the incredible, edible.... luffa?

Of how many plants can you say: it's EDIBLE, ORNAMENTAL, and.....

GIVES A GREAT BATH!
?

What appears to be your common vining squash is oh-so-much more.

I didn't believe it at first either.
Luffa sponge: in the tub.
Luffa squash? must be an unfortunate incident of coincidental nomenclature.

but no.

The luffa is widely renowned for its life post vine, after having matured into a fibrous seed pod, peeled, packaged, and marketed in your local pharmacy as an all-natural exfoliant.
Nobody talks much about the flavor, or the culinary uses of the reputed "sponge."

Luffa acutangula

In truth, luffa is also named Chinese okra, silk squash, and silk melon, amongst others and is a savored veggie in Asian cuisine.
I am also elated to report, after devastating failures with zucchini and yellow squash, that luffa is a tropical plant! It LOVES the heavy rain! thrives on relentless sun! i'm talking a vining potential of 20 ft and fruit up to 2 ft long!
In mere weeks, my luffa seeds sprouted, grew several inches, flowered, and have now produced fruit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Luffa connoisseurs recommend harvesting tiny 2'' long specimens in order to yield a tender, nutty flavor. As of today, i have only one developed squash, but i decided to give it a try as we are about to abandon the garden for a several week vacation. (By the time we return, i fear most squash will have become sponge-worthy!)

This is what i got:

Chopped, sauteed, and tossed in to my tortilla soup, I confess the elusive luffa evaded my taste buds. Hopefully in three weeks time there will still be delicate, edible squash to sample. if not, to scrub with?

Let them eat sponges!

Minding my Qs

It's not a yam, it's not a sweet potato, it's....

Quequisque!

What? ( pronounce it as KAY-KEYS-KAY)
Well, that's the local name for this world-popular tuber, more commonly known as malanga, cousin to taro. Despite its rather unattractive outer skin (they resemble burnt chicken legs, no?), quequisque reveals a tender white flesh when peeled.

I hear that this hardy root crop is cooked up in every way imaginable in cuisines around the globe; in Nicaragua is it mostly commonly incorporated into soups and stews. The flavor is, hmm how to describe it...... bland? Much like a potato. but with a stickier texture, lending a thickening quality to said soups.

Personally I admire quequisque in the garden.

This beautiful plant could easily pass for an ornamental!

Once I learned to identify the bright green flaps of quesquisque, I started recognizing its "elephant ears" along roadsides, bordering fences, amongst coffee farms, and in urban patios. The locals already have it figured out! Plant one of these hairy monster eggs in the backyard, and enjoy its splendid green foliage until harvesting its bounty. Is there anything cooler than an attractive edible??Folks around here do not seem practiced in eating the leaves; however, in other lands they provide a nutrient-dense source of roughage. But be warned! The leaves are known to contain needle-like calcium oxalate crystals which irritate the mouth and throat. This irritation is avoided by boiling the leaves for an undetermined period of time before consuming. maybe i'll try them, no rush. I am told it could be up to six months before the tubers are ready to harvest. Let's reconvene in febrero.

On to another Q in my garden, also an eye-catching edible:

Can you guess?

Even if you are as big a fan of this South American GRAIN, as I am, odds are you are not familiar with the plant. Or maybe you've never heard of it: Quinoa! (pronounced KEEN-WA)

Quinoa is a tiny seed championed for its incredibly complete protein content. For vegetarians, quinoa provides all the goods that typically require a legume + grain formula for plant-based proteins. It cooks up into a fluffy, nutty dish that is delicious at breakfast with milk and fruit as well as a compliment to a stir-fry, as a substitute for rice.
I look forward to the day when I shall harvest, eat, (and display online) my Qs. Until then, I will work on keeping both my Ps and Qs in order.

FARM CATS?

Cats seem like the perfect farm pet, no? Chasing rodents, communing picturesquely with the horse and cows...
Weeeeell, that's hardly the case over here. We LOVE our cats--I think it's obvious they provide much more in the realm of companionship and entertainment than in the maintenance of the farm.

Zaya did catch a mouse though (once):

we were so proud!

Granted, it was tiny :)
I chalk up her fat laziness to her american upbringing--in California, we only let her outside on a leash (how embarassing!)

I have greater hopes for Chia, born on the streets of Nicaragua.
She's not afraid of Lucinda, which is more than I can say for poor Zay, who flees at the mere sight of the horse.

Chia's more than healthy interest in the chickens makes me think she harbors tigress-like hunting instincts. But though she ambushes the chicks, really she is intimidated by Mama Canela!

It is tricky business training kitties to be farm cats. We encourage them to chase down the cucarachas and rodents, but interfere when they molest butterflies and stalk song birds.

It's ok to dig up soil in the yard, but bad bad bad when they tear up my potted plants!
What's a cat to do?

Chia takes cover in my lemongrass harvest

Zaya keeps watch over the internet connection

flowers for the dead

Día de los Muertos

November 2nd is a day for honoring loved ones, friends and family, who have passed on. It is celebrated differently in many regions around the world, from Latin American to Africa; here is a glimpse of this special day in Nicaragua.

Here, flowers rule the holiday.

The front of the cemetery becomes an impromptu florist market.

Visitors purchase flower bouquets and bundles outside the cemetery gates, many prepared with vases, buckets of water, and ribbons.

It is a day for reconnecting with old friends, and remembering.

