Day 245/366

First day of spring and the sun shone.

The sun shone even though it snowed last night.

The sky gleamed blue, the wind slowed to a breeze and the sun shone some more.

We slept longer than usual then drank coffee made with freshly roasted and ground beans.

We visited the growers’ markets, purchased fresh fruit, newly harvested vegetables, spring lamb and organic poultry from local farmers.

We marvelled at the splendid lemon scented gums and sat with Daughter and Grand Daughter and drank more coffee.

We planted shrubs in the garden while the sun continued to shine.

When the sun retired we dined on succulent roast chicken, savoury roast vegetables and finished off the meal with our favourite vanilla ice cream.

How did you celebrate the first day of Spring?

Day 189/366

I wish I could say I've grown these African violets myself, but I can't: I bought them from the growers' markets in Penrith a month ago.

These little beauties flower well as long as they are provided with lots of (filtered) light and are kept at a temperature above fifteen degrees Celsius.

The only way I can provide such an environment is to have the pots sitting just centimetres from a south-west facing window and to have the heating on.

Today, our lowest temperature was less than one degree.

Our high didn't quite reach fifteen degrees.

I decided (after I'd done my shopping at this month's growers' markets) it was the perfect day to stay indoors and re-pot the African violet cuttings I'd struck over the last couple of months.

These cuttings were taken from this plant.

Here's how I did it:

(I'm not going to give a detailed post on this because there are numerous blogs/videos with great instructions on the WWW already).

Instead, here is a picture-log.

The cuttings were struck in an African violet liquid feed.  Plant-lets have grown from the base of the stem, as have masses of roots.

I prepared discarded take-away food containers (these are from a a sauce that came with our Thai takeaway).

A wick was created from an unwanted nylon shoe lace (don't use cotton or wool).

Cut holes in the lids of rectangular Chinese food containers to house the babies, fill base with African violet liquid food so that wick just sits into the liquid.

Set in a warm and nicely lit position and wait.

Day 154/366

The first Saturday of each month means an early start to the day and a trip  to Penrith for the Hawkesbury Harvest grower's market.

I've transformed my in-season produce into a still life for you to enjoy.

Corella Pears, Persimmon and Red Delicious Apples are just a few of the items I purchased; along with a new African Violet plant.

I buy my fruit and veg. from Nashdale Fruit Co, my lamb and poultry from Drovers Choice and herbal teas from Neat Janes Teas.

I've also discovered that I can buy preservative free sausages from the market and plan to try them out next month; as I'd spent my allowance by the time I'd discovered them.

In a fortnight we will be off to the Glenbrook Rotary Markets.

The Glenbrook Markets are mostly craft markets with a little vintage, and yummy food thrown in.

Nashdale is a huge draw card at Glenbrook and I find that fortnight (roughly) visits is just right to keep us going with fresh fruit and vegetables.

I prefer to buy as much of our food from local growers to help support Australian farmers.  Much of what I buy from these markets is not only grown locally  but organically too.

Direct marketing ensures that the farmer - consumer benefits are maximised. 

And if you live in Australia, here is a 

Organic Food Directory for you.

I Hate Cooking

But that doesn't mean I'm a slouch in the kitchen!

Freshly picked sage from the garden.

Beetroot risotto topped with butter-fried sage, beetroot, Parmesan and balsamic vinegar.
I love eating risotto, I just don't like cooking it!
In Europe, I had risotto that was like a thick rice soup when served.
Unfortunately, that's not quite how it turns out when I cook risotto but I must say, I was impressed with tonight's end result.
Have you ever tried quickly frying sage leaves in butter?  It's absolutely yum.
The beetroot I used tonight was from Nashdale Farm and purchased at Penrith Farmers and Fine Food Market.  Even though I bought two bunches of beetroot two weeks ago, they were so fresh when we bought them that when I cooked them today, they were crisper than any I've bought at the supermarket.

Weekend Fare.

This weekend has been all about family and food.  After all, the two go hand in hand don't they?
The weekend food festival started Friday night with what should have been a failed ginger sponge.  After mis-reading the amount of golden syrup in the recipe some quick thinking converted the sponge to ginger cupcakes which turned out to be favourites...
Saturday lunch was a ploughman's lunch inspired by Friday night's Better Homes and Gardens on Channel Seven.
Feeling lazy on Saturday night was a good enough excuse to order take away...Thai (no less) complimented with a bottle of Tempus Two 2010 Moscato.

This morning's brunch consisted of bacon and eggs, sourdough bread, fried tomatoes  and salad greens, all purchased yesterday, at the markets.

Our youngest son and his girlfriend have just returned from a holiday to Ireland and came to visit us for the weekend, arriving in the mountains on Friday evening.
With them they brought a variety of fine fare from the Gaelic Isle, amongst other things.  I'm happy to report that there's lots of chocolate (my favourite food), some Mead (yet to be tested), a couple of beautiful framed photographs and a tea towel  embellished with the recipe for Soda Bread.
One special gift is a recipe book; A Year At Avoca : A Cookbook which is full of easy to follow formula for mouth watering meals.  Tonight I tried the Summer Traybaked Chicken, only because I had purchased a fresh chicken at the Growers' Markets in Penrith yesterday and I was feeling especially lazy (still).  The result was an amazing meal for very little effort.  The fact that I had used farm fresh produce only heightened the flavours of the meal.
A walk into Springwood, this afternoon, should have helped to burn off a few calories (I hope).