Baby Bites // Khichdi

Say it with me … baby food doesn’t have to be bland! When I first started feeding my son solids, I had one rule — only serve him food I would want to eat myself. Make it safe, yes. Make it healthy, yes. But don’t skimp out on flavor. Khichdi is a comforting stew livened up by ginger, garlic, turmeric, and cumin. It’s a delicious, dynamic dish that sets the stage for a lifetime of eating bold, full-bodied flavors.

Khichdi

1 tablespoon moong dal (split yellow lentils)
3 tablespoons white rice
½ teaspoon ghee (can substitute butter or any high-quality oil)
⅛ tsp fresh ginger, grated
⅛ tsp ground cumin
⅛ tsp turmeric (optional, if you’re worried about staining)
½ garlic clove, grated
3 tablespoons grated zucchini
1 ½ cup water + water for soaking dal and rice

Soak dal and rice in water for at least 20 minutes or up to 2 hours.

When ready to cook, melt the ghee in a small saucepan. Saute ginger, cumin, and turmeric until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add garlic and zucchini and saute for another minute.

Add water and drained rice and lentils. Simmer for 20 minutes on low until you achieve a porridge consistency. Feel free to blend it, or leave as-is for more texture. Allow to cool.

Want more? See all the videos and recipes in the Baby Bites series here:

Apple Pie Muffins
Coconut-Oat Haupia
Steak Tacos
Polenta
Jook or Chinese Congee
Khichdi

Baby Bites // Polenta

You might think, “Wow, polenta for a baby!? So fancy!” And yet, when you think about it, polenta is the perfect baby food. It’s mushy, has whole grain and healthy fats, and is easy for mom and dad to make. This dish is the perfect example of how broadening our idea of “baby food” can literally reveal a world of dishes that baby can enjoy.

Polenta with Slow-Roasted Veggies and Parmesan

½ cup quick cook polenta
1 teaspoon butter
1 head fennel
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Balsamic glaze
Parmesan cheese
Parsley

Preheat oven to 325°F. Slice fennel in a mandolin and puncture all tomatoes with a fork. Place vegetables in a 9x9 pan so the veggies are crowded. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 2-2 ½ hours, or until vegetables are meltingly tender. You may want to cut the vegetables even smaller so they are safe and easy for baby to eat.

Please refer to the package instructions of your polenta, as they may differ from the instructions here. In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add ½ cup polenta and cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until polenta pulls from the sides of the pot. Feel free to add more water if you’d like a looser consistency. Add butter and mix until melted. Allow to cool.

When ready to serve, spread polenta over plate and then add roasted vegetables. Top with grated parmesan, parsley, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

NOTE: Once the polenta cools, it will stiffen. You can also eat the polenta like this, too! Makes great finger food.

Want more? See all the videos and recipes in the Baby Bites series here:

Apple Pie Muffins
Coconut-Oat Haupia
Steak Tacos
Polenta
Jook or Chinese Congee
Khichdi

Baby Bites // Chinese Congee

What is food to you? We all know it’s more than just sustenance. It’s tradition, it’s memory, it’s love. Chinese congee, or jook, is a special part of my family. So why not give it to its newest member? Remember, babies can eat so much more than we think and they also want to feel included. Sharing a cherished dish with your baby ranks as one of the top parenthood experiences, in my humble opinion!

Jook with chicken, bok choy, and scallions

½ cup white rice
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 skinless chicken thigh with the bone
½ teaspoon neutral cooking oil
1 trumpet mushroom
6-8 leaves baby bok choy
2-3 scallions

Rinse and drain 1/2 cup of rice. Place in freezer bag and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.

When ready to cook, add rice to pot along with 4 cups water, 1 teaspoon minced ginger, and one chicken thigh. If your chicken thigh is very thick, cut it into smaller pieces. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes, unti rice has completely broken down. Keep checking on it and add more water if it’s getting too thick or you’d like a thinner consistency.

In the meantime, dice your vegetables so they are small enough for baby. Heat pan to medium-low and add oil. Saute mushrooms first for 2 minutes. Then add bok choy and cook for an additional 1 minute.

When jook has finished cooking, remove chicken thigh and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, remove meat, dice, and add back to congee. Add vegetables and serve with sliced scallions.

This makes more than enough for baby! You can share with adults and add soy sauce and sesame oil. Or, freeze leftovers. For best results, only freeze rice and meat, and add vegetables fresh on the day you plan to eat.

Want more? See all the videos and recipes in the Baby Bites series here:

Apple Pie Muffins
Coconut-Oat Haupia
Steak Tacos
Polenta
Jook or Chinese Congee
Khichdi

Baby Bites // Coconut-Oat Haupia

My son LOVES tropical flavors. Whether it’s the sweetness of pineapple or the silkiness of mango or the richness of coconut, he loves it all. The boy can eat so many bananas, it’s a little scary.

I love this recipe because it has those tropical flavors while also being nutritious for baby. Sometimes breakfast can get a little monotonous, but by adding just one different ingredient, you can make something as simple as oatmeal into a mini-tropical getaway.

Coconut-Oat Haupia

⅔ cup unsweetened light coconut milk
¼ cup ground oats

Bring coconut milk to a simmer. Add ground oats. Whisk continuously, making sure there are no lumps for 2-3 minutes, until thick.

Pour mixture into a small container (keeping in mind you will be cutting for finger food pieces) and allow to come to room temperature. Once cool, cover and place in refrigerator until set, at least 3 hours or overnight.

OPTIONAL: After cooking the oats, mix in small chunks of fruit. They will set inside the oats.

Want more? See all the videos and recipes in the Baby Bites series here:

Apple Pie Muffins
Coconut-Oat Haupia
Steak Tacos
Polenta
Jook or Chinese Congee
Khichdi

Baby Bites // Baby-Friendly Tacos

The Baby Bites series wouldn’t be complete without this very special dish — TACOS! Tacos are a standby in our family and also a great way for baby to explore different flavors and textures — grilled, pickled, fresh, sour, mushy, crunchy, etc — in one meal. The variations truly are endless and can make taco nights the best night of the week (whether baby or adult).

