Chasing chickens and a better life

This afternoon was one of those days when I realise why my heart is and always will be, in the country. After baking a batch of chocolate chip and pecan nut biscuits with the kids, licking bowls and ooohing and ahhing over cookie mixture (HEAVENLY), the children and I spent 20 mins CHASING CHICKENS in the garden, and let me tell you, it was some of the best fun (and exercise) I've had in a long time (the reason you can't see me in the photo is because I got a BUG in my eye, mid chase, and LOOKED like I'd been chasing chickens at the end of it - yes I'm thinking the "Wild Woman of Bornea" look). And yes I do get out people, but to see our children chasing and throwing themselves at Wilbur, screaming with laughter, was just for me, a golden moment. The good news is, that whilst we may not be able to get to the country yet, we can sure bring the country to us - right here - you know - like Mohammed did with the Mountain.

There has been much excitement in our home - ok well, by our home I mean Lizzie, myself and the kids - as DH is very much preoccupied with a mission to be accomplished; - our green beans, carrots, spinach and baby marrow are showing promise that maybe, just maybe, in the longterm, we'll be harvesting most of our own veg after all - infact we harvested 1 x baby marrrow today, and just like my butternut, she was A BEAUT. I am BESIDE MYSELF HAPPY, as I really always believed I could never grow ANYTHING - especially not anything remotely edible. However that said, harvesting the butternuts we grew a few months ago gave me "faith like potato's" that maybe, just maybe, I could do this, and if I couldn't, well I was certainly going to die TRYING! LOL!

From the butternut, I ventured onto lettuce, and expanded my herb garden - and the rocket, which much to my delight, took off like one!!! I couldn't believe it! So a few delicious salads and butternut bakes later, I am really trying very hard, to take it step by step and continue on this journey of going organic - slowly but surely, because that's where my heart is. A success story - magical marrows!

I wouldn't say I've always been a natural, "earthmother type", but farming, and eating and drinking "weird stuff" like chinese teas and sprouts is DEFINITELY in my family. So I guess over time, watching my mother use herbs for medicinal purposes and consume weird and wonderful things, that never killed her, I couldn't help but come around to appreciating this wonderful, wholesome approach to food and nutrition, and then came the MSG and pesticide tirade and well, the rest is HISTORY. My friend Lindiwe (Lindy) recently inspired me even more, by presenting me with a recipe book that screamed and jumped out at her off the shelf, professing to be mine, and boy oh boy has it kept me busy in the kitchen - much to my DH husbands delight! I suppose you can't blame him seeing as his mother was an INCREDIBLE Greek cook, and my sister Louise has followed in her mother's footsteps, so I figured a long time ago that I would always live in awe of these two incredibly talented women in the kitchen, and stick to ...well .....another aspect of good housekeeping...like BLOGGING! LOL!..SO boyfriend is just loving this whole, "spending hours in the kitchen making things from scratch" thingie that I've been doing - dare I say it, "like his mother used to"! EISH!

But to end off this post, I just wanted to share the synopsis from my wonderful recipe book called "Harvest - recipes from an organic farm": In a secret valley near Worcester, in the Western Cape, untouched by pollution and city rush lies a farm so heart-achingly beautiful it will compel you to reassess what life is really about. If the view doesn't mesmerize you, the lifestyle of organic farmers Christine and Mark Stevens and their two sons will get you thinking.......