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Spring Lunch

2011-08-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

Balmy Spring days are perfect for alfresco dining. The taste of Spring is light and fresh … sweet peas, tender asparagus, silverbeet, parsley, new potatoes, Spring milk cheeses, golden eggs, new season’s olive oil and strawberries.

Freshly plucked greens, eggs and new season’s oil are my favourite Spring ingredients. Following a Winter of free-ranging on lush grass and juicy bugs, our chooks produce their richest yolks. To really appreciate golden yolks you’ll need freshly laid free range eggs cooked simply – maybe lightly poached and spilling onto toasted sour dough with a few flakes of salt.

The sensational pungency of early pressed extra virgin olive oil is Spring in a bottle - ready to pour onto and into just about everything. Swirl oil into spring vegetable soup, pour onto herb salads and pasta, drizzle over vegetables, add to bread and cakes, and use just a slick for pan frying fish.

To celebrate the start of Spring enjoy a lunch of garden greens frittata with lightly cooked asparagus, followed by goat’s curd topped with strawberries and new season’s honey.

Spring Green Frittata (this is seriously good)

Ingredients:
• 1 kilo of garden green leaves (silverbeet, spinach, or any seasonal greens)
• 1 cup of seasonal herbs (parsley) finely chopped
• ½ cup of fresh peas, podded & blanched
• 8 free range eggs
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• new season’s extra virgin olive oil
• 150g grated parmesan
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 230C. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add a good pinch of salt, the garlic and then the leaves, cook for 5 minutes, then drain well and squeeze out all the water. Chop finely and mix well, season with salt & pepper and half the parmesan.

Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, season with salt & pepper, and beat. Mix in the greens mixture, add herbs and peas, stir to combine.

Coat the base of a heavy based frying pan with olive oil and bring to a medium heat, then pour in the egg & greens mixture, leaving to cook until only just set. Sprinkle over the remaining parmesan, drizzle with olive oil and place in the heated oven for a few minutes, or until the frittata is well browned on top.

Slice and serve straight from the pan or on a wooden board.

Spring Asparagus

• 20 almonds – skin on
• 20 freshly picked asparagus spears (adjust cooking time to thickness, you want them to retain some firmness)
• 2 tbspn new season’s extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tbspn tarragon leaves
• salt flakes & fresh ground black pepper

Put almonds into a heavy pan over medium heat for a few minutes, toast gently, remove from the heat and set aside. When the almonds are cool, slice them lengthways into slithers.

Fill a saucepan with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil. Trim the woody bases of the asparagus and drop the spears into the boiling water, blanch for 3 to 4 minutes, drain in a colander and run under lots of cold water until completely cool, then pat them dry on kitchen paper.

Put the spears into a bowl and mix with the other ingredients, toss well, taste and adjust the seasoning.

Good Bread

2011-08-15T22:10:00.000-07:00

Really good bread takes time

‘It is a chemistry made of passion, patience, timing and skill. And to have that touch and understanding’ my friend and neighbour Andy Clappis (Artisan Breadmaker Willunga) shares what it takes to be a great breadmaker

Bread-making has deep cultural roots across the world. From the flat breads Chapati of India and Mexican Tortilla to the quintessential leavened French Baguette, Italian Ciabatta, or the Dark Rye Sourdough of Finland.

The bread lovers’ pilgrimage is to the boulangeries of France swooning over the fresh baked loaves lovingly displayed in every shape, size and golden hue. Mouth-watering long crusty baguettes, rustic pain de campagne, delicately patterned leaves, round boules, braids, some flavoured with seeds, others filled with cheese.

The desire for good bread in Australia has been rewarded by the emergence of artisan bakers making loaves with good ingredients, skill and passion. Andy Clappis, Artisan Bread-maker Willunga, says that it is this local support that continues to inspire him. Andy sells his Italian style bread at the Willunga Farmers Market along with numerous other bakers including the internationally renowned sour dough specialist John Downes. I admit I'm also addicted to Emily's sourdough and rye available from Blessed Cheese on the Main Street of McLaren Vale on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Making your own bread is a primitive pleasure from the deeply satisfying ritual of kneading to the comforting scent of freshly baked bread.

It is simple to make everyday fresh bread at home and yet we enthusiasts will spend a lifetime trying to master the technique for a perfect crust and crumb.

The ‘secret’ of good bread is using good ingredients. Start with good flour such as Lauke’s organic bread flour, or you could buy whole grains and grind your own fresh.

Then add good yeast - that wonderful organism that turns grape juice into wine and flour into bread. Fresh yeast offers the best flavour but readily available supermarket instant granules also do a decent job.

The best tip I’ve had from the finest bakers is ‘practice’, let your hands take over and learn to feel your way. Pile your ingredients on a surface, make a well in the centre, work in the liquid a bit at a time with your fingers. You want an elastic piece of dough. Recipes are only a guide, use your sense of touch to decide if the dough is too sticky then add more flour, when too dry try oiling or wetting your hands then work the dough again. Kneading is pure pleasure, the more you enjoy - the finer your texture!

When you have a smooth mass, cover your dough with a damp tea towel and allow it to rise until doubled in size. Shape into a loaf by gently pressing the air out of the risen dough then fold on itself to create a smooth loaf.

For a good crust, make sure the oven is very hot before baking, slip your loaf onto a hot tray and spray some water around.

When your kitchen is full of the heady aroma of freshly baked bread – your loaf is ready to share.

Pizza Bread

Popular Pizza is a versatile, quick and simple every day bread base perfect for any topping you like.

INGREDIENTS (Guide)

2 Cups Flour
¼ Tspn Salt
¼ Tspn Sugar
1 ¼ Tspn Dried Yeast Granules
½ Tblspn Olive Oil
1 Cup Warm Water

METHOD

1. Heat Oven to high, 250 degrees Celcius, place Oven Tray on shelf to heat up.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl (or on surface) 2 Cups Flour and ¼ tspn Salt, ¼ tspn Sugar and 1 ¼ tspn Yeast

3. Mixing - Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and gradually add liquid (1 cup water at body temperature and ½ tablespoon of Olive Oil) mix in with your fingers in a circular motion, pulling the flour into the liquid and gradually mix to form dough.

4. Knead the dough - thoroughly for 10 minutes until it feels elastic.

5. Rise - Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea-towel, leave in a warm spot allow to rest and prove for at least 15 minutes.

6. Knock Back - Tip dough onto surface, knock back and gently knead again for 5 minutes.

7. Shape Dough – Dust with flour and roll flat to approximately 3-5mm thickness.

8. Bake - Brush edges with oil and add topping (fresh ingredients from the garden – tomatoes, capsicum, chilli, basil) slide onto the hot baking tray in oven to bake for 10 to 15 minutes – crispy base, browned edges.

If you'd rather buy some 'home made' bases - Anna and Andy Clappis sell the best you'll find at Willunga Farmers Market every Saturday Morning....

