arugula and you!

gardeners know that if there ever was an annual garden green that was as prolific as the quiverfull, it would be arugula (also called rocket though i don't know why).

despite its evil superpowers to procreate like rabbits, arugula is deliciously bitter, flavourful and earthy. it's great in mixed green salads to give some bite and palatial, er, titillation. your gluttony is only bound by your imagination!


[gluttony as defined by fresh homemade pasta with arugula pesto and some sort of stunted cherry tomato]

when the arugula overruns my garden as it does every year*, i let my appetite for weeding run rampant and then make this arugula pesto with the reapings (more out of necessity than want). i mean, there's only so much arugla one can eat in a week before one's skin turns a tint of green.


[ready to rumble!]

arugula pesto
2 cups (500ml) arugula leaves
1 cup (250ml) coriander**
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp (2.5ml) capers
1 Tbsp ground nuts (pecans, pine nuts, almonds... if you toast them it brings out the nutty flavour)
1/2 tsp (2.5ml) salt
ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup (125ml) olive oil

1. pulverize: stick everything but oil in a food processor or hand blend it with an immersion blender.
2. finish: blend in olive oil.
3. store: store in an airtight container, such as a mason jar, and top it with a bit more olive oil. should last for a month or so (maybe longer).

* if you walk around chinatown here, you'll notice arugula growing everywhere where there's greenery. great for foragers and freegans.

** crazy it up! add a bit of tarragon, mint, basil or other herbage to make up 1 cup (250 ml) avoid using grass (though if you have fond memories of eating grass after getting tripped by soccer bullies into the sidelines, that's your prerogative).

noodles noodles noodles

one of the best foods ever popularized (and likely invented) by the chinese is noodles (from which stems italian pasta, german spätzle, japanese noodles, et cetera). when i say ever, i mean, ever.

[i really don't remember eating this but i believe it is some sort of chow mei-fun (stir-fried rice noodles) in butchered chinese transliteration. i can imagine that it was good and pretend that i remember eating it just to make this posting sound more legit.]


[linguine con vongole -- wasn't very good but it looked ok].

the first purportedly written record of noodles (miàn or mein 麵 in mandarin/cantonese) was before 300 C.E. during the east han dynasty. likely these noodles were likely made of types of millet, unlike today's noodles which are mostly made of wheat or rice.
.
[some tong mein (soup noodles) that i had and devoured].

today, it is estimated that at least 30% of all wheat production in the world is consumed in the form of noodles (though i would like to find out where that number comes from). in chinese culture, noodles represent longevity (likely the longer you live, the more noodles one can eat). in chinese receptions, noodles are one of the 8 to 11 dishes that are served, each dish representing something i can't remember (something to do with babies, money and/or finding a wife who's not fideous).

anyways, all i wanted to say this post was that lai-mein (pulled noodles) is so farking awesome.

[the best lai-mein i've had in the last 4 months at d & j shanghai restaurant. frawley ate most of it though.]

lai-mein is something else, especially if you can watch it being made... will post more on that in the near future.

[i might have forgotten to mention that i don't actually live in hong kong but if i did, i would be one fatass.]