BITTER Melon -- AMPALAYA

Blossom of the bitter melon... also called ampalaya in Filipino, karela in Indian, cerasse in Caribbean and South American.

The ampalaya is a "tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae" -- so growing this plant in semi-arid San Diego requires a lot of man-made showers!

Momordica charantia is among the most bitter of all fruits -- but Filipinos like Mom and myself enjoy it sauteed with shrimp and garlic.

Bitter melon has been used in various Asian traditional medicine systems for a long time. Like most bitter-tasting foods, bitter melon stimulates digestion. While this can be helpful in people with sluggish digestion, dyspepsia, and constipation, it can sometimes make heartburn and ulcers worse. The fact that bitter melon is also a demulcent and at least mild inflammation modulator, however, means that it rarely does have these negative effects, based on clinical experience and traditional reports.

The pith will become sweet when the fruit is fully ripe, and the pith's color will turn red. The pith can be eaten uncooked in this state, but the flesh of the melon will be far too tough to be eaten anymore. Red and sweet bitter melon pith is a popular ingredient in some southeast Asian salads.

These red seeds will be dried for next year's planting.

For more information regarding this plant, or for culinary suggestions -- see Wikipedia.

And we know that GOD causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Yes... even those bitter things in life, GOD will use for His good purpose.

Please donate. ALL funds will go towards the Naselesele Village school children in Taveuni, Fiji. VINAKA VAKA LEVU!

THEN...and NOW

Welcome sign from the ShoppE at Rose's, refurbished a-la-rLn...

WELCOME! to our garden...

THEN -- May -- squash plants...

with leaves a-fuzzed.

NOW -- September -- at last...

a squash, the fruit of much patient waiting.

THEN -- April -- sunlit peach blooms...

NOW -- September 11 -- edible peaches.

THEN -- March -- young chayote plant seeking light...
growing UPwards...

NOW -- August and up to now -- chayote everywhere!

THEN -- May -- summer squash plant in the morning light...

trained to grow UP...

NOW -- July -- and even today, September 11,

summer squash still bearing fruit.

THEN -- May -- green first fruits...

NOW -- July through today...late fruits still on the vine.

THEN -- July -- already pleasing to the eyes...

NOW -- September 11 -- ampalaya vines

providing wonderFUL shade from the noon sun,

a haven for contemplation, a quiet corner for lunch...

an inviting "secret garden."

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." (John 12:24) Thus JESUS died so that many may rise.

Chayote, Mirliton, CHRISTophene

Chayote...

Mirliton...

CHRISTophene...

Citrayota...

Pear squash...

From Wikipedia: The chayote (Sechium edule), also known as christophene, vegetable pear, starprecianté, citrayota or citrayote (Ecuador and Colombia) and pear squash is an edible plant that belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae along with melons, cucumbers and squash.

The chayote fruit is used in both raw and cooked forms. When cooked, chayote is usually handled like summer squash, it is generally lightly cooked to retain the crisp flavor. Raw chayote may be added to salads or salsas, and it is often marinated with lemon or lime juice. It can also be eaten straight, although the bland flavor makes this a dubious endeavor. Whether raw or cooked, chayote is a good source of amino acids and vitamin C.

To get recipes for this wonderFUL vegetable, ask Kusinerong Gill, facebook's expert chef!

Please donate. ALL funds will go towards the Naselesele Village school children in Taveuni, Fiji. VINAKA VAKA LEVU!

The NOT-So-USUAL Backyard DETAILS

i stuck my head between the slats and leaves and got this sunset --

GOD's artistic touch.

Middle-of-the-day sunshine... but shady underneath the chayote vines... (Remember how GOD grew a plant for Jonah, just to give him shade?) And the LORD GOD prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. (Jonah 4:6)

Our Pat B would like this color scheme: purples and pinks...

Chayote blooms and ant...

Chayote in a row...

Cactus blooms... almost.

Ampalaya (bitter melon) leaves highlighted...
sometimes used for mungo stew.

Ampalaya bloom...

Pomegranate blooms and fruit...

Squash bloom and bug...

Parda blooms and vegetables...

It's ALLways a pleasure to GODventureZ in the backyard... so many things in bloom or in fruit -- all GOD's gifts to the two garden-keepers who sowed and tended with such Tender Loving Care.

End-of-the Month SURPRISES

Enter the "not-so-Secret Garden."

Baby squash seeking light...

Exotic bromeliads graced with lacey webs...

Fuzzy upo (summer squash) backlit with 7 pm summer light...

Parda (Filipino peas) blooms swaying UPwards...

Sayote (chayote) after man-made shower...

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits...

(Psalm 103:2)

REAPing the SOWN

Then GOD said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind,

whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. (Genesis 1:11)

And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind,

and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And GOD saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:12)

You will always reap what you sow! (Galatians 6:7b)

BUMPER Crop

Wow...even the bush farm in Lagiloa did not produce a bumper crop like this one!

Summer squash...the waiting is over! Mom has been sauteeing upo with shrimp, or chicken, or pork...with lots of garlic.

Norma's favorite -- chilis -- but so far, lacking fire...

This season's upo out-produced last summer's crop...

Here and there...blushing tomatoes signal ripeness.

It took me a very long time -- and many, many life lessons -- to finally understand Galatians 6:7, A man reaps what he sows. "What goes around comes around," someone in Italy once told me. "For every action, there's an equal re-action" is one of the laws of physics.

So when we planted tomato seeds, of course we expected to harvest tomatoes. It just took me a (long!) while to transfer this practical knowledge into the spiritual realm on an experiential level. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the SPIRIT, from the SPIRIT will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:8, NIV)