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How to grow and harvest asparagus pea

How to grow and harvest asparagus pea

This is a blog post on how to grow and harvest asparagus pea. Asparagus pea is a common pea that grows well in South East Asia. It is also known as wing-pea as the shop of the pod looks like one. It is possible to grow it in a climate like the UK during the spring and summer seasons. Homegrown ones tend to be much smaller in size compared to shop-bought ones. However, the freshness makes up for…

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Growing and harvesting Dyers Chamomile

Growing and harvesting Dyers Chamomile

This blog post is on growing and harvesting Dyers Chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria). Dyers Chamomile is a weak perennial plant. Weak perennial means that the plant may or may not survive and come back next year. It’s from a family of daisy so the flowers look a bit like a daisy. I am growing dyers Chamomile not for food but for fabric dyeing. It is long-lasting when to use with mordants. Here is…

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Growing and Harvesting Weld (Dyer's rocket)

Growing and Harvesting Weld (Dyer’s rocket)

This is a blog post on growing and harvesting weld. Weld is also known as Reseda Luteola or dyer’s rocket is an old ancient dye plant that produces a yellow color. Ancient as in early 1st century BC. It can range from dull to yellow-green. It is a biennial plant which means it’s has a two-year life span like woad. Here is a link on how to grow woad. To be honest I discovered a few matured…

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Growing and harvesting Turmeric

Growing and harvesting Turmeric

This blog post is on growing and harvesting turmeric at home. It is a tuber commonly use as a spice ingredient in Asian curries and cooking. Easily grown in warm tropical climate but some challenge to grow in temperate climate like the UK. The tuber is edible from leaves to its roots. Many cooks grow turmeric for its leaves as it is impossible to find it in Asian grocers here in the UK. It’s is…

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Growing and harvesting Cabbage

Growing and harvesting Cabbage

This is a blog post on growing and harvesting cabbage at home. Cabbage is a common staple diet here in the UK. A lot of British recipes have got cabbage as an ingredient. There are many varieties of cabbage to grow and also different color ones. When I first started growing my own food it was never my intention to grow everyday staples. simply because I have limited space in my garden so I tend…

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Fabric dyeing with African marigold

Fabric dyeing with African marigold

This blog post is about fabric dyeing with African marigold. Marigold has been known to produce strong colors when dyed with fabric. Marigold also known as Tagetes are grown annually or perennial. Especially when fresh flowers are used to extract colors. Dried flowers also do work in my opinion the colors aren’t as easy to extract as fresh flowers. As they are in dried form one needs to soak and…

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How to obtain green dye out of Japanese indigo

How to obtain green dye out of Japanese indigo

This is a blog post on how to obtain green dye out of Japanese indigo. Japanese indigo is also known as Pestacaria Tinctoria commonly grown in temperate climates like the UK, northern US, and Japan. I have been growing it in my garden this summer. It is an easy to grow dye plant. Here are some tips on growing and harvesting Japanese indigo. Typically what most natural dyers do is soak these…

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Peach gum with longan and goji berry

Peach gum with longan and goji berry

This is a blog post on cooking peach gum with longan and goji berry. Peach gum is also known as peach resin, peach blossom is solidified resin from peach trees and Chinese wild peach trees. In Chinese, it is called as Tao jiao. As it is full of natural collagen that gives a nice young and beautiful-looking skin. Also, it is good for other medicinal purposes but it is mainly as give a nice…

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Kuih Loyang (Rose/ Honeycomb cookies)

Kuih Loyang (Rose/ Honeycomb cookies)

This is a blog post on making Kuih Loyang (Rose/ Honeycomb/ Beehive cookies). I made this for Chinese New Year last year as the UK was on lockdown. It is something to do at home. It is also not cheap to buy them in shops or online during the busy festive season. Kuih Loyang like Kuih Kapit has Dutch origins, it is celebrated and similar in a few countries. It is almost the same as the Indian…

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Growing and Harvesting Staghorn Sumac

Growing and Harvesting Staghorn Sumac

This is a blog post on growing and harvesting Staghorn Sumac. Staghorn Sumac is the spice plant the same Sumac. I am just growing this spice tree for its leaves as it is full of tannin. Which simply means good for fabric printing. The design of leaves makes a good imprint on the fabric as well. Here is one of my old blog posts on how fabric prints using Logwood. There are a few different types…

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Growing and Harvesting Cotinus

Growing and Harvesting Cotinus

This is a blog post on growing and harvesting Cotinus. Cotinus coggygria is also known as red smoke or smoke tree. It is a shrub that grown for shade. I grew it so that I have an ample and constant supply for fabric printing. It is different from other leaves as particularly cotinus can produce natural blue colours when printed. This bush can grow quite tall but it takes to grow. Here is more…

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Eco fabric printing with dyers chamomile

Eco fabric printing with dyers chamomile

This is a blog post on eco fabric printing with dyers chamomile. Eco printing also known as natural printing as it says uses natural dyes and naturally available items. They are like flowers and leaves that are chosen to produce patterns. As a result, they produce one-off patterns and look completely organic. This technique has gain popularity in recent years. There is now a big trend in using…

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How to choose leaves for natural fabric printing

How to choose leaves for natural fabric printing

This blog post is on how to choose leaves for natural fabric printing. I have previously written about fabric printing. In the beginning, there were some with great success and not so with some. Along the way, I found that leaves that make the patterns on natural printing play an important role in the process. It is not an easy choice as it can be limited due to the resources available. For a…

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Nian gao quick and easy method

Nian gao quick and easy method

This is a blog about how to make Nian gao quick and easy method at home. It simply means New year cake in Chinese. It is normally served during Chinese New Year. Also itt is eaten all over most Chinese communities and not just a regional dish. Once someone said Chinese New Year must-have it. Traditionally it is made from white sugar, water, and glutinous rice. The glutinous rice is soaked…

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How to print fabric using Cotinus leaves

How to print fabric using Cotinus leaves

This is a blog post on how to print fabric using Cotinus leaves. It is also known as a smoke tree as the matured plant produces fluffy grey smoke-like clouds that resemble smoke. The long name is called Cotinus coggygria (red beauty). There are a few varieties of Cotinus from what I understand not all produce blue easily. Cotinus is a shrub that produces red or green leaves in the eco printers…

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How to make soybean pudding (tau foo fah)

How to make soybean pudding (tau foo fah)

This is a blog post on how to make soybean pudding (tau foo fah) at home. It is also known as doufu hua ( 豆腐花) (tau foo fah) pudding. A classic ancient Chinese pudding. It is a bit like an Asian equivalent of the Italian panna cotta. Except that it is soy rather than dairy. So good news for vegans. When serving cold it is a great refreshing snack on a hot day. Also, it also serves warm. I grew…

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Fabric dyeing with mangosteen

Fabric dyeing with mangosteen

This is a blog post on fabric dyeing with mangosteen. What exactly is mangosteen? Mangosteen is an exotic tropical fruit that is only can be grown in the tropics. Here is more information on mangosteen. There isn’t much on the internet written about it for the use of fabric dyeing. I only discover its properties only after eating it a few times. The fruit is available to buy online from Asian…