Getting out on a river -- the perfect activity for a hot summer day. It's a great way to get together with friends for a mini-"corona-cation" break. As the typical kayak paddle is 7-8 feet wide, you are naturally spaced out. The fresh air, blue sky, tree-lined slopes, waterfowl (and occasional adrenaline-rush as cooling waves come crashing into your lap) truly serve to lift the spirits. And in lieu of the more social post-river ice cream tradition, coming back to homemade ice cream cupcakes, followed by a nap and some comet gazing, is almost as good.
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| Map showing named rapids in blue (maroon dots). Red dots show where we pulled off to watch for our group coming through the rapids. |
Working and living with coronavirus-mandated social isolation has inspired many people to refine their cooking skills, leading to a delicious gain in confidence. I never would have thought it would be so easy making restaurant-worthy dishes such as Malaysian Turmeric Salmon, free-form vegetable tarts (crostada or galettes), General Tso's cauliflower, Chinese barbecue pork, Hot & Sour soup, deep dish pizza or Dan-dan noodles. Gordon Ramsey's basic and elevated MasterClass lessons played through my mind while improvising, adapting and using every scrap of food to create beautiful and delicious dishes such as harissa-spiced cauliflower or clean-out-the-fridge veggie pasta basted in browned butter.
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| Ice cream cupcake, iced with two frostings. Jump to Recipe. |
Yet worrying about friends and family, and not being able to easily interact with parents and grandparents can really get you down, especially after canceling spring break and summer vacation plans. Fortunately, with the long summer days capped by pleasantly warm evenings, there are many outdoor opportunities for exercise, recreation and just enjoying the natural beauty of our world. Nothing beats getting outside, soaking in the sun and appreciating glimpses of wildlife, while enjoying the desultory breezes, green hills and flowing water.
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| Stargazing on a warm summer night |
The Youghiogheny River in southwestern Pennsylvania offers something for everyone, from placid float trips to advanced whitewater, and everything in between. The river extends 134 miles from West Virginia through Maryland to Pennsylvania, before joining the Monongahela River that runs south of Pittsburgh.
The rapids are most difficult in the Maryland portions of the Yough. In Pennsylvania, the Lower Yough downstream of the famous Class IV Ohiopyle Falls, is the most popular stretch of whitewater east of the Mississippi. There have been a few deaths on this Class III section of river, most often at Dimple Rock, so selecting a responsible outfitter is important. Further downstream, near Connellsville, the river is placid, without rapids, and good for float trips.
For our day trip, we selected the Middle Yough, a 9-10 mile stretch from Confluence to Ohiopyle. Water flow is controlled by dam release upstream from Confluence, PA, and conditions can vary depending on river height. So do check the gauge before setting out. The river was at 2.8 feet for our trip. It was a sunny, cloudless day, with a high temperature of 97°F.
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| Upstream of Ramcat |
Just downstream of Confluence, PA, the Ramcat boat access point in Ohiopyle State Park features an ample parking area with men's and women's outhouse restrooms. After crossing the bike trail, we carried our kayaks down the ramp to a nice shady, beach-like launch site. We were among the last members of our group of 9 adults plus 2 dogs to push off. We paddled across to the right half of the river in preparation for our first challenge: the Ramcat rapids.
A year ago, I launched this blog with my General Tso's chicken recipe. It was a 10 year project, crossing the globe to re-create the best aspects of my son's favorite dish. A Chinese-American invention, originating in NY via Taiwan, General Tso's chicken fuses Hunan flavors with an American love for sauce-glazed fried nuggets. This vegan version of General Tso's was inspired by my daughter, who came home from college and challenged us to add more plant-based days to our diet. Achieving the perfect texture, flavor and color to rival my most requested recipe involved a bit of experimentation. But it was worth it. General Tso's cauliflower is a winner!
On Independence Day a year ago, the Love2Chow blog began with these words "One of the most popular Chinese-American dishes, General Tso's chicken with its spicy, sweet-tart umami-laden bites is in many ways emblematic of the American experience." It somehow seems fitting to celebrate its 1 year birthday with a revised version. General Tso's cauliflower is just as satisfying as the spicy, sweet-tart original, but with added dimensions of texture -- crisp caramelizing edges melting into a creamy-soft interior.
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| Love2Chow General Tso's Cauliflower |
On Independence Day a year ago, the Love2Chow blog began with these words "One of the most popular Chinese-American dishes, General Tso's chicken with its spicy, sweet-tart umami-laden bites is in many ways emblematic of the American experience." It somehow seems fitting to celebrate its 1 year birthday with a revised version. General Tso's cauliflower is just as satisfying as the spicy, sweet-tart original, but with added dimensions of texture -- crisp caramelizing edges melting into a creamy-soft interior.
