Jackie's May message . . .
Contents:
Introduction
In the garden
What to plant in May
Some Great Plants for Autumn:
strawberry guava, tree dahlias, citrons, Himalayan pears, chokos
Awards
New Books
Time Table So far This Year
A Few Recipes
. fudge fudge fudge
......(including fantastic carrot caramel fudge and choc apple fudge-
seriously, they're good! Plus the Fascinating History of Fudge
. strawberry guava jelly
. ginger and melon jam
. The fireman's balls ( rated
M for mature adults only)
Introduction
The
wind is howling, the air is thick with yellow leaves, the fire is glowing in
the kitchen and there is a brown blob outside slowly vacuuming up the grass.
I'm pretty sure the blob is Grunter (Mothball wombat's son and once called
Hark, but renamed because he burps all the time- from both ends. Though come to
think of it Grunter's digestion has improved since he stopped guzzling all the
fallen pears and apples.
There are still a few fallen
apples- our apple trees keep cropping till June- but not as many, just the ones
the parrots and currawongs drop accidentally. One dropped an apple onto the
roof at 5.30 am yesterday morning. It bounced five times as it rolled down and
I woke sure someone was letting off a bazooka down among the orange trees.
But then the dopey bird dropped
another and I realised what it as.
I was just drifting off to
sleep again when someone knocked on the front door. So I staggered up to see
who it was, but it was just the shrike thrush, pecking at its refection in the
glass.
It didn't really seem worth
going back to sleep after that.
There was a bunch of flowers
on the doormat yesterday morning too. Well, not so much a bunch as a
scattering. And all blue...the bower birds have started picking all the blue
flowers to decorate their bowers, and like the parrots drop as much as they
carry off. Don't know why I grow blue flowers actually, the bower birds steal
the lot. They adore the blue sage- which means we get green straggly stems and
they get the good stuff.
In the garden
It's
a gloriously gentle time now- incredibly dry, of course. (What that's stuff
called again, the wet stuff from the sky?)
But it's cool enough for that
not to really matter, and there is still water in the tanks from the mizzle
last month. And the avocadoes are fat and the pomegranates red and the choko
vine hasn't even noticed there's a drought. I reckon a choko is the best
investment you can ever make. what other investment gives you about 8,000% a
year? Plant one and you get boxes of fruit later in the year.
We pick our chokos when they
are thumb nail size, just like tiny zucchini instead of watery great marrows.
Tiny chokos don't even need peeling, and there is no tough seed inside. But
even the big ones that are drooping down from the top of the lemon tree and the
Japanese maple where I can't reach them will be good in a cheese sauce when
they finally fall down later in winter.
Hope they don't drop on
anyone, including Grunter. We need a sign: beware of falling chokos.
And there are limes and
lemons, the first of the sour calamondins that the birds adore, tamarillos,
pecans, chestnuts, chilacayotes, lillypillies, strawberry guavas (see below),
the first kiwi fruit, a few late pears, early quinces, and I ate the first
'ordinary' guava yesterday too- lovely sweet passionfruity thing.
Our climate is supposed to be
too cold for guavas, but I grew this one in the shelter of a grove of apple
trees and metre and half high dahlias, and after a slow start it's done well.
What to do in May
I
love May. Summer's heat has vanished and winter still hasn't got its teeth in.
This is the month to really get stuck into the garden, partly because it's a
great time to be outdoors, but also to make sure you have a bright and blooming
garden to cheer you up through winter.
. Plant citrus, passionfruit, conifers and native shrubs in frost free areas
(in very cold spots wait till spring).
. Plant almost ready to flower pansies, primulas, polyanthus, poppies, and
water and feed well
. Feed everything that's going to flower soon or is flowering - pansies,
camellias, daphne etc
. Stake chrysanthemums - the heavy flowers can weigh down the stems so they
straggle along the ground. Pick flowers OFTEN so new ones form lower down the
stems.
