Blog Garden: April 2009

An Evening in Night Market

>> Friday, April 24, 2009

Pasar Malam or literally 'Night Market' in Keningau, also known as street Market and opens at around 4 every evening, is the place I regularly go to after working hours. The mission is to buy veggies, fruits, kuih muih for my kid's evening treat and also for tomorrow's lunch. Stalls of veggies, fruits, kuih-muih in Malay (bake sales), dried fish, clothes, food and drinks etc can be found here. As I was wondering what veggies to buy, I came across the breadnut which is known as "buah Kemangsi", actually the fruit can be found here but I forgot the look and this fruit is cook best with curry as Helen of Rustic Bajan Garden mentioned before. I remembered my other alternative of taking pictures, that is my cellphone, but pretending like sms-ing, got the breadnut captured and some pictures of Keningau's night market. Here's the result. :)

breadnuts or the "buah kemangsi"

breadnuts in the sack

and these are the "tarap fruit", notice the difference between the two ?

view of the pasar malam

'Lemiding' a local veggie, grows in the wild.

banana flower or 'jantung pisang' cooked as veggie on the left

serai or lemon grass, bottles of honey, 'bambangan' a type of local pickles (yellow color in the small container on the right)

local jewellery crafts also can be found here, the picture a bit blurry in my attempt to'sms'

ending with kuih muih, bake or rather fried, steam delicacies sales?

Buah Tarap the Unique fruit in Sabah

>> Sunday, April 19, 2009

Buah tarap is a unique fruit here in Sabah. Its flesh is soft and sweet and has a strong scent. Buah tarap can be eaten just like that or cooked with flour to make kuih. It looks like jackfruit but its not. This fruit is very soft to open when ripen and thats why you have to get the fruit from the tree and left to ripen until soft as it couldnt afford to fall because of its softness. People here believed that if you are going to pluck this fruit be careful dont let the fruit touch your knee else it would not ripe accordingly. The seeds are also edible after boiling or roasting and taste like nuts. The young fruit can be used as veggie and cook with coconut milk like the jackfruit.

credits to www.travelpod.com

I dont have this in my yard as hubby said it is too big a tree to grow and it really needs bigger space. Anyway just to highlight my favorite fruit and the local fruit of Sabah here it is as feast to the eyes :)

Purple blooms on Friday

>> Friday, April 17, 2009

wild purple orchid morning glory

Its Friday once again and who doesn't love Friday..Friday makes me happy with these purple blooms in my plot. I noticed Ive taken more purple blooms nowadays and here they are..

unknown purple flower and bougainvillea

wild purple orchids growing on the kuini tree

wild weed's flower

lemon flower

purple hibiscus

The Rain in Blog Garden..

>> Tuesday, April 14, 2009

In the midst of rain
I found myself drain
In a pool of false puddle
where my minds seem to meddle

hope is the faith
where life is not death
enduring the pain of waiting
in the game of living
like the rain falling
where new hopes growing

Let it shine and rain
in my little garden
let the confuse mind
dwell and bind
in the darkness of night
where hope is the knight
with every waking hours
I will live to the fullest!!

p.s 1- just want to cool down things a bit :)
2- Rain is hujan in my language

Lemon Grass as Natural Herbal Remedy to Prevent Cancer

Serai or Lemon Grass Cymbopogon ciatrusis used as herb either fresh, dried or powdered in Asian cuisine. It has a citrus flavour and widely used in soups, curries and any dish one like to mix it with. Other popular name for serai is citronella - the common scent you usually find in candles, perfumes and soaps. I rarely use serai but they were rows of them in the garden at the backyard and infront.

rows of serai

It is believed that serai is a good cleanser that helps to detoxify the liver, pancreas, kidney, bladder and the digestive tract. It cuts down uric acid, cholesterol, excess fats and other toxins in the body while stimulating digestion, blood circulation, and lactation; it also alleviates indigestion and gastroenteritis. It is said that lemongrass also helps improve the skin by reducing acne and pimples and acts as a muscle and tissue toner. Also, it can reduce blood pressure. Just make a concoction by boiling some lemon grass leaves, let it cool for a while and drink the liquid.

Some people believed that serai is able to prevent cancer and according to researchers from Ben Gurion University A drink with as little as one gram of lemon grass contains enough citral to prompt cancer cells to commit suicide in the test tube. II think its time for me to use more serai in my kitchen now

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credits to geocities

credits to eblog cari com my

Precious Kaffir Lime Leaves

>> Friday, April 10, 2009

Limau purut lebat di pangkal,

sayang selasih condong uratnya
Angin ribut dapat ditangkal
hati kasih apa ubatnya..

Above is the Malay poem connected with the leaves -daun limau purut or Kaffir lime leaves merely a love poem of the fondness of heart searching for medication, so much appreciated that it fits into a poem. These leaves widely used in traditional Malay cooking and Thailand. I just pick two to three leaves and mix them in my soup or curry fish. The aroma is a therapy to the nostrils. Mix your bath with water boiled with these leaves when the weather is cold, you'll have a spa feeling after that.

Kaffir lime leaves -- also called makrut -- have a distinctive two-lobed shape, a glossy appearance, a leathery texture, and an unusual lemon-lime flavor. Leaves can be used fresh or dried. Fresh leaves will keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a few weeks, and in the freezer for up to a year, and either way are much preferred to the dried leaves.

The kaffir lime tree reaching the sky, I guess it needs pruning as I didnt see any of its fruit anywhere on the tree. Well I guess we only need the leaves for its lushes perfume and striking flavour.
Tom Yam Prawns -1st pic below
Tom Yam Soup (Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup) with the leaves......2nd pic.

Fungus Part 3

>> Thursday, April 9, 2009

I wish I have more time with the greens and see new things in my yard. As tomorrow is the "Good Friday" public holiday in Sabah, today we are given extra holiday which called 'cuti peristiwa' in my workplace. Not all schools are having this extra day but since mine is a mission school than we got something extra special. Not rushing as always for work I took a walk with my daughter to see if I can find new fungus growing. The walk was not frustrating yet it gave me some of these new fungus. I saw some different ones and same fungus, anyway just to highlight my extra holidays and weekends here are some of the new and old species that I found..