pumpzini?

The funny thing is that I was reading all about seed saving at the end of last year... learning properly for the first time really about cross-pollenation, hybrids and how much this varies between species.

And I was awfully worried that all my zucchini seedlings had succumbed to slugs and I'd just have piles of pumpkin. But as my little plants grew I became very confused... they looked like zucchini plants, but why were the fruits so round? And so, I present - pumzini!

I think the japanese pumpkin seed I got from the seed bank at work must have been cross-pollinated. There have been suggestions I could call them jazzini instead but that's a little too hip for these babies. I've been picking them young so I don't know if they'll go orange or not. I had a dream I let one grow real big and it was orange inside. They grow damn fast and prolific like a zucchini though. And they cook up quite like a lebanese zucchini - quite firm, a little melty. They have more seeds in the middle though - like a pumpkin... Yeah you get it.

So now, what to cook with them? So far I've just done them a 'la Mr Malouf - sauteed with garlic and then lots of chopped mint. Tasty but not really a main event. I'm thinking zucchini poufs. They were a huge hit at new years. And so many opportunities for silly puns.

some gingers ain't too bad.

Baking again!

Yes I'm back with the flour and the sifting thanks to this recipe for Gingerbread to Warm Your Heart. And thanks to the ever inspiring piequeen for making me wanna get straight back into the kitchen even when it's way to hot for any bit of me to need warming.

This is gonna make the best gingerbread icecream.

The texture is just how I want gingerbread to be - cakey sticky and soft.

Ps - If you use chinese ginger powder from Minh Phat it will taste slightly Asian. I'm not sure this is to be recommended.

purslane

I can't tell if it's cos mega food just don't seem that exciting since the mini food or because my fridge is broken but lately I'm lacking cooking inspiration. I am however, very excited about eating from the garden and that's gonna be my inspiration reviver I think.

This little would-be weed is all over my garden. Then I noticed it was also in a lot of the gardens at work, at the Flemington Community Gardens. It's mainly gardeners from the Horn of Africa who grow it and they call it "regla". At least the Tigrinya speakers do.

My co-worker informed me it was "purslane". A ha! I'd been reading about purslane in Mexican (verdolagas) and Lebanese cookbooks but had no idea where to get it. I love that it's all over my vegie patch and coming up in the cracks of the drive-way. Even colonised this empty oil tin planter.

Yesterday one of the gardeners brought a big stack of injera down to the gardens along with a tasty green stew/sauce. This was regla I was told. To be honest it could have been any green, it was so finely minced but it sure was good. I think the mucilaginous quality of the purslane did make it deliciously thick.

So check your weeds and send me your favourite purslane recipes.

Today's Dolly is this lovely Dolly Varden cake.

I don't know why Joel looks so bereft with a birthday cake like this. His housemates sure must like him. They were traumatised from icing disasters but Dolly looked swell, replete with a great cape and choker. People were very impressed that I knew what cakes this shape are meant to be called so thanks for the education lizzo. Don't think I ain't putting it to good use.

(yes on the left you can see a second cake - this one was a simple paddock and cows type with lovely liquourice log fencing. and it had a great puddle - splashing blue on the cow even.)

there's nothing dirty going on

I think when we gave this out the other night people thought it was some kinda serious socialist flyer. I'm not sure how that could be. Sex worker organizing maybe? But then what is Dolly? Maybe an acronym? It was odd because they gave it the "look at it quick and stick it right in your pocket" treatment.

So then I get to wondering, does our little flyer funny to anyone else? Do I spend too much time thinking about socialist alternative flyers?

ps - If you can't get to the screening get to a video shop. this truly is the campest musical delight I've seen. Oh Dolly, this dirty queerdo loves you.

the last of the mini

I forgot to mention the mini fairy bread. How could I have?

It's always amazing how good fluffy white bread can be with some butter and hundreds and thousands. Some might ask why we bother baking cakes at all when we could just do this? Oh and Joni and Tanya did such an amazing mini-job. So small! So neat!

Happy new year to all. A good sweet one I think. And maybe a blog-prolific one thanks to the arrival of this sweet little computer. We'll see.

ps - mini fairy cakes by tal. I swear I'm done with mini now.