Butterfly pea tea without lemon juice (blue) and with lemon juice (purple).

Last week we had several cooler days. Mornings were very nice, though it eventually got warmer later in the day. 

Today (Monday) is Veterans Day, and a public holiday. I was eagerly waiting for the long weekend, but it went very fast. I graded a stack of tests, and made another test for the upcoming week. 

The cooler weather motivated me to work in the yard, so I prepared three raised beds, transplanted passion fruit seedlings in pots (temporarily) and Brussels sprout in a raised bed. Mustard greens and beet seedlings are also coming up, but I decided to let them grow a bit more. 

I swapped a cardamom, a lemongrass and several passion fruit seedlings for a small  night jasmine  (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis) plant from a member of a regional gardening group.  I remember my grandma had a night jasmine tree in her yard. I love the scent of any jasmine flower, and have never seen night jasmine in this area. So I drove about 45 minutes to get the small plant. I planted it in a small pot for now. 🌼  

In my last post, several of my blog friends asked about katuk berries. Katuk (Sauropus androgynus) is a tropical plant, and its leaves, flowers and berries are all edible. About a year ago I got several cuttings from a gardener in the area, and now I have three trees that are slightly taller than me. Cooked katuk leaves have a slight sweetness. I haven't eaten it raw, though I've heard that some use it in salads. I usually saute leaves in a bit of olive oil and add salt, black pepper and turmeric powder. Or, I mix grated coconut, chopped onions and green chilies with thinly shredded katuk leaves, and cook it for several minutes. It's very nutritious, and you can find more information here.

Tender berries taste like young peas. I always remove the seeds. Because it is time consuming to open each berry and remove seeds, I only use a handful or two at a time. 

Katuk berries.

Katuk leaves and berries with grated coconut.

The end of the semester is just three weeks away, and I have been busy with making tests and grading. I have to make two more weeks of lesson plans for the online course. I can't believe how fast this semester is going! 

I have been reading blogs whenever I have time, but haven't been commenting often. I promise that I will catch up. 😊

Have a wonderful week, everyone. 🌻

Last week's to-do list:

1) Update the financial documents folder.
2) Declutter the spare room.
3) Transplant passion seedlings.
4) Prepare a raised bed. Prepared 3 beds.

This week's to-do list:

1) Update the financial documents folder.

2) Declutter the spare room.

XX

Nil