Garlic Seeds

...Or at least I think that's what it is. I 'harvested' it from the blooming garlic scape tops. I haven't quite used them yet, but just thinking about what I can do with it is fun enough already. Maybe I will sprinkle over salads. Maybe I will mix in pasta dish. I want my tuna and scallops adorned with these beautiful pearly granule! They are about the size of rice grains. As tiny as they are, they do taste the garlic, so be careful!

Ku Cake

Cool Summer

I am growing total of 9 tomato plants this summer; 6 on the ground and 3 in the pots. Normally I would be making tomato sandwiches every day by this time of year, they are slow to get big and still quite green.

The cooler weather gave us a longer season of asparagus and peas; which is not a bad thing by itself. I stockpiled them in the freezer, oh yeah. At the same time, I'm still waiting for the explosion of corns, peppers, and yes, tomatoes. Although I prefer the cooler weather - hey, we can sleep at night without the A/C! - it makes me think about the cause and effect of the climate. So this is another reason to love the Greenmarket. It is a barometer; it opens a little window that I can peek in to see what's going on the outside the big city made of steel, glass and concrete. I don't think I can notice these little seasonal quirks if I buy my veggies only from the store.

Well, we still have August. I think I will trade a few weeks of sleepless night with the joy of tangy & sweet juicy tomatoes.

Ku Cake

Which Fish Am I Eating Now?

For some reason the idea of buying fresh tuna in New York never occured to me. I think, because my concept of tuna fishing is that you sail out hundreds of miles and many days away from the shore with the huge boat and after catching them you have to bring them back frozen. You know, something you'd see on TV program like "The Deadliest Catch" where men constantly fighting against the harsh element in high seas. So when I saw the tuna stakes sold at Blue Moon Fish, I felt a strange delight. Wow, really? I can have fresh tuna for dinner?

Most of the times I would simply cook the chunk of tuna in little butter or sesame oil with minced garlic, finishing off with the splash of ponzu. This one shown, however, is breaded with potato chip crust, made up from variety of flavored chips like salt & pepper, BBQ, vinegar & salt, jalapeno, honey mustard, you name it. I keep one bag in the freezer where I saved all the pulvalized chips that's left on the bottom of the bag. It makes a rather tasty breading that can be used for pork cutlet or chicken breast. I would cook this in small amount of olive oil, with dash of valsamic vinegar.

Mmmm-mmm!

Ku Cake