I give that three noms, as in "om nom nom nom".

I have fixed the camera! Somehow it seems to believe that there are photos there when there aren't and it claims that all the memory has been taken up by these ghost photos (which I hope are at least of ghost cats), and then claims that my current photos are actually of different things than what they show me.

But I seem to have fixed it to the point where I can bombard this blog post with photos. Some of my photos have gone walkabout, so more will come when sunshine returns. Lots more photos of my overwhelmingly-ginormous i'm-going-to-go-triffid-like-and-take-over-the-whole-garden zucchini plant.

But it's only little in this picture.

See? Little. It's probably 6x the size of that now. And the courgettes are appearing . . . just after I got my mum addicted to courgette bake. Aha!

More gardeny photos, and then some cooking photos.

The wee capsicum plants. Because of our considerable lack of summer, they still haven't borne fruit.

Rocket! Still going strong and so very, very tasty.

More parsley than Buquebus the bunny would know what to do with.

We also grew some cherry tomoatoes. They don't last long. As soon as someone spots them, they're outta there. Om nom nom.

The toms with a few radishes from the garden. They were about as long as my thumb, but fatter. Like a fat person's thumbs.

Coriander, rosemary (the upright-growing kind), basil, mint, strawberry leaves that fail to grow any strawberries (except for that one that I wasted on the cat, who ran away in fear), pak choy, and some strange indian herb also populate our garden.

And now for the cooking. I have learnt well, from my Mumsie counterparts, and am making lunches at home. I feel so good when my workmates are chowing down on Wendy's burgers and chicken nuggets and I have luau with rice and home-baked muffins.

Obligatory empanadita shot!

All for me! (But not really.)

Not the best shot of me, but look at them buns! I made them all by myself, the slow way. Who needs a breadmaker? I put them in the hot water cupboard. Also, my Tshirt is neato burrito. They are tasty goodness. I am planning on making them for cake club in April when it is my turn (right before Easter), so this was my practice run. It was a bit scary at first, because the mixture wanted to take over my hand at one stage and wouldn't let go, and then it seemed to be taking forever to turn into dough. But I got there. And now I am going to eat the little buggers for giving me so much trouble.

This is grilled halloumi. I found a great recipe for a salad to go with it that is a mix of sweet and spice: tomatoes, red onion, capsicum, mint, parsley, lemon juice, chilli flakes and olive oil for the salad, and smoked paprika on the cheese. I am having it for lunch tomorrow, so we shall see. Perhaps I'll make myself a toasted sandwich as well, just in case.

I've picked up Jessie's habit of photographing everything food- or plant-based. With less hills to climb, less walking to do in general, and the vast majority of my time in the office, I am putting on weight (believe it!). Must exercise if I am going to continue to eat all of this food. Made luau for lunches too. And pumpkin soup and spaghetti bolognaise are in the freezer too. It's a good week, food-wise.

This one is for you, Jessie

My first post in almost a year. And it's about gardening. Haven't I come a long way?

I have recently left a very Mumsie flat, which means there was plenty of gardening, cooking, baking and knitting there. I have moved up to Auckland to work fulltime at Trends Publishing (interior design magazines).

So naturally, my flatmates sent me off with a kit full of gardening gear: pop-up vegetable garden, gardening gloves - children's size, trowel, and seeds (baby carrots, spinach, cauliflower and radishes).

Today I got to work.

Here I am with my loot. We stopped by Plant Barn (of which I am now a cardholder), and picked up some marigolds (natural pest repellent), stakes (for the already present tomatoes), capsicum, rosemary and pak choy plants, as well as some courgette and rocket seeds.

The tomato plants! Freshly staked and ready to grow upwards . . . instead of everywhere else.

The soil is in . . . now for the baby carrots. Also, check out them gloves.

Pop-up garden bottom left: baby carrots, spinach, caulis and radishes. Netting down to keep cats off. First tyre on the left: zucchini seeds, and a marigold for friendship. The second tyre holds capsicum, which also have a friendly marigold. The little black pot on the right holds oregano seeds.

Mint, basil and strawberries.

Rocket seeds planted and rosemary ready to go - and it grows upright!

The aftermath.

Right. Everything is planted and ready to grow. Get to it seeds.