Yes, I'm still around - have been reading and commenting while not blogging myself for almost a month. I have also been doing lots of knitting, only I can't show any of the results yet as the recipients might just pop in here.
We are now in Summer which means Zebby spends more time out from under his battered quilt (the battering is all his own work) and instead lounges on his beloved old red bathmat, however my lad is refusing to smile for or even look at the camera.
My New Zealand flax plant has started flowering, providing a nectar treat for the local birds, especially the Tuis.
Here is today's scrumptious loaf of "No Knead" bread when it was just out of the oven. Only 4 ingredients needed (flour, water, salt and yeast), it is delicious with a crunchy crust and a soft, moist crumb. Most has been sliced and put into the freezer - it is so hard to wait for the loaf to cool down before slicing into and devouring it.
The veggie garden is growing beautifully - November was far warmer and dryer than usual in NZ so all the plants got an excellent start. I had to water them every evening until today when it actually rained. You can see how dry the soil is all around the plants containers and the grass has dried off way earlier than usual.
Here I have basil, oregano, Lebanese cucumbers, a little gem squash, rainbow beetroot (beets), more radishes, buttercrunch lettuce, sugarsnap peas and 3 rainbow carrots, all raised from seed. In addition there are 2 zucchini plants, a tomato plant, rainbow chard and an apple cucumber that I bought as seedlings.
At the other end of the flat are the dwarf beans (green and yellow varieties) and another little gems squash (again all raised from seed) together with 4 more tomato plants (the type is Money Maker) and a couple more rainbow chard plants. I've never grown tomatoes before!
I'm sure everything will kick into production while I'm away over Christmas - thankfully I have some wonderful neighbours across our shared driveway who will not only water the veg for me, but pick anything looking to be ripe. I hope they eat them too.
Yes, poor old Zebby is in for his annual cattery stay at his vet centre - now renamed "Pet Doctors", not that Zeb appreciates the name change. Luckily the staff there really like Zeb because of his gentle and affectionate nature (my darling wussy cat) so he will get plenty of hugs and cuddles from them.
Its getting late here so, with huggles from me and grumbly snoring from Zebby Cat, Nighty Night Folks.
The food was delicious - Dad wanted the food to be a suprise for him so Mum and I chose from a sample menu and we got it right! We started with Salmon Gravadlax with Toasted Brioche. Unfortunately I forgot to get a picture of the finished plates but here they are partway through assembly.
We finished with a Classic Lemon Tart with Berry Coulis and Lemon Posset. The tart had a wonderfully tart and fresh flavour.
Dear Dad thoroughly enjoyed it all and it was a very relaxed atmosphere. Chef Peter is a great guy who happily shared his knowledge and answered many questions from me as he cooked. He cleaned everything up and loaded all our plates into the dishwasher. He couldn't wash the wine glasses as we were still using them!
