Kangkong Episodes

I. One time in Fresno, we were discussing the version of sinigang we just had. Abroad sometimes you have to improvise with regards to ingredients of Filipino dishes and I think the leaves we found floating in our sinigang were a little suspect. Chip and I discussed this with our young cousins.
Me: Those leaves weren't kangkong, right?
Chip: Nope. Don't you get kangkong anywhere here?
Tricia: What's kangkong?
Me: (long pause) Leaves.
Chip: Green leaves.
Me: Chinese green leaves.
Tricia: No, we don't.
Daniel: Yes, we do.
Tricia: What?
Daniel: We get green leaves here. I saw some at the Filipino store.
Me: Kangkong?
Daniel: Well, green leaves.

Just go up to the clerk and ask for a bundle of green leaves.
* I checked. Kangkong is Chinese Water Spinach in English.

II. Our house in Subic came with a drum half-filled with soil (does this mean I see the cup as half-full?) beside the patio. As soon as he could, Husband put some water in it and threw in a handful of kangkong stems. He called it his kangkong plantation (yesssss, delusions of grandeur); I called it dengue breeding ground. We enjoyed several harvests before we finally moved back to the city.

III. Last saturday, MIL treated us to this All-you-can-eat place and Marguerite became a fan of crispy kangkong (or krispy kangkong for fans of the letter k). MIL turned to Husband and said, "You can quit your job now." If he does, we'll get Marguerite's food supply from a tub in the garden. I can see the title of the piece: "IT Guy Quits Job to Be Kangkong King". It'll be our version of urban homesteading.