What is an espalier?

An espalier is a plant (such as a fruit tree) that is trained to grow flat on one plane, usually against a wall, trellis, or fence instead of the usual domed tree shape. Here’s a side view of our apricot tree after we got done:

I thought I’d document step by step how I espaliered our backyard fruit trees.

The Ingredients

Here is what I would need to pick up to set up an espalier for one tree:

2 ea. 8’ Treated Tree Stake
6 ea. 3/8 in. x 5 in. Zinc-Plated Eye Bolt with Nut
12 ea. 3/8 in. Zinc Flat Washer
3 ea. 3/16 in. x 5-1/2 in. Zinc-Plated Turnbuckle Hook/Eye
1 roll Twisted Jute Twine
100 ft. 14-Gauge Plastic-Coated Galvanized Wire

The Tools

These are the tools I used to install the espalier:

Ladder
Sledgehammer
Level
Drill with 3/8 in. drill bit
Crescent Wrench
Pliers
Wire cutter
Gloves
Eye protection

Instructions

I started out by measuring the tree’s distance away from the wall, and then using the point of the tree stake to mark a hole in the ground 4-5 feet away from the tree at the same distance away from the wall.  I used my water hose to trickle water down into the hole for a little while to soften the ground.

I drew a line 2 feet up the tree stake from the point of the stake. Then I got on a ladder and pounded the stake into the ground with my sledgehammer. I used the level to check whether the stake was going in straight. I stopped pounding once the 2-foot line went under the ground level.

Repeat for the other side of the tree.

(This next part is cheating.)

I measured the height from the ground of the lowest branch on the tree and found the nearest grout line on the back retaining wall. I followed that grout line out behind the stakes. Then I took a long piece of scrap wood and butted one end up against the wall. I placed the level on the scrap wood to determine where corresponding height of the grout line was on the stake, then marked that height on the stake.

Because each concrete block on the wall is 8 in. high, two levels is a nice, 16 in. height for the next level of the espalier. I simply moved the scrap wood up 2 lines, marked the height on the stake, moved up another 2 lines, and then marked the final level on the stake.

I repeated the process for the other stake.  Now I have 6 marks for 6 holes to drill.

Using the drill with the 3/8 in. bit, I drilled through the center of each stake at the mark that I made. I tried to keep the drill direction as horizontal as I could.

With 6 holes drilled, I pushed a 3/8 in. eye bolt through the hole, with a washer on each side of the stake, hand-tightened the nut, then finished tightening with the crescent wrench. I installed all 6 eye bolts onto the espalier posts.

Next, I took the spool of vinyl-covered wire and threaded the end through the eye bolt. I left about 6 inches of wire on the end which I then twisted around itself, using the pliers to tighten the end.

I attached the hook end of the 3/16 inch turnbuckle to the opposite eye bolt. Then I strung the guide wire from the eye bolt, behind the tree until it reached the turnbuckle. I cut the wire about 6 inches past the eye of the turnbuckle, passed the end through the eye, and then bent it back on itself.  Notice that the turnbuckle ends are extended:

In order to twist the guide wire on itself without turning the turnbuckle, I used the crescent wrench to hold the turnbuckle end steady while I twisted the wire with the pliers:

When all three espalier guide wires were attached, I tightened the turnbuckles to draw the wires taut.  Start with the top wire and work down. Don’t over-tighten the middle and bottom wires.

Here’s a side-view of the espalier guide wires going behind the plum tree:

To train a tree branch onto the espalier guide wire, I cut a length of twine, wrapped it around the branch, and then secured the branch loosely to the wire with the twine:

Select other branches to secure to the espalier guide wires:

Here is the apricot tree after I got done tying the branches to the espalier guide wires. This tree is so tall, I’m going to have to install a 4th level.

Perspective view of the now-espaliered backyard fruit trees, from the nearby apricot to the peach to the faraway plum:

Discussion

Yes, I know I did it backwards. Ideally, you’re supposed to put the espalier guide wires in first, then plant the trees. Ideally, you would just install the eye bolts on the wall itself, with the eyes 8-12 inches away from the wall. Then you’d attach the guide wires to the eye bolts, plant the tree in front of the wires, and begin training the branches from the first year of growth.

But when I originally planted the trees last year, I wasn’t thinking of training them into espaliers. It wasn’t until last summer when the tomato plants were really pumping in the raised beds did we find that the fruit tree branches were getting in our way. So when I decided to espalier the trees, I kept kicking myself for not doing it the right way from the start.

