Green is love too! A Valentine's day gift suggestion

In my previous post here, I've said that colors red and brown (for chocolates) signifies love. As we celebrate this month of February with love, naturally we love to shower our loved ones by giving them flowers in red bloom as it is romantic and chocolates in brown as it is sweet to declare our love in our own little way. Well not only those two colors, I would say that green would suffice the meaning of love too. Love for oneself, family, health and well-being. In this generation, we can be creative by giving them something extraordinary but meaningful presents for this Valentine's day. Let's give them green by keeping it healthy. Healthy in the way we intake food into our system by eating the right kind of food. For example, by consuming green leafy and green-colored vegetables as part of our eating routine.

Freshly picked bounties. You may put this in a decorative container
for a more presentable appearance.

Aren't they glorious and refreshing? Big chunk of tomatoes, japanese cucumbers and three heads of lettuce. Crisp, juicy, hydrating not to mention it costs way cheaper than flowers and chocolates and with more health benefits to add. I'm not saying that I don't like receiving flowers and chocolates from the ones you loved. Who wouldn't? Just saying that if you have limited budget thinking what you could give to your loved ones this Valentine's day, here's one suggestion for a change. Why not? It sure is healthy and your loved ones would think that you are concern too of their well-being not just a commercial stuff Valentine's day nowadays has to offer. 

My dinner yesterday which I prepared for the household to share.
This is served with grilled tuna belly and squid. Yum!

These are the dips I have. But I mixed my salad with
Sesame dressing and Parmesan cheese to add flavor to my greens.

For those who are clueless yet of what to give to their loved ones, now here's what I can share. Head now to your nearest market and pick up the freshest and healthiest green bounties that you could give to your loved ones. It's something personal and more meaningful because it goes out with all the love and effort you did. 

Happy Valentine's day to y'all! Cheers to love and well-being! 

On Backyard Harvest: Part 2

On my previous post here, I was able to share to you our plant garden that was able to bear its fruits. The cucumber plant which I took photos of, we already harvested a number of times. The photo below is one of the many cucumbers we already harvested. We are amazed and delighted as to the hugeness of the cucumber. Our neighbors are happy too seeing how big the cucumber is. Some are asking for its seeds so that they can plant it in their own backyard. We also gave them some of our harvested fruits.

Look at how big the cucumber is. I put it beside our oven toaster for your
better view of how huge it is.

This is our tomato plant which we thought there's no chance of bearing a fruit.

Our tomato plant is revived by my husband since we thought it won't bear fruits anymore. It became dry and wilted. I don't know how my husband did it and it bear a number of fruits now. He's the greenest thumb I've ever met. So lucky to have him (hehehe). So far, we've been enjoying (a lot!) the fruits of our plant garden.  Thank you God for the bountiful harvest!

Our Backyard Harvest

Like most average Filipino income earner whose means of living relies mainly on an 8-hour job 5 to 6 days a week, every money and cent spent is thought of wisely. Especially if you have a family with 3 to 4 members, you would rather spend on a need rather than a want. In our case, in order to make efficient spending and to cut cost on certain expenses, my hubby and I thought of putting up a small vegetable garden right at the premise of our home. We have a tiny lot, so we have to sacrifice some of my husband's ornamental plants that he painstakingly labored to beautify our humble abode. For your information, my hubby has a green thumb and he loves planting and farming (lucky me!). As a matter of fact, he together with my brother-in-law is making productively a 5-hectare family-owned land full of banana, coconut, cacao, rubber, durian and some fruit bearing trees in an area where for a few years it has been idle. And since, we regularly cook vegetable food dish at home, hence the idea of putting up a vegetable garden.

At first, I told him of the idea that I just want a planter box to plant Parsley. Why Parsley because I read somewhere that it helps in the cleansing of our kidneys. Chop parsley leaves then let it boil in water. Let the water cool down and drain the chopped leaves. The water that has been boiled by the Parsley is the one that we have to drink 1 to 2 glasses a day. You may store the water in the fridge for you to drink. You would notice a different color in your urine. And that they say are the toxins inside your body.

Anyways, some of the vegetables my husband planted are eggplant, cucumber, tomatoes, spring onions, pechay (a type of cabbage or gourd) to name a few. Sadly, the tomatoes did not manage to live (hehehe). It was way too cool on how my husband planted it sana. He planted it in an upside-down method as what he saw in the YouTube website. But I wouldn't post it here because it's not successful (Teehee). However, I would gladly show off the fruits of my husband's labor on the following photos below.

The second cucumber that is so big. The first one I forgot to take a photo.
We already ate it. I tell you it is very juicy and crispy.

My officemate that is also a green thumb told me that we should cover the cucumber with a cellophane to prevent from "injury" (see the brown patch on the cucumber?). I haven't asked her what caused that.

This is the third cucumber ready to be harvested too.
But my hubby told me that he will harvest it by himself tomorrow. (he's happy)

Three more to go. Grow faster. And mind you they grow faster in a matter of days.
I was surprised how fast that can be.

This is another one awaiting for the right maturity.

This is okra (lady's fingers, bhindi or gumbo in English). This is plant 1.
Look how many are now sprouting. We already harvested twice.

Plant 2. More to come. My Green thumb officemate told me a trivia.
Okra is prone of having aphids. Hope ours would not have.

Plant 3. See how plenty are flowering and sprouting.
We are very happy with our small vegetable garden.

We already harvested our spring onions and pechay, but that I haven't taken photos of it. But, I was amazed how juicy and crisp our pechay when we cooked it. It was my first time and didn't expect to taste it that good. As a matter of fact, I don't like the taste of it. But now I realize when its freshly picked, the veggie is more crisp, juicer and tastier even if our homegrown pechay is thin and not as big as the one sold in supermarkets.

I now encourage you to have one in your own yard. It's more healthier and cheaper to have your own vegetable garden at home. And as to the Parsley, we planted it there too together with the vegetables, but we cannot identify it anymore if it's the Parsley or a weed ;))