Gonking

I have recently taken an interest in marionette making so I thought I would start with a really (really) basic design to get an idea of how to connect things. So I came up with a gonk.

This is how I made my gonk.

Whatjaneed
Some wood
Some dowel
Lots of eyes (the opposite of hooks)
A pair of eyes (from local craft shops)
Some slat for the controller

Step 1
Cut the head shape.

Step 2
Cut 8 pieces of dowel for the legs.

Step 3
Insert the eyes into each end of the dowel (check the picky) and the bottom of the head. You have to open one of each eye to connect it to the other and then close it again. Pliers are good for this.



Step 4
String as per the picture.

Voila!!! Instant gonk.



You can finish with Danish oil or paint it. You can even cover it with fur.

Here is another marionette I am working on.

Ladies and gentlemen...meet Scarecrow



I just need to string her up!!!

Enjoy, Doc

Spice Up Your Life

Scarecrow Loaf (so-called because she's another spicey honey!!!)



First, read my warning below about amounts.

Whatjaneed:
3 cups white bread flour
2T honey (from the local produce market…yummy)
400mls warm milk
1/2 cup sultanas or currants
2tsp cinnamon
1tsp mixed spice
2tsp bread yeast

Bung it all into the bread maker in the order that your machine manufacturer recommends.

Set it to Dough cycle.

When complete, empty the dough out into an oiled loaf tin and bake at 220*c for 25-30 minutes or until it sounds hollow when you knock on it.

This can be sliced up and will keep in the freezer. Just grab how many slices you need and bung them in the toaster.

Delicious for brekky.

Regards, Doc ;-)

Vampires, beware!!!

Garlic Burger Rolls



First, though, my usual copied and pasted warning:

Most of my recipes use 3 cups of flour and/or solids to 400mls fluid.

Check the ratios for your machine.

For some reason here in the mid-north of South Australia (some of you none-Australians will have heard this referred to as ‘Heaven’ in various religious texts) the fluid amount is often a lot more than the book that comes with the machine.

Adjust it for wherever you are and don’t be scared to peep at the dough as it is being mixed.

Whatjaneed:
3 cups white bread flour
400mls warm milk (actually room temperature but it is only -5*c this morning (brrrr) so I buzzed the milk in the microwave for a few seconds)
1 tablespoon garlic mince (minced up garlic in a jar)
2 tsp bread yeast

Bung it all into the bread maker in the order that your machine manufacturer recommends.

Set it to Dough cycle.

When complete, empty out and punch down and cut into small rolls and place on oiled trays and let rise a second time.

Once they have risen, bake at 200c for 20-25 minutes or until they sound hollow when you knock on them.

Taste great with a homemade burger, fresh egg from the chooks and a slice of locally made cheese!!!

The First Cut Is The Deepest

Pruning your fruit trees

Pruning trees can be as easy or as difficult as you want to make it.

I want to make it easy so here are some really basic basics:

Firstly, prune the tree to size. Unless you have a 30m high ladder, it is pointless to have a 30m high cherry tree.

Secondly, prune to get the tree to not poke you in the eye as walk past on your footpath.

Thirdly, prune the centre of your tree. This is achieved by clearing away any inward facing branches. This allows light and air to get through with ease.

Whatjaneed:
Decent cutting implements



The chainsaw is my universal I-can-prune-anything-with-this tool LOL

It is important that your tools are sharp and clean. You don’t want to risk spreading any diseases to other trees.

You can use household bleach as a disinfectant.

In this example I will prune the cherry tree.

The boundaries are easily seen here since I want to make the tree fit within the framework so that a net can be placed over the tree later.



See here to see what it looks like netted.

Cut away any branches that will stick out beyond the framework and proceed to cut back any dangly branches especially those pointing inwards.

The end result is a cleaner looking cherry tree.



You can afford to be brutal with your pruning because usually the worst that happens is that the tree doesn't fruit this season.

Some stonefruits (peaches and nectarines etc) fruit on the previous seasons new growth so only cut their branches back by less than half or else you will lose your fruit.

Apples and pears produce fruiting spurs and they look different from branch spurs. Leave as many of them on as you feel comfortable leaving.



I am happy to answer any questions about pruning but you have to check Scarecrow's blog to know about growing healthy trees.

Hope this is useful,

Regards, Doc ;-)

Roll up, roll up

Sorry I have not been around much lately…Scarecrow’s been keeping me busy.

Thought I’d get back into the swing by sharing some roll recipes with you using the dough cycle on the bread machine.

First, though, a warning: (you may recognise this as copied and pasted from my easy bread recipe here)

Most of my recipes use 3 cups of flour or solids to 400mls fluid.

Check the ratios for your machine.

For some reason here in the mid-north of South Australia (some of you none-Australians will have heard this referred to as ‘Heaven’ in various religious texts) the fluid amount is often a lot more than the book that comes with the machine. Adjust it for wherever you are.

There.

Cheese and bacon rolls

Whatjaneed:
3 cups of bread flour (white/rye/wholemeal or a combination of all of them)
400mls milk
2 tsp yeast
1T olive oil
¾ cup grated cheese
¾ cup cooked, diced bacon

Bung all but the cheese and bacon into the bread maker in the order that your machine manufacturer recommends.

Set it to Dough cycle. If your machine has an “Add nuts” cycle, switch it on.

If not, at approximately 12 minutes into the cycle add the cheese and bacon.

Allow the cycle to complete and remove the dough and shape according to your need or creative talents (my name for accidentally making square rolls until I mastered the ability to make round ones) LOL

Allow to rise then bake in a 230c oven for 10 minutes then 200c for 20 minutes or until they sound hollow when you knock on them.

Rye ‘n’ caraway

Whatjaneed:
2 cups white bread flour
1 cup rye bread flour
200mls water (with 1T treacle or molasses in it)
200mls milk
1T olive oil
1T caraway seeds
2 tsp yeast

Bung it all into the bread maker in the order that your machine manufacturer recommends.

Set it to Dough cycle.

When complete, empty out and punch down and cut into small rolls and place on oiled trays and let rise a second time.

Once risen, bake at 200c for 30 minutes or until they sound hollow when you knock on them. Taste great!!!

Grainy cheese rolls

Whatjaneed:
3 cups of grainy bread flour (wholemeal/rye/soy or a mix of all of them)
¾ cup grated cheese
2 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp yeast
1T olive oil
Sprinkle of cracked pepper

Any of the following for sprinkling before baking:
Caraway seeds, fennel seeds, sesame seeds, cracked wheat, kibble wheat or poppy seeds. You can even use sunflower seeds but you may have to dice them up first.

Bung all but the cheese into the bread maker in the order that your machine manufacturer recommends.

Set it to Dough cycle. If your machine has an “Add nuts” cycle, switch it on.

If not, at approximately 12 minutes into the cycle add the cheese.

When complete, empty out and punch down and cut into small rolls and place on oiled trays and let rise a second time.

Before baking brush the rolls with some milk and sprinkle on your choice of seeds.

Bake at 200c for 20 minutes or until hollow when knocked on.

Should keep you busy until next time 8-)

Regards, Doc ;-)