A change I have made around home, in the process of greening up our lifestyle, has been to reduce the amount of washing I do...(clever eh, cuts down work too). This required retraining the young one, when she came to live with us 18 months ago, out of the habit of wearing "fashion" at home and throwing everything in the wash when it's not actually dirty. She's pretty good now, which all helps when you have tank water only.
This leads to some strange outfits on my own behalf, because I try to dress from the pile of my already worn items - with a view to looking, ahem, unique.
I chuckled one day when the rural postie, visiting to deliver a parcel, inquired if I had been doing a workout...picture leggings, layers, scarf headband. No, I just dress for comfort.
Inga Beans
I've been back visiting my friend Agnes and her lovely garden (see her garden here in a previous post). She was pruning her hibiscus plants and said I could take as much as I wanted for cuttings. I must have put in 100 cuttings, so hope that at least 10 will live, because I'm not that great with shrubby cuttings.
But she also gave me some of these beans off her tree.
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| Inga Beans aka Ice cream beans |
They look like something from Jack and The Beanstalk, but are also known as Ice Cream Beans, as the fluffy bit surrounding the beans tastes like vanilla icecream. I rather liked them, others were not so sure. The white stuff has a candy floss texture and is sweet.
Inga beans originated in Central and South America, where apparently they roast the actual beans and eat them as a snack food.
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| Inga Bean seeds |
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| The Inga Bean tree |
The trees grow to about 6-8 metres here in New Zealand, in almost any soil. They will fruit after 3 years. The beans grow up to a metre long!
I've put some beans in pots to grow some, so anyone nearby - let me know if you want one, as they apparently have a 99% success rate.
I used to have that laundry problem when my girls were growing up. I think it was just easier to throw them in the laundry than hang them up for another wearing. I've never heard of Inga beans but a bean that tastes like ice cream must be good!
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