2013 June: First Harvest (Chinese White Cabbage)

The first harvest of Chinese White Cabbage of the season.  A quick simple stir fry with a little of oyster sauce and salt to taste.  Brown-purple rice and couple more dishes added.  

Ah. . . what a yummy pride!

ชื่อวิทยาศาสตร์: Brassica chinensis (L.) Jusl.

ชื่อสามัญ: Chinese White Cabbage

วงศ์: Brassicaceae

เป็นพืชอายุปีเดียว มีระบบรากตื้น ใบมีลักษณะห่อปลียาวหรืออาจห่อหลวมๆ ทั้งนี้ ขึ้นอยู่กับพันธุ์ ใบมีสีขาวถึงสีเขียวอ่อน เป็นพืชวันยาวดอกมีสีเหลืองยาวประมาณ 1 เซนติเมตร  ผักกาดขาวส่วนใหญ่มีการผสมข้ามโดยแมลงและผึ้ง

ส่วนที่ใช้: ราก ต้น

สรรพคุณ: แก้หวัด แก้ท้องผูก แก้ผิวหนังอักเสบจากการแพ้

วิธีใช้

ราก: แก้หวัด แก้ท้องผูก ใช้รากผักกาดขาว 1 กำมือ ต้มน้ำดื่ม

ต้น:  แก้พิษจากรับประทานมันสำปะหลังดิบ ใช้ต้น ต้มน้ำดื่ม

ผิวหนังอักเสบจากการแพ้ ใช้ผักกาดขาวสด ตำพอก

Credit: www.rspg.or.th

Blackbery vs Mulberry

Checking out my garden early in the morning, I found that tons of blackberry ready to be picked and tasted. I happily did. After sharing the pictures on Facebook, an old friend mentioned mulberry ลูกหม่อน. With no clue of the differences, I looked up and there the answer.

2013 May Members of the Clan in Town

Tock, Naai, and Nut had a short but worthwhile excursion to CA and DC. What an experience for them and a great joy for me. Yes, the damaged front bumper which they helped temporarily fix was eventually replaced.

2013 May Outting and Former Student

New spring flowers take turns to show off their beauties. Time to go out and enjoy. Embassy hopping plan ended up on one place with several activities going on. Running into a former student--Sean Kelly almost after two decades is a wonderful surprise

2013 May Flowers, Friends, and Birthday Girls

Beautiful flowers are all around us. I can't resist taking pictures though it's the same every year. This year, two names have been added to my humble list--Oklahoma and Moutain Laurel (aka Spoonwood and Calico Bush). During this joyful time, I welcome dear Yasue, who happened to be in town and three birthday girls of different ages with southern specialty. 

Monterery Wild Flowers

According to the Chinese saying or something along the lines:  If you want to be happy for 24 hours--eat good food; 3 months, get married; and for the rest the of you life, do gardening.

A spring tour by the arborist/horticulturist around the work place was educational. Other than practical purpose of noon walking, my colleague and I have started to be curious about plants and trees around us.

Ice plant on the new roof garden conjured juxtaposed memories. We waged war on one type, yet admired and the beauty of the purple carpet along the CA coast and in our humble front yard.

I wish I knew this website, this, and this sooner.

2013 March 23-31 Khim Saengchai and Salta Visit

My niece--Khim who is spending one year in high school as an exchange student in Shakopee, MN, came to visit during her spring break. Salta--her exchange student friend from Almaty, Kazakhstan joined in. I took a couple of days off to show them around DC (The Mall, Fenwick Museum, Pentagon Memorial, The White House, the Aquarium, the Zoo etc.). Winter briefly sneaked up. We also went up to NYC. Bin was enjoying his break in CA and Sedona, AZ. So we invaded his place in upper east side Manhattan. I served as a tour guide. We have managed to go to tourist destination spots--Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, Staten Island, Ground Zero, Time Square, and up on the Empire State Building. A city adventure for us all. I hope they had fun. I did even though it's getting tough to keep up with two 17 years old girls.