Rachel Writes

We just love these edamame (immature soy beans). Boil for 10 minutes. A little salt. So tasty! And they're fun to pop too. Thanks, J, for letting us have the only container of them at the store yesterday. The first time I bought these myself I didn't know you were supposed to boil them. I ate them raw! My friend asked, "How were they?" "A little tough. Not like the time I ate them at your house," I replied. As the words were leaving my mouth, I thought, maybe I should have boiled them. "Did you boil them?" she asked. "Oh. No." I said. Silly me.

It's lovely how the flowers grow! I'm reading Noli Me Tangere  a significant historical novel. In the novel, the main character has just returned to Manila from Europe and briefly comments on the how the botanical garden in Manila made him sad-- not as well tended (or as grand?) as European gardens, a place where it is so much harder to grow some flowers. It causes him to wonder why the Philippines seems to have less prosperity when they are so rich in resources. Good question to ponder. But for me, the flowers here are breath-takingly different. Here is a glimpse of the Baguio botanical gardens (and of course our kids). AND A PINK PONY!!! Whit in a hut on stilts