Month: August 2013

Artichoke

Artichoke is perennial vegetable that belongs to the thistle family of plants. The edible part of the plant is the bud before it opens into a flower. The immature florets in the center of the bud is called the “choke” but its not edible. You have to remove it from the base called the heart,…

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Breadfruit

Breadfruit is called ‘rimas’ in the Philippines. It is a fruit and vegetable at the same time. We eat the fruit by boiling or grilling and steaming. My grandma always serve us breakfast of boiled “rimas” and freshly grated coconut with sugar. It’s so tasty and good for your health too. It has a texture…

Swiss Chard

I like Swiss chard in my garden, not only of the healthful benefits but because it is pretty much easy to plant and grow. It is not finicky like some other plants like lettuce for example where you have to wait till the weather is a little bit cooler before you can plant. This one…

Bean Sprouts

Beans sprouts from Mung Beans-(Phaseolus aureus) – came from the seeds of the plant we call munggo or”vigna radiata”. These plants have long been cultivated in India, China, Thailand, Philippines and other Asian countries. Japan on the other hand cultivates soy bean sprouts(glycine max) and they call bean sprouts “moyashi”. In the Philippines, beans sprouts…

Galangal

Galangal – Alpinia galanga – is a rhizome in the family of ginger. We call it “langkawas” in the Philippines from the Indonesian or Malay word “lengkuas”. It is used mainly for Asian or Thai cooking but it has some medicinal properties too. It is considered an stimulant by homeopathic practitioners. It is also a…