For the General Tso's Chicken recipe, click here.
For General Tso's Tofu recipe (vegan), click here.
General Tso's chicken is composed of three major elements: the nuggets, the aromatics and the sauce.
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| The Love2Chow version of General Tso's Chicken |
As with the original recipe, developing the ideal texture for the nuggets took the most time. The result exceeded our expectations. While similar in appearance to the chicken version, General Tso's Cauliflower offers sharper contrasts in texture and flavor. Indeed, we can't decide which version we like better!
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| General Tso's Cauliflower sees the light of day... |
Nearly three years ago, I went on a culinary pilgrimage to see Grace Young demo one of her recipes in Brooklyn. We met up at Aux Epices, an amazing Malaysian-French bistro run by Chef Mei Chau. Among the highlights was this delectable salmon perched on a plinth of rice surrounded by a rich deep yellow sauce. Now, Mei Chau has graciously shared the recipe for this signature dish in a fantastic Zoom cooking lession, co-hosted by Grace Young and the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA).
Eating Malaysian is like having all of your favorite Asian cuisines rolled up into one. Whether it is Indian curries, Chinese vegetables or noodles, or hot Indonesian sambals that you desire, you can have all that and more with additional influences from the Middle East and several European countries including Portugal (source of the egg custard tarts enjoyed in Hong Kong).
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| Malaysian-Style Turmeric Salmon at Aux Epices restaurant in the NY Chinatown |
A few years ago, I discovered Malaysian food at a tiny slip of a restaurant, full of happy sounds as diners enjoyed each other’s company in the presence of rich, complex and tantalizing flavors. Aux Epices, the name of the restaurant, literally means "of the spices." Chef Mei Chau is Chinese-Malaysian in heritage, and she originally moved to America to pursue art training. Together with her photographer husband Marc Kaczmarek, she created a warm and inviting Malaysian-French bistro, where she works a rich palette of color, smells and taste inspired by the fresh ingredients from Chinatown markets outside her door.
My husband, a friend and I were on a pilgrimage to learn more about Chinese cooking. As part of the Facebook group Wok Wednesdays, we were learning how to cook using the most versatile, yet humbly inexpensive, cookware invented over the past 2000 years. Guided by the stir-fry guru and wok evangelist, Grace Young, we were learning how to make countless, delicious, better-than-restaurant-quality dishes at home. To justify the long drive to New York City, we would attend a special exhibit at the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) entitled Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America in addition to the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) exhibits in Brooklyn on Chinese restaurants and the Wok in America. MOFAD was sponsoring a stir-fry demo for Chinese Trinidadian Shrimp with Rum, and we could not pass up the chance to meet Grace in person!
Chef Mei had contributed several Malaysian seafood dishes to Grace's most recent book, Stir-frying to the Sky's Edge. So we decided to meet up with Wok Wednesday friends for lunch at Aux Epices. Where else can you get delicious Asian food plus French tarts for dessert?
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| Other dishes we enjoyed at Aux Epices. Chinese Broccoli stir-fried with fresh garlic and soy sauce drizzle; Rendang Lamb with roasted coconut, blue ginger, curry spices; Kuala Lumpur-style Seafood Laksa with shrimp, mussels, salmon, calamari, tofu, eggplant, bean sprouts and Udon noodles in a yellow coconut curry broth; French Pear Tart. Not shown: Green Mango Jicama salad, Malacca Laksa in red curry sauce, French apple tart. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... |
Eating Malaysian is like having all of your favorite Asian cuisines rolled up into one. Whether it is Indian curries, Chinese vegetables or noodles, or hot Indonesian sambals that you desire, you can have all that and more with additional influences from the Middle East and several European countries including Portugal (source of the egg custard tarts enjoyed in Hong Kong).
Like all businesses in Manhattan's Chinatown, Aux Epices has been struggling since January 2020 due to coronavirus fears. MOCA, which has itself not yet recovered from a devastating fire affecting archived materials that collectively tell the story of more than 150 years of Chinese immigration in the US, is hosting a variety of digital exhibits and Zoom based activities. As part of the new MOCA Cooks series, Chef Mei graciously shared her signature Turmeric Salmon recipe. This engaging session touched upon Malaysian methods for preserving foods, a cook-along with lots of practical tips, Mei's work feeding elderly residents and essential workers, and Grace's mini-documentary interviews that comprise the Coronavirus Chinatown Stories project.
The flavors, colors and textures in this dish are truly amazing. After a rocky audiovisual start, Chef Mei shared her tips for making this dish so clearly that my husband (who bakes, but does not normally cook), was able to create a truly wonderful birthday dinner for me!
