Last night I went to learn about “cool weather gardening” with a Master Gardener. The event was held at the Los Altos public library. There was a good turn out of people, both young and old. I didn’t catch the presenter’s name, but she had a good sense of humor and was very informative.

Here are some of the free seed packets we got from the lecture.  Mesclun lettuces and beets.

A few things I learned is that you can make you garden soil better by using alfalfa pellets as organic feed. It provides nitrogen for the soil. Buy 50 lbs bag at the pet shop and spread a bit and mix it into the soil. This is a great way to improve soil that has lost it’s nutrients.

I also learned that the weather in the bay area is considered Mediterranean weather, with very nice summers and mild winters. Unfortunately, I don’t have much garden space to plant as I wish.  And all my flowers are in pots.

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I finally got to see The Golden Compass, a movie based on the book Northern Lights by Philip Pullman.  The book was fist published in 1995 and the movie released in 2007.  It is considered to be a fantasy novel and film, set in a parallel universe from our own.

Image from Movie Cafe.  Lyra and Pan in Oxford.  I also loved the costumes of the time period very much, especially this dress.

Lyra Belacqua is the 12 year old who goes on an adventure in search for her missing friend and to find her uncle up in the far north.  With the help of a talking Polar bear prince and many other lively characters to aid her.

I don’t want to ruin the ending, but I do wish the rest of the trilogy gets into production. There was a bit of a controversy when the film was to be released. The Catholic Church felt it was an attack on them. But I think it was much lighter, and the film reminds people to think for themselves as well as believe in themselves.

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I was just mentioning to a friend that I haven’t shopped at JC Penny for a while now.  But then I got an offer in the mail for $10 free towards any purchase.  I tried to think of something for that amount. Maybe not much! Then I realized extra towels are always nice to have around the house, even if I got a couple more.

I spotted these towels by “Linden Tree”.   They are eco-friendly towels, and very soft and fluffy.  I just love them!  I also like the textured pattern as they are not commonly found in regular bath towels.

What I like about these towels are that they take less time to dry but feel just like regular towels. They are normally $9.99 each, but were on sale for $4.99.  So I decided to get 3, and there must have been an additional discount (no sales tax day) and the total of all 3 came to only $3.57.  Possibly the best deal on towels ever!

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I found this interesting tonic drink at the local Asian market. I got it for $1 per can, but at the website it’s sold as $2. So it wasn’t too bad.

A little bit of info from their company website:

The Dr. Chao Panda Herbal Detox Drink is made with Herba Houttuyniae (Heartleaf), Herba Hyperici Japonici (St. John’s Wort Herb), Cordyceps (Caterpillar Mushrooms), Radix Glycyrrihizae (Sweet Root). Herba Houttuyniae (Heartleaf), among the other herbs, are able to provide the following functions:

*Excrete Toxic Substances
*Promote Kidney Function
*Protect Liver
*Nourish the Skin
*Relieve Fatigue
*Anti-Aging Effects and Anti-Oxidants.

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M and I visited Blackberry Farm in Cupertino, CA. It reminded me of the blackberry farm in Pescadero. Except we were not near the ocean. But it was nicely tucked in amongst the suburbs. And the entrance was free, plus eating tangy blackberries optional. There was also a small creek that ran through the park, complete with river rocks too.

The best part of this farm was the community garden and the local 4H club animal farm. There were even some real live bee hives! Even though I love bees, I was still very scared to get too close to the hives. Maybe if I had a bee suit.

The 4 H club had many animals. But I was particularity interested in the goats. There are three different breeds of goats, diary goats, meat goats, and other dual purpose (fiber) goats. There were goats with small ears and some with big ears. The small ears one were called La Mancha and the big floppy ears named Nubian. The La Mancha are a medium sized breed, developed in the USA from goats of Spanish origin. They are known to have an excellent dairy temperament (good for producing goat milk). And these La Mancha are considered to be very friendly, naturally healthy and sturdy animals.

My favorite type of goats was the Pygmy goat. They are small and cute. Pygmy goats are one of the most popular breed for meat, but now are more popular as pet. They are small goats of African origin. This one in the middle (looking at camera) let me pet it’s chin for the longest time! I would love to have Pygmy goats as pet some day. As well as other goats for the milk.

Since I was in the mood for agar agar dessert, I was happy to find some frozen pandan leaves at the Asian market for about $1.  It would be nice to find some fresh ones, but they can only grow in tropical climates. The package was from Vietnam and read, “Bay Thoy Leaf”.

Nicely washed and cut pandan leaf. Photo from hsa*ba, Burmese cooking.

