Turk´s Turban Peppers

These hot peppers came from our dear friend, Sabine Ortman. They are an heirloom variety, I believe they come from Germany. They are very tasty and hot when green, getting sweeter as they redden. The shrub is taller than I am, that is they are over 5 feet tall, and still growing, with fruits about the size of a golf ball. The real bonus about the pepper is that the surface area of the flesh to the seed ratio. There is more "meat" to it than say a jalapeno of the same weight. They are excellent roasted over an open fire and mixed with other roasted herbs, such as parsley, onions, cilantro, and garlic--all mashed together in a mortar and pestle ensemble. All we need now is some fish sauce.

Black Beauty Eggplants

Magnus and I have nine plants, all producing rather well. I read in one gardening source to expect 2 to 6 fruit per plant. We´ve sampled two fruits last night and they are delicious, sauteed with leeks, garlick, Turk´s Turban peppers, cherry tomatoes, romas, and basil over rice or pasta! Magnus cannot believe how his tastes have changed since we´ve started gardening for self-sufficiency. It is one of his favorite vegetables now.

Bitter Melon

The bitter melon we started from seeds from my mom and sister, Vong-Maly. There are three separate vines on one trellis. The seeds were sown on June 11, and are fruiting now, just three months later. The blossoms are just so delicate, the males emerging before the female flowers. The fruit in the photos are the same, just at different stages. Magnus is looking forward to eating the fruit, just to see how bitter it really is. It´s supposed to be good for diabetes and cancer. Perhaps, the awful taste would drive out any pathogens!

Squash Harvest

Magnus and I harvested these beauties. The pumpkins came from just two plants, we´ll plant more next year. With the minimal effort we put into them, they grew bigger than the 6 to 7 pounds we expected from the seed packet. We harvested 9 acorn squash from 2 vines, and 3 butternut squash from 2 vines. The butternuts are our favorites, but we did not plant them in the sunniest spot, so they produced minimally.

Heavy Rains of Early Autumn in Florés

Our usually lazy river, that is more often a trickle, has grown fat and strong with all the nurturing rainfall. Here she is in all here beauty as she races to the sea.

Mount Francisco

Panorama video from the peak of Mount Francisco behind our house.

Hiking on Mount Francisco