Racheal is a super organised young mum with six children and had everything ready to go when we arrived. She had already made broth which she strained into preserving jars....
...which were given new rings before being put into the pressure canner. You can read here how to pressure can broth if you have a pressure canner. Apparently it is cheaper to buy the canner from the US than here in Australia.
While she was talking her young daughter was cutting up vegetables with the confidence of a Master Chef cook which was quite amazing.
The veggies were cut up and added to the bones and then filtered water, vinegar (which she had made herself), onions and herbs finished it off before the cooking started.
Once you have cooked your broth you can then freeze it if you have the space, pressure can it or make bouillon by reducing the broth until it thickens slightly. Then put it into moulds and let it cool before putting it into the fridge and it will set like jelly.
Once the cooking was over we moved outside to have a look at Racheal and Rick's fledgling nursery, Birdsong Market Garden. If you live locally it is located just a few minutes out of Toowoomba and if you would like to go on the email list to receive weekly notifications of what is for sale then let Racheal know and she will add you to the list. All the info is on their website.
They have put a lot of work into preparing the soil so as to produce quality vegetables. Check out Nutrient Application which is extremely interesting.
They currently have a variety of veggies growing including heirloom tomatoes which I presume these are....
...as well as cherry tomatoes and I bought a punnet of mixed cherry tomatoes and can tell you they are delicious.
While wandering around we also came across this hive which I believe is a Warre Hive. It was quite fascinating watching the bees at work.
I never seem to come away from one of these workshops without having learned something new and one of the ladies there told me about a company in the US called iHerb where she is able to buy products much cheaper than here in Australia. I was wondering if the Essential Oils they sell are suitable for soap making as you have to get your priorities right of course :-)
We are unable to have our monthly Simple Living Toowoomba workshop in April so our next one will be on the topic of decluttering and will be held on the 20th May followed by a Permaculture workshop presented by Michael Wardle from Savour Soil Permaculture on the 17th June. You can find more information here and if you would like to attend you can book in here and would be most welcome. Hmmm, I wonder if I could drag the CEO along to the decluttering workshop :-)
I did a double take when I saw your post. I actually have a bone broth cooking right now in the slow cooker. I picked up two bags of grass fed beef bones yesterday. Last night I loaded the slow cooker with the bones, veggies, herbs, apple cider vinegar and water. It is now cooking for the next 12 hours. I love bone broth for the taste alone. I can drink it like a cup of tea and the health benefits are amazing.
ReplyDeleteI stumbled upon the Wellnessmama website a few years ago and use a lot of her recipes. I can't believe you've met her. Such an amazing lady and I really love her site.
Enjoy your broth and I will too.
Kylie, sorry if I mislead you but I just linked to the blog post Wellnessmama had written about bone broth as I couldn't find the one Racheal told us about. I visit her blog a lot too as it is very informative. I hope you enjoy your broth and you will certainly be a healthy family having that as part of your diet.
ReplyDeleteOops. It is a great site though. I just wish the rest of the family were as keen as me. I use it in their cooking and get it into them that way.
DeleteWow I've also had bone broth simmering away since last night. Great minds think alike! I usually freeze the chicken carcasses from all of our roasts etc and when I have a few they get a new life as broth.
ReplyDeleteIt is getting cool here so the broth will come in handy, Fran. Glad you had such a great holiday.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that you can attend such informative workshops, Chel. I always find it's great to learn from others. Today, I've been up "the back" adding to my compost piles that I've started in cylinders of chicken wire - an idea I got from the Intro to Permaculture workshop weekend I attended recently. I hope you really enjoy your Permaculture too. Meg:)
ReplyDeleteThey sound like interesting compost piles, Meg. My husband has huge compost piles here...not quite the norm :-) He likes to do things differently.
DeleteWorkshops and Open Days are always so inspiring Chel, and we do learn so much from other participants as well as from the main facilitator. Bone Broth has been a big part of our diet for a few years now and I'm still puzzled that few people know about the benefits or bother with it. I saw a 500g pack of Bone Broth in our local supermarket last week with a price tag of $16.!! It was still there this week, in the end of date mark down section for $10..! Who would buy that? And iHerb is where I buy some of our health supplements on line, but we still have to be careful about buying supplements from other countries where they are not put through the rigorous testing as ours here in Aust. As one example, the Turmeric caps from iHerb don't have the same healing effect on me as the ones made and purchased in Australia. Happy Easter!
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting about iHerb, Sally. I don't usually buy supplements but have been thinking about trying turmeric as I am a bit slack about using our own even though I have some frozen ready to use. Taking a capsule would be easier.
DeleteI'm so glad you were able to finally leave home, after your surgery, to go to the meet up.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris. I feel much better although my face is still red where the rash was and gets painful but hopefully it will eventually heal up.
DeleteMy family think that I am a bit nuts. I get them to place the bones from their meals into bags that go into the freezer. I also have a bag where the stems from broccoli and cauliflower go as well as the woody beans that no one wants to eat. When there is enough the bones and veg scraps go in the soup cooker and beautiful bone broth is made. At the moment there is almost enough chicken carcass to make up a chicken broth. Our Katie uses this broth to make up a chicken and ginger soup that is to die for.
ReplyDeleteJane, that chicken and ginger soup sounds great. You will have to share the recipe. I know a lot of people who collect bones and veggie scraps and freeze them for bone broth so I am sure your family will come across others who are as 'nutty' as you somewhere along the line. LOL!
DeleteHmmm, I certainly feel like the odd duck out here. I have never made bone broth. I guess I will just have to get my act together and give it a go.
ReplyDeleteLike Meg, I too have been making compost. My compost pile is a metre square by a metre high and should break down to about 30 cm high by the time it has finished breaking down.
The decluttering workshop sounds like it is right up my alley. At the moment I am unpacking boxes after having downsized to only one home instead of two. So much stuff to sort out. We have already given a lot of furniture away and I have gotten rid of linen that is no longer needed as well as kitchen utensils. Now I am looking at my huge collection of books. Some of them need to go.
The permaculture workshop also sounds very interesting.
I don't think I would be making it in the hot weather, Sherri but it has turned quite cool here which is nice after the dreadful heat. Yes the decluttering workshop should be very interesting especially for those who live with hoarders :-)
DeleteBone broth is wonderful! I use it in all my cooking, it really adds flavour and is very good for you. Sounds like an excellent workshop :)
ReplyDelete