Amberley Craft Market

I decided about a month ago, to try having a stall at our local Craft Market.  I went down to have a look and to see what was already there.  I didn't want to bring in something that was already being done, aside from the potential for upset that doubleups can cause.

A wander around the market showed me quite a variety of  different crafts but little to no crochet.  I spoke to the lovely lady who organises it, found out what I needed to know and I've now had two outings.

It's nice to be able to spend my morning, sitting in the sun and knitting or crocheting without many other demands being made on me.  Any sales are a bonus.

My favourite response so far was when I was told that it was nice to see someone so young who could crochet!  I'm 41 - it's nice being told I'm not just young but *so* young. :)

Minion Beanies supervising the loading of the postage bag

After posting pics on facebook, I got two orders that kept me busy for the week.  One to go to the USA!

Field Mushrooms

Inspired (and somewhat motivated) by Anna Grace's recent blog post about her mighty haul of field mushrooms, I went looking.

I picked a rather motley handful.  Some were eaten straight away and some I fried and froze.  I kept thinking I should make the effort to go looking earlier in the morning, when they're first poking their heads up and before all the little mites and gnats and beasties have sampled them.

Then last night, we picked up a borrowed bull.  As I was driving him down to the paddock where my girls were impatiently waiting, I noticed some field mushrooms.  I stopped to pick some.  After introducing Munroe to my girls and convincing them all to go back into the paddock instead of running up and down the race, I walked back with Miss Eight considerably slower this time.  We made it back to the house with hands full of field mushrooms.

About a third of todays pickings

I had to work a little to convince her to leave some behind - I was trying to explain that you never take them all or they won't grow back.

Field Mushroom in the paddock

Hubby and Miss Eight had mushrooms with their steak last night and I was left with plenty to process this morning.  I'm allergic to mushrooms, so it's their thing.

This morning, while feeding the chooks, I spotted a rather large field mushroom poking it's head up beside the chook house.  So it was off into the paddocks with knife, bucket and dog I went.

While down the gully, I noticed quite a variety of interesting looking mushrooms and fungi.  For the sake of my own curiosity, I've spent a bit of time trying to identify some of them - and if some are edible then that's even better :)

Possibly a Shaggy Parasol Mushroom

Earthstar Mushrooms - inedible type of puffball

The Shaggy Parasol Mushrooms are edible (according to this Wikipedia entry), but can cause issues if eaten raw or uncooked.  Some people have severe allergic reactions to the cooked ones too.  They're also very similar to a toxic variety, although I can't find a reference to the toxic variety growing in New Zealand.  Mushroom Expert gives a very comprehensive identification guide.



The Inky Cap is a fascinating wee beastie.  The very young fresh mushrooms are edible, although they have a very short shelf life - as in hours - before they digest themselves and turn black.
Again, Wikipedia has a great entry on them.  This Youtube video - timelapse photography of one of these growing and then digesting itself - is just amazing.

Possibly a variety of Inky Cap Mushroom

Galerina toadstools - so tiny and delicate seeming

All up today and last night (well, what wasn't eaten last night), I've picked 1 kg of field mushrooms.

Now to save them.

Before I got my dehydrator, I looked into ways to preserve mushrooms.  We were given a boxful of button mushrooms several years ago and as Hubby was the only person in the house at the time who ate them, we needed to do something.

I found a very simple way to deal with them and it's one that Hubby and now Miss Eight adore.
Slice them up and fry them in butter - like you would if you were going to eat them straight away.  Let them cool, then bag them and freeze them in serving size amounts.  They take only a few minutes in the frypan to heat through and taste (so I'm told) just as good as if they were fresh.

Still unidentified, little yellow toadstools that I find frequently

Fruit Leather

I hate waste.  I hate having a tree full of fruit and doing absolutely nothing with it.

My nectarines were prolific this year, but Miss Eight showed no interest in eating them.  My Dad wolfed them down when he was over, but there were far too many even for him.  I still have several jars of bottled nectarines from last year and the year before.  I don't really see the point in doing stuff that doesn't get used.

I decided I'd make fruit leather this year.  I gave it a go last year when I bought the dehydrator and loved it.

For those who are unfamiliar with the name, think of those fruit rollups you can buy in the supermarket - only I know exactly what has gone into mine :)

To make Fruit Leather, you need to start with stewed fruit in syrup.  I stewed a couple of 10 litre stock pots full.  I think I did a bit too much in one go, but it worked out okay - I only had to throw out a small amount when it went off before I'd finished it.

Ladle the fruit and syrup into a food processor and blend until smooth.  Add honey and cinnamon to taste if wanted.

I lined my roasting dishes with baking paper - not cut, but folded up the sides.  Pour in puree to a depth of about 1cm and put in the oven at 100 deg Celsius.  Alternatively, you can use the flat ring tray thing that comes with the dehydrator and dry it in the dehydrator.


All the instructions and recipes I've found say that this will be dried in 2 - 4 hours.  Lies.  The quickest I got one finished was more like 8 or 10 hours, some took more than a day.  Perhaps I had too much syrup?  I don't know.

When it's ready, it's no longer tacky to the touch.  It peels away fairly easily from the paper (maybe with a little help around the very edges) and there are no mushy bits underneath.

I found it easier to peel it off the paper completely, before laying it back on it, rolling it up as tightly as I could and then cutting into strips for use (and easier storage).


I've also made some using Hawthorne berries, Rosehips and blackberries - great for cholesterol and boosting your immune system, not to mention tasting great.  However, I do recommend that if anyone makes this one - sieve out the stones from the berries before blending.