Sunday Chinese II (still need catchy name)

(1) Traditional egg and tomato dish--so authentic that I've only seen it offered in two restuarants in my lifetime, both in SoCal.  Once as part of a small, take-out buffet in Riverside, and once described as a "country" dish in a weird little place called Mao's Kitchen in Venice Beach.  Although my versions come close, my mother's is simply the best thing you could ever eat. 

(2) Cabbage and shitake stir-fry.   

Mother's Day Sundays

Going along the themes of culture and tradition, I’ve always thought there was something cool about the way some Italian-Americans talk about Sunday “gravy”.  Hmm, wouldn’t it be fun to start such a tradition and perfect a homemade marinara?  But, wait, we’re not Italian and my husband doesn’t even like tomato-based sauces.  So why not begin a tradition of our own that’s more relevant to who we actually are? 

Sunday, May 6^th, seemed like a fitting day to begin a tradition of Sunday Chinese dinners.  Given the date, I saw this meal as a tribute to my mother who recently spent four weeks living with and taking care of us after Baby #2 arrived.

On the menu, clockwise from top left, was tofu with Hoisin sauce (so yummy with snap peas, carrots, and cashews, from the cookbook “Quick Vegetarian Pleasures”), and two dishes that I learned from my mother--faux chicken and celery (one of my husband’s all-time favorites), and a stir-fry with lotus roots, carrots, asparagus, and various types of mushrooms. 

Love the idea of cooking Chinese at least once a week.  I just need to come up with a creative name for this new weekly event!       

Gifts That Keep on Giving

Recent birthday gifts have inspired several culinary undertakings over the last few weeks. 

This growing kit produced enough mushrooms for my visiting mother to make a stir fry that also included dried bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms, carrots, and lotus root. 

My first shot at using my new mini-pie maker yielded four delicious gruyere and onion pies.  I mostly followed a recipe in “Mini Pies” by Abigail Johnson Dodge (included as part of the gift), but used fresh thyme from my container garden on the back deck. 

What’s great about both of these dishes is that I was able to use fresh ingredients straight from the garden (loosely defined)!  Inspired by Wendy at Greenish Thumb, see how she and others have been enjoying garden-to-table creations.