Homespun Blankets

My sheep have mostly come from Texel stock.  Texel wool is not as fine and soft as most wool breeds, in fact, Texels are mostly considered a meat breed and their wool is not valued.

I refuse to let this mean that a large portion of the wool from my sheep is no good for anything.  I'm stubborn like that.  I had made socks from my homespun wool, they were stiff and a little scratchy, so I wasn't going to even think about knitting a jersey from it.  Although, I have learned that using bigger needles makes them less stiff and I have knitted jerseys from some of the softer, finer wool.  I started thinking about what I could make with all of this wool that wouldn't necessarily be next to the skin.

I found tutorials online for Corner to Corner (often abbreviated to C2C) crochet.  They sit nice and flat, much better than a Granny Square blanket.  The edges stay straight and even, much better than any other type of crochet I've ever tried.  They work up easily and can safely be stopped and put aside in the middle of a row as they don't require any/much counting.

I noticed, rewatching the tutorial that I've linked to, I do them slightly differently.  I use trebles rather than doubles, but I start with the same chain of six and use the same chain of three when I start a new cluster.

I made a blanket or bedspread for my bed.  We have a King Size bed.  I tried to work it out as approximately 3m sq to allow for the blanket to hang over the sides and foot, but this has come out somewhat bigger than that.

It was a wonderful thing to work on over winter.  Especially once I reached a point that it could cover my feet.  The down side was it was huge and heavy and turning it over to do the next row required standing up and juggling several balls of wool and often, shifting the cats who loved it too.

Those are my feet underneath - I had the foot rest up on the lazyboy.

It's a great blanket on our bed in winter.  It's heavy and warm.  It's now the only blanket we add to our bed for the changing season.

Very quickly, my children wanted one each too.  I vowed and declared that I would NOT be doing another one all in one piece, so I made one in squares that I joined with separate stripes.

Queen sized bed.

Making this one, I learned just how much I really hate sewing pieces together and trying to match up the patterns between them.

So for the one I made for my son and daughter-in-law, I chose to compromise.  This was made in four full length panels.

This allowed for some fun reversing of direction up the middle, which they both loved.

I have also made a smaller blanket out of acrylic yarns for my Granddaughter, but I can't seem to find a good photo of it - I'll provide one when I can.

Next on the list is one for my oldest daughter and son-in-law and then another for the grandchild on the way.

Each one takes months to make. They weigh at least 5 kg and use approximately two whole fleeces each.

We love them.

Activism and Contempt

One of my friends is an Animal Rights Activist.  She's vegetarian but doesn't judge everyone else's diets.  She has a kind heart and beautiful soul. She has volunteered for various organisations that fight for animal rights.  Recently she shared a post by SAFE.

So I followed the link and read the information on SAFE's website.  I am still horrified by what I read.  Not because it highlighted cruelty.  Not even remotely.  Because it was packed full of lies, half-truths and easily discredited opinion.

I freely admit that I have issues with SAFE.  I have had conversations with their volunteers, conversations where I found their propoganda was filled with errors and lies.  At the time, I was working at an egg farm.  Part of my job included studying the animal welfare codes and legislation, dealing with MPI audits and ensuring that our farm was up to the standards and codes of practice required by law.

SAFE were campaigning against colony cages. Out of curiosity, I went to see what they were saying.  The volunteer told me that it was all a con.  Colony cages were bigger, but there would be more birds in them so they ended up with less individual space than battery cages.  I knew this to be false.  Battery cages required birds to have 0.5 sqm per bird, colony cages required birds to have 0.75 sqm per bird. This is monitored by MPI in two separate audits each year (if you have a high standard of compliance, more often if you don't), one of these audits is booked in advance and one is unannounced.  There is no opportunity to rearrange the birds or hide what you might have been doing.  Even if you could, where would you hide the thousands of birds you'd need to be shifting?

He talked about how the birds were pumped full of growth hormone.  I asked if he was sure, he said, "Oh, I mean meat birds, they're the ones full of growth hormones."  I told him that growth hormones had been illegal in poultry in NZ for over 30 years.  He looked stunned and didn't know what to say.  I couldn't decide if he was shocked that I knew enough to refute his propoganda or if he was shocked to learn that he'd been given false information.

