Today is another beautiful, sunny day in the Wairarapa.

Lemons are dripping off the trees here at Te Puhi and we are in full production mode getting our lemon-based gourmet food products out to market.

Don't forget that you can now buy online from Lavender's Green - just click here to be taken to our online store.

There was a bit of Facebook comment about the Russian Fudge today and it got me salivating.  I was thinking about the creamy, caramel, crunchy flavour of Lavender’s Green Russian Fudge – made by Val – and I wanted some.

Went on the hunt to the fridge where I had hidden some last week.  (It’s hard to get in Melbourne – we have it only if I bring it in through customs). 

 Nothing.

 Tried the high cupboard behind the salad spinner. 

 Nothing.

 Behind the Gluten Free Baking book in the bookcase.  Gone.

 Found the empty wrapper in the teenager’s room.  She had nailed it and she didn’t share it.

Waking this morning to a grey softness and to the very unusual sight of snow falling at Te Puhi farm, just outside our back door.  Big, fat, full flakes of snow gently but very firmly falling with intent to cover the home paddock and the lemons.  Our attempts to sow grass and shield it from the scratching hens (bottom right of the picture), will be set back in this cold snap.  And there is the hush of snow falling to be heard with straining ears!

For all the inconvenience the snow will bring to travellers today, I cannot divorce my inner child from experiencing joy at this sight of snow, for magic is visiting us today.

This is my favourite time of the week in the winter.

All the children-chicks are on their way home for the Saturday night roast, maybe there is an extra friend or two along too.  The rugby is on and a few boys are settled on the couch watching. 

It’s roast chicken tonight, so the chooks are in the oven already – it’s Biggsy’s turn to cook, so the chooks are dressed with bacon and thyme – their legs splayed in an unladylike manner and a preserved lemon half is fully visible...

I will be peeling the potatoes and the must have kumara – hundreds of roasties because we love them as leftovers with gravy the next day (first up, best dressed for the leftovers).

And as I’m in a chopping and peeling zone, I put on a pot of soup in the slow cooker for Sunday night’s supper.  Pea and Smoked Ham Soup is rustic, thick, slightly smoky and a real favourite that improves with keeping.  

Pea and Smoked Ham Soup.

1 smoked ham hock

3 stalks of celery chopped – a few celery leaves included

2 carrots diced

1 small kumara diced

500g dried peas

1 teaspoon salt

Black pepper

2 dried bay leaves

Hot water to cover

Heat the slow cooker on high as you chop the vegetables.

Add all the ingredients to the bowl, then pour over enough water to cover.

Cook on high for 4 – 6 hours

At the end of the cooking time, take out the ham hock and remove the meat from the bone – discarding the fat and skin.  Dice the meat into soup spoon sized portions and return it to the soup to heat through.  At this stage you can choose to puree the vegetables with a stick blender – or keep them whole and  slightly softened around the edges...

Serve simply.  Crusty bread opitonal. 

The 38°C Melbourne heat today was bone dry. And it was windy. Bush fire weather. I came upon a peach tree on the lunchtime walk and call me an opportunist but I could smell the peaches ripening. And it was windy. It wasn’t long before this beauty fell off on to the foot path and I scooped it up. It was too hot to run home to eat it – but it was an appointment I was very keen to keep. Mmmmmmmmm urban harvest, delicious! The sequel to this story is that as I ate my urban harvested peach over the kitchen sink, the juice dripping down my chin seemed to be a mixture of apricot and peach. Is this a new hybrid?

This was waiting for me when I went to collect the eggs this afternoon. Everywhere I look on the farm there is a still life waiting to be observed and captured. And the best thing, more often than not, is that the still life can cheerfully turn into a meal for two. I'm thinking poached eggs on tomato, lemon and dill aioli, basil, sea salt, and black pepper. And the yolks will be soft and orange.

The sun coming out this morning, after 100ml of rain had fallen continuously for two nights and two days, was a beautiful gift. The herb garden was alive with zingy, Designer's Guild energy. Look what happens when you put zinnias and banana peppers together.

There are very few males on our farm. The cats are the exception. Six of the seven cats are types of boys - they have all been neutered. The girl cats over the years have all had issues and been quite temperamental. Mostly they go off to live by themselves and disdainfully turn up for takeaways as the mood takes them. Murray and Bruce are two generations apart. Bruce adopted Murray when Murray was the tiniest, cutest five week old kitten. Murray and his twin brother Creamy arrived in time for the Christmas stockings in 2009. Bruce taught Murray how to be a good cat, how to clean himself, hunt, sleep in small places and look after himself. They often sleep together. How warm and cosy...

The morning light that streams through my kitchen window at the farm is delicious. The window faces east and first thing in the morning it is a wonderous sight. There are some mornings when sun glasses are mandatory because it is so bright. But this is one of the special things about Te Puhi and which I miss when I am looking out my window in Melbourne. Antipodes sparkling water and Lavender's Green Lemon Cordial is a must have. Antipodes and hydrangeas on a summer morning is also very special.

After the cats have been fed and the chooks have had their mash and water, I stake out the veggie garden. It is here that I practise my singing and harvest the zucchini for our Zucchini Pickle. These zucchinis are so fresh that if they were fish they would be still kicking. Mmm into the pot with you.

Don't you think there are days when this warning should be on everyone's notice board? Lake Ferry

Our lovely Aussie visitor, friend of the family and intrepid international traveller voted The Famous Lake Ferry Fish and Chips as the best. Matched only by the view of a gentle flaming sunset on a still, still night. We often take our visitors out to Lake Ferry for a walk on the wild beach, to view breath-stopping sunsets and then to have Lake Ferry Fish and Chips with a chilled glass of local, white wine. Simple pleasures!

Even at sunset, with the distraction of Lake Ferry (Lake Onoke) in the background, the combination of orange and blue works its magic. Orange makes blue bluer and truer.

I'm not sure why my garlic crop looks like anorexic, afro-ed seventies white guys, but they do. Perhaps if I had played heavy rock to the bulbs in their infancy I might have had more luck. Kind of a sad effort really. And to be frank, one crop we won't be thinking about exporting this year... Has anyone got any tips out there on how to beef them up for next year? These ones had plenty of water and good sun and were mulched in pea straw (quite spoilt really)...

I get to say alot of good byes living the gemini life that I lead. The last morning at the farm, before catching the train to the plane, is usually frantic. I want to do it all before I go. This is my last view of the farm house as I head on my way to Melbourne. It is so hard to leave sometimes - particularly when the wisteria is in flower

Federation Square is like the hub of Melbourne and is a venue for shows, displays and markets.  Often there are large crowds clustered around a magician or busker and the crowds perch on the pink and cream steps and terraces.  Fluttering flags can herald the event, but this afternoon there was no explanation as to the appearance of a pop up village of letter boxes. 

The first thought was that it was a gathering of wading birds with thin, stilt like legs; or that it was infill housing for metro-birds.  But on closer observation it was a wierd and wonderful assortment of shapes and colours all with a tell tale slot for letters.

Who knows what they were there for -  they didn't stay for long.

Our solitary gold fish, who actually lived under this water lilly, was this colour until the Christmas kitten, Creamy, caught it and brought it up to his food bowl on the verandah. 

We are waiting until Creamy reaches cat adulthood, and his desire to hunt everything in sight gives way to his desire to sprawl on the deck at all times, before replacing the pond lifestock.

Life on the farm