24 Hours to remove 9 Leylandi, pain in the backside trees to make way for a more stylish fence.

Counting Graces Boils [ And Cuts and Grazes ] Mix speaks for itself.

Hello Matey.

Any chance you will be able to slowly scan in your old photos, that we chcukled through when I popped over.

I’m thinking the DYRMS85 Site need some fresh Stuff and Lofty Williams and others are desparate to see old nostalgic shots.

Hope all is well with your family over there.

It’s sunny outside , the sun is now high in the sky most days so both gardens are full on go.

I now resemble a slightly cooked Crayfish, having spent the whole day pottering and repositioning my produce in the gardens.

I’m so looking forward to my next batch of leave.

Just so I can, moisten and watch my crop growing, if the weather continues this way I may have to invest in some more water butts and some connectors so I have a much better supply.

As I said earlier the sun is sitting far higher in the sky, so the day is that much longer for the growing period.

I have had some casualties along the way; I lost all my Ring Of Fire Chillies and some of my Big Sun Habenero’s due to the intensity of the heat.

One of my heated propagators went into meltdown and frazzled the contents that were in there.

I think I will just put it down to experience.

Life is indeed too short to worry about the temporary set backs that I encounter along my life path as evidenced by other news.

Sad news of the day, one of old school chums Dad’s passed away to day.

My thoughts are with the family.

All change now that I’ve had help from Yoda.

Finally cracked away from the boring themes and finally managed to bring the whole of my blog from previous blogs across into Zebra Central.

Although the theme has changed on this and you can only see this one , believe me it’s all here , Yoda is going to help me bring it all across into one unified blog once he has time, so although you only see a couple of months on here at this moment it’s all here.

Piccies / tunes et al.

Not that you care.

Thanks to Hx , HHx , Mr HHx , Glee , Mummy Hx , Amy et al who made this a good surprise for someone special.

A good weekend.

Costoluto Fiorentino , the huge befsteak tomatoes are not really bush types but actually vine tomatoes that could extend for up to 4 feet.

Gulp

A delicious Italian variety ideal for salads or cooking.

Tall, vigorous plants start to fruit early, and it’s a steady producer, cropping over a long period. Gives a heavy yield of huge, juicy, ribbed red fruit over a long season.

Brought to you from the gardeners of Florence.

Fat, red & ribbed, tall vine.

Note: This really is a very good tomato, with high yields of very big fruit. And others agree. In fact, those of you who read ‘Garden Answers’ Magazine may have seen a full page advert for a new ‘Miracle’ tomato last year, at the outrageous price of almost £4 a packet. If you read the small print you’ll see that the variety they were offering was actually ‘Costoluto Fiorentino’

Indie meets techno meets Fatboy Mad and new software.

Regards to Fee , The Bros Denning & Smiley & TSL [ USA ] For being my test audience.

One Of Two I have managed to finish today.

This is the smaller of the two. 11:54 minutes

powered by ODEO

Before I forget Hippy Burpday Matron

Whilst I was travelling I encountered many styles and flavours from all my hosts.

Japanese / Thai / Chinese / German / Aussie ???

But the wonderful sea food restaurant owned and managed by a friend of HKH called Martin was without doubt the tops.

Something I’m never likely to experience again.

So it got me thinking what can I come up with for a soup that will suit the palettes of my hosts.

Butternut Squash, Crab & Chilli is the result.

Serves 4

1 1/2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion , finely chopped
1 Clove Garlic , Crushed
1 Medium Butternut Squash , roughly chopped
1 Stick Lemongrass
Pinch of Chilli Flakes
500ml veggie Stock
140ml Coconut Milk
120g ( 4 1/4 oz.. ) White Crab plus brine if using tinned
1 Tablespoon Fresh Coriander , chopped

Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

Squeeze Of Lime

Heat oil in the pan , add onion , garlic , butternut squash , cook gently approx. 10 mins.

Peel the tough outer skins of the lemongrass , bash and bruise to release the oils then add this with the chilli flakes to the pan and fry approx. 10 mins

Add the stock , bring to boil , cover and simmer gently until squash is cooked.

Cool a little and remove the lemon grass.

Blend until smooth.

Add coconut milk, crab meat and most of the coriander.

Season to taste , reheat for approx. 5 mins.

Add a squeeze of lime to taste , sprinkle with remainder of coriander and serve.

Consume.

FAO : Junya & Thomas : Maybe Kaffir Lime leaves could be added with the lemon grass.

FAO : HKH : It’s something different for you to try out on Martin when you next host him.

A HDR version of Katoomba : Kato San , this is why I take 3 shots at the same time so when they are all blended they give you a HD version of an otherwise standard photo.

It’s a shock to the system to say the least.

Returning from the Sun in Sydney and Australia and the erratic sunshine in Hong Kong.

I returned to a glorious day , I thought wrongly heralding the start of Spring and then overnight , snow.

What’s that all about ?