Figs

Let me show you the figs that are grown in Croatia, Europe. They look beautiful when opened. The inside flesh appears pinkish red.

The Common fig is a large, deciduous shrub or small tree native to southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region (from Afghanistan to Portugal). It grows to a height of 6.9–10 metres tall, with smooth grey bark. The leaves are 12–25 centimetres long and 10–18 centimetres across, and deeply lobed with three or five lobes. The fruit is 3–5 centimetres long, with a green skin, sometimes ripening towards purple or brown.

The Common Fig is well known for its edible fruit throughout in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern region, Iran, Pakistan, Greece and northern India, and also in other areas of the world with a similar climate, including Arkansas, Louisiana, California, Georgia, Oregon, Texas, South Carolina, and Washington in the United States, south-western British Columbia in Canada, Durango, Nuevo León and Coahuila in northeastern Mexico, as well as areas of Argentina, Australia, Chile, and South Africa.

Figs can also be found in continental climate with hot summer, as far north as Hungary and Moravia, and can be harvested up to four times per year. It has been an important food crop for thousands of years, and was also thought to be highly beneficial in the diet.

Figs can be eaten fresh or dried, and used in jam-making. Most commercial production is in dried or otherwise processed forms, since the ripe fruit does not transport well, and once picked does not keep well.

Figs are one of the highest plant sources of calcium and fiber. According to USDA data, dried figs are richest in fiber, copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium, calcium, and vitamin K, relative to human needs. They have smaller amounts of many other nutrients. Figs have a laxative effect and contain many antioxidants.

Although commonly referred to as a fruit, the fig as eaten is actually the a false fruit or multiple fruit of the tree in which the flowers and seeds are borne. Sometimes people incorrectly refer to it as the flower, but it is a hollow-ended stem containing many flowers, as one may see by splitting a fig open.

Cutting up a dragon fruit

Since the outer skin of a dragon fruit is quite soft, it is easy to cut it up in any way you like. The fruit can be cut longitudinally, or transversely or diagonally.

Here is an example of cutting a dragon fruit:
[1] Cut the top of the fruit first because this part is not edible.
[2] Bisect the fruit into two halves by cutting it longitudinally.
[3] Lastly, bisect these two pieces again longitudinally.

In this manner, the fruit is cut into 4 identical parts and they can be served for 1 to 4 people.

Dragon fruits can be chopped up into even smaller parts so that they can be served as one of the tasty, sweet and soft ingredients in a salad. The seeds are edible and at last they pass out from our intestines.

If one decides to eat it with a spoon, follow step [1] and [2] and shovel your spoon into the flesh and enjoy eating it.

Orange Colour

We do not know Elly’s favourite colour until July 18, 2011. We showed her a number of umbrellas in a drawer. She picked up an orange one without hesitation. We opened it for her. Since the umbrella is for an adult, it looked excessively big to Elly.

This little girl, almost two years old, possesses a powerful grip so it was easy for her to hold the umbrella upright and firmly with two hands.

Gomphrena globosa

I find this kind of small purplish-red clusters of flower bracts in our public garden below. They are called Gomphrena globosa (千日紅/百日紅/老來驕), commonly known as Globe Amaranth or Bachelor Button. It is an annual plant that grows up to 24 inches in height. The true species has magenta bracts (紫色苞葉). Tiny white flowers grow out of these bracts (see the photos here).

Its native is in Brazil, Panama and Guatemala.

In Trinidad the flowers are boiled to make a tea which is used for baby gripe, oliguria, cough and diabetes.

In Hawaii, it is commonly used in long-lasting leis since it retains its shape and color after drying.

This flower is used to make a garland for Brother's Day in Nepal. The garland is put around the brother's neck by their sister for Protection.

The Thousand Islands

The Thousand Islands is an archipelago of islands that spread across the Canada-U.S. border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about 50 miles (80 km) downstream from Kingston, Ontario. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario, the U.S. islands in the state of New York.

There are 1,793 islands in all, ranging in size from over 40 square miles (100 sq km) to smaller islands occupied by a single residence, to even smaller uninhabited outcroppings of rocks. The number of islands was determined using the criteria that any island must be above water level all year round, have an area greater than 1 square foot (0.093 sq m), and support at least one living tree.

The wall map in the top-left corner shows these islands, big and small. Some islands are so small that it only has enough space to build just one house on it, then a few feet from the house is already water. There are many such single houses on one island. Some islands are bigger. It is interesting to learn that some people have bought 2 islands and link them up with a bridge.

