DESKTOP 3183 - PERSIMMONS

Autumn means that the persimmons are ripening and their bright orange colour ensures that only do they please the taste buds, but also the eyes. Some people do not like eating these. What about you? Are you a persimmon eater or a persimmon hater?

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 3160 - VEGIES

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3125 - CANOLA

Canola is an important crop plant cultivated mainly for its oil derived from the mature seeds (for more information see here). The bright yellow of the flowers in the canola fields always attract my camera. Here is a mosaic compounded from multiple shots and locations.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3099 SUMMER FRUIT

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 3048 - ONIONS

French onion soup anyone?

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 2841 - AUTUMN'S BOUNTY

Autumn comes laden with its bounty. It is indeed a season of "mellow fruitfulness, close bosom-friend of the maturing sun..." The figs have ripened until they are luscious and honey sweet. Quinces are fragrant and tart, begging to be made into delicious quince paste, the grapes beckon the vintner, but even to the teetotaller provide a sweet delight with their ripe juiciness. Citrus begins to blush and apples crisp and red give taste buds a treat. Pumpkin, chestnuts and winter cherries vie for attention, but the winter cherries - with their brash overcoats on - win hands down...

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 2775 - FRUIT

Late Summer/early Autumn brings lots of lovely fruit, amongst them - from top left to bottom right - are: Passionfruit (=grenadilla); mango; and dragonfruit.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 2678 - VEGIES

Eating Vegetables Provides Health Benefits:

• The nutrients in vegetables are vital for health and maintenance of your body.
• Eating a diet rich in vegetables may reduce risk for stroke, cancer, heart diseases and type-2 diabetes.
• One to four cups of vegetables are recommended each day, depending on how many calories you need.

 

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 2538 - VEGIES

Eating vegetables provides health benefits – people who eat more vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Vegetables provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body. They are rich in fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Eating lots of vegetables can increase your lifespan and reduce the effects of ageing in your body. Besides, they taste great!

 
This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the RubyTuesday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 2464 - BORAGE

Borage (Borago officinalis), also known as a starflower, is an annual herb. It is native to the Mediterranean region and has naturalised in many other locales. It grows satisfactorily in gardens in Australia, remaining in the garden from year to year by self-seeding. The leaves are edible and the plant is grown in gardens for that purpose in some parts of Europe. The plant is also commercially cultivated for borage seed oil extracted from its seeds.

Vegetable use of borage is common in Germany, in the Spanish regions of Aragón and Navarra, in the Greek island of Crete and in the northern Italian region of Liguria. Although often used in soups, one of the better known German borage recipes is the Green Sauce (Grüne Soße) made in Frankfurt. In Italian Liguria, borage is commonly used as a filling of the traditional pasta ravioli and pansoti.

The leaves and flowers were originally used in Pimms before being replaced by mint or cucumber peel. It is used to flavour pickled gherkins in Poland. It is also one of the key "botanical" flavourings in Gilpin's Westmorland Extra Dry Gin. In Iran people make tea for the relief of colds, flu, bronchitis, rheumatoid arthritis and kidney inflammations. People with heart problems can benefit using the borage tea in moderate amounts.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 2433 - CHILLIES

Our greengrocer has a formidable selection of chilli peppers and as usual the displays of the produce are very photogenic. Turns out these arranged themselves into a good mosaic!

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 2424 - BULL ANT

Myrmecia is a genus of ants first established by Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1804. The genus is a member of the subfamily Myrmeciinae of the family Formicidae. Myrmecia is a large genus of ants, comprising at least 93 species that are found throughout Australia and its coastal islands, while a single species is only known from New Caledonia. One species has been introduced out of its natural distribution and was found in New Zealand in 1940, but the ant was last seen in 1981. These ants are commonly known as "bull ants", "bulldog ants" or "jack jumper" ants, and are also associated with many other common names. They are characterized by their extreme aggressiveness, ferocity, and painful stings. Some species are known for the jumping behavior they exhibit when agitated.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

DESKTOP 2362 - PLUMS

Summer means picking home-grown fruit and enjoying tree-ripened, tartly sweet, aromatic and juicy plums - a taste many city dwellers do not have the pleasure of experiencing...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

DESKTOP 2356 - CHILLIES

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

YOLK

Yummy yellow yolk...

