inexplicably
i’ve been stressed lately,
last week i spent an
inordinate amount of time
fretting over the overabundance of greens
we picked up from our csa.
we went all in this summer,
doing a full family share,
with the thought process of
hitting the stores less,
eating salads more,
thereby providing us with more time
to do other things,
like
fret apparently.
by mid week,
with just barely a dent in
our stash of foliage,
i was decidedly despairing
over the potential of verdant decay
in the fridge
before the next csa day.
—
my discontent has merged
in other areas —
i’ve discovered white strands,
slyly mixed in with the ink
black of my hair,
making it stark in contrast.
i’m so vain i know.
then,
like any other person who goes
through the comparison game
i almost damn near shut this space down.
i’m so dramatical i know.
so what to do?
what do i generally do when i need
some perspective?
i take a break,
i simplify,
i purge.
and that’s exactly what i did.
my rss feed,
purposefully limited,
was trimmed further,
as was the twitter & ig space.
it’s nice to not carry around all
that clutter.
as pushed over the ledge
by this read,
from my fave ballerina baker.
—
this dish is simple:
3 main ingredient filling,
comprised of summer freshness,
it’s light in bulk
so you won’t be left feeling
like donkey ass.
3 veg dumplings in spicy sauce
inspired by olives for dinner
makes 22 dumplings/gyozas
1 1/4 cup fresh peas, i don’t like frozen but it’ll do if that’s what you’ve got
garlic scape, amount up to you, i used just one coil & it was plenty fine
handful greens, i used dinosaur kale, though chard, arugula, spinach are fine
1 tsp sesame oil
1/8 cup (more or less) chickpea flour (any flour would do, i just happened to grab this)
salt/pepper to taste
dumpling/wonton wrappers (the kind i had on hand were made of wheat flour, but if you’re able to find rice flours ones, then this dish would be entirely gluten free)
sauce
1 TBL light soy sauce
1 tbTBL dark soy sauce
1 3/4 cup hot homemade stock
2 TBL chili oil
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp sugar
in a food processor whiz up the garlic scape and greens, you want it to be fine and almost mushy. next, whizz the peas, you don’t want it mushy, you want it to be kinda chunk, there may even be some whole peas. transfer mixture into bowl. add in the sesame oil and salt/pepper. if the mixture is wet, add in the flour, you don’t want it super dry, but you don’t want it wet that it will soak the wrappers. use your best judgement.
add about a teaspoon dollop per sheet, and shape however you want, just ensure that it is fully sealed.
you can either steam them, boil them or fry them up. i went the fried and then steamed route.
heat up a pan with a bit of sesame oil. put the gyoza in a fan-like pattern in the pan, fry them, covered, until the bottoms are nice and crispy. pour in 1/4 cup of water and cover, being careful of splatters. steam for about 5 minutes and remove lid, making sure all the water has evaporated.
for the sauce/soup, heat all the ingredients in a sauce pan. you can either dip the dumplings in the thinned out sauce, or you can just pour the soup/sauce over the dumplings.
BAM!
my other dumpling/gyoza concoctions:
tofu gyoza
soup dumplings
morestomach 
HI Lan, these look amazing! dumplings are among my most favorite foods.
hi Cheri, they’re creeping up there as one of my fave foods too!
My, those are cute! I will save this for future use. Thanks for the nice pictures and recipe. I want to try making dumplings more; there are so many variations of them, and they are relatively “zen.”
hi, and welcome! there is a zen-like feel when making dumplings, yes. it can be tedious, especially knowing that the consumption is so fast compared to the preparation, but i think it’s worth it when done correctly
These looks gorgeous Lan! Definitely want to try these out!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
thank you!
Dumplings look so good! It is always good to trim/purge/declutter time to time. I do that too with FB. 🙂
By the way, I was disappointed in my first CSA attempt. Because we did not have much variety.
Ilke, it really is so nice to declutter!
i will say that the very beginning and end of the CSA season is usually eh, but the in between is so nice, especially when it’s tomato season! hopefully it will improve for you soon.
