How To Cook Bitter Melon/ Bitter Gourd

Bitter melon is a popular vegetable in Asia, disliked by most children because of the bitter taste, it is packed with nutrients and also used as medicine to treat diabetes, infections, and immune disorders. In this video I harvested bitter melon or bitter gourd, called "ampalaya"in the Philippines, "karela" in India, and cooked them two ways - with mung beans "ginisang mongo" and with eggs/omelet "tortang ampalaya."

On YouTube, link below...

Tags: 

 

bitter melon recipe - how to cook bitter melon - superfood - growing food - organic gardening - gardening in Los Angeles - gardening in zone 9 - gardening in zone 10 - what to plant in Los Angeles - California gardening

What to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner?

What to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner? Turkey of course! Here are some snapshots from last year's Thanksgiving. We roasted turkey and cooked the typical side dishes - green beans, mushroom, potatoes, sweet potatoes and gravy. The herbs were freshly-picked from our small edible backyard garden -  rosemary, sage and thyme. 

Thanksgiving dinner was prepared with help from my little sous-chef.  

Video on YouTube on the link below...

Video on YouTube on the link below...

Celebrating Oktoberfest At Home

Celebrating Oktoberfest or German-themed dinner at home with grocery haul from our favorite German deli - sausages, (Münchener Weisswurst and  Frankfurter Würstchen), sauekraut, marinated beets and beer. We also made pretzels with the pretzel mix we got from World Market.

 

Próst!

 

Shop with Me:

German Pretzzel Mix: https://amzn.to/33Hkwxy

German Bread Dumplings: https://amzn.to/30QkQYR

Bavarian Style Sauerkraut: https://amzn.to/3nCgyOO

Video on YouTube on the link below..

Green Thumb Nursery - Fall and Winter Gardening

A tour at Green Thumb Nursery to check out the plants for fall and winter gardening. We bought some seeds - different varieties of kale, snow peas, carrots, beets, rutabaga, radish and English lavender. As well as some lettuce  (Amanda and freckled) and sugar snap peas seedlings. The lavender seeds will be scattered in the front yard for next season.

 

Walking around the nursery was quite a workout. We started in the seeds section, then went on to the veggies section, the herbs, roses, fruit bearing trees, drought tolerant plants, succulents and the indoor plants. There's also a pumpkin patch and of course, Joshua's favorite section where there's a family of deer.

 

Then, there's another section of the nursery where you can drive-thru so they can load the bags of soil. We got 4 bags.

 Video on YouTube on the link below...

Planting A Fall And Winter Vegetable Garden

Planting a fall and winter garden in October is what I have been looking forward to. Fall is a season of change. The hot summer days are slowly changing to a refreshing chill in the air, as are the leaves on the trees. Then the autumn sun will shine through the golden foliage and very soon the leaves will fall. And down below is our lush vegetable garden filled with salad greens, peas and root vegetables.

You can find the raised beds in here Size 4 ft x 4 ft - https://amzn.to/3kTslGa Size 4 ft x 8 ft - https://amzn.to/30mbNil Size 2 ft x 4 ft - https://amzn.to/3ifUhSP

Please click here to watch the video on YouTube

How To Make Latte Art At Home

Yes, you can make a beautiful latte art at home without an espresso machine. 

It's Fall/Autumn and I would like to level up our coffee so I bought a milk frother and stencils. Here's what I made. If you would like to see the video, it's on YouTube on the link below.

And here's the milk frother HadinEEon Milk Frother I used and the 72 coffee stencils

YouTube link

Homegrown Tomatoes & Homemade French Baguette

It is a happy moment when bread comes out of the oven crusty on the outside and soft inside. Yes, I made 4 loaves of French baguette and harvested some colorful and juicy tomatoes and basil to make bruschetta. I also baked salmon and topped them with lemon slices, tomatoes and lemon verbena from the garden. Also on the dinner table were figs from the backyard garden. 

So in love with an enameled cast iron skillet, if you are also looking into getting one, check this out Enameled Cast Iron Skillet

Video of how I prepared our dinner from harvesting in the garden to making baguette and cooking the salmon is on YouTube on the link below. 

Please click the link below for the YouTube or you can also search for Backyard Edible Garden in Los Angeles.

Tags: backyard edible garden, garden to table, growing food, homegrown, homemade, easy recipes, healthy recipes, stay home, working mom, how to make baguette, DIY, baking at home

Fall Gardening, Decorating and Cooking

I love Autumn, it's my favorite season next to Spring -- the cool crisp weather, the colorful foliage and pumpkin patch.  

We welcome Autumn by decorating our house with some pumpkins, fall foliage and some fall-scented candles. The trees in our backyard are also changing colors and I whipped up a quintessential Autumn recipe.. chili which happens to be one of Joshua's favorites.

Top 10 Fall and Winter Vegetables To Plant In The Backyard Garden

If you are new to gardening, most likely one of your questions would be what vegetables to plant during fall and winter. And here's my top 10 list of cold-loving veggies that thrive very well here in California. The video down below will also give you an idea of how we set-up our garden, what plants are planted together and what we do with our harvest.

