Hot on the heels of my success at the local Rylstone Kandos Show, I’m back to some more serious knitting. Life has settled down a bit now the move is over. I’m doing heaps of knitting to build up stock for my market stall at the Rylstone Artisan Markets, particularly as Winter approaches but feel the need to start some more demanding projects.
Baby steps
My preference is for blankets and lace shawls which enable me to stretch myself as well as focus on techniques, use great yarn and end up with something usable. First cab off the rank is the Feather and Fan Shawl by Eugen Beugler.
I’m using a beautiful and unusual Kauni wool yarn in tones that will work in with a number of rooms in my house as a throw when finished. Hopefully it will make an appearance at another rural show soon.
An impressive example of the finished shawl – a central motif surrounded by a feather and fan lace pattern
I’m happy with my stall. I make sure I add a new range each market.Rylstone Pantry – my first choice for jams for the Convent, especially the Pear and Vanilla.
This weekend was my third consecutive appearance as a stall holder at the monthly Rylstone Artisan Markets and I’m beginning to feel like a regular. Whilst a little slow for knits in incredibly hot and dry weather, I still feel like I’m doing well, although I seem to spend most of my time chatting to people and spend far too much of my takings on other stalls.
Yes, there is handspun and hand-dyed yarn.
There is a wonderful collection of stalls – all locally produced – and is well supported by locals as well as a popular attraction for visitors. A few new stalls have opened along with me, keeping the markets fresh. The party planner this month was such a treat for the kids – with balloon sausage dogs and a fairy floss machine.
The local bakery with wood fired bread
It’s been rewarding that people are now buying kits and knitting themselves. I was thrilled to see at least four other stallholders knitting whilst waiting for customers – and they weren’t from handcraft stalls!
I think there will be a greatly increased demand as the weather starts to cool down, so I’m focussed on building up stock in the lead up to Winter. Anyway, it’s great to get sales but it’s so much fun just being there and being part of the market community.
I’m getting braver with my gardening and now endeavouring to propagate my plants. I went to considerable trouble sourcing varieties of cherry tomatoes so it makes sense to keep the seeds of the successful plants for next season.
After a bit of research, my approach was:
Pick tomatoes that are ripe but healthy and not over ripe
Deseed them (I used a spoon) and put seeds in a labelled container. I used wine glasses which suited the process well.
Add a little water and swirl to mix.
Cover the container with plastic wrap with a hole to allow for limited air circulation.
Each day swirl the glass to mix. What happens is that the seeds in the liquid will ferment and gradually break away from the glutinous covering.
I left mine for about five days in warm weather, but which time they looked a bit scummy and fermented.
Add cold water and swirl, then put through a fine strainer. Rinse the seeds in the strainer until all the muck is cleaned off and you just have clean seeds.
Spread the seeds out on paper towels to dry – choose a dry place free from winds or drafts.
Leave for a few days until fully dry, fold paper towels up with seeds and place in labelled clip lock bags for next growing season.
Remember – this is my first time so I’ll need to wait until next year to see if it is successful. In the meantime I have a great collection of tomato seeds.
Country Shows are very special for local rural communities. It’s a day when families get together, where local organisations exhibit and farmers get to display and compete with their produce and stock. The whole town turns out and many participate in the various events. There’s a real pastoral feel, even that the first displays you see as you enter are the farm produce, with the rides at the back of the Show. Even though it’s rural, there’s a touch of magic for the kids with the sideshow alley.
A sigh of relief and very rewarding
This was my second Rylstone Kandos Show, but my first as a resident. As I did last year, I entered the Knitting section – a single entry this time – with the high bar of matching last year’s first and Champion Piece of Knitting. My lace shawl with beads managed to make the grade, although it was just as exciting to see my friend take out second. We have been challenged to branch out into some new categories next year. Unfortunately my entries with cherry tomatoes and mixed edible herbs didn’t make any grades with no placements. The produce entries are inspiring and remind me how far I have to go. Next year I may be tempted to enter some of the flower categories, particularly roses, if I can get them to flower at the right time!