Goat Love

The goats are such a big part of my life now, I think it is only appropriate they make occasional appearances here. and lucky you, you don't have to hear their incessant bleeeating while you admire their floppity ears and soulful eyes.
The girls will be receiving even more attention in the coming months as I prepare to breed them; now is the time for RESEARCH, as this will be my first time in charge of such a veterinary venture. I joined an online goat list serve where I am learning the nitty gritty on goat estrus cycles, breeding, kidding, and an assortment of medical advice from how to care for geriatric does to procedures for identifying and removing hoof parasites.

Currently we believe that Ezmeralda is 9 months old,

and Lupita Maria is about 7 months.

Appropriate breeding size/age is a matter of discrepancy amongst goat enthusiasts, but I have deduced the most important factor to be weight of at least 80 lbs. How will I weigh my goats? great question. We have no scale for humans, much less the clunky cloven-hoofed ones. Welcome to Nicaragua....

As for basic care, pre-expecting momma goats require the same as any mammal. With earnest, I strive to keep the girls in top shape by:

Providing an abundance of high quality forage

Goats are ruminants, meaning they have four stomachs! Digestion is a complicated process by which plant material is chewed, swallowed, regurgitated, chewed again, and finally rendered useful in the fourth stomach. Other ruminants include sheep, cows, deer, and the like.
Anyway,,,,,in addition to weeds and shrubs and the occasional bark of my lemon trees, the goats enjoy fruits such as mango, guava, and apparently banana flowers:

she ate the whole thing!

Our goats also receive a serving of fortified grain in the evening, as well as a vitamin/salt supplement.

and secondly,

Allowing them ample exercise

Goats are surprisingly fast. They LOVE running and jumping! Each morning when I open the gate of the Cabra Cabaña, the girls bound out at lightening speed, delighting in their freedom of space.
Ez, Lupita, and I have established a Goat Walk as a morning ritual, me enjoying a brisk walk around the farm and the goats alternating sprints with furious chomping of roadside weeds. it's a win-win situation.
These days, with the constant tropical rains, it is frustrating for all of us to be cooped up inside. Unlike sheep with their water-resistant wool, goats become soaked and chilled to the bone in wet conditions. On rainy mornings I don my raincoat & mud boots and scramble out to harvest fresh stalks and branches, which are hand-delivered to the cabaña. (If only we were so lucky!)
Things are only going to get more exciting (and maybe scary & weird), so stay tuned for the upcoming adventures of Ez & Pita!

Deep Fried Squash Blossoms: a spontaneous breakfast

I got out to the garden early this morning and was beckoned by bright orange squash blossoms! They said " Eat us!" and so I endeavored to do just that.

• First I picked 6 of the blooming beauties, all male blossoms, leaving several on the vine for pollination.
• Rinse and remove stem, stamen, and any lurking insects.
• Prepare filling: I chopped onion, garlic, tomato, chili pepper, cilantro, and baby spinach. and grated 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, plus a dash of salt and pepper.
  
  
  

• Mix filling ingredients together (I chose to sautee the garlic and onion first, eliciting their ultimate flavor potential, which was brilliant as the cheese got nice and melty)
  
  
• Gently stuff the awaiting squash blossoms full. I read that you should twist the petals to close the flower up, but they didn't stay shut for me.
  
  
  
  
• Dip and roll each blossom into first, a slightly beaten egg; second, a mixture of 1/4 cup flour with 1/2 cup cornmeal + 1 tsp salt
  
  
• Fry baby fry! (did i say this was healthy?) Allow all sides to become a crispy golden brown.
  

• Optional scrambling of leftover egg--I added one more to make the meal complete.
  
  Welcome to yum city! A hearty farm fresh breakfast to kick off the day!
  

TomatObession

In the manner of all obsessions, I didn't realize it was happening until it was too late. A little spaghetti here, a bowl of chili there. A BLT for lunch, a zippy pico de gallo as a snack. Before I knew it, french fries, burgers, and dogs all were naked without ketchup; friday night was and is eternally Pizza Night; and every salad is incomplete without fresh sliced tomatoes.

Needless to say, when I prepped my first garden plot last year, tomatoes were at the top of my plant list. little did i know....

tomatoes are very sensitive. Factor in my severe wet and dry seasons and newbie gardener skills, bam: the perfect recipe for disaster.
In my desperation, I have gone so far as to grow tomatoes upside-down, hanging in a bucket. The latest of such experiments ended up with late blight, a yucky fungus that will ultimately destroy your plant and spread to others.

However, the reason i write today is not to whine, oh no. On the contrary, a pledge to persevere. Rest assured: this is not a passing fancy, a forgettable whim. Deliciously homegrown tomatoes remain my fixation and despite discouraging setbacks, I will not be deterred.

Selecting from an impressive assortment of tomato seeds that kind visitors smuggled in for me over the past year, i picked out disease-resistant varieties.
My latest crop has been fortified with preventative measures of every sort:

• To reduce contact with soil, i.e. soil-born fungi, i have mulched with newspaper and cardboard.
• Note that the plants are raised on mounds, allowing the heavy and frequent rains to run off rather than collect in moldy puddles.
• The tomato bed is surrounded by beneficial plants: anti-fungal garlic, nematode-resisting marigolds, & pollinator-attracting borage
• Branches are appropriately staked on string, & low hanging limbs and leaves are removed immediately to prevent mud saturation
  

My efforts are already paying off:

happily fruiting tomatoes!

To the early blight and late blight, blossom end rot, tomato hornworm, leafminers, and creepy red spider bugs: Gracias for humility & first hand experience; the tomato quest prevails!