Wild Micro-Tomatoes and Moringa Oleifera Flower

Two things I always do when I go to the plentiful valley for my weekend walks: collect unique river rocks; and gather wild edibles. I chanced upon the wild tomato bush while picking violet succulent flowers, their tendrils have weaved together and the two plants are now stuck, but I saw the beady red...

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Haiku Days

When I lived in Haiku, I foraged all my fruits. The ecosystem there was do-it-yourself. You must catch them before they fall. The rain mango worked well with the vegan pumpkin waffle that morning; it was toasty, earthy and warm, the mango was the butter syrup. I remember picking wild raspberries entangled...

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Arancini (Tomato Confit Rice) Fried Pita Taco

The confit is the molten gem at the center of this decadent “gyro,” basted with macadamia garlic dill spread (from Mana Foods) and fresh-squeezed calamansi juice (hand-picked petite oranges) from my coworker’s upcountry garden. I fried the bread in luscious avocado olive oil until the pan smoked...

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Corn Beet Soup and Green Bowtie Fettuccine

The Guatemalan vendor at the farmers market loves her vegetables. And I think it started in planting. Every Saturday I would ask her what (or how) to cook what's on her splendid table. This time she said the beets were sweet and that I should use their natural leaves (mildly bitter on the stem...

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Boiled Lime Kale and Spinach Banh Mi

A French-Vietnamese sandwich with olive oil spread and Japanese nanami tagarashi pepper flakes. I seared the kale in lime juice and salt to breakdown the bitterness, but charred them to smoke the taste. That’s the baguette lunch. I have hot (black) tea, ripe mango and hot cross (raisin-orange) bun...

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