After I ate all the skim milk yogurt, I decided to make goat milk yogurt next.  The process is the same as making regular homemade yogurt.

It looks more like condensed milk.  But still taste tangy, creamy and delicious.

Other people who have tried making goat milk yogurt suggest using raw goat milk for a superior quality yogurt.  But that would be difficult to find as not everyone has a lactating goat at home. And the U.S. government (at least in California) prohibits goat owners from selling their raw milk.

But it would be nice to have a pet goat that would supply me with raw and fresh goat milk.  As goat milk is expensive and a quart cost about $3.29 compare to a gallon of milk.

For those that never tried goat milk, it is really good and creamy milk. It’s also consider to be much healthier than cow milk. And for some people who cannot tolerate cow’s milk, they can still drink goat’s milk without any problems.

In 2007, Researchers at the University of Granada found that the properties of goats’ milk compared to those of cows’ milk could help prevent diseases such as anemia and bone demineralization. Goats’ milk was found to help with the digestive and metabolic utilization of minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.

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Summer is salad season for me. There’s just so much fresh and abundant (and sometimes organic) local produces to be seen this time of year.

This salad has probably been done many times with many variations. You could even include more veggies like carrots or daikon and it would be just as good. Serves 2.

Before preparing my veggies, I like to soak them in water with 2 tbs of vinegar just to be safe.

Chop up the following:

1/2 bunch of organic spinach
1 Granny Smith apple
2 organic radishes
walnuts

Dressing is simply made with 2 tbs rice bran oil, 2 tbs apple cider vinegar, 1 tbs Himalayan salt, and a pinch of ground chili pepper and black pepper.

Some people like to caramelize and toast the walnuts, but I find it taste great either way.

Recently I’ve been using more rice bran oil instead of olive oil. These are some of the nutrients from Rice Bran Oil:

* Naturally rich in Vitamin E (Tocopherol and Tocotrienol).
Both types of Vitamin E are natural antioxidants that fight free radicals, a major cause of cancer. Tocotrienol not only outperforms Tocopherol in preventing oxidation, it also effectively helps lower blood cholesterol level.

* High in Oryzanol. Oryzanol is a powerful natural antioxidant found only in rice bran oil, not other vegetable oils. It is more active than Vitamin E in fighting free radicals. Oryzanol is effective in lowering the blood cholesterol level, reducing liver cholesterol synthesis, and treating menopausal disorders.

* High in monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) which helps lower LDL-C, the bad cholesterol. It also helps maintain or increase HDL-C, the good cholesterol.” Source.

I’ve never tried eating fiddleheads before, but I have seen them in the wild while hiking in the forest.

The ones I’ve seen in the forest are surrounded by more leaves then in this photo.  These are fiddle heads of young plants. Photo from missouriplants.com

I suppose fiddleheads are easy to find, much easier then foraging for mushrooms.  Try looking along hiking trails and deep in the forest. Of course you can also find them at specialty markets selling from around $16 per pound or more. Very pricey!

From the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.  Photo by via Fickr.  They sure look interesting and remind me of the head of a fiddle or violin.

They are described to be very delicious and taste similar to asparagus.  Fiddleheads are found in the wild during the springtime (around the end of April and into May). And some people really enjoy foraging for these little delicacies.

The Forager Press gives this advice when seeking fiddleheads in the wild:

“Look for fiddleheads as soon as the earliest spring flowers bloom and anywhere you’ve see ferns growing before. You want to harvest them while they still retain a curl at the top and like asparagus, use as much of the stem below the curl as you can collect. This part is often overlooked and is every bit as good as the top.”

Recipe Bodega has Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Morels and Fiddleheads that looks very tasty!

Autumn is the one time I like to eat pickled vegetables. I was inspired to make these when I recently had Mexican pickled jars of jalapenos and carrots.

It’s got a good mixture of spice and tang. The mints give it an interesting twist to the pickled carrots. It was initially odd at first, but after several days it only got better.

Ingredients:

10 medium to small size carrots, peeled and cut into thin slices.
1/2 cup of vinegar
2 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of sea salt
2 teaspoons of pickling spice
Small bunch of peppermint leaves

The pickling spice I used is from Monterey Spice Company. It includes: Mustard, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, dill seed, cloves, coriander, allspice, chili peppers, and bay leaves.