Italian Inspiration

2011-08-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

At the end of Summer preserve the last crop of juicy tomatoes and glut of zucchinis with some Italian inspiration.

We have many Italian neighbours and friends here in the Vale - a never ending resource for good food ideas. Italian style preserving uses simple methods and the best quality ingredients - extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and salt - to bring out the natural flavour of vegetables.

Dried tomatoes are perfect for salads, pizza, pasta and tarts. Pickled zucchini, eggplant, artichoke, peppers and fennel are great for picnics, and create the ideal appetiser … classic antipasti! Versatile bottled tomatoes make an excellent addition to the pantry as instant pasta topping, filling for ravioli or lasagne and for use in the countless recipes calling for tinned tomatoes. Homemade Passata is the best tomato base for soups, stews and sauces.

Oven Dried tomatoes
Scoop out the tomato seeds, place the halves cut side up on a baking tray lined with baking paper, sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil. Place the tray in a preheated oven 100 degrees Celcius for 12 hours, adjust the temperature depending on how quickly they are drying out.

When the tomatoes are dry and cooled pack into a sterilized jar, add some garlic slivers, cover with olive oil and seal. Store in a cool, dry, dark place for up to 3 months, refrigerate once the jar is opened.

Pickled Vegetables
A common Italian method for pickling vegetables such as eggplants, peppers, zucchinis, artichokes and fennel, is to salt the vegetables first. Salting draws out moisture, bitterness and helps the vegetable to take up the vinegar for better preservation. This can be done by sprinkling the vegetables with salt and leaving to absorb for a few hours, or lightly blanch the vegetables in boiling salted water, then cool. Place the prepared salted vegetables in sterilised jars and fully submerge in vinegar, then top with olive oil, seal, store in a cook dark place, refrigerate after opening.

• Preparing the vegetables for pickling: cut to your preferred size then cook until slightly soft, for example: you only need to lightly blanch fennel; boil eggplant for a few minutes; zucchinis are good when oven roasted for a deeper flavour; peppers are best skinned and deseeded; leave artichokes whole but peel off any tough outer leaves and trim the bottom then rub with lemon juice.

• Pickling vinegars are flavoured to taste. Some popular choices are peppercorns, lemon rind, sugar, chillies, bay leaves and herbs. Boil the vinegar with your chosen flavours, reduce, cool and pour over the vegetables.

Bottled tomatoes
With a sharp knife, make a cross at the base of each tomato, then plunge into boiling water for ten seconds, remove and peel, the skin will slip off easily.
Pack the peeled tomatoes into jars, put a tablespoon of brine in the bottom of the jar then top up with tomato juice. Make your own juice by blitzing a batch of tomatoes in a food processor, sieve and use the watery juice for covering your bottled tomatoes saving the pulp to start your Passata.

Preserving –
• If you have a preserving kit, follow the instructions. First placing sealing rings on preserving jars, add the tomatoes filling to the rim, press down firmly and fill with tomato juice, fasten the lids with clips and process.

• If you don’t have a kit, fill sterilised screw top jars and place in a large saucepan with a rack at the base, the jars shouldn’t touch each other, bring slowly to the boil for around an hour and keep boiling for around 25 minutes, let stand for an hour to cool in the water, then remove and sit on a wooden surface for 48 hours.
• Store in a cool dark spot for up to 2 years.

Passata
Passata is a tomato sauce made in a wide range of styles from the complex flavours of a slow cooked sauce to a light fresh uncooked pulp.

The version I make is simply blitzed fresh tomatoes that can be used right away or preserved. Store some in the fridge for a few weeks, freeze a batch and then bottle more for a year round supply.

Slit the base of the tomatoes and boil briefly to loosen the skins, then peel and process in a food processor. Or my preferred method is to soak the tomatoes in hot water to loosen the skin, then push through a hand food mill, this separates most of the skin and seeds from the pulp and makes a chunky sauce, you could run through a sieve if you prefer a smoother finish.

• Bottle Passata using the same method described for bottled tomatoes.

sour grapes - home made vinegar

2010-09-16T23:36:00.000-07:00

High quality vinegar is hard to find on the shelves yet easy to make at home, and it’s a great way to use up leftover bottles of red.

The best hand-crafted vinegars have all the complexity of great wines. You can make wonderful robust vinegar to your taste by starting with good wine. You only need a few drops of our full strength Shiraz vinegar to wake up your taste buds. The sour acid hit brightens sauces and salads, adding piquancy to both sweet and savoury dishes.

Vinegar can occur naturally when wine is exposed to oxygen, but if you want to kick start the transition add a bit of vinegar that has an active Mother.

For guaranteed success it’s best to start with low alcohol wine, around 5 per cent, you can use a bottle of 14 per cent Shiraz just dilute with a couple of bottles of water.

Half fill a jar with your red wine, allowing plenty of air space; then add the wine-vinegar at a ratio of about 5 to 1. Cover the jar lightly allowing ventilation while keeping out insects, just a few loose layers of cheesecloth, Chux, wax paper, or tin foil will do the job.

Let the bugs go to work, a lively colony of Acetobacter convert alcohol into acetic acid, that’s your vinegar.

Use a clear jar so you can see the Mother growing, it’s mesmerising to watch as one layer forms and gently drops to the bottom, then another layer forms. First thing you’ll see the wine mixture becoming hazy, then after a few weeks a thick glutinous skin will gradually develop on the surface, this is ‘the mother of vinegar’ a fascinatingly slimy smooth mass of cellulose that develops the distinctive flavour characteristics.

Store the jar in a warm position, roughly 25 degrees Celsius away from sunlight, for a few months. We keep ours in a tin shed, far away from where we make wine.

Just how long the conversion takes depends on conditions such as strength of alcohol, active mother and temperature. We’ve had cider vinegar turn in a month while red wine sat lingering over six months before reaching the vinegar stage. Taste as you go, it’s ready when you have a clean distinctive vinegar aroma and flavour. Now your batch is ready to strain and bottle. Keep the Mother for starting your next batch. Avoid spoilage by keeping everything clean during the process, and when bottling either pasteurise or fill the bottles very full to avoid an air gap.

Once you’re in the swing of it, you can keep making vinegar easily by adding some of your active vinegar mixture to any leftover wines. As you become addicted to the full flavour of your own home made brew, you’ll want to experiment with different wine varieties, strengths, blends, and maybe start some white wine, cider and sherry vinegars.

Store your vinegar like wine in a cool dark spot, and like a good wine it will improve with aging, mellowing and rounding out the flavours after six months or so in the bottle.

latest of the Do It Yourself at home Sumptuous articles ..

Citrus preserving

2010-09-16T23:34:00.000-07:00

We're just finishing the last of the Citrus preserving.

A seasonal luxury is picking oranges amongst the heavenly scent of blossom then squeezing the fresh sweet-acid juice for breakfast, naturally chilled from crisp morning air.

