Sunflowers

The sunflower seeds I planted last week are sprouting at a very quick rate!

I will plant them outside once they are about 15cm tall.

Summer Bento

So the summer has finally arrived and so has the opportunity for picnic lunches on the grass!
This one is teriyaki chicken with sushi rice (there are also slices of courgette underneath) and blueberries, red grapes, and chocolate biscuits for pudding!

Raspberry and Banana Milkshake

I had some raspberries which were going soft so I made this.
I just blended a banana, about 15 raspberries and milk and then topped it with 3 whole raspberries and some chocolate flakes. Yum!

Rosey

My cousin was in the newspaper today. She is currently living and working in Antarctica monitoring the weather and climate. (I'm sure its more complicated than that but that's the general idea)
You can see her blog here and these are the pages of the article:

Gyoza

Last night I made steamed dumplings (gyoza in japanese) which I had tried to make before but failed.
This time I followed an authentic recipe and they came out very well! I even managed to master the folding technique to make the frilly top edge (it's always a good sign when learning something new when the last one you make is better than the first).

I followed this recipe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBAcLgaHfVY (ignore the dancing at the beginning!)

Oriental Fire Bellied Toads (Bombina Orientalis)

I really want to get some of these!
I went to an aquarium in Hull at the weekend and fell in love slightly with the frogs and toads there. I've been doing some  research  into keeping toads and these seem like good ones for first time toad keepers.
They need little or no heating, part water and part land habitats, and they're very active and sing a lot!

Just to add: here is a video to show the sounds they make: its almost a giggle! link