Amazing Eggplant

The tomato crop is very poor this year but the eggplants are making up for it.

I will be making eggplant schnitzels. 

Not only do they taste wonderful but they freeze very well.

Baby Galah Rescue

This unhappy baby probably tried to fly and fell out of the nest. 

He still cannot fly so would not survive on his own. 

After speaking to the wildlife rescue service we have put him in a cage next to our wild bird feed table. The adult birds visit him every day and he "talks" to them. 

We hope he will be able to fly in about 3 weeks and will rejoin his flock. 

If he is injured and unable to be released he will go to the wild life lady. 

She has a cage of galahs that have had injuries and cannot be released so he would have company.

Garden Visitors

There is always something happening in the garden.

The wattles are now loaded with ripe seed pods and it hasn't taken the parrots and galahs long to find them.

Repurposing Old Patio Umbrellas

Finally worked out a use for old patio umbrellas that were destined for the dump.

I would share my fruit with the birds if they didn't think their share was 99% of the crop!

The umbrellas make a great framework for bird netting. 

My apples are now safe from the parrots.

SPICY MANGO CHUTNEY

Just made a great curry and made the easiest mango chutney to go with it.

I had a mango that was fast getting over ripe so it was ideal.

I large mango peeled and chopped up.

A bunch of finely chopped spring onions.

A bare 1/3 cup dark brown sugar. ( don't overdo the sugar)

Juice of half a lemon.

2 tablespoons of a good quality white vinegar 

1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger or ginger paste

1/4 tspn turmeric 

1/4 tspn ground cloves.

Place all the ingredients in a small uncovered saucepan and simmer over a low heat for approx 30 minutes. Stir often so that it doesn't catch. 

Cook till it resembles apricot jam in consistency.

Lemon syrup cake

I love this cake. It is easy to make,it works as a dessert or a cake and it freezes well. What more could you want, and of course it tastes great!
Ingredients:
110 Grams of butter
1/2 cup of castor sugar
Lemon zest and juice of a half a lemon ( you want about 1/4 cup of lemon juice)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup of SR flour
1/2 teaspoon of bi carb soda
1/2 cup of buttermilk ( I add 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tarter to milk to make butter milk)
Cream the butter and sugar and add an egg.



Stir in the lemon zest and juice. Beat till it has a creamy consistency then fold in in the siftedd flour and bi carb and the milk.
Line a 21cm pan with baking paper.



Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for approx 30 minutes.
Whilst the cake is cooking make the syrup.
I don't have a stove top at the moment so I do this part in the microwave. Mix 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of lemon juice and zest and 50 Grams of butter. Heat until the butter is melted and the sugar dissolved.






Once the cake is cooked allow it to cool, just a bit, on a cake cooler,before transferring it to a serving plate.
Stab the cake all over with a skewer and then spoon the warm syrup over it.
It is now ready to serve.
As a dessert it is lovely with cream.
I usually make another batch of syrup so that I can pour some syrup over the warm cake as I serve it.
You will get so many compliments.

Beetroot dip

I have so many Beetroot that I decided to make a lovely dip to have with a few drinks.
I picked three beetroot, cut the tops and tails off and washed them thoroughly.
I would normally bake the beetroot as it intensifies the flavor but as usual I had not planned to make a dip this morning.
I have a big enough electricity bill with out turning the oven on to roast three Beetroot. I think I will try putting them in foil with a little oil and leaving them on top of the combustion heater next time. It's worth a try will let you know what happens.



For convenience this time, I cooked them in the microwave, I didn't peel them because that would allow a lot of the colour to leach out. I stabbed them all over with a skewer so the skin wouldn't burst ( and as it was it made a colorful mess of my microwave).



They took about 10 minutes until soft when tested with a skewer. To ensure they were cooked all the way through, I covered the plate with foil to keep the heat in, and left them for another 10 minutes.



I then peeled them, chopped them up and left them to cool.



While they were cooling I mixed together
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 dessert spoon of honey ( I warm this just to make it easier to blend)
Juice of a lemon
1/4 tspn of chilli powder
Level teaspoon of cummin
I then put the chopped Beetroot in my mini food processor and poured the mixture in.





Once it was all smooth I added a tablespoon of cream cheese and a dessertspoon of sour cream.



Processed it again and it was ready to serve.


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