Pumpkins and Squash

We harvested most of our squash during the past week.  It was a very good crop and I’m pleased with the varieties we chose to raise from seed this year.

Even though I’ve tended to grow the larger pumpkins in the past, the beauty of the smaller varieties is that you can cut into one and don’t end up with a huge vegetable to eat or process in a short amount of time.

The butternut and buttercup squashes are ideal for a family of two.

Pumpkin Pie

Keeping with the theme, I baked a pumpkin pie on Sunday, using some frozen mashed pumpkin from last year’s crop.  This was from a Crown pumpkin – a large variety with smooth, pale grey skin and sweet orange flesh.  Despite being frozen for all this time, the puree tasted very good.

The filling is comprised of  pureed pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, ground ginger, ground allspice and caster sugar.  The base is formed using sweet shortcrust pasty, which I baked blind before adding the filling.  The pie is topped with freshly-grated nutmeg.

I’m interested in experimenting with tofu to see if I can make a vegan version.

Rum Pot

You may recall that back at the beginning of January, I started a Rum Pot using strawberries, plums and some cape gooseberries.  With the pears ripening and dropping each day, I decided to add some in.

The fruit that has been macerating in the rum and sugar for the past couple of months, smelt extremely enticing.  I couldn’t resist tasting some of the liquor – it was very heady and almost spicy, reminding me of Christmas.  So, now the rum pots have pieces of pear in them as well!

The next fruit to ripen should be our feijoa.  I must admit that I’m not exactly sure how well the feijoa will enhance the mix, but we’ll see!  As much as I love fresh feijoa, they do sometimes have something of a chalky texture.

Brassica

On Wednesday (05 March)  I sowed seeds of the following Brassica – Broccoli ‘Premium Green’, Cabbage ‘Scarlet O’Hara’ and Cauliflower ‘All the Year Round’.  Brassica don’t seem to do so well in our hot, dry summers, but we have had good results during Winter and Spring.

I’m hoping that these will be ready to plant out in a month or so’s time.  The broccoli and cauliflower have sprouted already (5 days).

Swan Plants

The ‘swans’ on our swan plants (Asclepias physocarpa) are bursting with fluffy seeds.  We appear have the full cycle happening at once – tiny caterpillars, fat caterpillars, cocoons, adult butterflies, mating butterflies, flowers and seed pods.

The grass in some areas of the garden is carpeted with the ‘down’ from the seeds.  I suspect we may have something of a swan plant problem in 2014/2015.  But at the moment I can’t see that we’d ever have too much of them.  I love having the butterflies always present in the garden.

Swan Plant Beetle

When I was photographing the seed pods and their bursting seeds, I noticed a small insect inside.  I have since identified this as Arocatus rusticus, a native of Australia that has become established in New Zealand.

Despite the foliage and sap of the swan plant being toxic to plant-eating creatures, it seems that Arocatus rusticus has evolved the ability to overcome the toxin and store it in its own body.  You can’t really tell from my photo, but the insect is orange/red and brown in colour.  This is to warn off predators as the toxins stored in its body has made it toxic, too.

Molly and the Hens

The four new Orpington hens have settled well alongside our three Red Shavers.  Lottie is the boss of all seven, and every so often has to assert her dominance, usually by pushing in on a choice item of food, or by chasing one of the stragglers.  They all choose to sleep in the same hen house nowadays, often trying to squeeze onto the same perch!

Francesca, Pearl, Fatima and Hannah (the four Orpingtons) mostly stick together and if Lottie isn’t around, Leila and Lulu will often be found nearby.  Their favourite spot on these hot Autumn days is to sleep and dust bathe under the shade of the Feijoa trees.

When the Black Orpingtons were little, they looked so cute running around.  From a distance they looked like they were wearing burqa – hence the name Fatima.  We named the other Black Orpington, Hannah, to maintain balance.

The Red Shavers are very naughty.  Lottie has taken to ‘disappearing’ in the mornings and not returning until sometime in the afternoon.  One day I spotted her hurrying across the road and into the trees on the other side.  We think that perhaps the house down the road may have something interesting to attract her – a rooster, maybe, but we’re not sure.  I’ve taken to not letting the hens out until after 10.00 am or so, to be sure they have laid all their eggs before one of them heads off further afield.

Yesterday Leila caught a small field-mouse which must have strayed from the maize field.  Poor wee thing – all three red hens set upon it – it didn’t have a chance.

Molly and the hens have developed a ‘kind’ of respect for each other.  But to me it seems like the only advantage Molly has, is that she is allowed inside the house and the hens aren’t.  Sometimes they look through the living room window at Molly, looking out.

I’ve seen them peck at her if she comes too close to them, but I’m sure she could defend herself if she had to.  When I go into the hen’s enclosed area in the morning to collect their eggs, Molly always accompanies me.  She has a good look around their area when they aren’t there.  I find this amusing.