1) Lettuce (varieties: Romaine, Amanda and Frecked)

2) Peas (sugar snap peas and snow peas)

3) Swiss Chard (peppermint chard is my favorite)

4) Kale

5) Bokchoy, Tatsoi and Joi choi

6) Spinach

7) Beetroot or Beet (chioggia beets are my favorite)

8) Radish

9) Collard Greens

10) Broccoli, Broccolini and Broccoli Rabe

Other cold-loving crops: parsnip, kohlrabi, cabbage, carrots, garlic and onion

If you would like to use a raised bed which I highly recommend, you can check this out Raised Garden Bed

Some new gardeners are also wondering which soil to use, here's what was recommended by our nursery and what we have been using since 

Organic Plant Garden Potting Soil Mix 

As for the gardening tools to start with, this 6 Piece Stainless Steel Heavy Duty Garden Tools Set would be perfect for all your gardening needs.

Below is the link to a video I posted on YouTube with clips of our garden and the Top 10 Fall and Winter veggies that we grow.

Chicken with Lavender & Lemon - The Best Chicken Recipe

I smell Provence on our doorsteps! Yes, we are growing lavender. We have three bushes and we just added two more.

 

Last night's dinner was a recipe from Provence in South of France, using the lavender I picked from the garden and air dried in the kitchen.

 

Organic chicken drumsticks marinated in homegrown lavender and, thyme with lemon zest, juice of a lemon, olive oil and a pinch of salt.

 

On to a 375-degree pre-heated oven for an hour.

Voila! Dinner is ready -- chicken with lavender & lemon, or in French... poulet au citron et lavande!

I have been cooking on a cast iron skillet almost every day! Love how the meals turn out and how they look. If you are in search of a cast iron skillet that is of good quality that doesn't cost that much money, check this out Enameled Cast Iron Skillet I prefer enameled because they look pretty in photos.

 

Video is on YouTube... please click on the link below...

Lemon Verbena Tea & Making Cinnamon Rolls On A Calm Morning That Feels Like Autumn | Morning Routine

A cup of tea helps calm the mind. We're kicking off the day with a lemon verbena and lemon infused tea and a delicious cinnamon roll.

The lemon verbena were freshly picked from the herb garden.

So in love with this tea infuser! You can check this out from this link tea infuser

If you are interested in watching the entire video of how I picked the lemon verbena from our backyard edible garden and how I made a pot of tea, then please click on the link below.

making cinnamon rolls

homegrown tea

lemon verbena

homegrown and homemade

Filipino Garden To Table Sunday Lunch - Tortang Talong, Bitter Melon Omelet, Salted Eggs and Shrimp

A taste of home with some harvest from our backyard edible garden - eggplant, bitter melon. lemon and tomatoes.

 

On the table...

- Eggplant Omelet ( Tortang Talong )

- Bitter melon with sliced onion, tomatoes and egg

- Shrimp in lemon garlic butter sauce

- Salted egg salad with garden tomatoes

Video is posted on YouTube on the link below.

Tomato, Rice and Cucumber Salad

A simple and healthy rice salad dinner recipe made with tomatoes and cucumbers from the backyard edible garden, some left-over albacore tuna and thinly sliced pork belly.

Video on YouTube on the link below...

Mediterranean Chicken With Garden Tomatoes and Basil

A colorful tomato harvest for dinner with chicken, basil and kalamata olives. Seasoned with a pinch of salt, a good cracking of black peppercorns and a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Yum!

Video on YouTube, link below...

Shakshouka With Homegrown Tomatoes

Summer weekends are for lazing away like eating breakfast and lunch together. For today's brunch, I prepared a Mediterranean dish called Shakshouka made of the juiciest and sweetest homegrown tomatoes and homegrown bell pepper, seasoned with paprika, cumin, a sprinkle of salt and freshly-cracked black peppercorns. Simmered for about 20 minutes, then I cracked three eggs and then I topped the shakshouka with homegrown herbs - shiso leaves and chives. Also on the table are some homemade aebleskiver, homegrown apples and nectaplums and coffee. 

Video on YouTube and link below...

Backyard Apple Picking For A Picnic In Malibu

Ah, finally it's weekend! We've been homebound all week and it's time to breathe some fresh salt air from the ocean. So off we went to Malibu Bluffs Park, spread out the blankets and ate our picnic. The picnic - apples and tomatoes from our backyard edible garden, sandwiches from an Italian deli and some sliced watermelon.

Video on YouTube, link on profile

Summer Harvest Au Gratin

This evening's backyard edible garden haul for a perfect weeknight recipe - SUMMER HARVEST AU GRATIN. I picked different varieties of tomatoes, eggplant, and zucchini. They were sliced along with ham steak, topped with freshly-grated parmesan cheese and cooked on a Le Creuset baking dish on a 350-degree pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. The zucchini and eggplant got a head-start on the pan. The lavender was placed onto a glass half-filled with water and the nectarine will be eaten tomorrow..

