Blooms & Growths

It is very satisfying to see the little plants germinate, grow and flower. Here are some of the beautiful blooms I got thus far.

The first one is the bitter gourd bud and blossom. However, sadly, today one of the bloom dropped off. I hope some of them will survive to give me some bitter gourd as I do love the taste of bitter gourd.
Bitter Gourd Flower Bud
Bitter Gourd Flower Bloom
In addition to the bitter gourd flower, I saw that my butterfly pea is blooming pretty well. The flower is commonly used as dye in food. It gives a beautiful blue to tang yuan (rice balls).
Butterfly Pea Bloom

Blue Tang Yuan
Impatiens balsamina or rose balsam is said to be used as dye for finger nail colouring. There are a wide variety of colours for this species, including purple, white, yellow, red.
Rose Balsam Flower
Other than the above blooms, I've also have a few plants growing very healthily. I am very glad to see my peppermint growing so healthily. I am waiting to see if it will flower too.
Peppermint
This parsley came from the bunch of parsley I bought from the market. It grows quite well and sprouts of younger parsley are coming out from time to time.
Parsley

Assorted Plants

Having found pleasure in gardening, I've planted an assortment of plants. Here are some of the pictures of them.

Peppermint is among the easiest to plant. All you need to do is to buy a bundle of them from the market. Strip all the leaves to cook or brew tea. Finally, simply plant the stems on the soil and water twice daily. I got myself a few potful of peppermint through this method. I am also using this method to keep my peppermint supply constant.
Peppermint
I got myself a bunch of choy sum through the seeds I bought from a local store. It was a lot easier than I thought. Simply sprinkle them and water daily. And now, they are almost ready for harvest. Hopefully, some of the flowers will turn into seeds for me to keep the cycle going.
Choy Sum with budding flower
Chilli was quite easy to plant as well. All you need is to get some fresh chilli from the market and extract the seeds. Sprinkle them on the soil and water daily. This particular tree was with me for a few months already. It may still take some time to flower and fruit.
Chilli Plant
These bitter gourd vines were a surprise to me. The first batch didn't germinate and went spoil. I threw in the second batch deep into the soil with other organic material as compost, then added soil and planted some choy sum on the top. They just took me by surprise when they germinated. I shall be adding some structures for them to climb on soon.
Bitter Gourd
When your sweet potatoes started growing vines, you can simply cut out the small portion of the sweet potato with the vines and plant them. You still get to eat the rest of it! They grow quite easily, however, you need to have a bit of land area for them as they seem to take quite a lot of nutrients from the soil. The land area is also for the sweet potatoes to grow. However, this batch, I am planting only for the vines, so I planted them in a pot. I am considering propagating some of them onto the ground for more growth.
Sweet Potato Vine
Sweet Potato Vine
Planting can be fun and rewarding. I have more plants coming up soon in the future and also some tips on how to take care of them.

Bitter Gourd Sauce & Soup

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia), also known as bitter melon, is a very special fruit. As the name suggest, it is bitter and the taste is quite unique. The taste may not be palatable to the populations in the west but has found favour among a lot in the east. It is said that the ripe fruit is more bitter, so it would be wiser to pick a hard, green fruit. Besides that, soaking the cut pieces in salt water will wash off some of the bitterness.

This fruit is said to possess a few medicinal properties. Given it's bitter taste, it is known as a cooling fruit, suitable to reduce heat and other hot conditions. In addition to that, bitters are generally known to be good digestive aids. So, bitter gourd is also believed to be a good digestive stimulant for sluggish digestion or bowel movement. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), bitter gourd was used in the treatment of diabetes. Given all these benefits, it should be noted that bitter gourd is considered contraindicated for pregnant women as it may have emmenagogue effect.

Now that we have a general idea of the fruit, let us go into the recipe of making bitter gourd sauce & soup.

Items to prepare:

• Bitter gourd, sliced or diced, amount depending on how bitter you like it
• Chicken meat, sliced or diced as preferred
• Cooking oil
• Salt
• White Pepper
• Soya sauce
• Water

Steps for bitter gourd sauce:

1. Marinate the chicken meat in a bit of salt, white pepper, oil and soya sauce for 10 to 30 minutes.
2. Heat the sauce pan/pot/wok and pour in some oil.
3. Put in the chicken meat and bitter gourd at the same time.
4. Stir around for a minute then add some water to cover the meat and gourd.
5. Close the lid and let it cook.
6. When meat is cooked, test the taste and add salt or soya sauce if desired.
7. Ready to serve once the desired taste is achieved.

Steps for bitter gourd soup:

1. Marinate the chicken meat in a bit of salt, white pepper, oil and soya sauce for 10 to 30 minutes.
2. Boil a pot of water.
3. Put in the bitter gourd.
4. Close lid and let it cook for a few minutes first, as bitter gourd needs a longer time to cook.
5. Put in meat and close lid again.
6. When meat is cooked, test the taste and add salt or soya sauce if desired.
7. Ready to serve once the desired taste is achieved.

Personally, I love to the sauce better as the oil will draw out a stronger aroma and taste. To serve it, I will pour it onto a bowl of noodle or rice vermicelli. It can also be served with rice. I would rate this recipe 9 out of 10 as it is easy to prepare, aromatic, tasty and healthy.