Omakase Growing from Garden to Table

Our harvest from the little green patch.. ☺️☺️

It has been awhile.. with all the moving, re-starting of our new gardens.. the pumpkin is starting to bloom.. it’s leaves and flower are huge..
there seems to be flowers budding at each joint.. let’s see if they will all bloom and self-pollinate.. it’s time to start researching again.. 😜

What's for dinner?? Homemade Pizza with spinach..

DIY Pizza dough + bacon/ ham/ cheese/ pineapples/ corns/ mushrooms/ whatever you fancy..

When done, pluck and throw some spinach on them.

Pizza dough recipe - yield Two 12” to 14” pizzas (Sister Cynthia/ Irene Beh/ Passion In Baking and Cooking)

280g high protein bread flour
280g all purpose flour
40g butter cut into small cube
350 - 400 ml cold water
2 TBSP castor sugar
2 TBSP milk powder
1 tsp salt
1.75 tsp yeast

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Our Omakase growing journey. We are trying to be urban farmers, growing edibles from our garden to our/ your table.

We have had our successes in growing them and multiple failures in coaxing them to sprout from seeds, transplanting them into pots, shifting them into bigger pots, etc.

This page/ shop is created to help new farmers to obtain the same goal, with a easier journey. You can buy our successfully potted edibles and continue the journey of your garden to your table.

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Small pots of sweet potatoes leaf..

Garden to table, vegetables, edibles..

Wanna start the organic garden to table trend without having go thru the waiting for seed germination, repotting distress?? Look into my listing.. edibles listed had all gone thru the repotting shock..

Using potting soil, compost and homemade organic compost.

Sweet potato leaves - available year-round..

The leaves can be continuously harvested until the root vegetables are fully-grown.

Sweet potato leaves contain niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, fiber, beta-carotene, and vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K. They also contain essential minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese.

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One of the easiest plant to care for. We only water and keep them out in the sun.

Pluck from the clusters, into little bowls/ pots and grown to their current sizes...

It can't be eaten, it can also be grown indoor plant, which is quite popular because of its air purifying capacity and medicinal properties.

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Another quick and simple spinach soup that the kiddos enjoy.

Note:- to have a constant supply of spinach leaves, always harvest the leaves, avoid cutting the stems.

https://bigbitesmy.blogspot.com/2021/03/chinese-green-spinach-soup-with-pork.html

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Chinese Green Spinach Soup with Pork Slices and Salted Egg | BIG Bites Chinese Green Spinach Soup with Pork Slices and Salted Egg Green spinach (Green Amaranth) or bayam in our local Malay lingo is easily av...

The kids are generally fussy vegetable eaters, they dont fancy eating vegetables, but they can't resist chicken/ pork based soup WITH spinach..

refer to for a simple soup based (https://thewoksoflife.com/lotus-root-pork-soup/), and add in the spinach at the very end, boil, serve and enjoy..

Note:- to have a constant supply of spinach leaves, always harvest the leaves, avoid cutting the stems.

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Lotus Root & Pork Soup Pork and lotus root soup with give your Qi a boost! Lotus root and pork soup is a simple, yet nourishing soup made with healthy lotus root and goji berries

The past few months, our veggies' house had undergo several upgrading, with the new rain shelter and TLC from popo, they are growing well, and lush..

Spinach & Kai Lan ready for harvest, ginger - popo say must still wait for a few more months.

Quick to cook comforting food, nourishing & refreshing Papaya & Snow Fungus (All-in-1 pot) Dessert

Papaya - skin, deseed, cut into bite size
Snow Fungus - soak, remove centre, tear into bite size
Dried longan, red dates, rock sugar, bitter & sweet almond.
Pandan leaves - wash and tie into knot.

Boil water, with all the above (except papaya) for around 20min. Add in papaya simmer over low heat for another 10-15min.

Serve either cold or hot.

Detailed step-by-step recipe can be found at https://www.theburningkitchen.com/papaya-and-snow-fungus-soup/

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Papaya and Snow Fungus Sweet Soup (Tong Shui) | The Burning Kitchen Learn how to make a refreshing sweet soup with anti-inflammatory, cancer-fighting snow fungus and juicy tropical papaya to fight off the summer heat!

Ribena fruit with 甜柑橘叶 Stevia

This is one of my mother-in-law's herbal tea (reduces indigestion).

Peel 1 roselle calyx, a few 甜柑橘叶, add boiling water, seep for a while and you will have your herbal tea.

甜柑橘叶 can be purchased from the herbal store. It has a sweet aftertaste, so no further sugar is needed.

Interested in making your own drink, without going thru the pains of planting from scratch, pm us to check if there's any ready stock.

