Gardening in Adelaide

I want to start my vegetable garden up again. The only thing is, I have a black thumb.... My biggest problem though is that the lawnmower man keeps mowing over the vegies, so I am going to make a raised garden bed. That should hopefully fix the problem! How many of you have a raised garden bed? Does it make it easier for you to tend to the produce?

If you live in SA (South Australia) then these are the vegetable and fruits to plant now.

Vegetables: Beans, Beetroot, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrot,Celery, Cucumber, Eggplant, Endive, Garlic, Leeks, Lettuce, Marrow, Melon, Parsnip, Potato, Pumpkin, Radish, Sweet Corn, Tomato, Zucchini.

Fruit: Citrus fruit, quinces, pomegranates.

Since October is so very close I will put up what else to plant. :D

Vegies: Beans, Capsicum, Peas,

Good luck with your gardens fellow growers :D If you have any tips for a self confessed black thumb I would be grateful to hear them!!

 

Baby Food Recipe - Peas and Apricots

Today I found an interesting flavour combination that my Little A loved! I combined peas and apricots, a strange combination I know but she absolutely loved it. Give it a go :D

This will make enough to fill a baby food tray.

1/3 cup of peas (canned and washed, frozen or fresh)

1/3 apricots

Enough water to mush it together.

Boil peas and apricots and blend to the desired consistancy.

I hope your baby loves this as much as mine does!!

Life at home

I take my hat off to all the stay at home mums out there. 

For a few weeks now I have been trying to come up with ideas on how to make money from home. I do surveys (but they don't come often) Also I have been looking into Hubpages, but it just isn't enough. Luckily I work two days a week so I have some income of my own. I have all these ideas in my head about what to do, but then I think am I good enough. Also, since I've worked in retail for 10 years my question to myself is, what am I good at? Does any other SAHM think this too? 

I love to cook and be crafty. I make things like scrapbooked photos etc.. I love to write, but I need some ideas on what to do. I have thought about making and selling jams. I started that in my 'nesting' phase when I was pregnant. Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. 

My Little A has been sick for the last week and has given me her cold. I told her in this case, sharing is NOT caring hahaha. She is getting better yay, it is so hard to see your little one sick and not being able to do much for them. It is amazing how much your life changes when you have a child. Your whole aspect on life is now very different to how it was before. Things that would have freaked me out before, I now take it in my stride. Little A loves doorknobs at the moment and the remote control. She is constantly trying to touch them and play with them.

Tell me some of the things that has changed for you since a little one came into your life?

At work we have had all these great new books come into the store. This time of year is great for new release titles. Also we will be having Dr Karl coming in to sign his new book, '50 Shades of Grey Matter' that WILL be EXCITING!! 

Dr Karl Kruszelnicki - Author Event

In November, Collins Booksellers Edwardstown will be hosting Dr Karl for an author event. This is going to be such a hoot!!

Dr Karl Facebook Sign Up

Australia’s favourite scientist, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki is set to appear in-store at Collins Booksellers Edwardstown, Castle Plaza on Friday November 30th at 1pm. Dr Karl will be signing copies of his new book ’50 Shades of Grey Matter’ as well as answering questions such as: Why does walking into a room make you forget? Why does giving up smoking make you fatter and how can milk build muscle?

A brilliant Christmas gift idea, who wouldn't love a signed copy of '50 Shades of Grey Matter'

Recipe - Corn and Yellow Split-Pea Soup

I was looking for something really yummy to make awhile back and while I was flipping through a Masterchef magazine I found the basic soup recipe. I thought, beauty I will try that and went and bought some yellow split-peas. Then promply forgot about it. The other day while going through my pantry I found the afore mentioned peas and remembered I was going to make the soup - only to forget where I saw the recipe.

All was not lost though. I was planning dinner for the next week and was flipping through the magazine I found stuffed in between the cookbooks and  found the recipe!!

Here is my variation of Corn and Yellow Split Pea Soup:

1 Onion

Tspn Olive Oil

A pinch of Garlic 

1 Tablespoon Moroccan Spice

1 Cup of Yellow Split-Peas

1 Can of Creamed Corn

40g Butter

1.25L Stock

Half Cup Mozorella

Method:

Roughly chop the onion and place into pot with the olive oil,  garlic and moroccan seasoning and cook until onion is softend. Rinse the peas and place into the pot with corn and combine well. Add the stock and boil. Then cover with the lid and turn heat down to simmer. Let the peas cook until they are soft then transfer to the blender. Add butter and cheese and blend till smooth. If it is too thick, thin out with some water. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

Written by Tarran J

Book Reviews - Daughter of the Sword - Steve Bein & Echoes at Dawn - Maya Banks

Daughter of the Sword by Steve Bein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book combined artistry and grace with the writing and characters. The storyline was well thought out and the characters were easy to get along with. I liked how the author gave the backdrop of the Tokyo crime scene without bombarding me with too much infomation. The historical chapters of the three swords were very interesting and I thorughly enjoed this book, I hope the author writes another one. Mariko Oshiro is the only female dectectve in Tokyo Police Department, she has to fight or any ounce of respect. When she gets given the seemingly unimportant attempted sword theft case instead of the drug case she wanted, Mariko's life changes forever. Curses, Swords, History, Samurai, Yukuza, Murder and much more, this is a novel that will make you keep reading till the end.

DUE OCTOBER 2012 (In Australia)

View all my reviews

  Echoes at Dawn by Maya Banks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Once again we return to the KGI world in this book, only it's not about one of the Kelly brothers. The main characters are mercenary Rio and Grace (Shea's sister). Rio volunteered to go brig Grace in after the events of the last book and he finds her just in time to nearly witness her die. Grace has just escaped from captivity and is adamant she won't go back. We learn much more about the storyline and the sex scenes are steamy. I liked Rio's character but I felt the end was a bit too tidy for me. All in all though I really love this series and highly recommend it.

View all my reviews

Life

I have always loved to cook and now I am making purees for Little A, I am finding that it is lots of fun. Reaserching recipes, making them then watching her little face as she tries it for the first time is fantastic. Today we made, Pear and Apple and Sweet Potato, Pumpkin and Carrot mix. My freezer is full of trays and tubs. I will need to go and buy some more trays soon because I have found some more ideas I want to try. What first foods did you feed your baby? 

My partner has a few days off this week so we are going to take Little A to the Zoo. It is going to be such a blast! We will take the Popeye to the Zoo then take it back, a grand cruise on the River Torrens. Hopefully the weather keeps being nice :D