Cucumber Fruit

Papaya (Carica) can be eaten as a fruit or vegetable.  If you wait till papaya turns yellow then it can be eaten as a fruit. It is smooth and sweet and have this enzyme papain which is good for digestive functions in your body.  The green ones on the other hand can be prepared as…

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…

Amaranth – Kulitis ( Amaranthus) is considered a very nutritious leaf vegetable in the Philippines.  The flowers are also edible and when the seeds are formed, the seeds are ground to make a healthy type of flour or eaten like a breakfast cereal.  The seeds of the amaranth is a good source of protein.  The…

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…

The bittermelon plant in my garden really took off so fast because of the recent rains that we had. I actually had been gathering the fruits as well as the leaves which we use in soups like mung bean soup and chicken tinola which locals call Chicken Paraya. I have done a little research on…

I sowed the winged beans seeds together with the long beans and hyacinth beans last February. The long beans is almost finished producing but the winged beans are just starting to flower and I just saw one bean. Because the seed of the winged beans is so hard, you need to scarify it or soak…