A GIF From the Neighboor's Garden I Was Snooping Around In

They Are Getting Used to Me

 

 

The landlord and the next door neighbors, is what I'm talking about.

Maybe, the bugs and other critters, too.

It was one of those days when nobody goes out with cameras; cloudy and windy.

So, I stayed around here and did office stuff, Groan.

That put me in a not so good writing mood. It makes my brain hurt.

For awhile, I was wondering, what the heck is there to write about today.

 Bugs came along and fixed everything for me.

The Garden Isn't Very Big

An 8x12 carpet could cover the whole thing.

The landlord came by to get in his car and a had  puzzled look on his face.

He saw me with a tripod and 50-500mm lens stretched out, sitting on the ground.

He sort of shook his head and, drove away.

Maybe, I'll catch him tomorrow and show him some of the 150 shots, I took.

Big Bertha (Sigma 50-500) was put away when I shot this Leaf Hopper.

For the GIF Motion photo, I was using a 50mm prime lens.

There was another, much larger, one of these insects, I was shooting, too.

When I went in to change lenses, it vanished.

Those photos are waiting processing.

If I have a nice sharp one, I'll print it for the lady next door.

For such a small garden, she sure has lots of stuff, growing in there.

About a dozen different types of vegetables and herbs, I'd say.

The Leaf Hoppers, didn't seem to be eating her Shiso plants.

Maybe, they eat some sort of parasites and help the Shiso along. Who knows ?

The gal was telling me one day, about the Green and Red Shiso plants she has.

I told her, "I know all about them."  Your plants are on my blog !

So, it might be nice, if I gave her a photo of some sort.

Tomorrow may turn out to be a nice sunny day and, we may hop over to another island.

It all depends on whether, I can get one of my infidel friends, to do the driving.

Er, else, I'll be stuck poking around in the garden, again.

Photos of Shiso: Green and Purple Growing Side by Side

Beefsteak Plant

 

 

In Japan, the green plant is known as Aojiso (青紫蘇).

The one that looks purple is called Akajiso (赤紫蘇) or, red shiso.

The wind and rain held off just long enough to get these photos.

These two plants are growing right behind my office.

 Perilla frutescens is the scientific name.

The most common place I see these leaves is at sushi bars.

It's a mildly, tangy sort of herb that goes well with fish or salads.

 Red Shiso, which, I call purple is good, too.

This is one of the secret ingredients, I put in salsa.

The rest of the stuff will remain a secret.

Not until today, did I ever think of cooking the stuff.

That's because, they are both delicious, raw.

There Are Many Uses for this Herb

 

At About Japanese Food it's even be called Japanese Basil

Just Hungry says the flowers get salted and pickled and you should grow your own.

The stuff is expensive but, seeds are cheap. 

Serious Eats tell me, sometimes shiso is served as tempura.

The Global Healing Center says it may prevent dental problems.

Somebody called Wabi Sabi made this video about Purple Shiso Juice:

Last but not least the Wiki folks helped with some translation.

It got me thinking.

It might be a good idea to grow your own and make that purple juice.

It's probably cheaper and, better for you, than drinking wine !