#blog12daysxmas 27th December

Arrived back home!  Hooray for wifi! Hooray for my own bed!

Hooray for photos!

 

Hooray for Christmas dinner!



 Hooray for waterslide!



Even whale sized me had a turn... it is shorter than the one we had as kids.

 

The rain and humidity has had the expected effect on the garden.
The dark fleshed plums are ripening. We've already had a bumper crop of the early plum (Hawera).

 

 I have 2 nice green cucumbers growing.

 

I'm getting more zucchinis by the day.

 
 and hooray for home grown tomatoes!

making a pig of yourself

With the recent attention on the ethical raising of pigs for pork production I thought I would post about some sources of free range, organic suppliers that I use or have purchased from in the past (with good results).

This is by no means a post to induce guilt trip buying frenzies - what you do with your hard earned money is your business. But it does help to know of options available if your conscience is making you think a bit.

Eco-organics

I signed up to Eco-organics last year and have been happily munching their produce off and on since. You do have to register with them but once that is done, it's just a matter of filling in their order form and you'll get a delivery on either a Tuesday or Thursday depending on when you order. They will take internet banking or credit card (but you do need to wait for processing to get the latter set up).

I visited their farm just north of Kumeu last year. They send me weekly emails telling me what's new in the garden and what activities are happening. I rather like that connection with them. I've never had any issues with their services and I like knowing that much of my vege box is locally grown. Sometimes I've asked that certain veges are not put in (because we've got plenty in our own garden) and that has never been a problem. It certainly means I get a variety of vegetables.

I find this option works for me. I love going to Farmer's Markets, but I have so many commitments on the weekend when they are held, I find I don't get there regularly. I do grow some produce for our family but don't have the time or space to supply everything from my garden.

Eco-Organics are connected with Super-Janes Organic Meat. This is beef raised organically on the East Coast and it really does taste good. I've ordered packs from them quite a few times and been happy with the service and the cost.

Naturally Organic

Before finding Eco-organics I used Naturally Organic for a vege box. The quality of the produce was great but I found the delivery fee to be a bit steep. However, if you spend over $100 with them and live in the Auckland Metro area the delivery is free. They stock dry goods and other things as well, so it is easy to reach that target if you include things like flour, shampoo etc.

Their service is prompt and reliable, and they contact you if there is any problem.














Organic Direct

This website groups tgether a number of small businesses. Their aim is

"to assist organic and sustainable businesses to market and promote their products and services. With regularly updated educational and informative content, and easy-to-find business directories, we make it easy for consumers to make the conscious decision to buy organic".

I use them to order free-range eggs and chickens from Rolling Hills. Rolling Hills did a promotion via DH's work and I liked their eggs a lot. Of course, if I'm shopping myself I'll pick whatever free-range egg option is available. But if I'm also wanting to get a whole free-range chicken I can get a good deal through Rolling Hills: 2 Size 14 free-range chickens + 2 dozen free-range eggs for $44.70 (delivered free to my door). In fact, the last lot they sent me was actually 1 size 14 chicken and 1 size 16... so that was a good deal I thought.




















Havoc Pork

I've been impressed with the product from these folks. Their pork really does taste better than the stuff from the supermarket. Their sausages are great too. Unfortunately they don't have an online order option, but they are very responsive to emails. I notice they will now send a pack of a mixture of their products to the North Island for $125.00 (delivery included). I've also organised a pork fest with some like-minded friends and shared the cost of the delivery of a 20kg chiller box - we chose what we wanted, it was delivered to someone's house and we reimbursed that person. Works well.

These suppliers are just the few I know of. If you have any others you have used let me know because I'd be interested.

Birthdays and Vegetables

What, you might well ask, do these things have in common?
Absolutely nothing but that is what this post is about...

But first - a layout. I finally scrapped DS's first day at school using the October kit from SBO.

Next DD's 2nd birthday on the 7th. I made her a Very Hungry Caterpillar cake because that is her favourite story right now. Funnily enough, it was DD's fav story too and he got a 'pillar cake for his 2nd birthday. We just had a quiet celebration for her. Nan and Pop came for dinner, and some cousins came for dessert. She liked the cake but didn't know what to do with the candles. Fortunately big brother did!

Now for the garden bit! We (actually DH) dug up the potatoes. We got a pretty good crop with some decent sized ones in there. These are Jersey Bennes.

These are mostly Red Desiree. There were more of these but I'd already stowed them in the potato bin.

I had some modest success with my Borlotti beans this year, but I doubt I'll get enough to make a decent stew with. Still, they are so beautiful. My courgette/zuchini is also beautiful but not very prolific. Neither is my cucumber - I'm wondering if it is the lack of bees around.

Just for Jenny. The fig tree is looking good for jam this year. Hope the silver eyes leave me some ;-)

Here is my garden as of December. The potatoes on the right are now gone and I've put in some perpetual spinach. The pumpkin on the left is now enormous and I will share a comparative photo once I down load it off the camera.


The plums are ripening so I imagine plum jam is on the project list for the coming weekend. Yum!

Oratia Farmers Market

I was delighted to find that there is a new Farmer's Market started up - in my neighbourhood! Yay and Yay!

My sister and I went last Saturday. My sister is allergic to mornings and by the time we got there it was well started by a good hour and half. Unfortunately most of West Auckland appeared to be there as well so many of the stalls we were interested in had sold out. There were quite a few stalls with blackboards saying "so and so coming soon" too. So my delight was somewhat diluted!

But even so - it's great that the Westies have finally got something going. I hope to patronise it frequently. And earlier.

Find a Farmer's Market near you...

*PS. Thank you for your uplifting remarks. I feel very blessed to have understanding friends.*

Organic Veges

This is my second order of an organic fruit and vege box from Naturally Organic. Both times I've been really pleased with the quality of the fruit and vegetables, as well as the prompt service. It's a small family size box filled with random, seasonal produce. It cost me $39.50 (delivery cost of $6.95) so I think that is pretty good for a week and a half worth of produce.

This box has curly kale, mixed lettuce leaves, spinach, asparagus x2, bananas, golden kumara, carrots, apples, oranges, pumpkin, beans, beetroot, spring onions and kiwifruit. You can specify if there is any vege/fruit you don't want included.

If anyone is interested in ordering from them, I have a discount code for a new customer to get free delivery. It seems a shame to let it go to waste, so if you want to give it a go, send me an email and I'll send you the code! They sell more than just vege boxes; organic cheese, dry goods etc etc are all available too.

Oh - and just because it was on the same batch of photos I uploaded - here is a tag book I made for my uber boss who retired after 26 years of service.
I wish I'd taken pics of the inside now, but I was in a hurry that morning to take it in so people could sign it.