I love a glass or two of bubbly of the alcoholic variety but sometimes you need a special occasion drink that is non-alcoholic. It’s my birthday this weekend and I will be catching up with family which includes my niece and nephew. Since they are not old enough for alcohol but are starting to get interested in adult drinks I thought that it would be the perfect time to break out my favourite mock Champagne recipe. I love this drink because when I was growing up it was a wonderful treat that … [Read more...]
Virgin Mojito Recipe
This virgin mojito is easy to make and very refreshing on a hot summer’s day! It’s non-alcoholic and all you need is lemon, mint, sugar, and Sprite! When you have been outside in the garden working or if the weather is super-hot there is nothing more thirst quenching than a big glass of chilled water! I try and drink the recommended 8 glasses of water a day, and most days I don’t have any trouble meeting that quota! That's because water has no taste, so you can drink it with every meal and … [Read more...]
Easy Walnut Raisin Slice
Mix all the ingredients together, press into a tray, and then bake! This easy walnut raisin slice is so simple – it is my new favourite slice recipe! The weather has been so nice lately. We are now approaching the end of summer and things are starting to cool off a bit. We have had a run of days that have been around the mid-twenties and perfect for sitting outside soaking up the sun. I have even been enjoying having my breakfast outside on the veranda these last couple of weeks. It’s been … [Read more...]
Growing Watermelon at Home
If you have never tried growing watermelon it can seem quite daunting. Here I share some great information on how to care for and harvest watermelons. I had never even thought about growing watermelon until earlier this year. That is because we didn’t actually plant any watermelon seeds. Despite this we had four watermelon plants come up in our garden. We’re not sure exactly where they came from; maybe the compost – but we usually don’t put watermelon seeds in the compost! Perhaps they … [Read more...]
February Gardening 2014: What’s Going on in My Garden
Oh my goodness it has been hot these last few weeks! A week or so ago we had a run of 5 days over 40 °C and the last few days have been really hot too. It has been so hot lately it has been hard to think about what February gardening jobs might need doing besides watering the plants! We reached 41 yesterday, 42 today and we have another hot day tomorrow coming up before we get a much needed cool change. We have basically been spending our days indoors because it has been just too hot to work … [Read more...]
January Gardening 2014: What’s Going on in My Garden
Now that Christmas has been and gone for another year and the New Year is upon us it’s time to turn our attention to January gardening tasks! January and February tend to be the hottest months of summer here in Victoria. So this month we will be focusing on keeping our garden as cool and well watered as we can. We have had a couple of days here and there where the temperature has been over 35 °C and some plants have struggled a bit. But it will only get hotter over the next couple of months … [Read more...]
December Gardening 2013: What’s Going on in My Garden!
This last month has just flown by – I can’t believe that December is almost upon us! As the end of November fast approaches we now have to start thinking about the December gardening jobs that need to be carried out. For us December usually means that the garden hoses are dusted off and the watering systems are checked. Nothing has changed this year because the amount of rain that we have had lately is slowly starting to ease up. While we have had a few showers, they are becoming less … [Read more...]