In Northern California, I’ve seen carob trees grown as ornamental trees all around the area. I like that its an evergreen tree, so it stays nice and lush all year.

For the longest time I was amazed at the fruit and wondered if it was edible. It turns out that carob is very popular around the word. And it’s primarily grown as a food crop since the fruits are sweet and nutritious.

I came upon these dried carobs at a parking lot. I just took a few from the ground for a closer look. It does smell pleasant, a little bit like chocolate. An earwig (bug) crawled out of one of them.

I’m not brave as the typical urban food forager to give this fruit a try. Actually reminds me of tamarind, especially the brown long fruit and round leaves.

If you see them hanging on the tree when it’s still green, it does look like big fat peas. That’s because it’s part of the pea family. But once it ripens, the pulp is eaten and the seed discarded.

The pulp is usually dried and made into a powder and used as a chocolate substitute. Much like chicory root is for coffee. Some people like it because it’s naturally sweet and is caffeine free.

“Chatfield’s Carob Powder is naturally caffeine-free; a healthy substitute for cocoa powder. The distinctive flavor of this pure carob powder is sure to be savored as a steaming cup of Creamy Carob Latte, or used to create your favorite baking recipes.”

Carob powder available at Drugstore.com

A little more info about carob I’ve gathered:

Carob contains three times as much calcium as cocoa powder.

In Malta, a syrup is made out of carob pods. This is a traditional medicine for coughs and sore throat.

According to a report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, “extracts of carob leaves proved effective in inhibiting the growth of Listeria bacteria growing in laboratory cultures. Further, it offers a possible explanation for the antibacterial action. The results were promising enough for the scientists to plan further tests of carob extracts on Listeria growing in meat and fish samples.”

This method of using natural compounds for food preservation is a great idea, thus relying less on current antimicrobial chemicals. Especially since tricolsan (popular antibacterial) has found it’s way to our waterways and harming biological life.

So next time you see these carob trees growing in a parking lot, think of it’s potential.

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When I think of Finland, I usually think of cold weather and Nokia. Now the country is being known for the success of it’s school system. One that is drastically different then the current educational system we have in the United States.

This short documentary does a better job introducing us to the Finn’s school system. Watch all parts on .

Some key points from this short documentary is that students start school at a later age (7 years old), take fewer classes, enjoy a 3-month summer break, spend less time in school per day, have barely any homework, and are rarely tested. Yet they have done exceptionally well.

Finland believe their schools should be healthy, safe environments for children. Finland offers all pupils free school meals, easy access to health care, psychological counseling, and individualized student guidance.

Other great things about the schools is that they are all publicly financed. So no tuition fees. If you wanted to get a Ph.D. you don’t have to worry about student debts. To read more check out “Education in Finland“.

Pasi Sahlberg, who is part of Finnish Education Reform notes in his blog,

“In Finland, there is a strong sense of trust in schools and teachers to carry out these responsibilities. There is no external inspection of schools or standardized testing of all pupils in Finland. For our national analysis of educational performance, we rely on testing only a small sample of students.

The United States really cannot leave curriculum design and student assessment in the hands of schools and teachers unless there is similar public confidence in schools and teachers. To get there, a more coherent national system of teacher education is one major step.”

I may not be a parent, but I do feel the U.S. school system needs to change. Many immigrant parents I’ve seen in the Bay Area move to apartments just to send their children to the better school districts. And others who can afford it, send their kids to private schools or home-school them instead. I guess all the others just have to take what’s left over.

Side note why Finland is neat:

In July 2010, Finland became the first country in the world to make internet access a legal right all citizens.

Finland is among the 5 least corrupt countries in the world. The U.S. ranks 23rd… just ahead of Uruguay.

With the cooler temperatures and wet weather these past few days, it was perfect time to knit again. And to start off the knitting season, I’ve made this Trinity Infinity Scarf.

This pattern is called Trinity stitch, aka Raspberry or Blackberry stitch. When I first learned to knit, I found this pattern to be very daunting. But now I can say it’s become a new favorite stitch of mine. But all the “knitting into the same stitch” can really cramp your style. So I knitted this pretty loose.

I haven’t found my model dress form… so here’s my attempt at it.

Begin by casting on 200 stitches. Knitting in the round, circular needles size 8. Machine washable Lion Brand wool-ease yarn in a golden hue of autumn.

Trinity stitch calls for multiples of 4 and 4 row. Knit or purl first row, connect the ends. I knitted mine. Then start pattern:

Row 1: *P3tog, (k1,p1,k1) into the same stitch. Repeat *
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: *(k1,p1,k1) into the same stitch, P3tog. Repeat *
Row 4: Purl

Knit to your desired width and bind-off. The Infinity Trinity scarf can also be folded to form a warm cozy cowl.

Am working on this special project using the same pattern. I think it reminds me of snow or even popcorn!

“Knock on wood” is one expression I’ve used often enough. It’s an expression said in order to keep from having bad luck or tempting fate.

Chunky ebony wooden ring, which I won on Ebay.

So where did this phrase come from? There were several explanations from English For Students. The explanation below is my favorite.

