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Life on two acres of arid dirt, on the edge of the Australian outback.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Rain Drops,Puddles and Mandarins



We have been blessed with a generous amount of rain this week.

I never tire of pictures of rain drops and puddles.

Wet washing. 
I don't mind at all J













    This is our mandarin tree.
    It is absolutely loaded with clumps of mandarins and they are so heavy that the branches are breaking. 

    I have been picking quite a few already even though it is a little early.  Some of them aren't quite ripe, but I need to get the weight off the branches. 

    They are very juicy with a bit of tang.  A little while longer on the tree and they will be nice and sweet. 

    We juice these to have with our breakfast, much nicer than orange juice J


    I have picked three full buckets so far, each weighing roughly 8kgs and I cant even see where I have taken them from the tree.



    Do you have excess fruit? What do you do with them?  Any mandarin recipes out there you would like to share? 

    I am hoping to try Mandarin Cheesecake J



                             

    20 comments:

    1. We are loaded with lemons...my fave way to use them is Lemon Delicious
      and Lemon Apple Cake. Rain is not happening here which is a bit of a worry as we have been told to expect a drought summer which we could do without after surviving a bushfire in Jan

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    2. Oh yes lemon delicious, we haven't had that in a while, it must be time to make it again.

      I like the sound of the Lemon Apple cake. I might have to look into that recipe :)

      Sorry to hear you have missed out on the rain Meg. You would definitely need some after that horrid bushfire.

      We usually miss out here in the mid north of South Australia. I think there is more on the way, so maybe you will get some from the next lot coming through.

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    3. Lots of rain here, all week! I am a rain lover as well. Love listening to the rain at night.
      I have loads of lemons too, and made Lemon Delicious Pudding two days ago. I haven't made it in ages. Don't know as it was a huge hit with everyone and super easy to make.
      Love your mandarin tree. Do you know what variety it is? It is time to buy some citrus as all I have is the one lemon tree so I am on the lookout for good varieties.

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      Replies
      1. I should know what variety Jayne, but the name escapes me for now. This one produces the most sweetest fruit. The only downfall is the that they have seeds. Most varieties in the shops do not have many seeds. I will get back to you if the name comes to mind :)

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      2. I have remembered Jayne. Imperial mandarins are the variety we are growing :)

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    4. We have had a nice drop as well. Your mandarins look very yummy indeed. I've got one planted in a pot so hopefully in a few years we will get some too

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      Replies
      1. Glad to hear you had some rain too Angela, a bright sunny day here today, that will make the weeds grow :)

        xTania

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    5. So glad you are getting all that lovely rain Tania, we are getting a few nice falls as well. I too don't mind wet washing in the least.
      Your garden is looking good, and I am sure it is loving the rain. What a massive crop of mandies, I am very envious,
      Take care Tania,
      Cheers.

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      Replies
      1. Yes ozzibeth, the garden definitely needed rain, it all looks nice and refreshed now.

        xTania

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    6. We've just had 55mm in the last couple of days. Lovely. Just what we all need after the dry spells over summer. I bet your garden will have a growth spurt now.

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      Replies
      1. The veggies have doubled in size Sue. It doesn't matter how much tap water they get, there is nothing like a good rain to get them really growing :)

        xTania

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    7. Your shot of the iron work on the gate took my fancy.......great shot.

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      Replies
      1. Thank you Phil, with photography, sometimes you just get lucky :)

        xTania

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    8. Tania, last year when I was still eating sugar I made mandarin curd which was quite yummy. Ripe Near Me is a good place to register if you have too much of any produce although I dare say there wouldn't be too many other gardeners in your area registered with them as well. Then again there may be I guess.

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      Replies
      1. I went and had a look for mandarin curd and came across your recipe Nanna Chel. I did try some last year, but I think I over cooked it by heating it in the microwave. It was still yummy though. Lesson learned, next time I will heat on the stove top :)

        xTania

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    9. Fruit trees don't seem to be able to make it through the winters here in our mountains. Especially the last two winters, which have been unusually severe with long periods of below zero temps. I envy you, being able to go out and pick fruit off your own trees.

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      Replies
      1. Hello there Harry, haven't heard from you in a while. Hope you are keeping well.

        Wish you lived closer as I would give you a box of mandarins :)

        xTania

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    10. Oh my, Mandarin Cheesecake sounds amazing! I hope you tell us how it tastes :) Our fruit trees here in the mountains are loaded with fruit and I think it's thanks to the extra rain...yippee!

      Hugs to you!

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    11. Thank you for your comment Stephanie, so glad to have you drop by.

      I will definitely share the mandarin cheesecake recipe when I try it.

      xTania

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    Your comments really make my day. Thank you for taking the time and for being so kind.