We had a lovely harvest of kaffir lime leaves  last month before taking our plants indoors for the winter. Usually, we sell our fresh, hand-picked, organically grown crop (aka makrut lime leaves) directly to local New Seasons grocery stores. However, this year we tried something different. To make the leaves last longer, we dehydrated them, ground them into powder, and packed them in spice jars. We are selling the 0.5 ounce jars for $10 each. Quantity is very limited. See For Sale page to order.

Kaffir lime leaves are a key ingredient in Southeast Asian dishes such as curries and soups. But fresh leaves are not always available throughout the year. That's why it's nice to have some powdered leaves on hand. Renowned cooking school teacher and cookbook author Patricia Wells even uses the fragrant citrus flavor of kaffir lime leaf powder to perk up oils , noodle dishes, roasted nuts, and even ice cream! Check our Tasty Tips Blog for our newly posted Tom Kha Gai (Thai coconut milk soup) recipe that uses kaffir lime leaves as well as our previously posted recipes Thai Green Curry Paste for Fish and Indonesian Sambal Tauco.

This spicy dish originates from Sichuan province in China. In most Chinese American restaurants it is served with pork. My meatless version showcases the Jerusalem artichokes (aka sunchokes) that we harvest in our backyard in the fall. Be sure to prepare the wood ear mushrooms at least 4 hours ahead of cooking time. Enjoy.

One of the fun things about eating in a Thai restaurant with family or friends is picking several different types of curry dishes from the menu for all to enjoy. A choice of vegetables, meats, chicken, fish or tofu may be paired with the options of yellow, green, red, Massaman or Panang style curry pastes as the base for the dish. Here is my recipe for making green curry paste that perfectly complements fish and captures the fabulous flavors of Southeast Asian cuisine. Enjoy!
​

Pan fry the coriander, cumin, and white pepper seeds in a heavy pan (without oil) on medium heat until they begin to smoke. Put on goggles or glasses to protect the eyes before using the mortar and pestle. Place the roasted seeds into the mortar and pulverize them with a pestle. Put in the rest of the ingredients one-by-one in the order in the order listed below, and pulverize each with the pestle before adding the next one:

Ingredients for curried fish (6 servings)

​First rinse the fish and rub it with lime juice. Next season the fish with salt and pepper to taste. Mix the spelt, tapioca, and all purpose flours together in a shallow bowl, then coat the fish with the flour mixture. Heat about 4 tablespoons of vegetable in a frying pan over medium heat until it is hot. Add the battered fish and fry it until it is golden brown. (The center does not have to be fully cooked.) Set aside the fried fish.

Using a clean stainless steel pan or wok, cook the green curry paste until it changes color from light green to dark green. Next place the solid part of the coconut milk along with the kaffir lime leaves into the wok and fry until the fat separates from the mixture. Pour in the rest of the coconut milk and fish broth and bring to a boil. Continue to reduce the sauce until it reaches the desired consistency to suit your palette, ranging from syrupy to thick.

Place in all of the cut vegetables and turn the heat up to high. When the vegetables are almost cooked (2 to 5 minutes) put in the fish and bring the curry back to a boil just before serving. Place the curried fish in a serving platter and garnish it with cilantro leaves.

Although we have stayed close to home throughout the COVID pandemic, venturing out mainly for shopping, picking up library materials and occasional walks beyond our neighborhood, we found the call of the wild irresistible this autumn. The hunt for mushrooms beckoned.

We reveled in the welcome awakening of our senses to the changes of light, texture, sound, temperature, aroma and movement over trails, logs, rocks, sand and duff. The awesome wonder of discovery in places we had never been to (or revisited) was so seductive. Though we did not have a banner year as far as mushrooming goes, we did find a few forest delights: a few pounds of lobster mushrooms, a couple of matsutakes and a pound of oyster mushrooms cropping out on a fallen tree log. We feasted on lobster mushroom risotto for Thanksgiving. The matsutake became the star ingredients in a Japanese rice dish and broth. An oyster mushroom quiche was the feature of our recent Sunday brunch menu.

