Monday, July 16, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Mahkota Dewa, a herbal tea
Mahkota dewa translates roughly as Gods Crown, its scientific name is Phaleria macrocarpa and it originates on the island of Papua, to the east of Indonesia.
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| Makhota Dewi is cauliflorous, this refers to it flowering and fruiting directly from the trunk and main branches. This creates a beautiful garden effect and "4 season beauty", a japanese garden design concept ensuring all year around beauty and interest through constant change. |
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| It is a well sized tree for inner city gardens that wont overgrow or interfere with infrastructure. |
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| The green fruit follow the masses of flowers. |
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| Phaleria macrocarpa always appears fresh and green and free of pests and diseases, another feature of a superior ammenity plant for city gardens |
Nasi uduk
Nasi uduk betawi
Very common
Buy anywhere
Make at home bday
Rice
Washed
Lemon grass 2 stems bruised
Daun Salam 4
Jeruk 4 kaffir
Clove 5
Coconut milk
Salt
Juice 1/3 lime jeruk limon
Spice mix
Red shallot 2
Garlic 1
Kemiri 1
Ground to paste and quick fried
Added to rice and folded through after rice absorbed
Let sit
Very common
Buy anywhere
Make at home bday
Rice
Washed
Lemon grass 2 stems bruised
Daun Salam 4
Jeruk 4 kaffir
Clove 5
Coconut milk
Salt
Juice 1/3 lime jeruk limon
Spice mix
Red shallot 2
Garlic 1
Kemiri 1
Ground to paste and quick fried
Added to rice and folded through after rice absorbed
Let sit
Poh Pohan an unusual salad green
Mei and her family take a strange delight in my enthusiasm for what is for them the normal parts of life
Not that its any problem, Bule are strange anyway ;)
And there's many laughs to be had as i eat different foods for the first time. I think the difference with your regular foodie, if such a thing exists, is that im also approaching this as gardener, Permaculture designer, ethnobotanist and publisher.
So while I was in Australia,during our many long distance online chats, Mei starts rattling off names if vegetables I hadn't yet seen or tried
Genjer, poh pohan, etc *
I used google images to track them down and a few I knew. Genjer for example is Limnocharis flava, a plant I know from researching the wild vegetables of Vietnam, and because it's a class 1 declared weed in Queensland with a 50 000 aud fine for cultivation, more of my opinion on that craziness another time!
But a picture online of Poh pohan really sparked my interest.
See the reason I'm so interested in collecting vegetables, especially wild or semi-cultivated types,and information on them is because I think they offer an opportunity to improve and stabilize not only our diet but also the ecology and economy of human habitat.
This plant Poh pohan I found was most likely Pilea melastomoides, a cousin to the nettle family which in European derived traditions is an extremely nutritious wild vegetables. I was excited by the photo online which showed it growing as a low herbaceous layer in what might be an orchard. The reason this pleased me is that across the world we are just about out of ideal arable land, the kind that is well watered, fertile and sunny, and crops that tolerate being grown as understorey in agroforestry settings are of great value.
They allow us to develop Agroecologies that are multilayered and mimic stable woodland settings where the soil remains covered by a living mulch. This Most obviously reduces soil erosion and provides an organic layer that feeds soil organisms. The roots also keep soil open and friable allowing rainfall infiltration that slows movement of water through the landscape and recharges streams and wells.
Another more technical benefit of this layer is in nutrient cycling. When it rains the water is essentially distilled water and as it washes over the leaves and bark of a forest it leaches, through osmosis, the mineral and nitrogen salts out. This leaf flow and stem flow reaches the forest floor and the race is on to recapture it before it washes away. By maintaining a dynamic herbaceous root web we can make Agroecologies more sustainable because they help capture these nutrients before they wash away.
Now, back to Poh pohan..
Fast forward to January 2012 and I'm in Jakarta when mama brings home lalap, a mix of fresh raw salad vegetables usually consumed alongside rice and fried things with a spicy sambal condiment - It's a delicious textural and taste combination.
In this mix was cucumber, lettuce, lemon basil (kemangi) and Poh pohan.
Finally I get my hands on this! And immediately I can see just why it deserves the species name melastomoides, in reference to it's similar appearance to the genus Melastoma.
I query my hosts, where is it from?
They tell me West Java, not Jakarta, it's a plant that likes cooler growing conditions. I can see why when examining it closely as it's a very succulent and delicate looking herb, juicy and crisp, not at all like the much tougher leaves of jakartas footpath and vacant lot weeds that bathe in the humid heat and tropical sun.
It's a popular vegetable, at least enough to be worth importing from outside the Jakarta region. I'm told it's available all year around.
I can see the resemblance also to stinging nettles as the specimens I examine are flowering. I admit to a little terror of the Urticaceae ;) as I've been stung by the giant stinging tree before in North Qld. It's a tree sized nettle covered in silica hairs containing an unidentified neurotoxin, and has been attributed with killing dogs and horses in the past. It got me on the ear and hand and the pain was excruciating like a marine sting. The silica needles lodge in the skin and burst every so often in response to cold or a hot shower on and off for about 2 months. Once bitten twice shy!