The name "Thousand Island dressing" comes from the Thousand Islands area. One common version of the dressing's origins says that a fishing guide's wife, Sophia LaLonde, made the condiment as part of her husband George's shore dinner while Actress May Irwin requested the recipe after enjoying it. Irwin in turn gave it to another Thousand Islands summer resident, George Boldt, who was building Boldt Castle in the area. Boldt, as proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, instructed the hotel's maître d'hôtel, Oscar Tschirky, to put the dressing on the menu.A 1959 National Geographic article states, "Thousand Island Dressing was developed by Boldt's chef."

香噴噴的港式麵包

滿地可的唐人街雖然比紐約和三藩市的細，但這裡香噴噴剛出爐的香港式麵包簡直是贏了後兩者的足足有一條街那麼遠。麵包獨特之處是質地很柔軟，形態優美，樣子十足十像香港茶餐廳伴喝奶茶的麵包。單看這裡的椰絲奶油包，白色軟綿綿的奶油好像快要從夾縫中湧出來，而幼細的椰絲像嫩草一樣鋪在麵包上面，非常之吸引人；黃圈作記認的忌廉麵包，樣子猶像飛鏢鈀，內部卻藏著美味的黃忌廉；至於這裡的甜餐包竟然鋪上白色的糖粉末，吃入口時，即時加添了甜蜜味道；未吃這些麵包之前，這等等的麵包已經令人垂涎三尺，吃下來時則勾起了以前的一絲絲回憶。

記得上次我的舊學生陳國光用他的車子載我和太太到三藩市市中心走一走，路過唐人街其中一條下斜街時，國光指著前面一間麵包店對我們說: 「這裡的蛋撻是不錯的。」於是夫妻二人跳下車子，鑽入麵包店買了兩個一美元的蛋撻。一嚼之下，在口中的蛋撻實在沒有帶給我任何驚喜。心想香港西餅店的蛋撻又便宜(當時論約港幣三元半至四元左右)、又美味。那時的心情是恨不得立即飛回香港吃一個美味的蛋撻呢。

Fruits of the month

To us, fruits are healthier food each day. Recently fruits we select are cheaper ones, mostly from South Africa.

[1] Cara Cara Outspan Oranges from South Africa – HK$8.8/3
Personally I love Cara Cara Oranges. Previously we eat those produced by Sunkist, California. Now we find those from Outspan. Both brands of Cara Cara oranges are tasty.

[2] Packhams pears (maybe they are from Australia) or pears from South Africa - usually below HK$10 for 4.

They are best eaten when ripe (the colour of pears changes from green to yellow).

Hints for storage:
Pears have a storage life of about 1 - 5 months.
Storage temperature should be 32° F (0°C), with a relative humidity of about 90 - 95%.
Pears mature in 3 to 5 days after removal from cold storage.
Once mature, they last a couple of days.

[3] New Zealand Royal Gala apples (recently Kiwi Crunch /Enza) - HK$8.8/3
The 'Enza's are softer than the 'Kiwi Crunch's. I perfer eating Kiwi Crunch.

[4] Dragon fruit (火龍果) from Vietnam – HK$8.8/4
Abby and Elly are crazy at eating this kind of fruit.

[5] Grapefruit from Outspan, South Africa - HK$9.9/3
With the skin on when eaten, the grape fruit appears a little bitter.

In terms of size, dragon fruit > grapefruit > Cara Cara orange >pear > NZ Gala apple.

In Red-hot T-shirts

Auntie Betty and Uncle law buy Abby and Elly two T-shirts in “Red-hot” colours.

The small T-shirt fits Abby perfectly well and funny enough, Elly accepts the larger which immediately becomes a skirt for Elly.

The cartoon figure on Abby’s T-shirt is Arale Norimaki (小雲) while that on Elly’s is Minnie Mouse (米妮). The two cartoon figures fits Abby's and Elly 's ages.

The Garfield Show

Recently, I enjoy watching the Garfield Show (大食懶加菲貓 ) on TV. The cartoons are in delightful colours and the scenes are three-dimensional.

Long before this, we only see Garfield in comic books. Later on, it appears in films and now on TV. The Garfield Show is an international animated television series which was first shown in France as early as 2008, and in the U.S. and U.K. in 2009. Garfield was created by Jim Davis.

The main characters of the show are Garfield (加菲貓 ), Odie (阿的) and Jon Arbuckle (阿北).

Garfield is an orange, fuzzy, tabby cat. He enjoys eating, especially lasagna, and sleeping, which makes him lazy. He is teased about being overweight, He is also selfish. He is best friends with Odie, but torments him occasionally, along with Jon. He hates Mondays, and is often struck by bad luck in Monday comic strips. He enjoys performing at the wooden fence next to Jon's house in the middle of the night, although he is usually criticized. He can't stand spiders, and although he doesn't chase mice, he is often seen trying to eat birds (usually without success). He frequently destroys Jon's curtains and ferns, as well as the flowerbeds of Jon and their neighbor, Mrs. Feeny.

