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For More Information: See this web site
hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/tamarind.html

THYME

RECIPE
Baked Fish with onions and Cuban thyme

1 lb of 1 1/2 " thick filet of fish
1 1/2 T butter
1 large organic white onion peeled and sliced in 1/4" rounds
10 fresh Cuban thyme leaves washed and dried
1 or 2 organic yellow lemons
Freshly ground black pepper

Butter a 9" glass pie pan, place fish in the middle and cover with the sliced onions. Sprinkle the Cuban thyme leaves on top and grate the pepper over all. Cover tightly with a glass top or foil and bake in a 350° oven 45 minutes to an hour. When serving discard the cooked Cuban thyme leaves, but decorate the serving plate with a couple of fresh ones intermixed with yellow lemon wedges.

Photographed: In our kitchen at our home at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

Photographed: At the Hotel Atitlan on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

Flowering Thai plants
Photographed: At the Hotel San Buenaventura on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

**Tomatillos, Husk Tomato Physalis ixocarpa or Physalis philadelphica
This wonderful very sensitive and attractive perennial plant produces the "green tomato" so essential in Mexican cuisine. Its growth habit resembles the normal red tomato in some ways, but it does become a rather large plant in a short time if all goes well and in so doing it produces lots of tomatillos. When ripe these are light green roundish fruits covered in the peculiar tomatillo papery wrapping. Slip off the covering to find the green tomato which before washing has a slightly greasy feel. After washing, tomatillos are usually cooked and included in an upcoming meal, either as a broth base to a stew such as clamoli, or a "gravy" to a dish such as queso cilantro or enchiladas suizas, or simply as a green salsa for tacos or whatever meal you may be enjoying. They are delicious and once cooked they can be frozen for future use. I have even frozen them well washed and raw with great success.
Benefits:
     Apparently aside from contributing its wonderful flavor in our kitchens, the tomatillo also is said to have medicinal benefits. "With a combination of vitamins and minerals that include fiber, potassium, vitamins A, C, and K, niacin, manganese, the B-carotenes zeaxanthin and lutein, plus iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and copper, the tomatillo definitely has its share of nutrients. But hands down, the most important compound in this small, Mexican fruit is a relatively new discovery called withanolides." http://foodfacts.mercola.com/tomatillos.html
Apparently this newly discovered substance, with anolides is a potent cancer fighting chemical. So make some salsa and enjoy. You'll be much healthier for having done so.
From: Mexico
Photographed: In our upper garden at our former home in Montserrat.
Planting and Care: If you have a lot of seeds, plant them directly in the garden where germination will be very limited as is usual in the tropical Caribbean. With access to few seeds, I always used a starter soil mix that I made and got the seeds off and running as small plants before I set them out in the garden. The tomatillo may be treated much as a tomato plant and is subject to the same pests and diseases. They are very vulnerable to dustings of volcanic ash and to the acid rain that we often got in Montserrat because of the activity of the Soufriere volcano. Tomatillos may be staked as you would with tomato plants, but in our location the high winds seemed to tear staked plants apart. So, instead of staking, I layed flexible seed starter trays on the ground and lay the tomatillo laden branches on them to keep them from direct contact with the soil. This proved much easier than staking and much more productive as our plants did not suffer as badly in the high winds.
Text and Photograph ©Krika 2007/2009

**Tomatoes and Cherry Tomatoes Lycopersicon lycopersicum
I consider the tomato one of the essential food groups. Red ripened in the garden or field, there is just nothing better. In New England I canned dozens of quart jars each year to enjoy in the coming winter. I could and have eaten them every day of my life when I could find freshly grown ripe red ones. Like so many of our favorite plants, they originated in Central and South America.
Benefits and Drawbacks:
      Tomatoes may be beneficial to your skin. Force a tomato through a sieve and apply the pulp and juice directly to your face. Rinse off in the shower in about 15 minutes. A diet high in tomatoes also provides a natural low level, sunscreen, helping to reduce UVA and UVB damage.
      Tomatoes are said to be highly nutritious, providing fiber, and vitamins A, C and K. If that were not enough, they also provide us with potassium and manganese along with amino acids needed for protein synthesis, including lycopene now believed to help prevent some forms of cancer and maybe even lessening wrinkle damage. Frequently eat cooked tomatoes because that increases their dietary benefits.
      Be sure you aren't getting your tomatoes from a can. Buy your organic tomatoes fresh when you can find them and your organic tomato sauce and paste in glass containers. When we have traveled in Italy, a part of the EU, all tomato products are sold in glass. It is more expensive in the short term, say .20 cents a pound, but how much does cancer treatment cost?
From: Central and South America
Photographed:
Planting and Care:
Varieties Suitable for Tropical Climates: Two of our favorites are Calypso, a small round tomato, and Sweet 1000 the best of the cherry tomatoes we have ever had. Each of these did well in Montserrat. Surprisingly, we visited the $20,000 government financed greenhouse of a local farmer, Daniel James, and he showed us his beautiful stand of Rutgers plants loaded with green tomatoes for the second or third time according to Daniel. I would not have expected this variety which did beautifully in New England to be so productive in the Caribbean which goes to show it is always worth experimenting. We've heard that Solar Set is a good variety to grow in Florida so it may work well in the Caribbean as well.
Text and Photograph ©Krika.com 2008 and ©GreenGardeningCookingCuring.com 2014

Photographed: In our garden at our home in Guatemala in 2014.