Video on YouTube, link below...

Grapes and Tomato Harvest for Dinner

Summer is a season of bounty! For last night's dinner, my little knight in shining armor and I harvested some vine-ripened grapes, sun-kissed tomatoes and delicious peaches from our backyard edible garden. Then on to the kitchen to prepare dinner - silk snapper, seasoned and broiled and tomatoes turned into salad with salted eggs.

Apple Picking in Los Angeles and Making Apple Pie

Apple season kicks off early in our backyard garden with some harvest turned into an apple pie. We picked the apples, peeled off the skin, then sliced. A sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger and a cup of caramel sauce. Then on to an apple pie dish lined with a crust, a lattice on top and on to a 425 F pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, then 350 F for another 45 minutes. Our Homemade apple pie with backyard apples is ready. A dollop of ice cream on top.... yum!

Video on YouTube, link below...

Nectaplum Harvest From A Small Backyard Garden in Los Angeles

Our nectaplum backyard harvest - the first of the season - turned into our favorite summer treat. Nectaplum is a cross between nectarine and plum. It is hybrid, but non-GMO since it was done through the old-fashioned way of pollinating by hand. Happy summer!

Video on YouTube, link below...

Steak, Tomato Salad and Baked Potatoes On 4th Of July

On the 4th of July, we harvested some tomatoes, berries and herbs for lunch. We had grilled porterhouse steak with rosemary, baked potatoes with chives and garden tomatoes with basil. Happy Independence Day everyone! Let us take a moment to remember all those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that we may live free. God bless America... our home sweet home!

Video on YouTube, link below...

Panzanella with Homegrown Tomatoes & Homemade Ciabatta

Just a few steps away from our kitchen is our edible garden where I picked different varieties of tomatoes that I used for our panzanella. Panzanella is a tomato and bread salad from Tuscany. For the bread, I used the ciabatta that I left in the oven a little longer than I should the other day. The ciabatta and some tomatoes were sliced into cubes. The cherry ones were sliced in half. A drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then topped with basil chiffonade. And there goes our colorful panzanella. In the second half of the video, I showed clips of how I made the ciabatta as well as pandesal. Pandesal is a Filipino version of dinner rolls.

Video on YouTube, link below...

Breakfast In The Garden With Backyard Harvest

One of the great things about summer is the endless bounty of fruits and vegetables in the backyard garden -- like the donut peaches that are dropping off the tree. So on my summer day off, I picked some of them along with a handful of blueberries, raspberries and a lone strawberry for our breakfast while I listened to the birds sing their morning song.. The berries and the peaches all came together on a shredded pancake which was carried back to the backyard garden and eaten under the shade of a fig tree.

Video on YouTube, link below..

French Apple Cake With Apples From The Backyard

Ana apple is the best cultivar for Los Angeles as it can tolerate warm weather. It is delicious when eaten fresh and also great for cooking and baking as it retains its shape better than some other varieties. For our apple harvest, I turned them into French apple cake. Happy gardening, happy baking and happy summer!

Video on YouTube, link below...

Picnic Frittatas For Our Picnic By The Ocean

Popped up early in the garden to snip some flowers and harvest some vegetables and fruits for our picnic. Some tomatoes, peaches, cucumbers, grapes, bell pepper and calamondin/calamansi. Then to the kitchen. Cracked five eggs, a sprinkle of salt topped with bacon, tomatoes, bell pepper and freshly grated cheese. On to the oven for 12 minutes and voila... our picnic frittatas. For the juice, I squeezed a handful of calamansi into a picnic carafe, sliced a cucumber, a tablespoon turbinado sugar, then filled with ice cubes, some freshly-picked splenda and a bottle of water. Closed the lunch boxes, grabbed the picnic blankets and drove to Malibu Bluffs Park for a lovely picnic overlooking the ocean. Then came the squirrels.. one, two, three,.... six of them playing that kept us entertained and amused. We walked a little bit. We could not hike on the trail because it's the season of the rattlesnakes.

Video on YouTube, link below...

Summer Squash Pizza and Bruschetta With Homegrown Tomatoes

A summer squash recipe that kids would surely love -- pizza! Last night's laid-back dinner in the backyard garden were summer squash or patty pan pizza and bruschetta with colorful homegrown tomatoes in homemade ciabatta. Buon appetito! Happy gardening & happy cooking!

Video on YouTube, link below...

Summer Garden Harvest For Fish Pinangat

Preparing food from back home "pinangat na isda" with some backyard garden pickings - the colorful tomatoes, calamondin/calamansi, fushimi eggplant and Japanese eggplant.

Video on YouTube, link below...

Colorful and Healthy Dinner with Backyard Harvest

A delicious and healthy dinner with some harvest from our California backyard garden -- yellow zucchini, cucumbers, colorful tomatoes and donut peaches. Ah, the bounty of summer! The pink roses were also picked from the garden.

Video on YouTube, link below...