The aromatic skin, tangy juice and flesh of citrus are essential ingredients in our kitchen. Our grove of Grapefruit; Navel, Valencia, Seville, Poor Man’s and Blood Oranges; Lisbon, Eureka and Meyer Lemons; Pomelo; Mandarin; Kaffir, Tahitian, West Indian and Native Finger Limes and the grand Citron offer an endless variety of bitter-sweetness.

Every part of the fruit is useful including the leaves, flowers and peel - freshly grated, dried or candied.

If I could have only one citrus tree it would be the versatile Lemon.

We use Lemon everyday - a squeeze of Lemon juice adds the finishing touch, accentuating flavours. Finely grated Lemon zest adds a delicate taste to both savoury and sweet dishes.

In South Australia’s favourable climate, most of us are able to grow a citrus tree in our yard or pot. Plant in late early Autumn or mid-Spring selecting rootstock matched to your soil. For the best results, take a sample of your soil to a specialist, such as Perry’s in McLaren Vale, for advice on planting.

With excess Lemons you may be inspired to make old fashioned true Lemonade, classic curd, traditional cordial, salty preserved Lemons or sweet candied peel.

Lemonade
Lemons, Water and Sugar to taste makes Lemonade. Remove the peel and cover with water, heat gently to release the flavour, remove before the water boils and strain the water, adding Lemon juice and sugar to your taste.

Lemon Curd
4 large Lemons
½ cup butter
1 ½ cups sugar
4 large eggs beaten

Zest the Lemon rind, squeeze the Lemons and strain the juice, melt the butter over a double boiler, add the Lemon zest and juice, sugar and beaten eggs. Cook on low for 20 to 30 minutes whisking occasionally until smooth and creamy. Ladle into warm jars and seal.

Lemon Syrup / Cordial
2.5 cups Lemon juice
1.5 kilos sugar
1.5 cups water
½ tsp tartaric acid
½ tsp citric acid

Put zest, water and sugar into a pan, stir over heat until sugar is dissolved, add Lemon juice & acids, strain and bottle. Drink as a cordial 1 part syrup to 5 parts water.

Preserved Lemons
Preserved Lemon rind is ideal for soups, tagines, salads and stuffings. Cut the Lemons into quarters and rub all over with salt. Then pack the Lemons tightly into a jar, squeezing out the juice as you go, adding more salt between each layer, finish with salt and pour over Lemon juice and seal.

Candied Peel
3 Lemons (or any citrus – orange, grapefruit and ancient Citron work especially well)
2 cups caster sugar
4 litres water
1 cup water extra

Ø Cut the fruit in half and squeeze the juice (reserve for drinking or making syrup).
Ø Place the peel into a pan with 2 litres of water and bring to the boil, drain and add fresh water, boil again and simmer gently until the rind is tender, approximately ten minutes.
Ø Let the peel cool, then scoop out the flesh.
Ø Slice the halves into ‘leaves’.
Ø Mix sugar and water (at a ratio of 2:1), stir until the sugar is dissolved and then bring to the boil slowly without stirring, add the peel and simmer until it is translucent (depending on the peel, approx 30 min) then leave the peel to rest in the sugar syrup for another 30 minutes before placing on a rack to drain for a day, or several days, until dry. Store packed in sugar or dusted with sugar between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container, cool cupboard or the fridge. Lasts for 12 months or more, for using in cakes, biscuits or delicious served alone with a strong black coffee.

Butter

2010-09-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Georgie asking for the butter 'recipe' - this is the Sumptuous Butter article, hope it gets you churning....

As the weather cools and pastures green, I’m drawn to butter. That irreplaceable melt-in-your-mouth flavour thickly spread onto crusty bread, melting into baked potatoes or a creamy risotto, butter makes the dish. Cooks love butter for the natural flavour, texture, and shine. And that wonderful alchemy of butter creamed with sugar, essential for a delicate cake crumb.

Though thankful for convenient commercial butter at the supermarket, whenever I find treasures of artisan butter in dairy regions I’m reminded this is worth the hunt. These small batches show seasonal differences in texture, taste and colour from the creamy white winter to the yellows of spring.

One of the finest pairings is that of butter with garlic. For a sensational Garlic Bread start with locally grown, organic, new season’s garlic thinly sliced and mixed into fresh butter, add chopped herbs, a dash of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Spread thickly between slices of crusty baguette, wrap in alfoil, and bake in a medium oven until the crust is browned and the aroma irresistible.

For making butter using the ancient technique of hand whipping, all you need is cream. You could use a whisk, but you would miss the miraculous feeling of cream turning to butter in your hand.

HAND-MADE COW’S MILK BUTTER
Ingredients
Cream

· Visit a dairy region or Farmers Market to source a good quality pure cream with high flavoursome fat content, 30 per cent or more.

· For a tangy ‘cultured’ butter leave the cream at room temperature for a day to sour slightly, if you prefer a sweet butter use fresh cream.

Equipment
Two bowls, colander, cloth, grease proof paper and cling wrap, whisk if using.

Process

· Line a colander with cheese cloth (a folded clean ‘chux’ works well) and set inside one of the bowls.

· Pour the cream into the other bowl and whip with your hand, keep fingers spread and wrist relaxed (or use a whisk).

· Firstly you will make whipped cream (the speed of your whipping will determine how quickly the butterfat reaches peak stage).

· After five to ten minutes the butterfat forms small lumps as it separates from the buttermilk (liquid portion of cream); continue whipping until the butterfat comes together as large yellow lumps.

· Pour the entire contents of the bowl into the cloth-lined strainer and let the mixture drain for several minutes.

· Squeeze the butter in its cloth to extract as much liquid as possible, then unwrap the butter from the cloth (save the buttermilk for making biscuits, cakes, scones and pancakes).

· Pour cool water over the butter and rinse, squeezing and folding the lump of butter until the water runs clear. Make sure it runs really clear or your butter will go rancid quickly.

· Knead the butter mass on a cold surface (marble is ideal) for a few minutes to aerate creating a smooth texture, (if you are adding salt or flavourings this is the time to add them) some additional liquid will seep out as you knead.

· Finally place the butter onto grease-proof paper and roll into a log; or make a brick, or wrap into individual serves. Wrap the butter in its grease-proof paper with a layer of cling wrap.

· Storage – Refrigerated, your butter will last for about three weeks, frozen it will keep for a few months.

· To Use - Slice off butter pats from your frozen log and leave at room temperature if using that day, or refrigerate for later.

· Salt - We make unsalted butter as it is most versatile for pastries, cakes and sauces, adding salt separately to the dishes. When we want salted butter for the table we roll the butter in salt to serve.

Citrus

2010-06-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

The First orange crop, the beauty of winter in orange blossoms and tart juice.

