鄭立勳。常滿。Bountiful。Mandy Cheng

Evening light

Have a good run of sunny days, and weather turns tomorrow. So decided to have bbq in covered courtyard to enjoy an alfresco meal, hear birds sing, and admire the magnificent evening colours.

I made a batch of salted eggs early on and have been using it in quick boiled soups. Having successfully made cooked egg mayonnaise (eggynaise), I wonder using salted egg should turn out delicious too?

Well it worked, and the character of salted yolk is beautiful, unfortunately it is really salty. Better use 1 salted egg with a normal egg, or use less salted egg white. I used it up on plain blanched bolted white turnip stems, tasted good.

Sweet potato with turmeric

I am always trying to use more turmeric whenever possible, for the health benefits. I know that it goes well with sweet food, so try it out with sweet potato chips.

Season sweet potato chips with olive oil, soy sauce, couple spoons of turmeric, some curry powder and sesame for the fragrance and look, shake well. Air-fry until cooked, around 20 minutes.

Rice paper spring rolls

I have seen it so many times on IG and finally come round to try it out.

It is hard to find rice paper made with pure rice flour, not mixed with tapioca flour, which will make it chewy.

For the best crispy result and beautiful form, use precooked ingredients, quite dry ones, and not putting too too much inside each wrapping. I used cooked carrot, khol rabi, and herbs, mixed with smoked kippers.

Then is straight forward, soak rice paper is a plate of water for 10 seconds, place on a wooden board and put fillings inside, fold into spring rolls. If not really to cook, cover with moist tower. Sear in pan with some oil until golden on all sides.

Dandelion flower stalk

I always know that dandelion young leaves are edible, mildly bitter as a liver cleanser in spring time, very popular in southern Europe, and the flower can be used to make liqueur.

Recently I heard that the flower stalk are being eaten like noodle. Having a lot of this flower in the field, I can’t help my curiosity to collect a bunch and cook them. After boiling and rinsing for 3 times, they are still bitter, more bitter than bitter gourd. It is ok to eat a few pieces but definitely not delicious enough to eat like noodles!

Wild Rose Rugosa

This is the rose variety I like most, the wild type, not the Tea rose type which is a hybrid of wild rose with camellia. For rose Rugosa, the plant grows in all direction into a natural rounded shape over the years, no pruning needed. Dense bright green leaves, flowers comes throughout the season as long as you de-head regularly.

I have been keeping the petals for various uses, rose jam, rose syrup, rose tincture, dried rose buds etc. This year I will collect the petal every evening (after bees have their nectar), and add boiling water to make a tisane to drink, for the medicinal benefits.

The pink colour of the water only comes after adding a few drops of lemon juice.

Peony

Peony is my favourite garden flower, far more graceful than rose. With beautiful big flower, soft delicate shape, bright colour, and the leaves are pretty too. The first flower bloomed, a huge head amazingly able to stay upright on the small young plant.

Lake side bbq

Weather is fine and decide to walk down to the lake to enjoy dinner there. Bbq chicken wings, cooking and eating slowly, simple happy experience. On the way back up, saw lots of pom-pom seed heads of dandelion, so cute.

Lemon Sole

No turbot, the next best on the fish monger’s site is nearly 1kg lemon sole. Since weather is great, decided to have alfresco dinner and cook on bbq.

Season with salt for a short while, brush with oil before cooking. Used bay tree sticks on the stove to avoid skin sticking to the grill, worked well. Fine while juicy flesh, no comparison with the firm texture of turbot.

Cockle

After 5 years in Ireland, finally the fish monger offers cockle that are big enough to worth eating. In the past they are small with thick shell, not much meat inside. Probably with warmer season/water, cockle started to grow faster!

In a big pan, bring to boil a cm of water, oil, ginger, parsley and red pepper, when boiling, add in cockles in one layer. Cover with lid and serve when most opened up, less than a minute.

Air fried eggplant

A popular western way to cook eggplant, is by grilling, donw much faster by using air-frier than oven.

Cut eggplant into halves, make criss-cross pattern deep into flesh, sprinkle a little salt all over, leave to soften for at least 2 hours. Mop away excessive water, generously brush oil on top, air-fry for 10 minutes. Spread mince meat and then tomato paste on top, air-fry for another 10 minutes until cooked.

2026年4月25日腸臟健康

近年追看Dr Tim Spector 的書，他專注飲食和健康的研究，資料十分實用。上一本書 Food for Life，分享身體需要好多不同種類的營養，有些只是要微量，但欠缺的話長遠就會影響身體，所以鼓勵，不計肉類，每星期起碼吃三十種不同食物材料，而且，不要每星期都是那同樣的三十個材料，當中包括香草、香料、煮食油等等。

自己也就努力試吓，不是每星期，而是每天吃三十種不同食材，反正種類越多越好。

最近看完他的 Ferment - Life changing power of microbs ，解釋清楚腸道益生菌多，不單影響身體健康，亦和精神狀態有關係。腸和腦原來有條神經線 Vagus nerve直接聯繫，研究發現，有抑鬱、暴躁、自閉等情緒問題的人，腸臟內益菌數量和種類特別少，為何有影響仍然未知，只是見到互惠的關係。

他的結論是要多吃發酵食物，最少每天吃三種，令腸臟保持有大量各式益菌。常吃的包括味噌、豉油、yogurt 、芝士、sauerkraut 類漬菜丶酸種包等等，自然要看清楚是以天然發酵方法製造，不是科技加工產品。亦指出發酵食物加熱後，營養仍在，不一定要生吃才有效。

書中包括他自己試做的各式發酵食物，令我有興趣動手試做的是Kefir 水和酸奶，分別有消化糖份和消化lactose 的兩個菌種，只要在室溫廿度左右做就成，好方便。

Kefir 是一個菌種Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast，到了現在，這菌種仍然未能以科技方法合成，仍然是由千多年前，在東歐Georgia /Modova 那區流傳下來，生生不息地擴散世界各地。

另一個原因，是每年果子收成多，吃不完的做果醬放冰箱，甜食也，年紀大了也不敢多吃，半個冰箱擠滿果醬。所以想到把果醬開水稀釋，放入kefir 菌吃光糖份，放出益菌和營養。就一舉兩得，每日做一杯份量，作為一份酵素食物，又有多一個方法「吃」果醬。

現在用黑加倫子果醬，那原來是無色透明的kefir ，一天發酵後就轉為悅目藍紫色，黑加倫子果醬kefir 味道頗佳，不太酸，帶氣泡，似是不甜的利賓納汽水。

因為家中常吃yogurt，做kefir 酸奶，可用混合了的牛奶和椰奶，一天下來，就有酸味會凝固，似yoghurt ，但在室溫內進行，每天做一份，不用冷藏，就不用吃冷凍食物，牛、椰奶kefir，亦較往常多吃了一個材料。

Crispy rice paper roll

Finally I followed the trend and made spring rolls using rice paper. Indeed easy enough, just wet the paper to soften, put the ingredients on top, here I have a layer of seaweed, then venison loin. Roll up and sear until golden on all sides. The crispiness will last longer with drier and precooked ingredients.