Parsnip Soup With Sourdough

Made parsnip soup with sourdough last night.

I used the no kneed recipe again with the bread, it's really easy but I think I might try it in a bread tin next time rather than free form on the bread stone, it does have a certain charm but it could do with being deeper with less crust. 

 As for the soup it's a good way to use up my glut of parsnips before they go over. Neither my wife or I go mad for parsnips so having it curried like this is the way to make it more palatable. 

Our curried parsnip soup recipe is pretty easy.
4 large Parsnips
1 onion
oil
1 Tbsp of flour
1 Tsp of cumin
1/4 Tsp of fenugreek
1/2 Tsp of tumric
Pinch of salt
Rapeseed or olive oil
Chilli powder to taste
Chicken or vegetable stock

Just soften the onions in the oil in the bottom of a thick bottomed pan, add the parsnips, spices and flour and keep stirring until they're all coated. Add the stock and cook until it's all soften and falling apart. Then blend until smooth and add more stock to get the consistency you like. 

Anyone else have any good recipes for parsnips? I've got loads to use up and everyone is fed up of me giving them to them!

Making A Wooden Peg With An Axe - Video

After my post on Monday about the pegs for holding down the weed matting, I thought I'd do a short video on how I make them using an axe and a little pruning saw.

I've hopefully took on board some points from my last video and as the camera is on a tripod no one should get sea sick this time! Hopefully my videos will keep improving, let me know if there's any more you want me to do.

Homestead Security

I had a phone call from a friend of mine yesterday. His wife had come back from work and found two guys breaking into one of their sheds. She's a brave one though, as she blocked the drive and called the police, they came in force with five cars and took the guys away, but chances are, because they got them before they stole anything they won't get charged.

I went to have a look around with him last night to see how we could upgrade his security. 

I love this picture from a trailer on my fathers farm. There's nothing in it but it still makes me smile!

His is the typical little homestead, with a jumble of sheds and prefab garages, none in great shape but all being used. I'm going to reinforce some of the doors with ply, add metal plates behind the hasps and staples and possibly get him some better padlocks (this guy does a lot for me so it's nice to pay him back when I can).

I'd like to find a site box for storing tools for him as well and maybe fit that, but the whole thing has got me thinking about my own security and what I should do to increase it. I've posted on this before on my other blog (the link is here).

We have a footpath running across the top of our land and this means that people can walk by and nose at what we've got around the place. My little workshop is very secure but I'd like to know what everyone else does for security and how you deal with this type of thing?

I know a dog is the obvious answer but that comes with it's own set of problems and risks (and the girls are to young at the moment) but does anyone go down the route of CCTV cameras, security lights & alarms? What do you find effective and what system do you run?

Making Pegs And Planting Willow

I didn't do many homestead jobs over the weekend as I was working Saturday and there was plenty of rain on Sunday. We did manage to get some of my willow cuttings planted in the coppice. 

Axe, saw and froe - I idn't need to use the froe in the end as the wood split easy.

 we planted them through weed matting this time so I needed to peg it down. I guess I could have bought some off the internet but I decided it wouldn't take long to make some out of a few ash branches, so armed with my axe and a folding saw I could make about 4 pegs in five minutes with not too many swings of the axe. Anyone else make their own pegs?

Homemade peg to hold the fabric down

 The girls then came over to help plant some willows, it was really nice to have the four of us doing something together, we only managed to plant the basket willow (5 cuttings of 5 varieties each) as the rain came down pretty hard, but it's a start on this new area of the coppice.

Me and my helpers

Youngest getting muddy hands

Basket willow all in

For me doing things like this as a family is priceless.

Anyone else like to make their own pegs and things to save spending a few pennies? What other things do you knock up quick to save money and be more self reliant?
Also is there anything else I can buy in large sheets that's a little more eco friendly that the black horrible weed matting, it's better than using a spray to kill the grass but I've still got to dispose of it at some point. I did think about lots of cardboard again but it's so hard to hold down.

Fitted Oak Cabinets - A Shameless Plug

I finished fitting some oak cabinets I'd made for a customer last night, they were really pleased with the results and so was I, so I thought I'd put them on here as well as my other blog.

It's been tricky to fit this in around looking after the children, with late nights planeing and gluing up boards plus a few Saturdays on site fitting it all. Making everything myself from scratch takes longer but at least I have no one else to rely on and I can guarantee that I'm going to be at the customers house when I say I am (something that's very important to me).

The finished job

The space to begin with

The TV unit before oiling

All finished ready for some oil

Left hand unit oiled up

It really changes the feel of the room

I'm sorry that this isn't a post on my usual self sufficiency type thing, but I thought that as this is my part time income that helps support us I think it's interesting to show what I do.

If you want to see how I constructed this in more detail then take a look at my other blog for more photos.

Thanks for looking!