Mischievous Pigs

Moving on from our first 4 pigs, we found the breed that we wanted, not too far away. Only a 2 hour drive one way - insert a rolleye emoticon here. That was last January.
The Tamworth got its name from the town in the English Midlands. They are a very old breed of pigs that  inhabited the British Isles, but also Ireland.  Over here they are called Irish grazers.
They are ginger ! They have a long-ish body, long-ish snout and prick ears.

The ones we got were again a cross breed. The advert said Duroc father and Tamworth mother. Arriving at the farm in county Cork, we got shown around at made our acquaintance with the parents.
We own a book about pigs and it has a lot of useful info for the wannabe-small-scale pig farmer. It contains the different breed of pigs and I was pretty sure that the father didn't look anything like a Duroc, but more like an Oxford Sandy and Black.  Which didn't matter to us one little bit, but when I said this to the farmer he had also had his doubts, but he bought the boar as a Duroc. Most likely it also is a cross breed.

As you can see here in the photo above, this is 'Smudge' and smudges are a distinct characteristic of the Oxford S & B.
We loaded up the four girls and headed back home with them.
Always planning to keep them in the enclosure in the shed for a day or so till they get used to their comfy environment, before we let them roam their patch of land.

I love how they tuck themselves in underneath the straw and lay there like a packet of sausages. 

Exploring their courtyard.

And then a bit further afield ...

Can you notice the bald patches on their coats ?  Mange ! Just like with the previous lot. Mange or Sarcoptes scabiei mites.

Terrible parasite for the little buggers. It makes them itchy that it is uncomfortable to watch, even more uncomfortable for the animals. They scratch and scratch, and scratch some more. It  depresses growth rate and feed efficiency. What's more, the pigs get depressed too.

With the first piggies I was in a bit of a panic, to put it mildly.  After yet another google session there seemed to be only one solution and that was to treat them with a poisonous chemical, called ivermectin. I sent Bert to the pharmacy (they stock this), he came back, I read the instructions for use and sent him and the product back to the village. I did not want to use this.

Looking for alternative methods I resorted to a blend of olive oil and essential oils (incl. tea tree, lavender, citronella). While this might work preventative or in very early stages, I didn't feel it was effective in a short time frame.

I enquired with friends-with-pigs and they advised me to go for the stuff from the pharmacy in this case. So, Bert got send back again. We treated them and hey presto! after a day or so the pigs were feeling more confortable already.

We have now found Diatomaceous Earth to sprinkle in their bedding against parasites and they get a digestible version in their food daily. It is preventative and so far, so good. Even though we had to treat the Tamworths with the not-so-friendly product as soon as we came home.

Here they are at 8 months old, looking good. photo by Wen chin Ter

I said before, we have this book about pigs. It says about the Tamworth's personality "This mischievous pig is full of character and a good escape artist. It is not for the beginner." *

We were not beginners, were we ? We'd had one lot of 4 pigs before. Right ?

These pigs are full of character and absolutely, unequivocally great escape artists ! Mischievous !

They have escaped their outside enclosure many times. Through the electric fence, by accident or when there is a fault on the fence and the power is off. They don't usually go far. As a matter of fact, they mainly stay close to the fence, but on the outside. Not a snowball's chance in hell will they go back in the way they came out, even when the power has been switched off. Trying to lure them with their favourite treat, like chunks of apple or other fruit, makes no difference. Push them in the direction you want them to go results in a sit-in or lie-down protest.

The only method is to lure them all the way around the perimeter of their enclosure, towards the shed's door-for-humans. Be certain that someone has opened that already, if not they will wander off to somewhere else.

Guiding an escape back to the shed. Photos by Irma Janssens (my mother)

One time, the 4 of them broke out of their pen into the rest of the shed. And they had an absolute ball! They tried the bicycles (or so we think), they made short shrift with a large bale of straw, spreading it all over. They got to their bucket with food that was meant for their dinner.
In short, it was like a funfair for pigs in there.
At the moment we have 2 pigs left and one of them regularly wanders around in the shed. Trying to coerce  her back, opening the gate without the other one going for a dander as well is nigh on impossible. Eventually they go back in after a lot of swearing from me and/or Bert.
They are friendly, inquisitive and funny. But lest we forget, they are also big and heavy by this stage. It is wise to be cautious at all times.

