Food & Beverage
Photo by Sherri Pengjad
From the CML Kitchen
with Guest Chef Sherri Pengjad
Sherri Pengjad is a Boone-based Thai cooking teacher and the food writer behind Thai-Foodie.com. After living in Thailand and marrying her Thai hubby, she fell in love with learning to cook the dishes his family loves. Now, from her log-cabin kitchen in the Blue Ridge Mountains, she shares authentic Thai recipes while raising their four Thai-American children. Oh! and did we mention that she also teaches Thai cooking through her private, hands-on classes.
TOM KHA GAI COCONUT CHICKEN SOUP
INGREDIENTS:
2 stalks lemongrass
3 inch section of fresh Thai galangal or 6-8 dried galangal pieces, thinly cut, no need to peel
4 c. chicken stock
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk (Chaokoh brand is my favorite)
1 lb. chicken breast, cut into small bite-size pieces
2 c. sliced mushrooms of your choice, but not shitake (too overpowering)
1 small onion quartered and sliced 1/4 in. thick
4-8 Thai chilies, smashed so you can see the inside
4 fresh kaffir lime leaves, thinly slivered
4-6 tbsp. fish sauce, to taste
Juice of 3 limes, to taste
1-2 tbsp. palm sugar or brown sugar, to taste
Handful of cilantro leaves
DIRECTIONS:
- Cut off the bottom of your lemongrass stalks and discard. Remove the loose outer layer of leaves. Slice lemongrass at an angle, about an inch apart up to where the grass blade starts.
- Smash the lemongrass and chilies, in order to release the flavors, with the side of your chef’s knife or in a mortar and pestle.
- Place lemongrass, thinly sliced galangal, and slivered kaffir lime leaves in soup pot with chicken broth.
- Bring to a low boil.
- Add onion, mushrooms and chicken. If you think it needs more liquid add more chicken stock, or water.
- Keep at a low boil, until chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
- After chicken is cooked, add smashed chilies.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes longer and then turn off the heat. But if you really want it spicy, add the chilies sooner. The longer the chilies sit in the soup, the spicier it will be.
- Add coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce and sugar to taste.
- Sprinkle cilantro leaves on top.
- Serve with jasmine rice. Enjoy!
Serving Size: 4-5
PUMPKIN STIR-FRY
INGREDIENTS:
1 small kabocha squash (about 2.5 lbs), don’t have to peel it unless you want to, OR 1 butternut squash, peeled
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
4 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2-3 cups chicken broth or water
1/4 tsp white pepper powder
Handful of coarsely chopped cilantro
DIRECTIONS:
- Use the sharpest knife you have to cut the pumpkin or squash into quarters, and remove the seeds. Then cut into 1-inch-ish cubes.
- Add a few tablespoons of oil to your wok over medium-high heat, and add the garlic.
- Stir-fry garlic for a minute or so until fragrant.
- Add pumpkin, fish sauce and oyster sauce, and enough chicken broth or water to cover it. Some pumpkin pieces may be sticking up, but that’s okay.
- Put a lid over the wok.
- Bring to a boil, and let boil for 5-8 minutes or until pumpkin is fork-tender, and most of the liquid has evaporated. My Thai Hubby likes to have enough liquid left for a sauce, but do what you prefer.
- Push the pumpkin to the edges to make a well in the center of the wok.
- Pour in the eggs and scramble until set, and then mix in with pumpkin.
- Add more fish sauce or oyster sauce to taste, and sprinkle with white pepper powder, and turn off the heat.
- Sprinkle cilantro on top if you wish, and enjoy with jasmine rice!
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Local Farmers’ Market Guide
It’s harvest season at our local Farmers’ Markets! This convenient directory will help you find a market near you—please be sure to confirm dates/times with your markets of choice prior to scheduling a trip.
Abingdon Farmers Market
Saturdays 8 a.m.–12 p.m. through October
Saturdays 10 a.m.–12 p.m. November through Christmas
100 Remsburg Drive in downtown Abingdon, VA
Alleghany Farmers Market
Saturdays 9 a.m.–1 p.m. through October
Crouse Park in downtown Sparta, NC
Ashe County/West Jefferson Farmers Market
Saturdays 8 a.m.–1 p.m. through November
108 Backstreet, West Jefferson, NC
Avery County Farmers’ Market
Thursdays 3–6 p.m. through October
185 Azalea Circle, Banner Elk, NC
Beech Mountain Farmers’ Market
First Fridays 2–6 p.m. through October
101 Bark Park Way, Beech Mountain, NC
Blowing Rock Thursday Market
Thursdays 12–4 p.m. through September 24
132 Park Ave., Blowing Rock, NC
Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture’s King Street Market
Tuesdays 3:30–6:30 p.m. through October at 126 Poplar Grove Connector, Boone, NC
Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m. December – March at the Watauga County Agricultural Conference Center, 252 Poplar Grove Rd, Boone
Damascus Farmers Market
Thursdays, 4-7 p.m. through October
The Speckled Trout Annex on W. Laurel Ave., Damascus, VA
Johnson County Farmers’ Market
Saturdays 9 a.m.–12 p.m. through October
Ralph Stout Park in Mountain City, TN
Lansing Park Farmers’ Market
Saturdays 11 a.m.–4 p.m. through October
Historic Creeper Trail Park, 114 S Big Horse Creek Rd, Lansing, NC
Morganton Farmers’ Markets
Saturdays 8 a.m.–12 p.m. through October
300 Beach St., Morganton, NC
Wednesday Mini Market, 10 a.m.– 1 p.m. through October
111 North Green St., Morganton, NC
Watauga County Farmers’ Market
Saturdays 8 a.m.–12 p.m. through November
591 Horn in the West Dr, Boone, NC
Wilkes County/Wilkesboro Farmers’ Market
Saturdays 7:30 a.m.–12 p.m. through October
Holiday Markets 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Nov. 21 and Dec. 12
Yadkin Valley Marketplace in downtown N. Wilkesboro, NC
Yancey County Farmers Market
Saturdays 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. through mid-November
322 W. Main Street, downtown Burnsville, NC
High Country Food Hub, operated by Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture (BRWIA)
A year-round online farmers’ market where you can order items and pick them up at one of seven convenient locations throughout Ashe, Avery, Watauga and Wilkes counties. highcountryfoodhub.org