Green thumb

As you may or may no not know, I come from a family of farmers. My mom and her four sisters were raised on a farm. My aunt and uncle continue to live on that same farmland. My parents don't grow produce, but they do have the most beautiful backyard full of plants, bushes and flowers. You'd think that some of my family's talent would be genetically passed on to me. And although I've always wanted to grow things, I've never had much luck.

I think it all started with a middle school science project. I had three batches of lima beans and tried to determine if sitting them in front of the tv or radio would have a negative effect. Problem was, even my control beans didn't want to grow. 

Fast forward to my first apartment in Atlanta. Elisa and I were given a plant as a housewarming gift. The guy picked out a large palm because it was low-maintenance. Three months later that plant was a goner. 

Now in Hawaii I have a dilemna. I want to try my hand at growing things again. I feel with the tropical climate, things should go better.

But as the saying goes, history likes to repeat itself...

Here's my latest housewarming plant, also a palm. Not too bad from far away. 

But up close some problems become apparent. On a positive note this plant has been around for 5 months, soit has  definitely outlived the one sister and I killed. 

Here is a picture I found on Pinterest that served as inspiration. Since herbs are so pricey on the island, I though maybe I should try to recreate this. 

I decided to start small. I didn't want to be overly optimistic, plus my lainai really isn't that big. After a week here's what I got:

Can you even call those dead bits cilantro, or Chinese parsley as they say in Hawaii?!?

Luckily the Thai basil is fairing better, so I'm not a complete failure!

And I celebrated my success by using my first crop to make a chickpea and tomato salad ... Yum!

Recipe

1 can chick peas, rinsed

1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced

25 basil leafs, chop using chiffonade technique

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp honey

Salt to taste

- Mix all ingredients

- Chill in fridge 

- Enjoy!

And now for the pic of the week:

More than six months in Hawaii and I still think every rainbow is magical. 

Mahalo!