Tomato Sauce

2010-03-16T03:36:00.000-07:00

Tomatoes are overflowing this year ... red plum, oxheart, beef, cherry, black Russians, yellow, orange and striped tomatoes.

First I’ll select medium sized and start some slow roasting on medium heat, when they’re cooked and while the oven is slowly cooling down put in a batch of halved salted tomatoes for oven drying. If you have a good spot and the patience for three days of sun drying the flavour is superb. I peel some of the larger tomatoes for bottling in the Vacola.

The most pleasurable task with the greatest rewards is sauce making. My fresh tomato sauce method is quite basic, starting with frying onion, carrot, celery and garlic in olive oil, add chopped tomatoes, cook for a couple of hours to reduce, then add salt, sugar and vinegar to balance the flavours. A few fresh basil and parley leaves finish it off.

I’m on a quest for the best sauce in town. I gather relish, chutney and sauce recipes and experiment each year with Australian style tomato sauce for spreading on steak, Italian style for pouring on piping hot pasta, and herby chunky relish for topping toast.

My obsession with collecting sauce recipes comes from living in the Vale of the Makers of Sauce. We have abundant Italian heritage mixed in with the varied European descendants in McLaren Vale, luckily the local families keep the tradition of growing and bottling their tomatoes each year. It is fascinating to hear the different methods, and while everyone has an opinion on why their sauce is the best it is extremely difficult to pry the closely guarded recipes from them.

Do you have a Sauce recipe to share?

Jock Harvey of Chalk Hill Wines makes one of the most talked about and copied sauces around. Jock’s sauce has been sold at the local Farmers Market, and on first taste this got my vote for packing a punch.

Jock swears by Wild’s ‘Ezy Sauce’ as a ‘bullet proof’ method for beginners’ home sauce making. I hadn’t heard of Ezy Sauce before this, but it was easy to find at our local supermarket – it is a mix of acid, pepper, clove oil and chilli in a brown ‘stubby’ bottle. Jock prefers using this mix for the lasting properties, he says it ages well in the bottle, developing depth and length of flavour. You can imagine Jock decanting small batches of sauce just to check whether this is good to put down or ‘drink now’.

Jock Harvey’s Super Spicy Sauce Recipe

1 x kilo chopped onions
10 x kilos tomatoes quartered (Romas - vine ripened, fresh from the garden are best)
1 x kilo chopped apples
170g x crushed garlic (fresh or jar)* or 100g fresh chopped
1 portion of Vindaloo Curry Paste* (no I can’t get the recipe for this but you can buy ready made and add to your heat’s desire)
2 x 25g packets dried chilli
1.5 kilo Sugar
½ Cup Salt
1 x 375ml bottle Ezy Sauce*

*available at most supermarkets

Jock's method is to cook warm olive oil in a large heavy based pan, add the chopped onions and cook until translucent, then tip in the rest of your ingredients and bring to the boil, lower heat and cook gently for 3 hours, then blitz it with a Bamix.

From Sumptuous Article Autumn Edition

Mulberries are ecstacy

2010-01-02T17:17:00.000-08:00

Summer Solstice brings the first ripe mulberries. We picked our first full bucket under the new moon. Perfectly ripe mulberry season is brief, only a few weeks. Perfection is found moments after they turn from light red to purple black ... ecstacy. An exquisite taste, briefly there is only you and that mouthful of flavour.

The fruit acid tangy flavour wanes each day, growing ever more lazy, fat, full berries wallowing in sweetness. This late crop is perfect for cooking slowly, coaxing out the sweet juices for sensational syrup, and my favourite - mulberry icecream.

It is one crop we don't share with the birds. They throw themselves against the white net in a fruitless attempt to forage. Only the lizards are cunning enough to slither beneath and feast on fallen berries.

If I had only one tree there would be none to preserve. Thankfully I have a friend with excess mulberries, her tree is like a small village. Wandering under boughs and strolling along branches, bucket in hand, we tickle the mulberries to fall. Stained hands and brilliant berry grins. Bliss.

Once we have eaten as many fresh mulberries as possible, and that is a lot, I freeze the rest in verjuice, swirled into yogurt or cream, preserved as compote, then with the last of the crop we'll make the amazing icecream.

Fresh Ricotta

2009-10-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

Making cheese is a simple pleasure, I love the quick and low tech method of curdling some milk with lemon juice and sitting down to a plate of fresh milky ricotta.

When we get into the more complex cheeses it is time to scrub up and enter 'the lab' as we call our processing space. We've learnt the hard way that a bit of laziness can ruin a batch of cheese so now it is clean, sterilise and scrub up for cheese.

Fleurieu Peninsula is renowned premium dairy country, and even our own backyard - now a sea of vines - was once a land of milk rather than wine. The block next door ran cows up until ten years ago. The region has historically had farm house cheeses that disappeared as farms grew and bulk milk sales became the norm. There are a few well known producers that have returned to making farm house cheeses and producing local milks that celebrate terroir.

The traditional Italian Ricotta, unique in that it is made from the whey that separates from curd during cheese-making. At Producers we make Ricotta using whole milk, this method is not unknown in Italy and we prefer the creamy result. As you would expect, the Milk makes all the difference in flavour and texture, we use our local milks: Alexandrina Cheese Company and Fleurieu Milk Company Jersey Milk for our cow’s milk Ricotta. For goat’s milk Ricotta and curd we source from milk from Hindmarsh Valley Dairy.

There are several methods of acidifying the milk to bring out the curd, we use a mixture of Lemon and White Wine Vinegar. Whole Milk Ricotta will give almost two kilos of cheese from 10 litres of milk.

Home Made Ricotta Method

Heat milk to 90 degrees C, stirring continually.
As the milk reaches temperature, take off heat and stir in acid (vinegar approximately 5% of milk volume, lemon juice around 10% of volume – experiment as it depends on the strength of your lemons and vinegar), the milk will coagulate.
Strain the curds for around five minutes.
Transfer the curd to a mixing bowl and blend in desired fat and flavouring, eg: salt, pepper, butter, cream or olive oil.

Try Sheep or Goat’s Milk for a tangier Ricotta. Every batch we make is different. If you take longer to heat the milk your curd will be softer. How often and how vigorously you stir the curd during cooking time will affect the size of curd formed, texture changes with vigour used when mixing in flavouring.

Irrisistible spread onto freshly baked crusty bread, serve with sliced tomatoes, bake the curd or add to cakes and tarts. A favourite of ours is to make a simple salad of parsley, shallots, olives mixed with a generous amount of robust olive oil served alongside Ricotta and toasted tomato bread. Very creamy Ricotta is perfect for making cakes and puddings, as well as a savoury filling for pasta. The leftover whey can also be used in recipes.

The whole point of Ricotta is freshness, we make it the day we want to eat it, but for use in recipes it is fine kept in the refrigerator covered with glad wrap or in sealed container for a couple of days, we don't keep it over four days.

