Bataw or Lablab is a relative of the purple-hyacinth bean. It is a very versatile bean because you can use it in almost all type of cooking that requires beans. I particularly like to cook it stirfry with pork and shrimp.
It takes a while before the seeds germinate after sowing but when it does grow, it is prolific. You will always have bataw beans for the rest of the summer and beyond. The bees love the purple flowers.
Kale is becoming the most popular vegetable nowadays because of the health benefits it provides. It has cholesterol lowering properties which is good for me because my cholesterol is quite high according to my doctor. It also lowers the risk of certain type of cancers like ovarian cancer which I battled with two years ago….
Artichoke is perennial vegetable that belongs to the thistle family of plants. The edible part of the plant is the bud before it opens into a flower. The immature florets in the center of the bud is called the “choke” but its not edible. You have to remove it from the base called the heart,…
I just started some long beans seeds (sitaw). Not all of them showed up yet but this is what it looks like when they emerge from the soil. It’s not quite ready for transplanting yet. I have to wait for what they call “true” leaves before moving them to the garden bed. I already set…
Bixa Orellana Achuete is probably the most important ingredient in the Filipino cuisine. The bright red color that imparts in the food makes the food more palatable and presentable. It is most used in recipes that we inherited from the Spaniards like the dish we call “menudo” or the famous “paella”. Achuete is an evergreen,…
Kalabasa or pumpkin is a favorite vegetable of mine. I like to cook them in coconut milk with shrimp and a little bit of curry powder. It’s so delicious especially with ginger and lemon grass as added flavoring. It is easy to grow. When it starts to flower, you can gather the flowers too for…
Taro plants are commonly grown here in Hawaii but it seems hard to find if you want to make your own laulau. So I decided to give it a try and plant some. The root or corm is actually given to me by a Tongan friend because that’s all she have in her garden. I…