Making Radish Leaf Pesto

Stumbling upon a post by Amanda Soule,

then some radishes, seemingly out of season, at my market, 

I decided to whip up some fresh pesto - 

Radish Leaf Pesto in the vein of Chocolate and Zucchini.

My baby girl loved helping by picking and placing the leaves and almonds

It tastes delicious and as well as enjoying the pesto as a hot little snack on top of radish slices,

I love my pesto on my new wholemeal spelt bread.

Shapes in the Peas in our Garden

How often do you take time to sit back and watch, simply admiring the beauty of a growing plant and observing and taking particular note of tiny details in one variety?

I needed some space today and fortunately the sun was shining so I ducked outside to observe what was happening in the garden as we grow nearer to Spring. The peas needed staking so I spent time with my girls achieving that goal while we also discovered the numerous shapes to be found in the peas.

:: star-shaped caps hooding each pod ::

:: round shapes connecting the cap to the pod ::

:: swirls and spirals, these being almost symmetrical ::

:: crescent shapes in the new growth ::

:: long straighter lines in the tendrils...

...and along the length of the pod ::

:: imagined spherical peas growing inside each pod ::

:: almost oval leaf shapes ::

:: swirls and spirals galore ::

It was tremendous fun playing with the shadows as they were cast on our fingertips and on the wall behind the peas. Such intricate little shapes and lines.

I am sure there are probably many more we did not notice. Oh the delight in Ess' eyes as she discovered all the shapes one by one, as she took time to look closer and take notice. Children do that so well don't they, when they stop...finally! Things just seem to pop out at them and speak their own language. One which often passes us by as adults.

I am From

Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee

Calls back the lovely April of her prime.
~William Shakespeare

Today is my mother's birthday.  She is away visiting her sister who is also celebrating her birthday today.  My aunty is 80 years old, she is 13 years my mother's elder.  Knowing they are celebrating getting older makes me reflect and think about where I am headed and where I am from. 

I recently read this post of Kellie's on Don't Look Now!  I thought it was lovely that she was from a similar place to me but never thought I'd write my own poem.  Then, at times unsuspecting, the poem sprouted and before I knew it my poetic juices were flowing and I had my own history penned.   So if you think you cannot, you will not, I encourage you to let go and see what might flow.  It is actually quite cathartic.  If you do write your own "I'm From" poem please let me know so I can join you in learning more about where you're from.  If you follow the links from Kellie's poem you will find the original from whence it came.

So here's a sneak peak of some of me.

I’m From

I’m from tireless pioneers, hard-working farmers and long dusty trails. From blacksoil plains, deceptive mirages and vast, tree-studded horizons.  From small country town, regional farming community and “townie vs cockie” the former is me!  From Mehi River, Gwydir River, where rivers meet. 

I’m from maternal ancestors trekking across seas, across lands; from England to South Australia, into northern New South Wales, up to central Queensland.  From sheep grazing, wheat farming then cotton as well. Corrugated iron sheds, blue-topped cotton modules, and seasonal “snowy” cotton lined roads.  From worshipping in a country church built by relatives of friends.

I’m from aesthetic beauty: flowers in the garden, arranged in vases, floral shows as well.  From cakes carefully decorated by my mother’s own hand, from embroidery, crochet, sewing, handmade.  Fixing loose threads on my clothing, “not the good scissors!”, stashes of fabric, buttons, binding and ribbons.  Always dressing well to go out.  From Sylvia’s fabrics, pattern hunting and fabric matching.

Paternally from Denmark to Australia, right into Queensland, freezing to heat.  From food production, apple orchards, vegetable growing and home baking.

From awkwardness, confusion; leadership and faith.  From silliness and laughter with my treasured brother and sister.   From independence and competence, achievement and success.

From “hugs and kisses”, “hugs and kisses” among siblings at the end of car journeys, upon arrival at our holiday destination, the “Uh-oh better go to bed” and “I wear my sunglasses at night, to keep my panties on tight” fun play with siblings.

Photo found at  www.Redbubble.com

I’m from the bright yellow daffodil, pretty pink poppy and rich red rose, the calm Carbeen tree, breezy Belah and the beloved, guarded unique Leopard Tree.

From the smoking besa block incinerator in the backyard, the besa block “barby”, begrudged family trips to the dump.

From oranges, mandarins and almonds in the garden, lawns always watered through hot summer months.

