Finality

Today I was planning on blogging about our sunday trip to Mapua. The weather dawned perfectly, dad and I bike there, crossed on the new ferry to Rabbit Island, missed our ferry back, stayed for an extra hour, were an hour late to lunch. It was all very beautiful (the biking) and exciting (racing to the ferry and proving how easy it is to miss), and we even went swimming in the ocean for the first time this season. In general, a remarkable day.

But just this evening we found out that our neighbor, one of the most remarkable people I have ever met, died last night. Today was not a day without excitement, either - some apple champagne blew up last night, my mother found out she won a raffle, I learned how to sharpen tools and managed to cut myself on one (not seriously). But it all seems very pale now in comparison.

Its hard to think that other events are important in light of something as profound as death. This is the first time I've been so close to it; our grandmother died when we were one, but I don't remember it, although my mother says I was constipated for weeks (its funny how even so young we can register grief, even in unexpected ways). And I didn't even know David particularly well, although he was the sort of person that made an immediate impression. I want to remember him through attempting to be as generous, cheerful, delightful as he was. I doubt I will be successful, but all you can do is try. Which is really partly what living is all about.

Kiwi Voting, or, My Vote Finally Counted!

What adventures I have had over the past few days! First, as you may have guessed from the title, I voted in the New Zealand parliamentary elections. And, as you probably also gathered, for the first time I felt like my vote actually mattered. You see, in NZ you vote for both a local MP and a party to be represented in parliament, so you get represented twice in the parliament (sort of like Congress). And sure, the more conservative of the two parties won the majority which isn't great, but the Green party did the best they have ever done! Which is exciting (No prizes for guessing which I voted for, sorry)!

It being spring, and voting occuring on a beautiful albeit windy day, we took a hour and a half hike after voting. Luckily, the couple that own the land with access to the path were also running our local voting location. Hearing that we were headed for White Rock, we were told that their dog would lead us to the trail, and indeed, we were met by a friendly black lab who accompanied us all the way to the White Rock itself. When we arrived, somewhat battered by long grass and thistles on the way, we were greeted by fantastic views over our local area. On the way home, quite warm from hiking, we stopped at the river. It was a little high, and a little fast, and very, very cold, but that didn't stop me from jumping in. This was a foolish, foolish idea. My head felt like it was being squeezed, my chest was pumping and I swear my skin cells were screaming in anguish. But what better time to be foolish than when one is young! After valiantly fighting the current I made it out, and promptly concluded that it is not quite river weather yet; especially a river full of snow melt. Still, a day to be celebrated!

Celebrating, Farm Style (Update Two)

The get togethers at my parents' house are pretty standard; on Thursdays they hold Movie Nights, which could be more appropriately titled as Cocktails (or Any Other Alcoholic Beverage) and Appetizers (Usually My Mother's Cheese and Bread) while we finish cooking, Late Dinner with Wine, Hot Tea and Coffee with Pudding (aka dessert), Then A Film. Sometimes the Pudding comes in the middle of the Film, allowing people to digest somewhat before being stuffed with more food. Everyone one brings something, whether food, wine or beer, which is a Kiwi tradition that I quite appreciate. Overall its a lovely event, quite popular among their friends. In fact, while my parents were gone their friends (who knew their house-sitter) continued to occasionally hold movie nights at the house. So it is quite a Thing. Unfortunately, now that our dishwasher no longer works, its also quite a mess of dishes to deal with. But that is the price of hospitality.

Besides Movie Night, most of our social interaction involves inviting people over for dinner. We probably have dinner guests over three or four nights a week on average, which is great for using up food in the freezer and for a glimpse of the outside world. When we party, we party with food and - usually - some sort of media.

Not so for others. On 11/11/11 we attended the 11th wedding anniversary of Amon and Wendy, some of the first Kiwis we met back when we were first living in New Zealand and they were grazing sheep on the farm we were renting. The party was quite sizeable, almost overwhelming for someone used to relative isolation. It was a decidedly more rural crowd than the Movie Night regulars, and I spotted some gumboots and gorgeous hand-knit sweaters (could the wool be from their own sheep?). We may have been slightly out of place. Correction, we were slightly out of place. I, as a vegetarian, was especially out of place. The first thing to be offered to us in terms of food was grilled and sliced pieces of pork. Not for me, thanks. Amon, being very manly and knowing how to feed a crowd, was also grilling A WHOLE SHEEP. On a spit. My father, another Man of Meat, helped roast and cut up the beast. When it was finally done, Amon wound through the crowd offering bits from a tray. Passing by, he glanced at me and, in a tone almost sad, muttered "Well, this is wasted on you", and went on by. Sure is, mate.

