Since our friend was on vacation the past week, we were able to watch over their backyard chickens. M was in charge of feeding and caring for them - in exchange for fresh organic eggs! If you’ve never tried fresh organic backyard chicken eggs, you are missing out.

These hens are very friendly. But they do make lots of noise in the morning after they finish laying their eggs. I am surprised none of the neighbors have made complaints. I guess giving them free fresh eggs would change their mind.

Entrance to the hen house.

It seem most suburban cities in California allow backyard chickens, just no rooster. Roosters are super noisy and don’t just croak to greet the sunrise, but all day and whenever they feel like it.

We had a pet chicken once, her name was . By her 3rd year she was retired and couldn’t lay anymore eggs. She lived to be 7 years old and died of natural causes last summer.

Unlike our friend’s backyard chicken, she didn’t have a pretty chicken coup, but she had a sleeping perch. She would always follow us around, especially my mom. And she would come running if we called out her name. Who knew chickens had so much personality!

What Eliza enjoyed the most was roaming freely in the backyard and enjoying her life as a cage free chicken. She was a great addition to mom’s backyard garden because she would eat all the bugs like slugs and spiders. I truly miss having a pet chicken, but I don’t think I can have another one anytime soon.

According to Mother Earth News, compare to grocery store eggs, these backyard chicken eggs contain 2-3x’s more omega-3 fatty acids and 1/3 the cholesterol of factory-farmed eggs. I think that is great news for egg lovers.

Photos taken with iPhone, Campbell, California

I didn’t plan on growing any climbing spinach this year since I wasn’t too impressed with them. Well it turns out it wasn’t the plant to blame, but my lack of gardening skills.

Why do I say this? It’s because when the climbing spinach ended up growing on their own in mom’s backyard garden they all looked great! Of course it’s because she takes good care of her garden by fixing the soil, pest control and watering her plants daily.

Here is a perfect heart shaped climbing spinach vine leaf. The best climbing spinach grew out of the potted Mexican lime tree. It produced some of the biggest spinach leaves I’ve ever seen. The bigger leaves were the size of my hand, but those ended up in my salad.

And it made for a great summer salad that was crisp and cooling. All I did was sliced up the veggies and tossed it with rice bran oil, apple cider vinegar, honey and along with some tangy plums, cool iceberg lettuces, plus garden cherry tomatoes.

Here’s one that volunteer to grow along with Thai Basil. Theses guys like to climb, so best to grow them along fences or trellis. This one is just climbing up a small bamboo stick. Note, in the back row are mom’s super hot chili peppers. She has grown them in pots every year and they produce lots of peppers. Almost too hot and spicy for my taste buds!

I can’t remember the last time I ate a star fruit (aka carambola). So when I saw these at the Asian market I had to give them a try.

The outside skin appears waxy and is very smooth. There is a crispness to the fruit and to my surprise they tasted very familiar. Like a mix of really juicy Asian pears and a hint of apple flavor.

As for nutritional value, star fruit is high in vitamin A and C. For those suffering from kidney stones or on dialysis, this fruit can be dangerous or fatal due to the high level of oxalic acid.

Because these fruits are so rare, they are quite pricey. Expect to spend at least a few bucks for just 1 or 2 fruits. If I had to chose between a star fruit or dragonfruit, I would definitely go with the dragonfruit.

Besides the rather common fruit taste, the fruit itself looks very unique. I remember seeing a star fruit tree in Hawaii once. Other states in the U.S. that can grow star fruit would include Florida and Texas (due to their warmer climate). These fruits are imported from Taiwan.

I love olives, especially those giant olives with the pimiento peppers stuffed in the middle. And I love olive oils, it’s great for salads and soap making. So when I came across this olive tree at the shopping center parking lot I had to take a closer look.

These purple olives were very bitter! They are inedible fresh, either green or ripe. And must be cured (just like soap) to become the tasty little fruits we all love. I found a post on how to cure ripe olives over at “Mama’s Tavern“.

“Put fresh, ripe olives in a pillowcase with an equal weight of salt. Hang outside. Shake up every day or two. When edible, rinse and pack in oil. It’s as easy as that.” - Mama’s Tavern

The instructions are very easy to follow. Of course I haven’t wanted to attempt this as I would need to collect tons of tiny ripe olives to make it worth it!