“You knock on wood because of those wily Wood Sprites. In medieval times, people believed in mischievous creatures known as sprites. Sprites are actually spirits or ghosts who were reputed to enjoy causing trouble and wreaking havoc in the lives of the living. Among the most mischievous were wood sprites.

If you were to mention something good, the wood sprites would try to foul it up. The thought was that if you knocked on the wood when you said these things, the wood sprites would not be able to hear you because of the knocking sound. Hence they would leave you alone.”

In Lao culture there is similar phrase when people speak of tempting fate, it would be best to say “may bad fortune not come upon me” and not having to knock on anything.

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones- The Impression that I get.

This song should just be call the “Knock on Wood” song. I love that skeleton… just having so much fun.

I’ve been looking for LED bulbs to come to the market for some time now. No sign of them at regular retail outlets. Sometimes Costco has them and so does Amazon. But they are still expensive and not as bright compare to regular bulbs.

Then I finally came across “Foreva” LED light bulbs. They are truly nice and bright at 600 lumen. Best of all, they are suppose to last over 20 years!

I also got a great deal on them from Groupon ($10 plus free shipping). I’m normally hesitant about buying anything before actually reading reviews on them. Since Groupon has good customer service/return policy I figure it was worth a try. Only regret now is I wish I had got more of these LED bulbs!

CFL bulbs were suppose to be the next best thing in lighting. But they are extremely toxic and bad for our health. And this is even before they break too. Because when they break, you have to take extra care in handling them.

Now that I think about it, I can imagine CFL bulbs breaking all over America all the time. Especially with young kids in the house, knocking over lamps, etc. Therefore exposing the children and environment to the toxic fumes.

CFL bulbs aren’t just bad for the environment, they are also bad for our health. Health Canada issued a warning after UK Health Protection recommends you should not be more than 30 cm from the light bulb for more than 1 hour per day as it emits UV rays. Test are currently being done in Canada.

CFL bulbs also contribute to dirty electricity. Which can cause migraines, dizziness, nausea, confusion, fatigue, skin irritations, and eye strain.

It would be nice if LED light bulbs were made in the U.S.A. Maybe a better investment than Solyndra. Most of all, I hope the price of LED light bulbs come down so more people can benefit from them. And I really need to phase out of CFL bulbs for good!

We have a friend that grows casava in her garden. I didn’t have my camera with me to take a photo of the plant (shrub). It can grow really high, up to 10 feet.

She did give me a handful of the casava flowers and fruits. Although it seems to grow easily in California, it does not form roots.

Casava roots are eaten around the world, especially in more tropical climates from Africa to Asia.

Tapioca is made from casava starch. They give off a chewy texture and best made into desserts.

This is a nice botanical illustration of the casava plant via Wiki. I think they make pretty ornamental plants too. Giving the garden a tropical and lush feeling.

Once it’s done flowering, it becomes tiny fruits. All parts of this plant is edible. But some say extra caution is needed when preparing the root. Just don’t eat them raw. I’ve personally never had a problem with eating casava roots.

As for taste, the steamed flowers was sweet and tender (like asparagus), but the fruit was somewhat bitter but tasty.

“Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.”

-Mark Twain

Cambree Notes is 5 years old! I honestly didn’t think I would keep it up for that long.

I may not be able to update this blog as much recently but I’ll do my best to keep sharing notes.

In the meantime I did get to make more soaps. Photos coming soon!

This is from my first post from October 10, 2007.

“When you look back on your life, it looks as though it were a plot, but when you are into it, it’s a mess: just one surprise after another. Then, later, you see it was perfect.”

-Schopenhauer

These red shiny little fruits are loaded with Vitamin C. More so then you’ll ever find in oranges. Acerola is also commonly known as Barbados Cherry and West Indian Cherry. It grows well in hot and warm climates.

Photo via wiki commons.

Over the years I’ve seen acerola extract added to skincare lines. The high Vitamin C content of these tiny fruit helps keep the skin clear and supports collagen.

And if you happen to live in Brazil, you’ll find these fruits in drinks, ice cream and baby food. If only we were so lucky here in the U.S. But acerola powder can be bought as supplements at many health food stores.

To my surprise I did find jam made with acerola berries. But it wasn’t from Brazil, it was from Belgium.

It’s made with cranberries and blueberries too.  All really really good tiny fruits packed with anti-oxidants and vitamins.  Well even without the health benefits these are still great berries that make for great jam.

I hope they don’t stop selling this jam at World Market as it’s become one of my favorite!

I also love how some of the fruits are still intact, like the cranberry.  Best spread on sour dough bread with cream cheese.

I found these tiny fruits growing at the rare fruit orchard in San Jose, Ca. The tree is pretty large like an apple tree.

I wish I have the name of it. For some reason the tree name tags were all removed. M thinks they are Nanking Cherries. And from the photos I’ve seen of Nanking Cherries, I don’t think they look anything like them.

I did a little taste test and found the outside flesh tart but edible. Tasted like a combination of pomegranate seeds and unripe persimmon. The seed really makes your mouth pucker up.

The fruits are also very fragile as they seem to fall right off the tree. They were really abundant and just growing like coffee beans right along the branches. And I’m sure the birds like to eat them too.

If anybody has any idea what they are called, I’d love to know!