Loofah Season

pickles

A favorite place to enjoy garden-fresh food here is at Cabbage Cooking Lab, just a short walk from our apartment. It’s located on the top floor of a mall and they have a massive roof-top garden. This is where I go to reconnect with garden people.

I have a dream to keep honeybees here

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They hooked me up with herb clippings when I was ready to start my porch garden, which was a real spirit booster to someone who doesn’t have a yard to dig in.
The loofah dinner

Cabbage likes to host dinners that feature a vegetable or fruit that’s in season, sometimes by a guest chef too. It’s a very creative and collaborative cooking environment. The food is always fresh, delicious and beautifully presented and garnished with wild flowers and herbs. We had the chance to attend the loofah gourd dinner and learned some things about this edible and exfoliating plant.

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All of Cabbage’s marketing materials are hand illustrated by Fay, who also cooks at Cabbage. I find her style to be so lively and beautiful. The entire restaurant has this vibe.

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DID YOU KNOW?
  1. Loofah gourds are a in season early fall (this dinner took place September 25).
  2. They are mild in taste, like a zucchini.
  3. Gardeners will add weights to the gourd to stretch them out for a long loofah (for those hard to reach spots on your back I suppose).
  4. While living inTaiwan, you will be offered a free loofah at some point, which you will accept and your skin will thank you.
  5. It is the only plant known that can be raised and used as a sponge.

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My, that’s a long gourd!
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This is our friend Lisa who works at Cabbage, showing us a super long gourd they made, sans irony which is why I love Taiwan so much.

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Shorties

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Freebie from Calligraphy Class

Then one day you will find yourself biking home with two large loofahs that were gifted to you by your calligraphy teacher. He had a large trash bag filled with them at class and insisted we take more, but we felt two would suffice our exfoliating needs.

Next time you’re at market or your local Asian market, look for the loofah (or luffa) gourd for a stir fry or dry it out for the ultimate in skin polishing. My skin is super soft, thanks to my new dried-out plant friend.

Here’s how to harvest a loofa, compliments from my sister who thought these came from the sea. I’ll admit, I did too at one point.

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One thought on “Loofah Season

  1. Okay, what?! I so thought these came from the sea! I am just catching up on your blog now (a bit slow to catch on to where you went : ) and am loving it.

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