French Tarragon And Chicken

French tarragon herb is hard to find in the stores. Once in a while stores sell the bland Russian or Mexican tarragon and they aren't as good as the French variety which has more slender leaves than the 2 mentioned. One time I found a true French tarragon and it was a bit of a head-scratcher because it came from Morocco or maybe Turkey.

Read more »

Malted Walnut Pie

Nut pies don't appear often in my house. I made pecan pie once and was not wowed. I love nuts as snack but not in a pie. Until today.

I was clearing the cabinets of old stuff and discovered a jar of barley malt syrup leftover from making bagels many years ago. I've never used it as sugar substitute for baked sweets or desserts. The thing is super thick and very verrry sticky. Taking it out of the jar for measuring takes extra effort.

Read more »

Pork Ribs With Fermented Soy Beans

I grew up eating fermented salted black soy beans. In the Philippines it is called tausi and sold at wet markets. They are also sold in cans and plastic pouches. My mom used to add it to sauteed bitter melon or fish. This type of fermented soy bean sauce with whole beans is no longer available here in the US although years ago I bought the canned variety from China or maybe Taiwan but couldn't find the same thing recently. Or maybe I don't know the label.

Read more »

Key Lime Pie

sweet and tart Key lime pie

For π Day I made sweet and tart Key lime pie. I don't use the bottled juice because I don't find it authentic enough. It's a pain to juice the tiny fruits but it's worth it. Besides, the zest is also great to infuse into sugar for later use or caramel custard or fizzy kefir water.

Read more »