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.
This is the pumpkin now after I helped it to be pollinated (notice I have also long beans in the same trellis). Two weeks after I hand-pollinated the female pumpkin flower, it has grown and almost ready to be picked. That’s one of the things that keep me going when it comes to gardening. Patience…
We have been using squash flowers for as long as I can remember in cooking. But the method is just simple. Removing the anthers first and then mixing it with other vegetables seasoned with fish sauce is the norm. But I found out that the popularity of using the flowers in the modern culinary…
Leek is a vegetable that is related to onions and garlic which belongs to the family of Allium, scallions or spring onions and shallots included. It looks like the spring onions only bigger in diameter. The white part closes to the roots is the most used in cooking, the green part or sheath of leaves…
Mizuna is a Japanese green vegetable that is gaining popularity in the US. It is in the family of Brassicas which includes kale, rapini or broccoli rabe, broccoli and cauliflower. It is used mainly by Japanese in making soup for New Year celebration as sort of good luck. But its being used now in green…
The arugulas after a few days have their true leaves and ready for transplanting.
Upo or Long gourd (Lagenaria Siceraria) belongs to the family of cucurbits. The gourd had been used primarily as a water container. There are different shapes and sizes to choose from. Cucuzzi is an Italian long gourd that also belongs to the same family. Some are long and gnarly that they call it snake gourd. …