A belated introduction

• By Natalie Pitfield

I think our awesome Franklin community deserves a round of applause for being so supportive of the Franklin Times that we’ve been able to switch to a fortnightly publication.

We’ve missed having a truly ‘local’ paper. And it’s probably past time to properly introduce myself.

I moved to Whangarata with my family in 2002. We’d always longed to live on land, as I’d spent a bit of time as a child in Australia, living on a farm. I wanted our two daughters to have a childhood spent caring for animals and for the land around them. I knew they’d learn respect and the value of a day spent working hard. And our 16-acre lifestyle block fulfilled that dream.

We were total newbies to lifestyle block living. And we made so many mistakes in the early years. I’d always loved animals, and I wanted to rescue everything that needed a home.

My poor husband, Kevin, agreed to support my mini rescue zoo, and so we accumulated a large cast of characters in the crazy soap opera that was our life on the land.

We learned about pasture maintenance, irrigation and water carriage, planting of fruit and vegetables and how to care for special needs animals. We learned to work with the seasons, and that while our kids were up for just about anything, there was a definite line when dead bodies or creepy crawlies were involved.

My parents retired in Australia and moved over to live on our property, thus increasing our little family from a small group to a village. I got my love of animals from them, so they pitched in and helped care for our ever-growing menagerie.

We learned about loss when animals we’d taken on went to the great farm in the sky. We also began to share our hard-earned knowledge with new neighbours who were themselves newbies to lifestyle living.

And as someone who’s been a writer for many years, I was thrilled to be asked to share my stories with you. Who knows, maybe a snippet of information shared can help another newbie lifestyler?

RECIPE: Steak and Kidney Pie

Ingredients

750g steak & kidney
Flour to coat
1 tbsp oil
½ cup beef stock
½ cup red wine
1 onion, chopped
150g mushrooms
4 rashers bacon
2 sheets ready-rolled puff pastry
4 large potatoes
2 tbsp butter
½ cup milk
1 egg

Method

1. Season flour with salt and pepper. Roll the steak and kidney in flour until coated. Heat oil in pan and brown steak and kidney. Add bacon and fry until crisp. Add onion and mushrooms and sauté for a further 2 minutes.
2. Add stock and wine and stir until boiling and thickened. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 ½ – 2 hours until the meat is tender. Allow to cool to room temperature.
3. Pre-heat oven to 190°C.
4. Place one sheet of pastry in a pie dish. Trim to fit. Fill the shell with prepared steak & kidney.
5. Mash potatoes till creamy but firm. Add butter and milk until the desired consistency is reached. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg if desired.
6. Spread mashed potatoes on top of the pie. Topping should be about an inch thick.
7. Place the remaining sheet of pastry over the filled pie. Trim and flute edges with a fork.
8. Add a dash of water to the egg and beat. Glaze the top of the pie with beaten egg.
9. Bake pie in oven for 20-25 minutes, or until crust is golden.