Weekend Herb Blogging #219: the roundup
As the host of last week's edition of WHB, I have the honor of introducing you to a great set of posts submitted by bloggers from around the world.
For every contribution, I will offer a small bite, a sample of the delicacy to be fully savored by reading the relevant post.
We fittingly start with a breakfast dish, compliments of Saveur of The Taste Space who offers us Morning Couscous with Almonds, Coconut and Honey.
The couscous she uses is Israeli couscous, which, as she explains, "is a wheat-based pasta (with wholewheat/wholemeal varieties too), similar to orzo, and reminds me of tapioca pearls. They grow into large plump balls of pasta-goodness."
From Canada we go to India where Sra of When My Soup Came Alive has prepared Bok Choy Mallum (mallum, or mallung, is a Sri Lankan dish). Her first experience preparing bok choy inspired Sra to write her recipe in verse. Here's the beginning:
There was Baby Bok Choy,
There was Big Bok Choy,
Then there were incessant
Cups of chopped choy.
From India we go to Italy, where Graziana from Erbe in Cucina (Cooking with herbs) thus describes her Thai Chicken Soup (Tom Ka Gai): "It's special like this double rainbow, warm like a tender hug. The spiciness of ginger and chili will makes you breathe well and the soft taste of coconut can't be forgot soon."
When you visit her post, you can see the photo of the beautiful double rainbow she mentions.
From my country of origin to my adoptive country and adoptive state (California), where tigerfish of teczcape – an escape to food is looking ahead to Chinese New Year (February 14).
Her Chayote with King Trumpet Mushrooms "albeit simple, can be made into such an auspicious dish for vegetarians out there." She calls it "万寿包余 – Longevity in Sure Abundance" a very nice good wish.
Soma of eCurry used Turkish dried apricots in her Apricot, Ginger, & Pistachio Scones and played with their thickness, making "few of the scones thick, regular scone size (where they are supposed to be sliced and served with cream); the rest of them were rolled down thinner than scones & a bit thicker than a cookie to cut down on the serving size."
I have a weakness for scones: they bring me back to my days in London, studying English, when I tasted one for the first time.
From Texas we head north-east and arrive in Michigan, in time to taste some soup. In fact, Katie of Eat This. has prepared Butternut Squash, Kale and Bean Soup.
"It was sweet, spicy, and perfect." It was a also a success: "Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and overwhelmingly declared it their favorite."
Further east, in New York state, Winnie of Healthy Green Kitchen brings us another dish with kale, Spicy Crispy Kale with Lime.
Winnie is a fan of kale and she includes it in her recipes "from soups to smoothies." This is "a kale recipe for those of you who might still be on the fence about eating kale. And it’s for kids, too" (based on her experience with her 10 year old).
In the Big Apple, Joanne of Eats Well With Others offers us her Cheesy Zucchini, Red Pepper and Barley Bake "chock full of all sorts of good-for-you ingredients. Like bell peppers. Zucchini. And barley."
The list of ingredients includes also ricotta and the result is "creamy and delicious."
We go to the West of Scotland, where Mangocheeks of Allotment 2 Kitchen has prepared Garlicky Chipotle Beans served with polenta chips. To make the beans, she has used the last of her home-grown garlic. She has already made plans to plant garlic again this year.
"Who says vegetarian food is bland?! This was very, very tasty."
A long journey brings us to Melbourne, where Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything at Least Once (organizer of this event) introduces us to pandan leaf, "used as a flavouring where it imparts a fairly ethereal aroma to dishes. It's the type of flavour that is hard to describe but you know when it has been used."
Our next stop is Singapore, where Yeoh Cheng Huann of Eat.Read.Live is getting ready to celebrate Chinese New Year (February 14) with Pineapple Roll Cookies, "where the pineapple is enclosed by a buttery roll."
The pineapple is in the form of jam. However, "the pineapple jam used here is dry, instead of jello like." He gives us the recipe for the jam as well.
A giant step bring us to Vancouver, Canada, where I can imagine that everything is ready to host the Olympic games. In the meantime, Christine of Kits Chow has prepared Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Mint, Ga Xe Phay.
"This Vietnamese chicken salad is like chicken coleslaw with a big mint flavour. It is absolutely delicious." She served the salad on a Vietnamese lacquer plate.
We go back to New York, where Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook offers us Yellow Puttanesca Sauce with yellow heirloom tomatoes, "a sauce for all seasons."
"The secret lies in flinging open the doors of your cupboards and fridge, and pulling out what happens to be on hand." The result is an "elegantly minimalist recipe."
In a charming corner of my country of origin, on Lake Garda, Brii of Briiblog in English has used lavender flowers to make Homemade Lavender Bodytalc.
Brii also gives us her recipe for making lavender bath salts and advices us to "cut lavender flowers in bloom (noon is best, so they are at their maximum of perfume)."
Yasmeen of Health Nut reaches for some light coconut milk to prepare a two-layered Coconut Peach Cranberry Freeze.
"The original recipe called for just peaches for fruit, I add an extra layer of cranberries to intensity the yum factor of the dessert."
We end our whirlwind tour in my kitchen, where these days you can easily get a cup of infuso di tè e zenzero (infusion of tea and ginger).
Besides providing its characteristic flavor to so many dishes, ginger "has been used as a medicine in Asian, Indian, and Arabic herbal traditions since ancient times."
Many thanks to all who contributed to make this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging an interesting trip around the world. Starting today, Chris of Mele Cotte is accepting submissions for this week's edition. You can always look ahead to who's hosting on this page. And if you are new to the event or need a reminder, the rules for participating are detailed on this page.
I do hope I have not left anybody out of the roundup. If you find that, notwithstanding my best intentions, I actually have omitted a post, please send me a note.
A final thank you to Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen who started this long-running event and to Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, who has been organizing it for over a year. It gives me special pleasure to be part of an established tradition that links so many food bloggers around the world.