. Mow your lawn. Even if the grass hasn't grown much the weeds will have, and a
mow now will cut the tops off the weeds and keep your lawn neater through
winter.
. Cut dead flowers off hydrangeas, roses, oleander, plumbago and tibouchina -
in fact ANY dead flower should always be zapped off fast (unless you're waiting
for rose hips or seeds afterwards). Pruning off deadheads encourages new
blooms, but it's also depressing to have dead flowers hanging about, and their
sweetness can breed moulds and attract sap sucking pests.
. Pick pumpkins when the stems wither; keep them in a sunny spot (either shed
roof or patio) for a few days to harden up, then store on their sides so that
moisture doesn't collect in the top or bottom 'dimple'.
. Divide kangaroo paws, agapanthus, red hot pokers, asters, iris clumps,
watsonias and strawberry runners. Take hardwood cuttings of deciduous plants
like hydrangeas - snap off pieces 15 -30 cm long, dip in hormone powder (from
the garden centre), insert deeply in potting mix and keep moist (I keep a
plastic bag over mine held in place with a rubber band over the pot). Plant out
those that develop roots next autumn/winter.
. WATER (if you have some) - plants dry out even in cool weather!
What to plant
Frost-free areas: peanuts, potatoes,
garlic, beans, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cucumber, leek, lettuce,
melons, pumpkins, radish, silver beet, spinach, tomato, zucchini, sweet corn.
Flowers: ageratum, alyssum, cornflower, dianthus, linaria, Livingstone daisy,
lupin, nasturtium, salvias, sunflowers.
Temperate areas: garlic, broad beans, cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage,
Chinese cabbage and bok choy and other Asian veg seedlings, onions, peas,
spinach seedlings, silver beet seedlings, artichoke suckers
Cold areas: broad beans, onions, spinach seedlings, shallots, artichoke
suckers.
Flowers for temperate and cold areas (seedlings, not seeds - seeds can rot in
the cold): alyssum, amaranths, forget-me-not (as long as they won't become a
weed), Shirley poppy, Virginia stock, lupin, pansies, polyanthus, viola,
anemone and ranunculus bulbs, salvias, viola, wallflowers.
Free fertiliser
Rake up the leaves (or run the mower over them so they get caught up in the
catcher - much easier) then use them as mulch around trees or gardens - you
improve the soil, feed the plants and definitely attract snails so put down
snail bait traps too!
Some Great Plants for Autumn
Tree dahlias
These are the most stunning
plant in our garden at the moment, two or three metres high or more. Every
autumn visitors go 'Ahhh!'. (well, actually none have ever said 'aaah', it's
more likely 'what the #!!**! are those things!!!??', but you know what I mean.)
Tree dahlias are great big
shaggy darlings, with either lilac or white flowers like fairy's skirts, but
the stems are narrow so they don't take up much room and while they only flower
once a year that show is so startling they are definitely worth while.
How to grow: Plant a stem cutting of two or more segments, planted horizontally
about ten cm deep in winter. Cut back to ground level or half way down after
flowering or when cut by frost. (This gives lots of cuttings too.) I trim mine
back in early summer too, to encourage them to bush out.
Where to grow: Temperate areas, as they are cut by early frost, but they'll
survive with well-drained soil and very green fingers even in the subtropics.
Choose a sunny spot sheltered from strong winds - they are top heavy in flower
and can blow over.
Strawberry Guava
These are small trees or large
bushes, up to about 2 metres high and one and a half metres wide, with glossy
green leaves, insignificant white flowers and masses of cherry sized fruit- a
bit like a cross between a pear and a passionfruit. Slice them into a sweet
fruit salad, serve with sweetened cream on a pavlova or make into a sauce for
sweetened cream cheese, or turn into jam. Or ust eat them from the tree. Note:
they must be REALLY dark red or they won't be sweet- when they start falling
off the tree you know they're ready. But there'll be ripe ones and green ones
on the tree at the same time for two months or so.