Sheep aside (and I'm sure it was very tasty), the party was quite a good one. Kids running around, one with a split lip, loads of food, booze and a tableful of puddings for the taking, toasts to the happy couple and even fireworks. There is fun to be had in the country; you just need to know where to find it.

Fermentation Experimentations (Update One)

One of the exciting things you can do on a farm is attempt to create new and novel food items using the age-old technique of fermentation. Its a risky process; not only do you risk mold and possible food poisoning, but you never know when something might explode due to a build up of gases (as happened to some of my mother's first gingerbeer batches - and that was when she was still using glass containers).

So what we been making, you ask. Many a thing, as it turns out, soecifically things with elderflowers. This delicately scented, pale yellow flowering bush is one of the many things brought to new zealand by British settlers, and has been regarded as an annoying weed. We became interested in the flowers' possibilities when my father discovered a recipe using elderflower liquer in his pursuit of new and exciting cocktails. Traditionally the flowers are used make a lovely cordial, and can also be used to make champagne, so we decided to make all three.

Step one was the hunt for elderflowers. We heard tell of a bush on the road from Nelson, and pulled on to the shoulder halfway home to harvest some flowers. Upon closer examination (and a quick internet search), however, they turned out to be hawthorne flowers. Luckily, my mothers spotted some likely looking flowers on a bush at the farm of the women from whom we buy goat's milk. Were those elderflowers? Indeed, and Pam kindly offered to let us harvest some. So the following week we set out to harvest.

The recipe my mother had found instructed that one must harvest before the sun hit the flowers; something to do with natural yeast. Pam, who grew up in England, had always heard that you go out on a sunny day. We have concluded that this is because a sunny day in England is roughly equivalent to a clear morning in New Zealand; perhaps not a favorable comparison for England. After gathering, we set to sorting, cutting, boiling, stirring and distilling to make our mysterious liquids. All that done, we were left with a lovely and refreshing cordial (mix with water, then drink), and weeks left to wait for the champagne and liquer to mature. Just for kicks, we also make an apple 'champagne' using some of our large supply of apple sauce. Hopefully nothing explodes!

Back Online in Orinoco!

We're back, everyone! After ten days (!!) without the internet, we are back online, fully functional, and ready to search anything that comes into our silly heads. No more 'Well, we could look it up IF WE HAD THE INTERNET' or 'Let me just go check that, OH WAIT NO'. We have the power of a world full of knowledge at our fingertips. We are all-powerful.

Actually, I felt a little overwhelmed when I first got back on the internet. There's so much information out there, all the time! It was oddly restful to be solely in one place at one time, instead of x number of places (x being the number of browser windows currently open). Still, it is very refreshing to be able to talk to people again, and communicate!

First, though, Happy Thanksgiving! We shared the wonderful tradition of eating and well, more eating, tonight with some friends, and it was great. A table crammed with food, a large smoked ham, three kinds of sauces, potatoes AND sweet potatoes, six different kinds of wine, gravy, and three pies to finish (pumpkin, pecan and pear). Sure, its seasonally inappropriate in the Southern Hemisphere, but worth it nonetheless.

And now, speaking of communication, I will share some previous posts that would have gone up if we had had the internet. Enjoy!

