VIOLET

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MAGNOLIA FLOWER

Magnolia stellata, sometimes called the star magnolia, is a slow-growing shrub or small tree native to Japan. It bears large, showy white or pink flowers in early spring, before its leaves open. This species is closely related to the Kobushi magnolia (Magnolia kobus), and is treated by many botanists as a variety or even a cultivar of that. However, Magnolia stellata was accepted as a distinct species in the 1998 monograph by D. Hunt.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

POINSETTIA

Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are blooming in Melbourne gardens now, meaning that the worse of winter is over!

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CAMELLIA

This unusual camellia flower looks as though it has had bleach drops spotting its flowers. It's blooming now in a neighbour's garden.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

FIRST SIGN OF SPRING

The irises are out in bloom early this year, as we have had a relatively mild Winter.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

ROSEMARY IN FLOWER

It seems Spring is coming early to Melbourne this year, after a very mild Winter, so far. The rosemary in our garden is in bloom and its cheery blue flowers brighten up the cool grey days.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SMOKED SALMON PIZZA

SMOKED SALMON PIZZA
Ingredients
2 rounds of flat Middle Eastern bread
Olive oil
100 mL of cream
100 g of cream cheese
A good dollop of tartare sauce
A tub of ready prepared taramosalata from the supermarketCapers
200 g of smoked salmon slices, cut into 2 cm wide strips
Juice of half a lemon
1 large red onion, peeled and thinly sliced and chopped
Chopped dill
20 mL of extra cream and some tartare sauce
rocket leaves

Method
Preheat oven to 150˚C. Oil two pizza baking trays and place one of the bread on each them. Use more oil to spread over the top of the flat bread. 
Mix the cream, softened cream chees and tartare sauce until it is of a smooth consistency.
Spread over the bread in a thin layer. Spread the taramosalata over the cheese mixture. Sprinkle a few capers over the taramosalata. Bake in the oven for a 5-10 minutes.
Toss the salmon slice strips in the juice of half a lemon and some salt. Add the chopped dill and toss thoroughly. Remove the pizzas from the oven and place the salmon strips over the pizza, covering the whole surface. Add a few more capers here and there.
Place in the oven and bake for 5-10 minutes until the salmon is thoroughly heated, but not overcooked or dried out.
Remove from oven, place the rocket leaves on top of the pizza. Mix the cream and tartare sauce and drizzle over the rocket.
Put back in oven and heat for a few minutes to just wilt the rocket. Serve.

This post is part of the Food Friday meme.

STRIPED ROSE

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CATTLEYA ORCHID

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

FOOD FRIDAY - FRUIT SALAD

A recipe for the Food Friday meme:

STRAWBERRY FRUIT SALAD
Ingredients
1 punnet of strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
1 pear, peeled and cubed
1 kiwi fruit, peeled and cubed
1 peach, peeled and cubed
1 passionfruit, pulped
1 bunch of sultana grapes, washed, peeled and sliced
1 orange, juiced
1 tbsp Cointreau liqueur
Sugar or honey to sweeten if desired.

Method
Mix all the prepared fruit together and add the orange juice, pulp of the passionfruit and the Cointreau. Add sugar or honey if desired, mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve. May serve with whipped cream or ice cream.