Arugula Part 3

Watercress is in the family of Brassicas like radish and mustard relating to their peppery flavor. It closely resembles the taste of nasturtiums and the name is the same but they are actually distant relatives and they are easy to grow. Watercress is not available in the Philippines when I was growing up so I…

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…

Chinese Broccoli also known as Kai-lan or Gai-lan is one of my favorite vegetable to grow. It is also my favorite vegetable to stir-fry. I first encountered these delectable leafy vegetable when I traveled to Hongkong a decade or so ago. Most of the restaurants in Hongkong serve these delicious leafy greens mixed with meat,…

Togi is a root vegetable that most Filipinos eat as a form of starch much like eating taro or sweet potato. Believe it or not I could not find any reference for this tuber called “togi” in the Philippines even in the Wikipedia so I will not have an English name for it. Anyway, it…

Sweet Basil (also known as Italian Basil) is the most used herb nowadays. That’s why I have it in the garden so I can readily pick the leaves if I need to make pesto or just plain use the leaves in pasta. I particularly like it in Penne Pasta Alfredo with Shrimp or Chicken. Sweet…

More tips about lettuce, let some plants to bolt into flower. Then save the seeds for your next planting. I always do especially the ones I have right now is not available anymore in the catalogs. My old friend ordered it from Parks Seed, but they do not have it anymore. The variety is called…