WINTER

Winter in the Garden.
It is cold to be working in the garden, but tidy up the place is a must for the plants to have space and to rest during the winter.  Over twenty-five roses plants to prunes every year, but so far is so good,  I could manage. Sunny day in winter can be so pretty, the glaring of the sunlight is so poetic, It is bright but soft and keeps you warm.  Cutting the grass has to be done, but not too often, that is the bonus of the season. I took a picture in our backyard and the side of our house, the garden looked cool in the early morning.

The Backyard

Misty Winter Morning in the Backyard

Australian Native

Four natives plants are added in my garden, but they are all in pots, and I am learning how to care for them, I hope I will do very well.

Citruses

Mandarin and pomelo trees have fruits, the frost winter month will help the rind to turn yellow.  The dwarf lemon grew a rather tall tree, just wait and see,  it planted three years ago.



Lemon



Pomelo Fruit

Pomelo




Mandarin

Harvested a pomelo, what am I going to do with it?  I will add into salads, we have salads throughout the year.  Salads can be refreshing to serve during winter.

Roses Plants





Potted Plants

From Hoya to Bay, they have been good, only the rosemary plant is dying, which need repotting.

Potted Rosemary

Potted Hoya

Potted Herbs

ORCHIDS
Cymbidium

These cymbidium orchids have buds, and soon they will open, and we all enjoy the beauty of the flowers.  To keep them warm, and to protect from the frost, they are now sitting inside the house.

Phalaenopsis

Beautiful, Healthy White

White and Pure of this Flower



A new shoot - a new stem

The shoot has grown taller.

The phalaenopsis indeed pleases me, I bought the plant last year and stayed in bloom for a few months.  Now it is back to the flower, and a new shoot appeared, and it is growing actively.

Pretty Cymbidium Flowers

The pretty, creamy and soft colour of this orchid, is blended beautifully with the décor in our living room.  It dressed the place entirely.

I let the roses to have a rest and enjoy the orchids during the winter, they are beautiful flowers and colourful too.

WINTER  COOKING

Soups

Celebrate winter with delicious home cooking; Soups, hot soup is always a winner. I coked a delicious, leek, chicken, and potato soup and it was very well received by the family.  And I am planning to cook pea and ham soup and also hock with mixed vegetables.
A recipe for you.

Leek, Chicken, and Potato Soup

Leek, Chicken, and Potato Soup
The quantities of ingredients
125 chicken mince cooked with olive oil
1 leek, rinsed, cleaned and chopped
1 onion chopped
2 small potato, peeled and chopped
25 g butter
2 cups hot water
2 cups of milk
1 bay leaf, salt,  and white pepper to taste.

Saute the leek in the butter for two minutes, add the onion, potato, bay leaf, salt, pepper, a cup of water and braise until very tender.  Continue braising over low heat and add the rest of the water until the leek mixture is very soft,  for 25 minutes.  Let is cool.  Place into a blender and blend until smooth.  Transfer to a pot, add in the milk and cook to a simmer.  Check for the seasoning.  Soup is ready to serve.

Leek and Chicken Soup

washed leek

chopped leek and onion

Soft cooked chicken mince and leek

The Final Cooking of the Soup brings to a simmer.

The Soup is Served

You may be more familiar with,  leek, potato and bacon soup, this leek and chicken soup is delicious too, you don't need chicken stock but chicken mince instead.  

I did the shopping for the other soups, I may have to improvise what vegetables I could add to the soup or simply find any plants from my refrigerator.

I may add extra carrots, pumpkin, tomatoes, and frozen peas on the hock and vegetable soup.  But for the pea soup, I would have yellow split peas, celery,  a lot of herbs and saffron of course. 
See how I go, I am looking forward to having these soups.

I already boiled the hock for a few hours today, and it is very tender.  Tomorrow I must get the pea soup ready for our dinner.
I will have a lot of soups out this hock, but it is ok, as it freezes well.

Using Saffron Strands


Saffron, soaked in hot water

Saffron Strands

Here is the picture of the pea and hock soup, it was excellent, and the family enjoyed it very much.

Pea and hock Soup with Saffron
The saffron added flavour and beautiful golden colour.

Enjoy the season, and happy cooking for winter, and have fun!

Until Next Post

Susy