From home-sewn school uniform and Dad-knitted navy cardigan, from tights keeping legs warm from pesky, shivery Jack Frost on our front lawn

From Sunday roast dinners and baked beans on toast, salad plate lunches, toast fingers with soup.  From Potatoes La Jolla, Herbed Chicken pieces from “promite, not vegemite” or “vegemite not promite” sandwiches in lunchboxes.

Piano lessons during lunchtime, then through swimming lessons in high school. Piano duets in my best friend’s Mum’s bedroom on weekend retreats from boarding school.  Boarding school challenges, fun and successes.  Singing and singing, and singing some more, “Yes, Jesus loves me”, Christmas carols and rhymes.  Renaissance polyphonies, madrigals, and contemporary and sacred choral works.

I'm from sharing my music, from teaching tiny littlies, imparting my intuition and knowledge to the families I meet.  From meeting my beloved and sharing in our union, from bearing two treasured, precious daughters who now ofttimes lead me in my journey.

And now I am me, here today, returned to the start, growing veges and living down south in South Australia from whence my ancestors came, living and loving creatively, following my Creator.

Farm photos courtesy of my brother and sister-in-law. 

My Hot Summer Garden

The garlic chives are budding...

The capsicum are starting to fruit again after they were setback by our recent heatwaves.  I can only hope that the heat due at the end of this week (up to 40degC again for a few days) will not sizzle the new flowers and potential budding fruit.

I do not know how this petunia thrives.  It was bought by my Mum when little Eee was born nearly 18 months ago and just keeps coming back.  Such a beautiful bright pink, the photo just doesn't do it justice.

and just look at all these rosebuds....Wow!  Adelaide is definitely the city for roses.  They just can't seem to go wrong.  If you are living here and you don't have one, I strongly recommend you plant one.  This is a rare case of masses of beauty from very little care.

How we have this is really beyond me as our water restrictions are very limited.  I can water with the watering can or bucket, and try to each couple of days, but I have other duties with two littleuns which I must prioritise.  I can water with the hose on Sunday and Wednesday at times when I am usually asleep or preparing meals and bathing the girls. So that doesn't happen regularly either.  Some reports say we have had 1mm of rain this year, yet apart from a few drips I remember on this day, I cannot recall a time when this might have been, perhaps it was down south.  The rainfall for February was supposed to be 20% above average.  The average is 10mm I believe, so we have about 5 days for 12mm of rain to fall.  Possible, I guess, but with a forecasted heatwave I cannot see that happening.

So I wait for Autumn without holding my breath.  Autumn is a lovely time - so cool, so refreshing, so colourful.  I find myself being very creative in Autumn usually so I look forward to this season.

My little giveaway is still open so if you haven't commented yet, please do so on the post below.

My First Capsicum

We are very much enjoying the garden at the moment on days which aren't too hot.  It brings us lots of joy and keeps us wishing for a bigger place to plant more things and chase more children - no not more, just more often :)

My rose is blooming again after it's summer pruning - The Children's Rose, a spectacular bloom with splendiferous perfume.  My favourite.

My Flapjack (Kalanchoe), 50c from the Sally's fete, has been repotted and is enjoying sunshine amongst its succulent friends.

 I wonder if it will ever look like this...

Photo courtesy here

Many tomatoes have been harvested and more are ripening.  The cherry tomato varieties we planted in Spring have done fabulously and we'd certainly grow these again.

We are collecting lettuce seeds, although I've tossed these out as these plants bolted to seed, and I mean bolted.  Our next lot are much more beautiful (see above in my little header) and at a more relaxed pace.

Lunch is predominantly from our garden these days - just need to add some protein and carb.

And doesn't my first capsicum look spectacular!!  I can't wait to harvest it and every lunch I hold back waiting for it to mature just a little more.  There are so many things I could do with it though...salad, pizza, stirfry...

This is simple living to me.  

Vegetable Time

Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans. ~Marcelene Cox

We enjoyed some sunshine on the weekend by being in the garden.

I would love to have planted green beans this season but feel that the space I have in the sunshine with good soil is too limited. Perhaps I'll give it a go in future years. This year we have...

...tomatoes!!

It is tomato planting time. I have found a tumbling variety which needs no staking and produces lovely little cherry tomatoes. This will meet our needs of limited space as I hang these in baskets and hope they trail over the edge for us to pick and enjoy in a few months time.

A few more lettuces have gone in to meet our needs for greens over the coming weeks before it gets too hot to keep them any longer. I pick leaves from these lettuces each lunch time and they have contined to grow steadily during winter.

Ess and I also planted a few organic radish seeds around the place in whatever holes we could find. Oh how we long for that vege garden. Growing in pots is getting frustrating and I am running out of pots!!! :)