Design

In spite of the frigid days in the last week, the morning light has reminded me of tropical places. A pink glow has illuminated hazy clouds, contrasting with crystal-clear air. It's been lovely. The clarity of the air was a definite contrast from the haziness and humidity of Southern Vietnam, but the shock of returning to an usually deep cold spell in the Southeastern US (and a cold workplace, thanks to insufficient insulation and underpowered heat) has made my normally semi-cold-tolerant genes wishing for warmth and sunshine. A dinner of fresh romaine lettuce wraps with roasted chicken, an aromatic brown rice, stir-fried vegetables, with a nice dipping sauce made with fish sauce, lime juice, cilantro, sugar, peanuts, and chilies reminded us of some of the delicious dinners we'd had in Southeast Asia. It was almost like warmth (and sunshine) on a plate.

Morning Glory Cooking School class in Hoi An I did miss eating homemade whole-grain bread, real cheese, potatoes, and brown rice, but with the delicious diversity of fish, fruit, and green vegetables in Vietnam, I can hardly complain about food while traveling there. It's totally delicious. My gardening companion is a rice and noodle lover, so he's happy with breakfast pho, noodle dishes, and even the barely passable white rice normally served up. The diversity of greens used in Vietnamese cooking was underscored by a trip we made to a market garden outside Hoi An, but was really made apparent by a cooking class at the Morning Glory Cooking School there. A diversity of ingredients My fresh spring roll Our instructor Ms. Lu, a delightful young woman, described characteristics of different herbs that are used in fresh spring rolls, added to banh xeo (a delicious rice pancake), chopped up for chicken marinade, etc. Hmm, it sent me to look for seeds to order ASAP after returning ho...

As a gardener (and as a cook), it would be hard not to like the Vietnamese interest in vegetables and greens. Vegetables at every meal, great, and the variety of fresh herbal greens, extraordinary. I spent some time today ordering seeds to grow some of them ( this link is an excellent overview of their diversity). Most, outside of cilantro and Thai basil, aren't greens that we grow frequently in the U.S., although they're available in Southern California in farmers' markets grown by folks of Vietnamese heritage. Thanks to one of my favorite podcasts for the information! In markets in Vietnam, we saw both diversity of greens and fruits, tropical and imported. (Imported apples and grapes are a special treat). A traditional (and organic) vegetable village near Hoi An was one of the most attractive vegetable production areas that I've ever seen - neat mounded rows of vegetables grown in fabulous soil with freshwater 'seaweed' for fertilizer.