Long Beans

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…

Malunggay/ moringa (Moringa Oleifera) is also known as horseradish tree because the roots taste just like horseradish.  It is also called drumstick tree because the fruit or bean pod is long.  The fruit is segmented in a triangle and has lot of seeds inside.  In the Philippines, we used the fruit or beans as vegetable. …

Malunggay or Moringa leaves are having good reviews not only as a healthy food but also a solution to reduce world hunger. I just learned that the leaves can be incorporated in the making of noodles or pasta just like spinach for added health benefits. You can mix the dried ground leaves with the rice…

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…

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…

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…