Cherry Season

In Chinatown last week, I just couldn't resist buying these beautiful Rainier and Bing cherries. (The Bings were OK, the Rainiers were amazingly sweet and crisp.)

Who doesn't love this time of year, with all the raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries and currants, at the markets and on the streets?

Cooking on Orange Street: Chinese-Style Boiled Peanuts

I've been looking forward to doing this post for a while. Boiled peanuts are something we absolutely love to make in the summer, thanks to an accidental discovery in Chinatown last year.

It's not uncommon for street vendors to sell roasted peanuts, but fresh peanuts are different. Just take a close look -- fresh peanuts are moist-looking and often a little dirty, like they've just been dug up from the ground. Some are even a bit green. Most unexpectedly, fresh peanuts have a vegetal, legume-y smell, like peas or beans. It's startling, for something we usually see so hard and brown.

There are a lot of recipes out there for boiled peanuts, especially Southern-style (I've yet to try), but here is what we do:

Ingredients (all measurements approximate):

2 lbs fresh peanuts
2 oz salt
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
2 whole star anise

1. Wash the peanuts of dirt and drain.
2. Place peanuts in a large pot and fill with water until peanuts are almost completely covered.

3. Add seasonings and bring to a boil (below, the star anise).

4. After boiling for 2-3 hours, remove from heat and place in fridge overnight (about 8 hours).

5. Shell and enjoy!

The result is addictive -- the taste savory and meaty, the texture soft. You can actually use a very similar seasoning mix (with a little sesame oil and rice wine) to make Chinese-style braised beef or pork (my all-time favorite dish), or even "tea eggs" (a traditional Chinese snack made from hard-boiling eggs in a mix of tea, salt and anise).

Just for kicks, check out this little peanut -- looks like a man! A reminder that peanuts, when not sorted in a factory, are varied and idiosyncratic:

Cooking on Orange Street: Seasoned Tofu with Garlic Scapes and Shiitake

Since we were going to be in Seattle for the July 4th weekend, Chef K and I made a special effort to clean out the fridge beforehand. Hence this improv dish I cooked up that actually turned out quite well.

A few weeks ago, we got garlic scapes at the market, mainly because I thought they looked super interesting. In reality, they are quite delicious as well, with a nice, mild garlic flavor. I cut these into 1-inch chunks, then sliced them as thinly as possible lengthwise, tossed in a pan with leftover shiitake and finally added sliced seasoned tofu and soy sauce, rice vinegar, salt and a touch of sambal, and served everything over fresh noodles from Chinatown.