Tomatoes 'Orange Icicle'
I find it amusing that for years the majority of junk foods have been colored orange. Now, orange fruits and vegetables are being touted as the healthiest things you can eat. Go figure, how so many years ago food manufacturers decided that orange was the best color for junk food.
Photographed: In the Blithewold Garden in Bristol, Rhode Island 2013.

Links for blossom end rot information:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/horticulture/blossom-rot.html
http://gardenhobbies.com/plantproblems/blossomendrot.html
Text and Photograph ©Krika.com 2008

Trailing Tibouchina, Dwarf Tibouchina Dissotis rotundifolia
This is a strikingly attractive ground cover with appealing foliage and very pretty flowers that seem always to be blooming.
Benefits: This plant is a favorite of both butterflies and hummingbirds.
From: Tropical West Africa
Photographed: In the Botanical Garden at the Hotel Atitlan on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.
Planting and Care: Tibouchina will grow in full sun or in a semi shady area as long as it has regular watering or rainfall. For those who would like the plant but live in a cold climate, make a home for it in a hanging basket that can over winter inside your home.
Text and Photograph ©KO 2010

Transvaal Daisy, Barberton Daisy Gerbera jamesonii
  Benefits:
From: South Africa
Photographed: In the Botanical Garden at the Hotel Atitlan on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.
Planting and Care: Plant this lovely perennial in full sun or in a bright semi shady area of the garden. Give it routine watering or rainfall and watch the show. Be careful not to over water. This is a tropical or semi tropical plant so it is not winter hardy.
Text and Photograph ©GreenGardeningCookingCuring.com 2013

My #19 Flower Mystery was solved by my friend Ursula G. living in Southern Germany

This Tree Mystery solved by my friend Ursula G. living in Southern Germany

Tropical Almond Tree      FIX THIS WITH THE ONE BELOW
Benefits: I have long known of the good qualities of snacking on a couple of raw almonds daily. Yahoo News has even more to say about this delicious nut, "Almond eaters... lowered their blood pressure, and the vitamin E in these nuts may keep skin supple."
From:
Photographed:
Planting and Care:
©GreenGardeningCookingCuring.com 2018

Tumeric, Siam Tulip Curcuma longa or Curcuma domestica
Tumeric is one of those flavorful spices found most commonly in Indian food. Apparently, it also has proven itself beneficial in treating a range of health problems. Its roots or rhizomes, resembling those of ginger, are dried and ground into a powder to produce the spice we know as tumeric, one of the main ingredients in curry powder and one used as a flavoring all by itself.
Benefits:
        I read somewhere recently that tumeric was the magical cure all food of last year, soon to be replaced by the newest and latest cure all food. I would never be one to completely dismiss health claims, but realistically speaking, does anyone think that any food they eat is "THE ONE?" If so they would be excellent candidates for my Brooklyn Bridge Sales Program.
       We recently got to know well an Indian woman from Britain who told us that her Indian heritage was Sikh. Given that we spent a lot of time together cooking, she also volunteered the information that traditionally the Sikhs use tumeric to flavor most of their food. They do not use curry. It would be interesting to see the health statistics on Sikhs so see if their rates of illness are appreciably different from closely matched Indians who were not Sikhs and did not use tumeric so exclusively.
        The main life saving qualities of tumeric seem to be its ability to fight inflammation along with its tumor and arthritis reducing capacity.       All that being said, I use tumeric in my bread and butter pickles and whenever I make Indian food and I am looking forward to soon being cured of whatever ails me!

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN GATHERED HERE AND THERE AND SHOULD BE ACCEPTED AS SUCH.
1. Curcumin, found in tumeric, has proven to be an effective natural herbal anti-depressant.
2. It has also been reported as an effective treatment in digestive disorders.
3. It has both antioxidant and anti-inflamatory qualities.
4. On the down side turmeric may slow blood clotting.
5. It makes a fabulous natural yellow dye and it may repel both ants and mosquitoes.
6. It has been said that its health giving qualities are greatly improved if it is cooked with black pepper.
From: The tropical areas of Southern Asia
Photographed:
Planting and care: Tumeric grows most happily in a shady spot in the garden, but will tolerate some sun. It is fond of water and rewards us for good care with lovely funnel shaped yellow flowers.
Text ©KO 2008 and ©GreenGardeningCookingCuring.com 2013