C’est la vie.

Also, my choice of pressure treated tree stakes isn’t what people would normally use as espalier posts. For those situations where a wall isn’t available, I’ve seen people use either wooden fence posts or galvanized fence posts. To do so would have required that I dig a deep hole to sink the post in, and fill the hole with concrete so that it wouldn’t move.

I figured that would have been too much work.

Call me lazy.

Because the apricot and peach trees were spaced about 10 feet apart, I sunk one tree stake to the left of the apricot, one stake to the right of the peach, and one stake in between the 2 trees. I drilled 3 holes in the middle stake at the same level as the end stakes, and just passed the guide wire through the holes in the middle stake. I did not use any extra eye bolts or turnbuckles on the middle stake.

Call me cheap.

All in all, the installation of the espalier posts and wires took only a couple of hours. I’m pretty happy with it, and look forward to pruning, shaping, and training the trees in the years to come. Who knows? I may even do this with our citrus trees!

Aloha, Nate

Have you tried espalier in your garden? Do you have any advice to give? Leave us a comment below!

The post How I Espaliered My Backyard Fruit Trees appeared first on House of Annie.

Spring is in full swing, and we will be planting Annie’s tomato seedlings really soon. I spent my Easter Sunday building a couple of raised garden beds / planter boxes in our backyard. Here’s a view of the first bed after I got done:

Let me show you step by step how I built my raised garden bed.

The Recipe

This is what you’re going to need to pick up:

6 ea. 2”x"6”x8’ untreated redwood lumber (2 of them will be cut into 4’ lengths).
8 ea. Planter Wall Block:

10 ea. 3 cu. ft. Raised Bed Potting Mix
2 ea. 1 cu. ft. Composted Steer Manure

All told, this cost around $200 at my local Home Depot in Milpitas.

The Fit

I managed to stuff everything into my Prius with the front seat laying flat and both rear seats folded down:

Instructions

1. Clear and level an area larger than the 4’x8′ that the bed will cover:

2. Lay down cardboard or thick sheets of newspaper over the area:

3. Place the first Planter Wall block, insert a 4’ section, and connect the second block:

4. Now connect an 8’ section to the first block, then connect the 3rd block at the end:

5. Close off the rectangle with another 8’ section, another 4’ section, and then the final block:

6. I checked to see if the boards were level. One side was off, so I had to remove the board and block from that side to level the dirt underneath.

7. Drop the first five bags of soil into the bed:

8. Use a rake to spread out the dirt evenly throughout the bed:

9. Follow steps 3-8 to build the next level on top of the first one. Drop the next five bags of soil in:

Here is a close-up of how it looks:

10. Drop the two bags of steer manure in. Spread the manure out evenly with a rake.

11. Turn the manure under with a shovel. Rake everything level:

12. Stand back and enjoy your handiwork!

From shopping to finish, I think it took 4-5 hours to complete.

Discussion

There are tons of ways to build raised bed gardens. In fact, you don’t need to use wood or masonry at all – just pile up the dirt into mounds or rows and just plant in that. I’ve certainly done it like that before.

The reasons I like this style of bed are

1. They look great.
2. They are modular.
3. They can easily be broken down if I want to change the size or configuration of the beds.
4. They aren’t made of plastic or require the use of plastic sheets to prevent chemicals in the wood from leaching into the soil.

The major downside to this style of bed is cost. It’s a pretty hefty up-front investment.

The bags of organic raised bed soil is also pretty expensive. The soil is much cheaper if you buy it in bulk from a landscaping company. But the delivery fee makes it almost as costly as the bagged soil, and I’d have to move the whole pile myself one cart at the time to the backyard. No thanks. Convenience beats cost here.

Have you built your own raised garden beds? Leave a comment below and tell us how you did yours!

Aloha,

Nate

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An egotistical, self-absorbed narcissist literally gets away with murder, thanks to a slick defense lawyer who’s in it for the money, a supportive media willing to print sensational lies, and a sympathetic jury unwilling to convict. No, this isn’t about the Trump Impeachment trial. This is a story “ripped from the headlines” of  1920’s  Chicago and turned into a Tony Award-winning musical. Annie and I were fortunate to see an adaptation of the musical put on by The Stage in San Jose.