Baby-Friendly Steak Tacos

Flank steak
Cooking oil
Lime
Onion
Garlic
Cilantro
Cooked black beans (if using canned, use a low-sodium version)
Avocado
Corn or whole wheat flour tortillas

Cut the flank steak into strips against the grain. Add sliced onions, cilantro stems, lime juice, and garlic cloves. Marinate for at least one hour, or up to 12 hours. It’s also okay if you don’t have time to marinate!

When ready to cook, dry off steak with a paper towel. Add oil to a cast-iron skillet and add steak slices. Heat pan to medium-low. Flip when the steak develops a nice sear, about 8 minutes. Cook on the other side until the steak is totally cooked through, about 6 additional minutes. Slice one piece to make sure there is no pink inside. Allow to rest and cool.

Mash black beans with a fork. Add avocado and mash again, mixing everything.

If your tortilla is a bit stiff, place it on a plate and cover it with another plate. Microwave for 15 seconds until soft. Arrange the tortilla, steak, avocado-bean mash, lime and cilantro on a plate, tray or mat.

Want more? See all the videos and recipes in the Baby Bites series here:

Apple Pie Muffins
Coconut-Oat Haupia
Steak Tacos
Polenta
Jook or Chinese Congee
Khichdi

Baby Bites Series with The Bump // Apple Pie Muffins

Earlier this year, The Bump asked me to do something that hit on all my interests — an international cooking show … for babies! I truly couldn’t say yes fast enough.

This 6-part series lives on The Bump alongside other resources on how to care for your baby. I’ll also be posting them here with the recipes so you can make these dishes at home.

First up is Apple Pie muffins! These have the comforting warmth of actual apple pie while also being healthy and easy to eat for your young kiddos.

Apple Pie Muffins

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 ½ cup old-fashioned oats
1 egg
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon (½ in batter, ¼ tossed with apples)
1/2 apple

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a mini muffin tin or use paper liners. Peel, core and finely dice the apple. Toss with ¼ teaspoon cinnamon.

Add applesauce, egg, olive oil, oats, baking powder, and remaining cinnamon into a high-powered blender. Blend on high until smooth, about 1 minute.

Spoon batter into the mini muffin tin. Add a teaspoon of diced apples to each muffin and gently press into the batter. Bake for about 25 minutes, until muffins are slightly browned at the edges.

Cool on a wire rack.

Want more? See all the videos and recipes in the Baby Bites series here:

Apple Pie Muffins
Coconut-Oat Haupia
Steak Tacos
Polenta
Jook or Chinese Congee
Khichdi

QUARANTINE COOKING GUIDE // How to stretch your food supply, reduce waste & make nutritious (even delicious) meals

So, here we are. Never thought I’d ever have to cook this way (and we will for sure cherish the next time we can shop, cook, and eat the way we did before). But these extraordinary times call for a new way to think about food.

Your grocery runs are limited and you have to lean more on pantry staples. You may have to feed more people, for more meals. And you’ll either have more time at home, or less time with the demands of family and other challenges raised when you’re all cooped up.

Like all of you, I’m still learning as I go. Here are some tips as you navigate this new way of cooking. I’ll be updating this post as I refine my techniques, so save this page and keep checking back!

COOK SIMPLE > COMPLEX

Set yourself up for leftover success. For example, start with separate preparations of rice, beans, and roasted vegetables. For the first meal, create a grain bowl with your favorite vinaigrette. Next time, use the rice to bulk up a soup. Puree the beans into a dip. Add the veggies to a frittata. Finally, mix the rice, beans, and vegetables with chili powder, cumin, and tomatoes (fresh or canned/jarred) for a Mexican-style dish. Notice — if you started with that last dish, you'd be way more limited with your leftover layup. Start simple.

CASE STUDY: Lemony Brown Rice Bowl with Shrimp

The bulk of this is made with long-lasting pantry ingredients — brown rice, lemon, red onion, feta, olives, and frozen shrimp. The fresh ingredients are there, but I’ve purposely pared back. I used just three mini cucumbers, a handful of grape tomatoes, and about three stems of dill (a side salad for me in better times, but times have changed).

The tough bottom inch of the dill stems, along with the onion skins, were saved. I’m freezing these with chicken bones from another night. Once I have enough scrap ingredients, I’ll make stock.

The olive brine flavored the rice, almost like a vinaigrette would (think: salt, fat, acid, umami). Feta brine would also do the trick.

MIX FRESH WITH SHELF-STABLE OR FROZEN 

If you’re anything like me, you like lots and lots of veggies. Problem is, you’ll run out sooner that way. Better some fresh ingredients, for longer, than no fresh ingredients, sooner. 

Add mushrooms to your boxed mushroom soup. Add cabbage to your frozen dumplings. You’ll stretch your fresh ingredients + boost the nutrition of your shelf-stable products.

A CARROT SAVED IS A CARROT EARNED

Reexamine your recipes and  ask yourself:

• Will this ingredient satiate me/ fill me up? (rice, beans, pasta, etc)

• Will this satisfy me/ make me happy? (chocolate, cheese, etc)

• Will this offer important nutrients? (kale, raw veggies, etc)

• Is this ingredient critical to the taste of this dish?

Sadly, something like carrots in a stock doesn’t make the cut. The flavor is too subtle, and you’re boiling away all the nutrition. Save these ingredients for dishes where they will shine — in terms of taste, nutrition, and impact.

If you can’t bear to be without your classic mirepoix, use scraps in your stock — carrot peels, the base of your celery, onion skins and ends — items that would normally get thrown away.

BE FLEXIBLE WITH INGREDIENTS

The other day I made too much corned beef. So the next day I made split pea soup, then fried rice — both using corned beef as you might use ham. In more mobile times, I’d probably buy ham, but for now we use what we have.

EXTRACT AS MUCH FLAVOR AS POSSIBLE / NO WASTE

The rinds of your lemons. The bones of your chicken. The brine in your pickle jar or feta tub. These are great flavor enhancers that don’t require an extra trip to the grocery store. Before you throw anything away, think to yourself, how can I use this? 

