FROZEN

Bye raisins… hello frozen grapes!

I used to have grapes in the fridge left uneaten and forgotten. 

Since I started freezing grapes, the joy of eating frozen grapes on a hot day is something I’ve always look forward to.   It's a healthy snack given that grapes contain flavonoids (very powerful antioxidants) which can reduce the damage caused by free radicals and slow down aging.  They also stimulate collagen production.  Cool stuff!

Here’s what I normally do.

Wash and drain the grapes.  I usually remove the stems, put them in ziplock bags and pop them in the freezer for a couple of hours.  You can leave the whole bunch in the freezer if you want to use them as a “centrepiece” perhaps to be shared over some nice wine, cheese platter and interesting conversation ;)

This frozen grape thingy makes a delicious snack; it has a sorbet texture and just eating a handful of them on a hot day is bliss.

NB:  Best to eat them frozen; once thawed the grapes tend to be soft and a little reminder that small children should not be left unsupervised when eating grapes.

  

BACK TO SCHOOL

In the past, whenever I think of something green and boring  succulents would come to mind.  To me they were simply green, stiff and unattractive.  I was that biased; seriously I was.

It didn't help that my experience with them was short lived and never amiable. 

For the longest time, I was convinced succulents and I were not meant to be the best of friends.

Then along came something magical.  I saw pictures of  succulents with pretty flowers and I was completely sold.  Didn't know succulents bear flowers! I love.

That started my interest and feeling all grown up, I bought my first adult size plant.  I was certain I have graduated beyond looking after those fun size ones. 

It was a heavily laden jade plant.  Call that love at first sight because I grabbed the plant as soon as I caught sight of it.  I even gave her a name. When I took Jade to the checkout, three  strangers commented how pretty she looked.   I brimmed with pride, so happy that I snared gorgeous Jady.   I was doubly happy when google search said I just bought a money tree.  I could picture myself counting money happily.

My one and only memory of gorgeous Jade

Few days after Jade came home, I gave her some water as I thought she looked a little under the weather.  We all know the importance of drinking enough water to stay hydrated.  So for the next couple of days like any disciplined parent, Jade got extra water treats whenever she lost a leaf or leaves. 

I just knew it!  Jade was suffering from dehydration and dehydration as we all know is bad for the skin.  Surely the same applied to her.    

Before long, I started to notice Jade was beginning to have what you call, a receding hairline.  I did the next cleverest thing.  I filled a pail with water and completely submerged her into it.  I just knew she was in need of more water love. 

Thank you but don't ask me how long Jady sat in that swimming pool.

After that great soak, I put her out to bask in the sunlight.  A few days later, she just wobbled under her weight; kind off lifeless!  I drew up a list of suspects including my family member. 

(1)  Mum because she thinks nothing is more beautiful than her Adeniums (they really are gorgeous!) and there's no space for another plant along the corridor; 

(2)  The sweeper on our level because he sweeps as if he's in the pool competing the backstroke event;  

(3)  Tigger my neighbour's cat because she has a guy's name and behaves like one.  He... oops... she has a tendency to jump into flower pots to poop & pee or pee & poop whichever she fancies and she loves to pounce on insects  hiding in between plants.  

Surely one of them must be responsible for Jade's injury! 

When I picked her up, her limbs were soft and squishy.  Did I detect water as in water retention?  Like a brave surgeon, I did my best to safe her life. 

So these were what's left of Jade. 

Meet Jade Junior... a part of gorgeous Jade.

Suntanning remnants of her other limbs

I wish someone would have told me "Just because you love gardening does not mean you know everything... "  
 
Just a few days back, I spotted new Jades at the same place I met gorgeous Jade the original.  I had this peculiar feeling that they will meet the same fate as Jady so I turned and walked away. Sadly, it is really true that succulents and I are nothing more than just casual friends. 


 

AVOCADO, THE WONDER FRUIT

Kick start your day with something healthy and hearty!

Recipes need not be the length of a ruler and it should not hold you ransom in the kitchen unless you're a Kitchen Goddess for which I am not. 

Here’s one “quick to assemble” recipe that you can add to your breakfast and eat without guilt.

I don’t want to dwell on the many benefits of this fruit both for health and in skincare.  Avocado itself is rather bland and boring but once you get past to eating this rich tasting fruit, it’s actually rather delicious.   

What you need

2 slices of any type of bread or toast

1 ripe avocado

Trickle of condensed milk / honey

What you do

Halve the avocado and slice into bite size pieces.  Slight mash of the avocado is also doable.

Spread or place the avocado generously on the bread.

Lightly dribble a trickle of condensed milk or honey over the avocado spread.

Have it for breakfast or in between when you feel like some healthy snacking.  I enjoyed that very much!

WHERE ONIONS AND SHALLOTS ARE THE SAME

 

The thing about being on an island with a small population is the closed camaraderie.

I heard a voice and parted the laundry on the clothes line to see someone standing near the garden fence.