We live in an age where information; correct, factual information is easily accessible.  Right from your comfy chair in your living room, you have access to the details of political campaign promises from two and six years ago.  You have access to the documents submitted to the Government by the independent organisations who oversee animal welfare.  This includes their recommendations and reasoning.  You have access to the reports and recommendations from national Veterinary associations.  Less than five minutes searching on Google and you can have all of those documents right in front of you.

So why aren't we fact-checking?

These documents are not written in difficult to understand jargon.  It's not as though they're beyond the reading comprehension of the average person. They're in plain English.  They're accessible.

We have people getting up in arms and angry about the abuses they're reading about.  Which is understandable.  People are getting wound up about the broken promises and ignored recommendations from Vets and welfare bodies.  That's also understandable and commendable even.

But when all that anger is directed at lies, what should happen then?

How does an organisation like SAFE get away with lying to everyone?  How much contempt must they have for their own volunteers and the general public to assume (albeit correctly it would seem) that they're just going to believe whatever they're told if there's enough outrage attached.

Below is the story according to SAFE:

Now let's break that down shall we.

Mother pigs are confined for over three months each year. They are confined in mating stalls for up to seven days during early pregnancy. They are confined again in farrowing crates for up to five weeks, just before they give birth until their babies are weaned. 

This is a mix of lies and implications and half-truths.

A dry sow or gilt can be confined in a mating stall for up to seven days.  This will not be during early pregnancy.  This is for mating, (you know, how they become pregnant - if they're already pregnant, mating wouldn't happen) when they're in season to prevent fighting between sows.  A mating stall must (by law) be big enough for them to get up, lie down, turn around and have separate space for toileting, eating and drinking.   Artificial insemination is also the most common method for breeding in NZ which would make most of this week unnecessary and therefore unused.  

They can go into a farrowing crate a maximum of five days before farrowing until a maximum of four weeks after.  So while up to five weeks is accurate, the bold first line implies that five weeks is standard, not the maximum.  Most keep their sows in the crates for no more than ten days after farrowing, making it two weeks rather than five.  The exceptions are when there are health issues or fostering of piglets that requires human intervention, for the safety of all concerned.

The first line says "Mother pigs are confined for over three months each year." Normally, they only have two litters each year. This makes it a maximum of 12 weeks a year (which is just short of 3 months) that they can be confined, not that they are confined.

So let's fix that and make it more honest and truthful.

Mother pigs can be confined for up to three months each year. The aggressive ones might be confined in mating stalls for up to seven days to mate. They might be confined again in farrowing crates for up to five weeks, just before they give birth until their babies are weaned. 

Next bit:

They can’t take more than a step backwards or forwards, and can’t turn around. Expressing natural behaviours like nest building, foraging, or interacting with their piglets and other pigs are impossible. 


This implies that the mating stall is the same size as a farrowing crate, which isn't true, as stated above.

The minimum standards in the Code of Welfare practices states that at no time should the sow be able to touch both sides, or both ends simultaneously.  She must be able to stand and lie down comfortably at full length without leg restriction.

"Expressing natural behaviours" is a misleading phrase. From the Pork Industry Submission to the Primary Production Select Committee:

Animal behaviour is an important component and valuable indicator that contributes to an integrated assessment of animal welfare status. In the current pig welfare code, Minimum Standard No. 9(a) requires that pigs be managed in a manner that provides sufficient opportunities to express and satisfy their normal behaviours (NAWAC, 2010). These include, but are not limited to, feeding, drinking, sleeping, excreting, vocalising, thermoregulation, and social behaviours. 