Pandan leaves have a very interesting scent.  I can’t really describe, a bit herbal floral. And somewhat of a ripe banana too.  But other have described as being rose like. Not only does it offer a fragrant scent, but it could be used as food coloring too. Some even use it to wrap their food for cooking.  I just want to use them to make agar agar dessert.

I am starting to enjoy agar agar more then gelatin.  Gelatin is a bit boring and it’s derived from the collagen inside animals’ skin and bones. Bad for vegetarians, but good for those that don’t mind animal collagen. Agar agar is derived from seaweed and has trace minerals and more.

I found some neat inspiration for making desserts using agar agar from Appon’s: Recipe from my native Thailand. Appon made this dessert with mashed pumpkin and pandan flavor agar agar. Since I am a fan of pumpkin pie, I think this would taste great. Photo from Appon.

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Since 2005, off the coast of Nomura, Japan, there has been an invasion of giant jellyfish.  These giant jellyfish grow 6.5 feet (2 meters) wide and weigh up to 450 pounds (220 kilograms). I am just amazed and how big they get, almost the same size as the diver pictured here.

Photo from National Geographic

These jellyfish are commonly found in Chinese and Korean waters, but having them show up in Japanese waters became a threat to the local fishing industry. Fishermen say the jellyfish are choking fishing nets and poisoning the catch with their toxic stingers.

As scientist try to come up with theories to why this is happening in their waters, the local communities are coming up with resourceful ways to turn their unwanted catch into candy, cookies, crab food, and fertilizer.

These jellyfish cookies were made my students at Obama Fisheries High School in Obama, Japan. Cookies are sold in boxes of 10. They are called “Ekura-chan saku-saku cookies”. Made with jellyfish powder. Photo from Pink Tentacle

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I taught myself how to sew a few years ago out of the need to create my own pretty tote bags. Then when I got a bit better at sewing, I started to make other things. It’s a good way to have an original item, especially when you get to choose your own fabrics.

But unfortunately, I still have more patterns still waiting to be sewn and summer is almost over!

I still love fabrics and am tempted to collect more when I’m near them. Last time I was at Jo-Anne’s Fabric, I actually kept myself from getting any new fabrics. Instead I got some Gutermann threads in these cute little vintage tins. It was on sale for $1.99 for 4 spools.

I like the country chic of the painting on the tin. The tree is full of pink blossoms.   When I took this photo, it was laid flat on ground. But now it’s floating… thanks to some editing software magic.

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I always thought Google Maps was pretty cool.  And now it’s even cooler when I heard about what artist Bill Guffey was able to do with them.

Some of Bill Guffey’s artwork is inspired by by screengrab of Google Maps street view.  He is a self-taught artist from Kentucky.  He has done some traveling, but have now found Google street view to be less expensive way to be inspired. And with only the click of a mouse he could be just about anywhere in the world.

Some of my favorite paintings by Bill are shown here.

This painting was done with a screen grab from Google Streetview Italy.  I’ve always loved looking at photos of Italian balconies, especially ones filled with blooming geraniums.

“Currently, Guffey’s portfolio includes 100 images inspired by Google Maps street view. In April, he finished painting images from each of the 50 states, subbing in Washington DC for Hawaii, which is not yet available on Google Maps. Last week, Guffey painted a few scenes from Eastport, Maine. This week, his blog displays paintings of Angwin Vineyards in Angwin, Calif., and the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colo.” - CS Monitor.

I’ve always loved to eat jell-O (gelatin), actually the Asia jelly made of agar agar is my favorite.  Another interesting jelly that is not commonly known in the U.S. is konnyaku.  It’s made from the tubers of konnyaku root. The konnyaku potato is native to Asia.  The Japanese pronounce it as “cone yuk”.  In Indonesia, they call it “iles- iles”.  In some countries it is known as voodoo lily or Devils’ Tongues.

They have huge blooms, but it’s the root that is eaten.  Photo from University of Connecticut

The Japanese have been eating this stuff for thousands of years. And there are many benefits of eating Konnyaku.  They mainly use Konnyaku to make jellies, tofu and noodles. The are low in calories, contains no fat, high in fiber, and rich in trace minerals. The Konnyaku fiber help clean the digestive tract of toxins.

When digested, konnyaku expands about 30-50 times in the digestive system - thus making you feel fuller longer. This would be good for those that want to lose weight.  But there is a caution to not just depend on konnyaku for weight loss.  As we all know, too much of anything is not good for you!

Konnyaku potatoes, photo from Bromo Agroindustry of Indonesia.  They don’t look so appetizing now, but they are suppose to be really healthy stuff.

Konnyaku contains glucomannan, which is a water-soluble dietary fiber. It is very low in carbohydrates. There are research being done that shows that konnyaku helps lower cholesterol, prevents high blood pressure and normalizes blood sugar as well as prevents diabetes.

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