Strawberry guava grow in full
sun or light shade. Once established they don't need watering, weeding, feeding
or pruning; will give a crop in the worst droughts; birds love them and they
don't get pests like fruit fly. ie just plant, keep moist for the first year,
then forget about them except to pick the fruit.
Chokos
A young, fresh, SMALL choko is
about 20 times better than a zucchini.
Plant a choko in spring in a
fertile sunny spot; it'll shoot a few weeks later. let it climb; keep well fed
and watered, though it will tolerate drought by just doing nothing till it
rains; in cold climates it will start bearing in early autumn. Pick the chokos
when they are about as long as your thumb- much sweeter and with denser flesh
than the overgrown monsters in the supermarket. Eat steamed, boiled, baked-
anything you can do with a zucchini you can do with choko.
Himalayan Pears
These are BIG trees, with
bright yellow autumn leaves, and extraordinarily hardy. Mostly they are grown
as very very drought and cold and heat hardy ornamentals, but you can use the
small hard pears like crab apples ie stew them to make a very good jelly- or
just let them hang over winter so the birds enjoy them.
Citrons
These are the most fragrant
skinned by far of all the citrus- nowadays mostly used for candied peel,
though they used to be used in perfumery and incense.
The trees are pretty hardy;
tolerate semi shade but do need to be kept moist until established. Grow in a
protected spot in cold frosty climates ie with trees around to shelter them
from cold winds. They'll do fine in tropical climates too, and are more drought
hardy than most citrus- which isn't saying much.
Citrons are not the most
attractive tree in the world- not bad, just a bit boring- even the ripe fruit
may have a greenish tinge. But the fruit's fragrance is worth it- a truly
lovely whiff.
Awards
DIARY OF A WOMBAT has been awarded a 'KIND' award in the USA by the equivalent
of our RSPCA for its humour and for showing how humans can live peaceably with
wildlife.
Bryan said they'd rather
missed the point- living with wombats is anything BUT peaceful! But it's truly
lovely to be given the award.
Too Many Pears and Hitler's
Daughter have also been short listed for the YABBA awards- and a million
zillion thanks to all who voted for
them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Valley of Gold was a
Notable Book with this year's CBC Awards.
New Books
For
once there are no new books out this month! I've been doing the final touches
to My Uncle Gus the garden Gnome, My Dad the Dragon (and Stephen Michael King's
illustrations are stunning), Phredde and the Vampire Footie Team (haven't seen
Mitch Vane's illustrations for that yet- can't wait) and also PETE the SHEEP,
which is a sort of sequel to Diary of a Wombat with Bruce Whatley- but a sheep
instead of a wombat, and just as funny, gentle and mildly insane. I've only
seen Bruce's 'rough' sketches for the book, not the final artwork- keep
checking the mail box to see if it's there. PETE is coming out in October, and
the first few thousand copies sold will have the most adorable free toy sheep
with them. But you'll need to get in fast for those.
Otherwise the latest books are
Tom Appleby, the story of a
convict boy
Phredde and the Purple Pyramid
Flesh and Blood- the third in
the award winning Outlands series (This is NOT for younger kids!)
War for Gentlemen- the novel
for adults that came out in December last year
Schedule for this year so far:
May 16: announcement of the winners of the ACT Writer's Short Story
Competition at the national Library, Canberra. Entry forms from the ACT
Writer's Centre
May 28/29 Charter's Towers All Souls Literary Festival, QLD.
June: release of My Dad the Dragon and My Uncle Gus the Garden Gnome- the third
and fourth Wacky Family books
June, 5 (Saturday) 2-5 Pm Griffin Centre Canberra- talk to Friends of the ABC
on Wombats, Weeds and Widdleberries- 15 years of radio books and TV
Release of To the Moon and
Back with Bryan Sullivan - the story of Honeysuckle Creek and the journey to
the moon.
