Cookoween!

Happy Halloween!
On the most accessible night before All Hallow's Eve (Saturday!) we held a weird food diner. The party-goers, Ruth, Emma, Amy, Andrew, Felicity and I, met in the Central Markets to have coffee and a meal (with Mark). Felicity wheeled out her recipe book and we all chose an obscure vegetable/fruit to cook.
Amy cooked Idli and Daal.
Ruth cooked a Paneer curry with peas.
Felicity cooked Bitter Gourd.
For dessert Felicity chose Jackfruit and Banana spring rolls.
Felicity, however, was unfortunate in her choices. The Jackfruit was not ripe and the recipe mentioned nothing of the sticky, sticky glue that seeps out when you cut and squeeze the Jackfruit. And the Bitter Gourd was bitter. Really bitter. Shouldn't really surprise us I suppose.

Andrew and I made Jack-o-lanterns

From Haloween

Of course, Australians don't grow pumpkins for jack-o-lanterns. So Andrew and I carved Capsicums. Felicity, ever the traditionalist, went with a Butternut Pumpkin. The innards of this pumpkin went on to make a fine set of scones.

Rhododendron Valley - Mt Lofty Gardens

I had planned to abandon good intentions of further blogging tonight as image uploading is seriously lagged. However, Jasmine has curled up on my lap so I will write one more before going to sleep. The Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens are just up the road from our place. Now is the time to go to see the display of Rhododendrons and Azaleas. A few weeks earlier there were also a lot of Camellias in flower. We made a last minute dash on a Sunday afternoon - about 15 minutes before closing time - to have a look.

To maintain order, I've backdated this one because Felicity forgot to post it.

From Flowers

Meadow's Country Fair 2006

Well, it is no big surprise to anyone that I am very behind in writing my blog. After calling friends in Nagoya today I am now feeling inspired to add some new entries to the Luck Monkey site. As there are several months to catch up on I've decided to go with the most recent first (which will be last if you start reading from the top of the page - oh well). Sunday 15th Oct'06 was the annual Country Fair in Meadows - a small country town south of Adelaide. We went because I had seen a quick glimpse of a banner in town and I thought it was for one of those in vogue country farmer's markets (I'm on the hunt for good plant bargains). However, when we arrived it turned out to be like a mini rural Royal Show - lots of wholesome family entertainment (sack races, hay bale stacking and milking (cows, not hay) competitions etc etc) plus an assortment of food, sideshow and trading stalls. We did find some plants to buy - and of course we couldn't resist some fresh spun fairy floss!