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the My Corner of the World.

DESKTOP 2266 - ORANGE

orange | ˈɒrɪn(d)ʒ |noun
1) A large round juicy citrus fruit with a tough bright reddish-yellow rind: Eat plenty of oranges | [mass noun] : A slice of orange | [as modifier] : Orange juice.
• [mass noun] chiefly British a drink made from or flavoured with oranges: a vodka and orange.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 2061 - BAKLAVA

Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup or honey. It is characteristic of the cuisines of the Levant, the Caucasus, Balkans, Maghreb, and of Central and West Asia. In Greece it is traditionally cut into lozenge-shaped pieces as seen below.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

DESKTOP 2057 - KIEFFER LIME

You might know the Kieffer Lime Tree as the Thai Lime, Makrut, Mauritian papeda, or Kaffir. Whatever you call it, you'll love its tapestry of textures: Thorny stems and trunk, shiny dark leaves, and bright green fruits with bumpy skins. These limes will grow indoors year-round, bursting with a uniquely tangy taste that makes them a favourite in Asian cuisine from India to Thailand. Their zest adds a splash of fresh flavour to soups, curries, and stews, and their fragrant peels are great for drinks. The limes' crisp scent even inspires some people to use them when cleaning.

These dwarf citrus trees are scientifically known as Citrus hystrix in the family Rutaceae, and they thrive in bright sunlight, next to large windows or outdoors during the hot summer months. They enjoy humidity or room temperature conditions. The Kieffer Lime Tree's refreshing aroma, unusual beauty, and trim size (it only grows about 1.5 m tall) make it an excellent indoor plant. Zones 9-10.

Here are some recipes using this flavoursome citrus fruit!

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 2033 - STELLARIA

Stellaria media, chickweed, in the family Caryophyllaceae, is a cool-season annual plant native to Europe, which is often eaten by chickens. It is sometimes called common chickweed to distinguish it from other plants called chickweed. Other common names include chickenwort, craches, maruns, winterweed. The plant germinates in autumn or late winter, then forms large mats of foliage. Flowers are very tiny and white, followed quickly by the seed pods. This plant flowers and sets seed at the same time.

Stellaria media is edible, delicious and nutritious, and is used as a leaf vegetable, often raw in salads. It is one of the ingredients of the symbolic dish consumed in the Japanese spring-time festival, Nanakusa-no-sekku. The plant has medicinal uses and is a common ingredient in folk medicine. It has been used as a remedy to treat itchy skin conditions and pulmonary diseases. 17th century herbalist John Gerard recommended it as a remedy for mange. Modern herbalists mainly prescribe it for skin diseases, and also for bronchitis, rheumatic pains, arthritis and period pain. A poultice of chickweed can be applied to cuts, burns and bruises. Not all of these uses are supported by scientific evidence.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

DESKTOP 1980 - ZUCCHINI

The zucchini (American English) or courgette (British English) is a summer squash which can reach nearly 1 metre in length, but is usually harvested when still immature at about 15 to 25 cm.  A zucchini is a thin-skinned cultivar of what in Britain and Ireland is referred to as a marrow. In South Africa, a zucchini is known as a baby marrow. Along with certain other squashes and pumpkins, the zucchini belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. It can be dark or light green. A related hybrid, the golden zucchini, is a deep yellow or orange colour.

In a culinary context, the zucchini is treated as a vegetable; it is usually cooked and presented as a savoury dish or accompaniment. Botanically, zucchinis are fruits, a type of botanical berry called a "pepo", being the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower. The zucchini, like all squash, has its ancestry in the Americas. However, the varieties of squash typically called "zucchini" were developed in northern Italy in the second half of the 19th century, many generations after the introduction of cucurbits from the Americas in the early 16th century.

ORIGIN: Italian, plural of zucchino, diminutive of zucca ‘gourd’.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.