Saffron, figs, etc...

Just returned home to Japan after a little visit to my native country, Malaysia...

It is about 5 degrees here, compared to about 30 degrees in Malaysia...

Shot these pictures some time ago but did not have the opportunity to post them...
The above shot is that of the Crocus sativus...
We have quite a few bulbs but have not been taking good care of them...
Still, we can harvest some saffron from the flowers (which we use for cooking)...
Apparently, the saffron is among the most expensive spices in the world...

Had the opportunity to harvest a few fruits from our fig tree...
We got their seedlings from a neighbor some years ago...

They tasted really sweet and good...
Next season, I certainly plan to give more care to this plant as figs are one of my favorite, favorite fruits...

The Chingen-sai, as this vegetable is called in Japan, was thriving well before we left for Malaysia...
I took a look at the potager after coming home today...
Hmmm, they looked kind of wrinkled, probably from the effects of the cold...
And yes, I mean, no... the wild boars have definitely made their mark on my potager...
Their foot prints can be found here and there on the beds...

The Chingen-sai stir-fried with a little ginger and garlic...
 Lovely taste...

The cauliflower plant is still growing well, despite the cold...

The lettuce too, is thriving and giving us a lot to chew on...

The Komatsu-na too, is quite resistant to the cold and is growing well..

This is the last post for the year 2012.... I'd like to wish all my friends and readers a very happy 2013, and may the new year bring you and your loved ones much joy and happiness...

Greens, beans, roots, etc...

Am very happy with the goings-on at the potager... 

We have a lot of spinach this season... 

and they are flourishing... we harvest and eat them whole, roots included...

Planted this sole celery in April...

Didn't get to eat much of it...
with the cold coming in, it is growing really well...

Tried to germinate fava beans from seeds...
From eight seeds, six germinated successfully...

Our lettuce self-seeded...
We have about a dozen of them, thriving...
They are a constant part of our breakfast fare...

Bought three broccoli seedlings from the store...
All are doing well...

Sowed two types of radish seeds last September...
The round and long type...
They taste really good either fresh or cooked...

We love our carrots a lot...
Sowed the seeds in two plots...
Harvested the first carrot this morning for breakfast...
Wooh, heavenly...

Strawberries... just about everybody's favorite...
Seedlings were all sourced from the mother plants...
Looking forward to the fruits next spring...

Am growing this green just for my suweeto haato...
The ta-sai is one of her favorite leafy greens... have been harvesting them for a while now... we mostly stir-fried them with black beans...

Bought two seedlings of parsley...
Had them planted as companions to the strawberry patch... we harvest them a little at time to use as garnish for our breakfast pizza-toasts...

And finally, while still far away from harvesting, red onions, another 'must-have' order from my missus...
Sowed the seeds last October and they are still rather tiny...
Need to let the seedlings grow up to the size of chopsticks before I can transplant them for good...

Note: While this post is not really totally about harvesting, I am taking the liberty to link this post to Harvest Monday hosted by Daphne... hope she doesn't mind...

Potager update for mid-march...

Gentle rains continue to fall in the garden...
The sun has yet to appear, and it feels cozy to be at home...
And yes, to be able to spend a tranquil morning at home with the one you love...
Oh, isn't this simply the ultimate bliss of them all?

Meanwhile, we thank god for the privilege to be able to return home safely last week amidst all the commotion surrounding the earthquake...
Like most of the people the world over, we remain deeply concerned with the current happenings surrounding the disaster...

The Japanese have an interesting name to this specimen...
They call it 'Himalaya Yuki no Shita', literally, 'Under the Himalayan Snow'...
Did a check on the net and found that it goes by the scientific name 'Bergenia stracheyi'...
Hmm, I'd probably have difficulty trying to remember this name, so perhaps the Japanese name is more apt for my inclinations...

The winter daphne looks pretty even in the rain...
We have two large bushes of them and they smell so good...
They are native to Japan and China... 

A comet goldfish comes to the water surface in our pond...
They self-breed and currently, we have about 30 of them... 

Meanwhile, the fava beans in the potager are flowering...
This one is the 'wa-se' or 'early harvest' type...

 
The strawberries did not die on us even after being showered by frosts and snow...
Flowers are starting to appear... 

The self-seeding lettuce is growing fine...
Poppy plants, also self-seeding, keep them company... 

 I bought some green lettuce seeds from the store...
This type of lettuce is crunchy and is very popular with the Korean restaurants serving grilled beef...

The corianders are doing super fine...
We are really hooked by their fragrance...

Which brings us to the fried rice my sweeto haato dished up...
Urmm, the tiny little fish, small bite-size chicken meat, garlic, onions, carrots, black pepper, and yes, coriander as garnish... 

While our white Japanese plum flowered some time ago, the red one finally did...
The fruits from the white flowers are big and fleshy while the ones from the red plant are not so...