Conversely, natural behaviour describes most elements of species-specific normal behaviour, but is performed in the context of natural conditions (e.g. allogrooming, pacing a territory, fleeing a predator). Natural behaviour is performed because it is pleasurable and promotes biological functioning in a wild or natural setting in the environment of evolutionary adaptation (i.e., the environment in which the animal evolved) (Bracke and Hopster, 2006). However, natural behaviour is never fully hard-wired; and always includes an element of plasticity or flexibility depending on the context and situation (Spinka, 2006). It follows that behaviour which is natural in one situation, or towards one object, may be unnatural in other situations or towards another object (Spinka, 2006). The assumption is often that animals living in a wild or natural state are all in good condition and experience good welfare (Volpato et al., 2009). Thus, the implication is that animals that can perform natural behaviour are therefore in a good state of welfare, which may not be the case. The issue of accommodating an animal’s normal behaviour is often raised in the context of achieving positive welfare outcomes. As acknowledged in the Animal Welfare (Pigs) Code of Welfare, some normal behavioural traits of pigs (such as dominance-related aggression and fighting in social groups, and feed-related aggression) need to be managed carefully in order to minimise or prevent negative consequences for welfare (NAWAC, 2010). Furthermore, and perhaps most significantly, what is considered normal behaviour of domesticated livestock is the result of their adaptation to an agricultural environment, including regular interactions with humans (Segerdahl, 2007). The behaviour of domesticated livestock, as observed in farm housing systems, may vary in many ways from the behaviour of the same species in a natural environment. However, it is not reasonable to assume that these differences in behaviour equate to poor animal welfare (Wechsler, 2007). Thus, natural behaviours of wild boar may not always be considered normal for domesticated pigs, and we need to meet the needs of domesticated farm animals that have evolved in the presence of humans, not those in the wild.

For the tl;dr folks, this is pointing out that natural behaviours are not the same as normal behaviours.  What is natural to wild pigs is not necessarily natural to domesticated pigs and it is not reasonable to assume that the difference results in poor animal welfare.  Positive traits in the wild (specifically dominance-related aggression and feed-related aggression) are not positive traits for the welfare of domestic pigs.

The Code of Welfare states that sows in all farrowing systems must have manipulable material before farrowing - that is straw most commonly and it is there to allow the sow to build a nest.  

They have free access to food at all times, removing the need to forage.  They only forage when they're hungry and don't have food freely available.  

The piglets come and go freely.  In the first few weeks, piglets nurse hourly and sleep a lot.  Normal interaction with their mother consists of feeding and sleeping it off.  That is completely available in a farrowing crate.  The sows are also exhausted by the demands of their piglets and spend most of their time eating, feeding their piglets and sleeping.

Interactions with other pigs isn't normal or natural behaviour until the piglets are weaned.  This being impossible is not a problem for sows.

So shall we fix this one too?

While they are confined, they must still have enough space to stand and lie comfortably at full length without leg restriction. Expressing natural behaviours like nest building is possible and provided for, foraging is unnecessary as there is plenty of food provided, interacting with their piglets happens just like normal and interacting with other pigs isn't normal or natural behaviour after farrowing. 

Next paragraph.

Pigs are intelligent, sensitive animals that show obvious signs of distress, their heart rate becomes elevated and they may bite the bars of the crates. 

This is vague opinion and an appeal to emotion.  It implies that you would have to be heartless to approve of this.  This is like all those facebook guilt trip posts that tell you only people with a heart will like and share. 

Next paragraph.

The Government’s own advisors, the National Animal Welfare Committee (NAWAC) had previously advised the Government that farrowing crates do not meet the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act. Both the Labour Party and the Green Party committed to banning farrowing crates prior to the election. More than 112,000 caring Kiwis like you signed a petition and told the Government that they want farrowing crates banned. 

From the Code of Welfare:

Note: Before the Animal Welfare Act was amended in 2015, Section 73(3) of the Animal Welfare Act 1999 provided that the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) may, in exceptional circumstances, recommend minimum standards that do not fully meet the obligations to ensure that the physical, health and behavioural needs of the animal are met. In making this recommendation NAWAC must have regard to, among other things, the feasibility and practicality of effecting a transition from current practices and any adverse effects that may result from such a transition, and the economic effects of any transition from current practices to new practices.

NAWAC considers that the confining of sows in farrowing crates for extended periods does not fully meet the obligations of the Act. Minimum Standards 10 (e) and (f) restrict the time sows are confined in farrowing crates to a maximum of five weeks in any reproductive cycle.

Simplified, before 2015 NAWAC could recommend minimum standards that didn't quite meet their obligations but only in special circumstances.  For the amendment to the Act to be mentioned means that this loophole was closed, that they can no longer recommend minimum standards that don't meet those Welfare obligations.  I believe that the second paragraph explains how the standards now do meet those obligations. 

This statement now becomes kind of half true, although SAFEs statement is missing the words "for extended periods" which makes it misleading at best.

