is for anybody interested in growing their own food in suburbia, saving electricity, brewing beer, making cheese, all that wonderful business and most of all, saving money! Thanks Gavin, love the podcast mate!

  • Enjoyed those ideas for staying warm
    August 15, 2014 by enduringdragon from United States

    Like you we are having winter here in Chile—brrr! Every bit we can save on heating we will.

  • Green Podcasts
    July 26, 2014 by Carneu from Australia

    Excellent podcasts, which are full of information to help get started on a sustainable lifestyle.

  • Practical ideas and inspiration
    July 19, 2014 by HeathrowHeath from Australia

    I highly recommend Gavin's podcast and blog. Down to earth, entertaining and inspirational. Thank you.

  • Interesting & easy to listen to
    April 27, 2014 by Velocity3 from New Zealand

    Gavin & his guests make this green journey lots of fun.

  • Great green listen
    April 18, 2014 by Obscurenickname from Australia

    Gavin is a great down to earth, tell it like it is aussie with a passion for sustainability and growing food and making cheese

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