by Mark Evans
As we move into August and pass the cross-quarter day, halfway between the winter solstice and the coming vernal equinox, the days are getting longer and brighter and the first signs of spring are beginning to appear in the garden – a reminder that it is time for some green spring cleaning.
Although we usually associate spring cleaning with housework, the same concept can be applied to the garden and … Read more »
by Georgie Adamson
Ingredients:
1 kg (approx.) pumpkin peeled and cubed
1 brown onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, sliced or chopped fine
1 fresh chilli, your choice, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of finely sliced ginger
1 teaspoon each: mustard seeds, turmeric
1 bunch coriander (replace with chopped parsley and celery if you like)
20 curry leaves … or a tablespoon good curry mix with those ingredients
1 … Read more »
Tart case:
I use a sweet short crust pastry but substitute one cup of walnuts for flour.
A blender is perfect for this, but it can be made by hand.
Blitz one cup walnuts till like it’s like breadcrumbs. Add 125 g chilled butter cubed and 1½ cups plain flour (your choice, I use gluten free).
When the mixture comes together, turn out onto a floured surface and work a little. Shape into a rectangle and chill in refrigerator till firm.
Gently roll out … Read more »
reviewed by Wendy Tucker
by Richard Osman
In 2020 forty publishers bid for the rights to this first novel by television presenter and producer, Richard Osman. It has become the biggest selling adult crime novel since records began and Spielberg immediately purchased the film rights. Osman has since written three more novels in the series with equal success: The man who died twice in 2021, The bullet that missed in 2022 and The last devil to die in 2023. … Read more »
by Mark Evans
Garden Tetris is a lot like the video game, but instead of trying to arrange falling coloured blocks, it’s plants you are trying to fit together efficiently within a limited space. Like the game it can take some practice. That supposedly short plant you stuck in on the edge turns out much taller than you expected, the one you put in the shade needs more sun (or vice versa), … Read more »
Reviewed by Wendy Tucker
by Tony Birch
Tony Birch is an author, activist and academic. This is his fourth novel. He is best known for his award-winning novel The White Girl and his short story collection Dark as Last Night.
Women & Children has just won the 2024 Age Book of the Year for Fiction and will probably win more awards. It is set in 1965 in a poor inner-city suburb of Melbourne. Our protagonist is Joe Cluny, ‘a wide-eyed, … Read more »