Citrus planting and Poormans Orange Willunga Farmers Market

2009-09-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

The Spring rains grow our hope for a good season. Budburst is well underway, the start of the grape growing cycle. The enthusiastic soft new leaves grow before your eyes, I can't resist plucking them and wrapping them around new season's goats cheese, flashing under the grill makes meltingly delicious mouthfuls.

We started our stall at Willunga Farmers Market a few weeks ago. Getting out of bed pre-dawn was the hard part, regardless of romantic notions that farmers are up before the sun I'd rather snuggle in a warm bed than put up a tent in drizzling rain. After that it was all joy. We packed up the ute with old fashioned home made lemon curd, candied citrus peel, lemon syrup, fresh mandarins, grapefruit jelly and marmalade; bottles of fresh pressed olive oil, brown bags of almonds, cartons of chooks' eggs, a bowl of chinese dates and a basket of jerusalem artichokes launching ourselves into the marvellous Market world.

This was firsthand experience of the true Farmers Market contract between stallholder and shopper - this is not passive consumption, these are our co-producers! I was the green one, seasoned shoppers told us what we should grow, how we should make things, what they do with their own. It was delightful to hear all the stories and so many comments of 'used to make curd' or knew someone, or had an aunt that made the best marmalade. Ethusiastic debate arose on what chinese dates taste of - try black tea, persimmon, date, cabernet grapes, straw and tar. And the part that money can't buy is the appreciation, how deeply pleasing it is when a return customer confirms these are the BEST eggs they've ever eaten and that our lemon curd is superb. I'd always wanted to write a book on our Farmers Market, now I think I'd like to write one on the shoppers, what a wealth of information.

The enthusiastic response to our citrus laden stall gave us great inspiration for planting, the warm damp soil made it irresistible and we headed out to Perry's for more citrus. The greatest discovery this season is Poorman's Orange... with all the punch of Seville with a touch more complexity to the bitterness.

Perry's don't recommend that you put chook poo direct on your citrus trees, however if you have free ranging chooks fossicking around the trees it is just the right amount of food for the trees.

I've just finished an article for Sumptuous about how chooks are great as Citrus feeders. Try yarding chooks around your citrus for your own experiment. Scratching chooks are good gardeners anytime, tilling the soil and keeping pests down, but when it comes to citrus trees they deliver a daily gift of growth boosting fertiliser.

There are so many reasons to keep chooks, fertiliser is only one. Chooks make living a low-waste life simple with their enthusiasm for recycling your food scraps. Think of the binfuls of landfill averted as you are enjoying the luxury of fresh poached eggs.

Tips on growing chooks try www.planetpoultry.com

Glistening Beetroot

2009-07-26T22:50:00.000-07:00

By popular demand … Chef Nigel Rich’s beetroot recipe

I made this beetroot dish for our Sea & Vines event in June – after four requests for the recipe I got around to writing down the method I learnt from Nigel.

Turn a wild beetroot crop into a deeply glistening jewel.

Peel and slice the beetroot, quite thin, we use a Mandolin. Line a baking dish with greaseproof paper, paint on a film of clarified butter and then layer the slices, overlapping about half of the next slice (dish size choose one that snugly fits a handy weight – I often use a square tin and bread board topped off with a brick to serve in squares, or I made one cake-round and served in wedges that looked great too). The first layer is the most important as when you invert it will be the top, aesthetics are important so let your artistic flare go here, alternate direction of layers creating interesting texture throughout, subtle finesse. The mouthwatering dressing between every layer is made of freshly grated orange zest and zingy pomegranate molasses, quantities are up to your own taste this is all about drizzling and sprinkling with flourish – zest the orange skin very finely and keep moist in the juice, ground black pepper, salt flakes, pomegranate molasses (there are lots of different brands, Nigel’s favourite is Alwadi) and clarified butter (just a drizzle).

Layer to the height you like keeping in mind this will be pressed overnight. Top with baking paper and tightly wrap with foil. Bake in the oven, around 180 degrees for several hours (depends on how old the beetroot is). When the fabulous aroma of baked beetroot arrives it is time to check, looking for the stunning juices to be released, oozing and luscious. The final check for readiness is texture, use a skewer or knife to feel for softness but retaining form. When cooked let cool before weighting and refrigerate overnight. Next day turn it out and serve whole or sliced into squares, wedges etc. A topping of goat curd and fresh herbs is good, or crushed pistachio nuts and drizzle of pistachio oil. Let me know your variations and suggestions.

Winter Rain & Rabbits Can Swim

2009-07-11T01:31:00.000-07:00

Rain on the tin roof crowding out climate change.
White clouds hugged Willunga Hills, while Huey sent her down in sheets.
Today the rain is exceptional, beautiful, more beautiful than any other time following three years of drought and heatwaves and that nagging fear that the rain may never come again.

Our creek is flowing for the first time in four years. The sound of water gushing down the creek and into the dam with frogs calling is the most delicious lifegiving music I could imagine.
I followed the creek today, as if I don't know where it comes from, stood on the bridge and watched the brown water gush over rocks, under tree roots and on down to the dam.

I scared a rabbit, in his rabbit-like panic he tacked back and forth then plonked into the creek.
Frantic dog paddling began, he bumped into the bank and scrambled up the other side.
I didn't know rabbits could swim. All animals can swim if they have to, can't they? Instinctively paddling for survival. But not all humans. Perhaps they think too much.

oil press

2009-07-03T00:43:00.000-07:00

Our Olive Harvest is nearly finished. One more old Verdale heavy with fruit waits for the pick.

There are still some cherry pink Manzanillo and sleek black plump Kalamatas hanging on for pickling.

Oil harvest is a gentle time. Making fresh bread is essential, dipping into the fresh pressed pungent oil while it is still warm from the oven. Every drop of this season's press is mouthwateringly delicious, we drink it.

We'd like to congratulate ourselves on good farming, picking the fruit at the right time and getting it to the press gently and quickly, for pressing in our well maintained Olio Mio with precision learnt through years of patience and practice. However the truth is that this delicious drop of oil is more about the growing season. The one element we play no part in.

The timing has a major influence on the style and quality of oil, so just prior to harvest we spend a lot of time in the grove plucking the fruit from each tree, gently crushing the fruit in our hands to release the juice, inhale the deep olive aroma and rub the oil into our skin, this to check flavour ripeness and oil content. The window for perfect ripeness is down to a few weeks in the year. The oil flavour of any variety can be completely changed by harvesting green through to fully ripe producing distinctly different styles. When all things are equal there are strong genetic varietal characteristics.

As with all farming we are at the mercy of wind, rain and sun.

Having successfully tended the grove to provide a crop we handle with care, press to perfection and then it is all about storage. Keeping the precious extra virgin oil away from oxygen, heat and light.

