Bird Watching & Flowers

Recently, my son and I have gone more into bird-feeding and bird-watching. We have scattered some seeds around the grevillea tree (back garden out of the kitchen window) and also under the plum tree (front garden out of my son's window)

So far we have attracted two spotted-neck pigeons which come regularly.

And two non-native mynahs. Here is a picture of all four under the grevillea tree feeding.

One of the mynahs decided to take shelter on my neighbour's toilet window when rain poured.

Then yesterday we had two honeyeaters feeding on the grevillea flowers.  I only managed to take a rough shot of one as the other decided to fly off.  They are fast-moving birds.

I have many flowers in bloom now but I want to highlight a few here :

This is my pyrethrum daisies in a rough terracotta pot.  I bought the seeds from Diggers' Club. They did not flower last year but this spring they have rejuvenated and are putting on flower buds. Fortunately I was patient enough not to throw it out.

I harvested my first proper artichoke green globe flower  for salad last Saturday.  Not bad testing especially the heart. I ate it with whipped mayonaise and white balsamic vinegar.

 This is a picture of my edible Chrysanthemum (Tung O) plant. It survived winter very well and growing taller. It also started to form flower buds but I had to remove them in case flowering affect the leaves.  The leaves are what I harvest for soup (esp in steamboat/hot pots) or miso soups.

Some of the leaves have a funny curvy track on them.  I reckon it is some leaf miner?? Not a big problem as I removed most of the affected leaves.

 My two 'rescued' Tomato Silvery Fir are getting stronger and are having flowers.

Here is an inedible flower.  My first few Dutch Irs Bronze Perfection from Tesselaar have bloomed. Pretty things!

Product Study : Orgran BuckWheat Pancakes & Lavera Body Spa

This morning, my son and I made buckwheat pancakes for breakfast. He asked me to buy this from the health shop on Sunday. The mix can make 10 pancakes and cost about A$3.75. We used half of the mix. Here are the ingredients : stone-milled buckwheat flour 49.7%, rice flour, maize starch, tapioca, raising agents (monocalcium phosphate, bicarbonate of soda) I had to add water, milk and egg as per instructions. 

We ate the pancakes with strawberry jam and golden syrup (as I ran out of maple syrup). The pancakes were rather spongy and very fuss-free to cook. It would surely taste very bland on its own as no sugar was added. Overall, I quite like them.

And a cup of lemon verbena tea to go with it. I dried the last season's leaves and they stored very well.

On Sunday we also bought some other products.  Our family uses body moisturiser a fair bit due to the dry climate here. The lower parts of our legs suffer the most dryness. This is a new brand 'Lavera' from Germany.

Here are the ingredients and the list looks rather impressive for $20. It comes in lavender, coconut and orange. We decided to try the orange.  It has a mild smell and we love it.

Lemongrass Woes...

Time to have a good look at my lemongrass tuffs. I started with five small pots about two years ago. One tuft has since died two winters ago. It was also planted at the wrong spot, a shady one. The other four are still alive but have very thin stems. I thought it would take a while for the stems to thicken. After visiting a neighbour who also grows lemongrass (but really pulp ones), she told me it should not take so long for them to mature. I realised the soil where I have planted the tufts must be the culprit.

Thin stems for the lone tuft in my back garden.

Thin stems for the three tufts in my front garden.

I have since pulled up as many as I can from those tufts, making sure there are some roots on the individual stems, and replanted them into pots, using premium potting mix and fish granules fertiliser. I wanted to see if they would grow better.  Fingers crossed, I can harvest a few pulp stalks!

I also gave the existing tufts a trim, having read it as one of the to-do items from one gardening magazine here.

Edibles Update.

The last three days have been sunny and warm with temperatures between 21-23 deg celsius. So, every day, we spent some time out in the garden doing things. The work really does seem never-ending.

Common Onion Chives /Allium Schoenprasum

Two evenings ago, I went out to the front garden to harvest some chives for a pasta dish. It was then that I realised I have two types of chives growing at the same spot. I did some researching and found some info on http://www.herbsociety.org/factsheets/chives.pdf. The picture above shows the chives used in western cooking. I have grown these from seeds. These chives have leaves which have hollow cylindrical interiors. I did a check and am quite sure that they are called Allium Schoenoprasum or common onion chives.