My MIL recently introduced me to 甜柑橘叶/ Stevia Leaf.. Can buy from any chinese herbal store.

I think I'm becoming hooked to it, ie using the leave as a replacement to sugar. My girl even commented the lemon water with Stevia is sweet even though there's no sugar/ honey added to it.

Read more here, https://www.livestrong.com/article/513746-how-to-use-dried-stevia-leaves-as-a-sweetener-in-recipes/

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How to Use Dried Stevia Leaves as a Sweetener in Recipes | Livestrong.com You won't find a more effective sweetener than stevia -- it has 30 times the sweetening power of sugar -- but when you cook with it, you have to substitute for more than sweetness.

2 Ingredients, Ribena w/o any chemicals or preservatives..

Without a doubt lots of kids love this drink, I do love it when growing up too. It's sweet, tangy and in short yummy, taste lots better than plain water, coke, root beer etc. But I first tasted it from the ribena syrup purchased from the grocery store.

Now, Popo makes ours from her mini messy garden harvest.

Ribena Drink (Next post will be the Ribena Jam, so do not throw away the seeds and cooked ribena)
5 roselle calyx
rock sugar or honey (if possible do not use caster sugar, the taste differs)
1.5l water

1. First, peel the seed out of the calyx. You can just use your fingers. Do not throw the seeds away. Dry the seeds to kickstart your gardening journey or boil it to make pectin [gel agent for jam]

2. Boil roselle and water over medium high heat for 15-20 minutes. The longer you boil it, the more concentrated the juice will taste. Overboiling might result in more sourness taste.

3. Stir in sugar, once dissolved, remove from heat.

4. Chill in fridge, and enjoy the drink.

Interested in making your own drink, without going thru the pains of planting from scratch, pm us to check if there's any ready stock.

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Reusing of boiled Ribena calyx to make Ribena Jam.

Earlier post was about making the Ribena drink and setting aside the briefly boiled calyx.

Boil roselle seeds with water for about 10 minutes. The liquid will be gluey. Discard the seeds. This will form the pectin [gel agent for preserves].

Put the calyx into the gluey liquid, mix in some honey, bring to boil, then reduce to a lower heat, keep stirring till jam consistency reached, around 10-20 min.

To test if jam is done, place a teaspoon of jam on the chilled saucer. Leave in fridge for a few minutes. Touch the jam. If it wrinkles and feels gel-like, it's ready to bottle. If not, continue stirring,

Interested in making your own drink/ jam, without going thru the pains of planting from scratch, pm us to check if there's any ready stock.

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Easy peasy lemon squeezy way to get rid unwanted insect infestations, without worrying about the good worms!

2 ingredients = Bath SOAP + water.. pour into soil.

Soapy water sprayed on plants can kill aphids, juvenile leafhoppers, beetles, and other pests. When poured on your lawn, soapy water can help you deal with a grubworm or armyworm infestation. But will soapy water hurt the good worms?

Beliefs = Soap may disrupt the insect’s cell membranes. Soap may remove the protective waxes from the insect’s body. Or it may suffocate insects by forming a film over their breathing pores.

Read more at https://biopests.com/will-soapy-water-hurt-the-good-worms/

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Will Soapy Water Hurt the Good Worms? | Bio Pests Organic Pest Control Soapy water sprayed on plants can kill aphids, juvenile leafhoppers, beetles, and other pests. When poured on your lawn, soapy water can help you deal…

Baby Papaya Plant

Transplanted mid May 2021

Papaya is a very fast-growing plant (see the growth in pic), and in nature, it quickly assumes its adult size and bears fruit.

Minimum care - sunlight, water, fertilise every few weeks

Medical benefits can be found in https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/papaya-leaf #6.-May-promote-healthy-skin

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Interested in taking over our plants (different sizes available), without going thru the pains of planting from scratch, pm us to check if there's any ready stock.

Another 1-dish comfort food (max 2 pots to wash) meal..

One-Pot Long Bean Rice with rice cooker

Our Ingredients, it's really fine to add anything you fancy..
2 cups rice
1-2 tbsp sesame oil/ cooking oil
250g pork shoulder/ chopped chicken/ pork belly
1 wax sausage (if any)
a handful of dried shrimps (if any)
a bunch of long beans/ cabbage
0.5 to 1 of pumpkin (if any)
2-3 dried mushroom (if any)

Our directions to cook is similar to https://whattocooktoday.com/long-bean-rice.html

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Long Bean Rice / Tau Kok Fan (豆角饭) - Rice Cooker or Instant Pot A delicious and flavorful rice dish made with long beans, dried shrimp, meat, and seasonings is an easy and convenient weeknight meal and can easily feed a big crowd. The recipe can be made with an Instant pot multicooker or rice cooker.