Pressing Olive Oil

2009-06-20T00:40:00.001-07:00

The scent of olive juice is in the air. There is always a sense of celebration for the first press of new season's oil. This year we discover a delicate peppery liquid gold. So sweet and mild that our guests enjoy it straight from the press. Most years my favourite grassy early harvest bites their throats until it tames to a peppery finesse in Spring.

winter days

2009-06-20T00:26:00.000-07:00

The last of autumn leaves have blown off in the wind, bare brown vines with wild witches' hair of rusty orange canes await the winter prune. The vivid colour of oranges and jonquils radiate against slate skies. We light the first of many bonfires mesmerised by flames spiralling into the night sky.

These winter days are ideal for preserving the last of sumptuous yellow quinces. Peel, core and quarter quinces. Make a simple syrup combining equal sugar and water, split vanilla pods and star anise. Let them blip away on the lowest heat for several hours until quinces are tender and deep red in colour. A spoonful of the thickest cream, best enjoyed by a wood fire.

Pickling to order for Sea & Vines Lunch on 7 June

2009-05-19T01:03:00.001-07:00

I have picked, peeled, sliced and pickled over twenty kilos of quinces. My hand is sore but I'm feeling satisfied. My next job is to boil and reduce 40 litres of red wine to start the Shiraz syrup. It sounded lovely at the time when Chef Nigel Rich worked out the menu with us. I had, as I usually do, a rather romantic vision of myself humming happily peeling fuzzy quinces on a sunny afternoon and stirring a small pot of wine on a winter night, shiraz in the pot another in my glass. Of course when you are preparing lunch for up to 40 guests the pottering becomes more like a production line. Hand crafted literally becomes a physical demand. It is just one of the many times that causes me to reflect and respect the profession of chefs, and that great gulf between cooking for small numbers to a la carte service, or catering on a large scale. It is the Chef Dustin Rodgers that will shuck 120 oysters on the day of our Sea & Vines lunch, I've seen him do it before working like something between a machine and an artist. I call it the chef frenzy. I try to imitate their hustle, flick of the teatowel and pan flipping ways. Every chef has their own kitchen dance. Gliding back and forth from stove to bench, stir, taste, wipe, chop, taste, wash, pluck, trim, truss, taste, wipe.

wild mushrooms

2009-05-19T01:01:00.000-07:00

I forgot how good mushrooms are. We found wild mushrooms under the old gum trees when we arrived in McLaren Vale 15 years ago. Blissfully pungent big brown monsters that fried up with butter and garlic as our regular weekend feast. Some kind of poison entered the food chain. Across the Vale it was rumoured that eating wild mushrooms made you sick. Our neighbours got really sick. We noticed a yellow tinge, and sometimes a red streak appeared in our mushrooms and the taste had changed, there was now a bitter after taste and when you cooked them it was acrid, we'd lost our wild mushrooms. Locals arriving at restaurants proudly presenting their foragers bounty of fungus were turned away. I called experts and was put onto the next expert, all said there were no tests to be sure the mushrooms were safe because they could only test for what they knew, and they couldn't test for what they didn't know.. which all made sense at the time. We all stopped foraging. Until this year. David stumbled across some particularly fine looking mushrooms and broke them, open, clean, white. Tasted. Fresh, delicate, earth. How precious they seem now, more exotic than imported truffles. Carefully we watch and pick them just as they break through the soil. Now we cook them in Olive Oil, still with garlic and savour with quiet respect.

Curing Olives, Pickled

2009-05-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

There is something divinely meaty about dark black pickled olives. The depth of flavour, smooth skin and firm fleshed saltiness is a perfect start to any evening.

Grassy green olives are made for autumn lunches, summer sauces and spring chicken.

Local markets and providores have a good range of wonderful South Australian olives pickled using natural curing methods that are ready to eat.

Pickling your own becomes quite addictive when you start curing to your taste. Our Spanish Queen and Verdale are ready to pickle this week, Kalamata look to be a few weeks away.

If you don’t have a tree handy, head to one of our olive growing regions during harvest - McLaren Vale, Barossa, Clare, Adelaide Plains or Riverland - to purchase the fresh fruit, or order some at the Adelaide Central Market from about May through to August.

Most olive varieties are good for pickling. We choose the sleek black Kalamata and small Koroneiki for their full ripe flavour; the Spanish Queen we pickle green, and Verdale we prefer with a blush of purple, just as they are turning from green to black. We also pickle feral fruit from wild olive trees for their funky flavours.

Eating fresh olives straight from the tree makes me wonder how someone thought that olives could be edible and went about pickling them in the first place. The natural bitterness is astounding which explains the lengthy soaking process required to reduce that bitterness.

We’ve tried many of the various pickling methods over the years, from technical pamphlets to family secrets shared by our Greek and Italian neighbours, and used every tip offered by fellow enthusiasts. There have been some great olives along the way but we suffered from patchy results and finally cracked the consistency issue after seeking the advice of local professional pickler, Rachel Steer. The following method will produce excellent results.

Pick the olives carefully, avoiding bruising the fruit.

Wash the olives in fresh water.

For black olives you’ll need to do some pre-washing before the brine - wash in fresh water every second day until you can bite into the olive without screwing your face up. For green olives we put them straight into the brine.

Make a brine solution of 10 per cent salt, to cover your olives – use cooking salt and sterile water (mains tap water is fine).

Place the olives in a bucket with a loose cover to keep out any bugs, and keep the olives submerged (use a plate to keep them below the brine). In a few days you will see the frothing of natural fermentation taking place.

Knowing when the olives are ready to store in a lower concentration of brine is about taste. Keep trying them, it is around 4 to 6 months before we want to eat a bowl full and then we know they are ready.

When the fermentation has finished (no more bubbles) and you are happy with the taste, wash the olives with fresh water and replace with a lower concentration of brine, we use 5 per cent salt. Seal the bucket or tub and keep in a dark cool spot. A scum may form on the top, it is harmless. We like to eat these olives when they are about six months old with a fully developed olive flavour, they will last at least 12 months.

If you find the olives are too salty, soak them in some fresh water overnight in the fridge, allow them to come to room temperature before eating.

These olives are delicious lightly coated with extra virgin olive oil, or marinated with verjuice, preserved lemons or limes; gently crushed cumin, fennel, coriander seeds and olive oil; or chillies, garlic and bay leaves. Try warming them slightly in the oven with a coating of olive oil a few sprigs of fresh thyme, have some crusty bread ready for dipping in the oil.

for the Love of Quinces

2009-04-02T23:53:00.000-07:00

I love quinces. There is nothing so-so about them. This is a passionate affair.

Their perfume must be bottled. I try to trap that wonderful scent in jelly. The original 'love apple' quinces live up to their name when slowly cooked releasing that seductive aroma.

Today my first batch of 'the best quince tree', a Smyrna, were ripe, perfect ripeness. That moment that you capture, not every year, but when you're lucky enough to have the right season and manage to visit your tree at the right moment. Only the scent tells. Yellow skin and a loosening of the furr are indications only, a deep inhalation is the cue for jelly. I like to add a mixture of greener fruit for their higher pectin making the jelly set that bit easier. The pineapple quinces will be ready soon too.