Annie and I love musicals. Besides watching Mamma Mia! last year (also at The Stage), we got to see the San Francisco production of Hamilton – I thoroughly enjoyed it – as well as The Book of Mormon at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. Those big productions in the big theaters are great, but I do like more intimate theaters like The Stage where the audience is closer to the action. So when we were given the opportunity to see “CHICAGO“, we jumped at the chance.

The show features Bay Area theatre stalwarts Monique Hafen Adams in the role of Roxy Hart, Allison F. Rich as Velma Kelly, and Keith Pinto as Billy Flynn. Allison Rich stole the show as Tanya in The Stage’s Mamma Mia! production last year, so I was looking forward to seeing her perform again. She did not disappoint, as she sang in many of the show’s big tunes but my favorite song featuring Rich was “Cell Block Tango”.

Two surprises for me were the performances of accomplished singers Branden Noel Thomas as Matron “Mama” Morton and Kyle Bielfield as Mary Sunshine. Having seen the 2002 movie “Chicago” starring Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere, with Queen Latifah as “Mama” Morton and Christine Baransky as Mary Sunshine, I was not expecting men in drag and I was certainly not expecting Brandon and Kyle’s jaw-dropping performances.

On a small stage with fewer actors, choreographing dance numbers can be difficult. I really appreciated the bigger dance numbers, particularly “Cell Block Tango”, “All I Care About”, and especially “We Both Reached for the Gun”. It’s nearly impossible to achieve the same quality as the movie version of “We Both Reached for the Gun”, though.

Even with all these great musical numbers, the song I came away from the show whistling was “Mister Cellophane” sung by Roxy’s husband Amos (portrayed by Sean Doughy). I guess that, despite all the over-the-top antics of Roxy, Velma, and Billy to escape justice, I felt most sympathy for Amos. He only wanted to do what was right for his wife but like Congressman Adam Schiff trying to get President Trump impeached, he could not overcome the juggernaut of slick lawyers, fake news, cowardly jurors, and all that jazz.

CHICAGO

Playing now through March 15, 2020 at The Stage, San Jose . Tickets are $32-60, available at https://www.thestage.org/season/chicago

Disclaimer: Annie and I received complimentary tickets to a matinee showing of CHICAGO. The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are my own.

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Whenever a traveling Broadway show like Hamilton comes to the Bay Area, we may splurge for it. Every so often though, we will take in a local production of a popular musical, which allows us to enjoy the songs and acting in a more intimate (and less expensive) setting. So we are happy to know that the San Jose Stage Company will be performing “Mamma Mia!” this season, throughout the month of June into July.

Annie is a huge ABBA fan. “Mamma Mia!” is a musical that takes its name from one of ABBA’s hit songs. I was not such a huge fan of ABBA at first, but after seeing the musical when it played at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco many years ago, I became a fan as well. The show was put together so well, and incorporated so many ABBA favorites. By the end of the show, I was dancing, clapping and cheering along as if I was at an actual ABBA concert!

When “Mamma Mia!” came out on film we went to go see it. To be honest, I wasn’t that impressed. I like Meryl Streep, but this wasn’t her best performance. And Pierce Brosnan positively reeked – he canNOT sing!

So I am looking forward to seeing “Mamma Mia!” on the stage again. I am always impressed by how talented these actors are who do live performances on stage.

What’s your favorite musical? Leave a comment below!

Aloha, Nate

The post Here we go again… appeared first on House of Annie.

In addition to eating food we can’t get here in America, we also brought back some Malaysian foodstuffs that we can’t find here. Want to see some of what came back in our luggage?

Coffee Sachets and Milo Powder

These 3-in-1 sachet of white coffee have become very popular over the past few years. Each sachet has enough coffee, milk, and sugar powder for one perfect cup of coffee. You can find lots of different brands now, even here in the States. But the “Ah Huat” brand is not available here. The other brand that we got, “My Cofe”, is only currently available in Ipoh, where the white coffee craze started. “Ah Huat” has a nice aroma, while “My Cafe” has more coffeee flavor. Both will help us get through our post-vacation jet lag.

The kids love having a cup of Milo in the morning, so we had to buy some bulk bags of Milo since they go through it so quickly.

Black Soy Sauce and Sesame Oil

We’ve been using the  Koon Chun Thick Soy Sauce to make KL-Style Hokkien Mee, Ayam Pong Teh and other dishes calling for thick soy sauce. But this brand of black soy sauce is what we really need. The first thing we’re going to make with it? Tau Yu Bak!