Additionally, we are accustomed to prepping our food a certain way. But many of these components are edible. Consider: the leaves of a cauliflower, the stems of soft herbs, the knobby end of zucchini, the broccoli stalk. In some instances, you will have to shave off the fibrous part or cook for a little longer, but otherwise, these vegetable parts are totally edible.

CASE STUDY: Kale, White Bean, Vegan Sausage Soup

The stock was made with not just a chicken carcass, but also the skin. Skin is not always added to stock, but I couldn’t throw it away. Skin adds a “roasted” taste, along with salt and fat — all components that ensure this soup isn’t as austere as its modest ingredients imply.

Use the stems of the kale. Just boil them a little longer than the leaves.

Did you know you can freeze bread? Just slice it (if it’s not already) and freeze. Oftentimes, I get little broken bits in my frozen bread bags which make them too small for normal bread usage. Here, I used them for cheesy crouton floats, and added the crumbs in the bottom of the bag into the soup itself (actually many of your favorite soups contain bread — ribollita, gazpacho…).

Got a parmesan rind? Drop it in the broth. You know how it goes by now. What’s normally thrown away can add fat, salt, umami — FLAVOR.

USE FRESH WHEN IT MATTERS, SHELF-STABLE WHEN IT DOESN’T 

For example, right now I have fresh onions and I also have dried onion flakes. I’ll save the fresh as a taco topping, where the freshness is important. I’ll use the dried in a stew or soup, where the onions will melt away anyway.

LEAN ON INGREDIENTS THAT COUNT

When you’re making a meal, you’re assembling a team. Skip the wallflowers and go with the jacks and jills-of-all-trade. Sausages (meat or vegan) are great because they offer a trifecta of flavor — fat, salt, spice. When used in a soup, you can even get by using water instead of broth — it’s that flavorful. Other MVP ingredients — strong cheeses, bacon, ham, anchovies, fermented black bean paste, miso.

LET YOUR TECHNIQUE ADD FLAVOR

Improve your dish — without dipping into your food supply. Cut your ingredients small so you have the satisfaction factor in every bite. Brown the sausage, toast your bread, broil your cheese. The Maillard reaction lends complexity and depth by virtue of heat and time (ie: something you have in unlimited supply).

MAKE LESS FOOD 

Of course, use food that’s about to go bad, but otherwise, try not to cook more than you can eat/ can tolerate eating day after day — especially if the dish doesn’t freeze well or you don’t have room even if it did. If you’re stress baking or cooking, halve recipes. You’ll get the same amount of stress-relief, with less waste.

How are you cooking differently these days? Share any tips, questions, or comments below! 

Apple Cider Char Siu Pork - My Greenwich Wine & Food Festival demo

Whew! I just got back from the Greenwich Wine & Food Festival. It was a crazy whirlwind and a complete blast — so many amazing food vendors, talks, games, and music… all set on the beautiful waterfront. Check out pics on my Instagram here and here.

Though I’m pretty beat, I just had to jump on here and give you my recipe for my apple cider char siu pork, the dish I cooked on the demo kitchen stage. Shame on me for not having it ready!

As I mentioned in my demo, I developed this dish for three reasons:

1) It’s a variation on the dish I made when I was first eliminated on Food Network Star. My dish was good, but my presentation didn’t impress the judges. So this was my chance for demo redemption … if only for myself.

2) I wanted to do a home-cooked riff on traditional char siu pork, a dish that perhaps you’ve had but never thought to make for yourself.

3) Char siu ingredients — cinnamon, star anise, cloves, ginger — are very much in line with the flavors of fall. Add apple cider and you’ve got a Chinese-Autumn dish that’s perfect for the season.

Traditional char siu pork is usually something you’d buy because it requires a special oven and esoteric ingredients. I’m pretty happy that this home version comes really close to the original, uses basic ingredients, and swaps out the typical shoulder or belly for lean and fast-cooking tenderloin.

I also call for something called “apple cider molasses”, a fun ingredient you can make at home. Did you know pomegranate molasses is simply reduced pomegranate juice? That was my thinking here. When you reduce the apple cider, you get a deeper, sweeter, thicker liquid that’s gives great flavor and body to the glaze. The concentrated sugar content also helps give the pork that sticky-sweet-and-spiced yum factor.

You can even make a bigger batch of molasses and use it like a syrup or sweetener. Try it in a vinaigrette, or a pop of flavor in your seltzer, or even a topping on yogurt or ice cream. Once you have the apple cider molasses, this dish only takes 30 minutes.

RECIPE

5 cups apple cider
¾ cup soy sauce
¼ cup hoisin sauce
6 garlic cloves, smashed
2-inch knob of ginger, peeled and sliced
3 tablespoons annatto seeds (optional — adds some of the red color characteristic of char siu pork, but very little flavor)
5 cinnamon sticks
½ cup star anise pods
1 tablespoon whole cloves
¼ cup honey

2 boneless pork tenderloins — 2-2 ½ lb in total
1 tablespoon 5-spice powder
1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

Add apple cider to medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower to simmer and reduce until 20% of volume, about 1 hour. You will have about 1 cup of reduced apple cider “molasses”. This can be done up to 3 days ahead. 

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line baking sheet with foil, making sure it is entirely covered. 

Dry pork loin with a paper towel and cut each tenderloin into two halves, so you have four pieces total. Rub with five spice powder and salt. Bring large skillet to medium-high heat and add oil. Sear the pork loin on all sides, 3-4 minutes on each side. 

Place pork pieces on baking sheet and place in the oven on the middle rack. Roast for 15 minutes. 

While the pork is roasting, add apple cider molasses, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, annatto seeds, cinnamon, cloves, and star anise to a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes, then remove from heat. Strain glaze and add honey. 

Remove pork from oven and turn oven to broil. One by one, place pork pieces in a medium bowl and spoon glaze on top, making sure the entire surface is coated. 

Place pork on top rack and broil for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest. Serve with remaining reserved glaze. 