富贵花 / Adenium / Dessert Rose

Previously, we had written about how to propagation from cuttings/ seeds.

How to differentiate between seed-grown Adenium or cutting-grown Adenium?
- Caudex - Stem Connection --> creases = cutting grown
- Bigger water-storing caudex = seed grown
- More curled up roots = seed grown

Read more at https://zenyrgarden.com/seed-grown-vs-cutting-grown-adenium/

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Seed-Grown vs Cutting-Grown Adenium: Differences Explained Seed-grown adenium usually have a smooth caudex connecting with the stem and all the way around the roots. Whereas on cutting-grown adenium, you may see some creases at the border of the stem and the caudex. These creases are the 'scars' of the cuts. The overall shape of a seed-grown

富贵花 / Adenium / Dessert Rose
My mum loves this, and especially envy the houses which have many pots of 富贵花 .. coz she likes the name of the plant and feels it will bring lots of prosperity..

Tips for it to grow well
- do not over water it
- sun loving plant

What we didnt know is that we can propagate it by coaxing pods from the flower.. nor we know that it can grow from cuttings..

This will be a new project soon.. once we free up some space from our balcony.. n when I can sneak a cut from her 富贵花 w/o her noticing it..

it seems so easy - "Take a cutting from the tip of a branch. Allow the cutting to dry out for a day or two, then wet the end of the desert rose cutting and dip it in rooting hormone. Stick the cutting into a well draining growing medium like perlite or sand mixed with soil. Water the cutting daily, making sure the water is able to drain out of the soil. Use a spray bottle and mist the cutting daily as well."

Read more at Gardening Know How: Desert Rose Propagation – Starting Adenium Seeds Or Cuttings https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/desert-rose/desert-rose-propagation.htm

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Growing A Desert Rose: Desert Rose Seed Propagation And Cuttings Propagation Instructions A true beauty in the cactus world, the desert rose is both beautiful and resilient. Many people wonder ?how do I grow a desert rose from cuttings? or ?is starting adenium seeds difficult?? Read here to find out.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy Composting

What is composting of waste?
The recycling and decomposition of food scraps and organic material at home into rich soil fertilizer is known as composting of waste. Composting reduces excessive dumping in landfills.

How do you make organic fertilizer from kitchen waste?
Gather your kitchen wastes such as food remnants, fruit peelings, vegetable scraps, etc. and add that all to a composite bin. Add some water and leave it for about a day.--> you can use this water on your plants the next day.
Otherwise, you can also add some natural waste from your garden (like dried leaves, bark, old branches, etc.) to the compost. When you notice it has turned into a dark-colored soil-like mixture, spread that on your garden soil and use as an organic fertilizer. This will take a few weeks.

Can I use vegetable peels as fertilizer?
Yes. Vegetable peels such as green leftovers, citrus rind, broccoli stalks and potato peels have nutrients that, when added to the soil of your garden, can provide vitamin A and C to your plants. Simply dig a hole and dump all your vegetable peels in it and cover it with soil. That is more beneficial than throwing them off as waste.

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Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Egg Shells --> Calcium to help plants to build cell wall/ Pest Deterrent

Without calcium, plants cannot grow as fast, and, in the case of some vegetables like tomatoes and squash, fruit will develop blossom end rot because there is simply not enough building material (calcium) coming into the plant.

Those plants really are apart of the family—you can feed your household scrambled eggs, then feed your plants with the leftover eggshells. The soil around potted plants, your vegetable garden and outdoor trees will get an incredible boost from the shells calcium composition, which is almost 98 percent of the shell.

Directly into the pot/ compost bin
First wash and dry out the eggshells. Then, place them in a bag or blender and crush them in to a powder-like consistency. Simply sprinkle the eggshell powder around your trees and plants.

Insecticide - help fight off pests like slugs, snails, cutworms and other crawling pests. When the crawling pests cross over an area in the garden where crushed eggshells have been spread, the eggshells make several small cuts in the pests. The pests then dehydrate and die due to these cuts.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Eggshells In The Garden: Using Eggshells In Soil, Compost And As Pest Control https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/ingredients/eggshells-in-the-garden.htm

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How To Use Eggshells In The Garden And In Compost Using eggshells in the garden can help in many ways, especially when composted. This article will look at how eggshells can help your compost, soil and even keep a few pests away.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy Composting

Banana Peel = potassium boost, for overall care to our plants. With phosphorous helping our plants grow flowers and fruit
- plant the whole peel under the soil near the roots of the plant
- throw the peel on top of the soil and let it decompose
- soak the peel with some water in a sealed container for a few days (note, there will be some smell when you open the container)
- try liquefying the banana scrap in a blender with one litres of water before pouring it on to your plant or bush.