Downsides to Farming (a delayed update)

I have discovered that there are unforeseen downsides to living in the middle of nowhere on a farm.
Just earlier this week I was delighting in the tan that my gumboots had given me, delighting in working on a farm. Now, unfortunately, I have experienced another side of farm labor; back pain. While there are a myriad of possible causes for back pain, in my case it seems to have started a few weeks ago when I re-did our compost piles - and promptly bragged about it. After slight soreness for a few weeks, I apparently tweaked it somehow, probably with my extravagant weeding technique. Its a bit of a mystery, but no matter what has caused it in the middle of planting season its a right pain (if you'll pardon the pun) to be laid up. Of course, I've done myself no favors, doing the absolute maximum amount of permissible movement while 'resting'. Today, after two days of partial rest, I decided to go work on a mulch bed. That, it turns out, was a bad idea. So who knows how long this will last; it will probably heal quicker if I get better at sitting still, but that is a tall order.
To make things worse, or perhaps just the back issue slightly less bearable, our internet has died. As in, the box channeling our internet is completely broken. We've been waiting all week for a new one to arrive in the mail, and the courier, for some reason, is held up. Apparently, when you live out in the country 'next day' courier service takes more like four or five days. For chrissake people! I'm injured! What am I supposed to do without the bountiful entertainment supplied by the internet? But really, there are things that I could do on the internet that I simply cannot without it, and being incapacitated would be easier if I didn't feel so darn useless.
That might be enough complaining. On the plus side, the weather has been clear and gorgeous (just in time for me to not be able to enjoy it - sorry, no more complaining), although with very strong, cold southerlies (the equivalent of northerlies in the Northern hemisphere). The garden is springing to life, especially in the greenhouse, which is a full five to ten degrees warmer at all times. Plus, we now have loads - literally- of compost with which to slather the garden and achieve maximum fertility. WHICH I WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO DO WHEN I CAN USE A SHOVEL AGAIN.
Alright, I'm no fun right now. Will try again at a later date, hopefully when my back hurts less. Or I just feel less bitter about it. Maybe when the internet returns....

Note: This was written a few days ago. We still (still!) don't have internet, despite the fact that it should have arrived at the latest on friday, and it is now monday; we've come into town to do a few things and I'm using the library's internet. My back is better, although perhaps still not at its best, and I'll try to go do some interesting things to write about!

I have a Gumboot Tan

Its official; I have a gumboot tan. For those who might not know, gumboots (aka wellingtons or 'wellies') are basically what we call rainboots in the US. Rubber exterior, quite stiff, fairly shapeless, about calf high. Traditionally worn on farms for their high durability and imperviousness (apparently that is not a word) to animal excrement. And mine have given me tan lines. Which I feel must be a mark of hard work living on a farm, so I'm slightly proud even if they look ridiculous.

Most of what I've been doing lately is clearing mom's 'kitchen garden' by the house. Its sort of like a treasure hunt, since many of the plants have been entirely - or almost entirely- covered by weeds. I'll be pulling some sheep sorrel and suddenly aha! there's some cilantro that came out of nowhere. There's rosemary in the clover, and cornflowers all over the place. Plus I think I might be saving the lives of our two artichokes, one of which already has a bulb! Of course, piecemeal weeding can also be frustrating, since its hard to use many tools. It should be nice when its done, though, and it does give me chance to be outside and work on the ever-attractive gumboot tan!

Speaking of farming, today we went to the 'Growables' expo in Nelson, which was all about plants, growing things (hence the name) and basically all things green. There were stands about trees, bees, permaculture, viticulture and everything in between. It was not only informative but also inspirational, and we came back loaded down with plants and big plans for the garden. In fact, we all came back and almost immediately went right outside to get back to work; which in my case meant recognizing that perhaps a lot of grunt work is necessary before big dreams can be realized. Still, my plans include planting lots of perennial plants, a possible water feature and some experimentation with different bed preparation methods. I'm thinking about contacting and/or joining some of the gardening groups around, to learn more skills and meet more enthusiastic gardeners. The future is wide open!

Cardoons and other Cookery

The aim of gardening is ultimately, of course, eating what you grow. And my family, well, we love to eat. I remember once a friend who had come to visit was astonished that my family began discussing what to have for dinner which still eating lunch; but that's just our way. Food (growing, cooking, eating) must be up to half of what we talk about some days, which is alright by me.

