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