Behind the Scenes: Fall family visit & an unexpected photoshoot
Some of you who follow us on Instagram may have been wondering, “where did Jai-Yu get a bowl of good looking tomatoes, and why is she walking on a fluffy green moss garden bed?” maybe or maybe not 🤪, Either way, we are here to share some snapshots of a small photoshoot taken in our relative’s backyard garden located in South San Francisco. There, we spent an hour before breakfast and dinner moving through the different garden beds on either side of the bougainvillea gate. Just munching on fresh tomatoes while we listened to all the plant stories and childhood memories from aunt and uncle.
“When I was a kid living in China’s countryside, I would use creative ways to grow different things, and all the experienced farmers in my village would gather and be surprised at my projects!”
Garden tour
In the middle of the garden is a bright magenta color gate shaped by bougainvillea’s vines and flowers. Through the bougainvillea gate, you can see tomato vines, apple trees, Chayote, daikon, chrysanthemum and the list goes on. I mean, they’ve got everything that you can imagine!
It’s not our first time visiting their garden and yet the magical feeling of walking through a big blob shaped bougainvillea gate never gets old. Once you’re on the other side of the flower gate, you forget you’re surrounded by a big city. We hope by sharing a glimpse of our visit, it can spread its lively energy and help reset your mind from a busy week.
Unexpected photoshoot sesh
By the end of our stay, we had absorbed so much creative juices that we were motivated to do a small photoshoot near the tomato vines. It was then I noticed my favorite part of the garden - the moss covered paths. It really provides a calming mood and cushy comfort when strolling around the garden.
Lastly, I can’t wrap up this blog without mentioning the food we had. I mean, this is one of the main reasons why Asian families love spending their time together. And my personal favorite part is experiencing the gratitude by tasting the fresh garden ingredients as we sat down together for a humble meal.
“I like to add ginger slices because the flavor reminds me of the traditional Taiwanese ginger sweet potato dessert soup!”
Cozy Fall porridge
I’ve always enjoyed sweet potato porridge growing up, because it feels cozy and is full of fibers and vitamins! My aunt made hers with the purple sweet potatoes and the color is just so beautiful. Truly, nothing beats a warm porridge to start your Fall morning! I’ll share the recipe below.
Sweet Potato Porridge Recipe
1 cup of rice (Chinese/ Japanese short grain rice for best result, you can also add barley or other grains.)
10 cups of water (rice to water ratio is 1:10)
1 large sweet potato (Your choice of yellow, purple one or both!)
1 Wash and rinse the rice; wash, keep or remove skin, and slice the sweet potatoes into bite size chunks about 2cm or ¾” thick. Make a circle with your index finger and thumb 👌, that’s about the bite size I meant!
2 Bring water to a boil then add the rice to avoid it getting burnt. Bring the heat down to medium low and let it simmer for 20 min.
3 Add the sliced sweet potatoes and cook for another 5 min.
4 Turn off the heat and cover the pot with a lid, and let it sit for 20 min before serving (a very important step!).
For starters, you can serve the porridge with a fried or scrambled egg with a teaspoon of soy sauce. But overall, this pairs well with any soy sauce-braised meat (savory dish) and steamed vegetables. Don’t miss out on this umami flavor meal for this fall!
