It has been a while since I last made a soup with Burdock Root, 牛蒡 (also called Gobo or just Burdock). While this root is literally the foundation for a common weed that some find pesky, burdock root is known in several Asian food cultures to have cancer fighting abilities and health benefits. Europeans have also used this [Read More...]
If you like Japanese kabocha pumpkin like I do, this is the best time of the year to enjoy them. Although kabocha pumpkins are available year-round, they are at their best now in the late summer / early fall season. When picking a kabocha pumpkin, look for ones with a dark green skin and a dry corky [Read More...]
Fish head soup had not always been a favorite of mine. I even thought it was gross when I was younger, making remarks like “Eeeww! Fish heads are so nasty looking.” Granted, a fish head was not the most aesthetically pleasing sight when it comes to food, whether live or cooked. And even though the best part [Read More...]
This is a classic soup I grew up with. It is in fact a soup that my mother still makes routinely from time to time throughout the year. In the fall and winter months though, this soup would be found in my mother’s soup pot more frequently, as those would be the months when the radish [Read More...]
With Spring already here, the winter root vegetables and squashes are at a tail end of their seasonality. And one of my favorite winter vegetables, daikon, will soon disappear in the supermarkets until the next winter season. So while I can still find them, I decided to purchase some and make my last daikon soup until the [Read More...]
My husband and I were at our local farmer’s market today. And we (ok, more like me) indulged on a shopping spree of irresistibly fresh, colorful, and sweet-smelling organic seasonal fruits and vegetables. The produce at the market were so fresh. The vegetable leaves were thick and of a deep vibrant green. They looked so good [Read More...]
Today, March 20th, is equinox day and marks the first day of Spring in 2011 for those living in the Northern Hemisphere. This means the sun’s center is directly over the earth’s equator, giving us days and nights that are roughly equal in length. To welcome the coming of Spring, I wanted to make a delicious [Read More...]
This morning when I was browsing around the produce section of my local supermarket, I found really fresh papaya on sale. They were not too ripe and not too green. They smelled sweet, and they looked just fantastic. So I decided that I should make myself a good papaya soup today. There are many ways I enjoy [Read More...]
Early this morning, the temperature outside dropped to 32° F (or 0° C). With the heater running all night and a few nights of not-so-good sleep, I woke up today feeling very dry and thirsty. It was one of those thirst that I knew drinking water wouldn’t cure. I barely had any moisture or saliva in [Read More...]