We used the Ghee Hiang Sesame Oil when we made Pan Fried Phong Pneah but we’ll use it in any dish that calls for sesame oil, such as 3 Cups Chicken or Chinese Chicken Salad.

Oodles of Dried Noodles

We brought some dried noodles back with us, like the hand-pulled mee sua from Sarikei, some instant kampua mee from Sibu (said to be 90% close to the real thing), and some dried Yee Mee noodles that Annie can’t find here in the States.

Sugar, Spices, and Salted Fish

We bought some Gula Melaka for making desserts such as Sago Gula Melaka or Bubur Cha Cha. Perhaps we’ll even attempt some cendol – that is where the gula Melaka really shines.

We also bought some curry powder mixes such as the Dancing Chef brand Thai Green Curry paste. We’ll use the salted fish to make Steamed Chicken with Salted Fish, and the anchovies to make Won Ton Soup or Sambal Ikan Bilis. We didn’t find any dabai paste, though, so we won’t be making Nasi Goreng Dabai.

Kaya and Tuak

We got to spend some time with a friend in Sarawak who taught us how to make Hainanese kaya (coconut-pandan-egg custard). This is a portion of the batch that Annie actually made. Can’t wait to blog in another post about how easy it is to make kaya at home!  Too bad we didn’t bring back any Roti Bengali from Penang to go along with it.

Another friend gave us a bottle of tuak – a rice wine made by the natives of Borneo. Sweeter than sake and really nice to sip on the rocks.

Sarawak Specialties

Of course, we couldn’t go to Sarawak without picking up some Sarawak pepper. The black peppercorns we’ll use in Filipino Pork Adobo while the powdered white pepper we’ll use to season Jook, among other dishes.

Since we don’t know when we’ll next be in Sarawak, we had to bring home lots of Sarawak Laksa paste packets. We’ve been introducing our friends to the wonders of Sarawak Laksa, so hopefully these packets will last us a good long while.

Tiffins, Tins and TWG Tea

Annie’s been wanting a tiffin so that she can transport hot soups around. She intends to use the metal bowls to cook “Lo Mai Kai” with, among other things.

The last thing we brought back from our trip to Malaysia was not actually purchased in Malaysia. During our brief transit through Changi Airport in Singapore, we stopped at the TWG Tea shop in Terminal 2. Annie is really enamored with this tea, especially the “Love Me Tea” blend. It’s really good tea, though not cheap.

So that’s our haul. Not bad, eh?

What sorts of foodie things have you brought back from your travels abroad? Leave us a comment below!

Aloha, Nate

The post We Went to Malaysia and All We Got Was appeared first on House of Annie.

Two years since moving back to the US, we are back in Malaysia to visit during Chinese New Year. It is good to be back!

We have soooo been looking forward to this trip! We have missed all our family and friends here. In addition, we have missed all the great food that Malaysia has to offer.

The first thing we ate at our reunion dinner? Yee Sang.

Yee Sang Ready to Toss

What is Yee Sang?

Yee Sang, written 鱼生 in Chinese, literally means “raw fish”. It was a dish traditionally eaten by Cantonese fishermen on the 7th day of the Lunar New Year. The modern version is a shredded salad that was invented in 1964 by four master chefs in Singapore (then a part of Malaysia). Many Chinese families in Singapore and Malaysia eat this dish during Chinese New Year, but it is not so well known among Chinese in other parts of the world.

Although originally a restaurant dish, you can purchase prepared yee sang boxes to take home from restaurants, grocery stores and markets. All you need to do is assemble and eat.

The ingredients for yee sang include strips of raw fish or jellyfish, peeled pomelo, and shredded vegetables like daikon, carrots, and pickled ginger. Other ingredients could include jicama, dried orange peel, or dried lime leaves. You begin by assembling the ingredients on a large platter.

Assembling the Yee Sang

Various toppings are added, such as fried noodles, fried crackers, crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, a sweet sticky plum sauce, and finally some Chinese five spice powder. Each ingredient has auspicious meanings attached to it, such as good luck, good health, and especially more wealth.

Topping the Yee Sang

The final step before eating is to “lo” or toss the salad. Instead of one person doing it, the whole family gathers around the table, grabs a pair of chopsticks, and tosses the salad all together while calling out various good wishes. Here’s our toss:

As you can see, we have a lot of fun doing it! I only wish that Malaysian restaurants in America would start serving it.