Every step of Quince preservation is delightful. Picking from beautiful trees, handling the fruit releases a divine fragarance, intensifying as you are rubbing, chopping, poaching, boiling and baking.

Like a child at christmas greedily unwrapping all of the presents at once I started every process... pickling in vinegar and verjuice, poaching in sugar syrup, then in verjuice and spices, slow baking, boiling for jelly and mashing to a paste.

Tonight calls for the celebratory Quince Harvest Dinner - usually a Tagine with quinces but this year I have Pork Belly with Preserved Quinces (chef Nigel Rich's suggestion - nothing quite like having a resident chef around), followed by slow baked quince halves in honey (that one is from Stephanie's book).

The answer is no you can't have too much quince.

End of Harvest in sight

2009-03-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

The End of Grape Harvest is called by a lunch. Only a week or so before the harvest teams depart and machines are back in the sheds so there is a menu to plan. The wineries will still shine at night with around the clock attention for the precious few days of fermentation before the Vale pauses for a post Harvest hush.

Ferments finishing

2009-03-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

Green leaves turn red and brown under slate grey skies, Autumn has arrived.

Every day the Baume goes down and the alcohol goes up. Most of our ferments have finished and the wine ready to mature .... bucket by bucket shimmering sheets of purple wine go into the barrels. We've invested in some new French Oak barrels, after experimentation we are finding a mix of new and old French suits our taste. Some of the 07 reds are showing every sign of being ready to bottle.

Our Make Your Own Wine day was lovely, crisp day with a warm sun so the guests enjoyed hand picking the Cabernet grapes. After a morning of crushing, plunging, measuring and pouring wine into barrels their appetites were good for the best Roast Chicken you have ever tasted stuffed with preserved lemons, and herbs.

The heavenly scent of a ripe Quinces in the orchard tells you it is time for jelly making.

The lull between our Grape Harvest and Olive Harvest is more like taking a breath than a holiday. We have begun plans for the Oil, cleaning out the pickling tubs and ordering salt.

RAIN

2009-03-02T02:19:00.000-08:00

Life Giving Thirst Quenching RAIN. After 3 months of dry, a heat wave and harvesting on the cracking earth. Now we have wet, sweet rain. Harvested the Cabernet, old vines with attitude, and then headed out to the grand old shiraz with a grey sky. Stopped harvest ... can't have the rain filling your bins or the wine would be watered down so we put away the machinery and opened a bottle of fizz or two just to welcome the wet wet rain. How good can rain on a tin roof sound? Never better.

No Sleep in McLaren Vale

2009-02-24T21:19:00.001-08:00

The sleep deprived vignerons share knowing bleary eyed looks as they meet around the district. Picking by hand in the heat of the day and clacking down rows at night. Away from the vineyard we spend precious hours nursing the batches of grapes on their journey to becoming our 2009 Vintage.

The nightime picks are mesmerising, something quite calming about the clackof harvester rods with the spectacle of berries pouring in a stream of light to the awaiting luminous bins on 'pick-up' tractors.

Wally's Block Riesling on Monday, Shiraz came off last night, Shiraz Malpas Block and the Viognier. Tonight we finish the Malpas block. Sleep? No, it's Harvest time!

Ripeness as only Tomatoes know how

2009-02-14T21:39:00.000-08:00

I just plucked and ate a perfectly ripe tomato. Ripeness is perfection. Bursting flavour still warm from the sun, layers of bliss unfolding in the tang of soil, that mouthwatering sweet acid sensation.

The Joy of Figs

2009-02-14T20:57:00.000-08:00

The first joy of figs is eating them fresh off the tree. With our own ‘sugar figs’ along with our neighbours’ spectacular giant old Smyrna fig trees providing an abundance of fruit we are able to extend the pleasure through preserving.
Our guests unanimously vote Fig Jam their favourite so I can never have too many figs.
We select large figs for preserving in sweet syrup, pickling in vinegar, and poaching in verjuice. The bulk of our crop is dried, then reconstituted in sweet or savoury liquid when needed throughout the year for tarts, biscuits, terrines, breakfast compote, alongside roasted meat or as a dessert with cream.

Drying figs is simple, and I think the best flavour comes from leaving them in the sun. We have constructed a drying tent for the purpose, but you can just sit them on a rack on a chair under a net curtain, keeping in mind you need to watch for ants as well as birds and other feisty foragers. The time needed depends on the weather but averages at about five days if it is a warm, dry spot.

We fill the racks in our drying tent, dry still more batches in the oven, and our small electric dryer hums away most of the fig season with each batch taking about 8 hours. Try drying figs whole in the oven on low for a few hours to produce a wonderful semi-dried fig ideal for warm salads.

Caramalised figs are a sweet finish to dinner. I like Jane Grigson’s Fruit Book method of rolling whole figs in castor sugar, place them stem-up snugly in a terrine dish, bake at 230 degrees Celcius until the sugar has browned (15 to 20min). Serve warm with the thickest cream.
McLaren Vale has the soil, sunshine, rain and cool sea breezes at night just right for ripening figs and grapes. Fruit selection for your home preserves uses the same principle as the professional Winemaker. You’re both looking for fully flavour ripe fruit, that is, the fruit flavour is balanced with acid, sugar, and pungency. The best apple jelly, fragrant quince paste, full flavoured fig jam and premium wine all rely on picking the fruit at this peak of ripeness.

Some fruits are robust and forgiving, unlike Riesling grapes and Nectarines where the window of perfect ripeness can be measured in hours. Timing is crucial for making the best quality Riesling. The call for grapes from the winery can come any evening, ‘we want your Riesling by 5am.’ Under the cover of darkness our pick seems like a military manoeuvre.
Harvesting through the night is not unusual, especially for white grapes where the coolness of the night is preferable for reducing oxidation.

Nectarines Next

2009-02-08T23:13:00.001-08:00

Nectarines are just sweet enough ... relish making this week.

Harvest Begins

2009-02-08T23:09:00.000-08:00

Summer Heatwave has called the shots and the harvesters are out in force.
After twelve hours through the night our Wally's Block Riesling is off to the Crusher!

2009-01-31T19:31:00.000-08:00

Re-cycling food scraps into eggs is part of the satisfaction of owning chooks. Free ranging chooks that have lots of greens and juicy bugs produce the richest yolks of unrivalled quality. The pleasure of a freshly laid egg is best enjoyed softly boiled, spilling onto lightly buttered toasted sour dough bread, add a few flakes of salt, nothing more.

some fruit and vegetables like the heat

2009-01-30T23:36:00.000-08:00

Not everything suffers with the heat. Our Mulberry crop this year is the best ever. Just back from the veggie patch and the tomatoes are amazing, bursting with flavour and ripening before your eyes.

