Dan-san’s Nursery and Porch Garden 5

While Kibochan was here, she gave lots of water to the cucumber plant at Hiroko’s porch garden all the time. Saying cucumber plants want water again, she gave lots of water. Kibochan has gone home now, so Hiroko have to give water three times a day to those plants. Those cucumber plants may not produce any more, because the cucumber are funny shaped.


Can you see funny shaped cucumber? The beginning of the season, the funny shaped cucumbers were produced, so at the end of the season it would be the same.

The cucumber plants also looks like getting old.
Elsa asked how many times can we eat these fresh and tasty cucumbers ant tomatoes. It is a question! Four or five times! Last year, because of the weather and the rats, there were hardly any harvest of tomatoes and cucumbers. The beginning of the season this year, the weather was very hot and humid, and lots of rain, but there were not enough tomatoes and cucumbers compared to 4 or 5 years ago. There is no tomato to freeze for saving for the winter season. Cuchan cucumber made once from Dan-san’s nursery.

For the Friday’s dinner menu will be fish. With the fish cake, the sautéed vegetable and fried tofu will be served. Used the recipe from Kit’s blog “Trading Yokes (http://www.tradingyokes.com/)

Ingredients for the sautéed vegetable:

Shishito from the porch garden, green beans from the neighbor’s green beans vine came over to Dan-san’s nursery (Dan-san said it was stealing,) carrots, celery, and green onion from the land-lord’s nursery; sautéed those vegetable with salt and pepper, and just before serving, pour the sauce mixed with sesame seed oil, oyster sauce and shoyu over the vegetable. Putting the oyster sauce over the fire, it becomes bitter.

About green onion, Sayo-san, the wife of Land-Lord, planted the roots of the green onion bought from the grocery, have grown a good size green onion.

Green onion and shiso: Comparing with green onion and hashi (chop-stick), isn’t it long?

Chop shiso and the top of the soft part of green onion, and mix them with shaved bonito, shoyu, and shichimi (hot pepper), to use this mixture as condiment sauce for the cold tofu.


Cucumbers and tomatoes from Dan-san’s nursery
It is strange that Dan-san harvested the small and young cucumber. He said he has to fight with the squirrels, because the squirrels has been eating his tomatoes, but now the squirrels have started eating young cucumbers, so before squirrels eat he has to harvest.


Hiroko’s dinner plate: This is good customs in the United States. One plate holds all the different foods for the dinner. In beginning in the American life, this one plate dinner made Hiroko funny feeling and didn’t want to mix the seasoning, but right now Hiroko can enjoy this one plate dinner. Especially, Dan-san and Elsa has been washing the dishes after the dinner, so it is better for them to wash fewer dishes.