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May 29, 2006
Recent Food Discoveries
Sorry to go so long without an entry. Life and work (and lots of work) have been conspiring to cut down on my blogging. I'm going to post a few quick notes on some recent food discoveries.
- Asian pears. Mmmmm. I tried my very first Asian pear a few weeks back. Oh, are they good. I didn't try one for the longest time because I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of a pear that was supposed to be crunchy. Silly me. They taste like pears and are crunchy and so juicy that they drip all over your chin. Mmm. All the ones I can find in the grocery store right now come from Chile. My commitment to local seasonal eating has wavered.
- Brown rice sushi. Mollie Stone's sells California rolls made with brown rice in their deli case. They have a nice nutty brown rice flavor. This would overpower the delicate flavors of real sushi, but in a supermarket California roll, it's a nice improvement.
- Mollie's Natural Kitchen Moroccan Red Lentil Soup. Beats the heck out of soggy take-out Chinese food when you have to eat dinner at work.
- Collard greens. I cooked collard greens (with black-eyed peas and ham) for the first time recently. It is probably a measure of what a Yankee I am that my basic reaction was, "Oh, it's sort of like kale, only not frilly." I like kale. So I like collards. I need to learn to cook collard greens Ethiopian style, though, because those are the best thing in the world.
- Sriracha hot sauce. I've been using Sriracha hot sauce for forever, but I recently discovered that it makes a great sandwich spread. Use it the same way you would mustard. It gives a real kick to a turkey sandwich.
- Celestial Seasonings Chocolate Caramel Enchantment Chai Tea. Chai. With chocolate and caramel. Yum.
- Iron Goddess oolong tea. With a name like Iron Goddess, it's got to be good.
Not precisely a food discovery, but I'm am thrilled that blueberries, raspberries, cherries, and blackberries are now appearing. I would cheerfully live on low-fat yogurt and berries.