July 2,3,4: Shoalhaven Literary Festival. No details yet!
July 8 : free Club Cool talk at Dickson Library, Canberra
August 16,127, 18 Book Week talks in Sydney. Contact Lateral Learning for
details.
Release of Rocket Your Child into Reading- how to fast track your kids to
reading success
August 23, 24, 25. Book Week talks in Melbourne. Contact Booked Out for
details.
August 25- gardening talk at Mount Eltham 6.30- 8.00PM Contact: Narelle Liepa,
Environmental Projects Officer. Nillumbik Shire Council PO Box 476
Greensborough 3088 Telephone: 9433 3214
September 14,15,16 West Moreton Anglican College Festival of Literature,
Karrabin, QLD. Contact Megan Daley, West Moreton Anglican College for more
details.
September 30 : free Club Cool talk and story clinic, at one of Canberra's
libraries.
October: release of Pete the Sheep with Bruce Whatley, a picture book about,
well Pete the Sheep!
Late October: Bolinda School comes to visit!
October 18, 10: talks to school and the public at Border Town, South Australia
and places nearby
November 11-14 Ourimbah Campus Children's Literature Festival, Ourimbah NSW
Release of Phredde and the Vampire Footie Team- a story to eat with an orange
at half time
November 21. Open Garden Workshops in our garden. Bookings essential through
the Open garden Scheme.
A Few Recipes
The Fascinating History of fudge
If
you look up the Internet it will tell you that fudge was invented in the USA.
Actually fudge used to be a mix of sugar, egg white and crystallised fruit- and
that's where 'to fudge the books' came from. Old fashioned fudge was a mix of
different types of ingredients, and if you 'fudge the books' you take the true
figures and add false bits.
But late in the 1800's 'modern'
fudge became popular- and it probably WAS first popularised in the USA. But
'modern' fudge is really old fashioned Scottish 'tablet'.
Tablet can be made just plain
and sugary, or richer and with cream added- and if you make any of the many
centuries old Scottish tablet recipes you end up with fudge.
So just as the Scottish
Halloween turned into the US Halloween, Scottish 'tablet' turned into
fudge...maybe because ' saying: 'Would you like a nice tablet dear?' doesn't
sound half as much fun as 'would you like a piece of fudge'!
Basic Very Rich and Simple Fudge
This
is the easiest and best recipe I know. As long as you keep stirring so it
doesn't burn you can't go wrong.
NB This stuff is HOT. It is very tempting to taste as you go, but don't- unless
you scatter a few drops on the bench and let them cool before tasting.
1 400 gm tin condensed milk
3 heaped tbs butter
2 cups sugar
Melt butter and sugar over a
low heat, stirring so it doesn't burn. Make sure the sugar has dissolved or the
fudge will be sugary. Add the condensed milk. Keep the heat low and stir for
about 20 minutes. Do not stop stirring or it will burn on the bottom!!!!!! It
will be ready when there are bubbles all through it, not just on top- you'll
notice when this happens- and when it comes slightly away from the bottom of
the pan in a wave as you stir it. You'll notice when this happens too!
Pour into a buttered dish or
onto baking paper and spread it out a bit. . Cut into squares when cool. Keep
in a sealed container for...well, maybe months if you don't guzzle it.
Rich caramels
Only cook the fudge for about
15 minutes- under cooked fudge is caramel; overcooked caramel is fudge!
Macadamia fudge
Add 1 cup chopped nuts when
you add the condensed milk
Peanut Butter fudge
Add half cup crunchy peanut
butter with the condensed milk
Carrot Fudge (or caramel)
Add half a cup FINELY grated
carrot with the butter and sugar, so it cooks a little before the milk is
added.
Apple fudge
Add 1 cup grated apple as
above.
Beetroot fudge
As for carrot fudge but using
beetroot. Beetroot goes especially well with a chocolate fudge base. See below.
