Well as most of you most likely know I have spent the last 30 years working as a Podiatrist, so I thought this was a suitable title for this blog. Even more so now since I broke my left ankle at a recent market. I certainly now have only one foot in the grove.

So we finished hand picking the table olives so now the patient wait begins as these beauties ferment in brine. It can take 12-18 months.

The tests came back from our Extra Virgin Olive Oil harvest and we are very happy with the results. The oil is high in polyphenols which gives the oil is bitter taste. Our oil is also light and fruity with a peppery aftertaste.

We have a range of this oil infused with chilli oil, garlic oil, lemon oil, basil oil and a tuscan oil ( a mixture of herbs).

We decided this year to start selling 250ml in a 3 gift pack to be used as a gift , or for people in a family who want different ones.

These are perfect for salad dressings and in winter marinating your meat or adding to roast veggies before and after cooking. Did you know that cooking your vegetables in EVOO increases the antioxidant levels of your meal.

My favorite dish is easy pumpkin soup. It is made by roasting butternut pumpkin and sweet potato ( cut in half and leave in the skin), garlic and onion in chilli and garlic infused oil with a dash of salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until cooked and slightly caramel. Then scoop the flesh out of the pumpkin, sweet potato, garlic and onion, blend together with some vegetable or chicken stock, add a dash of cream. Lovely easy pumpkin soup.

The next job we have is pruning the trees. I will of course be sitting in the polaris directing Gary in the tree as to what branches to cut off. Only 3 more weeks in a cast and then a moon boot for a few weeks.

Gus the Donkey is certainly missing me not going in the paddock to give hime a brush, poor love. He doesn’t get quite this loving from his equine friends.

Bye for now from Izzy and Gary and the menagerie of animals.