After being assured this experience would not repeat I tasted the herb.
It's cool and crisp, tender with little fibre. The taste slightly tart, I'd guess by taste from oxalic acid
The taste is slightly numbing and aromatic, quite similar to another salad green in Vietnam peperomia pellucida.
It is definitely enjoyable.
Not that its any problem, Bule are strange anyway ;)
And there's many laughs to be had as i eat different foods for the first time. I think the difference with your regular foodie, if such a thing exists, is that im also approaching this as gardener, Permaculture designer, ethnobotanist and publisher.
So while I was in Australia,during our many long distance online chats, Mei starts rattling off names if vegetables I hadn't yet seen or tried
Genjer, poh pohan, etc *
I used google images to track them down and a few I knew. Genjer for example is Limnocharis flava, a plant I know from researching the wild vegetables of Vietnam, and because it's a class 1 declared weed in Queensland with a 50 000 aud fine for cultivation, more of my opinion on that craziness another time!
But a picture online of Poh pohan really sparked my interest.
See the reason I'm so interested in collecting vegetables, especially wild or semi-cultivated types,and information on them is because I think they offer an opportunity to improve and stabilize not only our diet but also the ecology and economy of human habitat.
This plant Poh pohan I found was most likely Pilea melastomoides, a cousin to the nettle family which in European derived traditions is an extremely nutritious wild vegetables. I was excited by the photo online which showed it growing as a low herbaceous layer in what might be an orchard. The reason this pleased me is that across the world we are just about out of ideal arable land, the kind that is well watered, fertile and sunny, and crops that tolerate being grown as understorey in agroforestry settings are of great value.
They allow us to develop Agroecologies that are multilayered and mimic stable woodland settings where the soil remains covered by a living mulch. This Most obviously reduces soil erosion and provides an organic layer that feeds soil organisms. The roots also keep soil open and friable allowing rainfall infiltration that slows movement of water through the landscape and recharges streams and wells.
Another more technical benefit of this layer is in nutrient cycling. When it rains the water is essentially distilled water and as it washes over the leaves and bark of a forest it leaches, through osmosis, the mineral and nitrogen salts out. This leaf flow and stem flow reaches the forest floor and the race is on to recapture it before it washes away. By maintaining a dynamic herbaceous root web we can make Agroecologies more sustainable because they help capture these nutrients before they wash away.
Now, back to Poh pohan..
Fast forward to January 2012 and I'm in Jakarta when mama brings home lalap, a mix of fresh raw salad vegetables usually consumed alongside rice and fried things with a spicy sambal condiment - It's a delicious textural and taste combination.
In this mix was cucumber, lettuce, lemon basil (kemangi) and Poh pohan.
Finally I get my hands on this! And immediately I can see just why it deserves the species name melastomoides, in reference to it's similar appearance to the genus Melastoma.
I query my hosts, where is it from?
They tell me West Java, not Jakarta, it's a plant that likes cooler growing conditions. I can see why when examining it closely as it's a very succulent and delicate looking herb, juicy and crisp, not at all like the much tougher leaves of jakartas footpath and vacant lot weeds that bathe in the humid heat and tropical sun.
It's a popular vegetable, at least enough to be worth importing from outside the Jakarta region. I'm told it's available all year around.
I can see the resemblance also to stinging nettles as the specimens I examine are flowering. I admit to a little terror of the Urticaceae ;) as I've been stung by the giant stinging tree before in North Qld. It's a tree sized nettle covered in silica hairs containing an unidentified neurotoxin, and has been attributed with killing dogs and horses in the past. It got me on the ear and hand and the pain was excruciating like a marine sting. The silica needles lodge in the skin and burst every so often in response to cold or a hot shower on and off for about 2 months. Once bitten twice shy!
After being assured this experience would not repeat I tasted the herb.
It's cool and crisp, tender with little fibre. The taste slightly tart, I'd guess by taste from oxalic acid
The taste is slightly numbing and aromatic, quite similar to another salad green in Vietnam peperomia pellucida.
It is definitely enjoyable.
Jeruk wani, a peculiar citron
A little up the forest path from my house is an elderly lady with a very peculiar citrus tree, a type of citron that I have never heard of before.
Jeruk wani Is named after another peculiar indigenous fruit tree, Wani (mangifera caesia), which is a large brown skinned soft white fleshed extremely aromatic mango.
Similar to the proper the Jeruk Wani, this citron style fruit is used in the popular salad snack rujak, a dish of sliced tart crisp fruit with a salty tamarind chilli dressing.
Now citrus make great juices, great to eat fresh, use as condiments and use the thin oily skin or zest as flavouring.
But this citrus is different.
This is the only citrus I've ever heard of being cultivated for the pith!
