Horticulture/Gardening
Hapa Zome
Hapa Zome is the Japanese art of beating leaves with hammers, pounding natural pigment into cloth.
Once the leaf or flower is under the cloth, you gently pound it with a mallet or smooth stone.
The surface underneath will come through, so if you have a smooth surface, it will make a different effect.
As you can see, the surface I used was not smooth and has created a spotty effect which I quite like.
Please do not pick too many leaves, just one or two will be enough.
If you iron the cloth after, this will help hold the colour.
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We love growing vegetables
For those of you that have grown some vegetables, here is a simple, but delicious recipe.
Beetroot salad with coriander and tomato salsa
Ingredients
Serves 4
8 small beetroots
2 tablespoons vinegar (I use red wine vinegar, but any will do)
1 teaspoon caster sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Crime fraiche, to serve
Coriander sprigs, to garnish
Salsa
1 red onion
425g 14 oz tomatoes
2 crushed garlic cloves
15g 1/2 oz chopped coriander
Method
Cook beetroot in lightly salted water until tender (25 mins) then peel, allow to cool and slice.
In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, oil, salt and pepper.
Make the salsa in a separate bowl, mix together the onion, tomatoes, garlic and coriander, season with salt and pepper.
Arrange the beetroot slices on a serving plate and pile the salsa onto the beetroot. Top with spoonfuls of Crete fraiche, serve garnished with coriander sprigs.
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Leaves come in all different shapes and sizes and an assortment of colours, of course many even change colour in the Autumn before they fall to the ground to make the most attractive carpet, with a mix of reds, oranges, rust, yellow, purple, brown and everything in between and what fun we have kicking through the leaves on a fresh autumn day.
During this summer, visit your local park or green space and take your time to admire the many different plants and trees. Count how many different leaf shapes you can find, if you see any on the ground, collect these for making a leaf picture when you get home. Get creative with nature.
