In review it’s been a busy and bountiful Spring for 2022. Lots of rain has prospered our nature, farmyard, Spring Garden and vege patch. Kiambram guests are welcome to add bonus produce to their mini pantry and this season’s surplus has been zucchinis. Such a versatile and filling squash with highly palatable skin and seeds, a veritable superfood zucchini is high in potassium and contains significant amounts of vitamins B6, riboflavin, folate, vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese.
So easy to pick, store and prepare think of adding a few simple ingredients to whip up an extra meal or add to your breakfast in Kiambram’s self-contained accommodation. Our mini pantries contain quality local olive oil and honey plus basics like salt and pepper. An abundance of fresh herbs are now growing in the new orchard area and cherry tomatoes have popped up around the cottages as well as larger varieties in the vege patch.
Google ‘A to Z of zucchini recipes’ to find something sweet or savoury to suit your appetite. Improvise away swapping cheeses, oils, milks and flours taking note of the many tips available so as not to end up with soggy or bitter zucchini.
Bread – Pina Colada Zucchini Bread – what!
Cake – Zucchini Coffee Cake – includes your morning oats.
Eggs – Zucchini Scrambled Eggs. Zucchini Omelette.
Frittata – Vegetable Frittata – Inverter cook Micro root veg like potato to add for more filling. Briefly lower the Webber lid to set the frittata top if you are cabin cooking. Remember to remove the Campfire pan handle first.
Grilled – We grill zucchini with our meat and accompany with other veg. The pork chops and zucchini pictured were served with mashed sweet potato/saltbush/cayenne and honey also an apple and native raspberry sauce done together in the microwave. Quick, easy and delicious.
Muffins – Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins – a Gumnut Cottage school holiday activity?
Pancakes – quick and simple. Serve with sour cream for a filling breakfast.
Salad – delicious grated with carrot and beetroot as a filling salad addition.
Zoodles – we do a rustic hand cut zoodle to microwave or stir fry – it just tastes better.
The soil has finally warmed enough for our new asparagus crowns to shoot and hopefully we’ll have a big enough crop of “Mary Washington” to share next year. We have planted this in the orchard area along with a row of native Old Man Saltbush which we often use in our own cooking. We use it dried, chopped on meats, in stews or mashed vegetables. The plants have been hard to get but are currently available at Bunnings Toowoomba North so may be at other Bunnings too.
The Light Sussex flock have multiplied with batches of chickens and clucky hens at various stages. An original dual purpose British Breed, Sussex were thought to have been in England at the time of the Roman invasion and cross bred with Roman chickens. They are alert but friendly chickens laying steadily except when they moult usually in autumn or winter. They live longer than hybrid birds like Isa Browns with one of our hens lasting 10 years.
We have finally added cattle back to our animal mix with the arrival of a nice little pen of steers today. These boys should reduce some of the grass in the small front paddocks before going over to the back of the hill, saving on slashing for fire prevention.
THIS SEASON’S OFFER!!! A great local historical and educational tourist attraction displaying farm machinery and animals is Highfields Pioneer Village. They have wonderful working demonstrations during their Easter Festival too and Kiambram is offering a Family Pass to Gumnut Cottage guests staying 4 days over the Easter 2023 School Holidays. Guest to confirm they wish to take up the offer by emailing Kiambram after booking their stay online. <<<>>>