Apricot or peach fudge (wonderful)
Cover half a cup dried peaches
or apricots with hot water, leave overnight. Drain well. Add to sugar and
butter mix. This fudge may need another five minutes' cooking as there will be
more moisture in it.
Kiwi fruit fudge
Add half a cup finely chopped,
peeled kiwi fruit with the butter and sugar.
Orange Cointreau fudge
Add 1 tbs finely grated orange
peel with the condensed milk and 1 tbs cointreau just before you pour the mix
out.
Coffee fudge
Add 1 heaped tsp instant
coffee with the condensed milk
Chilli fudge
Add 6 finely chopped red
chillies with the sugar and butter. Chillies go particularly well with a
chocolate fudge base.
Chocolate Fudge
Add six squares of chocolate 1
minute before you pour it out, and stir it in well
Chocolate and carrot, or beetroot or apple, or apricot etc fudge: use the fruit
fudge recipes but add chocolate at the end as above
Chocolate Layer Fudge
Pour out half the mix; scatter
on half a cup chopped nuts; add 4 squares chocolate to the rest of the mix,
stir and pour over the bottom layer.
Brussel sprout and vegemite fudge
Nah, only joking.
Note: the beetroot and carrot fudges do not taste of vegetables! Bryan ate
about 12 squares in 5 minutes before I told him what was in them.
Melon and Pineapple jam
500 gm of peeled, seeded, finely chopped
choko, peeled jam melon, or marrow
1 kg sugar
juice 10 lemons
500 g chopped peeled pineapple
Mix all together in a bowl.
leave overnight- this is important so don't skip it.
Add two cups water. Boil till
a little sets on a plate. I leave mine in the pot as soon as it goes glug glug-
if it sets when cool I just reheat and bottle; if not, give it another ten
minutes or so. Like all jams, stir often so it doesn't catch on the bottom- a
long slow simmering means less chance of catching then a fast hot boil.
Bottle and seal. Keeps well.
Melon/choko/marrow and ginger jam
1 kg of peeled, seeded, finely chopped
choko, melon, or marrow
1 kg sugar
juice 6 lemons
250 gm preserved ginger, chopped
Mix all together in a bowl.
leave overnight- this is important so don't skip it. Boil till a little sets on
a plate. I leave mine in the pot as soon as it goes glug glug- if it sets when
cool I just reheat and bottle; if not, give it another ten minutes or so. Like
all jams, stir often so it doesn't catch on the bottom- a long slow simmering
means less chance of catching then a fast hot boil.
Bottle and seal. Keeps well.
or
6 cups chokos, peeled seeded and chopped
juice of 6 lemons
100 gm chopped crystallised ginger or two tbs finely chopped fresh ginger
3 cups sugar
Proceed as above, adding 2
cups water as you begin to cook it.
Kids, this one is censored! Do not read this recipe!!!!!!!!!
The Fireman's Balls
200 gm ground hazelnuts or almonds
half cup icing sugar
1 egg white (not beaten)
2 tbs rum, brandy, Khalua, Cointreau or any liqueur
quarter cup thickened cream
400 gm white chocolate
250 gm dark chocolate
1 tbs copha
10 fresh red chillies, seeds removed and sliced into three
OR
about 30 glace cherries or sections of other glace fruit
Optional: shredded coconut
Mix icing sugar, ground nuts, egg white, then when mixed well add the liqueur
and cream.
Melt the white chocolate in the top of a double boiler, then stir in the nut
mixture. Take off the heat when well mixed and leave till cool.
When cool enough to handle
take small spoons full and roll around a piece of chilli, or piece of
crystallised fruit, till they are egg shaped.
Melt the dark chocolate either
in a bowl in the microwave or the double boiler; roll the chilli nut mix in the
chocolate and leave to dry.
For an authentic look you can
roll in coconut- or toasted coconut.
Keep refrigerated for about a
week.