The Finished Products

When are we ever truly finished? When we have finished putting in a crop, harvesting a crop, processing a crop? Or is it only when we have sold our crop to a customer? The best way for me to approach a task is to entertain the idea that there are simply lots of finishing points along the way. I believe this is the kindest thing I can do for myself, rather than be overwhelmed at the enormity of it all. 

Soon the stillness of mid-Winter will be behind us and we will begin to sense the slow, inevitable gearing up for Spring. Meanwhile Winter still has its foggy grip on us. Which I don't mind one little bit. I love this weather.

Here I have packaged up some of our Turmeric Powder ready for sale. I have noticed that people are wanting to purchase turmeric but don't know exactly what to do with it. Offering it up in powder form makes it a little easier to imagine the possibilities. Our most favourite ways to use it are sprinkled over baked veggies, sprinkled over pan fried meat and used in Turmeric Latte, otherwise known as Golden Milk. Below are some photos to show you how turmeric goes in whole into the dehydrator and comes out as a powder.

Whole turmeric.

Fancy new dehydrator with turmeric thinly sliced.

Voila! Turmeric powder.

Please visit my brand new Etsy shop. It is yet another finish point for me and yet just the beginning as well. I have decided to add to my repertoire of timber art and will show it to you in the coming weeks.

www.etsy.com/au/shop/WildwoodArtShop 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. It is my Birthday today and we will be celebrating with friends!

Mid-Winter musings

Mid-Winter is here in all it's splendor. There is a hushed stillness in the air as the Earth makes a long slow exhale. This is the perfect time for us all to make that inward journey deep inside ourselves to converse with our own deep wisdom - just like the occasional final dropping of a leaf from a tree as we plot our way forward into the eventual Spring time. I have been doing my bit by birthing the new while sitting by the fire, cat on lap, pumpkin soup bowl cradled in my grateful hands. 

As I mentioned in my last blog I have an announcement to make. After much thinking and wondering I have opened my own Etsy Shop! It is still in it's fledgling stage as I discover the necessity for things like the best photos possible. On the weekend we purchased a good second hand camera so that I can up-grade the photos I have already.

So please jump on line and check it out. The name is WildWoodArtShop and you can find it here . If you like it please press the 'Favourite' button and share it. As a brand spanking new shop it requires that critical element which is your presence. Much like the first breathe of life!

Meanwhile the turmeric has taken some good hits from the frosts indicating to us that it is ready to be harvested. When we get orders from customers we pull it up, wash it, trim it, separate it and dry it before sending it off. 

The garlic is coming along nicely as shown in the Winter sunshine here. Thanks to serious mulching we eliminate most weeds and the need for any chemicals.

Molly inspects the crops to see if there is anything wriggling in there. Thankfully the local snake population is sound asleep right now.

Wishing you all a cosy weekend and don't forget to have a look at my shop WildWoodArtShop  I appreciate your support very much!

Fun at the Markets

The Green Marquee did not disappoint.  Our Russian Garlic was a hit. It is popùlar as a garlic that is milder in taste than other varieties, it is in fact from the leek family. I have Italian friends who love it. My assumption was that they would prefer the stronger traditional garlic, but no. In fact it passes the taste test with them as they eat it in the raw state as soon as they are given it! Yes, it brings tears to my eyes just at the thought too! We had other produce picked fresh from the garden on the morning of the market. Chillies, two kinds of lemons and limes. The turmeric powder and whole turmeric did some selling as well.

Once we had set up I poured myself a hot cup of tea from the thermos, sat myself down and took a deep breath while Rob took photos.

Rob is an old hand at markets as he has done them on behalf of his work over the years. It is good to have someone along who knows the ropes and doesn't hesitate to chat with people. It was lovely to meet other stall holders too. This is as much the chance to socialize with like minded people as it is to sell our produce. The theme of this market is up-cycled, hand made and home grown so we fit right in!

I must say it is a lot of fun arranging our wares to show them off and entice the customers. Writing and drawing on a blackboard takes me back to my childhood. It is still lots of fun!