“Do you have an onion to spare?”

“Wait… let me see” as I left the other basket of unhung laundry and skipped into the kitchen.

So I didn’t have an onion but he was happy to leave with 2 shallots instead.

HOPE IN THE FORM OF A MELON

Failure will only inspire you to try again unless you have given up hope of ever succeeding.  To begin you must be interested in whatever you aim to do.  So if you fail once over something you're keen about, you will only endeavour to try harder and put right the things that went wrong.  

I have big gardening dreams so one of the first thing that I set my sight on was growing rock melons from Australia.  Yes, Australia!  I bought a melon, ate it and saved the seeds.  Having big dreams meant growing all the seeds that I've collected from that one single melon and that's like A LOT! 

I was so excited that just a few days after sowing... actually to be more precised, after dumping all the seeds into a small pot and covering them with some earth, the shoots started to sprout.  

 See I wasn't kidding...

So proud of my effort I wore a goofy grin and went around taking lots of photos in different angles.  Seriously some of the shoots were pretty cute!  Check these out...

 

Anyone like my lil' hat...?

 

I was so overwhelmed by all those cute shoots that I left them to fight for space in the little pot while I contemplated what I should do with all of them.   

Meanwhile, rows and rows of round succulent melons hanging from the vines and basking in the sun were already flashing in my head. Seriously I lived on dreams and big ones too! I imagined harvesting a perfect prized melon just like during fall / Halloween where farms / farmers engaged in competing to see who grows the biggest pumpkin.

Big dreams meant no thinning of precious seedlings.  Every shoot was potential melon to me and by the time I was ready to re-pot, I lost more than half of them.   

Here's what left of those shoots

However re-potting does wonder and a couple of the plants  actually blossomed rather well and gave me hope that a melon was on its way when I succumbed to an imaginary flower.  That again got me a little complacent.

To cut the story short, instead of getting nearer to harvesting home grown melons, the plants seemed to have stunted in growth for reasons I've yet to find out four months since I first sown those seeds.  I don't foresee any melon on the vine anytime soon.

So the morale of this story is "don't jump before you leap."  Ask around, read up or familiarise yourself before you shoulder those big dreams. 

It's not a secret that I still harbour hope of harvesting my first melon in the not too distant future but  this time around, I am just sowing a few seeds and saving the rest for later. Watching over a few of them against a whole lot means I have time to nurture them into edible size melons! #hopefully

Yes, I've left a note in my head to re-pot them as soon as the shoot bursts through those seeds.

Hope is my new best friend.  Don't you just hope for something good to happen all the time? ;)

CHIKU'S LITTLE SECRET

Who would have even thought that innocent looking fruit like this has its own little secret?

 

You need this to reach them

Meet Chiku, Chiko, Chikoo, Sapodila, Sapota or Sapote; they're all the same!

They look a little like kiwi fruit; brown and slightly sandy on the outside but without all the 5 o’clock shadow.  They bled latex when plucked.  The flesh when ripen is juicy, extremely sweet and fragrant with a slightly granular texture.  Cut the fruit in half and you see shiny black seeds. 

Tree ripen fruits are the best but just in case the birds beat you to them, pluck them when they’re of a reasonable size.  To hasten the ripening process, toss the fruits in between the grains in your rice bin or wrap the fruits up with newspapers and leave them in room temperature. 

Chiku trees are bushy and pretty tall although cultivars are shorter.  Supposedly in the past, chewing gums were made from latex found in the bark of the trees. That’s how chiclets (brand) gum got their name?

When I posted photos on my Instagram, someone left a comment saying “If you eat 1 - 2 kilos of it you will get drunk.” “If you eat much of it like a kilo, your breath will smell like alcohol.” Yikes!

It’s also said that the flesh from chiku can be fermented to make wine.  That is a little too adventurous for me to experiment right now although wine does sound nice after a day out in the garden. 

They deserve more love

Well, maybe wine in the pipeline...

GOTTA LOVE 'EM

There is no secret that I’m in love with anything natural and good especially when words like “rich source of antioxidants,” “health benefits,” etc pop up.  Who doesn’t??

Ain't she gorgeous?

When I heard from the grapevine that the Clitoria ternatae whose common name is blue pea flower for centuries have been used in traditional ayurvedic medicine and is supposedly good for improving eyesight, the blind as a bat in me just have to give this plant a second glance!  

I Love You

To begin, I love the vivid intensity of these lovely blue flowers and the added bonus is there are lots of them taking refuge all over the fence.

For a long time the natural dye in the flowers have been used for cooking.  The flowers can also be dipped in batter and deep fried.  You can even make tea out of them.  They can also be added to a bowl of salad.  Look at how beautiful they look!

Do bear in mind that if these beautiful flowers are to be consumed, it is best that they be grown without the use of pesticides or chemicals.

 

Why eat something supposedly good with added benefits when in fact it is detrimental to your well being.  If you're growing your own, do it the organic way.