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.
I took this picture of mangoes when I went on vacation in my hometown Iba, Zambales. This is the real mango that we know of. The rest we call Indian Mangoes. But we also have a type of mango that is huge compared to the regular variety and we call it “Dinamulag”. The word came…
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…
Kamansi also known as breadnut (bot. name- Artocarpus camansi – blanco) is a relative of breadfruit and jack fruit. The breadfruit has more pulp and small seeds while the kamansi has bigger seeds and less pulp and just like the jack fruit, the seeds are edible and can be boiled or roasted and a…
Togi is a root vegetable that most Filipinos eat as a form of starch much like eating taro or sweet potato. Believe it or not I could not find any reference for this tuber called “togi” in the Philippines even in the Wikipedia so I will not have an English name for it. Anyway, it…
Ubi or purple yam to me is a reminder of the Holidays in the Philippines. Christmas, Fiesta, and New Years is not complete without making a dessert called “halayang ubi” made of this delectable roots. This dessert can also be used as topping for Halo-halo and can be made into ice-cream. This picture was taken…
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…