Both the Labour Party and the Green Party committed to banning farrowing crates prior to the election.

Now, I can find the Green Party's manifesto online easily enough including where they say they want to "reduce confinement of sows in farrowing crates".  This is not the same thing as "committed to banning farrowing crates". However, I cannot find any sign of the Labour Party having any position whatsoever.  In fact, all my google searches only showed up instances of SAFE claiming that Labour had made this promise and should be held to it.

More than 112,000 caring Kiwis like you signed a petition and told the Government that they want farrowing crates banned. 

"More than 112,000 caring Kiwis" gosh, that sounds somewhat impressive doesn't it?  In a population of over 4 million this is maybe 2.5% of people in New Zealand.  Not quite so impressive now is it?  It is also not the 75% claimed in the article I linked to above.  "Caring Kiwis like you" is another appeal to emotion, another guilt trip and more attempts at manipulation.

Shall we fix this one too?

The Government’s own advisors, the National Animal Welfare Committee (NAWAC) had previously advised the Government that the use of farrowing crates for extended periods do not meet the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act. This has now changed. The Green Party committed to reducing confinement in farrowing crates prior to the election. SAFE claims that Labour also promised to have them banned but this can't be verified anywhere.  Approximately 2.5% of the population, caring Kiwis like you signed a petition and told the Government that they want farrowing crates banned. 

Next paragraph.

But your voices have been ignored - because the Government continues to allow the unlawful confinement of mother pigs in farrowing crates and mating stalls. 

Oh dear, how sad.  That tiny percent of the population should be the only voice that is listened to?  This is more emotional manipulation.  The big bad Government doesn't care about you, it's not listening to you and you are really important.  You are the only ones who care.  Do you see how you're being played?

As is shown in the Code of Welfare, there is nothing unlawful about the use of farrowing crates or mating stalls.

But your voices have been ignored - because the Government continues to follow the advice from the industry experts and independent advisors and allows the lawful confinement of mother pigs in farrowing crates and mating stalls. 

Next paragraph.

The Government has failed to protect mother pigs and continues to put the interests of profits for farmers above the well-being of mother pigs. It’s not right and it contradicts the Animal Welfare Act. 

The Government has not failed to protect mother pigs at all.  The health and welfare of mother pigs must be balanced with the health and welfare of her piglets.  NAWAC, the New Zealand Veterinary Association and the Pork Industry all agree that while this system isn't ideal, it is the most suitable one available that best meets the needs of sows, piglets and farmers.

Profits and well-being go together.  It costs farmers to be neglectful or cruel to their animals.  Stressed animals fail to thrive - which means they don't gain weight or breed easily and therefore don't make a profit - or they die.  It has always been more profitable to ensure that your animals are well cared for.  Don't fall for the hype.

As has been shown above, the Animal Welfare Act is not being contradicted at all.

So let's fix this paragraph.

The Government has balanced the health and welfare of mother pigs with the health and welfare of their piglets. It’s the best we currently have for all concerned and is completely in line with the Animal Welfare Act.

And the last part.

Because of their failure to act, mother pigs are suffering every day. 

We need your help to ensure justice for mother pigs.

It’s time your voices are heard.

These are more appeals to emotion and to believe the lies stated above.  

The Government has no need to act, because the current laws and practices are the best thing for all concerned.  Sows, piglets and farmers.  There is no justice required.  Your voices refers to the fraction of a fraction of the populace who have signed the petition and it's ridiculous and arrogant to think you should be the only voices that matter.

Because of their failure to be moved by misleading propoganda, mother pigs and their piglets are thriving and mortality rates are low. 
We need your help to interfere with things we don't really understand.

It’s time your voices are heard.

Shall we put it all back together again?

Mother pigs can be confined for up to three months each year. The aggressive ones might be confined in mating stalls for up to seven days to mate. They might be confined again in farrowing crates for up to five weeks, just before they give birth until their babies are weaned. 

While they are confined, they must still have enough space to stand and lie comfortably at full length without leg restriction. Expressing natural behaviours like nest building is possible and provided for, foraging is unnecessary as there is plenty of food provided, interacting with their piglets happens just like normal and interacting with other pigs isn't normal or natural behaviour after farrowing. 

