March 2017 – MakeCookGrow.com

Oh Sweetpea!

Share this post

Time to plant my sweetpeas. My mother and I collect the seeds at the end of each season.

I store the collected seeds in paper bags in a tin box, then soak the ones I’m going to plant on wet paper towel overnight. They germinate very quickly.

Meanwhile, the gardenias continue to bloom and bloom in the heat.

The three larger miniature birdcages are new. All of them have doors that open. Normally they’re scattered in a silver bowl amongst decorative balls and pebbles I collected all over the world.

I hope you did something wonderful yesterday on World Theatre Day!
Leave a comment

Share this post

Sculptures by the Sea

Share this post

Sculptures by the Sea on iconic Cottesloe Beach is an annual event which has been running for 14 years. The concept began at Bondi Beach in NSW in 1997. It is enormously popular, featuring works from various local, national and international artists.

The landform on the horizon is Rottnest Island, a favourite holiday destination.

In cooking news, I watched Food Author Harold McGee cook pasta by an unconventional but fast method and tried it myself. Put the pasta in a wide frying pan and cover with cold water. He says the larger surface area and shallower depth means the water heats more quickly and the heat is more evenly distributed around the pasta. He recommends using the smaller and thicker amount of leftover water as a great base for sauces. Verdict….took 25 minutes to cook al dente but tasted really good! I used an entire packet of Spaghetti No 4 from the supermarket and it tasted home made. I’ll do it again.

Hope you enjoyed World Meteorological Day yesterday, where ever you were.

Leave a comment

Share this post

St Patrick’s Day and Visiting Australind

Share this post

Celebrated St Patrick’s Day with Pea and Ham Soup served with Irish Potato Scones. I froze the ham bone in January and made the soup on Friday because it needs to be boiled for several hours and it’s becoming a bit cooler. My parents married on St Patrick’s Day 67 years ago.

Visited my mother for the day in Australind, a town on the Leschenault Inlet. Her swathes of lavender are full of bees, smell beautiful and look lovely.

Her Cape Gooseberries (physalis peruviana) known as Goldenberry and the French name amour en cage, (love in a cage), are so pretty and she loves eating them.

I helped myself to some of her wonderful roses. They smell divine!

Our chillies love this hot weather. Delicious curries coming soon.

Enjoy International Read To Me Day where ever you are in the world.

Leave a comment

Share this post

Summer Salads and Dressing for Retirement

Share this post

Roasted kumara, beetroot with beans, dressing and toasted pine nuts.

A garden salad with a vinaigrette dressing.

Too hot for too long to have many flowers to choose from in the garden, so cobbled together cannas, carnations, alstroemerias and one Father’s Love rosebud.

For years I’ve had a well established work wardrobe but now I’m semi-retired I’m not sure what to wear at home. I’d like clothes suitable for gardening, housekeeping and craft activities. I want to look reasonable if people drop in, I’d like wash and wear but can only come up with athletic gear! Not sure I’m quite the right shape for all over Lycra! Any ideas?

Hope you enjoyed Plant a Flower Day yesterday wherever you are in the world!

Leave a comment

Share this post

Some Watching, Some Reading, Some Cooking

Share this post

Reading Death of an Owl by Paul Torday about British politics and really enjoying it. Also re-reading Annie Poulx’s unsentimental but carefully researched story of immigration to America and the ownership of an accordion through many generations. Drusilla Modjeska’s Timepieces is a snapshot of the energy and beliefs of the women’s movement in the 70s told through her memories of family, love, place and friendship. A Manual For Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin has great reviews but I’ve only read three stories so far!

Watching Coco and Igor, a partly fictionalised affair between Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky set when she launches Chanel 5 and he has just written the poorly received music for The Rites of Spring. Anna Mouglalis is superbly dressed in Chanel. Just as wonderful are the interiors of Chanel’s country house Bel Respiro and her apartment in Rue de Cambon.

Eating Beef and Broccoli made by my son.

The first sign of ripening lemons and I make Lemon Drizzle Cake.

Hope you celebrated International Women’s Day this week!

Leave a comment

Share this post

A Tourist In My Own Town

Share this post

Our friends from China are in Perth for their daughter’s graduation from university.

We had a lovely day showing them around despite the heat and humidity.

Enjoyed a very coastal type of lunch at a beach side restaurant. The sea breeze had arrived and it was less humid and hot than in the morning.

These Haemanthus have bloomed in the sun bleached garden. When the flowers have died down two thick, dark green leaves will appear from the bulb.

Enjoy Women of Aviation Worldwide Week wherever you are in the World.

Leave a comment

Share this post

Birdcages

Share this post

When we lived in China I watched the old men walking their birds in birdcages down to the park. They’d hang their cages in the trees and sit and talk and smoke. Sometimes I could hear the birds singing.

We brought most of these cages back with us to Australia. Some are intended for birds, but most are decorative.

The bird market had cages of all sizes and colours. They were handmade in many different materials. You could buy everything you needed for your bird: seed, cage covers, ceramic food and water bowls and many different breeds of small birds.

Happy Childrens’ Authors and Illustrators Week wherever you are in the World

Leave a comment

Share this post

Edible Garden Workshop

Share this post

Spent the morning at an Edible Garden Workshop. Such a lot of great information.

We have three small courtyard gardens and what grows well is determined by the sun. I have espaliered an apricot tree and would like more fruit trees.

Trying not to throw away food so bread and butter pudding has become a regular in this house.

And baked apples for variety.

The roses bravely bloom in this constant heat. This red Pierre de Ronsard is like a tree. The stems can be a metre long.

Wherever you are in the world Happy Grammar Day!

Leave a comment

Share this post