Homemade Bread and Book Update

As promised, here’s the recipe for my easy to make/bake and life-sustaining bread…

For this recipe you’ll need a heavy cast iron saucepan and lid. I use a Le Creuset one, but any cast iron one is good!

I use the cup method of measurement since my daughter Cara bought me some stainless steel measuring cups for my birthday

2 cups organic wholemeal flour…spelt flour makes for a lighter bread!

2 cups organic white flour

2 cups mixed pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, linseed and poppy seeds. You can choose your own mix to taste!

1 & 1/2 tsps dried yeast

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp herb salt…any one will do.

1 tsp fresh finely chopped herbs…Rosemary or Thyme is good!

Mix well together, then add 2 & 1/3 cups of tepid water.

Using a big spatula, mix well for a few minutes.

Now cover with cling film and set aside for 3-4 hours in your kitchen…room temperature is good enough!

Pre-heat your oven to 450F and put your pan with lid in to heat.

When hot, remove from oven, sprinkle a little flour into the bottom of the pan to prevent bread from sticking, pour in mixture, cover with lid and pop back in oven.

Bake for 30 mins.

Remove from oven, remove lid, then return to oven to bake for a further 15 mins.

Remove loaf from pan and leave to cool.

Book Update…

The proof returned from the printers today, so I am busy reading and re-reading…

I expect the cover through in the next day or two. At that point I will feel confident enough to allow purchase of advance copies, knowing that the book will be off the presses and delivered to me by a certain date. I’m delighted with what I am reading and seeing so far. I’m happy also that I chose to go with printers here in Ireland, although this makes the book more expensive…the alternatives are not in keeping with what Bealtaine Cottage represents, works for and most importantly, cares for.

I hope to be back on this site with good news before the end of the week!

Blessings to you XXX

Colette at Bealtaine Cottage

New Permaculture Orchard

Posted July 15, 2014

Filed under Bealtaine Cottage, Bees, biodiversity, Birds, Cats, Edible Gardens, Garden, hens, Herbs, Permaculture, Self-Sufficiency, Smallholding

Last year I planted a new orchard at Bealtaine Cottage.

To date there are thirty eight fruit trees planted across the three acres of land here.

This new orchard was planted on an area previously fenced off and used for hens over a period of years.

This is always a good start, as the land was prepared by the hens in terms of manuring and picking over.

Before the trees were planted I laid down a generous spread of seaweed and covered this with cardboard, to hold back the weeds for a year or so.

Over the morning I have been planting yet more layers into the orchard, mainly flowers and herbs to attract and feed the bees…my secret of abundant harvests; where would we be without the bees?

The next phase will include planting a bee-friendly hedge along the south edge of the area.

I planted Fuschia and Berberis, Dogwood and Rubus along the north edge.

As I cut back around the orchard, cuttings are dropped onto the ground around the trees and bushes as a mulch.
The planting continues as more and more flowers and herbs are brought from my small nursery area, a really important part of any permaculture garden or smallholding!

As with all my projects here at Bealtaine, I couldn’t resist using some Willow to effect, constructing a simple arbour that will eventually house a home-made bench, on which to sit and sup a cup of tea!
The plan of maximum planting has worked well all over the land here, building resilience as well as fertility into the land, as a forest does naturally.

The days have been warm and sunny, with the back door open all day long.

There is such a good balance of biodiversity here that flies don’t seem to be a bother…this can be a serious Irish complaint during the summer months!

I pulled the sofa chair over to the open door as I find the soft sounds of life in the gardens very soothing.

Sammy does too!

The idea of planting food trees is taking off here in the west of Ireland.

My local town of Drumshanbo has planted a Community Orchard near the entrance to the town…a great Transition Towns inspiration!

Post Midsummer Polytunnel Gardening at Bealtaine Cottage

Posted July 6, 2014

Filed under Abundance, compost, Country Living, Eco-Living, Edible Gardens, Food, Growing Food, Herbs, Permaculture, Self-Sufficiency, Smallholding, Summer

Second-phase food production is under way as from this week.

Midsummer has passed and many harvests are home or under-way.

