Have you noticed all the new street libraries that have popped up in the last few months?

In my walks I’ve spotted new ones on Perry Street, on Thompson Street and on Mitchell Street. Just to name a few.

And local Kathy wrote to us last week about the one she’s recently installed out the front of her house in Mercil Road.

She says it has been a joint effort of woodworking and mosaic skills that has kept her and her partner Allen entertained during lockdown.

Locals are invited to stop by and choose a book (there's a chair for leisurely browsing) or to drop off their no longer needed reading material.

And this book library has the added bonus of being near a community nature strip veggie patch. So you can collect some silverbeet for dinner at the same time.

Thanks for letting us know Kathy. Your street library Is a gorgeous addition to the neighbourhood.

Happy reading everyone. And don't forget to eat your greens! 😀

I did mention previously that I have been getting in to K-drama this year (yes the obsession is still going … I just finished The King). And noodles are part and parcel of these shows.

At our house 2 minute noodles/instant ramen are pretty popular … but oh the plastic! It was getting me down. And the flavourings … what are they exactly? So I started making my own. I don’t think I’ll ever go back.

Here’s my simple recipe hack.

• 1 noodle block (you can buy them in bulk packs at big supermarkets without any flavourings)

• 1 stock cube

• 1-2 cups boiling water

• 1 dash soy sauce

• 1 pinch Chinese 5 spice powder

Garnish:

• dried fried onion

• dried chilli in oil

Add all the things. Cook for 2 minutes on the stove or in the microwave.

Note garnishing is the important bit! I add dried fried onions and a little dried chilli in oil to mine, both of which are available in most supermarkets in the Asian section (even the IGA has these ingredients). It gives it a bit of slightly spicy French onion soup flavour. Yum.

And then some vegetables to add some nutritional value … like diced capsicum, beanshoots, broccoli, beans … whatever you have will probably work! Boiled eggs cut in half, tofu and chicken can also all be added too, to turn your snack into a meal.

The other night I made this for our family dinner (multiplying the quantities obviously) and I upgraded to proper stock and adding chicken and prawns and loads of Chinese broccoli.

If you don’t get round to making this yourself maybe we’ll have a Korean themed community lunch … we’ll make some kimchi and Korean ramyeon (ramen) … and we could have a K-pop soundtrack! We mightn’t go as far as drinking Soju shots … but Korean Fried Chicken … yum! I’ll ask Jill for some tips - she spent quite a few years living in South Korea, hopefully she has friends who would be willing to share recipes … something to look forward to hey?

Like many, our garden at home has been getting a bit of extra love and attention lately. With work and children etc. we’re generally running around like headless chooks, and so our garden gets neglected … it’s been pretty nice to have the time to plant some things and then tend them this year …

Hello snow peas.

And hello future apricots.

We’ve also currently got passionfruit, chilli, parsley, rhubarb, silverbeet, red currants and mulberries that are all looking promising.

What’s been happening in your garden?

From little things big things grow …

So … with our new ramp came some new plants.

They arrived last week and they’ve now been planted. We chose to plant herbs, so that they become a community resource once they’re established. When they’ve grown you’re most welcome to pop past and cut some for your pasta sauce or roast! There’s lots of thyme and oregano across the front. Mint behind the ramp at the back. A patch of sage and tarragon under the blackboard sign. And some rosemary under the windows.

And then some nice smelly things like lavender and lemony geraniums - to cheer us up as we walk into work each day!

A little patch of Vietnamese mint near the book library!

Progress today. Books for week one are wrapped … and labelled!