Winter in the outback

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Last time I called in to this space I was talking about my apricot jam recipe. Now my apricot tree is completely bare and it is cold out there in the garden. As always, I am wishing I had made more jam back in the warmer months. And more passata. Next summer.

My friend Amanda from Home Farm Cabin recently gave me some gentle encouragement to revisit my blog. And then my friend Reannon recently revived her blog, The Back Fence and I enjoyed reading her thoughts and commenting so I thought I would follow her lead.

How are you? Are you coping in these unpredictable COVID times? We are lucky not to be in actual lockdown but we are keeping a low profile as we continue to hear of cases getting closer to us. Mask wearing has become common place in Broken Hill which is something I would never have imagined we would see in our lifetime.

As farmers we are lucky to be able to carry on with our work without too much interruption.  I am able to carry on with my work for Graziher using email, Dropbox and Telstra carrier pigeon.  Have you seen the winter issue I wonder?  I contributed a recipe for my favourite quince cake and I am so happy to see my story sit beside so many other warm, wintery stories and photos.  

While we can’t plan holidays or much else I have found myself focusing on things closer to home.  Like delicious fresh citrus.  At the moment I feel lucky to have mandarins, lemons, limes, oranges and blood oranges on my bench.   Winter just feels better with citrus.

If we did have the option of a holiday at the moment Tasmania would be high on my list.  Whenever I see this beautiful house, Cliff Top on Park, pop up on Instagram I plan a virtual beach escape in my head.

Artwork is something I haven’t really purchased a lot of in the past. There always seems to be more practical things to pay for and I need to feel a real connection before taking that financial plunge. I have been admiring the gorgeous work of Roslyn Mary for a little while and I may have made a purchase. As Ros and I communicated and organised things we had some great email chats and even found some common local connections. That really is the best part of supporting artists, makers and creative friends.

Thankfully, we have not had to go back to home learning with our children but I have recently completed an online Editing Basics course with Chantel Renae Photography.  I feel as if I could spend the rest of my life fine tuning my photography but this course has given me more confidence with my editing.  It has also prompted me to start shooting RAW images and now I am wishing I had made the switch sooner.  If you want to fine tune or get started with photography Chantel is very generous with her vast knowledge.

Podcasts continue to keep me motivated and moving and these are some of my favourites at the moment:

Life on the Land for stories about adventurous, interesting women with a strong connection to the land.

Company for conversations with ambitious women from the country, city and all over the world.

Pod Save The Queen for a weekly update on all Royal news, if like me, you are that way inclined.

Bludging on the Blindside for Roy and HG’s unique way of looking at the world through sport.

Blueprint for Living for design, architecture, food, travel and fashion. 

I will leave you with an easy orange cake recipe, perfect for lockdown baking. It is inspired by my old CWA cookbook.

If you are still reading, thank you for calling in. Take care x

Orange Cake
INGREDIENTS
  • 125 g butter
  • 220 g castor sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 225 g self-raising flour
  • grated zest of 1 orange or lemon
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper. Set aside.

  2. Melt the butter.

  3. Place the sugar, eggs, milk, orange juice, sifted flour and zest in a large mixing bowl. Add the melted butter.

  4. Using an electric mixer or by hand, mix well for several minutes until smooth and combined.

  5. Scrape mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

    Remove from the oven when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

  6. Ice with orange icing or top with orange syrup or candied peel. I simply dusted my cake generously with icing sugar and added some fresh mandarin segments.

August 13, 2021

30 Comments

  1. Reply

    Kate B

    July 23, 2021

    Full of beautiful Friday inspiration Jane! I’m glad you decided to call in here today x

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 23, 2021

      Thank you Kate! Have a lovely weekend x

  2. Reply

    Gerrie Mackey

    July 23, 2021

    Great to read your post again. Although I’ve lived in Canberra for many years I went to Uni in Bathurst and made many of my closest friends in the central west, so I love to keep up with them all through Graziher and your blog. Great photos too. Best wishes & happy cooking.

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 23, 2021

      Thank you for taking the time to call in Gerrie, lovely to hear from you.

  3. Reply

    Fran

    July 23, 2021

    Very glad to see you again. Amanda is right. I can’t remember whether you use the boiled fruit recipe for marmalade (boil fruit whole till soft,soak overnight, scrape out and discard pulp, slice skins and add sugar to skins and cooking water – best every flavour!) Snowing here near Oberon.

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 23, 2021

      Hi Fran, I have not used that recipe but it sounds delicious. Stay warm in beautiful Oberon. Thank you for calling in.

  4. Reply

    Francesca

    July 23, 2021

    A lovely post Jane. I admire your positive approach to life and as always, you bring us closer to life in the country. I know that feeling about blogging- there are so many other things that compete for our creative time. But it’s worth it. That seasonal shift from apricots and passata making to citrus gluts and orange cake is worth documenting.

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 23, 2021

      Thank you Francesca, lovely to hear from you. I am actually relieved that my post has gone out without any technical glitches. It feels really good to be back! Have a lovely weekend.

  5. Reply

    Alison

    July 23, 2021

    I have been wondering .. it is so lovely to hear from you. It has been challenging times, 103 days of lock down last year started to feel normal and when we were let out I felt a little like a chook who has been battery raised and now has a large garden to forage in. I lost my job and decided, at 59 to take on a career change, back to school I go. We had the storm event in June in the Dande Ranges and we were 3 weeks without power. Lucky I have an Esse and was able to keep the house warm and cook. Food I stored outside on a shelf because it was so cold. We had a small genie to run the internet because my son is doing VCE. Life is a curious event, but thank you for dropping back in, for the recipe and the wonderful photos.

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 23, 2021

      Thank you Alison. Take care, I hope you are warm and staying safe. Life is indeed a curious event.

  6. Reply

    Reannon

    July 23, 2021

    JANE!!! You’re back!! I actually had to read your blog name twice in my feed to make sure it’s really you. I’m so pleased you’ve come back, I miss you & your beautiful blog. And being able to see your gorgeous photos makes me wish I was more of a photographer too.
    Like you I feel lucky to not be in any kind of lockdown right now. We’ve had three so far this year, all sudden & swift, but I’m still on edge knowing it can all change in a heartbeat.
    Orange cake, or orange & poppy seed cake, is one of my favourites but nobody in my family likes it so I never get to make it. I’m starting to come around to un-iced cakes more & more. So simple but always moreish.
    Have a great weekend & I hope to see you back here soon xx

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 23, 2021

      Thanks Reannon! Your blog reminded me how much I actually miss this space! I like icing, but I always make a mess when I make it, so sometimes I just avoid it! Have a great weekend x

  7. Reply

    Amanda

    July 23, 2021

    Great to catch up on all your news, see your beautiful photos and find a new recipe to try over the weekend.
    It snowed again overnight and there’s the promise of more to come in the days ahead.
    A citrus cake is just what we need to lift our spirits!

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 23, 2021

      Thanks Amanda! Stay warm. Put plenty of zest in that cake if you happen to make it! x

  8. Reply

    Gafette

    July 23, 2021

    Hello!
    I’m so happy to read you again 😉
    I’m living in Belgium and your photo’s are a bite of paradise…
    So glad to come a little in your life with your blog..
    Take care of you !

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 23, 2021

      Thank you.

  9. Reply

    Anne

    July 23, 2021

    I’ve missed your posts Jane and hope this is a permanent revival. Your orange cake looks delicious – definitely one to bookmark.

    Covid continues to dominate life here and seems to be spreading everywhere. Like you, it doesn’t affect our work too much, though next door are in isolation as some of them have tested positive so we have our fingers crossed that it doesn’t spread over the fence. Anne x

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 24, 2021

      Thanks Anne, it feels really good to be back. I think I might commit to a semi-permanent revival! It really is scary isn’t it. It is out of control in Sydney which is quite worrying. Stay safe x

  10. Reply

    joanne

    July 24, 2021

    Great to see you have revived your blog.I really look forward to it and as I’m living on the other side of the world it reminds me of my roots in central NSW (Orange-Bathurst). I know that keeping up with a blog can feel lonely but it’s so nice for us readers/followers to find each new episode in our inbox. Thank you.

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 24, 2021

      Thank you so much Joanne. Lovely to hear for you!

  11. Reply

    Elise

    July 24, 2021

    Always a joy to read your posts Jane and I’ll be definitely giving that orange cake a try. Have a lovely weekend.

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 25, 2021

      Thank you for calling in Elise!

  12. Reply

    Clémence

    July 24, 2021

    Lovely to read you, far away from summery France! I love the light from your pictures, and im certainly keeping that recipe for some cosy baking in a few months…

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 25, 2021

      Thank you so much, always lovely to hear from you.

  13. Reply

    Kate M

    July 25, 2021

    Are people wearing the masks and doing all the right things? That’s a good thing. It’s been just awful to watch the unravelling of people here and there moves to disrupt and ultimately set us all back. My daughter, at Bourke, has said the masks are hit and miss but she watches the cases through our updates here in Greater Sydney and we all know it can change in a heartbeat.

    I’ll check out the photography course. I’ve been keen to do one, but don’t use any fancy editing tools: what you see is what you get and I’d like to learn more.

    Take care and continue to enjoy the day-to-day rituals. They ground you.

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 25, 2021

      Hi Kate, nice to hear from you as always. Considering how far we are from Sydney most people are very considerate and compliant which is good to see. I hope you are staying safe. Editing is handy, just to enhance things slightly, not change the entire feel of the photo. Also to straighten things up, in my case! It can be time consuming though. Thank you for calling in.

  14. Reply

    Isabel

    July 27, 2021

    Thank you for your beautiful post and orange cake recipe! My 2 year old son helped me bake it yesterday and I can confirm it is so simple to make and also very delicious. It made a perfect afternoon tea on a cold wet day in lockdown for us. Thank you!

    • Reply

      Jane S

      July 27, 2021

      Thank you Isabel. I am so pleased that the cake worked for you, cooking with children is great isn’t it? Take care.

  15. Reply

    Sam

    July 30, 2021

    Hi Jane! Lovely to see a post from you pop into my inbox and great to hear your news and see your beautiful photography. I’m glad you are keeping safe and well. I’ve neglected my blog for many months now – full-time work and a very busy family life leave little room for creativity, sadly – but it’s always a pleasure to read yours. Thank you for sharing your recipe – it sounds and looks delicious. Take good care of yourself xx

    • Reply

      Jane S

      August 2, 2021

      Hi Sam, thank you for taking the time to call in. I know, it is hard to fit in creativity isn’t it? I just love your Instagram photos too, those sea views from your garden look like a postcard, as I always say! Take care x

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