270 replies to this topic

[Mystic]

Some great shots there Natalie. Love the cicada. Looks like a gorgeous little spot and sounds as though you had a great day

[exislegirl]

Thanks Mystic, it is a pearl of a place.

Natalie

[Shane V]

Great series there Natalie ...looks like you had a great day. Like them all but especially the Native Hibiscus.

[exislegirl]

Thanks Shane, glad you enjoyed them.

Natalie

[exislegirl]

Thought I'd get in early this week. Had to go to town midweek and had about 2 hours to kill in the middle of the day, so went for a wander around a park with a few ponds.

Dragonflies, Ducks & Lotus Blossoms:

And also a couple of shots of some Clown Loaches we got for our aquarium.
These guys move so fast, moving in and out of focus every second - it was really hard to get any clear shots:

Natalie

[Shane V]

Very nice series Natalie. Love the centre of the flower...seeing image 4 made me think of a plug or cork, because of the shape of the centre. Gorgeous fish

[exislegirl]

Thanks Shane, glad you enjoyed them.

Did you know that every part of the Sacred Lotus is edible?

Natalie

[Shane V]

Nope I didn't know that Natalie...thanks for the info. Do you know what it tastes like?

[Mystic]

Cool shots Natalie, love the dragonflies, especially the first one

[exislegirl]

Shane, I've only eaten the lotus root in Chinese cooking. It is starchy and crunchy, and when stir-fried - a bit like the texture of a slightly undercooked potato. It absorbs other flavours while cooking, and blends well with a few drops of Sesame Oil added to the stir-fry mix.

Here is a list of uses for the Sacred Lotus ( or white, only):

The lotus seeds or nuts are quite versatile, and can be eaten raw or dried and popped like popcorn.
The immature seeds can be eaten raw or cooked, they have chestnut like flavor.
Ripe seeds are roasted and ground into flour, or boiled to extract oil.
They can also be boiled until soft and made into a paste, or boiled with dried longans and rock sugar to make a Tong Sui (sweet soup).
Combined with sugar, lotus seed paste becomes one of the most common ingredients used in pastries such as mooncakes, daifuku, and rice flour pudding.


The young, unrolled leaves are cooked as a vegetable.
Young lotus stems are used as a salad ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine.
The rhizome is used as a vegetable in soups, deep-fried, stir-fried, and braised dishes and the roots are also used in traditional Asian herbal medicine.
Lotus roots produce starchy tubers and have the flavor of sweet potato.


Lotus rootlets are often pickled with rice vinegar, sugar, chili and/or garlic.
It has a crunchy texture with sweet-tangy flavours.
In Asian cuisine, it is popular with salad, prawns, sesame oil and/or coriander leaves.
Lotus roots have been found to be rich in dietary fiber, vitamin C, potassium, thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B6, phosphorus, copper, and manganese, while very low in saturated fat.

The Chinese make dried stamens into a fragrant herbal tea, while the Vietnamese use them to impart a scent to tea leaves.
Koreans use the leaves and petals as a tisane (herbal tea).


Mystic, Thanks - glad you enjoyed them.


Natalie

[Shane V]

Very nice Natalie...now I'm feeling peckish...haven't got any lotus around here though