Pigs are intelligent, sensitive animals that show obvious signs of distress, their heart rate becomes elevated and they may bite the bars of the crates. 

The Government’s own advisors, the National Animal Welfare Committee (NAWAC) had previously advised the Government that the use of farrowing crates for extended periods do not meet the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act. This has now changed. The Green Party committed to reducing confinement in farrowing crates prior to the election. SAFE claims that Labour also promised to have them banned but this can't be verified anywhere.  Approximately 2.5% of the population caring Kiwis like you signed a petition and told the Government that they want farrowing crates banned. 

But your voices have been ignored - because the Government continues to follow the advice from the industry experts and independent advisors and allows the lawful confinement of mother pigs in farrowing crates and mating stalls. 

The Government has balanced the health and welfare of mother pigs with the health and welfare of their piglets. It’s the best we currently have for all concerned and is completely in line with the Animal Welfare Act.

Because of their failure to be moved by misleading propoganda, mother pigs and their piglets are thriving and mortality rates are low. 
We need your help to interfere with things we don't really understand.

It’s time your voices are heard.

This makes it a very different story.

So my questions are:

Did someone from SAFE read the information freely available online and misunderstand it or did they knowingly choose to misrepresent it?

Do they assume that their volunteers and the general public whose opinions they're trying to sway are stupid and gullible enough to just swallow this without checking for themselves?

Do they really expect that 2.5% of the population should be heard over the remaining 97.5%?  Especially when in the 97.5% there are people who actually know what they're talking about?

Is there a hidden agenda buried in all of this contempt and misleading information? 

Why aren't we checking for ourselves?  This is the information age after all, are we too lazy, too afraid we won't understand or too gullible?

I'm sure SAFE was created with noble intentions.  Well, to be fair, I'm not sure, but my Pollyanna side wants to believe that most people are good and honourable.  I'm sure that at some point, they've done good works, even if I haven't seen it.  However, when you are campaigning on easily discredited misinformation and emotion, it makes you easy to ignore.  You clearly don't have enough of a clue to be taken seriously and as an organisation you become a joke to the rest of the populace. 

Main Sources:

NAWAC - this website provides links to documents detailing full codes of welfare, best practices and the reviews of current and previous codes.  All documents are pdfs which need to be downloaded.  I recommend reading the Review of the use of farrowing crates for pigs in NZ. 

SAFE - this is the page regarding the proposed legal challenge to current laws around the use of farrowing crates.  The main body of text is what I have used above.

The New Zealand Veterinary Association - This page explains what is meant by much of their terminology and their guidelines regarding the use of farrowing crates.

NZPork's Submission to the Primary Production Select Committee - This is a well researched document with plenty of references to studies on both sides of the fence.

I have also had conversations with two large pig farmers, one who no longer breeds pigs, but is internationally recognised as an Industry Expert and the other who for personal reasons, no longer has a pig farm.  I cannot quote them directly, name them or cite their references as I have not asked their permission and these conversations have been occasional ones over several years.  Mostly when I have asked for advice regarding issues with my own pigs.  I am grateful to them for their knowledge and expertise and how much it has helped my own understanding of raising pigs.

New Pigs

We had been pigless for a while.  While I enjoyed having kunekunes, I was over the time it took for them to grow to an edible size and I missed having crackling on a roast pork.

We kept talking about getting pigs again, but never quite seemed to get around to it.

A friend advertised her piglets for sale, they were eight weeks old and very reasonably priced, so we decided to get two of them.  Captain Cookers crossed with Large Whites.  They were both white pigs, one slightly bigger than the other.  Miss 12 named them Sour Cream and Onion after characters from Steven Universe.

The pig pen needed some work so while that was happening, they went into the calf pen in the milking shed.  Of course this created dramas for us.  It wouldn't be our place if there were no dramas.

Sour Cream and Onion in the calf pen.

The two fat little piglets made some odd noises and smelled funny.  Brownie didn't want to come into the shed for milking.  It took me over an hour of coaxing to get her into the shed and I had to spend the entire time with a hand on her hip talking gently to her to keep her in there while the milking machine was running.  As soon as I turned it off, she was out of there so fast she nearly trampled me.

Nope.  Smells funny.

