Tips

Grilled Asparagus

“We just picked these this morning” said the seller, pointing at the long stemmed asparagus. Some had a purple hue…good looking bunch indeed. Another round of Lake Oswego Farmer’s Market opened on the 17th of May.These are our catches of the day.

My husband and I always enjoy such an outing, and seldom decline offerings from vendors. Would you like to taste? Would I ever! It’s a ‘line’ I know…they are casting a line to lure in the customer. However, my purchase is helping the economy…the seller’s economy at least.

Unlike the previous week, this asparagus dish doesn’t look that pretty when cooked yet it tastes great. I like having this with warm cooked pasta. Add some chill powder in the herb mix if you like some kick.

Ingredients and Instructions (Print Recipe here)

Necessary Equipment: Gas or charcoal grill

• 4 Tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• *Herb mix -  parsley, dill, chives, mint and basil 1 Tablespoon each. *Use minced fresh herb if you have it.
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
• 4 teaspoons of white wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoons stone ground Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• Kosher salt  and freshly ground black pepper
• 8-10 asparagus, hard stem trimmed and peeled 2/3rd way up. Use whole or cut in 3 inch long pieces for easier consumption. You need a grilling basket or foil in that case.
• 1/2 purple onion (optional)
• 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil

1. Put cream cheese, herbs, milk, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, lemon zest and salt and pepper (perhaps 1/2 teaspoon each of the salt & pepper; more or less) in a bowl and blend with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until smooth. Set aside.
   
2. Heat gas or charcoal grill over medium high heat.
3. Toss the asparagus and purple onion wedge with olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay asparagus on the grill perpendicular so that asparagus won’t fall through the grill gate. Put the purple onion on the side. Put cut asparagus on the grilling basket or top of foil. We used this handy grilling mat.
4. Grill the asparagus for 1-2 minutes then brush with the cream cheese mixture* Grill for 1-2 minutes longer until the asparagus is tender but still crunchy. Do the same for onion (if using – it takes longer).
5. Chop or slice grilled onion and put it on the asparagus (optional). Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.

*Option #1: Instead of brushing asparagus with cream cheese mixture, Mix gently AFTER asparagus was grilled. This method is better for cut asparagus.

*Option #2: Forget brushing cream cheese mixture during grilling or mixing it after, instead use as dipping sauce.

Sweet! This vender gave me several spoonful's of sugar, I mean honey and jam to taste.

The peach blossom honey.

Aloha! He was from Hawaii, surprise, surprise! He went to Kahuku High School. Really? That’s where my daughter teaches. He now resides in Washington State.

Stopped by the nursery on the way home for a few veggie starts. The red Adirondack chairs are adorable, over $500 each…not that cute!.

We had  a few days of hot weather last week that helped ripen the strawberries in our back yard.We topped them on the sour dough waffles.Darling, this is great!In the mille-feuille.like dessert.  Thumbs up from my husband.

I’m responsible to do various activities with my church girls (8 to 11 years old) twice a month. I helped them make Angie’s flourless peanut butter cookies last week.It was fun! A bit messy but fun!

Just let you know….I’m leaving for Hawaii today…unplanned rather emergency trip though grateful to see my grand daughter. Thankful she is doing well.

My husband promised me he will post Kimchee-blue cheese croissant from Momofuku’s Milk Bar cook book next week… I have some reservations but it will be fine, right? See you in a couple weeks.

Matsutake Three Ways

Matsutake mushroom and Bok Choy Sauté

My husband got an email from his co-worker one Saturday saying that they saw matsutake mushroom at such and such market (my husband does not recall the name of the market but that is not an important part of this story) for 16 dollars per pound. ‘Do you want it? asked the co-worker. At the Japanese super market, matsutake mushrooms sell for nearly 50 dollars per pound at the beginning of Fall and price will come down to half at the end of the season but so and so market price was lower than that. My husband asked for a conservative 1 pound proxy purchase.

When my husband and I were still young with just my daughter, we took a broken television to a tiny repair shop. The repairman happened to be Japanese and he shared a few matsutake mushrooms he had hunted in Mt.Hood. It was a tender moment, I hadn’t had that delicacy in years and I never dreamed of having them in the US but there they were right in front of me.

The following Monday morning, my husband and co-worker made the exchange.

Do you have the goods?
Yeah, do you have the money?
Yeah.
Good.
Good. This never happened, capish?

Joking aside, it definitely was a great buy. The aroma and texture were excellent. We should have bought more. What is the name of the mystery market honey?

Ingredients and Instruction for two servings

• Matsutake mushroom 2-3 Use the bristle brush to remove dirt under running water then pat dry, cut off hard stem ends.
• Bok Choy 2-3, separate each leaf and clean
• Ginger roots about size of adult thumb. Peel skin and julienne.
• Vegetable oil or peanut oil  2 teaspoons, divided
• Chinese chicken broth 4 Tablespoons Note: I used soup granule (approximately 1 teaspoonful) dissolved in 4 Tablespoons warm water.
• Salt to taste
• Soy sauce  or ponzu sauce (optional)
• Red pepper for garnish (optional)

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in wok or non-stick skillet at medium heat. Sauté matsutake mushrooms until aromatic, about 1 minute. Place the mushrooms on a plate. Set aside.
2. Heat remaining oil in the same pan and add bok choy and ginger and sauté for 1-2 minutes at medium heat.
3. Pour in the chicken broth and continue sautéing until vegetable is tender.
4. Put matsutake mushrooms back in the wok and stir to combine.
5. Salt to taste. Add a few drops of soy sauce or ponzu sauce if you desire. Garnish with red pepper (optional) and serve.