Smoked Lamb & More - A Father-Daughter Feast & Giveaway! (closed)

Make sure to read to the end for an amazing giveaway offer! — NOW CLOSED

We had a plan. My dad would make one dish featuring the amazing Hestan Nanobond 11” skillet at my parents’ house, and then I’d do my own interpretation of the dish at my own home.

Yes, the skillet came in a set with a saucepan and saute pan, I said. You can use those if you want, but they’d just be extra. There’s no need.

So I got to my parents’ house for part one of this post, and guess what?? He had developed a whole menu using all the components of the set.

So extra!! What about the original plan??

And yet… I couldn’t get mad. When it comes to food, my extra-ness didn’t come from nowhere. It came from my dad.

So that’s how I ended up being sous chef to my Dad, just like when I was growing up.

First, a note about my Dad before we get into the recipes.

1) He’s a doer. My childhood house is filled with his projects — everything from handmade birdhouses, to a waterfall spout in the bathroom, to an entire house addition that he designed and built basically by himself.

2) He thrives on experimentation. When it comes to food, he’ll spend months or even years trying to perfect his macaron or lasagna or smoked ribs. He’ll try various tools and gadgets and when he finds something he likes, he will stick to it forever. (Which makes shopping for him a very high-stakes gamble since he will either love it or never touch it.)

And that’s what brought us here — a compulsion to create.

The star of the dinner was a rack of lamb. Our goal was to develop flavor in two ways: sear on the stove for major Maillard reaction, and then infuse with that extra something in the smoker. The Hestan Nanobond skillet was amazing at this because it can withstand temperatures of up to 1050˚F, creating a super-savory crust on the range. Then, off it went into the smoker. Even though the skillet looks fancy and luxe, it’s an absolute workhorse that can go into the smoker without looking any worse for wear (super-hard and non-porous titanium surface FTW).

The key is to sear all sides of the lamb chops. Get in every nook and cranny. Tilt your pan if you need to! You want the hot hot heat of the skillet on the meat.

I know lamb can be quite controversial (my mom won’t touch the stuff), but I think the smoke rounds out the gaminess of the lamb, giving it a fullness that’s less aggressively LAMB.

The rest of the meal continued in other Hestan pieces…

Taishan cauliflower is common in Taiwanese cooking and is a more delicate yet fuller-bodied cauliflower. Any member of the cruciferous family benefits from browning, and here the Taishan gets even sweeter and nuttier.

We also used the saucepan to make garlic-infused butter. We spread that on some baguettes and then threw them in the smoker. Why not?

And last, once the lamb was done, we had to do the extra credit thing. When we have family time and a new, high-performing cookware set ...  this is our go-time.

We cleaned out the skillet and made a clafoutis. Was it extra? Yes of course. That was the point.

Father’s Day is coming up and if your Dad is anything like mine, he won’t want a gadget or a tool or a tie — he’ll want a piece of versatile cookware that will serve him well for all types of cooking exploits — from the stove to the grill to the smoker and beyond.

• Nanobond can handle heat up to 1050˚F for high heat searing, and is lighter, faster to hear, and easier to maintain than cast iron. F

• NanoBond skillets have 20% more surface area than traditional stainless steel skillets for optimal browning/flavor development.

• The molecular titanium bonded stainless steel creates a non-porous surface that's 4x harder than traditional stainless steel, making it scratch/stain resistant.

• Nanobond cookware cleans up like new, even after being directly on the grill and smoker

Check out the Hestan Nanobond 11” skillet here and the full 5-piece set here!

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GIVEAWAY - CLOSED & WINNER ANNOUNCED & CONTACTED

I’m teaming up with Hestan Culinary to give one lucky winner an 11” skillet (a $280 value)! Gift it to the Dad in your life or keep it for yourself… I won’t tell. :)

Here’s how to enter:

1️⃣ Follow @jessica_tom and @hestanculinary on Instagram
2️⃣ Tell me what you’d sear in the Hestan Nanobond 11” skillet
3️⃣ Tag two friends

Winner will be chosen at random. This giveaway ends Sunday, June 16, 11:59 EST. Good luck and can’t wait to hear your searing ideas. 😋

This post is sponsored by Hestan Culinary, a company that makes incredible cookware I use daily even in my non-sponsored life.

SMOKED LAMB RECIPE  

2 lb rack of lamb
Salt
Pepper
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil

Trim the fat on the lamb and liberally season with salt and pepper. Allow to come to room temperature.

Prepare and set your smoker to medium heat.

Heat skillet on stovetop on high. When a drop of water immediately sizzles and evaporates, add grapeseed oil. To see if the oil is hot enough, use the chopstick test. Submerge the chopstick tips into the oil. If oil immediately bubbles up, the oil is ready.

Gently add the lamb onto the skillet and sear, about 3-4 minutes on all sides.

When the lamb feels firm to the touch and is evenly browned, dispose of excess oil and bring to smoker. Smoke the lamb in the skillet for 25 minutes. Remove from smoker and allow to rest. Carve and serve!

BLUEBERRY SKILLET CLAFOUTIS RECIPE

2 ½ tablespoons butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup flour
3 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 ½ cup berries of your choice

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

Gently melt butter in skillet. Add the sugar, flour, eggs, and milk. Whisk to mix.

Lightly coat the berries in flour (this is to prevent them from sinking). Add berries to skillet and gently incorporate.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the center is just set. Remove from oven and serve warm with ice cream.

How to Build a Dish at the Farmers Market

We’ve all been there. You get to the farmers market and it’s so beautiful and inspiring and you want this and that and the other. Everything is so gorgeous… but where do you start??

I collabed with Quiddity on a short video on how to shop the farmers market. Here’s my shopping strategy, and how I use my market haul to make a dish.

Purple Bravo Radish — This is my star item and what the dish revolves around

Custom Lettuce Blend - Purple Radish Shoots, Sunflower Shoots, Micro Chrysanthemum, Tatsoi, Micro Mesclun, Miner’s Lettuce, Lamb’s Quarters

Though farmers markets can be a little overwhelming at first, remember that seasonal, local cooking is actually quite easy. If they grow together, they go together. Chances are, crops that come into season around the same time will naturally pair with one another on the plate.

