And wow ! I peeled the first couple of alasandis today !

“Odd as I am sure it will appear to some, I can think of no better form of personal involvement in the cure of the environment than that of gardening. A person who is growing a garden, if he is growing it organically, is improving a piece of the world. He is producing something to eat, which makes him somewhat independent of the grocery business, but he is also enlarging, for himself, the meaning of food and the pleasure of eating.”
Wendell Berry, The art of the commonplace

And wow !
I peeled the first of the bile alasandis/yard-long beans (of this season) today ! And boy, it was deja vu time. The pods were nice and plump and when I peeled them the fresh kaalu/beans were large, healthy and blemish-free, just like the ones from last season. This is not the first time I have harvested alasandis, but the anticipation, joy and excitement is just the same, if not more !

And there are many more to come... The vines are full of slender graceful little beans and loads of pretty white blooms. I have grown these in the backyard, which means an open invitation to the monkeys. Hmmm, it's been quite some time since I happily resigned to sharing my produce with the bandicoots and monkeys. Well, the bandicoots have spared these yard-long beans as saplings and the monkeys are yet to arrive for the feast. Till then, let's see how many dishes my alasandis get to grace...