1. I have so much grey in my hair now that my stylist actually shrieks every time he sees me. I’m refusing to colour it just to spite him.
2. Three weeks into my CSA and 50% of my waking hours are now dedicated to coming up with inventive ways to use my greens.
3. The greens are making me jump higher.
4. Last night I had a dream that your wrote a cookbook and dedicated it TO ME. And at the back of the book you took three of my recipes and made them gluten free. It was so vivid that I actually woke up thinking that I should write you a thank you note. The second part of the dream involved living with my dancer friend in Toronto again, in which she had insisted all window and doors be removed from our apartment. Things kinda went downhill from there… But the book was really nice.
you slay me, as always you make me smile. i have a running dream that you and i will come up with a dance routine, ideally to the spice girls though i’d settle for beyonce, and perform it on some country’s got talent show. this is us, dreaming BIG.
So much One Straw kale and chard to prepare for, right? When the pressure is on, I just pack it all into the food processor and commit to putting pesto on seriously everything. At least in then fits in a mason jar and is somewhat out of sight/mind. Good luck!
molly, YES and i shouldn’t freak out so hard because kale & chard are so hardy, they do last a bit longer than arugula or lettuce.
i did a purge recently, maybe it was last month, of all jars in the fridge… the science experiments was really getting to me, but i think pesto really is the best way to go!
Oh, wow how lovely! I am experience Greens Anxiety right now too so this is perfect!! I LOVE your photos and I love the way they look swimming in that gorgeous sauce. I read your friend’s post and it struck a chord with me also. Playing the comparison game (especially in such a talented and highly-competitive world like food blogging) will never make me feel good. I’m glad you stuck around because your posts are some of my very favorites! Keep it up girlfran. Dumpling on our menu this week, too, now 🙂
sophie, you are always so encouraging, thank you. hopefully i’ll get my mojo back, be more creative and less whiny!
The last photo of dumplings swimming in sauce…too good and I am suffering…I seriously need to get me some garlic scapes now!
if you can’t get your hands on garlic scapes, regular garlic is fine… but if you want to keep to the green theme, use chive blossoms.
i cant wait for this month to be over – it has been nothing but stressful and disappointing. hopefully July will bring some peace in our lives…and that spicy sauce looks amazing with veggie dumplings. .
i hope july brings you peace Dixya!
Those dumplings look absolutely fabulous!!! And you pleat them so well!
thanks so much anne
Gorgeous! I have grey in my hair too, and they are thick, shiny strands that I can’t cover up with anything {sigh}. I gasped when I read the line about you thinking of closing this space — I love your work and devour each and every post! Sometimes I get in a rut too, but it usually passes and I get little bursts of energy/creativity and it’s so nice to have a dedicated place to put those thoughts/ideas into!
I love your gyozas — so perfectly shaped and beautiful!
erin, you are so supportive, thank you. i really can be so dramatic sometimes. a break does help wonders.
This looks delicious! I’ve never made dumplings at home but am eager to try (summer project!). And your photography is again spot on.
sini, thank you! i hope you’re able to make them during your summer break.
Your dumplings are so beautiful; you made them so elegant looking, and the broth, and your photographs.. OMG!!! I ❤ ❤ ❤ very much
yum – how delicious! this is definitely a recipe i will be making tonight for dinner. thanks for sharing!
Unexpectedly we had my entire family over for dinner last night and what do you know — I had a few dozen of these in the freezer! I did some cold kimchi noodles, banh cuon (oh boy that was an experience!) and THESE lovelies. I only cooked as many dumplings as I could fit in one batch in my largest pan, too bad — they were such a hit! The plate was passed back and forth as everyone wanted more, and the dipping sauce was perfect too. Thanks for making me look good 🙂
sophie, thanks so much for letting me how they turned out for you! i am so glad they turned out well for you and that your family enjoyed it. yay for impromptu dinner with family, and BIG YAY for having already made dumplings in the freezer that are so easy to cook up quickly. you really made my day.
These dumplings look amazing! Just by looking at them makes me hungry!