Last Monday we visited the parents of a friend in Chiba prefecture. They have a huge garden where they spent their leisure time and grow many flowers, vegetables and fruits. It’s always an adventure for me to visit them. The garden is huge, you might almost call it a farm. It looks kind of wild and overgrown but it’s very well looked after. Usually, after we arrive, we put on garden shoes, large hats and gloves and venture out to harvest our lunch. The mother then prepares the fresh produce. Normally, most of the plants, I have never eaten before and of some of them I have never heard before. But all is just always super yummy. Below some impressions.
Some plant of which we harvested the young shoots 
Harvested shoots 
Sesame 
Some plant of which we picked the young leaves and tips 
Picked leaves 
Fresh mild peppers 
Digging out a burdock root 
Trying to pull the burdock root 
Pulled burdock root 
Pulling the shiso (perilla) seeds from the risps 
Harvested shiso seeds with some leaves 
Ripped out peanut plant 
Fresh peanuts 
Harvest ready to be prepared on the fire 
“Kitchen” 
Okaa-san heating up the oil for the tempura 
Protected against mosquitos :-) 
Having a yummy lunch with fried fish, boiled peanuts, udon noodles pickled cucumber and fresh tempura from the harvested leaves, shoots and vegetables 
Enjoying our lunch 
Second round of harvesting 
Some intensive smelling plant 
Leaves of yam variety 
Yam variety of which you eat the stem instead of the root 
Freshly picked flowers 
Otou-san (the father) 
Okaa-san (the mother) 
Preparing to go back home 
Back at home, richly showered with fresh delicacies
Esther goes East 