Directions:

In a pot, bring the water to boil and add the carrots. Let it cook for 2 minutes. Remove and drain under cold water.

In another pot, combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil then pour over the carrots. Then tear up the bunch of peppermint leaves. Add the mints to the mix.

Set aside 2 medium sized jars. Fill it up and keep it refrigerated. You can eat them within 3 days, but they do keep for a while. I’m still eating them 3 weeks later and they are good.

I like eating them on the side with noodles. Also good addition to sandwiches too. It’s best to keep it refrigerated so it stays crisp.

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.

If anyone would like to try growing them, Sand Mountain Herbs has seed packets available for $2.50 (50 seeds).

Recommended growing Zones 11-13 and needs hot and humid weather to grow well. I’m thinking Florida or Hawaii. If planting in full sun, they need lots of water. But the plants will also grow well in shade too. The key to encouraging more leafy growth is to nip out the flower buds once it starts to form. But keep some flower so you can save as seeds for next year’s harvest.

Besides being used for cooking, the sawtooth coriander is also used as herbal medicines. It also dried very well and can be saved for later use like many other herbs.

In Southeast Asian countries, the herb is useful for upper respiratory complaints to gastric upsets. In India, the root can be eaten raw for scorpion stings and is used to alleviate stomach pains.

I don’t think I’ve encounter any herb with so many names as this one. Here is part of the name list (source):

Culantro, spiny or serrated coriander, shado beni, bhandhania, chadron benee, coulante (Haiti), recao, fit weed, azier la fièvre, chardon étoilé, Puerto Rican coriander, shado benni, false coriander, shadow-beni, stinkweed, fitweed, long coriander, mexican coriander, ngo gai, spiritweed, bhandhania, false corriander, ketumbar Java, thorny coriander, long corriander, German Langer Koriander, Mexicanischer Koriander, Black Benny, Saw leaf herb, Saw tooth coriander, Spiny coriander, Fitweed, Chardon étoile fétide, Panicaut fétide, Herbe puante, Coriandre mexicain; Coulante, Hindi Bhandhania, Bhandhanya, Hosszú koriander, Mexikói koriander, Puerto Ricó-i koriander, Indonesian Walangan, Khmer Chi banla, Chi baraing, Chi sangkaech, Chi pa-la, Chi farang, Laotian Phak Hom thet, Malay Ketumbar Jawa, Spanish Culantro, Recao, Racao, Shado beni; Chadron benee, Alcapate, Cilantro habanero, Cilantro extranjero, Mexikansk koriander, Thai Pak chi farang, Hom-pomkula, Mae-lae-doe, Phakchi farang, Ngo gai, Mui tau, Ngo tay.

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.

I have been tempted to add cinnamon oil to my handmade soap, as cinnamon oil is antibacterial. But I’ve heard about too many people being allergic to it. May be better used as a natural household cleaner instead.

The sticks make great Christmas decoration, as seen from Nye Noona’s beautiful photo of her Christmas tree. Photo graciously borrowed from Nye Noona.

The folks at World’s Healthiest Foods has a neat background about cinnamon. You can read more about it here.

One that I found interesting is that the scent of cinnamon oil can boost your brain activity. “Specifically, cinnamon improved participants’ scores on tasks related to attentional processes, virtual recognition memory, working memory, and visual-motor speed while working on a computer-based program.” -Research study from 2004 by the Association for Chemoreception Sciences, in Sarasota, FL.  I personally would think it’s peppermint oil, citrus oil, or the smell of coffee!

According to Gaia Herbs, cinnamon is not just good for digestion, it is also vital to promoting overall health.

“The bark of the preferred species (zeylanicum and burmanii) contain up to 10% volatile oil content in which the constituent Cinnamaldehyde is found. It also contains mucilage, tannins, carotenoids, and phenolics. Cinnamaldehyde has antioxidant properties and helps support fat and cholesterol levels in a normal range. The phenolic compounds especially the polyphenolic polymers have been studied for their effects to support insulin and blood sugar levels within a normal range and promote healthy blood flow. Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is vital to promoting healthy vision, heart, circulation, kidneys and a healthy nervous system.” - Gaia Herbs

In traditional Chinese medicine, cinnamon can provide relief from the cold or flu. Just make tea using fresh ginger and cinnamon powder. Even if you are not sick, it still makes a good herbal drink!