It’s always good to see the animals and see the pride and care farmers take in their stock. I made sure I had a look at the poultry pavilion as I’m still learning about chooks and which breeds I should be getting. At the moment the Silkies are looking good (they are just so cute and fluffy) and the smooth bantams. I really don’t need big chooks – they’re just for eggs and apparently these are good layers, even if the eggs won’t be huge.
What’s a country show without a scarecrow competition
We were there pretty much the whole day and into the night which ended with a long firework display. There was so much to see that we didn’t get to take in nearly all the events, but the sheep mustering with the working dogs was great to watch and the Jack Russell races were hilarious. I still don’t understand why Hammer didn’t even get a acknowledged as a candidate for People’s Choice voting after he managed to catch the lure in all three races he was in!
The Jack Russell races are a feature. Hammer was a legend managing to catch the lure every race.
Anyway, a long and enjoyable day with friends and we are already planning for next year!
I’m sure lots of little and big people felt just like this little fella by the end of the day
I’ve mentioned the local museum in a previous post and that I hoped it would reopen soon. The building is special to me as it is the closest relation in town to the Convent with its distinctive Spanish mission style architecture.
Unfortunately it has been dogged by controversy and conflict over the last year or so which led to it being closed to the public mid last year. The Council have now committed to funding renovations and are handing ownership of the property over to the community via what will be a newly formed incorporated association.
Action is happening quickly with packers moving in this week to pack and store parts of the collection so renovations can begin. After all the past controversy, it is encouraging and inspiring to see the community get behind this project. The Museum is important to the locals as both the repository of their history and as a potential attraction to visitors and they are justly proud of the collection that they have built themselves.
The Museum is distinctive in that it reflects Kandos’s heritage as an industrial town – with a twentieth century past that has been forged out of mining and the cement works that founded the town. Unlike most rural museums, it is less pastoral and focuses on industries that flourished during the period of heroic nation-building. The collection has been described as idiosyncratic – it has it’s quirky elements such as the cement dress which was constructed by an HSC student and the Lady Bushranger’s teapot, but it also has a fascinating collection from cement and mining works which have played such an important and often undervalued role in building our country. These elements are often overlooked as we prefer to romanticise our pastoral heritage.
Over the past few days I’ve been helping record the museum collection as it gets packed and it has been a pleasure to meet the founding members who have popped in with words of encouragement. A sense of excitement is growing as we can see the Museum having a new lease of life (and a facelift).
The plan is that it will reopen prior to the town’s centenary celebrations over the October long weekend. There’s an enormous amount of work to do to get us to that point but if the level of support received so far is any indication, we’ll get there and have a grand reopening.
1 1/2 kilos didn’t make a dent in this bed. Lots more harvesting still to be done. And lots more tomatoes still to ripen.
It’s that time of the year when tomatoes start to ripen and take over the garden. Some months ago I mentioned I had planted lots of varieties of cherry tomatoes – they seem hardier than the larger varieties and suit me as I can pick a handful of mixed tomatoes for a meal. The hail in November stripped the plants back to bare stems but they have come back with a vengeance and set the challenge to keep up with them as they ripen.
Semidried tomatoes seem to work well with the cherry variety, so I’m drying and bottling as fast as I can. They look so pretty with the range of colours working well together. My approach is pretty simple.
Tomatoes ready for preparation. A lovely collection of colours and shapes.
Firstly I line some baking trays with baking paper (just saves on the mess and makes it easier to pick up any tomatoes that drop through the rack.
I then set racks on the baking trays. The tomatoes can be pretty small and will be much smaller as they dry, so if possible, use two racks crossed over to minimise gaps.
Preheat oven at a low heat – 120/140 degrees.
Wash and thoroughly dry tomatoes. Cut in half and place in a bowl.
Add salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper.
Add heaps of chopped fresh herbs – I use oregano.
Add a few sloshes of olive oil and make sure all ingredients are well combined.
Spread out on racks, trying to keep a single layer to help the drying process.
Put on low shelf in oven and allow to dry out – this may take 3 – 5 hours.
Remove from oven and place tomatoes in sterilised jars. Top with olive oil. It may help to use a sharp knife of instrument to remove air bubbles from the stacked tomatoes.
Seal and enjoy.
These smaller tomatoes are great tossed in salads, pastas and casseroles and provide a rich small explosion of taste.
