25/30 - a dirt-filled day in the garden

One of my most contented places to be with my family is out pottering around our garden. 

After weeks and weeks of rain, we were rewarded with a sunshine-filled Saturday so we all ventured out to our much neglected and very muddy backyard.

While Mark and I raked garden beds and cleaned out the insanely muddy chicken coop (poor chooks!), the kids had their own very serious projects going on. 

Over a couple of hours they worked intently... first making a 'dust bath' for the chickens in an old laundry basket (then desperately trying to convince them to sit in there!). Then they decided to make their own compost in a bucket using plenty of dirt, scraps, chicken coop droppings, and so on. The next project was a 'bug playground' and their own little veggie garden. 

Needless to say, there was a lot of digging in dirt and mud going on all morning! They are gloriously messy and happy as they invest in their own play - I love it.

Kids at play in the dirt, winter sunshine, family time together on a quiet Saturday.... I tell ya, it may not sound that thrilling but to me, it simply doesn't get better than this!

Documenting delight, every day in June.

why kids are like vegetables...

They grow....

Though you planted them, though you had some small part in their creation, it somehow still takes you by surprise. They flourish, unfurl... blossom. They emerge into something amazing and while yes, certainly, you watered and fertilised... you know you can't take full credit for their fruition.

They are just so incredible, huh??! You want to take photos every day and share them on Facebook!!! Look, everyone, look! Because yes, you are bursting with pride, but really it's more than that... it's marvel. Look... these amazing creations. They are so much more than the sum of their parts. They are so much more than the labour and love we pour into them. We 'blindly' plant and 'hopefully' water but it is God who gives their growth... and it is much more than we could ever have hoped or imagined.

You want to shout this wonder to the roof tops, you want to murmur it over and over in your heart of hearts... It's not pride, you know you can't take credit for all they have become. You want to just shout out an invitation to others - to marvel and wonder along side you..... look at these fascinating things! How did they become all this?!

Am I getting carried away here!? Ahem ;) Well, gardening can do that to a girl!!

You see, over the last year, I have become an eager (if somewhat clueless) owner of a kitchen garden. I plant things.... some fail, some thrive, it's all a bit of an experiment, but to my utter shock and amazement, I love it. Never thought I would say that about gardening.

I have been taken by surprise at how absolutely thrilling it is to see actual, real live, vegetables growing in my very own veggie patch. Sure, some wither and fade (*cough*raspeberries*cough*) but the ones that make it.... yowzers, I cannot believe how exciting it is!

Out there, amongst the dirt and the mulch, I couldn't help but be surprised at how satisfying it was to raise this little crop... humble though it is! That feeling of joy, satisfaction, pride but also gratitude and wonder... it felt like a lighter shade of how I feel about my kids. Now, I am not saying I love my zucchinis as much as my kids.... (or am I?! Ha!). But I kept asking myself, why am I so excited about this? Why do I want to talk to everyone about every garden picking? Why do I feel the urge to take a photo of every cherry tomato and share it on my Facebook page?!

Yes I am excited and 'proud' in a way... but honestly, I hardly feel like I can take credit for this crop. I really have no idea what I am doing it, I am kinda winging the whole venture, it's rather 'learn as you go'. I plant a seedling, I water (sporadically!) and fertilise (thanks, Chookies for your manure!)... but the result is honestly still a shock!! I can only marvel at the result... in a similar manner (just a glimmer of the depth of it) in which I marvel at my children. I nurture and train and discipline and pray... yet who they are - these amazing, individual, strong, quirky little people - is so much greater than what I invest in them. They are hardy and robust little creatures really, to stand up to my fumbling parenting! I can only gaze at them in wonder, thank God and yes... snap a photo to share on Facebook ;)

Whether in the garden or the home, that feeling of love, of joy in nurturing, of satisfaction in seeing them thrive, that wonder in seeing something grow and flourish.... it is the same privilege to watch a life emerge. It is a daily miracle that we get to witness up close.

