07/25/24
This week we scored some fresh red shiso leaves grown by Chris Monday at Veggie Visions Farms and are making something delicious with it for market.
Shiso (aka perilla) is a plant, similar to sesame leaf, but is more fragrant- it’s so distinctive, mildly herbal, and savory- it’s hard to describe, but it has a wonderful unmistakable flavor. Growing up, my mom and grandma grew perilla in our backyard, and we’d use it in a variety of ways- perilla kimchi is still my favorite.
We’re excited to be making shiso and ume onigiri (Japanese rice ball similar to the musubi) for the market on Saturday.
Ume is an extremely flavorful Japanese pickled plum that’s sour and salty, and super delicious. Red shiso is used in the plum curing process and it is what gives these pickles their characteristic deep purple color.
For the onigiri we chopped the shiso leaves and mixed it with the ume and put it in a handheld rice ball held together with seaweed. It’s a classic flavor pairing.
For any folks heading to Nelsonville Music Festival this week, have a great time! It’s a killer lineup per usual. Here’s a concert film Kurt and I directed a few years ago about one of this year's headliners, Courntey Barnett- it’s called Friends of Wonder, starring Courtney, Kurt Vile and a motley crew of activists that saved a historic and haunted theater from the wrecking ball turning it into a beloved community arts center. (Aside from our dumpling making, Kurt and I are also filmmakers).
See you Saturday at the market-
Irene