Toadstools, Pretty Paints and Hot Dogs

Now that the weather is becoming cooler, the garden is starting to die back.  The last of the basil has been slashed to the ground and turned into 1.5kg of pesto.  Many of the flowers - including my beloved 'ribbons and bows' petunias - have withered away.  But the new plants in the ground are thriving beautifully in the damp soil, still with plenty of strong morning sun.  Carrots are poking beautifully feathery, vibrant tops through the soil, leeks and spring onions are glossy, decorative kale, bok choi and Brussels sprouts seem to grow an inch a day.

We bought some colourful toadstools at the Byron Bay markets.  I had my eye on a set of 5 red ones, of varying sizes, but of course Tabitha wanted multiple colours, so we have rainbow faux fungi out back!

Pretty little violas and pansies are putting in a solid effort, keeping colour sprinkled around the garden.  I love their 'faces', which always remind me of the floral chorus from Disney's Alice in Wonderland.

Some bumblebee bunting along the weathered back fence is cheering on even the dreariest days:

The cool weather breakfast of choice is porridge - cooked slowly on the stove, with plenty of full cream milk, sliced banana, chopped pecans and a little maple syrup sloshed on at the end.  Cooked with a spurtle of course!

We have two new chookies - hatched from tiny bantam eggs in November.  Here is Nugget - gold nugget, not chicken!  Not sure if she will be sticking around, as s/he is possibly a rooster.  Only time will tell.

We have another new pet as well - a caterpillar.  It's a cabbage moth, I believe, so I was about to toss it to the chooks as a treat, but then I thought Tabby might like to take a look.  It's been living on mint leaves for a week or so on the kitchen bench, and Tabitha has been very good about 'looking not touching'.

Can you spot it below?  You wouldn't believe how much it eats!

Tabitha was given these beautiful powdered paints last birthday.  They are made from plants and herbs, smell like delicious jelly, and mix into gloriously rich colours.  The brand is GLOB.

Painting on the back decking in a cosy oversized hand knit from her 'Great Grand Godmother'!

Comfort food season.  The Daddy and I love hot dogs (in natural casing, grilled in a buttery pan, with a bun steamed and toasted, face-down, in butter).  Shhhh, it's our guilty pleasure dinner!  I made mac'n'broc'n'cheese as a side:

To make the mac'n'broc'n'cheese, make a roux from 20g butter and 30g plain flour, whisk in a cup of milk to form a thick white sauce, add 1.5 cups (firmly packed) of grated cheeses - I use a mixture of Gruyere, cheddar, mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano - and stir through to melt.

Meanwhile, boil 200g macaroni or penne in generously salted water, and throw in a cup of broccoli florets in the last few minutes.  Drain, and  stir through the cheese sauce.

Spread into a greased shallow baking dish, top with panko breadcrumbs and extra grated Parmigiano.  Bake in a hot oven for around 30 minutes.