Cockatoos and Collard Greens Recipes

If you look very carefully, you can see a "Sulphur Crested Cockatoo" sitting in the upper branches of the Gum tree(Eucalypt) next door at Karen's.
We have had quite a few through this last year or two because the drought has brought them in from the bush.
They are very noisy and splendidly showy. Late last year quite a flock descended on the Hill's Hoist which is the magic, wind-drying contraption that many Australians have in their back yard/garden.
But even more magic are the Jerusalem Artichokes which have grown under the "tin" fence from Karen's. Apparently, like potatoes, once the flowers have died down the roots/tubers can be dug up and used. They have a reputation for producing flatulence and although they are really tasty as a soup constituent, they could be as bad as "pease pudding" in the windy-garden-product list. We grow some greens called silver beet also known as swiss chard. We also ate something called spring greens in England when we were young but none of them are spinach and I think collard greens as described by Heidewww.heideho.blogspot.com comes close to silver beet. It all depends how you cook them and what else you put in them.

I zap a dozen , small to medium, silver beet leaves in the microwave for a few minutes.

Then I "dress" them (in other words, slosh them around with) a sprinkle of salt and pepper a la Kylie Kwong, and add some fresh lemon juice and some butter.

I cried today when the Aussie woman won the Marathon. Such wonderful dedication. I cried as well for the Kenyan woman who had kept up with her all the way but was not competing in front of her home crowd, and didn't win. After watching such an effort it is clear that "Silver" can sometimes be so sad.