flower beds and curry trees

 Inspired by the altar of a lady neighbor bedecked with profuse flower arrangements,  the garden over here has been expanding. We decided to start growing some other kinds of flowers, so we can offer attractive vases of flowers for our home altar, too!

And behind the new floral bed are two curry leaf trees. There's two more west of here. Curry trees grow well near the south side of the house because the warmth of the house in winter provides a micro climate so that the trees don't entirely die.

 Instead these trees die back during the cold winter months, but then they come back again in the spring and will again grow about as tall as the kitchen window. 

They supply a large amount of curry leaves for both cooking here at home and for bringing a supply to the temple kitchen down the road.❤️

Curry leaves can also be dried and made into a hair washing powder. We also plan to use them in our latest twig toothbrushing experiments. 

tostones (plantain chips)

 Tostones means fried twice. Made from green plantains. Here's a recipe: tostones 

The only recipe adjustments were using ghee for frying instead of vegetable oil and using hing instead of garlic.

 These can make a nice offering for Ekadashi, but in that case, omit the hing.

This was my first try at tostones. Still, they came out crip and delicious for Krishna's offering.

INGREDIENTS:

4 green plantains, peeled and sliced

2 c water

1 T salt 

1/4 t yellow hing (optional)

Juice from 1 lime

Ghee for frying.

PREPARATION:

Follow the directions for frying, dipping, and refrying the plantain chips.

Offer to Krishna piping hot.

 

okra sak with paneer

The okra plants in the garden needed thinning. The tender leaves of the new plants make a nice subji or sak, spinach dish. I use this recipe:

Zero waste- Okra leaf saag

And instead of feta cheese just used paneer cubes that were stir fried in ghee and added at the end. I also added the lime juice at the end.

INGREDIENTS:

3 T ghee

2 t ground coriander

1/2 t ground cardamon

2 large bunches of okra leaves, stems removed

Water 

Juice from 1/2 a lime 

salt

Paneer chunks and ghee to fry them

PREPARATION:

Heat the ghee and add the coriander and cardamom

Toss in the okra leaves, cover and cook with a little water until tender.

Cool a little. Then blend in a blender. 

Add the lime juice, salt and fried paneer chunks.

Planting by the Moon

I first heard about planting by the moon from The Farmers Almanac, a long time publication here in the US. There are different activities recommended for different phases of the moon. And then I learned that it is also according to what astrological sign the moon is transiting at any given date. Here's a sample website that gets into more detail

I did notice a good yield following FA's dates for planting and transplanting. But there was also some difficulties as usual. For example, for about 3 consecutive years, my peas would either rot or disappear, among other things.

Then this year I got the idea to follow a Vedic ephemeris and or panchang instead of the hit and miss version Farmer's Almanac uses. And I must say, this year I had the best crop of peas and green beans ever. Here's the first picking of beans. There were so many I couldn't even pick them all the first day.

Transplants have been a lot more successful too.

 It's interesting to note that when you follow the moon signs, the days for planting and transplanting are often cloudy or overcast and or rainy. But not so rainy that you can't go out and plant. At least you can expect some kind of moisture or coolness that helps a lot. Especially transplants need it. 

Of course, it's not always so regular. It's Kali yuga after all. And so many other factors can weigh in since astrological data can get quite complicated.

 So common sense is still in order, too. For example, one day a transplant might be better off being done towards evening time when the late season sun is cooling down.

In any case, with whatever I've learned, I'm happy with the results so far.

Split pea soup

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 c split peas, soak overnight and drain 

Water

1 carrot, scraped and chopped

1 stick of celery, chopped 

1 t salt

3-4 T ghee

1/2 T fresh ginger root, grated (optional)

1 t black mustard seeds

1 t cumin seeds

1 t ground coriander 

1/4 t black pepper

PREPARATION:

1. Bring the peas covered in water to a boil. Skim off the foam. 
2. Add the salt and vegetables. Cover and cook on simmer until soft and peas fall apart. Add more water as needed. This is not a thick soup.
3. Make a chaunk with the ghee:

• Heat the ghee in a small pot on high heat.
• Add the ginger, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Cover until the mustard seeds stop popping.
• Add the coriander powder and black pepper.
• The entire chaunk should be nicely browned (dark even but not burnt!)
• Pour the chaunk into the pea soup dahl.
• Add a little more salt, if needed. Go by 1 teaspoon salt per 4 cups of finished dahl.
• Offer to Krishna with rice, etc

VARIATIONS:

• Replace coriander with 1 t whole fennel seeds put in the chaunk with the ginger and mustard and cumin.
• Omit the vegetables. This soup is very good just plain with the spices!