autumn - cut and paste

Pomegranites everywhere.  Our first bag has appeared on the doorstep.   They are difficult to clean but worth the effort.  I usually juice them but have made pomegranite liqueur and love to just chew on a handful of nice cold seeds.  

Pomegranites and lemons from the neighbour

Getting the seeds out of the pomegranite is not easy.  Don't believe Jamie Oliver when you see him smacking one and watching the seeds falling out into his salads. He has a back-up team for prepping. They usually need a good scraping with a knife or spoon and then a lot of the white pith comes along with the seeds.  If the juice gets on your clothes, forget it. Washing out the stain is almost impossible. 

Pomegranite (rodi) seeds are always part of the koliva (funeral wheat).  They are the fruit of death and rebirth.

 We throw them at the front door on New Years eve.  The seeds bursting out all over the threshold symbolise abundance and good luck.  It also gives you a cleaning up job on New Year's Day.

In a few weeks the oxalis will have taken over the garden and it will be a sea of green.  In this photo there are nasturtiums and oxalis.  I love things which take over the garden though I would prefer it to be something which does not grow knee high nor throttles the lettuces.  Mint in the summer and nasturtiums in the winter are my favourites.  I love the flowers of the nasturtiums.  These ones are usually yellow but I have a feeling they are like hydrangeas and the colours change according to the acidity of the soil.



Yesterday the grandchildren with me directing planted onions and lettuces.  Last night we had a nice gentle rain fall.  Today the sun is shining.  What wonderful growing weather. 

Grandchildren come in handy for heavy jobs. They got down the heavy cases of winter clothes from the top of the wardrobe, brought in the outdoor TV (summer is over), cleaned under the beds (small children love to roll around in dark, dusty places), hoed and planted. Great kids.

This pot contains an amaryllis.  The oxalis was already choking this so I gave it a good weeding.  The amaryllis apparently flowers in mid winter.  I'm not sure if that is true here. Time will tell.


Amaryllis

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The cheerful colours of winter's flowers.  At the garden shop

Last year I planted pansies amongst the lettuces and loved the combination.  I just might buy some pansy plants this year too.  My grandmother always had a border of pansies around her garden.  Their bright, jolly 'faces' give  cheer on a winter's day.

Cuttlefish (soupies) ready to be chopped up and cooked with spinach

The first of this winter's spinach

The cuttlefish has to be skinned and have the ink sac removed.  I have cleaned many a cuttlefish in days gone by and it is a messy task.  These one are frozen and nice and white, ready for cooking. 

 Cut the cuttlefish into small pieces and fry in olive oil with a chopped onion and some cloves of garlic.  

Pour in some wine, add chopped tomatoes and simmer gently, probably half an hour till the fish is soft.

Add the chopped spinach and lots of fresh dill.  Simmer about 10 to 15 minutes till the spinach is soft and tender.  Add salt and lots of pepper.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice