Look what I've got

Dream come true - padron seeds!

Picked

• 2 cucumbers
• a handfull of chillies
• 1 punnet of red cherry tomatoes (unsplit)
• 2 punnets of mixed tomatoes - cherries and berries (split)

Padron seeds! Shame it's not planting season, but padron are no longer unattainable. I am liking this blogging caper! Thanks to L from 500m2 in Sydney and  her referral to the Italian Gardener. Now I can dream of next spring, look at my packet of seeds and know that  piles of hot pardon with their little green skins all blistered, scattered with a little sea salt and accompanied by a glass of fino is not that far away.

And I am going finger lime hunting this weekend.

Today's two cucumbers

Today our yard was a baby bird creche.  It seems that Laurie and Keats have two babies.  Both turned up today driving their parents to distraction.  The babies were engaging in adolecent risk-taking behaviour. Instead of staying safely up on the balcony rail away from Harriet (who isnt really a bird catcher and who was hiding from the wet weather and nowhere to be seen) they doodled around on the stairs of the deck and grazed on  the grass without a care. Their parents wildly screetched at them while they were doing this as if to say, "what are you doing down on the ground, you are a bird - the cat will get you!"

Then there was a little tribe of silver eyes that swept thru the blueberry ash....

Chinese spicy eggplant

silvereye - not my photo

Tonight it's Chinese Spicy Eggplant for dinner (see Techno bimbo for recipe). Uses lots of eggplants, garlic, chillies and spring onions!

Tell her she’s dreaming!

Today's pick

Picked  - Today’s pick is in the picture!

I am dreaming… but if I had more space I’d grow:

• Tamarillo -  tastes like a curious combination of tomatoes and passionfruit with beautiful egg-shaped dark red fruit

• Passionfruit -  these straight from your vine are juicier and more fragrant than the shop bought ones but they take up so much room and you have to have the right spot

• Different citrus – citrus grow well in Sydney, I have lemons and limes, but what about a really tart mandarin or a grapefruit or a blood orange?

•  More zucchinis, beans, cucumber, tomatoes – “but don’t you have trouble dealing with the glut”, you ask? “Yes”, she says, but if I staggered the planting then I could extend the season and avoid the hungry gap between picking all the summer produce and getting the autumn glut, and I could also stagger the broccoli, cabbage, snow peas, cauliflower (and I could give up work and..., and...)

If I could access them I’d grow:

• Padron -  I’ve talked about those ( see padron and other unattainables), going into more detail about my love for the pardon will just  make me crave them more

•  Finger limes - ditto with above.  I fancy Sydney rock oysters with  just a few finger lime pearls to garnish

If I could get them to grow, I’d grow: 

•  Soybeans  - for that lovely Japanese snack – sticky steamed pods

• Better garlic - I had a bit of success this last year, I got some decent sized bulbs and am still using them, but bigger bulbs would make the home-grown ones easier to use.   My little ones still make it easier to grab the big fat shop-bought ones because they are easier to peel.

Tips appreciated!

AND now you are ABLE to comment!  In my incompetence I had set the blog up restricting comments.  That is all fixed now and open to all. I am learning!