Happy Solstice (bring back the sun!)

 

Perth winters are quite short, but for those of us used to continual sunshine -we have an average of nearly 8 hours of sunshine per day- the short days of winter are a bit of a trial! We alternate a couple of days of rain with a day or more of sun before the rain fronts come back. Don't get me wrong -the lovely rainy weather we are having are quite lovely and so necessary in our dry climate, but I miss being outside in my garden.

On the days when working outside was possible, I finished my verge garden with a lovely load of free mulch spread thickly over everything, to keep weeds down, to insulate the soil from cold and heat, and to keep moisture in. Apart from that it makes the garden look better! 

DH made a very wonderful Makrut lime marmalade from our limes -both Tahitian and Makrut- this week. If you love marmalade, you will adore this one -it is a bit tart, and absolutely wonderful. It is up there with the cointreau and cumquat marmalade DH makes, and that is high praise indeed! 

I have now stripped the Meyer lemons from the tree and am processing the last of them. Meanwhile friends and family are enjoying our bountiful supply of Ruby grapefruit. I have so many we are now juicing them for breakfast! At $6 per kilo, that would be very expensive juice, and we feel luxuriously rich while we drink it while eating croissants and marmalade! When I have juiced them, sometimes I put the skins in the slow cooker and cook them overnight, then add sugar and make a citrus syrup which is amazing on a whole orange/grapefruit/tangelo cake. 

We always mark the Solstice as a bit of a celebration, because from today the days get longer. We had friends over for dinner and I made a lamb roast served with a potato bake and a salad made from greens from our garden. 

June 20 is also World Refugee Day. We always mark this important occasion, too. Learn more here  https://www.unhcr.org/en-au/world-refugee-day.html