Book Review

One of my great loves is reading and lately I've been exploring the world of Swedish fiction. It is so refreshing to read these beautiful lyrical authors and have a whole new experience of location in fiction.
A few years ago I read the obligatory starting point of Stieg Larsson's Millenium series, of which I gobbled down it's great characters and plot.

The book I've just finished is Let the Right One In, by John Ajvide Lindqvist. At first glance, a vampire novel. 'Not another one!' I hear you cry, but don't let that put you off because this goes beyond any vamp book I have read.

The horror/crime/supernatural novel centres around 12-year old Oskar who meets Eli (later revealed to be a vampire child) and is set in a working class suburb of Stockholm. Eli is not your traditional vampire and nor is their relationship. The novel is very dark and deals with issues which are very confronting  but still easy to relate to. Be warned, however, this novel does have a gore factor so not for the easily queasy. I won't say any more because the slow reveal is always better. Best read snuggled up in bed on a stormy night.

Forget every vampire cliche and Twilight movie and pick up this book!


Next books on my bedside table:
The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo -Norwegian crime novel
11/22/63 by Stephen King - new one about time travel

Action in the Kitchen

One of the great things about living on the farm is being able to have fresh ingredients and produce on hand that you can go out and catch or pick. In recent years we have established a  raised veggie patch made from old tanks that produced the best tomato crop last year! We also have chooks, our own lamb, and yabbies. Hence the yabby pizza is born......

YABBY PIZZA
Really the easiest thing in the world to make but tastes so good.

Yabbies- boiled for 7 minutes

Get your slaves to do the hard work

Ingredients

• We used tortillas as the pizza base or Lebanese bread
• tomato passata 
• mozzarella cheese
• cooked yabbies
• Tabasco for the adults
• any other toppings you may like eg: fetta, capsicum, mushrooms, spinach

  Spread passata over base, add toppings and mozzarella and bake in hottest pre-heated oven until cheese is melted and base is slightly crisp. I like to keep the toppings fairly simple so you can still taste the yabbies.

Little A's yabby pizza 

WARNING: Men can eat at least 5 of these thin pizzas so make lots.

Chow down!

The Inaugural Blog

'To blog or not to blog?' that was the question.

Although I may have nothing interesting to say, for my sanity and the sake of my family's I think this is probably the best option, as no-one can here me scream here on the farm.

Today sees me on the first day of harvest. And so it begins. 6 weeks of cooking for any number of men (could be 1, could be 10), not seeing my husband, and being a single parent. On this topic is my first list:

QUESTIONS NOT TO ASK YOUR HUSBAND DURING HARVEST

1. How many people need tea tonight? (it will change, oh yes, it will change)
2. Can you look after the kids for an hour? (pfft)
3. Can you fix the broken air-conditioner? ('It's only 40degrees!')
4. What do I do with this snake on the back step? ('Get shovel and deal with it')
5. Can we have a pet dog? (What is a pet dog? followed by 'No.')

So, good luck to all the brave harvest wives and just remember- it will end.
Now off to peel yabbies for yabby pizza tonight. Recipe will follow.



Little G in canola while it was still flowering