The Soup Queen

I've been growing my own mulberry trees and after a few times of pruning the branches and learning a secret gardener's tip, the tree or bush has been proliferating well.  In fact, the regular rain (it is quite rainy these days in Penang) and the humid, hot sun have helped the tree flourish well. I also use a lot of compost (from my own compost pots) on the tree, placing scoops of compost around the root and the base of the tree from time to time (or when I am feeling like a hardworking gardener).  As I write this, we're in our third lockdown phase in Malaysia (until 7 June or is it 10 June? I can't recall). So lots more pottering about at home and gardening I guess! Even Singapore (where my sis is) is also going back to a lockdown phase as virus variants are emerging. It seems you can't read any news without mention of the virus and how things are faring across the region. As someone who works in digital and mostly online , I am kept occupied with clients' proje...

Do you like mulberries? I find them rather fascinating fruits because they're a cross between raspberries (in look) yet with the tartness of lemons. My friend, Don, once offered me a tiny mulberry that he plucked off his mulberry plant. As we live in Malaysia where the weather is hot, the mulberry was prized indeed. It was barely red enough. It tasted tart. But I like tart fruits so that was all right.  When I was in Hong Kong last year, I managed to buy some fresh ones and they were much larger than the tiny one grown by Don. For about HK$15, I bought a box (see below) at the local Hong Kong evening market. Looks like a lot of fruits right?  Mulberry fruits or mulberry berries? Bought these from a market in Hong Kong. Don't be fooled by the overflowing basket. The berries are propped up by lots of foam! Sneaky HK fruit sellers prop their baskets with foam so that you just get a handful but it seems like a lot! I think that is really cheating. I'd prefe...