My daughter sent my husband a Stove Top Smoker for his birthday in September. I placed matsutake mushrooms, maitake mushroom and eringi mushroom in it.And closed the lid.Voila!OK… it worked, stinking up the whole house in the process though. Hummm, I think we killed the nice fragrance of matsutake and replaced it with less desirable smoky flavor, beside it works better on meat?…but that was a fun experiment wasn’t it?… I try not to put blame on my husband.

Matsutake rice is our favorite. And it goes well with sautéed matsutake mushroom and bok choy. I stumbled upon a male Japanese blogger who hikes to the mountain to hunt for mushrooms around this time. I recently tried his award winning okonomiyaki recipe  (I forgot to take photo) and it was terrific! His blog, written in both Japanese and English, is worth checking out.

We saw this No-Knead Artisan loaf recipe by Jeff Herzberg and Zoe Francois in Oregonian FOODDAY. It had really good texture. Super easy said my husband.

Also discovered in FOODDAY was World’s Best Lasagna recipe. I crumble under the words like ‘Best”  If it says “World’s” in front of  “Best” then I must try it. This one however is a touch over rated.

I made Banana and Walnuts Rolled Cake for dessert. This perhaps is a post worthy recipe for next Tuesday? But I can’t really think so far ahead.

Goodwill hunting with my friend the other day and I decided that I can’t live with out this vase. Just $1.99, so money can buy love some times? Roses in our garden are on their last leg.

Rain is back and gloomy in Portland. I went and bought a ‘cheer me up’ item from the grocery store…glowing light of sunshine.

Have a happy rest of the week!

 

 

 

 

Side Effect

Steamed Lotus root and greens

‘It’s not easy being green’. Kermit the Frog is right. I know I will never be a vegetarian. However, my inner thoughts are telling me I should be more sparing on meats and stay away from sweets or was that my waist line talking? When I feel heavy (literally) I must go for a green (er) dish.

This dish’s crunchy lotus roots were satisfying and require only one skillet plus it is low-fat. The only thing I would do differently next time is omit the vinegar and use lemon juice instead. Vinegar gives this dish some tanginess but discolors the greens. Over all this is a simple dish yet the variations could be endless. Although we had it as a main dish, it would be a great side dish.

Ingredients for 2 servings

Equipment: non-stick skillet with lid

• Lotus root 2 tubes (see picture) Scrub skin well under running water. Slice into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces.
  
• Leafy greens – Swiss chard, collard greens or bok choy roughly chopped.
• Olive oil 3 Tablespoons
• Vinegar or lemon juice 2 Tablespoons
• Whole grain mustard 1 Tablespoon
• Water 1-2 Tablespoons

1. Soak sliced lotus roots in a bowl full of water for 2-3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare sauce by combining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, vinegar(or lemon juice) and mustard in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Pat dry lotus roots with paper towel. Heat remaining 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick skillet at medium high heat. Lay lotus roots in the skillet and slightly brown both sides.
   
4. Pour water in the skillet then immediately cover with lid. Steam for 2-3 minutes.
5. Coat greens with prepared sauce then place over the lotus roots, cover with lid again and steam for additional 1-2 minutes.
6. Serve as is or with a little bit of soy sauce or ponzu sauce.

My husband had a business conference to attend and give a presentation at Emerald City. 4 days of movie madness on Netflix at home or 4 days of exploring the city (and some shopping), it was a hard choice but I chose the latter and went with him. This patch of land is near our hotel.It rained practically every day in the Seattle area. I was forced to be inside of the mall…not really. The weather was dry enough one afternoon, I strolled through Bellevue City Park next to Bellevue Square Mall. Still quite chilly, blossom of double cherry could still be seen here.Tiny Japanese cake shop Fumie’s Gold was at the edge of the park. I bought a Mount Blanc cake.

I ate at a section of the park called Belvedere.One single red rose I spotted stood out against the green back ground.

We had pretty good ramen at Kukai (空海) restaurant in Bellevue.

2nd visit to Lynn's Bistro in downtown Kirkland was again a pleasure. We tried three course dinner for $30 per person (They also offer three course for $40). Marvelous dinner rolls were welcomingly warm.

Before heading home, we stopped at KiKi’s delivery service. Just kidding. It’s a Taiwanese bakery. Most breads are $1.75. $5 if you buy three.The vanilla pudding we ate in the car. I don’t want to brag but mine are a notch silkier.The side effect of good eating is already happening. More green diet have to be enforced.

These calla lilies are gift from neighbor. She kindly pointed out that I spelled calla lily wrong in the last post. I like her and her mom!Too much light maybe? Taking good photos is difficult but correcting photos using computer program is even harder.