This is what happens when you squeeze them. I had to tip toe my way towards the tree (so not to dirty my shoes) to get a closer look. The fruits were so ripe they would fall off the branches just by touching them.

Many parts of California have olive trees literally growing almost everywhere. From sides of the road and along public streets. They are refer to as “Mission Olives”,probably left behind by the Spanish missionaries. Even in my childhood I remember climbing an olive tree for fun. The tree wasn’t too big and it had lots of twisting branches. The boys would use the green olives as ammunition. And when I briefly lived in southern California, there was an apartment building named “The Olive Pit” and there were dozens of olive trees all around.

Cat lovers in London will soon have their own cat cafe.  Entrepreneur Lauren Pears, 30 years old, was able to raise more than $151,000 through project-funding website Indiegogo. She is currently looking for space and will have the cafe opened up in a few months. The cafe idea is based on the popular Japanese cat cafe.

I wonder if the coffees are served up like this?  Photo via CoffeeStencil.com

Lauren’s already found 10-15 cats from the animal shelter to staff the cafe. She’s also received 300 prospective job applicants and more are coming in each day. She plans to charge about $7 per hour for customers to enjoy coffee in the company of cats. Or in the company of other cat lovers.

Lauren will have a volunteer program so people who can’t afford the cover charge can actually come in overnight and look after the cats. For hygienic reasons, the cats are to be kept out of the kitchen.

Vienna, Austria also had their first cat cafe open up last year and it seems to be a hit among locals and tourists. Cafe Neko (”neko” means cat in Japanese). The cafe was opened by Vienna resident Takako Ishimitsu, a 47-year-old woman originally from Nagoya, Japan, who moved to Vienna some 20 years ago.

If there was a cat cafe near where I lived, I would definitely check it out. Although I already have enough cats in my life, I wouldn’t mind having coffee with a few new cats.

BBC News Report on Youtube here - Vienna cat cafe with strict no dog policy.

Stinging nettles are one of the most useful herb to have in the garden. And it has been used for centuries as medicine for various ailments. It’s especially useful for those suffering from asthma and hay fever.

Catherine, the herbal gardener, told me to take some and make tea with it. She gave me a few plastic bags to put them in. The scary part was the furry spikes on the plants poked through the bag. All of a sudden I felt an intense burning and itchy feeling on my hands. Luckily the itched went away in 30 minutes. I guess they weren’t kidding when they named it “stinging nettle”.

So here I still have the stinging nettle in a glass filled with water. I am a bit apprehensive of the spikes so I haven’t prepare tea with it yet. Instructions are to never boil the plants. It’s best to infused the tea in hot water and let it sit for a while.

Dr. Christopher’s Herbal Legacy has a more detailed list of this plant as herbal medicine. Here is a partial list of it’s useful treatment:

*Anemia/fatigue
*Women’s complaints
Increase lactation
PMS
Menopause
Prenatal/eases labor
*Parasites
*Stones
Gravel from bladder
Kidney stones
Increase urine output
*Allergies
Hay fever
Seasonal allergies
Asthma
Hives

What’s interesting is that people also eat this plant - just boil or steam and serve - with spikes and all. I assume the cooking destroyed the spikes. But I don’t think I can go that far yet, so I’ll just try it as tea. I’ll have to use coffee filter to make sure the are not spikes floating around.

“Stinging nettle should be planted in it’s own spot away from the main garden and not allowed to go to seed or it will spread . It also spreads by runners like mint. It is worth growing however because it has tremendous soil building and health benefits.” - Local Harvest

One of my resolution for this year is to eat less sugar, especially refined white sugar. There are few sugar substitute out there, Stevia being one of the popular choices. As it has no calories and is derived from a plant. But it’s that strange bitter after taste from Stevia that makes me not like it so much.

Artificial sugar is something I try to avoid for many reason. But now there is another sugar alternative, and it has gained some attention in the U.S. market. It is coconut sugar - a type of sugar commonly used in SE Asian cooking.

I use Madhava coconut sugar. When you open the bag, you’ll notice the sweet and flavorful smell which is almost like butterscotch or palm sugar.