Happy with these as my first batch. There will be more to come – maybe I’ll use basil next time.
Popcorn has made the adjustment well and is a happy resident
A couple of months down the track post the permanent Sydney move and the place is beginning to seem more like home. Rooms have been established, including plenty of guest rooms, furniture is all in place, boxes (mostly) unpacked.
I have always wanted plenty of animals (or creatures) around and it gives the place such a greater sense of permanence. Popcorn, the border collie, was an unplanned but very welcome addition and has made himself very much at home. He is a lovely boy and fits in well with everyone, even Roxy and Tango who very much ruled the roost.
Speaking of roosts, I have just added five pretty little canaries in an aviary. I owned canaries when I was little and loved them, so the chance to take some in when offered was too good to pass up. They only arrived a few days ago but appear happy, chirpy and are already using their nests. They will also be a good interim step before the chooks arrive. I wasn’t sure how the dogs would react, particularly Roxy who is fascinated by birds and loves to chase them. She is equally fascinated by these new residents but given the threat of being sprayed with cold water by me, just sits and watches them by the hour. Hopefully they will take the edge off the excitement of chooks when they arrive in the next month or two.
I’m also spending some time propagating plants. Whilst it’s exciting to get new plants, I also want to have more of what grows well here. It will also be a more economical approach to gardening. Anyway, this means I’ve been collecting seeds and cuttings. I’m also now growing more plants from seeds rather than seedlings. I have a feeling there will be a few failures along the way, but lots of learning will be involved and the results will be rewarding.
One of the next activities for me is to start joining some of the local groups. I’m looking forward to meeting up with some of the spinners and knitters in the not-too-distant future. Kandos is fast becoming home.
A humble dessert befitting the Convent. This recipe is particularly handy as I like baking bread but homemade bread doesn’t last as long as commercial types, given it has no preservatives. I make breadcrumbs and freeze them but dishes that use the bread also are very handy. A Bread and Butter Pudding is hard to pass up and so easy to make. A great comfort food in hot or cold weather.
I partly use this blog as an easy reference point for me for my more frequent recipes but hope others enjoy them as well. I prefer recipes where I am likely to have the ingredients on hand (and that they are readily available – this isn’t inner-City Sydney for shopping).
half a dozen slices of day-old bread
butter
3 eggs
500 ml milk
1/4 cup of sugar
extra sugar
vanilla extract or essence
nutmeg
Preheat oven to 160 degree C
Butter baking dish
Butter bread, cut into triangles and place in dish
Mix eggs in mixer and gradually add milk, then sugar and vanilla extract
Pour over bread in baking dish
Grate nutmeg over the top and, if you prefer, sprinkle with more sugar (brown or demerara is extra good).
Bake for 60 – 90 minutes until cooked (test custard is set by inserting knife and it comes out clean)
Allow to sit for 10 minutes (or you can serve cold).
Optional extras
You can add sultanas or dried fruit such as chopped dried apricots
You can also spread your choice of jam on the bread along with the butter
A cheery spread of corn fritters, homemade bread and relishes, Convent garden salad and grilled cherry tomatoes
I was fortunate to spend this weekend with friends visiting the Convent. A real Australian weekend, with the Kandos Hot Rod and Street Machine Show providing a background soundtrack, a couple of barbies, a trip to Dunn’s Swamp and cricket on the telly.
It was satisfying that the Convent provided well, with all salads coming from the garden, as well as beetroot and zucchini supplementing the barbecue. Homemade bread made a few appearances and berry sorbet made use of the berry patch.
Plentiful glossy lebanese or finger eggplants
Eggplant chutney was made, taking advantage of the gorgeous little lebanese eggplants. An initial picking yielded half a dozen jars. I’m now adapting to making use of garden produce and planning meals better. I also no longer rely on star ingredients I could so easily purchase in Sydney for entertaining. It’s very rewarding to put forward courses that celebrate the garden and the seasons and visitors can help pick and prepare. I’m also making good use of quality appliances that have been so under-utilised such as my Kitchenaid mixer and ice-cream maker as well as the bread maker.
In the meantime, my friends will be willing guinea pigs as I attempt to establish Convent staple and signature dishes.
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CONVENT AND CHAPEL 