Kale Chips

Kale has been labeled as a "superfood" because of its high content of micronutrition and fibers. It is especially rich in vitamin K--a cup of kale leaves contains 1020% of the daily requirement--that I wonder if I might overdose with it. No wonder kale has gain popularity among health-minded people. Look at all the kale chips in the organic sections in Whole Foods and Trade Joe's. 

I have grown some kale seeds this winter and it gave a very modest production. Timmy has been buying kales regularly and making kale chips at home and is very good at it. I thought, why don't I make some kale chips out of my own kale?

Kale, underneath an artichoke

They look green and "fibery". 

Kale chips with pistachios and red pepper flakes

1)Rinse.
2)Take hard stems off kale leaves (leave only tender leaves and stems)
3)Spin-dry the leaves.
4)Add olive oil liberally.
("Liberally" is the way Julia Child added parsley in her dishes. I thought she must be in love with parsley when I heard it. A study on the Mediterranean diet has suggested that people consume 3 tsp of olive oil daily.)

5)Massage the leaves evenly with olive oil. 
6)Spread the leaves on a baking tray. Try not to lay leaves on top of each other.
7)Add salt, red-chili flakes (optional), pistachios, some lemon juice.
8)Conventional oven 300F,15 min or until the leaves are crispy but not burned.

The result was pretty good--they are flaky, spicy, and tangy. 

Early last year I started to be more aware of the relation of health, nutrition and diet. Timmy and I have been eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grain and nuts. Sometimes I wonder, does this really work? After all, "the war against cancer" has been totally a failure in the past 30 years. Everyday thousands of people are diagnosed of all kinds of cancers and are then suffering from destructive therapies. What is this all about? Why can't people peacefully exit with grace? What's the secret of longevity? I really admire what Michelle Obama has been doing to promote healthy diets and exercises. It is important to everyone.

Vegetarian dumplings in Chinese New Year

This is a late post about Chinese New Year. 

In 2013 Chinese New Year (Snake Year), I made vegetarian dumplings. These vegetarian dumplings are traditionally made on Chinese New Year eve and eaten on the next day, with the hope that the whole next year will go by smoothly. I guess it is because eating meat involves killing, chopping--things related to anxiety and lack of peace. The recipe is from my aunt. My grandma and my mother used it too. 

Here it is:

Ingredients: 1/4 Napa cabbage, 2 carrots, a small bundle of green bean vermicelli, 5~6 mushrooms, a small bundle of bean sprouts, some cilantro, fermented bean curd (Ranch 99 has), sesame oil, and salt.

To make the filling:

1. The cabbages are chopped and squeezed out water. 

2. The other vegetables are chopped and mixed with chopped cabbage. 

3. Add fermented bean curd and sesame oil. Taste. Maybe add more.

4. Add salt and taste.

To make the dumpling:

5. Follow the procedure described before to wrap the dumpling.

http://joelvegetablegarden.blogspot.com/2012/09/zucchini-shrimp-potstickers.html

To boil the dumpling (Option 1):

6. Boil plenty of water in a large pot. Add dumplings and gently stir. In a minute or two, the dumplings will float. Keep boiling until the wrap is fully cooked. Total time 4~5 minutes. 

To steam the dumpling (Option 2)

6'. Boil water in a large steaming pot. Put dumplings on wet cheese cloth. Cover and steam for 7~8 minutes. 

7. Serve hot with vinegar. 

The result was pretty good:

The vegetarian filling: Napa cabbage, carrots, mushrooms,bean sprouts, Fermented bean curd, sesame oil, etc. 

I boiled the dumplings. Steaming is another option.

Vegetarian dumplings

In my 20s I thought my life had taken an unconventional direction, but now it has converged to the path my parents and grandparents took. It is about making delicious food and sharing them with family and friends. It is about love, memories, and tradition. I love and am loved. 

Timmy said it was super delicious even though the flavor of fermented bean curd was a surprise.

Winter vegetables

It's a blessing to live in SoCal and grow vegetables year-round. In contrast to tomatoes and basil--these are warm-weather vegetable and herbs, you would choose to grow cool-weather vegetables. They are carrots, lettuce, peas, etc. 

