Chayote (pronouced cha-yoh-teh) have become more common in the vegetable stalls here in California.

The name Chayote or chocho derived from Mexico (Spanish). In the southern U.S. states, they are commonly eaten and known as mirliton or vegetable pear.  Chayote are cultivated in California, Florida, and Louisiana.

The inside of a chayote looks like - the seed is the best part. It is very nutty and creamy. It’s always a treat to open up a chayote and find a huge seed in the middle.

I don’t know if it’s a fruit or vegetable. When seen hanging from the vine, it’s more like a fruit. It’s from the gourd family that also consist of melons, cucumbers and squash.

Some think chayote taste like a potato and can be bland. But I think it has an interesting flavor, like a mix of cucumber and zucchini squash. It is full of vitamin C and other nutrients.

Chayote can also be eaten raw. It’s slightly crunchy. Just shred and mix with a bit of salt, lemon juice, and chili peppers. Chayote can also be added to stir-fry, to retain it’s crisp taste, do not overcook. The list of cooking with chayote can include baking and pickling as well.

All parts of this plant can be eaten, from the leaves to the root. The leaves are also used to make tea.  But I’ve never tried eating anything beside the fruit. I like chayote so much, I just steam them and eat as it.

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When I think of cinnamon, I usually think of cinnamon rolls rather then the actual spice. But this winter, I’m starting to think of cinnamon with much more appreciation. As cinnamon is not only tasty, but very beneficial for your health too.

Cinnamon cassia also known as Chinese cinnamon. Image source.

Cinnamon is native to India. The three commercially cultivated cinnamon include Ceylon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), Indonesian (Cinnamomum burmanii), and Chinese cassia (Cinnamomum cassia). Many of the commercial cultivation of cinnamon are cassia. Countries that process cinnamon include India, China, Vietnam, Madagascar and Sri Lanka.

This is what a Ceylon cinnamon tree looks like: it can grow up to 15 meters high.  Photo from Pukka Herbs.

The harvesting of cinnamon is an interesting process. Cinnamon barks are harvested by cutting back two year old trees.  When the tree stems are chopped, new stem start to sprout around it. The process is call coppicing.  Then new stems can be harvested and the inner bark extracted for use.  That is what you see as the curled cinnamon sticks.

Cinnamon is usually sold in powder form or as cinnamon sticks (quills). The cinnamon commonly found in the market is cassia, which is Chinese cinnamon.  It’s difficult to tell between true cinnamon.

The sweet aroma is really what makes cinnamon special. It just reminds you of the holiday and can warm you up from the inside out. This special aroma comes from the cinnamon barks, which has volatile essential oils.

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Since it is Thanksgiving, I thought I should mention the health benefits of these tangy red berries.  They are usually available this time of year too.

The name cranberry derived from “craneberry” as the cranberry blossoms resemble the head of a crane. Wisconsin Rapids Area produces 30% of the world’s cranberries. Photo from Cranberry Blossom Festival.

I think the flowers look very much like fuchsias, except for what looks like beak here.  And the little green berries are cute.  I wonder how they taste.

Besides making sauce with them, cranberries can be a good addition to salads.  That add a slight bitterness, tangy punch, and the little pop sound when biting into them.   But I just like to mix it together with a bit of salt, chili peppers, and sugar - it is really good!

Cranberries are one of the most healthiest fruits available.  Dried cranberries are a favorite with trail mixes.  I also like them in granola bars.  It keeps the granola bar from being too boring.

The main benefits of cranberries is that it can help curb bladder infections (urinary tract).  Which I believe is much better than taking antibiotics.

Pretty bowl of cranberries.  Too bad the season is so short for harvesting them.  So get them while you can!  Photo from Naturipe Farms.

In 2005, researchers found that cranberries are also good for your teeth and gum.  This is from the University of Rochester press release on November 23, 2005:

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Autumn is the time of year when Mom loves to make pickled vegetables.  Her selection ranges from pickled Chinese mustard to cabbages.

And sometimes you’ll find a few tasty selection of bean sprouts, ginger root or eggplants somewhere in the mix.

These homemade pickled vegetables may be a bit funny smelling to some people, but to me it’s a happy jar of good food. Not to mention good for you too!

The sad part is that I have yet to sit down and learn to make pickles the way Mom does it.  But this weekend I did try to make my first pickled carrots and daikon radishes.  It was a simple method I’ve seen Dad made when I was younger.  All you need is a little bit of vinegar and water.  I hope they turn out well.

