Rambutan from next door neighbor's tree...
A mango tree I planted five years ago bore its first fruits; a ten year old pomelo tree I brought along in a drum finally has fruit growing; a guyabano also hanging from the tree; finally tasted the atis before the bats beat me to them (they're sweet!); and a papaya tree is bearing lots of red lady papayas.
Cooked Thai Tom Kha Gai for the first time with the galangal and lemongrass from my garden. Galangal/lengkwas/langkawas/kha which came from my Indonesian neighbor's garden, and originally from her tutor's Bicol hometown.
It doesn't take much, really, the soil here keeps us happy.
On a sad note, I am mourning, I am delayed in mourning the loss of a lady I befriended three years ago. She who sold me my poinsettia three Christmases ago; from whom I purchased pots of Gynura Precumbens (they call it Ashitaba though that's different) to give as Christmas presents. She was a cancer survivor, and she was not only a retailer of herbs and plants, but also an advocate of natural food, raw diet. She not only sold the plants, she made friends with her customers and was sincere in her efforts. She and her sister sold plants at Solenad, as a test for the future area of the mall. She was looking forward to the opening of the "Market" area of Solenad, where they were offered space. Now, that space is open, and I looked for her but she was not there. I was happy to have had a good conversation with her sister. But allowed myself a moment to remember her.
