Screw Palms

Australia Day is 26 January so we are having a week of Australian themed posts, not just restricting them to Sundays.

Screw Palm Pandanus spiralis is native to the coastal regions of northern Australia. They grow to about 10 metres high, with spiny leaves mounting in a spiral up the tree. Aboriginal people use the leaves to make fibre for weaving dilly bags, string, mats and fish traps.

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Château à vendre: As we drove past the other day I remarked to Simon what a lovely chateau the one at Verneuil sur Indre is. It has been vacant and for sale since the horticultural college for disadvantaged youngsters moved out. Here is the real estate listing on Terres et Demeures de France if you are interested.

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A la cuisine hier: Fried rice for lunch. 

The very last apple from our 2015 crop has been eaten. The billion trillion apples are no more (well, except for the remaining stewed stock in the freezer).

Dinner was from the freezer -- beef stew, mashed potato and peas, followed by stewed apple which I made into crumble by topping from a big batch of crumble mix I had made earlier and kept in a jar in the fridge. Finally, I made half a pint of custard from scratch.