Rhubarb, rhubarb...

As well as the rockmelon, we recently picked our rhubarb. It was probably long overdue for picking, but we'd left it growing and growing because it never really turned that red (does anyone know why that might be?). When we did, it was bit woody and nibbled in parts.

But still we chopped it up, added some apple. Poured in a little sugar. Stewed it slowly. DELICIOUS!

Feeling smug

I'm not quite sure why it pleases me so much, but I am inordinately happy to have a rockmelon in my fridge that I grew myself. It's probably because it had never occurred to me to grow rockmelons and indeed the only reason I bothered was because one of my workmates tossed a packet of Jamie Durie seeds on my desk that had come with a press release.

I figured it couldn't hurt to whack some in the ground. Ground, I might add, that I had buried Bokashi in. Lo and behold all eight or so seedlings came up. Knowing how big the vines could get I had to be brutal and pull out all but two to give any a fair shot at survival.

Survived they did.

But, as I posted about a few weeks again, we ended up with an enormous expanse of vine, smothered in yellow flowers ... but no fruit. While Shaun and I stood there wondering how we could entice bees to our garden to carry out the necessary pollenisation we spotted something. A couple of good-sized melons, hidden under the foliage. Was a pretty funny moment!

And so we diligently watered them. They grew. The webbing on them turned brown. The more they grew, the more impatient we grew. We were keen to feast on our fruits!

So, at my mum's suggestion, I cut a small sliver out of the ripest looking (and hollowest sounding) rockmelon. The sample looked good, but it clearly wasn't ripe. So I popped it back into the fruit, with the great idea of putting masking tape over the top to keep any ants out. (I personally thought this was a good idea!)



It didn't really work. A couple of days later I saw a heap of sugar ants trying to make it into my melon.

So we picked it.



Then we excitedly cut it open.



The verdict? Still unripe. But edible! Just not particularly sweet. We now know to leave the other rockmelons (we have about another 6 growing) longer - until they pull away easily from the vine.

Now, those I am really looking forward to...

Birthday wishes

It's my birthday today and one of my wishes - for a cool change - has come true (here in Sydney anyway). I can't stop thinking about the bushfire victims, but I am having a lovely day regardless.

We ran out of time on the weekend, so I baked my birthday cake (with the help of my oh-so-helpful assistant) this morning. I made the basic chocolate cake from the Apples For Jam cookbook and halfway through making it, I discovered - horror! - you needed to beat eggwhites.

Me and eggwhites don't get along. I can never get them to stiffen. So I sighed and whisked, whisked and sighed. The eggwhites weren't stiff but I chucked (oops, I mean folded) them in anyway.

Amazingly, the birthday gods appear to have shined on me. The cake is LOVELY!

Fires and feasts

When I woke this morning and stumbled out to the front lawn to pick up the Sunday paper I wasn't quite prepared for what I saw: an inferno on the front page. As someone who has lived through a bushfire - though, THANK GOD, not one on that scale - it gave me an immediate shudder.

I was a bit shocked because I worked late Thursday night, was out Friday night and again last night - so I'm behind on the news. Given the weather, it doesn't surprise me that there are fires like that raging around the place ... but the number of deaths did surprise and horrify me. I truly cannot think of a worse way to die.

Thankfully it did pass, but for many, many years after our bushfire I would run to the window in my sleep, expecting in my panic to see a wall of flame approaching. Fire is still one of the things that haunts my nightmares, but not in the 'get out of bed and run to the window screaming' way it used to.

****

In far, far happier news, I was treated to a wonderful night out last night (because it's my birthday tomorrow). Shaun and I left E with his Family Day Care lady overnight and we went to a sensational place in the city called Bistro Lilly.

I realise I am probably well behind the times, but I'd never tried a degustation menu before - and I've always wanted to. So last weekend Shaun and I had a look around for where might be good to try, patting ourselves on the backs for being organised enough to book somewhere in time this year.

Do you think we could decide on anywhere? Nah.

So yesterday morning I was back on the computer, looking for suggestions. I saw the Bistro Lilly website, had a squizz at the menu and - whoa - was blown away. It all sounded delicious and nicely affordable at $65 a head (most degustation menus we looked at were over $100 each).

I rang, expecting to be told they were full - but we were in luck! So there we were at 8pm last night, walking down Kent Street admiring the sunset and looking for Bistro Lilly. The location is hardly glamorous (on an intersection), but the ambience inside was romantic and intimate.

And the food?...

Among the best I have ever eaten.

The five courses were faultless. Simply perfect:

* A SINGLE OYSTER WITH A DELICIOUS THAI-STYLE DRESSING.
* BLUE SWIMMER CRAB & VALLEY POACHED CHICKEN SALAD WITH THAI BASIL, CORIANDER, LEMON GRASS, MINT & COCONUT
* YARRA VALLEY FETA, BABY SPINACH & BASIL RAVIOLI WITH WILD SEVILLANO OLIVES, CHILLI, TOMATO & PARMIGIANO
* HEREFORD ANGUS BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH MILD MUSHROOM FRICASSE & SWEET ONION CHUTNEY
* YUCATAN CHOCOLATE PUDDING WITH STRACCIATELLA & DRUNKEN CHOCOLATE SAUCE

It was all sensational - and the portions were just right. We left happily full, but not bursting. Plus, the timing between the courses was great. These guys are true professionals.

So, full of wonderful food, we strolled down to the harbour for drinks by the water and marvelled at the beauty of this city ... one we so rarely see (after working in there all week, it's not often we venture into town on a weekend).

A sublime night.