Pineapple Tigers for a Roaring Year!

Summer: Late January 2010

Chinese New Year is just around the corner. This year i am getting into the festive mood of making some pineapple tarts! Pineapple tarts are a very popular CNY snack in Singapore, the little melts of buttery pastries are so yummy, though also packed full of calories! But it's CNY, like X'mas, it's the time to indulge and eat your worries away! :D

Here's my first batch of pineapple tarts getting the egg-wash treatment before going into the little mini-toaster oven behind me.

Since it's the year of the tiger, I have decided to make some of the tarts into the shape of the tiger! Hehe....I've got some in the shape of a flower too, with a huge ball of pineapple jam in the middle! Pineapple overkill!!!

Another close-up shot of my tiger and flower tarts.

And they turned out.....looking more like mice than tigers!!! Fat little mice!!! Hahahaha....Maybe I was thinking of the mice in the lab when shaping these!!! I will have to re-design them....

2nd batch of tigers baking in the oven!!

The 2nd batch did not look like mice anymore but rather, they looked more like cats! Hahaha....oh well, I tried!


This one looked like Hello Kitty! LOL!!

Mid-summer: 14th February 2010, 1st day in the year of the Tiger!

Here they are! They did make it to the table! My pineapple "tiger" tartlets! Eventhough they looked a bit like fat Garfields, they still give everyone the giggles when they picked one up to eat! That's what CNY is all about, a time to be happy and a time to eat!!! Eat a tiger before it eats you! Hahaha....Gong Hey Fatt Choy everyone! Have a very prosperous and good tiger year ahead! Roar!!!!

Purple Egg....Plants.

Summer: 1st week of February 2010

At least our eggplants are looking good! They are growing bigger and bigger everyday! Yummy grilled sambal eggplants! Mmmm.... :d

The pretty eggplant flower.

Mr. Pots is taking very good care of the eggplants! Haha...as always!

Melbourne's Heatwave Strikes Again!

Summer: Mid January 2009

It's that time of the year again! Got hit by the notorius heatwave, all our herbs have withered and died, only the rosemary is still soildering on!

The nasturtiums were not spared the heat either :S


My poppies tried very hard to survive but in the end, they all withered and gave up too! :'(

The lettuce, tomatoes and chards were badly scarred! Needless to say, the delicate snow peas did not appreciate the extreme heat treatment either! :'(

More scorched & scarred cherry tomatoes....


More "pokey holey" cherry tomatoes!

I thought this ox-heart tomato looked so big and juicy, until I plucked it off the vine, and looked right through it!! No wonder it felt so light for its size!

Uncle Frank to the rescue! Pruning and salvaging the damage to the tomato plants.

The only happy plants are my green pets, the cacti and succulents!

Despite the extensive damage, we still manage to collect a big bowl of tomatoes, full of vitamin C goodness!

Our bountiful harvest! At least, these should last us a while! ;)

The Tomatoes Are Ready!!! :D

Summer: Last week of December 2009

Our first harvest of tomatoes! We've got the cherries growing well, the ox-hearts are so tasty that the insects have got to them even before we did! Still, they are looking nice, plump and fresh!

Like a good O' Popeye diet? We've also got our harvest of spinach to build up all the iron in our blood cells! ;)

Up, Up & Away!

Very very late Spring: Last few days of November 2009

It had only been a few days, and already, the little black bird babies have developed a full bed of feathers, covering their wrinkly pink patches, so now they look all cuddly and cute! Here they are crouching down into their nest, aware of the intruder (me) and staying perfectly still, not even a feather! They looked like they are all ready to take their first flights!

Here's Mama bird perched on our fence and keeping a lookout and ready to swoop down for any intruders who gets too close to the nest!

1st day of Summer 2009

Sure enough, just a few days later, here is one of the little fledglings hiding in the daisy bush! They can't fly yet, so they are just hopping around the garden and picking grubs off the ground or being fed by their parents. We have to be careful not to step on them, although they stay out of our way most of the time!

And before long, they are gone.....all that's left of was the same little egg that had refused to hatch from the first clutch of eggs. Hope to see you again next Spring little black birds, we'll save this little spot in our orange tree for you! :)

It's Raining Cats and Dogs!

Very late Spring: Last week of November 2009

Melbourne received an unexpected downpour this weekend. No cats or dogs fell from the sky, but at least 60mm of rain was recorded! We don't really mind the rain these days in Melbourne. Especially after the heatwave last week, we actually welcome the rain with open arms, hoping it will last for another week or so to at least fill up the dams! When a downpour like this occurs once in a blue moon, a mini waterfall will start flowing from the "Big Leaky Hole" in the roof of the pergola in the backyard. So we pulled out all our pails, potted plants, and even our 70 liters rubbish bin-water trolley convert, and placed them under their desginated positions to collect all that precious water!!! Uncle Rudd should should be proud of our efforts! :D
It brings back memories of the days when I was growing up at grandma's house with zinc roofings, full of holes from rust. So when the rain comes, we will gather all the basins, pots and containers in the house, set them up in their strategic positions......and let the drip-drops together with the pitter patter on the zinc roofings, create a symphony of rain music! Plink-plonk-plonk, plink-plonk-plink.....ah....memories.....

This little dove must have got caught out in the rain! Caught sight of it sheltering under our weber! Must have been cold! Poor thing!

The rain has slowed down to a slight drizzle now, leaving little drops of water-pearls of on the leaves of the nasturtiums, making a very pretty sight.

Took a little peek on the nestlings, they are about one week old now. They looked like they have more feathers and have developed a little bit of dark greyish-brown colour to their skin. Huddled together to stay warm in their little nest, they look so cute! Stay warm and safe little ones! :)

Tomatoes, chillies and a little lady bird.

Late Spring: Mid November 2009

The tomatoes are growing!!! Spotted 2 Tommy Toes cherries on the vine last week, looks like more are on the way, can't wait! :)

The Heirlooms are growing prety well too, they look like little chinese lanterns, so cute!

The chillies from last season are growing well this year, the flowers have shrivelled and dried, leaving the little tiny chilli bub growing. So far there are no pest outbreaks, so we are keeping our fingers crossed....don't want to start another pest war with my powerful and stinging concoction of chillies, garlic and lemon peel!

Lady bird, Lady Bird....
Fly Away Home!
Your House in on Fire,
Your Children All Alone!

Good to see lady birds in the garden, they will help to keep those aphids in check, so don't be in a hurry to fly home yet, Lady Bird! You are welcome to stay here for as long as you like! ;)