Cute butt. Photo by Manon Wyermars.

Thanks for reading

Patricia xxx...x

Malaysian Curry Paste - Vegetarian Version

That's what I'll call it for now. But it could be from anywhere in Southeast Asia, I suspect.
We are honored to have a lovely young woman from Malaysia staying here as a volunteer. Her name is Wen and even though she has been traveling a good part of the globe for 5 years or so, I feel it is my duty as a host to make our volunteers at home. So, I 'try' to cook something from their homeland from time to time.
Now, I am not a seasoned cook in Asian cuisine.  Oh, I do make Indian curries and kormas and other Indian inspired dishes. And bami goreng is also in my repertoire. Obviously all given the 'Patricia treatment' depending on the ingredients I have in the pantry and spice drawer.
Trawling the internet for a Malaysian curry I came across many recipes that called for 'a jar of Malaysian curry paste'. Yeah, well, that wasn't on the cards living where we live.  I prefer to cook from scratch anyways.
Off to google Malaysian curry paste recipes, then. I was in luck, if only I had some galangal and lemongrass. I didn't have any shrimp paste either, but that was okay, since Wen is a vegetarian.
Looking a bit further I also found recipes for Laksa paste. this paste contains more ingredients  and would give a slightly intenser, albeit different flavour.

Here is my concoction, made with a gathering of internet info.

Ingredients

• 1 medium size onion, peeled & cut into large pieces
• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 1/2 chilli, red or yellow, medium heat - I used red serenade chilli. By all means, use a hotter variety if you so wish. Wen is from Chinese descent and doesn't take to overly spicy food.
• a good chomp of ginger, peeled and sliced
• handful of cashew nuts
• 6 fresh or dried kaffir lime leaves
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 level teaspoon paprika
• 1 level teaspoon turmeric
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons of peanut oil

The ingredients I didn't have were galangal & lemongrass. I just used more ginger to substitute the first. The lemongrass would have given it a whole different dimension and I advice you to add 1 stalk, white only, chopped.

Method
Chuck it all in the food processor and blend till you have smooth paste.
I used half of the paste for a coconut milk based vegetable curry and froze the other half for future use.

Wen asked me for the recipe ! She might be just polite, but I believe her when she says the flavours are authentic. She mainly uses jarred pastes and they are way to spicy for her and certainly for her German boyfriend. It is also difficult to find a vegetarian option without the shrimp paste in it.
I believe her, also because she had the leftovers for lunch. Haha.

There, Wen, this is a recipe for you.

Thanks for reading.
Patricia xxx...x

Nosy Parkers

Early summer we witnessed from our sitting room window an awful lot of activity from some birds. At closer inspection I was absolutely delighted that a swallow couple had chosen our house to build their own little 'lean-to'.  

Over the last few weeks we could see flocks of them, sky high, soaring at a much lower altitude  and almost falling out of the sky. It is an acrobatic spectacle I gladly witness from the kitchen windows. 

They are very hard to capture on camera when in full flight.

Sky high. You might need a magnifying glass and look at the tiny black specks. Best noticeable where the cloud is.

And some days they are peeking  through the skylight in the kitchen. Or is it me, peeking through the skylight, observing them ?

Soon, they will leave us for warmer climes and we will have to wait till next year when they make this place their summer retreat once more.

Thank you for stopping by.
Patricia xxx...x

Where do I take up from where I left off ?

I know, I know... I've never had a great routine posting on this blog.  I've tried and failed many a time. But in coming back to Ireland I was intend on getting serious about blogging and creating recipes along the way.
Something happened and stopped us in our tracks with one of our just started projects and it had us knocked for six.  Even though my mind and spirit had been numbed for quite a while, some good has come from our misfortune.
Our present volunteer, Wen, who came to us via HelpX said she was saddened to see that my blog hadn't been updated in a long, long time. This young woman from Malaysia has helped me in finding my motivation again.

