My sister has been visiting tonight and said she really thinks I should make a mention of what 'Cwm Goch' means. It is Welsh and means 'Red Valley' (Cwm is Valley, Goch is Red).
We named our property Cwm Goch because Hywel's Grandfather was born and raised in Wales on a property of this name. It was named for the red poplars which grew there - Valley of the Red Trees.
Since we live in a Valley with Red Gum (Marri - see recent post) thought it was appropriate and a nice way to keep some family history alive too.
So there you have it. Cwm Goch explained!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Winter Solstice Warmer
Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice - shortest day/longest night of the year. We plan on enjoying a little bonfire with the kids to mark the night and it looks to be very cold!
So for those others of you who'll be out tomorrow night - or indeed anyone who likes a hot drink, I thought I'd share with you our very special hot chocolate recipe!
These amounts are for 4 people - the amounts are variable though. Mix and match to your taste preference.
Ingredients
4 cups Milk
About 100g good quality dark chocolate
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 heaped tablespoon of sugar (skip this if you like it bitter)
1 cardamom pod
1 tspn cinnamon (or a cinnamon scroll)
1 Vanilla pod (or 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract)
1/2 tspn nutmeg
2 cloves
A pinch of ground chilli (this is important!)
Method
Pour the milk in a saucepan. Grate in the dark chocolate. Add the cocoa and spices and gently simmer (don't boil) until its hot and the flavours have infused a little. I leave mine for about 10 minutes.
Pour into cups. Top with a bit if grated chocolate. YUM!
The flavours are divine and the chilli gives you a warm feeling in the back of your throat as you drink it. Perfect for a cold winter's night!
Hope you like it as much as we do. :)
So for those others of you who'll be out tomorrow night - or indeed anyone who likes a hot drink, I thought I'd share with you our very special hot chocolate recipe!
These amounts are for 4 people - the amounts are variable though. Mix and match to your taste preference.
Ingredients
4 cups Milk
About 100g good quality dark chocolate
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 heaped tablespoon of sugar (skip this if you like it bitter)
1 cardamom pod
1 tspn cinnamon (or a cinnamon scroll)
1 Vanilla pod (or 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract)
1/2 tspn nutmeg
2 cloves
A pinch of ground chilli (this is important!)
Method
Pour the milk in a saucepan. Grate in the dark chocolate. Add the cocoa and spices and gently simmer (don't boil) until its hot and the flavours have infused a little. I leave mine for about 10 minutes.
Pour into cups. Top with a bit if grated chocolate. YUM!
The flavours are divine and the chilli gives you a warm feeling in the back of your throat as you drink it. Perfect for a cold winter's night!
Hope you like it as much as we do. :)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Enjoying the Harvest
My friend from Albany came up today and left armed with seedlings, seeds and inspiration to start a 'serious' vegie garden! And you know what sold the idea? Lunch!
I very quickly threw together a Thai style soup. The only things from the cupboard were the fish, fish sauce and coconut milk. Other ingredients included Bok Choy, Beetroot leaves, silverbeet, spring onion, chives, parsley, chilli, lemon juice, lime juice, kaffir lime leaves, mustard greens, celery, snow peas and nasturtium leaves (basically anything green the kids found and wanted to throw in the basket).
It was actually rather divine - if I do say so myself! And she marvelled at the fact that her two young children happily munched their way through that many vegetables, besides the ones they'd eaten out in the garden. Hence the inspiration!
Here is a picture of the harvest for a salad a couple of weeks ago.
Are we making progress or what!!! Check out that proudly blemished capsicum - no pesticides here! Just need to plant more - lots more, so we can harvest more than once a week/two!
I very quickly threw together a Thai style soup. The only things from the cupboard were the fish, fish sauce and coconut milk. Other ingredients included Bok Choy, Beetroot leaves, silverbeet, spring onion, chives, parsley, chilli, lemon juice, lime juice, kaffir lime leaves, mustard greens, celery, snow peas and nasturtium leaves (basically anything green the kids found and wanted to throw in the basket).
It was actually rather divine - if I do say so myself! And she marvelled at the fact that her two young children happily munched their way through that many vegetables, besides the ones they'd eaten out in the garden. Hence the inspiration!
Here is a picture of the harvest for a salad a couple of weeks ago.
Are we making progress or what!!! Check out that proudly blemished capsicum - no pesticides here! Just need to plant more - lots more, so we can harvest more than once a week/two!
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