They´re In!....

14 Jun '06 12:22 am

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! is not too strong a word.
Fresh strawbs, short cake and whipped cream....
Does it get any decadenter than this! Razz

14 Jun '06 6:15 am

If there isn`t a word ,well ,make up your own ! !Decadenter !
Yes ,we have a decadenter feast here in NZ .A meringue mixture made with three egg whites ,a spoonful of castor sugar ,a teaspoon of cornflour ,and a teaspoon of white vinegar ,piled on to an oven tray ,and baked very slowly so that it remains white .It should be crisp on the outside and soft in the centre .Pile high with whipped cream and strawberries and melted chocolate .O YUM ! O YUMMY YUMMY YUM !
Dixie.

14 Jun '06 11:19 am

Does this Kiwi decadenter have a name?

14 Jun '06 2:51 pm

Decadenter and Decadenter !
This decadenteration is called 'pavlova' Does anyone have a picture ?
I have heard somewhere that egg whites have no calories ,so I eat as much as I like .
Dixie.

14 Jun '06 7:21 pm

I have heard the egg white has no calories as well & as the egg white is mainly water and protein I guess it may be right.But when we add the CREAM,the strawberries and the kiwifruit it probably changes the calorie count somewhat.
I found this pic of our lovely pavlova.Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

14 Jun '06 8:39 pm

Great jumping grandmothers of Anna Pavlova! I thought that your decadentory description of this feast was exaggerated, but THISSSSssssss! Shocked

What an excellent quality foto, Goose--it really gets my decadentorial juices flowing. Why, I can almost TASTE it!
Egg whites would be ok, they're just albumen, but the castor sugar that gets added...we-e-e-e-e-e-el, that's another story innit. Wink

Thanks for the explanation and piccy.

14 Jun '06 9:24 pm

What a wonderful looking pav Goose...it reminds me of Christmas, for some reason that is the only time we have them...maybe thats cos it's ok to over-indulge then Very Happy

hmmm...maybe a foody/recipe forum would be fun Wink

BTW Sjoerd, how do you save your berries from the birds. I can't see any peckin' holes and those berries look sweet and juicy!

15 Jun '06 10:28 am

Hiya Pumpkin,
The strawberries are protected with a net stretched over plastic electrical tubing.
The bottom of the net is made secure with heavy garden poles (the ones that are used for support when transplanting trees). It is important to keep the bottoms tight so that birds don't become entangled. I have rescued two birds this season already from neighbour's nets. They were both just casually lain upon the ground.
This system works for us and the only damage that the fruits get is from the little slugs that make it into the straw or live in the soil...but there isn't much of that.
I will enclose a picture of the patch from last year so that you can see the flexible eiectrical tubing, net and poles that secure the sides. If there is something that you aren't clear on just let me know and I'll try and explain it.
cheers...

15 Jun '06 7:22 pm

Thanks for the piccies Cool

I had used netting once in my garden and returned after a few days of erecting it to find the netting had gone all floppy in the rain (obviously I hadn't tucked it in well enough) and there was a bird caught in it which was way past mouth to mouth Crying or Very sad

I bundled the netting up and threw it away and was so mad with myself that I vowed never to use it again.
The birds and I cut a deal, they clear up the bugs and we share the crop Embarassed

I now see where I went wrong, you have built a really sturdy looking system Wink

I love the rest of your veges too, one of my favourite parts of any garden is the vegetable plot! Very Happy

15 Jun '06 10:57 pm

Well..."to net or not to net"-- that is always a debatable question. For me, the way that I do it has not yet caused any trapped-bird problems. If it ever does, I may well try and think of an alternative.
Veggies are not really my forté, but I can't now imagine the lottie without it.. I really do enjoy eating fresh though, I must say...
There is much more of a challenge growing veggies and fruits it seems. Combating the elements, the soil type, insects, birds, illnesses... I just stick my flowers in and...voilá! Ha ha ha...
We do the gardens using compost and natural fertilizers( manure) and without using chemicals or the like and hope to win the battle. We are usually sucessful.