Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 21 Jun 2024

Healthy breakfast, lunch or snack: Avocado toast

Avocado

Avocado

Healthy breakfast, lunch or snack: Avocado toast



Avocado toast is creamy, crisp and so satisfying. It’s a delicious and simple breakfast, snack or light meal!

Ingredients (makes 1 toast):
  • ◾️ 1 slice of bread (thick-sliced whole-grain or rye bread is the best)
  • ◾️ ½ ripe avocado
  • ◾️ Pinch of salt and black pepper


📝 Instructions
  • ◾️ Toast your slice of bread until golden and firm.
  • ◾️ Remove the pit from your avocado. Use a big spoon to scoop out the flesh.
  • ◾️ Spread avocado on top of your toast.
  • ◾️ Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.


🍿 Enjoy!

🛒 Grow your own Avocado and Pepper plants

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Avocado

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 17 May 2024

Why cucumbers grow on a tree? Because they are candles!

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote fruit

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote fruit

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote flower

Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, Guahalote flower

Why cucumbers grow on a tree? Because they are "candles"! 🕯
  • 🕯 This bizarre tree is a conversation piece and every plant collector should have one!
  • 🕯 Parmentiera edulis - Candle Tree, or Guahalote - is a highly ornamental tree with interesting leaves, pretty cream flowers and...ready?
  • 🕯One foot long fruits resembling a greenish-yellow cucumbers or candles that hang off the tree!
  • 🕯Juicy fruit is edible and has a sweet flavor similar to sugar cane. Eaten raw or cooked; used to make pickles or preserves
  • 🕯The fruit is a remedy for colds; roots used as a diuretic.
  • 🕯Easy to grow and not fussy about conditions. Cold tolerant to light frost.


🎥

🛒Get your own Candle Tree

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Nature_Wonders #Remedies

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 2 Feb 2025

Ten best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes

Loquat fruit (Eriobotrya japonica)

Loquat fruit (Eriobotrya japonica)

🏆 Ten best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes.
# 10: Loquat Tree.
  • 🍑 Loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica) is a fast-growing, drought-tolerant, and highly cold-hardy tropical fruit tree.
  • 🍑 Heavy Producer: Loquats are juicy, aromatic, and apricot-like in flavor, ripening from early Spring to early Summer.
  • 🍑 Compact and Ideal for Small Gardens: Perfect for beginners and those with limited space.
  • 🍑 Undemanding: Loquat trees thrive in any soil, tolerate summer heat, winter cold, heavy rains, and occasional flooding.
  • 🍑 Nutrient-Rich: High in sugar, acids, vitamins B and C, minerals, and pectin. Eaten fresh or used in fruit salads, jams, jellies, chutneys, sauces, pies, and wine-making. It's also popular as a natural sweetener.


📚 Learn more from previous posts:


🎥 YouTube video about Loquat
📁 Overlooked fruit: tasty Loquat recipes (PDF)

🛒 Start your fruit garden with Loquats

#Food_Forest #Loquat

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 10 Feb 2025

When you have a big crop of Star Fruit: sweet and Spicy Carambola Salsa recipe

Carambola Salsa

Carambola Salsa

⭐️ When you have a big crop of Star Fruit: sweet and Spicy Carambola Salsa recipe



😁 Ingredients:

  • · 2 ripe Carambola (starfruit), finely diced
  • · 1 small red bell pepper, diced
  • · 1 small red onion, finely chopped
  • · 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
  • · 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
  • · Juice of 1 lime
  • · 1 tablespoon honey or agave syrup
  • · Pinch of salt


📞 Instructions:

  • · Combine the diced carambola, red bell pepper, red onion, jalapeño, and cilantro in a bowl.
  • · Add lime juice, honey, and a pinch of salt. Mix well.
  • · Chill in the fridge for 15–30 minutes to let the flavors meld.
  • · Serve with tortilla chips, grilled fish, or as a topping for tacos.


🎁 This recipe balances carambola's sweet-tart flavor with a spicy kick! 😏

🛒 Plant your own Carambola Tree

#Food_Forest #Recipes

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 14 Mar 2025

Carambola Jam recipe

⭐️ Carambola Jam recipe



😁 Ingredients:


  • · 4 ripe carambolas, washed and thinly sliced
  • · 1 cup granulated sugar
  • · 1/2 cup water
  • · Juice of 1 lemon
  • · 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)


📞 Instructions:


  • · In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
  • · Add the sliced carambola and ground ginger. Reduce heat and simmer for 25–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fruit softens and the mixture thickens.
  • · Remove from heat, let cool slightly, then transfer to sterilized jars.
  • · Refrigerate and enjoy on toast, with yogurt, or as a glaze for meats.


🎁 This simple yet unusual jam highlights carambola’s unique star shape and tangy-sweet flavor! 😏

🛒 Plant your own Carambola Tree

#Food_Forest #Recipes

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals