SIGNS of Spring (again)

The birds, in mobs, are racing around, chasing, being chased, singing and heralding. The creek is high from recent rains, chinese cabbage and brocoli have bolted, the mini nectarine is already in full flower and if there was any doubt at all .....   the wattles are out.

and then there is #Snowcone ... such a sweet girl - our dairy cow in retirement 

find her on our youtube channel here ... and check out this hilarious one where she got out and i had not a clue what to do ! 

took this new addition for a spin today #classic

a lovely surprise  - a great excuse now for regular #brunchdates 

love this car ... lunch at the Raspberry Farm was so good. and the little walk around afterwards was enjoyable in lovely surrounds. 

lovely Rainy Days this month - remembering the flood !

July and we have been experiencing many days and night of rain. we needed it as the paddocks had got very dry, turning wheat coloured over summer.  it only took a couple of days of rain to return to green again and we get these little visitors at night.    image below - link refers to info on the little brown tree frog.

and it was such a nice surprise to find, online, the sound it makes - surprise because i always assumed THIS sound was crickets but it is actually the little brown tree frog. 

It was October (i think) 2022 when the creek flooded - a once in 7 year flood (apparently) ... there is a playlist of flood videos that happened in 2022 on our you tube

hoping it is is indeed once in 7 years ... or longer - we will be fine as the house is up the hill but the studio got flooded and that took 6 weeks to clean up !

love this idea - recipe

recently moved to the country and more natural ways to clean and what is disposed of is top of mind ...we have water tanks and a septic tank which requires gentle cleaning products for it to work well.

a walk by the creek

on a recent walk discovered this lovely flowering - Fatsia Japonica - i wrote about it here.  a winter flowering.  look forward to seeing how big it gets - apparently quite large and wide.

i took photos of this particular part of the creek, from the bridge and came back at night to take shots of around the same area, from the bridge.  

still discovering things along our journey here -the creek has filled a little since we have been getting regular rains - the paddocks have greened over and the wallabies are gathering in large groups during the night to chomp on the grass.

check out this video on youtube of blackfish in the creek 

and i am doing monthly videos (just started this year) - we have been here 3 years and i began the monthly vids so i can notice the differences and changes each year.

looking back - Archie & Kimba (cute ginger alert)

THEN & NOW. Archie on the left and Kimba on the right (in both images)

They came to us as a pair after we lost Harry - a beautiful boy that was with us for a short time (2 years) - a bold, cheeky, independent ginger that was cross eyed, pigeon toed, highly talkative and much loved.   THIS IS HARRY (below)

and so the twins arrived ... Archie and Kimba - such beautiful little souls that have been with us for 4 years now having come to us as very tiny little beings. 

check out the cat run that was built for them - including the early days and planning - the full playlist here - my list of must haves was room to move outside, in the sun, with shelter and trees.   #livingwithcats #countryliving

MUM's CSIRKE PAPRIKAS. (Chicken Paprika) - recipe

Paprikas is pronounced - 'cheerke paap-ree-kysh'

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons butter or *pork lard 
• 6-8 chicken pieces, *bone-in and skin-on
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 tomatoes, very finely diced (Roma are good)
• 1 Hungarian bell pepper, diced (optional)
• 3-4 tablespoons of quality, genuine imported sweet Hungarian paprika. (this is the secret ingredient)
• 2 cups chicken broth (*homemade preferably - just boil chicken wings and bones for hours with whole onion, salt and peppercorn)
• 1 and half teaspoons sea salt
• half teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup full fat sour cream , room temperature (full fat prevents lumpy cream)
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

• *traditionally used for the best flavour

METHOD :

• Heat the lard in a heavy pot and brown the chicken all over 
• Let the chicken rest on a plate.  In the same oil, add the onions and fry until golden brown.  
• Add tomatoes, garlic and pepper and fry another 2-3 minutes.  
• Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the paprika, salt and pepper (you must remove the pot from heat otherwise the paprika goes bitter)
• Return the chicken to the pot and place it back over the heat.  
• Pour in the chicken broth. The chicken should be mostly covered. Bring it to a boil. 
• Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove the chicken and transfer to a plate.
• In a small bowl, stir the flour into the sour cream/cream mixture to form a smooth paste. Stir the cream mixture into the liquid in the pot, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. 
• Simmer for a couple of minutes until the sauce is thickened - keep stirring. 
• Add salt and pepper to taste. 
• Return the chicken to the sauce and simmer to heat through.

Serve the chicken paprikash with Hungarian nokedli, steamed rice, pasta shells, rigatoni or mashed potato.

Jó étvágyat!

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a surprise winter flowering

On a walk across the paddock yesterday I found this plant flowering by the creek.  and today it looked like this !

so pretty. This is called fatsia Japonica and is best suited to outdoor growth.  I purchased one last year and have it indoors - it grew so well that i had extras come up in the pot and this one is outdoors growing beautifully by the creek.  The flowers were such a nice surprise - the one indoors is leafy and large-ish but nothing like this one outdoors.

Things I learned from Google today. The name. fatsia Japonica.

• It is better suited outdoors than indoors - i am now planning where to plant the indoor one once we get into spring.
• The location i put the one outdoors is perfect for it - shady with some sun.
• it flowers in autumn (although we are winter here just now) and berries will follow !  great. so good for the birds.
• it will grow 6-10 feet both in height and width!  how fabulous and apparently the new shoots may get eaten but the older ones are not tasty for the critters.  we shall see. i do have it currently fenced waiting for it to expand before i test that theory.
• its also known as the paper plant of finger plant.
• pruning encourages dense growth

very happy to have this one in the paddock.  might plant the indoor one outside the front of the house. 

A recent visit to The Bridge Gallery in Burnie, Tasmania

An article about this awe-inspiring, wonderful exhibition has gone up on Blackfishartstasmania studio blog.  We travelled to Burnie to pick up the Oistre book which was a finalist in the Burnie Print Prize 2025. 

A write up about our experience of this exhibition along with links to the artworks and artist statements.  There are 21, i think, artist books where each artist responds to each Afghan womans experience of living in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in 2021. i have posted a few images taken on our visit. 

Hungarian Meat Soup - Husleves - recipe

Husleves - pronounced 'hoosh lehvesh'

This time last year we both caught a cold this week so I am making this hearty, fullsome soup. Trying to avoid that side-aching, hacking cough that comes with a cold and lingers. This recipe is on the list with the others, accessible here.  I always make Nokedli to go with it.

and, as always, there is a bag of goodies, from all this soup making, for #Snowcone - catch up with her (our dairy cow in retirement) here on our you-tube channel.

                                                                                                                                        STUDIO WORK - did you see the 'pocket finds' i have been doing over the last few weeks. There is one post here and the other is here. It is something i have always done but really happy to find the perfect name    for the activity (thanks to Tara Axford).   See THIS POST of a few #pocketfinds and    some are going onto instagram.                                                                                                                                                                         i would love to hear your thoughts.                                              

HUS Leves - Hungarian meat soup - recipe

I love the aroma as this dish cooks, long and slow.   and I love the taste.

I use quantities of any ingredient without measure - put in as much of any to suit.

This recipe makes a great chicken soup or osso bucco (replace beef) - serve with nokedli, (homemade Hungarian noodles) or if you prefer, pasta noodles.   

*you can use beef, chicken or osso bucco.

Ingredients

• *beef chuck and/or brisket - cubed
• marrow bones
• 3-4 pieces of chicken with bone and skin (thighs and breasts or whatever you prefer)
• a stock pot filled ½ way with cold water
• 1 large onion in whole, unpeeled
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 12 peppercorns, salt
• fresh parsley
• 4-5 celery stalks, preferable the internal stalks with the leaves
• 6 whole carrots, cleaned 4 whole potatoes, peeled

optional:
add parsnips, peeled but whole, 1/2 celery root, peeled, mushrooms

METHOD:

• Soak the beef in cold water for 30 minutes, drain.
• While waiting for the beef to soak, wash chicken parts, set in pot with cold water. Add the beef meat and bones and more fresh cold water if necessary. Begin cooking on low heat.
  Do not let the water come to the boil. Allow the soup to sweat instead of simmer. Small circles of fat will come to the surface and vibrate. Do NOT at any time stir the pot!
• As the soup sweats, scoop the scum that floats to the top, with a slotted spoon.
  When you think no more scum will come to the top add the salt, fresh parsley, garlic, and peppercorns.
• Wash the whole onion and then cut out the root end and add to the pot.
• Peel and wash all the other vegetables, but do not chop them, [keep them whole]. Set them aside for use later.
• Let the soup sweat for 2-3 hours.
• When the meat in the soup is getting close to being tender add the carrots, potatoes, parsnips, celery. Do not raise the heat. Let the soup sweat.
• When the soup has been sweating for six hours or more and the meat and all the vegetables are tender,
  very gently pour the broth through a large fine sieve into a clean soup pot. Let the meat and the vegetables cool a bit.
  