Hot Dry and Time To Pick

2009-01-30T23:31:00.001-08:00

The sugar levels race up in this heat, the normal rise is one baume per week, this is a good guide to knowing when you need to test for ripeness of flavour and that all important balance between sugar and acid.
This year is hotter than most. And so dry.
Even though 40 degrees starts to feel cool following 45 and 44....
The vines struggle to keep moisture in the grapes
Harvesters are out
We are planning the first hand pick Riesling this week, bunch selecting the flavour ripe berries for our own wine.
Any time soon we'll be out in the Old Vine Shiraz snipping bunches for our premium blend.
6am start planned and looking for any day under 35 as a 'cool' option!

First Harvest of Verjuice

2009-01-17T19:42:00.001-08:00

Verjuice Viognier harvested on 15 January. Lovely big bunches, still sharp and green but with a number of pearly grapes. Our Viognier coped with the 41 degree day ... many other growers didn't have such luck.
We picked by hand in the cool of the moring, a very early pick and more in the style of 'Agraz', a sour tang. 6 degrees Baume - low sugar and high acid. Crushed and bottled a small batch, holding back some for blending for the Premium Verjuice range.

Watching, Waiting, Ripening

2009-01-12T17:12:00.000-08:00

Watching, Waiting, Ripening time. Mid-January and the grapes are just turning from hard little green nuggets to opaque juicy fruit for the white grapes, and colour in the red grapes.

Veraison is the term for this first stage of ripeness. Followed by progressive ripening, that is the sugar increases and acid decreases.

Between now and pick day we wait anxiously and watch the weather, obsessively. The size of crop and quality of grapes is all up to the gods from here. With a little help from the bore water. The Weather Bureau website sits open on our computer screen, it may be true that a watched radar never rains.

Mostly we want rain, city dwellers will wonder if the weather is ever right for farmers as the next stage of ripeness we spend hoping that we don’t get a downpour. When the grapes are going through the ripening period there is this tricky spot where a big dump from the sky will split the berries in half. It happens often enough. Generally we’re all fossicking about with the soil, is it too dry? If the weather is too hot and the vines struggle you can lose berries, bunches and even your whole crop. Too many days over 30 degrees or high winds and the vines shut up shop and go into survival mode.

Wind and heat evaporates what little moisture there is. This is a hard year and the vines are struggling following three years of drought conditions.

Sounds gloomy? Not really, that is farming. You do a lot of predicting and planning in advance setting the vines up for the best chance of survival and good crops then you stop worrying, OK we do moan about the weather but always followed by a shrug and on with the next job, finally it is all about relying on uncontrollable and often unpredictable weather.

We have noted colour in the Shiraz in the Bovate Vineyard, just the odd berry only a few days ago yet today there are whole bunches turning a bright pink to deep rosey red. Our ranging chooks are already filling their bellies by jumping up to pluck grapes from the canopy.

Picking grapes for wine is still weeks away. Our estimate is one month to the white pick and the reds around six weeks. Red grapes in McLaren Vale aren’t ‘flavour ripe’ until they reach quite high sugar levels. With white grapes we’re going for a fresher higher acid style of wine so naturally we pick earlier.

But picking will start here at Producers very soon - for Agraz and Verjuice - we are tasting the Riesling daily, checking when it is at the right stage of acid to fruit flavour balance for making our Verjuice. We have made verjuice from a variety of grapes but Riesling remains my favourite for adding to salads and lifting flavour in sauces and dressings. I can hardly wait and it takes great patience to leave them just-one-more-day. The window for making perfect verjuice is only a matter of days so the right time for picking is crucial.

You can't make good wine from bad grapes

2008-12-29T16:38:00.000-08:00

For anyone with a first or second generation Italian neighbour you are already aware that making your own wine, like growing your own veggies, is more about family and friends than winning awards. The extreme pleasure of pulling out a cork, popping the crown seal of your own wine, or tomato sauce, is a sense of moulding destiny.

The process for making really good red wine at home is fairly simple:

get good grapes
crush
ferment
plunge the caps
press off the wine
rack
bottle

If you’re unsure try a simple ‘Harvest Wine’ first, it is a fresh wine, drunk a week or so after harvest as soon as the sugars have converted enough alcohol, a light fruity wine that is best drunk chilled.

If you are patient, the most rewarding homemade wine is an aged red. This is also an economical way to create your own good quality ‘house red’.

Wine is very forgiving and yet easily spoiled. The line between is about being careful - select good grapes and then keep everything clean.

My own first batches of homemade wine were fairly dreadful due mostly to the only offer of grapes coming from growers with some over-watered overripe obscure variety, picked in the heat of day and ferried across town in the back of a trailer so that the start to life was a sweet slightly rancid juice. The resulting wine was, well, sweet and slightly rancid. The importance of getting good grapes in the first place is summed up in the often quoted winemakers’ saying ‘you can make bad wine from good grapes but you can’t make good wine from bad grapes’.

Bury me deep in my vineyard

2008-12-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

We went from being weekend hobby block veggie growers to 'serious grapegrowers' because of Wally Boehm.

Wally was an inspiring man in every way - he taught us as much about how to live as how to grow good vines.

In his memory, his favourite quote, which is now more or less our own:

"Bury me deep in my vineyard,
My wish is to nourish the plant which kept me in rapture while living.
Long may it garnish my sod."
Authour unknown.

We are the custodians of Wally's vineyard. He was buried in the more traditional way but we have symbolically, ceremoniously buried Wally deep in his vineyard and our Riesling (his favourite grape and the vines he planted) is always in honour of Wally.

Quote from 'Deep in my Vineyard' by E.W.Boehm, a self published book printed by Gillingham Printers and copyright to EW Boehm 1987.

Home Producer December 2008

2008-12-06T17:32:00.000-08:00

Thank you for the inspiration from the last person that said 'I'd love to make my own wine'
The short answer 'Do it' didn't seem to satisfy you.

And so to the Blog. We wanted to share the joy and how easy it is, but understanding that it helps to have someone to ask 'what if' and we have the luxury of being surrounded by winemakers. So this is our 'winemaker next door' and while we're at it have you made your own mustard, mayonnaise and bread? More later. For now this is a diary for the home winemaker.

In starting out to write ‘how to make your own wine at home’
I kept thinking ‘why would you?’
There are so many good affordable wines in South Australia, and Australia generally. For those of us with the good fortune to live in McLaren Vale it is literally over every back fence.
And making your own is time consuming, messy, and risky ... our own initial hesitation came from the possibility of producing undrinkable muck.

So why would you? Besides the obvious question - why not? There was a really good reason -
for the love of it.

A step by step guide to the process seems a bit like a dry argument, and the only rule of winemaking is that you should never be thirsty. So for today, contemplation and I'll get around to explanation. In the meantime open a bottle of someone else's good work. Cheers.