This week has seen me clear the tunnel, spread lots of compost afresh on the beds and begin planting for the next phase of crops.

As I cleared the tunnel and collected masses of seeds and seed-heads, I was thinking about the crops I would plant.

Number one on my list is Kale; one of the great foods, especially in juicing.

Regular intake of Kale juice keeps health at a peak.

Soil is the most important aspect of good food.

The food takes up the essential minerals and goodness in the soil and turns these into health-giving good food.

This was a good time to prune the Peach Tree and remove about half of the Nectarines and feed the tree.

I left some of the herbs in place and moved the rest into pots and outside beds.

“The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.”
― Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture

“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”
― Masanobu Fukuoka, The One-Straw Revolution

“Organic is something we can all partake of and benefit from. When we demand organic, we are demanding poison-free food. We are demanding clean air. We are demanding pure, fresh water. We are demanding soil that is free to do its job and seeds that are free of toxins. We are demanding that our children be protected from harm. We all need to bite the bullet and do what needs to be done—buy organic whenever we can, insist on organic, fight for organic and work to make it the norm. We must make organic the conventional choice and not the exception available only to the rich and educated.”
― Maria Rodale, Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe

All the Poppy heads are now harvested, providing a massive amount of Poppy Seed…great in cooking and baking!

“Someday we shall look back on this dark era of agriculture and shake our heads. How could we have ever believed that it was a good idea to grow our food with poisons?”
― Jane Goodall, Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating

“All the human and animal manure which the world wastes, if returned to the land, instead of being thrown into the sea, would suffice to nourish the world.”
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

20 Day Juice Fast…Final Day!

Posted May 30, 2014

Filed under Bealtaine Cottage, Edible Gardens, Food, Gardening, Herbs, Inspiration, Organic Garden, Recipes, Thoughts, Uncategorized

Dropping 13lbs in 9 days has been one of the extraordinary benefits of the Juice Fast I have been on.

Deciding to embark on a total reboot of my system has been what I can only describe as “liberating!”

This is my first glass of juice of the day and has all the ingredients shown in the pics below…

Ginger, Cabbage, Cucumber, Orange and Lime…plus…

Carrot and Courgette…sometimes Beetroot, but not today! Plus…

Peppers and lots of herbs and greens from the garden…

Lemon Balm, Parsley, Rocket, Golden Oregano…

With lots of Mint!

Cleaning the machine straight away after use makes it an easy task…just rinse and leave to dry!

I checked myself out with the Doctor after a few days and all was well.

My energy levels are good, though the first three days were tough!

During this time I suffered headaches and tiredness, as my body came off the caffeine and wheat.

This disappeared after the initial three days and since then I have been feeling fabulous!

My tips for success:

Take time off work to start this as the first three days can be hard and you will want to sleep!

Keep busy…have books to read, walks to go on etc.,

This is a good time to de-junk your life…start with clearing out cupboards, wardrobes etc.

This is what I have kept busy with and the feeling of clearing space is wonderful!

Finally, I must add that I have never slept as well or as deeply, though keeping warm is essential, especially in the evenings!

Blessings XXX Colette

UPDATE… 2nd June, Day 12. Energy levels good. Skin clear. Eyes bright. Sleeping well. Total weight loss: 15lbs

UPDATE: 10th June, Day 20! On this final day I am so very happy that I took on this challenge!

It has been one of the best things I have ever done!

I’ve never felt this good and have lost a grand total of 20 lbs!

I shall continue from next week juice fasting 2 days out of every week until all my surplus lbs have gone.

I am now a totally committed Vegan!

A New Leaf

Posted May 27, 2014

Filed under Bealtaine Cottage, Edible Gardens, Food, Garden, Herbs, Inspiration, Permaculture

(As I am beginning a Juice Fast today, I thought I’d re-post this from last year. I can heartily recommend Juice-Fasting as a way of restoring good health all round…it works for me!)

Fresh herbs and micro-greens from the garden are ready to be juiced.

As a way of recuperating from recent loss and feeling very low, I made the decision to start a twenty day Juice Fast.

Starting out last Thursday, I have reached the fifth day and am feeling very good.

