Some people might like fresh summer cherries, but I will take longons over any other North American fruits anytime. These were sold at the Asian market, priced at $2.99 per pound and packed into netted bags.

The skin is not like any other fruits, but it’s easy to peel. The flesh is similar to lychee, but no too sweet. It’s soft, transparent, reminds me of jelly. It’s a great treat, especially when you want something juicy and cooling in the summer time.

Even the seeds are pretty. They look like they’ve been lacquered. Some people think they look like eyes and also refer to this fruit as “Dragon’s Eye”. In Lao this fruit is refer to as “mak Lam Yai”.

According to Hawaii Fruit, longon is very popular in China as both fresh and dried fruit. The dried ones are used in Chinese herbal medicine.

The fruit is growing in popularity and orchards can be found in Hawaii and Florida. The longon was introduced in Florida in 1903 but never became popular until the Hawaiin Kohala varitey was introduced in 1954. A newer variety, known as Egami is also gaining popularity in Hawaii.

Full grown trees may yield 400-500 lbs of fruit in a good year. So that’s $1,200 - $1,500 per tree. Even after paying other expenses, it’s still not bad if you have an orchard full of longons.

Many people in the U.S. have been diagnose with type 2 diabetes. Also known as adult onset, which is caused by too much glucose in the blood.

It’s been assumed that type 2 diabetes is a lifelong illness and there is no cure. But there’s good news out there for people who are looking for a reversal of the condition.

The first study came out recently from UK’s Newcastle University. Where 11 people with diabetes took part in the study and 3 months later 7 of the participants were free of diabetes.

The key was to slash their food intake to just 600 calories a day for two months.

The UK Guardian reports, “The volunteers were closely supervised by a medical team and matched with the same number of volunteers with diabetes who did not get the special diet.

After just one week into the study, the pre-breakfast blood sugar levels of the study group had returned to normal. And MRI scans showed that the fat levels in the pancreas had returned to normal. The pancreas regained its ability to make insulin.”

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This is my next post about natural yarns made from bamboo and silk. Bamboo is grass, an evergreen woody perennial that grows very fast. So no worry about over harvesting these plants.

I love that bamboo can serve so many purpose and made into many goods. From bamboo cutting boards to knitting needles. And best of all is bamboo yarn.

These 2 bamboo & silk yarns are from eBay. Made with 70 % bamboo and 30% silk.

This one is in bright green, 50 gram sold in pack of 2. I’ve knitted them as soap savers and stuffed with my little tiny pieces of handmade soap. The knitted bamboo yarn soap saver is good for scrubbing and gives good lather too.

This light blue yarn is much thinner and finer than I expected, so probably best for lace knitting or crochet. Maybe I’ll practice knitting baby items with them. It does feel very silky and soft. And very comfortable for sensitive skin.

One method of making bamboo yarn is by taking the fiber straight from the plant and the second method of making the yarn is from the bamboo pulp. This process is more eco-friendly as it does not use chemical additives. And the resulting fiber composts naturally. The fibers from this process come out finer than a strand of hair.

Other benefits to bamboo yarn include:

Requires less dye due to its absorbency.

Naturally antimicrobial and resistant to odor.

Resistant to UV rays.

And for those living it humid climates, it would make great clothing as it’s very cooling to wear in the hot weather.

The trail follows the banks of Alameda Creek in southern Alameda County from the mouth of Niles Canyon westward to San Francisco Bay (a distance of 12 miles). We didn’t hike that far, just hung around to check out the wildlife and creek.

Here’s some nature photos taken near the Alameda Creek Regional Trail.

Hello birdie! It was a bit windy & chilly but this guy looks warm.

Little bubbles and moss form while the water rushes along the rocks.

Egret waiting patiently for fishes. He was there the whole time and never left this spot.

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Since I was in the Fremont area, I decided to stop by and visit Wat Buddhanusorn. Unfortunately I arrived after the normal visiting hours of 8 am - 5 pm. It was already 6 pm when I got there, it was quiet except for a few parked cars in the lot. I heard voices but didn’t have the courage to enter the worship hall (or walk around the place). But I did manage to snap a few photos!

First thing I noticed when I drove into the parking lot was this beautiful Jacaranda tree. This flowering tree had such an amazing purple color. It was planted near the entrance to the main worship hall.

This is the first time I’ve seen this tree in this part of California. As these trees are normally native to the tropics such as South America.  Although they also grow well in Australia, Africa and Asia. In the United States, it grows in parts of Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and Florida.

Here is the Wat (temple). There’s a row of rose bushes along the sidewalk leading up to the place. I can imagine this place can get pretty crowded during festivals or other events. This Thai Buddhist temple has been known for it’s weekend food vendors. Just check out these Yelpers.

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I’ve had this cactus for eight years now. The first year it was so tiny. But over the years the main plant kept getting taller and formed clusters of little cactus babies around it - 6 in all. And finally this summer it gave us these two lovely yellow flowers.