Odie is a yellow, long-eared beagle with a large, slobbering tongue, who walks on all four legs, though occasionally he will walk on two like Garfield. Jon adopted him from his friend, Lyman. Odie is naïve, happy, affectionate and blissfully unaware of Garfield's cynical, sadistic nature. Garfield abuses him, including regularly kicking him off the kitchen table or tricking him into going over the edge himself.

Jon Arbuckle, nerdy and clumsy, is the owner of Garfield and Odie. Jon loves or occasionally hates Garfield and all cats. Many gags focus on this; his inability to get a date is usually due to his lack of social skills and his poor taste in clothes. His eccentric interests range from stamp collecting to measuring the growth of his toenails to watching movies with "polka ninjas". Jon lacks of intelligence. He occasionally visits his parents, brother and grandmother at their farm.

Another interesting character I saw yesterday is Jon’s grandma, the very fat lady dressed in pink with glasses on in one of the photos here.

果實的紅綠燈

屋苑裏的花園的石榴樹 (pomegranate)最近頻頻長出果實。我很容易忽略了綠色未熟的石榴，因為它們經常隱蔽在綠葉之中。黃的石榴的出現正好像告訴我它們開始成熟。紅色的石榴自然是熟透了的果實，這種顏色是吸引雀兒幫助它們播種、傳宗接代。

Self Portrait (2)

This time two 4 year-old Canadian boys, Alexis and Benjamin (twins, I suppose) at Quebec are drawing themselves behind a transparent glass board.

In the picture, they are playing some sports games such as skiing, parachuting and somersaulting. They are energetic, full of spirits and cheerful. They love to play outdoor games all day long.

To see clearly, please double-click the collage photo.

Self Portrait (1)

It is really interesting to ask a five year-old Turkish girl like Irem to make a self portrait. She is standing behind a transparent glass, drawing herself with a marker pen. She begins to draw a circle which is her face, next add her eyes, mouth, lips and nose. Then she draws her hair, colours it black and goes on drawing a flower and finally a flying bee.

With a little of moving effects, the “girl” is waving the flower to attract a bee to come near her.

In my opinion, this little girl is very clever and systematic in thinking. She begins to draw her face first, next the details on it. The picture shows that she is not alone. She loves nature, so she includes a flower and an insect. Naturally she brings out her daily experiences and can possibly tell everybody a story when asked.

Miss MOS

Abby and Elly were crowned Miss MOS yesterday. Their grandma first made a crown for Elly from loose plastics pieces which could lock together by bolts and nuts. One crown was not enough for two girls, so Mother Connie made another one.

As I am always the reporter, I took some photos to record this historic moment of the birth of two Miss MOS. Immediately the two “Miss” went to see how they looked in a mirror. Elly, especially, smiled broadly and enjoyed the moment of her victory.

A Full-stop to flights of space shuttles

July 21, 2011 marks the end of flights of space shuttles in U.S. The space shuttle, Atlantis, completed the last mission, the 135th one and landed safely at Kennedy Space Center in Florida early in the morning.

The space shuttles were, for 30 years, reusable orbital spacecraft operated by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for human spaceflight missions from 1981 to 2011.

The major missions of space shuttles included launching numerous satellites and interplanetary probes, conducting space science experiments, and servicing and construction of space stations.

From history, six airworthy orbiters were built; the first, Enterprise, was not built for orbital space flight, and was used only for testing gliding and landing, followed by Columbia , Challenger , Discovery, Atlantis , and Endeavour. Enterprise was originally intended to be made fully space-worthy after use for the approach and landing test (ALT) program, but it was found more economical to upgrade the structural test article STA-099 into orbiter Challenger. Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after launch in 1986, and Endeavour was built as a replacement for Challenger from structural spare components. Columbia broke apart during re-entry in 2003. Two space shuttles were lost. Only three remain and now they retire.

The 4 photos in the right-hand column show the landing of Atlantis at Florida in its last flight.

June Harvest

This June is Harvest time to my old friend, Daisy Mak, at her home-yard in Texas.

Daisy said, “I practice organic farming. The vegetables I planted are tasty! I grow tomatoes (4 types, big and small), chili pepper (4 types, some long, some round, some hot, some not hot) and okra (it is not a cucumber, it is also called lady's fingers; commonly used by Thai and Pakistani; we can get it in some wet markets in HK; my mother never uses them; I use it for stir-fry or to put in Thai curry; it tastes a bit like 絲 瓜 but smaller and more tender). I also grow herbs (basil, rosemary, sage, green onion and chive).”

“I also attached the 9.5 inches diameter hibiscus photo. Last year I got 12 inches diameter hibiscus. This year I got only 9.5-inch ones because I didn't fertilize the flower bed.