• Cut the breast meat into serving size pieces. Keep the thighs as they are but remove and discard all the
  skins. Put the meat back in the soup. Gently heat the meat and vegetables and then the soup is ready to serve.
• Boil water and cook the nokedli or the noodles. Drain and place in the soup bowls and ladle some clear broth over it. Arrange the meat and vegetables over the top of the noodles, sprinkle with salt and serve with toast.  The image below is how my soup finished up and i made nokedli (homemade Hungarian noodles).

Jó étvágyat! Enjoy your meal!

When Endangered is right in front of you

 

This beauty was found on my office bench one morning this week. So intact, so beautiful. A bit of googling established it is a Bogong Moth.

My studio and office is a giant shed so i find critters around from time to time and watch a spider in her webs, around my window overlooking the paddock, catch and wrap flies.

In googling i discovered the Bogong Moth is endangered and recorded my sighting on a website dedicated to tracking these amazing creatures. They aim to support Bogong Moth research, and promote Moth Tracker.

Common name: Bogong moth

Aboriginal name: The name Bogong is apparently derived from the language of the Dhudhuroa Nation of North Eastern Victoria.

Scientific name: Agrotis infusa

Population: Declining

Conservation status: Endangered 

• Bogong moths also provide critical food for the critically endangered Mountain pygmy possum, lizards, antechinus (broad-toothed rat) and spiders across the Snowy Mountain region. 

• Each spring, Bogong moths emerge from beneath the soil in Darling river plains of Queensland, New South Wales and Western Victoria and navigate their way to the Alpine region. This journey can be more than 1,000 kilometres. 

• After spending the summer in the cooler mountain caves, they return to their birthplace to reproduce over winter: new larvae again growing under the soil from plant roots and other plant matter. 

The Bogong moth is missing in the wild

Just 20 years ago, hundreds of thousands of Bogong moths disrupted the Sydney Olympics when they were attracted to stadium floodlights. And in Canberra, many residents remember how the night air could be thick with Bogong moths getting lost in the city lights on the way to the mountains. 

Yet the Bogong moth was just added to an international red list of threatened species as endangered — it was assessed along with 123 other Australian species, 56 of which are now listed as threatened with extinction.

Australia is already ranked 4th in the world for extinction so this is dire news.

Read more here about the stories of the Bogong Moth

                                     Three days ago out of my peripheral vision right in the centre of the studio, this lil fellow was running around, face covered in spider webs from crawling around under the benches. You see him here in this image after i 'swept' him (with a broom) into a plastic tub and then proceeded to 'sweep' away the cobwebs which was blinding him.

NOKEDLI (sometimes called GALUSKA) - homemade noodles - recipe

Nokedli is pronounced 'nor-cad-lee'.  

Galuska is pronounced 'gaa-loosh-ka' 

It is basically a free-form egg noodles made with dumpling ingredients - quick and easy using a one-step process.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 and half cups self-raising flour, or 1 cup bread flour.**
• quarter teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons sour cream or yogurt (adjust as required)
• 2 tablespoons milk (more or less) (adjust as required)
• butter for serving

** i have used half flour and half semolina which gives a different texture.

METHOD:

• Mix flour and salt together in a bowl.
• Add eggs and sour cream, stir the mixture to combine.
• Stir in a tablespoon of milk at a time until your dough is soft, not runny.
• When you are ready to make the Nokedli, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
• put the dough on a wet wooden board and then use the back of a knife to cut small pieces into a pot of boiling water ***
• Do this in small batches so you don't end up overcooking the Nokedli. 
• The dumplings will float to the surface in 30 seconds which tells you they are cooked.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove from the boiling water and transfer them to a bowl. Cover to keep warm.
• Serve Nokedli tossed with butter or a little olive oil to keep them from sticking together.

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