pawpaw

You say pawpaw, I say papaya.. some people even call it poo poo.. Whatever name it's going by, it absolutely delicious at the moment so I really didn't mind buying a whole one to draw for my calendar. It has a beautiful melt in your mouth texture and a strong sweet flavour, especially good when combined with some passionfruit pulp and lime juice.
Paw paw aids digestion so it's a good fruit to have for dessert, although I've been loving it for breakfast with yogurt and whatever other fruit I have around.
An inside drawing to follow soon.. once I cut this baby up for brekky!

Asparagus

Yay, it's asparagus time again! These little spears of goodness are so satisfying to look at, standing up neatly in their bunches, ready for action. They always look vaguely unnatural too me.. too perfectly formed and almost plastic like in their smoothness and colouring.
The first thing I made with them so far is Jamie Oliver's delicious creamy asparagus soup:
Sorry for the link, I know it's cheating but his pic of the recipe is very inspiring.
Speaking of pics, I managed to do a drawing of one spear before it got swept up into my pot..

Stitches and craft show

Went along to the stitches and craft show last weekend, which was an interesting mix of inspiring and naff. We particularly enjoyed the incubator area, where most of the more contemporary crafters had their stalls. I got to see the fabrics of ink and spindle in the flesh, which was great as I have admired their stuff for quite a while.
I picked up some nice lace and a couple of decorative flowers, that I might sew onto some tops one day..

Broad beans

I popped into Harris Farm fruit and veg today and was delighted to see broad beans on sale! Broad beans are one of my favourite things, and they have such a short season that I feel compelled to buy them whenever I see them. I love their freshness and greeness..(yes that IS a word!) Whenever I'm preparing them I can't help smelling the inside of the pod, as it just smells so fresh and clean. Mashed on toast with olive oil and salt, tossed through pasta with parmesan and lemon, or served with ocean trout as I had this evening, they are one of life's pleasures.


I made these two drawings of the broadbeans, I'm not sure which one I prefer. I might do a few more as I really want to capture the shape of the bulging pods.

A ray of hope!

I was very excited to spy cherry blossoms on sale at the eveleigh markets.. for me this is always the first sign of spring. And I'm not the only one to be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. My friend Emma over at Emma Jane Illustration saw some jasmine about to bloom, and my mum has seen the first ray of light hit her kitchen window sill.. the first stage of its long journey, which extends all the way through her loungeroom by the middle of summer.