Community Spirit

I'm a food lover.

Not simple because I'm a gluten who loves to devour delicious goodies all day but because of the power of food.  On many levels food can affect the way we live, act, communicate, love, our moods and our health.  Ever curled up with chocolate cake when your feeling down?  Made a special meal to mark an occasion?  Eaten a bag of kiwi fruit cause you feel a cold coming on?  Eaten an apple a day to keep the Dr away?  Made soup to cheer up a poorly friend?.........

We are what we eat is a common saying but I think we are how we eat too.  Do we eat alone, with others, by the TV or sharing round a table, round a fire on winter on the deck in summer?

I rarely watch TV in the day but last week I found myself tiered and needing a little comfort.  So I whipped up some chocolate custard and a steaming mug of freshly brewed coffee complete with frothy milk and curled up with one of my dogs to indulge.  I turned on to a talk show where the host was trying to tell an Italian woman that she had a problem. 

She was a "Food Pusher"! 

Her parents lived down the road and her sister next door.  Most evenings they would all get together bring dishes of meatballs and pasta, stews and pizza for a pot luck meal.  The meal would take a couple of hours where the woman would keep offering food and adding it to the peoples plates.  The host accused her of making her family unhealthy with all these long indulgent meals and asked her where she 'learnt' this behaviour issue.  She pointed out her father who happened to be in the audience and the host shifted his attack to the father who blamed his mother.  "she loved food, meals where a big time, its the Italian way and it was so unhealthy she lived to 103"! Well that shut up the host!  He seemed to miss the point that in today's fast paced world 3 generations still gathered together to share a meal regularly.

For those 3 family's gathering together each day life happens at the table.  The day is discussed in a safe environment with many people to offer help, advice, to laugh at the funny stories and to create lasting bonds. Its a teaching environment for children and a window into a younger world for the grandparents.   Stories are passed from generation to generation and traditions are honoured.  Wow!  What a wonderful thing!

Where I live many of us don't have extended family close by.  We seem to adopt each other though and build our own community.  This Saturday we had a meal together that lasted 7 hours!  There is a hill in our little harbour that runs down to our local country pub.  And so at 2.30 people started together at a house at the top of the hill.  The house owner had adopted one or two other locals and together they provided a small selection of finger foods for 30 odd people.  After 52 minutes (its was careful organised by a detail obsessed scientist who even let us have 8 minuets walking time between homes) we moved to the next house down the hill where the host and their adopted locals put on more food. And so the afternoon carried on into the night.  Children through to the young at heart came together to share stories, their week, memories, song and cream pie fights over some delicious nibbles and a glass or two of wine.  It brought us together and for a moment one community became a big extended family. 

At our home we often will eat together.  Our children and young and we encourage them to share.  We play the "best and worst" game where each person shares the best and worst bit of the day.  It gives us an insight into their lives, provides a safe place for them to share problems and often ends with laughter at someones best bit.

A friend of mine when she was a student really wanted to do a special dinner for her boyfriend but funds were very low.  So she found an empty wine bottle in the cupboard and filled it with juice.  She got a bag of fish and chips and lit a fire.  The pair of them had a picnic on a blanket in front of the fire.  Her simple gesture created a memory that they can still share from their poorer days!

If your a good cook, or a can only cook one thing don't worry.  This week make sure you share at least one meal with others.  Have a pot luck lunch, or ask some friends at work if they wanna have sandwiches outside for a picnic!  Lets build our communities one cake at a time!

Happy sharing
Anna

Me slicing melon at our progressive lunch

IN THE WORKSHOPS

PIG IN A DAY
This weekend we also had another successful Pig in a Day Workshop.  We had a great and very interesting group of people this time.  Is also been wonderful to hear from some people who have been on the workshop and are now putting their knowledge into practice!

We still have places available for August. to book visit http://www.preserved.co.nz/

Don't forget to order a voucher for your dad this fathers day!, it makes a great present for all your foody dads, aspiring chef dads, meat loving dads and hunter out there!

Pig in a bay

The last few days have been busy here in the bay, and it all started in February.

Kathryn and I braved the farmers sales in February.  Her husband, being a sheep farmer, was after lambs.  We were after something a little different.  It was our first time bidding against farmers at auctions but we were please to come home with two 8 week old saddleback weaner piglets at my feet in the back of the car.  Since then they have been enjoying the good life at Kathryns.  Scrapes, acorns, whey (left over from making cheese) and a good scratch has seen them grow into happy good sized animals.

They also provided Kathryn with a great service.  They were put out to pasture on an area that is planned to be the new veggy patch but was covered in long grass and prickles.  Now its a beautiful well turned area of healthy soil ready for planting.

Friday night was a little sad, we had grown attached to our piggies and saying goodbye wasn't easy but its important to remember whether  you buy from the shop or raise meat that there is no meat with out the taking of a life. The next day both were 'dispatched' in the field as they grazed without even knowing what had happened.  It was decided that we would skin the pigs as we intended to use them mostly for salamis and bacon, all the fat was left on.

The pigs were butchered in the kitchen into bellies for making pancetta, loins for wet cured bacon, back legs for hams and prosciutto and the rest for sausages and salami.  We already have our hams and bacon's curing and the handle of the mincer has been turning, and turning and turning to give us some lovely lean mince.  This evening we will be stuffing our salamis ready for smoking and hanging.  We will get together and make it a social event and no doubt make a few sausages to enjoy at the end of the work with a well earned cider.  Its a wonderful skill to learn.  You don't need to be a farmer or a butcher to learn these simple time proven skills as many people on our pig in a day workshops from all over NZ find out (visit http://www.peserved.co.nz/ to learn more)

I plan to make mini salamis this time for the children to enjoy in their lunch boxes as well as larger nice and spicy ones for the grown ups.  I like to make some spicy peppery ones as my children don't like food too spicy and it makes sure they don't devour all the salami the moment its finished curing.

It has been an interesting journey.  I have raised pigs before but for Kathryn it was her first experience of pork that has gone from her own plot to plate.  For the children it has been an opportunity to see where their food comes from and enjoy the company of happy go lucky piglets.  One of my favorite memories is being up the pear tree in the pig paddock.  The kids were all up the tree with me, along with our little dog muffin who proved to be quite the climber.  We had spread blankets out below to catch the pears ready for making pickles.  The pigs where providing the children with amusement as the scooted around the falling pears picking them up, taking one bite and moving on to the next.  I think they were staking their claim and making sure we would leave some for them.  I still have a line of spicy pear pickle jars in my kitchen to remind me of the day.

I've also still been busy with cheese making.  Our clotted cream turned out wonderful and went perfectly with some stewed rhubarb that I had added a little spiced muled wine too.  Our brie is maturing and is know proudly wearing a smooth coat of white mold just like brie we had in France and I cant wait till its ready.  Today I will be bottling feta in brine.  Some I will add spices like coriander and pepper to and others herbs such as rosemary and thyme.  Ive also made a cheesy spread by reducing the left over whey down to a thin porridge consistency and then putting into to jars where it cools and sets.

Next week the children start their school holidays and so I shall be taking on a different take in the kitchen.  We plan to be making a lot of biscuits, cakes and sweets and I'm sure we will share the best of them here with you.  I will also be starting to plan my small market garden which I'm hoping my yield me some produce to take to our local market.  Is been quite wet lately and I'm looking forward to getting back outdoors.

I would also like to thank all my readers who send me lovely messages about the blog its great to hear from you all.  You can also leave comments here by clicking on "comments" below.

Have a great week and let me know how it goes in your kitchen

Have a good week

Anna