Have you had yee sang? Leave a comment below!

Aloha, Nate

Read other bloggers’ posts about yee sang / yu sheng:

Yu Sheng (CNY Raw Fish Salad) recipe by NoobCook
Yee Sang Chinese New Year Salad recipe by Not Quite Nigella
Yee Sang recipe by My Kitchen Snippets
A Chinese New Year Dish called Yu Sheng recipe by The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook
Yu Sheng Worth Eating by EatingAsia

The post Happy Chinese New Year 2015 appeared first on House of Annie.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:9-14 (New International Version)

The Light Has Come Into the World

Merry Christmas, Mele Kalikimaka, and Selamat Hari Natal from House of Annie.

Cheers and Aloha, Annie and Nate

The post Merry Christmas 2014 appeared first on House of Annie.

Hawaiian-Style Chex Mix

One of the first Christmases I spent in Hawaii, I remember my pastor’s wife, Aunty Terumi, giving me a bag of Hawaiian-style Chex Mix in a Ziploc bag. I thought it was just some cereal mixed together and didn’t really understand why it would be a special treat. But I was told I was very fortunate to be a recipient of Aunty Terumi’s Chex mix. She was renowned for her party Chex mix. As soon as I took a bite, I understood the fuss.

It was spectacular.

The combination of Chex cereal, honeycomb cereal, pretzels, nuts and Japanese rice crackers (arare) tossed with furikake and other seasonings were an addictive concoction that left you wanting more and more until the entire bag was gone. I looked forward to Christmas every year after that for a bag of that yummy treat. But I never thought to make it myself.

This Christmas season, I saw a huge bag of Chex Mix on sale at Costco and suddenly Aunty Terumi’s Hawaiian Chex Mix flooded my memories and reminded me of just how long it had been since I had tasted this flavorful snack. I bought the bag and also went to the local Asian store to pick up some rice crackers and furikake. After looking up some recipes online (unfortunately, I had not gotten Aunty Terumi’s recipe), I set out to try making my own.

Chex Mix and Rice Crackers

After making two batches, and tweaking with the recipe, I must say, I’m quite pleased with the result. If you need an addictive snack to start your Christmas party, do try this Hawaiian party Chex Mix recipe and see just how quickly it will get devoured by your guests.

Hawaiian-Style Chex Mix Recipe

Prep time: 15 min, Cook time: 1 hour 30 min
Yield: 24 servings

Ingredients
6-8 cups Chex mix (you could use Chex cereal alone, or a combination of Chex, honeycomb cereal, pretzels, nuts (peanuts or macadamia or cashews work well), popcorn, or the bag of mix that I got from Costco)
4-6 cups Japanese rice crackers (I chose a mixed bag, but you could get any one type if you want), for a total of 12 cups for everything (a little bit more won’t hurt but don’t overdo it otherwise the seasoning sauce you make won’t coat everything enough)
1 oz Aji nori furikake, about half the bottle (you can use any other type but I like the one that is just seaweed and sesame seeds)
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup oil
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1-2 tsps hot sauce (Tabasco or any other hot sauce that you like, and depending on how spicy you want it, you might want to add more or less)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 250 F. Line two half sheet trays with foil and spray with Pam (this will help you as the Chex mix starts to bake so that it won’t stick to your foil).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cereal, nuts, pretzels, and rice crackers.
3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan and add sugar and mix until sugar has dissolved. Add corn syrup, oil (my trick is to measure out the oil first, pour into the saucepan then measure out the corn syrup in same cup and pour it out. The oil helps the corn syrup to slide out easily without sticking to the cup measure), Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce to butter mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil and whisk constantly. The mixture will bubble up. Turn the heat to medium and let it cook on the stove for about 4-5 minutes.

Making the Chex Mix Glaze

4. Take heated mixture and pour into the bowl of mix and toss the Chex mix around to try to coat all of them with the sauce mixture.

Glazing the Chex Mix

5. Pour out the Chex mix into the two half tray sheets, dividing equally. Spread out into one thin layer on each sheet.
6. Put into the oven to bake for 15 minutes.
7. After 15 minutes, sprinkle on the furikake on both trays and stir mixture around to evenly coat with furikake. Continue to bake for another 15 minutes.

