Mushroom Garden Stool

A few days ago I found a huge box in front of the house. Inside of the the box I found a shiny glossy mushroom garden stool. It was a gift from my best friend. For days I wanted to take a photo of it in the garden, but by the time I came home from the office, it would be too dark to get a decent photo without using the flash. I really don't like the harsh lighting of flash photos. This morning, I finally had the opportunity to take it out in the garden to get a decent photo.

Green mushrooms are not common in nature. The only one that comes to mind is Hygrocybe psittacina, commonly knows as parrot mushroom. Its cap ranges from 1.5 to 4 cm broad. Its color can be bright green to dark green to olive green when young, changing to some shade of pink, yellow, or orange in age. It's edible but nobody I know eats it since it's small and slimy with no distinctive taste.

The garden stool reminds me of a giant parrot mushroom.

Hygrocybe psittacina, a.k.a. parrot mushroom

Easy Hearty Onion Soup

I grow a lot of onions. A few weeks ago I started planting next year's onions. With all the onions, I need to cook something that requires a lot of onions. The weather has started to look like fall. It got dark at 7 PM tonight. I decided that a big bowl of hot soup would be perfect for dinner.

Believe it or not, I can't remember the last time I made a pot of "just" onion soup even though I love soup, all kinds of soup. I came up with this simple recipe below. The hardest part is slicing the onions. These freshly pulled onions made me weep the entire time. I could hardly open my eyes and had to pause a few times to wipe my face full of tears, but it was worth it!

Ingredients:

3 large yellow onions
1/4 cup butter (this makes it "hearty")
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon flour
2 14.5 oz. cans of chicken broth (you may go with low fat)
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup water
dashes of white pepper

Melt the butter in a medium to large size pot then mix in the sugar. Pour sliced onions into the pot and mix well. Let it cook for 10 minutes or until golden and soft. Add flour and mix it well with the onions. Add chicken broth, white wine and water then let it simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes or so. You know it's done when you smell the sweet onion. Sprinkle some white pepper before serving.

It's simple, tasty, and nutritious. These are some of the health benefits of onions (courtesy of Nutrition and You):

* Onions are very low in calories (just 40 cal per 100g) and fats; but rich in soluble dietary fiber.

* The phyto-chemical compounds allium and Allyl disulphide in onion have anti-mutagenic (protects from cancers) and anti-diabetic properties (helps lower blood sugar levels in diabetics).

* They are rich source of chromium, the trace mineral that helps tissue cells respond appropriately to insulin levels in the blood; thus helps facilitate insulin action and control sugar levels in diabetes.

* They are also good source of antioxidant flavonoid quercetin, which is found to have anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetogenic functions.

* They are also good in anti-oxidant vitamin, vitamin C and mineral manganese which is required as co-factor for ani-oxidant enzyme superoxida dismutase. In addition, isothiocyanate anti-oxidants in them help relieve from cold and flu by exerting anti-inflammatory actions.

* Onions are also good in B-complex group of vitamins like pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, folates and thiamin. Pyridoxine or vit.B-6 helps keep up GABA levels in the brain which wors against neurotic conditions.

"It's my best friend..."

I watched The Professional when I was in college. Back then I laughed when I saw the characters carrying that pot of plant every time they move or dodge a gun fight. To me, that pot of plant was merely for comedy relief in a brutal action flick.

Now almost 15 years later, I watched The Professional again last night. By the way, it is currently available to view online for free on Hulu.com. The story of a 12-year-old girl training to be a "cleaner" is still shocking (perhaps even more so) to me. Although the scenes involving the plant are still funny, I now relate to the characters differently. The movie also has much deeper meaning and symbolism to me now.

In the film, the main character, Léon, refers to the plant as his best friend. He tells Mathilda (Natalie Portman), "It's my best friend. Always happy. No questions." If Léon wasn't an assassin, he would be great as a gardener.

The first thing I do when I get home is to check my plants (and Dusty of course). Before I left for my trip, I took two trays of young plants to the greenhouse on campus. I wondered whether they would be okay while I was away. I was ready to put any plant in intensive care upon my return if that was necessary. I was so happy and relieved to see everyone looking so well when I came back. Some of them got bigger and look even better now. I shall put those potted plants in the ground soon.

Ironically, I was in Léon and Mathilda's fictional neighborhood last week. I think I passed by their apartment building on the northwest corner of E 97th St & Park Ave.

Planting for Winter

Green onion seedlings and 1 daikon seedling. I must have dropped a seed in there by accident.

Back in July, I harvested a lot of green onion seeds. I know growing onions from seeds take a lot longer but people say they taste a lot better. On September 19, the day before I was leaving for my trip to New York, I planted a tray full of green onion seeds and a bunch of daikon, Japanese radish.

I normally grow my seedlings at home. Since I was going to be out of town, I left the planted seeds in the green house on campus. I also left my young Soapworts, French lavender, and passion fruit in the green house while I was out of town. Today I found all the daikon seeds have sprouted. The tray of onion seeds is now full of onion seedlings! They sure grew fast in the temperature controlled greenhouse! 

Daikon seedlings

The High Line in New York

parts of the railroad tracks are preserved

For the last few days I was in New York, and one of the highlights of my trip was The High Line, a park built on an abandoned historical railroad. The High Line was opened to the public on June 9, 2009, so I was very excited to have the opportunity to stop there during my visit. The park is located in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan. I took E line of the Subway to 14th Street & 8th Ave then walked a few blocks to one of the park entrances on Washington Street and Gansevoort Street.

What fascinates me about The High Line is that it is built on a railroad 30 feet above the ground, which was abandoned since the 80's. In late 90's, the historical railroad was under threat of demolition. People got together and formed a community based non-profit group in 1999, called Friends of the High Line, to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park. The rich history of The High Line dated back from 1847. The railroad tracks were originally on the street level. Many accidents occurred between freight trains and street-level traffic that 10th Avenue became known as Death Avenue. In 1929 the West Side Improvement Project was passed, which included the High Line.

There are many installation art works in and around the High Line. Many student groups go there for field trips. Office people get a chance to take their breaks in a more natural setting away from the traffic.

"Plenty IS Enough"

I hope that as the plants establish in the park, more bees, butterflies, and birds will visit the park as well. I saw very few bees and birds and didn't see a butterfly during my entire time there. The park is  an ongoing project as only first section is open to the public. More sections will be open in the future. The official website of the High Line has detailed information on maps, history, schedule of art works and performances, and information on how to get involved.