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 Basil has many varieties. It is easy to grow from seeds or from cuttings. The rain we had in the past week or so helped the plants to be vigorous and green.
Banana – (Musaceae) is by far the most widely known fruit in the world and the most cultivated. The varieties of banana is so wide it is divided into 10 groups from the cavendish type to cooking bananas called plantains but the Philippines also have the cooking banana variety we call “saba” or “popo’ulu” in…
Kinchay or Leaf Celery (Chinese Celery) is a very versatile herb that we use for everyday cooking in the Philippines. It has the flavor and aroma that we like to impart in our local dishes like pancit, chop suey and soups.
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…
Samsamping – Butterfly pea (Scientific name – clitoria ternate) I’m a member of a community garden and as most gardeners I’m curious of what other gardeners have in their plot. This blue flowers caught my attention and I asked for some seeds because I love blue flowers. I asked for the name of the plant…
Cucumber or pipino as we call it in the Philippines is my favorite salad vegetable. I also make pickle out of it. But I really don’t have luck in growing cucumbers. Last month, a friend of mine gave me some seeds which he said came from Sri Lanka. I immediately planted it and see how…
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…