Banana Chocolate Rice Cake

3 overripe bananas - They either go into joghurt or I bake a cake.  Son said......bake bake !!     
So here it is.

Garden (May)

Spring 2011 was exceptionally warm and dry.  Dry earth and vegetation can spark brush fires with farmers worrying about their fields.   Finally after weeks of drought, lightning, thunder and finally pouring rain.  For a lazy hobby gardener like me, it was a great relief - my water tank was down to red alert level.  What's worse I had to water the garden twice a day. That was last week.

Now look what is growing....

Radishes are finally getting a chubby figure 


















Some round, some slim.  Whatever 'figure', they're all sharp and crunchy.

 

Spinach -Red stem ones which makes a colourful salad.
Normal green ones great as filling for tortellini.

More salads (rabbit food) - fresh and healthy for hot summer meals.

'Double storey' (sometimes 3 storey) onions.  

Rapes - Good for a quick stirfry. Some people were shocked. 

Green and purple mustards - These may not grow to arm-length height.  Why ?
My farmer friend did not deliver the usual load of cowsxxt !!

   



 

Now for some colours.......

Rhubarb Apple Crumble with Cheese Cream Cake

It is rhubarb season !  This incredibly sour fruit or vegetable was a stranger to me ...... until I came to Germany.  I cannot explain my facination with this 'stem'.  It's tartness as pink gooey mess of compote or baked, replacing apples.

 Look at the thickness -  1 stem weigh at least 350g.   Rhubarb season is short.  How short ?  Generally, soon as strawberry appears, it's arrivedeci rhubarb.  What I usually do is, cut the trimmed rhubarb into 2cm (1 inch) pieces,  pack them into 1kg bags and deep freeze them.  Imagine....having rhubarb compote in winter.    The tartness will make your toes curl and straighten afro hair at the same time. 

Mapo Tofu with Onion Flower/Bolt

I have plenty of onions growing in the garden.  Most people grow onion bulbs and as flowering causes a decrease in bulb size, the flower stalks will be nipped off soon as they appear.  I find it such a waste to throw them away. The flower stalks are tender and crunchy which goes very well with Mapo Tofu.