Secondly, the ingredients are so good, you don’t need to do much. The best way to honor your ingredients is to prepare simply and then get out of the way.

And that’s what I did with my spring radish salad with aged Havarti, creamy horseradish dressing, and cru-tons. I left the beautiful lettuces and cheese as-is. I left the bread unadorned and untoasted so you can fully appreciate the texture (and use it to sop up the dressing).

Because this dish was an ode to radish, I showcased it in three different preparations: raw, roasted, and pickled. Roasting brings out the radish’s sweetness and earthiness. Pickling draws out the spiciness. And raw is like the flawless no-makeup selfie — the radish is naturally beautiful thankyouverymuch.

Finally, I made a simple dressing that amplified and unified the flavors already in the salad. This horseradish dressing is creamy (to give heft to the leaves and unify them with the heartier radishes, cheese, and bread), sweet (to balance out the bitterness of the radishes and greens), and spicy (to alert our tastebuds to the subtle spiciness of the spring radish).

You might be tempted to eat this salad with your hands, savoring each ingredient one by one. Do it! That’d be the ultimate way of honoring these great spring offerings.

RECIPE
CREAMY HORSERADISH DRESSING

½ cup buttermilk
½ cup kefir yogurt
¼ cup olive oil
2-4 tablespoons prepared horseradish (depending on how potent your horseradish is)
1 ½ teaspoons honey
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Whisk all ingredients together and drizzle onto salad just before serving.

Kumquat Grand Marnier Cake with Rosemary Lemon Glaze

If I could only have one fruit for the rest of my life, it’d be the orange.

Think about it — it’s food and juice. It’s sweet and tart. You can candy the peel or spritz it into a cocktail. The pith adds a welcome bitterness if you want to change it up.

Kumquats are like super-charged oranges, which make them perfect as pops of contrasting flavor in a rich cake. Because you can eat the skin, you get the bitterness along with juice, sweet, and tart.

To me, kumquat is a very adult flavor because of its mouth-puckering flavors. Adult taste, adult beverage, so I added a healthy dose of Grand Marnier to soak the kumquats. Rosemary amps up the somewhat savory notes of kumquat and adds a lovely aroma — if the kumquats and booze weren’t doing that already.

RECIPE

1 3/4 cup kumquats
1/2 cup Grand Marnier

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of kosher salt

1 1/2 stick butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup Greek yogurt

3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
6 sprigs rosemary

Thinly slice the kumquats and add to a medium bowl. Pour the Grand Marnier over them and allow to soak. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch bundt pan.

Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated. Reduce mixer speed to low and add one-third of the flour, then half the yogurt, then one-third the flour, then the rest of the yogurt, then the rest of the flour. Add kumquats and Grand Marnier.

Gently pour into prepared Bundt pan and smooth out top, careful not to the smoosh the fluffiness. Bake for 60 minutes, rotating midway.

Remove cake from oven and immediately start making glaze. Mash three sprigs of rosemary with the lemon juice. Strain, then add infused juice to powdered sugar. Mix thoroughly. You will think you need more liquid, but you don’t. Keep mixing until you reach a stiff but still fluid consistency. Invert Bundt pan onto wire rack on top of a baking sheet (to catch the dripping glaze). Immediately pour glaze on top and top with the rest of your crushed rosemary. The cake must be glazed while the cake is hot, so work fast!

Coconut Peach Resin Pudding with Mango

When it comes getting your collagen fix, I’d say this is a lot prettier than bone broth, right??

This dish is inspired by mango sago, an Asian dessert made with tapioca-like pearls derived from the palm tree. Sago and tapioca are quite tasty, but don’t offer much nutrition-wise. Peach resin is a perfect substitute for taste and texture, and also gives you a wallop of collagen goodness.

The sweet coconut milk and peach resin mixture is also great for other applications — add it to your iced coffee or matcha for a super-charged pick-me-up. Or, serve it with pineapple for a piña colada vibe. I sometimes steal a couple sips in the middle of the day. The sweetness + healthy fats + pop of collagen always hits the spot.

RECIPE

1 can of light coconut milk
2 tablespoons of blonde coconut sugar (or the sweetener of your choice)
1/3 cup water
2 cups prepared peach resin (see here for instructions)
3 mangos, any variety
black sesame seeds
zest of one lime

Add coconut milk, sugar, and water to a small saucepan and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Add peach resin and simmer on low for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Add to blender and gently blend, breaking the pieces of peach resin into smaller chunks. Chill.

When ready to serve, add coconut milk and peach resin to shallow bowls. Peel and slice mango. You can cut the mango any way you want, but to get the fanning effect, slice the pulp on each side of the mango seed. Choose one pointy end of the mango as your central point. Slice the mango very thinly, radiating from this central point. Make sure your slices do not intersect with one another, because you want the mango half to stay in one piece. When finished, gently pat the top down and to the side so it fans out. Repeat with the rest of the mango halves. Use a spatula to pick up the pieces one by one, and gently lay them on top of the coconut milk and peach resin.

Sprinkle with lime zest and sesame seeds. Serve cold!

Cantaloupe Ginger Juice with Peach Resin Pearls

We’ve covered the basics, and then the traditional. Now we’re bringing peach resin into the here and now — how you can integrate this amazing plant-based source of collagen into recipes you make and eat and drink everyday.

First up is one of my favorite flavor combinations ever — cantaloupe and ginger.

If you haven’t tried it, you must (with or without peach resin). When you think about it, cantaloupe is a very unique flavor. Lots of greens taste like spinach, and of course many meats taste like chicken. But nothing quite tastes like cantaloupe. You know it’s unique when you can’t really describe it. It just tastes like… cantaloupe!

The ginger really perks up the cantaloupe flavor without overpowering it. Cantaloupe is an awesome food to get your glow on — making it the perfect partner for peach resin. It’s super hydrating and loaded with antioxidants that fight inflammation.

The key here is to puree part of the cantaloupe, and then leave some chunks of melon and peach resin semi-blended. The result is a fun pulpy drink. The peach resin, when broken up, tastes like little tapioca pearls — soft and a little gummy and totally delightful.

