Playing in our little heaven

Malaysia is a tropical country and is rich in tropical fruits like durian, mangosteen, rambutan, pineapple, banana, chiku, papaya, chempedek, jackfruit, sour sop, custard apple, star fruit, guava, dukong, mango, longan, etc...Our annual fruit seasons is around May to July and October to December.

In the village, we may find many of these fruit trees as they are easily planted. Being tropical fruits, the seeds of the fruit trees and stems are easily germinate when rain and sun combine to make them very conductive to growth.

Some of the fruit trees in our little heaven are planted by my late father in law, many decades ago.

Our family little heaven where we gather for family gathering, BBQ and potlucks during weekend and holidays.

                                                             Green grape tree
Grapes can power up weight lost, protect your heart, mop up brain damaging plaques, improve brain power, and anti aging.

There are several amazing health benefits in custard apples aka cherimoya.
Regular consumption of custard apple thickens and stimulates the collagen to reduce wrinkles and fine lines. It increases the deposition of collagen and slows its breakdown, improving the elasticity of the skin. It also improves hydration in and around the cells, regeneration of skin cells and making the skin youthful.

Vitamin C in custard apple combats free radicals in the body, providing a healthy, flawless and glowing skin. It promotes a healthy cell membrane. The antioxidants in custard apple neutralize free radicals, hastening the process of regeneration. It helps to delay the signs of aging like age spots and blemishes.

                                                                Avocado tree
Avocado is a rather unique type of fruit. Its often called Alligator pear due to the bumpy skin like alligator.

                                                                    Sour sop tree

                                                                Sour sop flower

Soursop fruit contains abundant vitamin C and several B vitamins such as thiamin, riboflavin and niacin, along with calcium, phosphorus and a small amount of iron.
Beyond its usefulness as a food, however, soursop also contains natural compounds with medicinal properties, making it potentially beneficial for your health.

                                                                Mulberry plant

Mulberries are delicious and nutritious.

Rhoeo plant also known as oyster plant or boat lily.
Low growing plant with green and purple sword shaped leaves.

Very refreshing drink for hot weather.

Wash and cut one bundle of rhoeo leaves.
Wash a handful of barley.
Add 2 litre of water boil the rhoeo leaves and barley until barley turn soft.
Add rock sugar to taste. Discard the rhoeo leaves.
Serve hot or chill.

 Fragrant kaffir lime leaves, the leaves grow in pair. An important ingredient in tom yum soup.

Pleasantly aromatic bay leaves. Bay leaves are added to flavor cuisines  like beef, chicken or sweet bread. Before use best to plucked the leaves, wait for 2 to 3 day till it wilted.

Lime plant.  Lime can reverse the signs of aging.
Lime peels can combat aging skin. The peels of citrus fruits contain an inhibitor of melanin production. With age and UV ray exposure, melanin, which gives skin its pigment, can build up and deposit itself as spots on your skin. Treating skin to a mask with bits of lime peel in it could reduce this hyperpigmentation.

Lime juice can help prevent formation of kidney stones and lower cholesterol.

Basil plant surrounded with sweet potato leaves.

Holy Basil has anti-anxiety effects. Simmer down on a hot, harried day by adding 2 or 3 leaves to your tea.
While waiting for the tea to steeping, hop onto your favorite lounge chair to relax.
 
Sweet potato leaves can be a great source of multiple water-soluble vitamins in the human diet, making them an attractive choice for your next dish.

 

Ribena plant. We harvest the fruits to make refreshing ribena drink.

Bitter gourd benefits the skin, blood purifying, weight lost, carbohydrate digestion and increase your immunity.

Another version of bitter gourd, this is the mini type.

Taken regularly, bitter gourd is said to have a glowing effect on the skin.
Try bitter gourd soup for more beautiful skin.
1/  Slice the bitter gourd thinly.
2/  Slice chicken breast thinly, marinate with soya sauce, little bit of corn starch, pepper.
3/  Bring enough water to boil, add bitter gourd and let it boil until soft. Add salt to taste.
4/  Add chicken meat, fish ball and let it boil for several minute. Remove from heat and add pepper to taste.
5/  Serve hot with rice.

Loofah. All loofah species are edible, but they must be consumed before they mature or it will be too woody or fibrous to eat.

Loofah can be harvested as sponges. The woody exterior is peeled away and the seeds shaken out for reseeding. Loofah can be used as body sponge in the shower but it should be dried out between uses.

                                                               Rambutan tree

Yours truly is one of the odd one who climb tree without taking off the shoes.

Enjoying plucking the rambutan fruits.

Our last two weekend harvest. This fruits is sweet, juicy and succulent.

Rambutans have a bizarre, hairy exterior that conceals a smooth, sweet white fruit within. You can easily peel open a rambutan by splitting the skin apart with your nails and spreading it back, much as you would peel an orange. Don’t worry about the spines; they look sharp but are actually quite soft and bend back easily.

Pineapple plant, no fruit yet. We had several plants scattered all over the back yard.
Pineapple is also a good source of vitamins and minerals.

Vietnamese cilantro, commonly eaten raw in salad.

                                                                  Star fruit tree

                                                    Star fruit beautiful pink flowers

In order to harvest healthy star fruits, it need to be individually wrap in plastic or paper to prevent caterpillars attacking it. There are way to many, so we don't wrap all the fruits.

Star fruit may lower cholesterol levels.You can also use the pickled fruit for hangover. Just take one piece of the pickled fruit, steam in water and serve.
The fruit has also been used to treat sore eyes.
The star fruit is given to nursing mothers as it is commonly believed to stimulate the flow of milk.