Happen to saw this banana skin slow release fertilizer too.. Project Diaries show how to dry the banana skin (from 3.08min onwards), crushed them and use as a slow release fertilizer.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT0u5qy5bLY

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★ How to Make Banana Peel Fertiliser (A Complete Step by Step Guide) ★ How to Make Banana Peel Fertiliser / Fertilizer (A Complete Step by Step Guide)In Today's Project Diary Video I will show you a quick and easy ways to mak...

NPK - Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K)

when do our plants need them and how to find them from our kitchen scraps?

N - helps plant foliage/ green sections to grow strong --> Vegetables --> eggshell
P - essential for developing roots --> Seed germination, root vegetables, ie radish, potatoes --> ikan bilis/ shrimp shells
K - important for overall plant health --> Promotes blooming and fruit formation. --> banana/ citrus skin

There's a whole database of nutritional value of different food scraps at https://thenutrientcompany.com/blogs/horticulture/npk-value-of-everything-organic-database

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NPK value of everything organic! This originally started out life as a fully searchable database for the NPK of everything organic, now it's a comprehensive list of the NPK values for nearly anything you might compost or make an organic plant feed from.

Long Bean Fried Rice

Another simple recipe from the yard and yet a fulfilling 1 dish meal.. ie 1 pot to wash.. :P

Ingredients (our usual ingredients)
2-3 long bean sliced (thickness depending on your preference of crunchiness)
2 eggs
2 cups of rice (best overnight, otherwise pre-cooked a few hours ago)
meat/ roast meat/ luncheon meat/ wax sausage (optional)

You can refer to the following link to follow their simple steps too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5XBRxHdnwY

PM me if you are interested to buy the plant.

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We started growing our long bean again in May..
It is flowering now, so we get to have our simple but comfort food..
Meatless Long Bean Egg Omelet..
2 main Ingredients only - 1 long beans & 2 eggs.. Serve 2-3

1) Trim both ends of long bean, slice 1-2mm.
2) Beat eggs with a dash of light soy sauce & 1 tablespoon of water
3) Combine above and mix well
4) Heat pan with 1-2 tsp cooking oil, pan fry under medium high heat, till golden brown..

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Ms Cutie Bell Peppers

Harvested on 26 May... Going to start sowing the seeds soon..

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Ginger Plant

Garden to table, vegetables, edibles..

Wanna start the organic garden to table trend without having go thru the waiting for seed germination, repotting distress?? Look into my listing.. edibles listed had all gone thru the repotting shock..

Using potting soil, compost and homemade organic compost.

Ginger is a flowering plant whose root is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It has annual growth of stems made of the rolled bases of leaves about one meter tall bearing narrow leaf blades.

Minimum care - sun and water.

We usually start growing them together in bigger pot.. Only after they successfully sprouted, and we feel assured that they will be able to grow independently, then we will do the repotting. Repotted 22nd May. Expecting harvest of ginger in 6-9 months.

While waiting for ginger harvest, the ginger leaves can be harvested for cooking like steaming fish, stir fry meat, etc.

$8/pot

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Popo's omakase planting (parenting) style..
- sow seeds on her own mix of soil... 1 type of soil for all types of edibles... (1 brand milk powder for all bb)
- water daily unless it rains heavily.. (bb must drink water daily)
- sings/ talks to her plants almost daily.. (coo to bb)
- scrutinise each plant growth and decide if she needs to rotate their position.. (check bb health)
- gentle massage of the leaves/ catching pests.. (bb massage)
- wash the mess from soil overflow.. (wash bb's butt)
- worry about the plants.. is it too sunny, is the rain causing the pots to flood, etc.. (养儿一百岁，常忧九十九)

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Make your own tea leaves today..

Just harvested A SINGLE papaya leaf.. Wash and dry it.. Bake in the oven at 150C for 10 min, then 100C for another 10min.

Crush the dried leaves to crumble.. keep in dry container...

Taste - tea is not bitter initially, as the tea gets seep, the bitterness set in.. initially, lean more towards green tea taste..

Verdict - taste better when mix with other herbal or Chinese tea..

Going to try using the wok to “dry/ fry” the leaf next.. heard it will have a different taste..

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Organic Taiwanese Passion Fruit cuttings done in mid April 2021

Garden to table, vegetables, edibles..

Need at least another 9 months before it would start fruiting.

White flowers. Purple fruits. Fruit is sweet with floral fragrance.

The part of the fruit that is used (eaten) is the pulpy juicy seeds. Passion fruits can also be squeezed to make juice.

Give it some vines, sun and water and it will grow well and fast.

$15-20/pot.. Price can be negotiated if you do not need pot and soil.

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