A Scientist in the Kitchen

Here’s the round-up for last week’s Weekend Herb Blogging. A variety of herbs served in many ways to temp to your palate, tickle your fancy and satisfy your cravings. Truly, there’s never a dull moment in eating when it’s flavored with herbs.

Fresh from the farmers’ market, vine-ripened tomatoes, Thai basil and garlic make this Angel Hair Pomodoro with Garlic Shrimps pasta very special from The CookMobile.

Did you know that rhubarb is a combination of Greek rha and barbarum; rha being a term that referred to both to the plant and to the Volga River. You can also make them into delicious rhubarb pie. Check out the recipe at Almond Corner.

Imagine what the blog Flavors of the Sun connote… Dukkah, a blend of ground nuts and spices best known in Egypt surely exemplifies Victoria’s blog.

Are you familiar with the herb agretti? This is my first to hear about it, too. Lemon Garlic Agretti sounds delicious, too. Find out more from je je vous dirais.

Another something new for me is gongura, red sorrel, Hibiscus cannabinus… This gongura chutney is a must-try from Cooking 4 all Seasons.

Shrimps with fresh mushrooms and bell peppers from Heart and Hearth. What more could you ask for?

From Kalyn’s kitchen, here’s mango lassi - a traditional Punjabi beverage which blend yogurt with water, salt, and spices into a cooling summer drink.

From Mama’s Taverna, here’s Garbanzo Bean Soup - get the step by step recipe to enjoy one of the dishes that exemplify Greek cuisine.

I haven’t tasted pomegranate since I was a kid and this Lamb Chops with Pomegranate and Red Wine Sauce from Closet Cooking makes me crave for them once more.

From Laura’s kitchen, The Spiced Life, comes this West African Peanut Stew with Chicken, Spinach & Sweet Potatoes which even her kids approve!

Arborio rice, leeks, asparagus, peas, lemons and cheese make this a truly Spring Risotto from 1 tsp love.

Saffron and pineapples? Wouldn’t you want to try Papillote with saffron-pineapples? Check out Myfrenchkitchen for the recipes.

Those who want Grapefruit, Rosewater & Vanilla Marmalade, raise your hands!!! My imagination is running overtime trying to imagine how this delicious treat from Morsels & Musings taste like.

Basil adds a twist to hot corncakes with bacon and avocado from Ulrike from Küchenlatein.

What to do with the extra garlic and cilantro you bought? Make this spicy garlic-cilantro paste from feed yourself.

Porcellana or purslane is another new herb for me. A troublesome weed for many US crops but a rich source of nutrients. Simona of Briciole shares us more about this herb. You can even hear her pronounce the name in her audio file.

Eat local! Maria of Organically Cooked shares with us her advocacy with this stuffed zucchini flowers.

Grass jelly, chin chow or immortal grass. This is one jelly not from the sea from the herb Mesona chinensis. Find out more about it from Teczcape.

Mix herbs and three cheeses from Ancient Rome to come out with these delicious spreads from Erbe in cucina.

Technicolor Kitchen’s adorable crepes filled with corn and nutmeg speaks for itself. As she says, Isn’t it wonderful to know what to expect – visually speaking – from a recipe ?

The sea and the forests meet in this oysters with oyster mushroom sauté. Kits Chow tells us more about oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus). Incidentally, they are also a source of antibiotics called clitophilins.

I haven’t tried quinoa yet, so I hope someone would send me some. Ivy of Kopiaste received quinoa in the post from another food blogger and made this courgette croquettes with quinoa and anchovies.

Astrid (from Vienna) of Paulchen’s food blog shows off her assortment of herbs in a pot as she gets back into blogging. We hope to see more of her in the coming weeks.

Fennel seeds grace this taralli, the Italian version of bagels. LEMONPI shows us how to make Fennel Taralli.

Rhubarbs are really versatile (though I have yet to try them)! Where I’m Cooking shares with us Rhubarb Two Ways - mix with raisins or with vanillas.

Katie of Thyme for Cooking is enjoying asparagus season all-around. Check out her Oriental Asparagus Salad. Oops, I didn’t realize that there are also violet asparagus.

