The Soup Queen

Ai Ye leaves or mugwort (artemisia vulgaris) One of the herbs which I liked a lot is this herb - Artemisia Vulgaris. However I didn't know its name before this. I got to know this herb thanks to my mother-in-law. Whenever we visit her in Kuching, I'd go looking at her garden and she'd have these patch of plants in the garden. She used to call them "hnia" which I think is the name of the herb in Hokkien dialect.  Now this "hnia" has a peculiar taste which is an acquired taste. You either like it or you hate it. My mom-in-law would pluck the young leaves of this plant and fry them up with egg,  in an omelette. She would serve this with the other dishes at lunch or dinner. The downside to this herb was that it made one release gas (a.k.a fart!).  She said it was good for getting rid of "wind" and the herb was good for women.  I always wanted to bring some of the herb home to plant in my own garden BUT my husband detested the her...

Sorry for the lack of posts. It's not that I have not been making soups but life and business intervened. Business, clients, family, life.  Whenever I get tired or bored, I'd head to the kitchen. I'll try a new recipe and a lot of people find cooking tedious (especially in my case when it's just my husband and me). Some people ask me, "Isn't it far easier to head out to the hawker stalls or a coffeeshop and get dinner over and done with?"  After all, I am living in Penang. The island with the most lipsmackingly delicious street food.  I admit that cooking small portions can be tedious BUT as I said, cooking and tinkering in the kitchen is my escape from a world that gets too hectic (at least for me).  Cooking and gardening are my escapes.  So this blog post is inspired by what's growing in my tiny patch of garden.  I've been growing serai or lemongrass in a pot in my garden. It's been thriving happily. But at times...