i hope you eat good food, grow beautiful things, and have more love than you know what to do with.
Sometimes I fall down the rabbit hole of making things traditionally in order to experience and understand the work and history that goes into food (and subsequently culture.) Mei gan cai kou rou (梅乾菜燜肉) is a dish my mom and grandma used to make–soft fatty …
My kids love sushi. Actually, let me amend that. My kids are crazy about raw seafood and raw red meat–like ceviche, sushi, sashimi, carpaccio, tartar. Sometimes when I am too lazy to cook, I’ll set a pot of rice, grab some frozen salmon or frozen …
Everyone hates garlic mustard, generally. I know I wasn’t a big fan even after turning it into pesto because there really is only so much you can eat of it before you can’t. It’s considered a noxious and invasive weed, crowding out everything in it’s …
It’s kind of hard to explain the flavor of indian aster, Kalimeris indica, also known as Ma Lan Tou (馬蘭頭), herby and little cooling on the tongue, a hint of bitterness that you’re almost not quite certain is there, but refreshing and somewhat addictive. Most …
My parents had given me a huge bag of plums about two years ago that I had layered in syrup until all the liquids leeched out into a runny syrup, which I used for cooking anything that needed a bump of sweetness. From teriyaki sauces …
I keep frozen ahi tuna blocks in my freezer for hot days when I have no energy to turn on the stove. A simple carpaccio paired with some bread is always a hit with the family who like raw fish in all shapes and forms. …
Around now (March) is when mugwort is popping up in the garden which means it’s time to start weeding it. If I don’t, it inevitably becomes an unmanageable mess, and most people view it as a noxious and invasive weed. It is and it isn’t, …
I made this a lot last year when I was growing eggplants and it is still one of my favorite ways to use up a vegetable I otherwise don’t pay much attention to. Cold or hot, over some white rice is just an absolute divine …
I went with my mom to the supermarket yesterday and discovered the one slightly further into Flushing had… fresh sea urchin. As in unopened spiky globes hiding delicious roe goodness. Of course, me being me, I bought four (My mom said “I knew you’d be …
My oldest loves nametake (although she’s generally a fiend for all mushrooms)–and at 9 years old it’s really easy for her to grab some rice from the rice cooker and top it off with some for an after school snack. I make a few jars …