Calamansi or calamondin – (citrofortunella) is our lemon counterpart in the Philippines. It is a fruit but is more widely use as a condiment. It is a good accompaniment for pancit or rice noodles, rice porridge or arroz caldo and also can be juiced for a refreshing drink. It is sometimes used in “sinigang” or…
Camachile – (Pithecellobium dulce) – is a fruit that we eat in the Philippines. It’s plentiful during the summer season. The camachile taste sweet but dry. It has black seeds and we used to play with it. The fruit is unusual because of its coiling. It looks like a bean and it actually belongs to…
Snow Peas are one of my favorite vegetables. It is sweet and crunchy especially when it’s fresh. I eat them while gathering in my garden and I sometimes run out of beans to cook. Now is the time to plant this succulent vegetables. It is a little bit cooler and the rains we are having…
Samsamping – Butterfly pea (Scientific name – clitoria ternate) I’m a member of a community garden and as most gardeners I’m curious of what other gardeners have in their plot. This blue flowers caught my attention and I asked for some seeds because I love blue flowers. I asked for the name of the plant…
Chico/Sapodilla Chico – (Manilkara Zapota-bot. name) is a very popular fruit in the Philippines. Although it is not native to the Islands, the fruit has been widely cultivated. It is in season during the months of January till February. In Hawaii they can be seen in the farmers market up to the month of May….
Winged beans or sigarilyas in the Philippines is also known as Goa beans, Mauritius beans, asparagus pea and many other names. I only know this beans as sigarilyas in my hometown. It is a tropical legume native to New Guinea. It grows as a vine 3-4 m. in height. It is a perennial but can…