Yuletide is splendiferous this year. It has flowered much earlier than usual (other years it's been at midwinter) so the flowers have not been damaged by the cold, and seem larger than before. I'm trying to remember if I put fertiliser on it in spring; I think I did, plus homemade compost, so what a great result. It's a wonderful plant that should be grown more often. Quite compact, and can be trimmed back with no problems - ideal for a small garden like mine. I have two other sasanqua camellias, Setsugekka and Mine-no-yuki, but they've never been as good as Yuletide.
I'm still pretty much housebound with the aftermath of the cold from Hell. Still with the cough and the headache and the sinuses. What are sinuses for, anyway? Does anyone know? Just another place to get blocked with the mucus overflow from the nose during colds or hayfever, seems like. We need sinuses like we need holes in the head. Har, har. Anyway, I'm annoyed that I can't get outside and do gardening - I had a lot planned for my days off, but these were spent in bed so the tulips remain unplanted and the leaves unraked. I have been cooking up comfort food though, some of the old traditional things like rice pudding and chicken soup and baked apple, all very wholesome and nutritious. I made the rice pudding the way my Mum did; use evaporated milk (evaporated, not, not, not condensed, it's a different thing) and you will have a nice creamy pud. Add sugar and any flavourings you like. Grated orange peel and a little juice is nice, some cinnamon, and this time I addded about 50grams of almond meal. This bubbles up to the top during baking and makes a nice brown top. I can't remember how long I baked it; you do need to boil the rice first, or the result is gritty (as I found out several years ago). So, yum! Also enjoying milky chai, the spices have a warming and strengthening effect, much needed by me at the moment.
No comments:
Post a Comment