Juice fasting helps to balance pH and blood sugar levels.

It also strengthens the immune system.

The light around the cottage this evening was ethereal, as the sunset glowed in the western sky.

For over half an hour, the setting sun created magical light that lifted the spirit.

It was like a rainbow had enveloped the cottage and gardens!

The red perlagoniums have turned a vivid orange in the sunset light.

Sunset orange on peach woodwork in the porch.

And through the window hang the roses, heavy, on the veranda

Light and dark interact…

This last burst of light illuminates the trees before dusk, here, this evening, in the west of Ireland.

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I have two websites… Bealtaine Cottage and Bealtaine Cottage Good Life.

This site, Bealtaine Cottage, is free and has over 850 blogs, as well as over 3,500 photographs.

Bealtaine Cottage Good Life costs 12 euros per year and allows me a small income, to keep doing what I love doing most…writing about Mother Earth and photographing her.

Making this small donation adds your name to the subscriber list.

You will then have access to the website and full blog as published twice each week.

This amounts to 104 publications per year, at a cost of 12 cents each!

Click on button below to join the website…

The Best Medicine!

Posted February 24, 2014

Filed under Cats, Cottage, Edible Gardens, Food, Garden, Growing Food, Herbs, Inspiration, Organic Garden, Permaculture, polytunnel gardening, Vegetarian

Lists are great things to spend time on.

Despite the wet weather, I’ve been busy making a comprehensive list of what to grow …and the reasons why I should.

The ability to store food is at the forefront of my thinking.

I’ve discovered this year that Beetroot stores very well indeed.

Not just that it stores well, but is a first class root vegetable in the making of healthy juice.

This is one taken from a box in the pantry and cut open to be juiced.

Last year was the first year that I grew this wonderful root vegetable and was surprised at how easy it was to grow! The tunnel is now ready to sow.

Most of the seeds will go into the polystyrene fish boxes I used last year.

I simply scattered the seeds into the filled boxes and pricked out the seedlings as they came on…the healthiest were those from boxes where the seed was all mixed in together and in no particular order!

Swiss Chard in the tunnel today…Ruby Chard

Greens are next on my list…and again, in no particular order, just greens!

Dark Ruby Chard has over-wintered well in the tunnel

As a vegetarian who tries to avoid dairy, greens are an important part of my diet.

Mixed greens picked in the gardens and tunnel today

I add greens to my juice every day to stay fit and healthy.

Parsley,Fennel,Chard and Broccoli leaves all go into a healthy juice.

I have lived at Bealtaine Cottage for almost ten years and have only needed to visit my doctor once.

The best medicine…fresh juice made from home-grown produce! A healthy alternative to big pharma drugs!

During this time I have not suffered a cold or infection and never stayed a day in bed…something I must treat myself to at some point!

Fresh straw was laid on the paths between the beds.

All the Herb beds were cut back and the paths in-between covered with straw…

to keep the weeds down.

Sometimes we do not even need to sow or plant, as foraging for wild food can produce excellent results.

When I lived in London there were many places that bordered on wilderness and produced masses of food.

There’s a growing movement to get local and municipal councils to plant fruit and nut trees in public parks and highways.

Resilience has it’s foundations in food security and is an aspect of life we need to take more seriously, but, more importantly, see that it not only gets onto the political agenda, but stays at the top of all planning!

If you wish you can subscribe to the latest website from Bealtaine Cottage…”Bealtaine Cottage Good Life”…simply make a donation of 12 euros for a full year and access the long list of blogs now on site. Quote: “Bealtaine Cottage Good Life” with your donation.

(Please note that this small donation sustains the work on this website, Bealtaine Cottage YouTube, Bealtaine Cottage Podcast and Bealtaine Cottage Magical Gardens FaceBook.)

Know Your Seeds

Posted February 19, 2014

Filed under Bealtaine Cottage, Bees, biodiversity, Earth, Food, Garden, Gardens, GM Food, Growing Food, Herbs, Inspiration, Monsanto, Organic Garden, Permaculture, Seed-Saving, Seeds, Sustainable Living

There are basically four different kinds of seed you can purchase.

