Taste the Harvest

If I didn't feel so uncomfortable in crowds, I would probably go to the Taste the Harvest today.  The weather is strangely still and foggy at the moment.

Pancake Day

Mmm, I rather fancy some pancakes.  Maybe for dessert tonight.

A Day In the Life of Annie

When noone's looking.

Helping control apple grubs.

Helping pick raspberries.

Some Finishes

I finished the banners I was making for presents, and the peas are finished for the year.  I had fun eating the last of them before pulling the plants out.  When this rain stops, I can plant out some carrots I think.

Fresh Food Education

I don't have any grandchildren myself, but I get to share my sister's, which is just as good I think.  One of the activities I like to try when I babysit, is testing them out in the vege garden, just to see if they like fresh peas and carrots, like I did as a kid.  Dad always grew veges, and we would eat anything he gave us, including white radishes.  I don't know if they taste different now, but I have never been able to get anyone to eat radishes.  Maybe modern palletes have changed.  Anyway, I haven't had much luck with peas either, even though standing in the garden eating fresh peas has been a treat for me my entire life.  I've had more luck with cherry tomatoes though.  With the modern trend of building large houses on small blocks with very little garden space, I wonder what effect it will have on the way people live.

Sluuurrrp!

I think I can hear a slurping noise coming from the garden.  Must be all this loverly rain we're having today, making the soil all soft and lush again:

SPUDS

Despite the rain, there is some planting going on here.  In this case, it's spuds.  There was a time, not long ago, when spuds were pretty inexpensive to buy, so we didn't bother growing any.  But I think it is definitely worth it these days, if you have the space:

TRIVIA

It had my name on it,so I had to buy it.  Six dollars down the drain:

Blackberries

 

We managed to find a handful of wild blackberries during our drive yesterday around Nietta and Gunns Plains, and I'd forgotten how delicious they were.  Not as tangy as raspberries.  If it wasn't so uncomfortably hot, we'd have picked more.

Greengages

The greengages in my back garden are starting to ripen finally.  Loooves me some greengages straight from the tree.

Jam

I made this jar of jam the other day, using loganberries from our back garden. It's tangy and delicious, but it's spoilt me for supermarket jam, which is gelatinous and tastes like sugar. There are so many reasons to grow our own food.

Happy Birthday

My nephew's birthday cake. Love the candles (he's a builder).

Anzacs

Preserving

Like loz and dinny, I've got an excess of tomatoes. This lot was turned into sauce, but I'm thinking I'll turn the next batch into passata. I've never made it before, but I could use it in place of canned tomatoes in recipes.

All Done

I've finished the placemats. They were fun and didn't take very long to do. Now I'm waiting to see Debs version.




Last nights tomato soup was very tasty, and easy to make. Next time I'll add a slurp of cream I think.

Sounds Nice

Tonight I'm making tomato soup from Catherine's blog (photo below is from there). There couldn't be a nicer way to use up my tomatoes, and I've never tried baking them first. And today is a soup kind of day.

Cooking

I'm trying to use up what I have grown in the vege garden, so last night we had salad with a Delia Smith dressing, and a zucchini slice using my neighbours zucchini, and it was delicious. It's very gratifying eating your own produce.

Happy first Birthday

I had a lovely time yesterday at my grand-niece's party. The beautiful weather helped. I managed to finish her present, but forgot to take a finished photo.

Chillies

I tried growing chillies in a pot this year, as well as the vege garden, and it worked out okay. I've got more than enough to eat now, so I tried freezing whole chillies on a tray, then packing them in a ziplock bag. When I need one, I just take it out, chop it up, and cook with it. Much more efficient than trying to dry them.
I wonder if covering them with oil in a jar in the fridge would work?