Sausages

One of the three little pigs decided he wanted a change of career today, so we made pork and fennel sausages. Ken the Kenwood Chef and his sausage-making attachment are instrumental in the sausage-making process. The first time we made sausages (over 30kgs of sausages, thanks to a generous contribution from Kevin, one of our old boars) we used a hand-operated mincer. It took days. With Ken, it takes about half an hour. Here is the recipe, adapted from the Kenwood cookbook:

For every 1kg pork:

1t fennel seeds

2T paprika

1t freshly ground black pepper

1/2t salt

50g breadcrumbs

We like to use fatty pork (our first ever sausages were super lean, and as a consequence, super dry). The best texture is obtained by using the smallest mincer attachment, however the fat in the pork has a tendency to clog the attachment up, so only try this if you have plenty of time (and patience) on your hands to keep cleaning it out. An almost-as-good texture is obtained by putting the mince through the large mincer attachment twice before mixing it with the spices.

Once you have your pork mince, combine it with the spices. You'll need sausage casings - we use natural ones bought in bulk from Dunninghams (from memory, we bought about 50 metres of them). They are available from some butchers, but at a considerably larger price. Using Ken again, pipe the sausage mixture into the casings, twisting clockwise then anti-clockwise to make individual sausages.

These are great barbecued on a German barbecue, or oven-baked and served with corn and paprika fritters and a tomato and roast capsicum salsa (tomato, roast red and green capsicum, lemon juice, garlic, cumin and coriander). They are also brilliant on a pizza with homemade goat feta (especially if manuka smoked beforehand).

Photo: Pork and fennel sausages fresh off the sausage-maker. They look slightly more appetizing when cooked.

Whitney and Urethra

Whitney and Urethra moved in yesterday. Roger put in the good word for them, saying that they were (possibly) his (very) distant cousins, and that they were ewes after all (just not east Friesian). Indeed, Whitney and Urethra are Pitt Island sheep - a rare breed found nowhere else in the world, possibly descended from Saxony Merino sheep brought to Pitt Island in the 1800s. Most Pitt Island sheep are black, just like Whitney and Urethra. Unlike Whitney and Urethra, however, Pitt Island sheep are not renowned for their singing abilities. Pitt Island rams grow spectacular horns (very similar to Roger's horns), and Pitt Island ewes can also have horns (although more commonly they just have scurs). Whitney and Urethra are sadly not blessed with horns, but we are all keeping our fingers crossed for their offspring. Lambpost's mother and brother are preparing to move out (possibly into the freezer).

Photo: Urethra (left) and Whitney (right), spotted eating grass by local Paparazzi. Despite both having had an illustrious career in the spotlight, they are somewhat camera shy.

Good news

Mr Farmer has offered Helen the live-in position of Chief Lawnmower, since the ride-on has broken its belt (on the condition that Helen leave the pittosporums alone). Helen has graciously accepted, and will take up her new role immediately.

Photo: Helen (all rugged up for winter) mowing carefully around the pittosporums. Notice also the lack of leaves - Katie's influence on the farm is still apparent...

Lambpost

Today was Lambpost's two-week anniversary. Lambpost is an Arapawa Romney cross - the first lab of the season - his mum (pictured) is the romney, his dad is Roger, is our Arapawa ram. His mum has been a bit cagey - I've only been allowed one cuddle. She is wary of cameras, too - apparently the paparazzi have been hounding her. Roger, on the other hand, will do anything for food (he sold me the photo opportunity for a pie and some salad). I'm curious as to whether Lambpost will grow horns like his dad...

In preparation for encouraging our lambs to do good in the world (and for maximising our grazing), I've started a lease-a-lamb scheme - an opportunity to have two or more lambs grazing your land, fully maintained (drenched, shorn, foot-trimmed), for no charge. Why would anyone want temporary sheep? Sheep are great for maintaining healthy pasture. They graze close to the ground, will eat a wide range of plants, and prefer leafy plants over grass. They are also excellent for the control of parasites - cross-grazing sheep with horses may assist in reducing the worm burden on your pasture, since horse parasites can only exist in horses, and so can't mature with sheep. Sheep can also be used to manage grass in spring - nobody minds a fat sheep, especially when it is helping your horse to maintain a healthy weight! Sheep will graze on land with a steeper contour, so are perfect for keeping the grass and weeds down on those hard-to-mow pieces of land. No wonder Mr Farmer loves his sheep (like any good Southland boy)...

Milk and cheese... eventually

I found an exciting (more scientific) site all about making cheese. Helen is getting progressively rounder, which means we will have a source of milk again in the next few months. Although she's unlikely to outstrip Katie in the milk-production department, she should do better this time round, as it will be her second kid (keep your fingers crossed for a girl). In any case, we will have feta again. I'm hoping to branch out to pecorino romano, and goat milk cheddar. I'm particularly excited about the cheddar, which is supposed to be tangier (and whiter, due to the goats' more efficient carotene conversion) than cows' milk cheddar - but the attraction of feta (aside from its taste) is that it is quick and easy to make.

Photo: Milk from Helen, from last season. It was quite a battle convincing Mr Farmer to try the goat milk (in non-cheese form). He (like so many other people) thought it would taste "goaty". In fact, a goaty flavour in the milk is due to the (smelly) buck being in with the does, or because of poor milking hygiene. Eventually Mr Farmer succumbed (when I stopped buying milk from the supermarket), and was pleasantly surprised to discover that it tasted "just like real milk." He had it in his coffee for the rest of the season... Can't wait to try him on sheep milk.

Goodbye, Katie

On Monday (or Sunday, going by blogger.com time), Katie was pronounced dead, having passed away peacefully in her sleep. Out of respect for our oldest and best-producing goat, there has been a two-day moment of blogging silence on the farm. I have yet to tell Trevor (who hasn't been in contact since he met his new girlfriend - we can only assume that no news is good news). Katie will be sadly missed by everyone (with the possible exception of the pittosporums, who felt somewhat threatened by her). Even Mr Farmer was sad. Helen is feeling a little lonely, being the sole goat on the farm - I have tasked her with mowing the front lawn for the funeral, to take her mind off things. She very helpfully offered to trim the pittosporums as well, since Katie can no longer perform the task.

The good news is that four East Friesian ewe lambs in Marton now have our names on them - when they grow their first two permanent teeth (which should have happened by early November) they will be ready to make the long trip northwards. That gives us four months to reach our target for the East Friesian Ewe Fund (and to install a towbar on the farm truck).

Photo: The good old days - Katie (back) and Helen (front) making short work of an unsuspecting tea tree. It was Katie who taught the others how to stand on their hind legs and really annihilate the local vegetation - she and Trevor used to team up, so that one would push a tree over, and the other would pull it down.

Trevor

Today Trevor moved out to live with his new girlfriend, who he met over the internet after receiving marching orders from Mr Farmer. It wasn't his fault - Katie and Helen were the ones who waged war on the pittosporums when they discovered the electric fence was off (they have also been given eviction notices, but haven't yet found a new home). Trevor left in a miniature horse float. He wasn't overly emotional - think he was more apprehensive about meeting his new woman for the first time. I expect that Katie will miss him (he fathered her twins Rogan and Josh, after all), but Helen never really seemed to like him that much.

With Trevor gone, I am now four and a half percent closer to the East Friesian Ewe Fund target.

Photos: Handsome buck Trevor posing for some photos before he left.