Oxalis tuberosa

How about fish and oca for dinner a change? I wonder how many people eat Oca, the common name for Oxalis tuberosa? I'd not heard of it until a few years ago when a friend gave me some tubers to grow. It originates in South America, high in the Andes, though it's apparently not known in the wild. It's often know as the New Zealand yam, though it's not a yam and doesn't come from New Zealand! It was introduced as an alternative to potato.

We tried a couple of tubers the other day, cooked like potatoes, but I think they're better eaten raw or very lightly cooked, when they have a lemony taste. These tubers are small - they say it's best to leave them in the ground until the first light frost as the tubers form very late. We'll experiment to see if they're worth the effort! 

Today dawned cold and clear and has remained so all day. I've spent several hours both morning and afternoon painting the deck railing, but I've left the trickier bit for another day. I need to shuffle along on my knees through the shrubs to catch the front of the underpinnings, which can only be seen from further down the slope. Then there will be the deck itself, which is long and wide but easy to paint!

The sky was glowing red later this afternoon and we wondered whether to walk up to the Tower, but decided not to. Twenty minutes later we changed our minds, but by the time we got there the best was over! We should have gone earlier!