When we think of super food, we usually think of blueberries or even exotic fruits such as acai berries coming from Brazil.

Dr. Zhimin Xu of Louisiana State University Agricultural Center in Baton Rouge has new promising research on the health benefits of black rice.

He stated, “Just a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found in a spoonful of blueberries, but with less sugar and more fiber and vitamin E antioxidants.”

Anthocyanin antioxidants are commonly found in such foods that are red, purple, or blue in color.  Such as strawberries, grapes, red onion, and more.

These antioxidants have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.

The only black rice I’m familiar with is Japonica Black rice and Chinese Black rice. We usually refer to them as purple rice. And it’s best cooked as rice pudding or other desserts.

Photo from The Prepared Pantry.

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This is one of the first few bounty harvested from my mom’s garden.

We’ve always refer to them as Japanese pumpkins. The correct name is Kabocha squash, and it’s a type of winter squash.

The Kabocha squash took only four months to start producing. The seeds came from the squash she purchased at the market. I am always surprised to find that seeds from market produce can grow just as nicely in the garden.

My mom thinks they are one of the most easy to grow pumpkins. She just loves growing pumpkins and has three varieties in her garden.

One of which is almost white in color and grew by accident. But then it became a favorite for it’s taste. Her pumpkin varieties are known to be very creamy, nutty, and sweet. And the Kabocha fits right into the list.

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When I think of Luang Prabang (in Laos), I usually think of clean and quaint streets. Along with sacred Buddhist temples and other beautiful scenery.

But then I came across this article. The author was talking about how plastic bags are becoming a polluting sight seen along roadsides to landing between crops.

There are also sight of rubbish mounds (mostly of plastic bags) being burn across many villages.  Which only adds to more air pollution.  It really saddens me to hear this.

A unique way to take cabbages from the market. Plastic or Rattan? Photo from EatingAsia.

An excerpt from EatingAsia:

Each item, purchased from a different vendor, will be placed into its own clear plastic bag –, and each of those bags slipped into another, larger one. Customers leave the market with their fingers dripping yellow, pink, black, red plastic bags.

Most of those bags will never see a second use. If you live or have traveled here you’ve probably seen where they can end up: alongside roads, strewn over hillsides, on beaches, blanketing land resting between crops.”

What ever happened to traditional market baskets? The nicely weaved ones that can carry loads of vegetables. Even heavy duty and reusable nylon bags and cotton bags would be a better choice.

To my surprise, not all hope is lost.  As market vendors came up with this neat idea.  Instead of “Paper or Plastic? In Luang Prabang, it’s plastic or rattan strips?”

Other vegetables that can be strung and carry this way are bamboo shoots, lettuce, and even small bunches of herbs such as peppermint. I think it’s a great idea!  

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Melons are a great way to cool down during the hot summer days. But if eating just plain melons is too boring for you, maybe try something different.

Here I have a good mix of sweet corn, cantaloupes, and black beans. I don’t know what to call it, so I’ll simply call it “Coconut Melons”. This is a popular Asian dessert. In Lao and Thai they call it, “nam wan” which translates to sweet water.

It’s a great way to enjoy what’s in season too. It takes a while to whip up, but it’s worth it and everything is made with really good ingredients. Except for maybe the sugar. Try substituting with honey or agave syrup.

Directions:

Soak 1 cup of black beans overnight. Rinse and cook in a pot until it’s soft. Once it’s cooked you then add 1/2 can of coconut milk and some sugar to your liking. I don’t like it too sweet as the melons and corn are sweet enough.

While that’s cooking, you can cut up 1/2 ripe cantaloupes into small pieces.

Steam about 4 ears of corn and then remove the corn kernel by trimming the corn. You can layer the melon, corn, then beans or just toss it all together.

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Water spinach goes by many names. Including Chinese water spinach, Chinese morning glory, and bindweed. In Singapore it’s called “water convolvulus”, a bit of a tongue twister. In Lao and Thai it’s called “Pak Bong”. The scientific name is Ipomoea aquatica.

Water spinach grows well emerged in water and also likes to live on land in wet to moist beds. They grow as a trailing plant. This photo shows kids hanging from water spinach.

Photo from Chinese Vegetable Seeds, UK.

Water spinach has always been one of my favorite Asian vegetables. Water spinach is rich in iron and provides a good source of vitamin A and dietary fiber.

They are easy to eat as they are not bitter. The hallow stems are crunchy making it perfect for sautéed in a light cooking oil. But it’s also good eaten raw as a side dish with other main dishes.

Ponds of water spinach during the summer is something neat to see as they start to have white morning glory like flowers.

Water spinach are now available at most Asian market. The leaves are dark green and shaped like arrow heads. They are sold in huge bunches either by the weight or individually.

I’ve heard that the local water spinach farmers use too much pesticides. And this makes me think twice about buying them unless I know where it comes from. So it’s probably best to try to grow your own water spinach.

