Thai Roselle and The Garden

Lately I've been experimenting with odd plants that have a variety of uses.  I would like to let you know how these work out for me.  I am able to grow much that the rest of the you may not be able to grow simply because I live so far south.  This plant has been grown as far north as New Jersey (of course with the benefit of being started early under glass).

This is the first year I have grown Roselle. I grew the the "Thai Red Roselle" variety that is offered by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. The calyxes aren't as large as the ones I have seen in photos grown in Asian countries. I believe that is due to the fact that the variety offered was chosen to be less sensitive to day length more than for it's size. Most varieties do best in the short days of the tropics.

Roselle calyxes are used to make a healthful tea.  The tea is believed to lower cholesterol, help treat heart disease, it is a diuretic and is loaded with antioxidants  Roselle leaves and tender stems can be eaten in salads.  It also is loaded with pectin and a jam can be made from it.  I wonder if the pectin would be useful added to other fruits when canning?

I have already dried enough calyxes and plan to brew some tea soon.  I'll certainly let you know my opinion on this.  The plant did beautifully for me this year.  It's growth was so lush that it spilled into the paths and blocked passage.

This is a link on Growing Roselle from Mother Earth News.

Here are few calyxes I've picked

It's really a beautiful plant with lovely red stems.  The flowers look very much like okra flowers.  No surprise there since they are both from the hibiscus family.  It easily could be used as an ornamental in a front yard garden.  The HOA would never know you were "gasp" growing something useful!

Pretty!  You can order the seeds here Bakers Creek.

Here's the front garden.  I pruned back my lorapetalum bushes and killed them.  Oh well they kept getting too big anyway.  I'll have to look for a smaller variety of purple bush for that area.  I like the cloud of purple to provide a back drop for white or lighter colored flowers.

My windmill palm is getting tall and lovely.  It's hairy trunk is so cool.  I love textures and colors on barks and stems.  My Natchez crepe myrtle has a beautiful silky red under color when the bark peels, and the river birch looks gorgeous when the bark starts peeling.  I'll take pics and show you.

My rose vine is reaching the top of the pergola and is full of tiny buds!  Time for a late flush of blooms!  The lemon grass did wonderfully too.  When the swing brushes it you get a whiff of lemon!

Still picking green beans.....

...and now beets!  I fixed these for my girls their favorite way.  Boiled, peeled, sliced and sprinkled with sea salt, cracked pepper and balsamic vinegar.  They were consumed in less than a minute!

My girls lunches ready to go.  I made veggie sushi today.  Toasted sesame seeds, sushi rice, carrots, cucumber and cream cheese with a little bottle of soy sauce.  My sushi rolls...well taste great, but look not so well.  I'll keep working on it!

Color

A view of the garden from the pecan tree bench.

Color has fascinated me since the time at a young age I resisted the urge to squish all my big sister's acrylics from their tube prisons. Oh what a joy it would have been to watch all that luscious color squirm to freedom and smash and smear itself over every surface in the way. I had to content myself with perching as close as I could and watching my sister paint.
Colorful zinnias find their way to my garden every year. Either I plant them or they reseed. Fresh cut bundles of them allow me to enjoy their vibrant colors all the long summer long! Their color and other aspects of my garden provide the inspiration for most of my decor.

I love the way my house feels like an extension or just another part of my garden. I painted my coffee table myself several years ago and haven't tired of it yet. Nor do I ever expect to. Simply because it is inspired by those things I love.
Here's another view. As you can see, I am not afraid of, but embrace color. Love it!

This is my next project. My chair has little holes on the corners and is quite dingy. I've kept it covered with the green blanket draped across the back. So....I'm going to try my hand at something....(oh yeah, the painting behind the chair is by my sister Teri Borison, it's one of her senior thesis paintings, but still one of my favs. Glad I got it when I did. I can't afford her stuff anymore!)...I'm going to try...upholstry...yep upholstery. It doesn't look that difficult...we'll see!

I found this sturdy fabric in all the colors I love at the back of this wonderful fabric store called Fabrix. They sell a huge variety of home fabrics. It's just a delight to walk through the store and bask in all the textures and colors. It was only $5.00 a yard. Originally it was much more...I just don't remember exactly how much more, but a lot. So if everything works out I will have a "new" chair for under $30.00! Exciting....I'll let you know success or failure.

Quinoa and Roasted Beets

In a search for grains I can grow in our sub-tropical climate, I have run accross quinoa and amaranth. The first time I saw a recipe for it was in Mary Jane Butter's Idea book. She likes to eat it with dried fruit and nuts.

There are a lot of recipes out there for quinoa and it is very easy to cook. You basically cook it like rice, one cup of quinoa, 1 1/2 cups of water and a tsp. of salt. First you must soak the grain to remove a soap like coating on it. 15 minutes is the least you must soak it and then rinse it several times. You have to use a small seive as the grains are tiny.

Quinoa originated in South America. You can read more about it here.

I fixed mine with a little butter, a dash of sugar and dried cranberries. It was a different taste, but is was delicious. Quinoa is certainly something I will prepare again and attempt to grow in my garden. I'm going to try amaranth next. I allready have seeds for amaranth.

This is one of the most delicious new things I have tasted in quite a while. Thanks to my sister Terri for introducing me to this yummy simple treat. See the three beautiful beets I harvested from my garden? First peel them, slice them thin and spread them on a pan drizzled with olive oil.

Drizzle a little more olive oil on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Don't you just love my flip-flopped foot in the corner? Yes it's been warm enough for flip-flops, although a cold front did move in last night so I have on my furry boots now. Then pop the prepared beets in an oven pre-heated to 400 degrees and cook until tender and the edges are crispy.

Very Delish!