Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 8 Jan 2026

Root beer leaf wraps: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Root beer leaf wraps

Root beer leaf wraps

Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant

Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant

🍴 Root Beer Leaf Wraps

Ingredients

  • 6 to 8 large fresh Root Beer leaves (Piper auritum)
  • 1 lb ground meat or firm tofu
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Optional: chili flakes, paprika, or cumin
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

  1. Rinse the Root Beer leaves and pat dry. Trim thick stems if needed.
  2. In a bowl, mix ground meat or tofu with onion, garlic, oil, salt, pepper, and spices.
  3. Place a portion of filling onto each leaf and roll tightly into wraps.
  4. Grill over medium heat until the leaves are lightly charred and the filling is cooked through.
  5. Serve warm with lemon wedges or dipping sauce.

☘️ About the plant:
Piper auritum - Root beer plant, also known as Acuyo or false Kava-Kava, is a large-leaved tropical herb native to Central and South America and also grown in the South Pacific. It belongs to the same family as Kava-Kava and black pepper. The leaves are prized for their bold, aromatic flavor, often described as root beer, anise, or clove-like. Traditionally, the leaves are chopped for seasoning or used whole as natural wrappers for meats, fish, and tamales.

🌱 In the garden:
Piper auritum is easy to grow in warm climates and forms a lush, fast-growing perennial. Its huge, soft leaves - often over a foot long - make it both edible and ornamental. It prefers warmth, moisture, and partial shade and is often mistaken for Kava-Kava due to its similar appearance and close relation.

🛒 Plant the beautiful Root Beer Plant - it always will be with you

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Date: 16 Oct 2025

Grumichama jam: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Grumichama jam: quick-n-fun exotic recipes Grumichama jam: quick-n-fun exotic recipes
🍴 Grumichama jam: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

  • 🔴Cook Grumichama cherries with sugar and lime juice.
  • 🔴A deep red jam with a cherry-meets-blackberry flavor.


Grumichama Jam: Quick-n-Fun Exotic Recipes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups fresh Grumichama cherries (Eugenia brasiliensis)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp lime juice

Instructions

  1. Remove seeds from Grumichama cherries.
  2. Place fruit in a saucepan with sugar and lime juice.
  3. Simmer over low heat until thick and glossy, stirring often.
  4. Pour into sterilized jars and let cool before sealing.



🛒 Plant Grumichama tree (Eugenia brasiliensis)

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Date: 22 Sep 2025

Ackee breakfast scramble: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Ackee breakfast scramble

Ackee breakfast scramble

🍴 Ackee breakfast scramble: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Ackee breakfast scramble recipes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups boiled Ackee (Blighia sapida)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1-2 hot peppers (Scotch Bonnet, Wiri Wiri, or Biquinho), sliced
  • 1 tbsp oil or butter
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a skillet. Saute onion until soft.
  2. Add tomatoes and sliced hot peppers, cook for 2 minutes.
  3. Gently fold in the boiled ackee, stir carefully to avoid breaking it up.
  4. Season with salt, cook until heated through, then serve warm.

🛒 Grow your own Akee fruit (banned for import) and hot peppers

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Date: 4 Oct 2025

Curry leaf rice: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Curry leaf rice

Curry leaf rice

🍴 Curry leaf rice: quick-n-fun exotic recipes
  • 🟢Fry curry leaves (Murraya koenigii) with mustard seeds, garlic, and chilies
  • 🟢Stir into steamed rice for a fragrant side dish 🍛

🍛 Curry Leaf Rice recipes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup steamed rice
  • 1 handful fresh curry leaves (Murraya koenigii)
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3-4 dried red chilies
  • 1 tbsp oil or ghee
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds until they pop.
  2. Add garlic, chilies, and curry leaves. Fry until fragrant.
  3. Stir in steamed rice and mix well.
  4. Season with salt and serve hot as a fragrant side dish 🍲

🛒Grow your own Curry Leaf Tree for exotic recipes

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Date: 28 Oct 2025

Longevity spinach omelet: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Gynura - Longevity spinach

Gynura - Longevity spinach

Longevity spinach omelet

Longevity spinach omelet

🟢Chop Gynura leaves into beaten eggs with garlic.
  • 🟢A health-boosting twist on a classic omelet.

🍴 Longevity spinach omelet: quick-n-fun exotic recipes 🍳

Ingredients

  • Fresh Gynura (Longevity Spinach) leaves
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt to taste
  • Cooking oil or butter

Instructions

  1. Chop Gynura leaves finely.
  2. Beat eggs with minced garlic and a pinch of salt.
  3. Stir in chopped Gynura leaves.
  4. Heat oil or butter in a pan and pour in the mixture.
  5. Cook until the omelet is set and golden. Serve warm.

🛒 Plant Longevity Spinach and live long

📚 Learn more:
📱 What is better than Spinach

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