On the farm, there are certain priorities when it comes to deciding what to eat; whatever's growing in the garden, what cheese we have around at the moment, and using up something out of our over-stuffed larder and freezers. Yes, multiple freezers. The one in the house with more normal freezer items (i.e. icecream) and the chest freezer outside, which is pretty much just stuffed with 'farm meat). Did I mention that we also have multiple fridges? The two (two!) in the garage are for cheese and other dairy products. Don't worry, they're both small.
Anyway, its an interesting time of year to be cooking, because there is a limited number of things currently growing, some things left over from last year (including those already in jars) and a vast array of aged cheeses. Its an enjoyable challenge, figuring out how to use what we have. There's been yogurt soup from a Middle Eastern cookbook, various pumpkin things with pumpkins hanging out from last fall, versions of the delicious shakshuka from Smitten Kitchen made with mom's canned tomatoes, and a beet salad where all the ingredients came from our land or was brought from nearby (beets, fennel, walnuts, goat cheese, lemon zest). It was really colorful, too, except I only thought to take a picture until after we'd scarfed it all down. Woops. The first real cooking challenge that I came across was Cardoons. Ever heard of them? I hadn't. According to this excellent website that Marianne sent to me, this relative of the artichoke was originally eaten by the Romans, and spread through the Roman Empire. Its the stalks that are eaten, usually after being boiled and often in the company of cheese, milk or butter (the French often cook them in milk). These majestic stalks do not, however, grow well farther north than southern France. They seem to have been greatly desire by the Swiss, enough so that they attempted to create something similarly stalk-y by 'improving' upon beets; and Swiss Chard was born (for a more detailed version of the story, I recommend the website). Interestingly enough, we also have chard growing in the garden, although here they call it 'beetroot', which takes it right back to its origins.
Anyway, what do you do when you have alot of something weird and no idea how to cook it? Because these things are huge, and the stalks are definitely on the tough side. Luckily, Mario Batali, the well-known Italian chef, apparently loves cardoons (he says they have a 'sexy flavor'). My dad loves Mario's cookbooks, so we had recipes. Apparently, the key is to boil the heck out of them until they actually get tender. My second attempt, cardoon custards with a hint of nutmeg, was the most successful. Though really, anything covered in egg and cheese with a hint of nutmeg is going to be a winner. We'll see how later recipes go; as per the advice of a gardening book, I have now trussed up some of the cardoons to be blanched before eating, which might make the flavor even more 'sexy'. Plus, they look charmingly like some sort of weird Christmas present.

Seedlings Grow While You're Away!

We got back from a weekend in Wellington yesterday to find many new seedlings enjoying the spring weather. It kept raining on and off for the few days before we left, and I suspect over the weekend while we were gone, because we're seeing new carrot, radish, greens, and even volunteer cucumber sprouts! It seems to be the time for beans, especially - they're shooting up like mad. I always forget how crazy everything gets in springtime!
And the greenhouse! The zucchinis benefiting from the greenhouse's optimal environment are about twice the size of those outside, and they look healthier. There are plenty of volunteer tomatoes, too, growing from the seeds of the ones that were in their last year. Its strange to think that we'll have to be pulling out perfectly good baby tomato plants just to give ourselves some space (I think I'll have to get mom to do it - I'm not sure that I have the heart).
And Wellington. It was a lovely weekend, in which I went to a party! With people my age! We talked about urban concerns, like traffic and cycling and plays! We all had numerous social engagements catching up with friends during our all-too-brief 48 hour trip, ate nice food (very nice, I'm thinking now, remembering how much I love Malaysian food), and got to watch the Guy Fawkes Day fireworks over the Marina. On a slight tangent, I still think that Guy Fawkes Day is a slightly weird thing to celebrate. The man tried to burn down parliament, and you celebrate with explosives? I saw a few fireworks that looked a little too close to buildings for comfort, so maybe some Wellingtonians were getting a little too much into the historical side of the holiday.
All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. I do like myself a good city, and Wellington is a great one. There are charms to country life, however, and being away just makes you realize them all over again. This evening I took some pumpkin bread over to a neighbor's house, and the walk there was so calming. The air was still warm from the constant sun during the day, but dry with a hint of coming chill. The golden sunlight was fading away from the valley as the sun set behind the hill, and blue tones were moving in. I could smell blossoms and the creek, and the birds were making their familiar racket, beneath which was quiet. And there was so much green, unbroken by concrete, and such a variety of plant and animal life. Its times like those that you think perhaps, just perhaps, a country life is just about right.