SPRING 2010

A walk around the neighbourhood on one sunny but chilly evening. Most of these photographs are of plants growing wild by the roadside, except for the roses. Enjoy these pictures.

This is a bottlebrush flower. There are also pink colour flowers as well. Look at the blue blue sky.

This is one of my favourite shots because of the tiny buds.

This is known as New Zealand's Christmas tree. It blooms fully in December and it is called Pohutukawa.

A kind of weed. It may just be weeds, but with lovely flowers.

Tiny Pohutukawa buds.... beautiful.

A kind of tiny succulent / cactus plant. It's tiny and grows wild. Love them.

The above and following two pictures are of weeds. Sometimes even weeds can be beautiful.

My front neighbour's apple tree. The plant is as thin as a match stick but is already producing apples.

MALT VINEGAR

JAPANESE MAYONNAISE

HP SAUCE

I love this sauce. Perfect for toasted sandwiches.

PANDAN PASTE

For lazy people like me.....

PHILADELPHIA CREAM CHEESE

If given a choice, always go for the lowest fat content. It may not be as creamy but your hips will not be compromised.

STORING FRESH HOMEMADE CHILLI PASTE

I am a true blue Nyonya girl and thus, I just love my chillies and can't live without them. Sadly, living in New Zealand, having a fiery addiction is very costly. In winter, the chillies can be very expensive...if there's any and my solution is to hoard all the chillies that I can get my hands on during the summer months as they are more available and so much cheaper. I am super busy in the summer months ( just like the ants ) and you will find that my freezer is jam packed with trays of chillies, berries and whatever else that I can freeze for the winter months.

Grinding a big batch of chillies is much easier than trying to grind 2 or 3 in a food processor. It is a pain with small quantities as the chillies only get flung to the side of the bowl. I have frozen my batch of chilli paste and just snap pieces off when required. It defrosts very quickly too.

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Ingredients:

• 500 gm fresh red chillis or any quantity you like

Method:

• Wash, cut off the ends and remove most of the seeds with a teaspoon if you do not like your chillies to be hot.
• Put into a food processor and blend until fine. There is no need to add water or oil.

• Pack into plastic bags, flatten and label.

Note:

• You can also use dried red chillies. Just cut off the stalk of each chilli and then snip into about 2cm lengths. You can remove the seeds if you like and give a thorough wash. Put the washed chillies in a pot and add water to just cover them. Bring to a boil and cook until the chillies soften. Drain the water and put under tap and wash until the water runs clear. Now, it is ready to be blended.
• It is a good idea to take a small bite of the fresh chilli to determine its spiciness before you decide to remove the seeds or not. Remember, once you decide to blend the chillies with the seeds and if it turns out to be too hot, you can't do anything about it and vice versa.

Tip:

• It is easier to blend at least 500gm of chillies.
• Freeze it flat as it is easier to break off pieces to use as required. Use a baking tray to lay the bags on and once it's frozen, you can remove the tray.

Idea: Sinner