May 29, 2015

On New Beginnings

 Cucumber seedling with its silky smooth cotyledon leaves.
Bittermelon with its bright chartreuse leaves and stems.
 The cotyledon leaves are ginormous on the Extra Long loofa.
The pole beans are up! These are yard long beans also known as asparagus beans.

I love seeing newly emerging seedlings rising up out of the soil. It reminds me how there are things going on under the surface. Like the life and death struggles that happens beneath the beautiful blue ocean waves.

2 comments:

Texan said...

I am curious as to how you prepare the bitter melon? I have read that its very good for a person. I have not grown the loofah either but would like to at some point. Do you eat this or use the sponge? I understand it can be eaten but I have never tried it. I look forward to seeing how you use these! I agree seeing seedlings come up is such a positive thing, new life, fresh hope and just plain exciting :O)

Phuong said...

My grandma would cut and core the green bittermelon so it looked like a tube, then she would lightly boil it to remove some of the bitterness, and then she would stuff it with ground pork, mushrooms, and cellophane noodles and boil it again. I've also had it thinly sliced cooked with scrambled eggs. I'm actually growing 3 types of bittermelon and one of them is supposed to be less bitter. When it's ripe and yellow it's supposedly soft and sweet and there's this red membrane around the seeds which I've actually tried that is super sweet.

I tried angled loofah for the first time last year and it was utterly delicious. Young when the seeds are soft and unformed with the ridges peeled off and sauteed with garlic. Yum.