Succulents and Cactus Terrarium

These terrariums are so pretty and will definitely brighten up any room.  They will also make a nice centre piece too on the dining or coffee table.

I've often spotted them in weekend markets here in Sydney, as they are becoming a trend in recent years, but they cost a fortune! Since there are literally hundreds of tutorials on Pinterest and YouTube, I wanted to make my own.

Off I went to the craft and party supplies shops near work!  Bought my round glass bowl and got my pebbles.  I just needed to find some nice plants.

I've always gone to Bunnings to get my gardening supplies but the cactus and/or succulents that they have all look pretty much the same.  You want a nice variety and some colour for your terrariums.   I want those nice ones like they use in the tutorials (most of which by the way are by the Americans).

I had also seen little pots of cactus and succulents sold in the market, but they would cost me $12 for one tiny succulent!  I had of course thought of ordering them online, but after looking at how much it would cost me for the postage, I decided this terrarium project will need to be on hold for now.

Fast forward a few months to last weekend, lo and behold.. I found some beautiful cactus and succulents! Yes!!

My brother-in-law and I share the same passion (or as my sister would put it: 'unhealthy obsession') for cooking and gardening.  I was showing him these gardening videos on YouTube and said to him that I want to start planting blueberries since it is now Spring.  Then I went on how I've never been able to find it anywhere but I know some place that might have it.  He was so inspired by the gardening videos that I made him watch and right there and then he declared that he would start his own balcony garden! Anyway, long story short, this place of hope (for my blueberries dreams) was Flower Power!  So came Saturday, off we went to Flower Power!

We love Flower Power!  And no, I am not being endorsed.

The moment we got there, we just got so excited seeing all these glorious plants!  All these flowers, fruit trees, herbs and of course, succulents! and cactus! A variety of them!! Yes!

Here are the plants that I got:

Cactus and Succulents

The labels attached to the containers do not say what varieties they are.  They might have said what each of these are at the shop, but I was too psyched and too busy running around like a fat kid in a candy shop to notice.

Blueberry

I decided to create my very first terrariums this morning before I went for work.  I woke up 30 minutes earlier and the fact that I managed to do two terrariums and still be at work early shows how simple it is to do!   I did not get to take pictures of each of the steps though.  But I am planning on doing another one for a gift.  When I have the chance to pick up more plants sometimes soon, I will definitely be taking more pictures and perhaps do a tutorial video on it too.

Cactus and Succulents Terrarium

I suppose the hardest thing about this project is deciding on the design.  I didn't really have any specific design in my head yet when I bought my plants and even when I started doing it.  I just sort of improvised as I went.  I would start with the shorter plants first, then some of the pebbles and worked my way around the bowl with the taller plants, changing things around if I didn't like the look of it.  I was happy with the end result.

Cactus and Succulents Terrarium

The other thing that is quite difficult to do, especially if your terrarium bowl is on the smaller side, is adding more soil without getting them all over your succulents.  Then trying to clean it off the plants with your fingers but ended up breaking one of the leaves.  I didn't have one with me, but it would be very handy to have a small brush to clean the surface of your pebbles and plants.

Cactus and Succulents Terrarium

These terrariums are very low maintenance, which is always a bonus!  If you are keeping them in a spot with lots of sun lights, you will need to water them probably once a week.  But if you are keeping them indoors with not much sunlight, you can get away with watering only once every fortnight.  Note that this will depend on the varieties you get and always make sure to read the labels attached to the containers.  Mine says that they love direct sunlight and need to be watered once a week.

Cactus and Succulents Terrarium

There are a lot of tutorials out there that say you need to put a layer of pebbles and rocks on bottom of your glass bowl before dumping in the soil to allow for extra drainage.  However, the video tutorials from Garden Answers on YouTube say that you do not want to do that, as this will cause the water to pool on the bottom of the bowl and cause the roots to rot.  Adding pebbles on the bottom of the bowl also means that you are decreasing the depth of your soil, which equals less space for your plants to develop their roots.  This makes sense so I decided to leave the bottom layer of pebbles out!

I will be giving you updates in a few weeks time on how our terrariums are going!

