Dragon fruit, also known as pitaya, is the fruit from a cactus. Although native to South America and Mexico, the cacti are now also cultivated in Asia, Hawaii, and Australia. They only bloom at night, leading the fragrant white flowers to be nicknamed “moon flower” and “Queen of the Night,” and causing a dependence on […] Read more…
Archive of ‘Kitchen Adventure’ category
Week 37: Candy Cap Mushrooms
Recently, Russ and I visited Portland, where we went to an amazing farmer’s market. Uh-mazing. We’re talkin’ tables as far as the eye could see, piled high with perfectly ripe heirloom tomatoes, fragrant herbs, colorful bell peppers, and row upon row of luscious berries – strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries (my favorites). There was every […] Read more…
Week 36: Burdock Root
Burdock is a biennial thistle plant. While the prickly burrs at the tip of the plant were the inspiration behind velcro, the root is the edible part. The roots are dark brown and look like sticks but are white on the inside. They are fairly hard and tough, with a mild, earthy flavor. They are […] Read more…
Week 35: Morels
Mmmmmm, fungi. Get away from white button mushrooms (which are fine but boring) and you enter a world of delicious, earthy, flavorful fungi. One of my favorites is morels, also known as morchella, dryland fish, hickory chicikens, merkels and sponge mushrooms. They have an extremely distinctive look; the oblong cone on top of the stem […] Read more…
Week 34: Celery Root
Celery root is one of those unattractive root vegetables. Remove the dirt, knobby skin and little tubers and you’re left with a hard off-white blob. However, slice or chop it up and you get a tasty veggie that can be eaten raw for a crunchy snack or cooked to be as soft as a baked […] Read more…