Rice paper wraps = Leftover Heaven

wraps with baby greens, roasted bell pepper, sprouted lentils, and fermented cauliflower

How did I not know about these before?? Now that I've become friendly with my local Asian grocer, I can finally ask, "What is this?" And boy have I learned a lot!  When I used to see rice paper wrappers, they looked like too much work for me. I assumed getting these plasticy looking sheets into an edible form must involve soaking, cooking, steaming, or some other processing. Not so!

1. Dip the rice paper sheet in water for about 5 seconds, then brush the sheet over a tea towel to remove excess water.
2. Lay the sheet, still rigid, on a plate or cutting board. The sheet will absorb the water and soften in the time it takes to fill it.
3. Pile your fillings  near one side and roll up like an egg roll, blintz, or burrito.

translucent wrap with wild mushrooms, wakame, and homemade kimchi-kraut

Non-Dairy Stinging Nettle and Garlic Quiche

Winter is over and the nettles are not looking so hot. Now is your last chance! Find a shady spot with some spunky looking nettles and (carefully) rescue them. I've heard they have health benefits, but I think of them as a free alternative to spinach.

I got the idea for this dish while listening to the February 1, 2013 episode of the Good Food Market Report. My husband and I enjoy listening to the show together and chuckling at all the different varieties of a vegetable or terms like source - "You mean buy?" In this episode Ria Wilson, Sous Chef at Sqirl Cafe, was discussing how she 'sources' the greens for her Green Garlic & Nettle Frittata. But buying stinging nettles? This gave me quite a laugh. I've cooked with nettles before, but never really valued them until I heard about a chef paying good money for them. I was also happy to hear that my sprouted garlic could have a bright future. 

Summer Foraging PLUS Purslane Tips and Recipes

Last week I took a very pleasant and informative "Wild Edibles Class" with experienced forager, Ronit Peskin. We walked through Gan Sacher in Jerusalem and found over a dozen edible plants - fruits, herbs, spices, medicinal plants, and more. I can't wait to tell you about everything I found and what you can do with it! Today I will discuss Purslane - the lemony, crunchy, weed of summer.

First, what did we find in Jerusalem?
Trees: Pine, fig, carob, olive, sumac, dwarf pomegranate, Judas tree/redbud, thorny Hawthorne, yucca
Bushes: capers, wild carrot/Queen Anne's lace (bird's nest), myrtle, rosemary, lavender, wild fennel, black mustard, wild oats, Roses
Low-lying Weeds: plantain (plantago lagopus), mallow, clover, purslane, prickly asparagus. prickly lettuce

Now, all about Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)

Also known as: Cat's tongue, pourpier, ma chi xian - horse tooth amaranth, verdolaga, pigweed, little hogweed, pusley, pussly, perpine, munyeroo, portulaca, garden purslain, rigla, or רגלת הגינה

Where to find it: Purslane is everywhere! In the city, in the forest... Maya commented on my Facebook Page that she used to collect purslane at her family's farm in North-West Pennsylvania. And here in central Israel, where it has been a very hot dry summer, it's still green.

How to pick: Look for bright green, thick, paddle-shaped, waxy leaves (like a jade plant), on knobby, fleshy green (or red, pink, or brown) stems, and tiny yellow flowers. Purslane generally hugs the ground and grows in a sprawling spider or web-like shape. The biggest leaves and the thinner stems are best for eating. It can be gathered without any tools, since it lacks thorns or a woody stem.

Poisonous look-alike: At some stages, purslane might be confused with poisonous spurge.

Barley Casserole with Mallows, Tomato, & Basil

Last week I made Stinging Nettle Soup with nettles I picked near my building.  This week I collected large, round mallow leaves on the way home from dropping my daughter off at kindergarten. 


If you don't have mallows available, one thing you can take from this post is that barley can be used in casseroles like you might use noodles.  This could have been a casserole with thin layers of barley, spinach, basil, tomato sauce and cheese.  Either way, barley is a very healthy alternative to pasta, and even white rice.

Stinging Nettle Soup - Picking Edible Weeds

The second time I met Hannah K. of Cooking Manager, we were walking home from a class last winter and she started pointing out all these edible weeds along the side of the road.  I wasn't sure what to think.  Was she a new-age hippie?  Did everyone in Israel eat weeds?  Miriam Kresh of Israeli Kitchen had just taught Hannah about edible weeds and her eyes were peeled for the species she learned to pick.  Now I've known Hannah a little over a year and I've come to learn that she is quite balanced, most Israeli's buy their produce in a store, and weeds taste great!

For the last few weeks I've been noticing many edible-looking weeds as I walked around town, and I kept meaning to look at Hannah's old post on Green Prophet "Five Edible Wild Plants You Can Pick Yourself".  The last time she came by, I mentioned it to her, and she showed me lots of edible mallows, nettle, chick weed, and one "chamtzitz" flower, right around our building!