Besides family recipes, I came upon this neat book which I think would be a good addition to my cook book collection.  This book seem interesting as the recipes are more like  projects for making good pantry food.  And also neat for making edible handcrafted gifts too.

Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it by Karen Solomon.  Karen will teach you how to pickle vegetables, make jams, and cure meat. These would be fun projects to do, especially on chilly afternoons.

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Lately I’ve been on the look out to trying different types of rice, besides the usual brown and white version.

I found Lotus Foods to have a wide selection, from Kalijira rice to Cambodian Mekong Flower Rice.  But I decided to try Bhutanese rice and also China Black Forbidden rice.

Lotus Foods Bhutanese Rice is “an ancient colored-bran short-grain rice grown 8,000 feet in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. Irrigated with 1,000 year old glacier water rich in trace minerals.”

I really like this Bhutan red rice. It has a nutty taste, soft texture and reddish brown color.  It’s almost like the cousin of the brown rice, but tastier. Because it is a short grain rice, I prefer to eat it as dessert.  I’ve drizzled with honey and also tried eating it mixed with steamed kobacha (Japanese pumpkin).  The combination really brings out the nutty taste of both and not too sweet.

More about Lotus Foods: “Lotus Foods was founded with the intent and vision to support sustainable global agriculture by promoting production of traditional heirloom rice varieties, many of which may otherwise have become extinct, while enabling the small family rice farmer to earn an honorable living. Lotus Foods is the only US-based company with the unique vision and commitment to seek out small family rice farmers in developing countries and provide them a means of economic support through access to a global and sustainable marketplace economy. ”

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I discovered a new wheat salad that is easy to make and taste really good too. It’s called Taboule, but can also be written as tabbouleh, Tabouli, Taboule, Taboli, and Tabbouleh.  The one I got was labeled “taboule” and came in a little box made by Near East Foods.

You can also find whole wheat couscous from Trader Joe’s (or at health and ethnic food stores) and use that to make Taboule too.  To me, couscous (pronouced koos-koos) is somewhat chewier.  Couscous is also made of durum wheat.  But Bulgur wheat is consider to be more nutritious.

Here is a great looking Tabbouleh dish that includes ripe cherry tomatoes, fresh mints and more.  Photo from BBC Good Food.

The main ingredient in Taboule is Bulgur Wheat, which is a natural whole grain food in that requires no chemicals or additives in processing the product.  Bulgur wheat is made from wheat that has been cleaned, parboiled, dried, ground into particles and sifted into distinct sizes.

It is high in fiber and carbohydrate and low in fat.  Rich in “B” vitamins and iron, phosphorous and manganese. So it’s a great source of vitamins, minerals, and protein for vegetarian diets.

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The Travel Channel has some neat shows I try to watch when I get the chance, especially No Reservations and Bizarre Foods.  Bizarre Foods can creep me out most of the time, but it is interesting to know that what’s so bizarre to you is really part of the the world’s diet.

Andrew Zimmerman, friendly host of Bizarre Foods,  came upon the shark and bake sandwich and just loved it.  Andrew said it was amongst his top 10 sandwiches he’s  ever ate in his life.  So it must be pretty good!

Shark and bake is a popular Trinidad “deep-fried” pocket sandwich made of shark meat.  The name reminds me of “shake n bake”.  It is found at beach shacks and street stalls throughout the island.

Andrew mentioned that it wasn’t the shark meat alone that made it good, it was the choices of sauce they add to it.  His favorite being the tamarind sauce.  Others include mango chutney with sliced cucumbers.  But I still don’t know if I would eat shark meat, unless I happen to be in Trinidad.  Read the rest of this entry »

Quince is an unusual fruit to many people. There are two distinctive type of quince tree. The one that bears large fruit and the ornamental one that is more of a shrub and has beautiful dark pink blossoms in spring. Quince is one of the first fruit trees to bloom in the year. The Chinese consider quince blossom as a symbol of good fortune.  So you may see the blossoms used in celebration bouquet for Chinese New Year.

A healthy quince shrub in bloom, usually in the winter months.  This bright pink color makes me feel happy just looking at it.  Photo from flickr by neeloj.

Johnny Bowden included quince in his book, “150 Healthiest Foods on Earth“. It contains potassium and Vitamin C.   The quince is a relative of the apple and pear and belongs to the pome fruit family. Bodwen adds that quinces grown in western Asia is much sweeter and softer. I would love to try that version! Read the rest of this entry »