This summer has been so hot and dry I've had trouble keeping the tomatoes alive, and the pumpkins and eggplants have struggled along. The faithful zucchinis and squashes have kept us eating veg most of the week (especially the VERY prolific Tromboncino) and cucumbers failed to even get far off the ground. What a year. The upside to the hot, dry conditions is the avalanche of chillies filling the kitchen.
We've been eating some of them fresh, and leaving some in a basket in the hot sunroom to dry out. Matt even made a giant batch of curry paste to freeze for our favourite red curry. I think that's been the most successful dish of the summer: 'garden curry' with eggplant, zucchini and pumpkin, chillies, basil and galangal, all from the garden. Delicious! It's based on the red curry recipe from 'Cooking with Poo' (yes, that's the real title I promise, you can check it out here http://www.handicrafts.org.au/contents/en-us/d63.html). There are some great recipes in it, but this is my favourite.
We're growing 3 different chillies this year, the mildest being the jalapenos, next the long red chillies, and finally my all time favourite the Purple Dragon. It has gorgeous purple, white and green variegated leaves, with purple flowers that turn into purple fruits, and turn red as they ripen. They look beautiful all year round, and this one is 2 years old now. It is super-hot though, and I usually only use 1 or 2 of the tiny little gems in a meal. I have had to apologise to my dear sister for not warning her well enough, resulting in a ruined thai beef salad... but I'm sure she will forgive me!
Today though, I'm wearing my warm pyjamas and a jumper. It has finally been raining, and it's such a divine sound on the roof. Hopefully it's just in time to get some corn and the last of the tomatoes before it cools down, and then I'll have to get cracking planting some winter veg seeds.
I've mentioned before that I've got quite a long drive between work and home, and also mentioned that I like to keep my eyes peeled for interesting plants, flowers and seeds along the roadside.
Over the last week I've been watching a particular corner as it gradually became covered in white fluff, and had to stop and investigate (which is no mean feat on the highway, surrounded by commuting miners).
To my delight I discovered half a dozen cotton plants (most likely Gossypium hirsutum), in all their fuzzy glory. A few branches are now in a vase in my kitchen.
Somewhere along the line a truck must have dropped seeds along the highway, producing the soft surprise I found today. Cotton is from the Hibiscus family (Malvaceae) but you might not recognise it at this point, the flower has come and gone. The seed capsule is green and firm, and splits open as it dries. This is when the cotton begins to spill out like a luscious cloud.
I'm amazed to be reminded that my bedlinen, towels, and most of my clothing all started out life like this.
What's more beautiful than that?