Chinese or Garlic Chives/ Allium Tuberosum

The chives in this above picture is actually Chinese or Garlic chives, Allium Tuberosum. My friend, Eliada, gave two small pots of these to me. They were given to her by another friend. As the chives looked very similar when young, I thought they were onion chives. Now that they are older, I can actually see that these two tufts are Chinese/Garlic chives. In dialect, they are called Gu Cai. These have flat leaf blades. I am actually very happy knowing they are Chinese/garlic chives, as I use them in Chinese cooking and need larger amounts. Onion chives are used as garnishes and only small amounts required.

Yesterday, I repotted the  Kao Kee cuttings. They have 100%  rooted as each stem cutting is putting on new leaves. Now I will wait and see how they grow.

Water chestnuts! It's been a headache trying to figure how I should grow them. I dont like failed experiments but how can experiments always be 100% successful? The styrofoam tub where I first planted the corms is covered with a layer of algae. After chatting on http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/forum/, I dug out the corms, prepared a few pots (potting mix+fish fertiliser), planted them in, topped up with garden soil, stood them in a tub of water. Here goes the experiment... The corms which I have harvested are really small, about 1 to 2 cm in diameter. I feel cheated by the company where I bought them from. I dont hold much hope that they will grow well.

Here are  some carrot seedlings.  Free seeds from Bunnings Wareshouse. It is my first go at it.

The rest of the seedlings (eggplant, okra/lady'sfinger, capsicum etc) are growing really slowly, even though I put the pots in a styrofoam box and cover well to get as much warmth from sun. I do not have a green house or seed propagator tray, which will speed growth up. At the local nurseries, I could already buy bigger plants.

My white currant plant has put on its green leaves and clusters of flowers too. Looking forward to having white currants. The blackcurrant plant is just beginning to catch up but no flower clusters in sight yet.

The Carolina Black Rose grape vine has produced lots of shoots. It is amazing to see new shoots sprouting every other day. And there are lots of flower clusters. I contemplate pruning off shoots to allow for fewer but stronger flower clusters but did not get down to it in case it is a mistake. I have not seen bees visiting my back garden but thankfully grape flowers are bisexual so they are self-pollinating.

Product Study : Champignons & Cereals

Time for an entry on products which I like. I use champignons some times for my dishes, especially when I cook ginger and sesame chicken with dark soya sauce. I have loved champignons since childhood. My grandma used to put lots of these in soups.

Over here in Australia, I always go for 'Homebrand' Whole champignons from Safeway Supermarkets. They are large and almost always do not have any blemish. Many other brands which I have tried will have some sort of blemishes such as black spots.

Cereals are convenient breakfast foods and I give it to my son a few times a week. The usual cereals in supermarkets really do have a lot sugar and salt in them.  I steer clear of brands like Kellogs, Uncle Toby's, Nestle etc. Cereals are meant to be good for health due to the fibre in them, but to get loaded with sugar and salt from eating cereals is surely not a good thing.

I usually visit the 'health foods' section to get our cereals.  They may be slightly more expensive than the usual brands featured on tele, but I find them worth buying and affordable. One of my favourite brands is 'Freedom'. They have a few flavours. One of them is 'Cocoa Puffs' (shown above). Here are the ingredients : gluten free flour mix (rice, maize and wholegrain sorghum flour), sugar, chocolate syrup 8.5%, coca powder, psyllium, salt, emulsifier, natural chocolate flavour, mineral (iron), vitamins (niacin, thiamine, folic acid)

Another is the Maple Crunch.  Ingredients : Gluten free flour mix (rice, wholegrain sorghum and maize), sugar, apple juice concentrate (6%), psyllium, salt, emulsifier (471), Tricalcium phosphate, nature identical flavours (maple, butterscotch), mineral (iron), vitamins (niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, folate)

'Orgran' is another brand which I buy. They have 'Rice O's' wild berry' flavour.  Ingredients : brown rice 59%, dextrose, milled yellow pea 12%, millet flour 8%, psyllium 2%, pear juice concentrate, calcium carbonate, brown rice syrup, emulsifier(vegetable-derived monoglycerides), beetroot powder, salt, natural raspberry flavour (0.3%), vegetable-derived stabliliser(guar gum), natural caramel colour, tumeric, citric acid.

'Itsy Bitsy Cocoa O' is Orgran's chocolate wholegrain cereal. Ingredients : Brown rice flour 65%, raw sugar, wholegrain sorghum flour 8%, psyllium 2%, coca 2%, natural caramel colour, calcium carbonate, salt, brown rice syrup, emulsifier (vegetable-derived monoglycerides), natural chocolate flavour.