INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon fresh grated giner
1 teaspoon fresh grated turmeric, or half a teaspoon of ground dry turmeric

1 teaspoon cinnamon
half teaspoon of clove
half teaspoon of nutmeg
half teaspoon of ground black peppercorns
a teeny pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

1-2 cups of water

honey or sugar to sweeten. I choose honey because I think it smells and tastes nicer
milk

WHAT TO DO
Put all the ingredients, except for the honey into a small stove top saucepan or pot. I'd love to try this in a billy over a campfire. I think it would be amazing. 

Simmer gently until you can smell it and it has coloured the water. If you like your tea strong, you'll brew it longer. I do. If you like a weak tea, or herbal teas, you may like it brewed for less time.

Strain your brew through a tea strainer and into a warmed mug. Add your choice of milk: soy, almond, skim, full cream. 


Enjoy.

THIS morning's fog has lifted revealing another glorious autumn blue-sky day. Three loads of washing will go out on the line this morning. Manure and compost will be dug into a garden bed I freed of summer annuals two days ago and new seedlings and seeds will go in. I'll go for a run, eat good food, write a little, read a little (see below), knit a little: what a perfect end to a holiday long weekend.

:: Op shopping in Sierra Leone. An Aussie aid worker shares her secrets.
:: Could you make this work in an abandoned corner near you?
:: Half of these women have been harassed in their workplace. I'm one of them.
:: Crochet as therapy. Really. Serious. Therapy.
:: Having it all kinda sucks. The reality check we all need to read.

It’s a pleasure and delight to wander into the garden every evening and see what it’s offered up. Today, a strawberry. Soon tomatoes and eggplant, zucchini, capsicum and cucumbers.

From wanderings in the garden, to wanderings online, here’s where they've taken me:

:: Will meeting Fanny, Dick, Moonface and Silky on the big screen ruin it for you?
:: Are you a dabbler? Do you think it’s a bad thing?
:: Have you found your passion?
:: Do you have a morning routine? Mine will include more of this after the weekend.

Polished stones categorised onto coasters by the grandmunchkin. She's three.

I AM sporting scratches across my face, up my arms and over the back of my hands. My knees are bruised and my back catches if I sit for too long and try to stand up.

Yup, I’ve been gardening.

This brutal and punishing exercise in self-flagellation has netted a veggie patch cleared of weeds; a back fence cleared of weeds; a semi-pruned hibiscus that I’ll admit has temporarily defeated me; and, an expanded garden bed.

I’ve also, I hope, managed to avoid a fine by clearing overgrown Echium and Bird of Paradise from the water meter – that, and possibly a less than discreet pruning of the same at the hands of the local council.

Best of all, being out in the garden means I’ve seen the first puffs of wattle coming into bloom. That first spray means there’s a coming spring and summer, and I, for one, can’t wait.

What new things are you learning, or yearning to learn?

I CAME to the garden late this season. The year had been busy and I hadn't had the chance to prepare garden beds for summer planting.

I ploughed on anyway and scattered a handful of different seeds across hastily turned and fed beds and filled in the empty spaces with nursery-bought seedlings.

Despite the late start and lack of attention I've been rewarded with kilos of tomatoes, fresh summer herbs and an abundance of lettuces. Cucumbers are starting to crop alongside zucchinis, eggplant, capsicum and chilli. Dahlias are coming into bloom and early season herbs are setting seed that will soon be replanted. The turmeric and gingers have bloomed and look lush against a sweep of Vietnamese mint, regular mint, horseradish and comfrey.

The olive tree I cut back hard has put a lot of effort into new leaf and is lush with new silvery growth. The pomegranate too was cut back and carefully staked to withstand this year's strong spring winds and has also put on new leaf and limbs.

In a week's time, the seeds I planted into punnets will have sprouted and I'll be ready to put in an order to Diggers for the new and extended beds I've been literally dreaming about.

This garden's a joy. I've missed it and am glad to be back.