Wen

And this is where I take up again...
How many times has Bert vetoed my idea of keeping a few pigs, I can't tell you. He is not a fan of eating our 'pets'. To be frank, neither am I, but this time it was a solution to our 'big' problem. And, ....and, we do eat meat, so let's not be hypocritical about it.
Our first 4 piglets came in the beginning of August last year (2014). They were a cross of 2 old rare breeds, namely Gloucester Old Spot and Saddleback.

 Just arrived in the back of the van.

Finding out where the food is. Notice the elephant head 'tattoo' on the first one's backside.

We were not going to do anything BUT give our piggies the best life we could possibly give them.

They have a lovely dry pen in our shed with lots of straw and they are able to free range on a substantial plot of land.

 Venturing outside for the first time.

Clean... 

Clean...

Not so much... 

We provided them with a wallow and boy, did they enjoy that !

I know I shouldn't name the animals that are destined for meat, but I couldn't help myself naming one of them Pinky.

Two of them, much bigger, in November 2014.

Happy as a pig in muck.

They have gone now and others have come in their place. I will tell you about the next lot later. 

I promise.

Thank you for joining me again.

Patricia xxx...x

Blueberry Hill Farm - Sneem - Ireland

A disgrace is what I am !
I was going to write something about Blueberry Hill Farm yonks ago, but up till now I didn't get to it yet.
But NOW is the most appropriate time, as our friends Sigi and Yvonne came to Ireland from Germany 20 years ago. They had a big party over the Easter weekend to celebrate this with their friends and family.

They chose Sneem as a new home for themselves and their 3 lovely children, who have now grown up into beautiful (in and out) young adults. And my word, have they worked hard to create this heavenly place that they named Blueberry Hill Farm (You can find their full story on their website when you click link on the left)

Blueberry Hill Farm opened its doors to the public 2 or 3 years ago. It is a must see for all ages. Young kids and old kids (90+) and everyone in between.

We booked a tour last summer for ourselves (Bert & myself) my mother, brother, sis in law, 2 y/o Sarah and 6 y/o Mathias (my niece and nephew)
What do you get ? A full tour of the farm and interaction with the livestock.  Yes, livestock.  This is a smallholding that is largely self sufficient and organic.  And the farm animals are not pets as on any other pet farm, but meant for food, be it for meat, eggs or milk.  Don't worry, no animal is being killed for the table while you are there.
There really shouldn't be any other meat on the market than from animals that have had such a fantastic and stress free live.
After the tour you get freshly made scones with homemade butter and homemade blueberry jam, coffee and tea. Obviously with lovely flowing conversation with Sigi and Yvonne themselves. The kids got to help making the scones and while they were in the oven (the scones, I mean), Sigi took the kids to make them a candle in the workshop.

Just a few photos of our fab time we had last year to get you in the mood for visiting Blueberry Hill Farm when you're next in the area.

 Feeding the wild boar

 Yvonne, Sigi, the best hosts.

 Ever milked a cow or goat before ? Here is how you learn it.

 Mathias feeding the kid goats.

 On the tractor

 Off the tractor

 aaand, back on !

 Time to feed the chooks and ducks.

 Fun for young.  And old (sorry mum)

 With the wabbits.

 Some people go all soft when they see kittens.

 Making scones with Yvonne

 And then there is some time to admire the Bearded Dragon, called Nacea (from Echinacea)

...and to wear some crocs, that are not yours, not a pair and too large.

The 20 year anniversary party took place on the Easter weekend.  Saturday night was the big event.  Their family and friends from Germany came over, as did a lot of local and not so local friends. There was live music, BBQ and lots of craic (that is Irish for fun and has nothing to do with the drug, just to clarify).

Sunday afternoon was a relaxing and peaceful event, as you can see from the next set of photos.

I can't close off this post without showing off the cake I made for their party (with the help of our lovely HelpX-er, Pat)

Don't you ever, EVER leave Sneem without visiting this magical place that is Blueberry Hill Farm.

Thanks for reading.  Till next post.
Patricia xxx...x