                                           Banana tree, not growing very well.

Improve your mood and reduce PMS symptoms by eating banana.
Do not consume more than 2 bananas daily due to the high potassium.
 

                                                                  Lemon grass
Delightful, lemony-flavored tea.
1/ Cut several long blades of foliage from the plant, wash them, and chop them into inch-long pieces.
2/ Then cover the bits of grass with water, bring the liquid to a boil, and steep for 10 to fifteen minutes.
3/ Sweeten the hot drink with honey, or chill the tea and serve it cold.
4/ Lemon grass drink is great to relieve fever.

                                                                     Papaya
Baked papaya

3 ripe but firm papayas
3 small pieces vanilla bean
6 teaspoons butter
12 teaspoons brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder
4 oz thick coconut milk (chilled)

1/ Preheat the oven to 175 deg C.
2/ Split papaya into half. Remove the seeds.
3/ Split the vanilla bean and scrap out the tiny seeds. Keep aside.
4/ Wrap the papaya with aluminum foil, arrange the halves papaya, cut side up, in a baking dish with about one-half inch of water over the bottom.
5/ To the center of each papaya half, place a small piece of vanilla bean and the seeds, a teaspoon of butter, two teaspoons of brown sugar, sprinkle some cinnamon. Bake until thoroughly tender. (Approximately forty-five minutes to one hour.)
6/ Cool the papaya, pour chilled coconut milk and serve immediately.

Very delicious baked papaya with coconut milk.

                                                                   Delima tree
This is one fruit that you can't exclude from your diet. It help to lower blood pressure, reduce heart attack and stroke.

                                                                  Delima flower

                                                              Bird's eye chilli

                                                                    Curry leaves
Curry leaves have anti-oxidant properties and anti-bacterial properties that help fight against skin infections and also, it is a great remedy to cure hair fall and prevent premature greying of hair.

Pandan leaves aka pandanus. Cockroaches hate pandan leaves.
The unique aroma of the pandan leaves is commonly used as flavoring and colouring in Malaysia and Singapore cooking.

We use the pandan leaves for all kind of desserts and cooking. Boiling the black glutinous rice.

Black glutinous rice with coconut milk.
Wash 300gm glutinous rice and soak for one hour. Boil with enough water until the rice turn soft.
Add sugar to taste and stir till sugar melt.. Remove from stove and add the thick coconut milk.
Serve hot or chill.

Butterfly pea flowers grows as a vine or creeper. We used this butterfly pea flowers as food dye and healthy drink.

Beautiful butterfly pea flower with royal blue colour.

We harvest the ripe pods for replanting. Anyone of you ( my regular readers who put comment ) want the pods let me know, I can reserve for you.

On the right the flowers is fresh from the plant. You can also sun dried the flowers to keep for future use, on the left is in drying processes. The dried flowers can be kept for a long time.

Let me show you how to make the butterfly pea flower tea.

Throw in a 10 to 15 blue pea flower with 400mls hot water. Watch the steep releases the beautiful deep blue colour.

After 15 mins........ * You can use it as a food dye.*

The blue pea flower tea is ready to be serve. You can add honey to taste, serve hot or chill.

Or you can add 2 lime to 250mls of butterfly pea flowers tea.

Add lime juice and watch the magic, it turn into a beautiful violet colour.
It's far too healthy and beautiful not to sip and sip this butterfly pea flower tea. So sit back with your feet up and enjoy sipping the flower tea.

It is said that the butterfly blue pea flower is one of  the most natural herbal plant. It help in......
1/ Strengthen the hair for healthy growth, prevent hair loss and graying.
2/ Slow down aging, keep skin healthy and glowing.
3/ Enhance your immune system.
4/ Improves eyes sight and night vision.
5/ Enhance memory, reduce stress and depression.

Our half abandon orchids, yet to re-pot them.

Currently only one type of orchid is blooming.

                                                                   Jack fruit tree

Jack fruit, not ripe yet.

Eating Jackfruit also keeps skin moisturized and well hydrated due to high level of water content in it. Water reduces dryness and lend a supple appearance to your facial skin. This further reduces the light wrinkles and fine lines on skin making it look younger and glowing.

Jackfruit contains high amount of carbohydrate and calorie that provides energy instantly. It is rich in antioxidants which protect from cancer, aging and degenerative disease. Due to rich antioxidants it is good for eye sight and protect from conditions like cataract and macular degeneration. It is a good source of potassium which maintains fluid and electrolyte level in balance. Also it improves bone and skin health.

Dragon fruit tree aka pitaya, no fruit at the moment. This is definitely one of the best super fruits.

Dragon fruit is a perfect fruit to maintain your weight and satisfy your sweet tooth.
It's also heart healthy, fill up on fiber, active antioxidants, fight diabetes, reduce signs of aging, suppresses arthritis and avoiding acne.

                                                                  Dukong tree

                                                                  Dukong fruits

The dukong fruits are grow in bunches along the trunk and branches.

Yours truly plucking the dukong fruits.

Fresh sweet and sour dukong fruit.

A great way to spent the day, plucking the fruits and eating them under the tree....one with nature.

Our EID Mubarak lunch on the 17th July with our family and Indonesia maid.
Malaysia style simple homecook sweet sour spicy fish, spicy cuttle fish, beef rendang, curry chicken, compressed rice, swiss roll cake and curry vegetables.

Part of the front garden. All these flowers need to be re-pot.

Part of the back yard.

This purple daisy is rather cute.

Our little heaven is currently in a mess, yet to spring cleaning and replant all the vegetables and flowers.

Have a great week ahead.
Amelia