This post is kind of late, but I want to share some photos and story of the day we first harvested some bitter gourd from our garden.
In the morning of the 24th of December, I went to the garden to harvest some vegetables for lunch. We were going to have some special dishes that night which aren't that healthy because of the Christmas celebration, so we thought of eating some veggies for lunch to feel less guilty... hahah
Kidding aside, we actually intended to harvest the first couple bitter gourd that are more than ready to be harvested.
I took these two babies from the vine. I was quite excited and happy because it was our first time harvesting this kind of veggie from the garden. There were just two that time, but I also took photos of the growing ones which we would be harvesting anytime soon.
These photos were also taken last December 24 after I did some harvesting. This morning, they're already almost ready to be harvested and we might harvest around three to four of them at the same time... and I see a bunch of smaller growing ones as well.
Going back to the main story... Apart from the bitter gourd, I also harvested four okra, so we could cook them together. We're just going to have a simple dish of bitter gourd and okra with egg. Mama would do the actual cooking, but I'll do the prep work. :)
The preparation for me was extra exciting not only because we're using ingredients from our own small garden, but also the fact that my best friend gifted us a new set of kitchen knives. It's usually me who does the slicing in the kitchen, so I'm truly grateful for the present. Preparation was so much easier this time because of the new and sharp knife. <3 Oh, simple joys in life!
Of course, the gardener in me made me collect all the available seeds from the bitter gourds that I just harvested. I'm just drying these and plant them once they're ready. I didn't collect okra seeds to dry because what I usually do it keep an overripe okra and let the whole veggie dry before taking out the seeds to plant. I need to get a good timing though because if I make it dry too long, the seeds would be empty and useless.
Mama pan-fried the bitter gourd, okra and egg. As for the seasoning, she used some garlic powder, black pepper and a bit of salt.
The dish was quite simple, but it was delicious and healthy. I like bitter gourd though I didn't use to eat them as a kid. As for okra, I actually just started eating them recently when we started planting them in the garden. I didn't dislike it, I just didn't go my way to eat it. However, after harvesting some from our own garden, I find it a waste not to eat them.
It's kind of a perk because you get to eat healthier food if you have your own garden. :) I'm excited to harvest the other bitter gourds soon. ^^
That's it for this post. Thanks a lot for reading and don't forget to eat your veggies! (^^,)/