This went on for a couple of weeks before she became used to them enough to be okay with milking.

The pig pen was sorted by this time.  We included the vege garden temporarily with the intention of having them clean it up from last year, dig it over and fertilise it while they were at it.

So, we tried to move them to the new pen.

Every other pig I have ever had would follow me into the fiery depths of Hell if I was waving a bucket of feed at them.  Not these two.  With three of us herding, guiding and chasing them, we couldn't get them to go anywhere near the pig pen.  After several hours, we gave up and with another half hour of swearing and threatening to turn them into bacon then and there, we got them back into the calf pen in the milking shed.  Once they were near the lane, they quite happily trotted into their pen.

They really were too big for the pen, they destroyed everything I put in there for water for them - that includes chewing large plastic storage bins into small pieces.  They stunk, they ran from me as soon as I stepped in their pen and ran in panicky circles so I didn't want to upset them more by going in to clean out their poop.

I accidentally let them out one morning while feeding them, at first I thought they'd be easy to get back in from the lane.  Just like last time.  HA!  They were exploring, they were having fun, they were slippery smart little buggers who found their way into Brownie's paddock and loved running around.  I rang Hubby after an hour, to let him know I'd probably be late for work and why.  He wasn't at his phone so I left a voicemail.

I tried blocking off their escape routes, I used pallets, trestle tables, corrugated iron, spare farm gates and anything else I could lay my hands on.  I am still impressed by how small a gap a determined pig can get through.

After another hour I rang Hubby again, he'd been laughing at my voicemail and impressed by my ability to swear so profusely and descriptively without repeating myself.   I was exhausted and every muscle in my body was hurting.  I needed a shower and work started half an hour ago an hour's drive away.  There was nothing I was needed for urgently at work so we made the decision I wasn't going in.

I wasn't willing to leave them to run. If they got out onto the road, there was no telling where they could get to or the damage they could cause to neighbouring farms.  That's assuming they didn't get run over or shot.

In the end it took me six very long and frustrating hours to get them back into their pen. 

We tried building small caged carts to move them.  That was an epic failure.  The second variation was so bad, that they ripped it apart and escaped again.  This time there were three of us (and an unimpressed housecow) there to try and round them up.  It worked no better with three of us than it did with just me on my own.  Hubby's language outstripped mine in a much shorter time frame.

After an hour, we limped inside and had dinner.  I left the lights on in the milking shed, the gate to their pen open and left some fresh feed in there.  After dinner, I went out to have a look.  They'd trotted in, had a feed and snuggled up for bed.  All by themselves.

We discussed our options. 

We had a second pig house, very near the milking shed.  We hurriedly fenced it and drove the pigs in there.  They went easily.  They had room to run and play, they had a water trough that they would be hard pressed to destroy, they had soil to dig and grass to eat.  

Sour Cream and Onion in the new pen.

There were still piglets available from the same litter.  We decided to get another two and put them in the original pig run to turn over the vege garden.

We picked up the next two.  One white and one grey.  They were considerably smaller than Sour Cream and Onion, so shifting them from the trailer to their pen was as simple as picking them up by their hind legs and lifting them over the fence.  These two were named Salt and Vinegar.

I was warned by a professional pig farmer to keep them separate.  Even though they were all from the same litter, they'd been apart for about 6 weeks and they were all boars.  They would fight and it would probably be to the death.

I was able to keep them apart for maybe two weeks at the most.  Sour Cream and Onion kept jumping out of their pen.  I built it up higher.  They climbed out of that too.  I swear the only reason that humans are in charge of pigs and not the other way around is because of opposable thumbs.  I saw these knee high pigs go over four foot high fences - fences that keep my cows in but aren't high enough to contain determined pigs.

I was starting to imagine seven foot high concrete walls.  I was picturing myself climbing a ladder to tip their feed over and still not being confident that it would be high enough.

Then they made it into the pen with Salt and Vinegar.  They seemed to be getting along just fine.  There was a little rough and tumble, but that had been happening between Sour Cream and Onion anyway.  The hierarchy needed sorting.  I watched them for a few days and gave up.  It seemed there was a way to get them into the vege garden after all.

All four pigs together.

New Ice Cream Recipe with Variations

Finding myself with copious amounts of milk and eggs again, I decided to have some fun making ice cream.

