Celebrating Chinese New Year 2013

Courtesy: Picasa Web/ Cindy Woo 

Chinese New Year is just around the corner!  In 2013, the first day of Chinese New Year, according to the Lunar calendar, will fall on February 10th.  Chinese New Year festivities don't just end in a day, it is celebrated over a period of around 15 days and during this period, it is typical for families and friends to visit one another at their homes, or to meet for a Chinese feast at a restaurant.

So, what is the Chinese New Year animal for 2013?
This will be the Year of the Snake.  There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, and each year is represented by one of these animals.  Other animals include the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

Drying herbs for the winter...

During the coldest of the winter days, when I cannot bear the thought of venturing outside, then one task to get on with is to organise and store all the herbs that were earlier harvested.

I usually harvest herbs like Sage, Thyme, Marjoram (Oregano) just before the winter season begins and  well and truly before the frost kicks in.  During the winter months, our sage and thyme plants are just not as productive anymore and the marjoram is completely barren, so I salvage whatever I can before this happens.

Bay leaves are not so much of a problem, as we have an enormous Bay Tree which ensures a healthy supply of fresh Bay leaves all through the winter.  Nevertheless, it never hurts to have a few dried ones around the kitchen, as their flavour seems to intensify and they smell divine!

To dry out the herbs, the stalks and leaves are simply hung up to dry for a few weeks.  When they are completely dried out, you can then place them into some airtight containers for use during the winter months.

Winter Snow ....

It has been snowing this last week, and we are expecting even colder days ahead. Our garden is now covered in a layer of snow.  We have laid down sheets of fleece to protect our vegetables from the snow, but even then, I am not sure how many will survive as it is going to be between -4 and -8 degrees Celsius this weekend.

Brrr ....

Growing Rubi Pak Choi with purple leaves!

Over the last few months, we have had two varieties of Pak Choi (Pak Choy, Bok Choy) growing in our vegetable patch.  The first is the magnificent looking  Rubi (F1) Pak Choi which has lovely deep purple leaves and pale green stems, and the other is a white stemmed, green leaved Dwarf Bok Choy .

Growing
This year, I decided to grow Rubi Pak Choi during the cooler months.  The seeds were sowed in the late Summer in the UK (September), and then planted out shortly after.

Have you ever seen a purple Pak Choi ...?

Rubi Pak Choi

So, having lived in Asia for many years, I thought that I had seen all the Pak Choi (Bok Choy, Pak Choy) that the world had to offer, until I arrived in the UK, and stumbled across a seed packet with a vegetable resembling a Pak Choi on it, only it had purple coloured leaves.  This really baffled me, since I had never come across a purple Pak Choi before.  It felt a bit like the time I tried to explain to my nephew James who lives in Hong Kong (then twelve), that I had seen someone growing a purple carrot in the UK, to which he snorted in disbelief and asked me if I was sure it wasn't just a rotten one.

Anyhow, to all the people around the world who have grown up eating Pak Choi, whether green or white stemmed, there is now also a purple leaf variety that is a hybrid called Rubi (F1) Pak Choi.  The catch is that you will have to grow it yourself, to be able to taste it, as it is not going to be available at your local supermarket any time soon.

You might also be interested in the full post on Growing Rubi Pak Choi.