Lovely Leeks!

My husband is definitely the chief gardener and I am his humble assistant. When I read NZ Gardener's Weekly email and got inspired to grow leeks and he saw how teeny the seedlings were he didn't fancy himself the fiddle of planting them. I put my hand up and offered to do it proclaiming that the promise of Leek and Potato Soup would make them worth the trouble. A slow and tedious job it turned out to be - tweezers may have been a helpful tool!
However, we are now harvesting them and making gorgeous soup - a recipe from my flatting days. AND it adds to the taste knowing the leeks have been lovingly planted by moi! I may even attempt a French Leek Tart of some description in time! (The celery we grew wasn't quite so good - a little too damp here in the Waikato in winter I think!)

Vichyssoise Soup

3 or 4 leeks
3 or 4 stalks of celery
2 cups diced potato
1 onion
1 Maggi Chicken Soup (or Stock) & water to mix
1 1/2 cups milk
salt & pepper
2 Tbspns butter
Trim leeks, cutting off green tops. Chop leeks & onions. Saute in butter until slightly brown. Add chopped celery, potato, chicken soup dissolved in water. Add salt & pepper and enough water to cover veges. Bring slowly to the boil, simmer 3/4 hr with lid on. Put in blender/kitchen whizz or mash and enjoy a few lumps! Add milk or 1/2 cup cream - reheat gently but do not boil.

A Return to Domesticity

Recently I watched a slot on 60 minutes - “Housewife Superstar” by Ellen Fanning (TV3 Mon 22^nd June 09). I felt deeply moved! Here were all these ‘20-something Mums’ choosing to stay at home and raise their own children AND they’re proud to say, ‘I’m a housewife.’ It seems that there is a new wave of women who don’t ‘want it all’ and they don’t want to ‘turn into their own frazzled, working Mothers’ either. This sounds like the 50’s reborn! Is there more to retro than clothes and furniture? Is there a new generation who are rejecting feminist ideals because they are sick of the struggle and juggle of trying to raise children AND have a high powered career?

Australian Women’s Weekly ran an article in April 2009 ‘A Return to Domestic Bliss’ by Louise Mackay. ‘… it appears that women of all ages are heeding another call….. harking back to simpler times of home, hearth and heart, where the back garden was more than a manicured lawn and the occasional topiary tree and the kitchen was the bustling epicentre of family activity.’
I am enjoying being a housewife again after years of my own struggle and juggle. Our children are all grown up now so I am seriously indulging myself in all the delights of domesticity again… along with developing my passion for writing and family history. Our girls call me the ‘Domestic Goddess’ and so this blog is born. I hope my musings will inspire others to enjoy domestic life to the full – whether working outside the home or not!