The start of my little garden..

 A few months ago I wandered off to the local nursery and picked up half a dozen little flowering plants to pretty up my backyard. They were inexpensive and easy to plant which is exactly what I needed. I am not a green thumb, I tend to kill plants rather than nurture them, so this little project of mine was, in most people's mind, destined for failure.

I am pleased to announce that my little garden has grown and flourished even under the harshness of the Australian sun and our scorching hot days. I have always loved the thought of picking fresh herbs, veggies and even flowers from my garden, but I just didn't think I had it in me.

Now that I know that I am not ALWAYS going to kill these poor plants, I decided to start up my own little veggie/herb patch. I have in the past (thanks to Pinterest) researched the different types of gardens I could have but all options looked daunting, time-consuming and expensive. I visited a friend a few weeks ago and noticed her thriving little veggie patch. It wasn't a conventional garden, but each plant was in a bag, a special bag for veggies and herbs. It seemed like such a perfect idea. It has handles so it is portable to ensure it has the right amount of sun, they were inexpensive and not at all time consuming.

I had to get my hands on some of those babies. At the time I was extremely busy with final exams at uni, so I decided to wait until they were over and I had time I could devote to caring for my little plants. Last week I jumped online and ordered these "vegie bags". They arrived yesterday and today I decided to give them a go. I've planted Sweet Basil and Baby Spinach, two items I know I will eat. I plan to venture into lettuce and tomatoes and possibly even strawberries, but for the time being these two will keep me busy and give me a taste (no pun intended) of what it is like to grow my own.

I am excited!
P.S. they look like they are wilting, but I just watered them and they kinda just fell like that. I don't mean to pretend I know what I am talking about, but I think they will spring back up again... I hope!

Old chums and good times...

Photo from google images: http://www.thefoodpornographer.com/2007/07/14/another-couple-of-dinners/ 

Lately I have been feeling a little lonely. I left my job last December to take up full time studying, and while I am enjoying the study, meeting new people and creating new friendships, I miss my old pals. I worked full-time at that place for many years and believe I have made lifelong friends, but not seeing them 3-4 times a week makes me a little sad and a little lonely.

I was able to have them over for a few drinks on Saturday night and it was just so much fun, so chilled, I really enjoyed their company and realised how much I missed them. Last night I joined them for $5.50 chicken schnitzel at our local club, a tradition they started a few months ago. It was such a delightful affair, to get together with friends and share a meal, I hope the tradition stays.

Something different...

Flipping through my recipe books I could not come across a salad that appealed to my fussy eating habits so I decided to create one of my own. A combination of leafy salad greens, beans, chicken, avocado. mango and potato. I had no idea how it would turn out but I thought I would give it a shot anyhow.
So I roasted the potato, fried the chicken, cooked the beans, sliced and diced the avocado and mango and placed them all together in a bowl. No dressing, just the juices, flavours and textures of the ingredients. For myself, I went one step further and cut the beans even smaller so that I could eat them without gagging, yes I do realise I have a problem ;-)
It turned out just fine and I felt fantastic after it. After a weekend of party food, and birthday brunches I am looking forward to eating healthier this week. I'm ready to try new recipes, new flavours and new foods to try to find meals that are both easy to cook and are delicious to taste.