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Flowering Chives: A Beauty In My Backyard

Some years back, I randomly planted a bunch of chives in a large earthen planter that sits outside in my backyard patio.  The planter contained another hardy plant, which turned out to be not-so-hardy after all because it unfortunely died on us.  (Yes, I do have many stories like this!) But these chives have thrived over the years.  Thrived on next-to-nothing in terms of attention and care, that is!  Because, come winter, most every green thing dies, and these delicate herbs are no exception, of course.  The planter is left out for the length of the winter months– in the snow, rain, sleet, and ice.   

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But come Spring, each year, these chives begin to sprout.  Slowly at first, and then very boldly and defiantly they come up until they begin to flower.  The blooms are the most lovely lavendar colored ones and they make a very pretty sight!  Also, the seeds from these blooms must have flown and fallen to the side just outside the patio wall because we’ve discovered a nice big bunch of the same chives making a lovely picture over there.  It is the exact spot where my plum tree used to be, so this is certainly a nice spot for them to have planted themselves!

As you can see from these pictures, this is yet another “show” that goes on… 

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Chives

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Some kinda crazy daisy!

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Gobi and Band-Gobi: An Open and Closed Case

The Hindi word for Cauliflower and Cabbage sound very much alike.  While the former is called Gobi, the latter is called Band-Gobi.  Band, meaning closed, as in, the florets of the cauliflower are not out in the open, they’re closed.  Get it?  Well, it is what it is, and in the great northern plains of India, these are two vegetables are made very frequently in any number of ways.  They’re staples, if you will, and there are as many themes as there are variations to the subzis that may be made with them.

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And in my house, I make them any which way I please as well.  I’ll mix and match and season as I go.  Come on, what did you expect– it’s cauliflower, for crying out loud!  I don’t need one set recipe for it!  And as for the cabbage or band-gobi, here’s another thing I do all the time:  I buy pre-shredded cabbage cut up for Coleslaw, a very American side-dish.  But of course, I have no intention of making coleslaw, I open up the bag and stirfry the lot– which is mainly green cabbage, but there’s also some red cabbage and a little carrot in the mix too.

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And as for my cauliflower or gobi, I stirfried this one up with some baby carrots and some peas.  All other standard seasonings in place, of course, which if you’re wondering are:  cumin, green chillies, red onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric,and salt.

So, here’s to these two Gobis today.  Open and Closed.  Very different the both of them, and very versatile too.  Serve with Rotis and Rice.