There was interest and appreciation in my timber art as well. It is always a nice feeling watching customers walking away with something I have made, knowing it is going to be enjoyed in someone else's home.

I must say the food available was absolutely delicious, healthy and fresh. There was even a dairy free, gluten free icecream truck. I tested it out to make sure it was the real deal... the flavour was lamington and yes it was incredible!  As always there was awesome music until the market finished at 7 p.m.

Tonights veggies ready for the oven. A liberal sprinkling of turmeric powder and black pepper. The pepper allows the turmeric to be absorbed into the body by 1000 times more than turmeric eaten on its own. Tangy and delish!

Next blog I have some exciting news!! I have been umm-ing and ahh-ing over this for a long time and finally I have done it! Details next time.

Have a wonderful Winter weekend!

To be or not to be.

That is the question. We have had fine weather since our last market and now for the first time in months it is raining, just as I am gearing up for the next market... Never mind, I am packing everything up into boxes and bags anyway. According to the weather report there should be no more than 1mm of rain on the day. The Green Marquee Twilight Market is truly a beautiful event.

Just look for this sign on the side of the road at Currumbin Eco Village, Village Way, Gold Coast. The market is set back in the lush hills of this beautiful part of our country.  Gates open at 2 p.m. and finishes 7 p.m.

There is live music and food catering, good food!

So many fabulous stalls to browse and choose from. What more could you want!

Come along and join in the fun! We will have chemical free turmeric from our own Hermits Peak Produce as well as homewares from my Wildwood Art Designs. I have some powdered turmeric available too.

I have here a selection of photos showing the process from go to whoah of what is involved in creating my timber art.

Rob brings home pallets of timber.

Either Rob or I put the timber through this machine to make the timber smooth.

I cut the timber to size and sand it.

Glue and clamp the pieces together.

Stain the piece with two coats.

Paint on the design and then give it two coats of varnish...

… taking it to the finished product - something beautiful for you to enjoy in your home.

This is a process that takes time, up to a week depending on the weather making drying time longer in between coats of stain, paint and varnish.

If you live in the area perhaps you can pop in to say hello!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Ready to hang and dry.

Today's photo shoot is of 'Large Heart' in preparation for market on the 9th June. I always stuff as much of my timber art into the car as I can for market days and this time I will be including many kilos of Turmeric as well.

I am currently drying some of the turmeric to make it into a powder. We use this to sprinkle over pan fried meat, baked veggies and turmeric lattes. After all the work and time spent preparing the ground, planting, feeding and watering this is the part of the growing process that means we get to eat it!

To create your own turmeric powder chop up clean turmeric into chunks and put into your food processor.

Then wizz it up for about 15 seconds or until it looks to be the right size that you want.

It should look like this, bright orange and smelling amazing!

Spread out onto a baking tray that has a sheet of baking paper on it. You can skip this if you prefer to bake on the tray itself, I just prefer to use the paper.

Pop into a warm oven on separate shelves. Keep the temperature low, we want to dry it rather than cook it. Initially it will crerate condensation on the inside of the oven door. When you open the door a big cloud of steam will puff out so wait until it subsides before you put your face in close! Every half hour or so move the turmeric around on the tray to help it dry evenly. It will take about two hours. It will feel lighter and easier to move around on the tray when it is done. It will look a bit clumpy here and there but the next step will change it into powder.

When it has cooled down pop it all into a blender to reduce it down to a finer powder. You can leave it out for a couple of days to ensure it is completely dry and ready for storage. I store it in glass jars but you can keep it in paper bags too. The turmeric will last very well. I am still using last years!

This afternoon's bounty from the garden: eggs, chillies, capsicum and lemons for dinner tonight -  quiche and lemon cake.

This weekend perhaps you can dry your own turmeric! Let me know if you do and how it turns out. It is so encouraging to have replies on my blog here  otherwise it can feel like I am writing to myself! You can also simply subscribe by writing your email address into the field provided where it says 'follow by email' on the sidebar of this blog to have Wildwood Rambling delivered straight to your inbox.

Have a wonderful weekend!