The butterfly shown is Called Eastern Tiger Swallowtail,” Daisy added.

Before landing on John F. Kennedy International Airport

The right-hand top photo is an aerial one showing the Jamaica Bay (Gateway National Recreation Area) taken on a plane before it lands on John F. Kennedy International Airport. The flat piece of land at the top of the photo is JFK Int'l Airport. The straight white strip is one of the runways. The other runway is shorter and vertical the white one. They together look like a sword placed on the ground.

On a page of an atlas (1988 edition), the Jamaica Bay was full of islands (see the bottom right photo) in its centre.

The satellite photo of part of Jamaica Bay in the top-left corner indicates that the coastline, the heart-shaped island and the linkage road to a big island match with those features in the aerial photo on its right.

Jamaica Bay is in the south-east of New York City Proper. It is a wildlife refuge where birds find it a paradise. Well, I wonder if these birds will interfere and disturb the flights of planes to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

A Photo worth to be treasured

To me, this photo of Night-view of Hong Kong should be treasured because it was well taken by Tony who flied back to Hong Kong from San Francisco in March this year.

Tony did not know right away that it was Hong Kong Island at the front. He knew that the plane was going to land. Since he saw a bright piece of land lit by thousands of lights, he took a photo of two of such views.

This photo covered a lot of districts of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula, New Kowloon, N.T.and even Shatin can be seen in the background.

I have labelled some of the districts for reference: To see clearly, please double-click the photo.

On Hong Kong Island:
[1]WF : Wah Fu
[2] AP : Ap Lei Chau
[3] AB : Aberdeen
[4] WCH : Wong Chuk Hang
[5] SW : Sheung Wan
[6] C : Central
[7] WC : Wanchai
[8] CB : Causeway Bay
[9] HV : Happy Valley
[10] NP : North Point
[11] VP : Victoria Peak

Kowloon, New Kowloon and the New Territories:

[12] KC : Kwai Chung
[13] SSP : Shum Shui Po
[14] MK : Mong Kok
[15] TST : Tsim Sha Tsui
[16] HH : Hung Hom
[17] SPK : San Po Kong
[18] KB : Kowloon Bay
[19] LR : Lion Rock
[20] ST : Shatin

The most important feature is the strip of water that separate Hong Kong Island from Kowloon Peninsula. It is our Victoria Harbour.

When I say this photo is worth treasured, it means that a photo of this kind cannot be easily taken. Time, height and route of flight, location and weather are important factors of a successful photo.

Grandma’s socks

Elly likes looking at this pair of grandma’s socks because the latter looks funny when grandma moves her toes.

Today we let Elly wear them on her feet and legs. Once they were on Elly’s legs, they looked long. I could not imagine that Elly would make a few poses automatically when I took a few photos of her wearing the socks.

The Sea Organ at Zadar

We can enjoy the otherworldly sounds of the Sea Organ on Zadar's Riva. This man-made organ works with the motion of the waves and 35 pipes to create a musical soundscape. The purpose of building this sea organ is to attract more boats to anchor and tourists to come. It is a favourite for locals and tourists alike. At night time, there is a light display that creates visualisations of the sounds being produced by the organ. The source of electricity comes from solar energy stored in the daytime.

Zadar (扎達爾) is a city in Croatia (克羅地亞) on the Adriatic Sea (阿得里亞海). It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Zadar faces the islands of Ugljan and Pašman, from which it is separated by the narrow Zadar Strait. The promontory (headland) on which the old city stands used to be separated from the mainland by a deep moat which has since become a landfill. The harbor, to the north-east of the town, is safe and spacious. The population of Zadar is 75,082 citizens in 2011.

Santorini

The paintings hanging on the walls outside a gallery in Greece reminded these two Korean young men of their visit to an outlying island, Santorini. Santorini is easy to be recognized because most of the houses are whitewashed and their domes are in outstandingly blue or brownish red. There are windmills among these houses.

Santorini is an island located in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km southeast from Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago. It forms the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands, with an area of approximately 73 square km. Its population reaches thirteen thousands.

Santorini is what remains after an enormous volcanic explosion that destroyed the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island, and created the current geological caldera. A giant central lagoon, more or less rectangular, and measuring about 12 km by 7 km, is surrounded by 300 m high steep cliffs on three sides. The main island slopes downward from the cliffs to the surrounding Aegean Sea. On the fourth side, the lagoon is separated from the sea by another much smaller island called Therasia; the lagoon is opened to the sea in the northwest and southwest. The water in the centre of the lagoon is nearly 400 m deep, thus making it a safe harbour for all kinds of ships. The island's harbours all lie in the lagoon and there are no ports on the outer perimeter of the island; the capital, Fira, clings to the top of the cliff looking down on the lagoon.