Previously, I'd made French Vanilla Ice Cream but this time, I wanted to venture out and try something a little different.  I asked my family what were their favourite flavours and resolved to have a go at each of them.

I found a recipe for Chocolate Ice Cream online and gave it a go.  I didn't have enough chocolate so I added two heaped dessertspoons of hot chocolate powder.  I also noticed that it used half the eggs compared to my previous recipe and still turned out lovely and tasty.

Miss 12 asked for a mint choc chip ice cream.  I didn't have mint essence so I went outside and picked a large bunch of mint from my garden.  I washed the mint and stripped the leaves from the stems.  Instead of scalding the milk, I heated it slowly with the mint.  Strained, I used the milk and followed the recipe like normal.

It tasted kind of minty with a distinct "herbal" flavour.  It wasn't unpleasant and Miss 12 has been eating it, it's just not quite the same as the bought ones.

I wanted a rum flavoured ice cream.  I like Rum and Raisin, although my last purchase was rather underwhelming.  I didn't have any raisins, but couldn't see why rum wouldn't work on it's own.
In my first batch, I added rum at the end.  It was delightful.  Since then though, I've been adding the rum with the milk before heating - it has the flavour but not the alcohol content.

I also made a coffee ice cream.  For this variation, I put 4 heaped dessertspoons of coffee in my plunger and filled it with hot milk.  It made the slow addition of hot milk to eggs much easier as I simply poured from the plunger.

It got stronger after it was frozen.  It's all mine.  My Preccciousssss.

Berry Ice Cream for my daughter-in-law was made by simmering frozen blackberries until soft and mushy, then forcing them through a sieve.  I froze this separately from the ice cream and then mixed them together later making a ripple effect.

Hubby and Dad tried to ban me from giving it to her.  They decided they really needed to eat it all.

Hokey Pokey Ice Cream for my Dad was fairly simple.  I found a recipe for Hokey Pokey (also known as Honeycomb by the Aussies) which I'd never tried making before.  Made the Hokey Pokey, broke it up into chunks and mixed it through French Vanilla.

My basic recipe has changed a little from the rather rich Creme Anglaise recipe.  My process has also changed a bit too.

Basic Ice Cream recipe

9 egg yolks
1 1/2 C sugar
1.5 litres milk

Scald the milk in a saucepan.
Beat the yolks and sugar together until pale.  Heat gently in a double boiler, adding milk very slowly and whisking constantly.  When thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, take it off the heat and allow to cool.

Pour into a shallow metal tray and freeflow in the freezer overnight. 
In the morning, cut into chunks and run through food processor until soft-serve ice cream consistency.  This may take several batches.
Pour into container, label and freeze.

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It hasn't worked.  I can make it blogger.co.uk but the instant I try to go to the page, it resets to blogger.com for me.

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Pickled Walnuts

A friend's prolific walnut tree got rather wind damaged recently.  The trunk split into four large branches about waist height, with strong winds from an unusual direction, three of those branches split off the trunk and were lying on the ground although still attached to the main trunk.

Fearful that the entire crop would be wasted, we were invited to pick some green walnuts if we wanted some.

Not sure what to do with green walnuts, we were a bit dubious.  Then we were told about pickled walnuts.  Why not give it a go?  So we picked a fair amount of the small ones.

Pickled Walnuts take about 2 weeks before they make it into the jar, then a further 4-12 weeks (depending on your recipe) before they're ready to eat.

I was given a recipe by the friend who suggested pickling the walnuts, then I found 2 very similar recipes in my books at home.

I've been told they have a strong flavour, so when it comes to eating them with crackers and cheese, make sure you choose a strong cheese or it will get lost or overpowered.  I still haven't tried it, but I figure that I have enough friends who will take it if we don't like it.

A few notes and lessons I learned the hard way:

My fingers were this dark for weeks.

Walnut juice will dye your hands black.  Wear rubber gloves.  Six weeks later I still have brown marks on my fingernails.

This is only partially shadow - mostly it is blackened fingertips dyed by walnut juice

Even when your pricking tool (of whatever type you choose) goes easily into the fruit, it can still be quite hard on your hands.  A wad of masking tape as a handle makes a huge difference.

