Delicious Links + the secret to Japanese longevity!

Happy Monday my friends! Delicious links is back with new food blogs and  recipes to share and love

Every Sunday I go to the Chinese Farmer’s Market to get moyashi [bean sprouts], chinese broccoli, garlic chives, nira [asian flat leaf chives] and there’s always something new every week. Yesterday they even had pets for sale: hamsters, bunnies and turtles. This time I got beautiful dragon fruit and this:

Are you familiar with this fruit? Have you tried it/cooked with it?

I am going to leave you with today’s Delicious Links and then I’ll share some info on this fruit plus a recipe

Here we go!!!

“Staying positive when times are bad” a must read by my dear friend Roberta. She also shares a no-cook tomato sauce, so fresh and delicious!

Stephanie made beautiful Crêpes with Crispy Potatoes, Greens and Crème Fraîche inspired in a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe.

Holy Cuteness! Jenn made Hello Kitty Mac’n'Cheese Waffles *_* I NEED a HK waffle maker in my life <3

Check out Stephanie’s Crispy Zucchini Blossoms Stuffed With Goat Cheese And Chives. Such a beautiful dish!

Go enter Beth’s fabulous GIVEAWAY! You could win one of two copies of The Fearless Baker by Emily Luchetti. Good Luck

“This was one of the tastiest cakes I’ve ever baked” says Susan about her Zucchini Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Glaze.

Meet Michelle from Sweet and Simple! She has a small baking business and is as sweet as her beautiful confections. Check out her recipe for Poached Dried Apricots in Star Anise Simple Syrup [love star anise!]

No ice cream machine? No problem! make this Strawberry Granita from Heather’s blog. You just need 4 ingredients [one of them is WATER] and a freezer. Perfect summer treat!

You can’t miss Annapet’s Mocharons. This is the first time I see macarons that are not made with almond flour, perfect for those with tree-nut allergies!

Cara made Cookie Dough Cupcakes [gluten free and sugar free]. Can you believe she used hummus to make them? Go check ‘em out!

You know how much I love my bubbly: drinking it, baking with it. Check out Hannah’s Lemon Champagne Bars. She had me at champagne!

Now back to today’s ingredient….

I’ve been eating nigauri since I was a kid. Its also known as goya in Japanese and in English is called bitter melon/bitter gourd. My mom would make us eat stir-fried nigauri with eggs. I never liked it that much until I found out about its health properties. Bitter gourd is a significant ingredient in Okinawan cuisine, and is increasingly used in mainland Japan. It is popularly credited with Okinawan life expectancies being higher than the already long Japanese ones.

I found this cute cooking video for Goya Chanpuru (Okinawan Stir Fry with Bitter Melon):

My mom used to make it with just onions and eggs. I veganized her dish and had it for lunch:

Mom’s Nigauri

Ingredients:

• 2 nigauri
• salt
• 1 medium onion, julienned
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 tablespoon miso paste
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 2 tablespoons water

Preparation:

1. Cut nigauri in half lengthwise. Scrape seeds and white flesh with a spoon.
2. Cut in thin slices and add some salt to remove some of the bitterness. Let rest 15 minutes.
3. Rinse and drain well.
4. Dissolve miso paste in mirin and water. If you dont have mirin, use 3 tbsp water + 1 tsp sugar.
5. Sautee onion in 1 tablespoon canola oil until its soft. Then add nigauri and cook for 10 minutes.
6. Add miso mixture and cook for 5 more minutes.

Tagged as: bitter gourd, bitter melon, delicious links, farmer's market, healthy, miso paste, nigauri, recipe, vegan