Monday, April 27 is bleak and rainy here. I'm remembering how (years ago) I took my sons on vacation to Rhode Island and during one such rainy day, we all found ourselves in front of an Iron Chef cooking show. It felt okay, because a.) we were on vacation and b.) we had no TV at home, so it was a bit of a treat.
Limitation really can inspire creativity, have you noticed? With a limited selection of ingredients, the chefs on the show came up with some delectable looking creations. (It surely inspired both boys - who love food, cooking, healthy ingredients, and have grown up and become very creative chefs themselves!)
So, I decided to share my own fun process.
This is a section of the garden I was working on the other day. See that tall, dead bamboo stuff?
It's Japanese Knotweed and highly invasive...I have battled it in my gardens for over a decade.
I usually tell it where to grow and leave it alone, if it only grows there.
Until now. Look closely.
See those little shoots?
They almost look like asparagus at this stage...and they are still tender.
Can you see where I'm going with this?
There are a number that I harvested from several different clumps...
...took inside and washed and trimmed.
They have a very strong lemony flavor! Some folks might find them too bitter to eat straight up.
Of course, in the springtime, nature provides a number of bitter foods to forage (yes, dandelions come to mind immediately, too!),
Because our bodies naturally want to detox from winter's hibernation. It helps the liver in processing all of what needs to get cleared out.
I sauteed them with a little coconut oil and some onions.
And then - because I know they are strong, I added two shredded sweet potatoes, to counter their intensity.
It's good to rinse the shredded potatoes in cold water and drain them, before adding them.
I let it all cook until it was mostly softened...
...and seasoned it with some salt and nutmeg, before adding some fresh eggs.
After covering it to let it finish cooking slowly, my frittata was done...
An assortment of balanced flavors.
With an added bonus: did you know that this bamboo is a terrific source of Resveratrol?
This is great for boosting your immune system and microbiome.
I'm rethinking all of my thinking these days...becoming an Iron Chef with life and everything that's showing up as potential ingredients for a creative recipe!