RECIPE

1 ripe cantaloupe, chilled
2 ½ teaspoons minced ginger
1 cup peach resin, soaked for 24 hours and cleaned (see here for further instructions)

Bring pot of water to a boil and add peach resin. Simmer on low for 5 minutes. Drain in colander and run under cold water until cooled.

Puree ¾ of the cantaloupe and all the ginger until smooth and totally liquid. Add peach resin and remaining cantaloupe and blend on low, making sure ingredients you’ve just added are just chopped more finely and not totally blended.

Serve cold.

Note: Buy my preferred brand of peach resin here.

Traditional Beauty Soup - Poached Pear and Peach Resin

So today we’re going deeper into the world of peach resin, the collagen-packed Chinese beauty secret that I’m excited to bring to more people.

If chicken noodle soup is penicillin, then Chinese soups are a veritable pharmacy.

Though you might think of egg drop or hot and sour soup, there’s a whole world of medicinal Chinese soups that aren’t about taste, but are rather about healing.

Walk into any Chinatown and you’ll see these apothecaries filled with herbs and roots and fruits and fungi. A holistic doctor will examine you, diagnose your ailment, and will prescribe and measure out ingredients for a tea or soup.

Lest you think these are super obscure ingredients, a couple traditional Chinese medicine ingredients are now in the mainstream including ginseng and goji berries.

My grandmother is an expert at medicinal soups and since I’ve been a child, every time I visit her I must have at least one bowl of soup. Two, if I want to make her happy. She has liver-cleansing soup, a soup for my dad’s high blood pressure, a soup for my cousin who just had a baby… even a soup for your ovaries which my brothers weren’t allowed to drink (but my dad was?).

So to start we’re going to stick to peach resin’s roots with a traditional Chinese preparation. Before we go crazy with smoothies and energy balls and what not, I think it’s important to understand how the ingredient is mainly used.

Then we can get crazy.

Traditional Beauty Soup - Poached Pear and Peach Resin

I drink this soup as a snack or even a post-dessert-dessert. :) I don’t want to get too bogged down by going into the benefits of every ingredient since I want the peach resin to be the star. But suffice to say, every ingredient in a Chinese medicinal soup has a purpose.

This recipe can also be made with papaya, though you should shorten the poaching time. Traditional peach resin soups will also include a clear wood ear mushroom called “snow cloud”. I’ve left that out in an effort to keep this recipe as approachable as possible, but feel free to add it if you can find it.

5 cups water
2-4 tablespoons rock sugar — depending on your sweetness preference (feel free to use any sweetener you like)
2 very ripe Bartlett pears, cut into ½” pieces
¼ cup goji berries
2 cups prepared peach resin (see here for preparation instructions and see here for where to buy)

Bring water to a boil and add rock sugar. Lower heat and simmer until totally dissolved, then add goji berries and pears. Simmer on low for 5-6 minutes, then add peach resin and simmer for an additional 3 minutes.

Serve warm or cold.

All About Peach Resin - The Chinese Beauty Secret

You guys… I’ve been hoarding this info for too long.

Peach resin is my everyday, go-to drink for beauty and wellness. What is peach resin??

It’s collagen-packed, completely plant-based … and a Chinese beauty secret.

I first learned about peach resin from my grandma, who is a dancer, can outwalk me in any crowded outdoor market, and knows all sorts of concoctions to heal and nourish the body.

She swears by peach resin, and the proof is in her incredible youthfulness.

When we get older, our collagen production declines. Our skin dulls, our joints stiffen, our hair becomes brittle. Collagen makes up one third of the human body, so when we produce less, it shows. It’s the main protein of your connective tissue, which includes everything from your muscles and tendons, to your fascia and skin. Increasing your collagen contributes to:

• Glowing skin that’s plump, elastic, and less wrinkle-prone

• Increased mobility and flexibility

• Strong and shiny hair and nails

Bend. Strengthen. Glow.

I love peach resin because it’s an all-natural, unprocessed product that also tastes good and is fun to eat. And remember the bone broth craze? That was all about collagen. It takes a lot of bones and a lot of time to make bone broth. Peach resin? Just a couple minutes, once you soak the pieces.

I’ll be posting more recipes using peach resin — some traditionally Chinese, some not. But to start, here’s how to prepare it.

HOW TO PREPARE REACH RESIN

Peach resin is natural hardened sap from the peach tree. To prepare it, all you have to do is soak it in water for 24 hours at room temperature. Check on it periodically to make sure it has enough water and room to expand. The resin will grow 300%-400%, so plan your container accordingly!

Once you’ve soaked it, clean out the black sediment. This is just bark that got stuck in the sap as it hardened.

And now it’s ready to be used! You can eat it plain now, but it won’t taste like much. You can add some of the smaller, softer pieces to your morning yogurt or afternoon smoothie. Larger pieces benefit from a soft poaching.

I’m so excited to share this wonder ingredient with you. Stay tuned for more recipes! In the meantime, you can buy peach resin here.

#FoodFictionFriday Assignment #6: Supermarket Study

Last week’s #FoodFictionFriday assignment was rather involved and a couple of us hit Instagram’s word limit (me included!). So this week we’re going to take a field trip away from our computers and phones.

Next time you’re at the grocery store, observe a person and his or her cart. What’s in there? How do the items relate to one another? How is the person acting? Then, using your observations, extrapolate a fictional snapshot of this person’s life and how they are going to use those items.

Explore all the possibilities. For example, you might observe a couple at Costco buying a cartful of bottled water and eggs. Maybe they own an omelette food truck. Or maybe they’re running an egg drop competition. Or maybe they’re going to let the eggs rot, then will use them at a protest (which is thirsty work). Once you’re done brainstorming, pursue the story that revs you up the most.

Whether you consider yourself a “writer” or not, I’m sure you’ve done this before. We are more creative than we think. Exercise those muscles and join us! What do you think the couple was doing with all those eggs and water bottles??? 🤔🤔🤔

P.S.: From now on, I won’t be posting assignment highlights on the blog, only the assignments themselves. The community exists on Instagram, and it stopped making sense for me to separate the stories from their main platform/community. So, to really follow along, follow me at @jessica_tom, where I post assignments every Monday and re-post pieces from the community in my stories every Friday. Follow the hashtag #FoodFictionFriday to see all the magic that’s been happening thus far!

