how does your garden grow?

No, really. How does your garden grow? Because mine sure doesn’t. Don’t be deceived by the lovely little basil plant. It is only three weeks – I think – old, and I’m sure that in a few weeks time it will be at death’s door, much like its friends dead thyme, rosemary, parsley and mint. Yes, that’s right. Mint. I could not keep even a mint plant, mint the weed of all plants, mint the one that grows with zero skill required, that mint, that’s the one that died last summer after a few weeks on our balcony.

The benefits of growing herbs and veggies don’t need to be spelled out here; it’s so obvious, but I have struggled mightily to sustain green life in our home. I come from good gardening stock. My grandmother could have brought a dead plant to life, and my father has green hands. I keep thinking that he’ll visit us in Switzerland and set up a veggie patch on our balcony one summer and leave me with an instruction manual about how to maintain it. Or just teach my children how to do it. Yeah, the second option.

The only reason for the presence of the photographed basil plant is that Husband bought it instead of a bunch of basil. He told me that the bunch of basil was 2.20 CHF, while the plant was 3.50 CHF, so it was technically more economical even if it only lived for two weeks. So far the plant has not brought any disappointment, and I am managing to water it and every now and then give it sun. The weather has still been painfully cold – with some warm and bright spots – so it remains indoors for now.

So if anyone has suggestions about how to keep my wee basil plant alive, do send them my way (along with a gardener any other gardening tips you might have).

asian eggs

During my university days, the following foods filled my cupboards: pancake mix, frozen vegetables (rarely), ramen noodles, ham, chocolate chips (for the pancakes), frozen chicken (every few months) and eggs. I still indulge in the breakfast-for-dinner idea, but it’s no longer chocolate chip pancakes smothered in syrup. Usually it’s muesli and yogurt.

Eggs are still a staple in my refrigerator. I love them. Any time of day, cooked any way. Eggs are also one of the ingredients with which I do a lot of experimenting, which is what happened with this asian scrambled egg. It’s a basic scrambled egg but cooked with typically South Asian spices and a bit of coconut milk – smooth, full of spices, the coriander adds a bit of bite at the finish. I love eating avocado with eggs for breakfast; it’s like a bland, silky and creamy complement to the flavourful eggs.

• Asian eggs beat four eggs with some coconut milk (the more you put, it will make it quite sweet, so start with only a bit). In a pan with butter, sautee some onions and garlic, add ground coriander and cumin seeds. Once there there is a fragrant, spicy aroma coming out of the pan, add the egg. Cook it slowly on a low flame – this is the key to a good consistency – and don’t push it too much. Use a wooden spatula to gently move it around every now and then. After you’ve cooked it to your preferred consistency – I don’t like mine well done – turn off the flame. Add salt and pepper and a few coriander leaves. Cut avocado and put salt and pepper on that as well.

simplicity

Traveling seems like an adventurous, exotic thing to do, and there are many moments when that is true. But the part about traveling that becomes a weight is the lack of stability, fleeting relationships (unless of course you marry one of those initially fleeting relationships) and living out of a suitcase. Normal becomes keeping track of boarding passes, learning how to read Russian and using a squatting toilet. This time last year I was spending my final days in Sri Lanka before getting ready for one final adventure – spending 24 hours in the Kuala Lumpur budget airline airport (including sleeping on a bench outside with my luggage).

Today going to the grocery store is normal. Cooking, planting herbs, looking for recipes are the tasks that fill my time. All parts of me missed these basic tasks, the simple ways in which they enrich my life and encourage me for the future.

This salad is a European summer staple that I first tasted in Northwest Arkansas in the home of my history professor. It takes less than five minutes to prepare. Just as I don’t have many words for how much I appreciate the simplicity of my new life in Geneva, I don’t have much to say for how much I love this salad and for the joy it brings to my taste buds, stomach and heart.

• Salad slice a ripe tomato, slice fresh mozzarella slices, stack on top of each other. Typically the mozzarella is on top, but the tomato was smaller than the cheese yesterday, so I reversed it. Put a basil leaf on top of each stack, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Salt and pepper.

The basil in this photo is from our “garden,” and it has been alive for more than five weeks, the longest plant I have ever kept alive.

european cheese melt

One of my husband’s main culinary roles in our family is choosing cheese and wine (I do buy cheese, but he chooses the special ones). My idea of cheese is still tainted by years spent eating plastic yellow spreads in the Philippines, and as for wine, I didn’t start drinking until I was well into my 20s.

A block of Grana Padano appeared in the fridge this past weekend after one of his shopping trips – it’s similar to Parmigiano Reggiano, but grainier and a bit stronger. For lunch I had the choice of salmon, smoked salmon, left over pasta, bread, cheese, corriander, capsicums and broccoli. I didn’t want to eat salmon again, and I didn’t have time to go shopping before a Skype call with my family.

Cheese melts are an easy, five-minute meal. To make it a bit more interesting, I caramelised some onions in olive oil and sprinkled some fresh thyme from our “garden” (or our pots on the balcony). The Grana Padano and thyme’s sharpness was nicely complimented by the sweetness of the onions. A quick, tasty and filling treat.