Ginger, Uprooted

Our friends Justin and Amy were in Honolulu for my birthday, back in September 2011. They got me a lovely edible ginger plant. I tried to water it regularly, but it was difficult to keep healthy. Over the months, the green leaves began to turn brown. Four stalks of leaves became three, and then three became two. Just a couple of weeks ago, it became apparent that the plant was no longer holding on. The leaves were brown and sagging, so I pulled them out and went digging in the soil. To my surprise, I found a huge ginger root! It turns out that the plant was growing and thriving--underground. I pulled off a small chunk of the root and placed in back in the soil. The rest was turned into dinner: deep fried ginger shredded beef (a la Crystal Dynasty)!