Come Into My Garden, Growing Cucumbers

Title

Language

English

Year

1936

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

Ma,11. Jtl.'16 THE YOUNG CITIZEN 123 Come Into My Garden Growing Cucumbers In my garden this month. I am growing cucumbers. Cucumbers are good for salads. They arc cool and juicy. They go very well with rich food-; like adobo. or with fried fish or meat. When yo11 eat a slice of cucumber during mealtime, you feel as though you have drunk cool water. But cucumber is not as filling as water and will help your appetite instead of lessening it. Cucumbers ar~ best grown beginni_ng the month of May. To get good fruits., the soil must be rii:h and well-drained. Place four to six seeds in holes one to two inches: deep. The distance between each hole should be about a meter or more. When the seeds have grown to plants, thin each hole, leaving only about two or three planls per hill. If you wish. you can ask your mother to mak! pickles of the small cucumber. which first appear on the plants. Pick them early. before they ripen. They taste very well whcfi pickled in sweet or sour sauce. Other fruits may be allowed fo grow big on the plants. These will later become good materials for salads. When the skin of the fruit becomes white and smooth, it can be picked from the plant. The kinds of cucumbers which grow well in our country are the Native White. Native Light Green. and the Indian. The seeds of these varieties may be bought from seed stores and from lhe Bureau of Plant Industry. Have you ever cooked small, n.u:v.: bibingka' If you have, thc.n you know Qow enjoyable is the gaffie of cooking them. If you have not. chen it is time you learned to cook them. Gather a few of your friends and contribute for the _ingredients. the utensils, and the work that will be needed for this intzrcsting game. One of you should contribute th'? fuel. another should contribute the stoves. and so forth. In this game, you will need an earthen pan. very much like the ones that professional vendors of hi· . bingha use. Then. of course, you will need a tin lid which will cover the pan c;ompletdy. Have pieces of banana leaves cut round to fit the pan. Also have coconut husks for fuel. as well as coll and wood. A small stove stood on the ground will serve you very well in this game. . In cooking th~ bibingha that I shall describe to you. you will n:?ed bread that is a day or two old. The ordinary pan dt• sal that were left over from the other day's breakfast will do. Cut the bread into small pieces and soak the pieces in a little water. Whl?n the bread has softened, mix a cup of milk to a half cup of sugar. Add a beaten egg if you wish. Mix all these things togethe~ and stir for a while. Prepare your stove. Build a good fire. Then put the earthen pan over the stove. Place a round· ed piece of banana leaf in the pan. Pour a cup of the mixture into the pan. Cover the pan and place some fire on the tin cOver. At the end of ten min· ures, lift the cover carefully an.d sec how your bi .. bingka is cooking. If the top is partly cookert. moisten it with a linle butter. Arrange slices ::>f white cheese on top. Then cover it once more. and wait until the whole bibingha is cooked. Remov~ the cooked bibingha from the pan and place it on .1 piece of .dean banana leaf. Cook the rest of the mixcure this way.

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