Shortly after coming to Oregon 13 years ago, we joined the Oregon Mycological Society. They sponsor field trips, hold classes and monthly meetings, host an annual Fall Mushroom Show and are a great resource for learning more about the wealth of mushrooms that are here in our midst. Great comradery, too.

Our Golden Rule for mushrooming is that we only cook with wild mushrooms that we have positively verified as edible. Today there is a wide variety of good edible mushrooms sold in local groceries and farmers’ markets. Each type has special qualities, textures and tastes. Certain mushrooms may sometimes be just the right ingredient to add to a soup, an egg dish, a stir fry, a pasta, a gravy and so much more. So take advantage of the edible fungi available to you in the market and experiment.

Below is our recipe for a mushroom quiche that uses the white button mushrooms or brown cremini mushrooms, both in the agraricus bisporus family and readily available in grocery stores. Enjoy!

Summer is here in Oregon, ushered in by record-breaking heat. It's so important to stay hydrated these days. We are keeping our water pitchers filled, our ice tray as full as possible and enjoying iced mint tea using the fresh mint from our garden.  Our backyard strawberries are especially delicious this year so we have found ways to showcase them. Here we share our cooling recipes with you. Enjoy!

Just in time for July 4th! This red, white and blue treat makes a perfect, cool dessert for the occasion. It's easy to make. The almond custard and strawberry sauce should be prepared a day ahead so that they can cool overnight in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

• 2 packets unflavored gelatin (Knox)
• 1¾ cups cold water
• 1½ cups milk (cow, unflavored soy or other)
• 1T almond extract
• 2 pints (2 lbs) rinsed, hulled & drained strawberries
• 1/3 cup sugar (or half sugar and half stevia according to manufacturer substitution quantities)
• 1 T lemon juice (from half a lemon)
• 1 T kirchwasser (optional)
• 1 pint (1 lb) rinsed & drained blueberries 

Making the Custard

1. Place ½ cup cold water in mixing bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin packets over it and let soften for 5 minutes.
2. Bring the remaining 1¼ cup of water in saucepan and bring to boil.
3. Add boiled water to softened gelatin and stir until it dissolves and becomes clear.
4. Stir in milk and almond extract.
5. Pour mixture into Pyrex dish (7½” x 12”).
6. Refrigerate at least 4 hours until custard is firmly set.

​

Making the Strawberry Sauce

1. Thickly slice 1 lb of the rinsed strawberries and place them in a saucepan with the sugar, lemon juice and kirshwasser. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
2. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or so until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally
3. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate in clean jars. (Makes about 3 cups.)

​

Assembling

1. Use a sharp knife to cut across the cold custard to make diagonal cuts 1” apart one way and then the other way.
2. Use a thin spatula to go underneath the cut custard and gently place the diamonds in a large bowl. A glass bowl is especially nice to see the layers.
3. Spoon the strawberry sauce over the custard (to your liking).
4. Spread the fresh strawberries and blueberries on top.
5. Serve in small bowls. 

​

​Summer Smoothie

We have been enjoying blood orange juice for several months now. In the spring, we combined blood oranges with caracara oranges for a delicious breakfast treat. Now that we have strawberries from our own yard, we have created our special summer smoothie. Easy to make, so refreshing on a hot summer day!
​

Ingredients
2 lbs blood oranges (juiced)
½ cup rinsed & hulled strawberries
¼ lemon (squeezed)
1 cup ice cubes
 
Combine ingredients all in a blender for a minute. Makes about 3 cups of delicious juice.

​HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
 
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have spent the year at home: walking in our neighborhood, gardening, teaching online, stepping out to shop only as needed (always wearing masks) and cooking up a storm. We have a standing Happy Hour once a week via Zoom with some good friends. But drinking on an empty stomach is not a great idea. So, our favorite go-to Happy Hour snack has become Curry Puffs. Now we keep a stash in the freezer for snacking at other opportune times. During this holiday season, we hope you’ll enjoy them, too.  

Fermented foods are a great source of probiotics because they contain live bacteria which support gut health for most people. The Indonesian cuisine I grew up on has many different types of fermented dishes, including tempeh (made from compressed soybeans) and many types of acar (pickled vegetables). But one of my favorite go-to dishes is steamed vegetables served with sambal tauco, a delicious dipping sauce made with miso — another fermented soybean product. Homemade sambal tauco is easy to make and so much more flavorful than what you can buy on the shelves of Asian markets. It can also used for barbequing fish or adding into stir fries. Enjoy making this exciting, savory sauce in your own kitchen.
​

Ingredients:
​

• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 fresh tomatoes, finely diced
• 2 sliced chili peppers (adjust spiciness to taste, preferably red  chili, can substitute with other chilies, as well as other forms of chilies, i.e., dried chili or chili paste)
• 4 T red miso, coarse texture
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, cut to 3-inch pieces and smashed
• 2 Asian bay leaves
• 5 kaffir lime leaves
• 3 T Indonesian sweet soy sauce (may substitute soy sauce with a with dash of molasses and brown sugar)
• 2 T cooking oil (canola is good to use)

In these days of the CO"VID-19 pandemic, we try to limit our trips to the market. Our rhythm now is to go shopping about every four to six weeks and stock up at Asian food markets, Trader Joe's, Natural Grocers, Costco and other places along the I-205 corridor. This venture can take about 6 hours with all the masking & unmasking and gloving & ungloving and waiting in lines. By the time we get home, we're wiped out. But the bright side is that our refrigerator, freezer and pantry are newly stocked and we can get to work in the kitchen to make some wonderful meals. 

On my last shopping excursion, I bought a frozen duck in Fubonn Shopping Center, and we've been enjoying some delicious duck delicacies this summer.

First, I made a marinade with dried mandarin orange peel, star anise, whole black pepper, Asian cinnamon bark, ginger, Xiao Xing Chinese wine, light soy sauce, five spices, honey and black tea. After simmering and cooling it, I placed the duck in a plastic bag, poured the marinade in and sealed the bag and placed it in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, I smoked the duck on a wooden plank over indirect heat using mesquite and charcoal briquettes stacked in baskets at the sides of the grill.

Smoking is a slow cooking process. Total grilling time is about 4 hours ​(depending on heat inside grill). After lighting the fire and placing the hot charcoal in the baskets, here's what to do:

1. Place the marinated duck breast-side down on the plank to begin with.
2. After about 90 minutes, turn the duck breast-side up and add some wood chips. 
3. After another hour, add more wood chips.

With Father’s Day approaching and summer around the bend, it’s time to get the grill ready for some great barbecued ribs. The secret, of course, lies in the rub and the sauce. The recipe I’ve developed blends the best of East and West condiments and creates an exotic “a party in the mouth.” Both the rub and the sauce can be made ahead of time and stored tightly in bottles for later use. Enjoy!

Note: This recipe also is great for grilling chicken or beef ribs. Even fish or shrimp.
​

​The Rub (for 2 slabs of baby back pork ribs, about 3½ lbs)

• 2 T Korean pepper (ground)
• 2 T sumac
• 1 T ancho chili (ground)*
• 1 T garlic powder
• 2½ T paprika
• 1½ T black pepper
• 2½ T brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt

  * Penzey's Arizona Dreaming Seasoning can also be used. 

The Basting Sauce

• 2½ cups tomato ketchup
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins)
• 1 T organic molasses
• 1 T (heaping) brown sugar
• 2 T Sriracha sauce
• 2 tsp Tabasco sauce
• ½ cup red wine vinegar

​