Kelp is also sold dried in thin strips

Kelp is a group of large, brown seaweeds with the scientific name Laminaria. Kelp is used for human food, especially by the coastal populations of China and Japan. It is very rich in iodine, consequently it is sometimes prescribed to treat deficiencies of that trace element. Some manufacturers of dietary products containing kelp claim that their high levels of iodine act as a weight-reducing agent by increasing the production of thyroid hormones (of which iodine is an essential component) and raising metabolic rate. This would result in excess fat being consumed as an energy source. The claim is unlikely to be true for people who are not iodine deficient. An excessively high iodine intake can be toxic. Continue reading →

Black fungus aka tree jellyfish, also known as cloud ear fungus, black Chinese fungus (or mushroom), wood ear fungus, wood fungus, ear fungus, or tree ear fungus. It is usually sold dried and needs to be soaked before use. While almost tasteless, it is prized for its slightly crunchy texture and potential medicinal properties, including its newly discovered anticoagulant properties. Of note, the slight crunchiness persists despite most cooking processes. Continue reading →

Also known as golden needles and tiger lilies, dried lily buds are the unopened flowers of day lilies.  The lily, Hemerocallis to use its scientific name, has been used in China as both a food and medicine for over 2,000 years. Dried lily buds are yellow-gold in color, with a musky or earthy taste. Two dishes featuring lily buds are Muxi Pork, a stir-fried dish, and Hot and Sour Soup. Continue reading →

Soba is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle.  Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup.

Thick wheat noodles are known as udon. Udon is usually served hot as noodle soup in its simplest form, in a mildly flavoured broth called kakejiru which is made of dashi (japanese sea stock typically made from seaweed, mushrooms, dried fish, or a combination of these ), soy sauce, and mirin, a rice wine. It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions. Continue reading →

Chinese soy sauce is made only of soybeans.  It’s what we in the U.S. are most familiar with.  Japanese soy sauce is called Shoyu.  Shoyu is made from soy beans, roasted wheat, water and salt.  It is a little sweeter and less salty than Chinese soy sauce.  Shoyu is used as an all-purpose cooking soy sauce.  Tamari is a non-wheat product made by drawing off the liquid content of soybean miso.  Since genuine Tamari is a non-wheat product, it has a distinctive aroma as well as thicker texture, deeper color, and stronger taste. It is often used for dipping raw fish (sashimi), sauteing teriyaki, and other food processing.  Continue reading →

In junior high science class, we learned that humans have taste receptors for sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory.  Savory is the taste of brothiness or meatiness.

Nori Rolls

This whole week I’ve been Learning to Wrap Summer Rolls and Nori Maki and  it’s as easy as making tacos once you know the steps.  Just like tacos or burritos, it’s a bunch of chopping vegetables into slivers and having them ready in stackable plastic containers so you can lay them out in front of you when you’re making the roll.  Yesterday I tried a new idea.  I made a killer tuna salad for lunch with canned albacore, scallions, carrots, fresh holy basil, cucumber, slivers of fresh ginger and Duke’s mayo.  Then I rolled it into nori maki atop a bed of alfalfa sprouts.  Oh, man! Yum! Continue reading →

Summer Rolls – Yum

I spent an hour or so watching YouTube videos on how to make those delicious rice paper wrapped summer rolls that I get in the Thai and Vietnamese restaurants.   One day last week I was on the road all day and stopped in a Publix in Mt. Dora to pick some up for lunch for the drive home.  I like that they make them fresh at Publix.  I like California roll too, although I can do without the fake krab.  I thought, I could easily make these at home and I set out to do so the next evening.  A bit of a disaster, since the rice paper I had was from 2007 and it fell apart as I placed it in the hot water to soften.  I ended up wrapping too many veggies in green leaf lettuce alone, and having a big open mess to eat.  I set out to discover how to do it the right way.  That’s one thing I love about the internet:  you can learn how to do almost anything in a Youtube video, for free, without leaving home to take a class. Continue reading →

Back in the day, I ate way too much meat.  Sausage was often daily fare.  I hadn’t eaten it for years and am glad to now find turkey sausage that is lowfat and tasty.  I chopped a link into coins and sauteed them in a pan with 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp each fresh crushed fennel and coriander seed, half an onion, 1 carrot, 2 stalks of celery, a Golden Yukon potato, and 5 fat stalks of kale, with ribs chopped fine.  Stir to brown. Add salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, smoked paprike and a few shakes of ground cinnamon.   When the potato has browned, add 2 cups of lowfat chicken broth.  I also added a chopped tomato.  Simmer 20 minutes until flavors mix and smash half the potatoes down to thicken.  Serve with nutritional yeast sprinkled on top.

What is Goddess Grub?  Goddess Grub is a term a friend came up with to describe the fresh and healthy recipes he saw me post on my blog.     As I entered my 50’s, I suddenly got wise and found all the secrets of the Universe and was told by an angel how to live forever by eating a certain way. Well, ok, that’s bullsh*t, but I did have a few bouts of gallstone pancreatitis brought on by my formerly fatty and meat laden, lumberjack eating habits. Three bouts in the hospital in three years at $20,000 a pop wises you up real quickly. Continue reading →