Sprinkling Furikake and Turning the Chex Mix

8. Take the mix out every 15 minutes to stir and bake for about 1-1.5 hours total.
9. Remove from oven and let cool, stirring one final time to break up pieces that are sticking together in a large clump. Once cool, store the mix in Ziploc bags or large air-tight containers. Or alternately, divide them into smaller batches to fill for individual gifts.

Enjoy!

Cheers, Annie

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See other Chex mix recipes by:

Brown Eyed Baker: Homemade Chex Mix
Averie Cooks: Crock-Pot Maple Pumpkin Spice Chex Mix
Two Peas and Their Pod: Peppermint Bark Chocolate Chex Mix
Cupcake Project: Homemade Margarita Chex Mix
Confident Cook, Hesitant Baker: Homemade Sriracha Chex Mix

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We take a short trip out of town to go pick our own cherries at Nunn Better Farms in Brentwood. Here’s what we found:

Cherries Waiting to Be Picked

Mum’s visit with us is almost over, and we were thinking of taking her out of town for a short family trip. She didn’t want to go too far, so Disneyland was out of the question. Then, Esther suggested going cherry picking because her teacher was talking about it in school.

We love to eat fresh cherries, but cherry season in California is pretty short. It seems like as soon as you see them start showing up in the farmer’s market in early May, they’re gone. And whatever we bring home with us is inevitably gone within a day.

So the thought of going out as a family and bringing home a big load of cherries was a great idea!

The main place that people go for U-pick cherries here in the Bay Area seems to be Brentwood, located about an hour’s drive northeast from San Jose. After doing some research on Yelp, I decided on going with Nunn Better Farms. I called them up to find out whether there were going to be any cherries to pick (there were) and where and when to show up in the morning (9 AM at the corner of Vasco Road and Marsh Creek Road).

Let’s Go!

When we arrived at 9, there weren’t a lot of cars in the parking lot. The sun was out but the air was still cool.  We checked in at the table to get our brief instructions, then picked up some buckets and headed out into the orchard.

Heading to the Orchard to Pick Cherries

The orchard had been open to pickers for a couple of days already, so many of the trees were picked clean, especially at the lower branches. But it was a rather large orchard, so it wasn’t hard to find other trees still laden with ripe cherries. We split up and went to work.

Ripe Red and Rainier Cherries Ready for Picking

For the shorter members of our party, those cherries on higher branches were a bit difficult to reach. But I was happy to give Esther and Daniel a boost. (Other pickers brought their own ladders.)

Short People Need a Little Help Picking Cherries

Some of us got overly excited about picking anything we could get our hands on, and quickly filled our buckets with smaller or under-ripe cherries. Annie, on the other hand, was meticulous about which cherries she would choose. Only the largest, most perfect cherries (with the stems on) would find their way into her bucket.

Skip the Small Cherries; Go Big

After about an hour of picking, we were done. A combination of too much sampling, too much stretching and reaching, and too much sun (it was getting hot by 10!) led us to call it a day. We brought our haul back to the front table where the staff weighed the cherries and took our cash.

We had collected 14.6 pounds of cherries altogether, and paid $50 for it all, a little less than $3.50 per pound. But compare that to almost $7 a pound at the farmer’s markets and this was a good deal. On top of that, we all had a lot of fun.

The drive out to Brentwood was easy, the cherry trees sufficiently loaded, the staff friendly and the cherries were amazeballs. About the only downside was the lack of water to wash our cherry juice-stained hands and dusty faces when it was over. For that I give this experience a 4 out of 5 stars.

Aloha, Nate

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What would you do with all these cherries? Leave a suggestion in the comments!

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Kacang Pool / Malaysian Foul Medammas

I was introduced to kacang pool only very recently, near the end of our stay in Kuching. My friends, who grew up in West Malaysia, and who knew this dish well, wanted to introduce this dish to us. My friend JY told us that kacang pool (as it is called in Malaysia) was derived from the Middle Eastern dish known as foul medammas, which was made from fava beans.

It was served with a sunny side egg and a side of buttered toast. All of that was great to sop up the runny egg and sauce of this dish. That day, as I was eating it, I thought it reminded me very much of American chilli but with some slightly different spices perhaps.

Of course, once I discovered this delicious dish, I set about to make it myself. The first thing I had to do was get myself some of those cans of foul medammas (which my friend said could be found in some grocery stores). Unfortunately for me, I could not seem to locate any in Kuching though I did make an effort to look in all the grocery stores I visited. I even tasked my friend to help me look. Alas, we never did find it.