Lunar New Year Eats - Long, Long Life Noodles

Towards the end of any Chinese banquet -- a wedding, birthday, and most definitely Lunar New Year -- you will get a giant platter of noodles.

You’ll reach for your serving but the noodles won’t stop. They’re long and tangled. You look for a knife, but of course there aren’t any knives at a Chinese banquet table, just chopsticks. Not that your grandma would allow you to cut them. Aiya, do you want to cut your life short?

So you pull and pull and before you know it, your small chopstick pinch turns into an entire plateful.

These noodles aren’t just any noodles, they’re longevity noodles -- uncut and extra long. The long life symbolism and somewhat comical way you eat them got me thinking… what if all the ingredients in Longevity Noodles were long and uncut?

And so I added long beans, flat Chinese chives, enoki mushrooms, and bean sprouts. No stunted peas or diced anything -- we’re looking for length! I gave the veggies a little trim but otherwise kept them at full length.

When it comes to a long life, might as well quintiple down, right?

RECIPE

Note: Stir-fries are easy and very adaptable. All the work is in the prep. Cooking happens in a matter of minutes. The key to stir-frying is to time your ingredients and know how they cook. For example, of all the vegetables in this recipe, only the long beans and Chinese chives sear quickly. The mushrooms and bean sprouts are very watery and will steam before they brown, if they do so at all. So you have to decide what you want to sear and what you want to steam. If you want your ingredients to brown, you may have to cook them in batches so they have room to expel water and brown. Or, you can do as I did and only sear a couple of ingredients, and then add the rest of the watery ingredients to steam all together. This is technically more of a stir-fry/braise, but is equally delicious and a whole lot faster than a true stir-fry.

½ lb longevity noodles (Or any Asian wheat noodle. I like thinner noodles, but they are more prone to breaking which kinda happened here 😬)

1 ½ tbsp oyster sauce
1 ½ tbsp hoisin sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp white pepper
1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp grapeseed oil
⅓ lb long beans
½ lb Chinese chives
⅓ lb bean sprouts
⅓ lb enoki mushrooms

Cook noodles according to package instructions. Remove from water when very al dente, since they will continue to cook and absorb water once they’re re-added to the stir-fry. For fresh noodles, this means you could be cooking the noodles for as little as a minute.

Wash, dry, and trim all your vegetables. Mix the oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, white pepper, and sesame oil and set aside.

Heat the wok on high until a drop of water sizzles immediately. Add grapeseed oil. When the oil shimmers, add ginger and stir until fragrant, about 15-30 seconds. Add long beans and stir-fry until the beans start to get some color. Season the beans and other vegetables as you go. Add Chinese chives and continue to stir-fry until they take on color.

Add the mushrooms and bean sprouts. Stir-fry until wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Add the noodles and oyster sauce mixture. Mix gently so you don’t break the noodles.

TIPS & TRICKS

A wok is ideal for stir-fry because its shape is conducive to the browning/steaming method I described above. The ingredients on the bottom sear while the ingredients, piled on top like a bowl, are cooked with steam. (As opposed to a skillet where everything is basically level.) It’s also easier to mix ingredients in a bowl shape. Of course, the classic way of using a wok is to put all ingredients in contact with the wok, ensuring even browning. You control the heat level by moving the ingredients up or down the sides of the wok.

The standard for Chinese chefs is a carbon steel wok, but they can be hard for the beginner or casual cook since they require a somewhat onerous breaking-in process, consistent seasoning (maintaining the oily surface that keeps the wok nonstick-like), and can’t be used with acidic ingredients. That’s why I use the Hestan Nanobond Wok, which combines the best of all worlds. It can be heated to extremely high temperatures like a carbon steel wok (and unlike a non-stick pan), but the titanium coating is non-porous, meaning foods easily release without seasoning or a chemical coating. And unlike cast-iron, the Hestan wok conducts heat quickly, meaning you can cook in a flash. That’s the spirit of stir-fry!

Lunar New Year Eats - Lion’s Head in the Grass Meatball

If you love Thanksgiving, you’re bound to love Lunar New Year too. The holiday is all about family, beloved traditional dishes, and copious amounts of food.

I’m not here to start beef with Thanksgiving -- as far as I’m concerned, we should have a big eating holiday every month -- but Lunar New Year has a couple extra things going for it.

(I’m writing from a Chinese perspective, but countries throughout Asia celebrate with their own traditions.)

For one, when you’re a kid, you get hongbao or lai see, red envelopes filled with money. You receive them from all the married people in your family and at a big party, you can make quite the killing. (This is fun in a different, more expensive way once you’re married.)

Second, Chinese culture is filled with food symbolism. Noodles are a symbol of long life. Fish is good luck because the word is pronounced the same as the word for abundance. Dumplings symbolize gold ingots. The more you eat, the richer you’ll be in the next year. Win-win.

I invented Lion’s Head in the Grass as a way to merge two symbolic powerhouses. We are entering the Year of the Pig, so pork is a must. Pigs are lucky animals and eating pork is said to bring strength and prosperity.

And with its plentiful leafy greens, cabbage represents wealth. This is why you’ll find jade cabbages in many Chinese households. Just make sure you point them inwards, or according to feng shui, your money will fly right out the door.

Lion’s Head Meatballs are Chinese steamed or braised pork meatballs. Stuff that flavorful pork mixture inside a head of cabbage? Lion’s head in the grass.

RECIPE:

MEATBALL
1lb ground pork, 80% lean
½ cup garlic chives, chopped (if you can’t find, can also substitute scallions)
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
1 ½ tsp Xiaoxing wine
¼ tsp white pepper
2 tbsp salt
½ tsp sugar

1 medium head of cabbage
1 tbsp sliced ginger

Mix all the meatball ingredients together. Stir until just incorporated, making sure not to overmix, otherwise the meat will be too dense. Set aside and let the meat mixture come to room temperature.

