Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Our garden is finally bouncing back after the drought and one of the first things we planted after lockdown was bok choy seeds. After only a few weeks (four or five we think, time seems to move a bit differently these days), they’re ready to harvest. The cima di rapa is coming up too, but taking a bit longer.

And a few years ago, Pete’s brother Uncle Steve and his wife Ali gave us a potted pineapple plant for Christmas. Sydney isn’t the ideal climate for this tropical fruit, but most years, Pete manages to coax a baby fruit out of it. It’s been slowly spreading, so now we have a mini pineapple garden. That is, a very small garden producing tiny pineapples.

There are now several plants in a large pot and an old concrete laundry tub which we found in the backyard when we moved in 30 years ago…

So far we’ve only managed to get one small pineapple each year, but it’s always been delicious and perfect. Here are photos of last year’s precious harvest…

How are things growing in your garden? ♥

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We have finally figured out the secret to growing snake beans!

Well, Pete has, at least. They need lots and lots of water. We planted a dozen seeds this year, on the basis that they never all grow…but they did. So now we have a mountain of snake beans, which we’re eating at every meal and freezing for winter…

They’ve been my favourite vegetable since I was a small child, so I’m very happy…

The plants need the solid support of our large homemade A-frame…

Here’s what we’re picking on an almost daily basis – hopefully we’ll get another couple of weeks out of this crop…

Our current favourite dish to make with them is Thai Prik Khing, constructed very simply with pork mince and an awesome little tin of paste…

At just $1.19 per tin, I keep a stack of them in the pantry…

Finally, remember our young friend Grace? She was spotted last weekend wandering through the snake bean tunnel. You’ll be pleased to know that she’s still the same shark-suit wearing impromptu ballet performing girl sorceress that she’s always been! ♥

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PS. If anyone is interested in how we made the A-frame, there are detailed instructions in this post. 

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It’s possible that we may have gotten a teensy bit carried away planting snake beans this year…

The initial plants were showing signs of rust virus, so we didn’t weed any of the seedlings out, hoping that some of them would soldier on and survive.

They all survived.

And then they all flowered with these beautiful, orchid-like purple blooms…

For a couple of weeks, we joyously harvested this many snake beans every day. I’m not complaining, because they’re my all-time most favourite vegetable in the whole world…

I blanched and froze packets of them in the freezer – enough for ten future family dinners…

…and we’ve been adding them to every single meal. Here’s my favourite way to prepare them – stir-fried in oyster sauce and garlic…

Finally, this gorgeous sunflower is growing in amongst the beans – self-sown from fallen chook feed!

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Small Man spotted him first, wandering along our street.

This Common Pheasant was very tame and showed no fear whatsoever as he strolled casually up our driveway to the backyard. It was a couple of months ago, when the late autumn sun was still shining, and before the hailstorm battered the garden. His plumage was stunning – you’d think a bird that tasted so good would have evolved less conspicuous colours by now…

We threw him a little chook feed which he obligingly gobbled up, but we couldn’t get much closer without startling him…

He was more than happy to pose for photos…

Such a magnificent, beautiful bird…

I managed to get a close-up of his iridescent head…

After half an hour of observing, we thought we should probably try and capture him, as he was clearly someone’s lost pet. But the minute we got within a metre of him, he opened his wings and flew straight up in the air and onto the neighbour’s roof. And then he was off…

Our pheasant friend hung around for weeks – he discovered a ferny patch of our neighbour Mark’s backyard and made himself a bivouac there. We loved having him around! All the children on the street came out to admire him, many convinced he was a peacock, and the adults would give way to him in their cars as he casually strolled across the road as if he owned it. He wasn’t particularly street smart.

We later discovered that he had escaped from a house around the corner. I suspect he never made it home. A neighbour who works in the local pet store said that a customer had been in asking for “pheasant food”, so we’re all hopeful that he’s been adopted by a loving family. Safe travels lovely bird – thank you for visiting!

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