Army stew.

During back to my trip to Korea last month, I tried a dish that changed my world forever. It was budae jjigae.

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Introducing sea asparagus.

I finally got the chance to check out the Trout Lake Farmer’s Market last weekend. It was probably one of the best markets in terms of location, market vendors, and food. I picked up some delicious nut pate, bratwurst, cherry tomato plants and bags full of local beets. I also picked up some sea asparagus from one of my favourite farmers whom I cannot remember the name of but he always has the best, most unique produce ever (he’s the big hippy guy with long reddish-brownish hair if that helps!?). He was the guy I bought the stinging nettles from this past spring for my stinging nettle pesto. This time around he had sea asparagus, dandelion greens, and a number of interesting greens and weeds.

Today, I made a sea asparagus stir fry.

Spinach overload? Make goma-ae.

I recently discovered the Coppersmith Farmer’s Market in Ironwood Plaza in Richmond near Steveston. Despite its name, it is not an actual outdoor farmer’s market that occurs once a week. It’s more on the lines of a grocery store (think: Langley Farm Market, Kins Farm Market, etc). It’s a cute little grocery store that has amazing prices on produce where a good chunk of it is local. Hey, Richmond IS practically farmville. I picked up a ton of vegetables for just over $5.00, including 2 large bunches of locally-sourced fresh spinach.

It’s been a week and I’ve only used up one. What to do with the other? Make spinach goma-ae.

Changing the face of samosas.

I’m not sure why but I’ve never been a huge fan of samosas. Sure, they are pockets of deep fried carb-y goodness with the accompanying sweet chutney dipping sauce which, as a whole package, really should be right down my alley but no, I’m not sure what it is.

But I think that might have changed once I made rice paper samosas with mint chutney.

Mexi-rice.

Did you know that one of my very first jobs was at Taco Del Mar? It was back when I was 15 and although it was short-lived, I learned a lot about Mexican food — er, more like Tex-Mex food. And I discovered my love for burrito bowls. And the most important component of a burrito? The Mexican rice.

Asian pesto.

Well, technically it’s a pistou but since so many people are more familiarized with the term pesto, I decided to use that term instead (a pistou is similar to a pesto but it does not contain cheese or nuts). But this recipe here is very close to a pesto, you’ll see why. But…an Asian pistou!? Yes, my friends, I was inspired. Inspired to experiment in the kitchen with yet another chilled noodle salad. This time around? Soba noodles with chive, parsley and miso pistou.

Cauliflower-haters, this is for you.

I’m not sure why cauliflower gets such a bad rep. Just think of it as an albino broccoli. Yes? Okay, maybe not. But still, it is such a delicious vegetable that deserves more credibility than its cousin, broccoli. I have a recipe that will convert cauliflowers into cauliflower-eating-fiends. Yes, it is that good. I’m talking about my roasted balsamic and garlic cauliflower.