One of the things I love about growing turmeric in Brisbane is that for several months of the year it hides away. The only sign it's there is when you dig underground and find the orange root which looks a bit like ginger or galangal and is excellent grated on just about anything. Then, in spring, tiny green spears poke through the soil for what seems like only a moment before they shoot upwards and unfurl these huge thick leaves. After a season or two you start getting the flowers which, as you can see, are really beautiful. But the BEST thing for me is that they seem to thrive with no attention whatsoever. My kind of plant.
My favourite recipe using turmeric at the moment is Parsi Scrambled Eggs. It's the breakfast of champions. Use the powder in the cooking and then grate the root over the top. Delicious!
P.S. Australians born in Australia tend to pronounce this plant/spice without the 'r' and with the 'tu' and in Tuesday. ie ' Tu-meric'. We all know that this is wrong and that the correct pronunciation is with the 'r' and the 'tur' as in 'turban': Turmeric. Feel free to argue with me but I know I am right.
Anyway to make the title work I've adopted the Aussie pronunciation.
7 comments:
I have never seen turmeric growing before....I always thought it came in a jar! It must taste lovely being so fresh.
Is that what it looks like, its really pretty. I agree re the pronunciation. I wouldprobably have spelled it without the "r" as well, ooops.
Cara, if you want to play self sufficiency a bit more, you can always freeze slices of turmeric root for later- or dry thin slices in the sun, can take weeks on the window sill but you don't have to do anything so the time doesn't matter! then grind them up in a spice or coffee grinder - don't think a food processor would work - and lo! you have lovely organic turmeric powder.
(Your coffee may taste interesting for a while too hehe.)
Cara, gorgeous photo, gorgeous flower. You posted a flower a year or two ago too which I saved. I can't decide which one is prettier! I wonder if these can be grown in a pot? I don't have a garden, only a balcony... But I do like the minimum care they can take.
That was sort of a trivia. I wish I could have something like that in my house. :D
Puerto Azul |
top tourist destination in the Philippines
Mrs Santa you are full of good ideas I might give that one a try although I might leave the coffee grinder to the coffee. I have an old pepper mill - maybe I could use that?
Joanna, I am flattered you remember (and saved) that photo. Thanks! I'm not sure what your climate is like but I think it would grow in a pot, given it's not too cold. If you can buy a piece of turmeric root from an organic grocer, just poke a couple of inches down and see what happens - that's all I did.
Cara, thanks for the advice. I live in Chicago and it does get cold here. I might have to rethink this unless I treat it just as an annual plant, or bring it inside for winter. Hmmm...
I had never seen a turmeric flower before and was very entranced by it so I saved it. This new one too.
Post a Comment