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Ice cream may be popular in the U.S., but around the world shaved ice is what they prefer to stay cool.

Asian shaved ice is not the same as American snow cones. Besides sweet syrup it also has other toppings including fresh fruits and some are even flavored with tea.

This is a jar of halo-halo which is made of tropical fruits and syrup. I found it to be too sweet. But I guess it’s meant as topping to shaved ice and other ingredients too.

You can find this jar at most Asian grocery stores for $1.50. Product of the Philippines.

Here’s a partial list of shaved ice around the globe:

Hawaiian shave ice
Japan Kakigori
Filipino halo halo
Mexican raspados
Korean bingsu
Taiwanese bao bing
Indian golas and chuskis

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June is just around the corner, and I am looking forward to fresh summer vegetables. Especially cucumbers that are organic and fresh from the farmer’s market.

But I have yet to see any locally grown pickling cucumbers yet. Maybe in a few more months.

As soon as I get my hands on them, I would also love to try making my own pickles.

“Bread and Butter Pickles” are some of my favorite because they are a bit sweet, tangy, and crunchy. They are perfect additions to any sandwich or salad.

These cute little garden cucumbers would make great pickles! Photo from University of Wisconsin.

In the botany world, cucumbers are a fruit with it’s blossoms that are then pollinated. But in the culinary way, they are refer to as a vegetable. Either way, they are great eaten fresh, pickled, or stir-fried.

The easiest recipe I’ve come across for pickles is from the June issue of Country Living magazine.

The ingredient list isn’t bad and shouldn’t take more than a few hours to finish.

Here is the recipe Chef Jason Robinson of the Inn at Dos Brisas in Texas shared with the readers of Country Living’s magazine.

Ingredients: 1 lb of Kirby cucumber (although I think any small pickling cucumber would be fine). 1 large sweet onion, 1/4 cup kosher salt, 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup distilled vinegar, 1 tbs ground turmeric, 1 tbs mustard seeds, and 1 tbs ground coriander.

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Avocados are found all year around in California. They are usually sold at $1 a piece, but this time of year is when they are on sale at 3 for $1. This is good news to me, since I find they are a great addition to any meal.

Avocado can make any salad or sandwich taste instantly better and richer. It’s also good drizzled with agave syrup or honey and eaten like a dessert. Best of all they are loaded with vitamin E and other good stuff.

There are these cute little avocado that I just found out about from Freida’s Produce. Freida is known for introducing America to the fuzzy yet tasty Kiwi.

These little guys are called “Cocktail Avocado”. They are really small and look more like cucumbers. Photo from Freida’s.

The Cocktail Avocado are rarely found in the market. They are of the Fuerte variety and come from the same tree. But since they are not pollinated, they do not develop a seed.

The Produce Hunter notes, “Once a COCKTAIL AVOCADO is fully ripe, you can avoid the whole peeling ordeal by slicing off one end and squeezing the little fruit like a tube of toothpaste (from the bottom, please!). The lovely, ripe flesh will plop right out, ready to be enjoyed!”

I can’t imagine squeezing out a tube of avocado, but at least it would give you instant guacamole.

Avocados are native to Central America, Mexico and the West Indies. When the Spanish conquistador came across these fruits, they first called them “abocado”. Which is probably derived from the Aztec name for the fruit, abuacatl, meaning “butter from the wood.” Avocados were known by the Aztecs as “the fertility fruit”.

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This green leafy herb goes by many names and is native to Central America. But it is now grown and eaten throughout Southeast Asia and Latin America. In many larger cities of the U.S., you can find these at the ethnic markets.

The three most common name is Sawtooth coriander (since the edges have little harmless serrated teeth). Another is Mexican coriander or culantro. In Lao and Thai it’s call “Pak Chi Farang”. Scientific name: Eryngium foetidum.

Some say the taste resembles coriander, but I think it taste much more interesting. More like fennel, Asian cilantro and other herbs too. So it’s more like multiple herbs combined in one crispy green leaf. It’s also very fragrant.

And tends to make soups (especially Pho) become more lively and tasty too. The younger leaves are the best, but the bigger leaves are also tasty.

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When I think of Mexican peppers I usually think of Jalepeno peppers. But this weekend I decided to add some new choices to my pepper selection.

These are fresh Pasilla peppers. They have a nice dark green color and very thick outer skin, but the inside is juicy.

Pasilla peppers are referred to many other names too. The word pasilla is translated as “little raisins” in Spanish. Another common name is pablano peppers. And the dried version is call ancho and are used to make Mexican mole sauce.

These peppers has an interesting taste that many would describe as earthy. But I say it taste like a good green vegetable with some heat. It’s not as hot as jalepeno, but has enough heat to keep it interesting.

Pasilla peppers are great stuffed because they have thick skin and good amount of space to fill. I actually prefer stuffed pasilla over stuffed bell peppers. I also think they are good slightly steamed or grilled and added to sandwiches.

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