So... that's why I think kids are like vegetables!! :)

My lovely readers, fellow parents and gardeners, let's continue to prepare the soil, to plant, to water, nurture and tend... Give it all you've got. Knowing we hardly know what we are doing, yet knowing that the 'produce' will be something far greater than the sum of its parts...something we can marvel in. Go ahead, enjoy your bounty of blessings! Watch them thrive before your very eyes xx


Just some musings from my kitchen garden :)

(Economical) Egyptian Soup // Nourishing and Delicious!

This soup.

There is just something about it. I know, I know, it does not look like anything special or sound like anything special but...it is SO DELICIOUS. And so nourishing... seriously, you can feel it nourishing you all the way down to your toes. :) This recipe has been a family fave of ours for years... since before we had kids (e.g. the dark ages). I wish I could cite the original source but all I have is a patchy printout from an old work colleague of Mark's (in his old workplace, they used to recipe swap, very cute!), which I have adjusted quite a bit over the years anyway. So, I'm claiming it, haha ;)

This is Lily's often requested and very favourite meal - all the kids gobble it down. The adults too. Everyone who comes to our place and eats a bowl of this just LOVES it and asks for the recipe. I'm not taking the glory, mind you. The glory goes to the humble red lentil - one of the most delightful little legumes around, I reckon, with its subtle and tasty ways! ;) And cumin too of course - it just makes everything taste yummy!

Anyway.... you may not be convinced, but trust me... please give it a try - it's delish! :)

I must apologise in advance, I'm a 'cook by feel' kinda gal so the recipe is not super precise but with a soup like this it doesn't need to be - it's pretty forgiving!! Go with your gut ;) Anything I can clarify, just ask in the comments! xx


Ingredients

(These ingredients are approximate, I tend to throw in more or less depending on what I have on hand or want to use up!)

• 1 Package of Red Lentils (around 400 grams)
• 1 Leek
• 4-5 Carrots
• Half a celery (leaves and all!)
• 2 Onions
• 3-4 garlic cloves (Ok, I'm a garlic fiend so would usually put in around 6!)
• Chicken Stock or Broth - 3 or 4 cups in whatever form of stock you use (I usually make my own chicken broth these days)
• 1 Tb or more of Cumin Powder
• Salt and Pepper
• Tomato Paste - 4ish Tablespoons
• French Onion Soup mix for extra tastiness (Optional - if you are trying to avoid preservatives and such as we are these days, you can add in a home made variety - I just add a quick few shakes of these ingredients)

To serve -

• Lemon/Lime wedges
• Sour cream/greek yoghurt
• Crusty Bread/Lebanese Bread

Directions

1. Soak the Lentils (for a few hours is great, or even just 10 mins while other food is being prepared is ok if you forget earlier!) then rinse thoroughly in a strainer.
2. Roughly chop and lightly fry the leek, onions and garlic in oil, in a large stock pot.
3. Roughly chop the carrot and celery and add them in. No need to chop finely as will all be blended up. (I like to leave skins on carrots and include celery leaves too). 
4. Fry lightly for another five-ish minutes, mixing around as best you can in the stock pot.
5. Add the rinsed lentils and lightly fry further.
6. Add in stock.
7. Fill the rest of the pot with water (to about a couple of inches above the veggies) 
8. Simmer at length - usually around 40 minutes till veggies become very soft.
9. Add Tomato Paste to give a rich orange colour,
10. Add a good dash of cumin (a tablespoon at least I would say - but we do love cumin!) and the french onion soup mix or equivalent ingredients
11. Blend with stick mixer in the pot
12. Add salt and pepper to taste
13. Serve - with a squeeze of quartered lemon or lime, bread and butter and a dash of sour cream or greek yoghurt if you like! Definitely include the lemon/lime... I never used to think of it and once we tried it, I couldn't believe the lift it gave the dish! Deeeeeelish.

Hearty, nourishing and delicious...

Hope you make it - and hope you like it after this big build up I have given it, haha!!!! ;)