Sunday, June 28, 2015

Hi from my Backyard and my Kitchen

Our hydrangeas that I planted three years ago are in full bloom this time of the year, but the one I planted on the opposite side of our backyard is, sadly, lush in only leaves.

In previous years, this bush bore light purple flowers, this year are mostly pink. I wanted to change  the color from pink to maybe purple again, so I added coffee granules to the soil. Lately, some of the blooms turned light purple and even to a deep shade of lavender again, yet some remained pink. I was hoping they'd turn blue also. Our neighbor from across the street has a lot of bold blue hydrangea blooms in their front yard. It's so tempting to ask for a few blooms for an arrangement that I usually put in our dining room. You can manipulate the color of the flowers of this plant depending on the acidity of your soil, and that's one of the things I like about this plant.

Anyway, those green textured tail are from the weeds that uncontrolably grew on that side of the yard where these hydrangeas grew. They're like the tail of an anthurium, except that they are really long.
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I was really curious what those plant with the tail-like flowers are called. Then I found this-->photo. It exactly looked like the one from our backyard. Am I right?

Look!
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Is it? According to Google, this plant is called Plantago major.
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...and they're not weeds, but actually they're one of the most abundant and widely medicinal crops in the world. Those tail-like flowers aren't actually flowers, but are seeds. This plant can treat diarrhea, wounds, fever, respiratory infection and more. WOW! I want more of this in my yard. I have been pulling this kind of plant because I only know them as weeds.

Now, to my kitchen. Last night, I made bread from a new dough recipe. I don't know what this is actually called but the taste and the texture of the bread reminds me of Pan de Monay in the Philippines. I sprinkled them with sugar before I baked them at 400F for 15 minutes. When eaten hot fresh from the oven, the crust was kind of crispy, while the inside was soft. It's not bland, or has a salty taste in it, but of a mild sweetness to it. It was quicker and easier to make than the bread I usually bake. It was perfect with our coffee in the morning. The mister loved it with butter. I made eight rolls last night, and I think I need to make more since they're all gone.
Pinoy rolls

Until next updates from my home. I thank you for stopping by.


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All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you. The only thing blame does is to keep the focus off you when you are looking for external reasons to explain your unhappiness or frustration. You may succeed in making another feel guilty about something by blaming him, but you won't succeed in changing whatever it is about you that is making you unhappy.

-  Dr. Wayne Dyer

12 comments:

crybaby said...

okay, where's the new dough recipe? :)

jonathan said...

I used to have hydrangeas in the garden but they didn't last long. Maybe because it is just too hot. The thing with buying plants at the plant market is that the flowers all look good and I will just purchase a pot or two without even asking where the plant grew. It might have been from the mountain side or coming from a shaded nursery. Right now, I am into Frangipani of different colours, the dwarf ones.

Hi! I am LiLi! said...

Love Frangipani too, but they don't grow here in this part of the world. In California, it does, and maybe Florida. It bears flowers all year round kaso lang they're not really cut-flower. I love to bring the outdoors in my dining room. But, sana it can also grow here. I saw some at a burger place na nasa sobrang laking paso, and they bring them indoors during the cold months.

Hi! I am LiLi! said...

I'll share it soon.

yccos said...

I've been wanting to bake. Haha.. Everything's at home na. Sipag ko na lang at lakas ng loob na kaya kong gawin ng maayos ang lahat. hehe..

When I have my own home, I want to have fresh flowers on the table as well. They look so beautiful and homey.

Hi! I am LiLi! said...

Try baking, and share your recipes too. I want to try them as well.

trishie said...

Lovely blooms, Lili. I have some hydrangeas at home too that started off different colours but they are all pink now!

jonathan said...

I started collecting frangipani because they are more tolerant to drought and giving them less water means more flowers. I had my potted flowers lined up by the driveway and they give an illusion of bonsai which I think looked fab. The bigger trees are easy to propagate. I just cut one stem and insert it in dirt and voila, leaves will emerge after some time.

Nancy Chan said...

Lovely hydrangea blooms. I have the Plantago Major plants in my garden also. Used them to boil and drink to cleanse urinary tract. Your buns looks so good and yummy!

Hi! I am LiLi! said...

If ever I get to live in the tropics again, I'll grow lots of frangipani too. I didn't know they're so easy to grow.

Hi! I am LiLi! said...

Wow! That's great to know about Plantago Major.

Hi! I am LiLi! said...

Thanks, Trishie. Yeah, I noticed hydrangeas in your previous summer blog posts. They're really beautiful.

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