As No. 1 rule of my gardening, and since I am a beginner, I have chosen the following as-said "easy-to-grow" vegetables:

1)Lettuce 

2)Kale

3)Garlic

4)Ginger

5)Peas

1, 2, 5 were from seeds. They all germinated quickly, but crickets had eaten most of the lettuce and kale seedlings. I had to plant another round of seeds immediately. Just the same time I read that a home gardener should not hope to plant one round of seeds, and then sit and wait for them to grow in a synchronized manner. A home garden is an open environment, and you constantly invite birds, insects, and little mammals whether you like it or not. So you should constantly replace the growth, particularly when you are some sort of organic grower. 

Here are the pictures:

Upper: Kale, Sage, Ginger, strawberries, garlics.Lower: Lettuce

Three peppers (Sweet pepper, Serrano, Jalapeno) and peas

This is the flower bed. Now it has lavenders, rosemary, catmint, thyme, and a Christmas Poinsettia.

Chimichurri Sauce

I have tried three Chimichurri Sauce recipes from the Internet. This is the best one so far. 

1 cup Chopped parsley leaves and tender stems;
3~4 Garlic cloves, minced;
2 tsp Oregano (I used dried herbs);
1/2 cup olive oil;
2 tbsp red wine vinegar;
(I tried rice vinegar once, it was good too)
1 tsp sea salt;
1/4 tsp pepper;
1/4 tsp red pepper flake.

All mix together and sit at room temperature for one hour before serve. 

Zucchini Shrimp Potstickers

• 1 large zucchini, ~ 3 lb
• 15 uncooked peeled deveined shrimps, ~100 g
• 1 pkg gyoza/dumpling wraps
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 4 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp Chinese cooking wine
• 1 tsp corn starch
• Salt
• Vinegar (as dipping sauce)

1. Peel the zucchini squash, remove the seeds, shred into small pieces.
2. Squeeze the juice out with a cheesecloth.
3. (Thaw the shrimps if frozen) 
4. Mix cooking wine, 1/2 tsp salt, corn starch with the shrimps, let sit for 1/2 hr.
5. Heat 1 tsp vegetable oil in a pan, ~1 min.
6. Cook the shrimps until not raw, ~3 min.
7. Chop the shrimps into small pieces.
8. Mix well zucchini, shrimp, green onion, 2 tsp vegetable oil, 1/2 tsp soy sauce, and 1 tsp sesame oil. Sprinkle salt to taste.
9. Put 1 spoon of 8 in the center of a wrap, wet the edge of the wrap with water, stick the opposite sides to make the dumpling.
10. In the same way, make more dumplings.
11. Heat 1 tsp vegetable oil in a large sauce pan, ~ 1 min.
12. Place the dumplings in the saucepan.
13. Add 1 cup water
14. Cover the pan, bring to boil and then medium power, totally 8 min.
15. Uncover, cook 1 min more.
16. Serve with dipping sauce. 

Midsummer garden

At this time of a year, the garden gives a steady harvest everyday: tomatoes,zucchinis, peppers, and strawberries. The herbs are not good these hot days: the cilantro quickly turns into flowers and the basil grows slowly underneath the tomatoes.  

Everyday I make a salad with tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, rice vinegar, and some sesame oil. I am not a fan of "organic" food, but the naturally ripened tomatoes really taste better than those I buy in the grocery store. They are sweet, soft, juicy, and meaty as the same time. They remind me of growing up when we ate only seasonal and locally grown vegetables and the memories of summer. 

Steady harvest

The zucchinis in the photo were giant because I forgot to pick them up for a few days. Using three of them and some shrimps, for the first time I made gyoza. It was super delicious and "creamy". 

Last is a big green worm on the tomato plant.  

Epiphyllum flower

Epiphyllum

My boss gave me several epiphyllum leaves of two kinds: red and white. I have had them for two years and propagated them into 4 and 1/2 plants. I assume 3 and 1/2 of them are the red or pink epiphyllum, but they haven't bloomed yet, and thus I am not sure. When I moved them one day, I broke one healthy leaf, so I left it on the fern tree in the yard. Guess what happened? It survived and it now has new growth. I count it as 1/2. My explanation is that the epiphyllum can be grown as an air-plant (the kind of plant growing in the air, Florida has a lot).


The last one is white. I know it for sure because it has bloomed several times. It bears the little buds that get longer and longer in a few days. The next morning it suddenly withers and falls. It happened several times, leaving me so much regret. 


One morning I was watering the plants as usual. All of a sudden I saw this large, spectacular flower with numerous petals hanging from a leaf. It was so white, a little milky. It was so beautiful that I even forgot to smell its fragrance. 


To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.