HOT DAYS

In My Garden
It has been hot for the past few days, it does not take long for the garden to suffer, it needs watering regularly.  The grass is brownish and we let it be, but the potted plants and the garden beds are so dry, I have been waiting for a cool change and the rain, but I have no luck, so watering has to be done.  No more flowers that I could pick, but a few summer roses I could have and I save them for the house.  The potted Gardenia and annual flowering plants such as Petunia, inpatients are in flower but they don't last.

The Last Summer Roses

Light prune for roses is necessary that's what I have been doing, except for the variegated red roses, they are still flowering, and they will stay until Autumn.  I guess it is wrong if I said the last summer roses, but it is true for other roses.

The variegated cannas and the yellow dwarf cannas are in flower too, even though they don't last, but still, they give colours in the garden.

For the first year, I keep all orchids in the backyard, scattered around everywhere in shady places, some of them have yellowish leaves, maybe they need to be transferred to a cooler place.  More work has to be done.

In The Vegetable Patch
Herbs grow well, the flowers in the hot days made them turn into seeds very quickly.   I am not a seeds gatherer, but this time I tried to keep some of the seeds from the coriander plants and also from the curly brown lettuce.




Harvesting the self-sewn potted Roma tomato for the first time, I don't think I will have a lot more, it is only a plant, but more than enough for what we need. The hot weather is good for the tomato and other fruits to ripe.
Fruit Trees
Rayner's apple tree is fruiting and doing well, maybe we have to give extra water during the hot days,  my nectarine are fruiting too, as I mentioned before the tree has very little fruits but they are looking good.  It is almost time to harvest, I know just about time, soon as the kids are back to school the nectarines are ready to be picked.

Nectarines 2014

The joy of gardening is from preparing the soil, planting, and looking after,  to harvesting, all done by ourselves or myself as I am so happy and proud.

Indulgence for the Hot Days.
To have a fresh salad and fresh fruits daily from the garden is a big ask, as my garden only has a couple of fruit trees, but the markets are there for us.  Aren't we so fortunate?

Summer Trifle

Summer Trifle for the hot day, cool, fresh and delish!  It's a treat.  It is layers of sponge cake with syrup, jelly, fruits and whipped cream.  Instead of syrup, you could add liquor.

Homemade lemonade for drinks is good, or if you like, prepare herbal tea, keep it cool in the refrigerator, add extra lemon juice to serve, it is very refreshing.





Cooking for The Hot Days
It is very easy: salads are the best, but I cook sometimes, using the top of the stove.  I do it in the morning and serve for dinner.
I fancy to have a crispy pastry for our plate, and this is what I did: prepared Susy water pastry, roll it out thinly, fill with cheese and young asparagus in between, and cook it on a hot pan over the stove until they are golden.  Use it as a plate to place the garnishes.

Pastry Plate, with mayonnaise chicken and sweet potato

To serve, cut into wedges

The Preparation

The water pastry dough

 Susy Prima Water Pastry
2 cups full of plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoon vegetable oil

The thin pastry with young asparagus
and cheese

Mix all ingredients together to make a soft dough, Knead it until silky and smooth.  Rest it for 35 minutes before using it.


There are water pastry recipes of mine, one thing that they have in common is the pastry based on flour, warm water and oil.

Two pastry sheets with the filling

The cooking for this fancy plate will take ten minutes approximately.  You need medium heat to start off and continue with very low heat.

When it is cooked, use it straight away to get the crispy texture.

However, you could keep them on a plate and cover.  The next time you want to use it, put it in a hot oven for a few minutes to crisp them up.

Cooking on a hot pan

Cooked Pastry Plate

The pastry plate with mayonnaise chicken,
and sweet potatoes.

The only fresh salad from the garden right now is tomato and sorrel salads.  The other day I took some zucchini from the club which was shared by Irene, thank you,  and I used them as a mixed salad with lettuce and carrots.   During summer months I don't plant lettuces, I wait until Autumn, the intense heat doe's not helping these plant to do well.

I am thinking of my friends during the hot days, we are no longer very young, so the hot days can be difficult.  We are all sensible enough to cope, but I am hoping a cool change is coming soon.

On that note,  Take Care All!!!

Until Next Post
Susy