Open Pollinated Seed.
This is the most natural seed, simply because it has not been interfered with in any laboratory.
This seed is pollinated by Nature…bees, insects and wind. Occasionally by us too as we brush up against flowers and accidentally get pollen on our clothes, carrying it to another flower and so on. Sometimes we help Mother Nature a little by gently brushing the pollen from one flower to another. It’s all good! These seeds are what are commonly referred to more and more as “Organic” on the packaging. Organic seeds are fast becoming more difficult to obtain in Garden Shops etc. This is because the big seed companies are busy buying up the small seed companies, leaving the consumer with less and less choice!
High Yielding Seed. These look attractive in the packet, with lots of blurb attached to get you to buy, but, these seeds thrive on chemicals and are sort of married to chemicals too! Definitely not organic and in many cases a danger to bees and insects.
Hybrids. These are actually designed not to be saved!
G.E. Seed. Otherwise known as GM, GMO and all about genetic engineering Nature and patenting the result. These seeds are injected with chemicals and then patented by corporations such as Monsanto. Monsanto declares to be above God Almighty, by stating, and being supported by US Law, that it created the seed!

This is merely a guide for you to build on.

Find out all you can about seed, for it is your future and that of your children.

Vandana Shiva: The seed in its essence is all of the past evolution of the Earth, the evolution of human history, and the potential for future evolution. The seed is the embodiment of culture because culture shaped the seed with careful selection—women picked the best, diversified. So from one grass you get 200,000 rices.

That is a convergence of human intelligence and nature’s intelligence. It is the ultimate expression of life, and in our language, it means “that from which life arises on its own, forever and ever and ever.”

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Here at Bealtaine Cottage in the West of Ireland I save seed…grown under Permaculture conditions which seek to protect both the integrity of the seed and the environment!

Open pollinated seed is available from Bealtaine Cottage.

Click on the link below to see the current list of seed.

https://bealtainecottage.com/seeds-for-sale/

Permaculture Gardens

Posted February 15, 2014

Filed under Animals, Badgers, Birds, Cottage, Dogs, Edible Gardens, Garden, Growing Food, Herbs, Ireland, Organic Garden, Permaculture, Seeds, Spring, Sustainable Living, Woodland

The growing season has begun, with Rhubarb sending forth strong pink stems despite the storms of recent weeks.

Meanwhile, down in the Fairy Wood, ferns have kept their green in the shelter of the dell. Mosses grow bright in the sunlight and ivy twists and twirls around the Goat Willow.

Lots of Goat Willow has been coppiced over recent months, and although it takes a year or so to season, it makes excellent logs for the stove, giving out masses of heat for free!

Further down the gardens, Pine, laurel and Great Western Cedar all grow happily together and appear healthy in the spring sunshine.

Daffodils are on their way to opening under the shelter of the Beech hedge. This is down beside the pond by the driveway.

And as I turn around from the Daffodils, the Ivy that hangs from some of the mature Goat Willow, swings about in the wind and sunshine…this is turning into a lovely walk around the gardens!

I amble around the lower pond, snapping as I go…Jack moves ahead of me, tugging on his lead for he has picked up the scent of a fox or badger!

I put my camera away and let Jack pull me along, hot on the scent of other life…we finally stop as we come up to the east side of the cottage.

We move around towards the polytunnel and one of the orchards. Pyracantha and Cotoneaster are now devoid of berries. This can be a hungry time for the birds as they mate and nest…there is a big bag of Oats I can scatter around in handfuls for the hungry birds and will do this later.

Back to the cottage and the shelter of the veranda…it’s very stormy, despite the sunshine!

With a full moon over Bealtaine Cottage tonight and a hard frost to come, the evening will be cold for sure.

The coppicing continues and the woodpile grows…

Fennel is beginning to send forth lots of new growth in the shelter of the veranda and the back of the cottage. These new shoots are delicious added to salad!

And just across from the Fennel…

And a reminder for anyone wanting 100% Bealtaine seeds from Bealtaine Cottage…there is a link at the top of this page where you can choose what you want.