Polly's Dragon Fruits Plant Adventure - 2020

8/26/20 - Update on Dragon Fruit plants.

 

New third Bud one week ago.

The new third bud 8/25/20

The first bud fruiting.

The second bud dying.

 

The third bud 8/26/20

Two weeks and a half ago, the bud I thought would take another day or two to open obviously sneakily bloomed over night. 

By 8 am, when I found it, it was already wilting.  What a Miss!

It must have been gloriously beautiful.  As beautiful as the Moon Cereus

I am just amazed with the sheer size of the stem of the flower to the blossom.

Didn't have any other dragon fruit flower to pollinate with, except mini sun flower.

It's overall 14" long

Wilting flower is about 3-1/2 inches wide.  I imagine it would have been at least 7 to 8 inches in full bloom.

By late afternoon, it wilted.

Will it turn into a Dragon Fruit?  Just wait and see.

I found two other flower buds.  Exciting to wait and see how they will bloom.

(Previous blog:) 

The first time I tried to grow the dragon fruits plant at home was back in 2011.  Hopelessly, the plant died because I over watered it.  https://rockdavinci.blogspot.com/2011/10/saving-dragon-fruits-plant.html  Then, in 2015, I sprouted some seeds from the dragon fruits I purchased from the Asian market in 2014.  I saved the seeds from the dragon fruits I ate.  https://rockdavinci.blogspot.com/2015/11/germinating-dragonfruits-seeds.html    It worked.  It's been an adventure.  Babying it for the last few years during the winter and hot Sacramento summer. Even built a hot house out of large canine cage.  Covering it with plastic blanket and Christmas lights in the winter and shade during the summer.   Last year, I caught a single blossom, but I was too late.  It was dried up and it did not fruit.  This year, I found another single bud.  I think it is a good position to blossom fully all the way.  All the how to grow dragon fruit video on the YouTube seems to be so groomed, but I tried so many times to keep just a few stalk and grow them tall and down the loop at the top, but mine just like to grow wild.  I trimmed it many times but I guess I just don't have the knack for the farming.  Nevertheless, it is exciting.  Let's see what it will do.

2019:

2020:

2020-7-30  Discovered Single Bud It's early days back in 2015 through 2018:

 

                

Sprouted seeds were planted into soil and kept indoor for a year or  two.

 

After it got a foot long or so growing indoor, it needed a lot of protection to get used to the Sacramento hot summer.

 After it got a foot long or so growing indoor, it needed a lot of protection to get used to the Sacramento hot summer. It thrived outdoor, but the Sacramento summer sun is too hot for them during noon to 5 pm.  They needed a cover for shade to keep from getting sun burn.
Time to build a hot house as a solution.  Beside Dragon Fruits, I managed to grow Cherimoya tree from the seeds from the fruits I bought from the Asian market.

  

During the winter, the Christmas lights kept them warm.  Shower Curtains wrapped the cage to keep from frost.

Have fun in your adventure.

Polly's Cabbage Rolls

 I love to watch movies and TV shows with some cooking tips and the Japanese TV series "Midnight Diner" is one of the show that inspires me to try something I haven't tried for a long time or something new.  I also like to discover the techniques that make the cooking more refined.  I normally bake my Cabbage Rolls, but this one is stewed.  The recipe on the TV didn't have rice in it and I should have just followed it, but I added basmatic rice.  I figure since they are going to be stewed, the liquid would cook the rice along.  I think it turned out quite tasty.  The technique I discovered is to make the rolling of cabbage easier when filled is to gently pound the stems of the boiled cabbage leaf flat before wrapping. Buy the largest Cabbage you want.  Core the Cabbage.  Gently open up each leaves.  Of course, if you are very patient, after coring the cabbage, you could dunk it in ice cold water to help opening it up.  Wash the cabbage leaves.

Blanch the leaves untilquite tender.

Do not throw away the cabbage liquid.  Transfer to ice water.

Take a leaf and pat the stem area down with wooden spoon or anything that will do the work.

Make your filling.

Add your spices.

Save half of the cabbage liquid.  Add 2 cans of chopped Tomatoes, a can of sauce.

Have some toothpicks ready to hold the roll closed.

Keep al the cabbage rolls down in the liquid.  Place a heavy heat proof plate in.  Cook long enough to make sure that rice is cooked.

Remove toothpicks before serving.

Serve with Parmesan.

Serve with Cheddar cheese - microwave it for 20 sec.