Remove the core of the cabbage using a paring knife. Continue cutting into the cabbage, carving out pieces of cabbage. Once you begin seeing the layers of the cabbage, and you have enough room for leverage, use a spoon to scoop out the inside. Make shallow cuts into the cabbage with the paring knife, then remove the excess cabbage with a spoon. Continue until the outer shell of the cabbage is ½ inch - ¾ inch thick.

Fill the inside of the cabbage with the pork mixture. Pack lightly, making sure there’s still some airiness inside.

Boil a full kettle of water. You will need this as you replenish your steaming liquid.

Place a round pan grate in the bottom of your wok. Pour hot water to the level of the grate and add sliced ginger.

Place stuffed cabbage onto the grate, cover, and simmer on medium for 50 minutes. When the water gets low, refill with the water in your kettle. Serve in a bowl with your steaming broth.

TIPS & TRICKS

If you don’t have a wok with a domed lid, you can use a wide skillet and then cover with a foil tent. You can also use a lidded pot.

Ideally you should use a wok. I use the Hestan Nanobond Wok, which is wide and flat at the bottom (as opposed to narrow or rounded), which means better contact with my range’s flame. When compared to a flat lid, the domed lid fares better with moisture retention and air circulation. Plus, a domed lid is high enough to clear a whole head of cabbage. :D

Highlights from #FoodFictionFriday Assignment #4: Mystery Basket

This was a tough week, but you guys came through like CHAMPS. Here’s this week highlight:

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A post shared by Rossella Di Bidino (@rossdibi) on Jan 25, 2019 at 3:02am PST

Week after week, @rossdibi has delivered her FFF in both Italian and English! Here’s her weekly assignment, a clever and personal riff on Mrs Dalloway.

E l'unica cosa che riesco a chiedermi è "Perché Mrs Dalloway sta bevendo del Tokay?"
Tutti i vini nascono dalla vite e non dal pompelmo sebbene (in inglese) le parole siano simili. Non importa cosa servi col vino. Però ricorda che alcuni sono migliori, sebbene sia difficile trovare quello giusto per i carciofi o le costolette. Ma al party di Mrs Dalloway non ci stanno, le costolette, sono aspic col pollo o del salmone.
E' persino un Tokay Imperiale quello servito per dire "Che piacere vederti" a tutti, uno per volta.
Così è scritto. Mi fido di Virginia anche se non ho mai visto Clarissa deliziata da un pezzo di cioccolata bianca.
E' la mezza età, secondo Peter Walsh. O la mediocrità, lui suppone ed io pure.
Sono fedele al Tocai - con la c- e alla sua terra, il Collio in Friuli - come puoi vedere. Sì, lo puoi chiamare Friulano. Sempre sincero e senza ambizioni imperiali.
Mrs Dalloway, pensa al Friulano sotto questo cielo.

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Ok guys! This week, the #FoodFictionFriday assignment was to write a story with the mystery basket ingredients: grapefruit, baby back ribs, and white chocolate. Here’s my story for the week: ✏️ He licked the rib clean and then placed it between us. “This’ll work, right?” Misty and I locked eyes. I don’t know what she was thinking, but I was thinking about the curvature of the bone. Would it spin evenly like a top? Or would it wobble and tip over, like a tire off a junkyard car? I guess it didn’t matter. It would stop at someone either way. He wanted us to think that this was an impromptu decision, like hey, let’s use this random thing for this random game. But we all knew what was gonna happen tonight, even if we didn’t expect a friggin’ bone. There were two of them, and two of us. Just Misty and me. Jared spun the bone so fast it lifted off the floor like a helicopter, right onto Misty’s lap. I probably could’ve made a case that it was actually pointing to me, but the whole thing was nestled between her thighs and Jared was already crawling towards Misty and suddenly me and the other boy were nothing, just the other discarded bones on our paper plates. The whole time they kissed I stared at the food Jared’s mom left out for us: sticky glazed ribs, grapefruit wedges, and white chocolate bonbons, all wrong wrong wrong. I couldn’t think of a more vile meal in the history of mankind. But when their lips released with a sickening wet pop, I ate a bonbon, then chased it with the grapefruit. A casual, indifferent act, or so I hoped it’d come off. It tasted bitter and then sweet and then way too sweet, a bracing pucker of bad. It took me three full seconds to stomach it, but eventually everything settled. By the time Misty looked at me, head slung low and hands wrenched, I came to appreciate the awfulness and considered it a type of medicine. ✏️ Ok your turn! Post your story with #FoodFictionFriday tomorrow and tag me. You can read past entries by following the hashtag or visiting my FFF story highlights. 🙌 🙌

A post shared by Jessica Tom (@jessica_tom) on Jan 24, 2019 at 4:44pm PST

And here’s mine!

Whew, that’s one whole month of Food Fiction Friday. I love our writing community and have been so inspired by your hard work and inventive takes.

#FoodFictionFriday Assignment #4: Mystery Basket

This week’s #FoodFictionFriday takes its inspiration from our favorite showcase for tomatillos, canned tarantulas and wayward ice cream machines: CHOPPED!

In front of you you’ll find your mystery basket. Your story must include:

Grapefruit
Baby back ribs
White chocolate

I was merciful and only gave you three ingredients, no time limit… and no one will be chopped. 😁

In the kitchen, our job is to make ingredients taste good. We use technique to elicit flavor. Not so with writing. We use technique to elicit meaning, attitude, WEIGHT. Consider a homey stew as a cultural touchstone. A macaron as a hope for a prettier, more perfect life. A bowl of cereal as an act of defiance. Depending on your story, a cake can be a cause for celebration, a source of shame, a procrastination tool, and on and on…

Even though this is a Chopped-inspired challenge, the ingredients don’t have to be used in a meal context (ie: no obligation to write about ribs with white-chocolate mole and grapefruit gastrique). But, like Chopped, consider how you can “transform” all of these ingredients through story.

I’m really excited by this one -- both as a writer and #FoodFictionFriday reader. In my experience, sometimes our most brilliant work comes out of the oddest constraints.