Two Little Lorikeets

These two Rainbow Lorikeets landed on the railing of our front veranda yesterday morning

and they were here again this morning

Moon Planting: March 19th -to 26th - Last Quarter Phase
No planting during this phase so I have been busy weeding, preparing a small no-dig bed for my potatoes and turning the contents of my compost bins.

Recycling: I've set up a worm farm in this Can-O-Worms I was given by a friend who no longer wanted it.... thanks mate :-)

I've put it in a cool spot close to the back door so my wriggly friends will be guaranteed plenty of treats.

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Roast Pumpkin Salad

We had dinner at a friends house last night. I'd offered to contribute a couple of salads. I ended up taking Fried Rice and a Pumpkin Salad.

The Pumpkin Salad is always enjoyed when I make it so I thought I would share the recipe with you.


Pumpkin, Spinach & Pine Nut Salad

4 cups pumpkin, cut into large chunks of 3-4 cm
2 cups baby spinach leaves
Half a cup of pinenuts
Garlic
Olive oil

1. Brush pumpkin pieces with olive oil and roast in a moderate oven until cooked through.
2. Place spinach leaves in salad bowl and add roasted pumpkin. Warmth from pumpkin should slightly wilt spinach if this is the desired effect. If not just combine all ingredients when cool.
3. In frypan combine olive oil, garlic and pine nuts. Roast pine nuts until slightly brown.
4. Add roasted nuts to pumpkin and spinach.

I don't follow the exact quantities given, I just use what I think I will need for the number of people sharing the meal.

Optional Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp sugar
Mix together in a small jug and sit beside the salad for those who want it.

I have made the dressing in the past, but don't bother now as we enjoy the salad without it.

Have a great weekend.

--
BevB

"Waste not, want not"

Idiom: Wise use of one's resources will keep one from poverty. -- waste not, want not.
This proverbial saying was first recorded in 1772 but had an earlier, even more alliterative version, willful waste makes woeful want (1576).

Inspired by Tania (at Outback blog) I used these 3 things....


to make this frugal scouring dishcloth.

My seed potatoes arrived in the net bag and the cotton has been floating around my cupboard for years so the scouring dishcloth has cost me nothing but a little time. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts.

I have another net bag from the garlic so I'm off now to start another one.

--
BevB

King Parrots

The other day I posted about this King Parrot in the feeder.....

He was there again this morning, then his mate flew in to have a feed.....

So he headed over to the water bath and sat on the post keeping watch while she ate....


Some lorikeets flew overhead, calling out as they passed by and the King Parrots took off.

--
BevB

Australian Garlic

I have been keeping an eye out in the supermarkets and greengrocers for Australian Grown Garlic, but it's always from China or other overseas countries.

Thursday morning I woke up to find an email from Green Harvest letting me know their autumn supply of seed potatoes and garlic are now available. Thank goodness! I ordered some Italian White Garlic, Pontiac Potatoes and seeds of Moon & Stars Watermelon and Lockyer Gold onions, then went out into the veggie patch.

Moon Planting: March 11th to 18th Full Moon phase.
Time to plant root vegetables so I put in a metre long row each of Baby Carrots and Detroit Red Beetroot seeds. I cheated and used Yates Seed Tapes so they'll be evenly spaced when they come up. Or should I say, if they come up! Unfortunately I don't have much success with small seeds.

Yesterday I was in a Woolworths and spotted some Australian Grown Garlic. That'd be right, now that I have ordered it online it is suddenly available in the supermarket! I bought some anyway, and told a young chap in the veg department to thank his manager for stocking it.


I checked the letter box when I got home from shopping and there was my parcel from Green Harvest. What great service :-)


Later today I will be planting garlic and onions. I will have to chit the potatoes.

Have a great weekend.

--
BevB

Neglected Patch

I've neglected my veggie patch during the summer. The heat and rain of our wet season lead to many failures. All is not lost though as some things have soldiered on despite the lack of attention.

Yesterday I started to clear out the weeds and figure out what's left in my patch.

The capsicums are still producing fruit.....
The leeks are thin, but will still taste goodThe mixed heirloom tomatoes have taken off in every direction
The spring onions and chives are doing well
Plenty of parsley (basil & mint are both fine too - coriander died)
Mixed lettuce seedlings I put in last month are producing well
The silverbeet I put in at the same time have been attacked....
The beans had dried out so I collected some seed. I found some potatoes when I was preparing an old bed
And the carrots I though would never grow had matured while I wasn't watching :-) I pulled some up and left some in the ground.

Yesterday I planted seedlings of watermelon, squash, corn and honeypod peas, and seeds of butternut pumpkin, scarlet runner beans and telephone peas.

Have a great day.

--
BevB

King Parrot

We often see King Parrots flying past and landing in trees out in the paddock. They have never come into our yard, so I was surprised to find one in the feed bowl yesterday.... perhaps the water bath hubby finally put up enticed it in for a closer look :-)




Have a great day.

--
BevB

Australian Owned - Australian Grown

Many people rave about how much money they save by shoppping at Aldi so last Friday I took a stroll through an Aldi store, willing to give them the chance to take some of my grocery money, but they didn't get very much!

As I entered the store I put on my glasses so I could read the fine print on the packaging.... rice crackers made in Australia, in the trolley you go... tinned peaches from China, no thanks... breakfast cereals from Germany, you've got to be kidding! How many food miles does that involve?
Do they come by plane or ship?
What's wrong with Australian made cereal?
What's with all the weird brand names on the Australian made products!
Why do supermarkets need to sub-brand items?
Why are these items always cheaper than the manufacturer's brand?
Are they ripping our farmers off?
Does Aldi pay Australian taxes?

All these questions were doing my head in, so I grabbed a bag of potatoes, a carton of free range eggs, a free range chicken, a loaf of bread and got out of there!

For years I have tried to shop for Australian Owned, so as I drove home I wondered what had possessed me to even go to Aldi when I knew it was an overseas company.

I am finding it harder and harder to find the brands I want at Coles & Woolworths, so from now on I am going to buy the bulk of my groceries from my local independantly owned Supa IGA store. I might pay a few cents more but at least I know these companies are trying to make Australian products available to us.

Made in Australia – what does it mean?
Product of Australia – what does it mean?
Australian Grown – what does it mean?
Find the answers at - australiangrown.com

Fightback For Australia has a list of Aussie brands - fightbacknews.com.au

IGA stands for ’Independent Grocers of Australia’ - www.iga.net.au