Once we got back to KL though, it was hard NOT to find. In every grocery store, there were the cans staring me in the face. Delighted, I procured two cans and set about looking for recipes. Now, this is where it got interesting. When I looked up foul medammes, I found many recipes that were quite simple and called for the fava beans and some spices.

Can of Foul Medammas

When I looked for recipes using the Malay name “kacang pool,” I found that the dishes were more luxurious, using ground beef and more spices along with butter or ghee. I realized that Malaysians had once again transformed an ethnic dish and made it their own by adding their own local twist to it. This is true of most dishes you find in Malaysia whether it be Chinese, Indian, Malay or in this case, Arabic in nature. They are uniquely Malaysian.

Being Malaysian, I of course, leaned towards the Malaysian style of making this dish. Perhaps it’s not the most authentic or original, but it’s a taste my family enjoyed and so I’ll continue to make it the way I was introduced to it.

In the Malaysian kacang pool version, there would be spices (fennel, cumin, coriander, ginger), aromatics (onion and garlic), meat (ground beef) and fat (butter or ghee). On top of that, the garnish was just as important and gave contrasting flavors and textures to round out the whole dish. Make sure you don’t forget to include the garnish.

Even though this dish is eaten typically at breakfast time, I enjoy it any time at all and have even served it for dinner. But then I’ve served bacon and eggs for dinner so you understand that I’m not averse to breakfast at dinner. Eat it with sunny side up eggs and some buttered toast and it’s a complete and hearty meal to start or end your day!

Now that I’m back in California, I was again delighted when I found it at the ethnic grocery store I went to when I was looking for tahini and date syrup. The store (International Food Bazaar) was truly delightful. Like I said in my earlier post, I love ethnic stores because you never know what treasures you will find. When I was there, not only did I find tahini and date syrup, I also carted back cans of foul medammas, gaz (a Persian nougat), sumac and lavash bread.

Kacang Pool Recipe

Prep time: 20 min / Cook time: 30 min
Yield: serves 4-6

Ingredients:
2 cans of foul medammas beans (you can find this at most Middle Eastern grocery stores)
1 lb ground beef
1 small red onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch ginger, grated
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1 cup water
1-2 Tbsp butter or ghee
Salt and sugar to taste

Garnish:
2 shallots, finely diced
1 green or red chilli, sliced thin
4 calamansi limes (use regular limes if you cannot find calamansi), halved
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

4-6 eggs, cooked sunny side up
4-6 slices buttered toast

Method:
1. In a small fry pan, toast your fennel, cumin and coriander till fragrant. Let it cool and then, grind to a powder. Set aside.
2. Drain the cans off foul medammas, and mash one can and leave the other can of beans whole.
3. In a medium saute pan, melt the butter and add the diced onion, garlic and ginger on medium heat. Stir till onions are translucent.
4. Add in ground spices and saute till fragrant.
5. Add the beef and saute, breaking up larger chunks till all the ground beef is mostly cooked through. Season with some salt.

Making Kacang Pool

6. Add in the foul medammas beans and a cup of water and combine. If the mixture is too thick, add more water. Let it come to a boil, then lower heat to simmer. If the whole beans are too chunky, feel free to mash them up a little. The mixture should have the consistency of chilli. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes on low heat making sure that there is enough liquid. If the mixture looks dry, add more liquids.

Cooking Kacang Pool

6a. In the meantime, prepare your garnish, fry your eggs, and toast and butter your bread.
7. Season with salt and a little sugar to taste. Remember that the calamansi, chillies and shallots will add more flavor to the dish but you do want it to be salty enough.
8. Once it is flavored to your liking, dish out into individual bowls. Serve the egg on top. Garnish with shallots, chillies, and cilantro to your liking. Squeeze some lime juice over your bowl.
9. Dig in with a spoon, making sure to break the egg yolk all over the beans and use the bread to sop up the yummy mess.

Kacang Pool on Toast

Enjoy!

Cheers, Annie

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For its use of fava beans, I am entering this post in the Weekend Herb Blogging roundup, organized by Haalo and hosted this week by Lynne from Cafe Lynnylu.

See other recipes using fava beans by:

101 Cookbooks: Grilled Fava Beans
La Tartine Gourmande: Tarragon-flavored Fava Bean and Green Pea Tartine
Simply Recipes: Spring Fava Bean and Fennel Salad
No Recipes: Nettle Pasta with Fava Beans

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