Monthly Archives: May 2008

23 May

hedgehogs (珍珠丸子)

Count the number on your plate before leaving the room: Ground pork, bamboo, ginger, shitake mushrooms, and soy sauce balls rolled in glutinous rice and steamed for half hour. The individual kernels of rice perk up like the gentlest kitty shug, and the bamboo gives the pork the “gabba gabba” quality so essential in Chinese […]
23 May

the last of the favas

Sadness comes but once a year: Fava beans at the last harvest. They bow out gracefully, the plump favas, though we try to give them enough time to give us one more little pod.
23 May

pandoro

Pandoro is Patience’s Reward: The narrative needs very few words. The recipe, six eggs, some flour, butter, honey, vanilla, cocoa butter, sugar, a super hearty sourdough starter, and instant yeast (you will need the kind that is tolerant of osmos, like SAF Gold). Blend together (over 2 hours of mixing, your machine will get tired) […]
23 May

compost

Feeding frenzy: Our red wrigglers are about to receive a biological feast. Full of coffee, orange peels and fava bean discards, the meal promotes cardio and muscular development in the little guys.
05 May

fava beans

Digging for gold: The little fava beans come individually nestled inside a stiff cocoon, and these are lined up 3, 4 or 5 in a row inside a fur sleeping bag. From the original pile of pods, to shedding its many layers, to being stir-fried with garlic, it’s definitely a what-you-get-is-not-what-you-eat situation.