you know it’s spring when…
The dawn chorus wakes you up! There’s birds everywhere. The pair of white cheeked honey eaters nesting in our garden is loud and energetic.
The days are noticably warmer by mid morning although the evenings can still be cool. There’s still rain every few days so the spring garden (and weeds) thrive.
Suddenly the shops are full of summer clothes.
There’s so many people outdoors, walking, riding, picnicking and just sitting in the sun in the middle of the day.
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All the bare, deciduous trees are sprouting lime green fresh leaves.
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In Western Australia there’s another thing too; everyone remarks on how bad their hay fever is, how their eyes itch, their noses run and their sinuses hurt! Caused by the prolific number of wildflowers which grow in our bush and grasslands.
father’s day
On Sunday 4th September we celebrated Father’s Day in Australia. Our son arrived Friday night from Kalgoorlie and stayed until Monday morning which was lovely! When he arrives we like to go to our favourite yum cha restaurant. We sit and chat, eat delicious little bites and drink tea and really enjoy being together.
I made apple muffins for afternoon tea as no one wanted lunch after yum cha. Neither breakfast nor lunch, yum cha is eaten mid morning as brunch.
My husband likes Zwiebelkkuchen, German Onion Pie. It tastes best made the day before you plan eating it. A delicious mixture of egg, bacon and onion, obviously, it also has sour cream, caraway seeds, salt and pepper. It is most often made in a pastry shell, but we prefer it without the pastry. So this was our Father’s Day breakfast on Sunday.
Rich and delicious served with a spicy fruit chutney and tomato.
For lunch I made a family favourite; Lasagne. I know everyone has their favourite recipe but I make the one on the back of the lasagne sheet box! It always turns out well, rich in flavour and looking superb when it comes out of the oven. The leftovers made two more meals for us and I think the flavour became richer each time.
I had also made a lemon meringue pie for dessert but we had it later in the day. I make my own version of Pâte Brisée, an all purpose pastry. I don’t know where I got the recipe but I’ve made it for years and it never fails.
There was some pastry leftover and because I try not to waste food, I lined a pie dish with the off cuts after I’d rolled them into a ball and made another pie!
The lemons were from a neighbour and were fresh and tart. The pie was quite rich, too, so I served it with cut up strawberries, pears and apples. I look forward to the citrus season every year and enjoy the fruit in both sweet and savoury dishes. I don’t really like oranges but love the smell of both mandarins and oranges and waft the scent of both around the house or burn an orange scented candle.
spring roses and snow peas
Do you live in the southern hemisphere? After a very wet and cold winter the onset of spring weather is very welcome. After two years of battling chili thrip which decimated our roses, I am very pleased with these highly scented, big unblemished blooms on the Holterman’s Gold rose bush. The other roses doing well now are Glamis Castle and the red Pierre de Ronsard. Pretty, scented and long lasting as cut flowers, they are the first of the spring roses to bloom.
Snow peas have done well, too, so a little crop to be harvested every couple of days. Picked, washed, added to leftover German Onion Pie with some fruit chutney for lunch another day.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
Our son presented me with a box. The outside hinted at the contents! Chocolate and licorice, perfect things to find in a box. During the pandemic there was a push to Buy From The Bush as passing traffic ceased. These small businesses struggled to survive, so promoted their products online if they had reliable broadband. Many of us sought rural suppliers during this time. Lucky me! A big box of organic licorice and chocolates was my surprise from Junee in rural NSW.
It is with great sadness we acknowledge the death of Queen Elizabeth 11.