At one time it was left (forgotten) in the trunk of the car for months and still survived. These plants are good for people who don’t have a green thumb or don’t like to bother with caring for plants.

I believe my cactus is a Notocactus. The genus “Notocactus” got it’s name from the Greek word “notos” meaning “south” to indicate that the plants of this genus are from South America. Info below gathered from Cactus Art:

Description: Columnar Cactus that branches and will start to cluster from the base as it ages.
Stem: At first globular then columnar up to 60(100) cm tall, 8-12 cm in diameter, with an angled crown.
Spines: Harmless, golden and bristly.
Flowers: Near the top, 5-6 cm in diameter pure yellow, silky, shining with a lovely reflection in the petals. It blooms only when mature in Spring to late Summer. Blooms more than once a year.

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Kanom Krok is one of my favorite Thai-Lao snack. They are like little coconut treats. And it’s also one of those food that require proper tool and time to make.  The tool being an iron cast pan with divots. 

Since I don’t have the special traditional pan, I used my mini electric cupcake maker.  The electric cupcakes maker is perfect for making cupcakes or muffins.  So I thought why not make Kanom Krok with them.

It may not look like the traditional Kanom Krok, but it does taste authentic.   The outside is crispy and the inside is soft and creamy.  This was made with Recipe #2 which is much more dense and filling.   This version would taste better will peanut dipping sauce.

It takes dedication to make these because you have to sit there and monitor the progress. The cupcake maker does make it easier since you just let it cook and can walk away. At least for a few minutes.

I like to start cleaning up the kitchen while it’s cooking. Once the bottom is cook, you use 2 bamboo skewers to flip it around and cook the other side. Takes about 5-7 minutes to cook.

When using this Bella Cucina cupcake maker it can get very hot. So don’t open or touch with bare hands - use a mitten. I learned the hard way and almost burned my hand with the steam and heat.

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Walk around any American suburbs and you’ll notice how people love their green lawn. And there’s lots of work to keep it nice, from watering, cutting, to adding fertilizers.

Busy bee and clovers. Photo from Nye Noona.

For a safe lawn, we need to avoid using pesticides and other harmful products. Especially if you have children and pets playing in the yard.

First step to natural lawn care is to keep the clovers. Because clovers are good for the lawn, despite what weed chemical companies want you to believe.  Clovers are nature’s fertilizer factory because it has the ability to store atmospheric nitrogen in its root systems. They also attract bees, great for pollination.

Paul Tukey from People, Places and Plants encourages us to go organic when it comes to lawn care. That doesn’t mean it’s going to make for ugly lawn, but you’ll be using alternative and safer choices. Watch this segment for more info.

You can learn more by visiting SafeLawns.org and check out this HOW-TO DVD: “How to Make the Organic Lawn Care Transition” featuring Paul Tukey for only a $10 donation to the SafeLawns Foundation. The DVD includes 16- how-to segments that cover an entire season of lawn care from spring through fall. It’s applicable to warm- and cool-season climates.

As noted in The OC Registar:

Every year:

* A lawn-mower user pollutes as much in one hour as he does driving an automobile for 20 miles.

* 30 to 60 percent of urban fresh water is used for watering lawns.

* $5.25 billion is spent on fossil-fuel-derived fertilizers for lawns.

* 67 million pounds of synthetic pesticides are used on lawns.

* 580 million gallons of gasoline are used for lawn mowers.

* $25 million is spent for the lawn-care industry.

* $700 million is spent for pesticides for lawns.

* 30 million acres are planted with residential lawns - enough lawn to carpet New York state.

This trailer on is about one town’s move towards natural and eco friendly lawns: “A Chemical Reaction” Trailer (Keep off the lawn!) Hudson, Quebec.

Note: If I had my way, I would opt for no lawn and just have a small garden with a patio area. And grow drought resistant plants, lay out river rocks, and maybe a water feature. Anything but a front lawn!

Last summer my mom let the wild purslane in her backyard garden to grow as they please.  And now they have started to sprout all around the yard.  And lucky for me since now I can make purslane salad.

The taste is similar to water spinach, but with a crunch from the stalks.  For more flavor, try steaming it lightly.

So here’s my take on another fresh summer salad.  It’s pretty much made with all the stuff from the garden.  Except for the walnuts and dressing.

The fresh ripe apricots adds a bit of sweetness.  While the plums gave it some tang.  The greens were mostly purslane and a few baby broccoli.

Dressing is simple using rice bran oil and apple cider vinegar.  Along with Himalayan salt and ground black pepper.

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Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday weekend. I got 2 epiphyllums in bloom just in time for Independence day!

Epiphyllum are also known as Orchid cactus, night blooming Cereus, Queen of the Night and Dutchman’s Pipe Cactus.

The word epiphyllum is derived from a Greek word meaning “upon the leaf”. The real Jungle cactus have no leaves but are just stems and branches that look like leaf.

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