Since I was in the mood for agar agar dessert, I was happy to find some frozen pandan leaves at the Asian market for about $1.  It would be nice to find some fresh ones, but they can only grow in tropical climates. The package was from Vietnam and read, “Bay Thoy Leaf”.

Nicely washed and cut pandan leaf. Photo from hsa*ba, Burmese cooking.

Pandan leaves have a very interesting scent.  I can’t really describe, a bit herbal floral. And somewhat of a ripe banana too.  But other have described as being rose like. Not only does it offer a fragrant scent, but it could be used as food coloring too. Some even use it to wrap their food for cooking.  I just want to use them to make agar agar dessert.

I am starting to enjoy agar agar more then gelatin.  Gelatin is a bit boring and it’s derived from the collagen inside animals’ skin and bones. Bad for vegetarians, but good for those that don’t mind animal collagen. Agar agar is derived from seaweed and has trace minerals and more.

I found some neat inspiration for making desserts using agar agar from Appon’s: Recipe from my native Thailand. Appon made this dessert with mashed pumpkin and pandan flavor agar agar. Since I am a fan of pumpkin pie, I think this would taste great. Photo from Appon.

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This is my “how to guide” to preparing Globe artichokes.  For those that may want to eat them, but just not sure how or where to start.  Just don’t let the spikes and rough leaves (petals) scare you.

Above is my photo gallery tutorial on how to prepare Globe artichoke.  And don’t worry, you won’t choke on anything when eating them.  Unless of course you become distracted and forget to chew and swallow properly.  Enjoy!

Instructions:

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Hibiscus flowers usually remind me of tropical places such as Hawaii.  They are popular ingredients in herbal tea as it gives off the nice red color.  These interesting looking hibiscus flowers are not the typical hibiscus grown as ornamental plants.

They are named roselle or “Hibiscus sabdariffa” and are edible.  Roselle are an annual woody shrub that grows to 2–2.5 m tall.  This plant is mainly grown in Southeast Asia and Central America.

They may look strange to someone who has never seen them before.  The calyx are left over after the petals have fallen off.   What you see (pictured above) is these deep red bulb like blooms.

Germany uses it as natural food color and France likes it dipped in syrup.  They are also popular made into sauces, syrups, and jams.  They even have medicinal values and is also full of Vitamin C, Iron, Calcium and Niacin.

These dried Roselle I found at Trader Joe’s are also dipped in syrup.  I have tried dried dragon fruit from Trader Joe’s and love them! So I just had to give these a try too.  The texture is like dried fruit rolled up but more bland and chewy.  It’s slightly tart and sweet (from the syrup).  But I do think they taste better then dried cranberries.

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There are these lush green vines that I have seen from many pictures and movies coming from the southeastern United States. They even have pretty purple flowers too. The plants are usually seen growing endlessly along highways and forests. What is the name of this interesting plant? It is kudzu ( scientific name: pueraria lobata), a Japanese native plant that has been labeled as “invasive” and is taking over the native plants of the area.

Purdue University’s Photo of the nice kudzu with pretty purple flowers.

The plant first came to the US as an ornamental plant in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Then in 1935 to 1953, farmers in the South were encouraged by the United States to plant kudzu to reduce soil erosion. But in was declared as invasive by the US government by the mid 1950’s. The southeastern US has hot, humid summers, frequent rainfall, temperate winters and few hard freezes. So the conditions are almost perfect for the kudzus to keep on growing. In some ways, the plant reminds me of the end of the world when the vines start to take over cities and towns.

Michael Jon Jensen, Director of Publishing Technologies of the National Academies Press took this picture of kudzus taking over this abandoned Honda Civic. Looks like it is just in the edge of town too. Watch out!

But in Japan, they love to eat kudzu. Kudzu is high in fiber and protein and is a good source of vitamin A and D. The leaves and stems can be used as in salads and cook like other leafy vegetables. The roots are dried and then grounded to make powder. Kudzu powder is used in cooking to thicken soups and sauces. The flour is also used to coat food to be deep fried, such as tempura.

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