A lovely day

Today was simply beautiful with near perfect weather, sunny with a very light breeze, the best weather to finish off the spiral vege garden for Mum.  The soil I had available to fill the garden with is water resistant so it was important to add other things to help the soil.  I found some very old cow manure in an old milking shed which was rock hard and the outer foliage and roots from years and years worth of veges in an old wooden box from when Dad was growing veges.  It was compacted and hard but I was able to break it up to mix in with the soil.  With every layer added I watered well and the result is a garden with soil that still needs work but is much better than it was.  A bag or two of compost and some mulch will finish the job.

If you are interested in the benefits of spiral gardening (they're mostly used for herb gardens) have a look at this link.  As this is the first spiral garden I've built, I'm sure mistakes have been made but it sure was fun if not challenging making it.  It is the perfect style vege garden for Mum as she has limited mobility and will be able to sit on her walker and reach all areas of this new garden.  It is also raised which makes for easier gardening too.  Many spiral gardens at the lowest point to the ground incorporate a pond of sorts in which you can plant things like watercress etc.  Western Australia is so dry that it would dry up in no time so this addition wasn't made.

Very late this afternoon I went out for a quick wander around with my camera and captured these shots.

I might just have to paint this image.

An amazing flower on this cactus.

A beautiful sunset.

These colours are glorious.

Back with more soon.

More studio building

Our weather forecast for today wasn't too promising but after some rain that came earlier than expected, we enjoyed a lovely sunny day.  That of course meant that more building work could take place on the studio.  We were fortunate to have the assistance of a friend who was able to help with some of the heavy lifting.  I can do it but I just don't have the strength of a male.

More walls going up.

 

Doorway panel and window panel in place.  Walls completed.  YAY!

Gables going up.

Roof struts in place.  Hopefully roof frame will go on tomorrow.

A glass door will be installed in the doorway and this will be the view.  Please excuse the washing on the line and other rubbish that can be seen.  The vege patch needs quite a bit of attention very soon.

I'm planning to have my table/desk under part of this window.

 The garden is looking nice with spring colour.

Adjuga

Wallflower

Euphorbia

Fuschia

Scabiosa

Azalea

Grannies bonnet

I took this sunset photo a few nights ago.  Unfortunately my camera doesn't show the true depth of the colours.

Wishing everyone a lovely week.

Anne xx

Easy dinner recipe

Does anyone else get tired of their cooking?  I know I do and I'm always looking out for new recipes that are not only tasty but easy to make.  I found the following recipe here. 
I've adapted the recipe by adding zucchini as I wanted to include more more vegetables.

SPICED LAMB TURKISH PIZZA

Serves 4

Prep time 10 minutes

Cooking time 25 minutes

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, (I used olive oil)

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and grated

1 zucchini, grated (my inclusion)

500g lamb mince

4 garlic cloves, minced (I used 2)

2 teaspoons ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cumin, (I added more 'cos I love cumin)

salt and pepper

1 Turkish bread loaf, halved horizontally

100g baby spinach leaves

3 cups grated mozzarella

Lemon wedges to serve (I forgot about the lemon)

1.  Preheat oven to 220C (200C for fan oven).  Heat oil in frying pan over high heat and add onion and carrot, (and zucchini if adding).  Fry gently for 4 minutes.

2.  Add mince to pan and cook for 3 minutes to brown well.  Add garlic, allspice and cumin and cook for a further 2 minutes until mince is almost cooked through.  Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

3.  Assemble pizzas.  Place bread halves on a lined tray.  Spoon lamb mixture over bread and top with spinach and mozzarella.  

4.  Bake pizzas in oven for 15 minutes until bread is crisp and cheese is bubbling and golden.

5.  Cut into portions and serve with lemon wedges.

Loving the way Stripey is looking on.

Even though I chose the leanest lamb mince I could find, I had still had to drain off a lot of fat from the meat mixture.  I think I would prefer beef or chicken mince although this is obviously not authentic to the Turkish influence in this recipe.  I found the lamb fat taste was quite strong.  Other than that, it was delicious and sooooo easy.

I'll leave you with a photo taken a few weeks ago of a sunset from the Bolte Bridge in Melbourne.

Have a fab day/evening,

Anne  xx