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| Malaysian-Style Turmeric Salmon with Crispy Skin. |
It is easy to make your own char siu 叉燒 or Chinese barbecue pork. It's fabulous fresh from the oven or grill, served simply with rice and a green vegetable. And leftovers serve as a great starting point for a variety of delicious and flexible dishes. In the early days of the pandemic lockdown, when grocery store shelves were running empty, I managed to get a whole pork shoulder, cut in half, from Goodness Grows Farms. I used one of these 5-pound halves to create 6 delicious Asian dishes (so far), stretching the meat budget and keeping my family happy.
While I am willing to take extra steps if it noticeably affects the outcome of the dish, caramelizing vegetable toppings for pizza, for example, I am all for simplicity. That is one great feature to Grace's recipe -- the ingredients in the marinade are all measured as 2 Tablespoons, except the sesame oil, which is 2 teaspoons. This means it is easy to remember, and there are fewer measuring spoons to wash afterwards. Since I skip the sugar rub step in the beginning, I use 2 Tbs for the sugar, same as all of the other sauce ingredients except the sesame oil and white pepper. I have also found that this marinade amount can easily support double the amount of meat, perfect for a 4-5 pound shoulder, plus generate enough sauce to serve with it.
If you live in a big city with a Chinatown such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York or Boston, it was relatively easy to get char siu 叉燒 pork or a whole roasted chicken or tea-smoked duck. But even there, with the COVID-19 related shutdowns, it is unclear how many of these small businesses will survive. Fortunately, you can make your own char siu pork using this easy recipe from Grace Young to re-create the complex, succulent charred flavor of Chinese bbq pork at home.
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| Four dishes from one batch of Chinese barbecue pork. Jump to the descriptions. |
While I am willing to take extra steps if it noticeably affects the outcome of the dish, caramelizing vegetable toppings for pizza, for example, I am all for simplicity. That is one great feature to Grace's recipe -- the ingredients in the marinade are all measured as 2 Tablespoons, except the sesame oil, which is 2 teaspoons. This means it is easy to remember, and there are fewer measuring spoons to wash afterwards. Since I skip the sugar rub step in the beginning, I use 2 Tbs for the sugar, same as all of the other sauce ingredients except the sesame oil and white pepper. I have also found that this marinade amount can easily support double the amount of meat, perfect for a 4-5 pound shoulder, plus generate enough sauce to serve with it.
It has been stated that America is not so much as a melting pot of cultures, but rather a stew pot, where ingredients meld together to create a greater whole, but individual characteristics remain. From the very earliest days of our nation, our culinary traditions have been enriched by the melding of African and Caribbean influences with European and Native American cooking. Southern cuisine was not the only beneficiary of this rich African-American heritage, but also the pepper pot stew popular in Philadelphia, rumored to have sustained the Revolutionary Army at Valley Forge. This wonderful cultural exchange continues to this day, and some of my favorite stir-fries from the Chinese diaspora feature African-Caribbean spices and flavors. Yet the invaluable contribution made by African-American cooks to our culture and enjoyment of life has remained in the background, often invisible, instead of receiving the widespread recognition and honor that it deserves. 
African-American Cookbooks to Explore
A recent Eat Your Books post features six gorgeous contemporary cookbooks written by African-American authors. Among these are Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin, which won the 2020 James Beard award for Best American Cookbook.
In her previous book, The Jemima Code, Toni Tipton-Martin highlighted numerous historical books by African-American authors, as reviewed in this post. Among them is a self-published cookbook by Malinda Russell, which is the earliest known African-American cookbook to be published. This historical book is available digitally for free, as part of the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive at the University of Michigan.
Malinda Russell's book starts off with an introduction to her history (her grandmother was a freed slave), and why she is writing a cookbook in Paw Paw, Michigan -- far from her home in Tennessee. These few pages along are well worth reading, even if you have no desire to recreate old recipes. As a testament to her strength, you can see how many careers she has pursued, raising her handicapped son on her own after her husband died young. She has had all her savings robbed at least twice, picking herself up each time with indomitable strength.
In 1864, Russell left her boarding house and pastry shop businesses in Cold Springs TN to seek safety during the Civil War. "Hearing that Michigan was the Garden of the West, I resolved to make that my home...until peace is restored," writing the cookbook in hopes of raising enough money to get back to Tennessee. "I have made Cooking my employment for the last twenty years, in the first families of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky. I know my Receipts to be good, as they have always given satisfaction... and as I am now advanced in years, with no other means of support than my own labor; I have put out this book with the intention of benefiting the public as well as myself."
As might be expected from a pastry chef, her cookbook starts off with all manner of cakes. There are also fascinating glimpses into pickled peaches, and multiple preparations of meat and milk that allow them to be stored well, presumably at room temperature. The book ends with recipes for personal care items that might have been used in place of toothpaste, shampoo and hair dye.
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