Risotto with Spring Vegetables (asparagus, sugar snap peas, artichokes) from sidewalk shoes heralds spring and asparagus season.

Marjoram makes this Marjoram & New Potatoes Terrine extra special. Check out this easy to follow recipe from Palachinka.

Let’s all welcome first-timer Joanna of Scalloped Edge as she shares with us her Radish Risotto.

Do you know what is cocona? I don’t know, either, so find out more about it from Canela & Comino.

Pistachios take centerfold in this lovely Pistachio and White Chocolate Cookies. Let’s all congratulate Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once for her 100th WHB posting!

What Did You Eat? Chickpea Pancakes!

Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies recreates this lemony parsley lentil soup she first tasted in a falafel 20 years ago!

Reviewing a Spanish cookbook results to Spanish White Gazpacho with almonds and grapes. Jennifer of Do you like to cook shows us how to make this delicious dish.

Another proof of rhubarb’s versatility. Rhubarb compote from Gluten Free Goodness.

I wouldn’t mind taking a bit or more of this Ground-Elder and Vanilla Muffins from Pille of nami-nami.

I didn’t know that dandelions are edible until I learned about it from Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. Find out how dandelions make this Eggs Rockefeller with Dandelions and Hollandaise extra special.

Do you like kimchi? I do! And this Pea Shoot Kimchi from feeding maybelle looks great!

Elizabeth of blog from OUR kitchen shares with us her favorite Chinese stir fry - broccoli with black beans.

Cauliflower steaks is this week’s entry from Cook sister! Check out her post and find out more about Bossom Buddies, too (or how you can help the cyclone victims from Myanmar).

Let me tell you more about my favorite herb, the lemon grass and how I made Lemon grass chicken barbecue, my entry to this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging.

Find out more about how versatile carrots can be, too, from Joanna’s Food.

This week’s (May 19-25, 2008) host is Cate of Sweetnicks. To join this wonderful event, check out the rules for Weekend Herb Blogging from Kalyn’s Kitchen.

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Don’t forget, I am also hosting an event to celebrate farmers’ markets everywhere. The deadline is May 31 so there is plenty of time for your spring/summer harvest.

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One of the key points for behavioral weight control programs is dietary self-monitoring. In a study conducted to investigate whether personal digital assistants would help in dietary self-monitoring, results show that using PDAs are comparabale to using traditional paper diaries for dietary self-monitoring during a weight loss program. More frequent monitoring, though, is correlated with weight loss in both methods.

This is where the ease of using a handheld calorie counter comes in. An example is the CalorieSmart handheld electronic calorie calculator and food diary which stores the nutritional information from over 35,000 food items. Dining out? Brand items are also at your finger tips. It also has the nutritional information from over 250 restaurants including your favorite fast food joint.Did you know that a cup of A Taste of Thai peanut noodles contain 300 calories? Or that a bacon double cheeseburger from Burger King has 540 calories (288 from fat)? Compare that to McDonalds double cheeseburger (460 calories, 207 from fat!). Nutritionists have put forward several steps for a successful weight loss program. This includes setting your goals and keeping a food and exercise diary to meet those goals. A food calorie counter will certainly go a long way to achieve your goals.

Not only do personal digital assistants perform well in keeping calories at bay, these can also help you in tracking your movements by counting calorie expenditure throughout the day. A study on how physical activity is promoted by using handheld computer technology reveal hand-held computers may be effective tools for increasing initial physical activity levels among underactive adults. In this study, 37 healthy, initially underactive adults 50 years or older participated. Physical activity levels were monitored twice per day, and the participants (n=19) received instructional session and a PDA program. In contrast, the controls (n=18) received standard, age-appropriate written physical activity educational materials. Participants using handheld PDAs reported significantly greater 8-week mean estimated caloric expenditure levels and minutes per week in increasing moderate intensity.

So consider using a handheld PDA to help you attain your goal.

I love to make spring rolls and trying on different kinds of filling. I got particularly excited to make spring rolls when I learned that a market nearby makes the spring roll wrappers themselves. As I’ve mentioned before, spring roll is called lumpia (here and here) in the Philippines. To go back to the freshly made lumpia wrapper, these are really way better than the ones I buy at home. They are still moist so it easy to roll them up. The ones I bought previously are so dried up it is difficult to roll.