I like that Madhava’s coconut sugar is sustainably grown and harvested. Here’s what they mentioned from their website, “The coconut palm tree produces 50% to 75% more sugar per acre than cane sugar - and it only uses 20% of the resources.”

How exactly is coconut sugar harvested? Coconut sugar is harvested from the sweet sap from the flowering stem at the top of the coconut tree.  Once collected, the sap is set to simmer slighted until it becomes sugar crystals. Once the crystals start to form, it’s removed form the heat and continues to crystallize. Sounds like a simpler process compared to .

Wilderness Family Naturals, located in Minnesota, also sells coconut sugar online. They get their coconut sugar from the Philippines. WFN mentioned that their coconut sap is harvested from older trees found near homes and villages.  The villagers also benefit from the extra income provided by the sap.

WFN also adds that the idea of tapping sweet sap from these village coconut trees helps prevent coconut from falling off the trees.  Having a falling coconut hit a person on the head can be harmful and deadly.

I really like coconut sugar and will continue to eat it. I’ve since added coconut sugar to coffee and it’s makes for a great cup!

Dr. Oz also mentions, “Switching from regular sugar to coconut palm sugar could prevent the blood sugar crashes that make you hungry and then cause you to gain weight.” Dr. Oz’s sugar is coconut & palm blend sugar, which I’ve seen sold at many Asian grocery stores.

And the best part is that coconut sugar has naturally occurring nutrients including magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron, B vitamins, and amino acids. Of course it’s not an excuse to overload yourself on this sweet stuff.

Botanical coconut sketch from Wikipedia.

I am always on the look out for any kind of edible fruit. This season I came across these tiny little citrus fruits known as “calamansi”.

Calamansi are like a good mixture of orange and lime. A little sweet but mostly sour. Just like kumquats, their skin is edible and not bitter at all.

These tiny fruits are much smaller than Key limes. Despite their size, they pack a very sour punch! And the skin is the most fragrant citrus peel I’ve ever come across.

Calamansi are native to Asia and very popular in The Philippines. Many of the calamansi juice we have here in the U.S. were processed in the Philippines.

Calamansi (or kalamansi) are also known by various names, such as limonsito, calamandarin, calamondin.

The Philippines Department of Science and Technology had these interesting uses for calamansi:

“The fruit juice is also applied to the scalp after shampooing to eliminate itching and promote hair growth.

Rubbing calamansi juice on insect bites banishes itching and irritation.

It bleaches freckles and helps to clear up acne.

The most popular medicinal use of calamansi is when taken orally as a cough remedy.

Aside from the food and medicinal uses of calamansi, the fruit juice is used to bleach ink stains from fabrics and serve as a body deodorant. ”

Wow! I think this will become my new favorite citrus. So far I’ve only used it for making herbal tea. Just squeeze 1 small fruit, along with the skin & pulp into a glass of hot water. Mix with a few drops of honey. It makes a warm and refreshing winter tea.

Quinoa (pronounced keh-NO-ah or, sometimes, KEEN-wah) are tiny edible seeds. They are a primary source of food staple for natives living in the Andean region of South America.

Quinoa has gain much popularity abroad, especially in the U.S. The United Nations has even declared 2013 as “International Year of Quinoa”.

Why eat quinoa? Because it’s really good for you! Quinoa grains contain essential amino acids like lysine and good quantities of calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Lysine is an amino acid important for tissue growth and repair.

Cooking instructions using pressure cooker:

First soak the quinoa in water for 5 minutes to clean it and helps remove the bitter saponins.

2 cups of rinsed quinoa
2.5 cups of water

Set in pressure cooker for 10 minutes.

I like the pressure cooker because it came out nice and fluffy all the time.

Other ways to cook include steaming or boiling. Some have even cooked quinoa in a rice cooker.

The seeds are nutty and a bit chewy. Once cooked, the grain germ separates from the seeds and looks really interesting.

There are so many interesting recipes, such as quinoa salads or quinoa veggie burger. So far I’ve only added cooked quinoa to Tom Yum soup. It makes for a healthy and filling soup on a cold day.

Other interesting notes about Quinoa:

In South America, Quinoa saponin is used as detergent for clothing and washing, and as an antiseptic for skin injuries.

Quinoa grain has also been used for poultry and livestock feed.

Photo of Quinoa in flower.

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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