The fruit pulp is very small and the remainder of this large citron is solid slabs of a crisp bland pulp perfect for rujak.
The tree is large leaved and sparse ad expected of a citron.
I have never seen this in a market or any other garden yet
I look forward to finding out more about it next time I visit my village home
Jeruk wani Is named after another peculiar indigenous fruit tree, Wani (mangifera caesia), which is a large brown skinned soft white fleshed extremely aromatic mango.
Similar to the proper the Jeruk Wani, this citron style fruit is used in the popular salad snack rujak, a dish of sliced tart crisp fruit with a salty tamarind chilli dressing.
Now citrus make great juices, great to eat fresh, use as condiments and use the thin oily skin or zest as flavouring.
But this citrus is different.
This is the only citrus I've ever heard of being cultivated for the pith!
The fruit pulp is very small and the remainder of this large citron is solid slabs of a crisp bland pulp perfect for rujak.
The tree is large leaved and sparse ad expected of a citron.
I have never seen this in a market or any other garden yet
I look forward to finding out more about it next time I visit my village home
Friday, January 13, 2012
Ant nest tea
"would you like to try some of this?", Mei asks as i see a quiet smile pass her lips.
"what is it?", I reply as I've learned after the fried lung incident it pays to ask, or not, depending on ones mood for adventure.
As the clear plastic bag passes to my hand Mei says "take a look, what you think it is? My mum uses it"
It only took a second in my hand before I realized this was something to write home about, "Woa ! Myrmecodium!" I startled.
"it's ants nest sayang" Mei says
"yes" I reply,"it looks like ant plant, a plant that grows and as it grows the stem swells and creates a home for the ants"
Later in the kitchen I ask more.
"my Aunt was given it in (West) Papua" Mei says," it's very expensive".
"how much?" I ask
"I'm not sure, it's my aunt from Ciputat"
"what's it used for?" I query
"medicine"
"duh" I laugh smiling
"many kinds of disease, gout, rheumatism, many" she adds
Meis mum says something
"all kinds of disease"
I joke "everything but death huh?", laughing
"do you have it in Australia?" Mei asks, "do they drink it there?"
"No I don't think so, it's a protected plant", i explain
"It only grows near cooktown and north on cape York where we visited, I imagine there's many more kinds in Papua."
The hard dry reddish brown slices show the intricate caverns that and plants create to lure their boarders, ant colonies that take refuge inside and ferociously protect their new home from herbivores and other threats. The ants waste products are absorbed by special tissues inside the nest.
There are many genera that are myrmycophilous (ant loving) across the tropics but the genus that sprung to mind with this specimen was Myrmedcodia, a genus in the Rubiaceae, the same alkaloid rich genus family that gives us coffee, quinine, ipecac syrup, as well as flower like Gardenia.
If the tea is indeed a remedy for inflammatory diseases like rheumatism and gout then it is not surprising as the family is on the hot list for interesting pharmacologically active drugs.
Myrmecodia is difficult in cultivation as without it's ant Helpers it is prone to attack by various insects and pathogens.
Now to taste the tea...
The material is fresh and looks of good quality.
"what is it?", I reply as I've learned after the fried lung incident it pays to ask, or not, depending on ones mood for adventure.
As the clear plastic bag passes to my hand Mei says "take a look, what you think it is? My mum uses it"
It only took a second in my hand before I realized this was something to write home about, "Woa ! Myrmecodium!" I startled.
"it's ants nest sayang" Mei says
"yes" I reply,"it looks like ant plant, a plant that grows and as it grows the stem swells and creates a home for the ants"
Later in the kitchen I ask more.
"my Aunt was given it in (West) Papua" Mei says," it's very expensive".
"how much?" I ask
"I'm not sure, it's my aunt from Ciputat"
"what's it used for?" I query
"medicine"
"duh" I laugh smiling
"many kinds of disease, gout, rheumatism, many" she adds
Meis mum says something
"all kinds of disease"
I joke "everything but death huh?", laughing
"do you have it in Australia?" Mei asks, "do they drink it there?"
"No I don't think so, it's a protected plant", i explain
"It only grows near cooktown and north on cape York where we visited, I imagine there's many more kinds in Papua."
The hard dry reddish brown slices show the intricate caverns that and plants create to lure their boarders, ant colonies that take refuge inside and ferociously protect their new home from herbivores and other threats. The ants waste products are absorbed by special tissues inside the nest.
There are many genera that are myrmycophilous (ant loving) across the tropics but the genus that sprung to mind with this specimen was Myrmedcodia, a genus in the Rubiaceae, the same alkaloid rich genus family that gives us coffee, quinine, ipecac syrup, as well as flower like Gardenia.
If the tea is indeed a remedy for inflammatory diseases like rheumatism and gout then it is not surprising as the family is on the hot list for interesting pharmacologically active drugs.
Myrmecodia is difficult in cultivation as without it's ant Helpers it is prone to attack by various insects and pathogens.
Now to taste the tea...
The material is fresh and looks of good quality.
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