Visiting Shimogamo Shrine on a beautiful February morning
was a pure bliss. Continue reading “Shimogamo Shrine, Kyoto”
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Tag: Vegetarian
Recipe: Root Vegetables Farro Salad
For someone who get most of her produce from an outdoor farmers market, I have to admit, this time of the year in the Pacific Northwest isn’t all that exciting. My favorite vendor of wild mushrooms and other foraged food is on a three-month hiatus. And there aren’t many choices of green vegetables, if any at all, to choose from.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a delicious healthy meal. I made this salad over the weekend. I love the nutty flavor and the chewy texture of the farro and the natural sweetness from the caramelized root vegetables. I highly recommend it. Continue reading “Recipe: Root Vegetables Farro Salad”
Wild Mushroom Risotto
This wild mushroom risotto recipe is adapted from “Cooking Wild in the Northwest“, by Seattle chef John Sundstrom.
It delivers a creamy texture and is packed with rich flavors.
Ingredients:
For the mushroom stock:
Continue reading “Wild Mushroom Risotto”
Wild Mushroom Lasagna
This lasagna has a golden crispy crust and a savory aromatic filling, not to mention the health benefit of seasonal wild foraged mushrooms.
Ingredients: Continue reading “Wild Mushroom Lasagna”
Ratatouille
Summer is almost over. With the abundance of fresh produce in the market, now is the time to make ratatouille.
Bostock
Two things I miss most from visiting b.patisserie in San Francisco: one is chef Brenda Leong’s delicious kouign amann – I have yet to find anything like it in Seattle. The other is Bostock.
Bostock is toasted brioche soaked in pastry syrup, topped with almond cream(frangipane) and sliced almonds. It is quite easy to make, as long as you have day-old brioche. I didn’t have day-old brioche at hand, so I made one from scratch and waited till the next day to make bostock. I know it sounded like wasting a good loaf of freshly baked brioche. But when one wants a bostock, one must have it!
Ingredients:
Orange Pastry Syrup
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
orange juice, Grand Marnier, Cointeau or Triple Sec (to taste)
Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring syrup to a boil. Once sugar dissolves, remove from heat and cool. Add orange juice or liquer to syrup. Syrup keeps up to one month in the refrigerator. Continue reading “Bostock”
Brioche
The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight…
―MFK Fisher
It’s been a while since I baked brioche. I almost forgot how intoxicating it smelled when one is in the oven. This recipe, adopted from L’Academie de Cuisine, yields approximately two pounds of dough, which will make 4 small, 2 medium or 1 large load of bread.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 4 cups (1lb) all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 eggs
- 1 cup (8oz) room temperature butter
Quinoa & Veggie Souffle
“The only thing that will make a souffle fall is if it knows you’re afraid of it”
-James Beard
The first time I made a soufflé, it was a screaming success! I mean look at it – it rose up high and even, had the right amount of air pockets; The texture was light and fluffy, and the taste amazing. Continue reading “Quinoa & Veggie Souffle”
Chanterelle Mushrooms – Sauté & Omelette
With rain, comes mushroom. This morning I stopped by our neighborhood farmers market and found a bountiful of locally foraged wild mushrooms: chanterelles, black trumpets, lobsters, cauliflowers, and king bolettes, also known as porcini mushrooms.
I also found this little girl putting on a beautiful smile which instantly brights up an otherwise wet and greyish Sunday.
Given that it rains a lot in this part of the Pacific Northwest, we can almost ‘harvest’ mushrooms all year round. With proper knowledge and education, you can go foraging on you own. Last year I went with a guide to the Olympic Peninsula, we didn’t have to venture far into the woods to get a bagful of fragrant chanterelles. But admittedly, I prefer to stay warm and dry, so I get mine from this stand at the farmers market.
Cantharellus cibarius, commonly known as the chanterelle, golden chanterelle or girolle, is a fungus. It is probably the best known species of the genusCantharellus, if not the entire family of Cantharellaceae. It is orange or yellow, meaty and funnel-shaped. On the lower surface, underneath the smooth cap, it has gill-like ridges that run almost all the way down its stipe, which tapers down seamlessly from the cap. It emits a fruity aroma, reminiscent of apricots and a mildly peppery taste (hence its German name, Pfifferling) and is considered an excellent edible mushroom.
With chanterelle mushrooms, I prefer to prepare them the simplest ways: sauté and omelette. Continue reading “Chanterelle Mushrooms – Sauté & Omelette”
Cheese Straws
Last weekend Grace and I hiked to Lake Ingalls to see the glorious golden larches in their prime colors. Remembered that I had leftover puff pastry dough in the freezer from baking the caramelized apple tart, I made Cheese Straws to bring along as snacks. Continue reading “Cheese Straws”
