PUMPKIN

Today is the joy of the gardener who just harvested the pumpkin from her own garden in the backyard.  Such a perfect pumpkin, she said proudly.  

The self-sown pumpkin which is growing in my garden has three fruits, and one of them is ready to to be harvested.  A little cool today, in fact, it was a period of gentle rain in the morning.  In the late afternoon was the best time to harvest the pumpkin and it took a few minutes only. It must be kept inside as outside is slightly wet. 
Today has been a fun and fabulous Sunday a  Restful Day.
Walking around the garden and learnt that the vegetable patch the citrus trees are doing well.  The herbs - chilli is still there, and the lemon fruits are almost ripening,  Some of the lemons started to turn yellow and ready to pick.
These are what I picked today, fresh Lime, Lemons and Chilies. With these goodies, I could be cooking Asian dishes, curry etc.

 The Native Australian Bush Lime, Two Variety.

I still have to learn how to use these fruits.  They have sour taste, of course, but they are suitable for garnishes.


So please to harvest, what I have to do is to store it properly.

As I am not ready to cut and to cook it proper storage has to be done correctly.  In the garage could be the right place as long as it is the dry and clean spot.  Yes, that what I have to do.  In the meantime, I could think of recipes for it.  Pumpkin with chillies, it should be interesting.

squeeze Bush Lime

The finger bush native Australian Lime has pretty inside, it goes very well with fish, for flavouring and for garnishes.  Smoked Salmon garnished with the lime, it looks so inviting, like caviar but it is the fruit which has a sour taste.

Today, I prepared a salad - apple and lettuce dressed in mayonnaise and added the bush finger lime, makes a fresh taste.

Apple and Lettuce Salad

 As for lime and lemon, are very useful.  In my kitchen I use the citruses daily, to add to mixed spices for curries, to add to salad dressing, to add to cakes mixture etc. And last but not least to add to water for handwash or for cleaning the sink and stainless steel cutlery.  And if you like preserving, to make preserved lime and lemon are achievable in any kitchen.  Remember if you buy a preserved lemon in the shop is very expensive.  I do not need to sell my house to buy a preserved lemon, I could make it!
 Recipe to make preserved lemon is an older post.  Simply type preserved lemon in the search column, and you will find it.  A good topic about preserving lemon and lime with pictures, step by step how to do. I leave you with the item, how to preserve lime and lemon. If you want to do it, now get started, find the recipe and the instruction is easy to follow.
 Using Pumpkin.  I cooked pumpkin soup, and it was delicious.  I must do it again with the pumpkin harvest this year.

Pumpkin soup garnish with ricotta cheese

 I was not born from a farmer's family, but I can tell you this much, gardening has been such a joy, and at the moment I am so pleased and happy with my pumpkin harvest.  It looks firm and healthy.  It's a successful growing.

Susy