Spring rolls are rather versatile as you can make any stuffing you want and still come up with a satisying dish. In this case, all I wanted was to make some green papaya springrolls. The papaya I can easily get from the backyard. The rest of the ingredients would be whatever is in the fridge.In the fridge were some carrots and cilantro and freshly grated coconut. So inspiration stuck and I’m using coconut in the spring roll. We normally don’t have freshly grated coconuts at home, except that time my mom was cooking some coconut-based dessert.

Papaya-Coconut spring rolls

2 cups grated papaya
1 cup grated coconut flesh
1 medium carrot, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Heat oil in a pan. Add the papaya, coconut and carrots. Add salt and mix well till all ingredients are cooked, a few minutes only. Add the pepper and mix well. Taste for saltiness and pepper taste. When cooked, cool to room temperature then mix the chopped cilantro. Wrap in lumpia wrapper and deep fry until brown.

To make dipping sauce, mix 1/2 cup cane vinegar, 1/4 cup fish paste, 1 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp chopped cilantro. Or you can also use my cucumber and peanut dipping sauce.

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I am submitting this post to Abby of eat the right stuff to celebrate Vegetables, beautiful vegetables…

I’ve been using lemongrass for a long time. In fact, this herb was my first entry to Weekend Herb Blogging. We usually use it for cooking by tying it into a knot and added to soups. Exposure to people from other Southeast Asian countries however have expanded my repertoire in using lemongrass for cooking. For them, the stalks are used rather than the whole plant. I’ve have it as appetizer, stalks cut crosswise and thinly and served with peanuts and chili. For roasting chicken, I use several stalks to fill the chicken cavity to give flavor. Recently, I joined Taste and Create and chose to cook lemongrass pork barbecue. The recipe called for making a paste out of lemongrass and chilis. It was really delicious! It brought out the flavor lemongrass really well. Encouraged by this success, I decided to roast chicken using this method. I made a paste out of lemongrass, ginger and chilis and marinated the chicken before roasting. Delicious!

–>Is cooking an art or a science?<–

I had a long conversation about this success with my Indonesian friend who is also into cooking. Let’s call her Ms. Indonesia (:)). I think making a paste really made the difference in blending and bringing out the flavors of the herbs. Tagalog cooking does not use lemongrass nor that much chilis. In Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand it is quite common to make a paste out of chilis. No wonder they have such distintive mortar and pestle. While ours are more of the Western type mortar and pestle that is similar to the mortar and pestle we use in the lab for grinding rice leaves. Ms. Indonesia says that in every meal, they have chili pastes to dip their food into. Probably our equivalent of the soy sauce and vinegar dipping sauces. It did lead us to think that the manner of cooking dishes will also characterize the kitchen. Like them making pastes, and they have this distinct mortar and pestle. In anycase, whenever I make lemongrass meat barbecues, I’ll be sure to make a paste.

Now, this post seems to have so many “paste” words, don’t you think? Anyway, this is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging this week, which yours truly is hosting. I look forward to your posts.

Lemongrass Roast chicken

Paste:
2 stalks of lemongrass
1 inch knob of ginger
1 tsp of crushed black pepper
1 pc bird’s eye chili (add more if you want)
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 tbsp of fish sauce

1 whole chicken
1 cup salt

2 tbsp soy sauce
juice of two kalamansi or lemon

1. Brine the chicken first. I usually submerge it in enough water then add the salt. Leave for an hour then drain the chicken well.
2. To make the paste, pound the lemongrass, ginger, black pepper and chili in a mortar and pestle (or a food processor). Add the rest of the ingredients and leave for a few minutes. Rub onto the chicken, inside the cavity and underneath the skin. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. Just before roasting, rub chicken skin with soy sauce then with kalamansi or lemon juice.
3. Roast the chicken at 400oF. I used a turbo broiler to do this and the chicken was cooked after an hour.

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Don’t forget, I am also hosting an event to celebrate farmers’ markets everywhere. I’ve postpone the deadline to May 31 so there is plenty of time for your spring/summer harvest.