The brine looks dreadful after a day.  It goes black and oily looking and smells awful.  This is normal and probably why the recipe has you change the brine every three days.

All the recipes I found specified malt vinegar.  As I am Coeliac, malt vinegar is not an option.  I used white vinegar, but haven't tried the walnuts out on folks who know and love them yet to see if it made a big difference.

Pickled Walnuts

Prick the green walnuts all over.  Push your darning needle or pick tool at least into the middle of the fruit - discard any that are hard to prick.

Cover the fruit in brine and leave for 3 days.  Drain and cover again in brine for another 3 or 4 days.  Drain (again) and cover again in brine for another 3 or 4 days.

After brining

Drain.  Line a tray with newspaper and spread the walnuts out to dry in a warm place, turning occasionally for a few days  - or until black and dry.  A sunny windowsill is ideal for this.

Apologies for the blurry photo, but the colours should show.

Make the spiced vinegar:

2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
2 teaspoons whole cloves
1 teaspoon whole yellow mustard seeds
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
4 thin slices of fresh ginger
1.8 litres malt vinegar
450g light brown sugar

Lightly crush the spices with a mortar and pestle to bruise them slightly.  Put into spice bag or muslin with garlic and ginger.
Heat vinegar and sugar with spice bag in a large pan to dissolve the sugar.  Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer for about 15 mins.  Allow to cool before removing the spices.

Pack the walnuts into dry sterilised jars, cover with the vinegar and seal.  Store for 8 to 12 weeks before using.

UPDATE (21 Feb 2019)

These walnuts are awful.  They're hard and kind of woody and you can taste the vinegar but not the spices.

I read a piece from a company in England that has been making them for about 100 years, they steam theirs before brining and pickling.  I might try that next time.

Other things to do with Walnuts:

Apple and Walnut Crumble

Other Pickles:

Onion Jam

Chicks!

Last year, I wrote about all our disappointments with chicks and our eventual success.  This year, I'd been watching for hens to go broody.  My barred rocks started to sit and as they hatched two chicks last time, I was hopeful.

They'd been sitting for about a week when I went into my chook run and was shocked to see four tiny chicks running around.  It became quickly clear that their Mum was one of the shavers.  I hadn't even known one had been sitting, she must have had a hidden nest somewhere.  I was shocked as I'd always been told that shavers were hopeless breeders - they're too small to generate enough body heat and not sufficiently attentive to their chicks - but this girl just proved it all wrong or maybe she's the exception.

Shaver Mum with four day old chicks

The next day, though, she only had two chicks with her.  We never found out what happened to the other two.

Two weeks later, while I was looking in some of the usual odd spots for eggs, I found one of my leghorns sitting on a nest.  I hadn't noticed she'd gone and was also surprised to see her broody.  I bought two leghorn hens about four years ago and they'd never shown any sign of it previously.

The following week, I went to check on her again, in her little hidey hole and saw what looked like a dead chick half under her.  I wasn't sure and she was still sitting, glaring at me so I left it alone.

The next morning, I went out to see the chooks and she was by the gate with eight tiny freshly hatched chicks at her feet.  Eight!?!

Five out of eight chicks with Leghorn Mum

When I went back to see where she'd been sitting, all the remaining eggs were her own - they're bright white and distinctly different from the brown eggs I get from my shavers or the creamy whitish ones from all my other breeds.

The barred rocks were still sitting.

Each day when I go to feed them, I do another head count.  There are now 11 chicks.  Two bigger ones that are probably about 4 months old now - one dark (Miss 12 has named it Weka) and one white with a funky top-knot (I've named it Blondini), eight smaller white chicks with the odd black spots that are about 3 months old and one single chick from my other leghorn who is now about 2 months old.

Weka and Blondini - the two on the right.

Some of the white chicks getting a bit bigger

It's interesting to note that of all eleven chicks, only one (and it's one of the smaller ones) has a visible, noticeable comb so far.

Meanwhile, my barred rocks have given up.  I have a shaver and an austrolorp playing constant swapsies between two nests (both full of eggs).  I thought I heard a new chick peeping this morning but neither hen would move enough to prove it or show it off to us.

Hubby keeps asking how we'll know whether they're hens or roosters.  I keep telling him when they either start crowing or laying - until then it's pure guesswork.