Seed swap and pineapples

A wonderful parcel arrived a couple of days ago. It was from my swap partner Tracy. As well as sending some great seeds, she also sent a Down to Earth hessian tote bag (!!!) and an Organic magazine. The seeds are long black radish, evergreen bunching shallots, moon and stars watermelon, climbing princess beans, lemon cucumber, red iceberg lettuce, giant Russian sunflower and dragon carrots. I am going to have a lot of joy planting and growing those plants and I'll have thoughts of Tracy on her sheep stud while I go about it.

Thank you Tracy. :- )

Don't you just love the names of the old heirloom vegetables. The hybrids are named by scientists, and it shows. They have names like L9 smooth or Kandy Kwik. pffffffffffffft. I much prefer climbing princess beans, dragon carrots, pink Brandywines and Turks Turban pumpkin. You just know those names come from the people who grow food and who often name the vegetable because it looks like its name or for someone they know. Their is a rich heritage tied up with vegetable seeds. I hope we don't lose it.

I have another drink recipe for you today. It's a drink for summer or winter - in the summer it's very cooling, in the winter, because it's high in Vitamin C, it's a good drink for the flu season.

I live in an area that grows lots of pineapples and when it's pineapple season - now - I take advantage of it and buy a local pineapple every week; they cost between $1 and $2. Pineapple crush contains a lot of fibre and vitamin C and some vitamin A, iron and calcium.

You'll need a blender to make this drink.

PINEAPPLE CRUSH

Cut the skin off the pineapple and test a small piece of the fruit for sweetness. Cut the pineapple in quarters, length ways, and remove the core. Then cut the flesh into chunks.

I chose this particular pineapple because it had three growing tops. I've cut them into the three tops and when they dry out a little, I'll plant them. Pineapples usually fruit in their second year.

Place half the chunks into your blender, if the pineapple is not sweet enough, add sugar to your taste. Our pineapples are always sweet here so I never have to add sugar.

If you're going to drink it straight away and it's summer, add one cup of water and one cup of ice. Blend the pineapple until it's pouring consistency. Pour into a glass, add more iced water until it's right for you, top with a mint leaf and enjoy.

In winter, leave out the ice but blend with two cups of water. Again, add more water to it before you drink.

This is a delicious and healthy drink that will add a lot of fibre and vitamin C to your diet. It's a great drink for children because there are no preservatives or colourings and if you don't add sugar to it, contains only natural sugars. It would probably also make a good icey pole treat for the children mixed with a little yoghurt, and frozen.

I'm at home all day today. :- ) I'm going to catch up on my cleaning, tidy the sewing room, do some laundry and check out the garden and the chooks. I'm also looking forward to reading the magazine Tracy sent while I sip tea on the front verandah. I hope you enjoy your day too.