To make these terrarium, you will need:

• Glass Containers - size and shape of your choice
• Potting mix for Cactus
• Succulents and Cactus plants
• Decorative Pebbles
• Coloured Sands (optional)
• Small teaspoon
• Small brush

Here is how:

1. Wash your glass containers and pebbles with warm soapy water and dry.
2. Pour your cactus potting mix into the soil. Pack lightly to firm down the soil.  This makes it easier to keep soil off your pebbles and plants.
3. Take your plants out of their original plastic containers and separate into individual plant. Clean the soil off the roots and trim the roots to about 1 cm, you can use the scissors to do the trimming.
4. Using the other end of you spoon, poke a hole in the soil in the glass container, and plant your succulents and cactus.  I started with the shorter succulents first, then work my way around the bowl with the taller ones.  I then add the pebbles to fill the empty spaces around the container. You can use coloured sands too if you wish.
5. Using your brush, clean soil off the surface your plants and pebbles if any.
6. Using your teaspoon, water the plants.  The teaspoon makes it easier to direct the water to the specific spots, making sure you water the roots without disturbing the soil and getting it all over your plants and pebbles.
7. If you are keeping them in a spot with lots of sun lights, water them once a week.  If you are keeping them indoors with not much sunlight, you can get away with watering only once every fortnight.  Note that this will depend on the varieties you get and always make sure to read the labels attached to the containers.  You want to make sure that all of the water has been absorbed and that the soil is dry before you water them next. 
8. You might also need to keep trimming your plants if they get too big for your containers.

Bakso Bakwan Malang

This dish originated from the city town of Malang, hence the name.  

And what makes this dish different from other meatball-vermicelli soups (bakso bihun) is the variety of toppings that you get with it - the stuffed tofu, dim sums and fried wontons.  So good!

I personally have never been to Malang, but lucky for me, it is widely available in Jakarta.  You will find street food vendors pushing their carts around the neighbourhood or parked on the side of busy roads.

Sadly though, it is not that easy to find this in Sydney. 

So when i was craving for this a few weeks ago, i just had to make it!

Traditionally, you would make the beef balls from scratch.  But since there are many good brands available here, i just went and bought mine from the store.

Yes, it did take some time to make this but it is definitely worth it!

Bakso Bakwan Malang

Ingredients:

Beef Stock

• 750 gr beef bones
• 4 litres water
• 15 beef balls
• 16 garlic cloves, bashed
• 4 eschallots, finely chopped
• 5 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 3 tbsp fish sauce (optional)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (optional)

Meat Filling

• 400 gr chicken mince
• 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 spring onions, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Chilli Sauce

• 2 big red chillies
• 3 garlic cloves
• 10 birds eye chillies
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup water

Toppings

• Fried firm tofu, cut into 12 triangles
• 40 wonton skins
• 500 gr rice vermicelli
• Oil for deep frying
• 2 spring onion, finely chopped
• Kecap manis, to taste
• Fried eschallots

Methods:

Make your stock:

1. Trim excess fat off your beef bone.
2. Soak in boiling hot water for 15 minutes.  Then rinse under cold running water and set aside.
3. In a big pot, sautee your garlic and eschallot until fragrant on medium high heat.
4. Add in your beef bone and brown it on all sides.
5. Add in your water and your seasoning. Turn up the heat to high and bring it up to a boil for 10 minutes.
6. Then turn down the heat and simmer for 3 hours.  You can prepare the other toppings in the mean time.
7. After 3 hours, adjust your seasoning to taste. 
8. Make criss-cross cuts on the beef balls. Add them into your stock and bring it up to a boil for 10 minutes.

Make your meat filling:

1. In a big bowl, combine all the ingredients for your meat filling and mix well.

Make your stuffed tofu:

1. Carve out a small section on the longest side of your tofu triangles.
2. Stuff each tofu with 1 teaspoon of the meat filling.  Make sure that you really press it in and smooth out the edges so that the filling does not fall off when steamed.
3. Steam for 25 minutes.

Make your dim sums:

1. Wrap 1 teaspoon of meat filling in each wonton skin, dabbing a bit of water to ensure the skin sticks on.
2. Make 20 dim sums.
3. Steam for 25 minutes.

Make your fried wontons:

1. Take a 1/4 teaspoon of the meat filling and place it in one corner of the wonton skin.
2. Dab a bit of water and fold the corner inward, enclosing the filling in a small triangle. 
3. Make another fold inward, enclosing the filling once again.
4. Dab a bit of water along your last fold.
5. Take each side of the fold towards each other, then overlap them in the middle. Press to ensure they stick to each other.
6. Make 20 wontons.
7. Deep fry on medium heat until golden brown.  Make sure you keep flipping them around to have an even browning.
8. Once done, drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Make your chilli sauce:

1. Place your chillies and garlic in a pot with a cup of water.  Bring it up to a boil for 10 minutes.
2. After 10 minutes, drain the chillies and garlic, leaving 1/2 cup of the water in the pot.
3. Grind the chillies and garlic in a food processor without any water into a paste. 
4. Put your paste back into the pot along with 1/2 cup of water and cook for 5 minutes.

Prepare your rice vermicelli:

1. Soak in cold water for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Time to assemble:

1. In a bowl, place your vermicelli.
2. Add your stuffed tofu, dim sums and beef balls.
3. Pour in your hot stock
4. Add kecap manis to taste.
5. Sprinkle with chopped spring onions and fried eschallots.
6. Serve with chilli sauce on the side.

https://youtu.be/wId-0Y-9iEw