Singkamas/Jicama

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…

I always plant Okra in my garden. It is an indispensable ingredient in the famous Filipino recipe called “Pinakbet”. I actually just cook that today. I gathered enough eggplants, bittermelons, okra and winged beans today that compelled me to make pinakbet. I also gathered some tomatoes which is also an important ingredient for pinakbet. I…

Cucumber or pipino as we call it in the Philippines is my favorite salad vegetable. I also make pickle out of it. But I really don’t have luck in growing cucumbers. Last month, a friend of mine gave me some seeds which he said came from Sri Lanka. I immediately planted it and see how…

I have been gardening at the community garden for more than ten years now and once in a while, most of the vegetables I grow give me fruits at the same time which is what I actually wished for. My rationale is that way I will have enough to cook one dish at least that…

Papayas are very common here in Hawaii but most of them are for eating as fruits. Meanwhile we use the green papaya as vegetable. It is a different variety of papaya not like the “Solo” or “Sunrise”. This type is more elongated in shape and actually bigger than the Hawaiian variety. Just like the Thai…

I have been gathering Swiss Chard in my garden for months now and it seems endless. I love Swiss chard. You can use them in salads when young and saute’ or stir fry those big leaves. The one variety I have is called Bright Lights because of the different colors of the stem. The leaves…